}
Tony Winning Singer Songwriter of “Spring Awakening” Duncan Sheik’s Family Says He’s in “Critical But Stable Condition” In Alarming Post
It’s always scary when people put ominous, unexplained messages on social media.
The family singer songwriter and Tony winner Duncan Sheik has done just that tonight. They posted to Instagram that Sheik — composer of Tony winner “Spring Awakening” — was in “critical but stable condition” and with no further explanation.
The not funny irony is that Sheik had a huge hit in the mid 90s with “Barely Breathing.”
So what’s up? Back in August Sheik posted a photo from the hospital that read: “I would prefer to be home making music. But a bit of reflection is not too bad … boring hospital stays have their benefits (outside the obvious.)”
Wishing the musician a speedy recovery.
Robert Kraft and Ed Sheeran Adding $4 Million to Macklemore’s $1 Mil Pledge to Palestinian Aid After Concert Cancellation Controversy
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft says he’s donating $2 million to Palestinian aid following the controversary over the Ed Sheeran-Macklemore concert.
Kraft says Sheeran is matching his gift. This follows Macklemore saying he will donate $1 million.
It’s a little unclear who will get this money? Hamas?
Kraft’s statement says: “I have dedicated much of my life to building bridges between all people. I believe deeply that all lives are worth protecting. Earlier today, before Macklemore challenged me to match his donation, Ed called me and asked me to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis. Ed now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges.
“In addition, I’d like the people who are speaking in support of the Palestinian people to know that for decades, I have supported efforts that create opportunity for Palestinians and have brought young Palestinians and Israelis together to build businesses, create jobs, and forge relationships.”
Maybe with these moves toward conciliation, Macklemore can resume the Sheeran tour without proselytizing “Free Palestine.” Maybe and maybe not. Sheeran’s next show is in Philadelphia on Saturday. Then his Gillette Stadium shows are a few days later. How this will pan out is still fluid. But at least the Gazans will get some help and the temperature of this current controversy will cool off.
Madonna Will Open the MTV Video Music Awards for the First Time in 23 Years in Support of Her 11 Nominations for “Confessions II”
Madonna is making a splash.
She’s going to open the MTV Video Music Awards for the first time in 23 years.
You can only imagine what she’ll do to support her hit dance album, “Confessions II.”
She has 11 nominations that night, and she’ll probably win most of them, don’t cha think? They’re not going to put her through all that for nothing.
So buckle up for a Madonnapalooza on September 27th. MTV, Paramount Plus will carry the show live from Los Angeles.
It’s a real Madonnassaince for the Material Mom, age 68! Nothing will stop her!
“Saturday Night Live” Ups Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline to Main Cast, Adds 2 New Featured Faces Heading to Jalen Brunson Hosted Premiere
Lorne Michaels has upped two of his featured players to the main cast of “Saturday Night Live.”
Ashley Padilla, who kind of took over the show last year, is now in the main cast. She’s a real find who blossomed like crazy last season. I can’t wait to see what she does this year.
Jane Wickline is kind of droll and off beat, and a great addition the main group. Her “Weekend Update” appearances are very popular.
“SNL” is bringing on two new featured players. They are New York comic Saidah Belo-Osagie and Grace Reiter.
Everyone else is coming back including Kenan Thompson and Mikey Day, who are senior players at this point, plus James Austin Johnson, Sarah Sherman, et al. Colin Jost and Michael Che return to the news desk. There are a total of 17 names to be read in the opening, enough time to run to the fridge after the cold open.
The new season begins next Saturday with New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson as host.Kennedy Center Chaos: Outspoken Rep. Joyce Beatty Files Emergency Motion Over “Unlawful Closure,” Fears Trump Will Demolish Building
Rep. Joyce Beatty remains a warrior in the fight to protect the Kennedy Center.
She filed an emergency motion in court today over the unlawful closure of the theater complex.
She says that a staff member was locked out of the building this morning, which is contrary to Judge Cooper’s most recent judgment.
