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Was The Abba Comeback Worth It? New “Voyage” Album is Terrible Disappointment After Almost 40 Years

Roger Friedman
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Was The Abba Comeback Worth It? New “Voyage” Album is Terrible Disappointment After Almost 40 Years

You can try listening to ABBA’s first album in almost 40 years. I wouldn’t recommend it. “Voyage” is everything ABBA was not: pedantic, childish, amateurish, devoid of the hooks or choruses that made ABBA such an appealing Top 40 enterprise.

The three singles already released were like that, too, so I don’t know why I thought the rest of the songs on “Voyage” would be any different. It’s as if Benny and Bjorn, who wrote songs like “Dancing Queen” and “SOS” and “Take a Chance on Me” completely forgot how to write catchy hits.

Instead, the album is like gloppy sugar, more Muzak-y than ever before. The ballads are drags, the few uptempo songs don’t have enough melodic construction to carry them. You lost interest as the album unfolds.

Of course, aside from Greatest Hits, ABBA was never an album group. They were all about singles. Benny and Bjorn have forgotten that, too. And there’s some weird one called “Keep an Eye on Dan.” Is Dan a kid? A dog? What the heck is going on? And why do I care?

Stick to the hits, fans. Stay away from this.

Pop Fizz: Ed Sheeran’s “Equals” Debuts Almost 30% Lower than Last Release, Adele Single Returns to Number 1

Roger Friedman
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Pop Fizz: Ed Sheeran’s “Equals” Debuts Almost 30% Lower than Last Release, Adele Single Returns to Number 1

The numbers are in for the week.

Ed Sheeran’s “Equals” debuts at number 1 today, but sales are 30% lower than  than his last release.

“Equals” came in at 123,000 copies sold, vs. “No. 6 Collaborations” project from July 2019 which sold 173,000 copies the week it came out. The latter album had a lot of guest stars, the new one is all Ed.

Sheeran is the musical guest this weekend on “Saturday Night Live,” after recovering from COVID. He’ll only get this week at number 1, as Taylor Swift and then Adele are coming for the charts.

Meantime, Adele has returned to number 1  on the singles chart after a brief detour thanks to the gaming of the iTunes chart by “Let’s Go, Brandon” fans. That ship has now sailed.

Bad Reviews Be Damned: Marvel’s “Eternals” Scores $9.5 Mil Preview Night Despite Critics’ Panning

Roger Friedman
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Bad Reviews Be Damned: Marvel’s “Eternals” Scores $9.5 Mil Preview Night Despite Critics’ Panning

Critics didn’t like it. They gave it a lowly 49% on Rotten Tomatoes.

And no one cares.

Marvel’s “Eternals” overcame bad buzz last night and scored $9.5 million in preview showings. They are off to the races!

Marvel will need big box office to pay that huge cast starting with Angelina Jolie, of all people. But they should have a $70 million weekend.

For director Chloe Zhao, the box office should make up for the reviews. And it’s certainly a contrast to her Oscar winning “Nomadland,” which only six months ago won the Academy Award but best picture and director but made only $40 million worldwide, most of it in the U.S. Now she can buy the RV she always dreamed of!

“General Hospital” “Jax” Actor May Be Out Over Anti-Vax Stance, Star Steve Burton Rumored to Be Leaving Also

Roger Friedman
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“General Hospital” “Jax” Actor May Be Out Over Anti-Vax Stance, Star Steve Burton Rumored to Be Leaving Also

There’s an internal cliffhanger going on at ABC’s soap “General Hospital.” Two stars of the show may be on their way out.

Most likely to go is Australian Ingo Rademacher, who has been a vocal anti-vaccine advocate on Instagram. He is not vaccinated, doesn’t believe in it, and has not retreated from his position.On August 20th, when word got out about his feelings, Rademacher posted a video to Instagram in which he called his fans “Bigots” and “morons” for criticizing him. I said then that I thought he’d be fired.

This week on Instagram Rademacher reposted the viral video a woman being removed from a real hospital over her anti-vax beliefs. He’s since removed it, but Rademacher has two posts up on his Instagram Stories that I’ve reproduced here, plus a video from vehement anti-vaxxer Robert Kennedy Jr, who has lost his mind.

Rademacher has played Jasper Jax on “GH” for over 25 years, coming and going with breaks. In August he doubled down on his position, reposting a video from conservative hot head Joe Rogan.

There’s also word that Steve Burton, a “GH” lifer, may be leaving as well. He plays Jason Morgan, and has been back on the show for about five years after taking taking a five year break and jumping to “The Young and the Restless.” Burton tested positive for COVID this summer. It’s unclear if he has been vaccinated.

