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Country Daypop

Martina McBride to be honored in new Country Music Hall of Fame Exhibit

The Country Music Hall of Fame will celebrate Martina McBride with an exhibition titled Martina McBride: The Power of Her Voice, opening July 30, 2021, and running through Aug. 7, 2022. According to a press release, “the exhibit encompasses the singer’s journey from performing in her family’s band as a child to becoming an award-winning country music artist with an enduring career delivering substantive and socially aware hit songs.”

McBride said about the forthcoming exhibition: “Having an exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is something I’ve had on my dream list for a long, long time. Being able to share moments and mementos from my life and career with my fans and country music fans from all over the world is both humbling and exciting. I’m so grateful to be a part of country music.”

McBride has won four CMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards (three consecutively between 2002-2004) and three ACM Top Female Vocalist honors (2001–2003) over her 30 year-long career.  In November 1995, she also became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

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Country Daypop

Carly Pearce invited by Dolly Parton to join Grand Ole Opry

31-year-old Carly Pearce received a surprise invitation from country music star and Grand Ole Opry member Dolly Parton to become a member of the Nashville institution.  The Grand Ole Opry tweeted: “You’re looking at the next member of the Grand Ole Opry!  Official induction date set for August 3!”

As seen in a video, Pearce thought she was giving an interview about Dollywood when Parton surprised her on stage. Pearce captioned the post, “Dreams come true… sometimes even better than you dare to dream. I couldn’t be happier or more honored the be the newest member of the @opry.” 

Pearce also wrote on Twitter, “I’ve worked & waited my whole life for that moment right there. What a dream last night was @opry”

Pearce is known for her hit single “Every Little Thing,” “I Hope You’re Happy Now” with Lee Brice, and “Next Girl.” She released her latest EP, titled ’29’, back in February.

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Entertainment Daypop

Harrison Ford suffers injury while filming ‘Indiana Jones 5’

Harrison Ford injured himself while filming “Indiana Jones 5”.   According to a Disney spokesperson: “In the course of rehearsing for a fight scene, Harrison Ford sustained an injury involving his shoulder. Production will continue while the appropriate course of treatment is evaluated, and the filming schedule will be reconfigured as needed in the coming weeks.”

Ford had been on set working on the film at Pinewood Studios and other U.K. locations. The actor returns to star as the lead character alongside Mads Mikkelsen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renée Wilson, and Thomas Kretschmann.

No plot details have been released for “Indiana Jones 5”, though it is rumored to be set in the early 1970s.  Indiana Jones 5 is tentatively scheduled to be released July 2022.

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Entertainment Daypop

‘Transformers 7’ title is announced as ‘Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts’

The next movie in the “Transformers” franchise has its official title.  At a virtual event, director Steven Caple Jr. revealed that the next film in the blockbuster franchise will be called “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”.  The director revealed that “Rise of the Beast” will centre on Optimus Prime, and will follow up the ’80s-set “Bumblebee” by being set in the year 1994. In the film, audiences will see Optimus Prime forming his lasting bond with the people of Earth. Bumblebee will also be returning for the new film, taking the form of a classic yellow Camaro, but decked out with off-road features.

The film will will be shot around the world, including Montreal, and will be set primarily in Brooklyn, New York, as well as Machu Picchu, Peru. Joining the robot aliens are human characters — Noah, played by Anthony Ramos, and Elina, played by Dominique Fishback.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is set to debut in theatres June 24, 2022.

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News Daypop

Michigan GOP Senate rejects Trump’s claim of election fraud

A months-long probe of the presidential election led by Michigan Republican lawmakers found that claims by former president Donald Trump about widespread voter fraud were false.

According to a report released Wednesday, human error and lack of training were the only factors that contributed to inaccurate and unofficial vote counts, especially in Antrim County, where Trump and his supporters claimed votes were miscalculated in favor of Joe Biden. The report stated: “These errors were quickly discovered and rectified by the protective and redundant systems our state has built to verify and protect election integrity, including re-countable, paper ballots.  Even more significantly, the official vote count was never in doubt and was validated several times, including during a complete, hand recount.”

The four-person committee recommended that legislation strengthen the law regarding the conducting of “logic and accuracy” tests prior to the election, including prohibiting Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson from mailing unsolicited absentee ballot applications. It also recommends Attorney General Dana Nessel consider investigating those who pushed false claims “to raise money or publicity for their own ends.”

Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes. Court decisions, canvassers and reviews by officials reinforced the outcome of the vote.

