Look away Miss Piggy! Reese Witherspoon gets flirty with hunky Kermit in new Instagram video ahead of Muppets appearance

By Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 21:00 EST, 26 October 2015 | Updated: 02:04 EST, 27 October 2015

He's a ladies' frog, with his romantic life splashed across headlines the world over.

And now Kermit can add Hollywood star Reese Witherspoon to his impressive list of female admirers.

Despite his advanced age at 60, the green stud managed to catch the eye of Reese, who at 39 is 21 years his junior.

Scroll down for video

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Singing twosome: Reese Witherspoon lip synced with Kermit the Frog, singing along to Lionel Richie's 'All Night Long,' as the duo promote her upcoming guest appearance on The Muppets

The Legally Blonde favourite posted a video of her lip singing with Kermit to Lionel Richie's All Night Long, as the duo promote her upcoming guest appearance on The Muppets.

Reese is set to appear on Tuesday's episode of the documentary-type show, which premiered in late September.

The actress, who bobs her head as she excitedly sings along to the track with the green frog, posted the video to her Instagram and Twitter on Monday.

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All smiles: The 39-year-old is set to appear on Tuesday's episode of the documentary-type show, which premiered in late September; pictured with Miss Piggy

The Wild star captioned the video on Instagram: 'Ya know,,,just casually dueting with this stud. Catch us tomorrow at 8/7 c on @themuppetsabc! #bts #misspiggywouldnotapprove #bucketlist @realmisspiggy @lionelrichie #allnightlong.'

The video comes after Kermit made headlines by spending time with a new pig named Denise this summer after his shock split from Miss Piggy.

Meanwhile, the primetime show follows The Muppets as they work on Up Late with Miss Piggy, a late night talk show.

Reese, who guest stars in the fifth episode, gets caught in a feud with Miss Piggy while volunteering for Habitat for Humanity.

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In sync: The actress, who bobs her head as she excitedly sings along to the track with the green frog, posted the video to her Instagram and Twitter on Monday

The starlet has been engaging in playful tweets all week with Kermit and Miss Piggy.

On Thursday, the Election actress visited Fashionably Late With Rachel Zoe, revealing that she wants to reprise her role as Elle Woods in a third Legally Blonde film.

She said: 'I think we're ready to see Elle and see what she's up to lately.'

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Take three: On Thursday, the Election actress visited Fashionably Late With Rachel Zoe , revealing that she wants to reprise her role as Elle Woods in a third Legally Blonde film; (from left) Rachel, Reese and co-host Derek Blasberg

The blonde star pointed out that right now is the perfect opportunity to do a third film.

The Tennessee-raised actress explained: 'I actually think it's kind of great right now, because we're talking about women in politics and how important that is, to get more women.'

The mom of three recently celebrated her son Deacon's 12th birthday, posting a photo on Twitter Thursday.

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Happy day: The mom of three recently celebrated her son Deacon's 12th birthday, posting a photo on Twitter Thursday

Wearing a pink floral dress by her own line, Draper James, Reese wowed in the criss-cross piece as she held tight to her eldest son.

The Golden Globe winner has a lot to celebrate, including opening her first flagship store for her lifestyle brand in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday.

Married to Jim Toth since March 2011, the couple are parents to three-year-old Tennessee James Toth.

She also has two children with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe: 16-year-old Ava and Deacon.

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Fun times: Reese, who guest stars in the fifth episode, gets caught in a feud with Miss Piggy while volunteering for Habitat for Humanity

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Fashion forward: The Golden Globe winner opened her first flagship store for her lifestyle website in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday; pictured on Fashionably Late With Rachel Zoe on Thursday

Yummy mummies! Liv Tyler and Olivia Wilde look stunning in stylish ensembles as they glam it up for NYC fundraiser

By Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 23:45 EST, 26 October 2015 | Updated: 03:09 EST, 27 October 2015

They both have little ones at home.

But Olivia Wilde, 31, and Liv Tyler, 38, were yummy mummies as they stepped out for and adult evening on Monday.

The stunning stars showed off their svelte shapes and stylish sides as they arrived at the Lunchbox Fund 10th Anniversary Benefit Dinner held at the Gabriel Kreuther Restaurant in Midtown, New York City.

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Moms' night out: Olivia Wilde, left, and Liv Tyler, right, made stylish appearances at The Lunchbox Fund Tenth Anniversary Benefit Dinner and Auction at Gabriel Kreuther in New York City on Monday

Liv was clad in a chic long-sleeved blouse which she gently tucked into a coordinating pencil midi skirt.

The Leftovers star teamed her monochrome ensemble with funky black open-toe heels which were decorated with angel wings.

Her long, lustrous brunette locks were styled in a unique side braid and flowing past her right shoulder.

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Newly engaged: The actress showed off her sparkler as she posed with her hand on her hip

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Monochrome: Liv wore a black long-sleeved shirt and matching pencil skirt which she teamed with chic angel wing heels

The mother-of-two wore a coral-palette of make-up to brighten up her look.

Liv is mother to eight-month-old son Sailor, with her fiance David Gardner, and Milo, ten, from her past marriage to Dave Gardner.

Meanwhile, Olivia showed off her flower power in a mostly red and blue multicoloured floral frock which she layered with a black leather bomber jacket.

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Flower power: Olivia wore a multicoloured floral frock with a black leather bomber and red heels

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Natural: The mother-of-one enhanced her beauty with a soft palette of make-up

The mother-of-one, to one-year-old son Otis, was also sporting scarlet pumps, as her hair was styled straight.

The fiancee of Jason Sudeikis also pampered herself with a soft palette of make-up.

Olivia will next be seen on the TV series Vinyl and filmd Black Dog, Red Dog, and Love the Coopers.

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Pretty in prints: Rain Phoenix, right, also arrived in an ornate floral frock

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Giggly gals: Helena Christensen shared a laugh with Liv Tyler at the event

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Still a supermodel: Helena, 46, showed off her slim pins in a black knee-length dress

Liv has been focusing on motherhood aside from her leading role on HBO's The Leftovers alongside Justin Theroux.

Model Helena Christensen and actress Rain Phoenix were among other stars spotted at Monday's event.

The Lunchbox Fund is a non-profit organisation that focusses on fostering education via nutrition by providing a daily meal for orphaned and at-risk school children in township and rural areas of South Africa.

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Live to give: Chef Gabriel Kreuther (L) and Founder of The Lunchbox Fund Topaz Page-Green (R)

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Unique crowd: Mickey Sumner (L) and musician Sting (R) were also amongst guests

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Suited up: Billy Crudup looked dapper in a grey suit and matching tie

Identity said:

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Allanah FahertyTweet me @bananallanah

CBS series Supergirl debuted last night with actress Melissa Benoist as the title character. But, while the show marks a triumphant return of a TV series centering around a female superhero (the likes of which haven't really been seen since the 1970s series Wonder Woman), its star was also the target of some rather questionable comments made by presidential candidate Jeb Bush. Luckily for Bush, Benoist was able to show a little more diplomacy in her response.

Melissa Benoist as Kara Zor-El

During a Q&A in Las Vegas last Wednesday, Bush was asked by an audience member to name his favorite superhero. While the question might seem odd to ask of presidential hopeful, the 62-year-old former Governor quickly launched into his response:

"I kind of like the old-school guys, like Batman. Supergirl is on TV – I saw that when I was working out this morning. There’s an ad promoting Supergirl. She looked pretty hot. I don’t know what channel it’s on, but I’m looking forward to that."

While his comments are enough to make anyone cringe, luckily for Bush, Benoist, who appeared on CBS This Morning on Monday, took the high road with her response. Talking about the comments, the 27-year-old responded:

"I heard about it...You know, I don’t know what to think about it."

Though, true to making the best of a weird situation, Benoist added that she was at least "glad he’s excited to watch the show."

Supergirl episode 2 will air at 8:30pm ET on Monday on CBS

Supergirl Melissa Benoist Opens Up About the Pressures of Playing a Female Superhero, from Sexuality to Comic Fans

The ​Glee​ alum talked to ​Teen Vogue​ about what it's really like to put the S on your chest.

Alyse WhitneyOct 22, 2015 8:00AM EDT

“I love that she really has a lot of discovering to do and growth and makes mistakes.”

Melissa Benoist is a name you may have heard if you were a fan of Glee or into indie movies like Whiplash. You’re about to know her by a much more famous name this fall. Benoist is the new Supergirl in CBS’s television series Supergirl, from the producers of The CW’s Arrow and The Flash.

Naturally, Comic-Con was the perfect place for Benoist to meet fans and press already excited for the new, modern take on Kara Danvers, AKA Supergirl. Guff was at the table for one of the first Supergirl interviews.

Q: Taking on this character, there’s comic book history, there’s Helen Slater. What do you arrive and find? What do you want to make out of it?

Melissa Benoist: Wow. Obviously, that’s a daunting thing to arrive at a point where this is a character that is so developed and so many people already love. So there’s a responsibility and I arrived wanting to stay true to a lot of that, but what I want to bring is I love her humanity, even though she is an alien. I love that she really has a lot of discovering to do and growth and makes mistakes. I think she’s so relatable and I just want to stay true to that.

Q: Did you audition with Kara scenes or Supergirl scenes?

MB: Kara. Mostly Kara.

Q: How did it feel to see yourself in the Supergirl costume?

MB: There’s this internal feeling, something changes. It’s this transformation almost to the point where I don’t really recognize myself when I’m in it. I feel like a different person.

_CBS

Q: What do you love about the costume and what do you not love so much?

MB: [Laughs] That’s a really good question. I grew up as a dancer, so it feels like the leotard and skirt tights that I wore when I was a ballerina. But what is impractical and sometimes painful, even though I think I’m very lucky in terms of my suit. I know a lot of people have masks that sweat and don’t breathe at all. Mine has a corset. My cape is a corset and so that sometimes when I’m on the wires is constricting.

Q: Did you run to the gym immediately after booking this role?

MB: Oh yeah, I did. Immediately. Like, I am such a pacifist in my everyday life. I don’t think I’ve ever hit anyone before. And so I definitely had to learn technique, like how to actually punch someone and not hurt yourself more than you’re hurting the person you’re punching. So boxing was part of it and core work and Pilates and plyometrics, a lot of it.

Q: Did it change your mindset, getting physically transformed?

MB: Yeah, yeah. The motivation there and the drive, it definitely affects [me] because I don’t have a choice. I can’t sit down and be like, “Oh, I’m done. I want some popcorn.” I have to stay on top of my game.

Q: Are you doing your own stunts?

MB: I’m trying to do a lot of them. I want to. I think they’re so fun. There are some that I just can’t. I could really get injured, but I’m trying to. My stunt double is amazing. She was Jen Garner’s on Alias and Buffy’s. She’s all over the place and she’s so cool. I wish people could see what they go through. It’s insane.

Q: But that’s you on the wires. How hard is that?

MB: The wirework is really difficult but so fun. When you get it right, watching the result is exhilarating. That’s a really, really cool feeling to know what it felt like, the energy I had to exert to create those flying scenes, and then the way they look is really rewarding.

_CBS

Q: Are you trying to bring a little bit of the dancer’s grace to the flying and movements of her?

MB: Oh, of course. I think what’s cool is to try to bring kind of a femininity to her strength. You see Superman and it’s obviously this solid thing, but I do like the idea of bringing in a grace to it and a fluidity, kind of this femininity to the flying.

Q: Do you think you’ll have a conversation with Gal Gadot, who’s playing Wonder Woman in the movies, at some point?

MB: Oh, I’m sure. We’ve not met yet, but we’ll probably relate a lot.

Q: When you did this pilot, were you pretty confident that it was probably going to make it to series?

MB: Yes and no. I think I was 50/50. I really believed in it. I think I knew deep down that people would like it, especially young girls. That’s who I really wanted to affect, but of course there’s always that moment when you’re like, “Oh man, I don’t know if it’s going to happen.” But now I’m fairly certain people are really excited. Everyone’s been saying so.

Oct 14, 2015 @ 3:43 PM

Misty Copeland:"Body-Image Issues Are Not Just a Dancer Thing"

The dancer talks beauty standards, fame, and her new documentary, 'A Ballerina's Tale.'

By Kristina Rodulfo

There's this beautiful scene in ​A Ballerina's Tale​ , the documentary about Misty Copeland out today, in which Copeland marks dance steps in perfect synchronization with one of her mentors, Raven Wilkinson. Wilkinson, 80, was the first black dancer to join the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in the '50s; Copeland, 33, became American Ballet Theater's first black principal dancer last June. There are many years between the two ballerinas, but their sisterhood is clear–the lack of diversity in classical ballet hasn't changed dramatically from Wilkinson's time to now, after all. ​A Ballerina's ​​Tale​ , directed by Nelson George, chronicles Copeland's rise to success past barriers like race, body-image issues, and a late start in dance at 13. It beautifully weaves scenes of her history-making performances, rehearsals, and personal journey with insight from other black women, her supporters and fellow pioneers.​

The movie is another milestone in 2015 for Copeland, who in addition to being named a principal dancer with the ABT landed a Time 100​ cover in April, made her Broadway debut in ​​On the Town​ in August, and continued to inspire as the face of viral Under Armour campaigns. We sat down with Copeland and George to talk about the movie, what Copeland has in common with Ronda Rousey, dealing with increasing fame, and whether she'll turn her Broadway fling into a recurring thing. ​

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​The movie not only focuses on Misty's personal journey, but highlights other black dancers who came before her. What made you two decide to approach the documentary this way?

Nelson George: The trick of the movie is trying to balance the story of Misty with all the other elements. We tried to talk about the issues on body image, we tried to talk about race, and we talked intimately about that. We wanted women who had been in the American Ballet Theater in some form to give the idea that Misty is standing on these other people's stories. One of the most important things was the ending, actually, when we have the curtain call of the dancers. That was a very important thing to Misty to have in. We first screened it for dancers and people applauded throughout that curtain call. People who know dance really connect to it, and people who don't are like, 'Who's that?' So I think it's part of a reeducation. Hopefully people see it for the closing—​stay for the credits!

Misty Copeland: It's my favorite part of the whole documentary, the end. I always get teary eyed.

How have dancers like Raven Wilkinson inspired you in your career?

Copeland: I feel like, growing up I never really understood or had that type of support where I knew what it meant and how much further I could go if I had it. When I met Raven, it was like this awakening. It was really crazy when I heard her story. It set me on this new mission that I didn't even really understand at the time. She was a mentor in my life even before I met her. She gave me a whole new respect and outlook for how I approached my career and how I valued it as well. I've learned over time now how important it is to have that, so I definitely try to give what little bit of myself I have left to the dancers that I mentor.

You talk in the documentary about struggling with body image issues as a young ballerina–why do you think that was important to include?

Copeland: I think body-image issues are not just a dancer thing. I think we're much more in tune and aware because the body is our instrument and art and we stare at ourselves in a mirror all day, but I feel like it's something that every woman experiences and every girl experiences. I wanted people to see the difficult side of my story. I wanted people to know I haven't always been this perfect or strong ballerina that people see me as,with Under Armour, for example. You need support to get to this place of confidence that I'm at now. But I do think Under Armour is setting a new example for what a ballerina is, and that you can be feminine and an athlete and represent what a woman is at the same time.

George: What's funny to me is that Misty has emerged at the same time as Ronda Rousey with the idea of the athletic woman, the fit woman, as sexual, as alluring, as not just a waifish girl, but a girl who can handle herself. I think there's an interesting thing with Rousey and Misty emerging at the same time in our culture–there's this idea of a new kind of woman's body. I feel there's a zeitgeisty thing going on with this idea. Misty's impact will really be felt in the next 10 years–it's going to be the five-, six-, seven-, eight-, nine-year-old girl who sees her, who grows up with her as a normal image, who will then move forward in ballet and in the world in general.

Misty, you made your Broadway debut in ​On the Town​ this summer. Did you see any parallels in the Broadway world with the ballet world when it comes to race?

Copeland: I understand there's a lack of diversity as well in that space, but my experience was that it was incredibly inviting. Everyone involved in it, they wanted me to win, which isn't always the case when you walk into competitive arts or athletic places. But it was one of the most difficult things in preparing mentally and emotionally for because it was so far outside of my realm of anything I've ever done. I never sang before. People think, Oh, you're onstage and you're dancing, so it's not that different! But I wasn't doing ballet, I was doing a different genre of dance. I learned it in two weeks, I had to sing, and I had to act and memorize lines, and that was terrifying. I don't remember the last time I stepped on to stage and was, like, I don't know what's going to happen! That's how it was. The first show I feel like I blacked out and I woke up, and it was over and oh my God, everyone was clapping! Then it got easier as the show [went] on.

More From ELLE

George: I always tease her by telling her one day she'll have her own Broadway show. Everyone sees it but you!

Copeland: I feel like with On the Town it was the perfect production and the perfect opportunity. It was made for a ballerina, I was off from ABT at the time, and it was just the perfect storm. I mean, I got lots of offers after that for Broadway and I'm just not interested. My career is my focus. Ballet is my focus.

George: I didn't say next week!

Copeland: No, I mean, maybe in the future! That, to me, is more tangible than movies.

Some of the greatest scenes in the movie are the silent ones, right before you go on stage. What goes through your head in that moment?

Copeland: Just breathing and staying calm. I'm not going through the steps. That doesn't happen in those moments—​you're so prepared and it's so ingrained in your muscle memory, so you're just breathing. Every time I step off the stage I'm just trying to maintain a steady breath before I enter again, just calm and focused.

George: Those are some of my favorite moments as well. That's what no one sees. Sometimes I'm asked to cut them shorter and I'm like, 'No!'

P

Misty Copeland with Raven Wilkinson

Getty

As you gain more attention for your accomplishments and more people recognize your face, how do you feel about increasing fame?

Copeland: I don't feel like my life is that of a superstar! Every day I wake up, I take the train, I go to my ballet class. My everyday life is pretty normal. It's only after hours when I go to do this interview, this photo shoot, then it's crazy. But otherwise I feel like I'm so normal. Eating cookies. Walking down the street with no makeup on.

What keeps you grounded?

Copeland: Ballet. Seriously. I feel like going to class every morning is so humbling. You're always working to improve, and you're always being critiqued on your next performance. It's not about what you've done. There's always room to grow.

Misty Copeland: meet the ballerina who rewrote the rules of colour, class and curves

Facing opposition about her race, shape, even her hair, the ballet dancer Misty Copeland battled the establishment – and her own mother – to make it to the top

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Misty Copeland: 'I want to bring awareness to the lack of diversity in ballet. That’s a large part of my purpose' Photo: JODY ROGAC

By Jane Mulkerrins

7:00AM BST 21 Jun 2015

Misty Copeland can pinpoint the precise moment when she realised her success in ballet held a broader significance. “It was the night I danced The Firebird at the Metropolitan Opera House in June 2012. I had never seen an audience that was 50 per cent African-American. It was overwhelming to know that so many of them were there to support what I stood for.”

As only the third black soloist (one rung down from a principal dancer, or prima ballerina) in the history of New York’s prestigious American Ballet Theatre (ABT) – and the first in two decades – Copeland, 32, is elegantly dismantling the barriers of race and class that have long surrounded the art form. “When I talk to [black] families, they tell me, 'We never went to the ballet before. Why would we bring our children when they can’t see themselves reflected on the stage?’ ” she says.

Her profile reaches beyond the rarefied realms of ballet: she has performed with Prince on stage, her recent advert for the sportswear brand Under Armour has had eight million views, and she has been namechecked as an inspiration by both Barack Obama and Beyoncé.

In April, she was named as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world and was one of the five cover stars for the issue, along with Bradley Cooper, Kanye West, the US news anchor Jorge Ramos and the supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. That month, she sparked huge media coverage – and a frenzied rush on the box office – when she and Brooklyn Mack became the first black duo to dance the leading roles of Odil/Odette and Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake for a major ballet company.

But Copeland’s prominence and influence is all the more incredible given her wholly untraditional path to the top. As she recounts in her bestselling autobiography, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, which is now being developed into a Hollywood film, she did not begin lessons until the age of 13 – positively geriatric in the dance world.

It was after just four years of training that she was taken on by the ABT. A week before the start of the spring season of performances – in which she will play leading roles in Romeo and Juliet and La Bayadère as well as Swan Lake – I meet Copleand at a hotel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, close to the home she shares with her boyfriend Olu Evans, a lawyer.

Much has been made of Copeland’s “curvy” body, which in person is anything but. At 5ft 2in, she is tiny, slender and taut, wearing olive-green shorts, a black vest and heels. Her legs, often referred to as unusually muscular, are incredible: strong but lean, as if carved from marble.

^{Copeland on stage with Prince in 2010 (KEVIN MAZUR)}

While her manner is warm, friendly and open, Copeland is also straight-talking, unafraid of tackling difficult topics. She is mixed race, with black, German and Italian heritage, and for the first decade she was with the ABT, was the only African-American woman in the entire company; there are still only two.

On the question of whether ballet has historically been racist, Copeland is emphatic. “Yes. I don’t think there’s any way around it. That’s the way it was structured and built,” she says. “George Balanchine [the choreographer widely regarded as the father of American ballet] created this image of what a ballerina should be: skin the colour of a peeled apple, with a prepubescent body… So when people think of ballet, that’s what they expect to see, and when they see something different, it’s 'wrong’ .”

