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Old Man Trump “Exhausted”, Nixing Interviews With Neutral Outlets

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Former President Donald Trump is turning down interviews with outlets that are seen as unfriendly to him and raising concerns.

According to reports, former President Donald Trump is backing out of interviews with multiple outlets days before the November presidential election, with a staffer citing him as being “exhausted”. The claim comes after the Republican presidential nominee’s campaign team canceled interviews with neutral outlets with key audiences including The Shade Room.

Two sources close to the conversation stated that an adviser told producers with The Shade Room that Trump was “exhausted and refusing [some] interviews but that could change”, but it could change at any time. The sources also claimed that the adviser suggested Waka Flocka Flame, the veteran rapper who’s a major Trump supporter, as a fill-in interview for the platform.

Trump has also notably backed out of other interviews recently, beginning with CBS’ 60 Minutes a week ago as well as one with NBC and one set for CNBC’s Squawk Box.

When contacted by Politico about his state of alleged exhaustion, Trump’s national press secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the report stating that it “is unequivocally false.” When asked about his cancellations, Leavitt replied:” That’s B.S. President Trump has never backed down from any interview. This is a man who held a CNN town hall in the middle of the Republican primary, for goodness’ sake.”

While Trump has made media appearances, they’ve been with outlets more friendly to him such as Fox News and most recently on the Six Feet Under podcast hosted by former WWE star Mark “The Undertaker” Calaway.

The cancellations also come as Trump has displayed a pattern of rambling and making outlandish comments in his recent campaign rallies.

In Latrobe, Pennsylvania on Saturday (October 19), while paying tribute to Latrobe native and legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, Trump told a story referring to Palmer’s genitalia. When he’s good, he’s great, and when he’s off message, he’s not so great,” Trump adviser David Urban said in an interview with the New York Times. “I don’t think anyone is really changing their mind at this point, but when he distracts from his biggest, broadest messaging, it’s counterproductive because the Harris campaign uses it to turn out their voters.”

Vice President Kamala Harris has been making multiple media appearances including her interview with Bret Baier of Fox News which proved to be a ratings hit with over nine million viewers tuning in. 

Photo: Getty

Shakira Is Bringing Her New Tour to D.C. With Headlining WorldPride 2025 Performance

For fans hoping to see Shakira “Whenever, Wherever” they can, the Queen of Latin Music has some good news.

On Monday (Oct. 21), InterPride and the Capital Pride Alliance announced that Shakira would serve as the official headliner for WorldPride 2025. Taking place in Washington, D.C., the official Welcome Concert for the annual festival will take over the city’s Nationals Park on Saturday, May 31.

The headlining concert comes as a part of Shakira’s upcoming Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour. After initially intending to bring her shows to arenas around the globe, the singer and Live Nation recently announced that they would be upgrading the She Wolf’s tour to stadium venues. “The demand for tickets and more shows has reached the point that our tour now requires stadiums in the USA and more dates so I can see as many of you as possible,” Shakira wrote in a statement. “We’re elevating my North America run from arenas to stadiums and the dates will be shifted to May 2025, right after my Latin American tour.”

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Among the new set of stadium dates Shakira announced on Monday is her headlining set for WorldPride 2025. In a statement, Capital Pride Alliance’s executive director Ryan Bos shared his excitement for the upcoming show. “It’s the biggest event of the year and we are thrilled to welcome Colombian pop legend Shakira to D.C. for a truly momentous evening of love, pride, and community – celebrating the final week of extraordinary celebrations,” he wrote.

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Held in different locales each year, WorldPride 2025 will help honor the 50th anniversary of D.C.’s first-ever pride celebrations. Taking place over two weeks (starting on May 23 and ending June 8), the annual celebration will feature multiple concerts, parades, parties and other events to commemorate the occasion.

Tickets for Shakira’s headlining performance at WorldPride 2025, along with the rest of her Las Mujeres tour dates, go on sale Friday, Oct. 25, at 12 p.m. local time on her website. Fans can register for the presale until Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Gucci Mane Purging 1017 Records Artists Except Pooh Shiesty & Foogiano

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Gucci Mane The Road To 1017 Featuring The Atlanta Pops Orchestra

Gucci Mane has long earned the distinction of being completely tapped into what’s going on musically in the streets, culminating in success via his 1017 Records label. However, Gucci Mane is flipping the script and purging the entire roster but elected to keep Pooh Shiesty and Foogiano on board.

