It’s Time For the Award Show Debut of City Girls’ ‘Twerkulator’ at the 2021 BET Awards

City Girls took the stage at the 2021 BET Awards on Sunday night (June 27) for the first live TV performance of their new single, the viral hit “Twerkulator.”

Introduced by host Taraji P. Henson with an extensive geographic history lesson that ended in the duo’s Miami hometown, the City Girls came out flanked by a variety of dancers to play the the much-anticipated new single. Towards the end of the energetic performance, the Kraftwerk-via-Afrika-Bambaataa-sampling single gave way to a quick snippet of Cajmere’s ’90s club classic “Percolator,” whose hook “Twerkulator” interpolates.

Earlier this month, “Twerkulator” debuted at No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100. The group was nominated for best group at this year’s BET Awards, but lost to Silk Sonic earlier in the evening.

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Silk Sonic ‘Leave the Door Open’ For Newly Vaccinated Fans at the 2021 BET Awards

Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak gave a select group of fans a special treat at the 2021 BET Awards Sunday (June 27). The duo, known collectively as Silk Sonic, performed their hit “Leave the Door Open” at Club Novo at L.A. Live for newly vaccinated fans.

The two kicked off their performance by sauntering into the area on a roped-off red carpet, with attendees grooving to the tune while the two serenaded them with the help of some backup singers. As Silk Sonic performed their hit, fans behind danced while holding up signs.

Toward the end, Anderson .Paak teased the attendees, asking, “Do y’all want to hear a new song? Do ya’ll want to hear a new song off the new album?” While fans cheered in the affirmative, he dashed their hopes, saying, “Nah! We’re gonna bring [‘Leave the Door Open’] back! ‘Cause we’re still in the top 10! We’re gonna do this again, and again, and again!” before launching back into the smooth song.

The duo were nominated for three awards: video of the year, best group, and viewer’s choice.

“Leave the Door Open” is the debut single for Silk Sonic, and has topped the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the summit on the Adult R&B Airplay chart, becoming the fastest to reach the No. 1 spot by male artists in the chart’s history.

Taraji P. Henson hosted the awards, which this year celebrated Black women in and their impact on culture. The show was broadcast in front of a live audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

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Voluntary evacuations of collapsed condo tower’s ‘sister building’ have begun, mayor says

No mandatory evacuations of buildings close to the South Champlain Tower, including of the North Tower, have been ordered, said Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett Saturday night. Residents have been given … Click to Continue »
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Swizz Beatz, D-Nice and More Honored at Fifth Annual Culture Creators Brunch

On Saturday afternoon (June 26), the fifth annual Culture Creators Innovators and Leaders Brunch highlighted the wins of several prominent leaders within the Black community. Sponsored by YouTube, the festivities featured award recipients and hip-hop luminaries Swizz Beatz and D-Nice at the Beverly Hills Hilton hotel in California.

Hosted by DeMarco Morgan and Tanika Ray, Culture Creators opened its doors for industry players to mingle, celebrate and rejoice their colleagues’ wins after a year’s absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s ceremony had strict measures, requiring attendees to either show their vaccination cards before their arrival and provide negative COVID tests. They also asked invitees to take temperature checks before proceeding into the venue.

Fans of Swizz Beatz were in for a treat. Honored with the Icon award, a video montage showcased Swizz’s lofty achievements in the music space. Ahead of his speech, Swizz’s son, Prince Nasir Dean, had glowing remarks for his father. He highlighted his notable feats including his Grammy wins, acclaim in the art space with No Commission, and his beloved musical showdown Verzuz.

Accepting the Icon Award, Swizz exuded humility when speaking on his newest accolade. Fresh off a 17-hour flight from Saudi Arabia, he touched on the importance of learning more and remaining hungry even after noteworthy victories. “All though we might have the accolades, and we might have the track record, there’s always going to be somebody with a new idea that can reshape your whole future,” he said during his acceptance speech. “I want to continue to inspire and tell all the creators not to be scared.”

Comedian Royale Watkins presented D-Nice with the Culture Creator Innovators Award for his impressive run last year. At the start of the pandemic, Nice knitted together a nice marathon set on Instagram Live with R&B, Disco, and Funk leading the way. Peaking at a staggering 160,000 viewers, D-Nice quipped about how Club Quarantine originally began with 200 people on his Instagram Live and later evolved into a safe space for many, including  Michelle Obama, Rihanna, Dwayne Wade, Bernie Sanders, and more,

“I’ll tell you a little secret about [Michelle Obama]. She was there because I called,” he revealed. “It goes back to being kind to people. That’s why a lot of those people were there, like Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.”

