Take a look Fantasia and Halle Bailey in the trailer for The Color Purple remake

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Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg have reunited to create a musical remake of The Color Purple, nearly 40 years after the original film was released. The new remake stars Fantasia, making her big feature film debut, as well as Halle Bailey, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson, H.E.R., Corey Hawkins, Ciara and more.

Winfrey, who played Sofia in the original film, shared what makes the forthcoming project so special: “The reason this moment is so important is as long there is a need for self-discovery, self-empowerment, as long as there is a need for victory in someone’s life as long, as there is a need for people to know what it feels like to be loved up and to be made full and hold to somebody else’s love, there will be a need for ‘The Color Purple.’”

The Color Purple will premiere on December 25.
Watch the trailer – here.

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Maroon 5 drop the video for their song ‘Middle Ground’

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Maroon 5 dropped the video for their new song “Middle Ground.” The new track’s arrival marks the first release from the band since 2021.

The music video, directed by David Dobkin, sees Maroon 5 — featuring members Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, James Valentine, Matt Flynn, PJ Morton, and Sam Farrar — sitting around in a songwriting session and performing together in a home studio. It also features a few special guest stars: Levine’s wife Behati Prinsloo and the couple’s two eldest children, daughters Dusty Rose, 6, and Gio Grace, 5. Levine, 44, and Prinsloo, 35, welcomed their third child together in January.

Maroon 5 also just opened their Las Vegas Residency, M5LV; and will be back to Dolby Live! at Park MGM in July 2023.

Buy or stream “Middle Ground” – here.
Take a look at the video for “Middle Ground” – here.

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Kelly Clarkson shares video for the single ‘Favorite Kind of High’

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Kelly Clarkson released the single and music video for the song “Favorite Kind of High”.

The video for “Favorite Kind of High” shows the 41-year-old singer and television personality performing the song live at the Belasco theater in Los Angeles. Clarkson shares that the track captures a happier moment in her relationship with her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, from whom she split in 2020: “I don’t want just some sad, I just got divorced and my life sucks, dumpster fire record. Now that’s in there, but I wanted it to be about the whole relationship. One thing I have learned, in a lot of therapy, is it’s not about just the bad. It was a whole thing. It doesn’t mean everything is bad. There’s nothing like that high when you first see someone.”

“Favorite Kind of High” appears on Clarkson’s forthcoming 10th studio album, Chemistry, set for release June 23.
Take a look at the video for “Favorite Kind of High” – here.

Kelly Clarkson Shares New Summery Single “favorite kind of high”

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Netflix renews ‘Virgin River’ for Season 6

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Netflix announced that the drama “Virgin River”, starring Alexandra Breckenridge and Martin Henderson, will return for a sixth season. The renewal comes as season five of Virgin River is slated to premiere at a to-be-determined date in the fall on the streaming service.

Patrick Sean Smith serves as showrunner on season five after taking over for Sue Tenney, who helmed the first four seasons of the drama.  Virgin River was last renewed in September 2021, when Netflix picked up the breakout hit for two additional cycles (covering its fourth and fifth seasons).

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Tina Turner, the ‘Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,’ dies at age 83

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Singer Tina Turner has died at age 83. Turner died peacefully after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland (Turner became a Swiss citizen a decade ago). Turner’s manager said in a statement posted to social media“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner. With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow. Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music. All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly.” 

Born Anna Mae Bullock, Tina got her start after moving to St. Louis when she was 16. She became involved in the music scene and met her future husband, Ike Turner. Tina and Ike were married in 1962, and he changed her name to Tina Turner; she became the lead vocalist for what became known as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. They went on to become a huge success together, releasing hits like “Proud Mary” and “Get Back.”

Ike was physically abusive to his wife throughout their entire relationship, and controlled their finances and trademarked Tina’s name – so she had no access to her own income. Tina eventually filed for divorce in 1976 and went on to sign with Capitol Records, with whom she would release a number of popular songs, including her iconic 1984 album, Private Dancer. The single “What’s Love Got to Do with It” won the GRAMMY for Record of the Year in 1985.nTina released nine full-length studio albums, winning eight GRAMMYs, three GRAMMY Hall of Fame Awards and the GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice — the first time in 1991 with Ike, and the second time in 2021, weeks ahead of her 82nd birthday.

In 1986, Tina met German music executive Erwin Bach; rhe two married in a civil ceremony in July 2013, after dating for more than two decades. Tina is survived by her adopted sons Michael and Ike Jr. Her sons, Ronnie and Craig, died in December 2022 and July 2018, respectively.

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Tina Turner, the ‘Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,’ dies at age 83

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Singer Tina Turner has died at age 83. Turner died peacefully after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland (Turner became a Swiss citizen a decade ago). Turner’s manager said in a statement posted to social media“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner. With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow. Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music. All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly.” 

Born Anna Mae Bullock, Tina got her start after moving to St. Louis when she was 16. She became involved in the music scene and met her future husband, Ike Turner. Tina and Ike were married in 1962, and he changed her name to Tina Turner; she became the lead vocalist for what became known as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. They went on to become a huge success together, releasing hits like “Proud Mary” and “Get Back.”

