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08 May 2023

Ed Sheeran Performs New ‘Subtract’ Songs in Surprise NY, Dallas and LA Pop-Up Street Gigs

Ed Sheeran had a lot to celebrate this weekend between Friday’s release of his – (Subtract) album and a win in his high-profile “Thinking Out Loud” plagiarism trial last week. Sheeran blew off some steam by debuting songs from the new collection during surprise pop-up shows on the streets of New York, Dallas and Los Angeles.

The street party began in Soho, New York on Friday, when Ed jumped on top of a Volvo to perform half a dozen solo acoustic songs — including “Thinking Out Loud” and his latest single, “Boat” — in the same neighborhood where his limited-time “The Subtract Experience” pop-up shop is located.

In another video, Sheeran manned an ice cream van and handed out some treats to fans in Dallas and performed “Eyes Closed” before kicking off his Mathematics tour at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday night. The weekend also included a pop-up show atop a double-decker tour bus in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. The singer wrapped his big weekend by appearing on Sunday night’s American Idol alongside another guest performer/judge, Alanis Morissette, as fill-ins for panelists Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, who were busy celebrating King Charles III’s coronation.

Sheeran came out on top last week after the family of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” co-writer, Ed Townsend, lost a $100 million case last week in which they claimed that Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” had infringed on the copyright of the Gaye hit.

Watch footage of Sheeran’s New York, Dallas and L.A. surprise shows below.

08 May 2023

UK Taking Hosting 2023 Eurovision Very Seriously

There’s nothing like nearly winning to wake people up. And the U.K.’s second-place position at last year’s Eurovision Song Contest has helped kickstart widespread enthusiasm for 2023’s edition — taking place in Liverpool this week.

Sam Ryder’s “Space Man” restored the nation’s interest last year with his smiling enthusiasm, soaring vocals and great song despite coming on the heels of James Newman in 2021, who received no points at all, and 2019’s Michael Rice, who also came in last.

Normally the winner of the previous contest would host the next one, but that winner was Ukraine, and the ongoing war there has made that impossible. So the U.K., as runnerup, is hosting instead. Singer Rita Ora says Eurovision — the semifinals begin Tuesday (May 9) and the final is Saturday — has received another lease on life in the U.K.

“The Eurovision is suddenly just (becoming) huge again and I’m really here for it,” she said. She’s performing during the interval at a semifinal in Liverpool, but her connection to the event goes back much further: Ora was lined up to represent the U.K. in 2009, but decided not to. After all, until Ryder, competing in Eurovision was no guarantee of a sparkling career for a Brit.

The last time the U.K. won the contest was 1997, thanks to Katrina and the Waves and “Love Shine A Light.” The intervening years have seen five last-place results for the U.K. That could add up to a lot of pressure on this year’s U.K. entry, Mae Muller, but she seems to welcome it.

“The energy feels different,” Muller said.

The London singer-songwriter is representing the U.K. with “I Wrote a Song,” and says Ryder helped change the way people inside and outside the U.K. view its participation in Eurovision.

“I feel like with the U.K., we have the tendency to be quite like self-deprecating,” Muller said. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously and I feel like that might have been like half our problem maybe with Eurovision. And I feel like now we’re like, ‘Let’s take this seriously. Like, let’s do this.’”

Liverpool singer Rebecca Ferguson is performing in her hometown alongside Ukrainian singer Aloysha in a duet during the semifinals interval. Ferguson thinks that the U.K. had become disheartened with the scores, but that being “so close” in 2022 changed things. “The U.K. were like, yeah, OK then … I can get into this,” she said. “We like winning, basically.”

Ukrainian rock star Julia Sánina, the frontwoman of The Hardkiss, is one of this year’s Eurovision hosts and a lifelong fan of the competition. She agrees that the U.K. is taking it more seriously in 2023 “because of Sam Ryder and his musicality.” But in addition to last year’s success, there is added enthusiasm because Liverpool is hosting on behalf of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian entry Kalush Orchestra won in 2022. When the U.K. agreed to host in Ukraine’s place, it promised to celebrate Ukraine’s culture and people in every way. Sánina says she has felt that warm welcome in Liverpool. “Beautiful city, super friendly people. And what was heartwarming for me that I saw lots of Ukrainian flags and Ukrainian blue and yellow colors all over the city,” she said.

After all, the U.K. does like a party. “Eurovision, in my culture and when I grew up, was everything,” Ora said. The Kosovo-born singer grew up with Albanian parents in London.

