Billie Eilish & FINNEAS Bring Moody ‘No Time to Die’ to 2022 Oscars

Seven-time Grammy winner Billie Eilish and eight-time Grammy winner FINNEAS (her brother and collaborator) have plenty of accolades already, but both admitted they were wildly nervous on the red carpet for the 2022 Academy Awards. And while it was understandable – both were slated to perform during the 2022 Oscars telecast at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and were nominated for best original song – they needn’t have worried.

Following an introduction from Rami Malek (who plays the villain in the latest James Bond film No Time to Die and also won the best actor Oscar for portraying Freddie Mercury in the Queen film Bohemian Rhapsody), the O’Connell siblings began playing the understated, moody intro of “No Time to Die,” the title track to the most recent Bond film.

Wearing a loose-fitting black suit while sitting on a stool, Billie opened the ballad in hushed tones as FINNEAS played along on the piano behind her and occasionally added backup vocals. The two were accompanied by a string section that gradually ramped up the drama, but never threatened to overtake Billie’s melancholy, wounded vocals as she was bathed in shadows and piercing white lights.

Not long after, Eilish and FINNEAS returned to the stage when “No Time to Die” won the Oscar for best original song. Billie Eilish, ecstatic and beside herself with laughter, thanked her “007 family” and “Johnny Marr for taking our song and making it worthy of James Bond.” FINNEAS thanked his and Billie’s parents: “We love you as parents and we love you as real people too.”

Eilish is also nominated for seven Grammys at the upcoming ceremony in Las Vegas on April 3.

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Here’s the Will Smith & Chris Rock Moment at the 2022 Oscars Everyone Is Debating

Amidst the glitz, glamor and awards given out during Sunday evening’s Oscars (March 27), there was one moment that had the audience’s jaws on the floor — when Will Smith appeared to smack Chris Rock in the face on live television.

Presenting the award for best documentary feature, Rock was on stage throwing some jokes out at the celebrities in the audience. He made a jab at Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz for being nominated on the same night, as well as joking that Denzel Washington as Macbeth had said “King Lear ain’t got nothing on me.”

But the comment that seemed to set things off was when he looked over to Jada Pinkett-Smith and said, “Jada, I love you, G.I Jane 2, can’t wait to see it,” seemingly referring to the actress’s bald head. Pinkett-Smith previously opened up about living with alopecia — an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss — in 2018, and more recently in a December Instagram video.

After Rock’s joke, Smith walked up to where the comedian was standing on stage, and appeared to punch Rock in the face. While Rock exclaimed and continued laughing at the joke, the audio cut out for American audiences. Uncensored clips of the moment quickly began showing up online, where Rock said, “Will Smith just smacked the s–t out of me.”

As Rock tried to continue his speech, Smith — back in his seat — began yelling at Rock to “keep my wife’s name out your f–king mouth.” While the comedian continued to assure him that he would, and that “it was a G.I. Jane joke,” Smith got angrier, and yelled the same sentence much louder.

This is not the first time that Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett-Smith have clashed over his comments at the Oscars. When Rock hosted in 2016 and Pinkett-Smith was boycotting the event over the “Oscars So White” controversy, Rock joked at the event, “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.” She later responded, “Hey, look, it comes with the territory. We gotta keep it moving.”

Check out the uncensored moment below, as well as some Twitter reactions to the shocking moment.

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BTS Make Surprise Oscars Appearance – And It’s All Love for Pixar & Disney

If you had “BTS at the Oscars” on your 2022 Academy Awards bingo card, well, you must own quite the crystal ball. The six-time Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers made a surprise appearance at the 2022 Oscars, although they weren’t present at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. In a pre-recorded segment called “Favorite Film Musical With BTS,” the South Korean boy band extolled the virtues of the Disney and Pixar animated canon.

“Coco!” Jimin shouted of his favorite musical film, giving some love to the 2017 animated classic from Pixar, which nabbed best animated feature and best original song at the 2018 Oscars. “It’s a real masterpiece,” RM agreed. “I watched it three times and cried a lot.” For the record, Jimin added, “I didn’t cry though.”

