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Monthly Archives: December 2017

BTW

Jay-Z plans to take fans to church for his latest music video.

The rapper released a teaser video through Tidal social accounts late Thursday, promising viewers a new video for “Family Feud” from his 2017 album 4:44.

In the teaser, Jay-Z walks along the pews inside a church with daughter Blue Ivy, while Beyoncé—who’s dressed as a high official in the Catholic church, but also in all black—looks on from above. Later, Jay-Z enters a confession booth while Beyoncé waits on the other side to hear what he has to say. Throughout the teaser, these images are spliced together with shots of a couple having sex that ends with the woman stabbing her lover in the back.

#JAYZ’s “Family Feud” x 12/29 x #TIDAL: TIDAL.com

A post shared by TIDAL (@tidal) on

“Nobody wins when the family feuds,” Jay-Z raps. “We all lose when the family feuds.”

Well, somebody seems to be winning something in the Knowles-Carter household, since Jay-Z received eight 2018 Grammy Award nominations for 4:44. Not too many cheating husbands get to both stay married and have their album—in which he confesses to infidelity—receive raving, critically acclaimed reviews. Not everyone is Jay-Z, though.

The teaser was received with excitement from both Jay-Z and Beyoncé fans, who quickly began to dissect details found throughout the video. Fans speculate that the video, which will be a Tidal-exclusive, will go live Friday afternoon.

One fan said the “Family Feud” video was online at 4:44am on Friday, and has since been removed from Tidal. That’s just a rumor, though, and hasn’t been confirmed from the rapper himself. 

With this video for “Family Feud,” Jay-Z will have created a video for almost every track from 4:44. Looks like it might be time for the duo to start teasing new music. Jay-Z told the New York Times last month that he and Beyoncé are working on a collaborative album.

“We were using our art almost like a therapy session. And we started making music together,” the rapper said. “And then the music she was making at that time was further along. So her album came out as opposed to the joint album that we were working on.”

Read more: https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/jay-z-family-feud-beyonce/

BTW

Austin, Texas-area musicians will get free rides to and from their downtown gigs beginning Jan. 1., Lyft announced on Thursday.

Called the Austin Musician Rideshare Program, the new benefit will allow musicians to avoid the dreaded search for a parking spot in downtown Austin and to presumably unload their gear at the venue, rather than down the block at a parking spot.

“It’s expensive and difficult to park downtown, even harder for a working musician lugging gear,” Empire Control Room owner, Stephen Sternschein, said in a press release. “Parking tickets, towing, and accidents can (and do) eat up every dollar a local musician just made on stage. We ought to do everything we can to fix this.”

As of press time, Lyft only listed three Austin-based venues as partners with the program: Stubb’s, Empire Control Room, and Antone’s. On Twitter, the ride-hailing app said it didn’t have a complete list of venues ready yet.

The program kicks off in time for Austin’s annual Free Week, in which all venues in the Red River Cultural District host all-ages, free shows from Jan. 1-7.

“Lyft’s Musician Rideshare Program is a tremendous asset for local musicians,” Ryan Garrett, general manager of Stubb’s, said in a press release. “Stubb’s is thrilled to partner with Lyft on this progressive program which will positively impact the lives of local musicians and the entire Austin music scene.”

Lyft also said regular riders can support the Austin Musician Rideshare Program by using the code “ATXMUSIC.” The app said it will discount your ride by $5 and add $5 to the Musician Rideshare Program fund.

Lyft has not yet announced if it hopes to expand the program to other cities.

Read more: https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/lyft-austin-music/

Things just keep getting more dramatic for Offset and

AKA… get ready to get sued! HARD!!!

For Celina’s part, she’s STILL stuck on how the pregnancy is happening, and it IS Offset’s baby.

She told HollywoodLife.com earlier today (below):

“I met Offset back in February at a music festival and I know exactly when we made the baby. I’m not lying and I do not care who does or does not believe me.”

And later, she tweeted (below) her thoughts about the cease and desist letter while also teasing a Sunday event:

WHOA!!!!

Thoughts, Perezcious readers?! Crazy, right?? Let us know in the comments (below)!

[Image via Emelie Andersson/WENN.]

