Tag: Cher

“Like Teenagers”: Cher Describes Her Relationship With New Beau

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There’s no shortage of stress and tumult in the world, so how wonderful is it to deliver this bit of encouraging news: Cher and her boyfriend, who is 40 years younger than she, can’t keep their hands off each other.

The multi-platinum selling recording artist with a Grammy, Emmy, and Academy Award on her very crowded shelf, made the revelation via Twitter, in her typically emoji-heavy way. First she posted a snap of her new man, Alexander “AE” Edwards “Hanging Ot.” (We’re going to assume this was a typo, but maybe to hang “Ot” means something in Cherspeak. We’d never take anything for granted.)

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A fan replied, wondering what the best quality about the 36-year-old music exec at Def Jam Records. She wrote back “He’s Kind ,Smart, Hilarious…& We [emoji lips] Like Teenagers.”

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Later, the 76-year-old star of Moonstruck and Silkwood and the voice behind decades of international pop anthems continued to gush about her new beau. “HES ‘NOT’ HIS TATS, HAIR COLOR,DIMOND GRILL,” she wrote. “HES KIND,HILARIOUS, SMART,TALENTED, BEAUTIFUL.WE TALK & LAUGH.WE R PERFECTLY MATCHED.”

She concluded by admitting, yes, she wishes she could turn back time (see what I did there?) but isn’t losing any sleep over it. “I’M NOT BOO FKN HOO.”

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Jordan Hoffman

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November 25, 2022
Analysis: It’s messy history week with ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ and ‘The Crown’ | CNN

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A version of this story appeared in Pop Life Chronicles, CNN’s weekly entertainment newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.

CNN
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Oh historical fiction, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways – because thanks to some newly-streaming shows this week, there’s at least two.

I live for this genre, as you all know well, and especially when the reenactments are spicy and scandalous. Can’t wait to dive in? Me either!

‘Dangerous Liaisons’

I love, love, love a good origin story – especially one tied to one of my favorite movies.

I am a huge fan of the 1988 film “Dangerous Liaisons,” starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich, based on the novel and play of the same name.

And with its new series of the same name, Starz offers up a fresh take on the classic tale of scheming and seduction in ancien régime France, focusing on how Camille (played by Alice Englert) and the Vicomte de Valmont (played by Nicholas Denton) came to be lovers – while also taking other lovers.

I’ve watched the first few episodes of the show and I can tell you this: there’s a reason Starz greenlit a second season before the first had even debuted, because it is a luscious period drama.

“Dangerous Liaisons” is streaming now.

‘The Crown’ Season 5

This new season of “The Crown” hits differently following the death of Queen Elizabeth.

Imelda Staunton is stepping into the royal main role, and the action picks up in 1992 as she grapples with her “annus horribilis.”

That (horrible) year included a devastating fire at Windsor Castle, the disintegration of both Prince Charles and Prince Andrew’s marriages, a tell-all book about Princess Diana and some in the public questioning the royal family’s relevance.

We know, of course, that “The Crown” is a dramatization, not a documentary, but it’s still entertaining to imagine at least some of what the show portrays happening in real life.

“The Crown” is streaming now on Netflix.

‘Say Hey, Willie Mays!’

After the boys of summer are gone, we have a new documentary movie about one of the best baseball players to ever play the game.

“Say Hey, Willie Mays!” examines the life and sporting legacy of the Black athlete, who was widely esteemed for his skill on the diamond but faced criticism for not speaking out more about civil rights.

Mays participates in the project – and having the subject speak for themselves, rather than others talking about him, brings a real richness to the narrative.

It’s available now on HBO and HBO Max, both of which are owned by CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Bruce Springsteen is far from slowing down.

The Boss rocker has a new album out this week, and this time the famed songwriter is tackling other people’s material.

“Only the Strong Survive” features his takes on classic songs including The Four Tops’ 1981 hit “When She Was My Girl” and The Temptations’ “I Wish It Would Rain.”

