Entertainment

Nashville Sees It Differently

A strange thing occurred in May 2026. Billboard Country Airplay charts debuted a single from an unknown artist in Nashville. Stella Lefty was the singer and “Boston” was the title of her song. This was an unusual occurrence for a music genre which doesn’t often have songs featuring Northern cities. The song was written by a female, which is another rarity in the male-dominated world of radio country.
The song “Boston”, however, sounded remarkably similar to Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season”. As a result, the Vermont-based songwriter was given credit for the composition. In a Vanity Fair article, Lefty stated that she had added Kahan to the writing credits when Kahan’s team contacted her before the official release of “Boston”. On Music Row, familiarity is a plus, so no one minded.
RJ Curtis is the executive director of Country Radio Broadcasters Inc. and he says that “country music” has always been a form of borrowing.
Lefty continued to rise. Boston has soared up the Billboard Hot 100 and Country Airplay charts. It is currently at number two. Lefty’s tour dates began selling out as soon as Nashville’s CMA Fest in June rolled around. She was performing to an almost full house. Lefty was accused by a large part of the Internet of being “industry planted” and a “nepo-baby” for her relationship with Groupon billionaire Eric Lefkofsky. However, audiences at Lefty’s shows had a different opinion. Country fans and young girls sang along to every line, while Lefty signed their “Lefty’ hats. The people who came to hear her live were having a good time, despite the online anger.
A lot has happened in the past two months. The internet is awash with memes referring to Lefty as “Stella Thefty”. Music fans also noticed similarities between “Summer You Were Mine” from Lefty’s debut album, Long Way Home and “There’s Your Trouble,” a 1998 Chicks hit.
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Rolling Stone revealed that there were a number of claims. The 2025 song, “Why Wouldn’t We”, is a resemblance to Blake Shelton’s “I’ll Name the Dogs” from 2017, while “Seven Eleven,” from Lefty’s Tragic Really EP, sounds like Wheatus’s “Teenage Dirtbag.” The most recent comparison, “Misery,” a song from Lefty’s Tragic Really EP, has been compared with “A Million Dreams” from the musical film The Greatest Showman (2017). The most bizarre comparison was that the song “Summer You Were Mine”, from Lefty’s Tragic, Really EP, sounds similar to the theme of Full House. Full House aired long before Lefty. Lefty’s staff has not credited the writers or acknowledged them, and it is unclear if this needs to happen. A representative for Lefty didn’t immediately reply to Rolling Stone when they asked for comment.
Other accusations range from the reasonable to the absurd. Some claim that Lefty was part of a AI experiment started by her dad, who owns a healthcare business that uses AI to cure cancer. He began the company after Lefty’s mom, his wife, had been diagnosed with it. Lefty’s performance at the Grand Ole Opry in October prompted some to criticize her appearance in the country music institution. They did this in comments on a video that showed Lefty singing at St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital for children undergoing treatment. Online chatter has also leaned toward antisemitism (Lefty’s Jewish) and comments portraying her as an opportunistic thief who knowingly plagiarized songs.
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Nashville is a city where many people are shaken. Some industry insiders believe that Lefty’s vitriol is not justified. While many would agree that artists should credit others for their work, they feel that Lefty has been unfairly targeted. This is especially true since Top 40 and country radio are often filled with songs that have a similar sound. Sir Mashalot, a YouTube channel, once created a mashup that included six songs from artists such as Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan. The songs blended together so well that it was almost impossible to tell them apart.
The 2010s’ prevailing trend in country music was Bro-Country, which consisted of songs with the same beat, sung to familiar tunes like trucks, tailgates and women wearing jeans shorts. By 2023, the male country contingent had adopted a new trend of rewriting older songs. “Interpolation Songs” were dominating the charts. Swindell’s “She Had Me at Heads Carolina”, which won the Song of the year award at the ACM Awards, remade a part of Jo Dee Messina’s 1996 hit song “Heads Carolina Tails California”. Jake Owen changed Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” to “On the Boat Again”. Dustin Lynch & Jelly Roll remade Dobie Gray’s 1973 hit song “Drift Away”, into “Chevrolet”. All of these songs credited the authors, but also lifted whole melodies and sound patterns. Even without a direct interpretation, country music is prone to borrowing, and male artists are allowed to be successful under this system with minimal scrutiny.
