Latest news with #Motown
National Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Blue Jays denied a Motown sweep when red-hot bats suddenly go cold
One has to go back to June 13 to find a time when the Blue Jays were shutout, an 8-0 setback in Philadelphia against a very good Phillies team loaded with quality starters. Article content Technically, the Jays did score in Sunday's in loss, but it was checkered, to say the least, because it came off a recently DFA'd pitcher in a ninth inning featuring a bad call by the home plate ump that led to a walk, the first of three, followed by defensive indifference. Article content Article content Article content Either way, the Jays weren't good, save for their starter and cleanup hitter, and should have been held scoreless until a series of unusual circumstances helped the visitors in the ninth. Article content The Tigers, despite leading the AL Central, have not been good, losers of six in a row and 12 of their past 13 heading into Sunday's series finale. Article content One could argue the Tigers were long overdue. Article content At no time in franchise history have the Jays earned a four-game sweep in Motown, an elusive feat that would continue following their 10-4 loss. Article content In the opening three games of the series, the Jays outscored the Tigers 23-7. Article content The only player from the bottom of the order to record a hit was Tyler Heineman, who will be expected to fill the void behind the plate in the absence of Alejandro Kirk. Article content Four-run innings have been the norm of late with the Blue Jays, who were on the receiving end when Detroit plated seven in the eighth, a truly ugly frame when the MLB-leading team unraveled. Article content The following are three takeaways on an afternoon the Jays would lose a game for only the second time since the all-star break, but they would take the season series from the Tigers. Article content Article content 1. Mad Max in the Motor City Article content On his 41st birthday, veteran Max Scherzer started against a team he spent five years from 2010 through 2014, which included a World Series appearance in 2012. Article content He's been built up after injuring his thumb in Scherzer's debut with the Blue Jays. Article content Sunday's outing was Scherzer's seventh start of the season. Article content In the first inning, he struck out two by resorting to his fastball. Article content During the Jays' stay at Comerica Park, the team has received solid starting pitching, beginning with Eric Lauer, who was at his absolute best in Thursday's series opener. Article content After retiring the first six hitters, Scherzer gave up a single and double to begin the third inning. Article content He almost got out of the inning unscathed until Gleyber Torres took Scherzer deep for a three-run blast. Article content It was the eighth longball Scherzer has yielded this season and fifth in his past three starts.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Jade Thirlwall thought music icon was her mum as she makes candid admission
Former Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall shared a 'fun fact' with her fans during her BBC Proms performance as she revealed a funny childhood memory Jade Thirlwall shared a hilarious confession during her impressive BBC Proms performance in her native North East. The Little Mix star, 32, treated her hometown to an excellent show alongside the Royal Northern Sinfonia at Gateshead's The Glasshouse. In between her flawless tunes, the South Shields-born star took time to give her fans an insight into her life growing up in the region. And prior to introducing her huge hit titled Fantasy, Jade shared a "fun fact". She told her adoring crowd: "My mam was always playing Motown music, specifically Diana Ross. Fun fact, I genuinely thought my mam was Diana Ross for a hot minute. To the point where she would go off to the bingo and she would be like 'I'm going to do a show' and I'd be like 'gag, that's my mam'. "At one point, do you know when you go to school and you take in a show and tell thing? I remember this, I took in a Diana Ross programme and the kids had, like, I don't know, Pokemon cards or some sort of toy. "And they would be like 'what's that?' and I would be like 'it's my mam'. Alas, it wasn't my mam, but I think my mam's just as special, if not more." She then went on to introduce a tune that was based from her love of Motown as she impressively sang "in my on Jadefied way". She admitted the tune was a way to tell her fans it is "okay to be unapologetically yourself" as she performed her own tune called Fantasy. Jade also treated those at the event that was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 to a number of other big numbers from her own repertoire. And she also showcased her huge talent with a number of cover songs, including Madonna's Frozen. Perhaps the cover of the night came in the shape of Sam Fender's Remember My Name. Paying tribute to the "King of the North," Jade produced a flawless and spine tingling version of the emotional tune. The number had fans in tears before Jade welled up too following its conclusion. She explained the sentimental meaning behind her choice and, with her voice breaking, she revealed the song had been played at a friend's funeral just weeks ago. The candid confession was met with huge support from the crowd, some of who shouted out to gush over their "Angel of the North". The show was a history maker as, as well as the broadcast on Radio 3 on the night, Jade's performance was also filmed to go out on television at a later date. It marked the first time the Proms had been filmed for television outside of London.
National Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Jays erupt for six late runs to break open a pitchers duel against the Tigers
One of, if not, baseball's best pitchers facing a team sporting baseball's best record, the stage was set for an epic matchup in Motown. Article content It was no letdown. Article content Tarik Skubal, the AL's reigning Cy Young Award winner, went up against the first-place Blue Jays for the first time since 2023 at Comerica Park on Saturday night in the third game of a four-game series. Article content Toronto took the opening two games with relative ease, but Game 3 had a different feel with the imposing Skubal on the mound, facing Jays ace Kevin Gausman. Article content It went pretty much as expected. The two star hurlers went six shutout innings apiece — with Gausman actually outpitching Skubal — before the Jays pulled ahead in the eighth on a two-run Bo Bichette single, then tacked on four more runs in the ninth in a 6-1 victory. Article content The Jays had the better chances early on, but couldn't crack through. Article content The first real scoring opportunity was scuttled in the fourth inning when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was picked off at third base, yet another example why the franchise face needs to be more mentally engaged. Article content A 13-pitch at-bat by Bichette led to a walk as the Jays loaded the bases with one out in the sixth inning. Tyler Heineman then looped a short single into centre. George Springer, waiting to see if the ball would fall in, hesitated from third then made the dash to plate but was an easy out after he mysteriously slowed down. Article content Gausman, who had 10 strikeouts, and three relievers limited the Tigers to two hits, both by No. 9 batter Jake Rogers. Article content Skubal gave up six hits, walked three and struck out seven. Article content Since the all-star break, the Jays have gone 8-1 to improve their overall record to 63-42. Article content With the New York Yankees losing again to the Phillies on Saturday, the Jays' lead atop the AL East is now 6.5 games. Article content A win Sunday and the Jays will earn a series sweep over a Tigers team that has lost 12 of its past 13 games but still leads the AL Central by a healthy margin. Article content All-star Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk was forced to leave the game after he took a foul ball flush off his mask. He finished the inning, but was replaced by Heineman. Article content Springer, Guerrero and Nathan Lukes all hit homers in the ninth as the Jays piled it on. Article content Pitching perspective Article content The Jays have done well of late when facing some quality arms, whether it was Logan Webb and Robbie Ray when the San Francisco Giants were in town or whether it was the New York Yankees tandem of Carlos Rodon and Max Fried. Article content One has to go back to the middle of last month when the Blue Jays were in Philadelphia and were completely held in check by the Phillies' Big 3 of Ranger Suarez, Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler. The Blue Jays were swept in the three-game series and were outscored 22-6.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The 9 best, funniest or most iconic moments from Diana Ross' show at the Hollywood Bowl
Diana Ross returned to the Hollywood Bowl on Friday night for the first of two weekend concerts — her fifth engagement at the hillside amphitheater since 2013 and her second gig in her adopted hometown of Los Angeles in less than a year (following her performance at last August's old-school Fool in Love festival). In other words, it's not exactly hard to catch the 81-year-old pop legend onstage these days — which isn't to say that it's not worth doing. Here are nine moments that made me glad I showed up Friday: 1. After coming out to — what else? — 'I'm Coming Out,' Ross zipped through a frisky Motown medley linking some of the 12 No. 1 hits she and the Supremes scored in the 1960s. Would I have liked to have heard full versions of 'You Can't Hurry Love,' 'Baby Love' and 'Stop! In the Name of Love'? Sure. But hearing these all-timers stacked up in rapid succession was a thrill of its own — a reminder of the blend of efficiency and ingenuity attained on a daily basis at Hitsville, U.S.A. 2. Ross was backed by more than a dozen musicians at the Bowl, including four horn players and four backing vocalists, and they were cooking from the get-go: crisply propulsive in the Motown stuff; tight and gliding in 'Upside Down'; lush yet down-home in Ross' take on Billie Holiday's 'Don't Explain,' from her 1972 Holiday biopic 'Lady Sings the Blues.' 