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Out of Australia, the rock bandthe Easybeats gained massive success with the release of "Friday on My Mind," which led to international stardom and was categorized as a working-class anthem.

Led by guitarists Harry Vanda and George Young, with singer Stevie Wright, drummer Gordon “Snowy” Fleet, and bassist Dick Diamonde, the Easybeats were a group of teenagers who came into the worldwide rock scene in the mid '60s. "Friday on My Mind" led the band to be tagged as "the first international victory for Oz rock" and one of the few to make waves with original material.

According to SongFacts, the band had relocated to London, where they worked with producer Shel Talmy, who had worked with The Who and The Kinks. While Talmy liked the band, he wasn't too keen on their songs and gave them the challenge of writing their own.

"They approached me via their then-manager," Talmy told Songfacts. "I liked what I'd heard, but I didn't like the songs. So, I said to them, 'Guys, go home and write a bunch of songs, come back once a week, and play me what you got.' This went on for about seven weeks. I kept rejecting stuff until after the seventh week I heard 'Friday on My Mind,' and I said, 'That's the one we're doing.'"

The garage rock track would land the Easybeats at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, their first breakthrough in the U.S. They also landed at No.1 on the Dutch Top 40 chart and at No.1 on the Australian singles chart. "Friday on My Mind" quickly became a signature hit, with lyrics interpreted as looking forward to the ease of the weekend.

While "Friday on My Mind" became known as a working-class anthem that many blue-collar fans could relate to, Young would claim it wasn't their intention. He told journalist Debbie Kruger in 2005 that it had “more to do with their outlook on the world than any class statement.” 

Inspiration for the track's notable guitar opening was attributed by Vanda to a film performance by the UK-based a cappella group The Swingles.

"It went tudutudutudu, which made us all laugh. In the train back from the gig, we were imitating them and suddenly it sounded good. They became the first notes of 'Friday on My Mind'," explained Vanda.

Sadly, the rock track marked the only international hit by the Easybeats. The band fell into drug problems, issues with their management, and internal struggles that led to a halt in releasing new music. Their next track wasn't released until months later, with "Who'll Be the One" failing to enter the charts except in Australia. The Easybeats would break up in 1969, with reports claiming they amassed a large debt that Vanda and Young worked to pay off.

With Young being the brother of AC/DC guitarists Malcolm and Angus Young, he and Young would produce the first six albums for the heavy metal band. The other band members would embark on solo careers until the original line-up reunited in 1986 for an Australian tour.

Related: 1979 Rock Song, Written by the Frontman’s Grandfather, Became a Classic Anthem

Ransom Canyon has just debuted its second season on Netflix, and audiences can't get enough of the romantic neo-Western.

The show has been described as a blend of Yellowstone and The Summer I Turned Pretty. Based on Jodi Thomas' novel series of the same name, the show follows a bereaved rancher, played by Josh Duhamel, reclaiming his legacy after being unseated as trustee of his family's ranch. His life is turned upside down when he learns the love of his life, played by Minka Kelly, has returned to town.

The romantic drama also features Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson, Shameless star Steve Howey, and Vikings' Ben Robson. Ransom Canyon was created by April Blair, who has written for the likes of Hart of Dixie, You, and Wednesday.

Season 2 of the romance series debuted on Netflix on July 23 and quickly rose to the top of the U.S. charts. It has also hit the top of the streaming service in Australia, Canada, Denmark and New Zealand.

Netflix

Ransom Canyon has resonated with fans despite mixed critical reviews. The first season has a 45% on Rotten Tomatoes, but so far, season 2 has dropped to a 40%. As RogerEbert.com notes, "Yes, it’s often predictable, relentlessly soapy, and doesn’t give any twist more than a few minutes to breathe. But its practiced brand of easily bingeable escapism sure does go down easy." But, these reviews haven't stopped viewers from tuning in to the series.

As Forbes notes, the show asks the big question: "Why do some people spend years orbiting each other before they finally find their way back together?"

“I just feel like it's true because both people have to be at a place where they’re willing to engage,” he said, adding that love and fate go hand-in-hand," Duhamel said.

Minka Kelly explained to Forbes how her character feels about the rancher. “She’s loved him her whole life, and when there's finally the opportunity to come together and to really reveal to each other, we've actually both wanted each other this whole time; it just didn't work out that way.”

Watch seasons 1 and 2 of Ransom Canyon on Netflix now.

Related: 'Ransom Canyon' Season 2 Ending Explained: Do Staten and Quinn End Up Together?

Jason Sudeikis just hit the red carpet with his and Olivia Wilde's adorable children, Otis and Daisy. But one look at his daughter's face makes it clear she looks just like him!

Sudeikis, 50, made a name for himself on Saturday Night Live before nailing film roles like Sleeping With Other People and Horrible Bosses. But it's his role as a Kansas football coach who finds himself across the pond coaching an English soccer team in Apple TV's Ted Lasso that skyrocketed him to superstardom. With endless awards under his belt for the role, Sudeikis has become a Hollywood megastar.

While his film and TV roles are significant, Sudeikis considers his role as a dad to be his favorite. Despite his split from his kids' mom, Wilde, in 2020, the duo is active co-parents. Sudeikis hit the red carpet at the season 4 premiere with his adorable kids, Daisy and Otis, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California. While his daughter sported braids in her hair, one look at the little girl made it clear that she got the eyes and smile of her beloved dad. Check out the trio below:

Michael Buckner / Getty Images

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Ahead of its Aug. 5 release date, Apple TV just unveiled a new trailer for Ted Lasso's fourth season. Starring mainstays of the series, including Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, and Jeremy Swift, the fourth season shows the beloved coach taking on an exciting new challenge as the coach of a second-division women’s soccer team.

Check out the new trailer for Ted Lasso's fourth season below:

In 2021, Sudeikis told Entertainment Weekly that when the show was created, he originally saw it as having a “three-season arc.”

“I’m glad that they are willing to pay for those three seasons,” he said. “As far as what happens after that, who knows? I don’t know.”

Luckily, he's back for a fourth round!

Related: Why Jason Sudeikis Initially Turned Down 'Ted Lasso' Season 4

On July 28, 1979, the Boomtown Rats had the No. 1 song in the UK with “I Don’t Like Mondays.” The song was the Irish rock band’s second single to top the charts in the UK, and the only one of their songs to ever crack the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

Written by Bob Geldof and Johnnie Fingers, the piano-driven song was the lead single from the album The Fine Art of Surfacing. "I Don't Like Mondays" was the Boomtown Rats' biggest hit in the U.S., reaching No. 73 on Billboard, while still cementing its place as one of rock’s most haunting and unforgettable songs.

“They didn't play 'Mondays' on AM radio because of lyrical content,” Geldof said during an appearance on The Merv Griffin Show. "Singles that we've subsequently had in the rest of the world,  hits in the rest of the world, including Canada, they haven't played here because of lyrical content. They seem to think that somehow it's a little too much trouble, you know, to make people think during the day.”

