Music

Rihanna has reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement with her father after filing a lawsuit accusing him of illegally using her name for his own profit.

Radar reports that the nine-time Grammy winner dropped the lawsuit against Ronald Fenty before they were due to go to trial on September 22.

In 2019, RiRi sued her father and his company, Fenty Entertainment. Court documents state, “Although Mr. Fenty is Rihanna’s father, he does not have, and never has had, authority to act on Rihanna’s behalf.”

Rihanna said that her dad, who is not her agent, booked a $15 million overseas tour without her approval. She also claims that he attempted to trademark the phrase “Fenty” to open a chain of hotels.

Now the “Umbrella” singer is focused on hosting an after party for the Met Ball Gala on Monday in New York City. She will also present her annual Savage X Fenty fashion show on September 24. It will stream in over 240 countries and territories on Amazon Prime Video, and will “combine fashion, dance, music, and iconic architecture.” Last year’s presentation at the Los Angeles Convention Center featured appearances by Normani, Roddy Ricch, Miguel, Ella Mai and Mustard.

Last month, Forbes declared Rihanna’s fashion/music empire is now worth $1.7 billion, making her the wealthiest female musician in the world, and second to Oprah Winfrey as the richest female entertainer.

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Bullet for My Valentine has released a new song called “Shatter,” a track off the band’s upcoming self-titled album.

“It’s one of our personal favorites and we’re pretty sure it’ll be one of yours,” Bullet says of “Shatter.” “It’s an absolute sledgehammer of a track with riffs for days. Let the head banging commence!”

You can download “Shatter” now via digital outlets. Its accompanying video is streaming now on YouTube.

“Shatter” is the third track to be released from Bullet for My Valentine, following “Knives” and “Parasite.” The whole album is set to arrive October 22.

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Nicki Minaj‘s husband, Kenneth Petty, faces up to ten years in prison for failing to register as a sex offender in California.

Petty, who married the “Anaconda” rapper in 2019, pleaded guilty on Thursday, according to court records obtained by ABC News. Sentencing has been scheduled for January 24, 2022.  Petty faces a maximum ten-year prison sentence and a fine of $250,000 or more, though the law allows for a minimum sentence of five years of supervised release for the violation.

As her husband faces more legal drama, the five-time MTV Video Music Award winner announced Thursday she will not appears at the VMAs on Sunday in New York City.  “I just pulled out. I’ll explain why another day,” Minaj tweeted in response to a fan asking if she would be performing on Sunday. “Next year we there baby.”

Petty was arrested in March 2020 after being indicted for failure to register as a sex offender. He pleaded not guilty and posted $100,000 bail. The 43-year-old, who has homes in New York City and Los Angeles, was registered as sex offender in New York, but not in California. He is required to register as a sex offender in both states after being convicted for the first-degree attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl in 1995, for which he served a four-year prison sentence.

As previously reported, Petty’s alleged rape victim, Jennifer Hough, recently filed a lawsuit against him and Minaj in which she accused the pair of attempting to intimidate her into recanting her rape accusation. She asserts in the lawsuit that Petty “intimidated” and “harassed” her not to talk about the incident, and says that Nicki “threatened” her and wanted her to disavow her accusations against Petty, according to Billboard. 

Hough alleges that Nicki falsely claims that she wrote a letter recanting her statement accusing Petty of rape, and that on two different occasions, Minaj and Petty offered her $500,000, and $20,000 to recant her statement. 

I just pulled out. I’ll explain why another day. But I love those guys at MTV. thank you Bruce. I love you so much. Next year we there baby. https://t.co/QkueA9fcOu

— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 9, 2021

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Jimmie Allen was well into Dancing with the Stars rehearsals before the cast was revealed. In a new post on social media, he shows off the elaborate disguise they used to hide his face prior to the cast announcment, leading some to believe he was a professional athlete instead of a singer.

“Back when people thought I was a football player walking into rehearsal. Haha Before the cast reveal of [Dancing with the Stars] we had to wear these face shields. I about tripped and fell like 8 times.”

Jimmie has already reached out for advice to several of his famous friends who have competed on DWTS.

“I talked to Chuck Wicks, he did it,” Jimmie shared on Good Morning America. “Lauren Alaina. I actually talked to AJ [McLean]. Rashad Jennings, Bobby Bones. I know Nelly did it last season. They said it’s gonna be difficult, but it’s fun, and they’re not lying. These rehearsals … I never ballroom danced a day in my life. It’s rough.”

