HELLO! and welcome to your Daily Lowdown summer special where we're taking a look back at some of the biggest stories from the world of music, entertainment and more that have made headlines this summer.
Listen to our summer special edition of The Daily Lowdown podcast below...
Summer kicked off in style at Worthy Farm with thousands of music lovers all attending Glastonbury Festival. There was a huge lineup of names on the bill but it was Sir Elton John who attracted the biggest crowd. The legendary hitmaker's set at Glasto went down a treat and it marked an emotional farewell for the singer-songwriter who is retiring from performing. Elton's gig, which was officially his final in the UK, featured a range of his biggest hits including Bennie and the Jets, Crocodile Rock and Rocketman.
There is no stopping Beyonce. The singer has been touring Europe and North America since May following the release of her huge album, Renaissance and she's also set a huge record. The Crazy in Love star's shows in July alone added up to her bringing in over 127 million dollars and her tour so far has brought in a total of 296 million altogether. The huge numbers make Beyonce's Renaissance tour the highest-grossing tour by a Black artist in history, according to Chart Data. And Beyonce's not finished yet as the singer's doesn't wrap this leg of her shows until October, meaning there's plenty more dollar to be made for Queen Bey.
Speaking of tours, Madonna hasn't had the best luck when it comes to her upcoming Celebration tour. The artist was forced to re-schedule her dates in North America after she fell ill with a bacterial infection. Madonna spent time in the ICU in New York before later recovering at home. She was due to kick off the shows in July but she has since confirmed to fans that she will instead begin the concerts in Europe in October. Madonna will then return to the US in November for her rescheduled shows.
This summer wasn't just about music and tours because Barbie mania officially took over when the movie was released at the end of July. The film, directed by Greta Gerwig, dominated pop culture including fashion, music and more. The movie stars Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, who even made his debut in the Billboard charts with his hilarious ballad, I'm Just Ken, which features in the film. Barbie also broke multiple records and has become the highest grossing film directed by a woman in history. Globally, it's grossed over 1.3 billion dollars.
In July, the music world mourned a legend when singer Tony Bennett died aged 96. The jazz and pop crooner was known for selling millions of records throughout his seven decade-long career and working with other huge artists from Frank Sinatra to, in more recent years, Lady Gaga. Tony's sad passing was confirmed by his publicist. In 2020, Tony shared that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease four years prior. Some of Tony's most famous songs included I Left My Heart in San Francisco and New York State of Mind.
And Lizzo has made headlines in recent weeks when the singer was accused by three of her backing dancers of sexual harassment and creating what they say was a hostile work environment. The lawsuit, put forward by dancers named Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez, was field in Los Angeles and prompted Lizzo to speak out in a statement in which she denied all the allegations put against her. She's now planning to counter-sue after photos contradicting the dancers' argument emerged, with Lizzo stating that a picture speaks a thousand words. The case is ongoing.