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'Jagged Little Pill,' 'Moulin Rouge! The Musical' lead 2020 Tony Award nominations

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Courtesy The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing(NEW YORK) — As Broadway remains shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s at least one bright spot for the theater community: the nominations for the 2020 Tony Awards have been announced.

The Alanis Morissette musical Jagged Little Pill scored the most nods out of any production, with 15, including Best Musical. Following close behind was Moulin Rouge! The Musical, with 14 nominations. Slave Play had the most nominations of any play, with 12, including Best Play.

Other nominees include Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge, nominated for their dual leading roles in the play Sea Wall/A Life, which was also nominated in the Best Play category. Acting nods also went to Tom Hiddleston for Betrayal and Blair Underwood A Soldier’s Play.

In the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play category, the nominees include Laura Linney for My Name is Lucy Barton, Audra McDonald for Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, and Mary-Louise Parker for The Sound Inside.

The 74th annual Tony Awards will be presented digitally this fall/winter. They were originally scheduled to take place back in June.

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

“Living”: Dierks Bentley’s gratitude-filled single goes platinum

• No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Chris HolloDierks Bentley is celebrating a new milestone this week, as the singer’s reflective “Living” officially achieves RIAA platinum status.

It’s the third single from the singer’s 2018 studio album, The Mountain, to achieve recognition from the RIAA. The first two were “Woman, Amen” and “Burning Man,” a duet with Brothers Osborne. Both of those songs were chart-topping country radio hits during Dierks’ latest album cycle, and “Living” became the 19th number-one of his career last September.

Despite its lofty achievements, “Living” began with something small: It started as a simple inside joke between the singer and his band about tour life.

“It started as this joke between the band and me about how little living we were actually doing during the daytime hours before our shows,” the singer explained last year. “It grew into a perspective shift that completely shaped how I choose to live life.”

Dierks has recently been doing some serious “Living” in more ways than one. Earlier this month, he celebrated his 15th anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He’s also been using his downtime during the COVID-19 pandemic to focus on his personal life, spending lots of time with his family out in Colorado.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Timothée Chalamet says he was "embarrassed" over Lily-Rose Depp makeout pics

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Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Timothée Chalamet says he was mortified when paparazzi photos surfaced of him making out with then-girlfriend Lily-Rose Depp on a yacht last year.

In a new cover story with GQ, the Call Me By Your Name actor says he had no idea the private moment would be on display for everyone to see.

“I went to bed that night thinking that was one of the best days of my life,” the 24-year-old tells the mag. “I was on this boat all day with someone I really loved, and closing my eyes, I was like, indisputably, ‘That was great.’”

“And then waking up to all these pictures, and feeling embarrassed, and looking like a real nob? All pale?” he says. “And then people are like: ‘This is a P.R. stunt.’ A P.R. stunt?! Do you think I’d want to look like that in front of all of you?!”

Chalamet and Depp began dating in 2018 after co-starring together in Netflix’s The King. It’s not clear when they split, but Chalamet confirmed to Vogue in April that he was “currently single.”

Chalamet is set to star in the upcoming film Dune and the just-announced Netflix comedy Don’t Look Up. His older sister, Pauline Chalamet, just scored a role in Mindy Kaling’s upcoming HBO Max comedy series, The Sex Lives of College Girls.

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

“I Should Probably Go to Bed” goes acoustic in Dan + Shay’s stripped-down new version

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Warner Music NashvilleDan + Shay trade their piano for a guitar in their intimate, acoustic new take on “I Should Probably Go to Bed.” The new version relies on clear, simple vocal precision instead of the dazzling production and harmony that the original release offers.

The country duo shared a music video to go along with their new “I Should Probably Go to Bed” version this week, with band mates Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney joining forces for a campfire-style performance of the song at twilight on Dan’s Nashville farm.

With just two microphones, a guitar and a tambourine, Dan + Shay prove that while they can pull off plenty of vocal acrobatics, their voices and songwriting are just as powerful when stripped down and simplified.

It’s already been a busy week for the duo, who brought home two trophies at last night’s Billboard Music Awards. They won in the categories of Top Country Duo/Group and Top Country Song, for their “10,000 Hours” duet with Justin Bieber.

“I Should Probably Go to Bed” seems poised to become Dan + Shay’s next big hit. Since they dropped the original version in July, it’s racked up 85 million streams and is nearing the top 10 on the country chart.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Willow Smith admits she and Jaden felt "shunned" by the Black community for being "too different"

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Red Table Talk (LOS ANGELES) — Willow Smith and her brother Jaden follow their own set of rules when it comes to expressing themselves.  However, Willow says their self expression came at a steep — and oftentimes difficult — price.

Speaking on her Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk this week, the 19-year-old singer opened up about how their sense of style caused a rift between her and the Black community.

“With the African American community, I kind of felt like me and Jaden were shunned a little bit,” Willow confessed Tuesday.  

She said the message the Black community conveyed to her and her sibling was “We’re not gonna take pride in them because they’re too different.  They’re too weird.”

The “Whip My Hair” singer admitted to her mother Jada Pinkett Smith and grandmother Adrienne Banfield Norris that she felt that some of her family members didn’t embrace her or her brother because they didn’t conform.

Willow’s comments came in response to her mother revealing that she was “hardcore” mom-shamed by the Black community when she was raising her children.  The actress likened mommy shaming to an epidemic.

Detailing the pressure she personally experienced when her children were younger, Jada said it came to a head when Willow, then 11, shaved her head in 2012.  “There was a firestorm,” she sighed.

Jada said the incessant mom shaming grew worse after Jaden began defying gender norms by wearing clothes designed for women, like dresses and high heels.

“When he was wearing a skirt, then he isn’t what people consider your ‘typical Black man,'” the Girls Tripstar lamented. 

Overall, the actress expressed concern that the Black community keeps trying to “create stereotypes around ourselves,” and advocated for parents to allow their children to freely express themselves because, otherwise, “You are doing your kids a disservice.”
By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.