Copeland is trying to change that, but feels there is still resistance. “Though I have tremendous support from lots of people, there are so many others waiting to tear me down,” she says. “I want to bring awareness to the lack of diversity in ballet, and feel like that’s a large part of my purpose. There are people who say that I don’t have the body to be a dancer, that my legs are too muscular, that I shouldn’t even be wearing a tutu, that I just don’t fit in.”

^{Copeland on the cover of Time}

Copeland, however, is no stranger to struggle. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, her mother, Sylvia DelaCerna, had herself studied dance before giving it up to become a cheerleader. When Misty was two, her mother and father, Doug Copeland, split up and DelaCerna moved her four children to California.

She married and divorced twice more and had two more children, moving the brood from home to home. It was a chaotic and unstable lifestyle, which Copeland says made her anxious and cautious around others.

“At school, I didn’t want people to know what was happening at home, so I was like this little egg,” she says, folding her shoulders in to make herself smaller. “I didn’t want to anyone to crack me.”

Escape came through watching videos of the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci and emulating Mariah Carey’s dance moves. “I was always drawn to performance, music and movement – I was always dancing around at home,” she says.

When she was 13, the coach of her school drill team (a form of cheerleading) encouraged her to take a beginner’s ballet class at the local Boys & Girls Club, a nationwide community youth project. It was not an instant success.

^{Misty Copeland in an early role, aged 14}

“I hated it,” Copeland says. “I never wanted to step outside my comfort zone, and ballet was terrifying. And I was the only one not in a leotard and tights and ballet slippers. I felt like I didn’t fit in.”

But others – in particular, the ballet teacher Cindy Bradley – could clearly see Copeland’s natural gift, and arranged free lessons and clothing. “Once I had the right things to wear and there were mirrors around me and I could see myself, what I was capable of, that was so exciting. It was something I’d never experienced before.”

But at the time her family was living in a single motel room a two-hour bus ride from the ballet school, and DelaCerna decided her daughter’s lessons had to end. Her teacher was reluctant to let her promising new pupil go, so Copeland moved in with Bradley, her husband and their young son.

^{Copeland dancing in Coppélia for the American Ballet Theatre (NAIM CHIDIAC)}

Copeland blossomed in the new environment. “My mother’s focus was on all the other children and working to provide for us, and this was the first time I’d been in an environment where all of this love and nurturing was focused on me,” she recalls. “I felt I grew so rapidly.”

But her mother resented what she saw as the Bradleys’ “snobbishness”, feeling that Cindy looked down on her. And when at 15 Misty applied for emancipation – a common practice among young performers, giving them adult rights and control over their burgeoning careers – her mother hired the high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred to fight it, forcing Copeland to return home.

“Ballet had become my identity, and to feel that it was being snatched away was very traumatising,” she says. “I had a lot of resentment towards my mother in the beginning, and I couldn’t talk about that period of my life for years.”

^{Copeland with her boyfriend Olu Evans (GETTY)}

Her mother found the publication of Life in Motion very difficult. “I was someone who never told anyone if I was hurt or upset. I internalised everything, so she had no idea how I felt,” Copeland says today. “My siblings and I have all tried to say to her, 'You did the best you could, none of us are in prison, on the street, or dead. ’ My childhood is a part of my story and it’s why I’m who I am today, and why my career is what it is.”

Copeland finally reconnected with her father in her 20s, after her older brother tracked him down. “I thought that we were going to meet and I would be in tears. But it was like, 'Oh, you’re a stranger, I don’t know you at all, but you look like me, this is so weird’, ” she laughs. “The emotions have come slowly.” The pair now talk on the phone every Sunday.

In spite of her turbulent teenage years, Copeland still managed the incredible achievement of being accepted into the ABT at 17, and the following year moved to New York to join the company.

At that point, she still hadn’t been through puberty, which isn’t uncommon among ballet dancers because of their low levels of body fat. Her doctor, however, was concerned that her low oestrogen levels might lead to weak bones and therefore injuries, so she went on the contraceptive pill to force her into puberty. “I gained 10lb in two months,” she says. “My body completely changed. It was a big struggle for me and I lost so much of my confidence.”

She was told by instructors at the ballet company that she needed to “lengthen” – a ballet euphemism for losing weight – but rebelled. “I thought, 'They just don’t like who I am, so I’m going to eat whatever I want.’ ”After dance practice, she would order two dozen doughnuts and eat the lot, alone in her apartment. “In the end, I just did myself harm. I wasn’t in the shape that I needed to be in to be a ballerina.”

She credits her boyfriend Evans, who she met when she was 21, with helping her to regain her confidence and take better care of herself. “He made me feel like [my body] is my instrument and I have to take care of it,” she says.

^{Misty Copeland photographed for Stella magazine in New York (JODY ROGAC)}

She no longer eats meat, but isn’t strict about her diet: she will have a bagel or muffin in the morning, crackers and nuts during the day along with sushi or a salad, and fish in the evening. “I don’t eat a ton of pasta or bread,” she says. “But I eat dessert almost every night, and I drink. You need a bit of balance, and I’ve found mine.”

Of course, her energy output is huge: five days a week, she has a 90-minute dance class in the morning, then seven hours of rehearsals in the afternoon. The day after our interview, I sit in on a rehearsal. When Copeland and Joseph Gorak, the Romeo to her Juliet, perform a love scene full of complex and vigorous lifts, twists and spins, I feel as though I am intruding on something incredibly intimate.

There is every chance that Copeland will become the first black principal with ABT, but her ambitions extend beyond even that. She mentors young members of ABT, and works with the company’s Project Plié, which aims to increase ethnic and racial diversity in ballet.

“It’s not just a case of helping young people to believe that ballet is open to them,” she says. “It’s also about getting organisations to understand how to work with different communities. Even something as simple as hair is an issue. People will say, 'We shouldn’t cast her because she probably can’t get her hair in a classical ’do.’ ”

It’s a busy schedule. She and Evans have to book time together in their diaries months in advance – which is perhaps the reason why she’s scaled down her desire for lots of children. “Not any more,” she laughs. “Maybe two. I’m trying to think about timings of that with my boyfriend. I’m very regimented and organised – [he] understands that. And there will be plenty of time after [I retire].”

But for now, she’s happy. “Everything I’m doing is everything I’ve ever wanted.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article suggested that ethnic minority ballet dancers were under-represented in British ballet. In fact, at both the ballet companies for which it gave figures, ethnic minority dancers make up a proportion of the total that equals or exceeds that of the UK population as a whole. We apologise for the error, and the article has been amended accordingly.

Han Solo faces Darth Vader in new Star Wars Battlefront trailer.

'The Long Way': Actress Sara Castro discusses new film, upcoming projects

Inspired by writer Josh Hamburger’s real life events, “The Long Way” is a coming of age film about a young writer named Sam who travels to Los Angeles to follow his dream. Even though the world sees him as a grown-up, Sam still thinks of himself as a youth. But by traveling around the country, Sam soon learns what it means to be an adult from family and friends along the way.

While “The Long Way” is currently in the early editing process, filmmakers have begun a special Indiegogo campaign for fans to help become part of the completed project.

Actress Sara Castro is known for her dynamic portrayal of colorful characters - including an inspired performance as a young mother who believes in miracles in the film, “The Shift”, which also stars Danny Glover. In the role of Angie, the beautiful Castro plays a pivotal role in “The Long Way”. Putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together in a story for anyone who’s ever questioned whether or not they’re truly as special as their parents and teachers have told them they are.

In addition to her work on “The Long Way”, Castro is also set to appear in the upcoming psychological thriller, “The Dark Tapes” and the intense, underworld drama, “Outcall”.

I recently spoke with her about her role in “The Long Way” and more in this exclusive interview.

James Wood: What attracted you to “The Long Way” project?

Sara Castro: The indie element was a big attraction. I love being part of an interesting indie film. The character of Angie was also interesting. She’s very wild and colorful. I like to put 100% into my roles and Angie came to me very organically. She's someone who’s wild, sexy and seductive and I had a lot of fun playing her.

JW: How would you describe the story?

SC: It’s the story about a writer who’s coming out of college with big dreams of writing films in Hollywood. He makes a cross-country journey and during the drive learns a lot about himself. Along the way, he meets my character, Angie, who teaches him a thing or two about life and brings him out of his shell.

JW: What was the filming process like?

SC: It was so much fun. We shot the movie in Oregon, which was very beautiful. Everyone was so cool to work with. There were long days but it really didn’t seem like it because there was such a rush of adrenaline. I remember coming off days where I couldn’t sleep because I was so excited. It was a great experience!

JW: What can you tell me about the crowd funding campaign to finish “The Long Way”?

SC: They’ve started an Indigogo campaign to help come up with the funds they need to finish the editing process. It’s exciting because there’s already been quite a bit of support. Their goal is to release the film sometime next year.

Click Here to watch the trailer for "The Long Way"

JW: Let’s discuss another of your upcoming films – “The Dark Tapes”.

SC: That’s a project I worked on with David Banks and Dave Rountree. It’s a psychological thriller that’s five stories in one. It’s an intense thriller that’s very “Hitchcock” and reminds me a lot of American Horror Story. I play a nurse in one of the stories with a patient in the hospital who I have to keep sedated. Michael McQuown; the creator, wrote “The Perfect Man”, which starred Hillary Duff. This is directorial debut.

JW: Are there any other projects you’re working on?

SC: We’ve recently gotten the green light to do the film, “Outcall” where I’ll be working with Richard Friedman and Vince Lozano. It also stars Kira Reed Lorsch. I play a law student who’s putting herself through school by working as an escort and winds up getting recruited by the FBI to track down the most notorious Madame in LA. I’m really excited to work on that one as well.

JW: Have you ever given thought to getting on the other side of the camera at some point?

SC: I would love to direct at some point. I was so intrigued watching our director, Trudy Sargent, work on “The Long Way”. It was so inspiring listening to her and watching her work. She’s a great director!

JW: What do you enjoy most about the acting process?

SC: I enjoy surprising people with the roles that I play. I also love it when I’m able to work on different projects and play colorful characters that take me out of my comfort zone.

Keith Urban on Working With Nile Rodgers, Letting the Songs Lead

Country music guitarslinger teams up with Chic bandmate on new material

By Doug Fisher October 26, 2015

Keith Urban and Nile Rodgers, who are collaborating on new material for Urban's 'Fuse' follow-up, get down at the FOLD Festival in August. Mike Pont/Getty

Keith Urban's next album may very well have dueling guitars. . .or at least dueling guitar heroes. For over a year, Keith Urban was on a mission to work with one his six-string heroes, Nile Rodgers. Earlier this year, his wish was granted.

"We finally got together a few months ago and started writing in the studio," the Fuse singer tells Rolling Stone Country, adding that the unlikely duo is still hammering out new material for Urban's next album. "I've always just liked his guitar playing and it felt like we would click musically."

Rodgers is largely hailed as one of the greatest guitarists of his time, with a resume that includes collaborations with Aretha Franklin, Madonna, Diana Ross, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Daft Punk and David Bowie, among many others. In 1976, he co-founded Chic, one of the most successful groups of the disco era.

Now you can add a country album to Rodgers' list of projects. The timing of his Urban collaboration, though purely coincidental, arrives not long after music reviewers deemed Urban's 2013 album Fuse to be lighter on electric guitar than previous albums.

"It's funny because I didn't think the guitar took a back seat on the last album until everyone started sort of pointing it out," admits Urban. "Everything has guitar solos [on Fuse], so I didn't think that it was any less than any other record, so it's funny how people perceived things."

Asked if he took those perceptions positively or negatively, he says, "Probably neither; just a bit more surprisingly."

Urban and Rodgers have already hit the stage together, sharing a short set during Rodgers' FOLD Festival in August. Backed by the current members of Chic, the two stretched Urban's 2002 hit "Somebody Like You" to 15 minutes in length, trading bluesy solos throughout, and added some guitar-heavy muscle to "Long Hot Summer." Urban says the pair's work in the recording studio will be similarly fleet-fingered, although he'll continue letting the song — rather than the guitar parts — come first.

"I love that people want to hear the guitar," he explains, "but I just think about the song. It's like saying I have to put fiddling on because it's a country record. Whatever the song seems to want, you know."

Florence and the Machine's Wild Austin Concert: A Front-Row View

When the dynamic band performed a headlining gig at this year's Austin City Limits Festival, Rolling Stone was on hand to document the action

By Kory Grow | October 28, 2015

From the moment Florence Welch storms onstage, she has her arms outstretched like a preacher leading her flock. It's a hot, humid October night in Texas and Florence and the Machine are playing the headlining set at the Austin City Limits Festival, but despite the heat, the indefatigable redheaded vocalist leads her 11-person backing band through an urgent, rousing set.

The group is currently supporting this year's torrential How Big How Blue How Beautiful, an album that supplies songs like the distressed "Ship to Wreck," the powerful "What Kind of Man" and the cinematic title track to comprise most of the set. Through it all, Welch seems to channel her own energy source. Between hits like "Dog Days Are Over," "Shake It Out" and her new offerings, she strikes classical ballet poses, gets in the faces of the fans singing along in the front row, streaks through the crowd in just a bra and bellbottoms, and collapses with her arms and legs outstretched like a snow angel by the time she's done. The audience reciprocated her energy, fanning their arms, waving their clothes in the air (just as Welch had done) and lending a Greek chorus to her every lyric.

"It's about jumping off the cliff because you want people to feel free from judgment," Welch, who describes her state of mind as shell-shocked, says the next day about why she charged the audience half-naked. "Rather than being anything titillating, it's symbolic of letting go of inhibition and of being unashamed."

Rolling Stone was on hand to witness every minute of the group's exhilarating headlining set. Click through to see what happened.

Photos by Pooneh Ghana

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Madonna's Rebel Heart world tour with Guest Katy Perry.

Carrie Underwood Announces 'Storyteller' Tour Dates

"Smoke Break" singer will launch her first-ever "in the round" tour in January

Phil Collins Plotting Comeback: 'I Am No Longer Retired'

"The horse is out of the stable and I'm raring to go," says Genesis singer

Phil Collins is plotting a new tour and album more than a decade after announcing his retirement Camera Press/Rachael Wright/Redux

Sitting in the master bedroom of his Miami Beach mansion just five days after undergoing major back surgery, Phil Collins is still weak and in no small amount of pain. But when the conversation for an upcoming My Life in 15 Songs feature turns to his future plans, he grows animated and excited. "I'm no longer officially retired," he says. "The horse is out of the stable and I'm raring to go."

Collins hasn't released an album of new material since 2002's Testify, which he supported with the cheekily-titled First Farewell Tour. Since then, he's only emerged for a brief Genesis reunion tour in 2007 and the 2010 Motown covers collection Going Back, but he's now plotting a comeback tour and a new solo LP. "My kids are now 10 and 14 and they want to see what their dad does," he says. "They were in nappies when I was last on the road. They love my music and I'd like to take them out so they can enjoy it."

His young family was actually his main motivation for retiring from the road and moving to Switzerland full-time about a decade ago. But in 2008, his wife left him and eventually took the boys to Miami, leaving Collins devastated. "It left me with a lot of time on my hands to think about what happened," he says. "I went through a few bits of darkness; drinking too much. I killed my hours watching TV and drinking, and it almost killed me. But I haven't had a drink in three years."

"My kids are now 10 and 14 and they want to see what their dad does."

Earlier this year, he moved into Jennifer Lopez's former house in Miami to be closer to his kids, right down the street from Barry Gibb. It allowed him to be with his sons nearly every day, even setting up a soundproof room where his 14-year-old son Nicholas could practice with his band. Everything seemed great until he woke up one morning and couldn't move his right foot. "I had an MRI and my back and hips were just shot," he says. "The doctor had to go in there, work on the sciatic nerve and take my back apart and unscramble the mess."

His medical issues date back to 2000 when he lost almost all hearing in his left ear. His problems grew when all the drumming he did on the 2007 Genesis reunion tour led to a dislocated vertebra in his neck that caused nerve damage in his hands, ultimately leaving him unable to play the drums. He tried to carry on, even taping the sticks to his hands, but it seemed hopeless. "After this surgery, though, the doctor said to me that my vital signs were all there," he says. "He said to me, 'If you want to play drums again, all you have to do is practice.'"

Anticipating a return, he reconvened his old band, including bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Jason Bonham (in place of Chester Thompson), for three weeks of rehearsal last year. "I wasn't in good shape and then I got sick, which didn't help," he says. "Jason's a lovely guy and a great player. We never really talked since we finished that third week, so I never found out how the other guys liked it or how Jason liked it."

"If people rediscover the old stuff and show interest, it'd be silly to not make more music."

He's also moving a studio into his Miami home and says that he'll be begin recording new music in about a month, though he's unsure if the tour will come before or after an album. The decision will be based partially on the public's reception to his upcoming slate of solo album reissues, which will feature tons of unheard demos and alternate versions of songs from throughout his career. "I got very involved in these reissues," he says. "We even re-shot all the covers, which was my idea. I'm easily flattered. If people rediscover the old stuff and show interest, it would be silly to not make more music."

Collins' longtime manager Tony Smith is laying the groundwork for a tour right now, but the details are up in the air. "I don't think I want a very long tour," Collins says. "But I would like to play the stadiums in Australia and the Far East, and that's the only way to do that. But there's a part of me that just wants to do theaters, so we'll see."

News of Collins' return to the stage is certain to get Genesis fans hoping the band will also make a return, but Collins is noncommittal. "Let's start with this [solo] bit first," he says. "I love the guys. I would just prefer to do this first. For now, let's just see how this goes."

The Peter Gabriel-led lineup of Genesis hasn't played since a one-off reunion in 1982 and they haven't toured since 1975. Fans continue to fantasize about a reunion, which baffles Collins. "I just don't understand that," he says. "They haven't thought it through. Pete won't sing 'Invisible Touch' or 'I Can't Dance.' We'd only do material like 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.' Also, I can't play drums, so I can't do what I did. I just want to settle with the bits of me that I can possibly do."

Right now, his focus is on recovering from the surgery and seeing what kind of music he's inspired to write. "No matter what happens, I can go out there, play piano and sing," he says. "I'm just in a very happy place right now."

McCartney, Bowie, Eazy-E Lead Record Store Day Black Friday Lineup

Spoon, Frank Zappa, Queen among myriad artists readying exclusive vinyl releases

By Jon Blistein October 27, 2015

Paul McCartney, David Bowie and Eazy-E lead a stacked up lineup of artists participating in Record Store Day's annual Black Friday event Randy Brooke/Getty; Scott Legato/Getty/Al Pereira/Getty;

Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Eazy-E, Frank Zappa, Queen and Spoon are just a handful of artists prepping special releases for Record Store Day's annual Black Friday bonanza.

McCartney will follow up the recent reissue of his solo LP, Pipes of Peace, with a new remix of his 1983 hit collaboration with Michael Jackson, "Say Say Say"; meanwhile, Bowie will preempt his new album, Blackstar, with the re-release his 1997 LP Earthling on translucent green vinyl with tri-fold cover packaging. And as a special holiday treat, Eazy-E's "Merry Muthafuckin’ Xmas" will be released for the first time as a 45 RPM record.

Elsewhere, Spoon will issue their Cramps cover, "TV Set," as part of a two-track, 10-inch RSD Black Friday exclusive, while Queen will celebrate the 40th anniversary of "Bohemian Rhapsody" with a 12-inch vinyl edition featuring the original artwork and track listing.

Other special titles include a reissue of Zappa's posthumous Feeding the Monkies at Ma Maison on bright yellow vinyl; The Best of Earth Wind & Fire on 12-inch picture vinyl and Johnny Cash's Man in Black Live in Denmark 1971 as a remastered double LP on white and red colored vinyl.

Run-D.M.C. will also offer The Singles Collection, which features some of the group's biggest tracks released with full color jackets based on the original records. Pharcyde will also drop a blue and clear split pressing of Labcabincalifornia cut "Runnin'" and non-album B-side "Emerald Butterfly" as a 45 RPM seven-inch.

Among the myriad artists also readying RSD Black Friday offerings are Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Judas Priest, the Clash, Faith No More, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Gang of Four, Jesus and Mary Chain, Otis Redding, the Buzzcocks, Brian Wilson, Garbage, Dave Matthews Band, Nine Inch Nails, Charlie Parker and John Lee Hooker. More information about these releases, as well as participating independent retailers, is available on the Record Store Day website.

Hear Alessia Cara's Rebellious New Song, 'Wild Things'

Singer-songwriter's debut LP, 'Know-It-All' set for release next month

By Brittany Spanos October 27, 2015

Homepage Photograph by Chad Batka/The NY Times/Redux

Nineteen-year-old singer-songwriter Alessia Cara is following up her solid debut single "Here" and accompanying EP Four Pink Walls with her first LP, Know-It-All. The singer has previewed the album with the anthemic new song "Wild Things." Know-It-All will be released on November 13th via Def Jam.

Like her song "Seventeen," "Wild Things" is a celebration of youth and follows in the vein of the anti-cool kid stance on "Here." Unlike her debut single, however, Cara goes for more straight-up pop on the more fast-paced, percussive tune. "We don't care what they say, no way," Cara sings on the rebellious track.

