backstage

Grammy-winning singer Jill Scott brought her “To Whom This May Concern” album — her first in more than a decade — to life at Inglewood’s YouTube Theater last week. Backed by a razor-sharp 11-piece all-male band (including background singers fittingly dubbed “Freeman”), Scott moved effortlessly through a two-hour set filled with songs from the genre-expansive album along with several fan favorites like “He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat)” and “Gettin’ in the Way.”

Enforcing a phone-free policy at her personal request, the North Philadelphia native kept the audience intensely locked in — hanging onto her every word and every seemingly impossible note she struck with ease. Before long, it was easy to forget that we didn’t have our devices. Smiles filled the intimate room. Couples danced together. Strangers sang to each other in joyful unison, while others closed their eyes or held their hands on their chest in complete awe of witnessing a veteran artist in her element.

Jill Scott is on tour for “To Whom This May Concern,” her first album in over a decade.

(Jada Imani M)

In her only interview during the tour thus far, we caught up with Scott backstage to talk why she never performs a song the same way twice, how removing devices makes concerts better and why she thinks “To Whom This May Concern” deserves several accolades.

I’m still coming down from all of the energy from the show. How are you feeling post-show?

I am hot from the inside, and it’s gonna take me hours to calm down. [Laughs]

You’ve always described music as an intimate, two-way conversation between you and the audience. For this tour, you created a strictly phone-free space. Why did you decide to do that and how did this shift the experience for you as a performer?

In a couple of ways. One part is that it’s terrifying because there’s no buffer between me and them, so that’s actually scary, but I embrace it. The other part of it is that it’s wonderful because people initially come in kind of nervous about not having a buffer between myself and the space or themselves and space. Then I watch them gradually release, and I get a kick out of that every night. That’s my favorite part.

I’m surprised to hear that it’s scary for someone like you who’s been performing at such a high level for so many years.

Because I care. It matters to me. I really want them to have a good time. I really want them to release some things, allow themselves to be. If you want to make out, if you want to dance, if you want to cry, if you want to shout, or put up your hands in the air, or sit still, I want them to be able to do that. I think it’s important. That’s the relationship. That’s the real relationship between artist and fans of the music. It’s the connection between the music. I’m here to [be of] service. I’m here to push the ship along, but it’s really their relationship with the music and I’m a conduit. That part is probably one of my other favorites. You have to relinquish your id and allow the thing to be the thing. I think sometimes you can practice the joy and the life out of a thing. We practice a lot, but then we forget everything we practice so that it’s alive. My musicians’ freedom is mandatory. It’s a part of the job. So if they show up and play the exact same thing in the exact same way every night, they’re probably not going to be around very long. I need them to be wide open and to rediscover the music every night from their perspective. It’s their 11 perspectives on stage, and then of course there’s the lighting designer. I need him to be free. Don’t give me the same light at the same time every night. Even front-of-the-house sound engineer as well as our in-ear monitors, everybody is playing a part. “What does she need? Let’s read her. Let’s, you know, pay attention. What does she want?” It’s a lot of fun.

You could see really feel that from you and your entire band.

Tonight was a different audience. They were very attentive. Last night they danced all night long from the very beginning. I couldn’t even see the floor. Tonight they were listening. I know it’s a Wednesday night. Everybody’s got to go to work [the next morning], but they were beautiful. The listening audience is probably my favorite. They get quiet and I’m like “Oh, it’s so scary. Am I doing the right thing?” [Laughs] But that means they’re listening. Who doesn’t want to be heard?

Your son came out with you tonight. How was that experience for you?

It’s beautiful to see. He told me Tierra Whack is not traveling with us because she has a new album out, “Whack’s Museum,” so she’s a little busy. He was like, “Mom, how do you feel about me doing the second verse?” and I was like “Be at sound check tomorrow with a mic in your hand.”

He looked so comfortable on stage.

He does. It’s kind of scary. Super exciting. I don’t know what he’ll want to do, but he’s working our set, so he’s a part of the crew. So after he does his performance, he puts back on his blacks and he does his job, and I love that for him, to have that sense of responsibility. He’s exceeding anybody’s and everybody’s expectations. He’s so good at this. All the clothes you see, he steamed up.

He’s really working his way up.

Yes, you must earn your way.

Your album “To Whom This May Concern” released in February, and it feels like a love letter from your favorite auntie. There’s lessons about learning from your mistakes, honoring your ancestors and loving yourself. Now that your fans have been living with these songs for several months, I’m curious if performing them live has shifted your relationship with them at all?

