The Weeknd abruptly ends sold-out gig after telling 70,000 booing fans he’s lost voice

BreAnna Bell James Earl Jones, who has voiced Darth Vader for nearly 40 years of “Star Wars” films, seems to be stepping away from the role. According to Vanity Fair, the 91-year-old actor has signed off on archival voice recordings being used by young filmmakers, who plan to utilize artificial intelligence synthetic speech technology to recreate Jones’ younger voice from his previous films for future Lucasfilm projects. “He had mentioned he was looking into winding down this particular character,” Matthew Wood, a Lucasfilm veteran of 32 years, told the outlet. “So how do we move forward?”

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor There’s been no shortage of neo-R&B albums over the past few years, but so many of them are led by breathy female singers who feel like they’re singing in your ear — very few have had full-voiced singers at the forefront. And although Muni Long isn’t a belter and does put on the bedroom voice on a couple of tracks, her first full-length album is a blast of vintage ‘90s R&B that isn’t trying to be cute: It’s filled with frank lyrics about of love and sex from an artist who’s been around for more than a minute. Working under the name of Priscilla Renea, Muni has long been a songwriter whose soul and pop smarts helped forge hits such as Ariana Grande’s “Imagine,” Fifth Harmony’s “Worth It,” Rihanna’s “California King Bed,” along with tracks for Mariah Carey, Kelly Clarkson, Madonna, Mary J. Blige, Miranda Lambert, Selena Gomez and more.She released strong albums under that name too — 2009’s “Jukebox” and 2018’s “Coloured” — but neither of those records had the sparkle, innovation and warmth that her songwriting catalog contained. A change of name, an independently-released EP featuring the haunting, quirky hit “Hrs and Hrs,” and suddenly, Muni Long is a new artist with a remarkably seasoned and strong debut album.

Asserting himself. Kanye West opened up about coparenting with Kim Kardashian — and compared the duo’s situation to his business battles in fashion.

A singer and his sugar. Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo tied the knot in July 2014 after briefly splitting one year prior.

Kanye West insisted “men’s voices matter” as he spoke about co-parenting with Kim Kardashian in a new interview with “Good Morning America”.

Marta Balaga “The Woodcutter Story,” a Finnish drama with a surreal touch, has been sold to Australia (Palace Films), Baltics (Estinfilm), Sweden (Njuta), Germany (Eksystent) and France (Urban), Paris-based Totem Films shared exclusively with Variety. Directed by Mikko Myllylahti, it sees a good man who runs into bad luck: he loses his job and his wife leaves, but Pepe (Jarkko Lahti) is trying to keep his head high. Even when strange things start to happen in his sleepy village. The film, which premiered in Cannes’ Critics Week, screens Wednesday at the Helsinki Film Festival – Love & Anarchy. It will have its North American premiere at Chicago Film Festival and its U.K. premiere at the London Film Festival.

An elegant tribute. Meghan Markle showed her appreciation for Queen Elizabeth II at her funeral, donning jewelry the late monarch gifted her.

Loud and clear. Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause clarified that she still wants to have kids and revealed she even plans to adopt a child.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Though she’s just 22, Noah Cyrus has seen some stuff. As Miley’s younger sister, her music and acting careers launched early — at 16 and 2 (!), respectively — and she released several pop-leaning singles and EPs during her teens, opened an arena tour for Katy Perry in 2017 and was even nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy in 2021. On the less positive side, there was substance abuse, a bad relationship and lockdown isolation — but she overcame all of it, and that battle informs nearly every song on “The Hardest Part,” her long-percolating debut album, which sees her truly finding her voice in a way that her previous recordings only hinted at. Surprisingly or no, the Nashville native did it by returning home, musically speaking. Although her main collaborators here are Northern Irish producer Mike Crossey (Arctic Monkeys, the 1975) and Australian songwriter PJ Harding (Chromeo, Ruel), the sound is country-leaning, heavy on harmonies, organic instrumentation and Music Row-friendly melodies; its big, stacked harmonies recall everything from the Chicks to Boygenius.

The National Rugby League Women’s Premiership has struck Newcastle player Caitlin Moran with the ban hammer because she criticized the late queen.

Jáde Osiberu, the co-writer and director of Gangs of Lagos, has signed an overall deal with Prime Video, the studio behind the upcoming feature drama.

Shutting down the mom-shamers. Khloé Kardashian fired back at a troll who questioned the way she parents her two children.

Global anime destination Crunchyroll will release the anticipated One Piece Film Red in the U.S. and Canada on Nov. 4.

Pixar has confirmed that Inside Out 2 is in the works and unveiled a new sci-fi-themed movie called Elio at Disney’s D23 Expo.The event is currently taking place in Anaheim, California, where many new films and highly anticipated sequels are being revealed today (September 9).Parks And Recreation’s Amy Poehler, who played Joy in 2015’s Inside Out, made an appearance at the event to share the news. Kesley Mann will direct the new film, while Meg LeFauve will write the script and Mark Nielsen will produce.According to Poehler, Inside Out 2 will be set in Riley’s – who is now a teenager – head, where she experiences brand new emotions.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Prodigy are expanding their casts. Oscar nominee Carol Kane is set for a recurring role in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Billy Campbell has joined the voice cast of animated series Prodigy. The news was announced Thursday as part of the global live-streamed Star Trek Day event.

Haley Kluge editor SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched the Sept. 6 episode of “The Bachelorette.” The first episode of “The Bachelorette”’s two-night fantasy suite event left Gabby Windey in rough shape. Johnny DePhillipo left Mexico after not being ready to get down on one knee, Jason Alabaster confessed similar hesitations to host Jesse Palmer, and Erich Schwer told Gabby that he would feel “cheated on” if she slept with other men.  But Gabby and Erich worked through his insecurities. They rehashed their fears on camera, after previously discussing them in private during their fantasy suite. While he admitted he brought it up out of a place of insecurity, Gabby was frustrated and felt pressured by the almost-ultimatum.