Former ‘American Idol’ singer Caleb Flynn has been sentenced to life without parole after being convicted of murdering his wife and attempting to cover up the crime.
Published On 6 Oct 20266 Oct 2026
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Sass Jordan, the Canadian rock star known for hits such as “Make You a Believer” and “Tell Somebody” who served as a judge on all six season of “Canadian Idol,” has died. She was 65.
Jordan died Friday surrounded by her family, according to an announcement posted to Instagram Saturday. No cause of death was provided, but she had reportedly canceled a number of performances in Ontario, Canada, in September “due to a serious medical condition.”
“She remains in our hearts, an inimitable force of nature,” her family wrote in the statement accompanying a photo of Jordan cuddling a cat. “An irreplaceable being of light and joy!”
Jordan made her solo debut with her 1988 album, “Tell Somebody,” which led to her winning the Juno Award — the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy — for most promising female vocalist the following year. She moved to Los Angeles in 1990 before releasing her follow-up album, “Racine,” in 1992.
“Racine” remained one of Jordan’s biggest solo albums, with tracks including “Make You a Believer,” “I Want to Believe,” “You Don’t Have to Remind Me” and “Goin’ Back Again.” She also recorded a duet with Joe Cocker, “Trust in Me,” for the 1992 film “The Bodyguard” that year.
“I always think of music as medicine and as healing for myself and for anyone else who wants to join in,” Jordan said in a 2023 interview with the CBC about audiences still responding to her earlier hits when she performed. “[S]o it’s an extremely uplifting thing. … It’s amazing and it’s incredible to see that. It’s incredible to see people responding to something that is genuinely, like you said, 20 years old.”
Born on Dec. 23, 1960, in Birmingham, England, Sarah “Sass” Jordan moved from France to Montreal with her family at age 3 when her father, a French literature professor, took a job at Concordia University, according to a statement shared by her publicist Eric Alper after her death. Seeing David Bowie in concert as a young teenager inspired Jordan to dream of a career in music. She began singing and playing guitar with friends in Westmount Park and by age 16 she was performing with bands in downtown Montreal nightclubs.
“I’m an expert on rebellion,” Jordan told The Times in 1992, reflecting on why she ran away from home at 14. “I didn’t want that clean, wholesome life … It felt so fake. I identified with real people, oppressed people who were outside that life. I wanted to taste real life — street life.”
Throughout her career, Jordan would tour alongside acts including Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Van Halen. Her touring band in 1994 included Taylor Hawkins, who would go on to become the drummer for the Foo Fighters. Jordan’s most recent release is the live album from that tour, titled “Live in New York Ninety-Four.” Hawkins died in 2022 at age 50.
For six seasons, Jordan served as one of the judges on the reality competition series “Canadian Idol.” The show aired from 2003 to 2008 and mirrored the format of shows like “Pop Idol” and “American Idol.”
“Over four decades, she gave Canadian rock one of its most recognizable voices, carved out space for women in a genre long dominated by men, and opened doors for the young musicians who came through her band,” Alper said in his statement. “Sass Jordan leaves a catalogue that shaped Canadian rock through the late ’80s and ’90s, a blues renaissance in which her voice grew richer with each record, and a generation of artists, from Idol hopefuls to a future Foo Fighter, who learned from her what it means to give a song everything.”
Jordan is survived by her husband Derek Sharp, daughter Stella Jordan-Sharp, stepdaughter Brianne Sharp and brother Daniel Jordan.
CANADIAN singer Sass Jordan has died aged 63, her family have announced.
Heartbreaking tributes have poured in for the Montreal rocker who passed away “peacefully” on Friday evening.
Sharing the news of her death on social media, her family wrote: “On Oct. 2 2026, surrounded by her loving family, Sass Jordan peacefully crossed over to the other side.”
Her family remembered her as “an inimitable force of nature” and “an irreplaceable being of light and joy”.
Sass, behind iconic tracks Racine and Make You a Believer, was born in Birmingham, England.
She moved to Montreal aged three with her French literature professor father and former British Ballerina mother.
Aged 16 she was fronting bands in downtown Montreal clubs, later becoming singer and bassist for local favourites The Pinups.
Her debut album, Tell Somebody, won Sass the Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year in 1989.
Three years later, after moving to Los Angeles, Billboard magazine named her Female Rock Artist of the Year after her album Racine.
It became the defining album of her career, selling an estimated 450,000 copies worldwide and 100,000 in Canada.
That same year she recorded the duet Trust in Me with Joe Cocker for ‘The Bodyguard’, a soundtrack that sold more than 45million copies.
