Tag Archives: Apollo Theater

Silk Sonic’s Bruno Mars Wins Three Soul Train Awards for “Leave The Door Open”

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Bruno Mars is the choo choo-sen one…

The Soul Train Awards hosted its annual celebration in the historic Apollo Theater in New York on Sunday night, with the 36-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer and his fellow Silk Sonic mate Anderson .Paak taking home three awards.

Bruno Mars, Silk Sonic, Anderson .PaakBruno Mars’ Silk Sonic single “Leave the Door Open” was named Song of the Year, while the track’s official clip won Video of the Year.

The chart-topping single also earned Mars The Ashford and Simpson Songwriter’s Award, alongside the track’s fellow writers Brandon Anderson (.Paak), Dernst Emile Ii and Christopher Brody Brown.

But Mars wasn’t the only Latinx award winner…

Cardi B won the Best Dance Performance award for “Wild Side,” her collaboration with Normani.

Presented by BET, the pre-taped award show featured performances by prominent stars in R&B and gospel.

Hosted by Tichina Arnold and Tisha Campbell, the awards show aims to celebrate the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment.

The 2021 edition of the awards show featured performances by Silk Sonic’s Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, Ari Lennox, Lucky Daye, Fred Hammond, Tone Stitch, Musiq Soulchild, Lady Of Soul Award winner Ashanti, Leon Bridges, ELHAE, Summer Walker and Living Legend Award winner Maxwell.

Here’s the full list of winners:

Song of the Year: Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak (Silk Sonic) – “Leave the Door Open”
Album of the Year: Jazmine Sullivan – Heaux Tales
Video of the Year: Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak (Silk Sonic) – “Leave the Door Open”
Best R&B/Soul Female Artist: Jazmine Sullivan
Best R&B/Soul Male Artist: Giveon
Best Collaboration: Wizkid feat. Tems – “Essence”
Best New Artist: Yung Bleu
Certified Soul Award: Charlie Wilson
Best Dance Performance: Normani Feat. Cardi B – “Wild Side”
Best Gospel/Inspirational Award: Kirk Franklin
The Ashford and Simpson Songwriter’s Award: “Leave the Door Open” – written by: Bruno Mars, Brandon Anderson, Dernst Emile Ii, Christopher Brody Brown (Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic)

Cardi B Earns Three Soul Train Award Nominations

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Cardi B’s got soul…

The nominations have been announced for this year’s Soul Train Awards, with the 29-year-old half-Dominican American rap superstar picking up three nods.

Cardi B

Cardi B is nominated in the Video of the Year category for her sexified “Wild Side” collaboration with Normani.

The “WAP” singer is also nominated twice in the Best Dance Performance category. She earned a nod for her “Rumors” collaboration with Lizzo, as well as her “Wild Side” collab with Normani.

The Soul Train Awards, which recognizes the best in soul and R&B, will be taped at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem on November 20. It will premiere on Sunday, Nov. 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BET and BET Her. As previously announced, Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold will co-host the show for the fourth consecutive year.

Bruno Mars is also up for three awards…

The 36-year-old part-Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer and his Silk Sonic group Anderson .Paak are nominated for Song of the Year, Video of the Year and The Ashford and Simpson Songwriter’s Award for their chart-topping single, “Leave the Door Open.”

Jhené Aiko is nominated for Best R&B/Soul Female Artist, while Ashanti is nominated in the Certified Soul category.

H.E.R. leads the 2021 Soul Train Awards nominations with eight nods.

The show will be special on two counts. This will mark the first time the show has been taped at the Apollo (or in New York, for that matter). It will also honor the 50th anniversary of Soul Train, which made its debut in October 1971.

Connie Orlando, EVP, specials, music programming & music strategy, will oversee the show, with Jamal Noisette VP, specials, music programming & music strategy, set to co-executive produce for BET. Jesse Collins Entertainment’s Jesse Collins and Jeannae Rouzan–Clay will serve as executive producers.