The lyrical content, based on a real-life tragedy, may have hit too close to home for U.S. listeners.

According to This Day in Music, Boomtown Rats frontman Geldof was inspired to write “I Don’t Like Mondays” after reading about a California teenager who went on a shooting spree on an elementary school playground.

On January 29, 1979, Brenda Ann Spencer, then 16, killed two adults and injured eight children and a police officer as she opened fire outside of Grover Elementary School in San Diego.

Spencer later explained her actions by saying, "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day,” per the County of San Diego District Attorney. The teen, who was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, was denied parole in 2025.

RELATED: 1974 No. 1 Hit Named Among the ‘Saddest Songs of All Time’ Became Heartbreakingly True

Geldof first heard about the shooting when he was doing a radio interview for a radio station in Atlanta.

"Not liking Mondays as a reason for doing somebody in is a bit strange,” he recalled per  Elsewhere.com. “I was thinking about it on the way back to the hotel, and I just said, 'Silicon chip inside her head had switched to overload'. I wrote that down.  And the journalists interviewing her said, 'Tell me why?'”

Geldof noted, “It was a senseless act. So perhaps I wrote the perfect senseless song to illustrate it. It wasn't an attempt to exploit tragedy.”

On July 13,  1985, the Boomtown Rats famously performed “I Don’t Like Mondays” during their set at Live Aid, the charity concert held simultaneously at Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium and England’s Wembley Stadium to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. While performing the song, Geldof dramatically paused for nearly 20 seconds after singing the line, “And the lesson to today is how to die,” to emphasize the anti-famine message.

Nearly five decades later, “I Don’t Like Mondays” remains one of the most chilling songs in rock history, and one that Geldof has struggled with.

In an interview, he revealed that he received a disturbing letter from Spencer from prison, even though he never mentioned her by name in his song.

“She wrote me saying she was glad she’d done it because I made her famous,” Geldof said. “Which is not a good thing to live with.”

Related: The Chilling True Crime Story Behind a ’70s Rock Classic

“Sheila” was a rock and roll song written and recorded by Tommy Roe. He originally wrote the hit when he was only 14 years old, but he released it in 1962, at the age of 20. The song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained in the spot for two weeks.

In an interview with Classic Rock Music, Roe revealed that the song was partially inspired by Buddy Holly. “I was a huge fan of his, and that was my way of respecting Buddy Holly,” he said. “When I first recorded ‘Sheila,’ I recorded it while I was in high school and wrote it when I was about 14 years old. I recorded it early in high school with my local band.”

He continued, “We didn’t have the drums, and when I hooked up with Felton Jarvis, he loved the song but wanted to put something more exciting into it, so he thought about putting those drums in there. My first version of ‘Sheila’ was almost a hit. It was a hit locally in the southeast but never spread nationally, and that’s why Felton knew the song. He knew it would become a hit if he rerecorded it and added the drums in there. I was a huge fan of Holly, so it was fine with me.”

Roe also explained the origin of the song, which was based on a girl from his high school. He revealed that it was originally called “Frita” until a record producer suggested changing the name.

Related: 1968 No. 1 Hit, Which Inspired a Film and TV Show, Became a Timeless Anthem

"'Sheila' was originally a poem I wrote about a girl that I went to school with and her name was ‘Frieda,’” he explained. “It use to be ‘Sweet Little Frieda.’ It was a poem, and at the time my dad taught me three chords on the guitar, and I thought… boy, if I could just put some music to my poems, maybe I could become a songwriter. So that’s what started it for me, it just happened that my dad played an instrument and I use to love to write silly poems to my girlfriends. So I turned ‘Frieda’ into a song and ran around singing ‘Sweet Little Frieda’ for a long time. When I finally got the chance to record it, the producer suggested changing the name to ‘Sheila.’”

Roe was also known for his song “Dizzy,” which was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. He is currently 84.  

For anyone who grew up with 1970s radio, a few acoustic guitar chords were all it took to instantly lift your spirits.

The decade was packed with memorable singer-songwriters, but one particular country-folk icon delivered an infectious, sun-soaked track that soared all the way into the Billboard Top 5. Decades after Jonathan Edwards' signature anthem "Sunshine" defined an era of feel-good music, the legendary hitmaker is officially celebrating his 80th birthday, and the story behind his rise is just as remarkable as the song itself.

Edwards, born on July 28, 1946, celebrates eight decades of a life filled with twists, turns, and unbelievable success. Yet while millions still sing along to his defining '70s hit, the surprising story of how he accidentally stumbled into stardom makes his milestone birthday all the more special.

He was born in Minnesota and raised in Virginia. As a young child, he was sent to military school for an admitted "behavioral problem."

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It was there, he told the Syracuse New Times, "the kid next door had a guitar. I had never seen one up close and was 14 or 15 years old."

Edwards continued, "I picked it up and really, the clouds parted, angels sang, and suddenly I understood something. Somehow I figured out that it meant something to make that noise and feel that accomplishment. It was a sense of being proactive in my life. Until then, I had been reactive. It was nice, a moment of clarity."

After a stint with an acoustic trio, Edwards went out on his own and created the song that would change his life. He explained, "Around 1969 to 1970, I went out on my own after my electric college band. I liked the sound of acoustic guitars, instruments better than loud electric. So I went out on my own, wrote my own songs and boom!"

He said the success of "Sunshine" was surprising. "It was weird. It was wonderful. It was astonishing. To be plucked from my little nest of songwriters that I was living with, playing with and having bands with. To be plucked out of that and thrust onto the national — really the world — stage."

Edwards added, "I was humbled that a little song I wrote in five minutes has had meaning for people all these 50 years. And a cool thing about this song: It’s starting to dawn on people that it’s a pretty angry little war protest song."

The singer/songwriter concluded, per Songfacts, "I just went, 'How much does it cost? I'll buy it.' I was talking about freedom and talking about authority, my constant questioning of authority."

"'How much does it cost? I'll buy it? Time is all we've lost. I'll try it. He can't even run his own life, I'll be damned if he'll run mine.' That just came out as I was playing the song for these people," Edwards added.

According to his official website, Jonathan Edwards continues to write and record, bringing his signature warmth, acoustic spirit, and timeless storytelling to both long-time fans and a brand-new generation of listeners.

Related: 1974 'Irresistible' Sultry Soft Rock Classic Became a Signature Mood-Setting Hit

Iconic rock bandPapa Roach has enjoyed a career full of highlights and major milestones.

On July 28, the "Scars" hitmakers' frontman, Jacoby Shaddix, celebrates his own milestone — his 50th birthday. Born in Mariposa, Calif., Shaddix founded Papa Roach in 1993 in high school, alongside original drummer DaveBuckner, original bass player Will James, and original rhythm guitarist Ben Luther.

The name Papa Roach has an interesting origin, stemming from Shaddix's step-grandfather, Howard William Roatch, who was affectionately nicknamed "Papa Roach" by his grandkids.