Cara gained attention for her smooth, Isaac Hayes-sampling "Here," which was written from the perspective of an unwilling, reluctant party attendee. In July, the singer made her late-night debut when the Roots backed her on a performance of the single on The Tonight Show. A month later, her EP Four Pink Walls was released. Earlier this month, the Def Jam singer performed at the Tidal X concert, which also featured performances from Beyonce, Jay Z and Nicki Minaj.

Hear Scarlett Johansson Read Sexy Bible Verses on New Mike O'Brien Track

Star's sultry Deuteronomy riff previews comedian's new concept album, 'Tasty Radio'

By Rolling Stone October 28, 2015

Scarlett Johansson tackles Deuteronomy verses in a track from Mike O'Brien's new album.

Mike O'Brien may have left Saturday Night Live, but he continues to be a vital part of the sketch-comedy world. On October 30th, the "7 Minutes in Heaven" star will release a new comedy album, Tasty Radio. Below, listen to the track "Sexy Bible," which features the album's most surprising guest, Scarlett Johansson.

Tasty Radio is a concept LP, with all the tracks serving as different radio stations. On "Sexy Bible," Johansson reads ridiculous passages from the Book of Deuteronomy on WSEX, Sexy Talk Radio.

"I've always wanted to do a sketch about the Old Testament, specifically Deuteronomy," O'Brien tells Rolling Stone. "The Old Testament is filled with beautiful stuff, but also some weirdly specific, random rules and speeches. Deuteronomy could be called 'Laws for Stuff That Will Never Apply to 99% of Civilization,' like what to do with a dead animal you find [or] what to do to a woman who grabs the junk of a guy who her husband is fighting. [It's] a very funny time capsule of what those guys were worried about back then."

For "Sexy Bible," O'Brien knew he couldn't tackle the task of satirizing Deuteronomy on his own. "I wasn't sure what the comedic take would be when I first became obsessed with Deuteronomy, but I knew a female should be delivering most of it because a lot of the quotes are very misogynistic and who wants to hear a guy make fun of that," O'Brien explains. "I was so thrilled that Scarlett said she'd do it. We actually did another, half-improvised sketch after finishing 'Sexy Bible.' I'll probably release the other one later on."

Along with Johansson, O'Brien's album features friends and peers such as Cecily Strong, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen, John Mulaney and Seth Meyers. In August, O'Brien appeared in an episode of Armisen and Meyers' Documentary Now! series on IFC.

Listen: http://www.rollingstone.c...k-20151028

Quincy Jones, Diahann Carroll and More Salute Blacks in TV [PHOTOS]

The Paley Center for Media honored the 35th anniversary of BET and more at their Hollywood Tribute to African-American Achievements in Television

Erica Ash and Quincy Jones

Ice-T and wife Coco Austin

Eamonn Walker

LaRoyce Hawkins

Tommy Davidson

Erica Ash

Regina King

Byron Allen

Niecy Nash

Tamala Jones

Master P

Brandy Norwood

Debra Martin Chase

Diahann Carroll

Sam Richardson and Erica Ash

Malcolm-Jamal Warner

Yaya DaCosta

Debra Lee

Yara Shahidi

Maverick Carter

50 Cent

Marcus Scribner

Aonika Laurent Thomas and Sean Patrick Thomas

Tichina Arnold

Terrence Howard

Keegan-Michael Key

Rick Fox

Alfred Enoch

Stars come out for Sinatra’s birthday

14 October, 2015 in News

Ol’ Blue Eyes would have turned 100 in December. Pic: Wiki Commons

A host of big names will appear on US television special marking what would have been the crooner’s 100th birthday

On December 12, Frank Sinatra would have been 100 years old. To mark the occasion, CBS and the Recording Academy have joined forces to stage a tribute special called Sinatra 100: An All-Star Grammy Concert. Tony Bennett, Carrie Underwood, John Legend, Usher, Garth Brooks and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine will all perform, with more top-flight artists expected to be added to the bill soon. There will also archive footage of Sinatra’s own performances interspersed thoughout the two-hour programme.

Neil Portnow, president and CEO of The Recording Academy, said: “Frank Sinatra is a voice for all generations. His showmanship and artistry have remained unmatched since he began performing professionally in the 1930s to his last recording 21 years ago. Today, he continues to gain popularity for his classic sound and signature style. It’s only fitting that we join the global celebration in honor of his 100th birthday.” And fitting it indeed is, Sinatra having won no fewer than nine Grammy awards over the course of his career.

Jack Sussman of CBS Entertainment said: “The name Frank Sinatra is synonymous with excellence that is timeless. As a performer, he possessed undeniable charisma and masterful artistry that resonate throughout generations. To have the opportunity to celebrate the life and art of The Chairman of the Board on his 100th birthday, and witness the lasting effects his music has had on artists today with a star-studded Grammy concert, is a true honour.”

The show will be recorded at the Encore Theatre in Las Vegas on 2 December, and be broadcast on the CBS network from between 9 and 11pm on Sunday 6 December.

Other celebrations of the Sinatra centenary have included a documentary film called Sinatra: All Or Nothing At All, and the release of CD and DVD boxsets, not to mention several books. An exhibition entitled Sinatra: An American Icon opens at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles next week, while closer to home, an orchestral concert called London Salutes Frank: A Centenary Concert is taking place at London’s Hammersmith Apollo on 13 December.

Marcus Miller, Corn Exchange Cambridge, review: 'a cool cat and a man of deep feeling'

Marcus Miller

“What’s the most cold-blooded bass riff you know?” was the question star jazz bassist Marcus Miller put to his audience mid-way through this gig. They were now pent-up with excitement, and shouted out various candidates, which Miller rejected. “Here it is,” he said, and launched into the wiry little bass riff that begins the Motown classic Papa was a Rolling Stone. It’s just two notes, but the way he made the silences between them pulsate with energy was enough to drive the audience wild.

Cold-blooded indeed. Miller is a past master at stirring up excitement with the minimum means, which he does with a half-smile that shows he’s unstirred himself. Cool cat he may be, but Miller is actually a man of deep feeling, particularly when it comes to the story of the African slave trade that took his ancestors first to Trinidad, then on to the Deep South, then Northwards to Detroit. His new album Afrodeezia, which he’s now touring in the UK is a tribute to that ‘inspirational journey’ as he calls it.

For this, something more than a sly way with horny riffs is required. It needs a preacher’s soaring oratory, and an ability to summon up all the different musics of the ancestors, whether it’s the call-and-response of the old slave songs, or the joyous sound of calypso. On the album Miller achieved that partly through a roster of starry guest artists including Chuck D of Public Enemy and Lalah Hathaway.

They’re missing from the tour, but that’s all to the good. The album was too slickly produced to be genuinely moving, but here the six musicians alongside Miller sometimes touched on something deep. Trumpeter Maurice Brown brought an unexpected graceful lyricism here and there, very different to the ‘speaking in tongues’ frenzy of saxophonist Alex Han. Keyboardist Alex Han whisked us from Motown into church in Preacher’s Son, and guitarist Adam Agati brilliantly summoned up a flavour of West African joyousness in the aptly-named Hylife. Most impressive of all was percussionist Mino Cinelu, who showed in B’s River that the humble triangle can summon up a whirl of ecstasy.

As for Miller, he often tried to turn his bass guitar into a second lead guitar, with mixed results. It was his soaring bass clarinet solo in Gorée (named after the notorious slave-trading port in Senegal) which reached the eloquence he’d clearly been striving for all evening.

Elton John has been talking about his upcoming 33rd studio album Wonderful Crazy Night, his expectations for it and how he and his band enjoyed making it in a live atmosphere. The record will be released on 5 February 2016, with the first single, Looking Up, out now.

During the current run of his Million Dollar Piano show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the artist spoke to music journalist Paul Sexton about his Beats 1 radio show for Apple Music, for an upcoming feature in the Sunday Times newspaper. But he also told Sexton how he made the new album, co-produced with T-Bone Burnett, who also produced his 2013 release, The Diving Board, and the 2010 collaboration with Leon Russell, The Union.

Co-written with his songwriting partner of 48 years, Bernie Taupin, Wonderful Crazy Night has John reconvening with longtime collaborators Nigel Olsson, Davey Johnstone and Ray Cooper, along with more recent bandmates Matt Bissonnette, Kim Bullard and John Mahon.

"The new album is all one or two takes, and that's it," he said. "We did a song a day, wrote a song, finished it, did the backing vocals and then went onto the next track. So in 17 days we did 14 songs, ten of which ended up on the album."

The singer-songwriter adds that the album's upbeat mood reflects his current state of mind, with a contemporary feel and something of a nod to the past. "For me, it's a joyous record," he added. "It's like going back to the '70s, there's a lot of '70s-influenced things in there, but it's a record that's been made in 2015.

"I'm proud of it, and as an artist at 68 years of age, that's all I can be. I'm very comfortable in my own skin about the last three or four records that I've made." Asked about his expectations for Wonderful Crazy Night, he said simply: "That people like it. That's all I can hope for."

Lisa Fischer, the American R&B vocalist much admired by Rolling Stones fans for her prominent role in the band's live performances for more than 25 years, is taking to the ballet.

Fischer, Brooklyn-born and now based in New Jersey, is making her first venture into the world of dance in the 6 November premiere of a 30-minute, as yet-untitled work by Alonzo King's Lines Ballet, at Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts in San Francisco.

The singer is also known for her work with Sting, Luther Vandross and others, for her appearance in the Oscar-winning 2013 documentary Twenty Feet From Stardom, and for her own hit recordings, notably the Grammy-winning R&B No. 1 'How Can I Ease The Pain' and the top ten follow-up 'Save Me,' both in 1991.

“I’m going to be moving, but I wouldn’t call it dancing,” Fischer told the SFGate website. “Alonzo wanted to explore. He would ask the dancers to move and create a sort of scenario, and I would mostly sing new melodies as they came to me watching the movement."

In addition to the original, atmospheric music of the piece, SFGate reports that she will perform Duke Ellington's spiritual 'Come Sunday' as well as 'How Can I Ease The Pain.'

Currently in between live commitments with the Stones, Fischer is seizing the opportunity to get involved in the work, having first been invited to see the Lines Ballet at the Joyce Theatre in New York two years ago. "I haven’t really done much dancing," she says. "Alonzo knows where not to take me physically. The challenge has been to really lay back and trust the process.”

Patsy Cline In 20 Songs

October 28, 2015

in Category: PLAYLISTS, uBYTES

How to sum up the recording achievements and singular vocal presence of one of the true originals of country music in 20 songs? That's our goal in this new tribute to the lady born Virginia Hensley, known and loved by us all as Patsy Cline.

Patsy's legacy is very closely identified with perhaps half a dozen major hits that have become part of the very fabric of country music history. We have of course included 'Crazy,' 'Walkin' After Midnight,' 'I Fall To Pieces,' 'Sweet Dreams (Of You)' and her other trademark singles. But there's plenty of scope to dig deeper into the all-too-limited catalogue of an artist who would undoubtedly only have enhanced her legend, had she not died in a plane crash in 1963 at the age of just 30.

Cline's recording history of just eight years was, in some ways, a strange one, as it included two initial years without much recognition from 1955, and another spell without great success of about four years. That formative period is represented here by the singles 'A Church, A Courtroom and Goodbye' (her debut 45 and a classic country tale of d-i-v-o-r-c-e) and 'I Love You Honey.'

When she signed to Decca, acclaim finally arrived with 'Walkin' After Midnight,' the 1957 cut that went to No. 2 country and No. 12 pop. That year brought a self-titled debut album for Decca, from which you can hear her own co-write, under her real name, 'Don't Ever Leave Me Again.'

But then, unthinkable as it seems today, Cline returned to relative obscurity, despite a move with her husband and young daughter Julie to Nashville in 1958. A dozen singles came and went without any chart activity, of which we've included 'Three Cigarettes (In Ash Ashtray),' 'Stop The World (And Let Me Off)' and, as a taste of her stage craft, a live 1961 recording of 'Lovesick Blues.'

Finally, she landed on 'I Fall To Pieces,' took it to No. 1 on the country countdown, and the acceptance Patsy had craved for years rained down on her. Hit after classic hit followed, and her chart appearances continued, after her tragic passing, into 1964.

Through many compilations, live albums and remixes, subsequent generations have come to admire her almost effortlessly elegant vocal prowess. Her recording of 'Always' became a country hit in 1980, and our playlist concludes with 'Have You Ever Been Lonely,' the 1981 electronic duet with another country hero that we lost far too soon, Jim Reeves. Like Dolly Parton and very few others, Patsy Cline is one of those giants of their genre who are bigger than the music they came to represent.

How Genesis Spent Their Saturdays

May 28, 2015

in Category: uBYTES

Do you know which Genesis release had them singing about the programme that’s just been named the longest-running TV football show in the world? Or, on another song from it, about the birds that took pot shots at the tourists in Trafalgar Square? The answer is the EP that gave them their first UK top 20 singles appearance.

The three-track release ‘Spot The Pigeon’ has a chart anniversary today, having made its debut on the UK countdown on May 28, 1977. The answer to our first question lies in the lead track, ‘Match Of The Day,’ the band’s salute to the great Saturday night football institution (which at that stage was 13 years into its epic run, and is now 51 years old). “Match Of The Day’s the only way to spend your Saturday,” enthused Phil Collins, with a video filmed at London side Queen’s Park Rangers’ Loftus Road ground.

The one about the anti-social birds — who also left their mark on the Foreign Office roof, and made their beds from “paper clips and bus tickets” — was ‘Pigeons’; the third track, a near seven-minute piece occupying the whole of side two, was the often-underrated ‘Inside and Out,’ notable as the effective farewell to Genesis of Steve Hackett.

The three songs were leftovers from the sessions for ‘Wind & Wuthering,’ the current Genesis album of the time, released the previous December. The band felt that they didn’t really fit the mood of the LP, and while there’s a case for saying that ‘Inside and Out’ — co-written by Hackett and with a brilliant synthesiser solo by Tony Banks — would have been a worthy addition to it, the poppy feel of ‘Match Of The Day’ and the whimsical nature of ‘Pigeons’ were perhaps better served by the EP format.

At this time, Genesis had only one previous UK top 40 single to their name, 1974’s ‘I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe).’ The ‘Spot The Pigeon’ EP entered the chart at No. 41 and made an impressive second-week leap to No. 14, its highest position in a seven-week run.

Rick Rushes Into The Hot 100 Again

September 14, 2015

in Category: uBYTES

Forty-four appearances on the Billboard singles chart in a little over six years. That was the proud track record of Rick Nelson by this chart date 52 years ago, when he revived a World War II hit by Glenn Miller for his next successful 45.

‘Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)’ was written in 1940, with music by New York composer Rube Bloom and lyrics by the celebrated Johnny Mercer. In those days in which new potential hit copyrights were seized upon by multiple recording artists, several versions of the number made Billboard’s charts that year.

Miller & his Orchestra had the biggest wartime hit with their version, which made the listings in June and spent a week at No. 1 the following month. August brought further hit interpretations, by vocalist Tony Martin and by Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra, whose vocalist was a 25-year-old from New Jersey called Frank Sinatra.

The song was revived for a post-war audience by Jo Stafford in 1953 and Keely Smith four years later, and then emerged again in the early 1960s, with versions by a myriad of artists. Brook Benton, Shirley Bassey, Brenda Lee, Etta James, Doris Day and Al Hirt were all among those covering it before Decca Records chose it as Nelson’s new single, and saw it revive his fortunes.

By September 1963, for all that great chart history, Rick had been without a top 20 US hit since ‘It’s Up To You.’ That was, admittedly, only eight months earlier, but four singles after that had been relatively modest performers, in the period in which Nelson switched labels from Imperial to Decca.

‘Fools Rush In’ made its start on the September 14, 1963 Hot 100 at No. 87, right next to Roy Orbison’s new entry with ‘Blue Bayou.’ This time, Rick was onto a winner, and the song climbed steadily over the next months before landing at No. 12 in November. Before the year was out, he would be reviving an even older song in ‘For You’ and getting an even bigger hit.

The Carpenters In 20 Songs

October 27, 2015

in Category: PLAYLISTS, uBYTES

Even though they were only able to record together for some 14 years, age does not dim the timeless contribution of the Carpenters. The sibling act from New Haven, Connecticut practically invented the modern idiom of mature, beautifully constructed soft pop, with one ear for the music they grew up with and another for winning melodies, sympathetic instrumentation and, of course, those gorgeous harmonies.

Richard Carpenter turned a mere 69 on 15 October and his sister Karen would still have been only 65 years old now. Spotlighting their legacy, we here at uDiscover have put together this special 20-song playlist.

We’ll all have ideas of the Carpenters’ perfect 20 tracks; as ever we make no grand claims for this to be a definitive list in any way, and we want to hear from you about your own favourites. This selection features most, but not all, of their classic hits, because we also wanted to find space for a handful of the Carpenters’ lesser-played album gems.

Broadly chronological, the list draws from all of Karen and Richard’s studio albums released during her lifetime, with the exception of 1978’s festive Christmas Portrait. We begin with the early cover of ‘Ticket To Ride,’ from the 1969 debut first released as Offering and then renamed after the Beatles’ number. It was our first notice of their depth of imagination and song craft, which they applied both to classic material, new works by top writers such as Roger Nichols and Paul Williams, Richard’s collaborations with John Bettis and other sources.

Soon, they were underlining that again with their revival of Bacharach & David’s ‘(They Long To Be) Close To You,’ which became the definitive rendition and gave them a glorious four weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1970. It set in motion a sequence of superb singles and albums, including 11 more US top ten hits, two of them No. 1s.

Other highlights include album tracks such as ‘Crescent Noon,’ from Close To You, the Bacharach-David medley from Carpenters, their sultry take on Leon Russell’s ‘This Masquerade’ and elegant later singles such as ‘I Need To Be In Love.’ Enjoy these 79 minutes of pure musical sophistication.

Watch The 2015 Restored Version of The Beatles ‘Hello Goodbye’

October 24, 2015

in Category: VIDEOS

This newly restored video is taken from The Beatles 1 Video Collection, released on November 6th and available to pre-order now: http://udiscover.lnk.to/TheBeatles1

When The Beatles began recording what would become their third single to be released in 1967, its working title was ‘Hello, Hello’. The single sat at No.1 in both the UK and America for the first three weeks of 1968.

Paul directed the promotional film for ‘Hello, Goodbye’, remarking later: “Directing a film is something that everyone always wants to get into. It was something I’d always been interested in, until I actually tried it. ... There was so much of that going on – so many decisions to be made – that I ended up hating it.”

“I just ran out there: ‘Get a shot of this! Do this for a bit now! Let’s have a shot there! Get a close-up of him! Get the girls on their own! Go back there! Get a wide angle! We’ll edit it, we’ll make it work.’”

The video debuted on the Ed Sullivan Show, Sunday 26 November 1967.

Songwriter and vocalist Diane Charlemagne has died.Charlemagne found fame as singer of the British outfit Urban Cookie Collective. Her wonderful soul voice was prominent on various drum & bass hits, including Goldie tunes like "Inner City Life" and "Kemistry." A label message read: I'm very sorry to have to announce the death of Diane Charlemagne. Diane passed away this afternoon surrounded by her family after losing her brave battle with cancer.The release of her last record 'It's In Your Eyes' featuring Andy Rourke of The Smiths and remixed by Youth, will go ahead on November 20th as planned, with the proceeds going to Diane's family.

Diane Charlemagne Featuring Andy RourkeIt's In Your Eyes Northern Quarter 20 November 2015'It's In Your Eyes' is a slice of sophisticated urban soul featuring iconic Moss Side singer Diane Charlemagne (Moby, Urban Cookie Collective, Goldie) and Simon Wolstencroft, long term member of The Fall and Ian Brown's drummer.On hearing the demo of the track, Andy Rourke, iconic bass player and member of The Smiths joined the collective to lay down some of his signature bass lines, underpinning the infectious melody. Strings come courtesy of ex-Elbow and I Am Kloot's Jote Osahn, making this a real Mancunian tour de force.The track was produced by Mike Bennett (The Fall, Ian Brown, The Specials and Kim Fowley), arranged and engineered by Pete Booker (The Kinks, Justin Timberlake and East 17) and has been remixed by Youth who has produced a powerful Drum and Bass version of the track.The Band:Diane Charlemagne - Lead Vocal & Background VocalsAndy Rourke - BassSimon Wolstencroft - Drums & OdysseyPete Booker - Jupiter 6 - Moog Voyager, Virus TI, Guitar & Background VocalsMike Bennett - Background Vocals, Guitar & VCS 3Jote Osahn – 5 String Violin

Songwriter and vocalist Diane Charlemagne has died.

Charlemagne first rose to fame as the voice of British outfit Urban Cookie Collective. Her soulful vocals appeared on a string of drum & bass hits, including Goldie tunes like "Inner City Life" and "Kemistry." She worked outside D&B too, collaborating with the likes of Japanese house artist Satoshi Tomiie and UK producer Joey Negro. She also spent time touring with Moby's live band.

