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Jeff Goldblum is on the verge of releasing his fourth album, Still Blooming. The actor-musician reveals how he nabbed Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Scarlett Johansson to take part on his album, teases what’s to come in Wicked: For Good, talks about playing the piano for in the White House, dabbling in scatting and more!
What do you think of Jeff Goldblum’s music? Let us know in the comments!
Lyndsey Havens:You’re releasing your fourth album.
Yes, ma’am.
Still Blooming, coming in April. Tell me a bit about this project. When did you start working on it? What inspired it?
It’s our fourth album with the great Decca-
Yes.
label and Verve. But this one, as we continued and found ourselves at Scott Gilman studio, The Hobby Shop, we said, “Let’s make some more music, and let’s get some more singers to do, like we had on our other three, half of the tracks.” So on this one, we got half kind of instrumentals, and we’ll talk about all the tracks, if you like, and half singers, so let’s do more of that. And we found ourselves in the studio and doing it for heaven’s sakes because we had good ideas that we were excited about. And we’ve got merchandise coming out with a, you know, that has something to do with that. And the singers to whom I referred we’ll talk about, you know, how about that?
Yes, we will talk about that.
Because maybe they don’t even know yet, but you do, you listened to it.
I know, yeah, some pretty big names. Before we get into the features, I need to ask the obvious questions. You’ve had quite a life and career, but do you feel as though you are still blooming?
Well, like the record title suggests, refers to, yeah.
How nice.
Keep watching for more!
Fuerza Regida is on a mission to reconnect with its ancestral heritage — and they’re doing it the best way they know how, via Mexican music. The group’s upcoming album, 111XPANTIA, which Billboard Español is announcing exclusively on Tuesday (March 25), will be an exploration of the band’s roots, according to frontman Jesús “JOP” Ortiz Paz. The album is set for release on May 2.
The title — pronounced “ixpantia” — comes from the Náhuatl language, a dialect of the Aztecs, symbolizing “manifest,” JOP explains to Billboard Español. “Before I even knew what the word ‘manifest’ meant, I always believed in it,” he adds. “I’d tell myself, ‘I’m going to do this in the future.’ Even as a little kid, I was sure I was going to be something in life. Maybe not an artist, but something. It’s the law of attraction, a testament.”
With 111XPANTIA, Fuerza Regida is on a quest to continue applying this philosophy and turn “every song” into future “bangers.” The San Bernardino, Calif., hitmakers have consistently achieved with their 13 hits on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and 63 on Hot Latin Songs to date. The group’s most recent single, “Por Esos Ojos,” released in February, peaked at No. 5 on the Hot Latin Songs chart.
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The artist adds that while they created around 40 songs in the process of making this album, they narrowed down to 12, assuring that every song is a “focus track.”
111XPANTIA will be released via Rancho Humilde/Street Mob Records/Sony Music Latin. It also will be available in physical format, both CD and vinyl.
“This album represents my whole life,” JOP says. “Since I was a 5-year-old kid, I’d see Corvettes in the hood — there were no Lambos — and tell my mom, ‘I’m going to buy that car,’ or I’d look at a big house and say, ‘Mama, I’m going to buy you that house when I get older,’” adding that the meaning of this upcoming release is “to prove something beyond doubt through the power of the mind.”
And those dreams have undeniably materialized. For the June 2023 Billboard Español cover story, the group pulled up in three luxury cars, including a graphite off-roader Lamborghini Urus and a white Chevrolet Corvette. Most recently, Fuerza Regida acquired a new building to house its record label, Street Mob Records — which won the Billboard Latin Music Award 2024 for publisher of the year — in San Bernardino County.
The cover artwork, co-designed by KidSuper’s Colm Dillane, features an eye, a symbol deeply tied to the album’s themes. “The eye means the same thing — ixpantia, 111, manifest — to make your dreams come true,” he explains.
“This is the first album that has so much story to it, so much connection to it. Everything means something. Nothing está allí de oquis,” JOP says, emphasizing that everything is intentional. “Once you get into it, 111XPANTIA, you’re going to start tripping, what it means to be on the next level,” he adds, stating that “everything’s back to the roots” stylistically. “This is the most important album of my career. This is the one that brings all of that together.”
