We’re supposed to wash our hands more because of the coronavirus. And the old rule is to time out 20 seconds by singing “Happy Birthday” twice. But it’s easy to rush through and sing too fast. Someone on Twitter posted a list of songs with choruses that are roughly 20 seconds long. So you only have to sing them once instead of twice. The songs include “Africa” by Toto – “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac – “Stayin’ Alive” by The Bee Gees is another good one. A few country songs that work well are “What If I Never Get Over You” by Lady Antebellum . . . “Make Me Want To” by Jimmie Allen . . . and “Jolene” by Dolly Parton.
Remember STEVE WOZNIAK – the Apple co-founder who became a bit of a celebrity 10 years ago after dating Kathy Griffin and doing a season of “Dancing with the Stars”? Well, he thinks he might have had the coronavirus and he could’ve been responsible for first bringing it to the U.S. In a series of Tweets this week, Woz said that he and his wife Janet returned from China on January 4th, and they came down with a serious illness. He said, “I had all the right symptoms, and had been in Hong Kong at the right time, we had just returned from China [on January 4th] and may have both been patient zero in U.S.” But he can’t say for sure. For what it’s worth, Woz’s wife Janet later said that she’d been diagnosed with a sinus infection . . . NOT the coronavirus.
Are celebrities smart enough to conquer an escape room? We’ll find out on May 21st, when NBC airs the hour-long special “Celebrity Escape Room”. Jack Black will host . . . and the contestants are Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow from “Friends”, plus Adam Scott from “Parks and Recreation”, and Ben Stiller. It’s part of NBC’s annual Red Nose Day fundraiser, and it’ll be followed by a two-hour variety show/telethon to raise money to combat childhood poverty.
The tornadoes that ripped through Nashville yesterday morning killed at least 25 people and caused massive devastation. Country stars were deeply affected. They went on social media to share their thoughts, and some are already pledging to help in the recovery efforts. DIERKS BENTLEY was flying into Nashville’s John C. Tune Airport around 11:30 Monday night and he shot video of a nasty storm. He posted the clip yesterday and said, “Glad we landed when we did. Wouldn’t have been so good an hour later. It was the cell that turned into the tornado. Lot of people lost their homes, including our drummer, and a lot of people in need.” He also included aerial photos of the airport that were shot after the tornado, and the destruction is everywhere. CARRIE UNDERWOOD was on the “Today Show” yesterday to promote her new book but they wanted to know how the storm affected her. She wasn’t home, but her family was. She said, “I [was] asking my husband if everybody’s good. He said he had to go upstairs at like 2:00 A.M. and grab the boys and take them down to a little safe room in our house. I was like, ‘I bet everybody is crying.’ It’s 2:00 A.M., freaking out, so it was scary.” DOLLY PARTON posted a video on Twitter, saying, “I want all of you to know that we are all with you, and hope your family’s okay, and your property’s going to get mended soon, and [I] want you to know you’re being thought of, and we love you.” KACEY MUSGRAVES has pledged to donate the proceeds from the sale of her stage clothes to the relief efforts. The Boot put together a page of reactions from stars like Chris Stapleton, Cadillac Three, Scotty McCreery, Ryan Hurd, Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini, Jake Owen, Dan + Shay, Chris Janson, and Carly Pearce.
KENNY CHESNEY announced that his next album, “Here and Now”, will be out May 1st. He opened up about what keeps him motivated. “When you’re this far into a career, I think artists need to keep pushing themselves and the music without losing sight of who they are or forgetting the people you make music for.”
COLT FORD and JIMMIE ALLEN take you deep into the country in their “Back to Them Backroads” video. And that’s the point they’re trying to make. Colt tells CMT, “It gives you a visual of what we’re talking about . . . real life in the country. It takes you with us on those backroads.”
GARTH BROOKS is doing a benefit show for “Austin City Limits”. But they’re NOT taping, so it won’t air. It’s all about raising money for their new facilities.
COLBIE CAILLAT and her band GONE WEST have announced the release date of their debut album. It’s called “Canyons” and it drops June 12th.
Chaz Bono is 51.
Patricia Heaton is 62.
