Category: Events

Entertainment, Events, Lifestyle 22 Oct 201822 Oct 2018

Adam Levine & Maroon 5 Reacts: Rihanna Declines Super Bowl Performance

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Here’s what Adam Levine and the rest of Maroon 5 would ‘love’ to do at the Super Bowl LIII Halftime show, should Rihanna take up her reported offer to perform. HL has the EXCLUSIVE scoop!

Maroon 5 and its lead singer Adam Levine, 39, are hoping Rihanna, 30, has a change of heart. They don’t care the “Lemon” hit maker reportedly turned down the NFL’s offer to perform at the Super Bowl LIII Halftime show, even if that suggests she could’ve been the headliner…not them! “Adam and the band are not mad, sad or anything in between that Rihanna was asked to do the Super Bowl,” a source close to Adam EXCLUSIVELY tells HollywoodLife. Here’s why the band isn’t taking it personally.
“Adam knows that she has been probably asked for years,” our source reveals. With nine Grammys under RiRi’s belt, that’s not hard to believe! Our source continues, “And it doesn’t bruise his ego or the band’s ego because at the end of the day, they are going to put on a great show themselves!” This is also the band’s yearslong dream we’re talking about. Adam once admitted to Howard Stern in a 2015 interview that he and the band “very actively want to play the Super Bowl.” But with that said, they wouldn’t mind sharing the limelight.

“They also hope she has her chance down the line to do it,” our source spills. “And if she changes her stance this year, they would love her to join them to perform ‘If I Never See Your Face Again,’ the song they recorded together.” In case you forgot, Maroon 5 and Rihanna collaborated on a song in 2007! And if the reunion doesn’t happen, it’s not a big deal. Rihanna has her own respectable reason for not doing the show, according to the Us Weekly report. She supposedly opted out of the show to stand in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. He’s the San Francisco 49ers’ former quarterback who kick-started the movement of kneeling during the national anthem at NFL games as a protest against oppression of black people and minorities. Controversy ensued, and Rihanna has supposedly shown who she sides with amidst the free agent’s collusion lawsuit against the NFL.

While the NFL hasn’t made an official announcement about the headliner, multiple sources have confirmed to our sister site Variety that the band is set to rock out in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But with Rihanna most likely out (for now), who else is in the running to entertain the Super Bowl fans? As we’ve reported in September, the NFL told Maroon 5 they are “more than welcome” to invite a previous collaborator, according to what a source close to the band EXCLUSIVELY shared with us! Our insider went on to list Cardi B, Christina Aguilera, and Kendrick Lamar as possibilities, asides from Rihanna. “They want to have it have a feel like the Super Bowl halftime show with Aerosmith in 2001 where various acts were all a part of it and many fan bases could enjoy,” our source shared. We’ll keep you updated on who fills in Rihanna’s shoes!

Entertainment, Events, Movies/Film News 28 Aug 201828 Aug 2018

Fall Movie Guide: 33 Superhero, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy Movies to Look Out For

Screen Shot 2018-08-28 at 4.35.31 AM It’s that time of year. The weather gets cooler, the leaves start to change, and movie releases get just a little more adult. At least, in theory. We’ve rounded up all the movies io9 readers will want to keep an eye out for through the end of the year.

This fall, awards season blends with genre in a bunch of unique ways thanks to filmmakers like Robert Zemeckis, Damien Chazelle, and Luca Guadagnino. Then there are the usual holiday blockbusters as well as lots of small and interesting horror movies, different takes on the superhero genre, unexpected sequels, spin-offs, and more. Here’s all the eclectic sci-fi, horror, and fantasy films coming to theaters (and streaming) in the next few months.

Artist Now Trending, Award Shows, Entertainment, Events 23 Aug 201823 Aug 2018

MTV VMAs 2018: The 15 Best and Worst Moments

J.Lo’s big medley, Madonna’s rambling misfire and more from the show’s 35th annual installment

Joy, tedium, awkwardness, earnestness, Marshmello: Monday’s VMAs had it all. Fortunately, there were quite a few bright spots — Jennifer Lopez’s wildly energetic medley followed by a classy Video Vanguard acceptance speech; Nicki Minaj owning the Oculus; adorable mom moments aplenty — mixed in with the steady procession of face-palm moments. Here, we look back on the highs and lows of the show’s 35th annual edition.

