Archives: Episodes

Jordin Sparks was assigned the daunting task of opening the season 31 premiere of Dancing with the Stars, but she made an excellent impression thanks to her late mentor Whitney Houston.

The American Idol winner chose to chacha to Whitney’s standout 1987 hit “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and explained why she wanted to set the first dance of the season to the late legend’s track.

“I love her,” Jordin explained to dance partner Brandon Armstrong. “I adore Whitney Houston. I got to do Sparkle with her.”

Sparkle was a 2012 remake of the 1976 musical film inspired by The Supremes. The movie was also Whitney’s final movie appearance, as she died shortly after filming wrapped.

“She was always like, ‘You got this and don’t ever tell yourself that you can’t,'” continued Jordin, adding that a Houston hit “is perfect for a premiere song.”

Jordin impressed the judges with her crisp cha-cha; judge Bruno Tonioli called her a “natural.” Host Tyra Banks also declared, “Miss Whitney is looking down on her baby girl and saying she’s proud, I know it.” 

The “No Air” singer earned a solid 26 points out of 40. Jordin said she felt Whitney’s presence as she danced and heard her telling her repeatedly, “You got this. You can do this!”

“She really encouraged me,” Jordin explained, adding she feels a strong “connection” to the 1987 hit song. 

The singer was voted into the next round, which airs next Monday, September 26 at 8 p.m. ET on Disney+. She will salute another singing legend next week, as the episode will be all about Elvis Presley.

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Usher celebrated the 25th anniversary of his seven-times Platinum My Way album on Friday by releasing a special edition that includes “reimagined versions” of the album’s three monster hits: “My Way,” “Nice & Slow” and “You Make Me Wanna…”

As the eight-time Grammy winner reminisced about the phenomenal success of the original album in 1997, he remembered it led to him opening for Janet Jackson’s The Velvet Rope tour in 1998 and ’99.

“[She] taught me how to be a great headliner,” Usher told Complex of the ”Rhythm Nation” superstar.

“Anything I wanted to have onstage she made sure that I had, she didn’t cut my sound short, which a lot of times, you know, artists will do that. They won’t give you the full range of the entire speaker system, because they save it for themselves,” the “U Remind Me” singer continued.

“She showed me that, yo, if the show is great, people gonna remember the whole experience. People, ‘til this day, come to me and say, ‘Yo man, it was one of the greatest performances that I ever saw and I didn’t even know who you were. I’m there waiting to see Janet Jackson, and here you go walk out on this stage … This kid who really made me a fan,’” Usher fondly remembered. “That’s what makes me happy when I know I can earn it.”

Usher has taken what he learned from Janet and is “earning it” during his Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM, which he recently extended through July 2023.

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Cleveland 11, Minnesota 4

Seattle 9, LA Angels 1

Houston 4, Tampa Bay 0

Detroit 11, Baltimore 0

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Miami 10, Chi Cubs 3

Atlanta 5, Washington 2

NY Mets 7, Milwaukee 2

San Francisco 10, Colorado 7 (10)

LA Dodgers 5, Arizona 2

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Buffalo 41, Tennessee 7

Philadelphia 24, Minnesota 7

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Tory Lanez is denying a claim by August Alsina that he assaulted the 30-year-old singer during a concert over the weekend.

The artists were performing Saturday as part of the Fall Back in Love Comedy & Music Jam at the Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago. The bill also featured Mario, Jacquees and comedian Rip Micheals.

On Sunday, Alsina posted an Instagram photo of himself in an elevator with blood streaming from his mouth. In the caption, he claimed that he hadn’t said any “disrespectful words,” but was suddenly punched by Lanez as he exited the venue.

The two-time BET Award winner posted more photos of his cut lip and skinned knee, and commented, “Me after a toupee’d sneak attack then being man handled by buku security one deep, as the jealous leprechaun run’s back off into the building,” apparently referring to Lanez.

