Music

Jennifer Hudson is ready for her close-up as the Queen of Soul herself -- 'cause she's already in character and filming -- as is her onscreen husband, Marlon Wayans.

The Oscar-winning actress and Grammy-winning singer was spotted on set Sunday in NYC, where she was in costume as a young Aretha Franklin for the upcoming biopic about the music icon called 'Respect.' Marlon plays her first hubby and ex-manager, Ted White.

In this scene -- which is supposedly set in Harlem during the mid-60s -- you can see Marlon talking to a group of prostitutes, before collecting money and roughing one up a bit. Jennifer (as Aretha) looks on from a waiting car, and when Marlon gets back in ... they share a passionate kiss. Gotta say ... the production value seems to be pretty high here.

BTW, Jennifer was reportedly hand-picked by Aretha before her death in 2018. She probably couldn't have chosen a better person to play her in a movie. Jen's got the chops on both ends to pull it off -- and so far, she certainly has the early Aretha look down.

And, while Marlon usually plays the funny guy, he comes off as menacing and serious here. That jives with the real-life Ted, who's remembered as a notorious Detroit pimp ... who allegedly abused Aretha before they finally parted ways in 1969.

Kanye West and his Sunday Service team were wrongly accused of charging $55 for a lousy brunch plate ... and now the catering company behind it is taking responsibility.

Kanye and crew performed in Baton Rouge Friday night at a "Brunchella" fundraising event held in front of Bethany Church. Guests were charged $55 per plate ... and one documented their meal on social media -- showing pancakes, sausage and a couple slices of bacon -- the post quickly spread, with many comparing it to the meal served at Fyre Festival.

Kanye and team came under fire ... with people accusing him of being the one who was charging for the subpar meal. However, we're told it was quite the opposite ... in fact, Kanye didn't receive any money to perform Friday and covered all travel costs for his choir as well.

The catering company behind the meal, Lauryn's Fine Catering, tells us, "The catering company acknowledges it did not provide adequate food for ONE attendee and a social media post went viral."

They continue, "Kanye West and the Sunday Service collective should be disassociated with such claims surrounding the food at the event."

West has taken his Sunday Service on the road in the last few weeks ... making stops in Detroit, Chicago, New York City and Jamaica. Prior to the Baton Rouge show, Kanye performed his new "Jesus is King" album for thousands at The Forum in Los Angeles.

Cardi B looked ecstatic as she roamed the grounds of Disneyland with baby Kulture.

The duo hit up a bunch of rides Saturday night under the watchful eye of bodyguards. They took in Fantasyland, took selfies on Dumbo and then went for a carousel ride. They also made it over to Pirates of the Caribbean.

There were delectables as well ... cotton candy in particular.

The duo also took in the fireworks and had such a good time they stayed afterward, as most people left the park.

Chris Kirkpatrick thinks Jessica Biel deserves some king-size candy bars for this year's Halloween costume ... and even though his look-alike wasn't up to snuff, he's still proud of his retired hairdo.

We got Chris at LAX and our guy asks about Jessica dressing up as Justin Timberlake for an 'NSYNC group costume ... and he says she absolutely nailed it!!!

Yes, that's Jessica in the middle rocking what Chris describes as Justin's "old ramen noodle head."

Chris explains the backstory behind the costume ... it's payback from Justin after Jess told Jimmy Fallon she didn't know any of her husband's old 'NSYNC songs. Chris rated her costume for us, pretty generously. He was much less impressed with Justin's unhappy microphone.

The singer also throws some shade toward the guy who tried to recreate his "old pineapple head" from back in the day. Naturally, we asked Chris if he ever regrets that old style.

Look at the pic again. You'll be surprised by Chris' answer.

Chrissy Teigen says John Legend got tipsy and then belted out one of his most famous tunes to a theme park crowd ... leaving him sounding quite different than his usual self.

The model posted a video Saturday of her hubby on stage at Universal Studios from the night before, saying JL had a bit too much of the vino ... which put him in a melodic mood. She tweeted, "John got wine drunk and sang a song at universal studios last night."