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Best of the Night: Jennifer Lopez Nabs the Video Vanguard Award — and Works for It
“Music, acting, performing,” J.Lo said, Moon Person in hand, “this career has always been an obsession for me. When people said to me, ‘You do too much, you can only do one thing!’ I was always the person [to be] like, ‘Why not?’” Case in point: Her dazzling, epic performance from just minutes before. The 49-year-old Nuyorican icon took to the stage Monday night in blue-and-gold brocade, powering through no fewer than a dozen hits, from 1999’s “Waiting for Tonight” to 2018’s “Dinero,” with snazzy choreography and set changes aplenty. Midway through her medley, Lopez stripped down to a sparkling gold bodysuit that would be the envy of Donatella — then slipped on a fur coat for a momentary snowfall, evoking the holiday breakup anthem “All I Have.” She promptly vanished behind a makeshift brick wall, so that a replica of an NYC 6 train could come crashing through, with Lopez in tow as she sang the chorus of “Jenny From the Block.” And somewhere in there, surprise guest Ja Rule resurfaced from a long, post-Fyre Festival hiatus for a quick cameo. Ever the Instagram artiste, Lopez’s beau Alex Rodriguez stood by with pursed lips and his iPhone camera at the ready, as the star popped her legendary booty in gold spandex. Not even a gracious introduction by a soft-spoken Shawn Mendes could contain the uproar of her fans who cheered well into her acceptance speech.

Best: Nicki Minaj Returns to the Throne
Performing from a previously undisclosed location (spoiler: it was the Oculus in downtown NYC, and it was packed with her extremely enthusiastic fans) Nicki Minaj appeared in gold, backed by gold-clad dancers, in front of an imposing golden throne. She performed a quick-moving medley beginning with a brisk “Majesty,” forgoing the Eminem verse in favor of moving on to “Barbie Dreams,” the song filled with a series of (good-natured) shots heard round the world when she dropped it on Queen’s release day last week. She then rounded out the performance with an a capella verse from album opener “Ganja Burns,” before closing with her 6ix9ine collaboration — and current Number 5 single — “FEFE.”

Worst: Madonna’s Aretha Tribute Goes Off the Rails
Honoring Aretha Franklin is no easy task, but the VMAs’ tribute was an unequivocal failure. The show-runners recruited Madonna to give a speech — potentially a major coup — but unfortunately it had little to do with the Queen of Soul. The star began her address by saying that “Franklin changed the course of my life”; she ended it by noting that “none of [my career] would’ve happened … without our Lady of Soul.” In between, there was a story about failed auditions, an assertion of Madonna’s rebelliousness, a “bitch I’m Madonna” joke and a bad, possibly offensive imitation of a French accent, but nothing more than a passing mention of Aretha. Needless to say, Twitter was none too pleased.

Best: Logic Takes a Stand
Logic isn’t subtle. And, when you want to get a point across quickly and effectively with a single song performance on a nationally televised awards show, that’s a strength. Taking to the stage wearing a black “Fuck The Wall” T-shirt and followed by a stream of children, some of whom were displaced by our country’s immigration laws, Logic (alongside Ryan Tedder) used his “One Day” performance to make a blunt, powerful and necessary statement.

Community Events, Cultural Events, Entertainment, Events, Fashion 6 Aug 20186 Aug 2018

National Underwear Parade a fleshy first for Mid-City

Boxers, briefs, brassieres and bikinis saw the light of day Sunday (Aug. 5) during the National Underwear Day parade that promenaded around Bayou St. John in Mid-City from Toulouse Street to Esplanade Avenue and back.

The indiscreet procession was organized by Ryan Ballard, the founder of the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus Mardi Gras parading group, which may explain the Star Wars Stormtroopers who strode amidst the Victoria’s Secret shoppers Sunday.

