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André 3000 Drops Surprise Album After Met Gala Piano Statement

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André 3000 Drops Surprise Album After Met Gala Piano Statement

It can be a challenge to make an impression on the Met Gala’s red carpet, especially when the competition includes Diana Ross wearing a feathered overcoat with an 18-foot-long train, Bad Bunny toting a bag fit for a bowling ball, and Rihanna arriving fashionably late — with a baby bump.

But there are spectacles and there are spectacles, and André 3000 fit nicely into the latter category when he showed up to the festivities on Monday night with a grand piano strapped to his back.

“I’m sorry,” the actress Natasha Lyonne said while being interviewed on the red carpet, “there’s a piano coming.”

It was a statement piece and a nifty bit of marketing by André 3000, a rapper and musician whose appearance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Benefit coincided with the release of his new album, “7 Piano Sketches,” which he described in an Instagram post as “improvisations” and included a drawing of himself in a version of his Met Gala outfit. The instrumental piano album follows one in which he focused entirely on the flute — a sharp departure from his days in the rap duo Outkast.

Beyond the promotion of his new album, his outfit on Monday was carefully planned, both to highlight the event’s theme, which centered on Black style and dandyism, and its dress code, “Tailored For You.”

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The piano was undeniably bespoke. Created by the design and fabrication company Pink Sparrow, it was modeled after a Steinway Model S Baby Grand piano, which weighs nearly 600 pounds. But Pink Sparrow’s version was “reimagined” at 75 percent scale, the company said in a statement. It was made of foam, a thin type of plywood and 3-D elements to weigh only 30 pounds, complete with straps and pedals.

Still, André 3000 made sure to emphasize the illusion of its heft by donning a workwear-inspired jumpsuit that he said was a collaboration between Burberry and his newly revived fashion brand, Benji Bixby, which used to be known as Benjamin Bixby.

He also carried what appeared to be a black garbage bag.

The stylist Law Roach worked with Burberry on the musician’s look. In a red carpet interview, he implied that the musician had worn the piano in the car on the way to the event.

“Dandyism is an everyday thing,” André 3000 said in an interview after his arrival. “It’s an attitude when you wake up. We’ve been doing it for years. You know, I’m just happy that there’s a night that puts a spotlight on it. And we’re just here to have fun doing what we do.”

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He did not wear the piano all night. After his red carpet appearance, he removed it in a separate room in the Great Hall of the Metropolitan Museum and made a wardrobe change, slipping into a black number with a heart stitched in the chest. The outfit was another Benji Bixby and Burberry collaboration, he said.

Will Welch, GQ’s editor in chief, also wore Benji Bixby.

“At this point,” André 3000 said as he prepared to enter the gala itself, “it’s all about just getting together and sitting at tables and talking and actually seeing some of your friends. The hard part is done.”

A weight, in other words, had been lifted off his back.

Callie Holtermann contributed reporting.

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Possible measles exposure detected in Ky. after unvaccinated traveler visits Ark Encounter

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Possible measles exposure detected in Ky. after unvaccinated traveler visits Ark Encounter

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Kentucky health officials are warning the public of possible measles exposures in northern Kentucky earlier this week. 

A post on the Kentucky Department for Public Health’s Facebook page said it “identified potential measles exposures in Grant County.” According to the post, the exposure was traced to “an unvaccinated, out-of-state traveler” who stayed at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Dry Ridge from Dec. 28-30.” That person also visited the Ark Encounter on Dec. 29.

Measles, a highly contagious respiratory virus, can cause serious health problems, especially in young children, according to the CDC’s website. The virus spreads through the air after someone infected coughs or sneezes. It can then linger for up to two hours after the infected person leaves. 

The virus can also be spread if someone touches surfaces that an infected person has touched. Symptoms include a cough, runny nose and red eyes, followed by white spots that appear on the face and down the body. Two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine is the best protection against measles, according to health officials.

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Contact your healthcare provider if you think you or someone in your family may have been exposed.

More Local News:

Here’s a look at who’s running and what’s at stake in Kentucky’s 2026 elections

Woman critical after shooting at American Legion post in Parkland early Thursday

Woman dies after shooting outside fast food restaurant in downtown Louisville near NuLu

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Contract details reveal when Kentucky could seek repayment from BlueOval SK

Federal judge dismisses consent decree meant to spark police reform in Louisville

Dozens of vacancies raise safety concerns at Louisville Metro Corrections

Louisville doctors urge prevention as flu cases surge after the holidays

LMPD detective shared login to Flock camera system with DEA agent conducting immigration search

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Copyright 2026 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.

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Sunday Puzzle: New newsmakers of 2025

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Sunday Puzzle: New newsmakers of 2025

On-air challenge

Every year around this time I present a “new names in the news” quiz. I’m going to give you some names that you’d probably never heard before 2025 but that were prominent in the news during the past 12 months. You tell me who or what they are.

1. Zohran Mamdani

2. Karoline Leavitt

3. Mark Carney

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4. Robert Francis Prevost (hint: Chicago)

5. Jeffrey Goldberg (hint: The Atlantic)

6. Sanae Takaichi

7. Nameless raccoon, Hanover County, Virginia

Last week’s challenge

Last week’s challenge came from Joseph Young, of St. Cloud, Minn. Think of a two-syllable word in four letters. Add two letters in front and one letter behind to make a one-syllable word in seven letters. What words are these?

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Challenge answer

Ague –> Plagued / Plagues / Leagues

Winner

Calvin Siemer of Henderson, Nev.

This week’s challenge

This week’s challenge is a numerical one from Ed Pegg Jr., who runs the website mathpuzzle.com. Take the nine digits — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. You can group some of them and add arithmetic operations to get 2011 like this: 1 + 23 ÷ 4 x 5 x 67 – 8 + 9. If you do these operations in order from left to right, you get 2011. Well, 2011 was 15 years ago.  Can you group some of the digits and add arithmetic symbols in a different way to make 2026? The digits from 1 to 9 need to stay in that order. I know of two different solutions, but you need to find only one of them.

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, January 8 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.

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Daniel Tosh Sells Lake Tahoe Estate for $10.75 Million

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Daniel Tosh Sells Lake Tahoe Estate for .75 Million

Daniel Tosh
Sells Lake Tahoe Home for Millions

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