Pop Music

Variety reports: After a confusing turn of events on Sunday, reps for Janet Jackson tell Variety that an unusually worded “apology” for the singer’s ill-informed comments about Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ racial background was made by a person who is not the singer’s manager, as he had claimed, and thus was not authorized to speak on her behalf. The …

The Daily Beast reports: Janet Jackson spouted misconceptions about Kamala Harris’ racial identity in an interview with The Guardian published on Saturday. “She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian. Her father’s white,’ the singer and dancer said, adding “I haven’t watched the news in a few days. I was told that they discovered her father was white.” …

People Magazine reports: Sean “Diddy” Combs is on suicide watch as he awaits trial in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, sources tell PEOPLE. Combs, 54, was arrested at a Manhattan hotel on the night of Monday, Sept. 16. The next day, his indictment was unsealed, revealing that he’s charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. MDC, which …

The New York Times reports: A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Sean Combs to remain in jail until his trial for sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy, rejecting an appeal by the music mogul’s lawyers requesting that he be released on bail. At Mr. Combs’s arraignment on Tuesday, a magistrate judge rejected Mr. Combs’s bail request and ordered him detained, citing …

Variety reports: After months of accusations of sexual misconduct and other allegations, Sean “Diddy” Combs was charged Tuesday on three counts: racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking of children by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution, according to legal documents. He is expected to appear before a judge Tuesday morning, where the charges will be read. His lawyer, …

The Associated Press reports: Sean “Diddy” Combs, the hip-hop mogul who has faced a stream of allegations by women accusing him of sexual assault, was arrested late Monday in New York after he was indicted by a federal grand jury. The indictment was sealed and details of the charges weren’t immediately announced by prosecutors, but the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, …

Billboard Magazine reports: Donald Trump infringed copyrights by using Eddy Grant’s iconic “Electric Avenue” in a 2020 campaign video without permission, a federal judge ruled Friday (Sept. 13), rejecting Trump’s argument that he made legal fair use of the song. The video at issue, shared by Trump on Twitter, featured a red “Trump” train outrunning a handcar driven by Biden, …

The Bipartisan Report reports: Taylor Swift, the popular singer, endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris — and her running mate, Tim Walz — this week. And in a message posted online, Swift included a link to a voter registration website, which according to new information, subsequently got some serious traffic. Swift is known for a particularly loyal, impassioned fanbase. Harris, …

The Associated Press reports: Taylor Swift, one of the music industry’s biggest stars, endorsed Kamala Harris for president shortly after the debate ended on Tuesday night. “I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos,” Swift wrote in an Instagram …

The New York Times reports: Sergio Mendes, the Brazilian-born pianist, composer and arranger who brought bossa nova music to a global audience in the 1960s through his ensemble, Brasil ’66, and remained a force in popular music for more than six decades, died on Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 83. His family said in a statement that his death, …

CNN reports: A federal judge has ruled former President Donald Trump and his campaign must pause on using the song “Hold On, I’m Coming.” The decision came after the estate of the late R&B artist and songwriter Isaac Hayes sought an emergency injunction to stop the Trump campaign from using the song at campaign events, alleging the campaign does not …

Business Insider reports: Lawyers for former president Donald Trump and the dance-floor icon Eddy Grant are “gonna rock down to” a Manhattan courtroom on Friday for a face-to-face fight over the musician’s ’80s hit “Electric Avenue.” Grant sued Trump four years ago for tweeting a cartoon making fun of Joe Biden that used 40 seconds of the song as a …

The Hill reports: Jack White is blasting former President Trump’s campaign and threatening a lawsuit after an aide to the former president posted a clip that featured a song by The White Stripes. “Oh….Don’t even think about using my music you fascists,” White wrote Thursday on Instagram. “Law suit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your five …

Politico Europe reports: Is this Trump’s Waterloo? Legendary Swedish pop group ABBA on Thursday demanded that former U.S. President Donald Trump stop playing their hits at his election campaign rallies. “We, together with the members of [ABBA], have discovered that videos have been released where Abba’s music has been used at Trump’s events and have requested that such use be …

Billboard Magazine reports: Donald Trump may consider Robert F. Kennedy Jr. his hero, given he played the Foo Fighters’ 1997 anthem “My Hero” to welcome him to the stage at a rally Friday (Aug. 23) in Glendale, Arizona, after the independent presidential candidate suspended his campaign and endorsed the Republican nominee — but the band is calling the move a …

The Associated Press reports: Convention roll call votes can be staid and cheesy, but Democrats turned theirs into the ultimate dance party on Tuesday. DJ Cassidy stood onstage in what appeared to be a double-breasted satin suit of royal blue, spinning a special song for each state and territory awarding their delegates to Vice President Kamala Harris. What America got …

The Root reports: If there’s one thing Donald Trump knows how to do, it’s piss off Black people. From his comments about migrants “taking Black jobs” during his June debate with President Joe Biden to his farfetched accusations of Vice President Kamala Harris “turning Black” at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago last week, he really knows …

The Washington Post reports: Singer Celine Dion says the use of her song “My Heart Will Go On” at former president Donald Trump’s rallies is unauthorized and not endorsed, after the ballad was played at the Republican presidential candidate’s event in Montana last week. Sony Music Entertainment Canada “became aware of the unauthorized usage of the video, recording, musical performance, …

NBC News reports: The prime suspect in the plot to attack Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras Tour shows in Vienna confessed that he had planned to kill himself and a large number of other people with knives and explosive devices, officials in Austria said Thursday. The 19-year-old Austrian with North Macedonian roots had downloaded manuals for bomb building, Omar Haijawi-Pirchner [photo], …

NBC News reports: Two men were arrested Wednesday in connection with alleged planned attacks at major events in Vienna, Austria, including Taylor Swift’s upcoming concerts. One of the men arrested by Austrian federal and state police was a 19-year-old who allegedly pledged his allegiance to ISIS, Vienna State Police Director Franz Ruf and Police Chief Gerhard Purstl said at a …