At the height of the coronavirus outbreak, a South Florida man charged with drug dealing applied for and received a $250,000 federal government loan for his liquor store that was … Click to Continue »
Maren Morris got emotional as she fulfilled a “decade-long dream” of serving as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The country star appeared on Friday’s (Jan. 13) episode of the series and that night tweeted: “I’ve done some cool s—. #DragRace is rivaling it all. Getting my jacket framed next to my Grammy. It is DONE.”
In a post-episode Untucked clip, Morris was teary-eyed as she spoke from her heart to the room.
“Coming from country music and its relationship with LGBTQ+ members, I just want to say I’m sorry,” Morris said. “And I love you guys for making me feel like a brave voice in country music. So I just thank you guys so much for inspiring me.”
“I’m gonna cry,” she admitted.
In August, Morris showed her allyship when she called out the “unapologetically conservative” wife of Jason Aldean, Brittany, who spread hurtful anti-trans misinformation on her Instagram account. When Brittany called gender-affirming care for minors “one of the worst evils,” Morris and Cassadee Pope jumped in with comments, with Morris calling Aldean “Insurrection Barbie” and telling her to “not be a scumbag human.”
When Fox News’ Tucker Carlson called Morris a “lunatic” for her comments, the singer created T-shirts that read “lunatic country music person,” and later donated more than $100,000 worth of proceeds to GLAAD’s Transgender Media Program and Trans Lifeline.
In November, Morris spoke out against Candace Cameron Bure for her plans to“keep traditional marriage at the core” of content on her new network, Great American Family. Morris commented “Make DJ Gay Again,” a reference to Bure’s most famous role as Full House‘s DJ Tanner.
“We love an ally! So grateful @marenmorris stopped by #Untucked to support our Queens with this heartfelt message,” the official Rupaul’s Drag Race Instagram account posted on Saturday (Jan. 14).
Watch Morris’ Untucked clip below.
Boldy James was involved in an accident that left him in critical condition earlier this week, Griselda Records confirms. The rapper underwent “extensive” surgery and is currently in stable condition.
James was in a “serious two-car accident” in his hometown of Detroit on Monday (Jan. 9), the record label says.
“Boldy arrived at the hospital in critical condition, suffering from broken vertebrae in his neck and orthopedic injuries,” a statement released on Saturday reads. “After undergoing extensive surgery on his neck, Boldy has been removed from the intensive care unit and is now in stable condition.”
“Boldy and his family would like to express their gratitude to the incredible doctors and nurses that are taking care of him, and also to the communities’ emergency personnel and first responders,” the statement says.
The prolific rapper, who’s collaborated with the Alchemist on several prior projects, released four albums in 2022: Killing Nothing with Real Bad Man, Fair Exchange No Robbery with Nicholas Craven, Mr. Ten08 with Futurewave and Be That as It May with Cuns. Last year, he also opened for Earl Sweatshirt and Action Bronson‘s co-headlining ÑBA Leather World Tour. James previously said he has a forthcoming album featuring unreleased work from the late J Dilla.
“My brother is gonna come back 10 times stronger,” the Alchemist wrote on Instagram Saturday. “Everyone wish The Jack God @boldyjames a speedy recovery,”
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Awards season is here, with the Critics Choice Awards coming up this weekend.
Chelsea Handler is set to host the 28th annual event live from the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on Sunday (Jan. 15). The ceremony will broadcast at 7 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
While the Critics Choice Awards honor the best in film and television over the past year, a number of music stars have made the nominations cut. Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand,” Taylor Swift’s “Carolina,” and Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” will battle it out in the best song category alongside “Ciao Papa” by Alexandre Desplat, Roeban Katz and Guillermo del Toro, LCD Soundsystem’s “New Body Rhumba,” and “Naatu Naatu” by Kala Bhairava, M.M. Keeravani and Rahul Sipligunj.
Elsewhere on the Critics Choice nominees list, Janelle Monáe earned a best supporting actress nod for her role in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Monáe will also receive the SeeHer Award, which recognizes a woman who embodies the values of the SeeHer movement, which advocates for gender equality and accurate portrayals of women and girls in advertising and media.
For those without cable, The CW can be streamed live on DirectTV Stream, YouTube TV and fuboTV (in select markets), all of which offer free trials. Looking for a deal? T-Mobile customers can save $10 a month off YouTube TV for a year, DirectTV Stream is discounted $50 over five months and Sling TV is $20 for the first month.
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Elsewhere on the list of nominations, Everything Everywhere All At Once leads the pack with 14 nods. The Fabelman’s came in second place with 11 nods, followed by Babylon and The Banshees of Inisherin with nine nods, while Elvis and Tár snagged seven nominations each. See the full list of nominees here.
