Category: Viral

It appears that Drake’s ” target=”_blank”>withdrawal of his pre-action court requests was the exact opposite of a change of heart. According to TMZ, he’s dived in headfirst, filing a defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group in New York federal court. That means he’s decided to forego his initial bid to secure a court order for UMG’s records pertaining to “Not Like Us” and skip straight to suing the major label.

At the heart of his contention is Kendrick Lamar’s diss song, “Not Like Us,” on which the Canadian superstar says Kendrick calls him a pedophile. (For those keeping score at home, the exact line goes, “They tell me Chubbs the only one that get your hand-me-downs / And Party at the party playin’ with his nose now / And Baka got a weird case, why is he around? / Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles.” Take from that what you will.)

Drake contends that in pushing “Not Like Us,” UMG — which is the distributor for both Drake, via Republic, and Kendrick, via Interscope — sought to devalue his music, which would give the label the upper hand in future contract negotiations. Drake reportedly signed a renewal of his record deal with Republic worth up to $400 million in 2022, although the terms were never publicly revealed.

According to Drake’s suit, UMG went to such lengths to promote the song as hiring a bot farm and employing a payola scheme with at least one radio station. Finally, Drake even asserts that “Not Like Us” put him in physical danger; there have been shootings reported near his home since its release, with at least one injuring his security guard.

Drake takes pains to stress that the lawsuit isn’t meant to be a response to the rap battle itself; rather, he wants to punish the label for promoting it, knowing about the claims Kendrick made. “This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us’,” the suit reads. “It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize” the song which it knew contained false claims.”

That being said, this probably won’t help his tattered reputation among rap fans, and may end up having the effect he feared “Not Like Us” and UMG’s plan to promote it would have. Maybe he really is done with music, and he’s just burning all the bridges on the way out.

If Dua Lipa is looking for a title for her next album, she could do a lot worse than Pump It Up.

The Substance costume designer Emmanuelle Youchnovski revealed in an interview with Next Best Picture that one of Margaret Qualley’s outfits as Sue in the Golden Globe-nominated body horror masterpiece was inspired by the “Houdini” singer, as well as Beyoncé.

“I took… you know the video clip of Beyoncé’s ‘Blow,’ where she had the colors, you remember this one? And I also took a lot of inspiration from Dua Lipa because she wears a lot of bodysuits, but the bodysuit, it’s metallic, it’s fuchsia, it’s neon. I took all the things of our pop culture, not ’80s culture,” she said before describing Sue’s bodysuit as “more skin, more Dua Lipa.”

Previously, Qualley shared that she listened to a lot of another pop star to get into character as Sue. “It’s kind of wild timing the way that the universe works because we all just had the ‘Brat Summer,’ right? With Charli XCX. And I was listening to Charli as my ‘Sue’ inspo. Because she has like a lot of good kind of like ‘pump it up’ girl songs,” she told Brut. “I got that kind of Sue energy from Charli’s old music.”

The Substance is streaming now on Mubi.

After taking some time last year to celebrate the anniversary of his signature Perfume Genius album Too Bright, Mike Hadreas is shifting his focus back to new music: Today (January 15), he announced the upcoming album Glory and shared the single “It’s A Mirror.”

Hadreas says of the song:

“I wake up overwhelmed even when nothing is going on. I spend the rest of the day trying to regulate, which I prefer to do at home alone with my thoughts. But why? They are mostly bad. They also haven’t really changed for decades. I wrote ‘It’s a Mirror’ while stuck in one of these isolating loops, seeing that something different and maybe even beautiful is out there but not quite knowing how to venture out. I have a lot more practice keeping the door closed.”

A press release notes the album contains “themes of the body and its decay, of domesticity and love, and of inescapable history and damage,” but “written from a new vantage point — on the other side of struggle, where one is left to contend with all that has happened but also has to learn to live in a still and uncharted place.”

Beyond that, Hadreas also announced a run of tour dates spanning from May to June. For tickets, an artist pre-sale starts January 16 at 10 a.m. local time, followed by a public on-sale starting January 17 at 10 a.m. local time. Find more information here.

Listen to “It’s A Mirror” above. Below, find the Glory art and tracklist, along with Perfume Genius’ upcoming tour dates.