“In my own memoir, I give my voice a little short shrift by saying I didn’t think I had much of one,” Springsteen said in a video about the new album. “But once I started in on this project, after listening to some of the things we cut, I thought, ‘My voice is badass!’”

The album is out now.

One Direction is a gift that keeps on giving.

Its former members have all launched successful careers since the group disbanded, with the latest solo release coming from Louis Tomlinson.

Tomlinson has been teasing for some time that he was back in the studio and working on new music. “After living with this album for a while I can’t wait for you all to hear it,” he tweeted in August. “Thank you for allowing me to make the music I want to make.”

“Faith in the Future” is also out now.

We see you, Cher!

The singer, Oscar winner and all-around queen stirred a great deal of interest when she was recently photographed holding hands with rapper and music executive Alexander “AE” Edwards.

Cher being Cher, she responded to some of her Twitter followers who had questions about her and Edwards’ 40-year age gap. (Edwards is 36 and Cher is a fabulous 76. Not that it’s anyone’s business.)

Now seems like a good time to remind you that older men dating younger women never seems to cause as much stir as when the roles are reversed.

No matter. If you “Believe” in life and love after 70, raise your hand and celebrate Cher with me for doing what she wants and how she wants it.

The world may not be ready for the emotional journey that is the “Black Panther” sequel.

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is steeped in the loss of Chadwick Boseman, who died in 2020 at 43 after a private battle with colon cancer.

At the time of his death, I wrote about how Boseman left us at a time when we most needed a superhero. That hasn’t changed, and the new film finds Wakanda in a time of crisis, much like many of us feel the world is in now. But life and art go on, which is one of the reasons we mourn so deeply while also celebrating how fortunate we were to have had those we’ve lost – even if only for a brief time.

So when the lights start dimming in movie theaters around the world this weekend, I would like to think Boseman is there at every new “Black Panther” screening, applauding the cast he loved – and was loved by in return, like family.

Wakanda, forever.

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November 12, 2022
Cher reminds ‘haters’ that she can hold hands with anyone she wants | CNN

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CNN
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Twitter may not be old enough to remember that Cher does what she wants.

The icon, who is 76, was recently photographed holding hands with rapper and music executive Alexander “AE” Edwards, 36, in West Hollywood.

People on social media had questions, and Cher had plenty of answers.

The singer responded with a smiling emoji surrounded by hearts to a person who tweeted at her to ask, “Is that your new man!?”

Cher responded “Yes” to another person who asked over Twitter if she and Edwards met at Paris Fashion week.

In what turned into a bit of a Q&A, Cher tweeted that Edwards treats her like a queen (using the crown emoji) and that everyone in her family has met him.

Edwards was previously linked to TV personality, podcaster and entrepreneur Amber Rose, with whom he shares a young son, Slash.

Some of Cher’s followers expressed concern given that both Rose and Edwards have spoken publicly about him being unfaithful when they were a couple.

When one of her followers tweeted that Edwards “has a history of cheating” and shared an article about it, Cher responded in a tweet, “BABE ENGLISH IS MY FIRST LANGUAGE.”

“IM IN [heart emoji] NOT BLINDED BY IT,” Cher wrote. “KNOW WHAT I KNOW….SMOKE DOESNT ALWAYS MEAN [fire emoji].”

She also had a word for the naysayers.

“I’m Not Defending us. Haters are Gonna Hate…,” Cher tweeted. “Doesn’ Matter That we’re Happy & Not Bothering Anyone.”

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November 8, 2022
Kim’s SKIMS Wins CFDA Awards

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You may have heard about The Met Gala, one of fashion’s most glittering nights…or Vogue World, Anna Wintour’s runway extravaganza… But when the Council of Fashion Designers of America hold their awards ceremony, they introduce the most impactful fashion icons and brands to the world.

Last night, the red carpet was flooded with some of the most influential style idols of our lifetime: Cher, Julia Fox debuting gray hair and “underwear as daywear”, everyone’s favorite, Keke Palmer, and the entirety of the Kardashian-Jenner collective.