Taking to Instagram and featuring the 1017 Records honcho taking a quick drive, Gucci Mane essentially shared with his followers the impetus behind his decision to allow his artists to find new deals. Gucci shared that after examining his profit and loss statements and other business factors, he felt it best to clean up shop and allow his current stable of artists to find new deals.

Over the years, Gucci Mane has had a hand in the careers of Waka Flocka Flame, Migos, Chief Keef, Asian Doll, OJ da Juiceman, Pee Wee Longway, and the late Enchanting among others. Gucci shared in the clip that he is still on the search for new artists and said he could have kept the roster intact but wanted to give them an opportunity to forge their own paths.

Check out the video below.

Photo: Getty

Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 Countdown for Oct. 26, 2024 | Billboard News

Can “Birds of a Feather” take No. 1?

Tetris Kelly:

This is the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 for the week dated Oct. 26. “Please Please Please” slips to 10, while Benson moves up to nine. “Taste” falls to No. 8, as does Chappell to seven. Teddy is up to No. 6, Post and Morgan dipped to five, with Gaga and Bruno up to four. “Espresso” is back at its peak. Billie Eilish is still sitting tight at two. And grab a double shot of whiskey: Shaboozey spends a 15th week at No. 1.

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Shaboozey’s ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ Tends to 15th Week at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100

The song becomes one of only six ever to lead for at least that long.

Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” rounds up a 15th round at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song, which became the singer-songwriter’s first Hot 100 leader in July, extends 2024’s longest reign. It also ties Harry Styles’ 2022 smash “As It Was” for the second-longest reign this decade; Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” — like “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” a country-pop crossover hit — dominated for 16 weeks in 2023.

Over the Hot 100’s entire 66-year history, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” becomes one of just six hits to have led for at least 16 weeks.

“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” additionally extends the longest No. 1 run of 2024 on the multimetric Hot Country Songs chart, adding a 19th week in the top spot.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated Oct. 26, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Oct. 22). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, and Instagram.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

Judd Apatow & Friends’ New York Comedy Festival Show to Benefit Hurricane Helene Relief

Judd Apatow’s New York Comedy Festival show Judd Apatow & Friends at the Beacon Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 9, will benefit the American Red Cross in North Carolina. The filmmaker and comedian will donate all artist proceeds to the organization in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

“This show is about more than just making people laugh — it’s about coming together for those in need,” Apatow said in a statement. “All proceeds will directly support American Red Cross’ Hurricane Helene efforts in North Carolina as it’s essential for us to unify and rebuild after such devastation.”

Apatow, 56, has directed, written and produced such films as The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Knocked Up (2007) and The King of Staten Island (2020). He has won three Primetime Emmys for his work on programs starring three top comedians – The Ben Stiller Show (1993), The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling (2018) and George Carlin’s American Dream (2022).

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As a stand-up comedian, the native New Yorker has appeared on The Tonight Show. His 2017 Netflix comedy special Judd Apatow: The Return, drew critical acclaim.

The music community has stepped up in a big way in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, Morgan Wallen, Miranda Lambert, Luke Combs and Eric Church have all contributed in various ways, as have Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation and such artists as R.E.M., Fleet Foxes, Jason Isbell, Phish and The Decemberists, who contributed tracks to a benefit album.

Launched in 2004, The New York Comedy Festival (NYCF) was created by Caroline Hirsch and Carolines. Tickets can be purchased on the festival’s site and Judd Apatow’s website.

Snoop Dogg Believes Originality Is Lacking in Today’s Rap: ‘The Fundamentals Was Taken Out of It’

Snoop Dogg wants to see more originality in rap these days. The Doggfather said in a new interview that he believes there are too many copycats running around hip-hop and there needs to be more artists looking to stand out rather than following the trends.

Snoop and Dr. Dre stopped by The Stephen A. Smith Show on Friday (Oct. 18), where the legendary West Coast duo spoke candidly while giving their thoughts on today’s landscape of rap.

“Be original,” Snoop said when asked what he would tell an aspiring artist. “Right now there’s so much copycatting, mimicking, sounding alike and imitation. Find your production, your sound — find your ear for who you are and be original even if it ain’t hitting. Stay you.”

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Dr. Dre chimed in about wanting to see artists find their sound with a specific collaborator, as he isn’t a fan of songs or albums with a multitude of producers involved in the creative process.

“Find your collaborator. I don’t like the fact there’s nine different producers on one album. I like the idea of one producer on one album,” Dre added. “The continuity is everything for me. I don’t know [when that started], but I don’t like it. If you’re a producer, you should be able to produce the entire album. That’s what I thought it was supposed to be. That’s what I was doing at the beginning.”