Perfume Genius’ Glory Album Cover Artwork

Perfume Genius’ Glory Tracklist

1. “It’s A Mirror”
2. “No Front Teeth” Feat. Aldous Harding
3. “Clean Heart”
4. “Me & Angel”
5. “Left For Tomorrow”
6. “Full On”
7. “Capezio”
8. “Dion”
9. “In A Row”
10. “Hanging Out”
11. “Glory”

Perfume Genius’ 2025 Tour Dates

05/12 — Little Saint @ Healdsburg, CA
05/13 — The Fillmore @ San Francisco, CA
05/16 — Kilby Court Block Party @ Salt Lake City, UT
05/24 — C6 Fest @ Sao Paulo, BR
05/30 — The Van Buren @ Phoenix, AZ
05/31 — 191 Toole @ Tucson, AZ
06/02 — Emo’s @ Austin, TX
06/03 — The Studio at The Factory @ Dallas, TX
06/05 — Variety Playhouse @ Atlanta, GA
06/06 — Haw River Ballroom @ Saxapahaw, NC
06/07 — 9:30 Club @ Washington, DC
06/08 — Union Transfer @ Philadelphia, PA
06/10 — Brooklyn Paramount @ Brooklyn, NY
06/12 — Royale @ Boston, MA
06/13 — Electric City @ Buffalo, NY
06/14 — The Concert Hall @ Toronto, ON
06/15 — Globe Iron @ Cleveland, OH
06/17 — The Vic Theatre @ Chicago, IL
06/18 — First Avenue @ Minneapolis, MN
06/19 — The Truman @ Kansas City, MO
06/21 — Gothic Theatre @ Denver, CO
06/23 — Treefort Music Hall @ Boise, ID
06/26 — The Showbox @ Seattle, WA
06/27 — Revolution Hall @ Portland, OR

Glory is out 3/28 via Matador. Find more information here.

My Morning Jacket has been one of the most consistent rock bands of the past quarter-century, although there’s been a bit of a wait since their most recent album, 2021’s My Morning Jacket (excluding their 2023 holiday album Happy Holiday!). Now, though, the drought is over: Today, MMJ announced Is and shared the lead single “Time Waiting.”

Jim James says of the song:

“I made a loop of that piano intro and listened as I went for a walk, and all these melodies started coming to me. For a long time, I didn’t have lyrics, but then I had a dream where I was in a café and a song was playing, and the lyrics to that song became the lyrics to ‘Time Waited’ — the melodies just fit perfectly. And the lyrics are about how flexible time is, how we can bend and warp time, especially if we are following our hearts, the universe and time itself can flow to work with us.”

He also says of the album:

“I like how the word is indicates a sense of presence in the now — there’s no logic or rationale behind this record; it just is. All these songs came into existence out of an attempt to connect with something beyond the human experiment, which for me is one of the most beautiful things about music — that connection with something larger than us, yet something we are all equally a part of.”

Watch the “Time Waited” video above and find the Is art and tracklist below.

My Morning Jacket’s Is Album Cover Artwork

My Morning Jacket’s Is Tracklist

1. “Out In The Open”
2. “Half A Lifetime”
3. “Everyday Magic”
4. “I Can Hear Your Love”
5. “Time Waited”
6. “Beginning From The Ending”
7. “Lemme Know”
8. “Squid Ink”
9. “Die For It”
10. “River Road”

Is is out 3/21 via ATO Records. Find more information here.

Robbie Williams is a singer, songwriter, and entertainment. But above all things, he is a proud Brit. In his new biopic, Better Man, Williams’ love for his home country (the United Kingdom) stole quite a few scenes. However, when the English event of the millennial came around, the “Forbidden Road” singer was notably absent.

During Robbie Williams’ appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, he revealed why did not attend or (as once rumored) perform at King Charles III’s coronation in 2023. When asked by Cohen if he in fact did receive an invitation to perform at the Royal event, Williams replied: “Yeah.”

This should not come as a surprise as Williams’ friendship with the British Royal Family has been well documented. Still, Williams had to turn down the opportunity but for good cause.

“There was a reason,” he said. “I was working. I got something I couldn’t turn down because of money.”

