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‘Complete shock’: DC musician Cat Janice has ‘dream come true’ in hospice watching song climb the charts

[audio mp3="https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/1-CAT-JANICE-jfray.mp3" hide_author="true" hide_date="true" title="WTOP's Jason Fraley follows up on Cat Janice's viral hit (Part 1)"][/audio]

The Grammys rocked L.A. on Sunday night, but D.C. should invent its own award for the Most Inspiring Singer: Cat Janice. WTOP first told you about the D.C. native releasing her final song from hospice on Friday, Jan. 19. After being diagnosed with an ultrarare sarcoma early in 2022, Janice arranged it so that all proceeds of every download and stream of the song would go to benefit her 7-year-old son, Loren. The story was soon picked up by national publications, including USA Today, The Washington Post and People. Now, just a few weeks later, “Dance You Outta My Head” has gone viral as a global phenomenon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Buzg9524Ss4&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwtop.com%2F&source_ve_path=OTY3MTQ&feature=emb_imp_woyt On Jan. 21, the song ranked No. 7 on the iTunes Worldwide chart, ahead of Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers,” which just won a Grammy for Record of the Year, and behind only Kygo & Ava Max, BTS, Teddy Swims, Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande and Jack Harlow. It caught fire throughout Europe, ranking No. 1 in Romania, Ireland and the Czech Republic. That same day, the song was also No. 13 on the iTunes Worldwide chart, one spot behind “Where the Wild Things Are” by Luke Combs, who just dazzled the Grammys with a “Fast Car” duet with Tracy Chapman. It was fittingly ahead of Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying,” as well as BTS’ “Danger,” Jelly Roll’s “Need a Favor,” Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” and Dua Lipa’s “Houdini.” “I am in complete shock,” she wrote on Instagram. “I woke up cause my med pump was beeping and I happened to check my phone to witness this absolute miracle of God saving my life for a few days to show me his power and incredible mastery of peace and trust in my life. I am beyond blessed to share this news with you all and cannot thank you for more love. … My son and I are forever grateful.”

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By Jan. 30, “Dance You Outta My Head” was No. 11 on Billboard’s Digital Sales chart, ahead of “Whatever” by Kygo with Ava Max, “White Horse” by Chris Stapleton and “Yes, And?” by Ariana Grande. It also cracked the Top 40 of Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic chart at No. 37 that same day. “I am SHOCKED to be a Top 40 Billboard charting artist on Hot Dance/Electronic and ALSO #11 on Digital Sales,” she wrote on Instagram. “YOU ALL DID THIS. You gave me my dream come true. Right when I needed it most. You all loved me back to life and gave me my ‘one more moment alive.'”

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Her pinned TikTok post has since racked up 28.8 million views, while Jason Derulo commented, “Praying for you and your fam” with a folded hands emoji. https://www.tiktok.com/@cat.janice/video/7321188503738420510?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7319724211613517354 Read more about Cat Janice’s story here.

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A media-rating company says a Trump agency is threatening its livelihood

As media organizations go, NewsGuard cuts a low public profile as it follows its mission of issuing credibility ratings about news outlets. The Trump administration knows about it, though, and the company has joined a lengthening list of journalism organizations to face the White House's wrath. A dispute between President Donald Trump's regulators and the news monitoring service has spilled into court, with NewsGuard Technologies suing the Federal Trade Commission and its chairman, Andrew Ferguson, to shut down an investigation. The FTC accuses the company of trying to suppress conservative speech. NewsGuard says it is being forced to kneel before vindictive power. Since Trump returned to office in January 2025, the Republican administration has fought The Associated Press in court over the outlet's claim it is being punished for not adopting his preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico; settled with CBS News' corporate parent in a dispute over “60 Minutes” editing; sued The Wall Street Journal for its reporting on Trump and Jeffrey Epstein; and is in a legal fight with The New York Times over Pentagon reporting restrictions. NewsGuard’s lawsuit, filed last month in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, accuses Trump’s FTC of “brazenly using its power not for any issue concerning trade or commerce but rather to censor speech simply because it disagreed with NewsGuard’s judgments about the reliability of news sources.”
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