"I thought, what if we named it after my grandfather — his last name is Roatch. The other guys were like, ‘You mean roach like as in weed?’" Shaddix told Spin in 2010, adding that they chose the name when they were "young and dumb" 16-year-olds. "But I also thought Papa Roach had a dirty, grimy sense of longevity that really represented where we were as people at the time. Roaches last, you know? The name still fits."

Papa Roach released its first single, "Last Resort," on Mar. 7, 2000. The track, which has become one of the most beloved songs in rock history, defined early-2000s rock music. Upon its initial release, "Last Resort" shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, where it remained for seven weeks.

Two decades after the original track was released, Papa Roach celebrated its enduring debut with a reimagined re-release. "Last Resort (Reloaded)" was released on Jan. 27, 2021, featuring guest vocals from Jeris Johnson.

The collaboration was born after Johnson got the band's attention with his own remixes of "Last Resort," posted to his 1.7 million-strong TikTok account. It shot to No. 1 on theBillboard Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, proving that the debut track still stands strong after more than 20 years.

"After I remixed it and threw it up on TikTok, the last thing I expected was that I’d end up in the studio with Papa Roach a couple weeks later," Johnson said, per Louder Sound. "The reaction and reception was so overwhelming that me, (a random kid on TikTok) got the attention of a legacy band and the invitation to team up and remake Last Resort for an entirely new generation. I don’t give a f--k what anyone says, that’s magic."

Related: '70s Rocker and Member of No. 1 Rock Band Turns 68

As audiences look ahead to the imminent release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, critics are sharing their initial thoughts on the latest chapter in Tom Holland's Spider-Man-related adventures inside the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, multiple early critics have chimed in to share their praise for the newest addition to the MCU, calling Brand New Day a welcome contribution to the overarching superhero franchise.

"My flabber has been ghasted," shared critic Adam Hlaváč. "Destin Daniel Cretton and Tom Holland put their hearts and souls into this thing, and it pays off HUGE! This movie is going to be massive and we’re going to be talking about it for a while. I was floored by how well everything is balanced - emotion, humor, action, practical vs visual effects, score, and the cinematography. This felt so handmade, even with some of the massive set pieces and is filled to the top with heart. This was absolutely worth the wait. More soon!"

"Don’t mind me. I’m just sitting here crying after watching #SpidermanBrandNewDay," added Germain Lussier. "It’s a massive movie that balances like 5 different through lines in equal measure, each better than the last. It can feel a little overwhelming but it all comes together so beautifully it works."

In particular, most critics felt the movie did a great job fleshing out Holland's portrayal of Peter Parker, basing the character in real-world emotion that allowed for a natural progression from the events of No Way Home.

"It really is a brand new day for Peter Parker as Destin Daniel Cretton takes over for Jon Watts in the director’s chair for SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY," deemed Matt Neglia. "Cretton brings a more grounded, back-to-basics approach to the beloved web-slinger, making this fourth standalone film feel like both a fresh reset and a necessary evolution for the character, giving Tom Holland the space to find new depths in his continually pitch-perfect performance."

Starring Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando and Mark Ruffalo, Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives in theaters on July 31.

One might suspect IHOP, Denny's, and Cracker Barrel would round out the top three breakfast restaurants, but when it comes to California, chain restaurants are few and far between.

Be it politics or sky-high rent, some name-brand eateries with a devoted following in neighboring states never opened doors in the "Golden State," giving Mom 'n Pop shops more room to shine.

According to the San Diego Tribune's 2026 Reader's Poll, a 1970s breakfast staple took the crown for two categories:

• Best Breakfast
• Best Brunch

Related: This Nostalgic 1940s Food Chain Is Quietly Making a Comeback

The winner was Broken Yolk Cafe, first established in San Diego's vibrant Pacific Beach neighborhood that's now jam-packed with bars lining Garnet Avenue.

What better food is there to soak up last night's shenanigans? Starchy, hearty, indulgent breakfast food, that is.

Not that hangover cures are Broken Yolk's mantra by any means — it's actually "We've got huevos!"

The San Diego-based restaurant has grown to 42 locations, including one in Idaho, two in Texas, and three in Arizona — and that's because their extensive menu of morning delights has been top-notch for decades, especially "the Chicken Chilaquiles" and "delicious flight of mimosas," as one recent patron raved about at its Chula Vista, Calif. location.

The good news is it's about to expand even further, announcing its first brick-and-mortar in the Midwest — Lafayette, Ind., to be exact.

No matter if it's a classic dish, you know, something simple like pancakes and bacon, or something more innovative for brunch with a round of drinks, Broken Yolk delivers.

Related: Top In-N-Out Rival Expanding With 60 More Locations

Per the company's celebratory press release, they believe brunch is what draws in the younger crowd, not just people who grew up eating there and keep coming back.

Broken Yolk's owner, John Gelastopoulos, said, "It's our newer, signature dishes and fresh, inventive takes on brunch staples that have kept the brand top-of-mind for newer generations. With any luck, Broken Yolk Cafe will still be introducing families and friends to an elevated breakfast and brunch experience for another 47 years, and more."

Don't sleep on their selection of juicy burgers, either.

On a Friday night in early August 1969, John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas got an invitation from Sharon Tate to come to her home at 10050 Cielo Drive. He was tempted. He left the decision to his friend, Marshall Brickman. Brickman suggested they go to the Pacific instead to look at bioluminescent plankton. They went to the beach. The next morning, Phillips got a call that changed everything. The murders committed by followers of Charles Manson at Sharon Tate's home in the early hours of August 9 killed five people: Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Voytek Frykowski, Abigail Folger, and Steven Parent, a young man who happened to be visiting the property's caretaker. Sharon Tate was eight and a half months pregnant. Phillips had almost been there. So had his bandmate Denny Doherty, who'd also received an invitation that night and also declined.

Brickman hadn't been joking. He genuinely wanted to see the phosphorescent plankton glowing in the Pacific. Phillips thought the idea was amusing enough, especially given the mescaline. They drove to the beach with director Michael Sarne, watched the water glow, and went home separately.

The next morning, columnist Joyce Haber called. "Thank God you're alive," she said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Phillips asked her.

Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images

Nobody knew yet who had done it. But five people were dead inside Sharon Tate's home on Cielo Drive.

Phillips panicked for a specific reason. When investigators arrived at the scene, they found the sheet music to his song "Straight Shooter" resting on the music stand of the grand piano. A grand piano mere feet from where Sharon Tate's body lay. He'd been in that house. His music was there when the bodies were found.

The connections ran deeper. Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys had invited Phillips to come and spend time with a group of followers led by a man named Charles Manson. Terry Melcher had wanted Phillips to hear Manson's music. Phillips declined both. "It sounded a little too crazy and cosmic," he wrote. He knew four of the murdered guests: Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Voytek Frykowski, and Abigail Folger.

Related: 1970 Summertime Song Everybody Knows, Written in 10 Minutes by a Timex Lab Technician -- Almost Nobody Remembers His Name

Phillips wasn't the only one who almost went that night. Steve McQueen had also received an invitation and would've been there had he not, as his widow later explained, "ran off with a chickie" he'd met earlier that evening.

