Zach Sang Show

The iconic singer/actor/advocate Amber Riley joins us in the studio to discuss her work with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS foundation, raising awareness for the HIV Is Not A Crime (https://elizabethtayloraidsfoundation.org/hiv-is-not-a-crime/) initiative which advocates for the modernization of laws because in 30 states HIV remains criminalized! Truly a shocking fact in this day and age. To date, The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation has successfully changed 33 laws across 12 states, but there’s still more to be done.

While this is definitely a topic of discussion, of course we can’t have the newly 40-year-old talent (happy 40th!) in the hot seat without discussing her time on ‘Glee’ as Mercedes Jones and where Mercedes might be today. We find out about that pre-‘Glee’ Ryan Murphy pilot that was never green lit, and the bright and brilliant talent Naya Rivera. There’s plenty of questions that go deep thanks to our resident Gleek Kelsey (the tater tot storyline anyone?!).

Plus we chat about her pal Jazmine Sullivan (casual), being a ghost singer (and what that is!), her time spent in the UK on West End performing in ‘Dream Girls,’ her game-changing stint on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and ‘The Masked Singer’ (in both the US and UK) — all hail the singing harp. We also find out what’s up with her solo singing career as RILEY.

She’s in her YES era and we love to see it!

We’re dropping this interview today, the day before HIV Is Not A Crime Awareness Day on February 28th — a significant date as it ties a symbolic bow to the closing of National Black History Month and the beginning of National Women’s History Month – two demographics that are disproportionately impacted by both the HIV epidemic & HIV criminalization. The date is also a symbolic nod to the legacy of ETAF Founder, Elizabeth Taylor, following the day of her birthday.

SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5
SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55u
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We were beyond thrilled to welcome Aussie auteur Baz Luhrmann on the couch! For 30 plus years he’s been wowing audiences with his fantastical, rich, music-heavy world-building — from ‘Romeo + Juliet’ to ‘Moulin Rouge,’ ‘Great Gatsby’ to his Austin Butler-starring Elvis biopic, and now he’s taking Elvis on an international tour via his new concert film ‘EPiC.’

In the process of creating 2023’s ‘Elvis’ Baz and his team unearth 50 plus unseen reels of footage from Elvis’ heyday, performing in Vegas in the early 70s. Alongside Peter Jackson’s team (who restored the Beatles footage for ‘The Beatles: Get Back’) and a coterie of experts, Baz brought the concert footage and backstage scenes back to life, painstakingly piecing together and syncing audio, and in some cases orchestrating the audio where it was lost. We get into all of that (and the accompanying soundtrack). The whole shebang is narrated by Elvis, in his own, hitherto unheard words, thanks to a 45 minute interview that also lay languishing in the Kansas salt mine vaults with the rest of it. After Elvis’ manager Colonel Tom Parker blocked him from going on international tours throughout his career, the King is finally hitting the road outside of America!

And then there’s all the other stuff we talked about: Bowie, Mick Jagger, his love of abiding K-pop (and the genre’s connection with Elvis), his Oscar-winning wife and partner in crime Catherine Martin, 30 years of ‘Romeo + Juliet,’ working with Leonardo DiCaprio as a teenager and then a 30-something, roaming around Graceland when it was closed for business, his upcoming film about Joan of Arc (‘Jeanne d’Arc’), growing old disgracefully and so much more.

See 'EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert' ►► https://www.epicmovie.film/home/

Get the Amazon exclusive Vinyl for EPiC (Elvis Presley in Concert): Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ►► https://tinyurl.com/ypy3yzhv

SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5
SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55u
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s been barely seven months since we last had Mumford & Sons in the studio but hot on the heels of ‘Rushmere’ and they’re back with ‘Prizefighter,’ a deeply collaborative record featuring Hozier, Gracie Abrams, Chris Stapleton, and Gigi Perez, and produced by The Nationals Aaron Dessner. Turns out spending time in Paris with Pharrell Williams was a key spark for inspiration on this sixth album.

The trip talk about all this, plus Brandi Carlile texting Marcus lyrics she literally dreamt, existential chats with Marcus’ son, their Railroad Revival tour that took place last summer and featured the likes of Lainey Wilson, Maggie Rogers, and Nathaniel Rateliff, plus so much more.

Stream "Prizefighter" ►►https://tinyurl.com/yh4avntc

SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5
SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55u
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With their pink velour tracksuits, bright yellow sneaks, belting vocals and earnest pleas to help get their fourth member Darshan an O1 visa to join them from India, Boy Throb are then band no one realized they needed, but oh boy are we throbbing for them now.

The trio — Evan Papier, Anthony Key, and Zachary Sobania join us in the studio for the first time, alongside new manager Gino. What happened to manager Jeff? What’s up with Dana the lawyer? How did this troupe of musical misfits from different corners of America come together and connect with Darshan all the way in Mumbai? Don’t worry, all your questions will be answered… and then some, because we talk to Darshan too.

Not only do they perform an acapella rendition of the National Anthem for us (just hours before they harmonize ahead of the LA Kings hockey game), but they dance their way through their upcoming single ‘Can’t Stop the Throb’ — a Zach Sang Show premiere exclusive!

We uncover their individual origin stories, what’s up with Anthony’s prior penchant for pirate-poet shirts, the meaning behind their debut single ‘Finger,’ what happened at the Grammys and how they’ve dealt with online bullying. We hope those days of getting trash-talked are behind them because these guys can really sing. Give them all the love — cos you can’t stop the throb!

SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5
SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55u
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Even though Zach and Avan have known each other socially for 16 years, the pair have never sat down for a formal chat, but now the 34-year-old Canadian-British-Indian actor is in the official hotseat thanks to his new thriller series ‘56 Days.’ Playing the brooding, possibly dangerous, definitely tortured Oliver, starring opposite Dove Cameron, the Prime series is very much in the vein of 90s psycho-sexual classics like ‘Fatal Attraction’ and ‘Basic Instinct.’ The chemistry is combustible and we get into that, how he built the character, intimacy co-ordinators, morality gray areas, and more.

Plus he chats about his beginnings in acting, how he snagged the role of heartthrob Beck in ‘Victorious,’ and his relationship with the cast to this day. We also dig into his more leftfield creative endeavors including working with arthouse filmmaker Greg Araki, screenwriting legend Charlie Kaufman, and his own screenplays and directing forays.

And… his second poetry collection — ‘Autopsy (of an Ex-Teen Heartthrob)’ with its humor and satire, some of which might have been lost on readers. Naturally it’s impossible not to discuss his fiancée Halsey and their creative and romantic partnership too. Awww.

SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5
SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55u
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.