All eyes, as per usual, fell on Kim Kardashian, winner of the Amazon Fashion Innovation Award for her shapewear brand, SKIMS. 2022 was a huge year for Kim’s brand, strenghtening through customer engagement, improved technology, and revolutionized how women shop for fashion.

Thanks to SKIMS, our shapewear bodysuits are now our outfit’s statement piece. They are bras designed to fit everybody. Shapewear’s no longer a taboo topic, but a staple in our wardrobe.

Chief investor, John Howard, credits SKIMS accessibility and success to Kim herself:

“We sell out because Kim Kardashian speaks to 333 million people on Instagram, which is like five Super Bowls, and we’re doing it every day with a continuous stream of new and interesting product.”

I’m a huge believer in the SKIMS magic. Seriously, there is no better confidence booster than a slightly-sculpting outfit curated by Kim K.

If you’re looking to see what all the hype is about, here are my SKIMS recs:

^{All products featured are independently selected by our editors. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission.}

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Jai Phillips

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November 8, 2022
Randolph E. Schmid, AP science writer with light touch, dies

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WASHINGTON — Randolph E. Schmid, a retired Associated Press science writer who seldom missed a chance to add a whimsical touch to his authoritative stories, has died.

Schmid, 78, died at a nursing home in Falls Church, Virginia, on Sunday, said Mike Bobal, whose late wife was Schmid’s cousin. Nursing home workers said he was watching TV and joking with staff the night before.

His AP colleagues recalled Schmid — friends called him Randy — as a skilled reporter who could find a simple way to present complicated subjects.

“A hallmark of a Schmid story is the light touch, brevity, a pun if possible, and above all speed,” Seth Borenstein, another AP science writer, wrote for Schmid’s retirement in 2011. “A public relations official at the Smithsonian said his competitors used to complain that he must have gotten tipped off about stories or press conferences. He didn’t.”

Schmid’s playful use of language was noted by a former boss in Washington.

“Randy was a dedicated science writer but he never skipped an opportunity to try to work a pun into a headline or lede. He was a classic AP newsman through and through,” said Sandy K. Johnson, who was AP bureau chief in Washington from 1998-2008.

One of his last AP stories showcased Schmid’s light approach.

“They may not be Sonny and Cher, but certain South American birds sing duets, taking turns as the tune goes along,” the story began.

“Colleagues stuck on leads often went to Randy for help, so much that we often enlisted him as ghost writer. It was a phrase he hated but a role he cherished,” Washington news editor Carole Feldman said.

Bob Furlow, an AP copy editor, described Schmid as “a solid reporter while still a champion of the offbeat. He could find nuggets others overlooked in a Census Bureau or other government report that turned into gold on his keyboard.”

Furlow added: “We’ll give him a special salute on Sunday for the switch from Daylight Saving Time — one of his favorite topics for spinning a few hundred words of fun around the semiannual reminders.”

Schmid, from West Carthage, New York, started with AP as a newsperson in the Albany bureau in 1968 and was correspondent in Memphis from 1969 to 1973 where he periodically had to shoot down rumors that Elvis Presley had died, Mike Bobal said.

He moved to AP’s Washington bureau in 1973 and worked his way up from newsman to science writer, and he earned a master’s in meteorology.

“He loved working for the AP,” Bobal said. “He enjoyed trying to get the public to understand things, whether it was the weather or climate change.”

Schmid loved to travel with his wife, Marcia, who died in 2004. Bobal said Schmid “was never quite the same after that” but stayed close to Bobal’s family and remained gregarious and a voracious reader.

“Randy took absolute glee in finding just the right piece of pop culture to make science news fun and accessible,” said Lauran Neergaard, an AP medical writer. “Transformation optics? To Randy, it was like Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak. Bacteria in showerheads? He dubbed it the scariest shower news since ‘Psycho.’ He was unfailingly kind — and the king of puns.

