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New movies on Netflix, Disney+, Peacock, Max, Hulu to stream now

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March Madness isn’t just for the hoopsters. This month is also a slam dunk for new movies coming to your favorite streaming services.

Netflix, Peacock, Disney+, Max and more have plenty to offer if you’re mad about flicks to watch from your couch. There’s theatrical fare finally ready to stream, including this year’s best picture Oscar winner, a witchy blockbuster and a Hugh Grant horror film, plus a bunch of original stuff such as a fresh Tyler Perry thriller and a Millie Bobby Brown/Chris Pratt adventure.

Here are 15 notable new movies you can stream right now:

‘Anora’

The stripper dramedy won five Oscars, including best picture, with its acclaimed story of a hot-tempered, Cinderella-esque sex worker (Mikey Madison) who elopes with a Russian oligarch’s son (Mark Eydelshteyn). Things then go sideways in a narrative with themes of class structures and human connection.

Where to watch: Hulu

‘Better Man’

Even with signature tropes of its ilk and the career-tanking vices of many a “Behind the Music” episode, the Robbie Williams biopic’s unconventional storytelling – i.e., the pop star being presented as a cheeky singing chimpanzee – match the fantastical nature of Williams’ rise-and-fall-and-rise-again tale.

Where to watch: Paramount+

‘Control Freak’

Beware this body horror flick, because you might never scratch your head again. A stressed-out motivational speaker (Kelly Marie Tran) has her very controlled life torn asunder when a constant itch on her noggin turns out to be a parasitic demon, one that forces her to revisit the sins of her Vietnamese parents’ past.

Where to watch: Hulu

‘The Electric State’

This one’s for the Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown completists. In an alt-history America where robots revolted against man, the sci-fi adventure centers on an ex-soldier (Pratt) and a teen (Brown) looking for her brother who team up with a bunch of mechanical mascots to thwart a villainous tech magnate (Stanley Tucci).

Where to watch: Netflix

‘Heretic’

Though Hugh Grant is not known for being a horror staple, he splendidly plays the villain in this thriller. His sinister Mr. Reed invites a couple of young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher) into his house with the promise of blueberry pie and religious conversation but ends up putting them through the philosophical and physical wringer.

Where to watch: Max

‘Kraven the Hunter’

The old-school Spider-Man supervillain is turned into a bit of a secret-agent man in this comic-book flick. Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as the title character, given animalistic powers as a youngster, who hunts criminals and scrambles to save his brother (Fred Hechinger) from enemies of their Russian mobster father (Russell Crowe).

Where to watch: Netflix

‘Moana 2’

The animated sequel plots an extremely familiar course but at least does so with fresh new personalities and more inspired Pacific Island influence. The best reason for a “Moana” revisit, though, is still the dynamic pairing of the empowering title wayfarer (voiced by Auli‘i Cravalho) and her trickster demigod sidekick Maui (Dwayne Johnson).

Where to watch: Disney+

‘O’Dessa’

In this extremely trippy rock opera, “Stranger Things” standout Sadie Sink stars as the title farm girl, whose father was a rambler with a guitar that prophesied the coming of a musical messiah. When the heirloom is stolen, O’Dessa ventures to the city to find it, runs afoul of a game-show-host dictator and winds up on a dystopian “American Idol.”

Where to watch: Hulu

‘The Outrun’

Saoirse Ronan stars in this thoughtful addiction drama as a young alcoholic Scottish woman who leaves rehab to go back home to the Orkney Islands. After struggling to reconnect with her mom and community, she gets back to her science roots – and turns her life around – by taking a gig searching for a rare bird.

Where to watch: Netflix

‘The Parenting’

A gay couple (Nik Dodani and Brandon Flynn) rent a palatial countryside house for a getaway where their parents can all meet each other, then everyone discovers the place contains a pesky poltergeist. Relentlessly silly instead of scary, the horror comedy is worth a watch just for goofy Brian Cox playing a possessed dad.

Where to watch: Max

‘Revelations’

Netflix has become a launchpad for intriguing, genre-bending Korean shows and movies. (“Squid Game,” anyone?) This psychological thriller is the latest, centered on a pastor (Ryu Jun-yeol) believing in divine revelations, a detective (Shin Hyeon-bin) haunted by visions of her dead sister, and the case of a missing girl.

