PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
New box set has trove of rare, unreleased Elton John songs
Elton John is opening up his vault and releasing an expansive collection of rarely heard and unreleased tracks.
John announced Thursday that the eight-cd collection, “Elton: Jewel Box,” will be released on Nov. 13. The collection includes “Sing Me No Sad Songs,” an unreleased demo from 1969.
The “Jewel Box” collection includes 148 songs, 60 of them unreleased, that span recordings from 1965 to 2019 and his early collaborations with songwriter Bernie Taupin.
“Hearing these long lost tracks again, I find it hard to comprehend just how prolific Bernie and I were during the early days. The songs just poured out of us, and the bands were just unbelievable in the studio,” John said in a statement. “I always want to push forward with everything I do and look to
the future, but having time during lockdown to take stock and pull these moments from my memory from each era has been a joy.”
Madonna announces she’ll direct, co-write her own biopic
Madonna is returning to film to tackle a topic in which she’s the foremost authority – herself.
The musician and actress will direct and co-write a new Universal film described as the “untold true story of Madonna,” according to a news release from the studio.
“I want to convey the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer – a human being, trying to make her way in this world,” Madonna said in the release.
The focus of the still-untitled film will be her music. “Music has kept me going and art has kept me alive. There
are so many untold and inspiring stories and who better to tell it than me. It’s essential to share the roller-coaster ride of my life with my voice and vision,” Madonna said.
New Melania Trump statue unveiled in Slovenia
A bronze statue representing U.S. first lady Melania Trump was unveiled Tuesday in her native Slovenia to replace a wooden one that was set on fire in July.
The new sculpture is a replica of the original one by U.S. artist Brad Downey and placed near Trump’s hometown of Sevnica, in central Slovenia.
The original statue was torched by unknown arsonists on July 4. The rustic figure was cut from the trunk of a linden tree, showing her in a pale blue dress like the one she wore at Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration.