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Ariana Grande has a message for any of her fans who are unvaccinated.
“vaxxed n masked,” Grande captioned a selfie she shared on social media on Sunday (Aug. 1).
“this is your gentle reminder to please get your vaccines if you are eligible,” the pop star wrote. “this thing is not yet over !”
Any person age 12 or older is currently eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.
Grande explained that she was “sharing some info because i care and if i can, i’d like to help anybody who is hesitant or curious with making their decision.”
“this delta variant is very new and since data is changing all the time, i’ll source some links for you to stay up to speed yourself but so far,” she wrote. “we do know that it spreads much more easily compared to previous variants. most of the spread is among unvaccinated people and in areas with low vaccination rates ! and yes although you can still get it while vaccinated, the vaccine helps to protect against severe illness, hospitalization, and death ! all great things to be protected against in my book. oh and if you have already gotten sick with COVID-19, you should STILL get vaccinated !”
Grande recommended following several Instagram accounts for information about COVID-19 and the vaccine, and visiting the John Hopkins Medicine website to get educated about “some of the Covid myths that are circulating the internet.”
The singer hopes that the sources she shared will help “reassure yourself why getting vaxxed is the move. save a life or two. who knows.”
To date, there have been more than 610,000 deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. recorded by the CDC.
In the U.S. 164 million people (49.6% of the total population) have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and 191 million (57.7% of the total population) have received at least one dose so far, according to the CDC.
See Grande’s post below.
Roddy Ricch banks a fifth No. 1 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay chart as “Late at Night” surges from No. 5 to lead the list dated July 31. The single advances with a 17% burst in plays in the week ending July 25 to become the most-played song of the week on monitored U.S. rhythmic stations, according to MRC Data.
With the new champ, here’s a rundown of the rapper’s five leaders:
Song Title, Artist (if other than Roddy Ricch), Weeks at No. 1, Date Reached No. 1
“Ballin,” with Mustard, two, Dec. 21, 2019
“The Box,” six, Feb. 22, 2020
“High Fashion,” featuring Mustard, one, July 13, 2020
“Rockstar,” DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch, nine, July 4, 2020
“Late at Night,” one (to date), July 31, 2021
As it reaches No. 1, “Night” adds to Roddy Ricch’s winning streak on rhythmic radio. The single is the rapper’s first solo release since he wrapped the album cycle for Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial, which was released in December 2019. Anchored by singles such as “The Box” and “High Fashion,” the project catapulted the rapper to major favor with rhythmic radio listeners and programmers, and he ended 2020 as the Rhythmic Airplay chart’s No. 1 artist of the year.
Beyond its Rhythmic coronation, “Night” cracks the top 10 of R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay through a 11-6 move. There, the song climbs to 14.1 million in audience in the week ending July 22, an 18% improvement from the prior week, and the largest weekly percentage gain among the chart’s 50 titles. Thanks to the five-spot jump, Roddy Ricch collects his sixth R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay top 10, following “Ballin,” “The Box,” “High Fashion,” “Rockstar” and a featured turn on Pop Smoke’s “The Woo,” (also featuring 50 Cent), which peaked at No. 4 last October.
The song also repeats at its No. 2 rank (its best yet) on Rap Airplay, though it adds 19% in audience in the latest tracking week. With growing support from its R&B/hip-hop airplay base, the track pushes 35-32 in its fourth week on the all-genre Radio Songs chart, as it picks up 19% in audience to 24.6 million.
Charles Connor, known for being Little Richard’s drummer who performed with other music greats including James Brown and Sam Cooke, has died. He was 86.
Connor’s daughter, Queenie Connor Sonnefeld, said her father died peacefully in his sleep early Saturday (July 31) while under hospice care at his home in Glendale, California. She said her father had been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, a brain disorder that causes fluid buildup.
Connor Sonnefeld called the drummer a “great father” who was always positive and a person who never gave up on his dreams.
“He was one of those drummers that was a bricklayer of creating that rock ‘n’ roll genre,” she said. “He played behind so many legendary musicians in the 1950s. He was a loving grandfather and was very proud of his family and took a lot of pride in his contributions to rock ‘n’ roll.”
