Music

Aaron Carter's dog has made it safe and sound to a new home ... and we're told she's staying somewhat within the fam -- going to a relative of his fiancée.

Jennifer Martin, Melanie's sister, and her fiancé Max tell TMZ ... they took in Zelda, the 3-and-a-half-year-old German shepherd, the day after Aaron passed.

Zelda was in the room with Aaron when he passed ... and seemed to be in shock when she was found ... acting nervous and scared.

Jennifer and Max tell us ... Melanie was going through a lot after Aaron's death, so it just felt right to take Zelda in, adding the dog's been doing a lot better since the traumatic incident. The couple has started a TikTok for Zelda's journey.

Zelda isn't going to get fixed, but they don't want more pups ... Zelda's already had 2 litters. They're worried about the surgery changing her temperament -- she's already been through a lot.

Flavor Flav's beef with Spirit Airlines is making him a hot commodity with a rival carrier -- Southwest Airlines has entered the chat and it comes bearing valuable gifts.

Sources close to the rap icon/reality TV star tell TMZ ... Flav and his camp were contacted by a Southwest honcho after they got wind of his Las Vegas airport rant after missing a Spirit flight.

We're told the exec is a friend of someone on Flav's team, and made him an offer you'd think he simply can't refuse -- flying for free with Southwest whenever he wants.

TMZ broke the story ... the Public Enemy rapper lost his cool, when he was denied entry to his Spirit flight. He claimed the agent shut the door in his face, setting off a heated back and forth.

Spirit investigated the incident and decided the customer was right -- the airline refunded FF and upgraded him to "Gold", its highest frequent flier tier.

Now that the dust has settled, Flav's got options! A rep tells us he's getting an outpouring of love from flight attendants with several airlines -- including Delta and American. Southwest even sweetened the pot, throwing in a buddy pass to go with his free ride.

Flav has a good history with Southwest -- he played honorary flight attendant during a past flight into Vegas -- so, maybe the airline is in the driver's seat for his business.

Usher's looks over the years are so fine they'll make you 'Scream!'

Here is a 26-year-old version of the R&B singer looking stage-ready with his blinged-out accessories and perfectly groomed goatee at the Staples Center in Los Angeles back in 2004 (left). This was the same year his song "Yeah" became a smash around the world!

And, 18 years later the papa bear recently decked out in all white and shined bright in diamonds at a benefit in Atlanta (right) ... also, he was just photographed roller-skating in London for a new music video!

Can you say, "Yeah!?"

The question is ...

If Jay-Z can pull off a deal for the Commanders, Shannon Sharpe tells TMZ Sports it'd be HUGE for the NFL.

The Hall of Fame tight end broke it down for us at LAX earlier this month ... explaining having a guy like Hov in the Washington owner's box would do wonders for the league.

"It's a good look," Sharpe said. "It shows we're trying to diversify and we're trying to expand. And we're trying to do the right things."

It's unclear if Jay has formally put in an offer to Daniel Sndyer for the team -- but we do know he is interested in eventually submitting one with Jeff Bezos ... if the two haven't already.

The titans had a secret dinner in Los Angeles on Nov. 7 to discuss it all ... and it seems if Snyder is truly willing to part ways with the org., the duo wants it.

Sharpe told us he thinks it'd all be "great" -- adding that he hopes D.C. native Kevin Durant somehow finds a way to get involved too.

Trey Songz is on the police's radar in New York after a woman claims he brutalized her last month -- a claim he's calling BS on ... TMZ has learned.

NYPD sources tell us the alleged victim filed a report in late October, claiming Trey punched her in the face repeatedly while inside a bowling alley bathroom. We're told she also alleges TS dragged her by her hair ... and that she was taken to the hospital for what cops noted were visible minor injuries.

Our sources say the woman is a worker at this establishment, but it's unclear what might've precipitated this. There's not much context beyond her account ... although, our sources say the woman recognized Trey and identified him by name to the police after the fact.

In any case ... we're told there's now an active case for this, and the cops are interested in talking to Trey at the very least. This is certainly not the greatest news for him, considering other accusations hurled at him these past few years. An NYPD spokesperson confirms to TMZ that the investigation into this is ongoing.

As we've reported ... Trey was sued for rape recently, but the case was dismissed over a statute of limitations. There've been other instances of alleged sexual impropriety attributed to the singer as well -- all of which he's denied and characterized as a shakedown.

He's also been accused of being violent with people -- including women -- in the past.

A brutal assault of an older couple leaving the Elton John concert at Dodger Stadium this week was captured on camera -- as were the alleged assailants ... and TMZ has the video.

