From a Grammy Award upgrade to the long wait for new Disney flicks, here's what's happening in entertainment.
McCartney Embraces AI
Paul McCartney, who is a 12-time Grammy award winner, raised a bunch of eyebrows by announcing he'll embrace artificial intelligence and plans to use the tech to create a new music for what he called "the final Beatles record."
He told the BBC that the late John Lennon would be part of the new song after AI was able to extract and recreate his voice from an old demo tape.
"We were able to take John's voice and get it pure through this AI so then we could mix the record as you would. It gives you some sort of leeway," McCartney said.
This isn't the singer's first project with AI. Last year at the Glastonbury Festival in England, McCartney performed a duet with an AI-rendered voice of Lennon titled I've Got A Feeling.
Grammy Changes
The Grammy Awards are expanding and are set to dole out even more trophies at future ceremonies.
The Recording Academy approved the addition of three new categories, including Best African Music Performance, Best Pop Dance Recording and Best Alternative Jazz Album.
"These changes reflect our commitment to actively listen and respond to the feedback from our music community, accurately represent a diverse range of relevant musical genres, and stay aligned with the ever-evolving musical landscape," Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement.
Other changes could have implications on your favorite songwriters and producers. The Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year awards have been shifted to the general field, which allows all Grammy voters to decide on a winner rather than just members who practice the same crafts. The implications come in when those not familiar with specific genres cast votes contrary to what has already been deemed "best" by the general public: i.e. Macklemore's 2014 win for 'Best Rap Album.'
Pat Sajak's Exit
After 41 seasons as the host of Wheel of Fortune, 76-year-old Pat Sajak is calling it quits.
The iconic game-show host took to Twitter to break the news and said that the upcoming season would be his last.
"It's been a wonderful ride, and I'll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it'll keep the clickbait sites busy!)," he wrote. The announcement comes just a few years after Sajak snatched the record of longest stand game-show host from the late Bob Barker, who hosted the iconic Price is Right for a staggering 35 years.
The rumor mill has already begun swirling as fans talk about who will replace Sajak. Ryan Seacrest, who has hosted American Idol since 2002, quickly emerged as a contender. Bloomberg reporter Lucas Shaw, who broke the news about Sajak's exit, reported that Seacrest "has been talking to the producers of Wheel of Fortune," and shared speculation that he could be the frontrunner replacement option.
Seacrest does have some time on his hands as he recently departed LIVE with Kelly and Ryan.
Disney Delays
We're beginning to see some of the first major implications of the ongoing Hollywood writers strike.
Disney has reworked the release dates for a slew of highly-anticipated projects as writers take to the picket lines, according to Deadline.
Perhaps the biggest shakeup are the changed release dates for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain America: Brave New World, starring Anthony Mackie as Cap't, has been pushed back two months to July 2024, Fantastic Four is scheduled for release in May 2025, Avengers: Kang Dynasty is being held off for an additional year and will hit theaters in May 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars will be released in May 2027.
Other Disney properties impacted by the strikes and delays include Star Wars, Moana, three Avatar films, and Alien.
Tech apprenticeship platform Multiverse became a unicorn with a $1.7 billion valuation, after raising $220 million in a Series D round. As companies across the country face challenges in hiring and retaining tech talent, Multiverse says it's trying to offer a solution with a new way to train and hire workers that can serve as an alternative to college and corporate training. Sophie Ruddock, VP and GM North America of Multiverse, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Cheddar's Kristen Scholer caught up with all-time NBA great Shaquille O'Neal in his hometown of Newark, NJ, working with Icy Hot to repair rundown basketball courts around the country. The Hall of Famer also spoke about the current NBA finals between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors and had a lot of praise for the Warrior's guard Stephen Curry. "He's the greatest shooter of all time. I had a conversation with Stephen A. [Smith], where does he rank? He's a special player. He has his own category," Shaq said.
On this episode of On The Job presented by ADP: Gemma Burgess, CEO of Ferguson Partners, explains what people are looking for in an employer, and how to convey positive work culture to potential employees; Amy Leschke-Kahle, Vice President of Performance Acceleration at The Marcus Buckingham Company, an ADP company, breaks down how encouraging employee engagement and empowering employee voices can benefit every workplace and busts a myth about employee engagement while working from home; Jim Huether, CEO of Hyperice, discusses Hyperice's new employee mental health initiative, known as the Workplace Alliance, with 100-plus companies to combat the ongoing mental health crisis and how they're taking a hands-on, data-driven approach to the mental health crisis.
Jim Huether, CEO of Hyperice, joins Cheddar to discuss Hyperice's new employee mental health initiative, known as the Workplace Alliance, with 100-plus companies to combat the ongoing mental health crisis and how they're taking a hands-on, data-driven approach to the mental health crisis.
Spotify has announced its official Songs of the Summer predictions. Lea Palmieri, a Spotify trend expert and podcast host, joined Cheddar News to break down the acts who made the cut and how. “It's a mix of streaming data charts and also our global curation team," she said. "They're keeping an eye on all of the hottest music." While Harry Styles has recently topped the Spotify charts, Palmieri also addressed the "Feral Girl Summer" trend, which she described as going "moderately wild, having fun, enjoying yourself."
Catching you up on today's top entertainment stories with a recap from the 75th Annual Tony Awards, including red carpet interviews and Jennifer Hudson receiving her EGOT, and "Jurassic World: Dominion" topping the box office.
The Tony Awards made its sensational return to Radio City Music Hal for the first time since 2019. 'A Strange Loop' stole the show, winning Best Musical while Adrianna Debose hosted in the most spectacular way possible. Cheddar News was joined by Broadway Reporter Leigh Scheps to break down the 75th Annual Tony Awards.
U.S. stocks closed Thursday at their lowest levels of the trading day, as investors continue to eye inflation ahead of the May CPI report out Friday. Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist for National Holdings, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
U.S. stocks closed Friday at session lows after May CPI data showed inflation in the U.S. has not peaked and is still rising rapidly. For the week, the S&P fell 5.06%, the Dow lost 4.58%, and the Nasdaq dropped 5.60%, marking the worst week since January for all three major indexes. Mike Zigmont, Head of Trading and Research at Harvest Volatility Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Benefits brokerage, Nava Benefits, raised $40 million in a Series B round. Nava says it's on a mission to fix healthcare, one benefits plan at a time. The startup is working to bring benefits to small business that are normally available to only Fortune 500 companies. Brandon Weber, Co-Founder and CEO of Nava Benefits, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
