Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
Some news items you might have missed:
• Boy Culture: Tom Hardy (above), easily one of my favorite actors (and eye-candy) celebrates his 44th trip around the sun today. BC has a round-up of some of his more eye-catching moments in film. Continue reading “News Round-Up: September 16, 2021”
Music legend Elton John and pop superstar Dua Lipa release their new dance collaboration today, “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix).” Continue reading “Elton John & Dua Lipa Dance Across The Universe In ‘Cold Heart (PNAU)’”
Randy Report favorite Pentatonix serves up elegant musical magic with their cover of “Can You Feel The Love Tonight?” from Elton John’s The Lion King.
Just. Gorgeous. The Grammy Award winners knock this outta the park.
Hit play and let the music take you there.
The track is available on iTunes, Amazon and all digital download sites.
And yes, I bought it 😉
Check out my previous posts on the talented group here.
The 29th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Pre-Party will be hosted by Emmy® and Tony Award®-winning actor Neil Patrick Harris alongside Sir Elton John and David Furnish on April 25, 2021.
The virtual event – powered by powered by Cisco Webex – will include a stripped back performance by GRAMMY® Award-winning artist Dua Lipa for the virtual event along with other all-star guests to be announced.
For the first time, Foundation supporters worldwide are invited to attend the famed Oscar party by joining a 60-minute Pre-Show Special.
“This year, we are bringing our Oscar Party into people’s homes for the first time virtually for an unforgettable evening with David (Furnish), myself, our dear friend Neil Patrick Harris and the incredible Dua Lipa plus many fabulous surprise names,’ says Sir Elton John, Founder, Elton John AIDS Foundation.
“Now more than ever, we need to ensure that one pandemic does not override another, and we cannot forget the 38 million people living with HIV globally who need our care, love and support so we hope everyone joins us for this special one of a kind Oscar Pre-Party.”
Since the annual event’s inception in 1992, The Academy Awards Viewing Party has supported the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s efforts to raise millions for their lifesaving work. With its presence across four continents, the Foundation is committed to overcome the stigma, discrimination and neglect that keeps us from ending AIDS.
Fans can purchase tickets to the Oscar Pre-Show special for $19.99 via Ticketmaster here.
Please visit www.eltonjohnaidsfoundation.org for additional information.
Bringing you 10 holiday songs for your uber-gay Christmas Day.
All of these artists are proudly LGBTQ and celebrated for their artistry in their respective genres.
1. George Michael (back in his Wham! days) delivered unto us this now-required listening holiday pop gem, “Last Christmas,” in 1986.
2. Out country hunk Ty Herndon takes the iconic “O Come All Ye Faithful” into African rhythm territory here, and it totes works.
3. It doesn’t get any more camp than this: the first true bear band, Bearforce1, with their holiday mashup, “Christmas is here!”
4. Two-time Out Music Award winner Matt Zarley covered Mariah Carey’s “Miss You Most At Christmastime” to spectacular result as part of his ‘UnCOVERED’ cover song series.
5. Award-winning cabaret star Ann Hampton Callaway offers this uber-jazzy “Jingle Bells.”
6. Before winning an Emmy Award as an insane murderer on American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Darren Criss’ “Blaine” was singing and dancing the holiday classic “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” in high style with out actor Chris Colfer’s “Kurt” on GLEE.
7. Tony Award winner Levi Kreis (Million Dollar Quartet) gives you a little bit gospel, a little bit rockabilly on his new cover of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.”
8. Elton John released his “Step Into Christmas” in 1973 and it raced all the way to #1 on the Billboard Christmas Singles chart that year.
9. Handsome out smooth jazz saxophonist Dave Koz shared this cover of “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)” on his 1997 release, December Makes Me Feel This Way.
10. Bright Light Bright Light gifted us with this synth-pop version of the classic “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
Some news items you might have missed:
• InstaHunks: Woofy Phillip Evelyn II (above) is giving you full-on Ninja-ness in this post. #Dang Follow him on the Gram of Insta here.