No. On a great night, I like telling the stories that I’ve read. I like embodying them in front of other people. I like watching them experience them in a new way. I’m a fan of that. It just makes it more and more true. Then I see how many people are singing along and how many people are looking at me, and I’m like “Yesss.” It’s reaching the people and I know it’s going to be different because there’s a different audience every night. So I’m thrilled about the project and how it’s touching people. You hope you don’t work this hard at a thing for it to fall on deaf ears, and I know how microwavable music has been, but I believe the cream rises to the top. It’s been a beautiful 26 years. I look forward to 26 more — in my way.

Your album has been receiving a lot of praise from fans and critics. There’s still a few months before the Grammy nominations are announced, but at this point in your career, how important is that recognition to you? Is it as important as it was when you first started your career?

I think I deserve it. That’s all. [Flashes a smile]

I mean everything about this project from beginning to end is blood, sweat and tears. I stayed up many nights just to write, a hunger in my belly and a savage appetite. And I mean it. Everything is true and I love that for me. That’s the kind of thing that takes time and I think musically, it’s incredible. I think the stories are awesome and intentional, and everything about it, from the planning of it to the marketing, has been from my soul, and I think it deserves several.

A former security guard for Drakeo the Ruler testified under oath that he saw rapper YG produce a knife and slash it toward him during the 2021 backstage fight in which Drakeo was fatally stabbed, according to recently obtained deposition excerpts.

Alrick Cooper III, who was part of Drakeo’s security detail at the Once Upon a Time in L.A. festival, said YG was “front and center” during the Dec. 18, 2021, brawl and was one of three men he saw carrying what appeared to be short, improvised knives. He said YG, whose real name is Keenon Jackson, was wearing a ski mask, but he recognized the rapper’s hazel eyes as he tried to protect Drakeo, whose legal name was Darrell Caldwell Jr. Representatives for YG did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The excerpts come from Cooper’s March 19, 2025, deposition, which surfaced last month in a court filing by attorneys representing Drakeo’s family in a civil lawsuit against festival organizers and security contractors. It adds more context to the fight after law enforcement investigating the killing searched a Burbank property and detained YG in the process on Thursday.

The California Highway Patrol, with help from the Burbank Police Department’s SWAT team, briefly detained YG while officers searched the property. He was released after the search and was not arrested.

YG has repeatedly denied involvement in Drakeo’s death. On his June 2026 song “We Know the Truth,” he rejected allegations connecting him to the killing and said he learned after arriving to perform at the festival that someone had been stabbed.

A CHP spokesperson said the agency “cannot comment as this is an ongoing and open investigation” when asked if YG was a suspect or person of interest in the case. No one has been arrested in the ongoing murder case. NBC Los Angeles reported that the warrant was served as part of the continuing homicide investigation. CHP told NBC that YG was present when officers arrived and was released when the search was completed.

Drakeo’s son and other relatives, along with Cooper, sued Live Nation, C3 Presents, Bobby Dee Presents and several security contractors in February 2022, alleging the companies involved in staging and securing the festival failed to protect Drakeo from a foreseeable attack. YG is not a defendant in the lawsuit.

‘Front and center’

Cooper testified that Drakeo’s group was confronted by at least 20 to 25 people backstage. When asked whether he recognized anyone in the opposing group, Cooper named only YG.

“He was directly involved in the fight?” an attorney for Drakeo’s family asked.

“Yeah,” Cooper answered. “Front and center.”

Cooper said the attackers divided into groups and surrounded Drakeo’s party near the artist entrance. Some wore red clothing, ski masks or hoodies and Cooper said festival security personnel failed to intervene and instead closed two gates that could have provided an escape route.

“They actually closed the gates and trapped us in to where we couldn’t leave,” Cooper testified. According to his account, one exit was blocked by security personnel while attackers swarmed the other side of the backstage area.

Cooper said he initially struck one of the approaching men and momentarily lost his footing. He then found himself fighting YG and a man he described as YG’s bodyguard, with Drakeo positioned a foot or two behind him and to his right.

“And then YG produced a knife from his left hand,” Cooper testified, describing the weapon as appearing to emerge from Jackson’s sleeve. “And when I saw that I just backed up.”

As the confrontation continued, Cooper said, the attackers moved toward Drakeo and “swarmed over” him. Police arrived almost simultaneously, according to Cooper, and began breaking up the fight.

Three men with knives

Cooper described the weapon he attributed to YG as a silver blade approximately three or four inches long. He said he did not see a handle and compared its appearance to an improvised prison shank.

“He was slashing at me with it, like getting me to back up,” Cooper testified. He said he was not stabbed.

Cooper said he saw two other men standing near YG with similar weapons. He described one man as being immediately beside YG and another as positioned behind and between them. Cooper said he concluded the men were armed after observing movements that differed from ordinary punching.

“Once I saw the stabbing, jabbing motion,” Cooper testified, he tried to move away from those individuals.