Read more: http://perezhilton.com/2017-12-30-offset-cardi-b-celina-powell-pregnancy-rumors-instagram-lawsuit-cease-and-desist-letter

Lindsay Lohan revealed she was bitten by a snake while vacationing in Thailand, but said she’s OK. 

The 31-year-old actress showed off pictures of the bite on her lower leg on social media Thursday, and told concerned fans she’s doing well. 

“I love this, it’s so beautiful, amazing place … aside from my snake bite,” Lohan said casually in a video on Instagram.

She followed up with another video, saying, “Hi! I’m still in Phuket in Thailand. It’s beautiful here. And yeah, I got bit by a snake on a hike the other day.” 

Lindsay Lohan/Instagram

“The positive side of it is, I’m OK. Happy New Year and God bless. Ciao.” She added later: “Actually, my shaman told me it was good luck and positive energy. So God bless.” 

Lohan surfaced earlier this month at the Daily Mail holiday party in New York City, followed by an appearance at the Jingle Bell Ball, and posed for a picture with fellow redhead Ed Sheeran

“Gingers unite,” she wrote in a photo caption. 

Lohan told Extra TV in a recent interview that she’s working on new music with Sheeran. 

“We are discussing doing more music … I was just with Ed Sheeran in Dubai, I’m going to hunt him down and try.” Lohan said. “There’s a script that I am working on, ‘The Honeymoon,’ which is a book I’m adapting into a film.” She added: “I’m doing lipstick, fragrance.”

Sounds like a busy 2018. 

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lindsay-lohan-snakebite_us_5a464321e4b06d1621b82bbf

Washington (CNN)On Thursday at Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump decided to sit down and chat. With a reporter. For The New York Times. For 30 minutes.

