Latest news with #DEFIANT
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jimmy Barnes Drops ‘DEFIANT' Album Ahead of Australian Tour: Stream It Now
Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes has released his 21st solo studio album DEFIANT, just one day before launching a national tour across Australia. Out now via Mushroom Music, DEFIANT arrives after a difficult period for Barnes, who has undergone multiple surgeries in recent years, including a life-threatening heart operation. Despite the challenges, the Cold Chisel frontman says the new 10-track set carries a message of resilience. More from Billboard Queens of the Stone Age Couldn't 'Over-Rehearse' for Paris Catacombs Concert Film: 'You Go Down There & All the Plans Are Off' Billboard & Global Venture Partners Launch Billboard Africa Here's What Fans Think of SiR Claiming Drake Had His 2024 Toronto Show Canceled 'Nobody lives this long without copping some knocks and I've taken my fair share, particularly lately,' he said in a press statement. 'But none of us can control what life throws at us. We can only control how we respond — and for better or worse, I've never liked to take a backward step.' While he didn't intend for the album to take on a particular theme, Barnes says that in hindsight, DEFIANT reflects a consistent message. 'I didn't set out to do it deliberately but now that the album is finished, I can see there's a recurring theme about the satisfaction you can get from fighting back. That's why it's called DEFIANT.' The album marks his first new project since 2022's Blue Christmas and follows a career that includes a record-breaking 15 solo No. 1 albums on Australia's ARIA Albums Chart — more than any other artist in ARIA history. He's also notched five more chart-toppers with Cold Chisel, making him a singular force in Australian rock. 'I'm ready to rock!' Barnes said. 'All of the songs on DEFIANT are made to play live and I can't wait to blow the roofs off with them in my live set.' 'I'm really looking forward to getting back on stage with my band again. I'm so proud of this new record – all the songs mean a lot to me and I can't wait to share them with you. It's going to be some serious fun!' The Defiant Tour kicks off June 7 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre and will continue through major cities including Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, wrapping in Canberra later this month. In addition to the album and tour, Barnes will appear on the debut season of That Blackfella Show, billed as Australia's first national First Nations variety show. The series is filmed in front of a live studio audience and features a lineup that includes rapper BARKAA, comedians Steph Tisdell and Dane Simpson, and broadcaster Abbie Chatfield. DEFIANT is available now on all streaming platforms. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Scoop
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Jimmy Barnes Releases 21st Studio Album 'DEFIANT'
[6th June 2025] Today the inimitable Jimmy Barnes unleashes his 21st studio album DEFIANT. An album so clear in its message and resounding in its conviction, Barnes shares 10 new songs that can only be classed as triumphant, including lead single 'New Day', title track 'Defiant' and live favourite 'That's What You Do For Love'. The album releases on the eve of his national tour, starting tomorrow night in Adelaide. Over the last few years, several major surgeries, including a life-threatening heart operation, put the iconic rocker flat on his back. Each time he clambered to his feet, some other medical drama knocked him down again. As always Jimmy's response was to just keep getting up and punching back – firstly with Cold Chisel's triumphant The Big Five-0 anniversary tour late last year, and now a brand-new solo album and tour called… appropriately… DEFIANT. These are clearly the songs of a man who still has a point to prove: raw and inspiring. And he is in career-best voice – riding and driving an emotional rollercoaster from soothing croons to wailing abandon. They are the sounds of a singer who has finally arrived at the point of complete instrumental control. About Jimmy Barnes... Jimmy Barnes is the heart and the soul of Australian rock and roll. His name evokes the sound of ear-splitting rock classics plus signature readings of soul standards. He has enjoyed twenty-one #1 albums here – more than The Beatles - and sold more records in this country than any other local artist. For well over 45 years he has delivered some of our most intense and iconic live performances and sung unforgettable hits like 'Working Class Man', 'Flame Trees', 'No Second Prize', 'Khe Sanh' and 'Shutting Down Our Town'. From a wild youth fronting the legendary Cold Chisel to his more recent years as a beloved family man, Jimmy has been through it all and literally lived to tell the tales. He is truly in a league of his own, having been inducted into the ARIA Hall of fame ... twice.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Upcoming comic books tell story of SC Civil War hero Robert Smalls, with hopes for movie adaptation