Underwear Day is a celebration cooked up by the underwear industry 15 years ago to lend its little-seen products some extra exposure. But Ballard said, from his point of view, the New Orleans Underwear Day parade is merely meant to present the public with a splash of fleshy fun in the heat of August. Plus, paraders donated fresh packs of underwear to the homeless.

The National Underwear Parade 2018 in New Orleans

Ballard’s first National Underwear parade in 2016 took place in the Bywater. Back then, Ballard hoped to set a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of underwear wearers, but he was foiled by the fact that so many paraders added costume accoutrement to their skivvies that the Guinness judges disqualified the event. Such is the nature of parading in the Crescent City, of course, where costuming just comes naturally. Having learned his lesson, Ballard did not attempt to break any records in 2018.

CIVIL LIBERTIES, Commentary, Culture, Events, Justice, Law, Legal Issues, Lifestyle, Politics 7 Sep 20177 Sep 2017

Immigrants Shouldn’t Have to Be ‘Talented’ to Be Welcome

people The terms of the debate over President Trump’s decision to revoke the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program are familiar, as are the terms of the larger conversation about immigration in this country: On one side are hardworking immigrants; on the other are politicians who wrongly claim that these immigrants harm the economic interests of native-born Americans. As protests broke out across the United States in response to Mr. Trump’s move, reporters and immigrant advocates stressed that the administration’s actions will hurt achievers — people who have graduated from college, people who have bought houses, people who work for high-tech companies.

There is nothing wrong with this story. It’s one that most, if not all, immigrants like to tell about themselves — even if their actual story doesn’t neatly fit the narrative. In fact, as Hannah Arendt pointed out in her essay “We Refugees,” written in 1943 at the height of the 20th century’s refugee crisis, people whose stories fit the narrative least well — the most desperate and the worst-wounded of the immigrants — are especially invested in thinking of themselves as destined for success and, of course, as future loyal citizens.

But something goes awry when this becomes the dominant story told about immigrants in America. This has been happening for a number of years: The good people of America talk about immigrants as hard workers who conscientiously contribute to the economy. (I myself have made it onto a few lists of exemplary immigrant success stories.) In fact, DACA was designed to reward achievement: to qualify for the program, an applicant had to be in school or hold a high school diploma or equivalent, or have been honorably discharged from the armed forces. Those who hadn’t been able or lucky to meet those requirements were apparently deemed unworthy of staying in the country where they had lived since they were children.

When Mr. Trump issued an executive order banning entry by citizens of predominantly Muslim countries, American technology companies responded with a lawsuit in which they stressed that immigrants have founded and run many large tech companies. The revocation of DACA has brought forth similar — and much-quoted — responses from Silicon Valley. When the president threw his support behind a reform plan that would drastically reduce immigration to this country, editorial writers argued against it by pointing out that immigrants benefit the economy.

Commentary, Community Events, Culture, Events, Fashion, Lifestyle, Money Matters 8 Jul 20178 Jul 2017

At the Center of Change, Cherry’s Unisex Saturday night in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, where the salon is an almost always-open witness to a neighborhood in the throes of change.

02drunk190.1 It was past 1 a.m. in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, on Memorial Day weekend, on Fulton Street between Throop and Nostrand. A few bodegas and a fried chicken spot were open, supported by gaggles of hungry young people bubbling up from the subway every few minutes. Hip-hop from passing cars with windows open or tops down melted into the night. But for the most part, it was quiet. This strip of Fulton is dominated by 26 storefronts that specialize in black hair, but at this hour, most were dark, their gates down.

One shop, however, was open for business. It was a cavernous salon with a black tile floor and white walls, and its door was propped open. Black chairs ringed the room, and an island of hair dryers took up its center. This was Cherry’s Unisex Salon. Two barbers and four customers lounged in chairs. A short, muscular man wearing a black T-shirt and sweatpants, Cory Parker, took off his do-rag and sat in a barber chair, running a hand over short, curly hair as he consulted a chart of 30 men’s haircuts on a wall.

“I want between a 3, an 18 and a 27,” he said over his shoulder to a barber rummaging in a drawer.

“O.K.”

“You’re not even looking at the chart! What did I say I want?”

The barber turned around and peered at the chart. “You said you want an 18, a 23 …” he started. They both laughed.

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