Phillips bought a gun. He hired extra security. He brought ex-wife Michelle and their daughter Chynnaback to live with him. He and his circle hired psychics and numerologists to investigate. Then he found out that Roman Polanski, away in Europe when the murders happened, had briefly suspected him. Polanski had been having an affair with Michelle Phillips and thought John might have killed Sharon as revenge. The paranoia of that summer in Hollywood ran in every direction.

Charles Manson was arrested on October 12, 1969. Phillips believed Manson hadn't been targeting Sharon Tate at all. His theory, shared by others close to the case, was that Manson was sending a message to Terry Melcher, who'd lived in the house the previous year and had decided not to produce Manson's record. The wrong people were home that night.

During the trial, Manson listed both Phillips and Mama Cass Elliott as potential defense witnesses. He apparently believed the band was close enough to him to testify on his behalf.

Two years before that August night, Phillips had co-organized the Monterey Pop Festival alongside Lou Adler, the event that launched Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Otis Redding to mass American audiences. That same summer, The Mamas & the Papas had headlined the Hollywood Bowl with the Jimi Hendrix Experience as their opening act. For one night they were arguably the biggest band in America. Within months, it was gone.

The Mamas & the Papas were already dissolving before that August night. The murders didn't cause the end. They accelerated it. Phillips watched the Woodstock Festival on television from a locked-down Hollywood while the rest of the music world celebrated in a field in New York. "I knew that we had helped pave the way for Woodstock," he wrote, "but it seemed to be a long way off now."

The 1971 reunion album People Like Us was recorded with the four members rarely in the same room. It failed commercially and critically. Michelle Phillips is now the last surviving original member. Mama Cass Elliott died in London on July 29, 1974, aged 32. John Phillips died on March 18, 2001, aged 65. Denny Doherty died on January 19, 2007, aged 66. The band that almost lost Phillips to the Manson murders eventually lost all its members to time.

"California Dreamin'" is still playing.

Marshall Brickman wanted to see the plankton. John Phillips left the choice to him. They went to the beach. The next morning Joyce Haber called. "Thank God you're alive." His sheet music was on the music stand of the grand piano at the crime scene. He'd been in that house. He just wasn't there that night.

The reason was bioluminescent plankton.

Some decisions are made for you.

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When CNN’s Kaitlan Collins won an award for her coverage of the tense meeting between Donald Trump, VP JD Vance, and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the U.S. President clearly was not impressed. After a now-infamous roast of the White House correspondent during the WHCA Dinner last Friday, Collins is clapping back…sort of.

From calling her award “fake” to comparing the journalist to trans actress Dylan Mulvaney, Trump’s attempted jabs fell flat. While you might expect Trump insiders and his MAGA mouthpieces to have his back, Collins later described the atmosphere to late-night host Jon Stewart(during an appearance on The Daily Show), “What was most surprising to me was the room was filled with a lot of his staffers, his cabinet, his allies, Republicans in Congress. It was so quiet in the room during the President’s remarks.”

Even though Collins was surprised at the silence, she wasn’t surprised about Trump’s digs, telling Stewart, “I think I was not surprised when he insulted me. That happens pretty regularly inside the Oval Office. This is just a bigger venue where it was happening.”

Collins isn’t fighting back. And no, she isn’t scared. 

So why isn’t she snapping back with witty quips about the President? After all, as Kaitlan said to Stewart, “I’ve covered Trump for 10 years. So I’ve listened to pretty much all of his speeches for 10 years, with very little exception.” With that amount of coverage, she’s sure to have some gems that would make the perfect clap-back. But Kaitlan does have a pretty amazing explanation. 

“I've always felt this, regardless of who’s the president, whether it’s Joe Biden, Donald Trump, those are the two I've covered. It’s really not about me,” Collins said. She continued,  “And I don’t want it to be about my reaction. And so, I think if you let it become about that, then it becomes a back-and-forth between the two of us.”

The White House correspondent shared,  “And instead, I think it’s more effective to remind people in those moments when he is insulting me or when he is criticizing me about the question I asked or the reporting that I did that he was so angry about in this moment. And the fact that I got an award for it really bothered him”

Instead of a witty comeback or a war of words, Collins has a different take on what should happen next: “I just think in those moments it’s important to put the reminder back on the work, on the question, and on the non-answers that we get.”

Pillsbury has always managed to delight consumers with its extensive lineup of fan-favorite products.

From quick and easy cinnamon rolls to equally hassle-free cookies, the iconic brand continues to find a way to captivate shoppers across a wide spectrum.

But even when compared to its previous releases, Pillsbury's latest spin on their classic cookies might very well rank as one of their most "magical" products yet.

According to multiple food bloggers' posts across social media, Pillsbury has officially unveiled their brand-new Ready to Bake! Harry Potter Golden Snitch Shape Sugar Cookie Dough.

Available for a limited time while supplies last, the new package of sugar cookie dough makes up to 20 cookies, allowing shoppers to taste the magical splendor of the Harry Potter universe with each and every bite.

"Catch and bake some enchantingly delicious cookies with Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Harry Potter Golden Snitch Shape Sugar Cookie Dough," the product's description reads on Target's website. "Inspired by the magical world of Harry Potter and his adventures, this sugar cookie dough comes pre-cut and features the iconic Golden Snitch. No need to open your spellbooks - witches and wizards of all ages will love how easy these sugar cookies are to make."

As if the prospect of a Harry Potter-inspired sugar cookie wasn't already exciting enough, Pillsbury also confirmed that their new cookie dough is safe to eat entirely on its own, without ever having to touch the oven at all.

"Can't wait to nibble on the sweet taste? This sugar cookie dough is safe to eat raw," the brand wrote. "Whether you're enjoying these cookies on their own or decorating them to your creative heart's content, capture imaginations and delight with the perfect snack for Harry Potter fans of all ages, from watch parties to celebrations."

If you've ever spent an evening Disney Bounding with friends, tracking down limited-edition park pins, or debating the best snack strategy at Disneyland, you know that loving Disney only gets better as you get older.

Now, adult fans are getting an entire weekend dedicated exclusively to them right down the street from the original Magic Kingdom.

The Disney Adults Network has officially announced its inaugural Adults Weekend, a two-day celebration taking place Saturday, March 20, through Sunday, March 21, 2027, in Anaheim, California. Designed to bring together millennial fans, creators, collectors, couples, and lifelong Disney enthusiasts, the event aims to create an elevated space for the global adult fandom to connect, dress up, and celebrate nostalgia.

As Ashley Flowers, Event Manager for Disney Adults Network, shared in the announcement: “Disney fandom does not end when you become an adult—it evolves. For so many people, Disney represents childhood memories, creativity, friendship, travel, storytelling, and joy. Adults Weekend creates a welcoming space for our community to come together, dress up, make memories, and celebrate the magic in a way created especially for us.”