In recent times Charlemagne battled cancer and regularly kept her fans updated on Twitter. On October 28th she lost that battle. Goldie confirmed the news on Twitter, saying: "So she went into the early morning... God rest her soul #diane what a gifted voice." Our thoughts are with her family and her friends.

Police and family spent seven hours trying to talk down British actor and Tommy Hilfiger model Sam Sarpong, 40, before he jumped to his death from bridge

• The British-born star had leaped to his death from a bridge aged 40
• County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner confirmed he died yesterday
• Police are thought to have spent up to seven hours trying to talk him down
• Sarpong was the face of Tommy Hilfiger and co-host of MTV's Yo Momma
• He is survived by his sister June Sarpong - a popular British TV host

By Hannah Parry For Dailymail.com

Published: 17:26 EST, 28 October 2015 | Updated: 07:31 EST, 29 October 2015

British actor and Tommy Hilfiger model Sam Sarpong, 40, has jumped to his death from a bridge despite family and police spending seven hours trying to talk him down.

The TV presenter, who co-hosted MTV's Yo Momma show alongside Wilmer Valderrama, toppled from the Colorado Street bridge in Pasadena, Los Angeles.

County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner confirmed the star died yesterday in an apparent suicide, but added that the official cause of death will not be known until the results of toxicology results come through.

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MTV host and Tommy Hilfiger model Sam Sarpong (pictured left in his modelling days as the face of Hilfiger, and most recently, right) has tragically taken his own life aged just 40

Pasadena Police said that they were called to the bridge yesterday morning after reports of a man standing on the outside of the railings.

Trained negotiators were called while members of his family provided information on his previous emotional state.

However, after seven hours, he fell to his death and was pronounced dead just before 4pm.

Today, his sister June Sarpong, a popular TV presenter in Britain, released a statement, paying tribute to her brother.

She said: 'I love my brother very much. Sam was an amazing human being. His passing is a loss for the world.

'I'd ask anyone who is going through tough times to seek help. Please talk to someone.

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Sarpong, the brother of popular British TV presenter June Sarpong (pictured with him), had been a sought after model and appeared in campaigns for Hilfiger and Louis Vuitton as well as shows for top designers such as Gucci and Versace

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The British-born star, who co-hosted MTV's Yo Momma show alongside Wilmer Valderrama, leaped to his death from a bridge. He is pictured with singer Marsha Ambrosius

'My family and I are in a state of shock, please allow us to grieve in private. Thank you for all your messages of condolence.'

While his management company, Advanced Management, said: 'Devastated to hear that our friend and client @mrsamsarpong is no longer with us. Prayers and thoughts to the entire Sarpong family.'

Sarpong had been a sought after model and appeared in campaigns for Tommy Hilfiger as well as shows for top designers such as Gucci and Versace.

He also made fashion history by becoming the first black male model to do a Luis Vuitton editorial campaign.

The model, who had dual American-British citizenship later branched out into acting where he secured roles in television shows such as Veronica Mars and Bones.

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The Colorado Street bridge in Pasadena, Los Angeles. Police had tried to talk Sarpong down from the bridge for seven hours

Friends described him as being 'the life of the party', someone who loved life and would face every day with 'a smile on his face.'

Sarpong moved to Los Angeles when he was 11 where he became a promising high school basketball star.

When his ambitions of playing professionally fizzled out, he turned to acting and modelling and he became the face of Tommy Hilfiger for six years.

He also launched his own clothing line Future Stars, influenced by both British and Californian styles which reflect his dual citizen upbringing.

He had previously attributed his success to his Ghanaian father.

'I went from barely being able to pay my bills to now being an international model,' he told Black Hollywood Live in July 2013. 'I made a lot of money early. Luckily I had my father to guide me.'

The supermodel and musician has appeared in more than 60 feature films such as Love Don't Cost a Thing and No Weapons, for which he won best lead actor at the San Diego Film Festival.

He also had numerous television roles including Everybody Hates Chris, Cold Case, and a small upcoming role as a neighbor in FX's American Crime Story.

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When his ambitions of playing professional fizzled out, he turned to acting and modelling (pictured with, L-R: actress Michelle Kanan, Bamma USA CEO Brett Roberts and actor Danny Trejo at Bamma USA presents Badbeat 10)

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Workin' it: Sam Sarpong performed during the show alongside the BOY London models in March

But while his success grew, Sarpong remained humble.

'I've never understood when people start believing their own hype,' he told Brits Across the Pond.

'I've been at different levels when you're not working and nobody will call you back and your friends aren't around because you aren't going to the cool parties. Then there's times when you're on a hot show, your billboard is everywhere and everyone's feeling you, so when things are good I really enjoy it but I never get caught up in it.'

The Sarpong family have certainly had their fair share of success. While he was doing gaining a name for himself in America, his sister June was blazing a trail in the world of television across the Pond.

She was also an MTV host for its UK channel and went onto become a presenter for the long-running Channel 4 teen show T4.

June, who was awarded an OBE, has hosted numerous British TV programmes and is a regular at the MOBO Awards while she also runs her own production company, Lipgloss Productions.

Tributes have been pouring in on social media for her brother on social media.

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Nick Cannon, who co-hosted MTV's Yo Momma with Sarpong posted this tribute to Instagram, saying 'We have to remember to lift each other up, because we all we got out here'

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His MTV co-star Wilmer Valderama said in a statement: 'I am so sad and so confused.. Sam did it all, believed in dreaming bigger than anyone around him.. We made memories together that will last us forever, thank you for sharing your talent with me and the world..

'Find your peace my brother! And to everyone in a dark place.. PLEASE, please talk to someone.. Anyone.. Trust me that we WILL listen. My prayers and heart are with family and friends that were blessed to know his beautiful soul."

Nick Cannon, who appeared also on Yo Momma alongside Sarpong posted a black and white picture of himself and the model with two other friends on Instagram.

He wrote beside it: ''#Crew #Love #RIP #SamSarpong We have to remember to lift each other up, because we all we got out here. #GreatSpirit #GreatSoul #GreatHeart #GoneTooSoon (sic).'

Hollywood actor Arjay Smith said: 'Sending love and prayers to the friends and family of @mrsamsarpong We will truly miss you! U were the nicest and realist! #RIP #SamSarpong.'

New Girl star Lamorne Morris tweeted: 'I don't even know what to say. RIP Bro.'

Fox anchor Christine Devine said she was 'shocked and saddened' by the death of the star, who she described as being; 'the life of the party.. an amazing energetic rapper, Tommy Hilfiger model, MTV host, actor.'

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She also posted a picture of the star at one of the many charity events he was involved in.

'The amazing Sam Sarpong... Giving his time to children in the hospital during Christmas. Sam, we miss you. RIP.'

Celebrity designer Leontine Abdullah ‏added: 'A Kindred Spirit...Gone too soon Rest In Peace fellow #designer #ripsam.'

Model Tyson Beckford tweeted: 'RIP Sam Sarpong. You will be missed Homie!'

Film director Dale Stelly wrote: 'May my friend #SamSarpong's soul rise through the heavens...I told you life is so short nowadays.'

Rapper el Sid ‏tweeted: 'Awww @mrsamsarpong just last week we were laughing together...I'm going to miss you brother #rip #samsarpong.'

His friend Lyriq Bent tweeted: 'Extremely sad to hear the passing of my old friend. #rip #samsarpong. You will be missed.'

Nzinga Blake ‏added: 'My heart is so broken to hear the news about the passing of our dear friend and brother Sam Sarpong.'

While British TV presenter Richard Blackwood tweeted his sister June: '@junesarpong I wanted to send you a direct message but I am truly sorry to hear about Sam! My heart goes out to you & your family.'

Vernon Kay, who also presented T4 with June wrote: 'In total shock at the death of Sam Sarpong. My thoughts are with June and her family RIPSAM.'

Another friend, Richard Sanchez, posted: I found out my friend Sam Sarpong died today. When we were together we always talked about life, cracking jokes, laughing about random stuff, you where always enjoying life. Giving each other advice.

'The funny thing is when we were each other we never really talked about the projects we were going to do with each other. He always had a smile on his face and the life of the party or where ever you were at. Sam was not just a close friend he was family. Sam you will not be forgotten. #samsarpong #rip.'

Jazen Anderson tweeted: 'RIP Sam Sarpong! Unreal. Knew that dude for most of my life. Always positive, always hustling. Stay in touch with your loved ones man.'

• For confidential help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or click here

• For confidential support on suicide matters in the UK, call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here

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New Look at Suicide Squad's Killer Croc
Octo 2015


Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc .

Basia Bulat's new album "Good Advice" is out February 12th, 2016

Jennifer Lopez puts her best assets on display as she takes the plunge in a low-cut shiny bodysuit during concert in New York

By Justin Enriquez For Dailymail.com

Published: 01:18 EST, 29 October 2015 | Updated: 08:12 EST, 29 October 2015

She has one of the most famous figures in the world.

And Jennifer Lopez was not shy about showing off her curvaceous frame during her latest concert.

The evergreen 46-year-old star stunner looked absolutely fabulous during a concert at the Madison Square Garden in New York City on Wednesday night.

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Big night: Jennifer Lopez looked great as she performed a concert at the Madison Square Garden in New York City on Wednesday night

She flaunted her fabulous figure in a clinging bodysuit as she moved and grooved on stage during the Mega 97.9 Megaton Concert in the legendary arena.

J-Lo wore the shiny striped garment featuring a low V-cut along with a studded belt as she showed off her iconic derriere.

The Waiting For Tonight hitmaker also rocked a pair of fishnet stockings and black suede knee-high boots.

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Big Booty: The star left little to the imagination in her cheeky on stage outfit

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Va va voom: The evergreen 46-year-old star flaunted her fabulous figure in a clinging bodysuit as she moved and grooved on stage during the Mega 97.9 Megaton Concert in the legendary arena

Another night, another incredible performance and stage outfit from the one and only Jennifer Lopez.

The Latino babe has been wowing with her show-stopping ensembles of late and this plunging metallic bodysuit styled with Gianvito Rossi over-the-knee boots really hit the spot.

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Ooh la la: She flaunted her best assets in the revealing number

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Cheeky! She had no qualms about showing off her pert, shapely derriere

Her brunette tresses were done up in an dishevelled updo as she sported natural, complimentary make-up on her face.

Despite her being in her forties, Jennifer has definitely not missed a beat as she could be seen effortlessly performing her choreography including a move that found her in a full squat.

She was not alone for the performance as she was joined by Puerto Rican reggaeton musician Wisin as she danced with him on-stage.

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Getting low: She looked very spry for being in her mid-40s as she did not miss a beat in her choreography and even performed this impressive squatting move

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All eyes on her: She rocked a shiny black striped body suit with a very low-cut neckline

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How doe she do it: The Waiting For Tonight singer had her brunette tresses in a dishevelled up do as she let her natural looks shine with complimentary make-up

Not only is her music career as hot as ever but she will also be starring in upcoming cop drama Shades Of Blue set to premiere on NBC in January.

The two-time Grammy nominee is also currently featured on one of eight covers for Interview's September 'selfie' edition.

Lopez is set to return as judge for the 15th and final season of American Idol, premiering January on Fox.

And the Feel the Light pop diva won't kick off her 20-show Las Vegas residency at the AXIS in Planet Hollywood until January 20.

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Hourglass: J-Lo proved why she is one of the world's most desirable ladies

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Dynamic duo: Jennifer was joined by Puerto Rican reggaeton musician Wisin

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Lucky man: She even showed off her dance moves by grinding on him

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Big hair, don't care! She seemed to lose track of her large, curly quiff as she threw her head forward

Bryan's back in the old groove: ADRIAN THRILLS reviews Bryan Adams' Get Up

By Adrian Thrills for MailOnline

Published: 18:28 EST, 15 October 2015 | Updated: 18:39 EST, 15 October 2015

Brian Adams: Get up (Polydor)

Verdict: No frills from The Groover

Rating:

Bryan Adams has grown noticeably nostalgic in the past year or so.

Confessing that he no longer knows quite how his time-honoured tunes ‘will transmit into today’s world’, the Canadian rocker has returned unrepentantly to the styles that first inspired him to pick up a guitar.

Last summer’s Tracks Of My Years, full of longing for the golden age of pop radio, was a covers collection that tackled Smokey Robinson, The Beach Boys and others, while the subsequent arena tour celebrated the 30th anniversary of his 1984 breakthrough album Reckless.

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A regular superstar: Canadian musician Bryan Adams performs in Germany this week

His new album, Get Up, is his first set of original songs since 2008’s Eleven, but it is still homesick for the rock ’n’ roll spirit of yesteryear — with a particular attachment to the Fifties twang of Buddy Holly and the Sixties sounds of both The Beatles and the Stones.

It also reunites The Groover From Vancouver with original songwriting partner Jim Vallance (who co-wrote his hits Heaven and Run To You) while also signalling the beginning of a fresh creative partnership with producer Jeff Lynne, a past master of retro-tinged pop.

Adams met the ELO frontman in LA last year and the pair formed an immediate bond. It led to the singer sending a string of rough demos, recorded on the road, to Lynne, who overdubbed guitar, bass and drums and sent the results back to Adams.

The upshot is hardly the most original set of songs we’ll hear this autumn — and critics who deride Adams for his blue-collar, radio-friendly rock will have a field day — but there’s no denying he delivers with exuberance, affection and panache.

New album out: Adams has returned to the styles that first inspired him to pick up a guitar

With guitars, handclaps and Lynne’s ELO-like chug prominent, Adams lays down his musical manifesto on That’s Rock And Roll, name-dropping Buddy Holly and Elvis before declaring: ‘A battered Vox and a beat up Gibson/That’s all you need to get the job done.’ Holly is a touchstone again on rockabilly number You Belong To Me, while the raunchy Go Down Rockin’ owes plenty to the Stones.

Unsurprisingly, given the involvement of long-time Fab Four acolyte Lynne, the spectre of The Beatles looms large. We Did It All is underpinned by Dear Prudence-like chords, while the chiming guitars and sublime harmonies of Don’t Even Try lean heavily on the essence of The Beatles’ Rubber Soul. Recent single Brand New Day is the one tune with a more contemporary feel. Awash with multi-tracked guitars, and possibly autobiographical, it tells of a young Canadian who leaves home and flags down a freight train on his way out of town.

Despite the lyrical cliches, it impressively revisits the freewheeling — and nostalgic — spirit of Adams’s Summer Of ’69.

For all its uncomplicated energy, Get Up ends on a strange note. Thunderbolt is rather stodgy, while Yesterday Was Just A Dream is a fairly routine power ballad. Most unusually, four of the album’s nine tracks are reprised as acoustic numbers at the close.

The four, including the two with Beatles-inspired hooks, lend themselves well enough to the acoustic treatment, but their presence suggests Bryan was running short of ideas.

But Adams, now the proud father of two young daughters, remains a star who makes a virtue out of being a regular guy.

And, in living up to his simple aim of writing songs ‘for people who love real guitar, bass and drums’, he is nothing if not true to himself.

There’s was a musical marriage that took place somewhere on the way to Phoenix, Arizona by way of Central Kansas and a point almost due south on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Glen Campbell’s first hit with a Jimmy Webb song was in late 1967, when ‘By The Time I get To Phoenix’ made #26 on the US charts. A year later he did considerably better with Webb’s gorgeous ballad, ‘Wichita Lineman’ that peaked at No.3 on the best seller list, and a few months after that in early 1969 ‘Galveston’ went one place better on the Billboard Hot 100.

These three records are the very epitome of Americana, evocative, rich in melody and richer still, if that’s possible, in their lyrical beauty. We’ve said it before here at uDiscover, but Jimmy Webb is really one of the greatest living American songwriters.
And yet it is in Glen’s hands, or rather through his beautiful singing, that Webb’s songs came to mean so much. Just listen to the opening verse of ‘Phoenix’ and the way Campbell makes the song resonate. It’s a masterpiece.

In 1974 Glen reunited with Jimmy Webb to record an album of the writer’s songs, they called it Reunion. Three of the songs Jimmy had recorded for his own solo album, Land End that he'd released in June 1974. The three are among the highpoints on the record, ‘Just This One Time’, ‘Ocean In Her Eyes and ‘It’s A Sin’. In particular, ‘Just This One Time’ suits Campbell’s style perfectly and when coupled with Webb’s typically flamboyant, yet still subtle, string arrangements it proves very affecting.

The other really strong songs on the record are ‘You Might As Well Smile’ a trademark conversational Webb special that has a killer chorus as a bonus. This is heartache. ‘Adoration’ is another clever song, as is ‘About the Ocean’, full of poignancy and pathos. The album also includes one of Jimmy’s absolute masterpieces, ‘The Moon’s A Harsh Mistress’, it’s poetic, searing and ultimately one of those songs that is known to have brought grown men to tears.

Released in the last week of October 1974, Reunion staggered to a lofty No.166 on the Billboard chart, but that should not put you off. And while this is an album, largely, filled with lesser known Webb wonders, you should seek it out. It is a masterpiece.

All-Stars Honor Bill Withers at Carnegie Hall

Valerie Simpson, Ledisi, Anthony Hamilton, Aloe Blacc and others paid tribute to Withers and his music

The great Bill Withers, memorialized

There’s an old saying: “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.” Well, nearly 43 years ago to the day, Bill Withers walked onto that stage with what some would assume was not much practice. At the time, he’d only released two albums and, by his own admission (via the documentary Still Bill), had only learned to play the guitar six months before recording his breakout song, “Ain’t No Sunshine.”

What came from that performance is one of the best live albums of all time, and proof that Withers was no flash in the pan. His songs were declarations of profound emotion built around simplistic language through practical, relatable experience. And Withers achieved much fame, even after actively and unapologetically dismissing it.

Those songs—“Use Me,” “Lean on Me” and “I Can’t Write Left Handed”—led him to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this past April and back to Carnegie Hall for Leon on Him: A Tribute to Bill Withers. Presented by Michael Dorf, who curates Carnegie tributes to artists like the Rolling Stones, Prince, Paul Simon and David Byrne for charity, amassed a cast of all-stars (i.e., Anthony Hamilton, Dr. John, Michael McDonald) to pay homage to American music’s ultimate anti-star.

The event was anchored by a 21-piece band, including famed bassist Willie Weeks and Emmy-winning drummer Steven Jordan, and directed by Grammy-winning pianist/producer Greg Phillinganes. Phillinganes in particular exuded that same youth exuberance he’s notorious for, from recording with Stevie Wonder and touring with the late Michael Jackson.

Withers walked out to a thunderous ovation to start things off, bringing out members of the Stuttering Association for the Young (SAY) to get the crowd going with a righteous call and response. As a former stutterer, Withers has always supported those who also suffered the same, and his display of that dedication on a night that was all about him ($50,000 was raised for SAY from ticket sales) was moving and humbling.

One of the early highlights was Ledisi. The powerhouse Grammy-nominated vocalist brought attitude and confidence to Withers’s paranoid anthem, “Who Is He (and What Is He to You).” With building key changes and a quick splash of profanity (“Who is she, and what is that bitch to you?”) thrown in, Ledisi help set tone for the night, brilliantly embodying the song’s deadpan cynicism and understated anger.

Ledisi was followed by a tender rendition of “Let Me Be the One You Need,” a duet from jazz vocalist Gregory Porter and legendary singer/songwriter Valerie Simpson. Their chemistry was undeniable; their graceful ebb and flow would make one think the song was always meant for two. Soon after, the program shifted to recreate Wither’s Live at Carnegie Hall album from start to finish.

The crowd was overwhelmed by Aloe Blacc’s epic presentation and rose to their feet before the last note of the song faded to the back of the hall.

Kicking that off was Dr. John, who lent his distinctive sweet snarl of a voice to “Use Me.” Porter returned during “World Keeps Going Around.” His range, from low-registered croon to explosive squalling in front of a groove-rich arrangement, made the audience hope his next record will be a funk album. Jonathan Butler, who’d opened the show with dance favorite “Lovely Day,” gave a gentle touch to the ballad “Let Me in Your Life”—showcasing the dynamic aesthetics that gives Withers’s catalog such a broad reach.

For the album’s centerpiece, the woeful war veteran tale “I Can’t Write Left Handed,”

Kem Bo put his blues/roots voice and guitar to the dirge-like march. It’s a tune that was written from the perspective of a wounded soldier during the Vietnam War, but continues to be just as poignant and applicable in today’s climate. The SAY choir returned with Michael McDonald for what’s considered Withers’s signature song, “Lean on Me.” Such an earnest, expressive routine from one of pop music’s most distinctive voices could’ve surely been saved for the finale during normal circumstances, but more excellence was soon to come.

At events that feature so many talented artists, it’s usually difficult to identify a standout moment. Not so in this event’s case, as Aloe Blacc walked onto the stage for “Hope She’ll Be Happier.” Backed only by piano, guitar and strings, Blacc’s treatment of Withers’s lament of an unexpected breakup was a masterstroke of patience, restraint and emotion. Blacc’s eyes matched the somber ache of a brokenhearted man. His voice had that perfect tinge of folk, country and soul. The crowd was overwhelmed by his epic presentation and rose to their feet before the last note of the song faded to the back of the hall. They expressed their admiration for Blacc again when he returned to duet with saxophonist Branford Marsalis during Withers’s massive collaboration with the late Grover Washington Jr., “Just the Two of Us.”