Cooper described one of the other men as a bald Black man, approximately 5 feet 9 inches or 5 feet 10 inches tall, with light-brown or hazel eyes and a blue patterned crew-neck shirt. He described the third as a similarly sized Black man with dreadlocks but said he could not remember the man’s clothing. Cooper estimated YG was approximately 6 feet 1 inch or 6 feet 2 inches tall.

Identifying YG behind a mask

Cooper acknowledged that the person he identified as YG was wearing a black balaclava that exposed only the area around his eyes. He said the man also wore a black bomber-style jacket, black pants with red stripes and shiny black shoes.

Asked how he could make the identification with much of the man’s face covered, Cooper said he had met YG “a lot” and recognized his eyes, body type, height, walk and demeanor.

Cooper also testified that members of the attacking group taunted Drakeo during the confrontation.

He recalled hearing statements including “Is this Drakeo?,” “Is that who I think it is?,” “What you want to do?” and “Now we finally got him.” Cooper also reported hearing Blood gang expressions, including “soo whoop” and “Sup, Blood,” and seeing individuals beating their chests.

Earlier in the deposition, Cooper said he had previously intervened when the two rappers encountered each other outside a recording studio.

According to Cooper, YG approached Drakeo and asked, “What’s up [with] all that internet stuff?” Cooper said he had to defuse that encounter.

Cooper also cited Drakeo’s 2021 song “IngleWeird,” interviews and music released by artists associated with the two camps as evidence of an escalating dispute. He recalled a summer 2021 interview featuring YG and two other artists in which, according to Cooper, someone said, “We don’t do that internet stuff, the homies going to get you.”

Cooper testified that the history led him to warn Drakeo before the festival that more security was needed. He believed there was a substantial chance the two artists or their entourages would encounter each other as Drakeo left the stage or festival grounds.

All parties will be back in court for the first of two hearings beginning Aug. 13 covering motions to dismiss the case brought by Bobby Dee Presents and Live Nation.

Josh Widdicombe and Emma Willis have shown their public support for Johannes Radebe ahead of their debut as Strictly Come Dancing presenters by turning up at his West End show

Josh Widdicombe and Emma Willis have shown their public support for Johannes Radebe ahead of their debut as Strictly Come Dancing presenters. It was announced earlier this year that comedian Josh, 43, along with former Big Brother host Emma, 50, and Strictly pro Johannes, 39, would be the new trio to head up the BBC Saturday night favourite in place of Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.

Johannes, who initially joined Strictly in 2018, is playing the leading role of drag queen Lola in the West End musical Kinky Boots, which is based on the 2005 film and follows a struggling shoe factory as turn to making footwear for men who dress as women in a bid to avoid closure.

On Wednesday, Josh revealed that he and Emma had paid a visit to the London Coliseum where the show is running so they could see their co-star in action.

Alongside a picture of them backstage, along with X Factor winner Matt Cardle, who plays Charlie Price, Josh wrote on Instagram: “Incredible evening watching @johannesradebe absolutely smash the west end in Kinky Boots. Emma and I a bit too in love with him in the second pic.”

The trip were previously seen expressing their excitement for their new roles at a photoshoot for the BBC dancing competition, in a behind-the-scenes video posted to Strictly Come Dancing’s Instagram.

The announcement was a long time to come, and fans have waited almost a year to find out just who will step into the roles once held by Tess and Claudia. But following the first public appearance of the trio, several fans were left divided about what is to come, with some predicting that the lineup will change again after just one series.

One fan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “I’m so sorry but even this photo backs up my theory that it’ll just be Emma + Johannes after 1 series. This is just so odd and you can’t keeeeep dancing like this!”

Another said: “I would have put Emma with Rylan, not sure about Josh or Johannes,” and a third, writing on Reddit, said: “producers were thoroughly surprised and impressed with Johannes during the screentest.

“I wouldn’t be surprised they added the 3rd host role specifically for him. If Josh doesn’t work out for them, they can slot Johannes right in that spot upstairs, with a year of experience under his belt. If it does all work out, they have 3 amazing hosts!”

Others had an optimistic outlook, with one viewer writing: “Good luck Josh, Emma and JoJo, looking forward to the new line-up!”

Another said: “Love Emma! Don’t know too much about Josh so will stay open minded before making judgements. I’m sort of gutted we won’t see Jojo with a partner, but I will love to watch him on my screen every week!!”

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Here we go again: Twenty-five years after “Mamma Mia!” premiered on Broadway, the national tour returns to Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theatre with show-stopping set pieces and a crew that knows the show inside and out.

