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Keith Urban is gone from good guy husband to philanderer over night.
Nicole Kidman filed for divorce this week from her husband of 19 years. Apparently, Keith is possibly screwing around with the 25 year old female guitarist in his band named Maggie Baugh.
Nicole is learning the words to the Pointer Sisters’ “Betcha Got a Chick on the Side.”
Much of Urban’s popularity in the country music world has come from his marriage to Nicole and their family with two daughters. Kidman has been at every country music award show supporting her husband for years. It’s added a lot of value to Urban’s career.
But now we’ll see what the impact is of this scandal. Keith is on tour right now, with current shows sold out. But as the schedule goes on, he will depend on good will to sell tickets. Already there are signs of shows like in South Carolina where the fans don’t seem so motivated.
Keith’s record sales aren’t going to help him. Year to date, according to Luminate, Urban has sold 260,000 albums but almost all come from streaming. He’s sold only 15,281 downloads and CDs. Ouch!
Will curiosity seekers be buying concert tickets to see what’s going on? For Keith’s sake, let’s hope so.
I see some Grammy nominations predictions starting to pop up.
This was not a great year, folks. There was “Flowers” or “Birds of a Feather.”
A lot of the material sounded the same.
But if the Recording Academy is smart, they’ll go back to a legend and current star’s duet album as a rallying point.
That would be Elton John’s “Who Believes in Angels?” with Brandi Carlile. Not only is it a great album, but there’s a potential Best Song candidate in “When This Old World Is Done With Me.”
Too often these days people forget what a ‘song’ is, it’s written by one or two people at most, it’s got a melody and a hook, can be covered by others, and has some meaning. It’s not Record of the Year, which is the whole package.
That honor would rest with Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra.” Now, that’s a record of the year. It comes from Lady Gaga’s “Mayhem” collection, the strongest album of pop, dance, and rock this year. “Mayhem” and “Angels,” let’s face it, are crafted by composers.
Runners up are certainly Laufey’s “A Matter of Time” and Jon Batiste’s “Big Money.”
Batiste already has an Album of the Year. “Big Money” doesn’t really have a hit, but it’s consistent. Laufey is easily the breakout artist we need, but she still has a small following. Just the nominations would widen her appeal.
There’s always room for Kendrick Lamar. “GNX” is a solid contemporary R&B classic. The track, “Luther (with SZA,” is going to be a big Grammy player.
I’ve seen some suggestions about Miley Cyrus — who won deservedly two years ago — and Justin Bieber. The latter’s “Daisies” is catchy enough for a Record of the Year nod. Unfortunately, Miley’s “Something Beautiful” album just didn’t catch on. And nothing on is as good as “Flowers.
Best new artist is going to be a dogfight between Sombr and Alex Warren. The former lodged to big indie hits with “back to friends” and “Undressed.” Warren had the biggest hit of the year in “Ordinary.”
Other players in the noms, which are announced in November: Sabrina Carpenter, and Leon Thomas. Let’s also see some love for Samara Joy, Bill Strings, Suzanne Vega, Rob Thomas, and Hayley Williams.
We were all very excited when Focus Features announced the return of Daniel Day Lewis.
Alas, things have not worked out so well, but it’s great to have him back. He also did a very nice thing for his son.
“Anemone” is directed by Ronan Day Lewis and written by father and son. Critics have panned it, even if they’ve praised DDL’s acting.
They’ve also praised his support for Ronan, who’s now got to go direct some indies, commercials, and other smaller projects and really learn the trade. Ronan will be fine.
DDL is more than welcomed and embraced back into the movie world. If he’ll hook up again with Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, or Paul Thomas Anderson, or any of the newer directors on the scene who has a solid screenplay, DDL could have an incredible next chapter in acting.
We’re not going to pounce on the box office numbers for “Anemone.” They’re going to be small. I will pay for a ticket this weekend (I couldn’t get to it this last week) because even if it’s not a blockbuster or an Oscar movie, “Anemone” is a word I’ve learned to type and I’m not letting that go to waste!
The 51st premiere of “Saturday Night Live” should have ratings through the roof.
Donald Trump has guaranteed it.
Saturday’s show will be hosted by Bad Bunny, who’s making history. He’s the first performer since 1988 to host consecutive episodes. He closed last season in May and now opens the new one.
Bad Bunny’s popularity is huge. His new album is number 1 in advance sales on amazon.com, ahead of Taylor Swift’s coming release on Friday morning.
More importantly, Bad Bunny’s announcement that he will star at the Super Bowl halftime show in February has turned into an event.
Benito Ocasio — his real name — is Puerto Rican, which makes him a US citizen. Nevertheless, Trump stooge Corey Lewandowski has announced that ICE will blanket the Super Bowl looking illegal immigrants to detain, arrest, or deport.
Puerto Rican fans who might have hoped to attend the Super Bowl in person are now dissuaded from going, facing enormous risks. Even if they come with passports and papers, the Nazi-like ICE could disrupt their celebration.
