‘King James’ Review: A Shared Fandom for LeBron James Leads to Bonding and Blowups in Mark Taper Dramedy

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticWhen Leslie Fram, formerly a top programmer and morning cohost in radio’s alternative format, made the jump from FM to television by coming aboard the CMT network as the VP in charge of music in 2011, she liked almost everything she had to learn as a quick study in country music. That ranged from the greater collegiality of country’s artist community to how much earlier the music showcases started in Nashville than they had in New York.

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos had a big realization during their recent solo vacation. The 51-year-old TV personality, who is a mother of three, revealed to ET's Rachel Smith what it was like vacationing without kids for the first time in more than two decades.«When you're on vacation together for the first time in 25 years without children, you realize that your kids really have been occupying the bulk of the time,» Ripa said.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticThe story of women in country music is being written anew every day, but it needs its actual scriveners, too, to keep a record of what progress is or isn’t being made in a genre that sometimes has wavered between nourishing and ignoring its queens. That role has been well-filled in recent years by music journalist Marissa R.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticIf there were an award to bestow for the most accomplished living American pop songwriter who never doubled as a recording artist, the frontrunner would almost definitely be Mike Stoller, 89, half of one of the most famous writing duos of all time, Leiber & Stoller. Even if the memory of Elvis Presley were completely wiped away, like the Beatles’ in that “Yesterday” movie, this pairing would still be in the history books and collective consciousness for “Stand by Me,” “On Broadway,” “There Goes My Baby,” “Young Blood,” “Kansas City,” “Love Potion #9,” “Yakety Yak,” “Charlie Brown,” “I’m a Woman,” “Ruby Baby,” “Is That All There Is?” and other numbers deeply embedded in pop culture from the mid-‘50s forward.

Adele and Rich Paul stepped out in style! Over the weekend, the GRAMMY-winning singer and the sports manager attended Kevin Love and Kate Bock’s lavish wedding in NYC -- and there's pictures to prove it.   On Tuesday, LeBron James shared a group shot featuring him, the couple and his wife, Savannah James, standing outside of the wedding venue.

Britain’s beef with James Corden? He’s one of our most successful showbiz exports, hosting an Emmy-winning chat show, earning plaudits on Broadway and starring in blockbuster films. He’s created beloved TV franchises such as Carpool Karaoke over there and Gavin & Stacey over here. Yet for some reason in his native UK, Corden is “divisive”, to put it politely.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticDid ye get healed? This is a rhetorical question Van Morrison posed many years ago that may pop up in the back of your mind at someone else’s show, on one of those rare nights when there’s enough strife or upset in the world that the crowd can be collectively understood to be experiencing a wound. That was the case with Brandi Carlile playing two sold-out shows at L.A.’s Greek Theatre over the weekend right in the wake of the Supreme Court issuing a decision that the vast majority of her progressive-leaning audience would find deeply grievous, or ominous, with one justice vowing that another right should be on the chopping block — the same-sex marriage that Carlile has sung and talked about on stage virtually every night for years.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticNews of a forthcoming Marcus Mumford solo album began to leak out this past week, which countless radio stations and websites around the world immediately leaped to assume meant that old gang of his was breaking up. Mumford made it official on two counts — yes, his solo record is coming up, and no, Mumford and Sons are not splitting — and offered a first taste of the new project as he sat in with Brandi Carlile Friday at L.A.’s Greek Theater.During the encore portion of the first of Carlile’s two sold-out gigs at the Greek, the two sang a collaborative new ballad (the title of which was not announced) that Mumford said would be the closing track of his solo album, publicly confirming a heretofore secret project that has become widely speculated upon over the last week.

Add Naomi Osaka’s new company to the Marketing Blunders Hall of Fame.

new media company, Hana Kuma. The sporting superstar, who was born in Japan, told the New York Times Tuesday that hana kuma means “flower bear” in Japanese — but Twitter users quickly noted it has a far more explicit meaning in Swahili, where it translates to “woman without a vagina.”The lost-in-translation controversy began trending on Twitter in multiple African countries, with dozens of users urging Osaka, 24, to change the name of the company, which she founded in partnership with NBA legend LeBron James, 37. “Naomi Osaka has partnered with LeBron James to start a media company called Hana Kuma.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticTaylor Swift has gone to Carolina in her mind in her new single, which was released at midnight Thursday night — the first newly written original song she’s put out since the “Evermore” album in late 2020. But things are more brooding for her in that state of mind than they were for James Taylor.“Carolina” is the end-credits theme for the film “Where the Crawdads Sing,” which doesn’t reach theaters for another three weeks — July 15, to be exact — and the song provides a foretaste of the possibly jolting mood of the climax, where she and the movie’s protagonist are definitely not feeling 22.As much as it’s a direct outgrowth of Swift loving the source novel, fans may feel the song is a throwback … all the way back to the “Folklore”/”Evermore” era of two years ago, with those albums’ primary producer, Aaron Dessner, back on board for a tune lightly augmented with the Americana-friendly elements of mandolin and fiddle. Swift provided more insight into the song in an Instagram post.

Naomi Osaka continues testing the waters outside the sports industry. The four-time Grand Slam champion is partnering with NBA icon LeBron James to launch Hanna Kuma, a media company founded to amplify cultures and social issues.

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Naomi Osaka and LeBron James are teaming up for an exciting new venture! On Tuesday, the 24-year-old tennis champion announced the launch of her full-service media company, Hana Kuma, a platform to tell stories about different cultures, social issues and more.«I've built my career taking a different approach than those around me,» she wrote in an Instagram announcement. «And because my journey has been so different it's opened my eyes to all the incredible stories out there that aren't getting told. Stories that are global, about a variety of cultures and points of view, about important social issues.»«That's why I'm launching Hana Kuma, a media platform focused on stories that are culturally specific but universal,» she added of her work with business partner Stuart Duguid. «Stories that are bold and playful like me.»Writing that she's «incredibly proud» to build a business that is a «true reflection» of herself, the athlete also shared her excitement for her partnership with James and Maverick Carter’s Springhill Company.«I couldn't think of a better partner than @kingjames to do this,» she added.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticA funny thing happened at Bob Dylan’s concert at the Terrace Theatre in Long Beach: It got dark… really dark. But only on stage; out in the auditorium, the house lights stayed up, dimmed just a little, for the whole show.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLeBron James has a new teammate.The basketball legend’s SpringHill Company is launching a joint venture with U.S. advertising giant Interpublic Group that aims to pair Interpublic’s clients with a range of creators aligned with SpringHill, whose productions include films such as “Hustle” for Netflix; “The Wall” for NBC and “These Hands,” a project made with Procter & Gamble.“We are really good at finding and developing diverse talent, and with that, create amazing opportunities for brands to create authentic stories,” says Devin Johnson, president of SpringHill, in n interview.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticAs happened last year with the Eddie Vedder-helmed Ohana Festival, an “encore weekend” has been added for the Southern California rock gathering. But this ain’t no Coachella — the second weekend, set for Oct.

Slam dunk love story! LeBron James and his wife, Savannah James, are relationship goals — and started out as high school sweethearts.

Lebron James has the Golden State Warriors on his mind. A trailer of HBO’s The Shop: Uninterrupted has sports fans talking after the baller was asked who he would want to play with from the remaining teams left standing in the NBA playoffs. “Golden State,” he answered with no hesitation.We will have to see if he shed more insight into why he chose Golden State but he did say “I would love to get into a p*****g match with Draymond [Green].” “I love when someone cusses me out,” he added.It’s not the first time the 37-year-old has shown interest in the Warriors on The Shop.