If you’ve lived with The Flaming Lips, you’ll know they live in a bubble. A psychedelic bubble, never quite touching the ground. On Wednesday night (June 10), Wayne Coyne and Co. were up to their magical tricks when they Zoomed in to Stephen Colbert’s Late Show for a performance of “Race For The Prize,” originally a single lifted from their 1999 album The Soft Bulletin. This being a global pandemic where social distancing is paramount, Coyne, his bandmates and the audience got to work inside giant inflatable bubbles, a staple from the group’s live shows. Classy move, and very Flaming Lips. Bubble-wrapped concerts probably aren’t the future. But on the Flaming Lips’ planet, that’s how socially distant gigs are done. The veteran psychedelic-rock outfit recently contributed to the debut Deap ...
Brian Wilson hasn’t gone surfing for a stretch. He’s in lockdown, like the rest of us. But the Beach Boys legend did Zoom in to A Tonight Show on Thursday night (June 4) for a performance of two songs. Sitting at a grand piano, he told the camera: “Hi, this is Brian Wilson everyone. I just want you guys to know that we’re all in this together.” The Rock And Roll Hall of Famer then launched into “Love and Mercy,” the opening track from his 1988 self-titled debut solo album. Wilson is warming up for the June 19 release of the 25th anniversary of his ode to California, Orange Crate Art, a collaborative album with uber-producer Van Dyke Parks. Orange Crate Art will also be issued on vinyl for the very first time. Watch the performance on Stephen Colbert’s late-night show below. You ...
Thirteen people died on Friday when villagers fought back against armed cattle thieves in Katsina State where rustling has been on the increase. The spokesperson of the police in the state, Gambo Isah, confirmed this to Channels Television on Saturday. Also speaking to AFP, the PPRO noted that residents of four villages, organised in local militias, took on the livestock rustlers. “Thirteen people were killed and others injured in the process,” Isah said. “We keep telling people who are only armed with muskets and machetes to avoid confrontation with bandits who came with Kalashnikov rifles”. Northwestern Nigeria has been wracked by years of violence between rival communities over land, attacks by heavily-armed criminal gangs and reprisal killings by vigilante groups. Cattle rustling and k...
When an aspiring star plans to audition for America’s Got Talent, they typically spend weeks or months preparing a song or routine to perform in front of the judges. Not Broken Roots, though. In fact, their audition was their first time playing together ever. 44-year-old Austin and 37-year old Joey from Chicago, who both had jobs in law enforcement, met just six months ago. “In our jobs, we see things that, quite frankly, we don’t want other people to see, and our outlet became music,” Austin explained during AGT‘s premiere on Monday night (May 26), before Joey added, “We ended up playing the same circuit for quite some time and then, randomly, he came to a show, we ended up clicking.” The duo, now called Broken Roots, went on to deliver a roc...
Few songs light the blue touch paper quite like “Beds Are Burning.” Midnight Oil’s signature work from 1987 was also a political weapon, a history lesson, and an apology to Aboriginal communities who were forcibly removed from their lands. “Beds are Burning” earned a Grammy nomination (for best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal), it came in at No. 3 on a poll of the greatest Australian songs of all time, conducted by APRA. And its parent Diesel & Dust is recognized as one of the great Australian albums. On Stephen Colbert’s A Late Show, Beninese singer-songwriter, activist and four-time Grammy winner Angélique Kidjo delivered a passionate, reimagined cover of the song. The artist has a strong connection with the land Down Under having made the long haul to ...
In 1998, Ibiza was becoming one of the world’s freshest and most exciting destinations for dance music. The music was new, the nights were long and the tan lines were deep. Tom Holkenborg was there, performing sets under his DJ name Junkie XL. In the decades that have followed, Holkenborg’s career has evolved from producing tracks to scoring, with his work soundtracking dozens of movies and television shows including Mad Max: Fury Road, Deadpool, The Dark Tower, Terminator: Dark Fate and the recently released Scooby Doo flick, Scoob! But arguably, none of these projects have fused Holkenborg’s history as a DJ with this current profession as well as his recent project White Lines. Premiering on Netflix May 15, the series tells the story of a woman who t...
The stage production is inspired by the TV series of the same name, which ran for two seasons on NBC. New musical Smash, inspired by the NBC series of the same name, is headed for Broadway. Steven Spielberg, who is among the show’s lead producers, wrote in a statement that he is “personally thrilled” to be a part of this project. “Smash is near and dear to my heart, and it seems fitting that a new musical inspired by what we did on the show would eventually come to the stage,” continued the filmmaker. “I’m beyond thrilled to be working with this incredible creative team and my producing partners, who began the Smash journey with me over ten years ago.” Tony winner Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone, The Prom) and Tony nominee Rick Elice (Jersey...
The Masked Singer airs its epic season 3 finale Wednesday night (May 20) to see whether the Frog, Night Angel or Turtle wins the whole singing competition series. So who’s your pick? The lucky celebrity will follow the monstrous footsteps of T-Pain from season 1 and the victorious foxtrot of Wayne Brady from season 2, but fans have already picked out some probable guesses as to who’s behind the remaining three costumes. The show’s dedicated viewers took to Twitter to voice their predictions, with Jesse McCartney as the top contender for Turtle, Kandi Burruss as Night Angel, and Bow Wow as Frog. So who should be unmasked as the season 3 winner tonight? Vote below, and tune in at 8 p.m. ET on Fox to find out who it really is! You Deserve to Make Money Ev...
(Warning, spoilers follow) And the winner is… After an uncharacteristic season which saw NBC’s The Voice send all its contestants home to perform in isolation, one person has been crowned the champion: Team Blake’s Todd Tilghman. The 41-year-old emerged winner on Tuesday night (May 19) after a fiercely fought final which, for the first time, featured five hopefuls, Toneisha Harris and Tilghman (Team Blake), Micah Iverson (Team Kelly), CammWess (Team Legend) and Thunderstorm Artis (Team Nick), with each performing for America’s vote. In another first, The Voice finale had a crossover with another NBC brand, Songland, with competitors getting to collaborate with the latter series’ songwriters. Tilghman, the lead pastor of Cornerstone Church in Meridian, Mississippi, wins $100,000 and a recor...
On last week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, the final five queens took their talents to the Strip to perform in a massive lip-sync medley of some of the original songs from RuPaul’s Drag Race Live in Las Vegas. Performing their very own verses, complete with choreography and set decorations, the remaining queens aimed to impress the judges one last time. It was a good night for Gigi Goode, who snatched her fourth and final challenge win, along with a spot in the finale. But Crystal Methyd & Jackie Cox found themselves on the chopping block — lip syncing to Jennifer Lopez’s “On the Floor,” the two vied for the last spot in the finale in the final main stage lip sync of the season. In the end, Crystal managed to earn her place, w...
Mandy Moore and Justin Hartley will co-host NBC’s Red Nose Day special to raise money and awareness for children in need. The network’s sixth annual event, airing 9-11 p.m. EDT Thursday, will include musical performances, sketches and short films that illustrate how donations are used for children living in poverty in America and other countries. Among the actors and musical artists taking part: Julia Roberts, John Legend, Bryan Cranston, Kelly Clarkson, Paul Rudd, OneRepublic, Steve Martin, 5 Seconds of Summer, Sarah Silverman, Ray Romano, Sam Smith and James Taylor. Funds raised by this year’s Red Nose campaign will be directed to help combat the effect of COVID-19 on youngsters and the organizations that aid them. In the pandemic, “some of the most vulnerable parts of our population are...