Along with Beatz and D-Nice, music industry vet Shanti Das received the Health and Wellness Award. Das started an organization called Silence the Shame, which advocates for mental health awareness. During her speech, she spoke about how she once considered suicide and how receiving his honor was a gratifying moment. She thanked John Platt (CEO and chairman of Sony ATV) and Sony Music for making Silence the Shame one of the organizations recognized by Sony’s social justice fund.

MBK Entertainment’s Jeff Robinson and Jeanine McClean received YouTube’s Culture Creators Award. Jimmy Jam presented the award to them both, while H.E.R. made an appearance to cheer on her support system. She chimed in on their efforts in building her career as an R&B powerhouse and relayed how MBK operates as a family.

“Jeff talks the talk and walks the walk,” she said. “He pushes me out of my comfort zone constantly. I feel like I’m so protected as an artist, and that’s a rare thing.” Added Jeanine, “We are truly a family and always making sure that those behind us are given opportunities.” Other honorees of the night included Zerina Akers, George Wells, Rikki Hughes, Silence the Shame, Cari Champion, Stefani Brown-James, Stefanie Brown-James, and Kudzi Chikumbu.

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Olivia Rodrigo Shares a Scary Story While Suffering Through Very Spicy Wings: Watch

Olivia Rodrigo is “not at all” a fan of hot sauce, but she worked her way through several increasingly spicy vegan wings while answering questions in an episode of Hot Ones anyway.

Rodrigo’s appearance on the YouTube series, on which guests join host Sean Evans in eating a progressively hot wing for every question asked,  began with the “Drivers License” singer admitting that she’s “the worst with spice. I think that bell peppers are spicy.”

Against all odds, Rodrigo pushed through the levels of heat as she answered questions about her first talent show, music video concepts, ghosts and the highs and lows from a recent trip that started off shaky but ended with her debut awards show performance.

At 8 years old, Rodrigo was the star of the Boys and Girls Club “Idol” stage: “They gave me a trophy that was as tall as me at the end, and they gave me a big check. It was like $100, but at eight years old I was like, ‘Oh my god, I’m rich. I can buy an American Girl doll,’” she recalled. By 18, she was performing her debut hit single on the Brit Awards stage.

But ahead of the Brits, the obvious highlight of her trip to London in May, she had a rough time in quarantine.

“We were quarantining in this little, real 18th century English cottage in the countryside, and it was so cold and we couldn’t figure out how to turn on the central air and heating, but they had a fireplace so we lit the fireplace all the time and that’s how we kept warm,” she said on Hot Ones.

Rodrigo recalled, “I just remember one day waking up and it was so smoky. I think I got mild carbon monoxide poisoning ’cause the whole day, I couldn’t stop throwing up in an English countryside house. So that’s definitely a lowlight. I recovered. I don’t know if I had carbon monoxide poisoning, but I was very sick for a day.”

Rodrigo ended up being OK after that experience. But between bites of spicy wings, the singer-songwriter shared another scary story — this time,  a supernatural encounter her mother had years ago.

“I don’t f— with ghosts and they don’t f— with me,” Rodrigo made clear, but said, “My mom grew up in Wisconsin, and her parents had this nice house that they got for really cheap. One day, she woke up to go to the bathroom and she saw a man standing at the top of the stairs, and she didn’t tell anyone until 25 years later, and my grandma was like, ‘Oh, you know the reason we got the house for so cheap was because somebody died in the basement — a man died in the basement.’”

See if Rodrigo can live past the Scorpion Disco wing and make it to The Last Dab in the full interview below.

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Ariana Grande Shares Throwback Photo for Her Birthday — And Beyonce Has One, Too

Ariana Grande celebrated her 28th birthday on Saturday (June 26) with a kind message to her “tiny” self.

“hbd tiny, i am taking care of you !” she wrote to an adorable, wide-eyed baby picture of herself on Instagram.

And someone else whipped out a throwback photo of Grande on her birthday, too: Beyoncé.