Related: Disney's New Class of Legends Is a Total Love Letter to Our Favorite Childhood Memories

Disney Adult Network

The weekend is built around two flagship experiences:

• The Adults Royal Gala (Saturday, March 20, 2027): Held at the historic Disneyland Hotel, this black-tie-optional evening will feature fairytale-inspired glamour, a grand buffet dinner, live DJs, themed photo installations, and a high-fashion Disney Bounding style showcase. Ticket prices range from $225 for standard entry up to $3,000 for full VIP table packages with enhanced hosted perks.
• The Disney Adults Park Meetup (Sunday, March 21, 2027): The celebration shifts inside Disneyland Park from 9:00 AM to midnight for a massive community takeover day. Attendees will also have the option to buy a commemorative event t-shirt, with all net proceeds benefiting Toys for Tots.

Tickets for the Adults Royal Gala are officially on sale to the general public via disneyadults.org. Note that Disneyland Park admission for Sunday's meetup is not included in the gala ticket and must be purchased separately through Disney's reservation system.

Related: Yes, You Can Stay at Disney World With Your Dog—Here's Exactly How It Works

Darius Rucker has reached a major new career milestone as his recording of “Wagon Wheel” with Old Crow Medicine Show has surpassed one billion streams on Spotify.

Rucker and Old Crow Medicine Show songwriter Ketch Secor were surprised with a Spotify Billions Club plaque before Rucker's Saturday show at Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre in Colorado. The milestone marked one billion Spotify streams for Rucker's version of the country hit.

The celebration became even more special later that night when Rucker and Secor performed “Wagon Wheel” together for the sold-out Red Rocks crowd.

Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images

Rucker shared the moment with fans on Instagram, saying, “You never know where a song is going to take you... To celebrate a billion Spotify streams of “Wagon Wheel” with Old Crow Medicine Show right before we walked out at Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre made it even more special!”

The Spotify milestone gives Rucker another major achievement tied to one of the best-known songs of his country music career.

“Wagon Wheel” has a long history that began before Rucker recorded his version.

Secor wrote the song around a Bob Dylan sketch, and Old Crow Medicine Show released its version in 2004. Rucker later recorded his rendition for his 2013 album, True Believers.

Rucker's version became Billboard’s No. 1 hit at country radio. It also earned him a GRAMMY Award for Best Country Solo Performance and became the fourth country song certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America.

The song passed one billion Spotify streams in early May, becoming the 15th country title to reach that mark on the platform.

Rucker first became widely known as the lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish, the rock band he helped form while attending the University of South Carolina. The group became a major success in the 1990s before Rucker later built a solo career in country music.

In 2008, he released “Learn to Live” and began his country music career with Capitol Records Nashville. His first country single, “Don't Think I Don't Think About It,” reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

That achievement made Rucker the first solo Black artist to reach No. 1 on the country chart since Charley Pride in 1983. He later won the Country Music Association's New Artist of the Year award in 2009.

Rucker's country career continued to grow with hits including “It Won't Be Like This for Long,” “Alright,” “Come Back Song” and “This.” His recording of “Wagon Wheel” became one of his biggest career successes.

Now, the song has added another major streaming achievement to its list of honors.

The billion-stream milestone comes during a busy period for Rucker. He is currently performing across the country on his Songs of Summer Tour, which is scheduled to wrap up Saturday in Indianapolis.

Rucker is also set to sing the national anthem at WWE SummerSlam on Sunday in Minneapolis. Later in the year, he will host the fifth annual Riverfront Revival festival, scheduled for Oct. 9-10 in North Charleston, South Carolina.

The new Spotify milestone also arrives as Rucker has recently discussed the possibility of retiring from touring in the next few years. During a recent appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, Rucker said he might retire in two years after playing 110 shows the previous year.

“I’m retiring in two years,” Rucker said according to WhiskeyRiff. “I might. I’ve been really looking at it. I played 110 shows last year. What am I doing? I still like making records and playing and everything, but I’m really starting to be at home a lot. I like being at home a lot. So I’m looking at maybe doing a tour. One more big ‘Hootie’ thing (and calling it.)”

Rucker also said that if he does retire, he wants to finish with one more Hootie & the Blowfish performance at Williams-Brice Stadium in South Carolina.

For now, Rucker continues to perform while “Wagon Wheel” reaches a new audience through streaming.

Related: Country Star Makes Billboard Chart History With No. 1 Hit Song Lasting 15 Weeks

We may still be in 2026, but many are already looking ahead at 2027. There are some great books to come, especially when it comes to psychological thrillers. Julie Balint is proving to be the next psychological thriller queen to look out for with her debut, The Lookalike.

The downside is there’s a wait for it. The Lookalike will officially be released on March 9, 2027. It’ll be worth the wait, though, especially if you love fictional novels that are loosely based on real events. Parade has been fortunate enough to reveal the cover of The Lookalike, as well as an excerpt to get you ready for this twisty mystery that will become your next obsession.

The Lookalike is described as being perfect for fans of Freida McFadden and Alice Feeney. It’s packed with epic twists, as you start to wonder whether you can even believe the narrator. It’s loosely based on the real events that surrounded the disappearance of Gabby Petito, a case that made national headlines.

Throughout the case, Balint started to ask questions about the truth behind the images shared online, and it led to the creation of this twisty thriller that focuses on the disappearance and return of a New England socialite. At least, the world things that the socialite returned weeks later. What if she didn’t? 

It’s not like there wouldn’t already be questions about a missing socialite without a body. That would open the door for everyone to come up with their own theories — some of them wilder than others! We’ve seen it happen plenty of times in real life.

The cover doesn’t give too much away, but it does draw you in with the images of two women, the mix of color, and the way the images weave together. Take a look before getting into the first official excerpt from the 2027 release. You're not going to believe the POV of the story we get!

Chapter One

Kristen

                  Nova Kennedy vanished from a party on the Cape the second weekend in May. She was beautiful with big blue eyes, and long wavy hair the color of burnt tobacco. She had the kind of smile and cheekbones that looked good on social media, and the following to back it up. Five hundred thousand on Insta and twice that on TikTok.

                  At twenty-five she was on a trajectory any girl would want and was too young to be dead. Too pretty to be nothing. To not exist anymore. Because of that beauty and privilege her face was everywhere. In particular, one photo of Nova wearing a cream-colored, low-cut dress that barely covered her nipples, holding a red solo cup in one hand, while a cigarette dangled from the other. There was also the high school grad photo, taken as she gave her valedictorian speech. Or the action shot that showed her hacking away at an opponent during a field hockey game.

                  In all of them her appetite for life was undeniable and it made her disappearance and presumed murder all the more interesting. She was talked about endlessly on social media—there were at least fifty Facebook groups dedicated to finding her killer and twice as many podcasts. All of this happened within days of her going missing.