See the cover for 111XPANTIA below:
Fuerza Regida
Courtesy Photo
A federal judge has dismissed civil racketeering accusations and other claims filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs by former collaborator Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, though he also allowed parts of the music producer’s sexual abuse lawsuit to move forward.
In a decision issued Monday, Judge J. Paul Oetken ruled that Jones could not sue Diddy and others under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act – the federal “RICO” law often used against the Mafia and the same statute prosecutors are citing in their criminal case against Combs.
The judge said Jones hadn’t shown that the alleged illegal “enterprise” operated by Diddy – the kind of illicit operation outlawed by RICO – had directly caused the star to renege on paying Jones for his work Combs’ Love Album.
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“The court cannot identify any such causal link,” Oetken wrote. “Defendants’ alleged sex, drug, and gun trafficking activities — the vast majority of the predicate acts pleaded in the operative complaint — did not foreseeably or naturally preclude defendants from honoring their recording contract with Jones.”
Monday’s ruling dismissed the RICO charge against Combs, his chief of staff Kristina Khorram and his businesses. The judge also dismissed Jones’ breach of contract claim and several claims emotional distress, finding them legally deficient.
But Oetken allowed several other key accusations to proceed, including sex trafficking, sexual assault and the claim that Combs is liable for an alleged assault perpetrated by others at his house. Those claims will now proceed into more litigation and toward an eventual trial.
Reps for the defendants and an attorney for Jones did not immediately return a request for comment. Combs has repeatedly denied all allegations of wrongdoing; Khorram denied the accusations to CNN last week, saying she “never condoned or aided and abetted the sexual assault of anyone.”
Jones sued Combs in March 2024, accusing the rapper of assaulting him while he was working as a producer on the Love Album. But the case went far beyond that, also leveling sweeping allegations about a vast RICO conspiracy involving numerous others, including not just Khorram but also Universal Music Group and CEO Lucian Grainge.
After UMG and Grainge said they would seek penalties over those “recklessly false” allegations, Jones’ attorney Tyrone Blackburn conceded that there had been “no legal basis” for filing them and asked to have them “withdrawn immediately.”
In Monday’s decision, Oetken sharply criticized Blackburn, saying he found the lawyer’s conduct in the case “unsettling.” He noted that court filings had been filled with “insults, misstatements, and exaggerations,” and said Blackburn had leveled “schoolyard taunts” at opposing lawyers.
In one incident, the judge said Blackburn had referenced the criminal case before saying Combs and his companies were “presumed guilty of being a RICO criminal organization” – an obvious inversion of the bedrock “innocent until proven guilty” standard at the heart of American criminal law.
“That any licensed member of the bar would espouse such an absurd understanding of the law is not just disturbing, but shocking,” the judge wrote Monday. “While the court will not hold Blackburn’s antics against Jones at this point, it warns Blackburn that further misconduct may lead to sanctions or to referral for discipline.”
Jones’ lawsuit is just one of dozens filed against Combs over the past year accusing him of serious sexual abuse and other wrongdoing. He’s also facing a criminal trial in May on federal RICO and sex trafficking charges; if convicted, he’s looking at a potential life prison sentence.
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Rick Ross has expanded his empire yet again. He has partnered up with Dr. Mario Montoya to open up a dental practice in Atlanta.
As spotted on HipHopDX, Rick Ross was showing all his teeth at the recent grand opening for Smiles By Mario Montoya office in Atlanta, GA. Back in January 2022 the “Money In The Grave” rapper flew to South America to get his dental work done by the famed dentist. He took to social media to unveil the new look. “The biggest bawse, Ricky Rozay,” he said. “I just finished getting my teeth done, so when you see me and I do this [flashes smile], that mean the wire just hit. Boom, that money hit the account.”
It seems Rick Ross and Dr. Mario stayed in touch after the procedure. Last week the two hosted the celebration for the first ever Smiles By Mario location in the United States. In footage captured at the event, Rick and the medical professional were clearly excited about the new venture. As expected Ross shared the announcement on his Instagram account. “We began discussing this plan three years ago in Cali, Colombia and now we’ve opened our first dentist office in the U.S.!! Everyone reading this, come get your billion dollar smile in Sandy Springs, Atlanta now. Grateful for the opportunity to play a part in this iconic move. Invest in your smile this year.”