“General Hospital” has been a set with a lot of vaccination turmoil. Actress Nancy Lee Grahn, who also just celebrated her 25th anniversary with the show, more or less shamed ABC into mandating vaccines on the soap. It was Grahn who blew the whistle a few weeks ago that someone on the set wasn’t vaccinated and though she never named names, it was obviously Rademacher. Then on October 8th she wrote:

“I am very proud to work on the ONLY Daytime Soap that has required that all performers, staff and crew be vaccinated. @GeneralHospital continues to lead with integrity.” Late yesterday, Grahn, who is a really fearless activist in the best way, added:

“.@GeneralHospital still remains ONLY Daytime Serial to mandate vaccines. Kudos to the leadership of @valentinifrank @ABCNetwork & @DisneyStudios. Smart leaders listen to science & protect their employees. As of Nov 1st entry to #gh requires proper vaccine card. No exceptions.”
I guess I am naive. I am shocked that people are willing to risk their livelihoods and careers over getting a totally safe vaccine that will protect them from a deadly disease. Now they’re not only risking their personal health but their financial futures over hysteria based on garbage. This whole attitude of “you can’t tell me what to do” is the stance of a petulant child.
Of course, the irony of all this happening at “General Hospital” shouldn’t be lost on us. Maybe the actors are confused because they haven’t had one COVID patient admitted since the pandemic began. Illness at “GH” is fungible, and also fictional. Most diseases are never named, and terminal ones are only cured if contracts are successfully renegotiated. But the worst disease is Hubris, and even Dr. Hardy couldn’t solve that problem.

 

Aaron Rodgers Vax Lie Was in August, But in the Spring He Hosted “Jeopardy!” and Went on Celeb Vacation

Roger Friedman
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Aaron Rodgers Vax Lie Was in August, But in the Spring He Hosted “Jeopardy!” and Went on Celeb Vacation

Everyone is freaking out right now about Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. He has COVID -19. He lied about being vaccinated in August.

He lied right into the camera when asked if he was vaccinated. He said, “I’ve been immunized.”

If you watched him say it, you assumed he meant vaxxed. He may be in violation of NFL and Packers rules.

But also think of this: in April, he hosted “Jeopardy!” for two weeks. In May he and fiancee Shailene Woodley went on vacation with Woodley’s pal Miles Teller and his wife.

March and April were the months when everyone was getting vaccinated. COVID was at a peak. Rodgers didn’t wear a mask on the game show and he’s certainly not wearing one in these vacation pictures.

I’ll bet everyone involved is thrilled to know that Rodgers never got his shots, and ultimately lied about it.

This is one time his parents should be happy he doesn’t speak to them.

Broadway: Greg Kinnear Tapped to Replace Jeff Daniels in “To Kill a Mockingbird”

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: Greg Kinnear Tapped to Replace Jeff Daniels in “To Kill a Mockingbird”

Well.

Jeff Daniels returned to “To Kill a Mockingbird” on Broadway for a short run, but his time up and producers have named a replacement.

Oscar nominee (“As Good As It Gets”) Greg Kinnear will make his Broadway debut in “Mockingbird”  starting January 5th.

Daniels’ last performance will be January 2, 2o22.

I had been thinking recently, where is Greg Kinnear? The one time host of “Talk Soup” had his life changed when the late Sidney Pollack decided he could act and cast him a reboot of “Sabrina” with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond. One of his hits was “Little Miss Sunshine.”

From there, Kinnear went on to a lot of successes on film. But lately he’s been MIA. So it’s good to have him back. And the exorbitant ticket prices for “Mockingbird” will likely drop to human levels, so that’s a plus, too!

Mariah’s Christmas Cash-In: “All I Want for Christmas” Returns to iTunes Chart at Number 25

Roger Friedman
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Mariah’s Christmas Cash-In: “All I Want for Christmas” Returns to iTunes Chart at Number 25

All I want for Christmas is…earplugs.

Mariah Carey’s annual Christmas cash in is here. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has returned to the iTunes top 100 at number 25.

It will go higher and stay there through the end of the year.

For god’s sake, why? Don’t all you lambs own this already? Or do you buy it anew every year? Just wait your money, go ahead. Do you not realize this is a BUSINESS? Carey does not sell records all year long. She waits for this season like Tiny Tim hoping for a slice of ham.

Walter Afansieff wrote this song with Mariah, and made it sound like a track from Phil Spector’s Christmas album. It’s now the biggest selling Christmas song of all time, outselling even Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.”

If I never hear it again, I will be happy.