The worry is that Trump will start demolishing the Kennedy Center the way he did the East Wing of the White House.
Beatty says in her motion:
“The staff member was informed that construction is beginning on the interior
of the building and that the public is completely barred from accessing the facility for “safety reasons.” To be sure, the Court’s order does not prevent Defendants from undertaking renovations and repairs without shutting down. But at this time, the nature of the construction activities and
any potential demolition are unclear. Given the unexplained and unlawful closure, it is possible Defendants intend to undertake immediate steps in order to make public access practically impossible for the foreseeable future, including by demolishing public avenues of access to the building, and thereby evade the Court’s order by fait accompli.”
Pop Fizz: Record Biz Hopes for Miley Cyrus Hit as This Week’s Top 100 One of the Lowest Sales Ever, New Number 1 Album Won’t Crack 77K
I really hope Miley Cyrus is going to hit the ground running when her new album drops on Friday.
The record business needs her “Bass Persuades” to be a hit like crazy. Right now, sales are in a deep malaise.
When this week’s numbers are tallied Friday, a new low record may be set for weekly sales.
The number 1 album, Jhené Aiko’s “Westside Whimsy,” is coming in at just 72,000 copies. And most of that is streaming.
A usual number 1 album should hit between 120,000-170,000 copies. “Westside” shiuld be doing better. It has 20 tracks and a lot of them are streaming very well. Aiko, you know, has a great voice but her career is a little low key.
Miley’s last album, “Something Beautiful,” was a non-starter. Her releases run hot and cold. But her lead single from this album is doing pretty well even if it sounds like Madonna birthed it with Lady Gaga. We’ll see tomorrow night if the Bass is Persuasive!
Ed Sheeran Shouldn’t Have Trouble Replacing Opening Acts Who Cancelled: They Were Largely Unknown, Including One Hit Wonder from Decade Ago
Ed Sheeran should have no trouble replacing his opening acts. No one was coming to see them anyway.
The only hit Lukas Graham ever had was called “7 Years.”
It was a maudlin one hit wonder more than 7 years ago — way back in 2015. It sold millions, and then Graham receded into the world of nostalgia. I didn’t even recognize his name until I Googled it after he resigned from Ed Sheeran’s tour.
Why was he on the tour? Graham was cheap to book. Otherwise, most of the Sheeran fans wouldn’t have known him either.
Aaron Rowe wrote a scathing note about leaving Sheeran over the Macklemore debacle. Wow, Aaron Rowe backed out! Excuse me: who is Aaron Rowe anyway? I had to Google him. He’s an Irish singer with four singles, two of which didn’t even sell in Ireland. He has no albums. There isn’t a person on your block or in your office who’s heard of Aaron Rowe.
And then there’s Finneas O’Connell, Billie Eilish’s brother. A nice guy, I’ve met him and talked to him several times. But Finneas without Billie Eilish is not a draw. He’s released a few records, they’ve gone nowhere. He also comes cheap for the promoter.
What’s curious about Finneas’s statements is that his sister dates a Jewish guy. A real one, from Jewish parents. Nat Wolff is the son of musician Michael Wolff and “thirtysomething” actress Polly Draper. They must be chagrined to hear Finneas’s remarks about supporting Macklemore.
And Macklemore: he had two or three hits and a “moment” in 2012. Then he faded into nostalgia. He found his way back by exploiting antisemitism. Otherwise, he was relevant as a pet rock. When I hear the word Macklemore, I think of a wide boulevard in Memphis.
There have been other acts who’ve come out in support of Macklemore. Their names are as obscure as the ones I’ve mentioned.
The fact is, Macklemore imposed his beliefs — which he’s welcome to have, by the way — on audience that would NEVER have paid for it or come to see him even for free. They were there for Ed Sheeran. It’s his house. And he pissed all over it.
Macklemore’s Free Palestine Pays Off as Sycophants Rescue 9 of His Singles — Including Anti-Israel Hinds Hall — Onto iTunes Chart
Before this week, rapper Macklemore hadn’t had a hit record since at least 2014.