Actor Jeff Bridges will receive the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Michelle Pfeiffer. Other presenters include Benjamin Bratt, Quinta Brunson, Cedric the Entertainer, Misha Collins, Claire Danes, Phoebe Dynevor, Ayo Edebiri, Eve Hewson, Jude Hill, Tyler Hoechlin, Sharon Horgan, Sarah Hyland, Troy Kotsur, Diego Luna, Natasha Lyonne, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart, Anya Taylor-Joy, Miles Teller, Elizabeth Tulloch, Kerry Washington, and Jeremy Allen White.
From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.
Myke Towers Takes Over New York
Myke Towers’ 2023 is off to a great start, with the star making big moves in New York City. This week, the Puerto Rican rapper stopped by The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon to perform his Daddy Yankee-assisted track “Ulala,” which entered the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart last week. “Jimmy Fallon, thanks for having me see yall soon,” he wrote on Instagram. The following day, he took the feel-good track to Good Morning America, where he was rocking an all-white leather set and dark sunglasses. “Myke Towers is bringing us into the weekend with his hit song,” posted the official GMA Instagram account.
Bad Bunny Makes Coachella History
The 2023 Coachella lineup was officially unveiled this week, announcing Bad Bunny as its first-ever Latin headliner alonsgide BLACKPINK and Frank Ocean. A handful of Spanish-language acts are also set for the two-weekend festival including Rosalía, Kali Uchis, DannyLux, Eladio Carrión and Becky G, who makes her return to Coachella after being Karol G’s special guest last year, where they sang their anthem “MAMIII.” Coachella is is set to take place in Indio, Calif., on two consecutive weekends, from April 14-16 and then again April 21-23.
Shakira Breaks the Internet
Shakira did not hold back in her first-ever Bizarrap collaboration. “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53” — which finds the Colombian artist throwing fiery punches at her ex, soccer star Gerard Piqué, and his girlfriend Clara Chía Martí — became a trending topic this week, immediately skyrocketing to No. 1 on Spotify’s Top 50 Global chart. With more than 15 million streams, the catchy electro-pop track broke the record for the most-streamed Latin track in a single day in Spotify history.
Rauw Alejandro Makes Acting Debut
Rauw Alejandro, who celebrated his 30th birthday this week, is set to make his acting debut on Netflix. After teasing fans with TV stills, the Puerto Rican singer officially shared a snippet of one of the episodes he’s in. “Bebe, a pleasure [to meet you] my name is Diego!! and we can get to know each other more on ‘Sky Rojo’ via Netflix,” he captioned the post. In the clip, we see Rauw in an action-packed scene with Argentine singer and actress Lali Espósito. This week, the artist also unveiled the dates and venues to the North American leg of his 2023 Saturno World Tour. Read more information here.
La Ross Maria Is Engaged
Dominican newcomer La Ross Maria, who collaborated with Romeo Santos on “Tu Vas A Tener Que Explicarme” in 2020, is engaged! Earlier this week, the rapper shared a set of photos and videos of the moment her boyfriend and music producer Sammy The Greatest proposed. “Thank you, God, for sending me a man who’s beautiful, atentive, a gentleman and loving,” the 19-year-old singer wrote. “Today we celebrate one year, full of tests, adventures, challenging processes but above all much love and happiness.”
Ray Cordeiro, who interviewed music acts including the Beatles during a six-decade career on Hong Kong radio that earned him the title of the world’s longest-working disc jockey, has died, his former employer announced. He was 98.
Cordeiro died Friday (Jan. 13), according to Radio Television Hong Kong, where he worked until 2021. It gave no cause of death.
Cordeiro, who was born in Hong Kong in 1924 of Portuguese descent, was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s longest-working DJ.
He joined Hong Kong’s public broadcaster in 1960 after working as a prison warden and bank clerk. His “All the Way With Ray” show of easy listening music was on RTHK Radio 3 for 51 years until his retirement.
“The audience followed me, grew up with me, and they’re all over the world now,” Cordeiro told The Associated Press in 2021 after his retirement. “They still listened to me on the internet.”
Cordeiro interviewed the Beatles, then the world’s biggest music act, in 1964 following a study course in London with the British Broadcasting Corp. He said John Lennon recounted their early days in Hamburg, Germany, where they lived in relative poverty and played in clubs.
Cordeiro said all four members of the Beatles autographed a magazine cover for him.
“It’s probably worth a fortune,” he said.
The broadcast of the Beatles interview on Hong Kong radio made Cordeiro a celebrity. He also interviewed other stars and met Elton John and Tony Bennett.
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