'Wonka' ends the year No. 1 at the box office, 2023 sales reach $9 billion in post-pandemic best
Hollywood closed out an up and down 2023 with โWonkaโ regaining No. 1 at the box office, strong sales for โThe Color Purpleโ and an overall $9 billion in ticket sales that improved on 2022โs grosses but fell about $2 billion shy of pre-pandemic norms.
Clarence Avant, โBlack Godfather' of entertainment, and benefactor of athletes and politicians, dies
Clarence Avant, the manager, entrepreneur, facilitator and adviser who helped launch or guide the careers of Quincy Jones, Bill Withers and many others and came to be known as the "Black Godfather" of entertainment and beyond has died at 92.
The joy of music returns for Grammy winners, performers
Beyonce, left, and Megan Thee Stallion accept the award for best rap song for "Savage" at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Sunday, March 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)Beyoncรฉ, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish made history at the Grammy Awards. Just as joyously, dozens of creators largely sidelined for a year due to the pandemic got to make music again. 's topical โI Can't Breatheโ won song of the year and Megan Thee Stallion was named best new artist. Further crowding the family trophy case is husband Jay-Z, whose songwriting on โSavageโ earned him his 23rd Grammy on Sunday, and even their 9-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, who won best music video together with mom.
Ladies night: Beyoncรฉ, Swift make history as others win big
Four women won the top four prizes Sunday, including Swift, who became the first female performer to win album of the year three times. Beyoncรฉ โ with her 28th win โ became the most decorated woman in Grammy history. And 9-year-old Blue Ivy Carter โ who won best music video alongside her mother โ became the second youngest act to win a Grammy in the showโs 63-year history. Megan Thee Stallion, who won three honors, also made history and became the first female rapper to win best rap song. She's also the fifth rap-based act to win best new artist.
Dr. Dre back home after reported brain aneurysm treatment
Peter Paterno, an attorney for the rapper and producer, said Dre was home but offered no other details in an email exchange Saturday. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)LOS ANGELES โ Dr. Dre was back at home Saturday after being treated at a Los Angeles hospital for a reported brain aneurysm. Peter Paterno, an attorney for the music mogul, said Dre was home but offered no other details in an email exchange Saturday. On Friday, actor and rapper Ice T posted that he had connected with Dre on FaceTime and that he had โjust made it home. Dre founded Beats Electronics in 2008 with Jimmy Iovine, and six years later they launched a streaming subscription service, Beats Music.
Dr. Dre recovering well after being admitted into hospital
FILE - Dr. Dre attends a hand and footprint ceremony honoring Quincy Jones on Nov. 27, 2018, in Los Angeles. In a social media post late Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021, Dr. Dre said he will be back home soon after the music mogul received medical treatment at a Los Angeles hospital for a reported brain aneurysm. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)LOS ANGELES โ Dr. Dre says he will be โback home soonโ after the music mogul received medical treatment at a Los Angeles hospital for a reported brain aneurysm. Several music artists and athletes paid tribute to Dre on social media on Tuesday. Dre founded Beats Electronics in 2008 with Jimmy Iovine and six years later they launched a streaming subscription service, Beats Music.
How Eddie Van Halen transformed Michael Jackson's 'Beat It'
I went, โWhat do you want, you f-ing so-and-so!,โโ Van Halen told CNN in 2012, 30 years after he worked on the song. When Van Halen arrived at the studio in Los Angeles, Jones told him he could improvise. I said, โLook, I changed the middle section of your song,โโ Van Halen told CNN. After the record's release, Van Halen would remember shopping in a Tower Records while โBeat Itโ was playing on the sound system. "The solo comes on, and I hear these kids in front of me going, 'Listen to this guy trying to sound like Eddie Van Halen,'โ he said.
Stars deliver inspirational messages in Call to Unite event
In a photo provided by The Call to Unite, Oprah Winfrey speaks during the 24-hour live event, which was transmitted Friday, May 1, 2020. The messages were both universal and personal on Saturday as the Call to Unite livestream, a 24-hour event, stretched into its second day. Daniels, in an emotional message, talked about his past drug use during the AIDS epidemic in the โ80s. He talked about the pain of losing friends to the disease, which he said decimated the African-American gay community. And he urged people not to resort to drug use during the current pandemic.
Winfrey, Roberts appear in global virus relief livestream
In a photo provided by The Call to Unite, Oprah Winfrey speaks during the 24-hour live event, which was transmitted Friday, May 1, 2020. The media mogul said Friday evening that she wants people to digest daily information wisely during the Call to Unite 24-hour livestream global relief event. She was among 200 star-studded participants including President Bill Clinton and Julia Roberts to take part in the event. The event was initiated to help inspire people to endure and overcome the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. Winfrey spoke with event organizer Tim Shriver and then Bishop T.D.
Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts to appear in global live stream
LOS ANGELES โ Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts and President George W. Bush will be among 200 star-studded participants in a 24-hour global livestream event. The Call to Unite event will kick off Friday evening to offer performances and conversations about overcoming the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. Event organizers hope participants can help inspire people to โemerge from this crisis better than when it began.โQuincy Jones, Jennifer Garner, Common, Maria Shriver, Questlove, Yo-Yo Ma, Eva Longoria, Naomi Campbell and Alanis Morissette are expected to participate in the event. Each participant will answer calls in their own way, whether through performing a song, sharing a story or offering a prayer. The event will be live streamed at unite.us and on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, LinkedIn and SiriusXM Stars.