“Truly, Pixar is unbelievable,” V said. “Overall, I like Disney movies,” said J-Hope. “Disney movies stimulate emotion well,” Jin astutely pointed out.

Will Smith, nominated for best actor for King Richard at the 2022 Oscars, even got a shout-out from the international pop stars. “I really like Aladdin,” J-Hope said of the 2019 live-action remake of the 1992 animated classic. “Shout out to Will Smith, Aladdin!” RM added.

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‘Extremely frustrating.’ Workers feel the pinch as spring break curfew subdues South Beach

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Lin-Manuel Miranda Will No Longer Attend Oscars After Wife Tests Positive for COVID-19

Lin-Manuel Miranda will no longer attend the 94th Annual Oscars on Sunday night at the Los Angeles Dolby Theatre in person after his wife tested positive for COVID-19.

The award-winning composer announced he would miss this year’s ceremony via his Twitter Saturday afternoon (March 26). “Made it to Hollywood… This weekend, my wife tested ➕ for COVID. She’s doing fine. Kids & I have tested ➖, but out of caution, I won’t be going to the Oscars tomorrow night,” he said.

“Cheering for my TickTickBoom & Encanto families w my own family, alongside all of you, ALL of you,” he concluded in his tweet.

Miranda’s directorial debut, Tick, Tick … BOOM!, is up for two Oscars at the 2022 ceremony, including Andrew Garfield’s best actor nod. Also up for the annual honors is the Disney animated film Encanto, both in the best animated feature and best original score categories, the latter of which earned Miranda a nomination.

The animated film’s record-smashing song, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” is slated to be performed on the Dolby Theatre during the Sunday night ceremony, and if he wins for his work on another Encanto song’s music and lyrics (“Dos Orugutias”), the multihyphenate could become the youngest EGOT winner at age 37.

The Academy released updated COVID-19 protocols and guidelines on Friday following a spike in positive cases among attendees at this year’s BAFTAS. According to the new protocols, “those who tested positive for COVID-19 and are within a zero to five-day window from the date of their first positive test are not permitted to attend under any circumstances,” among other requirements.

Previous protocols established on March 11 required attendees to be fully vaccinated and take two PCR tests ahead of the ceremony. Masks are still not required for attendees inside the Dolby Theatre on Sunday, but according to the Academy’s updated rules are strongly recommended, as is social distancing.

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

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Taylor Hawkins Had 10 Substances in His System When He Died, Colombian Officials Report

Authorities in Colombia have released preliminary information from their investigation into Taylor Hawkins’ death.

The shocking news of the longtime Foo Fighters drummer’s passing at age 50 was announced Friday night (March 25) in a social media statement published on the band’s accounts.

Although Hawkins’ cause of death has not been confirmed, the Attorney General’s Office of Colombia on Saturday evening (March 26) reported an update that a urine toxicology test had found traces of 10 types of substances in his system, including THC (marijuana), tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines and opioids.

The office noted that the National Institute of Forensic Medicine will continue its medical inquiry to come to “total clarification of the events that led to the death of Taylor Hawkins.”

The Office of the Attorney General will report any further results, the statement said.

Foo Fighters were scheduled to perform Friday night in Bogotá as part of Festival Estéreo Picnic, but the well-loved performer, who had been with the band since 1997, was found dead in his hotel room.

On Saturday, the Bogotá mayor’s office issued a press release that said the emergency center received a call Friday night about a patient with “chest pains” in a hotel located in the northern part of the city. An ambulance was sent out, and upon arrival the medical staff encountered a team from a private ambulance service. Health workers attempted to revive Hawkins with CPR, but they were unable to do so and he was declared dead.

Throughout the weekend, Hawkins’ friends and musical peers mourned his death and paid tribute to him, celebrating his “spirit and unstoppable rock power,” as Tom Morello put it. Miley Cyrus dedicated her Saturday night performance in Brazil to Hawkins, “the most bad ass dude I know who would want me to shine and sing LOUD for the love of rock n roll.”

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