This incident has been going viral on social media the past couple days, and for good reason ... a man and a woman, both in their 60s, were senselessly attacked Thursday night by what we're told were a group of at least 4-6 people, this while trying to exit the parking lot.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the older couple, who'd gone to the concert by themselves, were getting ready to leave when a woman allegedly punched their sideview mirror, causing the husband to get out, confront her and and seek an explanation.

We're told the woman then tried to swing on the older man, who blocked her. At this point, our sources say the gentleman was mobbed by at least two men who started wailing on him ... part of which is on video. This footage is graphic, but you can see him being pummeled.

Sadly, it wasn't over yet ... we're told the wife hopped out to help her husband, only to allegedly be body slammed to the ground as well by some men in the group. She was knocked unconscious, and both of them were left there helplessly as people stood around.

Our sources say bystanders filmed it, but not much else to help these poor folks. As the group tried to walk away from the scene, one man followed them and recorded ... only to apparently be attacked himself when the guy in black noticed him and pounced.

Eventually, we're told the couple was helped back into their car and the wife came to. Our sources say they were waiting for EMS to show up ... but that it took far too long for any first-responders and/or stadium security to arrive. After some time, the wife felt okay enough to drive both of them to the hospital ... where we're told the husband was admitted.

At some point, somebody recorded what we're told was one of the women who was allegedly involved being questioned by what looks like a cop. Our sources say the officer didn't realize she was one of the people who was allegedly in the mix ... and was cut loose.

The children of this couple -- who were not present during the night in question -- are now desperately pleading with the public to come forward with any information to identify the 6 people they claim thrashed their parents, and have filed a police report to boot.

As you can imagine, they want justice for their family ... as their parents could've easily been killed, and as of now -- the alleged attackers have seemingly gotten away with it scot-free.

Our law enforcement sources tell us the LAPD is aware of the incident and are investigating. No arrests have been made. We've reached out to Dodger Stadium ... no word back yet.

Ticketmaster is spelling out what went wrong with their Taylor Swift tour sales -- and the justification for the fiasco was basically chalked up to ... a necessary evil to defeat bots.

The Live Nation company posted an explainer Friday night, giving an in-depth breakdown of why so many people had such a hard time buying tickets to TS's 'Eras Tour' during the presale window this week ... and it consisted of both an apology and a defense of the chaos.

For starters, Ticketmaster acknowledges what TayTay said ... that she was told they were anticipating an unprecedented amount of traffic and were prepared. However, TM adds that despite this ... when the digital doors actually opened, their expectations were exceeded.

Ticketmaster posted a graph that shows just how many people (and not-real-people) flooded their site ... even though they had a rigorous registration system in place to make sure real, authenticated fans were able to buy tickets, as opposed to spammers who would otherwise snap them up in bulk and hawk them on the resale market with massive markups.

Regardless of this seemingly airtight system being in place -- consisting of 3.5 million users successfully preregistering/confirming their IDs -- Ticketmaster says that on the day of the sale, even more unregistered fans and bots came flocking in ... partially crashing the site.

To resolve this record amount of traffic while simultaneously taking care of the folks who should've been guaranteed a chance to buy passes ... Ticketmaster says it started staggering queues, the result of which ended with longer wait times and, inevitably, frustrated users.

Ticketmaster says they know this caused confusion -- and in some cases, people to lose their spots outright -- but insists it was the best option under the circumstances. TM also proudly touts the fact 2.4 million tickets were, in fact, ultimately sold to authenticated fans ... and that less than 5% of the tickets sold ended up for resale, a W in the site's book.

Ticketmaster says it regrets the fact some were left empty-handed, but also adds this perspective ... it's unfeasible to please everyone, especially at this level of interest.

TM says, "[B]ased on the volume of traffic to our site, Taylor would need to perform over 900 stadium shows (almost 20x the number of shows she is doing) … that’s a stadium show every single night for the next 2.5 years. While it’s impossible for everyone to get tickets to these shows, we know we can do more to improve ... and that’s what we’re focused on."

Chris Brown says he was supposed to put on a big tribute to Michael Jackson during the AMAs this weekend -- but claims honchos pulled the plug last minute out of nowhere.

The singer posted a lengthy video Saturday that shows him in a dance rehearsal with a group of people ... and he's putting on some serious MJ-inspired moves to a few classic hits, which Chris says would've been part of a showstopping number during Sunday's broadcast.

The songs featured include "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Wanna Be Starting Something" and "Thriller." Presumably, this is in line with the 40th anniversary of Mike's best-selling album.

Chris's original caption reads, "U SERIOUS?" He followed up in a later comment, writing ... "WOULDVE been the ama performance but they cancelled me for reasons unknown." IG users are mostly in support of Chris, openly asking why they scrapped it if it was this good.

Of course, there's speculation as to why CB's performance may have been nixed. Frankly, he's controversial ... even all these years later. Michael himself is obviously also polarizing ... especially in more recent years with the allegations highlighted in the documentary "Leaving Neverland."

