Guilty pleasures
By NewsPress Now
Eminem brings Taylor Swift’s historic reign
at No. 1 to an end
Eminem’s 12th studio album, “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce),” has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, unseating Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” after 12 weeks.
In its first week, “The Tortured Poets Department” hit 891.34 million album streams stateside, according to Luminate, the biggest streaming week for an album in history.
Swift’s album debuted at No. 1 in April and held the top spot for three months. She is the only woman to have done so; Swift beat the previous record held by Whitney Houston’s 1987 album, “Whitney.” It spent its first 11 weeks at No. 1.
“The Tortured Poets Department” tied Morgan Wallen’s 2023 album “One Thing at a Time,” which also debuted at No. 1 and stayed there for 12 consecutive weeks. (It would later remerge at the top spot, spending 19 weeks total at No. 1.)
The only album to outperform them is Stevie Wonder’s 1976 masterpiece, “Songs in the Key of Life.” It spent 13 weeks at No. 1 after debuting in the top spot; 14 weeks there in total.
“The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)” is Eminem’s 11th No. 1 album. “The Tortured Poets Department” dropped to No. 4 as a result. In the second slot is K-pop boy band ENHYPHEN’s “ROMANCE:UNTOLD” and irreverent country Zach Bryan’s “The Great American Bar Scene” is at No. 3.
Olympic deal hopes to meet young fans where they are
The Olympic world’s ever-expanding quest to draw in young fans is meeting them where they are — on Roblox.
The U.S. Olympic team and NBC are collaborating with the kid- and teen-friendly gaming platform to produce a new “Obby” — that’s Roblox for obstacle course — and other features that include ways to interact with U.S. athletes while also checking out highlights from the Paris Games and making visits to a virtual Team USA House called “The Vibe House.”
This new Roblox feature debuting Monday includes animated versions of 20 U.S. Olympians, including a surfer, a skateboarder and two break dancers — all of whom represent sports that have been added recently to the Olympic program in hopes of driving young fans to the games.
“My sister-in-law said my nieces are going to be more excited about me being in Roblox than me being in the Olympics,” said one of the breakers, 35-year-old Sunny Choi.
Roblox says more than half of its 77.7 million daily active users are between 11 and 26.
Choi and breaker Victor Montalvo will be featured in “Emotes” — animated versions of themselves that will feature some of their favorite dance moves. Four of their Emotes will be available for free, with the other available for purchase, and some of the proceeds going directly to the athletes.
The company says these are the first “official” Emotes created in Roblox based on real athletes and their actual moves.
“I did it because I just thought it was adorable and I’ll take any opportunity to share breaking with the wider community,” Choi said. “It’s so great for kids. The messaging in the game, for me, is very much about ‘be you and do what makes you happy.’ So hopefully, that resonates.”
Hunter Biden drops lawsuit against FOX News over images
NEW YORK | Hunter Biden has dropped a lawsuit accusing FOX News of illegally publishing explicit images of him as part of a streaming series.
An attorney for the president’s son filed a voluntary dismissal notice on Sunday in federal court in New York City, three weeks after the lawsuit was filed. It wasn’t clear why the lawsuit was dropped, and Biden’s attorney didn’t immediately respond to a Monday email seeking comment.
The lawsuit involved images shown in “The Trial of Hunter Biden,” which debuted on the streaming service FOX Nation in 2022. The series features a “mock trial” of Hunter Biden on charges that he hasn’t faced and includes images of him in the nude and engaged in sex acts, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint claimed that the dissemination of intimate images without his consent violated New York’s so-called revenge porn law.
Fox News described the lawsuit as “entirely politically motivated” and “devoid of merit” when it was filed. A Fox News spokesperson referred to that statement when asked for additional comment Monday.
The dismissal notice was filed the same day that President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House, upending the contest less than four months before the election.
—From AP reports
