‘Schitt’s Creek’ farewell tour canceled due to concern over surge of COVID-19 cases

shutterstock_1375240694

Eugene Levy announced on Twitter that the Schitt’s Creek: The Farewell tour has been canceled due to a surge in COVID-19 cases across the country.  Series co-starts Eugene Levy and his son, Dan Levy had scheduled tour visits to several North American towns to talk to fans about the show; however, the duo has since decided to cancel all live speaking engagements.

Eugene and Dan Levy starred on the Emmy-winning sitcom for six seasons. Eugene Levy said in a statement: “We’re so sorry to be missing you, and we will continue to try to find a way to see you in the future.”  Tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase.

Editorial credit: Shawn Goldberg / Shutterstock.com

Mayim Bialik to guest host ‘Jeopardy!’ for three weeks in wake of Mike Richards departure

shutterstock_1412699876

Mayim Bialik, 45, will temporarily step in as “Jeopardy!” host for three weeks, following longtime executive producer Mike Richards’ decision to remove himself as full-time host amid controversy surrounding his past comments. Bialik will start filming episodes this week, which will air beginning Sept. 20. Bialik will film a total of 15 episodes which will air after the five episodes Richards had already pre-taped.

Richards and Bialik were announced as the new “Jeopardy!” hosts earlier this month, with Richards set to host regular broadcasts, while Bialik was tapped to host the primetime and spin-off editions of the quiz show. Both Richards and Bialik served as guest hosts of “Jeopardy!” this year as the show searched to find a permanent replacement for the late Alex Trebek, who died last year after a long battle with cancer at age 80. However last week, Richards stepped down as host of the game show after the recent resurfacing of misogynistic, racist and anti-semitic jokes he told on a podcast that ran from 2013 to 2014.

A Sony rep said: “As we move forward with production on this season of ‘Jeopardy!’, additional guest hosts will be announced.” Richards will still remain an executive producer of “Jeopardy!”

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Lady Gaga announces the return to her Las Vegas residency this October

shutterstock_1187921974

Lady Gaga has announced on Instagram her return to Las Vegas with details of the ‘Jazz & Piano’ residency at the Park MGM this fall. Gaga’s residency is scheduled for October 14 through 31, with tickets set to go on sale at 10 a.m. PT on Saturday, August 28; pre-sales will begin starting on Tuesday, August 24th.

Gaga posted on social media: “Lady Gaga Jazz & Piano The Las Vegas Residency returning to @ParkMGM this October! Little Monsters pre-sale starts tomorrow. Sign up to receive the code at gagavegas.com
Tickets go on sale to the public Saturday at 10am PT “

Earlier this month, Gaga and Tony Bennett announced the new collaboration ‘Love for Sale,’ an album set to release on October 1 digitally, and on CD and vinyl. The upcoming project will follow the release of Gaga’s tenth-anniversary edition of her iconic album Born This Way, which will include the original 14 songs on the album along with six reimagined versions with artists including Big Freedia, Orville Peck, Kylie Minogue, Years & Years, The Highwomen, Brittney Spencer and Madeline Edwards, and Ben Platt.

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

BTS cancel world tour due to resurgence in COVID-19 cases

shutterstock_763064617

BTS postponed their long-awaited “Map of the World Tour” in mid-2020 after just four shows due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, the K-pop band have officially cancelled the rest of their remaining 34 tour dates due to a resurgence of coronavirus.

Big Hit Music, the band’s label, announced the cancellation on the BTS social media platform Weverse: “Our company has worked hard to resume preparations for the BTS Map of the Soul Tour, knowing that all fans have been waiting eagerly and long for the tour. Due to changing circumstances beyond our control, it has become difficult to resume performances at the same scale and timeline as previously planned.”

Big Hit Music suggested that performances at live gigs might resume, but it offered no timeline. And these may include more virtual concerts, saying: “We are working to prepare a viable schedule and performance format that can meet your expectations, and we will provide updated notices as soon as possible.”

Editorial credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com

‘Free Guy’ wins the weekend box office for 2nd week in a row

shutterstock_664367818

‘Free Guy’ starring Ryan Reynolds is the number one movie at the box office for the second weekend in a row. ‘Free Guy” brought in $18.8 million in its second weekend in the theaters, with a domestic ten day total of $58.8 million.

The new animated Paw Patrol movie came in second place with $13 million, with Disney’s Jungle Cruise and Don’t Breathe 2 coming in third and fourth place this weekend with $6.2 million earned and $5 million earned, respectively. The new film Reminiscence starring Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson and Thandiwe Newton had a disappointing debut, earning only $2 million in its opening weekend.

