ABC/Randy HolmesIn both life and songwriting, Sam Hunt knows first-hand how important it is to be honest.
“You can’t fake it if you want to make it,” the singer reflects in a new interview with HITS Daily Double. “Some of that life you don’t wanna put out there, but it’s still a part of it.”
That’s why he didn’t try to keep it a secret when he got arrested for driving under the influence last November in Nashville.
“It happened,” the singer admits. “People in my camp were talking about suppressing it, but why would I be afraid to talk about it? If it happens, it’s true. I was raised and taught to respect [alcohol.] Moderation is important.”
Alcohol also plays a central role in country songwriting, but Sam says he tries to stay away from the tropes of drinking and partying hard in his own songs, in part because they don’t typically feel that true to his life.
“I’ve never wanted to glorify that,” he adds. “It’s a cheap trick in country music, and I’ve always wanted to avoid that. I don’t like using [drinking] as a party song; for me, that wouldn’t be honest. I’ve never been the guy who shotguns a beer. I know people who partake that way, and I wouldn’t want to shake my finger or look down on them.”
As for his 2019 DUI, Sam admits that that event was the result of poor decision-making.
“I should’ve been more conscious, but I wasn’t. So I take responsibility,” he says.
Netflix(NEW YORK) — Netflix has released quite the teaser: the explosive opening scene of The Umbrella Academy‘s second season.
The snippet opens with Aiden Gallagher’s Five dropping through time into an alternate 1963, where Soviet soldiers are openly battling American forces on the streets.
“What the hell we do now?” Five asks rhetorically.
As he struggles to believe what he’s seeing, he sees his fellow super-powered siblings doing battle with the Reds. Ellen Page’s Vanya, Tom Hopper’s Luther, David Castañeda’s Diego, Emmy Raver-Lampman’s Allison, Robert Sheehan’s Klaus and Justin H. Min’s Ben all use their unique gifts to lay waste to the enemy soldiers, including Allison literally blowing minds with her powers of suggestion.
Appropriately, the battle is set to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”
Just then, a white-bearded Hazel appears, urging Five to leave his family. Cameron Britton’s character then shows Five why: nukes are on their way, and the only way to save everyone and stop another Armageddon is to go with him through a time portal.
The Umbrella Academy, a live-action adaptation of My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way’s comic book series of the same name, will return to Netflix with new episodes on July 31.
Sony Music NashvilleBradPaisley released a star-studded music video Wednesday for his latest single, “No I in Beer.”
The video, which the country singer edited himself, features more than 225 people, including fans from 39 countries across the globe and some of Brad’s own famous friends, both from the country genre and beyond. You can spot Carrie Underwood, Jimmie Allen, Tim McGraw, Kelsea Ballerini, Darius Rucker, Lindsay Ell and more throughout the video.
Former pro football quarterback Peyton Manning and Major League Baseball pitcher Clayton Kershaw also pop up during the clip, as do ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos and his wife, Ali Wentworth.
Brad recently told ABC’s Good Morning America that he feels “No I in Beer” has become a lighthearted connector during a difficult time.
“It’s been fun to watch this take on this meaning of sort of defiance,” he says of the track. “It’s sort of a way, like, the world is screwed up and things are strange, but we can all have a beer together some way.”
Since the song’s initial release in April, the country star said it’s “taken on such a life of its own,” leading to everything from crashed Zoom drinking parties to a viral TikTok challenge he’s even attempted.
“The way that people have utilized this — they’ve been doing these ‘beersketball’ videos on TikTok and I’ve loved it,” he said.
Footage of these hilarious moments can be seen in the new music video.
Paisley also shared a clip earlier this week featuring himself with Tim, Darius and Jimmie putting together a piece of the music video during a Zoom call.
“How you make a music video in a pandemic….with over 225 of your friends,” Paisley wrote alongside the clip.
(HILLSBOROUGH, Fla.) — A former Florida theme park security guard has been arrested for allegedly acting like a “vigilante” when he “racially profiled” and falsely detained a Black teen who was on his way to basketball practice, prosecutors said.
The 18-year-old was riding his bicycle during the early morning hours of June 8 when Luis Santos drove his car alongside the teenager.
