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Pop Daypop

Machine Gun Kelly and Dan + Shay added as performers for the 2022 Billboard Music Awards after Red Hot Chili Peppers drop out

Machine Gun Kelly and Dan + Shay have been added as performers after the Red Hot Chili Peppers dropped out of the lineup of the 2022 Billboard Music Awards.  The Peppers dropped out due to “unforeseen circumstances,” according to a message on social media from the BBMAs.  It was to have been Red Hot Chili Peppers’ first performance on the BBMAs since 1999.  The BBMAs then confirmed MGK’s booking on social media, and later confirmed Dan + Shay’s appearance.

This will be MGK’s performance debut on the BBMAs. As previously announced, Mary J. Blige will receive the Billboard Icon Award and will also perform on the show. Other performers include Silk Sonic, Travis Scott, and Ed Sheeran (performing from Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he’s in the midst of his +–=÷x stadium tour, pronounced The Mathematics Tour).  Other performers set for the show are Megan Thee Stallion and Latto; Latin stars Rauw Alejandro and Becky G; Nigerian singer Burna Boy and R&B star Maxwell.

The BBMAs, hosted by Sean “Diddy” Combs, will broadcast live coast to coast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 15, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on NBC, and will stream live on Peacock.

Editorial credit: DFree / Shutterstock.com

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Pop Daypop

2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards nominations announced: See the full list of nominees

MTV announced the nominees for the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards with Spider-Man: No Way Home and Euphoria leading the pack with seven nominations each. MTV also announced that this year’s event would combine the MTV Movie & TV Awards with its recent spinoff, the all-reality “Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted,” into a one-night event to air live on Sunday, June 5. The ceremony will air at 8 p.m. EDT from the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica. The show’s hosts, performers, presenters and other details will be announced at a later date.

The Best Movie category also includes DuneScream 5Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsThe Adam Project and The BatmanEuphoria is nominated for Best Show, Best Performance in a Show for Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney, Best Kiss for Hunter Schafer and Dominic Fike, Best Fight for Cassie vs. Maddy, Here for the Hookup and Best Song for “Little Star” by Fike.

The Best Show category also includes Inventing AnnaLokiSquid GameTed Lasso and YellowstoneRuPaul’s Drag Race earned a leading four nominations including Best Competition Series, Best Reality Star for Willow Pill, Best Host for RuPaul and Best Fight for Bosco vs. Lady Camden.

The awards show’s categories continue to be gender-neutral, and most movie/TV categories have been merged. Fans can vote across 26 categories starting May 11 and through May 18 at 6 p.m. ET on vote.mtv.com.

full list of nominees can be found on MTV’s official website.

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

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Go Country 105

Nashville notes: Dustin Lynch and more

Dustin Lynch is keeping the “Party Mode” rolling this summer: He just announced that his Party Mode Tour has a newly added summer leg. The shows now wrap in October.

Ty Herndon's got a new album coming out on July 15. He says the project, called Jacob, is his most personal work to date.

 

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Go Country 105

Garth Brooks makes venue history with his two Stadium Tour shows planned in Canada

Garth Brooks' upcoming Canadian shows aren't just landmarks for the singer's 2022 Stadium Tour — they're historic for the venue, too.

Commonwealth Stadium, in Edmonton, Alberta, will host both dates, which are set to take place on June 24 and 25. Between the two shows, Garth's appearances there have sold more tickets than any other event in the stadium's history, with an incredible 122,000.

Originally, Garth was only planning to play one show at Commonwealth, on June 25, and it was supposed to be the only Canadian stop on the Stadium Tour this year. But after a whiplash-inducing sell-out that took just 45 minutes, the singer added a second date in Edmonton. That show, on June 24, quickly sold out, too.

Garth says that the unprecedented ticket sales success is all thanks to his fan base — and thanks to the excitement fans have for getting back to in-person concerts.

“I'm not sure what we are seeing on tour right now when it comes to the record numbers is so much a reflection of Garth Brooks,” he says. “I believe the people are experiencing the joy of being back where they belong and that is together. I feel lucky to be a part of it.”