• Pink News: A homophobe in South Dakota went on a profanity-heavy anti-gay rant while burning an LGBTQ Pride flag during a Facebook video. The local district attorney says he won’t be pursuing hate crime charges despite the video.
• CBS News: President Barack Obama’s powerful eulogy at the funeral of the late civil rights leader, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), was perfection. Obama said Americans should honor Lewis’ legacy by continuing to work for democracy and voting rights. “He, as much as anyone in our history, brought this country a little bit closer to our highest ideals.” Hit the play button to hear a president speak about someone other than themself (and in complete sentences).
• Courthouse News: Federal prosecutors have agreed to abandon the gag order against Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and current felon, Michael Cohen. Cohen is now free to use social media, participate in interviews, and release his Trump tell-all book, which is due go on sale in September.
• Fox News: File this under ‘metaphors you could never make up.’ Vice President Mike Pence’s campaign bus collided with a dump truck today while stumping in Western Pennsylvania.
• Gay Star News: International pop star Elton John shared the 30th anniversary of his sobriety with his Instagram followers writing, “If I hadn’t finally taken the big step of asking for help 30 years ago, I’d be dead. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all the people who have inspired and supported me along the way.”
Some news items you might have missed:
• Out: Olympic medal-winning ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron (above) has come out publicly as gay. Though the athlete, who won a silver medal in the 2018 Winter Olympics never considered himself in the closet prior, having spoken openly to family and his friends about his sexuality, he acknowledges that a new interview in the French-language magazine Tetu is his first time speaking publicly.
• TikTok: A teen in North Carolina came out to her mom by making some cupcakes that said “I like girls” and recorded herself surprising her mom with them. The TikTok sharing the moment has more than 3 million views.
• KIT212: Check out Kenneth’s weekly round-up of the what’s what in local gay rags like this month’s issue of DNA Magazine featuring Nick Bracks (below) chatting on his new role as a mental health advocate.
• The Advocate: Tony McDade, a Black transgender man, was shot to death by a police officer Wednesday morning in Tallahassee, Fla. McDade, 38, was accused of having fatally stabbed another man just minutes before his own death.
• New Music: Lady Gaga released her highly anticipated sixth studio album Chromatica via Interscope Records, which has already debuted at #1 on the iTunes charts in 57 countries. Gaga has previously released duets with Ariana Grande (“Rain On Me” – the biggest Spotify debut of 2020 reaching #1 on the Global and US Spotify charts) and with Blackpink (“Sour Candy” – #1 on iTunes in 53 countries) from the collection. Check out the banging dance collaboration “Sine From Above” with international superstar Elton John below.
• The Hill: Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States is “terminating” its relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO) over its response to the novel coronavirus, following through on a threat issued earlier this month. Trump accused the WHO of being under China’s “total control” and of failing to make reforms requested by his administration. The president said he would “redirect” funds promised to the WHO to assist other global health needs.
• TechCrunch: SpaceX had just conducted yet another static fire test of the Raptor engine in its Starship SN4 prototype launch vehicle on Friday when the test vehicle exploded on the test stand in Boca Chica, Texas. This was the fourth static fire test of this engine on this prototype, so it’s unclear what went wrong vs. other static fire attempts.
Prototype of SpaceX’s heavy-lift rocket, Starship, explodes during ground tests in south Texas. https://t.co/HEhnHwGlFy pic.twitter.com/c7wKyXoAWh
— Breaking Aviation News (@breakingavnews) May 29, 2020
Deadline reports international pop star Elton John will host a celebrity TV concert on Fox TV this Sunday.
Fox TV and iHeartMedia are bringing out some big guns in the coronavirus relief effort. Elton John is to host Fox Presents The iHeart Living Room Concert for America, an hourlong special set to air commercial-free from 9-10 p.m. Sunday, March 29 — in the slot that had been set for the iHeartRadio Music Awards.
The program comes at a time when concerts have been sidelined by the COVID-19 outbreak and many artists are giving free concerts online. It will feature performances by such stars as Billie Eilish, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Tim McGraw, Backstreet Boys, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, and others — all filmed from their homes using their own audio and video equipment. The special will be simulcast on iHeartMedia stations nationwide and its app.
