Music

Marie Fredriksson -- lead singer for the pop-rock duo, Roxette -- has died after a 17-year battle with cancer ... TMZ has learned.

According to her management group ... the Swedish musician passed away Monday. After being diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2002, Marie received aggressive treatment that was ultimately successful, allowing Roxette to return after a long hiatus and release new music.

However, Marie was advised by doctors to stop touring and focus on her health in 2016.

Roxette formed in 1986 and became an international sensation with their breakout #1 hit in 1989 -- "The Look."

The duo's success continued the following year with the single "It Must Have Been Love," which was featured on the soundtrack of the iconic Julia Roberts/Richard Gere rom-com, "Pretty Woman."

The group's other big hits include "Listen to Your Heart" and "Joyride." All in all, Roxette put out 10 albums to go along with 10 major tours.

Marie's management says she "leaves us a grand musical legacy." It says, "Her amazing voice – both strong and sensitive – and her magical live performances will be remembered by all of us who was lucky enough to witness them," adding ... "But we also remember a wonderful person with a huge appetite for life, and woman with a very big heart who cared for everybody she met."

Her former bandmate, guitarist and singer Per Gessle, says ... "Thank you, Marie, thanks for everything. You were an outstanding musician, a master of the voice, an amazing performer. Thanks for painting my black and white songs in the most beautiful colours. You were the most wonderful friend for over 40 years."

Fredriksson's survived by her husband and 2 children.

She was 61.

Juice WRLD's death is another heart-breaking example of the drug epidemic in rap ... so says ex-NBA player Larry Sanders, who tells TMZ Sports he hopes people can learn from the tragedy.

TMZ broke the story ... the 21-year-old died on Sunday after suffering a seizure. Law enforcement sources say the "Robbery" rapper swallowed a bunch of Percs to hide them from the feds during a drug raid, which could have played a role in his death.

Of course, rappers like Mac Miller and Lil Peep have also died due to drug-related issues ... and Sanders says the glorification of drugs in rap culture is becoming a serious issue.

"I think these kids are starting young and it's getting embedded into the culture," Sanders says.

"It's an epidemic. Hopefully, the kids can learn from these horrible mistakes and make better choices, but it seems like the outcome's the same."

Of course, Sanders has been outspoken about his own battle with depression and anxiety ... and has become an advocate for mental health treatment in the hopes people can explore safer options than self-medicating.

"The conversation is what's gonna be important ... inspiring the youth to be brave enough to talk about how they feel."

French Montana is back on the social circuit ... hitting up a hot WeHo restaurant Monday night ... resurfacing in public after a prolonged, scary hospital stay.

French grabbed dinner with his pal, Megan Thee Stallion, at Catch restaurant. They arrived and left separately.

TMZ broke the story ... French was rushed to the hospital last month with an undisclosed illness ... with symptoms that included severe stomach pain and an elevated heart rate. He believes the problems surfaced as a result of seriously overworking.

He was laid up in ICU for 7 days before being moved to a private room. In all, he was hospitalized for nearly 2 weeks.

Doctors have ordered French to bed rest for 30 days. He's allowed to grab some grub, but no working, traveling, exercising, performing or partying ... though, since his new album, "Montana," just dropped.

The private jet Juice WRLD flew on to Chicago was loaded down with 70 pounds of marijuana ... and cops say people on the plane told them the rapper had popped several pills prior to suffering seizures.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the FBI confiscated the huge stash of weed from several suitcases that were on board the flight. We obtained this photo of the marijuana and luggage in the private jet terminal at Midway.

According to law enforcement, several members of Juice's team aboard the flight -- which landed around 1 AM Sunday -- told them Juice had taken "several unknown pills" prior to the seizures which led to him getting rushed to a hospital.

Further, we're told one of Juice's associates told authorities the 21-year-old rapper has a Percocet problem. Our law enforcement sources also say a bottle of codeine cough syrup was found on the plane.

Juice has admitted abusing lean, or codeine cough syrup, in the past -- and taking prescription pills like Percocet. His cause of death hasn't been determined ... the Cook County Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy on Monday.

Two men -- Chris Long and Henry Dean -- were arrested for possession of handguns. We're told cops recovered 3 guns in total. Dean was released without bail, and Long is out after posting a $1,500 bond.