Here’s the complete list of nominees for the 2021 Soul Train Awards:

Song of the year:
Blxst feat. Ty Dolla $Ign & Tyga – “Chosen”
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak (Silk Sonic) – “Leave the Door Open”
H.E.R. – “Damage”
Jazmine Sullivan – “Pick Up Your Feelings”
Wizkid feat. Tems – “Essence”
Yung Bleu feat. Drake – “You’re Mines Still”

Album of the year:
Blxst – No Love Lost
Doja Cat – Planet Her
Giveon – When It’s All Said and Done… Take Time
H.E.R. – Back of My Mind
Jazmine Sullivan – Heaux Tales
Wizkid – Made in Lagos

Video of the year:
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak (Silk Sonic) – “Leave the Door Open”
Chris Brown, Young Thug feat. Future, Lil Durk, Latto – “Go Crazy (Remix)”
H.E.R. – “Damage”
Jazmine Sullivan – “Pick Up Your Feelings”
Normani feat. Cardi B – “Wild Side”
Wizkid feat. Tems – “Essence”

Best R&B/soul female artist:
Alicia Keys
Doja Cat
H.E.R.
Jazmine Sullivan
Jhené Aiko
SZA

Best R&B/soul male artist:
Blxst
Chris Brown
Giveon
Lucky Daye
Tank
Usher

Best collaboration:
Chris Brown, Young Thug feat. Future, Lil Durk, Latto – “Go Crazy (Remix)”
Doja Cat feat. SZA – “Kiss Me More”
H.E.R. feat. Chris Brown – “Come Through”
Jazmine Sullivan feat. H.E.R. – “Girl Like Me”
Wizkid feat. Tems – “Essence”
Yung Bleu feat. Drake – “You’re Mines Still”

Best new artist:
Blxst
Capella Grey
Morray
Tems
Tone Stith
Yung Bleu

Certified soul award:
Anthony Hamilton
Ashanti
Charlie Wilson
The Isley Brothers
Jam & Lewis
T-Pain

Best dance performance:
Chloe X Halle – “Ungodly Hour”
Chris Brown, Young Thug – “City Girls”
Lizzo Feat. Cardi B – “Rumors”
Normani Feat. Cardi B- “Wild Side”
Usher – “Bad Habits”

Best gospel/inspirational award:
Brian Courtney Wilson
James Fortune
Kelly Price
Kirk Franklin
Maverick City Music
Tasha Cobbs Leonard

The Ashford and Simpson songwriter’s award:
“Can’t Let It Show” – written by: Kate Bush, Durrell Babbs (Tank)
“Come Through” – written by: Carl Mccormick, Chris Brown, H.E.R., Kelvin Wooten, Michael L. Williams Ii, Tiara Thomas (H.E.R. Feat. Chris Brown)
“Damage” – written by: Anthony Clemons Jr., Carl Mccormick, H.E.R., James Harris, Jeff Gitelman, Terry Lewis, Tiara Thomas (H.E.R.)
“Essence” – written by: Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, Oniko Eddie Uzezi, Oniko Evawero, Richard Isong, Temilade Openiyi (Wizkid Feat. Tems)
“Leave the Door Open” – written by: Bruno Mars, Brandon Anderson, Dernst Emile Ii, Christopher Brody Brown (Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic)
“Pick Up Your Feelings” – written by: Blue June, Chi, Audra Mae Butts, Jazmine Sullivan, Kyle Coleman, Michael Holmes (Jazmine Sullivan)

Huascar Medina Nominated for Membership on National Council on the Arts

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Huascar Medina may soon be joining the National Council on the Arts.

The Latino poet, writer, and performer, Kansas’ first Latino Poet Laureate, is among President Joe Biden’s intended nominees for the council.

Huascar Medina

The eight-person list, posted on the White House website, also includes choreographer and educator Christopher Morgan, executive producer of Harlem’s Apollo Theater Kamilah Forbes, the president of John Prine’s Oh Boy Records (and widow of the late folk music icon) Fiona Whelan Prine, and ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro.

Medina has worked as a freelance copywriter and as the Literary Editor for seveneightfive magazine publishing stories that spotlight literary and artistic events in northeast Kansas. His poems can be found in his collection How to Hang the Moon published by Spartan Press. He’s the winner of ARTSConnect’s 2018 Arty Award for Literary Art. His new collection of poems Un Mango Grows in Kansas is available at huascarmedina.com.

The National Council on the Arts was established in 1965, with members appointed by the president and approved by the U.S. Senate for staggered six-year terms, advises the National Endowment for the Arts on agency policies and programs, and reviews and makes recommendations on applications for grants, funding guidelines, and leadership initiatives. If approved, Biden’s nominees will join other members serving now.

