Maroon 5

Last year it was Snoop Dogg ... and Shaq's calling on some of his celebrity friends once again to help him raise cash for a great cause -- the NBA Hall of Famer's throwing his 2nd annual "The Event" in Las Vegas -- and the lineup's packing serious star power!

"We've got some great performers," Shaq told Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1), saying ... "H.E.R., Pitbull, Maroon 5, Maren Morris, John Mulaney, you know this is one of the biggest fundraisers of the year. You know the mission of the Shaquille O'Neal Foundation is to help underserved youth reach their full potential."

The event goes down at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Sin City on Saturday ... and Shaq has partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs and Communities in Schools. All of the money raised will go directly towards charity ... not administrative fees or anyone's pockets.

"All proceeds, all proceeds go to helping underserved youth. Not 85 cents on the dollar, not 95 cents, 100 percent. All proceeds go to helping underserved youth."

Shaq, of course, wants people who are financially able to help ... but if you can't, O'Neal still wants you to come out and enjoy the show.

"We just want people to come and have fun because if you look at the stars we have now, this is a big-time concert."

And, if last year's event is any indication, Saturday's party will be lit. Snoop and Shaq took the stage together in 2021, and performed "Nuthin' but a G Thang."

Adam Levine's owning his lackluster performance at a huge festival in Chile, saying he acted unprofessionally and struggled on stage ... and apologized to everyone in the crowd.

The Maroon 5 frontman and the band were widely criticized for their set during the country's Viña del Mar Festival Thursday, which was broadcast live on TV. Adam was singled out ... ripped for looking disinterested and cold, and was caught on video afterward complaining ... "That was a TV show ... that was not a concert."

Levine's now offering up an explanation, saying he was held back "sonically" -- his sound just wasn't right -- and it got in his head. He says the crappy performance wasn't a dig at the group's Chilean fans ... adding he loves performing in South America.

Unclear if the apology will be enough for the folks in Chile -- they were pretty pissed, -- but Adam promises it won't happen again.

Big Boi is following suit with Travis Scott and Maroon 5 by partnering up with the NFL to donate a bundle of cash, but he's keeping his charitable efforts close to home.

The Outkast rapper -- who performed with Adam Levine and co. during the Super Bowl LIII halftime show -- will announce Thursday a joint donation of $100k from himself and the NFL. We're told the money will be going to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Big Boi's hometown of Atlanta.

Sources familiar with the deal tell TMZ ... the joint donation is similar to the ones the league made with the other halftime performers in Atlanta. Maroon 5's went to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and Travis' went to Van Jones' Dream Corps.

Their donations were announced before the big game, but we're told Big Boi always intended to make one too. He just took longer to announce it because he needed time to decide where the money would be put to the best use -- and The King Center won out.

The Super Bowl LIII halftime came and went, and it featured A LOT of Adam Levine ... who stripped down until there was practically nothing left up top.

Maroon 5 took center stage Sunday midway through the big game, and they ran through a bunch of their early hits to kick things off. As the show went on, Adam lost more and more layers from his torso ... until he was fully shirtless by 'Moves Like Jagger' at the end.

Travis Scott and Big Boi made brief appearances as well -- each of them performed one verse and a hook of their songs, "SICKO MODE" and "The Way You Move," respectively. But no guest appearances here, even though both songs featured big artists like Drake and Andre 3000. Even M5's "Girls Like You" went without a surprise Cardi B visit. Darn ...

Either way, the spotlight always went back to Adam and co. They were the headliners, after all ... and this performance proved it.

Maroon 5 will NOT be taking questions from the media about their Super Bowl halftime show -- the NFL just announced the pre-show press conference is officially OFF.

The halftime show press conference has been a tradition for YEARS -- Justin Timberlake held one last year, Gaga before that ... Prince famously busted out his guitar and rocked out at his back in 2007.

So, why scrap the presser? The NFL says Maroon 5 and the other artists like Travis Scott want to "let their show do the talking" -- but it seems pretty obvious it's all about Kaepernick.

There's been a strong push from big stars like Common and Nick Cannon for the halftime show performers to pull out over the way the league has treated Kap.

Other stars like Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kelly Rowland have said they wouldn't work with the NFL in the wake of Kaepernick's allegations he's been blackballed for taking a knee during the national anthem.

SportsBusiness Journal's Daniel Kaplan says the presser had been on the official schedule of events -- and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport essentially confirmed by saying the presser was "canceled."

The NFL issued a statement saying ... "Maroon 5 has been working hard on a Pepsi Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show that will meet and exceed the standards of this event."

"As it is about music, the artists will let their show do the talking as they prepare to take the stage this Sunday."

Instead of hosting a press conference, the NFL says the artists and the league will participate in a "social and digital media rollout" to promote the show.

The WWE is hitting Maroon 5 with a metaphorical steel chair -- slamming the band's Super Bowl halftime show as trash, in an effort to get fans to watch the WWE's halftime event instead.

Vince McMahon's company unleashed the hit piece Sunday night during the Royal Rumble -- asking fans why the hell they would watch Maroon 5 while they could be watching 6-man tag team match.

WWE even showed a picture of Adam Levine and added booing sound effects to really drive home the point.

It's all to promote WWE's new 'Halftime Heat' show -- featuring wrestlers like Aleister Black, Velveteen Dream and more. It'll air live on WWE Network and various social media platforms as counter-halftime programming.

Yeah, it's a cheap shot at the NFL and Maroon 5 ... but it's funny.

It's official ... Maroon 5 are headlining Super Bowl LIII, and they'll be joined by the likes of Travis Scott and Atlanta hip-hop legend Big Boi.

The band announced the news Sunday with a promo video which lists themselves, Trav and Big Boi as performers for the halftime show. The NFL confirmed on their end, saying M5 will take center stage and TS and BB will be featured as guest artists.