“It was like getting around the TV, all the music, like, ‘Everyone shut up,’ when there’s like a song on. There’s drinks flowing, everyone’s having a good time because it’s like, it was almost like rooting for your country or like where you’re from,” she added.

“It’s just a cool way of everyone getting together,” she said.

08 May 2023

Katy Perry, Lionel Richie Perform at Coronation Concert, King Charles and Queen Camilla Return the Royal Favor With ‘Idol’ Pop-In

Katy Perry and Lionel Richie were absent from American Idol on Sunday (May 7) for very good reasons. The judges were busy performing at King Charles III’s coronation concert at Windsor Castle in London a day after England’s new monarch was seated in a ceremony rich with tradition and mega-charged pomp.

Some 20,000 people gathered at the Castle for the show that found Richie performing “All Night Long” and the Commodores’ “Easy” for the royals and their invited guests. The AP reported that Princess Charlotte and her mother, Kate, Princess of Wales sang along as Perry performed her hit “Roar” while decked out in a gold foil ball gown as drones formed into the shape of a lion to honor the new king’s coat of arms. Perry closed out the show with “Firework,” which she dedicated to the King, saying “Thank you for bringing out the firework in so many young people.”

There was even a fly-by from Tom Cruise, who appeared in a video message saying, “Pilot to pilot. Your Majesty, you can be my wingman any time.” The evening hosted by Downtown Abbey star Hugh Bonneville also featured performances from the Pussycat Dolls, British man band Take That, Paloma Faith, opera singer Andrea Bocelli and a global choir led by Steve Winwood singing a version of his hit “Higher Love.”

The new royals returned the favor on Sunday night’s live coast-to-coast broadcast of Idol during an episode featuring mentors Ed Sheeran and Alanis Morissette, appearing in a chat with Perry and Richie from Windsor Castle. “I just wanted to check how long you’ll be using this room for?” King Charles joked to Richie and Perry, as he walked into the shot with Queen Consort Camilla after the “Dancing on the Ceiling” star called the coronation “unbelievable.”

“We have to give the room up right away,” a nervous Richie said after the King’s bone-dry jape about whether the production would be using the room “all night long.”

“Thank you so much for your brilliant performance,” Charles said as Perry interrupted in a distinctly West Coast English accent to ask, “are we making too much noise?” There was then some scripted cross-talk about the coronation party they were all going to attend, with Perry curtsying as the royal couple made their exit.

Watch highlights from the concert and the Idol drop-in below.

08 May 2023

Run My Coins: Kanye West And YEEZY Ordered To Pay $300K To Freelancer

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Kanye West has another unpaid tab to pay. A court has ordered him and his YEEZY brand to pay a freelancer 300K in unpaid wages.

As spotted on Hype Beast  New York based creative got a favorable ruling earlier this week regarding her ongoing claim that the rapper’s label has failed to properly pay her. Back in December 2022 Katelyn Mooney filed a lawsuit against Kanye West and YEEZY claiming that she was informally contract to curate a product shoot for SHDZ sunglasses line. She says she was promised $110,000 for the job but was only paid $15,000 of that. While she did not have a binding contract in place she was able to provide text messages with YEEZY employees to back her allegations.

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Needless to say she was never paid the balance of the monies she was offered to which she says she was forced to “max out her credit cards” and take out loans to meet her personal financial commitments including her monthly rent. On Monday a judge made a default ruling since no one from YEEZY ever responded to the court documents or showed up to court to counter her claims. Kanye West has yet to formally respond to the allegations of nonpayment.

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08 May 2023

Ed Sheeran and Alanis Morissette Show Top 8 ‘Idol’ Contestants How It’s Done

Ed Sheeran capped an eventful week with a performance on American Idol – and the opportunity to show the remaining contestants how a pro gets about his work.

On Sunday night’s (May 7) Top 8 episode, the English singer and Idol mentor hit “Eyes Closed,” the lead single from − (subtract), the fifth and final album in his mathematics-themed collection.

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Sheeran is a big-stage animal, and, as he’s proved to millions in stadiums around the globe, he doesn’t need more than a mic, a guitar and a splash on digital effects behind him. And that’s all he had.

The Brit crammed more into his week than most of us do in, well, forever. The “Shape of You” singer won a copyright court case earlier in the week, released Subtract on Friday, and was on the ABC stage by week’s end. Watch his performance below.


