Luke Bryan is used to playing to large crowds. Here, he performs at the 50th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 2, 2016.(Photo: Gustavo Caballero, Getty Images)
USA TODAY’s Carly Mallenbaum digs through the latest celebrity news for highlights … and lowlights. Think high-school yearbook superlatives — if Luke Bryan and Chris Brown were classmates.
Most likely to practice hitting those high notes: Luke Bryan
The country singer has officially signed on to sign the national anthem[1] at Super Bowl LI in Houston on Feb. 5. He’s the first male singer to take the Super Bowl stage for The Star-Spangled Banner since Billy Joel sang it 10 years ago. (Joel performed the national anthem in both 1989 and 2007.)
Unafraid of speaking her mind: Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd onstage during the Women’s March on Washington. (Photo: Theo Wargo, Getty Images)
The actress and activist gave a fiery reading of a poem about being a “nasty woman” at the Women’s March in Washington last weekend. After the event, she also took the mike at an after-party[2] at the concert venue 9:30 Club, where she hit back at those who found issue with the poem, written by 19-year-old Nina Donovan. “I got it from the president of the United States,” she said of the provocative wording, specifically the use of the P word, famously uttered by President Trump in a 2005 video that caught him bragging about grabbing women by their genitalia. “I’m just quoting him. And I am really more entitled to the word because I’ve actually got one.”
Most unexpected feud: Aziz Ansari and Chris Brown
Chris Brown, right, fired back at Aziz Ansari after the comedian compared Brown to President Trump. (Photo: Getty Images)
As the host of the first post-inauguration Saturday Night Live, Ansari opened the show[3] with a monologue that called President Trump “the Chris Brown of politics.” Brown didn’t like the comparison. In an explicit Instagram post, he called Ansari “Aladdin” and told him to “hop off…” Brown, who just had a very public disagreement with Soulja Boy, seems to be flaming another feud.
Reliable SNL actor: Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin, right, will no doubt be bringing his Donald Trump impression back to ‘SNL’ when he hosts for the 17th time, perhaps alongside Beck Bennett’s Vladimir Putin. (Photo: Dana Edelson, NBC)
After playing Trump in the Saturday Night Live cold opens this season, Baldwin is returning[4] to the show to host. When the actor and impressionist delivers a monologue on Feb. 11, it will be as his record-breaking 17th time as host of NBC’s sketch comedy show.
Most nostalgic video: Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran found a lookalike at his old high school to star in the ‘Castle on a Hill’ video. (Photo: Eric Jamison, Invision/AP)
Not only was Sheeran’s music video[5] filmed in his hometown of Suffolk, England, but it features actors from his high school. The redheaded musician found a younger doppelganger to play him in the video for Castle on a Hill, a song about adolescence and coming home. The tune is one of the first singles from Sheeran’s new album, Divide, which arrives March 3.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2jRYz8A
References
- ^ signed on to sign the national anthem (rssfeeds.usatoday.com)
- ^ took the mike at an after-party (rssfeeds.usatoday.com)
- ^ Ansari opened the show (rssfeeds.usatoday.com)
- ^ Baldwin is returning (rssfeeds.usatoday.com)
- ^ Sheeran’s music video (rssfeeds.usatoday.com)
