Taylor Swift for Entertainment Weekly - Entertainers Of The Year Issue 2020!
“He is my co-writer on ‛Betty’ and ‛Exile,’” replies Taylor Swift with deadpan precision. The question Who is William Bowery? was, at the time we spoke, one of 2020’s great mysteries, right up there with the existence of Joe Exotic and the sudden arrival of murder hornets. An unknown writer credited on the year’s biggest album? It must be an alias.
Is he your brother? “He’s William Bowery,” says Swift with a smile. It's early November, after Election Day but before Swift eventually revealed Bowery's true identity to the world (the leading theory, that he was boyfriend Joe Alwyn, proved prescient). But, like all Swiftian riddles, it was fun to puzzle over for months, particularly in this hot mess of a year, when brief distractions are as comforting as a well-worn cardigan. Thankfully, the Bowery... erhm, Alwyn-assisted Folklore — a Swift project filled with muted pianos and whisper-quiet snares, recorded in secret with Jack Antonoff and the National’s Aaron Dessner — delivered.
“The only people who knew were the people I was making it with, my boyfriend, my family, and a small management team,” Swift, 30, tells EW of the album's hush-hush recording sessions. That gave the intimate Folklore a mystique all its own: the first surprise Taylor Swift album, one that prioritized fantastical tales over personal confessions.
“Early in quarantine, I started watching lots of films,” she explains. “Consuming other people’s storytelling opened this portal in my imagination and made me feel like, Why have I never created characters and intersecting storylines?” That’s how she ended up with three songs about an imagined love triangle (“Cardigan,” “Betty,” “August”), one about a clandestine romance (“Illicit Affairs”), and another chronicling a doomed relationship (“Exile”). Others tell of sumptuous real-life figures like Rebekah Harkness, a divorcee who married the heir to Standard Oil — and whose home Swift purchased 31 years after her death. The result, “The Last Great American Dynasty,” hones in on Harkness’ story, until Swift cleverly injects herself.
And yet, it wouldn’t be a Swift album without a few barbed postmortems over her own history. Notably, “My Tears Ricochet” and “Mad Woman," which touch on her former label head Scott Borchetta selling the masters to Swift’s catalog to her known nemesis Scooter Braun. Mere hours after our interview, the lyrics’ real-life origins took a surprising twist, when news broke that Swift’s music had once again been sold, to another private equity firm, for a reported $300 million. Though Swift ignored repeated requests for comment on the transaction, she did tweet a statement, hitting back at Braun while noting that she had begun re-recording her old albums — something she first promised in 2019 as a way of retaining agency over her creative legacy. (Later, she would tease a snippet of that reimagined work, with a new version of her hit 2008 single "Love Story.")
Like surprise-dropping Folklore, like pissing off the president by endorsing his opponents, like shooing away haters, Swift does what suits her. “I don’t think we often hear about women who did whatever the hell they wanted,” she says of Harkness — something Swift is clearly intent on changing. For her, that means basking in the world of, and favorable response to, Folklore. As she says in our interview, “I have this weird thing where, in order to create the next thing, I attack the previous thing. I don’t love that I do that, but it is the thing that has kept me pivoting to another world every time I make an album. But with this one, I still love it.”
Get more at EW!
#RHOA: Cynthia Bailey and Eva Marcille Are Giving Back The Holidays!
Eva Marcille may have announced her departure from The Real Housewives Of Atlanta, but he and her castmate Cynthia Bailey are still tight and this season they’ve come together to do some good for the community.
In partnership with Seagram’s Escapes, they came together to create and promote the Seagram’s Escapes Holiday Marketplace, which is an online shopping destination that features over 2,000 black-owned businesses you can shop with for the holiday season.
