Concerts and Tours

M.I.A. says Kid Cudi didn't have the guts to fire her directly ... claiming she found out she'd been dumped from his tour when her son called from school and told her she was out.

The "Paper Planes" artist revisited her fallout with Cudi during an appearance on the New York Times' "Popcast," claiming the two still haven't spoken about her removal from the tour. M.I.A. says she never received a call from Cudi or his team and even tried to speak with him after the controversy erupted, but says he wouldn't meet with her.

According to M.I.A., she was in another state when her son called and casually broke the news ... saying, "My son called me from school. He's like, 'Oh, I guess you're coming home.'"

Madonna didn't wait for a sold-out arena to launch her new era ... she took over Times Square instead -- delivering a surprise performance that stopped tourists and commuters in their tracks!

The Queen of Pop turned NYC into her own giant dancefloor Thursday, teaming up with Grindr for a special Pride Month concert celebrating the upcoming release of her album, Confessions II.

When showtime arrived, Times Square was awash in Madonna and Grindr's branding as the pop icon emerged on a raised stage draped in a sheer pink-and-purple veil, mirroring the look from her upcoming album's artwork.

The Black Crowes are set to hit the stage tonight, days after they got into it with fans over a chant about the red, white and blue ... and the backlash hasn’t messed with ticket sales, TMZ has learned. 

A rep for the SJC Cultural Events, Inc., which owns the St. Augustine Amphitheatre where the group is performing Tuesday night, told TMZ this afternoon ... "At this point, we have not had any request for refunds."

At Sunday's show in Tampa, fans who attended the show claimed The Black Crowes’ singer Chris Robinson went off after the crowd started a patriotic chant … after seeing the band's Black Crowe character on the big screen dressed as Uncle Sam. 

Kanye West and Travis Scott are receiving no amore from officials in Italy ... because their upcoming shows have been canceled in one region of the country due to security issues.

Prefect Salvatore Angieri -- a local government official -- announced the rapper's shows, which were set to take place in Reggio Emilia in July, will no longer take place after members of the local Jewish community complained about Kanye.

The regional prefecture acknowledged the cancellation of Kanye's previous shows by other countries played a role in the decision. Remember, Ye was banned from entering the UK due to his past antisemitic comments.

Vanilla Ice says President Donald Trump isn't the only politician who can book him ... he'd perform for Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin or pretty much anybody else willing to dance ... and he's not apologizing for it!!!

The "Ice Ice Baby" rapper joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and told us he isn't sweating the controversy surrounding the upcoming Freedom 250 event in D.C. ... 'cause he's not big on politics and isn't bowing out like many of his peers.

Ice argues music should bring people together -- not divide them -- and he doesn't care who's signing the check or hosting the party. In fact, he tells Harvey he'd happily show up if Biden called asking him to perform at a family wedding.

Bret Michaels is the latest musician to cancel their scheduled performance at the Trump-backed Great American State Fair's "Freedom 250" this summer.

The former Poison frontman announced on Thursday that he was bailing on the event -- touted as a celebration of America's 250th birthday -- noting that he was misled about its purpose when he booked it, saying ... "Unfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of."

He also said the "unfounded and unforgivable" threats over the event made him concerned for the safety of himself, his family, band, and crew.

Bruce Springsteen's pissed President Donald Trump wants to compensate people who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 ... calling it an "American outrage."

The rocker roasted DJT at a concert in Washington, D.C., Wednesday night ... launching into a rant against the prez which reportedly lasted about 6 minutes -- and he made it clear he's not supporting taxpayer dollars going to people who assaulted police officers.

Springsteen says he's outraged by Trump's proposal for a $1.776 billion fund to pay out people who attacked American democracy back on January 6, 2021.

5/26 -- 11:50 AM PT -- Zayn responded to the video on IG, making it clear his fans are "always respectful and amazing" -- and said, "the issue was the multiple fully grown men that were blocking the doors of the hotel and the car for 10 minutes not letting us or security out."

Zayn Malik only had one direction on his mind -- straight into his waiting car ... but unfortunately for him, fans had other plans!

Check out this clip of Zayn leaving his hotel in Manchester, UK -- where a swarm of fans got way too close and blocked him from even opening the car door ... leading to the very frustrated singer yelling, "Get the f*** out of the way!"

Zayn eventually forced the door open and jumped inside -- while a female member of his entourage can also be heard trying to figure out how she was supposed to squeeze into the car chaos too.