“And the contracts,” chimed Cohen which Williams nodded in agreeance.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla coronation inside of the Westminster Abbey marked the first coronation in nearly 70 years. So, as you could guess the place was filled with other dignitaries and celebrities (including Lionel Richie and Katy Perry).

Watch the full clip of Robbie Williams on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen above.

Back in November 2024, Drake shocked the hip-hop community after be filed a pre-action case against UMG and Spotify. Drake’s accusation of payola and colluding to “artificially inflate” the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” was not taken lightly. Both UMG and Spotify released statement denying Drake’s claims.

Shortly after, the “Family Matters” rapper issued a separate case against the giants for defamation over lines made by Lamar on the track. However, in a bizarre turn of events, today (January 14), Drake has voluntarily withdrawn his pre-action filing.

In documents filed with the New York Supreme Court (viewable here), Drake’s legal team revealed that are putting their pre-action disclosure documents pursuit to rest. The same can not yet be said of the pending defamation case.

Drake’s withdrawal has users online confused as the parties were expected to make an appearance on January 16 regarding the matter. In addition to that, Drake’s attorneys recently doubled down on their allegations against the parties.

Read the full statement listed in the filing below.

Please take notice that petitioner and movant Frozen Moments, LLC, By its attorneys Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, hereby withdraws its order to show cause seeking pre-action disclosure and preservation of certain documents and communications from respondent UMG Recordings, Inc. and pre-action disclosure of certain documents and communications from respondent Spotify USA Inc., with exhibits originally filed in New York Supreme Court On November 25, 2024.

Please take further notice that petitioner hereby voluntarily discontinues. This special proceeding as to all respondents without costs to any party. Plaintiffs met and Conferred with respondents on January 14, 2025, regarding this filing. Respondent Spotify, which has filed an opposition to the order to show cause, responded that Spotify has no objection to the Withdrawal and discontinuance. Respondent UMG, which has not yet filed an opposition to the Order to show cause, has reserved its position.

Representatives for UMG nor Spotify have issued a public response regarding the filing.

For the past few years, Janet Jackson sent her time reuniting with fans around the world across multiple tours. But to kick off the new year, the “That’s The Way Love Goes” singer decided to plant roots in Sin City via the Janet Jackson: Las Vegas residency at Resorts World Las Vegas.

After a successfully sold-out opening, Jackson and Resorts World have announced their decision to extend the residency within the 5,000-seater. Continue below for more information.

Here’s When Janet Jackson’s ‘Janet Jackson: Las Vegas’ Residency Comes To An End

As of today (January 14), the last chance fans have to see Janet Jackson’s Las residency at Resorts World Las Vegas is Saturday, May 31. Tickets for each of the February shows are already on sale. But, tickets for the newly added May dates won’t be made available to the public until this Friday, January 17, at 10 a.m. pacific. Find more information here.

Janet Jackson’s ‘Janet Jackson: Las Vegas’ Residency Dates At Resorts World Theatre In Las Vegas

02/05 — Las Vegas, NV @ Resorts World Theatre
02/07 — Las Vegas, NV @ Resorts World Theatre
02/08 — Las Vegas, NV @ Resorts World Theatre
02/12 — Las Vegas, NV @ Resorts World Theatre
02/14 — Las Vegas, NV @ Resorts World Theatre
02/15 — Las Vegas, NV @ Resorts World Theatre
05/21 — Las Vegas, NV @ Resorts World Theatre
05/24 — Las Vegas, NV @ Resorts World Theatre
05/25 — Las Vegas, NV @ Resorts World Theatre
05/28 — Las Vegas, NV @ Resorts World Theatre
05/30 — Las Vegas, NV @ Resorts World Theatre
05/31 — Las Vegas, NV @ Resorts World Theatre

While Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin continues to hint at their retirement, fans cling tighter to the band’s latest album. To extend the energy around Moon Music, Coldplay will soon share its companion film (A Film For The Future).

Today (January 14), the “We Pray” musicians took to Instagram to announce that A Film For The Future will head to select Lightroom locations for special screenings.

“On January 22, we’re proud to present ‘A Film For The Future’ – the visual companion to ‘Moon Music,’” they wrote. “The 44-minute film will premiere worldwide on YouTube, with special 360-degree screenings at Lightroom in London, Manchester & Seoul.”