“Cynthia and I truly have a genuine and unique bond in so many different ways,” says Marcille. “Her and I are just both so carefree and free-spirited. But more so than anything, her heart and her desire to give back, because you know, the reality is we receive blessings abundantly and this pandemic has hit us hard. And I say us, us Black people—Black business owners. So we wanted to take an opportunity and figure out like, “How the heck can we give back?” And food banks, we’ve been giving back to and shelters and stuff, but we wanted to figure out how to give back in a really big way. And so through Cynthia’s relationship with Seagram’s and her and I just really forcing and really wanting this to happen, we created for the first time ever for Seagram’s, a holiday marketplace featuring all and only black owned businesses.”
The marketplace features business in every category, including mind, body, spirit, and wealth.
Bailey also can relate to the plight of Black business owners because, like Marcille, she is one too.
“Let me tell you, I mean, this really touched me because I have black businesses,” says Bailey. “I’m on Atlanta Housewives, but myself and my castmates, we all have businesses. And what happened during COVID was a lot of people came up with small businesses to supplement their incomes because a lot of people lost jobs.”
If we’re going to spend this year, it’s important says Bailey, that we do our best to pay it forward within the Black community. “It’s important because when black business is closed down, black employees lose jobs and then they can’t feed their families. And I am so, I think one of the things that, came out of this whole, what I’m going out of 2020 with is just a new appreciation for life, for businesses, for everything. Because we took a lot of this stuff for granted.”
For Marcille, the idea was an extension of her everyday lifestyle and therefore something also very near and dear to her heart for the holidays.
“I shop black businesses every day,” says Marcille. “I literally started locs a few months ago for myself. My daughter already has them. And I’m online buying all of these different black loc haircare brands and getting their different products. And so, we exist and we can exist in even a bigger way if we use our platform to amplify that.”
Because holiday shopping doesn’t always end with that last pre-Christmas rush, the marketplace will be online through Dec. 31 and three lucky participating businesses will be selected by Seagram’s Escapes and the reality TV stars to receive grants of $10,000 each. Award winners will be announced Friday, December 18.
For Marcille, she says, it’s about holiday giving and the bigger picture for our community.
“We’re going to get through this pandemic and our businesses are going to stay afloat and we are going to create economic and generational wealth in the black community,” she says. “And Cynthia and I and Seagram’s are trying to do our part in assisting that.”
#NewMusic from Deborah Cox – I Really Don’t Want Much for Christmas!
Legendary singer Deborah Cox is in a festive holiday spirit with the new song “I Really Don’t Want Much for Christmas”.
The song is actually a cover of the song that was created nearly two decades ago by jazz musician Chris Botti with vocals from Eric Benet.
The release of the song comes a year after Deborah Cox gave us the original holiday song “Gimme Some Christmas”.
LISTEN HERE
Last year, Cox also gave us the brand new Rico Love produced single “Easy Way”. We are currently awaiting her new album which will her first since “The Promise” in 2008.
#HipHopNews: Big Freedia And Flo Milli Make a Bouncy Christmas Record Titled, ‘Better Be’!
The kids better be tucked in tight when you play this Christmas record by Big Freedia featuring Flo Milli.
“Left out the cookies and the Henny/ Got a new man comin’ down my chimney/ Got a bad case of the gimme gimmes/ Better be big, I ain’ f–k no Tiny Timmies,” Freedia raps on the beat, detailing all the gifts that better be under the tree on X-mas Day.
The visuals feature dancers twerking as they sport reindeer-inspired leotards.
The Alabama rapper wasn’t featured in the music video but she came through on the second verse with her own wishlist containing diamonds, a new whip, and cash money.
“If it ain’t money I don’t care/ Hoes be funny, hoes be weird/ Mad cuz I been good this year/ Santa, make those bags appear,” Flo raps.
Check out the song HERE
Kanye West Is Being Sued By The Sunday Service Choir For $1 Million In Unpaid Wages!
Kanye West has been sued in a class-action lawsuit for unpaid wages connected to his Nebuchadnezzar Live opera. The failed presidential aspirant was sued by a group of workers who helped with his live musical production called the Hollywood Bowl.
