Music

A$AP Bari -- co-founder of A$AP Mob -- is pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a woman in 2017, but he won't do any time.

The hip-hop designer appeared in a London courthouse Thursday to enter his guilty plea on one count of sexual assault for an incident at London's Curtain Hotel in July 2017.

As part of his plea deal, Bari was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, pay the victim $3,150 ... and he dodges jail time. The judge who presided over the case said, "The court does have concerns in this matter because it has exposed a very unpleasant attitude by you towards women."

She added, "You say that you were angry but there is no need to ever be so abusive and humiliating to a female."

In a leaked video of the incident, Bari can be seen chasing a naked woman who was in bed with his assistant into the bathroom and ordering her to give him oral sex. In addition to the criminal charge ... the victim sued him, and he countersued ... calling her a liar.

The civil case is still ongoing.

Ariana Grande is a hard left turn for Coachella, but it's a turn that was made consciously and involves women, empowerment and perseverance in the face of adversity.

Sources connected with production tell TMZ, choosing Ariana to headline the festival was a little tricky. There have only been 3 other women who headlined -- Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Bjork -- and Beyonce's appearance last year made it all the more daunting to choose a female artist who would not stand in Bey's shadow.

We're told the pick was designed to showcase female empowerment, noting Ariana has been through hell recently but always managed to pick herself up and move forward. Our sources say everyone involved in the decision believes Ariana can measure up to Beyonce ... and they believe it will resonate especially with women. As one source put it, "Ariana is inspirational, and millions of people, particularly women, will connect with her."

They also note Ariana has an international audience, and the media and social media pickup the announcement has generated proves the point.

Justin Bieber's in a singing mood ... and based on what he's singing, he's also in the mood to get some!

The Biebs was waiting with the missus, Hailey Bieber, outside the Montage Hotel in Bev Hills Wednesday night when he broke into song and dance ... inspired by Marvin Gaye.

Check out JB in the vid -- the "Sexual Healing" serenading starts off directed at Hailey, but then he pivots and belts out the lyrics for the world to hear ... before pulling in a random guy for some lovin'.

The dude rolls with it and even snags a selfie with the couple ... then Justin continues putting on a free show.

If this is how he's kicking off 2019, it's gonna be a goood year for the newlyweds.

Ariana Grande will headline this year's Coachella music festival along with Tame Impala and Childish Gambino.

Coachella released its lineup Wednesday night and revealed Ariana will be the final performer of the event ... which goes for two weekends outside Palm Springs, California. Other acts include Kid Cudi, Zedd, Khalid, Pusha T, Solange and Weezer.

Grande is coming off a massive end to 2018, with her single, "Thank U, Next," and plenty of headlines including her broken engagement with Pete Davidson and death of her ex, Mac Miller.

TMZ broke the story ... Kanye was in negotiations as one of the festival's headliners but ultimately decided against it because he wasn't allowed to design his own stage.

Coachella sees more than 100,000 people attend per weekend each year.

Jared Leto's surrounded by a throng of bikini-clad women on a Caribbean island ... and it's pretty clear he's the straw stirring the drink.

The "30 Seconds to Mars" frontman was cruising on a yacht Wednesday in St. Barts with a bunch of very eye-catching friends ... including several women in bikinis and some ripped dudes. It's in the 80s down there -- like always -- so they're feasting on some Vitamin D.

Jared and co. came ashore to stroll the perfect white sand beach and snorkel in the crystal clear waters.

Diddy might want to ask for a refund from his former trainer ... because sources claim the guy he hired to keep Cassie in shape was banging her on his dime ... but she says his timeline is wrong.

Here's what we're told. Diddy's trainer, Jamal Liggin, got so busy he hired several trainers as backup, including Alex Fine. Diddy tagged Alex to train Cassie over the last year.

As we reported, Diddy and Cassie broke up several months ago after a decade-long relationship, but our sources claim Cassie and Alex hooked up before the split. We're told what especially galls Diddy ... he paid Alex to train his then-girlfriend and feels betrayed.

Cassie sure seems smitten with Alex. She has not ever publicly talked about a timeline, but we're told Diddy is convinced there's an overlap.

Sources connected to Alex and Cassie insist the two did NOT start dating until after she broke up with Diddy.