“You work here? You live here?” asked Santos, 54, as he recorded with a cellphone, according to excerpts released by prosecutors.
The teenager stopped and answered Santos’ questions before the situation quickly escalated.
“You’re not going anywhere,” said Santos, stepping out of his vehicle. “You’re being detained. You’re not going anywhere.”
Before the 30-second video stopped, the young man said he was “sorry.”
Santos called 911 claiming that the unidentified teenager was seen on video “breaking into cars” and that he thought the teen had stolen a bike. Prosecutors with the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office said there was no evidence of any crimes.
Santos identified himself to the 911 operator as an off-duty officer, according to the call recording. Santos had left his job as a theme park security guard six months prior to the incident, but because his required security officer certifications were still valid at the time he confronted the teenager, he isn’t being accused of impersonating an officer, prosecutors said.
Still, prosecutors said, Santos had no legal authority to detain the 18-year-old.
The case also is not being classified as a hate crime, prosecutors confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday.
“What happened that morning should upset everyone in our community. We have skilled police officers — we don’t need vigilantes confronting people on the street,” State Attorney Andrew Warren said in a statement concerning what “appears to be a case of racial profiling.”
Santos classified himself as a white Hispanic and listed his employment as a shop assistant in Tampa, according to jail records.
It took local sheriff’s deputies about eight minutes to arrive after Santos’ call, during which the teen, who kept his hands in the air, was terrified as Santos allegedly placed his right hand over his pants pocket in a “manner that made the victim feel as if the defendant may have a weapon, even though none was seen,” according to the criminal affidavit.
When deputies arrived, they “calmed the situation down and comforted the victim. Then they took this vigilante to task for what he’d done and referred the case to our office for potential charges,” Warren added. One officer then took the 18-year-old to his basketball practice.
“There have been recent examples of confrontations like this across the country that have ended tragically. The fact that this didn’t end with a loss of life doesn’t make it any less of a crime. What Mr. Santos did is unacceptable and illegal — now he’ll face consequences for his actions,” Warren said.
Santos was released on $2,000 bond on July 25, according to online jail records. If convicted on felony third-degree false imprisonment charges, he could see up to five years in prison. Michelle Borton, an attorney for Santos, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
The case is reminiscent of what led to the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer in his Florida community. Zimmerman was acquitted of Martin’s murder after a jury trial in which he claimed to have acted in self defense.
(HOUSTON) — Despite a global pandemic here on Earth, NASA is persevering with its mission to Mars — launching its most advanced “Perseverance” rover to discover more about our neighboring red planet.
“We are in extraordinary times right now with the coronavirus pandemic and yet we have in fact persevered, and we have protected this mission because it is so important,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said at a news conference Tuesday.
He added that he thinks the name of the rover — chosen by a seventh grader from Virginia — is “perfectly appropriate” for the times.
The launch is scheduled to take place Thursday at 7:50 a.m. ET from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It will be broadcast live on NASA’s website and YouTube channel.
On Tuesday, Perseverance made its way onto the launch pad, and the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron predicted an 80% chance of favorable weather conditions for Thursday’s launch.
The rover’s main job is to seek out signs of ancient life and collect rock and soil samples for a possible return to Earth, according to NASA. It will also test out new technology to pave the way for future robot or human exploration of our neighboring planet.
“This is the first time in history when NASA has dedicated a mission to what we call astrobiology, the search for life, maybe now or ancient life, on another world,” Bridenstine said.
The mission will also feature “a bunch of other neat things,” according to John Logsdon, a professor emeritus at George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute.
“There is an attached little helicopter that is going to fly like a drone over the Martian surface and give us images,” Logsdon told ABC News.
“There is an experiment called ‘MOXIE’ that will see whether it is possible to manufacture oxygen out of the methane in the Mars atmosphere, which would be important for eventual human missions,” he added.
The launch also comes on the heels of two other nations — the United Arab Emirates and China — sending missions to Mars over the summer.
If Thursday’s launch goes well, the six-wheeled rover is expected to land on Mars on February 18, 2021. Perseverance is then expected to stay on the Red Planet for at least one Martian year, or 687 Earth days.
ABC/Randy HolmesIn both life and songwriting, Sam Hunt knows first-hand how important it is to be honest.
