Dylan Zangwill isn’t a showboating type. With pipes like he’s blessed with, he doesn’t need to be.
The 14-year-old Pennsylvania native made a lot of fans Tuesday (July 20) when he auditioned on America’s Got Talent.
Wearing his hair long, Zangwill already has the look. When he stepped behind the keyboard and performed Queen’s “Somebody to Love,” Zangwill revealed his precocious skills.
The kid’s got talent.
Zangwill showed a hint of blues, with a big, mature voice. Three of the four judges got on their feet. Only Simon Cowell stayed seated.
Earlier, Cowell asked Zangwill if his schoolmates knew of his singing sideline. Yes, and no. “I’m not a big fan of talking about myself all that much,” the youngster admitted.
After his AGT appearance, he can let others do the talking.
Watch below.
Prompted by Britney Spears’ conservatorship fight, a bipartisan legislative effort has emerged to reform the process created to protect the rights of more than 1 million people across the United States under the protective arrangements.
On Tuesday, Reps. Charlie Crist and Nancy Mace unveiled “The Free Britney Act,” designed to give more options to people placed under conservatorships. Those include the ability to talk about their situations with caseworkers — over any objections from their conservators — and petition a court to replace their conservators without having to “prove wrongdoing or malfeasance.”
“This is just a commonsense approach to doing what is right, to making sure that rights are balanced,” Crist, a Florida Democrat, said during a virtual news conference on Tuesday.
Both Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, and Crist said it was Spears’ passionate plea last month that a judge end the conservatorship that controls her life and money that spurred their proposal.
“What she had was an opportunity to do is bring to light, to shine a light, on those abuses,” Mace said. “Her situation is a nightmare, and if it can happen to Britney Spears, it can happen to anyone in this country.”
Speaking in open court, Spears condemned her father and others who control the conservatorship, put in place as Spears underwent a mental health crisis in 2008. Spears said that the arrangement has compelled her to use birth control and take other medications against her will, and prevented her from getting married or having another child.
Spears’ father and his attorneys have emphasized that she and her fortune, which court records put at more than $50 million, remain vulnerable to fraud and manipulation. Under current law, the burden is on Spears to prove she is competent before the case could end.
Mace and Crist said they expected more bipartisan support for the measure, which would also provide at least $260 million in grant funds for states to hire caseworkers or conservators.
The #FreeBritney movement has already crossed party lines.
“Everyone deserves control over their own body. Period,” U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the fourth-ranking House Democrat, tweeted last month following Spears’ testimony.
Some House Republicans have invited Spears to testify before Congress. The political arm of the House Republican caucus sent texts that described Ms. Spears as “a victim of toxic gov’t overreach & censorship.”
Earlier this month, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, made a brief appearance addressing the Spears supporters outside the downtown Los Angels courthouse, at one point shouting “Free Britney!”
We have our first taste of Kanye West’s new music, thanks to a Beats by Dre ad starring track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson, who found worldwide support when she was suspended from Team USA ahead of the Olympics after testing positive for marijuana.
The new commercial, which debuted during Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday (July 20) and was scored and edited by West, includes one minute of the rapper’s “No Child Left Behind” track from his upcoming album Donda. The ad confirms that West’s 10th studio album will be released on Friday and also announces that his Donda listening event, set for Thursday in Atlanta, will be livestreamed by Apple Music at 8 p.m. ET.
Following the news earlier this month of Richardson’s 30-day suspension from the U.S. Olympic team, music stars including Drake and Dua Lipa took to social media to show their support. “They know she woulda ATE,” Drake captioned a photo of the star athlete on his Instagram Story, while the “Levitating” singer wrote, “Let her run!! This is stupid.”
Richardson wears Beats Studio Buds in the commercial, which shows the runner in her element on the track as the organ chords of “No Child Left Behind” play. “He’s done miracles on me,” West repeatedly sings in the song, as the ad’s “Live Your Truth” slogan hits the screen. Donda will be West’s first album since his back-to-back 2019 gospel projects Jesus Is King and Jesus Is Born, the latter of which is credited to the Sunday Service Choir. It remains to be seen what the new project — named after his late mom, who died in 2007 — will sound like, but the first taste of “No Child Left Behind” both lyrically and sonically recalls West’s gospel work.