Snoop Dogg chalked it up to there being a plethora of beatmakers in rap rather than traditional producers. “I think the fundamentals was taken out of it,” Snoop said of the industry. “Now it’s just a phone that makes you an artist. Something stupid gets you five minutes of fame, and you take that and make a record and you got a two-and-a-half-minute song saying the same thing somebody else just said and now you considered hot.”

He continued: “It used to be about creativity and understanding the musicianship, harmony, melodies and that don’t even matter anymore.”

However, Dre feels there’s a shift in the market from “mumble rap,” and he thinks there’s the next Prince or Michael Jackson out there coming up to change the game.

“I feel like it’s a change happening now from all this mumble rap that’s happening now,” the legendary producer predicted. “There’s somebody in somebody’s garage that’s gonna be the next Snoop or Dre or the next Prince or the next Michael Jackson that’s coming up with something that’s change the game.

“It’s gotta happen right now and it’s wide open because everything that’s happening right now in the music game — especially hip-hop — is weird as f–k,” Dre declared. “It’s gonna get back to the musicianship. I’m seeing it happen.”

Snoop and Dre are reuniting for their first album in more than three decades since 1993’s Doggystyle with their Missionary follow-up, which is expected to arrive in November.

Paul Di’Anno, Original Iron Maiden Singer Dies at 66

Original Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno has died at 66 according to a statement from the late hard rock vocalist’s label, Conquest Music. “On behalf of his family, Conquest Music are sad to confirm the death of Paul Andrews, professionally known as Paul Di’Anno. Paul passed away at his home in Salisbury at the age of 66,” read Monday’s (Oct. 21) statement, which did not include the date or cause of death.

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Di’Anno was the lead singer for the legendary British metal group from 1978-1981, kicking off their 45-year run with his urgent, punk-inspired vocals on their self-titled 1980 debut, which featured the ripping lead-off track “Prowler” and the band’s turbo-charged eponymous anthem “Iron Maiden.”

He also sang on the band’s 1981 follow-up, Killers, which featured such knotty metal anthems as the opening instrumental “The Ides of March,” the pummeling “Wrathchild” and the blitzing barrage of “Purgatory,” which cemented the band’s pioneering mix of hard rock, punk and prog.

Iron Maiden issued a statement honoring Di’Anno on Monday featuring a picture of the singer with founding bassist — and reported chief antagonist while he was in Maiden — Steve Harris. “We are all deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Paul Di’Anno earlier today. Paul’s contribution to Iron Maiden was immense and helped set us on the path we have been travelling as a band for almost five decades. His pioneering presence as a frontman and vocalist, both on stage and on our first two albums, will be very fondly remembered not just by us, but by fans around the world,” read the statement.

“It’s just so sad he’s gone,” added Harris. “I was in touch with him only recently as we texted each other about West Ham and their ups and downs. At least he was still gigging until recently, it was something that kept him going, to be out there whenever he could. He will be missed by us all. Rest in peace mate.”

It concluded, “We were very grateful to have had the chance to catch up a couple of years ago and to spend time with him once more. On behalf of the band, Rod and Andy, and the whole Iron Maiden team, we extend our deepest sympathies to Paul’s family and close friends.”

Born in Chingford, East London on May 17, 1958, Di’Anno rose to prominence as the frontman of Iron Maiden, before splitting with the group before their 1982 commercial breakthrough with 1982’s The Number of the Beast, which introduced new vocalist Bruce Dickinson, who has held the gig ever since. After leaving Maiden, Di’Anno recorded a number of solo albums, as well as LPs with the bands Di’Anno’s Battlezone, Gogmagog, Killers, Praying Matins, Rockfellas and more.

The powerful singer continued to record and tour through 2016, when he was hospitalized for undisclosed medical reasons; at the time Blabbermouth reported that Di’Anno had been forced to perform from a wheelchair due to injuries from a number of motorcycle accidents. He also faced a number of other health challenges over the years, including a near-fatal battle with sepsis that landed him in the hospital for eight months in 2015.

“Despite being troubled by severe health issues in recent years that restricted him to performing in a wheelchair, Paul continued to entertain his fans around the world, racking up well over 100 shows since 2023,” read the statement from Conquest Music. Di’Anno first career retrospective album, The Book of the Beast, was released last month, featuring highlights of the songs he recorded post-Maiden.

