Pop Music

The Associated Press reports: Singer R. Kelly, already facing sexual abuse charges brought by Illinois prosecutors, was arrested in Chicago Thursday on a federal grand jury indictment listing 13 counts including sex crimes and obstruction of justice. U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Joseph Fitzpatrick said the R&B singer was taken into custody about 7 p.m. local time and was being held …

Faithwire reports: Right before she hit “rock bottom” Billboard-topping country singer Jo Dee Messina said that Jesus visited her on her front porch. In 2017, Messina was diagnosed with cancer. She found herself uncertain of her future as medical bills mounted, and her career crumbled in front of her. The artist, who has six No. 1 country singles, not only …

“I’ll be working on designs and looking at references from 3,000 years ago and reading the Old Testament at the same time. So it’s like a soundtrack to the visuals of the shapes and the ideas and ideals of what we’re creating. A lot of my creative friends, I tell them like the Bible is better than Pinterest. You can …

Rolling Stone reports: Lil Nas X came out in a handful of Twitter messages posted Sunday, telling fans to listen closely to the lyrics on his 7 track “C7osure (You Like).” “Some of y’all already know, some of y’all don’t care, some of y’all not gone [fuck with me] no more,” he wrote. “But before this month ends I want …

Rolling Stone reports: Madonna highlights the devastation of gun violence — and our maddening inability to take meaningful action to prevent it — in her chilling new “Gun Control” video. The clip contrasts the joy of nightclub dancing with the brutality of a mass shooting. “The story you are about to see is very disturbing,” warns the opening text. “It …

USA Today reports: You don’t need bells and whistles when you have a voice like Freddie Mercury’s. That’s what singer/producer Dave Clark realized in 1985, when he met the larger-than-life Queen front man at London’s Abbey Road Studios to record “Time,” the title track from his sci-fi rock musical. Mercury sang a version of the song for the show’s concept …

Time Magazine reports: “Freedom,” sings Madonna, “is what you choose to do with what’s been done to you.” This lyric from the artist’s new song “I Rise,” off her 14th studio album Madame X, is a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. A new video inspired by the song, created by Madonna and TIME Studios, weaves together footage …

CNN reports: Taylor Swift has released her new song, “You Need to Calm Down,” and the video features a star-studded collection of the singer’s friends and a surprising Katy Perry cameo. The singer premiered the video on Monday’s “Good Morning America.” Ellen DeGeneres, Ryan Reynolds, Bobby Berk, Billy Porter, Ciara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Justin Mikita, Adam Lambert, Todrick Hall, Hayley …

Variety reports: Taylor Swift is doubling down on her pro-LGBT activity during Pride month: Less than 24 hours after she dropped her new single “You Need to Calm Down,” which includes shout-outs to GLAAD and the LGBT community, she made a surprise appearance before about 100 people at the Stonewall Inn in New York’s Greenwich Village, the site of the …

Mashable reports: At midnight on Friday, Taylor Swift dropped her new track “You Need To Calm Down,” in what is her most political effort yet. Sitting just under three minutes, the single is a markedly less saccharine experience than her last single “ME!”, but it’s the lyrics, ardent in their support for the LGBTQ community, which has got the internet …

Via press release: Billy Porter, award-winning actor, singer and star of “Pose” on FX has released his new single “Love Yourself” timed to World Pride, available now on all streaming platforms and digital retailers. Porter is a Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor, singer, director, composer and playwright with groundbreaking performances as Pray Tell in Pose on FX, for which he …

Forbes reports: Jay-Z has accumulated a fortune that conservatively totals $1 billion, making him one of only a handful of entertainers to become a billionaire—and the first hip-hop artist to do so. Jay-Z’s steadily growing kingdom is expansive, encompassing liquor, art, real estate (homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, Tribeca) and stakes in companies like Uber. To calculate his net …

In a seconds-long clip broadcast this morning by NBC’s Today Show, Madonna confirmed that she will headline NYC’s Pride Island event, formerly known as the Pier Dance, on Sunday June 30th. As most gay New Yorkers know, rumors of Madonna performing at the Pier Dance have raged for literally decades and rose to a fever pitch this year with the …

Variety reports: Taylor Swift literally did not let a minute of Pride Month go by without taking a strong stand on LGBTQ rights. The pop superstar took to Instagram as the calendar turned over into June on the east coast to post an open letter to her Tennessee senator urging passage in the U.S. Senate of the Equality Act, a …

The Daily Beast reports: Kanye West is bemoaning the treatment of Trump supporters, arguing in a new interview that liberals “bully” those who support the president. “Liberals bully people who are Trump supporters,” the rapper said on David Letterman’s Netflix show “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.” The musician also said that Trump supporters are “treated like enemies of America …

The Evening Standard reports: Duncan Laurence propelled the Netherlands to Eurovision 2019 victory after a triumph in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. The Dutch singer lifted the trophy up high in Israel after topping the table with 492 points and beamed as he received the microphone from last year’s winner Netta. Madonna wowed the audience with a two-song performance during …

“I’ll never stop playing music to suit someone’s political agenda nor will I stop speaking out against violations of human rights wherever in the world they may be. My heart breaks every time I hear about the innocent lives that are lost in this region and the violence that is so often perpetuated to suit the political goals of people …

The Associated Press reports: Doris Day, the honey-voiced singer and actress whose film dramas, musicals and innocent sex comedies made her a top star in the 1950s and ’60s and among the most popular screen actresses in history, has died. She was 97. The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed Day died early Monday at her Carmel Valley, California, home. The …

NBC News reports: Peggy Lipton, actress and singer known for her roles in “The Mod Squad” and “Twin Peaks,” and the mother of Rashida Jones, has died at 72 of cancer. Her daughters Rashida and Kidada Jones announced her death in a statement. She had been diagnosed with colon cancer in 2004. Lipton won a Golden Globe and was Emmy-nominated …

The Associated Press reports: Madonna, a pioneer for gay rights, accepted the Advocate for Change Award at the 2019 GLAAD Media Awards with a rousing speech that went from playful to emotional, bringing the audience to its feet. Madonna, teary-eyed from her seat, received the award from Anderson Cooper, Mykki Blanco and Rosie O’Donnell, who gave a powerful speech about …