Bad Bunny had already announced he would not tour the US under the current immigration cloud. He doesn’t want his fans to face legal trouble. Lewandowski said, “It’s so shameful they’ve [the NFL] decided to pick somebody who just seems to hate America so much to represent them at the halftime game.”
This will no doubt be subject of some comedy for Bad Bunny this Saturday. “SNL” could not shy away from this topic on Saturday. This is because NBC — unlike ABC or CBS — doesn’t fear Trump’s retaliation. Trump already hates Comcast, which owns NBC, and the feeling is mutual.
By the way the last time a host on “SNL” helmed two consecutive episodes was Tom Hanks in 1988.
By the time Taylor Swift’s promotional for her “The Life of a Showgirl” album hits theaters on Friday, the album will already be number 1 on every chart.
The 90 minute commercial — playing only this weekend — will show the album’s first video, for a song called “The Fate of Ophelia.” Right now, millions of girls are looking up ol’ Ophelia and her “stan” with Hamlet. (Hint: Ophelia is in the Shakespeare multiverse.)
So far, Friday’s shows are mostly sold out, particularly the prime time ones between 4 and 7pm. It looks like big groups of girls (and maybe a boy or adult, also) have booked out shows. Of course, the ticket is a reasonable $12, a loss leader that will generate album sales.
In Manhattan, the best place to go when everything else is sold out is the Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem. Seems like Swift fever has not spread there yet.
But on the Upper West and East sides, forget about it. AMC, Regal, and Cinemark are going to make all their popcorn, candy, and soda money in one swing.
Alas, there’s no popcorn bucket or special cup for this limited release. Taylor would prefer every young person spend their disposable income on the album — CD, LP, cassette, or download — not to mention items that can be found on Taylor’s website.
The whole Swift phenomenon will be studied for years to come. She turns 35 in December. It’s been 19 years since her the release of her first album. Swift has survived four generations of school kids. Most everyone who had hits from 2006-2010 has been done a long time ago. But she just keeps on ticking.
Is “Showgirl” any good? Who cares? Of course it is It’s a fait accompli.
Let’s face it, Madonna’s pop career is over. We know it and she knows it.
According to Luminate, she’s sold 36,601 actual downloads and CDs this year. With streaming, the number is 317,402. Her physically demanding touring days are done, although she will always have a faithful core audience. She is living like a Material Girl thanks to publishing, all of which she shares with a variety of songwriters and producers who collaborated on her projects.
It’s called The Mystical Studies of the Zohar. I don’t think she means mayoral candidate Zohar Mamdani, who is not Jewish and won’t denounce Hamas.
She could mean the Adam Sandler character from “Don’t Mess with the Zohar,” an Israeli soldier who dreamed of becoming a hair dresser.
Sandler is Jewish. Madonna, like Mamdani, is not.
Madonna has managed to ignore decades of lawsuits and investigations against the Kabbalah Center. The current leader, and owner of the Kabbalah Centre, is Michael Berg. A decade ago, his brother Yehuda Berg, was accused of and sued over sexual harassment. He had to resign, although apparently he’s still around.
Over the years, Madonna has given millions to the Kabbalah Center, which is popular with dim witted celebrities but has no connection to actual Judaism. Let’s remember, Madonna herself is Catholic.
But now she’s teaching the master class with Eitan Yardeni, who’s worked his way up in the cult.
The come on: “Join Madonna for a deep study to reveal ancient spiritual secrets to help accelerate your spiritual growth and manifest your higher purpose.”
There are no dance lessons.
“Step inside Madonna’s home as she and her longtime teacher, Eitan Yardeni, invite you for a rare look at her deep, intimate study of the Zohar.”
Something tells me no one will be stepping inside Madonna’s home.
“Join Madonna, her partner Akeem, and teacher Eitan as she shares intimate reflections and stories from her own life with deep empathy, vulnerability, and powerful insights to empower and inspire anyone on their spiritual path.”
That would be Akeem Morris, Madonna’s boyfriend, 38 years her junior, a former Jamaican soccer player. He will also be your spiritual adviser in this kooky endeavor.
I wrote extensively about Kabbalah and Madonna for years until it seemed to peter out. But nothing keeps a good cult down for good.
But what else is Madonna to do with herself?
As for the Kabbalah Centre, they no longer file Form 990s as a 501c3. Better that they don’t, I guess, since their old ones were hilarious. They are no longer rated by Charity Navigator.
Mariah Carey is in the same boat as most recording artists of her generation.
Of course, she’s in first class.
But seriously, Mariah released a well reviewed, well sung album this week called “Here for It All.”
For a couple of says, the album hit number 1 on iTunes, meaning fans were downloading it. But there was no streaming, and no radio. None of the songs got any singles traction.
Now hitsdailydouble.com predicts 65,000 in sales. Of that only 10,000 come from streaming. The rest is iTunes and amazon.com. That’s it.