1. “I thought it was a terrible thing he did. [Inaudible.] I thought it was certainly unnecessary. I thought it was a terrible thing.”
Is this Trump talking about some longtime political opponent, you ask? Nope. It’s actually Trump talking about his own attorney general, Jeff Sessions, and the decision by Sessions to recuse himself from the Russia investigation! And that, by the way, was a terrible thing.
    2. “Frankly, there is absolutely no collusion. That’s been proven by every Democrat is saying it.”
    So. The fact that Democrats say the possibility of collusion exists is evidence that collusion doesn’t actually exist. If so, wow.
    3. “Virtually every Democrat has said there is no collusion. There is no collusion.”
    Wait, wait. So it’s not that Democrats saying “collusion” means there wasn’t any collusion. It’s that Democrats NOT saying collusion means there wasn’t any collusion. This is exciting! I can’t wait to see what happens next!
    4. “Great congressmen, in particular, some of the congressmen have been unbelievable in pointing out what a witch hunt the whole thing is.”
    There have been an increasing number of GOP members of Congress — led by Ohio’s Jim Jordan — who have spoken out in recent days about the alleged partisanship of the special counsel investigation. (A person special counsel Robert Mueller dismissed from his team over the summer had sent some anti-Trump tweets during the 2016 campaign.) But Trump is oversimplifying here. Most members of Congress — Republicans and Democrats — have been laudatory of Mueller and have insisted he needs to be given the time to finish his investigation.
    5. “I think it’s been proven that there is no collusion.”
    It has not. No one — not Mueller and not the congressional committees investigating Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election — have said anything of the sort. In fairness, there has been no proof of collusion offered yet, either.
    6. “I won because I was a better candidate by a lot. I won because I campaigned properly and she didn’t.”
    Agree! Actually, I think Trump won because he better understood the political climate and the frustration and anger that people had toward politics as usual. And, to his credit, he did campaign in places — like Pennsylvania — where Republicans had a very thin track record of success.
    7. “She campaigned for the popular vote. I campaigned for the Electoral College.”
    There’s very little evidence — and by that, I mean no evidence — this is true. Hillary Clinton didn’t campaign in a handful of states — like Wisconsin — in the final weeks of the race not because she wasn’t trying to win the Electoral College but because she didn’t believe she was in danger of losing them.
    8. “You know the Electoral College; it’s like a track star.”
    This HAS to be the first time the Electoral College has been compared to Carl Lewis, right?
    9. “It’s in golf. If you have a tournament and you have match play or stroke play, you prepare differently, believe it or not. It’s different.”
    The Electoral College is a lot like track. And golf. And ultimate Frisbee.
    10. “The genius of the Electoral College is that you go to places you might not go to.”
    That brilliant track-running golfer, the Electoral College! It makes you go places that are not huge states on either coast! Places like Iowa!
    11. “The genius is that the popular vote is a much different form of campaigning. Hillary never understood that.”
    I feel like she did.
    12. “I can only tell you that there is absolutely no collusion. Everybody knows it. And you know who knows it better than anybody? The Democrats. They walk around blinking at each other.”
    I spent a lot of time with this line. Does Trump mean “winking” at each other? If he does mean “blinking,” then what does Democrats blinking tell us about their belief in collusion (or not)? Has blinking been the universal sign of disbelief all this time and no one told me?
    13. “I hope that he’s going to be fair. I think that he’s going to be fair.”
    Trump on Mueller is a classic in leaving-the-door-open-ism. Look, I hope Muelller will be fair. I think he will be fair. But if he’s not. …
    14. “Maybe I’ll just say a little bit of a [inaudible].”
    Same.
    15. “Paul only worked for me for a few months.”
    Paul Manafort was hired as Trump’s campaign chairman on March 28, 2016. He was removed from that job on August 19, 2016. That’s 144 days, or almost five months.
    16. “I saw Dianne Feinstein the other day on television saying there is no collusion.”
    “Believe it or not, even when I’m in Washington or New York, I do not watch much television.” — Donald Trump
    17. “I actually think it’s turning to the Democrats because there was collusion on behalf of the Democrats. There was collusion with the Russians and the Democrats. A lot of collusion.”
    Much collusion. Very Democrats.
    I’m not totally sure what Trump is going for here but my guess is that he views the fact that Clinton’s campaign was secretly paying for the anti-Trump dossier put together by a former British spy as evidence of some sort of collusion with Russia? I think?
    18. “There was tremendous collusion on behalf of the Russians and the Democrats. There was no collusion with respect to my campaign.”
    So much collusion. The best collusion. Big, beautiful collusion.
    19. “The only thing that bothers me about timing, I think it’s a very bad thing for the country. Because it makes the country look bad. It makes the country look very bad, and it puts the country in a very bad position.”
    The best way to understand this Trump quote on the Mueller investigation is to substitute “me” every time Trump says “country.”
    20. “But there is tremendous collusion with the Russians and with the Democratic Party.”
    Huh. I hadn’t heard Trump ever mention the possibility of collusion between Russia and the Democrats before.
    21. “Whatever happened to the Pakistani guy, that had the two, you know, whatever happened to this Pakistani guy who worked with the DNC?”
    The “Pakistani guy” is Imran Awan, who was arrested on bank fraud charges in July as he tried to flee the country. Awan had worked for former Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, among other Democrats on Capitol Hill.
    22. “Whatever happened to the Hillary Clinton deleted 33,000 emails after she got [inaudible]?”
    Clinton did delete more than 31,000 emails on her private email server after a review by longtime Clinton confidante Cheryl Mills and Clinton lawyer Heather Samuelson determined those emails were entirely personal. Clinton turned over more than 30,0000 emails from that server that she believed had some sort of tie to her professional life.
    23. “I have absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department.”
    Trump is technically right here. If he wanted to fire Sessions or even Mueller, he could. But his use of “absolute right” will unsettle many people who have long held doubts that the President understands that there are real boundaries built into government to avoid the executive seizing total power.
    24. “He’s a liberal Democrat. I watched Alan Dershowitz the other day. He said, ‘No. 1, there is no collusion. No. 2, collusion is not a crime, but even if it was a crime, there was no collusion.'”
    “Believe it or not, even when I’m in Washington or New York, I do not watch much television.” — Donald Trump
    25. “It’s very hard for a Republican to win the Electoral College. OK? You start off with New York, California and Illinois against you.”
    The 2016 election ended 416 days ago. Trump won.
    26. “They made the Russian story up as a hoax, as a ruse, as an excuse for losing an election that in theory Democrats should always win with the Electoral College.”
    The special counsel was formed by Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general in the Trump Justice Department — an organization with which he has “absolute right to do what I want to do.” Mueller had been appointed head of the FBI by a Republican president. The heads of the two congressional committees investigating Russian involvement in the election are Republicans.
    27. “It’s too bad Jeff recused himself. I like Jeff, but it’s too bad he recused himself.”
    Man, Jeff, you blew it. And it’s too bad you blew it.
    28. “I don’t want to get into loyalty, but I will tell you that, I will say this: Holder protected President Obama. Totally protected him.”
    I don’t want to pick my favorite Trump quote in this interview but I will tell you this is it.
    29. “We hear bulls*** from the Democrats. Like Joe Manchin. Joe’s a nice guy.”
    From “bulls***” to “nice guy” in eight words: The presidency of Donald Trump.
    30. “‘Hey, let’s get together. Let’s do bipartisan.'”
    We should all do bipartisan at some point in our lives.
    31. “I’m the one that saved coal.”
    Same.
    32. “I called it.”
    This quote is specifically about Trump’s decision to endorse incumbent Republican Luther Strange over Roy Moore in Alabama’s Senate primary race. But it pretty much works for any situation tied to Trump. Ever. Forever.
    33. “I never thought Roy was going to win the election, but I felt … I never thought he was going to win the election.”
    “Go get ’em, Roy.” — Donald Trump
    34. “I would have done bipartisan. I would absolutely have done bipartisan.”
    My #1 rule of life: You always do bipartisan.
    35. “We’ve essentially gutted and ended Obamacare.”
    36. “I have unbelievably great relationships with 97% of the Republican congressmen and senators. I love them and they love me.”
    “I’ve got nothing but love for you.” — Heavy D (RIP)
    37. “I know more about the big bills … [Inaudible] … than any president that’s ever been in office.”
    This claim is sort of hard to check.
    38. “I was a great student and all this stuff.”
    “I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things.” — Donald Trump
    39. “I know the details of taxes better than anybody. Better than the greatest CPA.”
    This got me to thinking: I would definitely watch a reality show called “The Greatest CPA” where accountants just tried to out-math and out-deduct each other.
    40. “Obamacare is essentially … you know, you saw this … it’s basically dead over a period of time.”
    Nope! (Again.)
    41. “No, I’m not being centered.”
    Yes, this is a real quote.
    42. “I’m always moving. I’m moving in both directions.”
    43. “He treated me better than anybody’s ever been treated in the history of China.”
    In the history of China.
    44. “One of the great two days of anybody’s life and memory having to do with China.”
    Anybody’s life and memory.
    45. “In fact, I hate to say, it was reported this morning, and it was reported on Fox.”
    “Believe it or not, even when I’m in Washington or New York, I do not watch much television.” — Donald Trump
    46. “Another reason that I’m going to win another four years is because newspapers, television, all forms of media will tank if I’m not there because without me, their ratings are going down the tubes.”
    The cynicism here is towering. And it reveals Trump’s basic belief that everything and everyone is solely motivated by profit.
    47. “So they basically have to let me win.”
    Well, that about does it for me. Happy (almost) New Year!

    Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/29/politics/donald-trump-new-york-times/index.html

    Virtual reality is still struggling to connect with an audience at large. While 2017 saw most of the consumer-ready headsets drop in price and soar inaccessibility, mainstream adoption of VR technology has yet to take off like developers hoped it would.

    Still, this year continued to push the limits of the available tech and the capabilities of VR games. We saw several full AAA experiences make their way to VR this year, broadening the horizon of the genre and what’s possible with these gaming peripherals.

    1) DOOM VFR

    Hell is all too real when you slip on a VR headset and blast through demons in this faithful recreation of iD Software’s 2016 Doom revival. While it is not a 1-to-1 recreation of that stellar campaign, it effectively captures the harrowing, hardcore slugfest that the first-person shooter managed to deliver. Of course, the sound is even better while lost in virtual reality; guttural roars, whizzing bullets, and the thumping heavy metal score all overwhelm the senses in a glorious cacophony.

    Set immediately after the demonic outbreak on a military research center, Doom VFR gives you a wealth of weapons to experiment with as you clear out the halls. All the iconic enemy types show up here and look just as gruesome as you remember. The controls aren’t perfect, and the game feels more natural using a controller rather than any motion-heavy scheme. Last year’s entry in the Doom franchise was already a full-out assault on the player’s eyes and ears. It only feels more immersive in VR.

