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Judge Says Kanye West’s Former Lawyers Can’t Print Ads Dropping Him as Client – Yet
A federal judge says Kanye West’s lawyers need to keep trying to reach their client a little bit longer before the judge will allow the attorneys to take an unusual step: printing newspaper ads announcing they’ve dropped the embattled rapper.
In an order issued Tuesday, Judge Analisa Torres denied – for now – a request by attorneys from the law firm Greenberg Traurig to take such extraordinary measures to formally cut ties with West (who has legally changed his name to Ye). The firm says it has “exhausted all methods” of contacting the rapper, but the judge is not yet convinced.
“The court finds that GT has not provided sufficient facts to support its conclusion that personal service is impracticable,” Judge Torres wrote. “GT’s latest attempts… do not indicate diligent efforts at attempting to locate Ye.”
Greenberg, one of many law firms to cut ties with Ye in the wake of his antisemitic statements last year, has been trying for months to legally notify the rapper that its lawyers will no longer be representing him in a copyright lawsuit album over a song off Donda 2. Judge Torres already approved their withdrawal, but federal litigation rules and legal ethics require lawyers to personally serve clients with formal notice that they’ve been dropped as a client.
It’s this process that Greenberg says Kanye is evading.
In a Jan. 13 request, they argued that the star was engaged in “deliberate avoidance and obstruction,” including ditching his previous representatives and changing his phone number. Faced with that obstinance, Greenberg lawyers asked earlier this month to let them notify him by mail – or to simply print the notice in public newspapers.
“Given Ye’s public status, publication of the withdrawal order will likely garner significant media attention, resulting in broader publication and provide an even greater likelihood of apprising Ye of the Order,” the Greenberg lawyers wrote in making the unusual request.
But in Tuesday’s order, Judge Torres said she would need to see more proof that Greenberg had truly run out of options. She suggested that the firm could show that it had used databases to search for a new address, or even “hiring private investigators” to locate the star.
The judge gave the firm a Feb. 15 deadline to either successfully serve notice on Kanye – or offer more detailed proof to support the newspaper plan. Kanye’s former lawyer at Greenberg did not immediately return a request for comment. A press representative for West could not immediately be located for comment.
Watch Blake Shelton Declare Himself ‘King’ of ‘The Voice’ in Season 23 Promo
Blake Shelton is leaving The Voice, but that doesn’t mean that he’s going to be soft on his fellow coaches. On Wednesday (Jan. 25), NBC released the first season 23 promo of The Voice, which sees the country star reflecting on it being his last on the show, and competing with his fellow coaches, both new and old.
The trailer kicks off with Shelton telling a contestant, “This is my last season as a coach on The Voice after 23 seasons.” Kelly Clarkson, who is making her return to the show, chimes in and adds for the country singer, “He’s so tired.” Shelton points to his fellow coaches, which now includes first timers Chance the Rapper and former One Direction member Niall Horan, and adds, “I am tired of this.”
Shelton also recognized Horan as a formidable force this season, telling the audience and contestants that “Niall is already stealing my incredible artistic expression.”
In a separate clip, the “Heartbreak Weather” singer cheekily tells the nine-time Grammy nominee, “I feel like a young you.” Shelton’s response? “I can see it now.”
Before the promo concludes, the country singer let the audience and coaches know one crucial thing: “I just want everyone to know that there is one king of The Voice. Only one.”
And he’s not wrong — season 22 of The Voice saw Shelton earn his ninth overall win after Bryce Leatherwood was crowned champion.
Season 23 of The Voice is scheduled to premiere on NBC March 6. Watch the promo for the new season above.
Huge Gains for Miley Cyrus‘ Catalog (And One Bruno Mars Hit) After ’Flowers’ Debut
Miley Cyrus‘ “Flowers” is in bloom on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, becoming just the second single in her storied pop career to top the chart, and her first to debut on top. It does so with some of the most spectacular first-full-week numbers of the decade so far: 52.6 million streams, 70,000 digital song sales and 33.5 million radio airplay audience impressions, according to Luminate.
But it’s not just the Columbia-released “Flowers” that’s blossoming this week — Cyrus’ entire back catalog is growing in the sunlight of her new release. Even without accounting for “Flowers,” Cyrus’ discography is up from 20.7 weekly million official on-demand U.S. streams in the tracking week ending Jan. 12 to 34.2 million the following week (ending Jan. 19), a 65% gain.
Some of the major gainers from Cyrus’ catalog include her enduring classics like “Wrecking Ball” (up from 1.9 million to 3.0 million, a 59% gain), “Party in the U.S.A.” (3.5 million to 4.8 million, 35.4%) and “We Can’t Stop (1.4 million to 2.0 million, 46.3%). One of the biggest beneficiaries was her most recent lead single prior to “Flowers”: “Midnight Sky,” from 2020’s Plastic Hearts (1.7 million to 3.2 million, 88.8%).
And the “Flowers” boost has also spread to a catalog smash by another top 40 household name of the past decade-plus: Bruno Mars. His 2013 Hot 100-topping ballad “When I Was Your Man” has been cited by popwatchers on social media as a likely inspiration for the lyrics to “Flowers,” with the latter’s chorus seeming to be in response (or at least in conversation) with the refrain to the former. (Mars: “I should’ve bought you flowers”; Cyrus: “I can buy myself flowers.”)