Still, Chris's tribute would've been a nice full-circle moment -- the guy has famously done MJ tributes in the past, like in 2010 when he did a big one at the BET Awards ... a year after Michael had died.

There's also the nonstop comparisons made between himself and the King of Pop. Akon recently brought it up again, saying Chris could've been as great if he had a cleaner crew.

Adele barely got through opening night of her Vegas residency ... repeatedly dissolving into tears, saying she was super scared to take the stage.

The Caesars Palace Colosseum was unsurprisingly packed Friday night, as Adele told the crowd she was "so scared and nervous."

As for why ... as you know, the residency was scrapped at the last minute in January after there were production disputes and COVID concerns. She took heat for the cancelation, and a reboot seemed uncertain.

Adele told the crowd, “I should be giving you a standing ovation. Thank you so much for coming back to me. I really appreciate it. You look amazing and it looks just what I imagined it would look like, it's perfect."

She went on ... "I'm so scared and nervous, but I am so happy. I don't know what I was thinking putting piano ballads at the top of the set ... hopefully over time my nerves will disappear. I would also really like to thank Caesars because there have been a lot of rumors and they never once asked any questions, they've been amazing."

Adele's man, Rich Paul, son Angelo, and good buddy James Corden were all front and center.

Afroman took a nasty spill during his concert in New Hampshire Friday night ... but, thankfully, he wasn't hurt -- and even finished his performance with a big smile.

The rapper was singing his hit, "Because I Got High," near the end of his one hour set at Wally's in Hampton Beach when the mishap -- and Afroman -- went down.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ ... Afroman's moving about the stage with a drink in hand as the packed crowd grooves to his music. Suddenly, he tumbles off the stage, plummeting into a pit, as his drink flies high in the air.

At first, the audience is horrified as Afroman's handlers dash out to see if he's ok and help him back on stage. Turns out Afroman was better than OK ... he shared a big fat grin with his fans and went right back into the song.

Earlier in the show, the DJ had some technical problems with his laptop ... but Afroman played through those issues, dazzling everyone with his guitar licks.

Shaggy is heading to the Grammys again thanks to his "Com Fly Wid Mi" album, but musical accolades aren't the only thing fueling his drive ... he's very much about giving back, these days.

We caught the reggae icon at LAX, and this time he couldn't deny it -- it absolutely was him recently speaking to inmates at Michigan's Genesee County Jail.

Shaggy was the guest speaker for the graduation of IGNITE ... which stands for Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education.

Through the program, inmates are given tools to successfully reenter society -- as Shaggy explained to us, ex-cons typically have a hard time adjusting to life on the outside.

Shaggy says he works with a company called Colour Bank that offers inmates financial literacy courses -- and credit cards to use with the education they've earned!!!

With over 4 decades in showbiz and a new Best Reggae Album nom, Shaggy wants to leverage his success to help anyone in need going forward ... and he left us with some wisdom he learned from the late Notorious B.I.G.

Quoting Biggie's final interview, Shaggy reacted to the string of violence in the music community as of late, saying artists should become responsible for the content they make once they hit it big ... especially because they're able to influence so many.

Post Malone is celebrating a new addition to his already impressive jewelry collection -- a blinding 23 carats worth of diamonds, and all that bling is just for the littlest finger of them all.

Guess his hand was feeling a little light, because sources close to Post tell TMZ ... he called up his pals at Angel City Jewelers to hook him up with a new piece for his pinky.

Angel City's owner, Isaac Bokhoor, came through with the goods while PM was making a recent tour stop in Las Vegas ... and unveiled the "Rockstar" sized ring ... which we're told set the singer back about half a million bucks!

For that kinda dough, ya better love it ... and Post clearly does. Check out his reaction right after getting it backstage -- you're looking at a 5-carat Emerald cut center stone, with another 5 carats of round diamonds on the side. There are 13 more 1-carat stones around the band.

Of course, the "White Iverson" is no stranger to getting blinged out by Isaac and co. -- remember, he was the master behind Post's $250k Dallas Cowboys chain.

He got it back in 2019, appropriately while he was in Dallas at AT&T Stadium. That one came with 3,000 stones, 9.7 carats of baguettes, 13.5 carats of sapphires and 8.7 carats of diamonds.

The World Cup is just a day away, and the biggest sporting event in the world is already mired in controversy -- much stemming from alleged human rights issues -- causing some to boycott the soccer tourney ... something Akon says makes no sense.

TMZ Sports ran into the rap star, a big soccer fan, at LAX on Wednesday -- just four days before the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Qatar -- and we asked him about fans who say they won't watch because of the controversy surrounding the host country.