    2) Star Trek Bridge Crew

    The very best that virtual reality has to offer is bringing players front and center into compelling, well-crafted worlds. For anyone who has ever seen an episode of Star Trek and dreamed of their day in the captain’s chair, this is the experience you’ve been waiting for. An emphasis on multiplayer and cooperation limits the practical application of this game, but if you can gather a group of friends to man your ship, you’ll find your own thrilling taste of the Star Trek universe.

    Full-body presentation grants a sense of personhood to the avatars aboard the U.S.S. Aegis unparalleled in a commercial VR experience. Hand-tracking and lip motion animations bring everyone on the ship to life, and each member needs to work together to survive the challenges that await in deep space. With a rousing score and clever callbacks to the established series, this game functions as a fundamentally multiplayer experience, but one that highlights the potential of virtual reality technology.

    3) Lone Echo

    Ready at Dawn brings yet another first-person sci-fi VR experience in Lone Echo, but the Oculus-exclusive title does a lot to make it stand out on its own. For one, all of the character models and environments are rendered in stunning fashion. Faces have never looked better in VR, nor has gazing out into the stars from a derelict space station. To solve the game’s core mystery, you’ll need to traverse around in zero-gravity, a feeling that the headset is able to convey with ease.

    Likewise, the sense of loneliness and suspicion is only heightened in VR. The focus is on narrative, rather than action, feeling like Gone Home and Firewatch rather than a traditional action experience. With strong writing, impressive visuals, and a novel approach to controls, Lone Echo makes the case for itself in many ways.

    4) Skyrim VR

    One popular meme born in 2017 was the notion that every single machine that can play video games will have Skyrim released on it. The ubiquity of Bethesda’s legendary RPG is undeniable, but it’s also a genuine delight to be able to explore Whiterun, Winterhold, and every snowy peak of this province from a new perspective. This adaptation shows what VR can do best, which is to show us worlds we know so well in a brand new way.

    The immense sense of scale on display when walking beside a mammoth, or as a dragon flies overhead cannot be understated. In virtual reality, Skyrim becomes more of a tourist attraction than ever. Combat can be frustrating to control, but if you lower the difficulty and turn the music up, getting lost in Skyrim has never felt more realistic.

    5) Robo Recall

    Robo Recall has some exciting things going for it as a free-to-play game for Oculus Touch and a project of former Gears of War developer Epic Games. While the game has a very simple “kill all robots” setup, it quickly turns into a brisk shooting gallery that brings you through tight hallways and wide-open spaces with some of the most satisfying gunplay that VR has to offer.

    While it lasts, there is a good variety among the types of enemies you need to gun down, as well as where and how you do it. You can swap between guns on the fly, quickly zipping around the map as hordes of disposable bots creep toward you. This might be the most technically impressive game yet for the Oculus Rift, with each robot carrying some slight distinctions in design that make you do a double take before you blast them away.

    6) Farpoint

    Virtual reality longs for a game like Halo, Half-Life, or Call of Duty to break the mold of traditional shooters. While there is no shortage of shooting galleries to choose from, it remains hard to find a compelling, story-driven shooter that truly shines in VR. Sony’s Farpoint is the closest we have been yet to a groundbreaking, single-player FPS that makes smart use of a virtual reality headset.

    You can play with the new Aim Controller, a gun-like peripheral, or just with a standard DualShock 4. Either way, the mechanics are up to par for an FPS game of this caliber, though you’ll mostly be exploring different areas. Gorgeous vistas open up as you emerge from underground caves, and there are even some giant monsters to cut down. All-in-all, it’s a short but tantalizing taste of where the genre might be headed in the future.

    7) Resident Evil 7

    Capcom

    Far and away, Capcom’s latest entry into this horror franchise provides the most memorable virtual reality experience of the year. A full, AAA game available entirely in VR is impressive enough, but Resident Evil 7 goes all out with thrilling set pieces and pop-out scares that almost make it hard to play with a headset on for too long. Exploring the Baker mansion on its own was creepy enough, but is much worse when you can’t even look away from the screen.

