Music

Britney Spears -- or River Red, as she'd like to be called -- swapped outfits 3 times Sunday night, dancing to her heart's content ... just days after making the apparent name change.

The singer showed off her signature moves Sunday evening ... grooving to 3 separate tracks, complete with costume changes, too.

In her caption, Britney says she can't act "too kooky or silly like kids" because people will call her "CRAY CRAY" -- adding she's sharing her dancing because "every person I call TAKES 9 RINGS TO ANSWER" ... and, "I bet after I post this my security answers after 2 RINGS."

The freestyle session came after a now-deleted post from last week, showing off a picture of Mars and writing, "I changed my name to River Red" ... and saying "don't underestimate the power of purity."

She also changed her name on IG to match the announcement.

Fans are scratching their heads at the supposed name change -- we are too -- but it might simply be her take on Mars, known as the red planet.

There's also a little known 1998 film called "River Red" -- a disturbing family drama -- but that seems much less likely.

As we reported, eyewitnesses told us Britney's hubby Sam Asghari stormed out of a dinner in Woodland Hills this month when she was acting "manic" at their table.

Amy Winehouse's dad is backing the actress playing his daughter in an upcoming biopic ... even though a bunch of folks think she's anything but a doppelgänger for Amy.

Marisa Abela scored the coveted role in "Back to Black" ... but when the first images of her on set were released this month -- shocker -- social media was flooded with hateful comments.😲

Angry fans slammed Marisa as a low-budget Amy who looks nothing like the late singer.

But Amy's father, Mitch Winehouse -- who's also administrator of her estate -- disagrees, telling TMZ ... Marisa's a great choice for the role, even if she doesn't look exactly like Amy.

The way Mitch sees it, Marisa is Marisa and Amy is Amy ... so it's no big deal if they aren't mirror images.

Eddie Marsan is playing Amy's dad in the movie, and Mitch notes Eddie doesn't look anything like him either.

Amy's dad says there's too much emphasis on looks ... because there's plenty of Hollywood examples of actors not looking like their real-life characters.

The one that comes to mind for Mitch is "Night and Day," where the good-looking Cary Grant plays famous composer and songwriter Cole Porter, who was never considered handsome.

Chrisean Rock got into a physical altercation shortly after announcing she was pregnant with Blueface's child -- this while trying to get to her alleged soon-to-be baby daddy.

TMZ has obtained video that was taken early Saturday morning in Chatsworth, near Blueface's home. We're told this fight you see here on camera followed what eyewitnesses claim was a bum rush attempt by Chrisean on Blue ... dropping in on him at his house.

You see, we're told Blueface was throwing a party at his crib to ring in his 26th birthday (Friday) ... and that Chrisean crashed the shindig in an effort to pull him away.

What you see here is what we're told happened shortly thereafter ... it seems Blueface was trying to get away in his own vehicle -- with a gaggle of people following him, including Chrisean -- and it all erupted in a massive brawl on the street down the block from his pad.

In the clip, you see Chrisean -- wearing the same pink track suit from earlier in the day -- getting Blueface to herself on one side of a car (presumably hers). We're told she was trying to get him inside to leave with her. Instead, she threw hands with 2 ladies on the scene.

Chrisean finds a way to her feet -- and in the end, eyewitnesses tell us she and Blue left in different vehicles. Unclear if they met up somewhere after, or went their separate ways.

Of course, this is disturbing on many levels. For one, it's another instance of violence between Blueface, Chrisean and/or people in their orbit. More sad, though, is the fact that Chrisean says she's got a bun in the oven -- so this is super dangerous in that regard.

Remember, Blueface has denied the kid is his ... and also said he and Chrisean were done. It seems she might've wanted to patch things up -- which doesn't seem to have ended well.

Selena Gomez recently said she was single, but we're not so sure about that ... and neither is Drew Taggart based on these photos.

The singer and Chainsmokers star walked hand-in-hand Saturday night in NYC, where they were on a dinner date at an Italian restaurant called Torrisi in SoHo. Check out the PDA for yourself -- definitely clear signs they're together ... but no goodbye kiss, it seems.

These shots show Selena parting ways with Drew ... and he sees her to her car, where she was flashing smiles for paps standing by. This marks at least their 2nd date in a week.

Last Sunday, they were seen out together doing a little bowling in Brooklyn. The pics in that instance didn't show anything touchy-feely ... but eyewitnesses supposedly saw them locking lips. Shortly after, Selena took to IG to seemingly deny rumors they were a thing.

She wrote, "I Like Being Alone Too Much," while adding the hashtag #iamsingle.

BTW, SG might well be ... relationship statuses these days are often ill-defined and hazy -- so maybe she and Drew are just enjoying each other's company without throwing labels on.

Still, it would seem like she's, at the very least, romantically involved with him -- and with a hand hold like this ... it kinda screams "taken!" The last two guys she was dating, publicly anyway, were The Weeknd and Justin Bieber ... but those were both several years ago.