                  The fact that her body hadn’t been found only added to the mystery. It meant folks could make up s--t. Construct their own narrative. But really, the facts were simple. There was a party on the Cape, she had an argument with her boyfriend, and then she disappeared. There was a supposed murder scene and blood and maybe some other evidence, but that was all speculation or leaked bits of information, because the police were tight-lipped. The family was prominent after all and I, like most people, assumed information was being withheld not just for the investigation, but because they were Kennedys.

                  Initially the police had been at the Kennedy estate for days. “We’re doing everything we can to find her.” That, a direct quote from a detective Wallis who’d looked directly into the camera and made no effort to hide his disgust. “You guys aren’t making it easy.”

                  They combed the woods that blanketed the property. Searched the coast. Their house. The neighboring homes. They questioned family members and the guests who’d come to eat lobster and drink champagne. Paid extra special attention to the boyfriend. Forensics did their part and collected what they could, but by the time the family realized Nova had disappeared it was hours later and it had rained, which meant if there were evidence of a crime committed most of it was gone save for a few small bits of blood and one strand of hair found out in the woods. Both of which had been confirmed through DNA testing, belonged to Nova. It was suggested that the blood and hair could have been left behind earlier. Days. Weeks even. The Kennedys were known to frequent the woods and perhaps she’d gone for a hike and cut herself.

                  There was no note. Nothing to implicate she’d up and left on her own. She simply vanished.

                  It was one hell of a mystery and made the front pages of every newspaper in the US and beyond for weeks. Friends insisted she wouldn’t leave without a word, while the family were tight lipped. No comment was the phrase of the day.

Where are you Nova? A headline seen over and over. But with no new leads and as aforementioned, no body, there were whispers the police weren’t certain a crime had even been committed. After weeks with no real evidence, they scaled back and though the investigation was still open, some people believed it might never be solved. Someone had committed the perfect crime.

                  I suppose if we didn’t look so much alike I would have lost interest in Nova Kennedy. Moved on to the next big thing that flooded social media. It’s what our generation is known for, isn’t it?  We consume and then throw away. But our resemblance was hard to ignore. Plus, we were practically the same age. I turned twenty-five in June. She was six months older. Her eyes are a darker blue than mine, and if it weren’t for the small mole near her right temple, we could be twins. Identical twins. It’s fucking weird.

                  Other than the physical stuff we have zero in common. She grew up in Beacon Hill, a fancy part of Boston, had the big summer house on the Cape, while I was born in Beau Chance, Louisiana; a small town that has one bar, one Piggly Wiggly, and more churches than it deserves. Nova went to an Ivy League school, Yale, while I deferred college because my mom got sick. I looked after her for four years, but she died anyway and I’m still here. Stuck in a town I should have left a long time ago. But Beau Chance has long fingers that dig in deep and don’t let go. And those fingers have nails that are sharp. They slice through dreams and shred them into little bits until there’s nothing left. With no dreams, a person settles.

                  So, there I was, putting in thirty-five hours a week at the Piggly, smoking dope out back during my break, sleeping in the bedroom I’d had since before I could remember, and screwing Noah Beach, a local guy with no money, no future, but the kind of face that would make any girl cry. He’s that beautiful. I ignored the other stuff because of that face, but after a while even his gorgeous eyes and strong chin didn’t do it for me.

                  I hated pretty much everything about my life.

                  Then Nova went missing and the minute that girl’s picture hit the news things changed. I didn’t know it at the time, of course, but there was a subtle shift. Mr. Barker, my boss at the Piggly Wiggly called me into his office, convinced that the Kennedys were some rich relations we’d never told anyone about.

                  “You look just like her,” he’d said.

                  “Who?”

                  “This Nova Kennedy that they think got herself killed.”

                  “Kennedy? Like JFK?” I’d asked, clearly confused.

                  “No, not those Kennedys.”

                  He turned his laptop around and, hand to God, it was like looking in a mirror. There were a few differences of course. A) the mole I didn’t have B) my hair was currently a faded shade of pink with the ends dipped in black and C) my makeup wasn’t that dewy fresh-faced stuff everyone is chasing these days. I like heavy liner, pink cheeks and bright lipstick.

                  I would have rocked the 90’s. Would have been that girl who looked like someone famous in that band that sang songs of despair and indulgence. I would have worn plaid and ripped jeans and maybe cut myself.

                  “Can you see it?” Mr. Barker said, staring at the picture of Nova in her lowcut dress, before glancing my way. His eyes lingered on my chest like he was comparing our boobs. “You should change your hair.”

                  “You should get a life,” I muttered. Asshole.

                  So, I look like some random girl who died. Whatever.

                  But, like everyone else in the USA, I got caught up in all the questions. The need to know. I read everything about her family. Her boyfriend. Her milestones. I followed the official investigation as well as the unofficial ones online. I spent all my free time learning everything there was to know about Nova Lynn Kennedy.

                  I knew that she’d graduated with a law degree but hadn’t taken the bar. That meant she was smart. She had a bit of a cocaine problem (allegedly) and there were rumors about an abortion the previous year. Her family was stupid rich. The dad was some kind of tech wizard who’d made a mint in Silicon Valley when it counted, and her mother was a descendent of some European aristocratic family. She had the pedigree but not the money. Though I guess that didn’t matter on account of the tech wizard hubby.

                  Nova had a brother, Benjamin (though everyone calls him Benji) who is three years older than her, a sister Bea who is two years younger and still in college, and a cousin, Franklin, who’d come to live with them when his parents were killed in a train derailment in Switzerland. He has one blue eye and one hazel, likes to post pictures of himself with dead animals, and seemed like a bona fide weirdo.

                  Her boyfriend, Axel was some surfer dude from California she’d met the year before when she’d gone to LA to mingle with influencers and movie stars. He’d given up sun, sand and surf for her. Maybe it was love. Maybe it was that together, they looked great online and he got caught up in the visual of a perfect couple. Of what they projected. Success and beauty and money. Or maybe it was because she was a Kennedy. Even though she wasn’t one of those Kennedys.

                  About a month after Nova was tossed off the edge of the Cape, again, allegedly, I changed my hair. It cost a fucking fortune, and I had to go to New Orleans to get it done, but it was worth it. Change is good, I thought.

                  Over the next few weeks as she slowly faded from the news I morphed into a carbon copy of what she’d been. She was a project I tackled with the kind of tenacity I used to have, back when I still had dreams. It wasn’t just my hair and makeup. Sometimes, for fun, I’d drop my Cajun accent, watch myself in the mirror and talk. I read an entire book doing this. The book was boring, but I liked watching myself. I studied all of her social media posts, especially the videos. She laughed a lot. A big open kind of thing that got attention. She pursed her lips when she was thinking, tossed her head a certain way because it gave maximum hair movement. She posted thirst traps that were definitely not safe for work.

                  Her life was big and glamorous and fast and busy. The girl had no money issues.  A handsome boyfriend. Endless vacations. School accolades. A condo in Beacon Hill. All of it, posted to her socials for the world to see. And comment on. And like. She had everything anyone could want until she didn’t. Until someone clipped her wings when she was about to fly.