    The creaking, oozing hallways you explore come to life in VR, with bugs crawling around the corners of your view and ghosts lurking just outside of frame. Resident Evil 7 is truly repulsive, with a gross, unsettling art direction that penetrates every frame. It plays like a dream in VR, with controls almost identical to the traditional version. If you have the stomach to experience this game, you owe it to yourself to see just how all-encompassing a virtual reality title can get.

    Read more: https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/best-vr-games-2017/

    During a recent interview with Rolling Stone, U2′s Bono lamented that “music has gotten very girly.” Unsurprisingly, readers were angry with the 57-year-old’s tone-deaf comments.

    The musician made the “girly” remark when he was explaining how his kids helped their dear old dad discover new music. 

    “The band is always listening to music, and I have got my kids. Jordan is a music snob, an indie snob,” the 57-year-old said in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. 

    “Eve is hip-hop. Elijah is in a band, and he has got very strong feelings about music, but he doesn’t make any distinction between, let’s say, the Who and the Killers. Or, you know, Nirvana and Royal Blood,” Bono said. “It is not generational for him. It is the sound and what he is experiencing. He believes that a rock & roll revolution is around the corner.” 

    When the magazine asked whether Bono also believed rock ‘n’ roll was headed toward a revolution, the singer said this: 

    I think music has gotten very girly. And there are some good things about that, but hip-hop is the only place for young male anger at the moment — and that’s not good.

    The musician didn’t elaborate on his belief that anger is strictly a “young male” emotion, nor why he believes it’s only present in hip-hop. It’s also unclear whether he intended “girly” as an insult or a marker of weakness. Perhaps he missed the ample excellent music released by female artists this year, or the many, many reasons women had to be angry — especially in 2017.

    “When I was 16, I had a lot of anger in me. You need to find a place for it and for guitars, whether it is with a drum machine — I don’t care,” Bono added. “The moment something becomes preserved, it is fucking over. You might as well put it in formaldehyde. In the end, what is rock & roll? Rage is at the heart of it.” 

    Twitter users seemed amazed the musician would say something so incredibly out of touch (then again, this is the man that praised Vice President Mike Pence’s anti-AIDS work that might’ve led to an HIV spike in Indiana).

    We expect an apology coming in 3, 2, 1 … 

    Head over to Rolling Stone to read the rest of Bono’s interview. 

    Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bono-music-rolling-stone_us_5a44054ae4b06d1621b6ba4a

    Actor Jonah Hill’s 40-year-old brother, Jordan Feldstein, died suddenly on Friday after suffering an apparent heart attack, according to his family.

    Feldstein, long time manager of Maroon 5, called 911 after experiencing shortness of breath at his home in Southern California. He had gone into cardiac arrest by the time paramedics arrived, and died a short time later, his family said in a statement on Saturday.

    Unfortunately, last night Jordan called 911 for shortness of breath, when paramedics arrived it was determined he went into full cardiac arrest and passed away shortly thereafter.

    His family asks for privacy during this difficult and unexpected time.

    In lieu of food and flowers, the family will announce a charity in the coming weeks where memorial donations can be made in Jordan’s name.

    Feldstein was the founder and CEO of Career Artist Management in Beverly Hills. Clients have included Robin Thicke, rapper Big Boi and Iggy Azalea. A childhood friend of Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, Feldstein managed the band since it began 15 years ago.

    He was married twice — including briefly to Clint Eastwood’s daughter, Francesca, until she had the marriage annulled soon after in 2013. Aside from his brother, Feldstein leaves behind two children, his parents and his sister, Beanie Feldstein, star of the film “Lady Bird.”

    Many in the music world mourned his passing.

    Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jonahhill-bro-jordan-feldstein-dies_us_5a3f3228e4b06d1621b4d77e

    (CNN)It’s been a rough year for Jamie Lynn Spears, but she’s ending it on a high note.

    The singer/songwriter and younger sister of pop star Britney Spears has announced she is expecting.
    “Looks like we are starting off 2018 with another big milestone…sooo happy to announce that Maddie is FINALLY going to be a big sister,” the younger Spears wrote in a caption on a photo of her, husband Jamie Watson and her daughter Maddie.