Not to be outdone, fellow guest Idol judge and ‘90s icon Alanis Morissette performed “Thank U,” a rocking number from her fourth studio album Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, the followup to her juggernaut Jagged Little Pill. Watch below.


Though Sheeran and Morissette are household names, the eight remaining contestants all harbor dreams of being the next big star. They all got another chance to get there, three were sent home.

The famous five are Colin Stough, Iam Tongi, Megan Danielle, Wé Ani, and Zachariah Smith. Leaving season 21 is Haven Madison, Oliver Steele and Warren Peay.

Next Sunday (May 14) is Disney Night. For the occasion, multiplatinum singer-songwriter Sofia Carson will serve as the Idol mentor for the Top 5, and Halle Bailey will perform “Part of Your World” from Disney’s upcoming film The Little Mermaid, in which she portrays Ariel.

08 May 2023

The Lottery Winners Hit the U.K. Chart Jackpot With ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’

The Lottery Winners roll to their first U.K. No. 1 with Anxiety Replacement Therapy (Modern Sky), their fifth studio album.

After leading at the halfway mark, the British four-piece (Thom Rylance, Robert Lally, Katie Lloyd and Joe Singleton) completes a tight finish ahead of new albums by Nines, Jessie Ware and the National, the Official Charts Company reports.

Prior to Anxiety Replacement Therapy, the Lottery Winners had never entered the top 10, and impacted the top 40 just twice — with 2020’s The Lottery Winners (No. 23 peak) and 2021’s Something To Leave The House For (No. 11).

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Anxiety Replacement Therapy is the best-selling title on physical formats and digital downloads, the Official Charts Company reports.

Coming in at No. 2 is Londoner Nines with Crop Circle 2 (Warner Records). It’s his fourth top 5 album, following 2017’s One Foot Out (No. 4), 2018’s Crop Circle (No. 5) and 2020 leader Crabs in a Bucket.

Completing the podium is Jessie Ware’s That Feels Good (EMI). It’s new at No. 3, for the British singer and songwriter’s third top 5 album.

The latest albums survey, published May 5, is stacked with new releases. Among them, U.S. alternative rock outfit the National’s First Two Pages of Frankenstein (4AD). Thanks in part to assists from Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens, the set opens at No. 4, and leads the Official Vinyl Albums Chart.

Meanwhile, Reverend & the Makers’ Heatwave in the Cold North (Distiller) bows at No. 6, for the Sheffield-formed rock act’s first top 10 appearance in 16 years. That’s just one spot adrift of the band’s 2007 album The State of Things, which peaked at No. 5.

Also enjoying top 10 debuts this week are English artist Freya Ridings’ Blood Orange (Good Soldier), new at No. 7 for her second top tier effort; and punk veterans the Damned’s Darkadelic (Ear Music), new at No. 9, also for the English punk veterans’ second stint in the top frame.

08 May 2023

Fifty Fifty’s ‘Cupid’ Flies Into U.K. History Books

With Fifty Fifty’s “Cupid” soaring into the U.K. top 10, South Korea’s latest pop export snags a slice of U.K. chart history.

On the latest Official U.K. Singles Chart, published May 5, “Cupid” improves 18-9, giving Fifty Fifty honors as the first K-pop girl group to appear in the top 10.

True, BlackPink has smashed various records, and chalked up eight U.K. top 40 appearances along the way.

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In the U.K., however, their best showing on the national singles tally is No. 17 for “Sour Candy” their 2020 collaboration with Lady Gaga. BlackPink does, however, boast a No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart with 2022’s Born Pink, and a No. 2 peak for 2020’s The Album.

Comprising Aran, Keena, Saena and Sio, Fifty Fifty was formed in 2022 by South Korean entertainment agency ATTRAKT.

The track caught fire on TikTok, where it has generated more than 8 million TikTok videos, and views on the short-video platform are at about 12 billion.

As “Cupid” opened its wings and took flight on sales and consumption charts last month, Warner Records/Warner Music Group Korea announced a partnership for the group.

Australians, meanwhile, are officiallysmitten with “Cupid”. The track zooms 6-2 on the latest ARIA Chart, also published last Friday. Blackpink already has its flag planted in the land Down Under; their Born Pink hit “Pink Venom” blasted to No. 1 there last August.

08 May 2023

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding Extend ‘Miracle’ Streak on U.K. Chart

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding keep the good times rolling, as “Miracle” (via Columbia) rules the U.K. survey for a fourth non-consecutive week.

