Music

Alec John Such — the original bassist for Bon Jovi — has died.

Jon made the announcement Sunday, writing … “He was an original. As a founding member of Bon Jovi, Alec was integral to the formation of the band.”

He adds that Alec was also, by and largely responsible for Bon Jovi coming together in the first place — mentioning how he was friends with Tico Torres and Richie Sambora at the time and introduced everyone.

JBJ says the memories bring a smile to his face and a "tear to my eye." No details about the circumstances of his death were released.

As Jon noted, Alec was there since the beginning — he played with Bon Jovi from 1983 through 1994, including their heyday. He contributed to hits like "Livin' On a Prayer," "You Give Love a Bad Name," "Wanted Dead or Alive," "Bad Medicine," and "Keep the Faith," among many others.

While he departed from the band in the '90s, Such rejoined them for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

He was 70.

Metro Boomin is in the throes of a horrific family tragedy -- he's lost his mother at the hands of her husband, who took his own life thereafter ... TMZ has learned.

The producer -- who's cranked out hits for Future, Young Thug, Gucci Mane, Migos, Travis Scott, Drake, Kanye West and 21 Savage, just to name a few -- received the tragic news this weekend after his mother's body was discovered by cops just outside of the Atlanta area.

Sources connected to the investigation tell TMZ ... MB's mom, Leslie Joanne Wayne, appears to have been murdered by her spouse -- not Metro's father -- who then killed himself. We're told this happened Friday night, but further details are hazy.

An autopsy will be conducted for an official cause of death. Metro's rep confirms Leslie died this weekend -- adding that he and his family request privacy during this difficult time.

Leslie raised Boomin and his 3 siblings in St. Louis. Word is, she was one of the first people to notice her son's musical talents ... and encouraged him to pursue his passion through adolescence and early adulthood. She'd even drive him from STL to Atlanta so he could collaborate with artists he was connecting with, all in hopes of getting his career started.

She and her boy were incredibly close -- even when Metro achieved international stardom, she was always at the forefront of his mind.

Johnny Depp was in Beatles territory Saturday night -- both in geography and reception -- as fans mobbed him in Manchester following his latest concert.

Johnny performed again with Jeff Beck at the Manchester 02 Apollo. Of course, fans inside went wild, cheering their approval over his stunning courtroom victory against Amber Heard.

Outside the venue, Johnny was mobbed. Fans were shouting, screaming their support as they tried to get a coveted selfie or even a John Hancock from the "Sleepy Hollow'" star.

One thing's for sure ... Johnny was loving it, as he interacted with fans in a very loud shirt!

He was wearing a bracelet that said it all ... "INNOCENT."

Johnny's been in the UK for a week now. As you know, he missed the verdict, although he certainly celebrated and continues to celebrate his win.

It's interesting ... Johnny has said the jury gave him his life back, and a big part of his life has been music. In fact, when Johnny came to Hollywood, his goal was to become a rock star, not an actor. He kinda fell into the acting thing.

Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee celebration was epic Saturday night ... with the likes of Elton John, Diana Ross, Alicia Keys, Duran Duran and other awesome acts.

Queen E wasn't there for the festivities ... seems like she's been struggling since the first day, missing most events.

Nevertheless, Buckingham Palace was rocking during the Platinum Party, which celebrates the UK's offerings to fashion, sports, music and the environment.

There was also a skit with Paddington the Bear!!!

BTW ... Harry and Meghan were nowhere to be seen. They say they're spending the day celebrating Lilibet's first birthday, but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to miss an event like this if they flew to England for all the festivities. Besides, it was at night so you'd think the kid would be asleep.

Queen -- with Adam Lambert fronting -- performed "We Are the Champions." It was inspiring enough for William, Kate and the kids to waive the Union Jack flags.

Elton performed a pre-recorded, "Your Song," and the crowd loved it. He wasn't able to be there in person because he's touring, but people loved it nonetheless.

The only weird thing ... Alicia Keys sang "Empire State of Mind" ... maybe a little too American for the Queen's Jubilee. The crowd was less confused when she sang "Superwoman" and "Girl on Fire."

And then there's Diana Ross, who said, "I have had the honor of meeting The Queen many times throughout my life, including when I was with my family." She went on ... "Her Majesty has and continues to be such an incredible inspiration to so many across the world. I was absolutely delighted to receive an invitation to perform on such a momentous and historic occasion." And then she performed a few songs, ending with "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

Boosie is a happy man this weekend -- he looks like someone who just found out they weren't the father on "Maury" ... except, he's celebrating vicariously through his own seed.

The rapper posted a wild video showing himself screaming in pure joy from within his car ... touting the idea that his 18-year-old, Tootie Raww, was supposedly cleared by a DNA test as NOT being the father to a baby that his GF/would-be baby mama allegedly claimed was his.

Check it out ... his victory lap is hilariously on-brand for Boosie. He's shouting from the top of his lungs and praising Jesus that the baby isn't his ... son's.

Boosie claims Tootie's SO brought somebody else's kid down to his high school graduation recently and sprung it on him like he was the father -- and Boosie thinks it was all BS ... even going on to call it a "conspiracy." Unclear if he's joking or not ... seems to be though.

Tootie appears to have taken ownership ... he was posing for photos with the child. But, his dad was skeptical from the beginning -- saying he didn't think this was Tootie's baby.

Boosie has also posted a ton of alleged receipts that he believes clear this up even further, throwing up photos of the supposed "real" mom and dad ... saying it's further evidence.

Camila Cabello is doing her European vacation right -- the sun's out, as are her buns ... and she couldn't look any better in that combo.

The singer's been in Italy these past several days, enjoying a little R&R off of the Amalfi Coast with what seems to be her family. During a boat ride this past week, she busted out a bright orange 2-piece bikini and showed off her rockin' bod while on the high seas.

Of course, she's stunning ... and it's good to see she's totally comfortable in her own skin -- this after she opened up about being self-conscious at times with paps crawling around.

You might recall ... CC revealed she has, in the past, been overly concerned with other people's views and comments on her body -- adopting their way of thinking instead of just accepting herself as she was. Since then, she's done a 180 ... and wears whatever she likes.

Well, for what it's worth ... we like what she's wearing too, because she's quite radiant here.

Johnny Depp could have been Paul McCartney in Scotland Friday night ... the crowd went wild when he took the stage as fans screamed, "INNOCENT, INNOCENT!!!"

Johnny was back in action with Jeff Beck, this time at the Glasgow Concert Hall. The venue was packed to the gills, as 3,000 fans showed deafening approval as Johnny sang cover songs like "What's Going On?" and "Isolation."

You don't hear the crowd scream "innocent" in the video, but yeah, it happened.

Johnny was clearly in a great mood, but didn't laugh or joke ... especially about you know what.

Johnny sang and played guitar for around half an hour, and the crowd loved it. He came back for an encore ... The Beatle's "A Day in the Life," which, by the way, begins, "I read the news today ...."

Yeah, the news has been good for Johnny this week, with his resounding courtroom victory over Amber Heard.

Priscilla Presley, the ex-wife of Elvis, says she wasn't in on any convos leading up to the recent booting of impersonators from Las Vegas wedding chapels ... in fact, it's all news to her.

We got Priscilla in WeHo as she was leaving The Ivy, and she made it as clear as she could -- "That has nothing to do with me."

PP actually looked pretty shook up (sorry, had to do it) when our photog told her what was going on, like she was unaware of the corporate decision.

As we've been reporting ... Authentic Brands Group, which handles all licensing of Elvis' likeness and merchandise, fired off cease and desist letters to Las Vegas wedding chapels last month -- warning them about unauthorized uses of "The King."

Luckily, it seems Priscilla and Elvis impersonators -- who are understandably stressed -- might not have much to worry about. ABG released a follow-up statement Friday, calling the entire thing a miscommunication.

They apologized their talks with "a small number of Las Vegas-based chapels" caused concern, and say they are actively working with them to make sure Elvis' name, image and likeness are keeping up with his legacy.

Young Thug and Gunna will be locked up at least until January 2023, but attorney Drew Findling is calling BS on the entire Georgia RICO case that put them behind bars in the first place.

Findling, known as the "Billion Dollar Lawyer" for his work with several industry heavyweights, was in ATL when he ripped the entire operation to take down YSL as racist.

Drew says he firmly believes the justice system routinely violates rappers' 1st Amendment rights by targeting their lyrics -- something he says law enforcement ignores when it comes to other art forms ... such as big-screen violence from filmmakers, like Quentin Tarantino, for example.

His point was on display Thursday during Young Thug's latest hearing ... when prosecutors noted the lyrics "Smith & Wesson 45, put a hole in his heart/Better not play with me, killers, they stay with me" from Thug and Juice WRLD's collab, “Bad Boy.”

Drew knows a thing or two about rappers' legal drama, having successfully repped Gucci Mane, Offset and DaBaby in the past.

He also reps YFN Lucci, who was part of the reason Thug was denied bond.

The Fulton County D.A. has classified Thug's YSL as a deep-rooted murderous gang and cited the attempt on Lucci's life in prison as a prime example.

Desiigner says bystanders helped him chill out during his altercation with the police -- praising them for helping him to calm down -- but says he'll no longer mess around with tinted windows.

We got the rapper in L.A. Friday, who admits the standoff and shouting match on Wednesday was intense, and believes it could've been worse if not for a bystander around him.

He tells us a fan on the scene -- filmmaker Tariq Nasheed -- lowered the tension, checking on him to make sure everything was alright ... and he says his lawyer handled the legal part of things.

Desiigner says he was first pulled over by a cop on a motorcycle for no plates and window tint ... but everything escalated once he stepped out of his vehicle. The rapper says the officer threatened to use his Taser and pepper spray when Desiigner tried getting back into the car.

Desiigner says he's going to get plates and fix the tint ASAP ... getting his car to the shop as soon as he can.

Lil Nas X unloaded on BET over his 2022 BET Award nom snubs earlier this week ... and he's got at least one royal supporter in Queen Latifah.

We caught up with the legendary rap star promoting her new flick "Hustle" outside "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and while she feels LNX's talent is literally "amazing," it doesn't appear she agrees with his complaints his sexuality caused the snub.

The "Industry Baby" was a couple dynamite sticks short of nuclear on Wednesday when he accused the network of sharing into the world's problems — by excluding Black gay artists from top recognition.

His complaints were only amplified when it was discovered Jack Harlow, (yep, the White guy) was nominated for Best Male Hip Hop Artist alongside Drake, Future, Kanye and more ... causing fans on Twitter to have a field day.

It's not like LNX hasn't been on the BET Awards' radar. In 2020, he earned a Best New Artist Award and last year, went viral by kissing his ex-boyfriend Yai Ariza during his performance on live TV.

Mariah Carey is allegedly, and ironically, a big scrooge ... she's being sued over her blockbuster Christmas jingle, with another artist claiming his song -- by the same name -- inspired hers.

Mariah is being sued for copyright infringement by Andy Stone, who says he co-wrote and recorded a song called "All I Want For Christmas Is You" a couple years before MC dropped her famous track with that title.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Andy claims he recorded his back in 1989 in Nashville, and says it got extensive airplay and even made it to the Billboard charts during the 1993 Christmas season, and he even filmed a music vid.

Problem for Andy is ... Mariah released her version in 1994, along with her own music video, and we all know what a massive hit that's become since then.

Andy claims Mariah and her camp never sought or obtained permission to use that title.

Now, while everyone knows Mariah's song, the fact is it sounds completely different from Andy's tune -- different lyrics, different melody ... outside of the title, they're inarguably not the same song.