Throughout her career Sass toured alongside Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Van Halen.
Later in 2003 she would join Canadian Idol as the only female judge on the panel.
She remained on the show for all six seasons.
Sass is survived by her husband, Derek Sharp, daughter Stella Jordan-Sharp, stepdaughter Brianne Sharp and brother Daniel Jordan.
Her family has asked for privacy to grieve and has thanked fans for their tributes to her remarkable life.
Tributes have flooded in for the late singer, with fans and fellow musicians paying tribute.
Deep Purple singer and bassist Glenn Hughes posted on Instagram: “So suddenly, I’m heartbroken.
“A true friend, we had so much love, joy and laughter and music together.
“RIP my Sasseroonie Girl.”
American rock and blues singer Ian Moore posted: “Love you Sass. Soul mama supreme.”
Others said her voice and art had “defined a generation”.
One user posted: “Thank you for everything and may your presence continue to be such a joy and comfort to us all.”
Former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn has been found guilty of murdering his wife, Ashley, while he was having an affair. He will be sentenced on Monday and could get up to life in prison without the chance of parole.
Published On 30 Sep 202630 Sep 2026
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“American Idol” is packing up its stars after 25 years in Hollywood.
In the latest blow to Los Angeles film production, ABC’s long-running program will move its upcoming season to the Atlanta area, according to Fremantle, which produces the show with 19 Entertainment, owned by Sony Pictures Television.
Fremantle declined to comment further.
The move comes as Los Angeles’ production levels have tumbled, prompting concern from film workers, union leaders and elected officials who are scrambling to address the crisis. California, despite boosting its tax incentive program, has been struggling to compete against other states that offer more lucrative credits.
TV production activity in the L.A. region was down 27% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year ago, largely because of fewer reality TV shoots, according to the nonprofit FilmLA.
Earlier this year, another broadcast TV stalwart, Fox’s “The Masked Singer,” made plans to vacate its space on the Fox lot on West Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles and head to New Jersey, also in search of more lucrative tax credits. Another ABC hit, “Shark Tank,” also is relocating to Atlanta from its longtime home base on Sony’s Culver City lot.
“American Idol” has been a local economic engine since launching on Fox in 2002. For years, the show ranked as the No. 1 show on TV and employed hundreds of workers each season as aspiring singers hoped for their big break.
The most recent season originated from Red Studios in Hollywood.
Georgia offers generous tax incentives, including up to a 30% tax credit for reality television productions that spend at least $500,000 in the state. Unlike California, Georgia’s tax program allows compensation for actors and other so-called above-the-line workers to be included.
Like California, Georgia has been grappling with lower production levels. For more than a decade, its soundstages attracted colossal movie productions, but the region was dealt a blow when the Walt Disney Co. recently shifted production of its Marvel superhero films to facilities near London.
On Tuesday, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, the Motion Picture Assn., industry unions, Hollywood special ambassador Jon Voight and filmmaker Steven Paul made a pitch for a federal film and television tax credit to keep jobs in Hollywood and in the U.S. broadly.
Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) plans to introduce a bill into Congress as early as this month in collaboration with Rep. Brian Jack (R-Ga.), who represents a district southwest of Atlanta. The MPA released a study estimating a federal tax credit could add 143,000 film and TV jobs.
This year, in particular, has seen big swings as the California Film and TV Tax Credit Program expanded eligibility to include competition shows.
Large-scale competition shows are eligible under the state’s incentive program if they have a minimum budget of $1 million per episode. The credit, however, does not include traditional reality shows, game shows, talk shows or docu-follow television programs.
Changes in California’s formula resulted in a jump to 676 shoot days in the second quarter, compared with 463 shoot days during the first three months of the year. Nonetheless, this year’s April-June quarter still reflected an almost 40% decline when compared with the same time last year.
FilmLA said that over the last five years, reality productions have plummeted nearly 63%.
ABC in late July announced “American Idol” was returning, marking its 10th season on the Walt Disney Co. network. Producers are auditioning potential contestants this week during stops in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
ABC declined to comment on the move.
Ryan Seacrest has long hosted the show, which last season featured Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood, a previous “American Idol” champion, as the celebrity judges.
Deadline first reported the planned move to Georgia.
Game shows are also leaving L.A.
A growing number of programs long based around Hollywood and New York have headed across the ocean to Ireland and Britain to take advantage of tax credits that bring down the cost of production as broadcast network executives contend with shrinking audiences and lower profit margins.
Fox currently has several prime-time game shows produced overseas, including “The Floor,” “Celebrity Name That Tune” and “Beat Shazam.
Staff writer Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report.