Curtis: “Let’s face it, this has been happening for many years.” Curtis asks, “How many artists have Nashville mass produced once an original has become popular?” Curtis cites the fact that new musicians and writers are able to access a “nearly limitless” musical universe. “Country. Rock. Pop. Hip-hop. R&B. Americana. Indie. EDM. They listen to music from previous generations and songs released yesterday in other countries. When someone says in the writing room, “I want something like that,” ‘that could be anything.”
Lefty is a great example of an artist who has matured as he covers songs for TikTok. Artists aren’t inspired by a collection of CDs they played as children, but instead an endless scroll of 30-second melodies.
This is also true for listeners. Curtis says that the fans are their own amateur musicians because they have unlimited music to listen to. He says that there have never been more people who can instantly recognize and point out where they believe they heard something previously. There’s a thin line between copying and being influenced. “There always was.”
Ed Sheeran once said that there are only a few notes in pop music and very little chords. Sheeran won his court case.
Nashville has defended Lefty more than once. Chris Kappy, Luke Combs manager and Kelsea ballerini have both backed Lefty up. Lefty performed at CMA Fest and was named as one of Stagecoach 2027’s performers on the same poster with Shaboozey, an outlaw country songwriter, and Cody Jinks. Lefty continues to stream worldwide: According to Luminate’s data, Lefty has averaged around 30 million U.S. on-demand streams per week.
Leslie Fram is a music executive in country who runs the FemCo artist development company. She finds that the “intensity of the backlash” has been exaggerated. Country and pop country has always used a limited range of chords, and melody. Fram says that the same progressions, hooks and lyrical DNA are present in decades’ worth of hit songs. Many songs are echoes of older hits without any one rushing to claim it. It’s sometimes a pure accident. Sometimes an artist will absorb something that they have played or covered many times and it comes out without their knowledge. If a similarity can be clearly seen, it is easy to follow the correct professional course: remove the interpolation from the song and credit the original artist. It was the same with Chicks’ and Noah Kahan’s references.
Lefty, to her credit did quickly correct the publication credits for “Boston”, and “Summer You Were Mine”. However, comments made by Lefty to Vanity Fair where she said she wasn’t thinking of Kahan when she wrote didn’t help her. Musicologist Dr. Jada W. Watson does notice some similarities between the songs Lefty has been accused of stealing, but she says it is easy to question a writer once they establish a pattern.
Watson says that “one accusation leads to a fishing expedition.” Watson says, “Unfortunately the similarities can be found.” In each case, there are valid reasons to scrutinize the situation. Misogyny, however, can influence the nature and intensity of this scrutiny. Women, particularly young women are more likely than men to be the target of a listening mission where finding similarities becomes a “game.”
Watson believes that the discussion should be about more than Lefty’s practices. Who gets to pass on traditions of country music? She says that Lefty’s inheritance is unusually evident in several ways: financial wealth, the ability to access the institution machinery to protect and support a career and the entry into a music genre where ideas about authenticity and belonging are historically shaped by class, race and gender. The point is not that she’s undeserving of any one thing. Not everyone is entitled to inherit or use what they inherit on the same terms.
Fram cautions that it is not a good idea to dismiss an artist because they have similar songs. The familiarity of a track is not a reason to throw out the entire catalogue. She says that if you follow this logic too far, a lot of popular music will disappear.
Lefty’s music career is certainly scrutinized because she has a billionaire dad in an era where the financial divide is greater than ever. Her family’s wealth will make it easier for her to deal with any legal issues that might arise, and also give her the freedom to create music without worrying about day-today concerns. It doesn’t, however, mean that Lefty can buy fans. The songs, not the money, are what get people to attend concerts. As manager and music publisher Tracy Gershon says, “Good Is Good.” But since the majority of the concertgoers are young women, the general public is quick to discount their tastes.
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Kappy, Comb’s manager, wrote “I manage musicians” on Instagram. I am very wealthy and successful. Money is not the basis of success, otherwise I’d be able to book every show in stadiums and arenas. Your arguments and idiotic comments are the real problem. You need to know the truth. Yes, these people are idiots. “No amount of money can buy success. It’s all about the music.”