Where to watch: Netflix

‘Sing Sing’

Colman Domingo stars in this unforgettable prison drama based on a true story and featuring a talented bunch of ex-con thespians. Incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit, Divine G (Domingo) recruits a hardened fellow convict (Clarence Maclin) to join the prisoner theatrical troupe that brings him creative joy while yearning for his own freedom.

Where to watch: Max

‘Strange Darling’

The twisty thriller begins with a one-night stand between two mysterious figures, “The Lady” (Willa Fitzgerald) and “The Demon” (Kyle Gallner). What unfolds after that is a nonlinear narrative centering on a cat-and-mouse chase, a serial killer’s longtime murder spree and an ending that’ll make you watch the whole thing again.

Where to watch: Paramount+

‘Tyler Perry’s Duplicity’

Perry’s latest soapy thriller stars Kat Graham as an attorney out for justice and helping her best friend (Meagan Tandy) when her husband is shot by a white cop. As racial tensions threaten to embroil the city, the lawyer’s search for the truth goes some personal and surprising ways. (The thing isn’t called “Duplicity” for nothing.)

Where to watch: Prime Video

‘Wicked’

Jon M. Chu’s enchanting “Wizard of Oz” prequel is all about its two leads and one showstopping rendition of “Defying Gravity.” Cynthia Erivo stands out as the rebellious and righteous outsider Elphaba (aka the future Wicked Witch of the West), and Ariana Grande is her rival-turned-bestie, the hair-whipping, doe-eyed Glinda.

Where to watch: Peacock

March 21, 2025
Watch: 'Tracker' Colter Shaw on next case without iPhone caseTV

Watch: ‘Tracker’ Colter Shaw on next case without iPhone caseTV

March 21, 2025
‘Tracker’ Justin Hartley makes TV a couple, home theater experience

In USA TODAY’s The Essentials, celebrities share what fuels their lives, whether at home, on the set, or on the road.

“Tracker” Justin Hartley only plays a lone wolf survivalist mercenary on TV.

In reality, network heartthrob Hartley, 41, who is rolling in his second hit season as rugged Colter Shaw on CBS’ action drama, loves the company of his wife, Sofia Pernas. The one-time “Young and the Restless” co-stars are the complete package since their March 2021 marriage (Hartley’s third, following his split from Chrishell Stause).

While Pernas shoots her recurring “Suits LA” role near their shared Los Angeles home, and Hartley’s Shaw hustles for reward money on the Vancouver “Tracker” set, the couple spends every moment possible together. Executive producer Hartley is even pleased to see Pernas’ “Tracker” character, Shaw’s rival rewardist and onetime lover Billie Matalon, in more action with another episode airing March 30 (CBS Sundays 8 EDT/PDT).

“I don’t know if I’d call it a love story, but there’s a romantic spark and chemistry between the two,” says Hartley. “I enjoy being around her. I’m having the time of my life with this show. I love it. To be able to share it with the people you love makes it even better.”

Here are Hartley’s real-life “Tracker” essentials.

Justin Hartley as ‘Tracker’ Colter Shaw seeking missing person

“Tracker” Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) travels to New York City to find a woman who vanished in the dressing room of an upscale clothing store.

The couple watch TV series together on home theater; straying is allowed

The couple do their TV watching right.

Their ideal is together in their home theater. “I figure, turn on all the sound in the dark room and get the whole immersive experience. That’s how these shows were designed to be watched,” says Hartley. They watch a lot of friends’ shows, viewing “Paradise” together (featuring “This Is Us” alums Sterling K. Brown and Dan Fogelman).

They loved Netflix’s “Night Agent” and watch “Tracker,” too, focusing on experiencing it as an audience. And if the couple is separated mid-series-binge, they are permitted TV stray and go solo. “I don’t have a problem if my wife tells me, ‘I watched six episodes’ of whatever we’re watching. It doesn’t bother me.”

Hartley has resisted the ‘Tracker’ Airstream, but travels cross-country in SUV comfort

“Tracker” has extolled the virtues of Shaw’s open-road lifestyle in an enviable customized Airstream. Thus far, Hartley has held off on purchasing his own Airstream for his and Pernas’ frequent road trips. “It is tempting, though,” says Hartley. Instead, the duo and their beloved golden doodle Paisley travel the country visiting Major League Baseball parks in an SUV that’s “nothing extravagant, just four tires,” says Hartley.