The relationship between Chris Cornell's widow and his former band is in black days, to say the least ... because she's suing over money and the rights to 7 unreleased recordings.

Vicky Cornell filed legal docs, claiming the remaining members of Soundgarden are withholding hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties owed to her and Chris' minor children.

She calls the move an "unlawful attempt to strong-arm Chris' Estate into turning over certain audio recordings created by Chris before he passed away."

The rights to those recordings -- some of Chris' final ones -- are the crux of the dispute between Vicky and the band. According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, she says the 7 tracks were "solely authored by Chris; contain Chris' own vocal tracks; and were bequeathed to Chris' Estate" for the benefit of her and their kids.

Vicky claims she's offered to share the recordings with Soundgarden, so they can be released in a way that respects Chris' wishes -- including having his producer involved -- but she says the band refused.

She also accuses lead guitarist Kim Thayil of putting her family in harm's way by suggesting she's the main obstacle to Soundgarden putting out another album.

In the docs, filed by powerhouse attorneys Marty Singer and James Sammataro, Vicky says those comments are intentionally misleading to Soundgarden's "loyal, rabid fan base" ... and she believes Thayil knows Chris worked on the music solo.

However, Soundgarden is claiming Chris and the other members had been "working on the files in a collaborative effort." In a letter to Vicky, they say ... "The entire band was feeling very positive about their rekindled artistic energy and creativity" before Cornell died.

It also lists various members as co-songwriters along with Chris on 5 of the 7 disputed recordings.

Vicky's not buying it, and wants the judge to declare Chris' estate the sole owner of the unreleased tracks ... and force the band to fork over the alleged unpaid royalties.

R. Kelly's former tour manager, Demetrius Smith, will testify on the singer's marriage to Aaliyah in one of his federal trials ... but he doesn't want to see Kelly thrown in prison.

Demetrius claims he purchased a fake ID for Aaliyah back in 1994, when she was only 15, so she would be able to marry Kelly ... but he tells us he doesn't want that to be the reason Kelly gets convicted.

As we first reported ... prosecutors say the fake ID purchase constitutes bribery, and they've added the allegation to the racketeering charge against Kelly in the Eastern District of New York.

The way Demetrius sees it, Aaliyah's parents have known about the allegation for over a decade -- Smith wrote about it in his book and spoke out about it in "Surviving R. Kelly" -- and they made their peace with it and moved on ... so he wants others to do the same.

Demetrius also says he hates to see Aaliyah's name getting dragged into Kelly's case all these years after her tragic death ... and he thinks prosecutors are just trying to lock Kelly up without looking at the bigger picture.

Instead of a prison sentence, Demetrius thinks Kelly needs to get mental help.

Kanye West might've been somewhat absent from his first opera in L.A. -- but he seems ready to make up for that tenfold with a silver bullet solution ... oh, mother of God.

We mean that literally!!! Ye's down at Art Basel in Miami right now, ready to premiere his new opera, dubbed "Mary." You might've heard of her -- she was Jesus's virgin mom ... a big deal in Christianity and elsewhere. Looks like Kanye dedicated a whole production to her.

It also appears he and others involved in the opera are actually going to be on stage and involved in the goings-on of the story ... completely covered in silver, head to toe.

Based on a quote Ye included in his description of the opera, it's a safe bet this is basically gonna portray the Nativity story ... in which Mary miraculously became pregnant and gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem, welcoming royal visitors from distant lands for the occasion.

As for what the silver outfits might mean ... it's anyone's guess. Kanye and co. may be playing angels of some sort, or maybe Christmas stars guiding the way? Time will tell ...

You'll recall ... Kanye's 1st opera, Nebuchadnezzar, got mixed reviews when it debuted at the Hollywood Bowl last month. It took forever for the show to actually start, and it ended pretty quickly too. Ye didn't perform either -- he just narrated from behind the curtain.

Juice WRLD, the talented young rapper and singer whose career was just taking off, is dead after suffering a seizure in Chicago's Midway airport ... TMZ has learned.

Juice's flight from California landed early Sunday morning and, after deplaning ... witnesses tell us he suffered the seizure while walking through the airport. Law enforcement sources say he was bleeding from the mouth when paramedics got on scene.

We're told Juice -- real name Jarad Anthony Higgins -- was still conscious when he was transported by Chicago Fire. However, he was pronounced dead a short time later at the hospital. The cause of death was determined to be an accidental overdose.