"I don't understand the purpose of the boycott, me personally, I think everywhere you go in the world there's different cultures, different way of living, different life standards," Akon explained.

The 5x Grammy nominee went on to say he believes many of his fellow Americans who are calling for a boycott don't actually understand why they're refusing to watch.

"I think when you look at a place like America, we have a tendency of taking certain things for granted, and we got a tendency of following suit of things we don't understand. Instead of taking a trip there to understand the culture, understand what's going on, you're just going to follow suit cause everybody else says there's humanitarian issues."

FYI, Dua Lipa recently quelled speculation she'd perform in Qatar, saying she wouldn't go to the country until they "fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup." Rod Stewart also said he was offered a million dollars to perform, but he refused.

Of course, Qatar, a relatively small peninsular country with a population of under 3 million, has been accused of discriminating against people in the LGBTQ community. There are also reports of migrant workers dying while working under unsafe conditions in an effort to finish the WC facilities in the months before the tourney. Officials have also interfered with the press. These are just a few of the troubling allegations made against Qatar.

But, Akon sees it differently than the boycotters ... it's not that he's saying he agrees with Qatar, he's saying he recognizes that their culture is different.

"I think a lot of that is a cultural issue, a cultural difference. You know when you look at a place like Africa, Middle East, a lot of places, LGBTQ is not really a culture they came up under," Akon says.

"It's not a matter of dislike. It's just a different culture. know what I'm saying? it's just a matter of people better understanding each other's culture, understanding the reasons and the whys."

Akon believes we'd be a lot better off talking to the Qatari people and finding common ground, rather than ignoring them.

"How about going to explain your view from your position? Help them better understand. Know what I mean? Life is about communication. I think the moment people start jumping to conclusions and just take a position before understanding, things are always gonna be complicated."

Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde are pressing pause on their relationship ... TMZ has confirmed.

Harry and Olivia are "taking a break" from dating after nearly 2 years together, according to People, citing Harry's busy touring schedule and Olivia's family obligations and work in Hollywood.

HS and OW were first linked back in January 2021, when they were photographed holding hands at a friend's wedding ... at the same time they were filming "Don't Worry Darling."

Harry's tour, which Olivia witnessed in person, is now going overseas ... and Olivia's reportedly hanging back in Los Angeles, working on projects and spending time with the children she shares with Jason Sudeikis.

As we've reported, Harry and Olivia's relationship was not lacking in drama ... Olivia and Jason's ex-nanny claimed Olivia gave up her dog within weeks of meeting Harry, allegedly so she could free up time to spend with the singer.

There was also a ton of rumored drama on the set of "Don't Worry Darling" as a result of Harry and Olivia's romance, with Olivia reportedly going missing often with Harry. She was directing the film and he was starring in it.

Mustard filed for divorce from his wife of less than 2 years back in May, but their relationship is still unraveling in the public eye.

Chanel Thierry took to IG to vent on Friday with claims her estranged producer hubby was being stingy with the spacious cars in their household … and left her with just a Lambo SUV to lug around their 3 kids.

She called the luxury whip a “ghetto birthday gift” and was likely referring to the 2021 Lamborghini Urus Mustard got for her birthday back when they were on happier terms.

Despite the rant, Chanel accused Mustard of being the bitter one who's refusing to pay child support and threatening to ruin her behind the scenes. She also admitted she signed a prenup, a tidbit Mustard had included in the divorce petition he filed in court.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story … Mustard cited irreconcilable differences in filing for divorce and asked for joint custody of their children.

Maluma isn't exactly kicking off the World Cup on a high note ... a reporter put him on the spot over his decision to perform -- as other artists boycott -- so, he stormed out of the interview.

The "Hawái" singer sat down for an interview Friday, two days before the start of the FIFA World Cup, with Israel's state-owned Kan TV and it quickly got heated when the interviewer asked Maluma about his thoughts on Qatar's human rights violations.

As we reported, Dua Lipa and Shakira both turned down gigs at the World Cup ... citing the country's human rights record.

Maluma teamed up with Nicki Minaj and Lebanese singer Myriam Fares for the official FIFA Fan Festival anthem ... and he was asked if he had a problem with Qatar's reputation.

Maluma dodged the first question with skill, saying he's performing because he enjoys life, music and soccer -- but when pressed for more than that, Maluma stood up, asked someone off camera if he needed to answer at all, then simply stormed off and called the reporter "rude."

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Maluma's performing at the World Cup strictly because, as he said, he loves the sport. We're told he was a soccer player growing up in Colombia and left the sport to become an artist, but it's been always been a dream of his to perform at a World Cup.

What's odd about Maluma's heated interview is ... the network reporter giving him a hard time for, in his words, "whitewashing" Qatar, is actually there in Qatar covering the World Cup and in doing so, publicizing it.