Niall Horan will release his second solo album Heartbreak Weather on 13th March 2020.The former One Direction star has celebrated the announcement by releasing new track No Judgement, which was written by Niall with Julian Bunetta, Tobias Jesso Jr., John Ryan and Xplicit. Bunetta produced the track and you can watch the video below:Reflecting on the new track Niall says, “When you’re with me, there’s no judgement. There’s enough people judging, so you don’t need to be judged by me.”The video for the song was directed by Drew Kirsch (Taylor Swift, John Legend, AFI) and shot in Los Angeles.Heartbreak Weather is the follow-up to Niall’s solo debut Flicker, which topped the charts in the US. It will feature Nice To Meet Ya, Put a Little Love on Me and No Judgement.Fans who pre-order the album in digital format will instantly receive No Judgement plus the other two tracks already released.Credit: Capitol“When I listen to albums, I like to listen to them start to finish. With Heartbreak Weather, I wanted to tell the story that was in my head, hopefully lead people down the storytelling lane of an album track listing versus just ‘I’m gonna skip to the next one,’” explains Niall. “I was trying to think how I could write a different album than the usual… I wanted to write songs from different sides or from someone else looking in.”Niall will tour extensively in support of Heartbreak Weather, launching on 20th April at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, Chapter 1: Snake Oil album review
Credit: RCAAmerican DJ and record producer Diplo is incredibly prolific and has performed under a number of guises. He’s worked with the cream of the music crop including Madonna, Britney Spears, No Doubt and Justin Bieber. In 2019 he announced he was making a Country album and the first cut to arrive from that was So Long featuring Cam. More than a year on since the release of that, and plenty of Country crossover releases later, Diplo is finally unveiling Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, Chapter 1: Snake Oil.Something that should be pointed out early on is that Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, Chapter 1: Snake Oil isn’t really a Country album. What it is, is a project where Diplo has taken Country stars and brought them into his world (although the inclusion of Jonas Brothers on the album is a little confusing given they’re pure pop). Fans of Country, the traditional kind at least, will find plenty to pick at here rather than appreciate but the album requires you go in with an open mind.Opening with a spoken word intro from rising, and mysterious, Country star Orville Peck, it’s not until So Long that the album really gets under way. The song is one of the best tracks on here and it’s a great example of Diplo’s skill at marrying dance beats with Country instrumentation. If you strip away the beats, this is a pure Country song and with Cam’s vocal driving through the melody, it’s a track that’s infectious and addictive.The harder beats of So Long give way for the yearning Heartless featuring Morgan Wallen on vocals. The track also appears with Morgan and Julia Michaels later on but for me the Morgan solo version is the stronger of the two. Diplo pushes Morgan’s vocals harder than we’ve heard before and the grit in his tone is something I’d like to hear more of. The stuttering beats are memorable and the melody will lodge in your brain.Another highlight comes on Dance With Me featuring Thomas Rhett and Young Thug. Musically it’s not a million miles away from the direction Rhett has been heading for years and it’s a total banger. For me it’s better than his entire last album and it makes me think he should finally do a Taylor Swift and leave Country behind. Elsewhere on the record Blanco Brown does nothing to prove he’s more than a one trick pony on Do Si Do, Zac Brown continues his downward trend on Hometown and sadly takes Danielle Bradbery with him, and Julia Michaels and Clever fail to make an impact on Real Life Stuff.Noah Cyrus finally steps out of her sister Miley’s shadow on the urgent On Mine. Vocally the sisters are fairly similar but Noah has retained the Country twang that Miley quickly ditched for pop superstardom. Musically the track harks back to traditional Country but layers it with modern beats. The album comes to a close with the Diplo remix of Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ Old Town Road. The song has been played to death but there’s no denying it works on this track listing.Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, Chapter 1: Snake Oil is an interesting project. It’ll find an audience among Diplo’s fans and those who like the artists he’s worked with. There’s enough here for it to be good listen but there are a few too many misses. I like the idea behind the project and when it hits the mark it’s very good but it feels a little too gimmicky to be a truly ground-breaking project.Track list: 1. Intro (ft. Orville Peck) 2. So Long (ft. Cam) 3. Heartless (ft. Morgan Wallen) 4. Lonely (with Jonas Brothers) 5. Dance With Me (ft. Thomas Rhett & Young Thug) 6. Do Si Do (ft. Blanco Brown) 7. On Mine (ft. Noah Cyrus) 8. Real Life Stuff (ft. Julia Michaels & Clever) 9. Hometown (ft. Zac Brown & Danielle Bradbery) 10. Heartbreak (ft. Ben Burgess) 10. Heartless (ft. Julia Michaels & Morgan Wallen) 11. Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Diplo Remix) Record label: RCA Release date: 29th May 2020 Buy Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, Chapter 1: Snake Oil
Days of the Bagnold Summer VOD review
Sue (Monica Dolan) is preparing to wave goodbye to her son Daniel (Earl Cave) as he jets off to America to spend the summer with his father. A last-minute phone call from Daniel’s dad cancels those plans, leaving the sulky teenager with his mother for the duration of the summer. The uneasy relationship between the two is put to the test as they try to battle through the unexpected time together and navigate their own pent up issues.Days of the Bagnold Summer is based on the graphic novel by Joff Winterhart and it’s the directorial debut of The Inbetweeners star Simon Bird. Due to Bird’s involvement, it’s likely that people will come to this film expecting an Inbetweeners type film but that’s most certainly not what they’ll get. Instead Days of the Bagnold Summer is a sensitive and pensive look at the troubled relationship between a mother and the son she can’t seem to understand or relate to.Credit: Altitude FilmOn the plus side the relationship is captured realistically. Any single parent that has found themselves spending an interrupted summer with a moody teenager will be able to relate and that relationship is what the entire film hangs on. Sue is trying to step out of her comfort zone, flirting (literally) with the idea of dating one of Daniel’s teachers while Daniel channels his anger into falling out with his best friend, becoming the lead singer of a rock band and putting his mum down at every opportunity.On the down side, that’s pretty much all that there is to this film. The laugh-out-loud moments you expect never area and there’s not a single moment of real drama across the 86 minutes. It feels more like we’re getting a glimpse into the dynamic between Sue and Daniel than watching a compelling story unravel. The lack of laughs and dramatic tension left me wondering exactly what point Bird was trying to get across. The film adds nothing to the oft-explored family relationship dynamic that is at the heart of many a film.Credit: Altitude FilmMonica Dolan is practically unrecognisable as Sue and her performance here is very good. She plays Sue sympathetically as a mother who is trying to make her son happy but never seems to manage to get it right. Earl Cave on the other hand is a little too one note. There’s no depth or layers to Daniel past the grimacing and sulking so he doesn’t really give Dolan much to work with. The rest features familiar faces such as Tamsin Greig and Rob Brydon, who are no doubt doing Bird a favour by appearing.Days of the Bagnold Summer doesn’t really have very much to say and that’s my overall issue with it. The performances, for the most part, are fine but the story doesn’t really go anywhere. It’s light on laughs, devoid of drama and offers nothing new as it explores a mother-son dynamic. With Bird behind the camera I’d had high hopes and while this is a well-made film, it’s not one I’m going to remember as the weeks pass by.Cast: Monica Dolan, Earl Cave, Tamsin Greig, Rob Brydon, Alice Lowe Director: Simon Bird Writer: Lisa Owens (screenplay), Joff Winterhart (graphic novel) Certificate: 15 Duration: 86 mins Released by: Altitude Film Release date: 8th June 2020
Lorraine Takes On Dumfries Ambassador Role
AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterTwitterShare to LinkedInLinkedInLinkedInThere will be a new presence on the streets of Dumfries from this week as Dumfries and Galloway Council and The Peoples’ Project launch a new jointly funded post of “Town Centre Ambassador”.The idea for the venture was brought to Council Leader Ronnie Nicholson by Mark Jardine of the Peoples’ Project earlier in the year.Mark explains the background:“I had been very impressed by the condition of town centres in a number of countries I’d visited, and a common factor seemed to be that there were identifiable officers who acted as the municipal presence on the streets. I thought it an ideal opportunity for the Peoples’ Project to work hand in hand with the Council on resourcing and managing such a post.”Chair of the Council’s Communities Committee Tom McAughtrie says that, like Ronnie Nicholson, he was very keen to explore Mark’s idea;“The ethos behind the way our staff will deliver services for the future is very much about engagement with local community groups. We were very keen to take this opportunity to put more concentration on having a permanent officer presence in the town centre, and officers have worked with Mark to develop the role for the Town Centre Ambassador.”The Ambassador post will be responsible for providing an information and welcome service to visitors to the town, supervision of town centre street cleaning and grounds maintenance activities to ensure a high quality of work and will respond quickly to issues. The Ambassador will also be liaising with local businesses on environmental and other issues as well as monitoring and enforcing public compliance with environmental legislation.Lorraine Wilson, who was a Community Safety Officer, has been appointed to the role and is looking forward to working with Council teams, the Peoples’ Project and other voluntary organisations, as well as with commercial businesses to enhance the welcome that Dumfries provides to visitors and locals alike.Lorraine said;“It’s in all our interests to ensure that the centre of Dumfries presents a welcoming face to everyone, my role is to provide oversight of the Council’s maintenance of our open space, and to make sure that we remove litter and any other material which detracts from its appearance as quickly as possible.I’m also going to provide a visible presence on-street for visitors to seek information and to provide advice to businesses in the town. I’ll be based in the Midsteeple but the intention is that I’ll generally be more often seen out and about so that I’m keeping tabs on things as they happen, and making sure that I listen to peoples’ views all over the town centre.”Mark Jardine added;“This is an exciting project for the people of Dumfries and I hope that the public will embrace it, but also give Lorraine time to make a difference. Rome wasn’t built in a day, as the saying goes, and neither was Dumfries, but by working together and listening to positive ideas from the public we can better support a community that we can all be proud of.”Picture of Lorraine with Councillors, and People’s Project Lead Mark Jardine attached
Former Virginia Senator drops out of Democratic Presidential Race
Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb announced on Tuesday that he will no longer seek the Democratic presidential nomination. Citing frustration with party leadership and what he sees as a corrupt political class, Webb announced at the National Press Club this afternoon that he is withdrawing from any consideration of being the Democratic Party’s nominee.Asked if he is still a Democrat, the former Ronald Reagan administration appointee replied: “We’ll think about that.” He also said he has no plans to endorse a candidate of either party.Webb had run a low-key campaign and had little organizational infrastructure. As a Democratic candidate, he faced a number of deadlines to get on the ballot in several states beginning in the next coming weeks.
U17 Reggae Girlz gear up for CONCACAF Women’s Champs
Fresh from their final prep camp held recently in Tampa, The U17 Reggae Girlz are in fighting form for the upcoming CONCACAF Women’s Championship, says assistant coach, Xavier Gilbert. With the Championship starting March 3 in Grenada, Coach Gilbert says the girls “should be competitive in the tournament.”The young athletes, who want 1 game and drew 2 practice games in their recent Florida camp, will face a difficult group, alongside powerhouse such as USA, Costa Rica, and defending champions Mexico. Coach Gilbert, however, says the team boasts players with diverse skill sets and exposures, as “We have quite a number of players from Jamaica, USA and Canada, so it’s a combination of six to seven players from each country.”“The girls know what they have to do, the good thing about it is that most of these girls have played against them (US players) in club or state championships. So they know each other pretty well and its just for them to go out there and represent well,” he added.The two finalists and the third-placed team will qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan in September.
Shebada Robbed in Florida!