Embattled Golden Globes Hire a Diversity Officer, Neil Phillips, Their First Black Officer or Executive

Roger Friedman
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Embattled Golden Globes Hire a Diversity Officer, Neil Phillips, Their First Black Officer or Executive

Welcome, Neil Phillips.

He’s the new Diversity Officer for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, aka the Golden Globes. He’s the first Black officer or executive to be involved with the embattled group.

Earlier this year, the HFPA hired a diversity officer who quit almost immediately. That was Shaun Harper, a professor of racial, gender and LGBTQ issues at USC’s Marshall School of Business. He left without explanation. But it was probably because the situation looked bleak.

Since then, the HFPA has been forced to take on a raft of new members who are all POC. They’ve also been taken over by MRC, the company that actually owns Dick Clark Productions. The HFPA has announced that despite NBC keeping them off the air, they will give nominations and awards on the corresponding days of the Critics Choice Awards, the more legit group that will broadcast on January 9th from the new Century Plaza Hotel. It was a low move by the HFPA, not known for their graciousness.

According to a press release, Phillips is an Aspen Institute Education Entrepreneurship Fellow and a member of the inaugural Echoing Green/Open Society Foundation Black Male Achievement Fellowship. He is a multiple-time winner of The Nantucket Project Audience Award for his provocative talk on race in America called “Race to Truth” for his compelling on-stage conversation with famed television producer Norman Lear and, most recently, for his on-stage conversation with former President George W. Bush. Currently, Neil is working on a documentary film with The Nantucket Project, focusing on race and Black male achievement.

Good luck, Neil. Sleep with one eye open.

Mariah Carey Sticks to Her Story, Makes No Changes in Paperback Edition of Memoir Despite Lawsuits from Siblings

Roger Friedman
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Mariah Carey Sticks to Her Story, Makes No Changes in Paperback Edition of Memoir Despite Lawsuits from Siblings

Mariah Carey is sticking to her guns.

She’s made no changes to the paperback edition of her memoir, published a year ago in hardcover. That is despite lawsuits from her sister and her brother last summer.

“The Meaning of Mariah Carey” is out now in paper back.

Carey’s brother, Morgan, sued her over a story in the book about the police coming to break up a fight between him and their father, Alfred, when they were kids.

“Her attempt to falsely characterize plaintiff as equally violent as their father, and her subsequent commentary on police relations with Black people was only the beginning of defendant Mariah Carey’s desperate attempt to vilify plaintiff, play the victim card and curry favor with the Black Lives Matter movement,” read Morgan’s complaint.

Mariah’s sister had already sued her, claiming emotional distress after reading about herself. Allison described Mariah as “heartless, vicious [and] vindictive,” after Mariah discussed her sister’s alcoholism and other struggles.

There’s been nary a peep out of either sibling since they filed, and my guess is these suits have gone away or been settled to their satisfaction.

IN any case, Mariah’s truth is her own, it was her childhood, and she gets to tell it. Of course, the rest of the book is full of her own version of her truth, too, which doesn’t jibe with how her career began, or who helped her, or who wrote her songs, and so on. That part can be titled “Fantasy” after the song Mariah cobbled together for a hit. Also, it’s been a couple of months now since Jerry Blair, her label partner and radio promoter, died of COVID and she still hasn’t said a word. But that’s another story.

A little fact, a little fiction.  “The Meaning of Mariah Carey” is a hybrid! Out now.

“NCIS” Wins Monday Night, Beats “The Voice,” Stays Ratings Course Without Mark Harmon

Roger Friedman
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“NCIS” Wins Monday Night, Beats “The Voice,” Stays Ratings Course Without Mark Harmon

Back on October 12th I bemoaned that “NCIS” had hit a ratings low and was not long for this world.

I was wrong. I’ll admit it.

True, it was a low, but “NCIS” — as has been pointed out to me by my experts — is actually doing great. It’s doing the one job it has — it’s beating “The Voice” on NBC. By a lot.

So what if “NCIS” ranges around in the 7 million area, between 7 and 8 million viewers a week. It’s not like the old days of 11 or 12 million. But that’s life.

Without Mark Harmon, the show seems to be soldiering on. Gary Cole is catching on, too, as the new leader of the band. He’s younger blood, which is what the show needed.

And, they are beating “The Voice.” And everything else on Monday night. Plus, “NCIS Hawaii” is doing fine with over 5 million viewers a week. And who knows? Maybe Harmon will drop in for a sweeps episode in February or May, as needed.

So I correct myself. “NCIS” will make its 20th anniversary year next fall after all.

 

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