Elton's Farewell
Elton John is ending his touring career with a bang! The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour has officially become the highest-grossing concert tour ever. It first kicked off in 2018 and has since grossed $817.9 million after performing in 278 shows, according to Billboard. John surpassed Ed Sheeran's 2019 The Divide Tour, which raked in $776.4 million. But it's not over yet, as the shows will continue through July 2023.
Lil Wayne on Road
Also in touring news, Lil Wayne announced a slate of shows set for Spring 2023. The Welcome to Tha Carter tour is set to kick off in Minneapolis in April and will run through May with the final show in Los Angeles. The news comes days after the Recording Academy revealed that Wayne would be one of four recipients of its Global Impact Award at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
DC Cinematic Universe
The DC Universe is kicking it into high gear with a newly announced full slate of films and shows. DC Studios heads James Gunn, co-CEO with Peter Safran, unveiled the 10 projects in a new first chapter which he called "Gods and Monsters," with the titles being connected to each other in the same universe (unless otherwise labeled like Matt Reeves' The Batman). Some of the new titles revealed include the film Superman: Legacy, to be written by Gunn and slated for a July 2025 release, and TV projects Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and Lanterns.
There is a scene in the 2002 sci-fi film "Minority Report" that has always struck me. John Anderton, the film's protagonist played by Tom Cruise, is running through a mall, bombarded by ads from premium brands like American Express and Lexus that are tailor-made just for him. I was always fascinated by that moment in the film ー because it seemed so far-fetched and dystopian, but at the same time, almost pre-ordained.
After two years and $52 million in funding from some of Silicon Valley’s top investors, the video chat app Houseparty is ready to start making money. On Thursday, the social network announced a partnership with “Heads Up!,” the charades-like game for phones that was created by Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
Soulja Boy is not shy about expressing his infatuation with three things: wealth, fame, and Tesla. "I love Tesla ($TSLA), man. I think it's one of the most innovative things in the last century," said the rapper, who dressed in a Tesla tracksuit for his interview with Cheddar Wednesday.
Even after a dramatic and high-profile series of privacy violations in 2018, consumers are still willing to surrender personal data to improve their shopping experience ー but only if that data is handled responsibly, Salesforce growth and innovation evangelist Tiffani Bova told Cheddar Wednesday.
Netflix faces high expectations as it prepares to report earnings on Thursday after the market closes. Based on the viral strength of "Bird Box" plus Tuesday's price hike announcement that sent shares flying, investors are anticipating a strong quarter from the streaming giant.
A new travel site is looking to make booking a vacation as easy as sending a text message. SnapTravel offers exclusive hotel deals via SMS, in an effort to get customers the hotel they want, when they want it. "Essentially, we want to get you the best hotel, as fast as possible, and as easy as possible," CEO and co-founder Hussein Fazal told Cheddar.
With Los Angeles public schools ending a third day without their striking teachers, a deal between the union and the district remains elusive, according to Joseph Zeccola, a 2018-19 L.A. County Teacher of the Year and one of more than 30,000 educators currently protesting in the country's second-largest school district. "We're at a standstill," Zeccola told Cheddar from the picket line on Wednesday. "The offers right now have not been good."
The ongoing government shutdown will hurt franchisees, Fat Brands CEO Andrew Wiederhorn told Cheddar on Monday. The closure of the Securities and Exchange Commission may inconvenience companies like Fat Brands, which need access to the public markets, but its franchisees, who run outposts of Fat Brands restaurants like Fatburger and Ponderosa Steakhouse, can't seek loans or expand their businesses. "There is a trickle down effect to us, but it's pretty small. I think really it affects the small business owner ... and it's coming out of their pocket," Wiederhorn told Cheddar.
Two words: compound interest. Remember that phrase every time you weigh the pros and cons of contributing to a 401(k) while in your 20s. It's also the primary advice of Tom Zgainer, the founder and CEO of America's Best 401k, a "modern 401(k) without the middle men" that seeks to offer the same benefits of a regular 401(k) without all the fees.
Sun-Maid is launching its first ad campaign in a decade to halt the raisin's "slow decline" as it fights an explosion of competing snack options for the attention of millennials and young parents, CEO Harry Overly told Cheddar on Tuesday. "We've got a bit of a generational gap here, the biggest source of volume for our category and our beloved product really falls to the baby boomers and greatest generation," he said.