Diddy has bigger issues to deal with, like raising his 3 children after the death of Kim Porter in November. Diddy was destroyed when Kim died, saying they were more than soulmates.

Daryl Dragon, "The Captain" of singing duo Captain and Tennille, died early Wednesday morning ... and love really did keep them together to the very end.

Daryl's publicist says the musician died of renal failure in Arizona, and was in hospice care at the time.

Daryl and Toni Tennille were famous for cranking out huge hits in the '70s, including "Do That to Me One More Time," "Muskrat Love" and "Love Will Keep Us Together." The duo was actually a couple -- they married in 1975. They landed their own TV variety show the next year.

Although they divorced in 2014, they remained friends ... and Toni was by his side when he died. As TMZ first reported ... their divorce docs made specific mention about their health insurance coverage. In 2009, she said Daryl was suffering from Parkinson's Disease. Daryl was blindsided by Toni's filing ... and told us they were still living together at the time.

In a statement, Toni says Daryl "was a brilliant musician with many friends who loved him greatly. I was at my most creative in my life, when I was with him."

Daryl was 76.

Aubrey O'Day rang in the New Year by getting kicked out of her own show ... at a faux birthday party at a strip club in honor of her alleged ex, Donald Trump Jr.

Folks at Larry Flynt's Hustler Club in Las Vegas tell TMZ ... Aubrey threw a fit Monday night when a bday cake was carted out for the Prez's son after she finished her 3-song set.

We're told she was pissed because she was asked to sing "Happy Birthday" to her former fling -- which was allegedly not part of her contract -- then one of her assistants got physical with a cocktail server.

We got video of the ex-Danity Kane member being escorted out after her performance, seemingly at the direction of one of the club's managers who shouts at her to leave the building.

We broke the story ... the New Year's Eve bash was a total troll job by the club, because Larry Flynt famously hates President Trump. Having it hosted by his son's alleged ex-mistress was part of the joke.

Seems like O'Day was tired of playing along though.

We reached out to her ... no word back so far.

Kanye West will NOT be performing at Coachella in April, because negotiations fell apart ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources tell us, the sticking point was the stage. Kanye made it clear he wouldn't perform on a traditional 60x40 foot stage because it was "artistically limiting." Goldenvoice, which produces the festival, would not allow the stage to be altered or removed for Ye's performance. In the end, we're told Kanye passed.

As one source put it, "These 40x60 stages are so archaic. It's the same type of stage on which Shakespeare's works were performed hundreds of years ago."

A Kanye source says after the Saint Pablo tour, Ye wants to give groundbreaking performances. As you know, the Saint Pablo stage moved over the crowd, and Kanye loved it.

For its part, Goldenvoice was not going to disrupt the festival and compromise the other acts to accommodate Kanye.

Demi Lovato looked almost angelic while ringing in the New Year, clearly sticking to her new battle cry -- to never take another day for granted.

The singer and her BF, Henry Levy, celebrated the New Year in Aspen. She was all smiles and dressed to the nines -- flowy, long white fur coat (we know, can't tell if it's real or faux) with boots and a very color-poppin' Hermes Birkin bag.

Demi's jewelry choices might also raise eyebrows -- she's rocking a diamond ring on her left ring finger -- y'know, that one. It doesn't look very engagement-y, and the relationship is only a couple months old -- but stranger things have happened.

10:35 AM PT -- Bonnie's publicist Thomas Santiago tells TMZ ... she'd been dealing with flu-like symptoms in the days leading up to the event, but she'd committed to performing and didn't want to cancel.

We're told she's feeling better now.

Bonnie Pointer lost control, and it doesn't look like she liked it ... but she's a real trooper for powering through a puke and singing her heart out.

The Pointer Sisters cofounder was performing at the historic Wattles Mansion in Hollywood Saturday night when she got ill onstage and threw up ... in her hand.

But, check out the video -- almost immediately afterward Bonnie starts dancing to the beat of the group's most famous song, and is fully composed to belt out the opening verse and chorus of "I'm So Excited."

That's a true show-woman.

Unfortunately, the Pointer Sister got sick again after her initial recovery and had to be helped offstage before the song came to a close.

Cardi B went head-to-head with a New Zealand warrior ... and came away with a HUGE smile.