Entertainment

Resident Evil First Reactions Praise Zach Cregger’s Scary Reboot

“Weapons” and “Barbarian” director Zach Cregger is dabbling in studio IP for the first time with Sony’s “Resident Evil,” but it appears joining a franchise has done nothing to weaken the filmmaker’s knack for outrageously wild scares. Members of the film press are calling Cregger’s “Resident Evil” reboot “a cinematic spectacle” and “easily among the best video game adaptations.”
Tomatometer critic EJ Moreno shared an enthusiastic review on X, writing that the film is one that “you have to see on the biggest screen with a big crowd! A true horror blockbuster.” He continued: “Zach Cregger goes bigger, scarier, and at his most fun. This is how you make horror into a cinematic spectacle.”
Fellow Tomatometer critic Mark Cassidy wrote that “Resident Evil” taps “into the relentless tension of the games.” “Zach Cregger has actually delivered the most faithful take yet. Very bloody, very funny, and it made me jump at least 3 times (no easy task). The fella sitting in front of me hid behind his jacket for most of the movie. Easily among the best video game adaptations I’ve seen.”
Film journalist and editor-in-chief of SplashReport.com Kellvin Chavez shared a glowing review for “Resident Evil” as well. “HOLY SHIT!!! #ResidentEvil has its foot on the gas from the opening scene and NEVER hits the brakes,” he wrote on X. “Zach Cregger delivers relentless suspense, gloriously gory action, and some seriously twisted, Thing-esque creature designs. Pure SURVIVAL HORROR and easily the best ‘Resident Evil’ movie yet. Austin Abrams is terrific. I’ll do a full review tomorrow.”
“It’s just as intense and horrifying as you’d expect a ‘Resident Evil’ movie to be while integrating some great humorous moments throughout,” film critic Tristian Circa ‘89 shared on X. “Austin Abrams plays an everyman in way over his head, but his natural charm makes him a lead worth rooting for.”
Variety‘s Jordan Moreau wrote on X that “Zach Cregger is the fucking man and #ResidentEvil is one of the best video game adaptions ever made, and one of the best horror movies in recent memory. Incredible title drop, Austin Abrams is hilarious to watch stumble around killing zombies, 10/10.”
“Resident Evil” reunites Cregger with his “Weapons” star Austin Abrams, who plays a medical courier who must contend with a zombie outbreak while making a delivery to Raccoon City General Hospital. Cregger wrote the movie’s screenplay with Shay Hatten. The supporting cast includes Zach Cherry, Kali Reis and Paul Walter Hauser.
Notably, Cregger’s new movie does not feature established characters from the “Resident Evil” video game universe such as Leon S. Kennedy or Jill Valentine because Cregger aimed to create a new and original story, which has rubbed a certain section of the fandom the wrong way (Cregger has admitted he was “naive” to think he could create an original story in a pre-existing franchise and get away unscathed from fans).
There have been six previous “Resident Evil” films, beginning with Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez’s 2002 film. Jovovich went on to lead “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” (2004), “Resident Evil: Extinction” (2007), “Resident Evil: Afterlife” (2010), “Resident Evil: Retribution” (2012) and “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” (2017). In 2021, filmmaker Johannes Roberts took on the franchise reboot “Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City” as writer and director. The franchise has collectively grossed over $1.2 billion at the global box office.
“Resident Evil” opens in theaters Sept. 18 from Sony Pictures. Check out first reactions in the posts below.

