Thursday, December 18, 2025
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Pop Out: Justin Bieber New Album “Justice” 37% Drop in Sales from Last Year’s “Changes,” 121% from 2016’s “Purpose”

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Justin Bieber, who’s having trouble selling concert tickets to his new tour, is also struggling to sell albums.

His new one, “Justice,” had opening week sales 37% lower than his last album, “Changes,” released a year ago.

Sold mostly in streaming equivalent units, “Justice” totaled 158,000. Around 120,000 of those sales came from streaming.

“Changes” finished its first week with 231,000 including streaming.

And of course, all of this is eclipsed by his career high for “Purpose” in 2016, which sold 649,000 in its first week. Those days are over.

Indeed, this time around, Lana Del Rey actually sold nearly twice as many CDs and paid downloads with 62,000.

Del Rey’s “Chemtrails over the Country Club,” however, was the big winner when it came to hard sales. “Chemtrails” sold a whopping 61,500 copies via CD and downloads. Her fans really wanted to have that album in hand.

“Justice” sold just 31,000 copies according to Buzz Angle and Hits Daily Double.

In solid sales, Lana is number 1.

“Justice” got its justice with total sales and streaming of 158,000. Del Rey’s total came to 79,000.

Bieber’s strength is in streaming, which doesn’t generate as much income.  Years from now– like two years from now — fans will have a solid reminder of “Chemtrails” whereas “Justice” will be adrift in the Spotify catalog.

I get my peaches at Shop Rite.

 

 

Watch Legendary “Days of our Lives Star” Bill Hayes Declare on Screen, in Character, He’s “95 Years Young…and counting”

I couldn’t believe this clip from NBC’s “Days of our Lives.” Soap opera characters never give their age even in fiction, and actors certainly fight to keep the number secret.

But in this clip, legendary star Bill Hayes– who’s been on the show for 50 years– tells Jackee Harry his age when her character asks him. He replies: “95 years young…and counting!”

Hayes is married to co-star Susan Seaforth Hayes, since the 1970s. She’s been on the show since 1968 but is only 77. Amazing. These people look great! Do they sleep in formaldehyde?

Bill Hayes has to be the oldest working actor, certainly the oldest TV star. Incredible. Bravo! As Jackee Harry says in this clip, we want to know his secret! He turns 96 on June 5th.

 

New “Suicide Squad” Movie Trailer: DC Universe Hail Mary Pass Has “Guardians” Energy, An F Bomb, Raunchy Language

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OK, what? I know it’s going to sound very old fashioned of me, but I wasn’t ready to hear Idris Elba use the expression “bag of dicks” in the new “Suicide Squad” trailer, nor did I appreciate a full discussion of it.

But hey, coarse and vulgar may be all they have left at Warner Media to sell the DC Universe to kids. It’s a little abrasive. Also interesting that it’s Elba, the Black character, who also uses the “F” word. Only the Black guy talks off color? Is that his super power?

Other than vulgarities, the new “Suicide Squad” trailer has a lot of “Guardians of the Galaxy” energy. This isn’t a surprise since James Gunn directed it. Margot Robbie shines as always as Harley Quinn. Coming soon to theaters and HBO Max.

RIP Writer Larry McMurtry, 84, Oscar Winner, Famous for “Lonesome Dove,” “Terms of Endearment,” “Last Picture Show”

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Writer Larry McMurtry has died at age 84. His books were bestsellers and became the movies “Hud,” “Lonesome Dove,” “Terms of Endearment,” and “The Last Picture Show,” among others.

No cause of death has been given.

McMurtry was a larger than life figure, maybe one of the last real literary lions. Here’s his NY Times obit.

McMurtry’s long association with Hollywood culminated with an Oscar win for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2006 for “Brokeback Mountain.”

“Grey’s Anatomy” Heads for ER with Lowest Ratings Again, Second Week Under 5 Million

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Is Meredith still on the beach?

“Grey’s Anatomy” ratings last night fell below 5 million for the second week in a row to lowest numbers ever.

Last night the show dropped 7.2% in the key demo, and 1.73% in total viewers to 4.88 million. So far the 17th season isn’t going well and it almost feels like it’s on purpose.

All the threats of “Greys” being cancelled do seem real at this point. Star Ellen Pompeo wasn’t really even on the show last night, her character, Meredith wasn’t playing Beach Blanket Bingo. She was just in a coma waiting to see if ABC has more money for her.

TV land is so bad right now with ratings that even at 4.88 million “Greys” was the second highest rated show of the night, behind its spin off, “Station 19.”

And down down we go.

 

Taylor Swift Goes Straight to Number 1 on iTunes with Unreleased Track “You All Over Me” with Maren Morris

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Taylor Swift shot straight to number 1 on iTunes last night with “You All Over Me,” featuring Maren Morris. The single is an unreleased track “from the vaults” and set to be an extra on Taylor’s re-recorded “Fearless” album.

