Music

R. Kelly is facing even more legal problems.

After the Chicago singer was convicted on nine criminal counts by a federal jury in New York City in September, he and his manager now are being sued for allegedly threatening his accusers.

Lizette Martinez, Lisa Van Allen and Faith Rogers, who claim they were sexually abused by the 54-year-old convict, filed the lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court this week, alleging that “Kelly and his inner circle…began an orchestrated effort to silence, harass, bribe and intimidate those brave young women and their friends and family,” as reported by Page Six.

They claim that Kelly’s manager, Donnell Russell, tried to prevent the 2018 premiere of the docuseries Surviving R. Kelly at a New York City theater by anonymously calling in a shooting threat at the venue.

Russell was arrested last year for allegedly making the anonymous threat to the Neuehouse theater on December 4, 2018, which caused an evacuation. The case is pending trial.

Russell and two other men, Richard Arline and Michael Williams, were also accused of trying to intimidate and bribe Kelly’s victims. Both Arline and Williams pleaded guilty in the case.

“This lawsuit in no way connects Mr. Kelly to the alleged intentional acts of Donnell Russell,” Kelly’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, told Page Six.

As previously reported, R. Kelly is set to go in trial again on August 1, 2022, this time in his native Chicago, in a federal case that includes charges of child pornography, obstruction of justice and sexual abuse.

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December just started, but Billboard has already crunched the numbers and released its 2021 year-end charts, based on airplay, sales and streaming data and other metrics.  The big winners overall? Dua Lipa, The Weeknd and Olivia Rodrigo.

Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” was the year’s number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100, followed by two songs by The Weeknd: “Save Your Tears” and “Blinding Lights.”

Regarding “Levitating’s” success, Dua tells Billboard,”‘Levitating’ doing its thing on the Billboard chart is absolutely surreal. That song has been my baby for so long, and to have it out in the world, and for people’s response to be the way that it is, it’s just absolutely mind-blowing to me. I’m really, really, really grateful for it all.”

To give you an idea of how successful the song has been, “Levitating” has appeared in the Hot 100’s top 40 every week of the past chart year, and for 41 of those weeks, it was in the top 10. While it never reached number one, it did peak at number two.

Olivia, meanwhile, is Billboard‘s Top New Artist of 2021 — beating out The Kid LAROI — as well as its Top Streaming Songs Artist of 2021.  She’s also the overall Top Female Artist of 2021, beating out her idol, Taylor Swift, who’s number two.  Her debut album, SOUR, is the number-two album of the year, behind country star Morgan Wallen‘s Dangerous: The Double Album.

The Top Artist of 2021 is Drake, followed by Olivia, The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, Ariana Grande, Doja Cat and Justin Bieber.

The Top Duo/Group of 2021 is, of course, BTS, followed by Glass Animals and Dan + Shay.

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Marilyn Manson has lost one of his two Grammy nominations.

As reported by The New York Times, and confirmed on the official Grammy update page, the embattled shock-rocker, born Brian Warner, was removed as a songwriter on the Kanye West track “Jail,” which is up for Best Rap Song.

Warner still appears to be a nominee as a contributor to West’s album Donda, which is up for Album of the Year. He’s credited a co-writer of another Donda song, “Jail pt 2.”

That Warner has been nominated at all has been controversial, since multiple women, including ex-fiancée Evan Rachel Wood, actor Esmé Bianco, model Ashley Morgan Smithline, and Warner’s former assistant, Ashley Walters, have this year accused the musician of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

In a statement to The Wrap about Warner’s nomination, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said, “We won’t restrict the people who can submit their material for consideration.”

“We won’t look back at people’s history, we won’t look at their criminal record,” Mason elaborated. “We won’t look at anything other than the legality within our rules of, is this recording for this work eligible based on date and other criteria. If it is, they can submit for consideration.”

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Like Celine Dion before her, Katy Perry was attracted to the idea of a Las Vegas residency because it allows her to perform for fans while still spending time with her child, daughter Daisy Dove.

“I really wanted to be able to strike more of a balance — to have a child and take her to preschool — but also be artistic and play with that energy,” she explains in an interview in Modern Luxury magazine.

“I’m not saying that my tours are done, but a residency is actually the perfect thing for me right now,” the singer notes. “I could not have done this in my 20s, and I am not sure that I would want to do it as I go out to pasture. But I definitely want to do this when I am vital and excited [about] creating and offering what I think is my best show ever.”

Describing her show, PLAY, which opens at Resorts World Las Vegas on December 29, Katy says it’s “hit-dominated, which is what the fans want.”

“I like to bring a visual feast, and this is a set-in-the-’60s, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids movie on mushrooms,” she adds.

To set PLAY apart from the many other residencies flooding Sin City, Katy is also incorporating NFTs into her show — a way to own piece of unique digital content, such as songs, images or videos.

“The first thing we’re going to be auctioning off with the NFT is the craziest thing I’ve ever done. We’ll be creating something unique in the NFT space every single night,” Katy explains. “Imagine if I put my finger up during the song ‘Firework’ and you wanted to own that moment — now you could.”

For more on that, visit THETADrop.com.

 

 

 

 

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Britney Spears and fiancé Sam Asghari shared photos of them boarding a private plane on Wednesday, but they didn’t tell fans where they were going.  The only clue came from Britney, who said in an Instagram post that they’ll be “out of the country.”

According to People, the lovebirds jetted off to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  A source told the outlet, “Britney was very excited. She loves beach vacations and hasn’t been to Mexico in many years.”

