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Thanks for a Great August, Welcome to the Fall Season, and, of Course “September” (Thanks to Earth, Wind & Fire)

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Showbiz411.com had a great August, thanks to everyone who read and clicked and chimed in.

Now comes the fall season, and even if it’s still not what it’s supposed to be, we always start September with this song. One of the great pleasures of writing this site and meeting up with music pals is knowing Verdine White, Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson of Earth Wind & Fire. There are no better people. Their music (all credit due to Verdine’s late great brother Maurice) is magic. How can you not love the group that gave us “Let’s Groove Tonight,” “Shining Star,” “Keep You Head to the Sky,” and the one song I know every sound in and word of, “That’s the Way of the World.” (I told Philip last week there’s a 10 state ban on me singing it in public!)

PS Maurice also wrote “Best of My Love” for the Emotions. When Mariah Carey stole it and called “Emotions,” Maurice told em: “I’ve heard of sampling, but they took the whole buffet!”

Do you remember, 21st night of September?
Love was changing the mind of pretenders
While chasing the clouds away
Our hearts were ringing
In the key that our souls were singing
As we danced in the night
Remember
How the stars stole the night away, oh yeah
Hey, hey, hey
Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya, dancing in September
Ba-dee-ya, never was a cloudy day
Ba-du, ba-du, ba-du, ba-du
Ba-du, ba-du, ba-du, ba-du
Ba-du, ba-du, ba-du-da, yeah
My thoughts are with you
Holding hands with your heart to see you
Only blue talk and love
Remember
How we knew love was here to stay
Now December
Found the love we shared in September
Only blue talk and love
Remember
True love we share today

Hey, hey, hey
Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya, dancing in September
Ba-dee-ya, never was a cloudy day
There was a
Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya, dancing in September
Ba-dee-ya, golden dreams were shiny days
The bell was ringing, oh, oh
Our souls was singing
Do you remember, never a cloudy day, yow
There was a
Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya, dancing in September
Ba-dee-ya, never was a cloudy day
There was a
Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya, dancing in September
Ba-dee-ya, golden dreams were shiny days
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: White Maurice / Willis Alta Sherral / Mc Kay Albert Phillip
September lyrics © Emi April Music I
nc., Steel Chest Music, Irving Music Inc.

Mike Richards OUT as “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” Executive Producer after Scandal Does Him In

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After scandals and controversies previously unknown to “Jeopardy!” During the Alex Trebek era, Executive Producer Mike Richards is out.

After a full investigation, Richards is also out at “Wheel of Fortune,” fired by Sony TV.

Here’s the note to the staffs of both shows from Suzanne Prete, of SONY:

Dear Team,

I’m writing to let you know that Mike will no longer be serving as EP of Wheel and Jeopardy! effective immediately. We had hoped that when Mike stepped down from the host position at Jeopardy! it would have minimized the disruption and internal difficulties we have all experienced these last few weeks. That clearly has not happened.

Michael Davies from Embassy Row has agreed to help with production on an interim basis until further notice. Michael and I will work together with all of you in the weeks ahead to ensure that production remains on schedule and we do not miss a beat as we head into the new season.

I know this has been a challenging time for the entire team, and I want to thank you all for your cooperation and professionalism over these last few weeks. As Ravi mentioned last week, I will be more involved in the day-to-day on our shows moving forward and I am looking forward to working closely with all of you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything.

Sincerely,

Suzanne

Kanye’s “Donda” Surprise Sunday Drop Not a Sales Blockbuster, Singles Sell Better than Album

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When Kanye West’s “DOnda” dropped on Sunday morning, it seemed like everyone was talking about it.

Not everyone was buying it, however.

Even though “Donda” is number 1 all over the world this morning on iTunes in every country, the actual sales are surprisingly low.

According to Buzz Angle/Alpha Data Music, “Donda” the album has sold about 40,000 copies so far in the US. Most of that is from paid downloads– around 26,000. Figures are for Sunday and Monday.

