Arts & Entertainment
Dua Lipa drops new video and album
Pop sensation Dua Lipa did her part to help relieve the monotony of self-isolation this week by releasing a new video for her latest single, the day before making an early drop of her highly anticipated new album, “Future Nostalgia.”
The singer, who exploded onto the music scene in 2015 with a self-titled, chart topping debut album which eclipsed 4 million sales worldwide, on Thursday revealed the pop art video for “Break My Heart.” Taking viewers on a rollercoaster of a journey through the trials and tribulations of relationships, the track is the third single from “Future Nostalgia,” following the the number one global hit single “Don’t Start Now,” and her current UK smash single “Physical.”
On Friday, Dua released the entire album, which is now available for download on all digital platforms, as well as in physical formats which include pink neon vinyl, CD, picture disc, gold cassette and a deluxe box set.
In addition, she released an announcement of rescheduled dates for her upcoming “Future Nostalgia” UK and European Tour, which was originally set for this year but has now been pushed back to early 2021.
Dua Lipa made history with her debut album, which became the most streamed album by a female artist in Spotify history. The video for her breakout global #1 hit “New Rules” made her the youngest female solo artist to reach one billion views on YouTube, and the track was the first to spend a record 45 weeks on the Billboard Pop Songs Chart. She set another milestone in 2018 by becoming the first female artist to pick up five BRIT Award nominations, with two wins for British Breakthrough Act and British Female Solo Artist, and in 2019, she received two Grammy awards for Best New Artist and Best Dance Recording.
The adrenaline-fueled lead single from “Future Nostalgia,” “Don’t Start Now,” has over 600 million streams and hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 – Dua Lipa’s highest position on that chart to date. Her newest UK smash single “Physical” was released with an accompanying super-charged rainbow-colored video and immediately hit the Billboard Hot 100.
You can watch the video for “Break My Heart” below.
Celebrity News
More than 1 million people attend Madonna concert in Rio
Free event took place on Copacabana Beach on Saturday
An estimated 1.6 million people on Saturday attended Madonna’s free concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach.
The concert, which was the last one as part of Madonna’s Celebration Tour, included a tribute to people lost to AIDS.
Bob the Drag Queen introduced Madonna before the concert began. Pabllo Vittar, a Brazilian drag queen and singer, and Anitta, a bisexual pop star who was born in Rio’s Honório Gurgel neighborhood, also joined Madonna on stage.
Congresswoman Erika Hilton, a Black travesti and former sex worker, and Rio Municipal Councilwoman Mônica Benício, the widow of Marielle Franco, a bisexual Rio Municipal Councilwoman who was assassinated in 2018, are among those who attended the concert.
“Madonna showed that we fight important fights for the human rights of Black (people), young (people), women and LGBTQIA+ people, and against all injustice, discrimination, and violence,” said Associaçao Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais (National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals), a Brazilian trans rights group known by the acronym ANTRA, on its X account. “What they call identitarianism’ is our subversion to the retrograde and conservative tackiness that plagues the country.”
The Associated Press reported the concert was Madonna’s biggest ever.
The DC Center for the LGBTQ Community, SMYAL and Rainbow Families sponsored Gay Day at the Zoo on Sunday at the Smithsonian National Zoo. The Smithsonian observed International Family Equality Day with special exhibits and an event space.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Covering Gay Day at the Zoo for @WashBlade . Here at @NationalZooDC pic.twitter.com/LqgGNOOAiM
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) May 5, 2024
Photos
PHOTOS: Taste of Point
Annual fundraiser held for LGBTQ youth scholarship, mentorship organization
The Point Foundation held its annual Taste of Point fundraiser at Room & Board on May 2.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)