3. Two wardrobe changes meant that we beheld three glittering gowns in all, beginning with the fluffy canary-yellow number she emerged in. About halfway through the show, Ross slipped into a pipe-and-drape dressing room at the rear of the stage then slipped back out wearing bedazzled ruby red; later, she changed into a shimmering gold look. Each dress came accompanied by a matching shawl that Ross would eventually toss to the stage to be retrieved by a waiting assistant who seemed to know precisely when it would happen. 4. Each dress also came with a bulky mic pack that — in an endearingly peculiar costuming choice — Ross opted to wear on her waist instead of hiding it around back. 5. 'I have an album out, a current album — the title of the album is called 'Thank You,'' Ross told the crowd as she began to introduce a tune from her not-bad 2021 LP. Then she turned her head stage-left toward a sound engineer in the wings: 'Who's talking in the mic? I can hear a mic.' She returned to the audience. 'Anyway, the title of the album is called 'Thank You.' Each song was specially written so that I could say 'thank you' to you for all the wonderful years, all the…' Another glance left. 'Somebody's talking in the microphone.' Another turn back. 'We're gonna start with this one — 'Tomorrow,' OK? We'll start that if I can out-talk whoever's talking over here.' 6. Ross' daughter Rhonda joined her mom to sing another new-ish tune, 'Count on Me' — 'She's been practicing,' Diana said proudly (if somewhat shadily) — then stuck around to do a mini-set of her own self-help-ish soul-folk songs, one of which beseeched us all to 'stop gaslighting ourselves.' 7. Half a century after 'The Wiz' debuted on Broadway in 1975, Ross sang her two big numbers from the Black retelling of the 'The Wizard of Oz,' which she helped cement as a cultural landmark with her role as Dorothy in a fondly remembered movie adaptation. Here, 'Home' was wistful yet determined, while 'Ease on Down the Road' got even the high-rollers in the Bowl's box seats moving. 8. During 'Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand),' Ross led the crowd in a call-and-response recitation of what she called 'my mantra': 'I'm so grateful / For all the blessings in my life / For there are many / All is well / I'm resilient / Thank you, thank you, thank you.' 9. More of Ross' children appeared onstage at the end of the show to join her for a rowdy 'I Will Survive' — and to plug their latest commercial endeavors. 'Can I say one thing?' Tracee Ellis Ross asked. ''Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross' on Roku streams today, so check out the show.' Diana Ross reclaimed the microphone and gestured toward her son Ross Naess. 'This is my son — he's doing a line of caviar called Arne Reserve.' She looked around. 'Chudney, what's happening with you?'
Express Tribune
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Chris Brown teams with Bryson Tiller for new single
On July 25, 2025, Chris Brown released a new single titled It Depends in collaboration with Bryson Tiller. The track was issued under Chris Brown Entertainment and Motown. Produced by RIOTUSA and Nico Baran, It Depends incorporates a sample of Usher's 1997 song Nice & Slow. Brown and Tiller alternate verses, with lyrics addressing relationship dynamics and emotional availability. The release follows a teaser shared by Brown on social media in mid July, where he previewed the track and asked fans if he should drop it. After a high volume of engagement, the official release date was announced. The track includes the following lines from Brown: 'You bad as hell, I treat you well… Your fairytale, under your spell.' Tiller's verse includes: 'You wanna find out what's good with me? Well, girl, it all depends on what you need at night.' It Depends is Brown's second single of the year, following Holy Blindfold, which was released earlier in 2025. The track is part of the promotional rollout for his upcoming Breezy Bowl XX Stadium Tour, scheduled to begin on July 30 in Miami. Bryson Tiller, Summer Walker, and Jhené Aiko are also expected to appear at selected tour stops.