Beyoncé updated the homepage of her official website in dedication of “POV” singer, with big birthday wishes — “HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARIANA GRANDE” — and what appears to be an old headshot of a younger Grande, who was already rocking the signature ponytail. (Beyoncé has been using her website to pay tribute to a number of artists, as well as her own family members, on their birthdays.)

Birthday messages came pouring in for the pop star on social media throughout the day on Saturday — including a heartfelt post from her brother, Frankie Grande.

“Ariana you are always there for me, you lift me up when I am down, you make me smile and laugh until my cheeks hurt, and you bring me and everyone you meet such joy… so today I celebrate you and the remarkable person you are! I love you with my whole heart and wish you the greatest day ever. You deserve it. HBD sis,” he wrote.

Grande’s birthday was also celebrated with a super sweet compliment, though on the wrong day, by Katy Perry.

“happiest birthday to the best living vocalist on earth @ArianaGrande fight me if you think different,” Perry tweeted on Friday before fans were quick to make her aware that she was a little ahead of schedule.

“s— im early idc,” she responded.

See Grande’s childhood snapshot below, and head over to Beyoncé’s website to get a glimpse at Grande’s child actor days.

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As Concerts Return, Death of Classical Brings Beethoven to Life In a Cemetery After Dark

New York’s Death of Classical performance series returned Friday (June 25) evening within Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery with Gil Shaham and the Knights taking on Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61. It’s a rarity to make out any constellation in New York City, so when the Big Dipper appeared, tilting down above the six-piece “pocket orchestra,” it was hard not to be arrested by the simple pleasure of live music under the night sky after a difficult year. As for concert settings, this one brought the drama. Pink and blue lights gently illuminated the shadowy stonework of the Gothic Arch towering behind the performers, making it seem like a Gothic Magic Kingdom made especially for the event.

Green-Wood Cemetery itself is a New York City institution, a 183-year-old graveyard in Greenwood Heights where musical icons from Leonard Bernstein to Pop Smoke are buried (the former was briefly feted with a small performance of William Bolcom’s “Lenny In Spats”). And although the idea of Death of Classical predates the pandemic, there was an unmistakable feeling of post-quarantine lightness to the entire event, undoubtedly aided by the addition of whisky, mezcal and gin tastings via various craft distilleries.

Prior to Ludwig Van, the Grand St. Stompers trotted out swing jazz and American songbook classics such as “Love Is Just Around the Corner” and “Keepin’ Out of Mischief Now” as attendees idled among graves, eying the headstones and mausoleums nestled into the rolling hills like a stony, silent Shire.

When dark fell, the boozy spirits were whisked away to make way for an after-dark mingling of visitors and residents. Some opted to sit on folding chairs on the pavement, while the less superstitious respectfully settled among the surprisingly soft grass around the monuments.

The performance itself was transcendent, with the setting providing a sense of sepulchral Zen as Gil Shaham and the Knights delivered an energetic, playful and well-paced Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61, which they recorded (along with a violin concerto from Brahms) for a recent album. While the arrangement for six players was partially due to the pandemic, Shaham explained it had historical precedent; when presented in 19th century living rooms for entertainment, this particular Beethoven piece would have been played by a similarly scaled back group.

When it wrapped, the attendees wandered back into the world of the living as the un-distilled spirits returned to their final resting places, at least for the time being. On July 8-9, Death of Classical creator/curator Andrew Ousley brings pianist Min Kwon to Green-Wood for America/Beautiful, a collection of variations on “America the Beautiful” performed within the cemetery’s catacombs.

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Travis Barker ‘Might Fly Again’ After Surviving 2008 Plane Crash

Travis Barker is considering one day getting on an airplane again, nearly 13 years after being involved in a devastating plane crash that killed four passengers.

The 2008 plane crash killed his assistant Chris Baker, security guard Charles Monroe Still Jr. and pilots Sarah Lemmon and James Bland.

The fiery accident led to a three-month hospitalization for Barker, who had burns on 65% of his body and required 26 surgeries and several skin grafts. His friend and musical parter DJ AM (Adam Goldstein) was also injured in the crash and died a year later from a drug overdose.

But on Friday (June 25), with an airplane emoji, the Blink-182 drummer declared in a tweet, “I might fly again.”

