Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Porter going on national concert tour
Billy Porter is planning to strike a new pose this spring — but he wants his fans to manage their expectations accordingly.
The Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award winner announced Thursday he will embark on his first national tour. However, it won’t contain any of the high-flying, attentiongrabbing razzle dazzle that his pop music contemporaries depend on.
“I don’t really have many production elements,” Porter, 53, said. “What I’m trying to do right now is establish myself in the mainstream music space. It’s very simple ... I am not Beyonce, I am not Pink. I am not any of these people. And this is a conversation that I’ve been having lately .... I am an anomaly.”
Tickets for the “Black Mona Lisa: Volume One” tour, which takes its title from the artist’s forthcoming album, went on sale Friday. The six-week jaunt starting April 19 is scheduled in 25 cities across the country.
“I’m excited to be on the road and I am … terrified,” Porter said. “I’m excited for the terror. You know, we all should be a little bit terrified sometimes.”
Porter will be backed by a full band and equipped with lights and video elements for a 90-minute event where he says he will tell his life story through song. Fans can expect to hear his signature tunes, including “Love Is on the Way” and “Love Yourself.”
“This is my first mainstream music tour and because I’m already famous, people are going to have a certain expectation. So I want your expectation to be about the music and focus on my message, which is love, joy and peace,” he said.
Porter’s new single, “Baby Was a Dancer,” is set to be released March 24.
Jackman preparing for Wolverine return: Hugh Jackman is bulking up to become Wolverine again in the upcoming film “Deadpool 3.” The Golden Globe winner recently shared a photo of a “day in the life” of becoming one of Marvel’s X-Men.
Jackman has been gradually adding calories to his diet as he prepares to reprise the role he has played over the course of nine films since 2000.
The actor is packing on the protein with daily meal prep consisting of black bass with veggie rice and herb sauce (2,000 calories), Patagonia salmon with potatoes and hot sauce (2,100 calories), two chicken burgers with sweet potatoes (1,000 calories each) and two grassfed sirloins with noodles (1,100 calories each).
“Bulking. A day in the life,” Jackman captioned a photo of the calorie-rich meals. “Thank you, Chef Mario, for helping me stay healthy and properly fed whilst... Becoming. Wolverine. Again.”
The daily intake of 8,300 calories is paired with a rigorous fitness regimen, which the actor is also sharing via social media.
In one post, Jackman, 54, shared a shot of himself with bulging biceps as he curled a massive weight. “He’s only 46. I’m older. But it’s not a competition,” reads the caption, which pokes fun at Ryan Reynolds, who stars as Deadpool in the film franchise.
March 11 birthdays: Journalist Sam Donaldson is 89. Singer Bobby McFerrin is 73. Singer Cheryl Lynn is 66. Actor Alex Kingston is 60. Singer Lisa Loeb is 55. Actor Terrence Howard is 54. Musician Rami Jaffee is 54. Actor Johnny Knoxville is 52. Singer LeToya Luckett is 42. TV personality Melissa Rycroft is 40. Actor Jodie Comer is 30.