Lisa Marie Presley's celebration of life at Graceland took place today, as her family members, friends and countless Elvis Presley fans gathered to honor her.

Priscilla Presley arrived with her family, including son Navarone Garibaldi, daughter Riley Keough and Lisa Marie’s ex-husband, Michael Lockwood.

It's unclear if Lisa's daughters Harper and Finley were in attendance for the public service ... or if the twins only attended the private family memorial that took place earlier this weekend.

Lisa's close friend Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, arrived a few minutes before the Presley family.

Austin Butler, who played Elvis in the new movie, arrived with Kaia Gerber. Austin's sister Ashley Butler is said to have joined him to pay respects as well.

Lisa's father Elvis' solemn song, "He Touched Me" played while the memorial live stream waited to begin, as well as a touching duet of Lisa and her father singing “Where No One Stands Alone.”

The memorial started with a performance of "Amazing Grace," sung by Jason Clark & the Tennessee Mass Choir.

Producer Joel Weinshanker then gave the opening remarks. He said Lisa Marie left instructions on her wishes for her memorial, and stated "don't make it sad."

During a tribute, former Mayor of Memphis AC Wharton listed off a lot of the famous children born after Lisa Marie, and spoke of Lisa as being the one that came before them all ... calling her a bright light and, "the image of a king."

Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins then performed his band's 1998 song "To Sheila."

Sarah Ferguson spoke of her friendship with Lisa, and reminisced on how they called each other "Sissy."

Alanis Morissette performed her 2021 song "Rest" in honor of Lisa.

Talent manager Jerry Schilling spoke of an 18-year-old Lisa telling him, "I need to have a meeting with you. I need a job, I know people don’t think I’m responsible, but I really am."

He says they then went to an exclusive place to have a meeting, "The Hamburger Hamlet." He and the audience chuckled.

He continued, "She became my secretary, and every time I would say that she would correct me and say “I’m your ASSISTANT,” which made the crowd laugh again.

Priscilla then read a beautiful personal poem titled, "The Old Soul," saying "... a broken heart was the doing of her death, now she is home where she always belonged, but my heart is missing her love.”

Riley Keough was listed to speak, but instead, a note she wrote, titled "A Letter to My Mama," was read on stage by her husband, Ben Smith-Petersen.

Beyonce most certainly lived up to her nickname, "Queen Bey," during her Dubai performance Saturday night ... and we got the pics to prove it.

Check out these new images, obtained by TMZ, showing Bey in a yellow sequined gown with a feathered cape -- which was fit for a queen!!! She was surrounded by dancers in large red dresses and a Middle Eastern orchestra.

Bey then changed into a gold body suit with a matching corset and long train. She also wore a red dress with a different corset, stockings and gloves.

Safe to say ... Bey brought the house down at the star-studded event ... Kendall Jenner, Liam Payne and Ronan Keating were just a few of the celebs on hand.

Everyone got to enjoy Bey's 90-minute set that included her biggest hits ... "Crazy In Love," "Naughty Girl", "Halo" and "XO." The show ended with a huge fireworks display.

As we reported, Bey hit the stage at Atlantis The Royal hotel in the United Arab Emirates after an almost 5-year hiatus. The singer was paid a whopping $24 million to be the centerpiece of the hotel's launch party. Recording devices were banned, but many in the packed crowd didn't follow the rules and leaked footage of the event on social media.

The concert was also a family affair ... Jay-Z was present along with Bey's parents, Tina and Mathew Knowles.

Bey/Jay's 11-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, and 5-year-old twins, Rumi and Sir were there as well. Ivy even jumped on stage to perform a duet with her mom, singing a song from the album, "The Lion King: The Gift."

Britney Spears is already scoping out applicants to buy the Calabasas home she only lived in briefly ... but we're told the potential sale is happening on the DL.

Sources familiar with the sale tell TMZ ... the singer started showing the pad off-market this past week, and she's asking for $12 mil -- not a huge jump from the $11.8 million price tag when she and Sam Asghari bought it last year.

We're told Brit quickly moved out of the home after moving in -- mainly because the house was way too exposed for her. She didn't put any money toward renovations inside or out on the 1.6-acre lot.

TMZ broke the story ... Brit bought the place, which is located in the same neighborhood as her ex, Kevin Federline, last June -- right around the time she and Sam got married.

Of course, it wasn't a long stay for the newlyweds. As we first reported, Britney just didn't fall in love with her new surroundings and quickly looked to ditch the estate.

She and Sam have a great plan B -- the old Thousand Oaks mansion she bought back in 2015. She never sold it after the move to Calabasas, so it's back to her living room backdrop ... which is pretty iconic now, thanks to Britney's IG videos.

Drake did his make-good Saturday night at the legendary Apollo Theater in NYC for SiriusXM, and he did NOT disappoint.

