Harry, Meghan drop holiday podcast
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are bidding adieu to 2020 with their first podcast for Spotify— along with a host of celebrity guests and a few ( very) briefwords fromtheir young son, Archie.
PrinceHarry and the formerMeghanMarkle onTuesday released a standalone holiday special exclusively on the Spotify global streaming platform.
In the 34- minute special, the royal couple shares a collection of personal anecdotes and inspirational stories froma variety guests around theworld, including Stacey Abrams, José Andrés, Rachel Cargle, Deepak Chopra, James Corden, MattHaig, Sir Elton John, Naomi Osaka andTyler Perry.
In addition, the special features a cameo byArchie, the couple’s 19- monthold son. With some gentle coaxing fromhis parents, the toddler provides the signoff for the holiday podcast, saying, “Happy newyear!”
The podcast also includes a performance of “Amen, This Little Light of Mine” by Karen Gibson and London’s The KingdomChoir.
The special comes under a multiyear pact between Harry andMeghan’s newly formed ArchewellAudio production company and Spotify for a slate of exclusive podcasts designed to “build community through shared experience, narratives and values.”
Menzellauncheskids’ show:
Fresh fromtaking over family home entertainment centers for the holiday season with her vocal appearances in the “Frozen” films, Idina Menzel is un- animating herself with anewweb showaimed at kids and parents, “Idina’sTreehouse,” which premiered Monday on herYouTube channel.
Technically, the iPhoneshot series takes place in her son’s treehouse where theTony- and Grammywinning actor will share songs and stories aimed at the younger part of her fan base.
“Just something I started working on during quarantine,” Menzel said in a statement.“Hope you all like it. In search of a little peace and quiet during lockdownand stressful homeschooling, I took refuge inmy sonWalker’s treehouse. Started talking and singing tomyself. Delirium? Stir crazy? Mother gone mad? I offer upmyself for your children’s amusement.”
JessieJ hospitalized foreardisorder: Jessie J spent her “BIGweird non traditional ChristmasEve” dealing with symptoms ofMénière’s disease, a chronic inner- ear disorder that sent her to the hospital and resulted in brief deafness in one of her ears over the long holiday weekend.
The singer, 32, explained on Instagramthat she woke up Thursday and felt “completely deaf” in her right ear. She couldn’t walk in a straight line and it sounded “like there’s someone trying to run out ofmy ear” when she sang loudly.
Jessie J said that she spent ChristmasEve in the hospital, was given medicine and is feeling “a lot better.”
Dec. 30birthdays: Actor RussTamblyn is 86. Singer Noel Paul Stookey is 83. Singer MikeNesmith is 78. TVhostMeredithVieira is
67. Actor Sheryl Lee Ralph is 64. ComedianTracey Ullman is 61. TVhost Sean Hannity is 59. ActorDaniel Sunjata is 49. SingerTyrese is 42. Singer AndraDay is
36. Singer Ellie Goulding is 34.