Music

What goes around comes around…but at a much higher price. Justin Timberlake is selling the LA mansion he bought in 2002 for just over $8 million for a whopping $35 million, reports The Wall Street Journal.

JT bought the 10-acre property before he married Jessica Biel; the couple now have two sons, Silas and Phineas.  He and Jessica renovated the house and added a 85-foot zero-edge swimming pool.

The 13,000-square-foot home also has seven bedrooms, a gym, a screening room, a tennis court, a guesthouse and an outdoor entertaining space that wraps around the entire house.

JT and Jessica also own homes in New York City, Montana and Justin’s home state of Tennessee. As for why they’re selling, the couple’s real estate agent told The Wall Street Journal that they’ve been spending less time in LA lately.

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Olivia Rodrigo has added artists including Taylor Swift and Paramore to the songwriting credits of a few of her SOUR tracks. In a new cover story with Teen Vogue, the 18-year-old addresses the criticism surrounding her music’s originality.

“I think it’s disappointing to see people take things out of context and discredit any young woman’s work,” Olivia says. “But at the end of the day I’m just really proud and happy to say that my job is being a songwriter.

“All music is inspired by each other,” she adds. “Obviously, I write all of my lyrics from my heart and my life first. I came up with the lyrics and the melody for ‘good 4 u’ one morning in the shower.”

In August, Olivia added Paramore’s Hayley Williams and ex-guitarist Joshua Farro as co-writers on the track for its similarities to “Misery Business.”

She previously added Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent as co-writers on her track “Deja Vu,” because the song apparently borrows its bridge from Taylor’s “Cruel Summer.” She also added Taylor and Jack to her song “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back,” because it interpolates Taylor’s song, “New Year’s Day.”

“Every single artist is inspired by artists who have come before them,” Olivia says. “It’s sort of a fun, beautiful sharing process. Nothing in music is ever new. There’s four chords in every song. That’s the fun part — trying to make that your own.”

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Paramount+ has released the first teaser to their upcoming The Game reboot.

As previously noted, the 10-episode series will now take place in Las Vegas and will star many of the original cast members in their original roles. This includes Wendy Raquel Robinson as sports agent Tasha Mack, Hosea Chanchez as former star quarterback Malik Wright, and Pooch Hall as former footballer Derwin Davis. The new series is said to center on a “modern-day examination of Black culture through the prism of pro football.” Executive produced by Mara Brock Akil, The Game launches on Paramount+ Thursday, November 11.

In other news, Jennifer Hudson, Halle Berry, Barry Jenkins and Anthony Anderson are among the honorees at this year’s Critics Choice Association’s Celebration of Black Cinema & Television. The annual event, which celebrates achievements in television and Black filmmaking, will take place on Monday, December 6 in Los Angeles. Berry will receive the Career Achievement Award; Hudson will be honored with the Actress Award for Film for her portrayal of Aretha Franklin in Respect; Jenkins will receive the Director Award for Television for his critically acclaimed Amazon series The Underground Railroad; and Anderson will take home the Producer Award for Television for his work on the ABC series black-ish, grown-ish and mixed-ish. Other honorees will be announced at a later date.

And finally, actors and real-life brothers Shamier Anderson and Stephan James are taking their talents behind the camera. According to Variety, the two have inked a first-look deal with Boat Rocker Studios. The deal comes ahead of Anderson and James starring in the company’s upcoming series Invasion and Beacon 23, respectively. The two will develop and produce original television projects via their Bay Mills Studios production banner. 

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If you’re a “Sucker” for popcorn, then you’ll love The Jonas Brothers‘ new business venture.

Turns out the brothers have been enjoying a unique backstage snack for years: popcorn dressed up with a special blend of seasonings.  The popcorn is the invention of Rob Garbowsky — the father of Greg Garbowsky, a current member of JoBros’ management team — and back in 2011, Nick Jonas convinced Rob to start making it for them and their crew. 

The popcorn quickly became everyone’s favorite snack, and now, JoBros have partnered with the food and beverage company The Naked Market to make it available to you. Rob’s Backstage Popcorn is now for sale at EatRobs.com; it costs $19.99 for four bags.

“All three of us are thrilled to bring Rob’s Backstage Popcorn to the world, and we truly mean that – from busy moms juggling multiple things at once, to the on-the-go college student looking for a quick bite, we couldn’t be more excited to finally share Rob’s Backstage Popcorn with everyone,” says Nick in a statement.