Wearing what appeared to be a onesie with his mug stitched on, the singer could be heard attempting to get the lyrics out to his 2013 hit, "All Of Me." Key word ... attempting.

Not to say that John sounded that bad here ... he still crooned better than any Joe even with a bit of booze in his system. But, he's certainly not as polished as he normally is, especially when he tries to hit that high note on the post-chorus "all of me" part. Yeesh ...

As for John ... he had a slightly different version of events, not mentioning any wine in his own post.

He says he and the fam went to Halloween Horror Nights before they shut down, with matching onesies as the costume theme. On the singing moment, he writes ... "Then I found a reluctant DJ with a mic and serenaded myself. It was a night."

Either way, the crowd (and Chrissy) seemed to love every bit of it. Take it away, John!!!

Guns N' Roses front man Axl Rose appeared to be knockin' at heaven's door when he seemed to collapse onstage during a concert, but turns out it was just a nasty fall.

Axl was performing at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Vegas Friday night and as he sang the band's iconic hit, he ate it. You see Axl disappear as he tumbles to the ground.

The 57-year-old rocker got right back up and continued, however, he went off to the side of the stage, got a towel and wiped down the area of the stage where he seemed to lose his balance. It seems there was some sort of liquid that triggered the fall.

The group has been performing in Vegas this year. They performed at the Hard Rock earlier in the summer. They're in the middle of their "Not in this Lifetime ... Tour."

Drake is showering himself with expensive gifts for his 33rd birthday ... dropping more than half a million dollars for a custom diamond ring in the shape of a heart.

Sources with knowledge tell TMZ ... the "Hotline Bling" rapper purchased a 22-carat, heart-shaped diamond ring from Gemma Fine Jewelry as a bday present to himself, and the piece is valued between $600,000 and $800,000.

As you can see, the diamonds are mounted in a platinum setting ... and we're told it's extremely difficult to make a heart-shaped ring of this size -- making this a very rare find.

As we reported ... Drake hosted a star-studded birthday bash at Goya Studios in Hollywood, partying with big celebs like Adele, Snoop Dogg, Kylie Jenner and French Montana.

Drake debuted his shiny new bling at the party -- what better occasion, right -- and on another finger he was rocking his customized $150K Toronto Raptors NBA championship ring.

Our sources say Drake was heavily involved in designing his newest ring, working alongside Gemma Fine founder Ori Vechler … and he's adding it to a growing collection of heart-shaped jewelry.

Yes, Drake loves him some Drake.

Solange Knowles and her husband are no longer together, and it's been that way for a while ... according to the singer.

Solange says she and Alan Ferguson "separated and parted ways" earlier this year -- she's not being any more specific than that. Her announcement comes just as the estranged couple's 5th wedding anniversary approaches.

They tied the knot in a fancy New Orleans ceremony ... with her sis Beyonce and Jay-Z in attendance.

Solange spoke glowingly of Alan in her IG post, saying ... "11 years ago I met a phenomenal man who changed every existence of my life." As for what went wrong? She's keeping it vague for now.

She says, "A n***a ain't perfect, but I'm leaning into the fear of the unknown and all the glory and power I know exist within god and the universe's grace."

Ferguson is a director, and he's done several big-time music videos ... including Solange's acclaimed "Cranes in the Sky" and also, "Don't Touch My Hair."

Famous Dex went down in the middle of a club performance, and appeared to suffer a seizure.

The rapper was onstage for a gig at 1 OAK in WeHo in the early morning hours of Friday when we're told he fainted ... and video shows a couple of guys cradling him by his legs and shoulders as he shakes.

The L.A. Country Fire Department tells TMZ ... it received a call about a person who had suffered a seizure at the club a little before 2 AM. They arrived minutes later, but never transported the patient to the hospital.

We're told the people who rushed to Dex's aid carried him backstage, but it's unclear if they had medical training. It's also unclear why he wasn't taken to a hospital. We've also reached out to the rapper's team ... no word back, so far.

