Anthony Varrecchia (image via Instagram)
Trump's blog appears to be gone pic.twitter.com/yI9hAR3Ozs
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 2, 2021
News Round-Up: June 2, 2021
Out Music: Wrabel ‘nothing but the love’
Wrabel (image via Instagram)
Dancer Layne Paradis Willis whirls and twirls in the music video for “nothing but the love” directed by Michael Thomas. “Michael Thomas was such a pleasure to work with on this video.,” says the singer about creating the video. “And Layne Willis, my goodness. I feel so lucky to have gotten to witness your incredible talent up close.” “This song is so close to my heart. The only song I wrote by myself on the record. With Michael’s direction and Layne’s emotive movement, we wanted to show that someone or something is showing me how to express myself, showing me the flow of expression. To mirror the love I am so grateful to have found.” Wrabel has announced a short, intimate run of live dates, nothing but the piano tour, which includes a stop at NYC’s Le Poisson Rouge and an album release show at LA’s The Regent Theater this late summer/early fall. Wrabel will also perform this Sunday, June 6, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as part of the OutLoud: Raising Voices festival. Follow Wrabel on Instagram here. https://www.instagram.com/p/CPoChVKtsot/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Virtual Event: ‘Rufus Does Judy At Capitol Studios’
Rufus Wainwright sings ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ (screen capture)
On his relationship with the iconic Judy Garland song:
“I was about 5 years old when I started singing “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” My mom would occasionally wake me up in the middle of the night and make me sing the song to guests to end the party. They would feel so bad that the kid was still up that late at night and leave.
“Much later, she accompanied me on the piano at Carnegie Hall, the Palladium, the Olympia, and the Hollywood Bowl during the ‘Rufus does Judy’ shows in 2006 and 2007.
“After she passed away, I am only doing the beginning lines of the song a cappella without any piano accompaniment as an honor and memory to her and the hole she has left behind.
“It has a deeply personal meaning to me to sing this song. I think my mom and I singing that song together was also her finally acknowledging my homosexuality with which she struggled for a long time. I am sure that similarly to my experience this song means a lot to LGBTQ folks young and old and their struggles with coming out and living a proud queer life.”
Kristin Chenoweth and Rufus Wainwright (photo: Sean James)Cartoon Network Celebrates Pride Month With ‘Drawn To Expression’
Cartoon Network is celebrating Pride Month with the premiere of Drawn to Expression on Tuesday, June 1. This new installment highlights inspiring LGBTQIA+ kids and families and the ways they express themselves and their individuality through creative outlets such as art, music, and cooking. Drawn to Expression champions the power of creativity and the joy that authentic self-expression brings. The participants featured in the episode aim to empower those around them by freely expressing who they are and sharing their experiences with others in the hopes of creating a more unified and inclusive community for all. The Drawn to Expression graphics were designed by LA-based illustrator and designer, Caleb Boyles. All Drawn To episodes are available on CN, the CN App, and across the network’s social platforms.
New Music: Matt Palmer, Cory Stewart, Michael Lazar
Out singer/songwriter Matt Palmer in “Do It All Again”
Cory Stewart has fans hearing double as he dropped his latest single, ‘Perfect World,’ on Friday, a new dance-pop single interpreted in two distinct ways, defined as the Red Pill Edition and the Blue Pill Edition. ‘Perfect World’ was conceptualized by Stewart and Slow Dance in mid-2020 after Stewart expressed his desire to “auto-tune the world” to his co-collaborators. The song quickly materialized in the hands of Jacob and Alex (of Slow Dance), with lyrics eventually being finessed by the pair and Stewart in follow-up Zoom sessions. The result is the hyper-pop, slick and sexy Red Pill Edition, which takes no prisoners on its ascension to the world’s soon-to-be-opened dance floors. With lockdown time on his hands, he also collaborated with UK-based producer Edward Russell on the nostalgia-inducing, 80s-meets-00’s Blue Pill Edition of ‘Perfect World.’ Check out the Red Pill Edition below and follow Cory Stewart on Instagram here.