      Looks like we are starting off 2018 with another big milestone…sooo happy to announce that Maddie is FINALLY going to be a big sister👶🏼2017 was filled with some of the biggest challenges of my life, as well as some of the biggest blessings, so I made a choice to lay low this year to focus on truly becoming my best self as a person and as an artist. During that time, I continued working on my music and telling my story, which has created some of my most honest work and I CANT wait to share that with you all very soon. 2018 is going to be filled with many milestones both personally and professionally. I appreciate each of you for your patience and support through it- all. 2018 has a lot coming, so GET READY…….. #12DaysofJLS

      A post shared by Jamie Lynn Spears (@jamielynnspears) on

      Spears can be seen sporting what appears to be a baby bump.
      It’s Spears’ and Watson’s first child together and her second. Daughter Maddie, 9, is from a relationship with Spears’ ex-fiance, Casey Aldridge.
      In February, Maddie was critically injured after the child accidentally steered her all-terrain vehicle into a pond on her family’s Louisiana property.
      “2017 was filled with some of the biggest challenges of my life, as well as some of the biggest blessings, so I made a choice to lay low this year to focus on truly becoming my best self as a person and as an artist,” Spears wrote in her caption. “During that time, I continued working on my music and telling my story, which has created some of my most honest work and I CANT wait to share that with you all very soon.”
      Spears and Watson wed in 2014.

      Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/26/entertainment/jamie-lynn-spears-pregnant/index.html

      (CNN)The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and BeeGees co-founder Barry Gibb have been awarded knighthoods by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in her 2018 New Year honors list.

      77-year-old Starr, whose real name is Richard Starkey, is the second Beatle to be knighted, 21 years after Paul McCartney.
      Gibb, the 70s disco pioneer who co-founded the BeeGees with his late brothers Robin and Maurice, said he was “deeply honored, humbled, and very proud” to be recognized.
        “This is a moment in life to be treasured and never forgotten. I want to acknowledge how responsible my brothers are for this honor. It is as much theirs as it is mine,” Gibb, 71, told the UK’s Press Association.
        Darcey Bussell, the former principal dancer with the Royal Ballet and current judge on hit British television show “Strictly Come Dancing,” was awarded a damehood for services to dance.
        More than 1,100 people were honored this year, including 551 women. The list, which is drawn up by the government and approved by the Queen, recognizes the achievements and service of “extraordinary” people and includes politicians, academics, journalists, authors and athletes.
        The list includes five categories and is released twice a year — once at New Year’s and the other during the Queen’s publicly celebrated birthday in June.
        A knighthood or damehood is the highest honor. Men recognized as such are given the title “Sir,” while women are given the title “Dame.” Below that is a CBE, which stands for Commander of the Order of the British Empire; an OBE, or Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire; followed by an MBE, or Member of the Order of the British Empire.
        Starr, McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison were recognized with MBEs in 1965.
        Actor Hugh Laurie, known for his roles in American shows such as the medical drama “House” and political satire “Veep,” was recognized for services to drama, while former British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman was recognized for her contribution to fashion journalism.
        British author and journalist Jilly Cooper, who penned the racy romantic series “The Ruthshire Chronical,” was honored for services to literature and charity.
        Laurie, Shulman and Cooper were all awarded OBEs. They were previously honored with CBEs.
        Singer-songwriter Marc Almond from the 80s synthpop duo Soft Cell, best known for their hit cover of “Tainted Love,” received an OBE for his services to arts and culture. He told the Press Association he was “totally excited” to be honored, saying, “I can’t really be a rebel anymore. I think it’s time to leave it to younger people.”
        Grime music artist Wiley, whose real name is Richard Cowie, was recognized with an MBE for services to music.
        “I’m honored to be receiving an MBE. It feels like the school grade I wanted and didn’t get but now I’m finally there,” Wiley told the Press Association.
        Former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was honored with a knighthood.
        The Press Association reported that future honors lists will recognize people involved in anti-terrorism efforts and those who responded to the fire at Grenfell Tower in London earlier this year which killed 71 people.
        Recipients will be celebrated at a ceremony headed by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

        Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/29/europe/ringo-starr-barry-gibb-new-year-honors-intl/index.html