Jennifer Lopez & Ben Affleck Rumors Put Twitter in a Time Machine Back to 2002

The year was 2002. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were two of the biggest stars in the world, and their engagement in November of that year only catapulted them further into the stratosphere of fame as the couple cloyingly labeled “Bennifer.”

Now, the year is 2021. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are still two of the biggest stars in the world, and their recent rumored get-together — reported Friday (April 30) by Page Six — has Twitter thinking it’s the early 2000s all over again.

Of course, there’s no actual confirmation that this relationship — which ended in January 2004 — is being rekindled. But the mere thought of a Bennifer reunion, in the wake of reported breakups for both stars (a broken engagement with Alex Rodriguez for her, a split from actress Ana De Armas for him) is almost too much for Twitter to handle.

Below, find some of the best online reaction to this potential Hollywood “reboot.”

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Angie Stone, Ramsey Lewis & More to Receive 2021 Black Music Honors

Angie Stone, Ginuwine, Marvin Sapp and Ramsey Lewis will be honored at the 2021 Black Music Honors. The two-hour show will be taped at the City Winery in Nashville and televised in national syndication from June 5 to July 4. It will air on Bounce TV on Saturday, June 19 at 1 p.m. ET. (That date, not coincidentally, is Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S.)

All four of the artists being honored have been Black music stars for years, but among them, only Lewis has won a Grammy. (The R&B and jazz virtuoso has won three Grammys.) This demonstrates the need for a show like this to shine a light on stars who aren’t always given their due at other award shows.

Stone will receive the soul music icon award; Ginuwine, the urban music icon award; Sapp, the gospel music icon award; and Lewis, the legends award. The National Museum of African American Music in Nashville will be honored with the Legacy Award. The museum, established in 2019, showcases the musical genres inspired, created or influenced by African Americans.

Chicago-based television production company Central City Productions will present the show. This year marks the first time that the program, now in its sixth year, will air in June.

Don Jackson, the show’s founder and executive producer, said in a statement: “In addition to the amazing honorees and exciting performances this year, we are also announcing that the Black Music Honors will now be held in the month of June. This is an important time for our community as it is officially Black Music Month and our national holiday, Juneteenth. What better way to honor our legacy.”

Talk show host, comedienne and author Loni Love will host the special. Love won a 2018 daytime Emmy for outstanding entertainment talk show host as one of the co-hosts of The Real. “Now, more than ever, I think it is important to recognize the contributions that Black music has made to the country and the world,” Love said in a statement.

For more information visit BlackMusicHonors.com.

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Sony Unveils 360 Reality Audio Speakers, Bringing Its Studio Tech Into Everyday Homes

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Sony’s 360 Reality Audio technology made a splash when it launched in 2019, with artists like Mark Ronson and Pharrell all “re-releasing” songs in the new immersive audio format. Sony also worked with music labels like Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and with Live Nation, to provide the companies with technology to build out musical content around 360 Reality Audio. Now, two years later, consumers at home can finally get their hands — and ears — on the same industry-leading tech, in a powerful new speaker system.

Designed using what Sony calls “object-based spatial audio technology,” Sony’s new 360 Reality Audio speakers ($298, Amazon) create a concert-like environment in your own home by “floating” the music around you, rather than pointing it directly at you. As the name suggests, the speakers mimic the feeling of 360-degree sound.

Sony says 360 Reality Audio sound “creates a feeling of immersion that makes it feel like you are at a concert or in the recording studio with the artist,” and sound is “diffused both horizontally and vertically to create the perfect atmosphere anywhere in your home.”

Two 360 Reality Audio speakers are being introduced: the more portable SRS-RA3000 speakers, and the bold and powerful SRS-RA50000 speakers, seen above ($698, Amazon).

Both speakers feature seven total drivers for loud, room-filling sound, and dual passive radiators for deep, booming bass. Sony’s unique algorithm automatically re-calibrates the track you’re listening to, to be as wide and immersive as possible. You’re able to hear more details and nuances in your songs too.

Pair your playlist to the speakers using Bluetooth or WiFi; connect to Google Assistant or Alexa to control songs and settings using just your voice.

The new Sony 360 Reality Audio speakers let you hear songs the way the artists hear it in the studios. As proof: Sony says Live Nation installed 360 production hubs in its studios after the technology was released.

The all-new Sony 360 Reality Audio speakers are available now on Amazon. You can also experience 360 Reality Audio technology with a three-month free trial to Deezer Premium – one of the highest-quality music streaming services online.

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SEVENTEEN Soars to No. 1 on Japan Hot 100 With ‘Hitorijanai’

SEVENTEEN’s “Hitorijanai” soars to No. 1 on the latest Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Apr. 19 to 25, selling 372,913 CDs in its first week. The K-pop boy band’s third Japanese single had charted at No. 44 on the Hot 100 last week before the CD dropped on the 21st, powered by Twitter mentions, downloads, and streaming. The track comes in at No. 1 for physical sales and Twitter, while also jumping 53-24 for streaming this week. The single is off to a great start for the group about to celebrate its fourth anniversary since its Japan debut in May.