Miami-based out artist Michael Lazar shares his debut single, “Capsule,” from his upcoming album 51/49 due out this fall. Written during the pandemic when the world was locked down, “Capsule” describes the feeling of being trapped, censored, or somehow silenced, both literally and figuratively. The electro-pop track blends unique, layered harmonies with rolling rhythms and chord structures that results in a subtle sonic sense of urgency. For Lazar, the song “speaks to that feeling we’ve all had when you’re shouting to be heard but no one seems to be listening.” Consisting of 15 songs written, recorded, and produced by Lazar, he describes the upcoming album as a culmination of the artist’s 18-year journey through tragedy and loss to self-discovery and finding love. Hit play below and you can follow Lazar on Instagram here.
Podcast: Netflix Mini-Series HALSTON, A Wild Rant About Cereal, An LGBTQ Icon Passes
In this week’s headlines: • A 13-year-old student was brutally bullied at her school as other students stood laughing and recording the incident • Karine Jean-Pierre, an out Black woman, made history at the White House this week • We said goodbye to iconic LGBTQ activist & photojournalist Kay Tobin Lahusen as well as gay event producer Jeffrey Sanker • A far-right TV host went on a wild rant about a Kellogg’s cereal honoring Pride Month • And I review the new Netflix mini-series HALSTON All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
Legendary Rocker Melissa Etheridge Offers ‘One Way Out’
Melissa Etheridge in the music video for “One Way Out”
Melissa Etheridge in the music video for “One Way Out”
Channing Tatum’s Naked Selfie “I’m Flexing So Hard I Got A Cramp”
Magic Mike star Channing Tatum (photo: Depositphotos)Channing Tatum’s naked selfie posted in his Instagram stories totally wins Hump Day.
Tatum snapped the totally Hump Day-worthy pic before heading out to the set of his upcoming film, The Lost City of D, co-starring Sandra Bullock and Daniel Radcliffe.
No, we don’t know what the ‘D’ stands for…yet.
The selfie was accompanied with the message, “You know when you in the make-up trailer as*hole naked holding a towel over your junk you about to do some shit on set that you gonna have to prepare ya mama for before she see the movie.”
In a side note, the actor added, “And yes I’m flexing so hard I got a cramp.”
Channing Tatum (image via Instagram)In a May 6 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Tatum admitted the pandemic had led his famously-fit physique astray a bit as he gained what he described as his “college ten.”
“For the first week or two weeks,” he said, “I definitely was just drinking beers and riding dirt bikes and I was like, ‘I can’t do this for two months – this is bad.’”
But then he shook it off and got back to daily training with a buddy sharing, “It was great – I came out a completely new person.”
Not only did Tatum come roaring back physically, but creatively as well.
The 41-year-old recently hit #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers list for the children’s book he wrote for his daughter, Evie, titled “The One and Only Sparkella.”
“Say what?!?! #1 on the #NewYorkTimes #Bestseller list!! I’m literally speechless right now!!! Ten year old me would never believe this.”
Here’s his celebratory post about hitting the top of the chart, plus a few more posts from his Instagram proving he knows how to make the ‘magic’ last.
Channing Tatum’s naked selfie makes my Hump Day all the better. https://www.instagram.com/p/COywk23Fd1W/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CNgB3halb4X/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CPOgU4shqcd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Out Chef Jonathan Bardzik Stars In New Revry Cooking Series
Chef Jonathan Bardzik – ‘Jonathan’s Kitchen: Seasons To Taste’ on Revry (promo photo)
Lil Nas X Tears It Up (Literally) On SNL Season Finale
Lil Nas X on SNL (screen capture)
The Grammy winner followed that up with a performance of his latest single, “Sun Goes Down,” which went smoothly and no mishaps.
Lil Nas X did also took part in a prerecorded Pride Month song titled “It’s Pride Again.” SNL’s queer cast members – Bowen Yang, Kate McKinnon, Punkie Johnson, and Taylor-Joy – joined Nas X for a music video about how exciting it is for Pride to return after the pandemic.