The event description on Lightroom’s website, reads: “‘A Film For The Future,’ the visual accompaniment to Coldplay’s No 1 album Moon Music, was created by over 150 different visual artists from 45 countries. Each artist was given a handful of music snippets from Moon Music and asked to create corresponding visuals. There were no rules or guidelines, and no knowledge of other artists’ creations.”

Ben Mor, the film’s executive director and longtime Coldplay collaborator, refers to A Film For The Future as “a kaleidoscopic patchwork quilt – a 44-minute multimedia tapestry.”

“It was a huge privilege to have the bird’s eye view of such an ambitious project,” says Mor. “Working with so many incredible animators and filmmakers all working independently of each other. The final film is simply jaw-dropping, and I can’t wait for Coldplay’s fans to see it.”

Tickets for Coldplay’s A Film For The Future Lightroom 360-degree screenings are on sale now. Find more information here.

Although the 2025 Grammys will proceed as planned, many music-related events throughout Los Angeles County has been canceled amid the ongoing wildfires. Understandably, Calibash 2025 presented by SBS Los Angeles, Mega 96.3FM and 97.9FM La Raza has been added to the list of concerts nixed as a result of the LA fires.

This year’s festive featuring performances by Maluma, Wisin, Xavi, Manuel Turizo, Emilia, Kapo and Alex Sensation was set to take place this Saturday, January 18 at Crypto.com Arena. However, in a statement online (viewable here), organizers revealed the new tentative date for Calibash 2025 is Friday, March 7.

“The devastation our Los Angeles community has suffered resonates deeply with all of us at Mega 96.3FM,” wrote a representative for the radio station. “This decision has not been easy, but we recognize the need to focus on the well-being of our community during these difficult times. Stay safe.”

Organizers have not yet confirmed if any changes have been made to the previously unveiled lineup. But based on the comment section of the post, ticket holders wouldn’t be opposed to it.

“Hopefully the line-up improves,” wrote one user.

“Maybe change the lineup whilst you’re at it,” chimed another.

For now, ticket holders and those interested in attending are encouraged to keep an eye out for updates posted on Mega 96.3 FM’s official Instagram page.

The newest women’s basketball league, Unrivaled, will tip-off its inaugural season on Friday night in Miami on TNT when the 3-on-3 league’s co-founders go head-to-head, as Napheesa Collier’s Lunar Owls take on Breanna Stewart’s Mist.

The league has garnered plenty of intrigue in recent months as it has rolled out an impressive roster of stars for its first season, but beyond the names they’ve gotten, there’s also interest in the league’s format. Up until the week of the first games, we had gotten very little in the way of information about the league, beyond it being 3-on-3, but not played halfcourt like in the Olympics (or BIG3) and instead on a condensed full court.

The goal is clearly to keep things moving quickly and have a fun, fast-paced game, and on Tuesday, ESPN’s Kendra Andrews provided some more details on the game format and some unique rules for Unrivaled play. The games will feature four quarters of play, with the first three being seven minutes each and the fourth quarter being played to a target score, which they are calling the “winning score” — with the winning score being 11 points more than the team leading the game has through three quarters. That should lead to pretty snappy games, likely in the range of 30 minutes of game time, and the clock will only stop after made baskets in the last 30 seconds.

Unrivaled will also have one-shot free throws, meaning that players who get fouled on a 3-pointer, 2-pointer, or gets an and-1 will all shoot one free throw each, but the free throw will be worth 3, 2, or 1 point depending on the situation. That’s meant to keep the game moving along quickly, as is the 18-second shot clock, which will further encourage teams to play up-tempo. The other notable rule is that players will foul out after six fouls, but if a team only has three available players and one picks up six fouls, they can stay in the game but each subsequent foul is a technical foul that sends the other team to the line for one shot and the ball.

All told, it certainly seems like Unrivaled games will be entertaining to watch and avoid dragging on for longer than is needed. A blowout will end as quickly as the team winning can score 11 in the fourth quarter, while a close game will feature plenty of late drama as each possession will be a frantic effort from both sides to score or get a stop.