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Kane Brown launches Verse 2 Music, a co-venture with Sony Music Publishing

• No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LALess than a month after launching his own label, 1021 Entertainment, Kane Brown is adding another new endeavor to his resume.

The country superstar has announced the launch of Verse 2 Music, his own publishing company, which is a joint venture with Sony Music Publishing Nashville. According to Billboard, who broke the news, Kane also signed a worldwide publishing deal with Sony this week.

It’s Kane’s latest step as an entrepreneur: Verse 2 Music will focus on developing a diverse roster of new artists and songwriters across all genres.

Kane’s focus on diversity is at the forefront of 1021 Entertainment, too: His flagship act is Restless Road, a pop-inspired country trio that was also Kane’s opening act on tour prior to the COVID-19 shutdowns.

“I want to provide opportunities,” the singer explains of the motivation behind launching his new venture. “As an entertainer, I love being able to take people I believe in out on the road with me, or be able to help them find a moment that makes a difference in their career. I also want to work with great people. We are a family.”

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Alex Morgan scores first goal for US Women's National Team since giving birth to daughter

• No Comments • Sports News

Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty ImagesBy GOOD MORNING AMERICA, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Soccer star Alex Morgan has scored more than 100 goals in her soccer career, but the one she scored Wednesday may be the sweetest so far.

Morgan, 31, scored her first goal for the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) since giving birth to her daughter, Charlie, last May.

Morgan’s goal, her 108th in her career, helped propel the USWNT to a 6-0 victory against Argentina, which earned the team its second consecutive She Believes Cup title.

“First USWNT goal as a momma,” Morgan captioned a photo of her goal in an Instagram story.

Morgan told Good Morning America last year that “taking a step back from soccer” while pregnant was “a little different” for her, but added that she was “enjoying it.”

“I hope that she’s born into a world that she can accomplish much bigger and better things that I’m ever capable of,” Morgan told GMA at the time.

Morgan, who is married to soccer player Servando Carrasco, was back in action with the USWNT after taking time off earlier this year to recover from COVID-19, which she said she contracted while in California over the holidays.

Last year, Morgan relocated to England, where she played several games with Tottenham Hotspur Women. It was confirmed in December that she would be returning to the U.S., where she is a member of the Orlando Pride.

Morgan scored her goal Wednesday in Orlando, in front of her hometown fans.

She is not the only Pride player to now be playing as a mother.

Morgan’s teammates, goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and defender Ali Krieger, announced earlier this month that they welcomed their adopted daughter.

The couple, who wed in 2019, shared the news on social media that their daughter, Sloane Phillips, was born on Feb. 12, weighing 6 pounds, 11 ounces.

USWNT star Megan Rapinoe gave Sloane a shout-out when Rapinoe scored a goal earlier in the She Believes Cup. After her goal, Rapinoe ran to the cameras and held her arms like she was cradling a baby.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Zac Brown Band’s “The Man Who Loves You the Most” video is a timely tribute to family bonds

• No Comments • Country Music News

Home Grown RecordsZac Brown Band’s “The Man Who Loves You the Most” was inspired by frontman Zac Brown’s love for his four daughters, but anyone missing family during the COVID-19 pandemic can relate to the song’s new music video.

The clip begins with a young woman sitting at home, reading headlines about increasing COVID-19 shutdowns on her phone. She turns away from the news, opting instead to watch a series of family home movies that focus on her and her dad.

We see her grow up from a little girl to a young woman, ultimately packing for college, moving away from home, graduating and getting married. All the while, her dad is by her side, supporting her and cheering her on.

Between the woman’s smiles and tears — and a heartbreaking twist at the end of the clip — the video adds an emotional visual element to an already powerful song. Zac says that he hopes the video serves as a reminder to all fans to cherish their loved ones, even from far away.

“As a father to four girls myself, I know firsthand how special the father-daughter bond is,” he reflects. “When creating this video, it was important to make something that serves as a reminder of the importance of our loved ones and that, through the good times and bad, a father’s love will always endure.”

ZBB first shared the song in June of 2020, just before Father’s Day.


By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Eddie Murphy shares the hilarious "original script" ideas for 'Coming 2 America'

• No Comments • Entertainment News

Courtesy of Amazon Studios(NEW YORK) — It’s no secret that a sequel to Eddie Murphy’s 1988 comedy Coming to America has been a long time coming. In fact, Murphy tells ABC Audio that even after they decided to finally make the film, there were multiple ideas on how the story should play out.

“In the original script for this picture, Tracy Morgan is my son,” Murphy laughs. “And then…that all changed.”

If the 52-year-old Morgan playing the long lost son of Murphy’s Prince Akeem wasn’t enough — Eddie says the writers even thought about having him also play the villain in the film, which actor Wesley Snipesagreed to take on.

“In the original script, I’m General Izzi,” Murphy shares. “And I’m [Arsenio Hall’s] character, Baba, the witch doctor.”

Like the script, which ended up evolving, Murphy explains how the potentially raunchy sequel ended up with a “clean” PG-13 rating.

“There was a scene where there was some farmers that wound up getting cut, because it was too long and it was kind of like a dirty joke at the end of it with this goat,” he says. “It was like, if we take that out of the movie, then the movie is like clean.”

“The original Coming to America is R rated and it has like maybe one or two scenes [where] the penis is cleaned and I go, “F you, F you, F you,” he says. “But this movie has none of that stuff and we took that thing out for [our PG-13 rating].”

Coming 2 America launches on Amazon Prime March 5.

By Candice Williams
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Mariska Hargitay says it was "life-changing" when she met 'SVU' co star Chris Meloni for the first time

• No Comments • Entertainment News

Jim Spellman/WireImage(NEW YORK) — Even though Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni hadn’t worked together in a decade — until recenly, that is — the two continued to enjoy a long-lasting friendship.

Speaking jointly with People on Wednesday, the Law & Order: SVU stars reminisced about working together and their first impressions of each other.

Mariska, who won an Emmy for her portrayal of Olivia Benson on the long-running drama, says her connection with Meloni was immediate.

“It happened at the screen test… I walked in, saw him, and I went, ‘That guy. That’s the guy.’ It went deep, very fast,” she recalled. “We both knew that it was something big.  I won’t say that I fully understood it, but I knew that meeting him was important and life-changing.”

Added Meloni, who played Elliot Stabler, insists “we stayed connected” even after he walked away from the series in 2011 after contract negotiations fell apart.

Which is why, he says, he came running when show execs floated a potential on-screen reunion between their characters.

“It was Pavlovian: Ring that bell, and you get right into Stabler and Benson,” Meloni laughed. “It’s simple… We have each other’s back.”

Stabler will reunite with his old partner on a special Law and Order: SVU episode to help launch another series spinoff, Law and Order: Organized Crime, of which Meloni stars.  It premieres April 1 on NBC.

The two reflected on starring on the long-running drama for 12 seasons, with Hargitay calling her co-star “solid as a rock.”

“I got to lean on it when I needed to. It was like family,” she smiled. “He’s always made me feel like I could just jump off the ledge, the cliff, the bridge, and he would catch me, in so many ways, whether it was comedy or acting or friendship.”

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.