The rapper, who is believed to be a billionaire, is accused of owing “unpaid wages” and failing to pay minimum wage and overtime when he hosted the Hollywood Bowl in 2019. He premiered the opera in December last year, after releasing his debut gospel album, ‘Jesus Is King’.
Legal documents obtained by Complex said the plaintiffs, including background actors and hairstylists, alleged they were not properly compensated for their production work. A hairstylist revealed that she was supposed to be paid $550 for two days of work but received $530 after four months and was charged $20 for a wire fee in violation of California‘s labor code.
This artist spent over $60k buying art to help his fellow artists affected by the pandemic
The lawsuit also states that organizers “failed to properly compensate the hair assistant and many dozens of other persons who performed services on the production, including the background actors performing as audience members”.
“The defendants oversaw, controlled and ran the production, and the aggrieved employees worked many hours on the production and were not timely paid for their work, or paid at all,” the suit read.
“In addition, Defendants misclassified Plaintiffs and Aggrieved Employees as independent contractors as no deductions were made for payroll taxes.”
The suit was reportedly filed in July and the plaintiffs have been seeking “unpaid wages, continuing wages, damages, civil penalties, statutory penalties, and attorneys’ fees and costs.” Live Nation, the company behind the production, has also been listed as a defendant.
Rashida Jones Replaces Phil Griffin As MSNBC President!
Phil Griffin is stepping down as the longtime president of MSNBC, to be replaced early next year by rising NBC News executive Rashida Jones.
Griffin, 64, has worked at NBC News for 35 years and has been president of MSNBC since 2008. With a primetime lineup led by Rachel Maddow, it has become established as the favorite of those wanting news from a liberal perspective.
Jones, who has been with NBC News for the past seven years, is currently chief of breaking news and major events at the network. She just led the network’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election and the team preparing Kristen Welker as moderator of the third presidential debate.
She’s the first Black executive to lead one of the major cable networks. Cesar Conde, the new chairman of the NBC Universal News Group, has made diversity one of his top priorities.
“She leads with a laser-like focus and grace under pressure,” Conde said.
Jones takes over on Feb. 1. Her immediate challenge will be leading the network into coverage of the Biden administration; many in the news industry have feared that the exit of President Donald Trump means the time of high ratings for news networks may be coming to an end.
Griffin is leaving the network, and it’s not immediately clear what he’ll be doing next.
“Phil has built something remarkable,” Conde said in a memo to NBC News staff. “He leaves the network in the best shape it has ever been. Six straight record years. Each one better than the last.
Tayshia Adams Reveals Final Seven Men on ‘The Bachelorette’!
Tayshia Adams has narrowed down her final choice on The Bachelorette to just seven guys.
Tuesday’s episode saw the 30-year-old phlebotomist eliminated a lot of men from the competition, including Spencer, Ed and Demar.
It was lie detector night on the show, which unveiled new and deep information about the guys left, and they included a name change for a personal reason, a sixth grade romance turned sour after one kissed another girl, and even touched on mental health issues and suicide attempts.
The night ended with a big twist, though. After eliminating one guy earlier on in the episode, he came back!
"The way that I sent him home the other night did not feel right, but also at the same time, I'm here now with other people," Tayshia shared on the show. "If I ask [SPOILER] to come back, I don't know how the guys would react. This is very hard. I am so confused."
That appeared to leave just seven men remaining in play for Tayshia's heart: Ben, Brendan, Zac, Riley, Noah, Ivan and Blake.
John Lennon Remembered on 40th Anniversary of His Murder!
Forty years ago, the world lost John Lennon. One of the four members of The Beatles, Lennon left quite the legacy both in the music industry and the world itself. Lennon was murdered in New York City on Dec. 8, 1980, at the age of 40.