The beloved jukebox musical, which chronicles a Greek wedding with three potential fathers of the bride, has taken over the Ahmanson through July 19 as part of its 25th anniversary tour, and audience members should expect a full-on ABBA sing-along dance party.

“People come dressed up,” said associate choreographer Janet Rothermel. “There’s a lot of boas, and there’s a lot of spandex, and platform shoes.”

Rothermel is one of many people on the creative team who have worked on the show since its original Broadway run in 2001. Associate director Martha Banta and associate music supervisor David Holcenberg have also seen the musical through its nearly 14-year original Broadway run, national tours and numerous international iterations (Holcenberg was its original music director).

“When we were all back together again in rehearsal, it was an extraordinary feeling,” Banta said. “Not with the same cast, but Janet, David and I and others that have done it for years. With everything that’s been going on in the world in the last three years, it was just a soothing thing to do.”

“We’ve just been embraced beyond what we were used to, which was pretty great,” she added.

Everyone involved in the production echoed a similar sentiment: that the “ultimate feel-good musical” is exactly what audiences want to see during painful or overwhelming times. The show’s traveling costume supervisor and associate designer Eva Maciek put it most bluntly: “I love working on it because nobody dies.”

Rehearsals for the original Broadway run coincided with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Holcenberg explained, and he was struck by audience members’ emotional responses to the first shows.

“I’d have people coming down to the pit after the show with tears streaming down their faces saying, ‘Thank you for letting us forget the world for a couple hours and just have joy,’” he said. “Because this show is joy. It’s full of joy.”

Beyond the absurdly catchy music and the rom-com story, part of the show’s joyfulness comes from its colorful costumes and beachy aesthetic. The onstage set is relatively sparse, consisting only of a pair of rotating “taverna” walls, but backstage, hundreds of moving parts, including stage mechanics, hand props and costume changes, propel the story forward and keep the production looking effortlessly glamorous.

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Blingy microphones backstage for the “Mamma Mia!” production at the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.  (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

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Eva Maciek, the travel costume supervisor of the show, shares some wardrobe pieces backstage.  (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

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Ryan Sander, assistant choreographer, left, and Eva Maciek, travel costume supervisor of the show, show off Sander’s “Voulez-Vous” costume.  (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

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Life jackets backstage for a musical number.  (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

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Shelves full of hats are seen during a backstage tour.  (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

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The show‘s stage is seen during a backstage tour of the “Mamma Mia!” theater production at the Ahmanson Theatre.  (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

The obvious choice for coolest costumes, according to Maciek, are the bejeweled jumpsuits worn by titular mamma Donna Sheridan (played by Jessica Crouch) and her Dynamos, Tanya (Jalynn Steele) and Rosie (Carly Sakolove). Each one has hundreds of glittering silver stars attached.

“I’m glad I’m not the one who had to sew them on originally!” Maciek joked. The costumes all originated in London or New York, but they’ve been traveling from city to city in storage “gondolas” since the current tour started in 2023, requiring constant repairs and touch-ups from local stitchers.

Thematically, Maciek said, the costumes’ evolving colors tell their own story throughout the show.

“When everybody arrives at the island, they’re all in beige with a little hint of blue,” she explained. More blue gets added by “Voulez Vous,” and then they transition into jewel tones. “When you get into the wedding scene, everybody is in pinks, soft reds, oranges and yellows,” Maciek said. “So there’s a real color story that goes throughout.”

Ryan Sander, the show’s assistant choreographer, dance captain and current “swing” (an actor covering multiple ensemble roles), has a special relationship to his “Voulez-Vous” costume. He originally wore it as a performer on the national tour more than 20 years ago, and when he was called to come back onstage, he found that it still fit like a glove. The costume, a denim vest and pants set with extremely Y2K lace-up details, is representative of the show’s approach to fashion trends.

“There is something timeless about these pieces that’s just so interesting,” he said. “It is a period piece and we stick to that, but there is something timeless about the costumes.”

Besides the costume racks, another crucial backstage element are the vocal booths, where the ensemble contributes to the musical soundscape from behind the curtain.

“One of the main things about the ‘ABBA sound’ is how they layered the vocals, and we do that all live in our show,” Holcenberg said. “The ensemble works really, really hard, because when they’re not on stage, they don’t get any time off. They’re just singing their little faces off.”

Even though the show has been running for decades, the creative team said each cast brings a new energy and tone.

“Our new Donna, Jess, brings a real rock chick energy to it,” Holcenberg said. “Even though the notes on the page stay the same, the casting and the way they perform it still changes from person to person and night to night.”

According to stage manager Andrew Volzer, the most “unique” aspects of the show are its long history with a tight crew and its multigenerational appeal — “Not only from the audience perspective, but also for the people working on the show. People are always coming and going,” he said.

“We always say, you never leave the island.”