Interestingly, the individual tracks are doing better. “Jail” has done around 70,000 copies equivalent in streaming. “Hurricane” and “Off the Grid” are also over 50,000.

So iTunes is getting the album sales, and streaming is making the singles. The two things appear to be separate issues. Maybe fans are sampling the songs on streaming before committing to the purchase.

In either case, these are kind of low-ish numbers that will be surely eclipsed by Drake’s release on Friday of his new album, “Certified Lover Boy.” Also, unlike Kanye, Drake has secured album cover art by a real artist. Drake has a design by Damien Hirst. Kanye has no album art after using, without permission, a painting by Louise Bourgeois.

Bracing for ABBA Return on Friday: Winners Take it All with New Music, Concert Tour by Avatars

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ABBA is back.

It’s not like they never left. Although the the quartet – Agnetha Faltskog, Anna-Frid Lyngstad, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson – broke up in 1982, we’ve never heard the end of them.

First there was the Broadway musical “Mamma Mia.” Then two movies with their song.

In 2018 they returned to the studio, promising two new songs later that year.

Those tracks, “I Still Have Faith In You,” and “Don’t Shut Me Down,” have been repeatedly delayed – and the band are now planning to release five tracks to thank fans for their patience.

On Friday all will be revealed when some music will appear, and ABBA’s “Voyager” tour will be announced. The latter will not feature them live because the women, divorced from the men long ago, don’t get along with their former spouses.

Instead, the tour will be some kind of immersive experience featuring avatars or holograms. Their fans will no doubt Take a Chance on them, and the only person sending out an SOS will be me.

When “Waterloo” first hit the radio  in 1974, everyone thought it was bubblegum music. If you’d asked me then, will this last?, I would have said no. At some point both “Dancing Queen” and “Fernando” became number 1 hits and I was gobsmacked. But ABBA fans are mesmerized by this group, and no harm has come from it. Also, Cher has done very well by them.

So let’s brace ourselves. If the new records are good, ABBA will be all over the radio this weekend. And Atlantic Records will have a field day with the catalog!

Kanye’s Donda a Streaming Smash, Not So Much on Downloads, Album Still Has No Cover Art

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Kanye West’s “Donda” is a smash on streaming outlets.

On Spotify, “Donda” takes up the top 10 spots on the US Daily Top 50. Then the rest of the 17 tracks fill most of the slots between 11 and 30. Same thing on the Global Top 50.

On iTunes, “Donda” is number 1 but no one knows what the means yet. On the iTunes singles chart, there is so far little impact in the top 25. I thought “Remote Control” would be a hit because it’s catchy and short, but that track isn’t happening so far. “Jail” is lodged at number 25. Kanye’s fans so far don’t care if they “own” the album, they’re just listening to it.

Meantime, “Donda” has no logo or cover art. I told you weeks ago that Kanye appropriated a painting by Louise Bourgeoise, but didn’t get a license for it. The artist’s estate put an end to that. For a time, Kanye was using a picture of the real Donda, his late mother, as a child. But if Universal did what Kanye claims, and released the album without his permission, they had no cover art. A Def Jam press release just has the word “Donda” in large black type.

West’ inability to make final decisions caused other of his albums not to have cover art. “The Life of Pablo” was just type. I guess this ensures that he won’t have the same issues as Nirvana. In the future, no one can sue him for being on the cover! (That Nirvana lawsuit from the former baby on the cover of “In Utero” is the lamest thing ever.)

We’ll get an idea tomorrow how “Donda” is really doing. It was a surprise release, a surprise to no one, but still the actual moment was unknown. Next situation is how Kanye will deal with the Recording Academy and the Grammy Awards. If he can get his act together, this might be his year!

MGM Now Stands for “Must Get Merged” After Failing to Chart “Respect” And Lowering the Flag on “Flag Day”

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It hasn’t been a great summer for the studio called MGM-slash-United Artists Releasing.