On the anniversary of his tragic death, members of The Beatles paid tribute to the man who helped lead them to their incredible success. Paul McCartney called it "sad" day, "I will always be proud and happy to have known and worked with this incredible Scouser." The other remaining Beatle, Ringo Starr, made a plea to radio stations across the country, "I’m asking Every music radio station in the world sometime today play Strawberry Fields Forever. Peace and love." His wife, Yoko Ono, also mentioned Lennon on the anniversary of his death, calling it a "hollowing experience," all while calling on policymakers to enact stricter gun regulations.
Along with his peers paying their respects to him on the 40th anniversary, plenty of fans of his work, both with The Beatles and as a solo artist, also followed suit. Here are some of the most noteworthy tributes posted on Twitter that honored the talented musician.
Jerry Ferrara And Wife Breanne Expecting Baby Boy!
Jerry Ferrara is adding another hatchling to his family. The “Entourage” actor announced on Monday that he and his wife, Breanne Racano, are expecting a baby boy. The couple welcomed son Jacob Michael in 2019.
“It’s been a rough year for sure,” Ferrara, 41, wrote on Instagram with a family photo. “But I am grateful to being adding another little boy to our family. 3 of us becomes 4 us! And I probably lose the rest of whatever hair I have left…”
He also shared an adorable snap of Jacob holding blue balloons that read “It’s a Boy!”
Before Jacob’s birth, the couple suffered a pregnancy loss, with Racano saying she and Ferrara became “closer and stronger” in the aftermath.
Rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie Arrested After Raid At NJ Home!
A Bronx-born rapper was arrested after cops found an arsenal of guns and some marijuana during a raid at his New Jersey home, prosecutors said Tuesday.
A Boogie wit da Hoodie — whose real name is Artist Dubose — was hit with weapons and marijuana possession charges, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
Law enforcement authorities executed a search warrant at the 25-year-old artist’s home in Demarest on Monday.
Officials didn’t say what their investigation was in connection to.
The search turned up four handguns, hollow point bullets and various high-capacity magazines, as well as weed and drug paraphernalia, prosecutors said.
A personal security guard at the home, 33-year-old Quashaun Hagler, was also charged with illegal weapons possession, NorthJersey.com reported.
And A Boogie’s manager, Samblou Camara, was slapped with drug charges after cops searched his home in Bergenfield and found marijuana, prosecutors said.
The arrests came a day after a shooting broke out across the street from a Teaneck nightclub where the rapper was celebrating his 25th birthday.
However, authorities said A Boogie’s arrest was not related to the shooting, which left an 18-year-old man critically injured.
“He is not a suspect, nor did we believe him to be a suspect,” Chief Detective Robert Anzilotti said of the rapper.
Megan Thee Stallion Thanked By Maxine Waters For New York Times Op-Ed: “I Am Incredibly Proud Of You”!
Maxine Waters says she is "incredibly proud" of Megan Thee Stallion. Credit: Getty Images.
US congresswoman Maxine Waters has thanked Megan Thee Stallion for her recent New York Times op-ed, entitled ‘Why I Speak Up For Black Women’.
In a letter to the rapper, Waters said she “can’t thank [Megan] enough for bringing much needed attention to the plight of Black women, not just here in the United States – but everywhere”.
“While we are too often overlooked, there is no doubt that Black women are a glue for our families and communities,” Waters said in the letter, which you can read in full below. “And a crucial part of the fabric of this country.”
One of the highlights of my year was getting a letter from Congress Woman Maxine Waters,” Megan wrote in an Instagram post sharing the letter. “I am so honoured to be recognised by such an amazing woman and I promise to keep using my voice and encourage others to use theirs.”
In the NYT op-ed, Megan opened by observing how Black women have become “a highly courted voting bloc” who were “expected once again to deliver victory for Democratic candidates” in last month’s US election.
“Despite this and despite the way so many have embraced messages about racial justice this year, Black women are still constantly disrespected and disregarded in so many areas of life,” she added.