Juice WRLD's major-label career was just starting after he almost climbed to the top of the charts in 2018. His first huge hit came in summer 2018 with "Lucid Dreams" ... which made it to #2.

His song, "All Girls Are the Same," also became a hit when Lil Yachty was featured on the remix.

In fact, it was that song's success that drew the attention of Interscope Records ... which signed him to a multi-million dollar contract. One month after releasing his first studio album, "Goodbye & Good Riddance" ... Juice released the 2-track EP, "Too Soon," as a tribute to Lil Peep and XXXTentacion.

Juice also had a feature on Travis Scott's enormous "AstroWorld" album, singing the hook on the track, "No Bystanders."

Higgins' stage name was reportedly inspired by Tupac Shakur's performance in the 1992 film, "Juice."

Juice WRLD just turned 21 last Monday.

RIP

Megan Thee Stallion is keeping her "Hot Girl Summer" going strong into the winter -- 'cause she says she's unattached ... and ready for a certain type of guy to step up to the plate.

We ran into the MC Saturday in Bev Hills, where she was ready to splurge at Louis Vuitton with a small entourage in tow. Before she went in though, our camera guy asked point-blank ... is it true? Are ya single, Meg??? She doesn't play coy ... confirming with a firm yes.

She'd previously been linked to rapper Moneybagg Yo, but clearly ... they're dunzo.

Then comes a natural follow-up ... what kind of guy can get her under a mistletoe this year. Check it out -- Megan's not too picky, it seems ... she'll take a good heart and a good laugh.

Another pap on the scene tried shooting his shot right then and there, but it doesn't seem like she was too receptive. Hey, at least he tried ... that's all ya can do sometimes.

Anyway, we got Meg on her way out as well and it looks like she went to town on new gear. She got into a waiting sprinter van, and someone of note hopped in right behind her.

New couple alert??? Maybe ... or he might just be another member on the team 🤷🏽‍♂️.

Dave Grohl is taking audience participation to the next level ... 'cause if you're thirsty at a Foo Fighters show, ya just might score a free beer ... and slam it onstage with Dave!!!

FF played the Intersect Music Festival in Las Vegas Saturday night, and Dave invited one lucky, Santa hat-wearing, beer-loving fan up for a shotgun challenge. Both cracked their cans of brew -- Coors Light, apparently -- at the same time.

Looks like the fan edged out Dave, who has lots of experience drinking onstage -- it's kinda his thing.

Although, thankfully, this time he managed to avoid falling. Dave joked that shotgunning made the beer "surprisingly refreshing."

Later, he got serious (not really) about getting his plans for after the show. Remember, they were playing a festival, and apparently Dave was keeping a close eye on the EDM acts playing a neighboring stage.

A Nipsey Hussle mural got damaged by a couple of rowdy kids who need to learn a lesson about respect and vandalism ... one that really sticks.

Sources at Sneakertopia Los Angeles -- where the Nipsey homage is on display -- tell TMZ ... a group of 6 adults and 9 children were checking out the street art exhibit earlier this week, and the young'uns were NOT on their best behavior.

Security footage shows one kid hopping up on a ledge in front of the painting of the rapper, and then jumping up to place a "Frugal" sticker on one of Nipsey's eyes. He gives it a few extra jump-slaps to really plaster it on there too.

A little while later, another tiny vandal -- equipped with his own sticker -- does the same thing to Nip's other eye and then runs off. Even more brazen ... the crew poses for pics in front of the mural with stickers in plain view.

As you can see, removing the stickers took some of the paint with it, leaving behind 2 large blemishes on Nipsey's face.

Here's Cedric The Entertainer singing his new Christmas album on the spot ... with an a capella version of some holiday classics that removes any doubt he was using autotune.

We got the comedian at the Bounce Trumpet Awards in Hollywood and our guy asked Cedric to show off his pipes and prove he's no T-Pain ... and boy does he ever deliver!!!

Cedric launches into an abbreviated rendition of "Winter Wonderland" then blesses us with his take on "Deck The Halls." Dude's definitely an entertainer.

As you know ... Cedric's making his singing debut on a new holiday EP, "A Powerbase Christmas," turning up the swag to build a snowman in a meadow.

Some folks couldn't believe Cedric was actually singing, but now we know the dude's not taking a page from Milli Vanilli.