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Go Country 105

Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard kicks off his solo career by announcing a new album + single

Tyler Hubbard, one half of the about-to-go-on-hiatus duo Florida Georgia Line, is starting something new.

Earlier this month, Tyler announced that he has signed as a solo artist to EMI Nashville, and he's not wasting time when it comes to putting out new music. On Thursday, he shared that he's got a solo album coming out, and he's been working on it for over a year.

The first single off that project is called “5 Foot 9,” and it'll be available to hear starting May 20. Tyler wrote the song with Jaren Johnston — of The Cadillac Three — and in-demand Nashville songwriter Chase McGill.

“Songwriting is central to everything I do as an artist,” Tyler explains of the new track. “It has allowed me to connect with fans for many years, and I'm excited for everyone to hear new music for a new chapter in my career.”

Florida Georgia Line announced that they were going on hiatus back in February, but Tyler hasn't been taking much time off. He co-wrote Little Big Town's current single, “Hell Yeah,” and wrote and sang on the Thomas Rhett-led “Death Row,” along with Russell Dickerson.

FGL fans still have a handful of chances to see the duo share a stage this year: They've got seven festival dates booked, including the upcoming Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam in Panama City Beach, Florida, next month.

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Go Country 105

Dierks Bentley + Elle King's collaborations aren't just “Worth a Shot” — they're a perfect match

Dierks Bentley and Elle King team up once again in their newest duet, “Worth a Shot.” It's the second time they've worked together on a song — their first collaboration was “Different for Girls,” which was a number-one country hit back in 2016.

It's no coincidence that they're teaming up again: Dierks and Elle are a match made in musical heaven, as the pair explain in a new interview on Apple Music Country’s Today's Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen.

“I feel like I'm the perfect foil to Elle in so many different ways,” Dierks explains. “My voice just holds the line there pretty good, down the middle. It's good for her to bounce her amazing voice off of, because mine's just toeing the line.”

As for their real-life friendship? Dierks says that even though they're very different, that part works well, too.

“I don't have any tattoos, so I'm the opposite there in that way,” he continues. “We yin and yang really well together.”

Collaborating with Dierks has also been a way for Elle to explore her country side, starting from the very first time they worked together. She's currently at work on a country-leaning album, and she says this musical chapter isn't coming out of left field — on the contrary, it's a part of her that's always been there in her songs.

“And I also got signed to a rock and pop label because of a banjo song called Good to Be a Man,'” Elle points out. “Which is a country song. So I feel like it's a nice nod of, I had to go through all these things to end up where I feel most at home now. And I'm very happy to be here.”

“Worth a Shot” arrives on Friday.

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Go Country 105

Dan + Shay join Billboard Music Awards lineup after Red Hot Chili Peppers drop out

Dan + Shay and Machine Gun Kelly are two late additions to the lineup of the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, after rock mainstay act the Red Hot Chili Peppers had to drop off the bill.

Billboard confirms Dan + Shay's booking on the awards show, which will take place on Sunday. They're up for an award at the show, too: The duo is a finalist in the top country duo/group award, which they previously won in 2019.

They're joining a lineup that already has some acts repping the country genre: Miranda Lambert and Elle King are performing their collaboration, “Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home),” which topped the country charts.

Controversial hitmaker Morgan Wallen is also among the evening's performers, despite the continuing fallout from his early 2021 scandal, in which he was filmed using a racist slur. After announcing his addition to the bill, Billboard issued an internal memo explaining the decision to book Morgan.

The Peppers dropped out of the BBMAs lineup with a message on social media, citing “unforeseen circumstances.” It would have been the group's first BBMAs performance since 1999.

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Go Country 105

Ashley Judd reveals mother Naomi “used a firearm” to end her life

Naomi Judd died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, her daughter Ashley Judd revealed in an exclusive interview Thursday on Good Morning America with ABC’s Diane Sawyer.

“I’ve thought about this so much, because once I say it, it cannot be unsaid,” Judd told the fellow Kentucky native during an interview on her Tennessee farm. “And so because we don’t want it to be a part of the gossip economy, I will share with you that she used a weapon. Mother used a firearm.”