The iHeart Living Room Concert for America also will pay tribute to the front-line health professionals, first responders and local heroes who are putting themselves in harm’s way to help their neighbors and fight the spread of the coronavirus. It also will encourage viewers to support Feeding America and First Responders Children’s Foundation — two of the many charitable organizations helping victims and first responders during the pandemic.
Catching up with some of my favorite InstaHunks…
It seems like everyone is down in Brazil this week. You could title beefy Bruno Tarchetti’s pic (above) ‘Bear takes flight in Brazil.”
Kiko Riaze is attending the Revolution Party down at Carnival in Rio de Janiero:
Sexy Eliad Cohen took his uber-popular Papa Party world tour down to Rio for Carnival as well:
View this post on Instagram
@papaworldtour Carinval @theweekriodejaneiro 💥 📸 @igoramota Body painting by @vitor_martinez
And Max Souza is giving you COSTUME down in Rio for Carnival as he expressed his appreciation for the invite to take part:
International pop star Ricky Martin declared he was ready for Miami (but was Miami ready for Ricky?):
Emmy Award-winning choreographer Travis Wall flew high above Hawaii:
Karlitos Amarilla says “Life is prettier on the beach!” If this is the view, I’d be inclined to agree:
Woofy Dan Tai is competing at the European Championships fitness competition. He’s hard on himself here, but what champion isn’t?
John Travolta recently joined ‘Mr. Worldwide’ himself, Pitbull, onstage in concert. Posted this twin bald pic from backstage:
View this post on Instagram
A knight hugged a dame as Sir Elton John welcomed Dame Olivia Newton-John to his concert in Melbourne:
View this post on Instagram
There is nothing like a Dame ❤️🚀 @therealonj 🚀❤️#EltonFarewellTour 📷: @bengibsonphoto
7News in Australia reports international pop star Elton John had to cancel a performance mid-show Sunday night in Auckland when he abruptly lost his voice.
Experiencing difficulties in the middle of the show, he left the stage to be examined by a medic. He returned, but after two songs he told the audience in a raspy voice, “I can’t sing. I’ve just completely lost my voice. I’ve got to go, I’m so sorry.”
The ‘I’m Still Standing’ singer became emotional and paused to lean on his piano before he was escorted offstage.
John later tweeted his apologies to his fans: “I want to thank everyone who attended the #EltonFarewellTour gig in Auckland tonight. I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia earlier today, but I was determined to give you the best show humanly possible.”
“I played and sang my heart out until my voice could sing no more,” he added in follow-up tweets. “I’m disappointed, deeply upset and sorry. I gave it all I had.”
“Thank you so much for your extraordinary support and all the love you showed me during tonight’s performance. I am eternally grateful.”
John is currently in the middle of his multi-year ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour.
.@eltonofficial has broken down on stage in Auckland after losing his voice in the middle of a sold-out concert. https://t.co/b3MLzLk9VF #EltonJohn #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/ofN5r2FjNc
— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) February 16, 2020
Sir Elton John – you gave it everything you had – so sad you had to finish your concert in Auckland an hour early after your voice gave out. Hope you feel better soon 🌹 pic.twitter.com/3UPkICeIdp
— Lesley Warwick (@warwick_lesley) February 16, 2020
“I’m so sorry’
And he was gone.#EltonJohn #EltonFarewellTour pic.twitter.com/lHPoLJrT4N— Tim McCready 🇳🇿 (@Tim_McCready) February 16, 2020
I want to thank everyone who attended the #EltonFarewellTour gig in Auckland tonight.
I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia earlier today, but I was determined to give you the best show humanly possible. pic.twitter.com/5hBSJNqWl1
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) February 16, 2020
Thank you so much for your extraordinary support and all the love you showed me during tonight’s performance.
I am eternally grateful.
Love, Elton xx
📷: Ben Gibson
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) February 16, 2020