What to stream this weekend: Adam Sandler, 'Star Wars: Ahsoka,' Tim McGraw and 'Honor Among Thieves'
This weekโs new entertainment releases include the โMandalorianโ spin-off โStar Wars: Ahsokaโ starring Rosario Dawson, the well-received, fantasy movie โDungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thievesโ lands on Prime Video and Tim McGraw roars back with the album โStanding Room Only.โ.
Tyler Hubbard, Tim McGraw call for unity on new duet
Hubbard and McGraw are asking people to walk a mile in someone else's shoes in a call for unity on their new duet Undivided." Hubbard wrote the song while isolating on his tour bus after testing positive for COVID-19 last year. He said the division in America in 2020 weighed heavily on his heart as he wrote the song. โI think that 2020 and the state of the country was heavy on my heart, just like it is heavy on everybodyโs heart,โ Hubbard said. Hubbard said the timing for the song is just right, even when there is so much noise to break through.
Country artist Cam confronts hard truths on 'The Otherside'
Country singer Cam poses in Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020 to promote her second album The Otherside. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)NASHVILLE, Tenn. โ The five-year journey between albums for country singer Cam was an evolution in coming to grips with hard truths about a music industry that had left her a bit bruised but not broken. But two years ago, Cam decided to walk away from Sony Nashvilleโs imprint Arista citing different values, but remaining under Sony on the RCA Record label based in New York. The title track, a meticulously crafted country dance track, was co-written with acclaimed Swedish dance artist Avicii, whose real name was Tim Bergling. She knew what she was getting into when she heard Smithโs easily recognizable voice on the demo for โHappier For You,โ a melancholic country song that fit well with Cam's aesthetic of moody and introspective country tunes.
ACM Awards brings live performances back to TV amid pandemic
This combination photo shows country singers, from left, Luke Bryan, Kane Brown and Mickey Guyton who will perform at this year's ACM Awards in Nashville. (AP Photo)NASHVILLE, Tenn. โ At the Academy of Country Music Awards on Wednesday, there wonโt be fake fans, canned applause or pre-taped acceptance speeches. After a five-month delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, the awards show wants to bring the live television experience back again. The 55th annual ACM Awards, normally held in April in Las Vegas, were delayed this year and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, for the first time. โI donโt know if itโs gonna look like an NFL Draft night when we hand out the awards,โ Urban said laughing.
New this week: Jim Gaffigan, live baseball, Snoop vs. DMX
Heres a collection curated by The Associated Press entertainment journalists of whats arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. AP National Writer Jocelyn Noveck wrote in her review that Garner, Does a lot with a little. AP Film Writer Lindsey BahrMUSICSnoop Dogg vs. DMX: Its the battle of the canines in the latest Verzuz series. Rap icons Snoop Dogg and DMX will go toe-to-toe Wednesday on Instagram Live at 8 p.m. EDT. That changes with Jim Gaffigan: The Pale Tourist, which is downright daring in its approach if not content.
Reps: Singers Kacey Musgraves, Ruston Kelly file for divorce
NEW YORK Grammy-winning country singer Kacey Musgraves and her musician-husband, Ruston Kelly, have filed for divorce. In a joint statement, Musgraves and Kelly said weve made this painful decision together." It won her the best country album Grammy and one of its singles, Merry Go Round, won best country song. Kelly has also written songs for other artists, including Tim McGraw, Hayes Carll, Lucie Silvas and Josh Abbott Band. Musgraves co-wrote Miranda Lamberts 2013 country hit, Mamas Broken Heart, earning herself a Grammy nomination as a songwriter.
Awkwafina, Zendaya among 819 invited to join film academy
Cynthia Erivo, John David Washington, Eva Longoria, Zendaya and Awkwafina are among the 819 people who have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. If they accept, which most do, those in the new class will have voting privileges at this years Oscars. A handful of actors from this years best picture winner Parasite, including Jang Hye-Jin, Jo Yeo-Jeong, Park So-Dam and Lee Jung-Eun, were also invited to join. The Academy said that 49% of the new invitees are international and represent some 68 countries. It has since surpassed those goals and continues to infuse membership classes with both women and people from underrepresented communities.
Harry Connick Jr. honors workers during pandemic road trip
FILE - This May 28, 2019 file photo shows Singer Harry Connick Jr. with his daughter Georgia at a special screening of "Pavarotti" in New York. The special will air June 21 and will follow host Connick Jr. and his filmmaker-daughter Georgia on road trip celebrating and thanking essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic. With the help of his daughter, Georgia Connick, who is a filmmaker, and a bunch of GoPro cameras, he embarked on a pandemic road trip to meet essential workers around the country who were risking their lives during the pandemic. I just want to reach out and meet some of these folks, sanitation workers or elementary school teachers or people that are working at food banks, said Harry Connick. It was highly emotional, said Harry Connick.