One of Miami Squeeze’s loyal customers strolled in around 10 a.m. New Year’s Day and ordered her usual breakfast with some to-go: three avocado toasts with eggs and three smoothies. … Click to Continue »
A man was taken to the hospital Thursday morning after being shot by a Miami police officer near Coral Gables, said Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina. Even after a statement … Click to Continue »
In addition to the four sites in Broward County where senior citizens can receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the city of Fort Lauderdale says Holiday Park is going from a testing … Click to Continue »
LOS ANGELES — Hip-hop dancing pioneer Adolfo “Shabba-Doo” Quiñnnes once had a message for dance aficionados who felt that break-dancing was merely a trend, one less legitimate as an art … Click to Continue »
Fred Piccolo is out as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ communications director and will move over to the state Department of Education to serve as executive vice chancellor of the Florida … Click to Continue »
Gwen Stefani is reminding everyone she’s “still the original old me” with her new music video for “Let Me Reintroduce Myself,” which makes its debut on New Year’s Day.
The fun clip, directed by Philip Andelman and released on Jan. 1, is set in 2020 but is also a throwback to some of Stefani’s most iconic looks from throughout her career.
Various past versions of Stefani bring her latest ska-influenced pop single to life, from classic No Doubt-era “Just a Girl” and “Don’t Speak” replicas to revisits to her standout solo moments.
The video mirrors the light and celebratory tone of the song itself, which gives a nod to “Hollaback Girl” in its first verse when Stefani gives listeners a wink with the line “I already gave you bananas.”
Watch the “Let Me Reintroduce Myself” video below.
New year, new Rihanna album? Fans wasted no time asking when she shared some new photos and a New Year’s resolution on Instagram.
But nagging her for an update on what would be the singer’s ninth studio album didn’t get them very far.
“new year’s resolution: apply the pressure,” Rihanna captioned her first post of 2021, a set of snapshots of a fierce New Year’s pose.
“Resolution should be releasing the album,” one fan wrote about R9 in the comments — which didn’t seem to amuse Rihanna.
“this comment is sooo 2019. grow up,” Rihanna retorted. The superstar later added, “2021 energy.”
Stylist Jahleel Weaver sprinkled in a comment on the subject, too: “Speaking of pressure, it’s the album for me.”
“ph— u,” Rihanna quipped.
In the fall, she gave a little insight into her views on her next project, whenever that might be happening: “You do pop, you did this genre, you do that, you do radio, but now it’s just like, what makes me happy?” she said. “I just want to have fun with music. Everything is so heavy. The world that we live in is a lot. It’s overwhelming every single day. And with the music, I’m using that as my outlet.”
See her new photos and the Jan. 1 comment thread on Instagram.
Donald Trump was reportedly not in attendance at this year’s New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago, but Vanilla Ice was.
Video clips from the party ringing in the new year at the Palm Beach, Fla., resort made rounds across social media on Friday (Jan. 1), give glimpses at the event’s entertainment and dance floor.
In footage from Mar-a-Lago, Vanilla Ice can be seen on stage performing “Ice Ice Baby.”
“Ok this is amazing,” the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. captioned a live video uploaded from the party to Facebook Thursday night, showing him mouthing the words to the song. “Vanilla Ice is playing the Mar-a-Lago New Years Eve party. As a child of the 90s you can’t fathom how awesome that is. Beyond that I got the birthday shoutout so that’s pretty amazing.”
Vanilla Ice also played his cover of “Play That Funky Music.”
“Play that funky music ’til you die,” the crowd sang along with him.
Vanilla Ice’s name trended on Twitter throughout Friday.
To help kick off the new year, Tituss Burgess, Andrew Barth Feldman, Ashley Park and more stars of the screen and stage sang of Parisian cooking and one rat’s dream to be a culinary icon in the virtual benefit performance Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical.
The pre-filmed musical, put on by Seaview Productions to raise money for the Actors Fund, will be available to stream for three days and features content created by members of TikTok’s #RatatouilleMusical Community (whose collective work has garnered over 200 million followers around the globe).
The musical generally follows the plot of Disney’s Ratatouille: Remy (Titus Burgess) the rat, who has a refined palate and dream to cook, teaches kitchen worker Alfredo Linguini (Feldman) how to cook by hiding under his chef’s hat. Linguini rises to the top of famed Paris restaurant Gusteau’s, raising suspicion from fellow chef Skinner (Mary Testa) and the curiosity from hard-to-please critic Anton Ego (André De Shields).
A recurring theme throughout the musical, which is told through the point of view of Remy, was his and Linguini’s admiration for renowned and talented chef Auguste Gusteau, and their hopes that his motto “anyone can cook” was true. From Burgess and Feldman singing of their desires to be successful chefs as Remy and Linguini to Adam Lambert’s poppy tune about a rat’s way of life as Emile, the virtual musical showcased an eclectic range of performances that were fairly on par with what one would expect for a musical version of the 2007 animated film.
The pivotal moment for the film — Ego’s critique of Remy’s ratatouille creation and him subsequently learning a rat was behind the dish — offered a touching monologue from Owen Tabaka.
“The bitter truth we critics must face is that the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. The world can often be unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends. Last night I experienced something new and extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. I now know not anyone can but cook but a great cook can come from anywhere,” Tabaka said, paraphrasing the critic’s speech originally performed by Peter O’Toole in the film.
The one-time performance was cast with Broadway stars including Tony Award winner De Shields (Ego), Tony winner Priscilla Lopez (Mabel), Tony nominee Park (Colette), Tabaka (Young Ego), and three-time Tony nominee Testa (Skinner) and the 20-piece Broadway Sinfonietta orchestra.
Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical also starred Wayne Brady (Django), Burgess (Remy), Kevin Chamberlin (Gusteau), Feldman (Linguini), Grammy Award nominee Lambert (Emile), with Cori Jaskier, Talia Suskauer, Nikisha Williams, JJ Niemann, John Michael Lyles, Raymond J. Lee, and Joy Woods as the ensemble.
The musical was adapted for this virtual benefit event by Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley, choreographed by Ellenore Scott, directed by Lucy Moss, and features music from Danny Bernstein (@dannykbernstein), Gabbi Bolt (@fettuccinefettuqueen), Chamberlin (@chamberlin_kevin), RJ Christian (@rjthecomposer), Nathan Fosbinder (@fozzyforman108), Emily Jacobsen (@e_jaccs), Sophia James (@sophiajamesmusic), Katie Johantgen (@katiejoyofosho), Daniel Mertzlufft (@danieljmertzlufft), Alec Powell (@phisherpryce), and Blake Rouse (@blakeyrouse).
Jeremy O. Harris, Michael Breslin, and Patrick Foley served as executive producers.
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
Demi Lovato kicked off the new year by figuring out a way to “be present with ourselves, together.”
As part of YouTube’s Hello 2021: Americas series, the singer filmed a meditation session and spread the word about how to practice mindfulness after a tough 2020.
Lovato led a meditation “to start turning the page from this totally unprecedented chapter and to help us all move forward into 2021 with a clear heart.”
“I feel like I’ve been shallow breathing for this entire year, but it’s time to finally take that deep breath,” she said. “And I want you to feel it all the way in your toes. We are in a moment of transformation. A shift of the weight of this year is in motion.”
Lovato welcomed 2021 as “a year of great new beginnings” and “a beautiful opportunity for anything, including picking ourselves back up again.”
“I’m choosing to find the good — the good in my flaws, the good in my failures, the good in myself, in my breath, in all of it, and all of you,” she said in the calming clip.
Sit back and take a deep breath on New Year’s Day with Lovato below.