“Even after retirement, a few times a month Randy would email some new bit of science humor as he checked in with friends and colleagues,” Neergaard said. “And when Randy moved to the nursing home, he had a photo collage the AP presented at his retirement — pictures of some of his favorite stories — hung directly in front of his bed, ready to reminisce with visitors.”

And many of those stories were memorable.

“Many of the most interesting, fun and important science stories people have read in the last generation,” Borenstein said, “were from Randy Schmid.”

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October 31, 2022
The invention that changed music forever | CNN Business

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CNN
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“Do you believe in life after love?” Cher used to sing. And if you’ve ever heard that song, you might now have an earworm in your head.

The singer’s 1998 comeback track marked the first prominent use of a technology called “Auto-Tune”, a pitch correcting software that has since changed the music industry.

Auto-Tune alters the pitch of a singing voice to make everyone sound perfectly in tune. When used properly, it’s subtle enough that it can’t be detected.

But Cher’s producers played with the idea of cranking it up to 11, creating the now-familiar effect that is part human synthesizer, part robotic voice.

Andy Hildebrand, the inventor of autotune, told CNN: “My thinking was, ok, I’ll put that setting in the software. But I didn’t think anyone in their right mind would ever use it.”

Thus was born the “Cher effect”, and one of the biggest hits of the 1990s.

The invention that changed the world of music

How does one invent Auto-Tune? By analyzing seismic data while looking for oil, of course.

That’s Hildebrand’s previous job: “Oil companies would detonate charges in the ground or in the water, and then they have sensors analyze the reflections to spot the oil,” he explains.

That technology was bought by American oil giant Halliburton in 1995 and it’s helped internal production in the U.S. soar from 30 to 60 percent, netting the company about $1 billion a year.

“It uses the same science of digital signal processing,” says Hildebrand, a long time musician who then applied that science to singing.

It took him just a month to create it. “Before Auto-Tune, studios would do pitch correction by having the singer repeat a phrase over and over and over. They would do 100 takes and then patch them together to make one piece of music that sounded in tune.”

Auto-Tune does all that at the push of a button.

A magic button that makes everyone sing in perfect key was, unsurprisingly, an instant hit with the industry: “Within a year we had sold to every major studio in the world, and that was a year or two after Cher did her song ‘Believe’”, Hildebrand recalls.

Here are his tasting notes on that song: “I thought it was really cool! Even if they used a bad setting, or what I call bad setting since I didn’t design it to be used like that: it makes this robotic effect because it changes the pitch instantly from note to note.”

But the jury is still out on whether Auto-Tune was a boon for the music industry, or a disaster: in 2010, Time magazine included it in the list of The 50 Worst Inventions, calling it “a technology that can make bad singers sound good and really bad singers sound like robots.”

Indie band Death Cab for Cutie showed up at the 2009 Grammys wearing blue ribbons to “raise awareness against Auto-Tune abuse”, and fervent Auto-Tune critic Jay-z released a song in 2009 entitled D.O.A. – Death of autotune.

Britney Spears notoriously fell into an Auto-Tune controversy in mid-2014, when a vanilla recording of her 2013 song Alien was leaked and compared, rather unfavorably, to the autotuned version on the album Britney Jean.

But what does its inventor think? “Singers learn about how it works and they kind of like it, but they have a love-hate relationship with it: they don’t want to let others know that they need it.”

It seems that Auto-Tune might be to music what Photoshop is to photography: everybody uses it, but no one’s too keen to admit it.

After having sorted singing – “music’s second most popular instrument” – Hildebrand is now going after the first: guitars.

“It doesn’t sound anything like a vocal correction, but it keeps the guitar perfectly in tune,” he says.

Next up, your heartbeat: “There’s a new kind of device called the embedded defibrillator: it’s a pacemaker implanted in the chest that monitors heartbeat irregularities and releases energy pulses to correct anomalies. The problem is that sometimes the software fails to detect the heartbeat, and we’re hoping to fix that.”

The technology, in the form of an algorithm, will soon be embedded into these pacemakers.

And we have a feeling it might not even stop there.

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April 12, 2021