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Samantha Diaz on American Idol  NYC subway singer, Samantha "Just Sam"  Diaz stole the hearts of American Idol fans and judges on Sunday night's premiere of the show. The 20-year-old became overcome with emotion when she began singing "You Say" by Lauren Daigle, realizing she was living her dream. American Idol judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan comforted her and told her she was safe. Diaz ended the singing portion of her audition with a slam dunk by belting out "Rise Up" by Andra Day. Before her audition, it was revealed that Samantha Diaz was adopted by her grandmother and grew up in the Frederick Douglass projects in NY. Diaz said she lived a hard life but made it through it all. After seeing her on American Idol, I wanted to know more about her story, especially her life as a subway singer. I found out that there is a documentary about the subway singer by TOPIC on YouTube. Check it out and let me know what you think! ...

Janelle Monae in Antebellum movie (photo cred: Matt Kenedy/IMDB.com) Article Updated 5/20/2020 - On Friday, August 21, 2020, a new movie starring Janelle Monae called Antebellum hits theaters! At first glance, the teaser trailer comes off as being mysterious, but if you've read the Black science fiction book Kindred by Octavia Butler, then you might have an idea of what the movie is about. Both the movie Antebellum and Butler's book Kindred share the element of time travel.  In Antebellum's trailer, you see Janelle Monae, Gabourey Sidibe, and their co-stars enjoying an evening out, taking selfies. Next thing you know, Janelle Monae appears in a field as slaves. There is also a creepy little girl who appears in the trailer. It is said that if an unknown "they" choose you, no one can save you. It's also important to note that Antebellum is produced by the same directors, Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz of Jordan Peele's  horror films  Get Out ...

Hair Love Short Film by Matthew A. Cherry Wins Oscar! Tonight, the short film Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry won an Oscar for Best Animated Short at the 92nd Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California!  The Sony Pictures movie competed against 4 other short films in the category. Hair Love is about a little African-American girl name Zuri whose father, Stephen learns how to do her natural hair. Cherry took to Twitter to express his excitement! He posted his original speech and a cute photo of Zuri hugging an Oscar. His caption said, "Thank you.  💜  #HairLove   #Oscars." He also dedicated his award to Kobe Bryant, who was the first athlete to win in that category for Dear Basketball. We first told you about Hair Love  in 2017 when Cherry surpassed his campaign goal on Kickstarter. Since then, the Hair Love book has been published and a short film released. Vashti Harrison is also the co-author and illustrator. Hair Lo...

Kobe and Gigi Bryant's Memorial Date Set for 2-24-2020 at Staples Center  Updated 2/14/2010 - The public memorial "A Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant" is scheduled for Monday, February 24, 2020 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Kobe's wife, Vanessa announced it on Friday. The information about how to obtain tickets has not been released yet. Tickets are now available on the official Staples Center website via Ticketmaster until 10:00pm PT on Monday, February 17, 2020. The date is symbolic for several reasons. The number "2" is the number of Gigi's jersey for Kobe's girl basketball team he coached called Team Mamba. Twenty-four is the number on the back of Kobe's Los Angeles Lakers jersey. Vanessa Bryant also said the year is symbolic. She said, "...#20 years as a Laker and the amount of years Kobe and I were together" in an Instagram post. Today marks 2 weeks since Kobe, Gigi, and 7 other p...