It’s the UAR part that’s got real trouble, as they– under cover of Annapurna Pictures–sent the Aretha Franklin movie, “Respect,” and the Sean Penn indie flick, “Flag Day” into theaters with a week between them.

Originally MGM was waiting to release “Respect” until the James Bond movie, “No Time to Die,” came out. MGM thought the revenue from “No Time to Die” would help them fund an Oscar campaign for “Respect.” Both pictures kept getting postponed because of the pandemic. T

Then Amazon came into the picture. saying they would buy MGM with presumably those movies. But that was in May, and not another word has been uttered in months.

In the meantime, MGM bought “Flag Day” as it was going into Cannes and set it for release on the same day, August 13th, that “Respect” had been moved to. When that was pointed out as maybe folly, “Flag Day” got kicked to August 20th. “Respect” was slotted for the ominous Friday the 13th despite “No Time to Die” still being held, and no Amazon money either.

“Respect” at least had Jennifer Hudson as a one woman marketing and publicity team. She worked doggedly to give the movie life while UAR did nothing. On Friday, “Respect” suddenly went to VOD after not making a killing at the box office in its first two weeks. Over the weekend, still in over 2,000 theaters, “Respect” raked in $2.6 million. Not a lot, but not totally insulting. Total is still under $20 mil now after 3 weeks.

And then there was “Flag Day,” which has suffered. What should have been a high profile Oscar release in the fall turned into a throwaway. In two weeks, UAR has managed to scrounge up just $116,000. “Flag Day” expanded from 24 empty theaters to 48. No one went. Poor reviews didn’t help, but there also aren’t a lot of them. UAR did nothing to release this movie. They didn’t even look for Penn-favorable reviewers to try and boost the quotes or the RT number. They just lowered the flag.

So there sits Sean Penn’s work, which may be okay. I was willing to pay to see it, but it’s not playing anywhere accessible to me. So much for that.

This should be a cautionary tale for the James Bond producers, and also for the producers of Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Soggy Bottom” (title be determined). They should be plenty nervous.

As for Amazon, I hope they put MGM-UAR in their cart and click on overnight shipping.

Watch Sensational Video: “This Is Broadway” Welcomes Audience Home with Hamilton, Wicked, Lion King, Rare Angela Lansbury Clip

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Play this video, and make it loud and big on your screens. Oprah Winfrey narrates “This Is Broadway,” welcoming back audiences after 18 months to the Great Light Way.

The filmmakers have done an excellent job weaving together the most popular current shows like “Hamilton,” “The Lion King,” and “Wicked” with landmark performances from the past including Angela Lansbury singing “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” from the Tony Awards.

But the juxtaposition that will give you a lump in the throat is back to back clips from the two productions of “Fences” — first James Earl Jones, then Denzel Washington. Nicely done. The film includes footage from 99 Broadway shows, 735 actors and one dog!

This is Broadway brings together the joy and excitement we all feel for this art form and the rebound of New York City.  Broadway reopening means 97,000 workers returning to their jobs and the insatiable desire for live performance back on stage,” says Charlotte St. Martin, President, Broadway League.  “I am so thankful for all the work that went into creating this moment of unity and I look forward to all theater fans seeing a show this fall!”

WIN ALL OF BROADWAY CONTEST

The League is launching a first-of-its-kind contest: one lucky winner will win four tickets to every Broadway show in the 2021-2022 season. The prize includes 37 shows, valued at eighteen thousand dollars. The contest will be hosted by Audience Rewards and is free to enter. All current Broadway shows are confirmed to participate.  The contest will run from September 1 to October 15, 2021.  To enter, visit https://www.audiencerewards.com/ and log in or sign up for Audience Rewards membership enrollment and opt in to email communications from Audience Rewards.

 

“General Hospital” Star Ingo Rademacher Doubles Down, Uses Joe Rogan Clip to Advocate Freedom to Die from COVID

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Australian actor Ingo Rademacher wants to go into the career ER on “General Hospital.”