The throwback ‘90s club tune continues to rack-up a market-leading volume of streams, bagging 5.4 million over the latest chart cycle, the Official Charts Company reports.

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“Miracle” matches Goulding’s 2015’s release “Love Me Like You Do” for her longest reigning U.K. leader. It’s still a month off equalling Harris’ eight-week reign with “One Kiss,” his 2018 collaboration with Dua Lipa.

Meanwhile, David Kushner’s “Daylight” (Miserable Music) holds at No. 2 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, published May 5, while Libianca’s Afrobeats sensation “People” (5K) lifts 4-3.

Another club tune dances up the chart this week — Switch Disco’s “React” (Relentless) featuring Ella Henderson, and sampling Robert Miles’ mid-’90s dream-house classic “Children”. “React” lifts 8-7, for a new high.

Close behind, “Cupid” (Attrakt) opens its wings and gives K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty a new chart high — and a piece of history. The slick pop production flies 18-9, giving the four-piece honors as the first K-pop girl group to crack the U.K. top 10.

Blackpink has set all manner of records, and accumulated eight U.K. top 40 appearances along the way. However, their best effort on the national singles tally is No. 17 for “Sour Candy,” their 2020 collaboration with Lady Gaga. Blackpink does, though, boast a No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart with 2022’s Born Pink, and a No. 2 best for 2020’s The Album.

Finally, London rapper Nines grabs his first U.K. top 10 as “Tony Soprano 2” (Warner Records) lifts 11-10. It’s one of three numbers from his new album Crop Circle 2 to make an impression on the top 40, as “Calendar” opens at No. 19 for the highest debut on the latest survey, while “Favela” featuring J Styles is new at No. 34, lifting Nines’ tally of U.K. top 40 hits to five.

07 May 2023

6 Memorable Moments From the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards: Hostless but Not Hopeless

Let’s be honest: Few in the music industry tuned into the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards to see who won this year’s Golden Popcorn Awards. The big question was: Would the producers be able to put on fun and entertaining show with so much working against them – losing their popular host and their red-carpet pre-show and ultimately not even going live – all in reaction to a strike by members of the Writers Guild of America.

The answer: Depending on your level of interest in old clips from past shows, the show was surprisingly watchable. As it turns out, the people who most deserve a Golden Popcorn this year may be MTV’s Bruce Gillmer, Wendy Plaut and Vanessa Whitewolf, who executive produced the show along with Den of Thieves’ Jesse Ignjatovic and Barb Bialkowskijustfor getting a show on the air in difficult circumstances.

The show, now in its 31st year, had seemed to headed for a big night when it booked Drew Barrymore as host and corralled the red-hot Jennifer Coolidge to receive its Comedic Genius Award. They even came up with a clever tag line for the show: “Party more! Fan more! BARRYMORE!” But when members of the WGA went on strike on May 2, the show was thrown into chaos.

The first setback came on Thursday when Barrymore pulled out as host in solidarity with the striking writers. Also on Thursday, MTV called off the red carpet for the event. WGA said on Friday that it was planning to picket the show, which made holding a live show increasingly problematic.

So, the production team behind the2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards had just a few days to scramble and get a show on the air that would be worth watching. The two-hour show aired Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on MTV with simulcasts on BET, BET Her, Comedy Central, CMT, Logo, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land, VH1.

Producers of live television live for moments that test their mettle, though it’s probably safe to say that they would have preferred a drama-free roll-out of the show they originally envisioned, with their popular host and their red-hot Comedic Genius recipient both live at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif.

Here are six memorable moments from the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards.

07 May 2023

Here Are the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards Winners: Full List

Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez were both winners in music-related categories at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards, where the HBO series The Last of Us, starring Pedro Pascal, took home the most awards of the night.

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Swift’s “Carolina,” from the Where the Crawdads Sing soundtrack, was awarded best song. In the category, “Carolina” was up against movie soundtrack songs from Demi Lovato, Doja Cat, Lady Gaga, OneRepublic and Rihanna.

Gomez’s My Mind & Me was honored as best music documentary, where she’d competed with the films Halftime; Love, Lizzo; Sheryl and The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie.

The 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards honored stars in movies and television, across scripted and unscripted, with a pre-taped ceremony that aired on Sunday (May 7). Drew Barrymore was set to host, but opted not to out of solidarity with the Writer’s Guild of America strike.

See the full list of winners below.