But he’s not stupid. By choosing to offend Jews and attack Israel, he’s gotten the most publicity he’s had in a dozen years.
Macklemore’s antisemitic stance has rallied his troops, whoever they are. He also hasn’t been on a record label in years. He self-releases.
Now his sycophants have lodged nine of his singles onto the iTunes top 100.
Only one of them is current, however. “Hinds Hall,” Macklemore’s loathsome dog whistle reaction to the battle at a Columbia university dorm, has gone to number 3.
The other singles are all from his “heyday” back in 2012-14 when he was rapping about and exploiting the gay community.
Trolls are pushing the singles — iTunes, as we know from so many past episodes can be manipulated. So far, nothing is happening on Spotify.
Macklemore continues to avoid criticizing the real culprit here — Israeli PM Netanyahu and his evil right wing government — and just attacking Israel and “Zionism,” because it’s an easy keyword to his followers.
Macklemore is not bright. Or maybe he’s smarter than we think. When you rally thousands against Israel itself — and its right to exist — you’re endangering Jews around the world. He doesn’t understand what Hamas has done to Gaza. You don’t hear the word in his song.
More importantly, Macklemore has no understanding of what happened on October 7th. That’s not interesting to him. Murder, rape, decapitation. He should really go spend a week with Hamas, and write them a song.
If only he’d look at movies like “Holding Liat,” to get another side of the story.
Brat Goes Splat! Charli XCX Falls from Vanity Fair Cover to Playboy (They Still Exist!) In Less Than One Year, “Written” By Kylie Jenner!
Just less than a year ago, pop Brat Charli XCX was on the cover of Vanity Fair.
She was heralded as the future of Hollywood by the fading celebrity magazine.
And now?
Charli, who did not turn out to be the future of anything, is on the cover of a magazine no thinks is still being published.
I do mean, Playboy!
I really thought I’d done the time warp when I got a press release about the magazine. My first instinct was to print it out and out it under my bed!
And it gets better! Noted journalist and social philosopher Kylie Jenner wrote the piece about Charli XCX.
She’s Kylie XOX!
This is all actually happening.
It seems Playboy still has a website, and is published four times a year for those who need to hold it in one hand.
According to semrush.com, the website’s traffic might be somewhat less than a million visits a month. There is scant actual information.
My favorite article headline on the site: “Please Don’t Skip a Shower Before Your Date, Guys.”
Always good advice.
Amazing: “Spider Man: Brand New Day” Now Highest Grossing Movie of All Time, Swings Past “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in 47 Days
Peter Parker picked a peck of pickled peppers!
Now he’s got the number 1 movie of all time at the domestic box office.
“Spider Man: Brand New Day” swung past “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” last night with $936.7 million. Quite the feat.
Sony Pictures, which hadn’t had much of anything since the last Spider Man movie, can thank producer Amy Pascal for keeping them afloat. Nice work.
All that remains is the big finale — 2028? — for Peter and Mary Jane to get hitched and ride off into the sunset. They’ll call it “Wedding Day,” and do even more business!
They sent this list of benchmarks, and why not let you see it, too:
Domestic milestones include:
Biggest domestic opening weekend of all time ($360 million).
Biggest Thursday previews of all time.
Biggest opening day (Friday) of all time.
Second-biggest Saturday gross of all time.
Biggest Monday of all time.
Biggest Tuesday of all time.
Second film in history to surpass $300 million during its opening weekend.
Highest-grossing opening week in domestic box office history.
Highest 10-day domestic gross in box office history.
Six consecutive weekends at No. 1 domestically.
Fastest film ever to surpass $400 million domestically (4 days).
Fastest film ever to surpass $500 million domestically (7 days).
Fastest film ever to surpass $600 million domestically (9 days).
Fastest film ever to surpass $700 million domestically (13 days).
Fastest film ever to surpass $800 million domestically (19 days).
Fastest film ever to surpass $900 million domestically (36 days).
Only the second film in history to surpass $900 million at the domestic box office.
Highest-grossing domestic release of all time.