Ike was physically abusive to his wife throughout their entire relationship, and controlled their finances and trademarked Tina’s name – so she had no access to her own income. Tina eventually filed for divorce in 1976 and went on to sign with Capitol Records, with whom she would release a number of popular songs, including her iconic 1984 album, Private Dancer. The single “What’s Love Got to Do with It” won the GRAMMY for Record of the Year in 1985.nTina released nine full-length studio albums, winning eight GRAMMYs, three GRAMMY Hall of Fame Awards and the GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice — the first time in 1991 with Ike, and the second time in 2021, weeks ahead of her 82nd birthday.

In 1986, Tina met German music executive Erwin Bach; rhe two married in a civil ceremony in July 2013, after dating for more than two decades. Tina is survived by her adopted sons Michael and Ike Jr. Her sons, Ronnie and Craig, died in December 2022 and July 2018, respectively.

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Liam Payne shares he’s over 100 days sober

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“One Direction” alum Liam Payne just reached a major milestone, recently sharing he’s more than 100 days sober. Payne told iFL TV: “I feel amazing. I feel really, really good, and support from the fans and everything has been really, really good. So, I’m super happy.”

The 29-year-old has spoken about his sobriety journey before, saying in 2021: “It was only until I saw myself after that I was like, ‘All right, I need to fix myself. It was like a few pictures of me on a boat and I’m all, like, bloated out, and I call it pills-and-booze face….My face was just like 10 times more than it is now. And I just didn’t like myself very much, so then I made a change.”

Payne noted his battle with alcohol had started years prior to joining One Direction: “The problem we had in the band—and I don’t blame anybody for this. I don’t want to seem like I’m whining or moaning, ‘Oh my god, look at my life’ whatever. But it feels to me like, when we were in the band, the best way to secure us, because of how big it got, was to just lock us in a room. And, of course, what is in the room? A minibar. So at a certain point, I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to have a party for one,’ and that just seemed to carry on throughout many years of my life. And then you look back how long you’ve been drinking for, you’re like, ‘Jesus Christ, that’s a long time,’ even for someone as young as I was. It was wild.”

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Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez are engaged

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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his partner Lauren Sánchez are engaged. The billionaire is also the founder of space company Blue Origin, and was aboard a 2021 flight into space and back on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.

Bezos and Sánchez, a former broadcast journalist, first went public with their relationship in 2019. Bezos and Sánchez have kept their relationship low profile, with details mostly private outside of being photographed at public events. In 2022, the couple spoke with CNN at their Washington DC home for their first joint sit-down interview where they talked about their philanthropic work, and giving away Bezos’s vast wealth to a variety of causes. Bezos described the Emmy award-winning journalist as “the most generous, most big-hearted person that you would ever meet,” and “an inspiration.”

Bezos was previously married to MacKenzie Scott for 25 years, with whom he shares three sons and one daughter. Sánchez was married to Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell for 13 years before finalizing their divorce in 2019; she shares two children with Whitesell. Sánchez is also mom to son Nikko, whom she shares with former partner and retired NFL player Tony Gonzalez. No additional details about the couple’s pending wedding plans were immediately available.

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‘The Crown’ Season 6 to premiere on Netflix this fall

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Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria announced at Netflix’s virtual Upfront presentation that “The Crown” Season 6 has been slated for a fall 2023 release.

The sixth season of the historical drama will focus its attention to the royal love story between Prince William (Ed McVey) and Kate Middleton (Meg Bellamy), chronicling the pair’s fateful meeting on St. Andrew’s campus and the subsequent romance that followed.  Season 6 is set in the 2000s as William begins his time at University determined to have a normal life when he meets Kate, who hails from Berkshire.

In addition to McVey and Bellamy, the final season of “The Crown” is rounded out by cast members Luther Ford as Prince Harry, Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II, Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret, Dominic West as Prince Charles, Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana, Claudia Harrison as Princess Anne and Olivia Williams as Camilla Parker Bowles. Bertie Carvel will take on the role of Tony Blair, while Salim Daw plays Mohamed Al Fayed, and Khalid Abdalla plays Dodi Fayed.

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H.E.R. releases the new song ‘The Journey’

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H.E.R. has officially released “The Journey,” written by the legendary Diane Warren. “The Journey” was first announced in April as part of ESPN’s storytelling for the 2023 NBA Playoffs Presented by Google Pixel. Since then, it’s been featured in various ESPN in-game production elements.

Tim Corrigan, ESPN’s vice president of production, said, “The NBA regular season is one long journey, and taken you get the NBA Playoffs, which is a journey of its own. All 16 teams have their own paths to accomplishing their goal of an NBA Championship. And, as the song says, ‘it’s a hell of a ride.’ We are honored that H.E.R. chose to team up with ESPN to help introduce this song to the world. It’s another great example of what we can do at the intersection of sports and music.” H.E.R. added, “As an NBA fan, I’m so grateful to be part of this year’s ‘Journey’ to the NBA Finals.”

Listen to H.E.R.’s new song “The Journey” – here.

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