“We have this really high-maintenance dog that doesn’t fly. So we put the dog in the back and drive, and then we stay at hotels. I love the game of baseball, and this gives me an excuse to go around the country and realize how big it is and see the different walks of life.”

Hartley and Shaw make a case for no iPhone case

For a guy who takes a lot of tumbles, Shaw doesn’t use a protective case for his spotless iPhone. That’s Hartley’s call.

“I was like, ‘I’m not putting a case on the iPhone, because I don’t have a case on my phone.’ And if I’m holding a phone with a case on it, it doesn’t feel right,” he says. “They built the phone in a certain way that it’s supposed to look. I want Colter streamlined. No extra stuff.” Not surprisingly, Hartley’s phone doesn’t look as good as Shaw’s. “I tend to drop my phone a lot. My phone is cracked all the time. There’s a big crack in the back right now.”

Hartley lights up for his Maglites

Shaw is never in the dark the way he works his flashlights on “Tracker” (there’s even a Reddit discussion page on which device) – Hartley is a Maglite fan.

“I have them stashed throughout the house,” he says. “They are not just a source of light, they can also be used as a weapon if you need it. They’re basically a big metal wand with a light at the end, which is wonderful.”

Hartley loves watches, but Shaw keeps it shockingly simple

Shaw started “Tracker” wearing a pricey Omega Seamaster, which is something the watch enthusiast Hartley might wear. But the show switched Shaw’s watch to a less-pricey, more durable G-Shock. “His watch is going to get broken all the time, there’s no sense in wearing a really expensive one. And the G-Shock is a solid utility watch that if it gets broken, no big deal. It’s a couple hundred bucks.”

Hartley’s personal choice is the Omega Speedmaster (“It’s pretty cool”), the über pricey Rolex Daytona or the new generation of Timex watches (“I’m a Timex guy, actually”).

“I always wear a watch,” Hartley says. “I don’t have many, but I love them all.”

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

March 21, 2025
‘Severance’ Season 2 finale spoilers: What happened and why

Spoiler alert: This story contains details from “Cold Harbor,” the Season 2 finale of “Severance.”

“Severance” has ended another mind-bending season, answering some questions ― will Mark rescue his wife, Gemma? ― while posing others.

The 10-episode second season, starring Adam Scott, Britt Lower and Patricia Arquette, is “super weird,” agrees Scott, previously better known for comedic turns on “Parks and Recreation” and “Party Down.”

The severed personalities of the “innie” Lumon employees and their “outie” away-from-work selves, who had no awareness of each other, started to blend, and as escapes from the confines of the mysterious company were plotted, “there was a lot of running” down those stark white hallways, Scott says.

The actor, along with director and executive producer Ben Stiller, break down the ending in separate interviews.

What happens in ‘Severance’ Season 2 finale?

The episode begins with a lengthy conversation between Mark Scout’s (Scott) severed halves: the “outie” away from work at the mysterious Lumon Industries and the “innie” employee. “I created you as a prisoner, and it’s a mistake,” his outie says into a camcorder. “You’ve been living a nightmare for two years. Part of why I’m here is to make it right, and I hope that with all we have in common, you’ll give me that chance.”

His goal, to rescue his wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman), whose death inspired him to get the severance procedure in the first place, is for the two halves to finally “recouple memories so we could be one person,” he promises.

What did the macrodata numbers really mean?

The seemingly pointless work of the Macrodata Refinement team (Mark S., Helly R., Dylan G. and – until recently – Irving B.), under the supervision of Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman), served a purpose, explains Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) in the finale. A loyal Lumon manager who created the severance procedure, only to see Lumon use it for malevolent purposes, Harmony is now rebelling against her former employer.

The numbers from his macrodata console, she explains to Mark, represent “a doorway into the mind of your outie’s wife, Gemma Scout,” and its clusters are “the building blocks of her mind.”

“What am I building?” he asks.

“Every file you’ve completed…is a new consciousness, a new innie.”