So many tribute concerts fall into the trap of blindly putting famous names to songs without considering whether or not they serve the song best. Blacc’s performance notwithstanding, it cannot be overstated how much the song-to-singer combination was the true cornerstone of the performance, and Phillinganes deserves much of the credit for that. This foresight was further exemplified with Anthony Hamilton’s rendition of album closer “Harlem,” which found the southern soul crooner letting the foot stomping overtake him and the rest of the band.

As Kem Bo led all the artists in chorus to bid the audience goodnight with “I Wish You Well,” Withers returned one last time to thank everyone. It was another humble gesture, considering everyone else was there to thank him, for contributing to their lives in a simple, yet profound way. Last-minute cancellation D’Angelo was hardly missed.

Matthew Allen is a Brooklyn-based broadcast professional and music journalist whose work can be found in The Village Voice, Wax Poetics and elsewhere. Follow Allen on Twitter @headphoneaddict, and visit his music blog, The Well-Dressed Headphone Addict.

From 'Waiting to Exhale' to the Weeknd: Babyface on 20 Years of R&B

D’Angelo Cancels Performance at Bill Withers Tribute Show

By

Ben Sisario

September 30, 2015 3:20 pm September 30, 2015 3:20 pm

D'Angelo canceled his upcoming performance at the Bill Withers tribute concert at Carnegie Hall because of unspecified "doctor's orders."Credit Zackary Canepari for The New York Times

When a tribute to Bill Withers takes over Carnegie Hall on Thursday, it will go on without one of its star attractions, the R&B singer D’Angelo.

According to a statement released Wednesday from RCA Records, D’Angelo’s label, he has withdrawn “following doctor’s orders,” although neither the label nor a statement from D’Angelo’s doctor, Ronald Primas, specified the problem. Dr. Primas, referring to D’Angelo by his given name, Michael Archer, said he had treated him on Tuesday and advised him “to refrain from any strenuous activity for the next two weeks.”

RCA said that D’Angelo was “disappointed at missing an opportunity to pay homage to Mr. Withers, who he considers ‘a true legend and inspiration to me and my entire generation of artists.’”

In a statement, Mr. Withers said: “Aw man, hope D’Angelo recovers quickly from whatever malady has befallen on him. I will miss his version of ‘Use Me.’ I was so looking forward to seeing him throw down with the super band that Greg Phillinganes put together for this event. Come on, D’Angelo! Get well, buddy!”

The concert, which will recreate Mr. Withers’s 1973 album “Live at Carnegie Hall” and include other material from Mr. Withers’s career, will also feature Ed Sheeran, Michael McDonald, Branford Marsalis, Amos Lee, Gregory Porter, Kathy Mattea, Dr. John, Valerie Simpson and Mr. Withers’s daughter, Kori.

According to RCA, D’Angelo has also withdrawn from performing at the Afropunk festival in Atlanta on Sunday.

Veteran songwriter also talks Barbra, Whitney, Puffy and why women are more interested in love than men

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/from-waiting-to-exhale-to-the-weeknd-babyface-on-20-years-of-r-b-20151029#ixzz3pyfN7n00

Film Review: Room

B+

Director

Lenny Abrahamson

Cast

Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers

Release Year

2015

Rating

R

For Jack (Jacob Tremblay), Room is a place of endless wonder. There’s only Room, and outer space, and it’s through TV that Jack learns about the latter. Sometimes he and Ma (Brie Larson) play, or make decorations using eggshells and crayons and string. Sometimes he has to stay inside Wardrobe, quietly asleep or at least pretending to be, and it’s very important that he does what Ma says if that’s the case. Through Skylight, Jack can see just a little bit of the outer space that TV shows him, although Ma seems a little more reluctant to talk about exactly what’s in outer space. Room is good to them, though Ma doesn’t seem to like it as much as Jack does.

For Ma, Room is a shed with a security keypad keeping the door permanently locked.

Room is the kind of melodrama that takes every bit of the occasional genre condemnation out of that term, a truly beautiful work regarding the inextricable bonds between mother and child, and the capacity of the human mind to transcend the body, to continue on when all else appears lost. But director Lenny Abrahamson reduces the scale; it is a measure of Room’s power that its most profound ideas are subtle, introduced as Jack’s understanding of the world around him slowly expands.

It’s clear from early on that all is hardly well in Room, but Abrahamson and screenwriter Emma Donoghue (who also wrote the 2010 novel on which the film is based) frame the duo’s lives inside it from Jack’s perspective. In certain respects Room is a typically lurid captivity narrative from the perspective of the captives, but it’s Jack’s clear, bright voice that cuts through even the film’s bleakest turns. For some the deliberately childlike malapropisms Jack uses to understand things might grate, but for many Room would scarcely work without them. They’re also very much a deliberate choice made by Ma, who protects Jack from the realities of their life using the very things that keep them contained.

But then, the film begins with Jack’s fifth birthday. And like any five-year-old, Jack is starting to ask questions. Jack wants to know who the man who comes to visit every Sunday is, the one he calls Old Nick. Jack wants to know why Ma is starting to tell him all these strange new things about Room, and about outer space, and how outer space isn’t really outer space but instead “the world,” a concept Jack can scarcely understand. Jack wants to know why Ma can’t get out of bed sometimes. A great deal of Room never leaves, or even glances outside, their confines, and it’s left to Larson and Tremblay to build this world, which they do superbly.

Tremblay delivers what can only be described as an anti-child star performance, meeting the precociousness of his wondrous narration with a very real sense of panic and terror. The tentative way in which Jack moves when he’s scared, or when he knows he’s crossed a line with Ma, or later in the film when he’s forced to adapt to even more frightening circumstances suggests a depth well beyond the young actor’s years. And where Tremblay is very good, Larson delivers one of the year’s absolute great performances to date. Not only does she have to maintain and eventually break through Jack’s deliberately naïve understanding of the larger world, but she’s forced to set aside everything that happened before and during Jack’s time with her in Room. It’s a performance of overwhelming strength and nuance, the kind of star turn that pulls you into a film and refuses to relent.

The film’s first hour is so absolutely harrowing that when Room’s status quo shifts as it unfolds, it’s both a dramatic departure from where the film begins and, honestly, a relief. The film’s larger revelations about what Room is and how Ma came to be there long enough to raise a child require a delicate hand, and it’s Abrahamson’s willingness to keep the focus on Jack no matter where the film goes that keeps it working even when a handful of later moments threaten to render Room a more standard sort of drama about the ties that bind. No matter where Ma and Jack go, Room will follow them, whether in Ma’s life she left behind or in Jack’s discovery that other rooms have doors that Ma can put between them.

But while the film becomes in some ways a simpler one as it plays out, Room also becomes a film of deep emotional rewards. It’s childlike without lapsing into the maudlin, funny without ever feeling inappropriate to its bleak subject matter, and a love story without the forced conflicts that so often accompany those. And for Jack, he doesn’t need much. He doesn’t really know what he needs, in many ways. But he needs Ma, and even if she insists that “I’m not a good enough Ma” at times, Jack understands that they need each other, and doesn’t mind. “But you’re Ma” is all he has to say in return, and it’s all he needs to.

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ONE TOUGH CHICK

Melissa Benoist shows off her strength while filming Supergirl in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Oct 28.

Credit: Pacific Coast News

BD Wong to play Professor Hugo Strange in Gotham, Kristen Hager cast as Nora Fries

October 30, 2015 by Gary Collinson 0 Comments

Earlier this week it was announced that Nathan Darrow (House of Cards) is set to play Dr. Victor Fries – a.k.a. Mr. Freeze – in the second season of Gotham, and now USA Today has revealed that Jurassic World’s BD Wong has secured the role of another iconic DC villain, Professor Hugo Strange.

Gotham’s version of Strange is described as “a brilliant professor and psychiatrist tapped to head up Gotham City’s notorious Arkham Asylum. He’s hired to help the city’s criminally insane, but Strange has a nefarious streak as well: The professor is also conducting experiments on inmates and testing extraordinary abilities in order to create superhuman folks for Indian Hill.”

Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and debuting back in Detective Comics #36 in 1940, Hugo Strange is one of Batman’s oldest recurring villains, although his appearance in Gotham will be his first live-action portrayal.

Meanwhile, in a second piece of casting news, Zap2It is reporting that Kristen Hager (Being Human) will play Mr. Freeze’s wife Nora Fries, who has the following character description:

“Thanks to her smarts, sincerity and a lighthearted sensibility, she’s the only person who’s managed to connect with the otherwise emotionally cold cryogenicist. As her condition worsens and her husband becomes more desperate to save her life, Nora must make the ultimate choice: play the willing participant in Victor’s mad plan or sacrifice herself to stop the monster inside of him.”

EXCLUSIVE: 'I work out to eat': LeAnn Rimes confesses she 'loves food and wine and tequila' after stunning in lingerie at Halloween bash

By Heidi Parker For Dailymail.com

Published: 15:50 EST, 30 October 2015 | Updated: 16:21 EST, 30 October 2015

LeAnn Rimes stunned in white lingerie while dressing up as a Victoria's Secret Angel at the Life & Style Halloween bash in LA on Thursday evening.

And the sultry You Light Up My Life singer keeps her curves because she works out every day, the blonde beauty told DailyMail.com exclusively.

'I love food and I literally work out so I can eat what I want,' the 33-year-old Mississippi native said. 'Because I love food and wine and I love tequila and that's what I want. I want to be able to eat and drink.'

Scroll down for video

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An angelic figure: LeAnn Rimes stunned in lingerie to dress up as a Victoria's Secret angel at the Life & Style Halloween bash in LA on Thursday evening

The wife of Eddie Cibruan added, 'That's what it's about, it's pretty simple.'

Part of the challenge is finding workouts she really enjoys.

'I've learned to enjoy it,' she said, 'I've learned to find workouts that I really enjoy. I do everything from boxing to Pilates.'

+9

Fit and fabulous: The sultry You Light Up My Life singer keeps her curves because she works out every day, she told DailyMail.com

+9

She has a plan: 'I love food and I literally work out so I can eat what I want,' the 33-year-old Mississippi native said. 'Because I love food and wine and I love tequila and that's what I want. I want to be able to eat and drink'

But she finds it hard to keep up when she's touring.

'I think it's about consistency. Really, for me, it's so hard to work out when I'm on the road because it's like you're in a different city every night and you'er trying to find the energy or the time, or whatever it may be.'

Then there are the times the blonde Can't Fight The Moonlight singer just doesn't want to work out.

+9

Having fun while she's at it: The wife of Eddie Cibrian added, 'I've learned to enjoy it, I've learned to find things that I really enjoy... I do everything from boxing to Pilates'

+9

There are challenges: But she finds it hard to keep up when she's touring. 'I think it's about consistency really for me it's so hard to work out when I'm on the road because it's like you're in a different city every night and you'er trying to find the energy or the time or whatever it may be'

'I've learned those moments when I really don't feel like doing it are the moments I have to do it. That's what keeping healthy is all about,' the former child star - who debuted in the 1990s - said.

'To me it's consistency. It's really about getting your butt up when you really don't want to and doing it,' she added.

And it's also about skipping the junk food.

+9

And sometimes she just doesn't want to sweat it out: 'To me it's consistency. It's really about getting your butt up when you really don't want to and doing it,' the crooner added

+9

Party on: While at the Life & Style event, the beauty posed with her pals. 'I love you my girls, so much! My dark Angels....I'm blessed to have friends with such beautiful souls. Thanks for being "angels" with me tonight @lifeandstyleweekly'

+9

Before the bash: The How Do I Live hitmaker trying on her wings before the party

'It's about being healthy, I eat well,' she added. 'I don't eat bad food. I eat well.'

Rimes also talked to DailyMail.com about her new album. 'I'm working on it at the moment. It's very soulful,' she said. 'We're still writing it and figuring it out. It's a great time because I'm still experimenting which has been really fun.

'It's a bit of a different twist than people normally are used to hearing from me, so yeah I'm excited.'

+9

Sharing: Rimes in her different Halloween costumes with husband Cibrian and his kids

The pinup told DailyMail.com: 'I was at the same label for 20 years and now I'm moving ahead in a completely new direction and I'm only 33 so that's still a good thing. I'm very young after being in this business for that long so I'm hoping that this is a brand new start and I'm really excited about it.'

As far as the holidays, there will be no big trips.

'I'm working up until Christmas so I'm going to be in pajamas on Christmas Day, it's going to be awesome!'

On Friday the looker also shared a collage of photos from past Halloweens that included Eddie and his two sons.

Adele in the video for Hello, her forthcoming single

After months of waiting for Adele's third album, the publicity-shy singer has appeared back on the circuit ahead of its November 20 release date.

The 27-year-old star, born Adele Adkins, spoke to BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show host Nick Grimshaw last week and unveiled Hello, her first song since the Skyfall theme in 2012. The corporation then announced Adele at the BBC, a one-off, hour-long show with Graham Norton, that would be airing at around the time of her album release.

Now the singer's first print interview in three years has appeared online, with magazine i-D, in which Adele discusses motherhood, the influence Amy Winehouse had on her and what we can expect from her forthcoming record, 25.

1. She says that being a mum is 'f------ hard'

Adele and her partner Simon Konecki backstage at Glastonbury 2015 Credit: Geoff Pugh/Geoff Pugh

Adele and her partner Simon Konecki had a son in October 2012, and she has been very protective of his privacy. But she was open in discussing the balance of motherhood, which she said was a main reason for the four-year gap between 21 and 25.

Adele said life as a mum is "It's f------ hard. I thought it would be easy. 'Everyone f------ does it, how hard can it be?' Ohhhhh... I had no idea. It is hard but it's phenomenal. It's the greatest thing I ever did.

"He makes me be a d-------, and he makes me feel young and there's nothing more grounding than a kid kicking off and refusing to do what you're asking of them. It used to be that my own world revolved around me, but now it has to revolve around him."

2. Without Amy Winehouse, there would be no Adele

Amy Winehouse arrives at the Brit Awards 2007 Credit: Getty Images/Gareth Cattermole

When she was starting out, many compared Adele's soulful, vintage sound to that of Winehouse, who had released her debut album Frank a few years earlier in 2003. In the past, Adele has criticised the comparisons – and those to other female soul singers as – lazy, saying "we're a gender, not a genre".

However, Adele shared her appreciation for the late singer – who died, also aged 27, in 2011 – and said that she owes her musical career to her as she started to write songs after Winehouse released Frank: "If it wasn't for Amy and Frank, 100 per cent I wouldn't have picked up a guitar, I wouldn't have written Daydreamer or Hometown and I wrote Someone Like You on the guitar too."

"Contrary to reports, me and Amy didn't really know each other, we weren't friends or anything like that. I went to Brit School and she went for a little while. But a million per cent if I hadn't heard Frank this wouldn't have happened. I adored her."

Adele added that she found Amy, Asif Kapadia's heartwrenching documentary about the singer, difficult viewing: "I felt like I was intruding so I actually felt a little bit uncomfortable and that ruined it for me. I love watching her, but I kind of wish I hadn't seen it."

3. She doesn't know who Max Martin is

Max Martin may not be a household name, but within the music industry he's known as the Midas of Pop: he's the golden touch songwriter behind Taylor Swift's 22 and Shake It Off, Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl and Crazy by Britney Spears, among dozens of other chart-toppers.

Amusingly, Adele's songwriting skills are so good she had never heard of him. She tells a story about listening to Swift's Trouble on the radio with musician Ryan Tedder, and learning that it was by Max "Max" Martin: "I'm like, 'Oo's Max?' and [Tedder is] like 'Max Martin!' and I'm like, 'Oo's Max Martin?'"

Since then, the pair have... New Lover, which Adele believes will have people guessing about who has angered her in the past: "Straight away, a million people in my life will be like, 'Oh s---, what have I done...'"

4. She may go into acting yet

Despite being a graduate of showbiz academy the Brit School, Adele has always been dismissive of her acting talents. However, after working on the tearjerking video for new single Hello with award-winning director Xavier Dolan, she's considering taking on bigger roles.

"[Dolan] said I was quite good. I had to cry and everything. You know what, I feel like a bit of a c--- after saying for all these years I'd never act, because I really enjoyed it [...] Maybe after what Xavier said, I'll go into acting…"

5. Hello isn't about one particular person

Everyone who listened to Hello and thought it covered the same ground as previous power ballad Someone Like You was wrong: Adele's heartbreak era is well and truly over. "That's over and done with, thank f---," she said of the relationship that inspired the earlier song.

"That's been over and done with for f------- years. No, [Hello] not about anyone specifically. It's about friends, ex-boyfriends, it's about myself, it's about my family. It's also about my fans as well. I feel like everyone thinks I'm so far away and I'm not. Everyone thinks I live in America, I don't."

6. She mostly wants to see Britney play in LA now, among other things

Adele lists her ambitions for the future as: "I'd like to tour properly. I'd like to see Britney in Vegas. Dunno about more kids. I'd like to make another record. I'd like to be able to stand the test of time. I'd like to make records forever with the time I've been given for this one. If I can do that I'll be really f------ happy."

Plenty more Adele in store, then.

You can read the interview in full at i-D.

Natalie Merchant roars back with new 'Tigerlily' album, film

First posted: Friday, October 30, 2015 02:58 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, October 30, 2015 03:36 PM EDT

Natalie Merchant Article

Most people would jump at the opportunity to revisit past precious moments in their lives.

For singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant, that pivotal event in time was creating her seminal 1995 debut solo album, Tigerlily.

And now, 20 years on, the former 10,000 Maniacs frontwoman has re-recorded the 11 tracks off the mega-selling effort, titled Paradise Is There: The Ne...Recordings. She is also releasing an accompanying film, Paradise Is There, A Memo...e Merchant, which documents the making of the album and the many lives it has touched.

Talking down the line from her home in upstate New York, where she just celebrated her 52nd birthday, Merchant touches on the making of Tigerlily, watching herself age on film, and advice to up-and-coming female singer-songwriters.

Congratulations on the album, as well as the film. Was this something you had planned for a while knowing the 20th anniversary of Tigerlily was coming?

It was spur of the moment. Last year, we were getting ready to go into the studio and go on tour, and just came up in conversation. People just said that this album was … it was very important to me because it was my first solo record so obviously my first effort alone … but also that it reached so many people. The songs were very honest and very intimate and people responded to them in a really profound way, and for the last 20 years, I've been sort of observing the reverberation of this group of songs in so many encounters with so many people over the years.

Did you ever think in a million years that it would have the impact that it had?

No. I had no expectations. All I wanted to do was make my own record. I had been in a group for 12 years, and there's a lot of songwriter rivalry when you're in a band. In 10,000 Maniacs, everybody wrote and everybody wanted songs on the record -- since there's usually only 10 songs on an album, the competition was pretty steep (laughs). I paid for the recording myself and handed it to the record company finished, which 10,000 Maniacs had never done, because I wanted to have creative control. What I find so miraculous was that I was able to make this really understated, intimate, honest, vulnerable little record that probably belonged on an indie label. It ended up reaching a larger audience than anything I'd ever done before or anything I've done since.

How was the experience re-recording it for Paradise Is There?

It was fun. I think the filmmaking wasn't as fun as the album making, just because it's a process I'm less familiar with. Also, I think it's difficult for anyone in their 50s to have to sit and watch themselves age (laughs). It's challenging to the ego.

Now if I haven’t heard Tigerlily before, would you suggest listening to the original or the new, revisited version?

Wow, no one has asked me that. In hindsight, we probably should have included the original CD in the package so people could A-B them (play them back-to-back). The new album is an experiment and an exercise. When you A-B them, just the tone of my voice … I sound like a little girl on the original album.

The industry has changed a lot in 20 years. What advice would you give a young woman who has songs to share with the world?

I would tell her just to be honest, because in the end, I think that's what people are looking for.

The Canadian premiere of Paradise Is There, A Memoir by Natalie Merchant takes place Nov. 2 at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto at 6:30 p.m. ET, which will include a live Q&A session with Merchant.

Al Molinaro, TV character actor known for 'Happy Days' and 'The Odd Couple,' dies at 96

First posted: Saturday, October 31, 2015 08:54 AM EDT | Updated: Saturday, October 31, 2015 09:18 AM EDT

Al Molinaro in "Happy Days."

GLENDALE, Calif. -- Al Molinaro, the loveable character actor with the hangdog face who was known to millions of TV viewers for playing Murray the cop on "The Odd Couple" and malt shop owner Al Delvecchio on "Happy Days," died Friday at Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale, his son Michael Molinaro said.

Molinaro, retired from acting since the 1990s, died of complications of gallstone problems, his son said. He was 96.

The Kenosha, Wisconsin, native was a journeyman performer well into middle age when a comedy improv class led to his breakthrough. Producer Garry Marshall heard about Molinaro and hired him for the part of police Officer Murray Greshler on "The Odd Couple," the TV version of Neil Simon's play about feuding roommates.

It starred Tony Randall as photographer Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as sports writer Oscar Madison and featured Molinaro as one of their buddies, a simpleminded policemen who at times seemed as much a threat to his friends as he did to any crooks.