We broke the story ... Travis signed on to perform for Super Bowl 53 late last month, despite tons of backlash from the African-American community. According to a report, Scott only agreed to do the show after the NFL vowed to donate a ton of cash to Dream Corps.

The Big Boi announcement didn't come as a total surprise. We knew organizers were scrambling to snag either him or Cardi B. Looks like they went with a homegrown artist for the big game that'll be played in ATL this year.

DC Young Fly says he's down with Maroon 5 and Travis Scott performing at halftime of the Super Bowl ... but he still feels the NFL made a huge mistake by passing over Atlanta rappers.

The 'Wild 'N Out' star isn't going full Jay-Z -- trying to talk Travis out of performing -- but he supports Colin Kaepernick and thinks the NFL is slapping ATL in the face by snubbing its hip-hop scene ... and he warns a TON of people are gonna raise hell when the big game comes to town.

We broke the story ... the "SICKO MODE" rapper will join M5 at the big show. Travis' new gig is drawing praise and scorn.

DC makes it clear his beef is not with Travis ... he suggests two music icons should join the show and ease tensions in Hotlanta. Hint: think gospel.

Adam Levine is driving ladies wild north of the border ... 'cause one fan snuck onstage and tailed the Maroon 5 singer before getting arrested!

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the 22-year-old woman was busted for public mischief and released without bail.

You gotta watch the vid ... it's an unreal scene inside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto Thursday night during Maroon 5's concert.

You see the woman (white jacket, black pants) dancing onstage in front of the band before sliding past a guitarist and hauling ass down a runway toward Adam ... showing everyone she's got moves like Jagger.

Hip-hop fans pissed at the NFL for the Maroon 5 halftime show decision might have their Hail Mary answered by none other than Cardi B -- but the NFL might have to blink ... TMZ has learned.

Our sources say Cardi is in negotiations to perform her song with Maroon 5, "Girls Like You" -- and the main issue being discussed is whether or not CB gets a solo set. We're told she's getting a lot of offers to perform in early February ... so she's trying to make the best deal possible.

Super Bowl LIII is being held in Atlanta, and some fans were hoping the NFL would give props to the ATL's hot music scene. Needless to say, Maroon 5 isn't checking that box for those fans.

Waka Flocka Flame told TMZ Sports the performers should be black and have connections to ATL.

That's why Cardi would make a lot of sense for the NFL.

Waka Flocka Flame is throwing penalty flags at the NFL for choosing Maroon 5 for the halftime performance at this year's Super Bowl in Atlanta, because he believes the performers should be black.

Waka tells TMZ Sports ... he's upset with the NFL's decision to shun the incredibly long list of Atlanta rappers in favor of a more mainstream performer.

Flocka tells us why Colin Kaepernick's movement could've influenced the halftime show ... and says the NFL is just plain tone-deaf ... disrespecting so many players and fans.

4:30 PM PT -- That was quick. Farsi's struck a deal ... pleading no contest to ONE count of battery. The 2nd count was dropped and he was sentenced to 3 years probation, 52 psych counseling sessions, and 20 days of highway cleanup duty. He must stay 500 yards away from Jimmy Kimmel's studio and all other Hollywood events -- and Adam Levine is also off limits.

The City Attorney also threw in a protective order for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson since Farsi allegedly tossed a rock (clever) at him last month.

Adam Levine wasn't the only victim when that guy blasted him with a bag full of powdered sugar -- and as a result the attacker's been hit with 2 counts of battery ... TMZ has learned.

Navid Farsi was officially charged for covering the Maroon 5 singer's face in confectioner's sugar as he was about to perform on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" earlier this week.

The L.A. City Attorney hit Farsi with a second battery charge because a security guard also got doused in sugar -- although he didn't get the full facial like Adam did.

Adam Levine never had a chance against the sugar bomber outside Jimmy Kimmel's studio Wednesday evening ... and that's evident in this new angle of the attack.

You can see Adam was laser focused at the time ... on signing autographs for the mob of fans gathered to see him -- and the attacker totally blended into the crowd.

Watch the video ... two things are amazing here: 1. Adam is pissed, but is still remarkably calm -- and 2. Maroon 5 fans are rabid.

You gotta see and hear them go berserk. Those young girls kiss their mother's with those mouths?

Nice day for a white welcome -- Adam Levine just got blasted with powdered sugar on his way into Jimmy Kimmel's Hollywood studio.

The Maroon 5 frontman was actually taking time to greet fans when the sugar bomber attacked -- seemingly landing a head shot on Adam with some sweet sweet powder ... and leaving one side of his face completely white. He did NOT look happy. (Check out this new angle of the attack)

Unclear if the attacker was protesting on behalf of any particular group -- or just some idiot prankster -- but he was quickly detained by security until police arrived and arrested him for battery. Adam continued into the studio for his scheduled appearance.

No word on what he and the band will play, but our best guess -- "Sugar."

Many crew members have flat out refused to go to Japan for two concerts later this month, because they're afraid of the cancer risks from the recent nuclear disaster. They also fear another earthquake. Short story -- they are refusing to go to Osaka for a May 17 concert and another concert two days later in Tokyo.

Today in Adelaide, Australia, an angry Scooter Braun -- Justin's manager -- exploded at the crew ... sources who were there tell TMZ.

Braun told the crew, "Man the f**k up and do the right thing by these kids."

But during the meeting -- the 3rd one in 4 days -- members of the crew fired back that it wasn't safe to go and Avril Lavigne and Slash had canceled their Japan concerts.

Scooter said Justin did not want to disappoint the kids who bought tickets and that the Japanese government had given an "all clear" -- that it was safe to be in both cities.