Latest news with #Wind&Fire
The South African
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The South African
Sabrina Carpenter drops final 'Man's Best Friend' album cover
Sabrina Carpenter is poised to release her highly anticipated seventh studio album, Man's Best Friend , on 29 August 2025 through Island Records. The album has already stirred significant attention, with the pop star unveiling a final alternate cover. This final cover includes an exclusive bonus track titled Such A Funny Way , available only on vinyl. Fans eager to own this limited edition signed vinyl can pre-order now, with a small number of signed copies being made available, according to Billboard. The striking new album cover presents Carpenter in a stunning sparkling blue gown. She sits at a lavish dinner table surrounded by five tuxedoed men. This glamorous imagery contrasts with the album's original cover, which showed Carpenter on all fours with a man holding her hair. It sparked vigorous debates over women's empowerment versus objectification. The controversy even reached television discussions in the US, reflecting how Carpenter's bold artistic choices are capturing global and South African fans' attention alike. Sabrina Carpenter herself expressed excitement about the upcoming release. 'Only 3 weeks left! I can't wait for it to be yours x.' This marks the culmination of months of carefully planned promotion, including multiple alternate cover versions. She also gradually revealed the album's complete tracklist, which features 12 tracks. Among these is the Billboard Hot 100-topping lead single Manchild . Sabrina Carpenter performed the song live at Lollapalooza alongside legendary group Earth, Wind & Fire, further elevating the album's profile. The album delivers a fresh mix of sounds and themes, following on the heels of her Grammy-winning 2024 album Short n' Sweet . Sabrina Carpenter's Man's Best Friend promises a vibrant and provocative addition to 2025's global pop scene. Carpenter commands the spotlight at home and abroad, and her latest album will resonate with listeners who seek music that challenges and entertains in equal measure. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
The Tribune's Quotes of the Week quiz for Aug. 9
Greetings, quotes readers! It was another newsy week, so let's get right into it. Lollapalooza wrapped up Sunday in Grant Park following four days of music and can't-miss performances. Sabrina Carpenter closed out the festival with a jam-packed set, featuring her hit songs 'Espresso' and 'Bed Chem' and a special appearance from Chicago's own Earth, Wind & Fire. Sunday also kicked off a weeklong saga over Texas' redistricting efforts. Dozens of Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives fled to Illinois and other blue states to deny their Republican colleagues the quorum needed to redraw five congressional districts in the GOP's favor. The House responded by issuing civil warrants to arrest those absent politicians and bring them to the state Capitol. In a joint news conference Tuesday, Democratic leaders expressed support for the Texas lawmakers, and Gov. JB Pritzker made an appearance on 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,' saying they were welcome in Illinois. On Thursday, the FBI agreed to assist Texas law enforcement in locating the politicians — despite the fact that their civil warrants are unenforceable outside of Texas. By Friday, officials took another route in their bid to bring the Democratic House members back to Texas, asking a downstate Illinois court to compel state police to enforce those warrants. President Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs took effect Thursday, raising import taxes on dozens countries. The president also announced that he will impose a 100% tariff on computer chips made outside the United States. Economists say American consumers will likely foot some of those increased business costs in the form of higher prices. Here's what to expect. In other news from around the globe, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that Israel intends to take full control of the Gaza Strip, Trump announced that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet next Friday in Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine and the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings that killed more than 210,000 people. Locally, Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago ceased most of its operations, following Medicare funding cuts. United Airlines issued a ground stop Wednesday evening for departing flights nationwide due to a tech issue with the system that houses flight information, causing more than 1,000 delays at the Chicago-based carrier. And on Friday, a federal judge denied bond for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan pending his appeal on corruption charges. Meanwhile, in the world of Chicago sports, the Bears are preparing for their preseason opener Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, the Cubs are hoping to make a postseason run and, after wearing No. 88 for 16 seasons with the Blackhawks, Aug. 8 has officially been declared Patrick Kane Day in Chicago. The unofficial end of summer is marked in Chicago with the annual Bud Billiken Parade, a back-to-school celebration that showcases Chicago's talented young residents. The parade kicks off Saturday in the Bronzeville neighborhood, but if that's not your speed, there's no shortage of events going on around the city this weekend, from Northalsted Market Days to Wilco at The Salt Shed and the Windy City Comedy Fest. So get out there for some fun this weekend, Chicago! That's all for now. Here's the Tribune's Quotes of the Week quiz for Aug. 3 to 9. Missed last week? You can find it here or check out our past editions of Quotes of the Week.
