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Jimmie Allen lights up with Louis York and The Shindellas in "What Does Christmas Mean" video

• No Comments • Country Music News

BBR Music GroupJimmie Allen, Louis York and The Shindellas hit you in all the Christmas feels with the video for their song, “What Does Christmas Mean.” 

Originally released in 2017, Louis York, the Grammy nominated duo of hit songwriters and producers Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony, and The Shindellas teamed up with Jimmie for the new rendition that dropped in November.  

The video opens with the singers gathered around the tree at Weirdo Workshop, Louis York’s studio and headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee just outside of Nashville, listening to an old fashioned radio where they hear about a new Christmas song competition and decide to enter.

They then head over to the station to compete in the contest where they’re sprinkled with Christmas magic, transforming into festive outfits that includes Jimmie in a shining red jacket while The Shindellas glow in elegant sapphire blue jumpsuits. 

At first, the judges seem underwhelmed, but soon the feet start tapping alongside the shoobie-doobie melody that unites horns, piano and jingle bells. By song’s end, they’re up and clapping as the group sings, “There’ll be snow on the ground/There’ll be lights in the trees/There’ll be love all around/But if you’re not with me/Tell me what does Christmas mean?”

The trio of artists will perform the song on Today with Hoda & Jenna on Wednesday.

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Hailee Steinfeld reveals she's "honored" to part of the Marvel Universe with 'Hawkeye'

• No Comments • Entertainment News

Apple TV+(LOS ANGELES) — A couple of weeks ago, a spy caught Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld running across a New York City subway platform, and with that it was revealed she she’d be joining the archer Avenger in his Disney+ spin-off series Hawkeye.

Her appearance, and the fact she was packing an archery bow led fans to realize she’d be playing Kate Bishop, who in the comics was a protege of Renner’s character, who eventually takes on the Hawkeye mantle.

Officially, however, Marvel has remained mum. 

To ABC Audio, however, Hailee says she’s “honored to be part of the MCU.”

She joked about the fateful subway ride that let the cat out of the bag, laughing, “Yeah, right, we were just trying to get somewhere and a coupla pictures were taken and now here we are.”

The Dickinson star and producer said she’s, “So, so excited and honored obviously to be part of the MCU and be playing alongside Jeremy. He’s wonderful and [it’s] quite, quite a different world than Dickinson.”

From a 19-century female poet to an arrow-slinging comic book hero? All in a day’s work, Steinfeld says. “You know, obviously, as an artist, as an actor, it’s fun to be able to jump into different things such as the two. So it’s been amazing.”

Hawkeye comes out on Disney+ in the fall of 2021; Dickinson season 2 hits Apple TV+ on January 8.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On 'GMA', Jon Favreau opens 'The Book of Boba Fett', talks how "scared" he was about *that* cameo leaking

• No Comments • Entertainment News

Disney+(LOS ANGELES) —(SPOILER ALERT) Friday’s surprise-filled season 2 finale of The Mandalorian ended with a Marvel-like post-credit scene that set up a previously unannounced Star Wars series for Disney+. 

On Monday, Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau told Good Morning America a little more about that show, The Book of Boba Fett. As the title suggests, the series centers on Temuera Morrison’s recently resurrected bounty hunter.  The tease showed him taking the late Jabba The Hutt’s throne for himself.

Favreau revealed the series is being worked on now, and will take the place of The Mandalorian on Disney+ before production on a third season of the Emmy winning show gets underway.  He also noted that he’s personally working on that series, as well as two other of the newly-announced Disney+ Star Wars shows: his producing partner Dave Filoni’s Ahsoka, and Rangers of the New Republic — all of which take place during Mandalorian‘s timeline.

Jon also explained how nervous the cast and crew were about somebody spoiling the return of a certain Jedi in the finale’s climax. 

“It is very hard to keep a secret nowadays, especially with Star Wars…” Favreau said. “Every piece of casting [for this season] leaked,” Favreau said. “We were so scared right up until it aired, that our surprise cameo was gonna leak, too.” 

The filmmaker said, “We started off the whole series with the Baby Yoda reveal…that was a secret that everyone was blown away by…and then to have the very last episode, to have Mark Hamill…” was a nice dovetail, Favreau implied.

Hamill himself tweeted, “The fact that we were able to keep my involvement a secret for over a year with no leaks is nothing less than a miracle. A real triumph for spoiler-haters everywhere!”

For his super-secret scene in The Mandalorian, the 69-year-old star was digitally de-aged to make him appear to be around five years older than he appeared in 1983’s Return of the Jedi.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

"In Case You Didn't Know," Brett Young is hosting Caliville Weekend in 2021

• No Comments • Country Music News

Riker BrothersBrett Young is heading to the desert. 

The singer is is getting back in touch with his California roots by hosting Caliville Weekend in Palm Springs next summer, June 18-21.

The four-day experience features live performances, including a headlining show by Brett, along with wellness activities, pool parties, hotel takeovers and more. There will also be a closing night show featuring surprise performers. 

“Bringing us all together for a weekend in one of my favorite places in the world is definitely a dream come true for me,” the Anaheim native says. “I can’t wait for everyone to see what we have planned for them next summer!” 

Brett is also working on his upcoming album. Its lead single, “Lady,” inspired by his one-year-old daughter Presley and wife Taylor, is currently in the top 25 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

"80s Lady" K.T. Oslin, chart-topping country star, dead at 78

• No Comments • Country Music News

Alan Mayor/CMAK.T. Oslin, who topped the country charts in the late ’80s with her unique approach to country music and won several Grammys, CMA and ACM Awards along the way, has died.  She was 78.

Born Kay Toinette Oslin in Arkansas, Oslin was a folk singer, a musical theater actress and a commercial jingle singer before landing a country record deal under the name Kay T. Oslin.  Neither of her singles did that well, but other artists started to record her songs, including The Judds.  She eventually signed another contract, this time using the name K.T. Oslin, and her career took off.

The song that put Oslin on the map was “80’s Ladies,” the title track of her 1987 album, which hit the top 10, won her the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal performance and was named the CMA’s Song of the Year. 

The female anthem detailed the sometimes difficult journey that women had had getting to that decade, with lyrics like, “We burned our bras and we burned our dinners/And we burned our candles at both ends/And we’ve had some children/Who look just like the way we did back then.”

Two number-one hits followed: “Do Ya” and “I’ll Always Come Back.”  Oslin also duetted with Alabama on the number-one hit “Face to Face.”

This Woman, Oslin’s second album, was an even bigger success, producing five hits, including the number-one “Hold Me,” as well as “Hey Bobby,” the title track, “Money” and “Didn’t Expect it to Go Down this Way.”  “Hold Me” won Oslin two Grammys, including Best Country Song, and This Woman was named the ACM’s Album of the Year.

KT’s third album, 1990’s Love In a Small Town, produced her biggest chart hit, “Come Next Monday.”  She then retired from touring and did some acting.  A return to singing came in 1996, and she also made sporadic concert appearances, including a 2013 show to celebrate the 25th anniversary of ’80s Ladies.  Oslin’s final album, Simply, came out in 2015, the same year she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

KT Oslin was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.

By Andrea Dresdale
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.