Shebada Robbed in Florida!But robbery won’t affect performance this Saturday in “Bangarang”The police in Fort Lauderdale are still investigating the recent hotel break-in into the room of Jamaican actors Keith “Shebada” Ramsay and Monique Ellis. The actors, who were in Florida to perform their play “Bangarang,” reported the robbery this week. They had returned to their hotel, the Ramada Inn following their performance, and discovered personal documents and money missing, including their Jamaican passports.According to Mike Shaw of Sunshine Theatre (which produces the show in South Florida), the security camera at the hotel “showed a guy and a girl, Hispanic or white, going from room to room.”Shaw also confirmed that the Jamaican Consulate in Miami will be assisting Ramsay and Ellis in replacing their needed travel documents. He also said the incident will not have an impact on the next staging of the “Bangarang” play, which is scheduled for this Saturday, starting 8 p.m. at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center
Diamond League France sees McPherson and Day place in 400m run
Jamaica’s Stephenie Ann McPherson and Christine Day picked-up second and third positions in the 400 metres hurdles at the 12th stop of the Diamond League series in France on Friday.McPherson, a 400m finalist in Rio de Janeiro, clocked 50.33 seconds to finish behind American Natasha Hastings who won in 50.06 seconds.Day improved on her Olympic Games form to place third in 50.75 seconds.McPherson was the quickest out of the blocks from lane five and opened up a slight lead on Hastings.However Hastings began accelerating after 200 metres and came off the final curve level with McPherson and into a tight finish in the final 80 metres before the American pulled away in the finals 10 metres to take victory.McPherson’s victory earned her a one point lead for the 400 metre Diamond Trophy ahead of Olympic champion Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas.Another clash over the 200 metres between Diamond League leader Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands and Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson, who won Olympic Gold over the 100 and 200 metres, did not take place.Thompson, who also won the 100 metres at the Lausanne Diamond League, opted out of the Parish Diamond League and returned to her training camp in Italy to prepare for upcoming meets.
Caribbean church leaders beg U.S. to stop promoting LGBT rights
LGBT rights Nearly 300 religious officials from the Caribbean and Guyana have urged the U.S. to no longer promote LGBT and intersex rights abroad. “We refer specifically to the policies of the U.S. State Department and other government agencies involved in foreign policy that have undertaken to coerce our countries into accepting a mistaken version of marriage,” it continues. The letter referred to the appointment of Randy Berry as the special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBT and intersex rights in 2015 was central to “the promotion of same-sex marriage” in American foreign policy.It also questions then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2011 speech to the U.N. Human Rights Council in which she said “gay rights are human rights.”
“We write to you as concerned Christian ministers and churches from the Caribbean region (including the Bahamas) who hope and pray that the United States, under your leadership, will once again cast a light from ‘The City upon a Hill’ of which your American forefathers and President Ronald Reagan so frequently spoke,” reads the letter. “Sadly, during recent years, that City has too often cast shadows instead of light.” The 289 ministers who are from the Bahamas, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana made the request in a letter sent to US President Donlad Trump recently.
2 Live Crew’s Fresh Kid Ice dead at 53
Christopher Wong Won (a.k.a. Fresh Kid Ice), the Trinidad-born rapper and founding member of 2 Live Crew, died July 12 in Miami.David Hobbs (aka DJ Mr. Mixx) who co-founded the group with Wong Won, confirmed his death but did not give details of his passing.‘Luke’ Campbell pays tributeFormer 2 Live Crew member, Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, saluted his former colleague on Twitter: “My condolence goes out to the family (of) Chris Wong Won Fresh Kid Ice of the 2 Live Crew who just passed away people we lost a legend.”The 2 Live Crew debuted in 1985 with the song, ‘The Revelation’, which was a hit in Florida and opened doors for them in the Sunshine State.With the Miami-based Campbell as their controversial leader, 2 Live Crew released a number of risqué songs including ‘Throw The Dick’ and ‘Me So Horny’ which resulted in the quartet getting into trouble with censors.Born in Port-of-SpainWong Won was born in the Trinidad capitol Port of Spain. He migrated to the United States at age 12, settling initially in Brooklyn, New York.While serving in the United States Air Force from 1981 to 1985, he met Hobbs with whom he shared a mutual love for rap. Along with Amazing Vee (Yuri Vielot), they formed the first edition of the group in Los Angeles.Wong Won was part of a 2 Live Crew reunion that toured sections of the United States in 2016.Copyright 2017- Caribbean National Weekly News