Pop Music

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 …

The New York Times reports: The stakes could not have been higher for Celine Dion’s first public performance since 2020. After canceling tour dates, in 2022 she announced that she was suffering from a rare neurological disorder known as stiff person syndrome, which causes muscle spasms, including constrictions of her vocal cords. Her performance at the Olympics opening ceremony was …

The BBC reports: American rapper Snoop Dogg has been named as one of the final torchbearers of the Olympic flame before Friday’s opening ceremony in Paris. The 52-year-old will carry the torch through the streets of Saint-Denis in the north of Paris, which is home to the Stade de France Olympic Stadium, on Friday. Snoop Dogg, whose full name is …

Mediaite reports: Anti-woke musician Kid Rock performed at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on the fourth and final night in a spectacle that received a mixed reaction, to say the least. “What up, America?!” he said to the largely middle-aged and elderly crowd upon being introduced on Thursday night. For the next four minutes, the 54-year-old shout-sang to the …

The Associated Press reports: The Beastie Boys are suing the parent company of Chili’s in a case that accuses the chain restaurant of running an advertisement that used the hip-hop trio’s smash hit “Sabotage” without permission. The rap group, in a federal case filed Wednesday in New York, alleged Brinker International created a Chili’s ad that used significant portions of …

The New York Post reports: Justin Timberlake was “wasted’’ before his DWI bust Tuesday — and even picked up someone else’s drink from the table and downed it when its owner went to the bathroom, a witness told The Post. “He was wasted. At one point, just before closing, somebody got up to go to the bathroom and left his …

New York City’s NBC affiliate reports: Justin Timberlake was arrested on Long Island’s Sag Harbor, local police confirmed Tuesday. A court spokesperson says he is expected to be arraigned on at least one DWI charge later in the day. No details on the circumstances of his arrest were immediately available, other than that it happened Monday night. He is currently …