On YouTube, the track already has 1 million views after 12 hours. It’s also pulled the re-recorded “Love Story” back up the iTunes chart to the top 10.

“SNL” Star Maya Rudolph Reveals Her Picture on Vanity Fair Hollywood Cover Is Faked: “Those are not my legs”

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The great Maya Rudolph is hosting “Saturday Night Live” this weekend. She’s been a team player all season, won an Emmy for playing Kamala Harris, and now gets to helm the show.

But on Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” on Thursday night, Rudolph revealed a secret: her picture on the Vanity Fair Hollywood issue was faked. And even she seemed surprised.

On the cover, Rudolph is shown in the bottom, doing a split in a red gown.

Rudolph shook her head. “Those are my splits, apparently.” Fallon: “You did that split?” Rudolph: “Those are not my legs.” Rudolph said even her dad, former record exec Dick Rudolph, asked her about it.

Maya appears on the cover with an eclectic mix of actors including Michael B. Jordan and Spike Lee. Now that she’s given away that the pictures are manipulated, what else from that cover isn’t real?

Vanity Fair’s recent Hollywood issue covers have similar mysteries, including one in which Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon looked like they had extra hands and extra long legs. The cover was so mocked that GQ even did parody of it for their comedy issue.

This discussion occurs at 4:27.

RIP Emmy Winning Actress Jessica Walter, Famous for Clint Eastwood’s “Play Misty for Me” through “Arrested Development”

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Emmy winning actress Jessica Walter has died at age 80. Her daughter, reports say, indicated she died in her sleep. Walter was well known to recent audiences as Lucille Bluth in the zany Netflix sitcom “Arrested Development.”

Ironically Walter — who was featured in dozens of TV roles — had a breakout in Sidney Lumet comedy, “Bye Bye Braverman,” in 1968, co-starring, ironically, George Segal, who just died a few days ago. It was a comedy about a funeral. That in itself sounds like an “Arrested DEvelopment” plot.

Walter took off and was chosen by Clint Eastwood for his directorial debut, “Play Misty for Me.” After that, Walter was simply ubiquitous for 40 years on TV and in movies, highly respected. Her wry sense of humor and comic timing were welcome in any project, and she never failed to hit a bulls eye with each performance.

In 1974, after appearing in a two part “Ironside” with Raymond Burr, Walter got an Emmy nomination for Best Actress in a Limited Series playing the same character, Amy Prentiss, in her own show. She never stopped working. Her resume is that of an actor’s actor, in demand all the time. She and Segal even crossed paths again in episode of his sitcom, “Just Shoot Me,” in 1998.

But in 2003, Walter premiered as Lucille Bluth, matriarch of a hilarious but demented family, on Fox. The show was cancelled and moved to Netflix as a cult sensation. She most recently appeared in an episode of ABC’s “American Housewife.”

Walter also made six appearances on Broadway. She was married to the great actor Ron Leibman from 1983 until his death a couple of years ago.

She will be missed.

 

Beck is No Loser in This New Duet with Paul McCartney on “Find My Way” from “McCartney III Reimagined”

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Beck is No Loser, Baby on this remix he’s done with Paul McCartney on “Find My Way.” It’s the second track from “McCartney III Reimagined,” due next month with a bunch of musicians trying their hands at songs on the well received album.

You could say this track is “Where It’s At.”

Remembering Aretha Franklin on What Would Have Been Her 79th Birthday: She Survived Her Mini-Series

Pretty much the only thing the producers of “Genius Aretha” got right last night was the Queen of Soul’s relationship with Clive Davis. It was the first time in 8 hours of mishegos that I felt someone had an idea of how Aretha interacted with people she knew and loved.

Otherwise, Episode 8 was a mess like the rest of “Genius.” Absent from Aretha’s story into the 80s were people like Luther Vandross, a great friend and her producer; and her boyfriend Willie Wilkerson. Most of “Genius” was just a cherry pick of facts without any context. Aretha’s family is furious, and her friends know better. This was not Aretha’s story.

Today my friend would have turned 79. She is sorely missed by everyone, not just fans and her devoted relatives, but all of her friends who loved her. I don’t know who of the people I know put themselves through “Genius.” I know a lot of them skipped it. It was so much easier than torture.

Aretha had a lot of joy in her life. She loved to celebrate her birthday. Every year there was a big party. Lots of celebrities, musicians, laughter, cake– lots of cake!– friends, toasts. One of her favorite spots was the Ritz Carlton on Central Park South, formerly the St. Moritz. She loved turning the lobby tea room into her private party spot. Plenty of people flew in from Detroit. There was a lot of happiness.

Happy, happy birthday, Aretha. You survived the mini series. Your legacy continues.