“So that’s the piece of information that we are very uncomfortable sharing,” she went on, “but understand that we’re in a position that, you know, if we don’t say it, someone else is going to.”

The actress also disclosed that she was the one who found her mother on April 30, just one day before she was to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. At the time, Ashley was at her mother’s home, and had stepped outside to let in a friend.

“I went upstairs to let her know that the friend was there and I discovered her,” she said. “I have both grief and trauma from, from discovering her.”

While her sister, Wynonna, wasn’t ready to speak on camera about the tragedy, Ashley read a brief note from her, focusing on the comfort the two siblings find in each other. 

Previously, the sisters had said only that “We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness.” They used Thursday morning’s interview as a chance to encourage anyone going through something similar to reach out for help.

Naomi’s life will be celebrated on Sunday during a public memorial that will air live from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on CMT. 

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even if it feels like it, you are not alone.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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News Daypop

Senate Republicans block bill that would protect abortion access nationwide

The Senate failed to advance a Democratic-led bill that would protect abortion access nationwide in a vote on Wednesday. The Women’s Health Protection Act was triggered by a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that indicates Roe v. Wade is likely to be overturned.  The leaked Supreme Court draft opinion may not be the final ruling, and it would have no force of law until it was issued. But it has been widely expected that the court would overturn Roe v. Wade and the subsequent ‘Planned Parenthood v. Casey’ decision, which upheld a constitutional right to abortion.

The bill passed the House with 49 votes, but fell short of the 60 senators needed to break a filibuster. All 50 Republicans and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin voted against proceeding to debate with a vote of 49-51.  Biden said in a statement after the vote:  “Republicans in Congress — not one of whom voted for this bill — have chosen to stand in the way of Americans’ rights to make the most personal decisions about their own bodies, families and lives. To protect the right to choose, voters need to elect more pro-choice senators this November, and return a pro-choice majority to the House. If they do, Congress can pass this bill in January, and put it on my desk, so I can sign it into law.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said it was “one of the most consequential” votes the Senate has held in decades, adding in a floor speech, “for MAGA Republicans, this has always been about making abortion illegal everywhere.”  After the vote, Schumer said Democrats are “going to continue to highlight this issue relentlessly and strongly between now and November because it is so important.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the bill “extreme” and “radical” and added in a floor speech:  “Our Democrat colleagues want to vote for abortion on demand through all nine months, until the moment before the baby is born — a failed show vote that will only prove their own extremism.”

Editorial credit: Ron Adar / Shutterstock.com

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News Daypop

President Joe Biden visits farmers to speak on rising inflation, says he’s working on lowering costs and expanding food production

On Wednesday, President Biden visited farmers in Kankakee, Ill., to speak on the impact of the Russian-Ukraine war on the economy, and the White House’s efforts to lower food prices in the face of rising inflation.  Said Biden: “America’s fighting on two fronts. At home, it’s inflation and rising prices. Abroad, it’s helping Ukrainians defending their democracy. Putin’s war has cut off critical sources of food.”

Biden said efforts will be made at the upcoming G7 meeting to both provide food to the world, and to lower prices – something that the war in Ukraine is preventing from getting to market. Said Biden: “They’re going to see what action we can take to increase fertilizer supplies globally and identify how we can work together to prevent export restrictions on food and bring more global production to market, which will stabilize prices [and] bring more certainty to our farmers and keep people from dying of hunger.”  He added that his administration is working to “drive down the costs to farmers and prices to consumers,” and that the market has been distorted by lack of competition, which increases prices.

The White House said in a statement earlier Wednesday: “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine has cut off a critical source of wheat, corn, barley, oilseeds and cooking oil. It has also disrupted global supply chains for fertilizer, which farmers depend on to maximize yields. These and other actions, combined with the ongoing pandemic-related disruptions to global supply chains, have put pressure on food prices, with global food prices increasing nearly 13% following Putin’s invasion.”

Earlier Wednesday, the Labor Department said that consumer prices rose by 0.3% during the month of April — slightly more than most economists projected. In particular, the report said that food prices increased almost 1% last month.

Editorial credit: YASAMIN JAFARI TEHRANI / Shutterstock.com