NiziU’s “Take a Picture” continues to hold at No. 2. Three weeks have passed since the single’s release, and it still remains in the top 10 for sales, downloads, streaming, look-ups, and video views. The track has led video for four straight weeks, while look-ups — the number of times a CD is ripped to a computer — increased 70% from last week to lift the song 4-1 for the metric. The data suggests that the group is expanding its fan base to include listeners outside of its CD-buying supporters.

Meanwhile, ONE OK ROCK’s “Renegades” rises 8-4 this week, boosted by the effect of the movie it serves as the theme — the popular manga-based live-action series Rurouni Kenshin Saishūshō: The Final — opening in Japanese theaters on April 23. Weekly streaming tripled and video views increased approximately 7.7 times, propelling the Ed Sheeran collab to no. 1 for downloads, no. 2 for radio airplay, No. 7 for streaming, and No. 8 for video.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, Twitter mentions, YouTube and GYAO! video views, Gracenote look-ups and karaoke data.

For the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, dated Apr. 19 to 25, see here.

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Cruise ships’ fix for dirty smoke led to water pollution in South Florida ports, study finds

In an effort to curb their air pollution, cargo and cruise ships have been forced to reduce the sulfur in their emissions since January 2020. Rather than switching to cleaner-burning … Click to Continue »
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Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo calls out the court system after latest fatal shooting

A Thursday afternoon shooting killed a man in Miami’s Allapattah area, Miami Chief of Police Art Acevedo said. A report of shots fired brought officers to 2028 NW 24th St. … Click to Continue »
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Residency proof not needed for vaccine at some sites in Florida, paving way for migrants

A new road to vaccination for undocumented migrants and others has opened as some Florida sites put an end to requiring proof of residency in order to get inoculated. Starting … Click to Continue »
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Legislature modifies, advances changes to publication of legal notices in newspapers

In March, the Florida House passed a bill which would have stripped many Florida news organizations of a key source of advertising revenue. After weeks of negotiations between Republican lawmakers … Click to Continue »
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Florida GOP awaits governor’s signature on new voting rules

After praising Florida’s elections as a national model, the state’s Republican lawmakers moved to rewrite a litany of rules they said would enhance the integrity of future elections despite critics … Click to Continue »
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Kings of Leon Perform at the NFL Draft & Call NFTs ‘The Way of the Future’

Kings of Leon’s rock and roll journey has taken them from an NFT to the NFL.

The band visited Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Thursday (April 29) to see a new exhibit featuring their venture into cryptocurrency before they opened the NFL draft with their first live show in more than a year.

“I hope we don’t look too excited to be up there,” said lead singer Caleb Followill.

“I hope we don’t play a song a linebacker doesn’t like and he decides to come out and take us out,” joked drummer Nathan Followill.

(You can watch their performance of “Use Somebody” at the NFL draft on Thursday night below and judge for yourself.)

In March, Kings of Leon — brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill and their cousin, Matthew — made history by releasing their eighth studio album, When You See Yourself, as a non-fungible token or NFT, a digital form of currency that can only be used in its own ecosystem.

Sound confusing? Well, even the band wasn’t sure what it was getting into with its pioneering move.

“We had to study up a little bit, and it’s still a little beyond me,” Caleb said before the band toured the hall. “We didn’t know that much about it, but we were happy to be introduced to it.”

Nathan Followill had some familiarity with cryptocurrency, but wasn’t quite up to date on NFTs or all their possibilities.

“I think it’s the way of the future, not only for music but you’re seeing sport cards in the form of NFTs, artists putting their work through NFT,” he said. “So not just for music, but for art and I think it will definitely have a place.”

The band is giving a “significant” portion of proceeds from the NFTs to Live Nation’s Crew Nation fund, a charity that supports workers in the music industry hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Greg Harris, the Rock Hall’s president and CEO, applauded the band’s willingness to try something new.

“Rock and Roll is always pushing the envelope and doing new things,” Harris said. “So when Les Paul invented the solid body electric guitar, he was pushing it. When Jimi Hendrix was playing, he was pushing the envelope. Now we’re pushing the envelope with technology and distribution.”

The band’s visit also coincided with a new football-themed exhibit at the hall, “The Biggest Show on Turf: 55 Years of Halftime Shows,” showcasing the evolution of Super Bowl halftimes.

Among the items on display is the outfit Prince wore in 2007, when his rain-soaked performance ended with a soul-stirring “Purple Rain,” to the jacket worn by U2′s Bono in 2002 in a show paying tribute to the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

Now that they’ve played the draft, would Kings of Leon ever consider playing a Super Bowl.

“I don’t think they would ever ask us,” Matthew said. “We’re not that kind of entertainer. We would do it, but we would start rehearsing now for 10 years from now.”

And since he was in Cleveland, Nathan Followill made sure to give some love to Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. The Followills grew up in Oklahoma and have followed Mayfield, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2017 with the Sooners.

“I’ve got my Browns’ Baker jersey at home,” he said. “I follow all the Oklahoma guys on whatever team they go to, but I’m a big Baker fan.”

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