Megan Thee Stallion released her debut album ‘Good News’ last month. It followed her smash hit collaboration ‘WAP’ with Cardi B.
Dolly Parton Hopes 'Someone Like Beyoncé' Might Someday Cover 'Jolene'!
Dolly Parton hopes Beyoncé might one day cover her hit single, "Jolene."
In a recent interview, the country icon discussed how many times the 1973 song has been covered, adding that she's still hopeful another major artist will record their own version and make it a big hit.
"'Jolene' has been recorded more than any other song that I have ever written," Parton told The Big Issue. "It has been recorded worldwide over 400 times in lots of different languages, by lots of different bands. The White Stripes did a wonderful job of it, and many other people."
She continued, "But nobody's ever had a really big hit record on it. I've always hoped somebody might do someday, someone like Beyoncé.
From the same album as "Jolene," Parton has also seen much success with her song, "I Will Always Love You." In the interview, the country singer talked about Whitney Houston's 1992 cover of her 1974 song, calling it one of her proudest moments.
"To me, that is really a classic love song. I had a No.1 on it twice, once in the 1970s, then I did it in the movie The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and had another No. 1 in the 1980s," Parton said. "And then Whitney did it and it was considered one of the greatest love songs of all time."
"Still to this day I take a lot of pride in that. So I'd tell my younger self, you're going to end up being very proud of your little old self one day," she added. "So just buckle up and be ready for the ride."
In the interview, Parton revealed that "it is possible" that she wrote both "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You" on the same day since they came from the same cassette.
"I've got my pride and I've got my strength. But when I write a song, I'm vulnerable at those moments," she explained. "I leave my heart out on my sleeve. I've always said I have to leave my heart open in order to receive those kinds of songs. I have to feel everything to be a real songwriter."
The new interview comes shortly after the release of her Netflix movie, Christmas on the Square and the airing of her A Holly Dolly Christmas special on CBS.
Queen Latifah to star in new Netflix thriller ‘End of the Road’!
Queen Latifah is to star in End of the Road. The 50-year-old actress and musician is to lead the cast and also serve as executive producer of the Netflix thriller, which is being directed by Millicent Shelton.
The movie centers on the recently widowed Brenda as she drives her family cross-country to begin a new life after losing her job. Isolated in the desert in New Mexico, she and her family must learn to fight back when they are targeted by a mysterious killer.
David Loughery has penned the script based on an original screenplay by Christopher Moore.
Tracey Edmonds, Mark Burg and Brad Kaplan are producing the movie while Shakim Compere will also serve as executive producer alongside Latifah for Flavor Unit Entertainment.
Shelton has previously directed episodes of numerous TV shows, including “The Walking Dead” and “30 Rock.” She has helmed music videos for artists such as Mary J. Blige and Salt-N-Pepa.
Latifah will also work with the streamer in the cast of Adam Sandler’s upcoming basketball movie “Hustle,” which is being produced by NBA legend LeBron James.
The movie features Sandler as a down-on-his-luck basketball scout who discovers a once-in-a-lifetime player with a rocky past abroad. He takes it upon himself to bring the player to the U.S. without approval from his team. The pair has one last shot to prove they have what it takes to make it in the NBA.
It marks the latest collaboration between Sandler, 54, and Netflix, having previously teamed up to make movies such as Uncut Gems and Murder Mystery.
Charlamagne Secures Additional 5 Year Deal With iHeartRadio!
There has been a lot of speculation on whether Charlamagne would quit his radio show “The Breakfast Club” after securing a TV talk show deal in the midst of his rising stardom as a political pundit.
But according to Page Six, he has signed a new and very lucrative five-year deal with iHeartRadio.
This means that Charlamagne will remain on as the host of the nationally syndicated “The Breakfast Club,” which he has fronted for 10 years — plus the media and entertainment firm is giving him an expanded role as an executive.