The rapper got the warmest welcome Wednesday after landing in Auckland where she'll headline in the country's biggest summer (yeah, their seasons are backward) festival ... the Bay Dreams Festival. Cardi was in awe as a warrior from the Kai Haka group embraced her arrival. And, they got really close too.

The warrior gave Cardi a "hongi" greeting by rubbing noses. The group also performed the Haka dance as Cardi soaked it all in. She later posed for pictures with the group before going on her way.

The rapper profusely thanked the group for the performance and told them, "Thank you for sharing your culture with me and I hope I can show you some of mine."

Mac Miller's still making a difference -- his charity foundation's quickly approaching a million bucks in money raised to help kids in his hometown ... TMZ has learned.

Folks at The Mac Miller Circles Fund tell us ... donations have been pouring in from the late rapper's fans and the total is up to around $350,000. The cash will be used to provide programs and opportunities to underserved youth in the Pittsburgh area, "helping them recognize their full potential through exploration in the arts and community building."

Add that money to proceeds from the October 31 tribute concert for Mac -- which we're told is expected to be another $350k -- and the Circles Fund's hauled in $700k since his death.

As we reported ... the tribute show, "Mac Miller: A Celebration of Life," went down at L.A.'s Greek Theatre and featured performances by artists -- and some of Miller's closest friends -- like Chance the Rapper, Travis Scott, SZA and John Mayer.

We broke the story ... Mac died from an overdose in September. According to the toxicology report, it was the result of "mixed drug toxicity" -- specifically fentanyl and cocaine. The Coroner ruled his death accidental.

Mac was 26.

1/2 -- Police revealed in a press conference Wednesday they recovered stolen property belonging to Jason Derulo, Adam Lambert, Dorit Kemsley, and Rebecca Hutton. So far, no case has been filed with the D.A.

A man suspected of burglarizing celebrity and high-end homes -- including Usher's -- has been nabbed by police, who found lots of stolen property worth millions ...TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us cops have arrested a guy who they believe burglarized the R&B singer this past March ... when upwards of $800k worth of property was reportedly taken. We're told police searched the suspect's home with a warrant and discovered more than 2,000 items valued at over $2 million, some of which included Usher's belongings.

We're told other items belonging to a 'Real Housewives' star were also discovered, but it's unclear for now which housewife it might've been. Our sources also tell us that during the investigation, cops learned the suspect had told family members he stumbled on his newfound wealth by doing well in the stock market.

As for how this guy would allegedly go about the break-ins ... we're told cops discovered in their investigation that he would go to open houses at homes on the market, scope the place out, and then return at a later time to burgle the home.

FWIW, our law enforcement sources tell us this suspect is not tied to the big bust from earlier last year, in which police charged multiple suspects for allegedly burglarizing the homes of stars like Rihanna, Yasiel Puig, Viola Davis and others.

Lil Xan has one less thing to stress about as he completes rehab treatments ... because we've learned Xan and the St. Louis rapper who threatened him with gun violence are putting their beef behind them.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the criminal investigation into a series of threats against Xan is now closed. We're told Xan's camp and VladHQ had a sit-down ... and afterward informed police there was no desire to pursue criminal charges.

We broke the story ... VladHQ posted a disturbing video threatening Xan before an October performance in St. Louis. He also posted a pic of himself armed and threatened he would show up at the concert -- and that prompted the venue and promoters to cancel the show.

At the time, we were told the feud was over money. Sources close to the situation tell us ... Xan's associates told Vlad he was taking the wrong approach to settle their differences. Once Vlad made it clear he understood ... both sides agreed to squash the beef.

Win, win for both men -- after all, Xan has more immediate issues on his plate.

Ariana Grande is about that single life heading into the new year, and probably for the rest of her days ... according to her, anyway.

Ari responded to an article on Tuesday which speculated on who she's been seeing lately by hilariously tweeting, "can they tell me too?" She followed up with, "spoiler for the rest of this year / probably my life: it's no one. please refer back to this tweet for future questions."

It goes without saying ... AG's had it rough this year in the love department. She called off her engagement with 'SNL' star Pete Davidson ... and, of course, her ex, Mac Miller, tragically died of an accidental overdose from a mix of fentanyl and cocaine.

Ariana seems to be joking about the never dating again thing, but her point is coming through loud and clear ... her dating life shouldn't be the subject of such scrutiny in 2019.

Have you heard her new single yet? It's her ... she's single.

#thankunext