Once he completes Cold Harbor, the 25^th and final file, his outie will die: “You will have served your purpose; so has she,” Cobel says. “There’ll be no honeymoon ending for you and Helly R. She’s an Eagan.” (Helly’s outie is Helena Eagan, the daughter of Jamie, the company’s CEO, and she severed as a promotional ploy.) “You’re nothing to them, nothing to her. They’re using you.”

But Helly questions Harmony’s motives: “How can we ever trust anything Cobel says? All she’s ever done is lie.”

Choreography, merriment and a goat in ‘Severance’ season finale

Once the file is completed, a celebration is in order. Milchick summons a marching band for “choreography and merriment,” but Helly uses it as a distraction to steal Milchick’s walkie-talkie and barricade him in the bathroom while she and Mark plot their escape. Mark searches frantically for Gemma, but stumbles upon enforcer Mr. Drummond (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson), and they engage in a bloody fight just as Drummond is about to sacrifice Emil, a goat from that outdoor farm last seen in Episode 3. Turns out the animals are meant to honor founder Kier Eagan, Lumon’s founder. Drummond ends up dead, Mark uses his tie, stained with Drummond’s blood, to gain access to the room where Gemma has been ordered to disassemble a baby’s crib, and the couple has a tearful reunion and head for the exits.

What about that final ‘Severance’ Season 2 scene?

Mark and Gemma race through those hallways toward an exit, but in a crushing turn of events, innie Mark pushes Gemma out the door, hesitates and then decides to stay behind. As Gemma pleads with him from outside the door, he turns around and spots Helly at the other end of the hall; he turns, embraces Helly and they run once more down those endless white hallways, holding hands. The season ends in a freeze frame as “The Windmills of Your Mind” plays on the soundtrack.

“We knew that was going to be the ending for a while,” Stiller says. “We sort of played with the idea of ending on Mark looking between the two, but it felt clear, after having this cliffhanger ending in Season 1, I didn’t want to do that to the audience. It always felt this was the natural way that Mark’s innie would go. And what we wanted to do in the second season was set up in (the Gemma-focused) Episode 7 enough of a reason that you would feel some heartbreak and you would feel torn, and part of the audience would be going, ‘Yeah, I’m with him; go with her,’ and part would go ‘I can’t believe he’s doing that.’ “

Scott approves of the decision not to torture viewers with more uncertainty. “It would be cruel and unusual to end it on something like that. I’m so glad that we ended where we did, because I love the sequence of Mark and Helly running through the hall and the music; it’s really fun.”

Why would Mark do that in the ‘Severance’ finale?

“He’s finally 100% breaking free of this servitude, first to Lumon and to Kier,” Scott says.

And if “innie” Mark is truly the main character in the show, “his goal is to stay alive,” Stiller explains. “At the end of the day, he knows what that choice is to go out that door for his friends and for him, and he doesn’t necessarily trust what outie Mark says.”

The innies “are starting to mature. In Season 1, they’re kind of kids and in Season 2 (they’re) more like these rebellious adolescents who are coming into their own,” Stiller says. “Are they going to revolt against Milchick, who’s having his own crisis of conscience in his relationship to the company? There are a lot of unanswered questions. It doesn’t feel like it was the happy ending. I don’t think a severed person is a natural state, and what we’re looking at in Mark is a person who is split. The idea has always been about Mark becoming whole, accepting his grief, until something like that happens.”

When will ‘Severance’ Season 3 be released?

Apple recently touted the show as its most-watched yet, surpassing “Ted Lasso,” and on Friday officially announced a third-season renewal. (Stiller has a multiple-season endpoint in mind, but declines to be specific.) He promises there won’t be another nearly three-year wait between seasons, as there was for Season 2, which was delayed by Hollywood labor strikes and reshoots.

But the Season 2 ending, Stiller says, sets up even more questions and theories for a show already filled with them.

“Where’s it going? What is their fate? What’s going to happen in the next moment? That’s an intriguing way to end it,” he says.

March 21, 2025
Rapper charged with capital murder in MO3 death

Yella Beezy, best known for his breakout trap hit “That’s On Me,” has been arrested for the 2020 shooting death of fellow rapper MO3.

The 33-year-old emcee, born Markies Conway, was apprehended by authorities and booked into the Dallas County Jail Thursday afternoon after a warrant was issued for his arrest, according to jail and court records obtained by USA TODAY.