Bonus points to our photog for singing along ... ya gotta hear their duet.

Jason Aldean made a triumphant return to Sin City -- playing his first concert there since the 2017 massacre that left 58 dead ... and wounded hundreds more.

The country singer performed Friday night at the Park MGM, which marked the first of three headlining shows he's putting on as part of his brief Ride All Night residency. Seeing how it'd been 2 years since Jason got on stage in Vegas ... he made sure to address the situation.

A few songs in, JA paused to shout out anyone who might've been there from his 2017 performance at the Route 91 Harvest Festival ... calling them "family." He also mentioned it was his first time back since then but didn't explicitly discuss the shooting.

He did make a promise though ... saying he came back to "blow it out" for the crowd, and finish what they'd started at Route 91. The audience absolutely ate it up.

At the end of his set, Jason covered Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" -- which lots of folks took as a nod to the tragedy and a sign of resilience. He's got 2 more shows this weekend.

You'll recall ... the initial shots Stephen Paddock fired rang out in the middle of Jason's set two years ago during the outdoor country music festival. At first, he didn't seem to notice ... but was quickly whisked off stage once it became clear what was happening.

Paddock was holed up in his room at the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel and had an arsenal of rifles with him ... several of which he'd modified to shoot like semi-automatics. He broke windows in his suite and fired down below at the concertgoers ... causing a blood bath.

Chris Soules seems ready to put his recent past behind him ... showing face in Hollywood for the first time since he was busted for fleeing the scene of a fatal crash.

The former 'Bachelor' was out Friday night at KIIS FM's iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in L.A., where he certainly didn't shy away from the cameras ... posing for pics as he went in with a full smile on his face. It's his first major public appearance in Tinsel Town since 2017.

While it might've looked like a comeback attempt, Chris told ET he wasn't attempting to return to the spotlight ... and that he was just tagging along with other 'Bachelor' pals.

You'll recall ... Chris was arrested in April 2017 after cops said he'd rammed his pickup truck into a John Deere tractor and sent the driver flying into a ditch. The man ultimately died.

Chris stuck around on the scene until EMTs showed, but bounced before the police could arrive. They caught up to him later at his house and made the arrest. Just earlier this year, Chris finally accepted a plea deal from prosecutors that kept him out of jail.

He was handed down a 2-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious injury ... an aggravated misdemeanor.

Ozzy Osbourne is willing to put some big dough if someone can help track down the thieves who looted a music school with ties to his late pal, Randy Rhoads ... we're talking thousands.

The Black Sabbath frontman posted some sad news Saturday about the Musonia School of Music in North Hollywood, saying it had recently been broken into and looted for a lot of its instruments and precious valuables. Ozzy says at least 6 items were taken by crooks.

Among them ... Randy's first electric guitar, as well as Randy's mother's Great Depression-era trumpet that she'd been gifted in childhood. High value, sentimental stuff, in other words.

Welp, Ozzy's got a solution of his own ... $25,000 of cold, hard cash in the form of a reward.

He writes, "I am heartbroken that these treasured physical memories of Randy and Delores have been taken from the family so I’ve decided to personally offer a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction and/or return of all stolen items."

One of R. Kelly's longtime live-in girlfriends has had enough of the circus surrounding his myriad of federal and state legal battles ... so she's moved out of his Trump Tower condo.

Sources close to Azriel Clary tell us she recently got her own place in Chicago and is no longer living with Joycelyn Savage. We're told Azriel wanted to distance herself from the ongoing Kelly saga -- including Joycelyn's fake Patreon page -- and focus on her life.

Our sources say Azriel does still support R. Kelly ... but being in the condo with Joycelyn and being immersed in the drama at all times became too much. We're told Azriel is making money to support herself through a TV project and modeling gigs.

Azriel's main focus is now on her singing career, something she put a lot of effort into before meeting R. Kelly. She has plans to document her daily life, showcase her singing and start acting.

Azriel's father, Angelo, told us back in July he would do anything to get his daughter out of Trump Tower ... including pay for her own apartment. The move certainly seems to be one in the direction of reuniting with her family.

It was just this week when TMZ obtained a video of R. Kelly's other girlfriend, Joycelyn Savage, making a statement in full support of the singer. Savage claimed she wasn't the one behind the pay account that claimed to have info on Kelly ... and that she and Azriel still fully supported him.