"The Odd Couple" ran from 1970-75 and not only demonstrated Molinaro's knack for goofiness, but exploited his most distinctive feature -- his plus-sized nose. In one defining scene, Murray attempts to enter his friends' apartment, but the door is locked. Murray instead sticks his nose through a peephole.

"Oh, hi Murray," Oscar calls out.

His son Michael said that Molinaro "was good friends till the end with all of the group of people involved in 'The Odd Couple.' "

His next long-running role was that of Al Delvecchio in "Happy Days," the 1974-1984 nostalgic sitcom about 1950s life that starred Ron Howard and Henry Winkler. Molinaro joined the cast in 1976, replacing Pat Morita as the owner of Arnold's Drive-In, and remained until 1982.

In ABC's 1992 "'Happy Days' Reunion Special," Molinaro defended the show from criticism that it sentimentalized the 1950s.

"In the industry, they used to consider us like a bubble-gum show," he said. "But I think they overlooked one thing. To the public in America, 'Happy Days' was an important show, and I think it was and I think it still is."

Molinaro built on his "Happy Days" success for years after he left the show. He brought the character of Al to "Joanie Loves Chachi," a short-lived "Happy Days" spinoff that aired from 1982-83. In 1987, he and Anson Williams, who played Potsie on "Happy Days," started Big Al's, a Midwestern diner chain.

He brought Al back for a brief appearance in "Buddy Holly," a 1995 music video for the group Weezer that was directed by Spike Jonze.

Molinaro played a grandfather in "The Family Man" sitcom that aired from 1990-1991, and continued to make guest appearances on other series through the early '90s. He also filmed commercials, notably for On-Cor frozen dinners.

Molinaro came to acting late in life. He had a brief teenage stint as a clarinet player with a band, then worked at a variety of jobs after graduating high school. He moved to California in the early 1950s on casual advice from a friend who suggested he pursue acting.

"I said, 'I'll do that,'" Molinaro told the Kenosha News in a 2004 interview. "I get on the Greyhound bus and I'm in Hollywood."

His first TV job was in production, when he talked an independent TV station manager into hiring him. Then it was on to TV commercials and ads, including a Los Angeles billboard that featured him in a chef's cap. The producers of "Get Smart" spotted it and hired Molinaro to play Agent 44 for a few episodes in 1969. That was followed by guest roles in such sitcoms as "Green Acres," "That Girl" and "Bewitched."

"I spent 20 years here before I got anything going, and from that I got lucky," he said.

Molinaro had a son, Michael, from his first marriage. He and his second wife, Betty Farrell, married in 1981.

(Credit: Mets/Twitter)

Jessica Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld at Citi Field Monday 12th Oct. 2015.

Celebrities at Mets playoff games

Updated October 28, 2015 5:12 PM
By NEWSDAY.COM

Have a look at the famous faces in the stands at Mets playoff games at home and on the road in the 2015 MLB postseason.

(Credit: Getty Images / Christian Petersen)

Actor Paul Rudd watches the Kansas City Royals take batting practice before Game Two of the 2015 World Series between the Royals and the New York Mets at Kauffman Stadium on October 28, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri.

(Credit: AP / Charles Rex Arbogast)

Jenny McCarthy cheers to fans before Game 3 of the NLCS between the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015, in Chicago.

(Credit: Getty Images)

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld attends game two of the 2015 MLB National League Championship Series between the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets at Citi Field on October 18, 2015.

(Credit: Getty Images / Elsa)

Television host Jimmy Kimmel waves to the crowd prior to his first pitch before game two of the 2015 MLB National League Championship Series between the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets at Citi Field on October 18, 2015.

(Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the suiteas the Mets played against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field during Game 4 of the NLDS on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015.

(Credit: Mets/Twitter)

Jessica Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld at Citi Field Monday 12th Oct. 2015.

(Credit: Getty Images )

Musician Flea dances on the dugout in between innings while the Los Angeles Dodgers takes on the New York Mets in game five of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 15, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.

Guess what happened in World Series Game 3 based on Chris Rock's reaction face

By Gemma Kaneko

It was the bottom of the third inning of World Series Game 3, and the Royals were leading the Mets, 3-2. Then, on an 0-2 count, Noah Syndergaard hit a line drive into right field for a single. Curtis Granderson came up to bat … and now it's time for you to guess what happened next, based on Chris Rock's reaction to it:

Was it:

A) Syndergaard attempting to steal a base

B) Jerry Seinfeld offering him a part in his new movie, "2 Sein 2 Feld"

C) Granderson hitting a home run, scoring Syndergaard and putting the Mets back in the lead

Did you choose C? Then you were correct!

Your browser does not support iframes.

But don't beat yourself up if you went with B -- it's not like we can know they weren't talking about a Seinfeld movie.

The Mets kept the lead for the rest of the game, and went on to win, 9-3. Catch World Series Game 4 on FOX Saturday night. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET; game time is at 8.

Sweet 16: Best Horror Movies Ever

Check out a carefully curated list of frightening films just in time for Halloween. Don’t blame us if you end up sleeping with a night light.

by #teamEBONY, October 30, 2015

In a sad attempt to get into the Halloween mood, I recently watched some really awful horror movies. The first, “The Lazarus Effect,” was clearly a cheap knock-off of “Flatliners” with a taste of “X-Men.” I then followed up that fail with “Due Date,” a sadly silly found- footage repeat of “Rosemary’s Baby,” except devoid of any discernible plot, character development or ability to frighten anyone. To make it plain, the seasonal rubber rats being sold at my local Walgreens are far more chilling.

Due to this exercise in inanity, I am looking out for my fellow horror fans. If you, like me, enjoy getting a little spooked during Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) season, I offer you this gift: 16 of some of the scariest movies ever made. I went deep into the crates for films I used to watch with my equally eager-to-be-scared mom and sister, and then traveled up through time to include some in the current category of “scare the Black off ya.”

Let me know if you agree with my choices. And if you haven’t seen all of these, try them out and come back with your findings. I’ll take write-in candidates in comments.

“Exorcist” (1973)

Two words: the devil. Not a scar-faced madman, a hockey-masked villain or a puzzle-loving serial killer. The actual factual devil is turning folks heads around, floating them off the bed and beating up priests. No thanks.

“Poltergeist” (1982)

This movie, the original mind you, scared the bejeezus out of me as a youth. Even as a grown woman, I flip past it as soon as I hear that telltale static or see spooky lil’ Carol Ann warning “they’re here.” You don’t have to tell me twice, boo.

“The Others” (2001)

Nicole Kidman needs Department of Children and Family Services called on her arse, asap. You will find out why when you watch. Do not seek out a spoiler alert though. M. Night Shyamalan WISHES he could come up with a curve like this one.

“The Ring” (2002)

So, a fish belly pale girl with drenched black hair and a crazed blood vengeance comes through your TV if you watch a weird video. This is definitely Netflix & Chill gone horribly wrong. The sequels are trash, but the OG had me side-eyeing my closet for a little while after I checked it out.

“Reincarnation” (2006)

Haunted hotels are old hat. Just ask one of my faves, The Shining, but this Tokyo-based take involving a film crew, frightening specters and atmospheric terror provides good reason to put it next to Jack Nicholson’s star vehicle.

“Night of the Living Dead” (1968)

If you think you’re invested in Darryl, Glen and the rest of “The Walking Dead” team, just you WAIT until you feast your eyes upon the main character in this amazing, ground-breaking fright fest. This is must-see viewing if you are into the undead.

“The Omen” (1976)

Again, the devil. Well, his son. Same difference.

“Mr. Sardonicus” (1961)

Talk about an ice grill. This vintage piece about a man with a horrifying smile will give you nightmares.

“The Conjuring “(2013)

Real talk. This movie had me nervous around dolls and wardrobe chests. Laugh if you want. Try to watch it by yourself on Halloween night and then come back to me with your mockery.

“The Blob” (1988)

I did not want my mom to wash my hair in the sink after seeing this sci fi classic about a gelatinous monster making the rounds. It has been remade several times over, but this is the one you want.

“The Thing” (1982)

Again, skip the cheap remake. Go for the original and you will be rewarded with a heart-pounding, nail-biting journey into a military base where a shape-shifting monster stalks a crew.

“It Follows” (2014)

Admittedly, there is a strange mythology that has to do with a sexually transmitted death stalker, but stay with me on this, it’s effectively creepy. You will be looking behind you everywhere you go for at least a week. The slow-moving menace in this film is not to be underestimated.

“The Descent” (2005)

Rappel into madness with some of the ugliest monstrosities to come out of the FX department. And man, they’re brutal. This girl-power-meets-creature feature is a great way to scare yourself silly.

“Trilogy of Terror” (1975)

One of the First Ladies of horror, Karen Black, features prominently in this trio of chill bump-inducing little number. Personal pick: “Amelia.” MVP award goes to the razor-toothed doll chasing Black all around creation.

“Psycho” (1960)

Anthony Perkin’s mama boy remains one of the most fear-inducing characters mainly because of his quiet, unassuming demeanor and good looks. Who knew he was dressed to kill? (Miss me with the Vince Vaughn version though.)

“Scanners” (1981)

A group of telekinetics are trying to take over the world. Let’s just say they aren’t exactly using their powers to move chess pieces. This gross-out movie gives new meaning to “blow your mind.”

Lily Collins as Supergirl and Her Friend as Wonder Woman

John Stamos and Josh Peck as Red Devils

Miranda Kerr as Marilyn Monroe

Beyoncé as Storm

Rachel Hilbert as Britney Spears

Nina Dobrev, Kayla Ewell, Hillary Harley and Friends as the Spice Girls

Josh Duhamel and Fergie as Karl Lagerfeld and Choupette

Kelly Rowland as Cleopatra

Lindsay Lohan as a Cat

Ariana Grande as Jack Skellington

Alessandra Ambrosio as Little Red Riding Hood

Tyler Blackburn and Ashley Benson as Vampires

Christina Milian as a Leopard and AnnaLynne McCord

Miranda Kerr as the White Swan and a Friend as the Black Swan

Nicki Minaj as a Fairy Princess

Gwen Stefani as a Cowgirl

David Spade as Pizza Rat

Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan as Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat

Lori Loughlin as Melanie Daniels From The Birds

Miley Cyrus as "Cinder-smelly"

Kelly Rowland, Ciara, La La Anthony, Serena Williams, Beyoncé and Friends as Superheroes

Julianne Hough as Alabama From True Romance

Jessica Szohr as a Vampire

Elisabetta Canalis as Che Guevara

Allison Williams as Belle From Beauty and the Beast

Mario Lopez and His Son as Elvis Presley

16th Annual 'Día De Los Muertos' Festival: 11 Best Photos Of Los Angeles Celebration For 'Muertitos'

"The 16th Annual Dia De Los Muertos Festival" is a Mexican day celebration that is held every year at the Hollywood Cemetery in Los Angeles, honoring the famous holiday of the "Day of the Dead" and those who have passed away with traditional music, masks, altars and tasty treats. This year the theme was "Shamanic Visions of the Huichol" (Native Mexicans living in the Sierra Madre Occidental region.) Check out the images of the ceremonial Aztec dances, theatrical performances and traditional costumes of the amazing event.

Grupo de Danza Nayare perform at Dia De Los Muertos - Shamanic Visions of the Huichol at Hollywood Forever on October 24, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Lee Roth/Getty Images)

This year's theme was "Shamanic Visions of the Huichol." (Photo by Lee Roth/Getty Images)

Best costume winner Amber Allison on stage at Dia De Los Muertos - Shamanic Visions of the Huichol at Hollywood Forever on October 24, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Lee Roth/Getty Images)

Xavier Quijas Yxayotl 'Splendorous Mictlan' and dancers perform at Dia De Los Muertos - Shamanic Visions of the Huichol at Hollywood Forever on October 24, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Lee Roth/Getty Images)

Dia de Los Muertos honors those who have passed away with music, traditional masks, tasty treats and lots of smiles. (Photo by Lee Roth/Getty Images)

Dancers perform at Dia De Los Muertos - Shamanic Visions of the Huichol at Hollywood Forever on October 24, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Lee Roth/Getty Images)

Traditional masks at Dia De Los Muertos - Shamanic Visions of the Huichol at Hollywood Forever on October 24, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Lee Roth/Getty Images)

The cemetery grounds are covered with art exhibitions, dance rituals, musical performances, children's arts and more. (Photo by Lee Roth/Getty Images)

Grupo de Danza Nayare perform at Dia De Los Muertos - Shamanic Visions of the Huichol at Hollywood Forever on October 24, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Lee Roth/Getty Images)

Costumed guests at Dia De Los Muertos - Shamanic Visions of the Huichol at Hollywood Forever on October 24, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Lee Roth/Getty Images)

Cultural dance troupe Tepetl Youllotl perform during the Shaman Sunset Ceremony at Dia De Los Muertos - Shamanic Visions of the Huichol at Hollywood Forever on October 24, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Lee Roth/Getty Images)

Demi Lovato

Demi gets creative to demonstrate HER idea of a "Trap Queen". Pun intended.

Little Mix

Little Mix put their spin on iconic glam rock group KISS at a UK radio concert or Halloween.

Tyra Banks

Leave it to Tyra to go all-out and basically become Richard Branson for Halloween.

Karrueche Tran

Karrueche tips her hat - er, blue wig - to the original Queen Bee, Lil Kim, with this amazing costume.

Draya Michele

Christina Milian

Alyssa Milano

6 Beautiful Día De Muertos Traditions To Honor The Dead

By Natalie Roterman | Oct 27 2015, 11:27AM EDT

Mexican tradition "Día de Muertos" Reuters

Day of the Dead or Día de Muertos is a Mexican holiday named Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the Unesco. And it is a tradition observed around the world in other countries and cultures, which celebrates, prays and remembers people’s loved ones who have died. Within it, traditions vary from town to town but mainly consist on setting up colorful altars at home and in graves, eating certain sweets and gathering in remembrance of the deceased. Experts trace the celebration to the Mexico’s pre-Hispanic past, when the Aztecs paid tribute to the goddess Mictecacihuatl, also known as the Queen of the underworld.

Altars or Ofrendas: These are the main attraction of the holiday and they are custom made for each of the departed to allure them to pay a visit to the house that night. The tribute may include the person’s favorite food, beverages, photos and other memorabilia, as well as marigold flowers, sugar skulls with family names, candles and intricate cut out tissue paper. Toys are included for children and tequila, mezcal or pulque for adults.

La Catrina: The holiday can take on a satirical tone with its main character being squiggly skeletons, and a most elegant ‘Catrina.’ Her image represents death and she appears wearing an elegant European-style hat in bright colors and flowers, originally drawn by famous Mexican cartoon illustrator, José Guadalupe Posada. Many other figurines originate from this character, including colorfully decorated sugar or chocolate skulls.

Pan de Muertos: Similar to a sponge cake or a brioche, this sweet bread has a touch of anise and is baked and adorned with little, bone-shaped pieces of dough, then coated with sugar.

Decorating and visiting graves: The initial tradition of decorating graves is similar to the altars and on the day when the holiday ends (November 2), people visit the cemeteries to cover the graves in flowers and pay tribute in order to let them rest for another year.

Calaverita: This is the Mexican version of trick-or-treating; children go knocking on doors asking for their ‘calaverita’, which can be anything from money to candy.

Processions: Some people organize processions to pay tribute to the deceased on the way to the cemetery while carrying flowers, images, candles and signing.

Blonde bombshell Jessica Alba flaunts her enviable legs in sexy costume as she joins Top Gun-styled husband Cash Warren for George Clooney's Halloween party

By Ciara Farmer and Sarah Jones For Dailymail.com

Published: 04:47 EST, 31 October 2015 | Updated: 10:14 EST, 31 October 2015

They both opted to borrow looks from classic movies for Halloween this year.

And Jessica Alba and her husband Cash Warren nailed their respective costumes while attending George Clooney's Casamigos Tequila Halloween bash in Beverly Hills on Friday night.

The 34-year-old actress channelled the quirky glamour of 1997 cult classic Romy and Michele's High School Reunion while Cash, 36, went for Tom Cruise's pilot look in iconic hit Top Gun.

Scroll down for video

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Romy meets Maverick: Jessica Alba and her husband Cash Warren nailed their respective costumes while attending George Clooney's Casamigos Tequila Halloween bash in Beverly Hills on Friday night

Jessica was dressed as Mira Sorvino's character Romy White from the hit comedy, while her model best pal Kelly Sawyer dressed up as Lisa Kudrow's Michele Weinberger.

She was sporting a metallic blue mini dress, which showed off her incredibly slim legs, with a silver trim and chest panel, which perfectly matched her shiny shoes and across body handbag.

To give her look the authentic edge, Jessica sported a blonde wig, with a slick of pink lipstick and matching metallic eye-shadow.

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Dress up: The 34-year-old actress channeled the quirky glamour of 1997 cult classic Romy and Michele's High School Reunion while Cash, 36, went for Tom Cruise's pilot look in iconic hit Top Gun

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Iconic: Jessica was dressed as Mira Sorvino's character Romy White (right) while her model best pal Kelly Sawyer dressed up as Lisa Kudrow's Michele Weinberger (left)

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Blonde bombshells: Jessica took to Instagram to share a shot of her costume as she stood alongside her statuesque pal - who towered over her as they sported matching heels

Jessica took to Instagram to share a shot of her costume as she stood alongside her statuesque pal - who towered over her as they sported matching heels.

Kelly looked equally fantastic in a pink metallic mini, with a fur trim, while she pulled half her hair into a high pony-tail - a look exactly the same as Lisa's in the film.

Cash was sporting the instantly-recognisable khaki jumpsuit, which Tom Cruise was wearing in the 1986 movie as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell , while adding a pair of aviators to the look to authenticate his pilot ensemble.

The stunning actress also shared an image of Cash with his movie producer pal and Kelly's husband, Jamie Patricof, who was dressed as Anthony Edwards' character Goose.

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Super-short! Jessica was sporting a metallic blue mini dress, which showed off her incredibly slim legs, with a silver trim and chest panel, which perfectly matched her shiny shoes and across body handbag

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Double date: The stunning actress also shared an image of Cash with his movie producer pal Jamie Patricof, who was dressed as Anthony Edwards' character Goose, both wearing their Top Gun costumes

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United: As the group headed out on the double date, Jessica clutched both Kelly's hand and Cash's throughout the evening

As the group headed out on the double date, Jessica clutched both Kelly's and Cash's hand throughout the evening.

Her blonde hair looked sensational against her tanned skin, while the blue of the dress perfectly complemented her bronzed hue.

Kelly and Jessica looked fantastic together as they headed out of the party in their shimmering ensembles later in the night.

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Blonde beauty: Her blonde hair looked sensational against her tanned skin, while the blue of the dress perfectly complemented her bronzed hue

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Legs eleven! The dangerously high hemline allowed for a perfect view of Jessica's legs

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Metallic mates: Kelly and Jessica looked fantastic together as they headed out of the party in their shimmering ensembles later in the night

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Multi-tasking mommy! Jessica's day was jam-packed as she was seen earlier on Friday taking her and Cash's girls, seven-year-old Honor and four-year-old Haven to a Halloween party at the Los Angeles office of her brand The Honest Company

Grab a studded bag like Jessica

Jessica Alba was busy for Halloween on Friday, carting kids to parties and hanging out with husband Cash Warren later the evening at George Clooney's Halloween party.

The Sin City babe, however, managed to look stylish in a pair of black skinny jeans, gray sweater and patent leather ankle boots she wore earlier in the day.

We, at Fashion Finder, happen to love what's on her shoulder -- a Fendi bag with its unmistakable multicolored pyramid studs. We love the studded look on everything from shoes to hats and handbags are no exception. Unfortunately, Jessica's exact bag is unavailable online, but you can click right to snag a similar style at Kirna Zabete.

Or see below, because we've corralled some studded handbags starting at just $10! And what's not to love about Missguided edge studded zip-top clutch at only $17?

Jessica's day was jam-packed as she was seen earlier on Friday taking her and Cash's girls, seven-year-old Honor and four-year-old Haven to a Halloween party at the Los Angeles office of her brand The Honest Company.

The Sin City babe has built a billion dollar empire with her nontoxic household product line but she also recently started a line of beauty products called Honest Beauty.

Jessica will face a lot of competition but she recently explained what sets her new beauty line apart from the rest in an interview last month withExtra.

'Honest Beauty represents diverse beauty,' Jessica explained. 'The payoff of our products are second to none, they're gorgeous.'

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Keeping it together! The Sin City babe has built a billion dollar empire with her nontoxic household product line but she also recently started a line of beauty products called Honest Beauty

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Beautiful businesswoman: The A-list actress brought along her daughters to a Halloween party at her Los Angeles office

'Because I have so much experience with movies and TV and red carpet, I needed the beauty products to really last,' she continued.

'But I also wanted to be able to do a ten-minute face when I’m hanging out with the kids on the weekend, so it's just great dynamic products that make you look awesome,' Alba added.

The brunette beauty shares Honor and Haven with her husband Cash Warren, 36, as the couple met while filming Fantastic Four in 2004 and married in 2008.