Biden’s roster of nominees is:

  • Kamilah Forbes, executive producer at the Apollo Theater. A veteran stage director and producer, Forbes’ Broadway credits include The Mountaintop and Stick Fly, as well as Off Broadway’s By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, written by two-time Pulitzer prize-winning writer Lynn Nottage, among others. She served as  associate director on the Tony Award-winning A Raisin in the Sun, and Emmy Award-winning The Wiz Live for NBC. Most recently, she directed Between the World and Me on HBO and HBO Max in November 2020. Forbes is set to direct a Broadway musical adaptation of Soul Train alongside producer Questlove, playwright Dominique Morisseau, and choreographer Camille A. Brown;
  • Christopher Morgan, choreographer, educator, facilitator, curator, and arts administrator. Morgan is Executive Artistic Director of Dance Place in Washington, D.C., and has directed Art Omi: Dance, an annual collaborative residency for international choreographers in New York;
  • Ismael Ahmed, co-founder of The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan and co-founder of Detroit’s world music festival Concert of Colors;
  • Kinan Azmeh, artistic director of the Damascus Festival Chamber Players, a pan-Arab ensemble dedicated to contemporary music form the Arab world;
  • Huascar Medina, the 7th Poet Laureate of Kansas. He currently works with the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission reimagining and developing innovative programming for the poet laureateship;
  • Jake Shimabukuro, the world-famous ukulele player who, in 2001, signed a historic deal with Epic Records/Sony Music that formed the basis of a string of hit albums and standing room audiences. He has played with world-renowned orchestras and at prestigious venues and events such as the Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center, and Sydney Opera House, Bonnaroo, SXSW and Fuji Rock Festival;
  • Constance Williams, who, with a background in publishing, marketing, and small business and financial consulting, was the economic development and small business coordinator for Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District. She has served as the Chair of the Board of The Philadelphia Museum of Art and is now Chair Emerita, and was also a trustee of the National Museum of American Jewish History;
  • Fiona Whelan Prine, President of Oh Boy Records, the country’s second-oldest independent record label still in operation. Prine oversees the multiple Grammy Award-winning recordings and publishing copyrights of her late husband, American songwriter John Prine, and serves as Founder and President of the newly established Hello in There Foundation, named after a classic song written by her late husband. In the last year alone, her community involvement has raised more than $1 million for important social causes, including those related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bad Bunny to Make Grammy Performance Debut on Sunday’s Awards Show

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Bad Bunny is ready for his Grammy close-up…

The 26-year-old Puerto Rican reggaeton and Latin trap star is set to make his Grammy performance debut at Sunday’s 63rd annual Grammy Awards.

Bad Bunny

Bad Bunny joins a roster of performers that includes Megan Thee Stallion, Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift.

The music ceremony, hosted by Trevor Noah, will feature a handful of performances by music’s top artists including BTS, Haim, Harry Styles, Roddy Ricch, Cardi B, Dua Lipa and Post Malone.

Cardi B first performed at the Grammys in 2018, singing “Finesse” alongside Bruno Mars, and then returned in 2019 to perform her track “Money” the following year.

Additional performers include this year’s 3-time nominee Adrian Quesada and his Black Pumas, performing on the Grammy stage for the first time, Brandi Carlile, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Mickey Guyton, Brittany Howard, Miranda Lambert, Lil Baby, Chris Martin, John Mayer and Maren Morris.

Additionally, the annual awards show will pay tribute to independent venues that have been greatly impacted by the pandemic. From bartenders to box office managers, the people who work day-to-day at Los Angeles’ Troubadour and Hotel Café, in New York City’s the Apollo Theater and Nashville’s The Station Inn will present awards for various categories throughout the night.

The 63rd annual Grammy Awards will air on CBS live Sunday, March 14 starting at 8:00 pm ET.

Fulwell 73 Productions produces the show for the Recording Academy.

Mj Rodriguez to Appear in HBO’s “Between the World and Me,” an Adaptation of the Apollo Theater Show Based on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Novel

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It’s a whole new World for Mj Rodriguez.

The 29-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/singer has been cast in Between the World and Me, HBO’s adaptation of the stage show based on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ New York Times bestseller.

MJ Rodriguez

Rodriguez joins a lineup of cast additions that includes Jharrel Jerome, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Janet Mock, Jason Moran, Wendell Pierce, Kendrick Sampson, Yara Shahidi and Michelle Wilson.