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Sabrina Carpenter reveals final ‘Man's Best Friend' vinyl cover with exclusive bonus track
Sabrina Carpenter has revealed the fourth and final alternate cover for her upcoming album Man's Best Friend, just three weeks ahead of its official release. The pop star shared the new artwork on Instagram on Friday (Aug. 8), featuring herself seated confidently at a dinner table in a sparkling blue gown, surrounded by five men in tuxedos. Alongside the visual, Carpenter announced a special vinyl-exclusive bonus track titled 'Such A Funny Way,' available only with this version of the album. 'The final alternate cover for Man's Best Friend features such a special bonus track… available only on vinyl,' she wrote, encouraging fans to preorder the limited-edition signed vinyl. The singer also reminded fans of the countdown to the album's arrival, saying, '3 weeks left!!! Can't wait for it to be yours x.' Man's Best Friend, Carpenter's seventh studio album, has generated significant attention since its announcement in June. Much of the discourse has centered around the album's provocative original cover — a photo of Carpenter on all fours with a man pulling her hair — which sparked debate online and even became a topic of discussion on The View. In response, Carpenter has released several alternative covers, including a black-and-white image of her resting on a man's shoulder and another where she is surrounded by flower bouquets. Earlier this week, Carpenter unveiled the official tracklist for Man's Best Friend, which includes 12 songs. Among them is the chart-topping lead single 'Manchild,' which she performed during her recent headlining set at Lollapalooza in Chicago, where she also shared the stage with Earth, Wind & Fire. All four versions of the album are now available for purchase on Carpenter's official website.
Chicago Tribune
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: So long, Lolla kids. Hope you had fun.
After a slow start, we've come to regard Lollapalooza with affection. The kids who flock to Chicago (more than 100,000 per day this year, reportedly) are a fun crew, their destination instantly recognizable from their sparkly, skimpy attire wherever we encountered them in the city this weekend (usually peering into their phones, trying to find their Ubers). And, of course, they spend a lot of money around town, especially in and around Chicago's Loop, which needs their support. We'd expect the economic impact of the festival this year to be somewhere around $500 million, if not more. Over the years, Lollapalooza has turned into a good Chicago citizen and, with apologies to Coachella, which has a broader cultural mandate, has become North America's equivalent of Glastonbury, the massive outdoor British festival, which makes news in the entertainment business every year, often by slating such things as final farewells from the likes of Elton John and Rod Stewart, the pairings of iconic artists and young artists showing respect for previous generations. We saw some of that last phenomenon this year at Lolla, when young, female headliners such as Gracie Abrams brought out Robyn, Olivia Rodrigo introduced Weezer and Sabrina Carpenter surprised attendees with Earth, Wind & Fire, a retro band that also happens to be playing Ravinia on Thursday night. We hope that, for all our mutual benefits, Lolla keeps its focus on those deft kinds of surprises. The Chicago Police Department tells us that this year's festival went off without any significant trouble, beyond what you might reasonably expect when that many humans gather in one place. There were only 12 total arrests over the four nights, which is minimal; zero tickets issued (not a typo) and 42 ambulance reports, which is way down from previous years (in 2021, for example, there were 102 transports). The cooler weather likely helped, but this is all good news. It could well be that the disruptions caused to downtown residents by the now-departed NASCAR, which actually involved city streets and resulted in lengthy closures, has made us better appreciate Lollapalooza, which mostly confines itself to established festival grounds. We also always appreciate the effort to bring in local food operations, such as Fatso's Last Stand and the family-owned Bacci Pizzeria. And we heard from out-of-towners who were impressed with this year's drone show — especially how well it framed the real Willis Tower, if you had the right angle. Better yet, the aftershows at venues all over town were hopping this past weekend, from the Salt Shed to Radius and from Schubas Tavern to Lincoln Hall. Past concerns about the big event locking up acts with exclusive deals in protected territory haven't entirely gone away, but with this many people at so successful a festival, it's now clear that the smaller venues in Chicago generally have decided it's better to join the four-night party than stand against it. The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events could do more to use the Lolla base for the benefit of the whole city and get attendees to stay for a week or more. Still, much as we often detail Chicago's problems in this space, we also know that its gorgeous skyline can seduce a young visitor like nowhere else in the Midwest. Huge benefits accrue, not just in terms of tourism but when it comes to attracting new residents, when young pop stars with tens of millions of followers post love letters to our town, as when Carpenter posted 'thank you, Chicago. Wow.' Carpenter also made specific reference to Chicago in her set, mimicking a Chicago news station. Rodrigo found her way to Wrigley Field this weekend and we heard tell of a certain young Chicago Cubs star present at Lollapalooza, too. Simply put, this was a weekend for the spotlight to find a way through the haze and shine on the beauty, action and artistry of a Chicago summer. Glastonbury is taking the year off in 2026 to allow the natural land to recover. Thanks to our urban setting and the hard work of those who tend to its grounds, Lollapalooza does not have that problem. It'll be back — and we're happy about that.