Entertainment

‘American Idol’ announces move from Los Angeles to Georgia

“American Idol” contestants hoping to make it in Hollywood won’t have to compete there.
Season 25 of ABC’s reality singing competition series is relocating from California to Georgia, production company Fremantle confirmed to USA TODAY on Tuesday, Sept. 15. The show has been filmed at the Red Studios Hollywood lot in Los Angeles for more than two decades.
Returning judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, along with longtime host Ryan Seacrest, will film in the Atlanta area, according to Fremantle. ABC has not explained its decision to move production across the country, and Fremantle declined to share any additional details.
Auditions for Season 25 began Aug. 25, with “Idol” producers scouting talent virtually across all 50 states and Washington, DC, through the show’s Idol Across America search. The open-call process concludes on Sept. 28.
When does ‘American Idol’ return?
“American Idol” Season 25 is expected to premiere in January 2027, though ABC has not shared an exact premiere date.
Episodes stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu, and during live shows, episodes will be available to stream on Disney+. They must be legal U.S. residents born from June 2, 1997, to Feb. 15, 2012.
Hopeful contestants can audition for the show at americanidol.com/auditions.
Who won ‘American Idol’ Season 24?
“American Idol” Season 24 concluded on May 11, awarding a $250,000 prize and recording contract to winner Hannah Harper, who was victorious against finalists Keyla Richardson and Jordan McCullough.
“I’m a puddle right now,” Harper told USA TODAY an hour after her win. “All the sacrifices have been made [by my family] to make this happen. Had it not been for my husband … that poor man has sacrificed his entire life.”
She continued: “Every part of normalcy he had – to uproot life and bring our whole family here and live out of a hotel for two months – just so I could do this meant everything to me. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay him for that. He’s not the only one; my parents also. I just feel like my village is growing now.”
Harper, who became the first female country artist to win the show since Underwood in 2005, connected with viewers through an original song about postpartum depression titled “String Cheese.”
“Knowing that I could connect with other women who were feeling the same as me – women and men, really – that meant everything to me,” she said. “And that I had the opportunity to share my ministry, basically, and my relationship with the Lord, all of those things are precious to me. So every step of the way has been awesome.”
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY

Entertainment

‘Dancing With The Stars’ Season 35 Premiere Recap: Who Went Home?