They join previously announced cast members Angela Bassett, Alicia Garza, Joe Morton, Phylicia Rashad, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Courtney B. Vance, Pauletta Washington, Susan Kelechi Watson and Oprah Winfrey.

Originally adapted and staged by the Apollo Theater in 2018, the special will combine elements of that production, including readings from Coates’ book, and will again be directed by award-winning director and Apollo Theater executive producer Kamilah Forbes.

It will also incorporate documentary footage from the actors’ home life, archival footage and animation.

The book, first published in 2015 by One World, is written as a letter to Coates’ teenage son and recounts the author’s experiences growing up in Baltimore’s inner city and his growing fear of daily violence against the Black community. The narrative explores Coates’ notion that American society structurally supports white supremacy.

The special, which is currently in production under COVID-19 guidelines, debuts this fall on HBO and will also be available to stream on HBO Max.

Rodriguez rose to acclaim on FX’s series Pose. Her other credits include television appearances on Luke Cage, The Carrie Diaries and Nurse Jackie.

In November 2019, Rodriguez landed a contract with Olay Body, becoming the first Latina trans woman to enter a partnership with the company.

Sheila E. to Perform at Apollo Theater’s 2017 Spring Gala Fundraising Event

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Sheila E. is ready for a special show(time) at the Apollo…

The 59-year-old Mexican-American percussionist and singer will perform at the Apollo Theater’s 2017 Spring Gala on June 12.

Sheila E.

Sheila E., best known for her career-defining song, “The Glamorous Life,” joins a lineup that includes CeeLo Green, Charlie Wilson and Wé McDonald of NBC’s The Voice.

Actor/comedian Cedric the Entertainer will host the 12th annual benefit, which is the legendary theater’s largest fundraising event.

In addition to the aforementioned musical performances, the Spring Gala will present two special awards. Peabody Award-winning director/producer Stan Lathan will receive the Trailblazer Award in recognition of his performing arts achievements, including television’s The Bernie Mac Show, Def Comedy Jam, Sanford & Son and, most recently, Dave Chappelle’s comedy special Deep in the Heart of Texas. This year’s Corporate Award will be given to Verizon on behalf of the company’s achievements in diversity, community leadership and innovation.

In a statement announcing the 2017 gala, Apollo Theater president/CEO Jonelle Procope said, “Since its inception, the Apollo Theater has been home to legendary and up-and-coming artists, serving as an ever-changing driving force in popular music and culture not only in Harlem [New York] but across the world.”

The 2016 Spring Gala raised $1.7 million. All gala proceeds support the non-profit organization’s year-round performing arts, education and community programming.

For tickets and additional information click here.

Louis C.K. to Appear on TBS’ “Conan” Show in New York

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Louis C.K. is joining Conan O’Brien in the Big Apple…

The 49-year-old Mexican American comedian/actor is booked for TBS late-night show Conan’s first trip to New York City since 2011.

Louis CK

Louis C.K. joins a guest roster that includes Tracy Morgan and Ryan Reynolds.

The week of shows airing October 31-November 3 also includes comedian Rory Scovel and rap group the Sugarhill Gang.  Taped at Harlem’s Apollo Theater, the week of episodes will kick off Conan’s seventh year on TBS.

Here is the preliminary schedule for Conan in NYC, with additional guests and musical performances to be announced soon:

Monday, Oct. 31: Musical guest The Sugarhill Gang
Tuesday, Nov. 1: Louis C.K.
Wednesday, Nov. 2: Ryan Reynolds and Rory Scovel
Thursday, Nov. 3: Tracy Morgan

In addition to the nightly shows, Team Coco will be live-streaming on Instagram and Snapchat every day from inside the Apollo Theater, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the shows.

Conan in NYC marks the show’s sixth out-of-the-studio trip in the past 18 months and its second excursion to New York.

Previous trips have taken O’Brien overseas to South Korea, Armenia and the U.S. Air Force Base in Doha, Qatar, where he was accompanied by First Lady Michelle Obama.

In spring 2015, O’Brien made headlines as the first American late-night host to shoot in Cuba in more than 50 years. Across its eight seasons on TBS, the Los Angeles-based Conan has broadcast from Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and, for the past two years, San Diego during Comic-Con International.