Tickets for “Kanye West Presents A Donda Listening Event,” set for Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, went on sale Monday at Ticketmaster.com for $20 and $50.
Watch the new Beats by Dre commercial below:
Grime icon Stormzy, rapper slowthai, R&B singer Jorja Smith and more have been nominated at the sixth annual GRM Daily Rated Awards in the U.K. The event — which honors the best in Britain’s rap and grime scene — will be livestreamed Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. BST via GRM’s YouTube channel.
Nominations were announced Wednesday (July 21) in the U.K., with such artists as AJ Tracey, Headie One and Little Simz, leading the way with multiple nods. Presented by the U.K. rap and grime culture outlet GRM Daily, the awards show is designed to recognize the best of British talent in the genre between June 1, 2020, and June 1, 2021.
Even though the U.K. has recently lifted its live show restrictions amid COVID-19, the sixth annual Rated Awards will remain virtual for the second year in a row.
Last year’s virtual ceremony was hosted by comedian Mo Gilligan and radio host Julie Adenuga. Among last year’s winners were J Hus’ Big Conspiracy for album of the year, Dutchavelli for breakthrough of the year, and D-Block Europe for male artist of the year. Other highlights from last year’s show include performances by George the Poet, Dizzee Rascal and Kano.
Fans can vote for their favorite artists here until Aug. 17. Performances for this year’s show will be announced in the coming weeks.
See below for the list of nominees.
Album of the year:
AJ Tracey, Flu Game
Bugzy Malone, The Resurrection
D Block Europe, The Blueprint- Us Vs. Them
Fredo, Money Can’t Buy Happiness
Ghetts, Conflict of Interest
Headie One, EDNA
K Trap, Street Side Effects
Loski, Music, Trial and Trauma: A Drill Story
Nines, Crabs In A Bucket
slowthai, TYRON
Female artist of the year:
Bree Runway
Darkoo
ENNY
Ivorian Doll
Jorja Smith
Lady Leshurr
Ms Banks
Shaybo
Stefflon Don
Midas The Jagaban
Male artist of the year:
AJ Tracey
Abra Cadabra
Central Cee
Chip
Digga D
Fredo
Ghetts
Headie One
Potter Payper
Tion Wayne
Breakthrough of the year:
ArrDee
BackRoad Gee
ENNY
Central Cee
French The Kid
Jordan
Shaybo
SR
Pa Salieu
wewantwraiths
Personality of the year:
Big Zuu
Chunkz
Harry Pinero
Nella Rose
Michael Dapaah
Mo Gilligan
Munya Chawawa
Niko Omilana
Yung Filly
ZeZe Mills
Track of the year:
A1 & J1, “Latest Trends”
Abra Cadabra, “On Deck”
Central Cee, “Loading”
Digga D, “Woi”
ENNY, “Peng Black Girls” (ft Amia Brave)
Headie One, Stormzy and AJ Tracey, “Ain’t It Different”
Nines, “Airplane Mode” (ft NSG)
Pa Salieu, “My Family” (ft BackRoad Gee)
Potter Payper, “Purpose”
Russ & Tion Wayne, “Body”
Video of the year:
Aitch, “Safe To Say” (Directed by KC Locke)
AJ Tracey, “Little More Love” (Directed by KC Locke)
Ghetts, “Skengman Mode” (ft. Stormzy) (Directed by Nathan James Tettey)
Headie One, “Princess Cuts” (ft. Young T & Bugsey) (Directed by Capone)
Little Simz, “Introvert” (Directed by Salomon Ligthelm)
Meekz, “Respect The Come Up” (Directed by KC Locke)
Nines, “Clout” (Directed by Charlie Di Placido)
Pa Salieu, “My Family” (ft. BackRoad Gee) (Directed by Femi Ladi)
Russ & Tion Wayne, “Body” (Directed by Wowa)
slowthai, Skepta, “Cancelled” (Directed by THE REST)
Mixtape of the year:
Abra Cadabra, Product of My Environment
Central Cee, Wild West
Chip, Snakes and Ladders
Digga D, Made In The Pyrex
Giggs, Now Or Never
M Huncho & Nafe Smallz, DNA
NSG, Roots
Pa Salieu, Send Them To Coventry
Potter Payper, Training Day 3
Unknown T, Rise Above Hate
Radio DJ of the year:
Charlie Sloth
DJ Target
Dotty
Henrie Kwushue
Kenny Allstar
Robert Bruce
Reece Parkinson
Snoochie Shy
Tiffany Calver
Yinka & Shayna Marie
Producer of the year:
169
5ive Beatz
Chris Rich
Ghosty
Gotcha
Hargo
M1OnTheBeat
P2J
R14
TSB
LONDON – Government plans in England to allow only fully vaccinated patrons into nightclubs and large music venues have been criticized as a “hammer blow” for the country’s struggling live and night-time industries as they seek to rebuild.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the new measures would come into force by the end of September, by which time everyone in England aged over 18 will have been offered both COVID-19 vaccine doses.
