Daft Punk breaks Spotify play record
Daft Punk has set a record on Spotify.
The music service says the French electronic duo’s song “Get Lucky” had the biggest streaming day for a single track on Friday in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Spotify wouldn’t release the number of streams.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop” previously held the record for most streams in a day in the U.S. British band Bastille had the title in the United Kingdom with the song “Pompeii.”
Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” features rapper-producer Pharrell. It’s the first single from the group’s fourth album, “Random Access Memories,” due out May 21. It’s their first studio album since 2005’s “Human After All,” though the band scored the “Tron: Legacy” soundtrack in 2010. They won a Grammy in 2009.
Spotify launched in 2008.
Law urges continued ban on seal fur
Actor Jude Law has written to the World Trade Organization to urge it to uphold a European Union ban on seal fur.
The British actor was writing on behalf of animal protection group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which released the letter Saturday.
The EU banned commercial trade in all seal products in its member states in 2010 amid concerns about the animal welfare aspects of hunting seals.
The ban is being challenged by the Canadian government, and the WTO is holding a hearing later this month to settle the dispute.
PETA has also enlisted actress Pamela Anderson in its publicity campaign against the seal trade.
Jackman stalking suspect indicted
A woman accused of stalking Hugh Jackman and throwing a razor at him has been indicted by a New York City grand jury.
The New York Post reports Kathleen Thurston appeared briefly in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday. The charges remain sealed until Thurston’s next court date May 8.
Police say Thurston pulled out a razor filled with hair and threw it at the “X-Men” star when he was working out in a gym in the West Village neighborhood last Sunday. They say the Bakersfield, Calif., native then fled and was arrested several blocks away. Jackman wasn’t hurt.
Police had charged Thurston with stalking and other charges.
Legal Aid lawyer Liz Beal told the newspaper she’s trying to figure out whether Thurston is mentally fit for trial.
The birthday bunch
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is 87. Singer-musician Iggy Pop is 66. Tony Danza is 62. Actress Andie MacDowell is 55. Rock singer Robert Smith (The Cure) is 54. Actor James McAvoy is 34.