Evidently, the chatter over the relationship between the two songs — with fans further speculating that the reference is a subtle dig at Cyrus’ ex Liam Hemsworth, as he supposedly once dedicated the song to Cyrus following their first breakup in 2013 — also inspired fans to go back and listen to Mars’ original. “Your Man,” always a productive streamer, rose from 4.5 million to 5.3 million in weekly official on-demand streams for the week ending Jan. 19, a 19.5% gain.
Run-D.M.C. Is Done After Final MSG Performance & Doc Filming, Says D.M.C.
Run-D.M.C. earned their place as one of Hip-Hop’s greatest groups but it appears that the surviving pair is calling it quits this year. D.M.C. shared in an interview that he and Run are in the midst of recording a documentary capturing their final moments as a group, which will conclude with a concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Run-D.M.C. began as a trio with Joseph “Run” Simmons, Daryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels, and Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell. After the tragic shooting death of Jam Master Jay in 2002, the group disbanded with several reunion moments dispersed throughout.
In an interview with Rock The Bells, D.M.C. explains that while he maintains a friendship with Run, it’s time to move on beyond the Run-D.M.C. moniker and perhaps move into other arenas as separate entities.
From Rock The Bells:
In a recent interview with ROCK THE BELLS, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels emphatically stated: “Run-D.M.C. is over. The only way Run-D.M.C. gets back together is if The Beatles get back together. Can that happen?”
…
“The final show that we are ever going to do is going to be at Madison Square Garden in April,” McDaniels reveals. “It’s going to be the last episode of the documentary we’re doing. Run-D.M.C.’s last show ever. ‘Cause it’s time for Run to go be Paul McCartney and me to be John Lennon. We done did what we could do.”
Later in the chat, D.M.C. emphatically states that the group can’t continue on as a group without Jam Master Jay. Run didn’t offer any additional commentary in the interview.
Details regarding the last show for Run-D.M.C. are certainly forthcoming.
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Photo: Bob Berg / Getty
Taylor Swift Holds Atop Artist 100, Miley Cyrus Returns to Top 10 Thanks to ‘Flowers’
Taylor Swift extends her record run at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Jan. 28), as she tallies her 62nd week as the top musical act in the United States.
Swift continues her dominance thanks to two charting singles on the Billboard Hot 100 from her latest album, Midnights. Her former eight-week No. 1 “Anti-Hero,” which became her sole longest-leading hit a week earlier, ranks at No. 3, while new single “Lavender Haze” places at No. 34.
Midnights holds at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 73,000 equivalent album units earned, according to Luminate, after spending five weeks at No. 1. Swift boasts nine sets on the survey, the most among all acts: Midnights, Folklore (No. 22), Lover (No. 26), 1989 (No. 34), Red (Taylor’s Version) (No. 35), Evermore (No. 58), Reputation (No. 63), Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (No. 125) and Speak Now (No. 138).
Elsewhere on the Artist 100, Miley Cyrus re-enters at No. 3, reaching the top five for the first time thanks to her new single “Flowers.” The song bounds in at No. 1 on the Hot 100, becoming Cyrus’ second leader, after 2013’s “Wrecking Ball.” She last appeared on the Artist 100 in July 2021, and previously peaked at No. 9 in December 2020.
Rounding out the top five of the Artist 100, SZA holds at No. 2, as her album SOS spends a sixth week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Morgan Wallen dips 3-4 and The Weeknd descends 4-5.
The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.
Peep The Teaser Trailer For The Final Season Of FX’s ‘Snowfall’
Source: Maury Phillips / Getty
It’s been five years since FX premiered its hit dope boys series Snowfall, and though it’s enjoyed a successful run thus far, all good things must come to an end.
On Feb. 22, FX will air the sixth and final season of the critically acclaimed series centered around the inception of the crack cocaine era in South Central LA and the ruins it left behind in its wake. As for what awaits your favorite drug crew in the upcoming season, according to the official synopsis for the upcoming season, nothing sweet or easy.
It’s October 1986 in this sixth and final season, as civil war threatens to destroy the Saint family. Franklin (Damson Idris) is desperate, forced to rob his Aunt Louie (Angela Lewis) and Uncle Jerome (Amin Joseph) after being wiped out by former CIA officer Teddy McDonald (Carter Hudson). Meanwhile, Louie has taken over Franklin’s role as Teddy’s sole buyer, undercutting her nephew and creating a competing empire in the process.
Franklin is now faced with losing everyone he loves and everything he’s built, and coming through it all will mean out-maneuvering the KGB, the DEA and the CIA, as well as avoiding the LAPD’s fully militarized, fully corrupt, C.R.A.S.H units.
When everyone has their backs against the wall, who will they become in order to survive?
Sounds like it’s going to be a lot of drug infused drama that’ll end this era.
Check out the teaser trailer to the final season of Snowfall below and let us know if you’ll be tuning in when it kicks off Feb. 22 in the comments section below.