Last month, in an interview with Men’s Health magazine, Barker — who hasn’t been on a plane since the day of the crash in 2008 — said surviving the accident, and the long recovery that followed, inspired him to get clean.

“People are always like, ‘Did you go to rehab?’” Barker, who had developed such a high opioid tolerance that he’d sometimes wake up during surgery, said. “And I [say], ‘No, I was in a plane crash.’ That was my rehab. Lose three of your friends and almost die? That was my wake-up call. If I wasn’t in a crash, I would have probably never quit.”

“There’s a million things that could happen to me,” he added in the interview. “I could die riding my skateboard. I could get in a car accident. I could get shot. Anything could happen. I could have a brain aneurysm and die. So why should I still be afraid of airplanes?”

Of flying again, he told the magazine, “I have to … I want to make the choice to try and overcome it.”

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Biden promises housing, mortuary help for Surfside building collapse victims

President Joe Biden said he spoke with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday and promised federal help for Surfside, where 159 people are unaccounted for and four are confirmed dead … Click to Continue »
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Kelly Clarkson Wins Twice at 2021 Daytime Emmy Awards

Kelly Clarkson won twice at the 48th annual Daytime Emmy Awards, which aired Friday (June 25) on CBS. The syndicated The Kelly Clarkson Show took outstanding talk show, entertainment, in its second season. Clarkson also won outstanding entertainment talk show host, an award she won last year too.

In the series category, Clarkson’s show beat The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which had won eight times in the category, including the last two years in a row.

Clarkson has now won as many Daytime Emmys (three) as she has Grammys, even though she has been a recording star much longer (since 2002).

Sheryl Underwood, co-host of CBS’ The Talk, hosted the Daytime Emmys for the fifth time.

Red Table Talk won outstanding informative talk show, beating, among others, Red Table Talk: The Estefans. Jada Pinkett Smith co-hosts Red Table Talk with her daughter, “Whip My Hair” hitmaker Willow Smith, and her mom, Adrienne Banfield-Norris. Gloria Estefan co-hosts Red Table Talk: The Estefans with her daughters Emily and Lili Estefan. Both shows air on Facebook Watch.

CBS Sunday Morning, which frequently runs profiles of top music artists, won outstanding morning show. The show’s host, Jane Pauley, formerly co-hosted NBC’s Today show, one of the other nominees in this category.

The Daytime Emmys included tributes to three TV legends who died in the past year: Regis Philbin, Alex Trebek and Larry King. First lady Dr. Jill Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were surprise guests in the tribute to Trebek (who was born in Canada). Robin Roberts and actor Ken Jeong also participated in the Trebek tribute. Kathie Lee Gifford saluted her longtime colleague Philbin. Martha Stewart remembered King, whose long-running talk show on CNN featured countless music stars “for the full hour,” to use King’s well-worn phrase.

Trebek and King also won posthumous competitive awards. Trebek won outstanding game show host for Jeopardy! His children Matt and Emily accepted the award. King won outstanding informative talk show host for Larry King Now. His sons Chance and Cannon accepted the award.

The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievements in daytime programming since 1974. The awards are presented to individuals and programs broadcast between 2 a.m. and 6 p.m., as well as certain categories of digital and syndicated programming of similar content.

Awards for daytime children’s programming, animation, and daytime lifestyle programming will be presented in separate ceremonies in July.

Here’s a partial list of winners from the 48th annual Daytime Emmys:

Outstanding game show: Jeopardy!, syndicated

Outstanding morning show: CBS Sunday Morning, CBS

Outstanding informative talk show: Red Table Talk, Facebook Watch

Outstanding entertainment talk show: The Kelly Clarkson Show, syndicated

Outstanding entertainment news program: Entertainment Tonight, syndicated

Outstanding daytime non-fiction special: Creators for Change on Girls’ Education with
Michelle Obama, YouTube Originals

Outstanding game show host: Alex Trebek, Jeopardy!, syndicated

Outstanding informative talk show host: Larry King, Larry King Now, Ora TV

Outstanding entertainment talk show host: Kelly Clarkson, The Kelly Clarkson Show, syndicated

Outstanding music direction and composition for a daytime program: The Letter for the King, Brandon Campbell, composer, Netflix

Outstanding original song: “Unsaid Emily,” Julie and the Phantoms, Michelle Lewis & Dan Petty, composers & lyricists, Netflix

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