Based in Colombia, Dr. Mario is known around the world for his veneer work. Some of his past clients include French Montana, Moneybagg Yo, Hitman Holla, Lil Twist, T-Pain, Rich The Kid, and more. You can learn more about the practice here.
Love is a fickle thing, which is something Benny Blanco found out the hard way when he first met his now-fiancée, Selena Gomez. During his appearance with Gomez on the Jay Shetty Podcast on Monday (March 24), Blanco revealed that he was convinced that the “Lose You to Love Me” singer did not like him […]
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We’re still a long ways away from learning how Marvel Studios plans on introducing Robert Downey Jr.’s villainous Doctor Doom to an MCU that saw the same man heroically save the day multiple times as Iron Man and while there are many theories and rumors about how exactly this will pan out, we’re now getting information on how Marvel landed back on the man who helped jumpstart the MCU in the first place.
According to Deadline, the idea to bring back RDJ as arguably the most popular villain in Marvel Comics came from none other than Marvel Studios head honcho, Kevin Feige. While it had been rumored for a while that Marvel would be going the Doctor Doom direction following the fallout of Jonathan Majors domestic abuse allegations, no one knew who was going to be taking on the role and absolutely did not expect that it would be Tony Stark (RDJ) returning to play Victor Von Doom.
But according to one half of the Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars directors, Joe Russo, Kevin Feige wanted Robert to return to the MCU and apparently they felt it was a good idea given the storyline that had in mind.
Per Deadline:
“That was Kevin,” the younger Russo recently told the online outlet Omelete. “Interestingly enough about that, that conversation was had a while ago.”
Though Robert Downey Jr. is said to have agreed to return as Doctor Doom for quite some time, the Russo Brothers (Joe and Anthony) were hesitant to return to direct the next two Avengers films given the massive success they achieved with their two previous installments, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. It wasn’t until they felt they had the perfect idea in mind for the story and plot for Doomsday and Secret Wars that they decided to come back and give the MCU a new beginning after giving it a proper finish in Endgame.
“Robert tried to talk us into doing it and we said ‘no.’ We just didn’t have a story. We didn’t have a way in. We were resistant for a while.”
The brothers did eventually spark to a concept.
“One day Steve McFeely, one of our chief collaborators, said, ‘I have an idea.’ We went, ‘That’s the story!’ That story has to be told. It’s a really powerful story.”
What is that concept? Neither of the directors would divulge much until Joe offered, “The only thing I will say about the movie is this: We love villains who think they’re the hero of their own stories. That’s when they become three dimensional and they become more interesting. And when you have an actor like Robert Downey, you have to create a well shaped, three-dimensional character for the audience.”
We. Can’t. Wait.
While many fans are letdown that Jonathan Majors Kang The Conqueror’s storyline didn’t get any finality, it is rumored that he will return in Avengers: Doomsday to get killed off by Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, thus solidifying Doom as the ultimate badass in the MCU. Whether or not that’s true remains to be seen but we wouldn’t mind seeing that play out on the big screen as the Russo brothers are looking to tie up all the loose ends they can in the next two Avengers films.
What do y’all expect from the next two Avengers films? Should Marvel have casted another actor other than Robert Downey Jr. to take on the role of Doctor Doom? Let us know in the comments section below.
The producers of four independent California festivals are offering a limited edition ticket that provides general admission access to the 2025 edition of each event.
Dubbed the “indepenDANCE Pass” the ticket is on offer for $599, approximately $1,400 less expensive than the cost of buying four separate tickets to each festival. A total of 100 indepenDANCE Passes are currently available, with profits split evenly between each event.
The passes are part of a campaign to bring attention to the state of independent music festivals, which have struggled following the pandemic due to rising costs of goods and services. The founders of each of the four festivals involved with the IndepenDANCE Pass recently gathered for a longform conversation about the state of the independent side of the festival industry.
