Music

After teasing she was dropping solo music, Chloe Bailey of Chloe X Halle is loving the anticipation of performing for the first time as a solo artist at the upcoming MTV VMAs.

“I’m so excited. Thank you @MTV,” she commented on Instagram. “Told y’all it was coming.”

As previously reported, the 23-year-old entertainer will debut her upcoming single, “Have Mercy,” at the awards show on September 12 at Barclays Center in New York City. Last year, she and sister Halle performed their song “Ungodly Hour” during the VMAs pre-show.

Chloe will return to Barclays Center in October for the Lights On Festival, hosted and curated by H.E.R. The list of performers for the two-day event on October 21 and 22 also includes Maxwell, SWV, Bryson Tiller, Skip Marley, Ari Lennox, Queen Naija and many more.

While Chloe prepares her solo debut album, 21-year-old Halle completed production last month for her starring role as Princess Ariel in Disney’s new version of The Little Mermaid. The sisters also appear together in the black-ish spinoff, grown-ish, starring Yara Shahidi.

 

 

 

 

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Of all Trent Reznor‘s many different, out-of-left-field projects, producing a Halsey album is perhaps the most surprising. As the Nine Inch Nails frontman tells Entertainment Weekly, he felt the same way.

“It was completely unexpected,” Reznor says. “‘Would you be interested in working on this project that was not something that you had planned or even thought about?’ And it caught me in the moment, where I said, ‘Let me hear what you’re talking about.'”

“To my surprise, I really had fun writing material in a format I’d never thought about before,” he continues. “I found myself excited. I wanted to get up even earlier to start working on it.”

Reznor produced the album, which is titled If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, alongside his NIN band mate and scoring partner Atticus Ross. What attracted him to the project, Reznor explains, was how artistically genuine it felt.

“I thought, ‘Well, I haven’t thought through all the repercussions of what it means to my career or to my people or to her people or how I’m f***ing myself in this, but it’s exciting to me as an artist for the right reasons,'” Reznor says. “It’s not for a trophy or a paycheck or anything. The end result of working on that Halsey record is Atticus and I went into it with a set understanding of what we thought we were doing and we came out the other end realizing we don’t know everything.”

Reznor’s main concern about the project now, though, is that he hopes “other people won’t think it’s a piece of s***.”

“Maybe I f***ed it up a little bit much,” he says.

If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power arrives this Friday, August 27.

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Future announced Tuesday he’s hosting a benefit concert in Miami to raise money for victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti.

“I would love for all my friends, family, music industry, fashion ad all other industries, and people as a whole to stand up for Haiti,” he tweeted.

“I want to use my voice for whatever I can to support Haiti doing these tragic times,” the “Life Is Good” rapper added.

The September 3 concert at Oasis Wynwood will also feature Lil Uzi Vert and many others. Tickets begin at $100 and are available on the Oasis Miami website.

On August 22, Haiti was devastated with a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which killed more than 2,000 people and injured over 12,000 more.

Rapper Future is hosting a benefit concert for Haiti on September 3rd in Miami. 🇭🇹 #Haitiearthquake pic.twitter.com/eLAVzV1aHB

— Lunionsuite 🇭🇹 (@LunionSuite) August 24, 2021

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Mariah Carey doesn’t seem too impressed with Ryan Reynolds‘ attempt at lip-syncing her song “Fantasy.”

In a new TikTok video, Mariah “duets” to an earlier video made by Ryan. The two appear in split screen as Mariah begins lip-syncing to her 1995 hit. As Ryan begins lip-syncing with some overly dramatic choreography, Mariah jokingly shoots him the side eye before the clip ends.

“#Duet with @vancityreynolds,” she captioned the video. “That wasn’t part of the plan!”

Ryan’s initial video was posted last week as part of his promotion for the movie Free Guy, in which Mariah’s “Fantasy” is featured prominently.

“Go see Free Guy this weekend so I can stop doing this,” he captioned the video.

Mariah previously gave her stamp of approval to the song being used in the film. Before it hit theaters on August 13, she tweeted a clip from the movie in which Reynolds’ character hears “Fantasy” when Jodie Comer‘s character passes him and says, “I love that song.”

“I love that song too!” Mariah captioned the clip. “Come see #Fantasy on the big screen in @FreeGuyMovie, in theaters Friday!”

@mariahcarey

#duet with @vancityreynolds That wasn’t part of the plan! 😂❤️ #FreeGuy #Fantasy

♬ Fantasy – Mariah Carey

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When Halsey announced Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross as the producers of her new album, many were surprised by the news. As the Nine Inch Nails frontman Reznor tells Entertainment Weekly, he felt the same way.

