On this day in 2007, this country-turned-pop superstar’s self-titled debut album, featuring hits “Teardrops on My Guitar” and “Our Song,” reached #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, where it remained for 24 non-consecutive weeks over the next year. Can you guess who it is? ANSWER: Taylor Swift.
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President Joe Biden called on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign Tuesday following an investigation by the state attorney general’s office that found he sexually harassed almost a dozen women, including employees in his office. Biden told reporters at the White House, “I think he should resign.” Biden said he has not read the report or spoken to Cuomo.
Biden’s call for Cuomo’s resignation was just the latest from Democratic members of Congress calling for Cuomo to resign. Earlier Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand released a joint statement calling the allegations against Cuomo “profoundly disturbing, inappropriate and completely unacceptable” adding that no elected official is above the law, and saying, “we continue to believe that the Governor should resign.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed with the senators, saying in a statement: “Recognizing his love of New York and the respect for the office he holds, I call upon the Governor to resign.”
The state attorney general’s office found that Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women, nine of whom are current and former state employees. Shortly after the report was released, Cuomo denied the claims, saying, “I want you to know directly from me that I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances.” He also suggested the investigation was tainted by “bias” and political motivations. Cuomo, a Democrat in his third term, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing since allegations against him were first made public this year.
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Three people were injured when a wall of ice collapsed at the Titanic Museum Attraction in Tennessee. The museum contains nearly 400 artifacts from the Titanic, including the ship’s china and a deck chair, as well as the iceberg wall which guests are invited to touch.
The museum’s owners, Mary Kellogg Joslyn and John Joslyn, issued a statement on Tuesday, saying that the wall collapsed Monday and the three victims were hospitalized, although information about their conditions was not immediately released. They wrote: “Needless to say we never would have expected an incident like this to occur as the safety of our guests and crew members are always top of mind. We take pride in the quality of our maintenance and have measures in place to ensure that appropriate safety guidelines are upheld.”
The attraction was closed following the incident Monday but reopened Tuesday. However, the museum said the iceberg wall “does not currently exist” and the affected area has been blocked off, and anticipate it will take at least four weeks for the iceberg to rebuild. The Pigeon Forge Fire Department responded to a call reporting a traumatic incident at the museum at 8:11 p.m. on Monday. One victim was airlifted to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville and two others were taken by ambulance to LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville.
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/iceberg-wall-collapse-titanic-museum-tennessee-hurts-79246224
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Time Life has partnered with Dolly Parton to release Dolly: The Ultimate Collection for the first time at retail on September 21. The collection of six DVDs features episodes of Dolly’s variety show, footage from her Live From London concert, and more.
Keith Urban is the cover artist for the September issue of Rolling Stone Australia. It hits stands on September 6.
Don McLean‘s re-recording of “American Pie” featuring a cappella group Home Free won three trophies at the Telly Awards in the categories of Music Video, Remote Production, and Best Use of Animation.
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Chris Young recently topped the charts with the single “Famous Friends” along with Kane Brown. That song serves as the lead single and title track from his upcoming album, “Famous Friends,” which hits shelves and streaming services Friday, August 6th.
Young took to social media to announce that he will be hitting the road to support the album on what is being dubbed the Famous Friends tour. In the caption, Young said, I’m excited that I get to say these words again… I’m going on TOUR! Heading out this fall with @m10penny and @callistaclark. Tickets are on sale Friday!” Mitchell Tenpenny and Callista Clark will join Chris as support on tour.
Chris Young’s Famous Friends tour 2021 kicks off on October 21 at the First Security Amphitheater in Litter Rock, Arkansas. He will play 12 more dates before wrapping up on December 5 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Tickets go on sale Friday at Young’s website: chrisyoungcountry.com.
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Dan + Shay have dropped their latest song, “Lying,” along with an accompanying music video. The clip, directed by Dani Vitale and Patrick Tracy, is set in a dive bar where the duo are performing. You can take a look at the video – here.
“Lying” is the latest song from Dan + Shay’s new album, Good Things, due out August 13th. Good Things, produced by one-half of the duo, Dan Smyers, features 12 tracks – including “10,000 Hours,” a collaboration with Justin Bieber that was released in 2019. Earlier this year, Dan + Shay released “Glad You Exist,” which will also appear on the new album, and recently dropped the title track “Good Things.”
Dan + Shay also recently announced the rescheduled dates of their headlining tour, originally set for 2020. The (Arena) Tour will now kick off on September 9th, 2021, in Greenville, South Carolina.
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The Weeknd has officially announced that his new single “Take My Breath” will be released this Friday. The announcement was shared with an ad made in conjunction with the Tokyo Olympics, which you can view at the links here and here.
Following his performance at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards in May, the Weeknd offered a brief acceptance speech hinting that the next era of new music was about to begin: “The dawn is coming,” he said. In interviews and tweets in the past year, he’s alluded to preparing new music.
The Weeknd released his album ‘After Hours’ in March 2020, and then dropped a deluxe edition of the record later that month with three new songs. He later released ‘After Hours’ remixes with Rosalía (“Blinding Lights”), Ariana Grande (“Save Your Tears”), Kenny G (“In Your Eyes”), and more.
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Lizzo announced on social media that she will be dropping her first new song in two years, titled “Rumors.” It’s due out Friday, August 13th via Atlantic Records.
“Rumors” marks Lizzo’s first new material since linking up with Charli XCX on “Blame It on Your Love” in May 2019. The rapper and singer dropped her breakout album Cuz I Love You that year as well, which contained her No. 1 hit, “Truth Hurts,” as well as the singles “Good As Hell” and “Juice.”
Lizzo will also be making appearances at festivals like Bonnaroo, where she will become the first ever woman headliner in September. She will also play Firefly, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and Outside Lands.
You can pre-order “Rumors” at your streaming service of choice.
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Luke Bryan and his wife Caroline look back fondly on the night they first met in a clip from the upcoming documentary, My Dirt Road Diary.
The couple met as college students at a local bar, Dingus, while attending Georgia Southern University. “I saw this character sitting across the bar. All I could see was white teeth,” Caroline remarks of her first reaction of Luke in a sit-down interview.
On the other end, Luke recalls seeing Caroline and her friends walk into the bar when his future wife immediately caught his eye. “I was just like, ‘who is that?’ I got to figure out a way to strike up a conversation, do something cheesy or whatever,” the country superstar says.
Too sheepish to approach her, Caroline says Luke sent one of his friends over to introduce them. “It was just like love at first sight, college magic. It was pretty awesome,” Luke says.
Luke and Caroline married in 2006 and share two sons, 13-year-old Bo and 10-year-old Tate.
My Dirt Road Diary is a five-part docuseries chronicling the American Idol judge’s life through interviews, home videos and other footage. It premieres on August 6 on IMDb TV.
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Garth Brooks may be hitting pause on his Stadium Tour.
A representative for Garth shared in a statement on Tuesday that following his upcoming sold-out shows at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on August 7 and at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, on August 14, there will be a three-week window where shows will not be scheduled to give the team time to assess how to proceed in regards to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, ticket sales for the show scheduled in Seattle on September 4 will be halted.
“It breaks my heart to see city after city go on sale and then have to ask those sweet people and the venues to reschedule,” Garth says in a statement. “We have a three week window coming up where we, as a group, will assess the remainder of the stadium tour this year. It’s humbling to see people put this much faith in you as an artist, and it kills me to think I am letting them down.”
In recent weeks, cases of COVID-19 have increased across the country as the Delta variant continues to spread. The CDC is now recommending that people who are fully vaccinated wear masks indoors in public places in areas of high transmission.
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