“Old Town Road (Remix)” spends its 17th week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100

“Old Town Road (Remix)” spends its 17th week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, breaking the record for most weeks at the top of the chart. 

 

OTR breaks a three-way tie between Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito Remix (ft. Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber)” and Mariah Carey’s “One Sweet Day (ft. Boyz II Men),” which each spent sixteen weeks at the top in 2017 and 1996, respectfully. 

 

“One Sweet Day” held the record for 21 years, and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” held the record prior to Mariah, when it ruled the chart for 14 weeks. Before Whitney, Boyz II Men held the record  with “End of the Road,” which ruled for 13 weeks. Before Boyz II Men, Elvis Presley held the record for 36 years with “Hound Dog,” which spent 11 weeks at #1 in 1958.

 

”Old Town Road” has been an unstoppable force on the Hot 100 since March, dominating with 2, 3, and sometimes 4-5 times the number of points as the #2 song. Even in its 17th week, it still had over a hundred more points than Billie Eilish’s “bad guy,” which sits at #2 for the seventh non-consecutive week.

'Will & Grace' to End With Revival's Third Season

Actually a bit bummed about this. The revival has been so great (imo)

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/will-grace-end-revivals-third-season-11th-nbc-1227006

 

The revived NBC comedy's upcoming third season (and 11th overall) will be its last. The final season, which will consist of another round of 18 episodes, will debut in 2020 on NBC. The decision was, as the creators explain in the quotes below, a creative one between themselves and the cast decision.

 

"When NBC had the opportunity to reconnect this amazing cast and creative team, we jumped at the chance. The impact and legacy of Will & Grace simply can’t be overstated, both as a true game-changer in the portrayal of the LGBTQ community and as one of the finest comedies in television history," NBC Entertainment co-chairmen George Cheeks and Paul Telegdy said Thursday in a statement. "A huge thank you to [creators] Max [Mutchnick], David [Kohan], Jimmy [Burrows] and a cast that is second to none for their brilliance over an incredible run."

 

The news arrives as the beloved multicamera comedy from Universal TV lost nearly half its viewers among the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic last season. The cast also scored sizable raises (from $250,000 per episode for the first season of the return to $350,000 per for the revival). NBC is said to be paying $2 million an episode for the show.  

 

Still, the revived show featuring original stars Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally reprising their award-winning roles should be considered a victory. The revival originally started when the show's entire creative team reunited for a short video meant to promote Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. At the time, the stars expressed their excitement about a potential reunion and talks quickly began with NBC.

 

The revival was originally picked up as a short-order limited series but became something more as the network added additional episodes and renewed the revival for a second season (and 10th overall) before its premiere. The revival has also helped monetize the Will & Grace library, which sold to Hulu in a massive SVOD deal with the now-Disney-owned streamer beating out Netflix for the library.

 

“We think of the Will & Grace reboot episodes the way Karen Walker thinks of martinis — 51 is not enough, 53 is too many. That is why, after consulting with the cast, we all have decided this will be the final season of Will & Grace," creators Mutchnick, Kohan and exec producer/director Burrows said. “In 2016, Bob Greenblatt came to us with the idea of doing a 10-episode reboot of Will & Grace. They say you can’t go home again, but we did. And now, three seasons and 52 episodes later, we’re even more proud of something we never thought we’d get a chance to do again. We have had a once-in-a-lifetime experience twice. And for that, we owe a double debt of gratitude to NBC, this show's supportive and caring home since day one."

 

Will & Grace heads into its final season having already collected 30 Golden Globe noms; seven GLAAD wins for comedy series; and seven DGA noms and one win for Burrows. Much of the comedy's memorabilia, including scripts, casting notes and props, are part of a gay rights exhibit at the Smithsonian in Washington.

 

Will & Grace is the latest broadcast series to announce that it will end during the upcoming 2019-2020 broadcast season. It joins NBC's The Good Place and Blindspot; ABC's Agents of SHIELD, Modern Family and How to Get Away With Murder; CBS' Criminal Minds and Madam Secretary; The CW's Arrow and Supernatural; and Fox's Empire.

 

Ending the series puts increased pressure on NBC to launch a new half-hour comedy next season as the network is set to part ways with its other awards player, The Good Place. NBC's comedy lineup includes Superstore, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and rookies Indebted, The Kenan Show, Perfect Harmony and Sunnyside.

'Avengers: Endgame' Becomes Highest Grossing Film of All Time

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/21/avengers-endgame-is-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time.html

 

“Avengers: Endgame” is now the highest-grossing film of all time. On Sunday, Disney said the film had earned $2.79 billion at the global box office, topping  “Avatar’s” record of $2.7897 billion.

“Endgame” has been in theaters for just 87 days. “Avatar,” for comparison, ran for 234 days during its first run, and was then rereleased in 2010.

 

“Endgame” had its own rerelease, of sorts, in June. Marvel Studios began showing a new theatrical release of the film with a special tribute to Stan Lee, a deleted scene from “Endgame” and a teaser for “Spider-Man: Far From Home” at the end of the credits.

 

The hope was to drive buzz and lure moviegoers back to theaters to see the film again. At the time, “Endgame” was still $40 million behind “Avatar” and there were questions about whether the film would be able to overtake the record before the end of the summer.

 

”‘Avatar’ was a tenacious king of the box office mountain warding off all challengers for about a decade and against seemingly insurmountable odds, ‘Endgame’ did whatever it took to take the crown,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore said. On Saturday, Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios announced to a crowd of thousands in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con that the film was within a few days of overtaking “Avatar.”

 

“A huge congratulations to the Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios teams, and thank you to the fans around the world who lifted ‘Avengers: Endgame’ to these historic heights,” Alan Horn, co-chairman and chief creative officer of The Walt Disney Studios, said in a statement Saturday. “Of course, even with the passage of a decade, the impact of James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ remains as powerful as ever, and the astonishing achievements of both of these films are ongoing proof of the power of movies to move people and bring them together in a shared experience,” he said. “The talented filmmakers behind these worlds have much more in store, and we look forward to the future of both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Pandora.”

 

It should be noted that with the acquisition of Fox earlier this year, Disney now owns “Avatar” and its upcoming slate of four sequels.

Taylor Swift tops Forbe's Celebrity 100 list

Taylor Swift begins the Lover era at No. 1 on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list, pulling in pretax income of $185 million over the past year, her biggest earnings total yet. Her estimated pay grew 131%, after clocking in at $80 million in 2018.

 

The pop singer has topped the Celebrity 100 before—in 2016, she captured the No. 1 spot with $170 million, courtesy of The 1989 World Tour. Touring continues to play a crucial role in Swift’s road to the top. The Reputation Stadium Tour surpassed her own 1989 World Tour as the highest-grossing in the U.S., raking in $266.1 million domestically, according to Billboard Boxscore. The 53-stadium trek ultimately reached 36 cities, seven countries and four continents, closing with $345 million overall.

 

In 2018, Netflix brought the Reputation Stadium Tour to living rooms on New Years Eve, after acquiring the exclusive rights to the tour for a live concert special. The streaming giant’s payout and endorsement deals with Apple, AT&T and Diet Coke added millions to Swift’s coffers.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/monicamercuri/2019/07/10/taylor-swift-is-the-worlds-highest-paid-celebrity-with-185-million-in-2019/#1ffe68df6c9d