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Alba's empire: 'Honest Beauty represents diverse beauty. The payoff of our products are second to none, they're gorgeous,' the mother-of-two said last month in an interview with Extra

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Brains and beauty! Alba originally made a $6 million investment in The Honest Company and if it goes public as expected, she could be well on her way to being a billion dollar babe, according to Forbes

Alba also recently graced the cover of Forbes Magazine where her net worth was approximated at $340 million, adding her to their list of America’s richest self-made women.

The Fantastic Four actress originally made a $6 million investment in the company and if it goes public as expected, she could be well on her way to being a billion dollar babe, according to Forbes.

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Passionate in purple! The Fantastic Four actress and her husband Cash Warren attended the Sin City: A Dame to Kill For film premiere in Los Angeles last year.

“Hello,” New York City: Adele is set to perform a special one-night only concert at Radio City Music Hall on Nov. 17.

The event will be recorded for a one-hour NBC special, “Adele Live in New York City,” airing on Dec. 14 at 10 p.m.

The performance will mark Adele’s first concert in the U.S. since Fall 2011. It will also be her largest show ever in the Big Apple.

Adele’s “25,” is set to hit shelves on Nov. 20. The new album’s first single “Hello,” shot to the top of charts on Oct. 23. The music video has already amassed over 146 million views in just one week. It broke all sorts of records on Vevo, including most spins in its first 24 hours.

The singer is set as musical guest on the Nov. 21 “Saturday Night Live.” She’s all over NBC, as Adele will be on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” two days later, and the “Today” show two days after that.

“Adele Live in New York City” is executive produced by Lorne Michaels, Adele and Jonathan Dickins, and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller.

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[Edited 10/31/15 12:39pm]

Q & A: Lalah Hathaway Has Rarefied Staying Power

http://tinyurl.com/olws54n

Supergirl's Mehcad Brooks on playing a new version of Jimmy Olsen.

[img:$uid]http://i.imgur.com/kztJkXv.png?1[/img:$uid]



Ellie Goulding's Dates For The Stateside Leg Of Her Delirium World Tour
Nov 2015

Ellie Goulding's North American Delirium World Tour dates are as follows:

Movies

Michael B. Jordan Gives Millennials Their ‘Rocky’ With ‘Creed’

By CARA BUCKLEYOCT. 28, 2015

Photo

Michael B. Jordan photographed at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Credit Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York Times

MIAMI BEACH — There came a time not long ago when the actor Michael B. Jordan realized he had to stop dying on screen, because it was killing his mom.

In his breakout role as a teenage drug dealer in “The Wire,” Mr. Jordan’s character was shot; in the movie “Blackout,” he was stabbed; in “Chronicle,” struck by lightning; and in the HBO film “Red Tails,” about the Tuskegee Airmen, gunned down in a warplane. This was followed by his star turn in “Fruitvale Station,” the 2013 picture that recreated the last day of Oscar Grant III, an unarmed young black man shot to death by a white transit police officer on an Oakland, Calif., train platform early one New Year’s Day.

The fact that Mr. Jordan’s mother, Donna, a high school guidance counselor and artist, knew in advance about the fates of each character did nothing to allay her grief. Whether sitting alongside her son at premieres or watching him go through death throes on TV at home, she would end up in tears.

“Oh she knows it’s coming, it doesn’t matter, it’s uncontrollable sobs,” Mr. Jordan, who is 28, said during a recent interview at the Soho Beach House here. “And it just weighed on me after a while. I’m like: ‘Guys, I’m not dying anymore. I can’t do it.’ ”

By WARNER BROS. PICTURES 2:33 Trailer: ‘Creed’

Trailer: ‘Creed’

A preview of the film.

By WARNER BROS. PICTURES on Publish Date September 15, 2015. Photo by Internet Video Archive. Watch in Times Video »

With his latest film, “Creed,” Mr. Jordan not only made good on his vow, but he also helped bring back a franchise. He plays an aspiring fighter named Adonis Johnson, the heretofore unknown son of the boxer Apollo Creed. Adonis journeys to Philadelphia to be trained by Rocky Balboa, played by — who else? — Sylvester Stallone.

The film again paired Mr. Jordan with Ryan Coogler, the director of “Fruitvale Station,” who in turn conceived of “Creed” as a deeply personal homage to his sickly father. Co-starring Tessa Thompson, of “Dear White People” and “Selma,” as Mr. Jordan’s love interest, “Creed” explores a different side of Philadelphia than the Rocky films do. While the story largely centers on the father-and-son-like bond between Adonis and an ailing Rocky, it is told through the eyes of young black millennials, showcasing the city’s hip-hop and dirt bike scenes.

Opening Nov. 25, the film and its attendant promotional duties come at a good time for Mr. Jordan. He is still smarting from the crash and burn this past summer of “Fantastic Four,” in which he played his first superhero, Human Torch.

“It was tough, because it was the first time I ever went through that,” Mr. Jordan said of that film’s critical and box-office drubbing, “Some things are out of your control, even if you show up and give everything you’ve got, even if you give 110 percent.”

Mr. Jordan, who was born in California and raised in New Jersey, was in Miami Beach to promote “Creed” at the Revolt Music Conference, a three-day event that has been described as a “hip-hop Comic-Con” and is affiliated with Sean Combs’s television channel. Mr. Jordan had the casual-slash-expensive look nailed, wearing a black T-shirt that hugged his chiseled biceps, jeans, and pristine black and gray Nike high tops, with diamond studs in his ears. Easygoing, handsome and beguilingly boyish, with doe-like eyes, he unsurprisingly has countless, often possessive female fans.

Later that day, after he posted a picture of himself and Ms. Thompson in what looked like an intimate chat to his Instagram account, where he has more than 700,000 followers, scores of dismayed comments flooded in. “She gotta back up,” “Who is this chick with my man???” and “Noooooo.” (The two are just friends.)

From the outside, the prospect of playing the son of an icon, albeit a fictional one, in yet another “Rocky” movie might seem daunting, but Mr. Jordan said the stakes felt higher with “Fruitvale,” because he was playing a real man in a tale riven with tragic relevance. (The film arrived with eerie timeliness — it opened the day before a Florida man, George Zimmerman, was acquitted in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin.)

“Being a person of color, a black man, in America, it was a very personal story,” he said of his critically acclaimed portrayal of Grant. “I believe nobody has seen or heard of Adonis before. I felt I could step into it clean and not have any real pressure or expectations.”

And having Mr. Coogler as co-writer and director imbued him, he said, with confidence and ease. “He’s my guy,” Mr. Jordan said. “We have a communication and certain understanding of each other. We just click.”

Reviving a seminal and lucrative franchise is still a high-profile risk. On average, each of the six Rocky films made $80 million, or, in today’s dollars $222 million apiece, according to Box Office Mojo. Mr. Coogler said Mr. Stallone — who declined to be interviewed for this article — was initially apprehensive about the film, and took no small amount of persuading, mulling it over for about a year before saying yes. Mr. Stallone’s biggest qualm, Mr. Coogler said, was his belief that the Rocky series had ended well.

Photo

Michael B. Jordan, center, as Adonis Johnson and Sylvester Stallone, right, as Rocky Balboa in “Creed.” Credit Warner Bros. Pictures

“It is true that the Rocky story had come to a nice conclusion as far as Rocky being a driving force,” Mr. Coogler said, referring to the last film, “Rocky Balboa,” from 2006. “But this film was about another character, with Rocky in a supporting role. That made sense. That was something he could get behind.”

Mr. Coogler grew up with Rocky Balboa. As a teenager, his father Ira, who adored the “Rocky” films, had watched the movies with his own mother — Mr. Coogler’s grandmother — as she lay dying of cancer. Later, when Mr. Coogler had big football games coming up, his father would play the films to get his son pumped. Then, as Mr. Coogler was finishing up film school in 2011, Ira grew very ill with a mysterious neuromuscular condition (he eventually got better). “I was dealing with seeing him become weak, and our relationship changed as a result of it,” Mr. Coogler said. “I had to kind of deal with his mortality. That’s when I came up with the idea of ‘Creed.’ ”

He mentioned the idea to Mr. Jordan, a lifelong, intrinsically competitive athlete — he took karate as a kid, ran track, and played soccer and basketball as a teenager, and also portrayed a football player in the television series “Friday Night Lights” — shortly after casting him in “Fruitvale.” Mr. Coogler explained: “I knew he was the guy. In addition to the emotional dexterity he would have to have, I know he had the physical element to pull it off.”

He spent nearly a year preparing — training, lifting weights, learning how to box and working out two to three times a day, six days a week. His diet was similarly, and joylessly, strict, consisting of boiled meat, fish, green vegetables, rice and the odd piece of fruit.

“I gave up everything that was good in the world,” Mr. Jordan said, “and ate everything that was bland.”

Photo

Mr. Jordan, left, with Kevin Durand in "Fruitvale Station." Credit Ron Koeberer/Weinstein Company

On his cheat days, which he allowed himself once a week, he got up extra early so that he’d have more time to eat, wolfing down French toast, Philly cheesesteaks, pizza, pasta and doughnuts, a habit he soon pared back after spending too many days afterward in severe gastrointestinal distress.

During production, he fought real fighters and had no body double. “That was him taking real punches,” Mr. Coogler said. “That was all Mike.” Mr. Jordan was routinely bloodied, bruised and dizzy — “pain,” he said, “was definitely involved” — and endured ice baths and a Chinese therapy called Gua sha. (Google image it if you dare.) Beyond the physical duress, he also had to meet the emotional demands of his role: falling in love, channeling anger and wrestling childhood demons.

“He’s the kind of actor who will do anything to find the truest part of a scene,” Ms. Thompson said. “He’s always open to learning and retaining information, and has a humility kind of like a child. That for me makes him very special as an actor.”

For all of Mr. Jordan’s immersion in “Creed,” “Fruitvale” seems to be the film still guiding his career choices, not least because of its continuing relevance, presaging the Black Lives Matter movement and the high-profile deaths of unarmed black people at the hands of the police.

“There have been so many more; it’s been happening for such a long time,” Mr. Jordan said. “I’m a young black man in America, so it’s my life, it’s always been my life, it always will be life.”

And so, in his next project he is set to play Bryan Stevenson, the real-life lawyer who defends indigent people and minorities, and after that, an Atlanta schoolteacher caught up in the city’s test cheating scandal in “Wrong Answer,” again with Mr. Coogler.

“I’m just trying to shine lights on little situations that I feel are the problem, and telling it through art,” Mr. Jordan said. “I think that’s my part. To have people receive something that inspires thought, and conversation, and maybe you can change the way someone thinks. I think that’s where it starts.

“If you can change the way you think, the way you receive somebody, and not be intimidated by the way they look, or the color of their skin, or what they have on, it’s a step.”

Sylvester Stallone is back as Rocky Balboa in the new movie "Creed."

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Josh Rottenberg Contact Reporter

In Sylvester Stallone's mind, he had hung up the boxing gloves. No more jogging up the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps. No more "Yo, Adrian!" No more one-armed push-ups to the strains of "Gonna Fly Now." No more Rocky.

After 2006's "Rocky Balboa," the sixth installment in the series about the perennial-underdog fighter, Stallone figured he was most likely forever done playing the character he'd first brought to life in the seminal 1976 smash "Rocky."

Original 1976 trailer for "Rocky."

"That movie was the toughest sell of all," the actor recalled of "Rocky Balboa" on a recent afternoon. "'Rocky V' was considered a failure financially and critically. Now 15 years have passed. 'You want to play a boxer who's 60 years old — you're joking, right?'" He let out a low chuckle. "This was Max Bialystock territory." When the film proved a commercial and critical success, earning $156 million worldwide, Stallone figured he should probably quit while he was ahead.

Sylvester Stallone, left, as Rocky Balboa and Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson in "Creed." (Barry Wetcher / Warner Bros.)

But if we've learned anything about the Italian Stallion, it's that whenever you think he's down for the count, he somehow manages to get back on his feet. It's that indomitable spirit that has made him one of the most beloved characters in movie history. (When the American Film Institute ranked the greatest movie heroes in 2003, Rocky came in at No. 7, between Clarice Starling and Ellen Ripley.)

On Nov. 25, audiences will get one more chance to see Stallone reprise the role that launched him to sudden worldwide fame four decades ago. In "Creed," a spinoff of the "Rocky" franchise directed by Ryan Coogler ("Fruitvale Station"), the aging Balboa reluctantly agrees to train an up-and-coming fighter named Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the son of his former rival Apollo Creed. This time, Rocky doesn't personally get in the ring; instead, his biggest fight is with his own mortality as he faces a battle with cancer.

At 69, Stallone finds the idea that Rocky has now come full circle — from small-time lovable loser to world champion to grizzled mentor — both fitting and strange. "I'm now the same age Burgess Meredith was in 'Rocky' — isn't that weird?" he said. "I'm the guy who's knocking on the door going, 'Hey, kid.' It's an unbelievable feeling. I'm very proud of it."

He smiled his crooked smile. "Rocky is the one thing I've done right. I'd say my life is about 96% failures, but if you just get that 4% right, that's all you need."

Rocky is the one thing I've done right. I'd say my life is about 96% failures, but if you just get that 4% right, that's all you need. - Sylvester Stallone

In person, with his muscles bulging under his shirt, Stallone still looks as though he could lay flat a much younger man. Not that he'd want to — like Rocky, he has always been a teddy bear at heart. Before achieving fame, he said, "I walked around with a deep-seated inferiority complex." He still comes across as modest and self-deprecating, aiming his toughest jabs at himself.

Stallone's quietly soulful performance in "Creed" already has some Oscar pundits considering him as a potential supporting actor nominee, but he brushes off that sort of talk. "Can you imagine? That would be really funny, wouldn't it?" Though he was nominated for best actor for the first "Rocky" as well as for his screenplay, he has often been treated as a punching bag over the years for what some have deemed his limited acting range and tendency to play monosyllabic roles.

Watch the trailer for "Creed."

And yet, when Stallone has tried to branch out and play against type, he's often been smacked down for that as well. In 1997, he received some of the best reviews of his career for his understated turn as a small-town sheriff in the drama "Cop Land," but he ultimately felt the film hurt his career. "I was hoping it would be a game-changer, but the feedback from the studio was that it confused people," he said. "I didn't mean to confuse people — I was just trying to stretch. That began a long doldrum."

Over the course of his career, Stallone has appeared in roughly 60 movies — big hits, big flops and everything in between. But he knows he will always be best known for Rocky and John Rambo, the muscle-bound, machine-gun-toting Vietnam vet he played in four films. For a long time he fought against that, but at a certain point he came to accept it and even see it as a blessing.

"There are great careers I envy — like Tom Hanks has done amazing work — and you just have to give them their kudos," he said. "I wish I'd had the foresight to have been a little more adventurous a little earlier on. But I get it. Nobody wants to see Bruce Springsteen sing opera. Now I think, 'My God, did I get lucky.'"

Coogler, 29, grew up with a deep love for the "Rocky" movies that had been instilled by his father. Still, until he met Stallone in person to pitch him the idea for "Creed," which he co-wrote with Aaron Covington, he didn't fully appreciate the depth of his talent.

"I watched all these Stallone movies growing up in the '90s like 'Demolition Man' and 'Cliffhanger,' but he was still Rocky to me, so I went into his office expecting him to be that character," Coogler said. "As soon as I met him, I realized he's the exact opposite. He doesn't walk like Rocky, he doesn't move like Rocky, his personality is totally different — the only thing that's recognizable is the voice. I remember thinking, 'This dude is a phenomenal actor to pull off that character and have it be so natural.' I feel he's been underused."

Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa and Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed on set of "Rocky" in 1976.

(United Artists / Getty Images)

To say that Stallone — who had written all six "Rocky" movies and directed four of them — was initially resistant to Coogler's "Creed" pitch would be an understatement. "I was dead set against it," he said. "I just didn't ever see taking this character into this realm. Finally my agent said, 'For a guy who played Rocky, you're kind of a chicken.'"

Eventually, Stallone warmed to the idea of bringing Rocky back for one more round, this time as a kind of ringside Buddha and father figure to a younger fighter. "There are certain things I'm allowed to say through Rocky that I can't say through Rambo or anyone else," he said. "Rocky is very preachy. He's just always talking. That's what Rocky really is: a springboard for the way I see life or wish life was."

The fact is, Stallone knows that, even though he brought Rocky into this world, the character doesn't just belong to him anymore. He belongs to all the moviegoers who have been inspired by him over the years, to everyone who's played "Eye of the Tiger" to psych themselves up for some challenge, to all those people who, to this day, pose for photos at the top of the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps with their arms raised in triumph.

"How many people run up those steps?" Stallone said. "It's incredible. Women who are eight months pregnant. People from different cultures. Intellectuals who have nothing in common with Rocky. They're not running for Sylvester Stallone — I get that. They're running for the Rocky in them."

Creed character posters featuring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone

November 2, 2015 by Gary Collinson 0 Comments

Warner Bros., MGM and New Line Cinema have continued their marketing push for director Ryan Coogler’s upcoming Rocky spinoff Creed by releasing two character posters featuring Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson and Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa…

SEE ALSO: Watch the latest trailer for Creed

Adonis Johnson (Jordan) never knew his famous father, world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, who died before he was born. Still, there’s no denying that boxing is in his blood, so Adonis heads to Philadelphia, the site of Apollo Creed’s legendary match with a tough upstart named Rocky Balboa.

Once in the City of Brotherly Love, Adonis tracks Rocky (Stallone) down and asks him to be his trainer. Despite his insistence that he is out of the fight game for good, Rocky sees in Adonis the strength and determination he had known in Apollo—the fierce rival who became his closest friend. Agreeing to take him on, Rocky trains the young fighter, even as the former champ is battling an opponent more deadly than any he faced in the ring.

With Rocky in his corner, it isn’t long before Adonis gets his own shot at the title…but can he develop not only the drive but also the heart of a true fighter, in time to get into the ring?

Creed is set for release on November 25th in the States, with a cast that also includes Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad and Tony Bellew.

Metallica to play AT&T Park on Super Bowl weekend; tickets on sale this week

While Metallica still has not been officially invited to play the first-ever Super Bowl halftime show to take place in their hometown of San Francisco, that's not stopping the world's biggest heavy metal band from inviting all their fans to rock out with them the night before Super Bowl 50 with a just-announced concert at AT&T Park, home of the baseball Giants.

Metallica will be headlin...re concert, which featured the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing last year's pre-Super Bowl show in New York City. Cage The Elephant will be an unorthodox opening act for this unique show. Tickets for the February 6 concert go on presale for Metallica Fan Club members tomorrow morning, then Wednesday at 10am a presale is available for Citibank cardholders. A Livenation presale follows on Thursday, and then finally tickets open up to the general public at 10am Friday morning... if any are left.

The Saturday night Metallica show adds yet another level of crazy to the already-packed weekend in the Bay Area, as tens of thousands of fans and businesses flood the city for Super Bowl 50 on Sunday. Los Angeles residents should certainly consider the concert a realistic option for a day's drive or an hour flight away, but virtually every hotel room in the entire Bay Area has already been booked so carefully consider your overnight arrangements if you don't want to be stuck driving back south overnight.

Tickets are priced in the extremely reasonable $50-150 range, from the upper deck nosebleeds down to the field level general admission pit area for what will be Metallica's second-ever concert in a Major League Baseball stadium (read my review of their killer Big 4 show at Yankee Stadium right here). Fans will have to dress carefully for the show, which normally would not be held in an outdoor stadium in the middle of winter, and will be at risk for San Francisco's rainy and chilly February weather.

Television

A New ‘Star Trek’ TV Series Will Debut in 2017

Photo

Leonard Nimoy in the original “Star Trek,” which ran on NBC from 1966 to 1969. Credit CBS

“Star Trek,” that venerable outer-space adventure, is boldly going where it’s been before, but hasn’t been seen in more than a decade: back to television. The science-fiction program that chronicled the voyages of the Starship Enterprise and its intrepid crew will return to TV in 2017, CBS said on Monday, in a new series that will be introduced on the network but will be shown primarily on its digital subscription video service.

This latest “Star Trek” series will focus on “new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception,” CBS said in a news release.

It will be executive-produced by Alex Kurtzman, a writer and producer of the rebooted 2009 “Star Trek” movie and its 2013 sequel, “Star Trek Into Darkness.” Mr. Kurtzman has also been involved with other popular works of geek culture like the TV shows “Alias,” “Fringe,” “Sleepy Hollow” and “Xena: Warrior Princess.”

The original “Star Trek” series, created by Gene Roddenberry, ran on NBC from 1966 to 1969. It introduced audiences to heroes like the hot-blooded Capt. James T. Kirk (played by William Shatner) and his serene half-alien officer, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and was distinguished by storytelling more focused on social themes of the 1960s than on the (minimal) special effects of that era.

A motion picture franchise followed, as did the TV spinoffs “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (which ran from 1987 to 1994); “Deep Space Nine” (1993 to 1999); “Voyager” (1995 to 2001); and “Enterprise” (2001 to 2005). Each of these series focused on different crews and eras in future history.

CBS said that the new “Star Trek” series would begin in January 2017 with a “special preview” episode shown on the network. That premiere and subsequent first-run episodes would then be shown on CBS All Access, its subscription video site.