The arrest came two days after Beezy was charged with felony murder by a grand jury in the death of MO3, who was shot and killed during a midday shooting on a Dallas highway.

USA TODAY reached out to the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department and Beezy’s representative for comment.

The jury indicted Beezy on Tuesday on a charge of “capital murder while remuneration,” alleging the Texas-born rapper “intentionally and knowingly” took part in the death of MO3 (real name: Melvin Noble) by hiring Kewon White to kill him for payment and the “promise of remuneration,” according to a copy of the indictment.

“Pursuant to said agreement, Kewon White did then and there intentionally and knowingly cause the death of (Noble) by shooting (him) with (a) firearm,” the indictment reads.

White was reportedly arrested a month after MO3’s death and is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence for firearm charges related to the shooting, according to Dallas outlets KDFW and WFAA.

MO3 dies: Rapper killed by gunman in ‘brazen’ midday shooting on Dallas highway

How did MO3 die?

Following MO3’s death on Nov. 11, 2020, police told USA TODAY that the shooting suspect — described as an adult Black male — exited his stopped dark sedan armed with a firearm and approached MO3, who exited his stationary car and began running southbound on the highway.

The suspect — now identified as White — chased MO3, firing multiple shots and striking him. The rapper was transported to an area hospital where he died from his injuries, according to a police report obtained by USA TODAY at the time. MO3 was 28 years old.

White also struck an innocent bystander, an adult male, who was sitting in a separate car. The second victim was also transported to an area hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening.

Who is Yella Beezy?

Beezy launched his music career as a teen when the aspiring rapper started releasing his own mixtapes.

His breakthrough came on the 2017 mixtape “Lite Work, Vol. 2,” which featured the song “That’s On Me.” The trap track reportedly peaked at No. 25 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, as well as cracked the Hot 100 chart at No. 56. A star-studded 2018 remix featured appearances from 2 Chainz, T.I., Rich the Kid, Jeezy, Boosie Badazz and Trapboy Freddie.

In recent years, Beezy has collaborated with top names in hip-hop such as Chris Brown, Ty Dolla Sign, Young Thug and Gunna.

Beezy’s last album, “Bad Azz Yella Boy,” was released in August 2022.

Contributing: Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY

March 21, 2025
Crossword Blog & Answers for March 21, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today’s puzzle before reading further! Cut Class
Constructors: Michael Dreusedum & Jason Reuben

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

ALEC (14A: Actor/singer Su) In the 1980s, ALEC Su was a member of the Taiwanese boy band Little Tigers. Since the 1990s, he has had a successful acting career.

OHIO (31A: State home to Cornhenge) Cornhenge, officially named Field of Corn, is a public art installation in Dublin, OHIO. It consists of 109 white ears of concrete corn, each six-feet tall. The installation was created to honor Sam Frantz, who invented several hybrid corn species. I’m adding Cornhenge to the list of places I’d like to visit someday.

KLEE (47A: Alaskan ___ Kai (dog breed) The Alaskan KLEE Kai breed resembles but is smaller than the Alaskan Malamute and Siberian Husky.

LARD (28D: Fat in guanimes) Guanimes are traditional cornmeal dumplings from Puerto Rico. Made of cornmeal, sugar, salt, LARD, and flour, guanimes are often wrapped in banana leaves.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

LAWS (1A: Bills may become them) This clue / answer reminded me of the Schoolhouse Rock! song, “I’m Just a Bill.”

TYRA (33A: Model/actress Banks) Among many other accomplishments, TYRA Banks is the creator of the reality TV series, America’s Next Top Model. She also hosted the show.

TIN (45A: Sn, on the periodic table) The chemical element TIN has an atomic number of 50. Its chemical symbol, Sn, is from the Latin word “stannum.” TIN is a soft metal, and can be bent by hand.

GHEE (68A: Butter in pantua) Pantua is a confection that originated in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. The deep-fried sweet is made of semolina, chhena (a type of cheese), milk, GHEE (a type of clarified butter), and sugar.

ALEUTS (2D: Unangam Tunuu speakers) Unangam Tunuu, also known as ALEUT, is a language spoken by the ALEUT, indigenous people living in the Aleutian Islands and surrounding areas. Unangam Tunuu is considered a critically endangered language, with fewer than 100 ALEUT speakers estimated remaining.