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from night one of the Season 35 premiere of Dancing with the Stars.
Back like they never left! The ballroom at CBS Television City was once again glittering with celebrities on Tuesday night to kick off Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars.
There are 16 contestants vying for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy at the top of the season, and ABC opted for a two-night premiere that split the dances between Tuesday and Wednesday nights. On the first night, only the male celebrities performed. The ladies will take the floor on Wednesday night.
Unfortunately, things did not go over without a hitch. The party was interrupted by some tech issues, with voting going down online in the middle of the show. They threw out the ABC.com votes mid-premiere and relied solely on text votes, which have their own wrinkle this year since there’s two contestants who share the same name. Voters will need to specify Conner L. or Connor W. in their text votes, and they won’t count if they don’t, according to hosts Afonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough. What could go wrong there?
While this week’s results might be questionable, the show must go on. Here’s how things shook out on night one.
Savannah Bananas midfielder Jackson Olson with Emma Slater. The baseball player kicked things off with a cha cha to “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls — and it’s clear that Slater is reveling in being paired with a younger partner this season. In the package before the dance, she said it’s the first time she’s ever worked with a celeb in their 20s, and admits there were less “limitations” working with Olson.The energetic routine was a nice introduction to Olson, and the judges ate it up. “The ballroom is back!” judge Derek Hough said. “Jackson, my man, you are a natural born performer.” BUT! Hough also warned that the judges are going to be pretty tough with their scores this season, and Olson has plenty of room for improvement in the technique department. SCORE: 15 out of 30
Reality star Tyler Cameron with Sharna Burgess. The Bachelor alum was the first of many reality stars to take the dance floor over the next two days, dancing a tango. The former college football player says he did take some dance classes in college, but he’s got some brushing up to do. After a multi-year hiatus from the show, Burgess pleased the judges with her first routine with Cameron. “Tyler, what’s going on here? I have to say, I’m very pleasantly surprised. I mean, look at him. He looks like a tank…you can move, man,” Bruno Tonioli complimented. SCORE: 17 out of 30
Reality star Conner Leavitt with Adele Zaikman. These two stepped onto the ballroom floor with something to prove Tuesday night, what with newcomer Zaikman as the winner of DWTS: The Next Pro and Leavitt married to Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt, who took the ballroom by storm last season and leveraged the exposure to launch a Broadway run on Chicago. They danced a salsa to “Whoomp! (There It Is)” by Tag Team, putting Zaikman in her element as a Latin expert and taking Leavitt straight out of his. Carrie Ann Inaba called the routine “a little chaotic,” but overall, the judges loved the enthusiasm. SCORE: 12 out of 30
Late-night sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez with Witney Carson. Season 34 champ Carson is back on the ballroom floor with a much different contestant this year. She’s guiding Jimmy Kimmel’s right-hand man Rodriguez through the competition, and they started off with a cha cha. Carson, who is impressively competing pregnant this year, tried to disguise her partner’s lack of technique by leaning into Rodriguez’s charm, reminding why he’s spent decades at Kimmel’s side on late night. It only kind of worked. “Listen, was the technique there? No. Was the effort there? Absolutely,” Hough said. “We can’t be having heel leads in the cha cha.” Regardless, the audience clearly responded to Rodriguez’s “spicy” performance, chanting his name when he finished. There were even boos when the judges issued their (probably rightful) rating. SCORE: 10 out of 30
Paralympian Ezra Frech with Daniella Karagach. Julianne Hough kind of botched his introduction, but Frech still made a great impression on his first night as his rehearsal package gave audiences a glimpse of what he’s working through this season as an above-the-knee amputee in the competition. He and Karagach had to make some accommodations to take on the tango, but boy, did they deliver. The judges loved the fiery routine to Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” and so did the crowd. “What really impressed me, you really looked like a leading man,” Tonioli said. SCORE: 20 out 30
Comedian and podcaster Connor Wood with Rylee Arnold. The second Connor of the night showcased his personality with a cha cha to “I Like It, I Love It” by Tim McGraw. Of the group, Wood has some of the least dance experience, so it appears Arnold may have her work cut out for her this season. But what he lacks in technique, he makes up for in his sincerity. On the bright side, Inaba says he didn’t give her “the ick” when he made a wrong move. A for effort! No comment on the person riding a bedazzled mechanical bull in the background for the entire number. SCORE: 16 out of 30
Musician Taylor Hanson with Britt Stewart. The middle Hanson brother is back on stage after spending years “avoiding dancing.” He says he’s uncomfortable performing without an instrument in tow, but Stewart tells him to think of her as his new “safety blanket.” Having gone from avoiding all dancing to taking on the quickstep night one, Derek Hough assures him he should feel proud, despite the flaws. Tonioli agreed. Now, he needs to work on his frame. “Don’t tighten up,” Tonioli said. SCORE: 16 out of 30
Actor Harry Shum Jr. with Jenna Johnson. The Glee and Grey’s Anatomy actor closed out the night one with yet another cha cha. Johnson took advantage of Shum’s freestyle and hip-hop experience, though, and his prior performance chops on Glee to deliver a performance full of personality and charm. And, well, they absolutely saved the best for last. Those two lit up the ballroom floor with an “emergency disco” that had Tonioli in a fit. “The chemistry between you two is off the charts. Sharp as a scalpel,” he said. SCORE: 21 out of 30 (the highest score of the night!)
So, who goes home?
Sadly, after just one dance, Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman are sent packing. Well, they’ll be back in the ballroom at least once more for tomorrow’s ‘live afterparty’ with Season 34 winner Robert Irwin and whomever among the women is voted off on night two.