I’m a little surprised because there’s such a vocal fan group called Lambs who go crazy every time Mariah sneezes. They certainly drive annual sales of her “All I Want for Christmas” song and album. If anything negative is written they lose their minds. But they didn’t come through hyping this album.
At least Christmas isn’t too far off.
Well, 65,000 is better than nothing. But radio should have responded to this album. The songs are strong and Mariah sounds great.
Taylor Swift’s “Life of a Showgirl” is already the number 1 CD on amazon.com some two days and 10 hours before its official release.
The vinyl version is number 5 overall. The CD is outsold right now by one entry, a double vinyl edition of Bad Bunny’s album from last January.
Swift has several iterations of “Showgirl” coming. The album is variously packed with posters, photos, sweaters, and whatnot, in CD, LP, and cassette, as well as streaming. The marketing is through the roof.
Little is known about the songs included in “Showgirl.” But one song, “Father Figure,” appears to be some kind of interpolation of the George Michael hit of that name. Swift did something to it so she could her name to the writing credits. (She probably inverted it to “you don’t have to be my father figure.”)
Are we ready for non stop Taylor Swift? She appears on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight show October 6th and Seth Meyers’ Late Night October 8th. It’s unclear if she’s performing or just stopping by as a seated guest (more likely that on Late Night since NBC took away the band).
Swift reportedly couldn’t come to terms with the NFL over a Super Bowl show because she wanted to own the footage. She could have just bought the stadium or the team, I suppose. The only way we’ll see her on the Super Bowl is if the Kansas City Chiefs can get their act together.
After the kind of meh response to Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly” in Venice a month ago, I didn’t know what to expect.
But seeing the comedy about fame, friendship, and the meaning of life last night at the New York Film Festival, I’m relieved to say “Jay Kelly” is a tremendous film.
George Clooney and Adam Sandler lead a really stunning cast who never miss a beat. Baumbach, directing from a screenplay he wrote with actress Emily Mortimer, has made maybe his most accessible and embracing film, certainly since “The Meyerowitz Stories,” which featured Sandler in a similarly sympathetic role.
There was much talk out of Venice that “Clooney plays himself” in “Jay Kelly,” which, of course, isn’t correct. He does play a very successful aging movie star who’s grown disillusioned with a life that includes three failed marriages, two daughters, and an entourage that trails around after him. Sandler is part of that entourage as Jay Kelly’s loyal manager and personal fixer, Ron, upon whom Jay relies entirely.
Even though other people trail around after Jay, like Laura Dern as his long time publicist, the movie is basically a two hander supported by wonderful players who come in and out of the picture. Apart from Dern, there’s also the great Stacy Keach as Jay’s father, Riley Keough and Grace Edwards his daughters, and Jim Broadbent as his mentor.
The linchpin supporting player, though, is Billy Crudup as a former acting school friend turned rival who believes Jay stole his life from him. As in every movie, TV show, and play, Crudup memorably lights up the proceedings, creating an entire backstory for the movie in just a couple of pungent scenes.
This whole gang lives and dies on Baumbach and Mortimer’s inventively constructed screenplay. A big chunk of the movie takes place on a train from Paris to Florence, Italy where Jay — who’s genially stalking his youngest daughter on a summer vacation before she goes to college — will receive a lifetime achievement award. (This is very funny sunplot featuring Patrick Wilson as a younger star getting the same honor.)
There are a number of well woven flashbacks to Jay’s early days, so we can see how he got to this summer of discontent. There also several tropes that play back and forth in that screenplay, all very gentle send ups of stars’ lives including contract riders that insist on slices of cheesecake that Jay doesn’t even like, and so on.
Both actors are revelations. Clooney has needed a part like this for a long time. It’s his best work since his “Up in the Air”/”Michael Clayton” days. There’s none of that self-referential goofiness that sometimes pervades his roles. He’s restrained and dead serious, which makes the laughs and tears around him and from him so much more pungent. This is Clooney’s best role since “Gravity” in 2013, and “The Descendants” in 2011, roughly 12 years.
Sandler — whose main career is built on juvenile silliness — is a wise owl here, just as he was in “Meyerowitz.” He’s a mensch juggling is life and Jay’s. As Jay is having a late in life crisis he sets off Ron’s own questioning if, after maybe 30 years, is this all worth it? Ron is constantly trying to placate Jay while rationalizing his own investment in a career he’s helped to create. Jay and Ron’s friendship reminded me of Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth’s duet in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” They can’t live without each other, and it’s vexing.
I shouldn’t leave out Nicholas Britell’s lovely score and Linus Sandgren’s rich cinematography. Production designer Mark Tidlesley’s gets kudos for making a train its own character.
“Jay Kelly” joins my list of “Sinners,” “One Battle After Another,” “Blue Moon,” and “Deliver Me from Nowhere,” and — yes, “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” — as one of the best films of what”s turning into an excellent year. See it on a big screen starting November 14th, and then on Netflix December 5th.
