Britney Spears’ longtime manager Larry Rudolph resigns, saying Britney intends to “officially retire”

L-Britney Spears, R-Larry Rudolph; Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Following Britney Spears‘s bombshell testimony over her controversial conservatorship, the “Toxic” singer’s longtime manager has resigned.

In a letter of resignation obtained by DeadlineLarry Rudolph explained why he wanted to step down from his role, which he’s held since 1995.

“It has been over 2 1/2 years since Britney and I last communicated, at which time she informed me she wanted to take an indefinite work hiatus,” wrote Rudolph, noting he recently became aware of Britney’s “intention to officially retire.”

He continued, “As you know, I have never been a part of the conservatorship nor its operations, so I am not privy to many of these details. I was originally hired at Britney’s request to help manage and assist her with her career. And as her manager, I believe it is in Britney’s best interest for me to resign from her team, as my professional services are no longer needed.”

The letter, addressed to Britney’s co-executors of her conservatorship — James Spears and Jodi Montgomery — ended with Rudolph’s request to resign as manager.

“I will always be incredibly proud of what we accomplished over our 25 years together,” he expressed. “I wish Britney all the health and happiness in the world, and I’ll be there for her if she ever needs me again, just as I always have been.”

Britney pleaded with a judge last month to end her 13-year conservatorship, claiming that it is “abusive” and is “doing me way more harm than good.”  Her attorney, Samuel Ingham III, previously told the court that his client wouldn’t perform as long as her father had control over her estate. 

Last week, Judge Brenda Penny, who heard Britney’s testimony, denied the star’s request to remove her father from her conservatorship.

The next hearing is scheduled for July 14.

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Miley Cyrus leads “Free Britney” chant at 4th of July show

Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Resorts World Las Vegas

Britney Spears has a supporter in Miley Cyrus.

Miley performed at Resorts World in Las Vegas on July 4 to help ring in the national holiday and, during her show, advocated for her fellow pop star. 

Video footage obtained by TMZ shows the 28-year-old singer displaying her support by changing the lyrics from her hit “Party in the U.S.A” to say, “The taxi man turned on the radio, he turned to me and said, ‘free Britney, free Britney!”

Addressing the track’s original lyrics that say “And a Jay-Z song was on” the radio, she told the crowd, “We love Jay-Z, but we got to free this b****. It’s stressing me the f*** out!” 

This isn’t the first time Miley has supported Britney, who recently expressed a desire to end her 13-year-long conservatorship.

In February, while performing the same song during her TikTok Tailgate performance, she shouted “We love Britney.”

(Embedded video contains uncensored profanity)

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Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen says its “really fun” meeting fans at his art exhibit events

Courtesy of Rick Allen

After attending three exhibitions of his artwork in Florida in May, Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen will be on hand for two similar events this weekend: Saturday, July 10, in New Jersey’s Atlantic City and Sunday, July 11, in the Philadelphia suburb of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

The Florida exhibits were among the first public events Allen participated in since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he tells ABC Audio that it’s been “really fun to get back out there and do something in person.”

He adds, “[T]here’s nothing like…meeting up with new people…and see[ing] what their take on my artwork is.”

Allen says the new exhibition, dubbed “Wings of Hope,” features seven or eight new pieces, including some additions to his “Legends Series” of portraits saluting late musicians who have influenced or inspired him.

“[O]ne of them [is] Johnny Cash…He’s the original bad boy,” Rick notes. “[A]nd another one [is] Kurt Cobain, who basically turned the music industry on its head with that brand of…raw [music].”

Allen also created new portraits of Eddie Van Halen for the series.

“[T]he sad news of [Eddie’s death]…really kind of floored me,” Rick says. “I didn’t know him that well, but I’d met him a few times through friends. And that was such a huge shock.”

For fans interested in how Allen’s art events work, he explains, “When I first get to the gallery…I’ll say hello to everybody,” while noting that he generally spends a lot of the time in a private room being “introduced to people that have bought pieces.”

He adds, however, “I always make time for everybody.”

Paintings and high-res prints of his pieces will be on sale at the events.

For more details, visit WentworthGallery.com.

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Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton are married, “Dreams do come true”

Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

It’s official — Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton tied the knot.

After much speculation, the “Slow Clap” singer confirmed the news on Monday by sharing a trio of stunning photos from their big day.

“July 3rd 2021 dreams do come true,” Stefani, 51, captioned the Instagram post that showed the newlyweds overlooking the countryside as Shelton embraces her from behind. 

Another picture shows a snapshot of the pair in the back of what appears to be a limo while a third shows them kissing beside their five-tier wedding cake. 

Page Six also posted photos of the wedding festivities taking place at a chapel built on the sprawling estate.

The two reportedly got hitched at Blake’s ranch in Oklahoma on Saturday, after they were spotted applying for a marriage license earlier in the week, People reports.

Earlier this month, Gwen shared snaps from her bridal shower on Instagram. “I got kidnapped by family to celebrate that I’m getting married!” she said in a post on her Instagram Story. She captioned another post, “Feeling loved, feeling blessed.”

Gwen and Blake got engaged last October after dating for five years. They first met on the set of The Voice, where they both served as coaches. Their relationship began in the wake of Gwen’s split from rocker husband Gavin Rossdale and Blake’s very public divorce from another country superstar, Miranda Lambert.

Since announcing their relationship, the two have released a handful of high-powered duets, including a Christmas song for a holiday album of Gwen’s as well as two hit country singles, “Nobody but You” and “Happy Anywhere.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Gwen Stefani (@gwenstefani)

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Report: Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton are married

Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton have officially tied the knot, People confirms.

The two reportedly got hitched at Blake’s ranch in Oklahoma on Saturday, after they were spotted applying for a marriage license earlier in the week.