MAMBA (5D: Black ___ (snake)) There are four species of MAMBA; three are green in color and live mostly in trees. The black MAMBA – which is actually brown or grey – lives on the ground and in trees. All four species of MAMBA are native to sub-Saharan Africa. MAMBAs are venomous, with untreated bites often being fatal. The MAMBA, whose average length is 8 to 12 feet, can slither at speeds up to 12 miles per hour.

OTIS (7D: “Sex Education” protagonist) Sex Education is a Netflix TV series centered on the lives of the students, staff, and parents at the fictional Moordale Secondary School. Asa Butterfield plays the role of OTIS Milburn, a teenager that gives sex advice to other students.

UMA (12D: “___ Thurman” (Fall Out Boy song)) As you might expect from the song’s title, the lyrics of Fall Out Boy’s 2015 song, “UMA Thurman,” celebrate actor UMA Thurman. The song references a scene in the 1994 movie Pulp Fiction, in which UMA Thurman’s character, Mia Wallace, dances with John Travolta’s character, Vincent Vega. UMA Thurman is a fan of Fall Out Boy, and she gave them permission to use her name.

NEOPET (22D: Virtual animal like a Kougra) A NEOPET is a virtual pet that users of the online site Neopets can take care of – buying them food, toys, and other accessories. Kougra is a tiger-like NEOPET. My cat, Willow, is tiger-like, but not a NEOPET. I do take care of her, though, and buy her food and toys.

EDWARD (48A: Prince ___ Island (Canadian province)) Prince EDWARD Island is Canada’s smallest province. It is also the most densely populated of Canada’s provinces. Prince EDWARD Island is located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, north of the Nova Scotia peninsula. The capital and largest city of Prince EDWARD Island is Charlottetown.

OMGYES (52A: Sex-positive web resource, or a texter’s excited affirmative) OMGYES is an interactive online resource for science-based sex education. “Texter’s excited affirmative” is a nice hint here.

TEEN (60D: Cady Heron, age-wise) Cady Heron is the protagonist of the 2004 movie Mean Girls. Cady, is a TEEN who attends North Shore High School in Evanston, Illinois, after previously being homeschooled while she lived in Africa with her parents. Lindsay Lohan portrayed Cady Heron in the movie.

ORA (63D: “You & I” singer Rita) You & I is Rita ORA’s third studio album, released in 2023.

A couple of other clues I especially enjoyed:

NOON (43A: It’s 12 hours before midnight)

ROCK ON (35D: “Keep shredding that guitar!”)

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

FUNNY BUSINESS (20A: Suspicious activity)

ON TOP OF THE WORLD (38A: Answer to the joke, “How did the climber feel after summiting Mount Everest?”)

IT’S NOT WORKING (58A: “This thing must be broken”)

CUT CLASS: The last word of each theme answer can be paired with the word CLASS to form a new phrase: BUSINESS CLASS, WORLD CLASS, and WORKING CLASS.

From today’s title, my guess was that the word CLASS might be CUT by the theme answers. However, filling in FUNNY BUSINESS alerted me I was on the wrong track. Fortunately, it didn’t take me long to notice that BUSINESS, WORLD, and WORKING can be paired with CLASS. Thank you, Michael and Jason, for this enjoyable puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles
March 21, 2025
MTV Spring Break: the wildest beach party of your youthEntertainment

MTV Spring Break: the wildest beach party of your youthEntertainment

March 21, 2025
Mariah Carey wins copyright suit for ‘All I Want For Christmas is You’

A federal judge in Los Angeles sided with Mariah Carey in a lawsuit alleging she illegally copied elements of her holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You” from a song of the same name that released three years prior.

Louisiana songwriter Andy Stone, who professionally goes by Vince Vance, and Tennessee native Troy Powers claim they wrote their “All I Want For Christmas Is You” in 1988 and released in 1989. Carey released her megahit just ahead of the 1994 holiday season, which has since received routine mass popularity every year.

On Nov. 1, 2023, the pair filed a $20 million lawsuit against the pop star, co-writer Walter Afanasieff and label Sony Music Entertainment. The suit alleged Carey’s song copied melodies, lyrics and other musical elements including the song’s “extended comparison between a loved one and trappings of seasonal luxury.”