An anti-vaxx advocate, Rademacher has posted a Joe Rogan clip to Instagram claiming eseentially that the choice to die from COVID is the equivalent of “freedom.”

Rademacher obviously learned nothing a few days ago when he posted another video in which he called his fans “bigots” and “Morons.” He’s sticking to his guns. He won’t shut up, and he won’t recant. His castmates on “General Hospital” must be furious. Rademacher is burying his head in the sand. Three right wing radio personalities who were also anti-vaxx have died from COVID. The real ER’s around the country are filled with people who didn’t get the vaccine and are begging for it now. If they die they will not come back as their long lost twins (a typical soap opera plot). They will actually be dead.

I’m not sure how long ABC/Disney will put up with this. Rademacher’s character may soon disappear down a well or his plane may go down over the Pacific, no bodies found. But it’s unlikely he’ll stop. As I wrote last week, he gave interviews in the past indicating he didn’t believe in ANY vaccines, and his children may not have had the ones necessary to remain healthy in life. Terrible.

Rademacher writes next to this Rogan video:
“Make no mistake, this is the fight of our lives. The fight to have the freedom to choose. It has zero to do with your political beliefs or wether you’ve been vaccinated or not. 🇺🇸stand strong America!”

UPDATED “Donda” Disaster: Kanye Claims Universal Music Dropped Album Without Permission

Kanye West took to Instagram this afternoon and claimed Universal Music dropped his “Donda” album without permission.

Good for them. You could hear Lucian Grainge say “Enough with the mishegos.”

Kanye also claimed DaBaby’s manager blocked release of the track “Jail 2.” It wasn’t included on the original release but it’s out now, and on the iTunes chart at 25. The whole thing may be a set up. Who knows?

Universal had to get “Donda” out already. On Thursday they’re dropping Drake’s new album. They have to keep the trains running on schedule.

Who knows what beef Kanye has now? He also says they didn’t release a track called “Jail 2.” So he’ll have a bonus track up his sleeve. With 27 tracks on “Donda,” no one will miss it.

Kanye is not finding sympathy for the fans. Three delays for “Donda” was enough. The fans wanted it. He’s lucky he has fans at this point. And only someone with a number 1 would complain. Plus, considering he’s been hawking a $200 listening device for the album, I think he knew it was coming sooner rather than later.

 

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Oh, Mr. Grant: RIP God Bless Beloved Award Winning Actor and Activist Ed Asner, 91

God Bless Ed Asner. The beloved actor and activist has died at age 91.

Asner will be known forever as Lou Grant, the crusty TV producer and then newspaper from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and from it sequel, “Lou Grant.” But he had a long career before and after Lou, and won kudos for many roles including the animated film, “Up.”

He won 7 Emmy Awards and was nominated 9 other times.

Condolences to his family and friends. Now all but Betty White, improbably, from “MTM,” are gone. Ed’s family posted to Twitter at around 1:45pm this afternoon. “We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully. Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head- Goodnight dad. We love you.”

I had many, many encounters with Ed over the years. Back in 2014, Ed came up to Fairfield, Connecticut to Sacred Heart University for a Sunday afternoon Q&A, where he was his usual jovial and gruff self. But there were plenty of other times, too, and he always so effusive and interested in talking about politics and show business. A lifelong Democrat, he was voluble on liberal subjects. He was a vocal member of the Screen Actors Guild, and his influence was key to their every election. He was president of SAG from 1981 to 1985.

He was also outspoken about US affairs, and considered the cancellation of “Lou Grant” was linked to his public criticism of the Reagan Administration. (He was right. The show was high rated, but CBS scuttled him.)

Anyway, there are myriad interviews and accounts of Asner’s life. He was a giant, and he will be sorely missed.

The crazy thing is he will be remembered for this exchange with Mary Tyler Moore on the first episode of their sitcom.