                  I was sad for her. More than sad, really. I mean, at our age, who’s ready to close their eyes forever? Maybe it hit harder because I saw myself when I looked at her photos. Maybe I felt a kinship with her family because I knew what they were going through. One moment she was there, at that party, living life and the next she was gone.

                  My best friend, Tawny, thought it was the boyfriend. Even though he was hot. Maybe because he was hot.

                  I thought it might be the weird cousin. Or maybe her brother. There wasn’t much about him online (not current stuff anyway) though in one of the earlier news reports I’d read, a source had hinted at sibling unrest.

                  That last night before Tawny left town for good to start a life with her boyfriend in Texas, we headed to the lake with some weed and a bottle of JD. We sat under the stars and contemplated all the mistakes we’d made. Tawny regretted the night she’d slept with Mick Davies, her married neighbor.  I was depressed that I still lived in Beau Chance.

 I stared up at a sky full of diamonds and wondered what Nova would be doing if she were still alive. Traveling, was my guess. Having hot sex with her yummy boyfriend and eating gelato in Florence and posting it all over her social media accounts.

                  “Can you imagine what her family would say if you showed up at their door?”

                  I sat up, more than a little drunk, and looked at my best friend. “What?”

                  “If you walked into their house. What would they say?”

                  I scoffed at the idea. “They’d probably call the cops.”

                  “I don’t know,” Tawny said, blowing smoke in my face. “You’d fool me.”

Get ready for The Lookalike, coming on March 9, 2027.

Qdoba is giving away free entrées on Friday, July 31, and Saturday, Aug. 1!

The chain is giving customers the opportunity to score a free meal in celebration of National Avocado Day on July 31.

Here’s how to redeem your free entrée before the offer ends.

The offer is available exclusively to Qdoba Rewards members who purchase an entrée and a drink on July 31 or Aug. 1.

To redeem the deal, simply place an eligible order in-restaurant or online while logged into your Qdoba Rewards account. Your free entrée must be of equal or lesser value than the purchased entrée, and quesadillas are excluded from the promotion.

You can sign up for Qdoba Rewards here.

RELATED: Taco Bell Is Selling Mexican Pizzas for Just $1 on July 28—Here’s How to Claim Yours

Chipotle is giving away free chips and guacamole on July 31 and Aug. 1 in celebration of the holiday!

All customers have to do is order an entrée in the Chipotle app or on Chipotle.com on either of those two days and use the code AVO2026 at checkout to get their free chips and guac.

Moe's Southwest Grill is also celebrating with a free guac offer. From Tuesday, July 28 through Thursday, July 30, Moe's Rewards members can score a free side of guacamole with the purchase of an entrée.

Del Taco is joining in on the avocado celebrations as well. From July 30 through Sunday, Aug. 2, customers can get a free Epic Fresh Guac Burrito when they buy one as part of a buy-one, get-one-free deal.

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Colorful jewelry doesn't have to be oversized to make an impact. In fact, smaller pieces often feel even more versatile because they add a fun pop of color without overwhelming an outfit. They're easy to wear every day while still bringing personality to everything from a simple T-shirt to a summer dress.

For a pair that's both playful and chic, the Apsvo Colorful Gold-Plated Huggie Hoop Earrings are worth a look. Right now, they're on sale for 88% off at Walmart, bringing the price down from $80 to just $10. That's an impressive deal for a pair you'll likely wear on repeat.

Courtesy of Walmart

The earrings come in 10 summer-ready colors, including blue, pink, green and purple. You can also choose between 18-karat yellow gold plating or 18-karat white gold plating depending on whether you prefer a gold or silver-tone finish. They're non-tarnish, nickel-free, lead-free, hypoallergenic, and lightweight, making them a great option for sensitive ears.

The dainty huggie silhouette makes these especially easy to style. The secure clasp closure means you don't have to worry about tiny earring backs getting lost, while the colorful crystal detailing adds just the right amount of sparkle. They're subtle enough for everyday wear but still eye-catching enough to stand out.

One of the best things about these earrings is how easy they are to style. Wear them with a simple T-shirt and jeans for an effortless pop of color, or dress them up with a breezy sundress, linen set, or slip dress for brunch, vacations, or summer dinners. Their petite size makes them versatile enough for just about any occasion.

Related: Turquoise Jewelry Is Having a Moment, and Macy’s ‘Stunning’ Bead Bracelet Nails the Luxe Look for Less

These earrings also make a thoughtful gift. They arrive in elegant packaging, and choosing a favorite color adds a personal touch. Their classic huggie design is timeless enough to suit a wide range of styles, making them an easy accessory to wear with just about anything.

One shopper described the earrings as “elegant” and “petite,” adding, “These are expensive looking, and I would wear them every day. Beautiful craftsmanship!” Another shared, “These are very nice and would make a very charming gift. I love the finish on them and they have a beautiful shine.”

• Apsvo Gold-Plated Butterfly Heart Drop Earrings, $15 (was $110) at Walmart
• Cate & Chloe Bianca 18-Karat Hoop Earrings, $20 (was $40) at Walmart
• Apsvo 18-Karat Nature Healing Stone Drop Earrings, $14 (was $110) at Walmart

For a pair of earrings that's colorful, wearable, and perfect for summer, the Apsvo Colorful Gold-Plated Huggie Hoop Earrings are a fantastic pick. And with Walmart's current 88% discount, you can save $70 and score this pretty pair for just $10.

Don’t miss future deals! Sign up for Parade Picks to receive our commerce team’s curated selection of discounts and sales, twice a week.

It's fair to say that Led Zeppelin's biggest hit, "Stairway to Heaven," is shrouded in mysticism. The lyrics themselves read like a spell, intricately cast and activated by some of the heaviest riffs, keyboard work, and drumming in rock history. The track has taken on a life of its own, but believe it or not, when it first arrived on the scene in 1971, it wasn't a commercial hit. In fact, it originally never even charted.

Recently, the song was ranked as the top rock classic never to hit No. 1 by Collider, an accolade well deserved. In the '70s, there were no streaming services or YouTube to distribute music, so bands relied heavily on radio singles to spread the word. Zeppelin's label heavily pressured the band to release the track as a commercial single, but the band pushed back hard. They wanted fans to experience the song in the context of the full album (and, admittedly, to drive album sales), so they firmly resisted. If songs weren't released as singles, they weren't eligible for the charts, which is why labels pushed so hard for it to be featured.

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”'Stairway to Heaven' was never, ever, ever going to be released as a single," guitarist Jimmy Page said in Mick Wall’s biography, When Giants Walked the Earth. "I said it will help the album sell because it’s not a single, [and] I knew the minute it was a single, the next thing they would want it to be an edited version, and I wasn’t having that, no way.”

Related: Robert Plant Reveals This Song is the Hardest To Sing — And It’s Not a Led Zeppelin Track

The song has been captivating listeners since before its official release.