TMZ broke the story ... Mariah's version is a true cash cow, recently breaking the billion streams plateau, and putting millions of dollars in her pocket annually.

Andy wants a piece of that pie ... he's going after Mariah for at least $20 million in damages.

Hard to see how this one holds up in court -- lots of songs have similar or even the exact same title, but hey ... Andy's going for it.

Drake is smoother than whiskey ... generously picking up the tab for two women from Detroit after swigging down a couple of shots with them!

In case you missed it, the 6 God went viral after schmoozing it up with a couple of ladies in the Motor City. We spoke with Brittney Keara, the woman who filmed the interaction, and she said Drake was as courteous as ever.

Brittney tells us Thursday she was enjoying happy hour with a friend at a local seafood restaurant when Drizzy strolled in with a couple of bodyguards.

We got new video of the interaction where Drake initially turns down Brittney's drink offer, saying he was heading to the airport for a flight ... but she says he ended up coming back to the bar and taking up the offer.

Brittney orders a shot of Jack, but tells us when the camera was off Drake upgraded her to a shot of Johnny Walker. Classy move. He also covered the tab.

PETA is pissed at Jack Harlow for "glamorizing horse racing" in his latest music video ... calling on him to make things right by donating his earnings for the project immediately.

A rep for PETA tells TMZ ... Jack made a big mistake showing off the sport in his "Churchill Downs" video with Drake. They say he's only showing the positives about the event, and is "missing the whips, drugs, and deaths that run rampant in the industry."

They believe Jack's profiting off the abuse of animals, and are urging the rapper to pay for the care of American Thoroughbreds who would otherwise be sent off to slaughterhouses.

According to PETA, an average of 3 racehorses die on U.S. tracks every day ... and they claim 7,500 Thoroughbreds are exported to be slaughtered every year.

Jay-Z may be a Brooklyn native, but he was seen showin' love to the Boston Celtics after their wild comeback win over the Warriors -- dapping up Jayson Tatum after the game.

If you missed Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, the Celtics were down 12 points by the end of the 3rd quarter against Golden State ... but Tatum and the C's went off in the 4th and outscored the Warriors 40-16 -- pulling off an upset win, 120-108.

The Celtics did it all right on the Warriors' homecourt -- and hip-hop legend Jay-Z was front and center to watch the epic win at the Chase Center.

HOV had to show the Celts some love for their stunning performance ... and dapped up Tatum -- the Eastern Conference Finals MVP -- right on the court.

The cool part about the exchange? Jay-Z's track "On To The Next One," featuring Swizz Beatz, was playing on the arena's speakers.

Shawn Carter wasn't the only celeb in the crowd who witnessed Celtics' upturn ... San Francisco Giants legend Barry Bonds was also in attendance, as was legendary director Spike Lee.

Lee -- who's a diehard New York Knicks fan -- was seen on camera before the game giving love to Warriors star Draymond Green and yelling, "Let's go, baby! Let's go!"

FYI, Tatum had 12 points and 13 assists in the game ... but Al Horford was the star of the show, leading the team with 26 points.

Jennifer Lopez's car was spotted Thursday at a massive estate in Beverly Hills. There are also 4 moving trucks outside the estate -- and there were moving trucks Thursday at both Ben and Jen's current homes in the L.A. area.

We know J Lo and fiancé Ben Affleck have been on the hunt for a new home for months. We cannot confirm they bought this house, but there's sure a lot of smoke!

The estate is massive ... we're told it has everything you could want inside, including a proper movie theatre, more than enough bedrooms for the brood ... you name it, it's there.

James Packer -- formerly the fiancé of Mariah Carey -- has owned the house for years ... we're told he bought it for around $60 million. It was previously owned by Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman.

Here's the mystery. The house was not listed for sale. Our very plugged in real estate sources say it hasn't even been shown off market, except maybe to Ben and Jen.

Given real estate prices in L.A., it's almost certain the house would go for more than $60 million. Ben and Jen have looked at a ton of houses ... some in a price range north of $85 million, so this seems to be within the target.