Tag Archives: Open Thread

Billboard Magazine reports: Pop and R&B/hip-hop superstar Beyoncé makes her debut on Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart (dated Feb. 24) with her first two entries on the survey: “Texas Hold ‘Em” at No. 1 and “16 Carriages” at No. 9. As previously reported, the songs start at Nos. 2 and 38, respectively, on the all-genre Billboard …

Playbill reports: Look out SIX, here comes FIVE: The Parody Musical. Henry VIII and his six wives had nothing on Donald, the 45th, and these five ladies. Poised to make America laugh again, FIVE is an irreverent musical comedy revue starring some of the women in the life of America’s past (and hopefully not future) President. Ivana, Marla, and Melania …

Variety reports: “Oppenheimer” swept the BAFTAs on Sunday night, winning awards for director Christopher Nolan and actor Cillian Murphy as well as taking home the prize for best film. Overall, the movie took home seven golden BAFTA masks, with “Poor Things” coming in second place with five wins. BAFTA chair Sarah Putt opened the ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall …

Variety reports: Paramount’s “Mean Girls” musical made fetch happen after surpassing $100 million at the global box office. The oh-so pink movie musical has generated $101.2 million worldwide after six weeks of release, including $71.2 million in North America and $30 million from 31 international territories. Based on the Broadway adaptation of the 2004 comedy classic, “Mean Girls” was originally …

Playbill reports: Broadway Backwards, the annual benefit concert celebrating the LGBTQ+ community via songs from the musical theatre, will return to Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre, current home of Disney’s Aladdin, March 11 at 8 PM. Produced by Broadway Cares, the evening will benefit the theatrical nonprofit and New York City’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The Center). What …

Variety reports: For the first time in over 10 years, a new animated “X-Men” show has arrived. The first trailer for Disney+’s “X-Men ’97” is here, and it continues the story from the classic ’90s cartoon, “X-Men: The Animated Series.” It begins streaming on Disney+ on March 20. The beloved “X-Men: The Animated Series” ran from 1992-1997 for five seasons. …

Variety reports: Marvel Studios has its “Fantastic Four.” The superhero quartet — the first characters created for Marvel Comics by Stan Lee — will be played by Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (aka …

Variety reports: Is Beyoncé going to get some love at the country radio format, now that she’s released a single, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” that openly embraces the genre? That’s a big question mark, as radio programmers, like many others in the music industry, are still reeling from the shock of her surprise release the night of the Super Bowl, with …

Variety reports: In an elaborate series of teaser videos, Beyonce has announced the long-awaited “Act II” of her 2022 “Renaissance” album — and as long rumored, it appears to be a country-leaning album, due March 29. In the elaborate, self-referencing ad, we see Beyonce scrolling through songs on an iPhone, then at a lemonade stand (referencing her 2016 classic album …

Deadline reports: Could Super Bowl LVIII be the most-watched ever? After a record year for the NFL, Sunday’s big rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers certainly has the potential to break a viewership record. Currently, the most-watched Super Bowl in history is actually last year’s Chiefs-Eagles game, which was watched by more than 115 million …

Variety reports: This Super Bowl Sunday, don’t forget Uber Eats — but also, as the food-delivery service has learned, don’t forget that trying to make light of a life-threatening allergy is bad PR. Uber Eats, a division of the ride-sharing company, on Feb. 6 debuted its 60-second 2024 Super Bowl commercial, centered on the running joke of forgetfulness. But one …

Deadline reports: A good sized earthquake rattled windows across Los Angeles at about 1:47 p.m. today. Preliminary reports put the temblor at 4.6 on the Richter Scale and have it centered about 7.7 miles southwest of Westlake Village. It was the largest such shake felt in that area in some time. There was no immediate word of damage or injuries, …

Variety reports: Just three days before Super Bowl LVIII, veteran DJ Tiesto has pulled out of his slot as the show’s official DJ due to a “personal family emergency,” he announced over social media on Thursday. A rep for the NFL tells Variety there is a plan to replace him, although no further details were immediately available. The Super Bowl …

Variety reports: “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version)” is coming exclusively to Disney+ — and the concert film will include five songs that were not available in the theatrical or digital versions. The newly expanded version of “The Eras Tour” will hit Disney+ worldwide on March 15, 2024. Among the bonus songs included on the streamer will be “Cardigan,” …

Variety reports: Fox Corp., Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney are set to launch a new streaming joint venture that will make all of their sports programming available under a single broadband roof, a move that will put content from ESPN, TNT and Fox Sports on a new standalone app and, in the process, likely shake up the world of TV …

Deadline reports: The 66th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday turned out to be a very good night to be Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman. As well as delivering for music fans, and allowing Jay-Z to get a few things off his chest, the Grammys turned out to be great for CBS and the Recording Academy. The …

Entertainment Tonight reports: The 2024 Grammy Awards will include a poignant In Memoriam segment to pay tribute to the lives of revered individuals the music world lost this past year. Grammy winners and nominated artists will deliver heartfelt performances in memory of these incredible icons. Stevie Wonder is set to grace the stage, honoring the legendary Tony Bennett and celebrating …

Broadway.com reports: Broadway Bares, the industry’s one-night-only striptease event, will take place on June 23 at Hammerstein Ballroom. The NYC Pride Month spectacular, created by director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell and featuring more than 150 dancers, is produced by and benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. There will be two performances, at 9.30pm and midnight, with the theme of the event …

Deadline reports: Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms set a stock market record Friday, adding $200 billion in market value in a single trading day on the heels of a knockout earnings report. The 20% rise in the tech giant’s stock price, to an all-time high of $474.99, followed the company’s stellar fourth-quarter earnings report on Thursday afternoon. According …

Variety reports: “Will & Harper,” a heartfelt and heartbreaking documentary about Will Ferrell‘s cross-country road trip with his best friend Harper Steele, who recently came out as transgender, sold to Netflix after its Sundance Film Festival debut. Financial terms of the pact were not disclosed, but “Will & Harper” was drawing interest from several buyers. The film, directed by “Barb …