From new albums to halftime shows, this is your entertainment brief from last week’s biggest entertainment news.
Smashing Pumpkins Announce New Album
Two years after their eleventh studio album, 2020’s Cyr, The Smashing Pumpkins have announced a follow-up.
While frontman Billy Corgan first announced a future rock opera four months ago on The Late Late Show with James Corden, fans wouldn’t get a first look until Sept. 19 with the album concept release and the first single, “Beguiled.”
The album, entitled ATUM, is a large endeavor for the band, as it will be a 33 song triple album. According to Corgan, the album is a sequel to the band’s previous two concept records: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and Machina/The Machines of God.
ATUM will be released in three segments over the course of five months. The first 11 songs will be released on Nov. 15, while the next two “acts” will be released on Jan. 31 and April 21 of next year respectively.
Sept. 19 marked the start of another new endeavor for Corgan — his own podcast. The first two episodes of Thirty Three with William Patrick Corgan are now available on all podcast platforms.
Throughout the podcast, Corgan will debut each of the album’s new songs, telling the story behind them as well as looking at some of his classic hits. So far, he has discussed “ATUM” and “Butterfly Suite,” both from the new album. He has also looked at “1979” and “Eye” from Mellon Collie and The Lost Highway soundtrack albums respectively.
The podcast will premiere brand new episodes every Tuesday. Additionally, the first single from ATUM, “Beguiled,” is available on all streaming services.
José Feliciano Performs at Oklahoma City Community College
José Feliciano performed at Oklahoma City Community College on Sept. 22 during the campus’ celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Accompanied by a backing band, including his son Jonathan on the drums, Feliciano performed various compositions he wrote over the years along with numerous cover songs, namely “California Dreamin” and “Light My Fire.”
Born blind in Lares, Puerto Rico, Feliciano first appeared on the music scene in 1964 with his first single “Everybody do the Click,” which became a hit in the Philippines.
It wasn’t until 1968 when Feliciano broke through with, what is today, his most popular album, Feliciano! This album included many of the songs he performed at his Oklahoma City concert, such as “California Dreamin,” “Light My Fire” and “In My Life.”
Without a doubt, Feliciano’s most popular hit reenters the charts every holiday season when millions of people listen to the Christmas classic “Feliz Navidad.” Almost unsurprisingly, Feliciano did not perform this song at his Sept. Oklahoma City concert.
Over the years, Feliciano has been regarded as a pioneer Latin musician, opening the door for other Hispanic artists who have crossed into popular music. He was awarded the Billboard Latin Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996 as well as the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.
In 2013, Feliciano was entered into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Rihanna Set to Perform at Super Bowl Halftime Show
The Super Bowl LVII halftime headliner has been announced with Rihanna being set to perform.
The 34 year old singer broke the news via her Instagram account, posting a photo of her hand holding up an NFL-branded football. Shortly after, the official NFL Instagram account posted the same photo, confirming the news.
The NFL head of music, Seth Dudowsky, said the football league was “thrilled” to welcome Rihanna to the stage.
“Rihanna is a once in a generation artist who has been a cultural force throughout her career,” Dudowsky said. “We look forward to collaborating with Rihanna, Roc Nation and Apple Music to bring fans another historic Halftime Show performance.”
This announcement comes after rumors of Taylor Swift possibly headlining the show. Many fans speculated Swift would perform since Apple Music took over as the show’s sponsor. Additionally, Taylor Swift’s tenth studio album, Midnights, is scheduled for release on Oct. 21.
Super Bowl LVII is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 12. It will be held in Glendale, Arizona at State Farm Stadium. The halftime show will be sponsored by Apple Music after a decade with Pepsi and will be co-produced by Rihanna’s record label, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation.
Riverdale Actor Sentenced to Life in Prison for Killing his Mother
On Sept. 23, Ryan Grantham, 24, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty in March to the murder of his mother.
According to prosecutors, the Canadian actor, who was 21 at the time, shot his mother while she played the piano at their home. He later loaded his car with three firearms, Molotov cocktails, ammunition, camping supplies and a map to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s home.
Grantham was initially planning on killing the Prime Minister, but decided to turn the car around and commit violence at his school, Simon Fraser University, or at Vancouver’s Lion’s Gate Bridge.
Instead of committing any of these acts, Grantham drove to the Vancouver police and admitted to shooting his mother. He was charged with second-degree murder.
Two years later, Grantham heads to jail, receiving life in prison. According to a spokesperson for the British Columbia Supreme Court, he will be eligible for parole in 14 years. Grantham began acting at age nine, and his credits include small roles in Riverdale and the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid film, where he played a shrub during the Wizard of Oz scene.
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