Nearly a year ago, Famous Dex fans were worried about his health when he passed out in the middle of a livestream. We were told at the time he was working to kick drugs after the incident.

Mariah Carey's blown away by what Kanye West is doing at his Sunday Services, and she plans to take a page out of his book ... to make Christmas even better!!!

The legendary singer was leaving Heidi Klum's Halloween party in NYC -- dressed up as the front woman for an '80s hair band -- when we asked about her song "My All" which Ye featured at a recent Service.

She tells us it's incredible and she loves what he's doing with the choir and church service aspect at the events ... and she's going to incorporate it into her upcoming Christmas shows.

Carey had previously tweeted that Kanye's choir was "killing this arrangement and song!" and added ... "I neeeed to speak to whoever put the arrangement together and rewrote the lyrics.. Beautiful. Thank you." Sounds like she got what she wanted.

If ya don't know, Mariah's been hyping up the rerelease of her iconic Xmas album, "Merry Christmas," which came out 25 years ago ... along with her All I Want For Christmas Is You Tour.

She's been playing with her fans on social media by telling them they gotta wait, but now that Friday, November 1 has arrived ... she says it's officially time to get in the spirit.

BTW -- according to Mariah's IG, her Halloween costume is part of a fictitious hair metal band called Spit ... and she's their lead singer, Mimi.

It's a real miracle nobody from the band Crazy Town was seriously hurt after its tour van crashed head-on with a moose ... and images of the aftermath are chilling.

The band tells TMZ ... frontman Seth Binzer, guitarist Elias Tannous and drummer Roland Banks were among the passengers in a van driving down Route 17 in Ontario, Canada just after midnight Thursday when, all of a sudden, it collided with a female moose.

You can see from the video the front side of the van is completely demolished ... with the moose leaving a massive dent -- hood, grill and windshield crushed -- after making impact.

We're told the band escaped serious injuries, but you can see how dazed they were in the seconds after the crash. They were treated by paramedics for cuts and bruises. As for the moose ... unfortunately, it died on impact. This time of year, moose are in heat and these kinds of accidents are sad but common in Canada.

In fact, the band -- best known for its 2000 mega-hit, "Butterfly" -- told us the tow truck company said this was the 5th moose this month alone to be struck by a vehicle on the road.

The only saving grace for the band is probably that they struck a female moose. They're enormous, no doubt ... but full-grown males are much bigger.

Crazy Town eventually hopped into a new van to continue its tour across Canada.

YG says he did NOT step out on Kehlani while partying in L.A. -- and despite a photo seeming to show that -- he insists they remain a strong couple.

We spoke to someone who was partying with the rapper Wednesday night and they tell us a woman did approach YG outside Poppy Nightclub. We're told she got right up in YG's grill and requested a pic while he was sitting in the passenger seat of his car -- but there was no kiss.

Our source says YG told the woman -- who wasn't partying with him or his friends -- he wasn't in the mood to take a photo but she persisted. Video and photos have surfaced showing that exchange, leading to the report claiming YG cheated.

We're told YG -- who was at Poppy for Todd Gurley's Halloween bash -- was pretty intoxicated, and he regrets putting himself in a situation that's now being misconstrued.

As for Kehlani, we're told she's all Gucci with her man -- so, YG's dodged the ultimate bullet.

Travis Scott's pulling out of a big music festival in Las Vegas this weekend ... seemingly because he needs more time to heal his injured knee.

The rapper just announced he won't be able to make it for his headlining gig at Day N Vegas -- which is going down at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds Friday through Sunday.

Scott apologized on Twitter to all the ragers planning on attending, saying he's unable to "pull up" but promises to be back soon.

Trav was set to take the main stage on Saturday, but now that honor goes to Future x Metro Boomin. J Cole's headlining Friday and Kendrick Lamar on Sunday.

We broke the story ... Travis suffered a dislocated knee while performing earlier this month at NYC's Rolling Loud Fest. He landed on his leg awkwardly as he was jumping up and down during a song, but popped up and finished the show nonetheless.

