Celebrity Scoop – 06/30/2020
JOHN LEGEND, LADY A TO PERFORM AT MACY’S 4TH OF JULY FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR – (06/30/2020)
John Legend will give a headlining performance during the 2020 Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular.
Today confirmed that Legend will perform during the Independence Day celebration Saturday in New York, along with Lady A, the Killers, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and the Black Eyed Peas.
Today co-host Craig Melvin will host the event, which airs Saturday at 8 p.m. [EST] on NBC. The telecast will begin with a special performance by National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman.
Saturday’s celebration will mark the end of Macy’s daily fireworks shows in New York, which begin Monday. The event will conclude with highlights from the week’s shows and a live grand finale. To discourage crowds, the fireworks displays will launch unannounced at both land- and water-based locations in the city on select days leading up to the Fourth of July.
The telecast will include footage captured of each display from the week, culminating in Saturday night’s grand finale.
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Full Story: Billboard
JENNIFER HUDSON, MILEY CYRUS, AND MORE HELP GLOBAL CITIZEN RAISE $6.9 BILLION FOR WORLDWIDE COVID-19 RELIEF – (06/30/2020)
Artists including Jennifer Hudson, Coldplay, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and many others came together on Saturday for Global Goal: Unite for Our Future, which collectively raised nearly seven billion dollars for COVID-19 relief.
Hosted by Dwayne Johnson, the online Global Citizen summit and concert featured an impressive lists of singers, actors and other celebrities to help raise funds “to combat the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.”
“The year 2020 has come to be a defining period that has impacted all of us around the world in ways we could have never imagined,” said Dwayne Johnson. “As we’re doing our very best to process the unprecedented hardships this new virus can cause, we also continue to witness another ongoing disease that plagues our world for decades – centuries even: oppression and inequality.”
He called George Floyd’s death in police custody a “flashpoint.”
“In the face of both of these ongoing fights, we must recognize that the people living in poverty are the ones whose health is at greatest risk. It’s no surprise that they’re also the ones who suffer most when economies fail. Our Black Americans and people of color all around the world have been hit the hardest during these unprecedented times,” he said. Access and equality are fundamental rights that “we cannot allow to be dictated by income or race. The future depends on what we do today. And today, we unite for our future.”
The opening performer, Hudson, sang “Where Peaceful Waters Flow” from the deck of a boat floating down the Chicago River, while the For Love Choir performed an a capella rendition of Beyoncé’s “Freedom” from a hilltop in Santa Clarita County, California.
Other performers for the two-hour NBC broadcast include Shakira, Quavo, J Balvin, Yemi Alade and Christine and the Queens.
Cyrus performing a countrified version of The Beatles’ “Help!” from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Coldplay contributed a brightly hued video of their song “Paradise,” prefaced by a quote from Nelson Mandela: “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”
Gospel icon Kirk Franklin joined with Tori Kelly and Christian music duo For King and Country to perform “Together,” interspersed with photos and footage of last month’s protests.
The original Broadway cast of Hamilton contributed their virtual Tonight Show performance of the Schuyler Sisters-led “Helpless” with the help of star/creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Tonight Show house band The Roots and Tony winner Daveed Diggs.
Hugh Jackman reunited the original stars of the X-Men franchise after 20 years.
And there was some sabotage by Ryan Reynolds. The Deadpool star looped in younger members of the X-Men franchise like James McAvoy and Sophie Turner, who apologized, thinking she’d logged into a Game of Thrones reunion.” In a failed effort to keep her interested, Reynolds interjected: “You know, Tyrion Lannister was in an X-Men film.”
The effort raised an incredible $6.9 billion during the event.
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Full Story: globalcitizen.org
MTV VMAS TO TAKE PLACE AUGUST 30 IN NEW YORK: The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards will take place in New York in August with “limited or no audience.” New York governor Andrew Cuomo said at a briefing Monday that the awards show will be held August 30th at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. New York will enter Phase III of reopening on July 6th. Cuomo’s team said the VMAs “will follow all safety guidance, including limited or no audience” due to the coronavirus pandemic. MTV told Billboard in May that it was exploring the possibility of holding the awards show live.
KELLY CLARKSON, JOSH GROBAN & MORE HELP RAISE $700K FOR PROJECT ANGEL FOOD’S COVID-19: Virtual performances by Kelly Clarkson, Josh Groban, Annie Lennox, CeeLo Green and more during a KTLA telethon helped bring in about $700,000 for Project Angel Food’s COVID-19 emergency fund. The “Lead with Love: Project Angel Food Emergency Telethon” program, which aired on KTLA 5 on Saturday night, raised about $701,000 as of Sunday. “Lead With Love” was hosted by KTLA’s Jessica Holmes with Sheryl Lee Ralph and Eric McCormack and also featured brief appearances by several stars, including Elton John and husband David Furnish. Musical performances included Clarkson, Groban, Lennox, Green, Billy Idol, Kristin Chenoweth, Deborah Cox and Juan Pablo di Pace.
BROADWAY EXTENDS SHUTDOWN: The Broadway League has confirmed what seemed to many inevitable: Broadway theater will not return until 2021 at the earliest. Per the League, performances will officially be suspended until January 2, 2021. Previously, the goal was to return to stage after Labor Day.
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