The Backstreet Boys are back. This is not a drill.
The Backstreet Boys announced on Twitter their new North America tour dates on the DNA World Tour. "To actually be able to say that we've been together for over 26 years now — and it's just a testament to our amazing fans," Howie D, born Howard Dorough, told Cheddar.
The popular boy band released their first album in 1996, but you can't put a time stamp on musical classics, according to Dorough, and their original music is still a crowdpleaser, allowing fans to reminisce about their younger days.
"It's kind of tough to compete with the big jams we had back in the day," he added comparing the hits to the group's newer work. "Those are the ones that bring people back to their memories."
When not on tour, Dorough talks about dedicating his time to working on positive content for kids with BabyFirst. After feeling like he couldn't connect with his oldest son through contemporary music, he wanted to produce quality, family-friendly music of his own for all ages to listen to and enjoy.
"I created a family CD, loosely based on some of the topics I went through in my life as a little kid," Dorough explained.
The songs from the Which One Am I? album offers musical reflections from his childhood and sparked the idea for the Howie D: Back in the Day musical that loosely parallels Dorough's time in middle school. "I feel like, me doing this kind of CD, and I'm hearing other people are moving into the family lane, it's just good positive promoting of families being together."
He also discussed the overwhelming number of devices kids use to access social media and other content, stating that "when we were little kids it was always 'you're spending too much time watching TV.' Well, now the internet, iPads, and tablets are the modern-day TV."
Playboy released its fourth quarter and full year 2021 results, reporting an annual revenue of $247 million, up 67 percent year-over-year. The venerable lifestyle and entertainment brand had a whirlwind of a year — going public for a second time, completing three acquisitions, and growing its workforce to more than 1,100 employees, all while dealing with ongoing supply chain issues and other COVID-related challenges. CEO Ben Kohn joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the long pivot away from its legacy print product to digital. "It gives us a truly competitive advantage, especially when you think of this world we live in today with the changes to iOS last year, what you saw happen with Facebook, the lack of performance marketing," he said. "We now have an organic audience in partnership with our creators that we can market other products and services to as well."
It has now been two days since Major League Baseball moved to cancel opening day games for the upcoming season. The announcement from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred came during the league's ongoing work stoppage, just the ninth in MLB history. Owners voted unanimously on December 2, 2021 to enact a lockout after the collective bargaining agreement between the league and players expired. On March 1, 2022, following over a week of daily negotiations between the two sides, and three months of on and off negotiations, the league officially canceled the first two series of the regular season. Gabe Lacques, MLB reporter and baseball editor for USA Today Sports, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Music-focused NFT platform Pianity raising $6.5 million in a seed funding round. Pianity has developed a marketplace that allows musicians to sell their tracks as limited edition NFTs. Since its launch last year, the company says it has already sold 11,000 NFTs and artists have earned over $1.1 million from NFT sales. Kevin Primicerio, co-founder and CEO of Pianity, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Russia seizes a major Ukraine nuclear power plant, students protest Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, and it's official: nobody really expects Pop-Tarts to have real strawberries. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Friday, March 4, 2022.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported that an estimated one million people have fled from Ukraine since Russia invaded. Christopher Boian, senior communications officer at UNHCR, joined Cheddar News to report on the current refugee crisis and what the world might expect if conditions continue to worsen. "We have planning figures that forecast as many as four million people could be forced to flee Ukraine," he said. "But that very much depends on how the conflict underway in that country at the moment unfolds in the days and possibly weeks ahead."
Christian Blauvelt, executive managing editor at IndieWire, joins Cheddar News to discuss the growing number of studios pulling content from Russia over Ukraine invasion.
Caroline Hickman, lecturer at University of Bath and psychosocial researcher on climate change, joins Cheddar News to discuss climate change's impact on mental health.
Alexandre Mongeon, the CEO and co-founder of Vision Marine Technologies, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss the latest innovations in the e-boating industry, and how fully electric motors and boats will play a role in the fight against the climate crisis.