Editorial credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com

Singer-songwriter Don Everly of the Everly Brothers dies at age 84

shutterstock_2006624843

Don Everly, one-half of the rock-n-roll duo the Everly Brothers, has died at age 84. According to his attorney and family spokesperson Linda Edell Howard, Everly died at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday. His brother, Phil Everly, died in January 2014 at age 74.

The brothers’  official Instagram account posted the news of Everly’s death early Sunday: “It is with great sadness that we regret to announce the passing of Isaac Donald Everly today. He leaves behind his wife Adela, mother Margaret, children Venetia, Stacy, Erin & Edan, grandchildren Arabella, Easan, Stirling, Eres, Lily & Esper.”

In the late 1950s and 1960s, the duo of Don and Phil Everly scored 19 top 40 hits, including “Bye Bye Love,” “Let It Be Me,” “All I Have to Do Is Dream” and “Wake Up Little Susie.” The brothers broke up amid quarreling in 1973 after 16 years performing together, reuniting in 1983. They had successful concert tours in the U.S. and Europe in the late 1980s.

The Everly Brothers were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. The brothers were also inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

Justin Bieber joins WizKid for the remix of his hit track ‘Essence’

shutterstock_1948177357

Justin Bieber has joined Wizkid and Tems on the remix of their hit “Essence.” The original “Essence” appears on Wizkid’s 2020 album ‘Made In Lagos;’ the remix is one of four new songs set to appear on a deluxe edition of the album, due for release on August 27.

Wizkid also recently announced world tour dates; his North American dates in support of Made In Lagos begin in September. Meanwhile, you can check out the new version of ‘Essence’ – here.

Editorial credit: Babak Rachpoot / Shutterstock.com

Ed Sheeran set to release new album ‘=’ on October 29

shutterstock_1946174674-2

Ed Sheeran announced on social media will release his fourth studio album, titled ‘=,’ on Oct. 29.  The project, also referred to as ‘Equals,’ will include 14 tracks, including his current hit single “Bad Habits.”

The album will be released to streaming services Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Deezer; you can pre-order “=” at the link: here. The cover features a red background and butterflies with the equal symbol in the middle.  In addition to the album announcement, the 30-year-old Sheeran also released a music video of himself performing his track “Visiting Hours.”

Sheeran’s last album No. 6 Collaborations Project was released back in 2019. Next up, he will take the stage at the NFL Kickoff Experience on Sept. 9 ahead of the season opening game between the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Editorial credit: Cubankite / Shutterstock.com

Newly named ‘Jeopardy!’ host Mike Richards steps down after past controversial comments resurface

shutterstock_545094505

Newly named “Jeopardy!” host Mike Richards is stepping down from his role amid controversy over past sexist and offensive comments he made in a 2014 podcast. In a memo Richards wrote to “Jeopardy!” staff, Richards announced that his “past incidents and comments have cast such a shadow” on the show.

Richards said, “over the last several days it has become clear that moving forward as host would be too much of a distraction for our fans and not the right move for the show. As such, I will be stepping down as host effective immediately. As a result, we will be canceling production today.” Richards added that Sony Pictures Television, which produces the show, “will now resume the search for a permanent syndicated host. In the meantime, we will be bringing back guest hosts to continue production for the new season, details of which will be announced next week,” and apologized again, saying, “I want to apologize to each of you for the unwanted negative attention that has come to ‘Jeopardy!’ over the last few weeks and for the confusion and delays this is now causing. I know I have a lot of work to do to regain your trust and confidence.”  As of press time, Jeopardy!’s 38th season was still set to premiere on Sept. 13.

Richards’ announcement comes just a week after the announcement that he and former “Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik were to alternate as “Jeopardy!” hosts.  The controversy surrounding Richards refers to comments he made on his “Randumb Show” podcast back in 2014, where he made sexist and racist remarks. The podcast episodes have been pulled from circulation.

Editorial credit: Ryan J. Thompson / Shutterstock.com

Teaser trailer for Season 4 of “Yellowstone” reveals November 7th premiere date

shutterstock_1412147780

The Paramount Network series announced Thursday that the fourth season of its hit show “Yellowstone” will premiere Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021, sharing a teaser trailer giving fans a sneak peek at what’s to come.

In the 30-second teaser, family patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) can be seen in the aftermath of Season 3’s shooting. “This is not a drill! #YellowstoneTV season 4 premieres November 7, 2021,” the show’s Twitter feed said Thursday.

“Yellowstone” follows the wealthy Dutton family, who owns an enormous cattle ranch that shares borders with a national park, Native reservations and upscale housing/resorts. Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of MTV Entertainment, said in a statement Thursday: “Our strategy is to make Yellowstone, the massive No. 1 hit with more than 10 million fans, into a global hit franchise under the incredible creative vision of Taylor Sheridan’s world building storytelling.”

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com