According to an Oct. 10 post on Di’Anno’s FB page, he was slated to perform in Edinburgh on Dec. 30 of this year before that show was cancelled, though a string of UK dates later this month and in November were still slated to go on before his death.

Check out some of Di’Anno’s Maiden high points below.

Rock Hall of Fame Faces Copyright Case Over Van Halen Pic From Lawsuit-Happy Music Photog

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is facing a lawsuit over allegations that it illegally displayed a copyrighted image of Van Halen, the latest of more than 50 such cases filed by veteran rock photographer Neil Zlozower over the past decade.

In a complaint filed Friday in Ohio federal court, attorneys for the litigious photog say the Rock Hall never paid to license Zlozower’s image – a black-and-white photo of late-70’s Van Halen in the recording studio — before blowing it up into an eight-foot-tall display in the Cleveland museum.

In his lawsuit, Zlozower says that an operation like the Hall, which is full of copyrighted images and sound recordings, ought to have known better.

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“Defendant is a sophisticated company which owns a comprehensive portfolio of physical and digital platforms and has advanced operational and strategic expertise in an industry where copyright is prevalent,” his lawyers write. “Defendant’s staff have significant experience in copyright matters and are familiar with specific practices including the need to ensure that all of the works used in their exhibits have been properly licensed.”

A spokesman for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame did not immediately return a request for comment.

The Rock Hall is just the latest company to face a lawsuit from Zlozower, who also snapped images of Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen over a decades-long career. Since 2016, court records show he’s filed more than 57 copyright lawsuits against a wide range of defendants, demanding monetary damages over the alleged unauthorized use of his photographs.

He’s twice sued Universal Music Group, once over an image of Elvis Costello and another time over a photo of Guns N’ Roses, and sued Warner Music Group this summer over an image of Tom Petty. A different case targeted Ticketmaster, accusing the Live Nation unit of using an image of Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde. In 2016, Zlozower sued Mötley Crüe itself for using images he had snapped of Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee and other band members during their 1980s heyday.

In his new case against the Rock Hall, Zlozower’s attorneys say the museum made an “exact copy of a critical portion of plaintiff’s original image” for the exhibit, which they say “did not include any photo credit or mentions as to the source of the image.”

“The photograph was willfully and volitionally copied and displayed by defendant without license or permission, thereby infringing on plaintiff’s copyrights in and to the photograph,” the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit is seeking an award of so-called statutory damages – which can potentially reach as high as $150,000 per work infringed if Zlozower can prove that the museum intentionally infringed his copyrights.

Dame Dash Explains Appearance In R. Kelly’s “Fiesta (Remix)” Video While Dating Aaliyah

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Celebrity Sightings In New York City - September 30, 2024

Source: James Devaney / Getty / Dame Dash

Dame Dash has become what he used to despise: a chatty patty. The former “cakeaholic” now explains why he was doing his iconic dice roll dance moves in R. Kelly’s “Fiesta (Remix)” video even though he dated the late singer, one of the disgraced musician’s victims, Aaliyah.

The former CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records opened up about his appearance in the R. Kelly music video alongside his former business partner, JAY-Z, in a recent episode of his  American Nu Network podcast on YouTube.

During the episode, he answered a question from Baller Alert about his appearance in the R. Kelly/JAY-Z video despite famously dating Aaliyah and knowing her past with the jailed singer/songwriter.

He reveals that he spoke with Aaliyah, expressing that he didn’t want to be in the videos, but she said she didn’t want to start any trouble.

Per XXL:

“When Jay was proceeding to still do business with R. Kelly, I went back and told Aaliyah, like, ‘Yo, they’re still doing projects. They got singles together. They are shooting videos. I don’t want to go to the videos. I don’t want to have any parts of it,” Dame says at the 38:55 mark of the video below. “And what she told me was that, ‘I don’t want to start any trouble that would probably trigger more attention on it. I just want to heal. I just want to leave this alone and get as far away from it as possible. I don’t want to hear about it. I’m really happy with our relationship in this moment and where it’s going. Just don’t be in any scene with him and don’t take any pictures with him.’”

“So, you can ask anybody that was on the set,” he continues. “I stood in the trailer. When it came time to do the shoot, I did my shots with Jay or whoever. I was not in one scene with R. Kelly. And you never seen me in a picture with R. Kelly. At least after I met Aaliyah.”

We see.

In the episode, he also discussed Jaguar Wright’s outrageous claims about JAY-Z and more. If you have time to waste, you can’t watch the episode in its entirety below.