The hacker who threatened to leak episodes from ‘Orange is the New Black’s new season has fulfilled his “promise” by doing just that.
Netflix learned that a hacker named The Dark Overlord had gained access to its systems and pulled ‘Orange’s latest season from them.
His or her mission? To force the company to cough up cash in exchange for the episodes they had stolen. Alas, “negotiations” either fell through or didn’t happen at all prompting the hacker to upload his stolen goods online.
Who is next on the list? FOX, IFC, NAT GEO, and ABC. Oh, what fun we’re all going to have. We’re not playing any games anymore.
Today’s From The Vault pick is pulled from 2006 and sees Hip-Hop legend Diddy and Pop royal Christina Aguilera team for the tantalising ‘Tell Me.’
The second single from Diddy’s ‘Press Play’ LP, the track was produced by Just Blaze and was instantly singled out as a highlight on the album by the press as well as fans.
Initially the song was a demo for the group that would become Danity Kane, but Diddy decided to use it on his own album. For Aguilera, it was a return to a more modern sound as she was deep into her ‘Back To Basics’ era, which saw her go all retro on the masses.
Though it had been coined for chart glory, it didn’t match the success of its predecessor, the Nicole Scherzinger-assisted ‘Come To Me.’ ‘Tell Me’ only managed to reach the Top 50 in the US and wasn’t even released everywhere in Europe. Still it got to #8 in the UK.
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Shot by Erik White, the first part of the video referenced the infamous ‘Maxell blown away’ commercial, while the second saw Diddy, Xtina and dancers “do that thing” on LED sets. Very 00’s – in the best way.
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Say what folk will about Diddy, there’s no denying that he consistently cooks up quality music and collaborations, whether successful on the charts or not. As for Xtina, she remains one of the best vocalists of today’s age, even a decade after this song was released.
One of Madonna‘s former friends and dancers have stepped out to confirm that the star had a deep rooted hatred of her 90s chart rival Janet Jackson.
Kevin Stea, who stood as one of the brains behind Madonna’s creative machine, is now feuding with the singer after he joined a large group of her former employees to sue her for moves he claims she made to invade their privacy and exploit them during their time together.
Now, he has opened up an incident which he says shocked him to his core and exposed, according to him, Madonna’s supposed desire to take Janet down.
There may be trouble ahead for the revolutionary service Netflix if it doesn’t agree to demands set by a hacker who claims to have stolen the latest season of ‘Orange is the new Black‘!
Operating under the name The Dark Overlord, the hacker has asked for an unspecified amount from the company and has already uploaded the first episode of ‘Orange’s new season on an illegal file-sharing site.
Netflix said that a small production vendor that works with several major TV studios had suffered a breach. The Los Gatos, Calif., company described it as an “active situation” that’s being investigated by the FBI and other authorities.
In the ransom note, The Dark Overlord claimed to have stolen series from other studios, too, by breaking into a single company. The purported hacker promised to also release those titles unless “modest” ransoms are paid.
When the AP contacted The Dark Overlord in February, the hacker said the purloined video wouldn’t be made publicly available after all, making the far-fetched claim that “no one really [cares] about unreleased movies and TV show episodes.”
Why Netflix and ‘Orange’?
‘Orange’ is a Netflix original series and can only be viewed by TV lovers who pay to subscribe to the show and service. If placed online, Netflix’s profit-pushing unique selling point comes under threat.
Welcome to Retro Rewind, the TGJ original feature launched to unearth some of entertainment’s best (and worst) hidden secrets.
Today, as Aretha Franklin reignites her lengthy feud with Dionne Warwick, we revisit another R&B spat often overlooked / forgotten by the masses.
Who it involved? Luther Vandross and En Vogue.
In 1993, En Vogue were enlisted to support Luther’s ‘Never Let Me Go‘ tour as it hit the U.S. to boost sales of the album of the same name.
Alas, it wasn’t long before the Funky Divas cut themselves loose from the live show citing member Cindy Herron‘s pregnancy as their reason for doing so.
The truth? A raging feud between the group’s members and the ‘Busy Body‘ belter.
Cindy confessed:
We’ve been having a lot of problems with Luther. Our nickname for him is Lucifer.