Robert Smalls, as depicted in a monument set to stand outside the Statehouse, near the visitors' entrance. (Provided/Robert Smalls Monument Commission) When Rob Edwards started telling people he was writing a comic book about South Carolina Civil War hero Robert Smalls, he'd have to accompany it with an explanation of Smalls' life. Now, when he mentions his graphic novel, many people already know Smalls' story, he said. 'It's really fantastic to see,' said Edwards, a writer and producer who lives in Los Angeles. 'And no one is more deserving than Capt. Smalls himself.' Edwards' upcoming graphic novel 'DEFIANT,' which he hopes to turn into a feature-length film, is part of a broader effort to educate the public about a story that had been largely forgotten, including Smalls' escape from slavery on a commandeered Confederate ship and his time as a state legislator and five-term congressman. South Carolina legislators are planning to commemorate Smalls' life with a statue across from the Statehouse visitors' entrance, the first on the grounds recognizing an individual Black person. A joint committee of senators and representatives approved plans for the statue May 8, on the last day of the 2025 session. The vote by the State House Committee affirmed the design and location chosen by the commission created by a bill the Legislature approved unanimously last year. 'He's probably one of the greatest South Carolinians of all time, as is well documented,' former Sen. Gerald Malloy, who is in charge of fundraising to build the statue, said during a recent trip to scout out the Statehouse grounds with the statue's artist. Edwards, who has written movies for titans such as Disney and Marvel, didn't know Smalls' story either when a friend first brought him the idea. The friend had seen a post on X, formerly Twitter, asking why of all the movies being made none had featured the action-packed story of Smalls' escape on the U.S.S. Planter in Charleston and ensuing life in politics. That intrigued Edwards, who started researching Smalls' life. He got in touch with Michael B. Moore, Smalls' great-great-grandson, as well as a Harvard historian who studied Smalls, trying to learn as much as possible. It was crucial to get the details of Smalls' incredible feats correct, Edwards said. 'Because it's true and because it's phenomenal, (the story) has to reflect reality or else somebody's going to say, 'Oh, come on, that didn't happen,'' Edwards said. The part of Smalls' story people tend to know is what Edwards calls 'the heist:' Under cover of night, Smalls stole the Confederate ship he piloted and, using Confederate disguises and hand signals, delivered himself, his family and other enslaved workers to freedom in Union waters. Exciting as that story is, Edwards was drawn to Smalls' life as a free man. He became the first Black man to pilot ships for the U.S. Navy, used his prize money for capturing the steamship he hijacked to buy the same mansion where he had been enslaved, and became a renowned politician. During Reconstruction, Smalls was part of the majority-Black convention of delegates who wrote the state's 1868 constitution, which promised free education to all children and voting rights to all men. He served in the state House and Senate before winning a seat in Congress in 1874. In 1895, Smalls was again a delegate for a convention — this time majority white — to rewrite the state constitution. He pleaded for a constitution guaranteeing 'free and honest' elections while recognizing the convention was meant to disenfranchise Black voters. 'That was the stuff that was really amazing to me,' Edwards said. Edwards, whose writing credits include Disney's 'The Princess and the Frog' and Marvel's 'Captain America: Brave New World,' wanted to turn the story into a movie, but he knew selling the script might prove difficult. He wanted proof that this was a story people cared about. So, he and a team launched a fundraising campaign through Legion M, a company that lets people back projects they want to see happen. The plan was to start with the comic book to drum up more interest, then set sights on a movie. Almost as soon as the campaign was posted, donations started flooding in, Edwards said. As of Friday, the project had raised about $160,000. That was enough to get the comic book started, Edwards said. Once that's out in the world, his hope is that it will be compelling enough to prove people want to see a live-action movie about Smalls' life. In the meantime, comic books appeal to teenagers, which is the audience Edwards most wants to reach. 'The thing that I would most want to tell a 16-year-old is, 'Hey, there was this guy, he was born a slave, and look what he did,'' Edwards said. 'If he can do that, then think of the things you can do.' Robert Smalls statue to stand near visitors' entrance to SC Statehouse Edwards partnered with illustrators Nikolas Draper-Ivey, who created the art that accompanies the soundtrack for Marvel's 'Black Panther,' and Ray-Anthony Height, a longtime comic book artist who has created illustrations for Marvel and Star Wars comics. The comic book, titled 'DEFIANT: The Story of Robert Smalls,' is set for release June 19, which is also Juneteenth, a federal holiday celebrating the day slaves in Texas learned they were free in 1865. The release date has become especially significant after the Defense Intelligence Agency ordered a pause in events related to Juneteenth, alongside other holidays, following an executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs earlier this year, Edwards said. 'We're in this really interesting time when I think inspirational stories like 'DEFIANT' are really, really important,' Edwards said. 'I'm thrilled that we're able to be part of the Juneteenth celebration with this book.'