Jimmie joins an all-star cast that includes JoJo Siwa, Christine Chiu, Sunisa Lee, Brian Austin Green, Amanda Kloots, Martin Kove, Olivia Jade and more.

Season 30 of Dancing with the Stars will premiere on Monday, September 20, at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.

 

 

 

 

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Here are some notable new tracks to take you through the weekend:

Glass Animals has released their new single, “I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance).” Frontman Dave Bayley says the song was inspired by pandemic and needing to find an outlet to let off some steam. “I want people to switch their devices off, put this song on, close their eyes, and have that release for a moment,” he says.

BLACKPINK’s Lisa has officially released her debut solo project, LALISA, featuring the dance and hip-hop inspired title track and a song called “Money.”

Walker Hayes‘ viral crossover hit “Fancy Like” is getting some extra pop star power. The country star has just released a new version of the song featuring Kesha. Kesha sang the praises of the song, tweeting, “This song speaks to me on a very deep level.  I’m fancy like…. A southern b**** who loves a Waffle House after a night at the dive bar n karaoke…. How u fancy like?”

And speaking of viral hits, Tai Verdes has released a new version of his track “A-OK” featuring 24KGoldn.

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The Hella Mega tour might be over, but you can still “Rock and Roll All Nite” with Green Day.

Billie Joe Armstrong and company have officially released their cover of the KISS classic, recorded during their trek with Fall Out Boy and Weezer. You can download the cover now via digital outlets, and watch its accompanying video, featuring Hella Mega live footage, streaming now on YouTube.

When Green Day first debuted their version of “Rock and Roll All Nite” live, both Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley praised the performance.

The Hella Mega tour concluded this past Monday in Seattle. The European leg of the outing is set to kick off June 2022.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 

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Foo Fighters will be sticking around Brooklyn for an extra day following their MTV Video Music Awards performance.

Dave Grohl and company have announced a headlining show at the Coney Island Amphitheater on Monday, September 13. Tickets are on sale now. All attendees must show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19, or provide a negative test within 48 hours of entering the venue.

The VMAs, meanwhile, take place Sunday, September 12, at the Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets. The Foos will be performing at the ceremony, during which they’ll also be honored with the Global Icon Award.

Other VMA performers include Machine Gun Kelly and Twenty One Pilots.

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Doja Cat is putting her own spin on Grease for a new Pepsi ad.

In the promo for Pepsi’s new Soda Shop flavors, the singer takes on the role of Sandy and sings an updated version of “You’re the One That I Want.” But it’s not Danny Zuko she’s after — it’s his Pepsi.

The new ad is set to air during Sunday’s MTV VMAs, which Doja is hosting. The Pepsi Cream Soda and Black Cherry flavors will be available for a limited time only starting on September 20.

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Alice in Chains guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell has released the title track off his upcoming solo album, Brighten.

While the previously released single “Atone” sounded very much cut from the same grungy cloth as Alice, “Brighten” feels more like a classic, bluesy rock n’ roll tune.

You can download the song “Brighten” now via digital outlets. Its accompany, surreal video premiered via Consequence.net.

Brighten the album arrives October 29. It’s Cantrell’s first solo outing in nearly 20 years.

Cantrell will launch a U.S. tour in support of Brighten in 2022.

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Gabrielle Union, like many parents, found herself talking to her children about racism following the death of George Floyd. 

Union is the mother of two-year-old Kaavia James, whom she shares with husband Dwyane Wade.  She co-parents his three children from previous relationships — Zaire, 19, Zaya, 13, and Xavier, 7.  

Speaking to Health, the Bring It On star opened up about having those sometimes difficult conversations with her kids.

“You want to just try to give them hope, to keep those flames of hope from being extinguished. But we were late. And they were not prepared,” Union said. “This is especially true when you have hope, and you buy into the American dream of having a good work ethic and just being a good person. You think if you just follow all these rules, there’s this promised land of milk and honey. But then [your kids are] like, ‘I did that. And it’s vinegar. You told us…’ So, we’ve had to adjust our approach, especially in the last year.”

“With the older kids, we talk about how the world is — I’m not going to say changing, but at least acknowledging certain truths that we’ve known for the last 400 years,” said Union. “People might say different things, but the proof is always in the pudding. You have to watch their actions.”

The actress adds that speaking with Zaya, who is transgender, is more of a challenge because “there’s so many roadblocks for her and her life.”

“All we can say is, ‘We’re not going to leave you on the road by yourself. We’ll be here. But this is what it is. And it’s OK to still be shocked and hurt and surprised when people that you thought you could count on to be better aren’t,'” Union declared.

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