CAA Signs Mexican Group RBD Ahead of First Tour in 15 Years
CAA has signed Mexican pop group RBD for worldwide representation in all areas, Billboard has learned. Specifically, the L.A.-based agency will represent the band — now comprised of Anahí, Christian Chavez, Dulce María, Christopher von Uckermann and Maite Perroni — in areas such as acting, brand consulting, touring, podcasting and fashion/beauty.
News of the signing comes on the heels of RBD’s highly-anticipated announcement of a reunion that includes a 26-date global Soy Rebelde Tour with stops in Mexico, U.S. and Brazil. The stint will mark the group’s first time hitting the stage together since disbanding in December 2008 after their last show in Madrid.
The Live Nation-produced trek will kick off in El Paso, Texas, at the Sun Bowl Stadium on Aug. 25 and will make stops in key U.S. cities such as Chicago, New York, Miami and Los Angeles. When RBD last toured, in total it grossed $72.5 million and sold over 1.5 million tickets, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.
“It’s a new era that makes us really excited and it’s a new opportunity to share the stage once again and feel a unique energy,” Perroni previously told Billboard. “There’re cycles in life and each one of us had to focus on our careers as actors and musicians and that meant we had to give those projects time, energy and a lot of dedication. It also allowed each one of us to grow professionally and personally. Now, the time [for the reunion] is perfect because we’re now more conscious, more mature, we’ll enjoy it from a different perspective now as adults.”
According to CAA, the group will also release new music in the spring. On the Billboardcharts, RBD has a total of seven entries on the Billboard 200 chart including Rebelde, Celestial and Nuestro Amor, and eight entries on Top Latin Albums with six hitting the top 10. Over on Hot Latin Songs, the band has 10 total entries and out of those, five hit top 10.
RBD is managed by Guillermo Rosas, who’s also executive producing the Soy Rebelde Tour.
TOMORROW X TOGETHER Explores a Mystical Forest in Second ‘Sugar Rush Ride’ Teaser: Watch
Only two more days to go, MOA! TOMORROW X TOGETHER‘s forthcoming album, The Name Chapter: Temptation, is arriving soon, and with it, the project’s lead single, “Sugar Rush Ride.” To tease its arrival, the song received a new concept teaser on Wednesday (Jan. 25).
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The new visual picks up where the previous one leaves off. The first concept teaser saw members Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun and HueningKai all sitting at the base of an aged wisteria tree; now, the guys explore and find themselves in a mystical forest. The K-pop stars perform bits and pieces of the “Sugar Rush Ride” choreography, alternating between the scenes of the forest and the wisteria tree, which is cut with a scene of the group running in the middle of a vast green space.
The new concept teaser is the last in a schedule of events for TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation. What remains is the release of the album and single “Sugar Rush Ride,” which arrive on Friday, Jan. 27. The following day, the group will perform a special showcase that will likely feature songs from the new album. (“Devil by the Window,” “Happy Fools” featuring Coi Leray, “Tinnitus (Wanna Be a Rock)” and “Farewell, Neverland” are the other four tracks included on Temptation.)
After completing Temptation‘s packed schedule of events, TOMORROW X TOGETHER will prepare for the Act: Sweet Mirage world tour, during which the boy group will perform 21 shows across 13 cities. March and April will consist of concert dates in Asia, starting with Seoul, while May will see them perform in the United States.
Watch the brand new teaser for “Sugar Rush Ride” in the video above.
Luke Combs Scores Sweet 16th Country Airplay Top 10 With ‘Going, Going, Gone’
Luke Combs’ “Going, Going, Gone” reaches the top 10 of Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Jan. 28) as the single rises from No. 11 to No. 8. In the tracking week ending Jan. 19, the song increased by 12% to 21.2 audience impressions, according to Luminate.
Combs co-authored the track with Ray Fulcher and James McNair. It’s the third single from Combs’ LP Growin’ Up, which opened at No. 1 on Top Country Albums in July, marking his fourth leader.
On the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs survey, “Going” pushes 7-5 for a new best. It drew 9.9 million official U.S. streams and sold 2,000 downloads in the Jan. 13-19 tracking week.
“Going” follows Combs’ “The Kind of Love We Make,” which reached No. 2 on Country Airplay last September. Before that, he racked up a record 14 consecutive career-opening No. 1s, starting with his first entry, “Hurricane,” which led for two weeks beginning in May 2017.
On Jan. 4, Combs took to social media to announce that he’ll release a new (as yet untitled) studio album sporting 18 songs on March 24. He kicks off a worldwide tour – set to encompass 35 shows in 16 countries on three continents – March 25 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
More ‘Spins’
Jordan Davis’ “What My World Spins Around” dominates Country Airplay for a second week (31 million impressions, up 4%). It became the singer-songwriter’s fourth No. 1 among six career-opening six top 10s.
‘Orange’ Shining Bright
The Hot Country Songs chart is led for a fourth frame by Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange.” The track crowns Country Streaming Songs for a 12th week (17 million streams) and rises 5-4 on Country Digital Song Sales (4,000 sold) and 32-27 on Country Airplay (4 million in audience, up 12%).