Tory denied the incident as he spoke with DJ Akademiks in a video posted Sunday. “Like, I don’t know if he is doing a promo—I don’t know what that n**** is talking about.”

Lanez is set to go to trial next month for allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot after they attended a party in Hollywood Hills in July 2020.

He is charged with felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, personal use of a firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. The Canadian rapper faces up to 22 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

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Grown-ish star Yara Shahidi is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Jada Pinkett Smith with her own Facebook Watch show.

Jada’s Red Table Talk has become one of the most popular shows on social media. Yara will premiere her Facebook Watch series, Yara Shahidi’s Day Off, on September 29, according to Variety.

“Let’s hang with friends. Explore their passion and their dreams, and learn something totally new about them,“ the 22-year-old actress says in the trailer.

Nas and Swae Lee will be among the stars joining Yara in a range of activities reflecting the guests’ interests.

“Much of our world and work as a family has been inspired by the intimate conversation we’ve had with the incredible people we’re surrounded by,” Shahidi said in a statement. “For years, we at 7th Sun have wanted to open the door wide open and share with my peers how moving it is to hear some of my favorite folks talk about their favorite things. We are excited to join forces with Jesse Collins Entertainment, Tiffany Mills and Meta to share these meaningful moments with my peers!”

Yara began her career appearing in TV commercials when she was 6 years old. At age 9, she was featured with Eddie Murphy in the 2009 film Imagine That. Beginning in 2014, Shahidi starred in the first three seasons of Black-ish. She segued to a recurring role for the next five seasons as she became the lead in the spin-off series, Grown-ish.

In addition to hosting Yara Shahidi’s Day Off, the NAACP Image Award winner will also star as Tinker Bell in Disney’s upcoming live action fantasy film Peter Pan & Wendy, due out in 2023.

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Before Lizzo hit it big, she struggled with being homeless and lived in her car. In a new question and answer session with fans on TikTok, one asked how she stayed positive during that difficult time.

“I didn’t stay positive. It was really hard,” the Grammy winner emotionally admitted. “There were times when I was in that position when it was like, there was really no way out.”

“I didn’t know what my life was going to be [and] what it was going to amount to. More than scared, I was just — I felt broken,” Lizzo confessed.

The Emmy winner noted that she didn’t want to end the video on a serious or sad note, so she revealed what “got me out” of that mental spiral. “It was the idea that this was just a part of my story,” said Lizzo. “When I look back at my life, I’m in a better place. I could look back and say, ‘Wow, I survived.'”

She then spoke directly to the fan who asked the personal question, as they said they needed “hope.”

“You’ll get through this,” Lizzo wrote in the caption that was filled with red heart emojis. “This is only part of your journey. You are loved and protected.  If this is your lows then imagine the highs.”

She closed by telling the fan, “I believe in you.” 

Speaking of Lizzo’s “highs” — she discussed what it’s like to have a Grammy win in a separate video. “It feels the same,” she expressed. “The drive and ambition and belief in myself that I had to have to get to the point – to win an award… I just keep going.”

As for the physical award, she joked, “I do pass it out at parties and make my friends do speeches.”

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Starz celebrated National Dance Day on Saturday by releasing the trailer for the third season of Step Up starring Ne-Yo and Christina Milian.

Inspired by the Step Up dance movie franchise, the TV series launched in 2018 on YouTube as Step Up: High Water and continued with Season 2 in 2019. The show was then cancelled and later picked up by Starz, which renamed it simply, Step Up.

In the new season, the founder and star of the High Water label, Sage Odom (Ne-Yo), is facing murder charges. His business and love partner, Collette Jones (Milian), struggles to maintain the company and performing arts school as she attempts to continue a national tour without Odom.

Milian has replaced the late Naya Rivera, who starred as Jones in the first two seasons. Rivera died in July 2020 when she drowned while swimming in Lake Piru near Santa Clarita, California. She was 33.

The third season of Step Up will premiere Sunday, October 16 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Starz.

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