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“Independent festivals have always been about community, and now we’re taking that to the next level,” Same Same But Different co-founder and CEO Brad Sweet says during the talk. “We pour everything we have into creating spaces where people can truly connect, dance freely, and experience something real, and now we’re uniting to create something bigger than any one festival, a collective that strengthens the entire scene and gives our community more access, more connection, and more unforgettable experiences across the festival season. By coming together, we’re making sure independent festivals don’t just survive, but evolve and flourish for years to come.”
Featuring dance, funk, global music and more, Joshua Tree Music Festival happens both this May 15-18 and October 9-12 (the pass is good for just one of the events) in Joshua Tree, Calif. Happening in Lake Perris, Calif. this Sept. 26-28, Same Same But Different has previously featured artists including Griz, Big Gigantic, Polo & Pan and Louis the Child, with the 2025 lineup to be announced in the coming months.
Meanwhile the longstanding house and techno festival Desert Hearts 2025 happens July 3-7 in Flagstaff, Ariz. The electronic-oriented Northern Nights, which has this year partnered with Dirtybird Campout, happens Cook’s Valley Campground in Northern California on July 18-20, with the lineup also to be announced in the coming months.
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Sexyy Red is back with a new anthem for the YN’s, and it’s already got the streets buzzing.
The St. Louis rapper gave fans a preview of her upcoming track “YN” during a live stream with PlaqueBoyMax, and from the sound of it, this one is about to go crazy. The song kicks off with Sexyy setting the tone, rapping, “That’s my evil twin, me and him got matching pipes / Don’t see him when I’m working, only see my boo at night.” Her signature raw energy is all over the track, making it clear this is one for the young crash-outs.
Chicago’s BabyChiefDoit slides in on the second verse with a playful nod to his and Sexyy’s age difference, spitting, “Me and Sexyy meant to be, I know she feel the same way / I’m finna take her to meet my momma even though they damn near the same age.” His delivery keeps it light, adding to the track’s wild, carefree vibe.
Things really turn up when Atlanta’s Baby Kia hops on the third verse. Known for his chaotic, almost screaming flow, Kia brings that unfiltered energy that has the YN’s locked in. While his sound might not be for everyone, the young crowd eats it up every time. With Sexyy Red leading the charge and two rising stars backing her up, YN is shaping up to be another viral moment. Grab your Shiesty’s, it’s about to get active.
Check out the Sexyy Red and PlaqueboyMax stream below:
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Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has been a fixture in the news recently, as he and fellow progressive, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have embarked on their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour of rallies in the Western United States. Sanders sat down with Jonathan Karl on ABC’s This Week on Sunday (March 23) for an interview. Karl asked about Sanders’ view of Ocasio-Cortez possibly joining him as a senator. “Would you like to see her join you in the Senate?” he queried.
Sanders stood up, aiming to end the interview. “I said, just a whole lot of people in the Congress. OK, Jonathan, thanks,” he said. “Wait, I got one more – I got one more. This is an important – “Karl pleaded before Sanders swiftly cut him off. “No, you want to do nonsense. Do nonsense. I don’t want to talk about inside-the-beltway stuff.” With that, Sanders ended his talk with Karl. The 83-year-old had made it a point not to vigorously trash current Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York when Karl asked about Sanders’ comments that the passage of the continuing resolution that prevented a government shutdown was an “absolute failure of Democratic leadership.” “Well, [Sen. Chuck] Schumer is the leader of the party, and it should not have happened, period. No question about it,” Sanders said before adding: “But the bottom line, it’s not just Chuck Schumer. It’s not just Chuck Schumer. It is, you’ve got a Democratic Party in general that is dominated by billionaires, just as the Republican Party is, that … operates under the leadership of a bunch of inside-the-Beltway consultants, very well paid, who are way out of touch with the 32,000 people who are here today.”Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have drawn sizable numbers at their “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies. Ocasio-Cortez has not publicly discussed her plans, but has been consistently mentioned as someone who could take on Schumer as a primary candidate for his Senate seat. There have even been rumors of her being positioned as a presidential candidate for 2028. Despite calls for him to step down as Senate Minority Leader, Schumer has remained defiant and stated he has no plans to do so.