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News Daypop

President Joe Biden announces ‘major crackdown’ on illegal gun sales

President Joe Biden said that his administration will implement a “major crackdown” on illegal gun sales, unveiling a plan to slow the increase of gun violence in the United States. Biden announced on Wednesday that the plan included gun control measures, support for law enforcement and helping formerly jailed individuals re-enter society amid an increase in homicides in the country and an expected rise in violence in the summer months. “We are announcing a major crackdown to stem the flow of guns used to commit violent crimes,” the President said. “It is zero tolerance for those who willfully violate key existing laws and regulations.”

The President’s plan aims to hold “rogue” firearms dealers responsible for violating federal gun laws, give law enforcement resources to address traditional summer increases in crime, invest in community violence interventions, support unemployment and youth programs, and assist initiatives that help formerly incarcerated people successfully re-enter the community. Biden said: “If you willfully sell a gun to someone who is prohibited from possessing it, if you willfully fail to run a background check, if you willfully falsify a record, if you willfully fail to cooperate with the tracing requests or inspections, my message to you is this. ‘We will find you and we’ll seek your license to sell guns.’”

Gun violence has also risen significantly in the United States in 2021, with several mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder, Colo., in March and San Jose, Calif., last month.

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Country Daypop

Lanco announces ‘Honky Tonk Hippies’ tour and new 5-song EP

Lanco is launching their 30-city Honky Tonk Hippies tour this fall, and will be releasing a new 5-song EP of the same name on July 2.  The tour will kick-off on Sept. 12 in Isle of Palms, South Carolina at The Wind Jammer with Ross Ellis, traveling through Georgia the Theatre in Athens, Georgia, The Van Buren in Phoenix, and Fremont Theater in California before wrapping up at the Grizzly Rose in Denver.

Lanco’s upcoming EP was self-produced by the five-man band –comprised of Brandon Lancaster, Eric Steedly, Chandler Baldwin, Jared Hampton, and Tripp Howell — and each song on the new project was written by at least two members of the group.

Tickets for the Honky Tonk Hippies tour will be on sale beginning this Friday, June 25 at lancomusic.com.

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Country Daypop

Kenny Chesney joins Jimmy Buffett at Nashville Club Show

Jimmy Buffett performed a private, unannounced show with his Coral Reefer Band at the Nashville club Exit/In, the same small venue Buffett first performed in back in the 1970s.  As a surprise, country superstar Kenny Chesney joined Buffett to perform Mac McAnally’s “Back Where I Come From” and Buffett’s classic “Margaritaville.”

Both Buffett and Chesney shared video clips from the evening’s performances, with Chesney posting on Instagram: “Always a blast being on stage with my friends Jimmy Buffett, Mac McAnally, and the rest of the Coral Reefer Band. Thanks for the invite Jimmy.”

Opening in 1971, Exit/In celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.  The venue has hosted a wide-variety of performances from artists including R.E.M., Tom Petty, The Police, as well as numerous country.  One of the most recent performances was in 2019, a pre-pandemic appearance from Miranda Lambert to preview songs from her album Wildcard.

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Entertainment Daypop

Television Academy to allow non-gendered ‘performer’ Emmy category

The Television Academy will recognize nonbinary performers in the Emmy competition.  The organization announced that performer category winners or nominees may now request that their nomination certificate and engraving on an Emmy statue carry the term “performer” in place of “actor” or “actress.”  The Television Academy will still use actor, actress, supporting actor and supporting actress in its categories, but it will now allow each individual to choose how they wish to be identified, including the new non-gendered “performer” label.  The organization’s decision comes after Billions star Asia Kate Dillon publicly questioned the use of gendered acting categories for the Emmy Awards in 2017, which appeared to exclude those who identified as nonbinary like Dillon. In the end, Dillon asked to be entered into the “supporting actor” category that year.

The Television Academy also said that any documentary film that screens on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences website “will be deemed a theatrical motion picture and thus ineligible for the Emmy competition,” which may eliminate the so-called “double dipping” of documentaries for both Oscar and Emmy consideration.

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Entertainment Daypop

Michael B. Jordan apologizes after accusations of cultural appropriation over the name of his new rum brand

Michael B. Jordan has apologized for the name of his new rum brand, saying in his Instagram Stories that he will be renaming the brand. The 34-year-old actor said Tuesday that he will change the name of his rum brand J’Ouvert after accusations that the name appropriates Caribbean culture.

Jordan wrote: “I just wanna say on behalf of myself & my partners, our intention was never to offend or hurt a culture (we love & respect) & hoped to celebrate & shine a positive light on. Last few days has been a lot of listening. A lot of learning & engaging in countless community conversations…We hear you. I hear you & want to be clear that we are in the process of renaming. We sincerely apologize & look forward to introducing a brand we can all be proud of.”

J’Ouvert is a festival celebrating Caribbean culture that signals the start of Carnival. The festival is held annually in Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada, and celebrated by many Caribbean people worldwide.

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