In addition to a new quarterly and exclusive one-on-one interview show, Charlamagne will continue to host “Weekends with The Breakfast Club,” a three-hour weekly program featuring a countdown of the top 20 songs on the charts and signature interviews.
He’s just coming off the heels of the successful launch of his “Black Effect Podcast” network, a 50/50 iHeart joint venture that has already earned 10 million downloads, making it one of the largest deals in the history of syndicated radio.
Amid numerous other offers from TV networks and media outlets, he exclusively told Page Six about his decision to remain at iHeart, “iHeart has shown me that they have my back. It’s a great partnership, and great partnerships are very hard to find, especially in this era that we are in right now.”
“It says something when you’ve been with a company for 10 years, and they’ve gone above and beyond and empowered me, not just as talent, but as an owner and an executive.”
He added that he was surprised that the public cared so much about the speculation that he might quit The Breakfast Club, which broadcasts nationally on over 100 stations and reportedly has 8 million listeners a month, according to Nielsen.
“I was surprised, I did not think people cared that much — especially the general public. But industry-wise, that would not have been a surprise — just because everybody would love to have certain individuals with their companies, and I feel like I’ve done well for myself over the past few years. … But people reaching out from the general public —yeah, that was kind of shocking.”
His unnamed talk show will debut on Comedy Central in 2021, and he is launching his new “Mental Wealth Alliance” to provide free mental health treatment to 10 million people in five years.
On mental health, Charlamagne said, “A lot of people I have known have passed away this year. I have family who are going through it financially. So you can be the person who can make somebody else’s life a little bit brighter. Take the weight off of somebody else’s shoulders, regardless of what it is. It could be financially, it could be conversation; you don’t know.”
“So am I happy, yes. I’m happy to be me. But I do get sad with what I see is going on in the world right now.”
Charlamagne says there is even more to come with his groundbreaking Audible content partnership with Kevin Hart,
“We will be announcing some of the first projects real soon, maybe the top of the year. We actually have a project dropping in March with Audible. I can’t say anything right now. I don’t wanna step on any of the promo just yet. So I have to hold on … I have always said I have the perfect combination of righteousness and rachetness.”
He adds, “But for the first time, we are giving people the space to tell their stories and helping to eradicate the stigma of mental health in a real way. I got brothers talking to me about therapy like we talk about going to the gym.”
The Supreme Court Has Rejected GOP Efforts To Overturn Biden’s Pennsylvania Win!
On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court rejected a request from Pennsylvania Republicans to keep the state’s election results from being certified, attempting to block President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
The defeat is another crushing blow to the Trump campaign, which has hinged its hopes of a second term on the courts. The campaign has repeatedly filed legal challenges in crucial swing states.
According to CNN, the one-line unsigned order, with no comments or dissents, held up a lower court decision that threw out a lawsuit that challenged the 2019 law that expanded mail-in voting in Pennsylvania.
“The application for injunctive relief presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied,” the order said.
The court was made up of six conservative justices, including Trump’s three nominees, and three liberal judges. This was the first election-related dispute that Amy Coney Barrett weighed in on.
The law called into question is Act 77, implementing a no-excuse absentee voting system for federal and state elections, setting the basis for the lawsuit led by Republican Congressman Kelly.
Kelly and fellow Republicans appealed to the Supreme Court after being thrown out of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, claiming the state’s ruling denied them access to judicial relief.
They asked the Supreme Court to intervene by blocking state officials from taking further steps to certify November’s presidential election results. Pennsylvania certified its results in late November, but states have until December 8 to resolve election issues.
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
‘ALL ABOARD THE WALMART EXPRESS!’
Move over Little Engine that could, and hey Chuggington there is no room for you in this space. They don’t have 4 wheel drive, but there are 16 wheels in total, along with 4 social security cards, and 2 cartons of cigs, with a side of chew.
HAVE A GREAT DAY ALL!!!
EFREM
No comments:
Post a Comment