Now that the “Toxic” singer is no longer confined by her 13-year conservatorship, she is free to go wherever she pleases whenever she wants.

So, how is she dealing with this newfound freedom?

“She is doing well. She is taking care of herself both physically and mentally,” the insider claims. “She feels very lucky to be spending her 40th birthday with [her fiancé.] Such perfect timing to be out of the conservatorship. She feels beyond blessed in so many ways.”

The Grammy winner recently spoke about how she’s been processing her new life, and wrote on Instagram, “I know I’m lucky to be present and exist today !!!! I fought for that an extremely long time. I’m grateful for that but also I still need lots of healing !!!! Not therapy … but the kind of healing that comes from within !!!!”

Also, Sam shared a peek at Britney’s luxurious birthday cake to his Instagram Stories on Thursday.  It’s a multi-layer cake in the shape of the letter “B” and it’s covered in gold-dusted red and pink roses, as well as some macaroons. Yum!

 

 

 

 

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Neon Trees are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their sleeper hit “Everybody Talks,” which shook up the summer charts in 2012, by releasing a brand-new EP next week. The offering, called versions of you, arrives December 10.

For those who may be confused about why the EP is coming out now, it’s because Neon Trees released “Everybody Talks” on December 20, 2011.  The track debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 2012 and spent six months climbing up the chart before peaking at number six on September 15 of that year.

The single has since sold over five million copies in the U.S. and is considered one of the band’s biggest hits.  To celebrate it turning the big 1-0, Neon Trees rerecorded the song and will release it as part of their four-track versions of you EP.

That’s not the only song that got a 2021 facelift — Neon Tress rerecorded their other hits “Animal” and “Sleeping with a Friend,” which are also featured on the EP. Versions of you will also come with a brand-new song, the title track.

Fans can pre-save and pre-add the EP on Neon Trees’ official website.

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Two music icons who have created hits together for thirty years are teasing heir first joint album.

Timbaland and Missy Elliott grew up together in Virginia, and he produced tracks in 1991 for her all-female group, Sista. Now 30 years later, it appears they are preparing their first duo project.

“Who ready for that @missymisdemeanorelliott Timbo album?????,” the “Give It To Me” rapper/producer commented on Instagram, with a video of Missy and a snippet of a song. 

Elliott shared the same post.

Ginuwine, who began his career as a member of the Swing Mob collective in the 90s featuring the duo, replied, “Absolutely.” Brandy reacted as if this were a dream and commented, “Stop playing!!!”

Tim and Missy have written and produced hits together for numerous stars, including Destiny’s Child, Aaliyah, 702, Total and SWV. They created nine songs on Aaliyah’s 1996, RIAA double-Platinum second album, One In a Million, including “If Your Girl Only Knew,” and the title track.

Timbaland, born Timothy Mosley, also worked as a producer and/or executive producer on all of Elliott’s six solo albums, beginning with Supa Dupa Fly in 1997.

 

 

 

 

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Mariah Carey proudly wears her “Queen of Christmas” crown and is always telling us how hard she goes around the holidays.  But no one really knew how to celebrate Christmas just like Mariah…until now.

Speaking to People, the Grammy winner dishes on her dos and don’ts when it comes to throwing a party designed to “spread some holiday cheer, darling.”

Her biggest rule that cannot be broken is: “Bleak people cannot come.” 

As for what you’ll need to throw a Mariah Carey-approved Christmas party, the “Fantasy” singer says you have to string up some mistletoe and leave out some milk and cookies for Santa.  Although Mariah loves her real Christmas trees, she gives her blessing to go the artificial route, saying, “Unfortunately we kind of have to deal with that now because we don’t wanna kill all the trees in the land.”

What are the things that Mariah wants you to steer clear of for your party?  She says lock up those “ugly” Christmas sweaters and put down that homemade tinsel — mainly because she admits, “I don’t know what that is.” She also warns against putting up decorations in October, but relents on one condition, which is, “Only if you’re under duress.”

Mariah also hopes to remind everyone that she is more than a holiday novelty, even though “Christmastime really is my favorite part of the year.”  She quips, “It’s not like, ‘Oh, I only emerge from the sea at Christmastime.’ But I live for that stuff, and it makes me laugh!”

Mariah also laughs her way to the bank every holiday. Celebrity Net Worth estimates that she’s earned $60 million — or between $600,000 to $1 million a year — just in royalties alone for her 1994 hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

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In recent years, Dolly Parton has made nearly as many headlines for her philanthropy as for her music.

She expanded her Imagination Library program, raised money for middle Tennessee flood victims, and of course, she donated $1 million in 2020 to help fund the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Now, she’s been named one of the 2021 People of the Year by People Magazine. But in an interview with the publication, Dolly says she’s hesitant to accept too much recognition for her good deeds.

“…I don’t want to be worshipped, because there’s a scripture in my Bible that talks about idol worship,” the singer reflects. “And I see that happening all the time with movie stars and these celebrities. People literally worship them more than they worship God. And I just — I cringe at it sometimes.”

Then there’s the “pressure” that comes along with all that good press, the singer goes on to say. Still, Dolly’s happy to be able to set a “good example.”

“But yeah, it’s like, I am not all that,” she adds. “I’m glad that I stand for enough stuff to where I’m not the worst person in the world.”

Other 2021 People of the Year include gymnast Simone Biles, actor Sandra Oh and National Teacher of the Year Juliana Urtubey.

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