Chicago Tribune
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: Sabrina Carpenter closes Lollapalooza with confectionary joy and perfect surprises
Our pool of genuinely funny music performers has never been large. Musicians get timid about humor, with reason. Audiences take earnest artists seriously and let time and taste catch up to anyone who takes their own importance with a grain of salt. That's one of the reasons why Sabrina Carpenter played so exuberantly in Grant Park on Sunday night. She closed Lollapalooza with real effervescent wit, even joy. Imagine! Looking goofy on stage! We had the introspection of Tyler, The Creator; the gated-community angst of Gracie Abrams; and the sunny rebellion of Olivia Rodrigo. But god, Sabrina Carpenter is fun. Her stage, festooned with a huge curling 'SC' traced in stage lights, not only paid homage to Chicago as the original home of 'Soul Train,' she and her dancers threw in their own version of a 'Soul Train' line dance. By the end of the, she was in a conga line. Within a few songs, she'd settled into a sort of samba twang for 'Slim Pickins,' with its great chorus: Midway through, nodding to Chicago cool again, she brought out Earth, Wind & Fire, along with its entire horn section, for an inspired bop through 'Let's Groove' and 'September.' I was not expecting chills in August, yet here we are. Carpenter — whose act fits nicely into the contemporary wave of ubiquitous young woman pop singers, though works subversively, even subtly, against the mold — loaded her set with the winks, bumps, put-downs and self-deprecations that dance across her albums. She's such a knowing throwback to '70s variety shows that her stage even mimicked TV studios, bundling the stage cameras into the kind of large swiveling stands associated with the days of live TV. In another life, Carpenter could have been Carol Burnett. Or Carole Lombard. Or maybe a Looney Tunes rabbit. But definitely a character. Sabrina Carpenter, at least on stage, her Lolla set confirmed, is a role, albeit with a heart. You could argue that of Rodrigo, Abrams, Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Charlie XCX, the wave of woman superstars that get lumped colloquially as 'the pop girlies.' But among this group, the Super Friends of Pop, only Carpenter reminds you she is a confection. A former Disney Channel star (of course), her playful nods to showbiz convention and cliche feel second nature — not unlike the way, say, Martin Short feels born to the stage. When she closed with the inevitable 'Espresso' — last year's song of the summer — and its nonsensical a teenager beside me, singing, threw in the song's quiet aside: 'Stupid.' It's there, in the studio version of 'Expresso,' a sardonic meta-quip from Carpenter about own writing, which can get so tangled in heated knots, it's just shy of camp in places, only to turn clever again. This might be Carpenter's finest quality, her ability to surprise without underlining any effort. At the lip of the stage, accompanied by an acoustic guitar, she managed to be intimate despite playing to the population of a small city: 'I know you're not the sharpest tool in the shed,' then plainly added: 'We had sex, I met your best friends.' Her knack for detail met noir-laced burlesque in 'because i liked a boy,' which opens, only to rage, A beat later, she's working those Groucho Marx eyebrows, singing: Carpenter is camp the way that Dolly Parton is camp, fully in charge of the tone without sacrificing brains. You take her seriously because she's funny, and shrewdly provocative. On her previous tour, she sang a song while seated on a toilet seat, which — and this is the best part — she would wipe down before she sat. Lollapalooza 2025: What we saw — and heard — at the 4-day music festival at Grant ParkFor Lolla, she framed the show as 'SC News Chicago,' incorporating satiric commercials between songs, a parody of 1-900 chat line ads for 'Bed Chem,' a commercial for 'Manchild Spray' before her recent hit, 'Manchild,' the song of this summer: The men in her songs are basically Wile E. Coyote, and she is the Roadrunner, addicted to the chase. She's not above declaring herself horny. But then going broad works at Lollapalooza. In fact, it may be the only way to perform here now — if only because Grant Park becomes so overcrowded during headliners like Carpenter that unless you're up front somewhere near the stage, you're watching this on screens the entire time or you'll have to wait for a clip on TikTok or Instagram to spot anything sly or understated. Once again, Carpenter understands the assignment. She asks 'It's 10 p.m., do you know where your girlfriend is?' then moments later notes how 'grateful' she is. She sends-up the corny tropes of a generation of hitmakers with a comforting bit of heart. She's all off balance, sincere but sincerely silly. She looked out on Lollapalooza Sunday — which, by day four, is basically 'Lord of the Flies' — surveyed the mess and laughed.