Page Six posted photos of what appears to be the wedding festivities taking place at a chapel built on the sprawling estate.

Earlier this month, Gwen shared snaps from her bridal shower on Instagram. “I got kidnapped by family to celebrate that I’m getting married!” she said in a post on her Instagram Story. She captioned another post, “Feeling loved, feeling blessed.”

Gwen and Blake got engaged last October after dating for five years. They first met on the set of The Voice, where they both served as coaches. Their relationship began in the wake of Gwen’s split from rocker husband Gavin Rossdale and Blake’s very public divorce from another country superstar, Miranda Lambert.

Since announcing their relationship, the two have released a handful of high-powered duets, including a Christmas song for a holiday album of Gwen’s as well as two hit country singles, “Nobody but You” and “Happy Anywhere.”

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Yandy Smith shares her secret to ‘Love & Hip Hop’ longevity: “You got to [have] thick skin”

Courtesy of VH1

Yandy Smith is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Love & Hip Hop, the VH1 reality series franchise that helped launch the careers of many personalities we see today, including Grammy Award winner Cardi B.

Smith, who recently joined the Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta cast after starting on Love & Hip Hop: New York in 2011, says she’s still amazed by her journey as one of the original members.

“It’s so crazy looking back, because literally my whole entire adult life has happened with all of you,” Smith tells ABC Audio. “Every single thing from being a dating woman, to being an engaged woman, to a married woman — well a mom first — then a married woman. Then a single mom… every single step of the way you guys have endured with me.”

Smith says having that endurance over the years wasn’t an easy feat. That’s until she learned one of her biggest lessons: “You got to get thick skin.”

“And you also have to really figure out who your protective village is because you will get torn down,” she says. “Everyone once in their life deals with a breakup. Everyone once in their lives makes a stupid decision. Everyone once in a while says something that just is like, ‘Why did I say that? Why did I do that?'”

Unfortunately, Smith says, having those stupid decisions “in front of a million people or more” will lead to some really harsh feedback.

“You get a lot of judgment,” she says. “And if you don’t have thick skin, it will break you down to the core of the white meat.”

The new season of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, also starring Rasheeda Frost, Spice and Erica Mena, premieres Monday, July 5, at 8 p.m. ET on VH1.

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D Smoke explains resisting the pressure to create another Grammy-nominated album

BMH/Central City Productions/Getty Images

Rapper D Smoke has seen a massive amount of success since winning Netflix’s competition series Rhythm + Flow in 2019. After wowing judges — Cardi B, Chance the Rapper and T.I. — he released his Black Habits debut, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album last year.

As he prepares his sophomore album, D Smoke says he doesn’t feel pressure to release another Grammy-nominated project.

“The only pressure is the pressure to dig deep and go back into yourself and create something that’s honest…dope and…new,” he tells ABC Audio. “So that’s the only pressure, but that pressure is immense enough, because [my team and I] plan on and take pride in being different.”

The Inglewood, California, artist says his forthcoming album somewhat reflects his recent single “I’m Alive,” featuring rising singer Asia Fuqua. The song is featured in Infinite, a new film from director Antoine Fuqua, who is Asia’s father.

“‘I’m Alive’ is in some ways…similar to what we’re putting out. I wouldn’t say sonically, but in the sense that it’s one of those concepts that challenged me to dig deep and talk about something that’s conceptual,” D Smoke explains. “The movie is very conceptual, abstract, and beautiful in that way. So I always try to approach my life and the stories I want to tell in the music as somewhat of a movie.”

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John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix & more being turned into Funko Pop! figures

Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

John Lennon, Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix are among the music stars who are being turned into Funko Pop! figures.

The toy company has announced a slew of new, music-themed editions of its ever-popular big-headed collectables as part of its Popapalooza event.

Multiple Lennon figures were revealed in a post on Funko Pop!’s official Twitter feed, including one depicting the late Beatles legend wearing a khaki army jacket, and another showing him as he looked in a famous 1974 photo taken of him flashing a peace sign in front of the Statue of Liberty. However, the post notes that the designs currently are “subject to licensor approval.”

The Elvis figure shows the late King of Rock ‘n’ Roll wearing a bejeweled white jumpsuit and is packaged in a box that features a replica of Presley’s 1975 Pure Gold compilation.

The Hendrix toy shows the guitar great in the outfit he wore for his Live in Maui performance. The figure’s design also is “subject to licensor approval.”

Other Popalooza announcements include new figures of Green Day, Pearl Jam and Ozzy Osbourne.

The new Funko Pop! toys are expected to be released in the coming weeks and months.

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Cory Marks & Tyler Connolly sling back a few in video for “Blame It on the Double”

Credit: Ed Regan

Cory Marks has premiered the video for “Blame It on the Double,” his collaboration with Theory of a Deadman frontman Tyler Connolly.

The clip finds the “Outlaws & Outsiders” artist in the studio with Connolly as the two record their vocals and throw back one or several glasses of whiskey. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.

“Blame It on the Double” originally appears on Marks’ 2020 debut album, Who I Am. He released a version with Connolly and ex-Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Jason Hook this past April, as well as a special “country mix” of the collaboration for his new EP, Nashville Mornings, which dropped in June.

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Listen to Mariachi version of Saint Motel’s “It’s All Happening”

Credit: Catie Laffoon

It’s all happening, and by “it’s,” we mean a Mariachi version of the Saint Motel single “It’s All Happening.”

The updated track, recorded by the group Mariachi Los Toros, recreates the melody of the tune with strumming acoustic guitar in upbeat, yet mournful horns. You can listen to it now streaming on YouTube.

The original “It’s All Happening” appears on Saint Motel’s new album, The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, which was released last Friday. The record also includes the singles “Van Horn” and “Preach.”

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