YUNGBLUD looked happy and unbothered with girlfriend Jesse Jo Stark ahead of his San Diego show ... stepping out together before taking the stage as part of his "YUNGBLUD: Idols World Tour," just days after Machine Gun Kelly stirred up online drama with comments about the singer.

The singer spent some downtime with Jesse before the concert Wednesday afternoon at The Rady Shell ... keeping things low-key while gearing up for another stop on his North American run.

MGK sparked the drama after YUNGBLUD shared a video discussing how "live music has become inaccessible," part of his ongoing push to create more affordable fan experiences through projects like BLUDFEST.

Harry Styles’ team is reviewing parts of the stage setup for his "Together, Together" tour ... after some fans complained about restricted views from certain sections in the stadium.

A rep for the tour tells TMZ ... "The floor concept was designed to give fans freedom of movement and the ability to experience the show from different positions, rather than being confined to one fixed viewing angle. That open, free-flowing floor experience has always been an essential part of Harry’s live shows."

The statement continues ... "A small area of the staging in specific floor positions appears to have had a restricted sightline. Those areas are being reviewed carefully and adjusted where possible in compliance with all safety restrictions."

Harry Styles launched his "Together, Together" tour in Amsterdam Saturday night with none other than Zoë Kravitz spotted in the crowd, supporting her reported fiancé.

The actress was seen attending Styles’ show in The Netherlands, where the singer launched his latest run of performances to a packed arena ... following the release of his album "Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally."

Kravitz appeared relaxed and like a proud wifey as she watched from the audience -- alongside comedian and longtime friend of Styles, James Corden -- cheering on her reported fiancé during the high-energy set.

Nick and Joe who?! Because Kevin Jonas has officially entered the chat when it comes to the debate on which Jonas Brother is hottest. 

Kevin’s wife Danielle posted a video of Kevin in the gym, fully flaunting his abs and biceps as he works out, captioning it “'Little Things' out now and apparently so are the abs.”

And while this obvious thirst trap is to help Kevin promote his new single, only his second ever solo song, we are going to allow it because the song honors his 16th wedding anniversary with Danielle! Awww… Which makes sense why she would want to promote it as well…

Chris Christie might be the former governor of Bruce Springsteen's home state, but Bruce is still "The Boss" ... sauntering right past the Republican politician in a wild new video.

The clip -- taken at Springsteen's Brooklyn concert Thursday -- shows Springsteen high fiving a few fans as he made his way down a walkway during the show ... before turning a corner where Christie's standing with a couple other dudes.

CC extends his hand to Bruce ... who walks right past him. Unclear if he saw the former governor or not -- but it's certainly got many fans chuckling.

Christie recovers quickly ... jerking back his hand and clapping in time to the music.

Kanye West just got hit with another major blow ... 'cause an upcoming concert in India has been suspended over security fears.

The controversial rapper was supposed to perform May 23 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi ... but organizers White Fox announced Friday they're axing that date after government and police warnings tied to the capital's current high-alert situation.

The organizers said safety comes first ... especially after spending months prepping what they claimed would've been one of the biggest live productions India's ever seen.

Kanye West has gone from "death con 3" when it comes to Jewish people to striking a deal with an Israeli businessman to put on a concert ... oh, how the times have changed!

The rapper has officially partnered with Guy Beser and Blue Stone Productions to play a show at Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi, Georgia -- and 70,000 tickets for Ye's show sold out within a day.

The show was first reported by Rolling Stone ... and the outlet said the concert was being produced by Beser's Live Nation Israel -- but, Live Nation tells us it's not promoting or producing the show, and it's all being done by Beser's independent production company, Blue Stone.

Live Nation tells us it's partnered with Beser and BSP in the past -- and the promotion giant reportedly bought a majority stake in BSP back in 2017. However, a Live Nation spokesperson tells TMZ ... it has no skin in the game for Ye's Georgia date.

Beser's LinkedIn page says he founded Live Nation Israel and serves as CEO.

Chris Brown had some ... choice words for haters after Pitchfork gave his new album an awful review -- and even shaded Zara Larsson in the process.

Check out his heated Insta Story from Tuesday -- he tells fans he knows they want him to say something about the criticism ... but instead, he says "We kickin' they ass!" He takes his passionate clapback to the next level, adding ... "I'ma keep my foot on they neck and we ain't stopping."

He says he's all about his fans and getting on his upcoming "The R&B Tour" with Usher, which is set to kick off in June. And, he encourages the haters to go listen to Swedish pop star Zara, who recently said she has Chris' music -- along with other abusers -- blocked on Spotify.