All signs pointed to him having surgery to fix the injury, but it's unclear if he ever did or just needs more time to recoup naturally.

The wildfires raging in California are forcing tons of farm animals to be packed up and moved to safety ... including a pig in a blanket who can play the piano.

Nearly 200 animals are being evacuated to Pierce College in Woodland Hills -- it has an agricultural program -- and the farm manager on campus, Marcie Sakadjian, tells us they've run out of room to keep the displaced critters.

Pierce College works in partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control ... the institution started taking in large animals evacuated from the Getty Fire earlier this week, and more started showing up today as a result of the Easy Fire in the Simi Valley.

We're told Pierce College is housing about 170 animals on its 30-acre farm -- mostly horses in addition to goats, alpacas and a pig who arrived with a blanket and a piano. Seriously.

The piano-playing pig, Romeo, is a 15-year-old potbelly and his owner tells us he can also play the tambourine. We're told Romeo's been lifting the spirits of the Pierce College volunteers by playing his unique brand of music. Yes, Romeo's getting piggy with it.

Pierce College is housing the animals in 3 large barns, and we're told the school recently built about 50 temporary pens that are coming in handy. Students, staff and volunteers are working around the clock to feed and take care of the animals, and the good news is the critters are showing up in good health with no signs of burns from the fires.

With Pierce College at capacity, we're told other large animals are being evacuated to another location in Ventura County.

Meanwhile, an alpaca farm in Somis, CA -- about 7 miles West of the Easy Fire -- is preparing to evacuate its 38 alpacas, 2 dogs and 4 cats ... this according to "Alpacas & Beyond" owner Kim Marziole. She says 3 of the alpacas are special needs animals.

It sounds like a crazy scene at the alpaca farm ... we're told there's horses running around on the loose and smoke is filling the air surrounding the farm.

Nicki Minaj's husband went to great lengths to put a ring on her finger ... overseeing the making of her wedding band every step of the way and throwing down a massive wad of cash to secure it.

Nicki is finally showing everyone the diamond goods ... and the jeweler who made it tells us Kenneth Petty handled the design, delivery and paid for it on his own. We're told the band is valued at $1.1 million.

Rafaello and Co tells us Kenneth commissioned them to make their wedding rings, working together on a design for several months. Nicki's custom bling features a 17-carat center with VVS2-clarity diamonds.

The jeweler tells us Kenneth wanted a traditional wedding ring for Nicki -- nice diamonds and nothing too gaudy -- because he knows that's her style.

As for Kenneth's band ... we're told it's customized with the words "Ken & Barbie" on the inside of the ring. Nicki's doesn't have an inscription, but we're told there was simply no room for one.

We're told the jeweler flew from New York City to Los Angeles a few days before Nicki's wedding to deliver the rings ... they came in a customized jewelry box that plays a photo slideshow of the couple to the tune of Nicki's song, "Come See About Me."

TMZ broke the story ... Nicki and Kenneth got hitched last week in L.A. in a super low-key ceremony, rushing to the altar with her pastor because their marriage license was about to expire.

Sounds like things are going great for the newlyweds ... their jeweler tells us Nicki and Kenneth are "definitely in love and happy."

R. Kelly's officially got problems from head-to-toe -- an infection on one of his little piggies forced him to miss a date ... with the judge.

The singer's lawyer, Steven Greenberg, says Kelly was absent from federal court in Chicago Wednesday because he had an infection that required his toenail to be removed.

Kelly was worried someone would step on his ailing tootsie if he appeared in the courtroom ... according to Greenberg. He adds that Kelly is in a walking boot as he recovers from the infection and procedure.

As for the hearing ... it was mostly procedural and just the lawyers for both sides were present -- no defendants were there either. The next hearing was scheduled for February.

The case is one of several sexual assault cases against Kelly ... he's also facing federal charges in New York and has state cases in Illinois and Minnesota.

No word if any future hearings for any of those cases will be impacted by the, umm ... bump and grinding of his toenail. Nasty.