Pop Music

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 …

Reuters reports: Martin Shkreli has been sued in New York by a digital art collective that said it paid $4.75 million for a one-of-a-kind album by the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, only to learn that the convicted pharmaceutical executive made copies and is releasing the music to the public. Shkreli paid $2 million in 2015 for “Once Upon a Time …

Mediaite reports: Rapper and actor 50 Cent insisted on Wednesday that he was Chlamydia-free after meeting with Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and complimenting the congresswoman’s appearance. During a trip to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, 50 Cent met with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and …

Rolling Stone reports: June 1 marked the beginning of Pride Month, which apparently irked one concertgoer Saturday at Adele’s residency show in Las Vegas. In a brief video from the concert posted by Popbase, Adele clapped back at the fan who reportedly and audibly yelled “Pride sucks” between songs. “Did you come to my fucking show to say pride sucks? …

Rolling Stone reports: The dispute tied to Cher’s suit goes back many years. When she and Sonny settled their divorce in 1978, it was determined that Cher was entitled to a 50 percent stake in the Sonny & Cher publishing catalog. After Sonny died in 1998, Cher and Bono’s heirs entered a partnership over the songs. But in 2016, Mary …

The Daily Beast reports: After switching from white wine to bourbon and Coke midway through a sitdown with Rolling Stone, the MAGA-loving rocker began “shouting” at the journalist, David Peisner, who reports that his subject proceeded to pull out a handgun and wave it in his face. “And I got a fucking goddamn gun right here if I need it!” …

Religion News reports: Conservative Christians are accusing the pop star Madonna, who gave a free concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach May 4, of including satanic rituals in the show, with catastrophic consequences for Brazil. The concert, the last stop on Madonna’s The Celebration Tour, drew more than 1.6 million Brazilians and fans from neighboring countries and was aired …

The Associated Press reports: The Netherlands’ contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest who was dramatically expelled from the competition hours before the grand finale will likely be charged for making illegal threats, Swedish police said Monday. Joost Klein had failed to perform at two dress rehearsals on Friday and the organizer, the European Broadcasting Union said that police were investigating …

CNN reports: Switzerland’s Nemo won a chaotic and politically fraught Eurovision Song Contest, triumphing in a competition in Sweden that was upstaged by controversy over the presence of Israel. The typically jovial event – one of the most-watched in the world’s cultural calendar – descended into turmoil in recent days, as organizers tried and failed to contain anger aimed towards …

NBC News reports: A Dutch public broadcaster reacted angrily after the Netherlands’ contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest was dramatically expelled from the competition hours before Saturday’s final over a backstage incident that is being investigated by police. The European Broadcasting Union, which organizes Eurovision, said Swedish police were investigating “a complaint made by a female member of the production …

Rolling Stone reports: Madonna closed out her career-spanning Celebration Tour Saturday with a free concert at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s Copacabana Beach in front of 1.6 million fans, setting the record for the largest audience ever for a stand-alone concert by any artist in history. The performance marked Madonna’s first time performing in Brazil since 2012, and was heralded as …

The Christian Post reports: Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, has garnered criticism from faith leaders who have taken to social media this week to express their distaste with the lyrical content that they believe mocks God and Christians. Released last Friday, critics have voiced concern over lyrics that seem to suggest that Christians are both hateful and …

CBS News reports: Mary J. Blige, Cher, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool & The Gang and Ozzy Osbourne have been named to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a class that also includes folk-rockers Dave Matthews Band and singer-guitarist Peter Frampton. Alexis Korner, John Mayall and Big Mama Thornton earned the Musical Influence Award, while the late Jimmy …

The Washington Post reports: As Taylor Swift accepted the Grammy Award in February for best pop vocal album for “Midnights,” she informed the audience that she had been keeping a secret for two years: She had recorded a new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” and it would be released on April 19. When Swift said “two years,” she held up …

Politico Europe reports: Chechnya, we have bad blood. The culture ministry of the Russian republic recently announced it is banning any songs that are too up-tempo — or down-tempo — in a bid to conform with the country’s musical traditions and root out any hint of Westernization. “From now on all musical, vocal and choreographic works should correspond to a …

The New York Post reports: Former 2 Live Crew rapper Luther Campbell is planning to run for Congress to rep his home state of Florida — accompanied by a flashy documentary film to chronicle his challenge to the Washington establishment, The Post can confirm. Campbell, 63, the frontman of the hip-hop legends whose 1989 album “As Nasty As They Wanna …