A new movie in the film franchise (with a new crop of actors playing the characters on Kirk and Spock’s Enterprise), called “Star Trek Beyond,” is planned for release next summer, but is “not related” to this latest TV series, CBS said.

Noting that “Star Trek” will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, David Stapf, the president of CBS Television Studios, said in a statement, “Everyone here has great respect for this storied franchise, and we’re excited to launch its next television chapter in the creative mind and skilled hands of Alex Kurtzman, someone who knows this world and its audience intimately.”

NBC Slots Comedies ‘Superstore,’ ‘Telenovela’ for Mondays in January

Both Will Get Preview Airings Behind 'The Voice' This Fall

NBC’s new comedies “Superstore” and “Telenovela” will air on Mondays starting in January, though each will get a sneak preview on the night following “The Voice” later this fall, the network announced Monday.

“Superstore,” starring America Ferrera, will air back-to-back from 10-11 p.m. following a two-hour telecast of “The Voice” on Monday, Nov. 30. And “Telenovela,” featuring Eva Longoria as the star of a hit Spanish soap opera, will follow with back-to-back episodes at 10 p.m. on Dec. 7. The comedies, both which had their episode order trimmed by NBC two weeks ago, will be airing during a midseason hiatus of the network’s new hit drama “Blindspot.”

“Superstore” and “Telenovela” (formerly “Hot & Bothered”) will bow in their regular 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. timeslots, respectively, on Jan. 4, taking one of the hours currently occupied by the fall edition of “The Voice.” NBC hasn’t aired Monday comedies in a while, but saw an opening here when CBS abandoned comedies in the hour for “Supergirl.”

In addition to the additional exposure the comedies will receive by airing behind “The Voice,” NBC will also be able to promote these shows during upcoming special events, including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Thanksgiving night NFL game as well as “The Wiz Live!’ on Dec. 3.

The comedy premieres are the second midseason move announced by NBC. The network said last week that new cop drama “Shades of Blue,” starring Jennifer Lopez, will bow on Thursday, Jan. 14 with a two-hour premiere at 9 p.m. and slide into its regular 10 p.m. timeslot one week later.

Seattle premiere of 'Latin Explosion: A New America' on Nov. 4

Grace Potter Gets Delirious at the Orpheum Theatre

Grace Potter brought kicked off a two-night stand with her Magical Midnight Roadshow at Boston's Orpheum Theatre last Friday night (10.30.15).

With an epic two-hour set, Potter proved once again that she's the most exciting woman in rock; the most talented, too (easily the best voice in rock since Stevie Nicks). While her newest album (and first solo effort), Midnight, may have been a step too far in the pop direction, everything she played from the album became an entirely new creature thanks to her raw and never-ending energy on the stage (Delirious and Instigators were highlights of the show).

Grace Potter is a musical chameleon, blending musical genres so perfectly that it's almost impossible to put your finger on what kind of artist she actually is. One thing that's more than clear as Potter dances around the stage as though she's at once possessed by the spirits of legends past and present - ranging from Janis Joplin and Robert Plant to Stevie Nicks and Ozzy Osbourne - though, is the fact that she's a force of nature as brutal as she is beautiful.

Grace Potter delivers one of those live shows that must be seen to be believed, and once you've seen her, she's impossible to shake.

Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires opened the show.

TV Review: ‘Kareem: Minority Of One’

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TBS Gives Series Order to Mystery Comedy ‘Search Party’

November 2, 2015 | 09:55AM PT

Jay Z’s Tidal to Launch Original Drama, Comedy Series (Exclusive)

November 2, 2015 | 11:11AM PT

Mar del Plata: Disney To Distribute ‘Surviving the Seventies’ in Latin America

November 2, 2015 | 11:16AM PT

Agresti's new drama world premieres at Argentine Festival

Yoko Ono announces support of 2015 'Imagine There's No Hunger' campaign

They went from a string of flops to two of the hottest records of the 1960s in the space of three months. The Supremes were the toast of America in the second half of 1964 and today is the 51st anniversary of the day they hit No. 1 there for the second time in just ten weeks, with ‘Baby Love.’

The Holland-Dozier-Holland classic was released as Motown 1066 in the US just three weeks after ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ had finished its two-week reign on the Hot 100. The earlier song had glided to the top of the chart in just eight weeks, but ‘Baby Love’ made that seem like a crawl. It soared to the summit in five weeks, moving 51-26-12-6 and then, on the October 31 chart, made a stand against the new British invasion by ending Manfred Mann’s two-week reign with ‘Do Wah Diddy Diddy.’

The Supremes’ Motown labelmates Martha and the Vandellas were still in the top five that week with ‘Dancing In The Street,’ which had spent the previous two weeks at No. 2. The Four Tops were easing down the chart at No. 24 with ‘Baby I Need Your Loving,’ and there was further Tamla representation in the top 40 by Marvin Gaye, up a place to No. 29 with ‘Baby Don’t You Do It,’ and the Temptations, falling to No. 38 with ‘Why You Wanna Make Me Blue.’

‘Baby Love’ stayed at the summit for four weeks, and by mid-November, it had bumped Roy Orbison’s ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ from the top of the British singles chart.

Blues fans, here's a rare and improbable performance by Muddy Waters that you might not have heard before. It also gives rise to a good trivia question: what's the connection between the great blues giant and Oscar-winning, much-admired singer-songwriter Randy Newman?

With thanks to guitarworld.com and Tormented Artist Ink Studios, below you'll find an audio clip of Muddy, as recorded taking part in a radio commercial campaign for soft drink brand Dr. Pepper, circa 1974. This was part of a series of jingles and more extended material that was composed by Newman for the brand's radio ads of that time, and shows Waters taking his customary artistic licence in this unlikely combination.

The recording was commented on last week by Bob Margolin, who played bass in Muddy's band in the 1970s and was with the great man, alongside Pinetop Perkins and a guest harmonica spot by Paul Butterfield, at his guest appearance on The Band's celebrated Last Waltz concert of 1976.

"Because it wasn't a straight blues, I led the band through the unconventional changes," said Margolin on Facebook, as the audio became newly discussed online. "I think the music was written by Randy Newman. So, this is what you call 'pop' music?"

In an earlier quote about the Dr. Pepper session, Margolin remembered: “I do remember it was recorded at Chess Studios in Chicago and I played a bass line/ rhythm guitar part that you can hear clearly on the right side that led the band through very strange non-standard blues changes.

“Trying to get Muddy to sing the right words over it was not easy. We did get it though, and I think Muddy’s belligerent voice singing those words is very…weird and funny.”

Snoopy Honored With Star on Walk of Fame as ‘Peanuts Movie’ Opens

November 2, 2015 | 10:00AM PT

All his life he tried to be a good person,” begins the famous quote by Charles M. Schulz. “Many times, however, he failed. For after all, he was only human. He wasn’t a dog.”

SEE MORE: Awards: The Contenders

Snoopy, the beloved cartoon beagle based on Schulz’s own family dog Spike, first appeared in the Peanuts comic strip on Oct. 4, 1950. And now, 65 years later, the dog’s legacy will be cemented, alongside Schulz’s, when he receives a star on the Walk of Fame on Nov. 2.

Snoopy’s range of characters over the years — World War I flying ace, famous writer, lawyer, astronaut, hockey player among them — rivals many Hollywood legends. And with a career spanning nearly five decades in the strip and more in TV and film, Snoopy’s career is a model for longevity. He even coined a signature move — the “happy dance” — in which he points his nose to the sky, curves his mouth into a “U” shape and scampers about, feet radiating with energy.

But Snoopy wasn’t always the adventurous, character actor that we know him as today. In the beginning, Snoopy’s anthropomorphic tendencies were more subtle than in later years, says Jean Schulz, Charles’ widow, who now sits as board president at the Charles Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, Calif. In fact, Snoopy did not speak until 1952. But even in those first years, Charles Schulz found creative ways for Snoopy to communicate.

A STAR IS BORN: Snoopy plays a large part in the upcoming “The Peanuts Movie.”

“Snoopy was doing some very clever things and Sparky was using him for visual humor,” Jean Schulz says, referring to her late husband by his nickname. For example, in one strip that depicts a baseball game, Snoopy puts his ears out to call safe. In another, the kids play hide-and-seek. “Someone runs past him and he points that ear out,” she laughs.

But Snoopy’s humor is no mystery, considering his inspiration, Spike, was apparently a pretty intelligent model. Jean Schulz says her husband used to say Spike understood 50 words. “He would say ‘Spike, go down to the cellar and get a potato,’ and he’d come back with a potato,” she says.
But despite Snoopy’s immediate tendency toward humor and intelligence, Schulz says her late husband knew he had truly tapped into the beagle’s potential when he allowed the pup to stand on its hind legs and sit atop the doghouse. “He [said] that changed the whole strip.”

From that point on, Charles Schulz helped Snoopy discover his fantasy life that rocketed his career forward to become the famous and beloved character that he is today. Not only did the pup and his bird pals gain popularity in the strip, they also became a sort of marketing national treasure. In the world of flight, Snoopy became a symbol for exploration with ties to NASA, the Air Force communications and MetLife to provide aerial coverage during sporting events. He has also made his way into two of the most prized positions in American culture as both a stamp and a temporary part of the Google logo.

Snoopy will take another step forward when he stars in the upcoming “The Peanuts Movie” feature film, hitting theaters Nov. 6. Though it centers around Charlie Brown and his quest to find love with the Little Red-Haired Girl, Snoopy still gets plenty of attention. The film uses a unique style of animation that attempts to reconcile a current, three-dimensional look with the strip’s two-dimensional integrity.

“As Snoopy acts in such a big way, he’ll strike poses from different generations.”

Steve Martino

In “The Peanuts Movie” Snoopy is voiced using archival recordings by Bill Melendez who has historically been the voice of Snoopy in addition to directing many of the Charlie Brown TV specials.

Steve Martino, who directed “The Peanuts Movie,” says there was no point in trying to replicate Melendez’s original voiceover work. “As we listened to (the archived recordings) and I started to cut those into our story reels, we couldn’t create anything other than that,” Martino says. “Bill is so funny and Snoopy is so hilarious in his voice, so he is Snoopy and Woodstock.”

In terms of design, Martino says the Snoopy in the movie is close to Schulz’s drawings from the 1980s, something that was a joint decision with the film’s writer and producer, Craig Schulz, who also happens to be the artist’s son. But he is quick to add that there are others thrown in, for example, some poses from the ’60s that the director finds particularly hilarious. “As Snoopy acts in such a big way,he’ll strike poses from different generations.”

Paul Feig, one of the film’s producers, posits that one reason Snoopy resonates so deeply with readers across generations is that the dog’s adventures mirror the process of an artist. “(As an artist) you start to look both beyond your world, and then also into yourself to find things that aren’t part of your life at the moment,” Feig says. “What could I be today? I could be an astronaut. I could be a World War I flying ace. I could be anything, really.”

It seems long overdue that Snoopy be recognized for spreading so much puppy love. “Honestly, Snoopy has probably entertained people for longer than most people on the Walk of Fame,” Feig says. “He’s been making people laugh for 65 years.” Cue the happy dance.

Snoopy Timeline
His live as a dog
	1934	The Schulz family acquires Spike, the inspiration for Snoopy.
	1950	Snoopy appears in the “Peanuts” comic strip for the first time.
	1952	Snoopy’s thoughts are verbalized for the first time.
	1957	Snoopy learns how to walk on two legs.
	1965	Snoopy adapts the persona of the World War I Flying Ace for the first time.
	1969	The astronauts on Apollo X carry Charlie Brown and Snoopy into space.
	2001	A series of stamps showing Snoopy as the World War I Flying Ace are released.
	2009	Google features Snoopy and Woodstock in its logo.

Tipsheet
What:
Snoopy receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
When:
11:30 a.m. Nov. 2
Where:
7201 Hollywood Blvd.
Web:
walkoffame.com

‘Star Wars,’ Elvis and Me

Anything could have defined my generation, but
it happened to be Luke, lightsabers and the Force.

By A. O. SCOTT

OCT. 28, 2015

For another take on “Star Wars” fans, read Manohla Dargis’s essay.

Three important things happened in the middle of 1977, each separated by a little more than a month: “Star Wars” was released, I celebrated my 11th birthday and Elvis Presley died. One of those things is not like the others, I know, and strictly speaking there wasn’t then and isn’t now anything beyond calendar coincidence that links them together. But those random events nonetheless go a long way toward explaining my relationship to popular culture.

And not only mine, of course. Modern life is a series of generational milestones. We calibrate our collective identities according to the shared experience of public events, including hit movies and popular songs. Whether we like them or not, those become part of the architecture of our private selves and also a kind of currency we trade with our peers. Elvis, in his mid-40s at the time of his death, was for kids like me immutably the property of the old, a reminder of the moment in our parents’ youth when everything had changed. The Beatles represented a similar, slightly more recent earthquake: They too belonged to the past. We had sung their songs in nursery school and heard them on “Sesame Street.” Nostalgia had claimed them. “Star Wars” was different. It was ours — our own special tectonic shift, after which the landscape was forever altered.

‘Star Wars’: Their First Time

“Star Wars” memories ...ng others.

Or so the story goes, in both its heroic and tragic versions. The wild success of the film now known as “Episode IV — A New Hope” has been held responsible for much of what followed, the good along with the bad. “Star Wars” supposedly helped put an end to the risk-taking and artistic ambition of 1970s New Hollywood and ushered in an era of blockbuster domination that continues to this day. Twenty-first century grown-ups who bemoan the hegemony of fantasy-based franchise movies — which is to say most of us, at one time or another — have only our own youthful enthusiasms to blame. But the first “Star Wars” trilogy is also credited with opening up a dazzling world of fan culture, liberating nerds and geeks from the condescension of their elders and the mockery of their classmates and placing their passions at the center of the universe. Like rock ’n’ roll before it, this cultural dispensation may not have been immediately respectable, but it proved to be instantly profitable and endlessly renewable.

What We Know of ‘Star W...Awakens’

A roundup of details abou...e Jedi.”

How new was it, really? History has a way of making novelty look secondhand. Elvis made his indelible mark on baby boomer consciousness by putting a white face and an adolescent pout on a style of black Southern music that had been around a long time. Beatlemania was built mostly on echoes of Elvis and Chuck Berry. “Star Wars” was, if anything, an even more self-conscious throwback, a film student’s act of promiscuous homage, a hodgepodge of styles and allusions.

Photo

Fans of the “Star Wars” franchise in 1980. Credit John Sunderland/The Denver Post, via Getty Images

In his generous, slightly patronizing New York Times review, Vincent Canby noted the movie’s evocation of “Flash Gordon” serials and “a variety of literature that is nothing if not eclectic: ‘Quo Vadis?,’ ‘Buck Rogers,’ ‘Ivanhoe,’ ‘Superman,’ ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ ‘The Gospel According to St. Matthew,’ the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table.” George Lucas’s fellow cinephiles could point out his debts to John Ford and Akira Kurosawa. “Star Wars” might have looked like science fiction and played like an aerial-combat film, but it was also a western, a samurai epic and, at least when Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford were on screen together, a screwball comedy. An exemplary act of what some of us would learn, in college a few years later, to identify as the distinctive postmodern aesthetic strategy of pastiche.

Photo

Awaiting a screening of “Attack of the Clones” in 2002. Credit Fred Prouser/Reuters

But what, at the time, did any of us know about any of that? If you were 11 in 1977, “Star Wars” was something new under the sun. Which doesn’t mean we thought it came out of nowhere. There were action-adventure movies, multi-sequel science-fiction allegories, comic books that had initiated generations of fans in the pleasures of serial narration. There was “The Lord of the Rings” (the books and Ralph Bakshi’s animated movie); “Planet of the Apes” (the movie and the animated Saturday morning cartoon spinoff); “Star Trek”; Mad magazine. Plenty of fuel to feed a fan’s budding imagination.

All of those were the kindling, and it’s possible that if Mr. Lucas hadn’t struck the match, the explosion would have happened anyway. What ignited in the summer of 1977 may not have been only — even primarily — the love of a particular film. In retrospect, the larger phenomenon of “Star Wars” represented what looks like the inevitable product of demographic and social forces.

Photo

Budding Stormtroopers in 2015. Credit Sandy Huffaker/Reuters

How old were you when "Star Wars" came out? What are your most vivid memories of watching it? We may feature your comments in a future article.

The “great man” theory of history always does battle with more deterministic accounts. Here was the nascent population not yet known as Generation X, hungry for novelty, distraction, comfort, order, mythology, heroism — whatever it was that our post-’60s, recessionary moment seemed not to be supplying. All we needed was a baby boomer to give it to us, get rich in the process and incur both our worship and our resentment for the rest of our lives. He would be the inventor, but we would be the end users, and we would make the thing ours. What was true of “Star Wars” would be true, a few years later, of the personal computer. And both would eventually provide a further generational bridge, between the now-graying X-ers and the ascendant millennials.

Photo

Suiting up for “Revenge of the Sith” in 2005. Credit Seth Wenig/Reuters

But more about that in a minute. I’m the ancient mariner here, and this is still my story. I’m not sure how many times I saw “Star Wars” the year it came out, but I am certain that until the arrival of my children, a DVD player and a copy of “Toy Story 2,” there is no movie I have seen as often in such rapid succession.

The novelist Jonathan Lethem, two years older than I am, has written (in a piercing essay called “13, 21, 1977”) about seeing it 21 times, usually by himself, during an especially painful period in his life. I can’t quite match that total, and there was no pattern to the viewings. I think my parents took me the first time. Later, I took my little sister. Another time I went with a girl from my sixth-grade class on some awkward early approximation of a date. At least one friend’s birthday party involved a “Star Wars” outing. Going to see it was, in my recollection, a casual habit. You would be in someone’s rec room playing air hockey, or trying to pop wheelies on your bike, and you’d get bored with that and, if you hadn’t already spent your allowance, you’d head to the theater where the movie had been playing continuously since the end of the previous school year. It was something to do.

For some, like Mr. Lethem, it was also a gateway into more sophisticated cinematic pleasures, and a first step on a backward path through movie history. In his case, “Star Wars” was replaced first by “2001: A Space Odyssey” and then by “The Searchers,” both of them, not coincidentally, among the identifiable ancestors of “A New Hope.” Others held fast to childish things and formed a Rebel Alliance against the Empire of adulthood. It’s hardly an accident that J. J. Abrams, director of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” is one of us. He turned 11 about two weeks before I did.

The legend of “Star Wars” was something that arose later. In 1977, we were innocent of Joseph Campbell and the further annotations Mr. Lucas and others would provide. The allegorical meanings — the battle of good and evil, the mystery of the Force — rest lightly on the jaunty surface of “A New Hope.” There would be richer intimations of depth and darkness in “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi,” or maybe, since we were a few years older, we were more inclined to see them.

And then we kind of moved on, at least until 1999, when Mr. Lucas returned with “The Phantom Menace” and the Gen X legacy of ambivalence and confusion blossomed anew. That movie was terrible! So was “Attack of the Clones.” But it didn’t seem to matter. Everyone went to see those movies anyway, and the awfulness cast a rosy and perhaps unmerited glow on the first trilogy. Those movies weren’t all that good either. And that didn’t matter. They existed — the whole cosmos, or gestalt, or whatever it is, exists — in a realm beyond such judgments, and also beyond the ordinary operations of nostalgia. “Star Wars” is an old movie now, older now than Elvis Presley’s first records were in 1977. The film moves slowly and shows its predigital seams. It’s more charming than sublime, a silly pop-culture throwaway full of funny creatures, terrible dialogue and breathless acting. It’s exactly the same as I remember it, and watching it again I wonder what I ever saw in it. I find my lack of faith disturbing. And yet, I’m still a believer.

Justin Timberlake to perform with Chris Stapleton at CMA Awards

by Madison Vain • @tweetsinvain

(Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic; Rob Kim/Getty Images)

Posted November 2 2015 — 1:51 PM EST

Triple nominee and Best New Artist-hopeful Chris Stapleton is a Grade A performer but when he takes the stage Wednesday during country music’s biggest night, he’ll get a little help from a friend: Justin Timberlake. Stapleton revealed the billing Monday on Rolling Stone Country saying he cold-called Timberlake, who agreed to do the show on the spot.

“He was so gracious and kind to want to do it,” Stapleton said. “I’m excited to do it, it’s something I’ve never done before.” The two have not revealed what song they’ll be doing, though there are plenty from Stapleton’s acclaimed debut, Traveller, to choose from.

Timberlake has previously collaborated with country queen Reba McEntire on her track “The Only Promise That Remains,” and has said in years since that he would love to participate in country music more. Most explicitly, he told The Tennessean, “The next move for me is to sink some teeth in [Nashville]. I’ve done it before. I got a taste of it … it reminded me of the songs that my grandfather used to make me listen to when I was a kid — in a great way. It hit me, ‘Oh I wrote this song because of my childhood.’ It ended up being this thing that country radio wouldn’t play.”

The night will prove heavy on crossover duets. Keith Urban is slated to perform with his recent single’s namesak...ellencamp while Thomas Rhett will be joined by Fall Out Boy.

The awards will air live on Wednesday evening, Nov. 4, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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