However, U.S. District Judge Monica Almadani ruled Wednesday that music experts could not prove enough objective similarity between the two songs through what’s called an extrinsic test.

Almadani granted Carey’s request for summary judgment without the need to go to trial agreeing with the defense’s claims that the 1994 song uses common tropes associated with Christmas songs that existed prior to 1989.

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Carey, Afanasieff and Sony Music for comment on the ruling.

Attorney representing lawsuit call ruling disappointing

Stone and Power’s attorney Gerald Fox called the Wednesday ruling a “disappointment,” adding that most music copyright cases meet a similar outcome. He said his client is considering bringing the litigation to the Circuit Court level over the next week.

The court dismissed testimonies by Fox’s musicology experts Dr. Matthew Sakakeeny and Robert W. Fink, therefore leaving the defense’s arguments unrebutted.

“Our client retained two of the most accomplished experts teaching music at two of the United States top universities and did not file until in a blind process both opined that there was infringement,” Fox said in a statement to USA TODAY. “Sadly, it appears that the district courts routinely dismiss most plaintiff’s copyright cases.”

Fox has formerly represented clients who sued Taylor Swift for copyright infringement over the song “Shake It Off” in a case that ended with an undisclosed settlement.

What did the lawsuit say?

The lawsuit is Vance’s second to be dismissed after he filed and later dropped the first one in 2022 with allegations focused on “unique linguistic structure.”

The latest suit alleged that Vance and Powers’ version of the song charted several times throughout the ’90s, implying Carey and Afanasieff “undoubtedly had access” to take components of it.

They also alleged the pair had copied the title of the song arguing that “in 1988 it was, in context, distinctive. Moreover, the combination of the specific chord progression in the melody paired with the verbatim hook was a greater than 50% clone of Vance’s original work, in both lyric choice and chord expressions.”

Vance alleged his song charted on the Billboard Hot Country Chart in January of 1994, nine months before Carey’s song debuted.

“(This) points to the overwhelming likelihood that Carey and Afanasieff both career musicians and songwriters, who knew the importance of charting on Billboard, had access to the Vance work prior to the composition of the infringing work in question,” according to the lawsuit.

Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY

March 21, 2025
Adam Scott talks ‘Severance’Entertain This!

Adam Scott talks ‘Severance’Entertain This!

March 21, 2025
Actress splits from husband Kevin Anik

After three years of marriage, Quinta Brunson and husband Kevin Anik are going their separate ways.

The “Abbott Elementary” star and creator filed for divorce in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY on Thursday. The former couple’s date of separation was not disclosed.

Brunson cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for her split from Anik, who reportedly works in California’s legal cannabis industry. The pair, who were married in October 2021, did not share any children during their brief marriage.

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Brunson for comment.

Details on possible spousal support payments between the couple were not shared in Brunson’s divorce filing.

Per court documents, the actress and her estranged husband entered into a postnuptial agreement, in which Brunson requested that any property assets under dispute be divided and awarded according to the terms of the agreement.

Sia divorces husband Daniel Bernard: Former couple privately welcomed baby

Brunson, who stars as Janine Teagues in the ABC workplace comedy, kept her relationship with Anik largely out of the spotlight. According to a March 2024 New Yorker profile on Brunson, the couple lived together in the San Fernando Valley.

Brunson gave a sweet shoutout to Anik when she won a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding writing for a comedy series in 2022.

“In case I am not back up here again, I have to thank my mom, my dad, my brothers and sisters … and I need to thank my wonderful husband because he’s the most supportive man I’ve ever known,” Brunson said.

“Abbott Elementary,” which debuted in 2021, is currently in its fourth season. The series endeared viewers with its warm tone and sharp one-liners, following a hardworking group of teachers at an underfunded Philadelphia public school. Among the hilarious bunch are Barbara Howard and Melissa Schemmenti, played by Sheryl Lee Ralph and Lisa Ann Walter, respectively.

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“It’s really fun to take all these characters and figure out how we grow them up or grow them down,” Brunson told USA TODAY in February 2024. “Barbara and Melissa are older women. A lot of times, people think, ‘Oh, once you turn 50, you’re done learning things.’ But you don’t just stop there, so that’s been a fun part of writing them.”

Contributing: Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY

March 21, 2025