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Ed Sheeran will be this year’s “Mega Mentor” on The Voice as the show moves from the Battle Rounds to the Knockout Rounds.

During the Knockouts, each team’s contestants will compete against each other in pairs, each singing their own song. Ed will work with all the contestants and help them choose songs and make performance decisions that play to their strengths.  The contestant’s coaches will then choose which one stays and which one goes.

Ed’s run on The Voice starts Monday, October 25, conveniently just days before the release of his new album = (Equals), which arrives October 29.

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Hey now, Steve Harwell is still the lead singer of Smash Mouth.

Fans who attended the “All Star” group’s recent concerts were surprised to see Harwell absent from behind the mic and replaced by a new vocalist, leading to speculation that the founding frontman was no longer in the band. However, a rep for Smash Mouth tells TMZ that isn’t the case.

The rep explains that Harwell took a brief leave of absence from Smash Mouth due to his ongoing cardiomyopathy heart condition, which he’s had since 2015. Issues with his heart previously landed Harwell in the hospital in 2017.

The unidentified fill-in singer, who is only described as “someone the band knows,” was recruited to handle vocal duties in place of Harwell on merely a temporary basis, the rep adds. Harwell is set to return to the stage with Smash Mouth this Thursday in Jackson, Mississippi.

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Boosie Badazz is in trouble once again as he’s been kicked off the Legendz of the Streetz tour headlined by Rick Ross, Jeezy, Gucci Mane and 2 Chainz.

During the second show on the tour, Friday night in Atlanta, a fight broke out on stage while Boosie was performing his second song, according to HotNewHipHop.com. The “Wipe Me Down” rapper’s set abruptly ended and he was rushed off stage.

He did not perform on the next show on the tour, Saturday night in Greensboro, NC. Boosie tweeted, “THIS IS THE MOVE THEY PULLING OFF ON THE TOUR SO U CANT GET REFUNDS.”

Last week, Badazz was suspended from Instagram and he claims it was because he asked Drake to promote his new biopic titled, My Struggle.

After being kicked off the tour, Boosie promoted his appearance on Twitter at a party Sunday night at the Euphoria nightclub in Baltimore. A man is in critical condition after a large fight and shooting at the event, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore police said officers on foot patrol around 1:38 a.m. Monday heard gunshots and found a car with numerous bullet holes and a shattered window. The shooting victim, a 27-year-old man, was shot in the upper body and head.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 410-396-2422 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 866-7-LOCKUP.

The next stop on the Legendz of the Streetz tour, which also features special guests Fabolous, Lil Kim, and Trina, will be Friday night in New Orleans, The tour is scheduled to wrap up October 22 in Memphis.

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Following the release of his new single “Damn It Feels Good to Be Me,” Andy Grammer has announced a new tour.

The Art of Joy tour starts February 4, 2022 in Monticello, NY and is scheduled to wrap up March 3 in Napa, CA. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, October 8 at 12pm local time via AndyGrammer.com.

Andy’s new album, his fifth, is due out in early 2022. It’ll include “Damn It Feels Good to Be Me,” and “Lease on Life,” the latter of which was inspired by the birth of his daughter, Izzy, who arrived two weeks into lockdown last year.

 

 

 

 

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Luke Bryan speaks to the heartland of America with his new single, “Up.” 

With lyrics crafted around the word “up,” the song opens with Luke singing about rural farmers waking up at sunrise to tend to the land, followed by a verse about a young man riding around a small town in a hand-me-down truck and another verse about running up the scoreboard during a Friday night football game. 

“Up in the sky/ There’s a guy/ Looking down on us/ Looking up our whole life/ Raised up right/ In a town nobody knows/ What a way to grow up,” Luke sings with conviction over an anthemic melody. 

“‘Up’ is a song that just checks all the boxes for a country song to me. It talks about what I love and what’s dear to me. About my home and my faith,” the Georgia native explains in a statement. “Add to that the fact that the songwriters used just a simple word as ‘up,’ to create so many images is pretty special.”

“Up” is the sixth single off Luke’s most recent album, 2020’s Born Here Live Here Die Here. Each of its predecessors have reached #1 on the country charts: “Knockin’ Boots,” “What She Wants Tonight,” “One Margarita,” “Down to One” and “Waves.”

The new single will officially be released to country radio on October 11.

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