“It’s about three or four in the morning,” Glenn Hughes of Trapeze told The Guardianof the night John Bonham crashed their set before inviting the band to continue partying at his place. “And he says: ‘I want to play you something. It hasn’t been released yet – it’s an acetate of the fourth Led Zeppelin album, it hasn’t been mastered yet.’ He plays me the entire record, and it comes to 'Stairway to Heaven,' and of course I’m only 19 years old, and I’m thinking: ‘Bloody hell, this is earth-shattering.’"

The song's musical arrangements were composed by Page and bassist John Paul Jones, who later brought in drummer John Bonham and frontman Robert Plant for the vocal melodies. While Page still emphatically extols its virtues, Plant has often expressed more complicated feelings about the track. At a 2012 press conference to promote the concert film Celebration Day, Plant stated, “I struggle with some of the lyrics from particular periods of time. Maybe I was still trying to work out what I was talking about... Every other [guy] is.”

Listeners have long pondered where those magical lyrics originated. Believed to have been partly inspired by Lewis Spence’s The Magic Arts in Celtic Britain, Page recalled that Plant actually worked through the lyrics while the band ran through the musical arrangements in the studio.

"I remember vividly Robert was sitting on the floor, back against the wall, writing, while this was going on," Page said, according to The Guardian. "We had another couple of run-throughs and then he walks over and he starts singing along. From my recollection he had a good 90% of it then.”

Related: '70s Rock Legend, 77, Blows Fans Away With 'Most Iconic Voice in Rock and Roll' at Concert

Despite Plant repeatedly mentioning how he grew tired of the song over time, the frontman seems to have made peace with it. In 2023, he surprised fans by performing the epic track live for the first time in 16 years during a charity event.

“When I hear it in isolation, I feel overwhelmed for every single reason you could imagine,” Plant told Rolling Stone. “There was a mood and an air of trying to make it through. The world is a different place. Everybody was reeling from Vietnam and the usual extra helping of corruption with politics. There were people who were really eloquent who brought it home far less pictorially and did a much better job of reaching that point. But I am what I am, and as my grandfather said, ‘I can’t be more ‘am’-erer.’”

Peter O'Toole's performance as Priam, the legendary last king of Troy during the Trojan War, is the highlight of the 2004 historical epic. The film, starring Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, and Orlando Bloom, was supposed to be an award-winning box-office hit.

Instead, the film was met with a mixed critical response, and the cast mostly hated making it, including O'Toole, who called it a “disaster”, before offensively branding the German director, Wolfgang Petersen, a “clown”.

Far Out Magazine reports that the Irish-born actor exclaimed at the Savannah Film Festival: “Ugh, what a disaster. The director, that kraut, what a clown he was.”

The Lawrence of Arabia star brutally admitted, “When it was all over, I watched 15 minutes of the finished movie and then walked out…At least I had one good scene”. 

In an interview with the Radio Times, per Irish Independent, O'Toole continued his vitriol towards the Greek epic. "I call it 'Trovis' - after watching 50 minutes I found myself in quiet despair, and suddenly that Hovis advert came into my mind over Brad Pitt's face.

The Lion In Winter star added: "I got the chuckles and had to leave."

Related: The 2004 Historical Epic Christopher Nolan Almost Directed Became a Major Influence on 'The Odyssey'

Peter O'Toole may not have enjoyed watching Troy, but his co-stars had a less than positive experience working with the actor.

Diane Kruger, who played Helen of Troy, declared the acting icon to be a cruel “drunk”. “You know who wasn’t very pleasant was Peter O’Toole," she told Buzzfeed, when asked who was the meanest actor she had ever worked with.

"It kind of sucked. He’s dead, so I can say that. But he wasn’t the most pleasant person,” Kruger explained. “He was just a drunk, and Peter O’Toole. You know, he had a two-day part, and I played Helen of Troy and he was Peter O’Toole and he just wanted to make sure that everybody knew that he was Peter O’Toole”.

The German actress revealed that the star, who was in his 70s during filming, was frustrated that he couldn't walk up the stairs. She admitted the cast “thought he was gonna die right there and then…He was very old, and very drunk”.

O'Toole passed away in 2013, aged 81. He might not be remembered for Troy, but he will be remembered for his award-winning roles on stage and screen, including his BAFTA-winning turns in Becket and Lawrence of Arabia, as well as Emmy wins for Joan of Arc, Golden Globe wins for The Lion in Winter and Goodbye, Mr. Chips.

Related: Brad Pitt Hated His 2004 Greek Historical Epic 'Troy' and Called It A 'Mistake'

Kenny Chesney, the country star behind the smash hit "Somewhere With You," gave fans a complete look of his upcoming album.

The singer-songwriter shows no signs of slowing down, remaining as active as ever 33 years after launching his music career.

Since signing his first recording contract in 1993, Chesney has released 20 studio albums and is now gearing up for his 21st.

Before its highly anticipated launch on Sept. 25 via HEY NOW Records, the 58-year-old singer revealed the tracklist for Silver Sands Marina.

Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage

In an Instagram update, he proudly introduced the 11 songs included on his upcoming album.

1. "Burn My Boat"
2. "Carry On"
3. "Talkin' Dirt"
4. "Goldfish" (featuring Lily Meola)
5. "Silver Sands Marina"
6. "It Just Got Weird" (featuring Megan Moroney)
7. "Sad Casino"
8. "Shot A Car Into Space"
9. "Remember Me That Way"
10. "What We Got Going On" (featuring Colbie Caillat)
11. "Shot Glass"

Beyond its new music, Silver Sands Marina also includes high-profile collaborations with Colbie Caillat, Lily Meola and Megan Moroney.

The comment section was filled with fans who were thrilled to hear the exciting update.

“Omg, Lily Meola!!!!! Megan and Colbie!!!! I can’t wait!!!!” one wrote.

“So we’re about to be on an emotional rollercoaster with this track list. I’m here for it,” a follower noted.

“So excited for the collabs. Gonna be such an amazing album. Cannot wait,” a fan said.

“I smell another number 1 song with Megan,” a commenter echoed.

Besides the special guests, the 21st album also features collaborations with acclaimed songwriters Matraca Berg, four-time Grammy winner Shane McAnally, Brett James, newly crowned ACM Songwriter of the Year Jessie Jo Dillon, Tenille Townes and Adam Wright.

Ahead of the album release, Chesney gave fans a taste of his new music with the already-released tracks "Carry On" as the lead single and the title track "Silver Sands Marina."

With just a few weeks until the album's official release, Chesney spoke about what fans and listeners can expect to hear from his new music.

“I love everything about music, but especially how it makes you feel,” the singer-songwriter said, as cited by Music Row, adding, “It can crack open a tough moment, lift you up, blow you up and make you laugh harder than anything. When I started thinking about all the things music can be, a few songs came in – and Silver Sands Marina, as it now exists, took shape. Some great players, guests who really fit the songs, but especially some places I’ve never gone.”

Silver Sands Marina is his first album in two years after releasing his 20th studio album, Born, in 2024, which includes the chart-topping hit single "Take Her Home."

Related: Country Music Star, With Best-Selling '90s Song, Involved in First-Ever Move