Entertainment Weekly added at the time:
Herron, who is married to baseball’s Glenn Braggs, thinks the friction stems from the group’s request to have their band moved off stage during their set. Audience members, she says, were complaining that the band blocked the foursome. Vandross’ camp vetoed the idea, and from then on, says Herron, he stopped talking to them, ordered that the two camps eat separately while on the road, and instructed his crew to hang drapes so he wouldn’t have to see the group backstage. “We heard he could be difficult,” says Herron, who adds that she was also having difficulty sleeping on the bus and eating properly. “We feel sorry for him. This reflects an unhappy person.” Vandross’ representatives had no comment.
Eleven years would pass before the world would discover how high (or low) the pair’s spat went.
‘Luther: The Life and Longing Of Luther Vandross by Craig Seymour’ reveals that while in Miami Luther discovered that one of the group’s members had wandered into his side of the drawn curtain.
His response?
His temper hit full-tilt and he “actually” called the Miami police to demand the group be charged with trespassing.
The Pop superstar sent fans into a frenzy moments ago when she launched a mysterious countdown clock on her official website.
Its appearance comes in the wake of mounting speculation that the 50-year-old diva is set to return to the road.
As widely reported, Janet postponed her ‘Unbreakable World Tour’ in 2016 to “plan a family” – the fruit of that being son Eissa who was born in January of this year.
Observant fans who held on to their tickets (after promises of rescheduled shows) noticed updates on their Ticketmaster accounts; specifically revised Fall dates and a new name for the trek – the ‘State Of The World Tour.’
Whatever the case, judging by the clock, definitive word on what’s happening looks set to arrive next Monday (May 1st).
Kelly Rowland warned in a recent interview that her fellow Destiny’s Child alum, Michelle Williams, was working on something “big” and “top secret.” While we impatiently await official news on what that “something” is, Williams took to Instagram and Facebook to unveil some new jaw-dropping shots that may serve as our first clues.
Fiercely working the snaps under the direction of the famed photographers Cyndi Brown and others, the Grammy-winning songstress – whose debut album, ‘Heart To Yours,’celebrated its 15th birthday this month – is reminding any naysayers she’s still able to rock a mic, runway, and a lens nearly 20 years in the game.
Jennifer Lopez continues to slay with effortless ease.
The 47-year-old turned heads as she arrived at the 2017 Billboard Latin Music Awards last night.
Taking place at the Watsco Center inCoral Gable, Florida, the event saw the multi-hyphenate maven presented with the evening’s top honor – the Star Award.
The win comes after the ever-active Lopez, who rocked two revealing ensembles, was bestowed with the Billboard Icon Award in 2014.
With the exception of songstresses Alessia Cara, Selena Gomez, and Julia Michaels [in leading positions], the Hot 100’s upper rankings – namely the top 30 – are indeed a man’s world. Leading that pack of 27-male entries, to no surprise, is King Kendrick Lamar.
In addition to seeing his album, ‘Damn,’ top the Billboard 200 with the year’s highest first week sales (to date) and simultaneously place all fourteen of its tracks in various positions across the Hot 100 this week, the set’s breakout hit – ‘Humble’ – has politely been seated at the latter chart’s summit (consequently ending Ed Sheeran‘s ‘Shape of You‘s 12-week run at the top).
Curious to see where you can see Lamar’s name scattered all over the chart? You know what to do:
After Lifetime hit a ratings high note with its Angela Bassett-directed biographical film that chronicled the tumultuous relationship of her superstar parents Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown (click here to read more about that), TV One is looking to follow suit by unveiling an in-depth look at the life of Bobbi Kristina.
Simply titled ‘Bobbi Kristina,’ the made-for-TV flick will reportedly lend an “intimate look at the highs and lows of parental, familial and romantic love complicated by fame through the eyes of a sensitive, vulnerable young woman.”
Katy Perryserved up sassy new single ‘Bon Appétit’ at the strike of midnight and the expectation was for the masses to eat it up.
It’s early, but it appears folk are proceeding to the table slower than perhaps planned.
As at writing, the Migos assisted cut has yet to enter top 10 of US iTunes. It presently occupies the #15 spot. This despite banners and ample fan-fare.
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While it’s far from doom and gloom, especially given Perry’s general strong streaming performance, it does make one wonder.
Because beyond being the tier of act accustomed to instant hits, she’s coming off a lukewarm chart run with preceding single ‘Chained To The Rhythm.’
All of which makes for potentially sweaty palms at Camp Perry.
Still, as the age old adage goes, it’s rarely about how one starts but how they finish. Maybe just maybe it’ll take longer to rise but enjoy sweeter success.