The prime minister — who is self-isolating at his Chequers country home after health minister Sajid Javid tested positive for COVID-19 — said the reversal in government policy was prompted by fears over the risk of coronavirus transmission in venues where people are in close contact, such as clubs and music venues.
The announcement was made on the same day that England lifted its last remaining COVID-19 restrictions, bringing an end to capacity limits and social distancing measures inside music and entertainment venues.
That prompted scores of nightclubs across the country to open just after midnight local time Monday to welcome back their first customers in almost 17 months.
The news that those same businesses will soon be required to make so-called “COVID passports” a condition of entry for all customers drew condemnation from nightclub industry execs. UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholl said the plans dealt a devastating “hammer blow” to the sector and “risks hitting these fragile businesses and derailing their recovery.”
Michael Kill, CEO of the U.K. Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), said that mandatory enforcement of COVID-19 vaccination passports for nightclubs placed them at a “competitive disadvantage with pubs and bars that aren’t subject to the same restrictions.”
According to research cited by the NTIA, 80% of nightclubs do not want to implement vaccination passports due to concerns over enforcing the certification and a reduction in spontaneous customers.
Earlier this month, the government gave hope to the sector when it indicated that COVID passports would not be compulsory for venue operators. At present, nightclubs are encouraged to ask clubbers to show proof of vaccination or a negative test result but are not legally required to do so. Nightclubs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland remain closed.
Responding to Boris Johnson’s July 19 announcement, which took many in the sector by surprise, Kill slammed the change in policy as “yet another chaotic U-turn” and an “absolute shambles.”
U.K. live industry body LIVE said it needed to see more detail about the government’s plans and how it will implement them to assess “the full impact for the live music industry.”
Elsewhere in Europe, a recent rise in COVID-19 infections in the Netherlands led to the government closing its nightclubs on July 10, only two weeks after they reopened. The Dutch government said most infections had occurred “in nightlife settings and parties with high numbers of people” and that extra safety measures were needed this summer as a result.
Venue operators and live execs in the U.K. are hoping that the same doesn’t happen there, with promoters increasingly desperate to save what remains of the British festival season.
Tentpole events scheduled to take place later this summer include the 185,000-capacity dual-site Reading and Leeds festivals headlined by Liam Gallagher, Stormzy and Post Malone, and the 70,000-capacity Creamfields, which features David Guetta, deadmau5, The Chemical Brothers, Alesso and Martin Garrix.
Indoor live shows booked for August and September include gigs by Gorillaz and Burna Boy at London’s The O2 arena, and Blossoms and Genesis at Manchester’s AO Arena, although the vast majority of U.K. touring is not scheduled to resume until the fall.
Despite the end of lockdown restrictions in England, concerns remain over the lack of a government-backed insurance scheme covering the cost of event cancellations as a result of COVID-19, similar to what’s been introduced in other European markets, like Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Without that safety net in place, promoters are risking “huge financial losses and even bankruptcy” to stage events, warns Greg Parmley, CEO of LIVE. He calls the end of lockdown “bittersweet for the live music sector” due to the lack of insurance and calls on the government to urgently provide financial backing if it “wants to avoid a summer of silence.”
On Tuesday, the U.K. recorded 46,558 new cases of COVID-19 and the seven-day case average rose 40% compared with the week before. Over the past seven days, 342 people have died within 28 days of testing positive — a rise of 60% compared with the week before.
According to the latest data, over 36 million people in the U.K. have had both vaccine doses, equivalent to 69% of the adult population, and 46 million people have had one dose, or 88% of adults.