Entertainment

Emmys 2026 In Memoriam Excludes Robert Redford, Nicholas Brendon And More

The 2026 Emmy Awards included its annual “In Memoriam” tribute, honoring many of the actors and creatives who’ve recently died, but it left out several notable names, including actors Robert Redford and Nicholas Brendon. Although Redford, who died September 16, 2025, was best known as a film star, he also had numerous television credits throughout his career. Meanwhile, Brendon, who died March 20, 2026, was best known for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
Redford and Brendon weren’t the only stars absent from the segment. The broadcast tribute also excluded Chuck Norris, Patrick Muldoon, and Daveigh Chase.
According to the Television Academy, “The In Memoriam for the 78th Emmy Awards honors those who have passed between August 27, 2025 and August 25, 2026. While the In Memoriam segments of the Emmy Awards will feature some of those who passed, the following is a more complete listing. For further listings, please go to In Memoriam.” “Transformers” voice actor Peter Cullen was also absent from the broadcast tribute, but his death on August 26 fell one day after the Academy’s stated cutoff.
The “In Memoriam” segment didn’t include every actor or creative who died over the past year, but it honored many notable figures from the entertainment industry. Those honored included Catherine O’Hara, Hayden Panettiere, James Van Der Beek, and Tim Curry.
The segment opened with Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy, and Dan Levy paying tribute to their former co-star O’Hara. Culkin, who played O’Hara’s son in the “Home Alone” movies, spoke about what she meant to him. “She was encouraging,” he said. “She was warm. She was funny, but the word that I think of is mama … She was my mom. She was our mama … So, she may have forgotten me twice. But we will always remember her.”
Jamie Lee Curtis also paid tribute to Rob Reiner during the segment. Elsewhere in the telecast, Dolly Parton, who died at age 80, received a separate tribute introduced by her “Steel Magnolias” co-star Sally Field. “If there are truly angels on earth, then we just lost one,” Field said. Reba McEntire also honored the late country star with a performance of Parton’s “Appalachian Memories.”

Entertainment

‘Mormon Wives’ Star Mikayla Matthews Says Taylor Frankie Paul’s Return Is “Only Reason” She’s Leaving Hulu Reality Series

Mikayla Matthews isn’t mincing words, and a day after saying she was leaving The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, she confirmed it was because Taylor Frankie Paul was returning to filming.
The Hulu reality series is currently filming Season 6 after Season 5 was truncated due to Paul’s domestic violence claims from her ex, Dakota Mortensen.
“The ONLY reason I’m leaving the show is because I was told a certain person was coming back,” Matthews shared on Instagram Stories. “I told them before agreeing to do [Season] 6 that I wasn’t going to film if that certain someone came back because it’s UNETHICAL and kids are involved.”
She continued, “And I’m being put in an unfair position because of the things I’ve seen and heard that I don’t agree with. Not just the Barstool video everyone else saw (which mind you I saw this video for the first time in March) and other things with it that obviously made me question the one side I was hearing and unknowingly enabling the whole time. I NEVER knew the dephts of it and I still don’t.”
Matthews said that she filmed Season 6 because Paul was not filming with the rest of MomTok, but as soon as “we were told she was coming back, I said great, then I will not be participating, god bless and goodbye, haven’t filmed a day since.”
The social media influencer said that rewatching Season 5 did not influence her decision to leave the Hulu series, adding, “If you guys thought, ‘Wow this is hard to watch, incredibly triggering and frustrating,’ imagine having it be your reality everyday. Why would you willingly agree to put yourself back in that environment that has cause all that discomfort for every single person on this cast and crew.”
Matthews noted that she did not give an ultimatum, and has no “control” over casting decisions. The reality TV personality said that she would fulfill her “contractual obligations and interviews for what I have filmed and that’s the end of it.”
Taylor Frankie Paul