After their second go-round as a couple produced endless reams of tabloid press coverage, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez have been relatively quiet about the dissolution of their marriage. The couple first began dating in 2002 and got engaged before calling it off in 2004 and famously reuniting in 2021 and getting married the following year.
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But, after less than two years, Lopez filed for divorce just months after the February 2024 release of her film This Is Me Now: A Love Story, a movie co-written by the couple that was loosely based on their love story. A surprisingly candid behind-the-scenes doc, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, was also released at the time, featuring a scene in which it was revealed that Affleck kept Lopez’s love letters even while he was married to his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner.
In a new GQ feature about Affleck’s plans to shake up Hollywood wit his artist-friendly Artists Equity company, the actor/director opens up for the first time about the couple’s split and makes it clear that despite the drama, he has a deep and abiding affection for his ex.
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“You asked me about Jen and the documentary and I talked about that and my sort of personal life a little bit, which I don’t mind doing as long as my actual feelings and intentions and beliefs are communicated, which I hope I was clear that really this is somebody I have a lot of respect for,” he said. “And I get wanting to divine or explore the kind of differences in perspective that we have in terms of how a person feels comfortable approaching the line between public and private life. But I really hope that whatever you use doesn’t suggest that I have any negativity or judgment or anything regarding that.”
Affleck also makes it clear that he has “nothing but respect” for Lopez, lamenting the need by some to dissect break-ups in search of the “root causes” of a split. “But honestly, like I said, the truth is much more quotidian than probably people would believe or would be interesting,” he said.
“There’s no scandal, no soap opera, no intrigue. The truth is, when you talk to somebody, ‘Hey, what happened?’ Well, there is no: ‘This is what happened,’” he added. “It’s just a story about people trying to figure out their lives and relationships in ways that we all sort of normally do. And as you get older, this is true for me, I assume it’s true for most people, there is no ‘So-and-so did this’ or ‘This was the big event.’ It’s really, it sounds more like a couple’s therapy session, which — you would tune out of someone else’s couple’s therapy after a while. For one thing, you start going, ‘Okay, clearly this person has got these issues. Clearly they have these issues.’ And the reason I don’t want to share that is just sort of embarrassing. It feels vulnerable.”
The piece delves into the fact that despite appearances, Affleck has a well-thought-out, nonchalant attitude about being pictured in public picking up his copious Dunkin’ order, or wearing an outfit a star might not want to be shot by paparazzi wearing. He talks about his strategies, such as wearing the same look every day so the pap pictures of him are indistinguishable, or looking “like a slob” on purpose and how he just doesn’t really care, or sweat it that much.
“Then you become the sad Affleck meme spilling the coffee. Which I have to say I think is kind of funny,” he said. “So I think it’s just a function of the fact that I’ve spent time thinking about really trying to figure it out.”
Affleck was also asked about some moments in the widely panned Greatest Love Story Never Told doc, in which the now ex-couple repeatedly claimed they were private people, even as Lopez revealed some intimate moments and aspects of their relationship via the letters and footage of them at home. In those scenes, the writer suggests that Affleck seems to both be taking a deep “here we go again” breath, even as he’s clearly expressing his love and support for Lopez.
“Part of it was, ‘Okay, if I’m going to participate in this, I want to try to do it in an honest way and in a way that’s interesting,’” Affleck said. “Because I thought it was an interesting examination. Like I mentioned to you before, there are a lot of people who I think have handled celebrity more adeptly and more adroitly than I have, Jennifer among them. My temperament is to be a little bit more reserved and private than hers. As happens in relationships, you don’t always have the same attitude towards these things. And so I thought, ‘Oh, this is interesting because how do you reconcile that?’ Because exactly what you said is true. I love and support this person. I believe in them. They’re great. I want people to see that.”
Affleck recalled that the doc used his line “You don’t marry a ship captain and then say, ‘Well, I don’t like going out in the water,’” saying that you have to “own what you knew going into any relationship.” And, for the record, Affleck assures readers that the movie wasn’t the cause of “some major fracture. It’s not like you can watch that documentary and go, ‘Oh, now I understand the issues that these two had.’”
Affleck will next be seen in The Accountant 2, which will hit theaters on April 25.