2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards Winners List

Best movie

Avatar: The Way of Water
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis
Nope
Scream VI — WINNER
Smile
Top Gun: Maverick

Best show

Stranger Things
The Last of Us — WINNER
The White Lotus
Wednesday
Wolf Pack
Yellowstone
Yellowjackets

Best performance in a movie

Austin Butler — Elvis
Florence Pugh — Don’t Worry Darling
Keke Palmer — Nope
Michael B. Jordan — Creed III
Tom Cruise — Top Gun: Maverick — WINNER

Best performance in a show

Aubrey Plaza — The White Lotus
Christina Ricci — Yellowjackets
Jenna Ortega — Wednesday — WINNER
Riley Keough — Daisy Jones & The Six
Sadie Sink — Stranger Things
Selena Gomez — Only Murders in the Building

Best hero

Diego Luna —Andor
Jenna Ortega — Wednesday
Paul Rudd — Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
Pedro Pascal — The Last of Us — WINNER
Tom Cruise — Top Gun: Maverick

Best villain

Elizabeth Olsen — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — WINNER
Harry Styles – Don’t Worry Darling
Jamie Campbell Bower — Stranger Things
M3GAN – M3GAN
The Bear — Cocaine Bear

Best kiss

Anna Torv + Philip Prajoux – The Last of Us
Harry Styles + David Dawson – My Policeman
Madison Bailey + Rudy Pankow – Outer Banks — WINNER
Riley Keough + Sam Claflin – Daisy Jones & The Six
Selena Gomez + Cara Delevingne – Only Murders in the Building

Best comedic performance

Adam Sandler – Murder Mystery 2 — WINNER
Dylan O’Brien – Not Okay
Jennifer Coolidge – Shotgun Wedding
Keke Palmer – Nope
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary

Breakthrough performance

Bad Bunny – Bullet Train
Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us
Emma D’Arcy – House of the Dragon
Joseph Quinn – Stranger Things — WINNER
Rachel Sennott – Bodies Bodies Bodies

Best fight

Brad Pitt (Ladybug) vs. Bad Bunny (The Wolf) – Bullet Train
Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers) vs. Ghostface – Scream VI — WINNER
Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna) vs. Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) – Stranger Things
Keanu Reeves (John Wick) vs. Everyone – John Wick 4
Escape from Narkina 5 – Andor

Most frightened performance

Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus — WINNER
Jesse Tyler Ferguson – Cocaine Bear
Justin Long – Barbarian
Rachel Sennott – Bodies Bodies Bodies
Sosie Bacon – Smile

Best duo

Camila Mendes + Maya Hawke – Do Revenge
Jenna Ortega + Thing – Wednesday
Pedro Pascal + Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us — WINNER
Simona Tabasco + Beatrice Grannò – The White Lotus
Tom Cruise + Miles Teller – Top Gun: Maverick

Best kick-ass cast

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Outer Banks
Stranger Things — WINNER
Teen Wolf: The Movie

Best song

Demi Lovato – Still Alive (Scream VI)
Doja Cat – Vegas (Elvis)
Lady Gaga – Hold My Hand (Top Gun: Maverick)
OneRepublic – I Ain’t Worried (Top Gun: Maverick)
Rihanna – Lift Me Up (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Taylor Swift – Carolina (Where the Crawdads Sing) — WINNER

Best docu-reality series

Jersey Shore Family Vacation
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Family Reunion: Love & Hip Hop Edition
The Kardashians — WINNER
Vanderpump Rules

Best competition series

All-Star Shore
Big Brother
RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars — WINNER
The Challenge: USA
The Traitors

Best host

Drew Barrymore – The Drew Barrymore Show — WINNER
Joel Madden – Ink Master
Nick Cannon – The Masked Singer
RuPaul – RuPaul’s Drag Race
Kelly Clarkson – The Kelly Clarkson Show

Best reality on-screen team

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Vinny Guadagnino, Pauly D (MVP) – Jersey Shore Family Vacation
Tori Deal and Devin Walker – The Challenge: Ride or Dies
RuPaul Charles and Michelle Visage – RuPaul’s Drag Race
Ariana Madix, Katie Maloney, Scheana Shay, LaLa Kent – Vanderpump Rules — WINNER
Garcelle Beauvais and Sutton Stracke – The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Best music documentary

Halftime
Love, Lizzo
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me — WINNER
Sheryl
The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie

Best musical moment, sponsored by Sonic (social only)

Purple Hearts: “Come Back Home” — WINNER

Comedic genius award

Jennifer Coolidge — WINNER