Connor began playing drums at age 12. Three years later, he started his professional career when Professor Longhair, a singer and pianist, hired him as a last-minute replacement for the 1950 Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
After Connor turned 18, he joined Richard’s original road band, The Upsetters. The band appeared in several popular feature films including The Girl Can’t Help It with Jayne Mansfield along with Don’t Knock the Rock and Mr. Rock ‘n’ Roll.
During his career, Connor toured with various musicians such as James Brown, Jackie Wilson and the original Coasters. He also received a certificate of special recognition from Rep. Maxine Waters in 1994.
Connor released his motivational book Don’t Give Up Your Dreams: You Can Be a Winner Too! in 2008. He was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame two years later.
In 2013, Connor released his EP album Still Knockin’. At the time of his death, he was working on his autobiographical documentary.
In the wake of Apple’s iTunes service offering a 69-cent sale price for many R&B songs, several tracks that span from 1960s classics to 2010s hits flood Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart dated July 31.
The digital retailer has developed this sales campaign in recent months, rotating between musical genres or other designated song categories each week and discounting some of the best-known tunes to a 69-cent cost, down from the typical $1.29 price. Such marketing has already led to previously documented impacts on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart in April, when rock tunes were the beneficiary, and in May, after the April 25 Academy Awards led to bargains for soundtrack songs.
Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” leads the R&B resurgence as it returns to the list at No. 3, having sold 7,700 downloads in the week ending July 22, according to MRC Data. Among notable feats for the recording, “Dock” posted four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968 and became the first posthumous leader in the chart’s history, as Redding died in December 1967 in a plane crash.
Including “Dock,” 13 of the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart’s 25 positions can be traced at least in part to the iTunes discount. Here’s a full rundown of the markdown’s impact:
Position, Song Title, Artist
No. 3, “Sittin on the Dock of the Bay,” Otis Redding
No. 4, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
No. 6, “Suga Suga,” Baby Bash featuring Frankie J
No. 9, “Easy,” Commodores
No. 10, “I’ll Be Missing You,” Puff Daddy & Faith Evans featuring 112
No. 13, “You Dropped a Bomb on Me,” The Gap Band
No. 15, “I Will Survive,” Gloria Gaynor
No. 16, “Respect,” Aretha Franklin
No. 18, “We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey
No. 20, “Starboy,” The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
No. 22, “The Way I Are,” Timbaland featuring Keri Hilson
No. 24, “I Got You (I Feel Good),” James Brown and the Famous Flames
No. 25, “I Want You Back,” Jackson 5
The Rift Tour, featuring Ariana Grande, is coming to Fortnite next weekend.
On Sunday (Aug. 1), it was announced that Grande will be the latest superstar to perform within the Fortnite realm, headlining an in-game event — or a “musical journey into magical new realities” — that’s scheduled for Aug. 6-8.
“Ariana & the Rift Tour” will be available on the online game for five time slots over the weekend, accommodating fans around the world: Friday, Aug. 6 at 6 p.m. ET; Saturday, Aug. 7 at 2 p.m. ET; and Sunday, Aug. 8 at 12 a.m. ET, 10 a.m. ET., and 6 p.m. ET.
The Rift Tour will feature experiences that pair Grande’s music with elements from Fortnite.
As an added bonus, players can find Grande outfit options — from a “cosmic” look to her Piggy Smallz — in the Fornite Item Shop beginning on Aug. 4.
“Working with Epic and the Fortnite team to bring my music to life inside the game has been so fun and such an honor,” the singer said in a statement. “I can’t wait to join my fans and see all of your reactions to such an unforgettable, magical journey to new realities.”
“Fortnite is a place for the imagination and the impossible,” added Phil Rampulla, head of brand at Epic Games. “With the Rift Tour, we’re bringing a musical journey to life that players can experience, feel, and join alongside their friends. We’re so grateful to have an iconic superstar like Ariana Grande and her team join us for a musical experience at metaverse scale, and for players and fans alike to experience the Rift Tour!”
Fortnite is free to download, and it’s available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, PC and Mac. It’s recommended to join in an hour before show time.
See a preview of what’s to come below.
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