“It was completely unexpected,” Reznor says. “‘Would you be interested in working on this project that was not something that you had planned or even thought about?’ And it caught me in the moment, where I said, ‘Let me hear what you’re talking about.'”

“To my surprise, I really had fun writing material in a format I’d never thought about before,” he continues. “I found myself excited. I wanted to get up even earlier to start working on it.”

Reznor explains that what attracted him to the project, titled I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, was how artistically genuine it felt. He adds that he hopes “other people won’t think it’s a piece of s***.”

“Maybe I f***ed it up a little bit much,” he says.

Halsey, meanwhile, made her first post-baby red carpet debut Tuesday night to celebrate the premiere of her If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power film, which hits select IMAX theaters Wednesday night. She sported an all-black Dolce & Gabbana dress and black veil.

If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, the album, arrives this Friday, August 27.

 

 

 

 

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Jason Aldean is mourning the loss of his security guard, Ryan Fleming, a longtime friend who stood by the singer during some of his most difficult moments.

On social media, Jason looked back at his long relationship with his guard, whom he fondly refers to as Rhino. The pair were friends who grew up together in Georgia, Jason details, and Ryan worked as a bouncer at the singer’s favorite bar when they were both young adults.

“When it came time for me to hire a security guy that I knew would always look out for me and my family, there was no question for me that person was Rhino,” Jason goes on to say. “He came out and traveled the world with us and for years if you saw me, Rhino wasn’t too far away.”

In fact, it was Fleming who stepped in during the Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting, when a gunman opened fire on the crowd during Jason’s headlining set.

“He was the person who pulled me offstage during the Route 91 shooting and put his life in danger to take care of me and my crew,” Jason reflects. “He was a good man and an even better friend.”

Fleming’s date and cause of death were not immediately available.

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Doja Cat is hosting this year’s MTV VMAs.

The “Kiss Me More” singer, who’s up for five trophies this year, announced the news on her Instagram Wednesday.

“I’m hosting the 2021 #VMAs this year Wowowowowowow,” she captioned the post, along with the mind blown emoji.

The gig marks her hosting debut. She’ll also be performing during the ceremony, along with Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, Lorde, Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo and more.

The 2021 MTV VMAs will air live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on September 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

 

 

 

 

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Lil Nas X is calling out an apparent double standard.

After pro skateboarder Tony Hawk announced he was releasing a new skateboard infused with his own blood, Lil Nas X is wondering why the reaction has been different compared to when he released limited edition sneakers that included a drop of human blood.

“Now that tony hawk has released skateboards with his blood painted on them, and there was no public outrage, are y’all ready to admit y’all were never actually upset over the blood in the shoes? and maybe u were mad for some other reason?” Lil Nas X tweeted on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, Lil Nas collaborated with design company MSCHF to release exclusive Satan sneakers to tie in with his devil-themed “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” video. The video and the shoes angered some religious conservatives, and Nike ended up suing MSCHF for trademark infringement for altering their Air Max 97 design without permission. The suit was later settled.

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Megan Thee Stallion‘s legal request to drop her “Butter” remix with the South Korean pop group BTS was granted Tuesday.

A Texas judge ruled in Megan’s favor and extended a temporary restraining order allowing her to release new music, according to Billboard.

“LOVE YOU ALLL,” the “Hot Girl Summer” rapper wrote in response on Instagram, announcing the track will be drop Friday.

Megan has been in a long battle with her distributor, 300 Entertainment, and record label 1501 Certified Entertainment. She says 1501’s CEO, former Major League baseball star Carl Crawford, and his partner, J. Prince, have blocked her from releasing new music, and did not approve the “Butter” remix.

Billboard reports that the court ruled that Crawford, 1501 Certified Entertainment, J. Prince and 300 Entertainment “have recently engaged and will continue to engage in conduct preventing the release of [Megan’s] new music, which would irreparably damage her goodwill, reputation, and overall music career and infringes on her rights to self-expression through her music.”

The three-time Grammy winner previously filed a lawsuit and requested a restraining order against 1501 Certified Entertainment in 2020. A judge ruled in her favor and ordered 1501 Entertainment “to do nothing to prevent the release, distribution, and sale” of her music.

In her legal documents, Megan said her contract with 1501 was “unconscionable,” claiming she was only paid $15,000 after earning more than one billion streams and selling over 300,000 individual track downloads, said to be worth an estimated $7 million.

Megan is seeking a new contract.  A hearing on her restraining order is set for September 10.

Megan’s up for six MTV VMAs, and BTS has five nominations, so they might perform “Butter” together at the show September 12 at Barclays Center in New York City.

 

 

 

 

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