The show was a timeline of his life, staged in his childhood bedroom where he began dreaming of a music career ... to the boardroom of his record label, and then to an NYC bodega.

His songs punctuated the time periods of his career ... with a little help from 21 Savage and The Diplomats.

During the childhood phase, Drake told the crowd how he sat on his bed and wrote a slew of songs.

Drizzy was amped, imploring the crowd rise up with energy ... "Don't play shy with me!"

Lots of celeb guests on hand, including Kevin Durant and Ice Spice.

Drake was supposed to perform at the Apollo back in November, but he postponed it because he was mourning the death of Takeoff. It was rescheduled for December 6th and 7th, but that had to be pushed because of production issues.

Cyndi Lauper's son Declyn, AKA Dex, is a full go on his rap career, already stacking up credits with some big-name rappers ... and, of course, he can't forget mom!

We caught Dex at LAX touting his own "F*** You Gumbo" cannabis brand, but what he's most excited about are the collabs he scored with Trippie Redd and G-Eazy for his upcoming album, especially after appearing on the latter's "Scary Nights" project.

The 25-year-old also revealed he managed to nab 3 songs with his pop star mother, but only after he earned her respect, as an artist ... not just her son.

Dex and Cyndi have endured a rocky relationship over the years -- he grew up in Harlem, estranged from her -- so he's totally not vibing with the ongoing "nepo baby" debate. Much like Diddy's son, King, told us ... Dex says he's put in enough work that his mother now loves his music. 🥰

He also provided us with an update on his arrest from last summer when, as we first reported, he was popped in NYC for felony unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Dex tells us he was simply attending a candlelight vigil for a slain 14-year-old friend when, in his eyes, NYPD harassed him.

He admits to sitting inside the stolen Mercedes-Benz ... but says he refused to go out "like 6ix9ine," and took the charges without telling officers who actually stole the vehicle.

Lisa Marie Presley's final resting place will be an above-ground tomb -- similar to what her late son was buried in ... which can now be in seen in full view ahead of her memorial.

Photos surfaced Saturday from Graceland, where LMP's stone sarcophagus was revealed lying right next to Benjamin Keough's. It appears to be in the same design and made with the same material. However, her actual tombstone name plate doesn't seem quite complete.

As you can see, there's a tarp over her side of the burial ground ... obscuring where one might see on the left, Ben's remembrance. In any case, the final preparations are underway.

Check out the rest of the property -- a stage has been built, which we'd reported was in the works. Indeed, it sounds like there'll be some performances from there ... and certainly some public remarks too, we imagine. Construction crews have been at it since Tuesday.

Flower arrangements have been steadily assembled over the past several days as well, and now ... there are full-blown makeshift memorials outside the gates of Graceland, including one beautiful one that reads LMP -- made in red lettering with a white heart behind it.

In other words, the memorial/celebration of life tomorrow is just about ready. We've been told her family is expected to gather for a private funeral at some point this weekend ... it's unclear if that's happening Saturday or on Sunday before the doors open for the public.

There's word of lots of celebs that are expected to be in attendance, including Austin Butler ... who won a Golden Globe for his role as Elvis just a few days before Lisa Marie passed.

An official cause of death is pending ... Lisa was only 54.

In the digital era, not even Beyoncé can beat cell phones -- her performance in Dubai was caught on camera by several people ... despite going above and beyond to keep it secret.

The singer's down in the UAE, where she's been booked for a show at (or near) this swanky hotel called Atlantis The Royal ... which supposedly shelled out millions for her services, upwards of $24 million for just a ONE-HOUR set -- that's the word on the street, anyway.

Tons of videos circulated Saturday in the lead-up to her gig, where people who had snagged a seat to the show were reporting that the hotel and other honchos were demanding people put their devices in locked zip bags -- similar to how a lot of comics do these days.

There was also a live feed stream the hotel had up that had been capturing a lot of her sound checks in rehearsal ... which was promptly cut off right at the curtain call. And yet, despite their best efforts -- people on the ground were able to film it all regardless. 🤷🏽‍♂️

You can hop into the Beyoncé trend right now on Twitter and see all the footage for yourself -- it sounds like she opened with a cover of Etta James's 'At Last,' and then went on to perform a few of her own tracks ... like 'XO,' 'Brown Skin Girl' and other 'Renaissance' songs.

Bey was decked out in an elaborate, flowing yellow dress ... and the stage design was pretty intricate too -- coupled with a live orchestra and an awesome rising run backdrop to boot.

Sounds like things are going swimmingly, 'cause the crowd is cheering her on big time ... which is a good sign of what's to come. Reports say this is a precursor to her upcoming worldwide 'Renaissance' tour -- and so far, it seems like the product is being well-received.

BTW, this outing is a family affair ... Jay-Z was spotted near the Atlantis -- cozy up in his own private box with a bird's-eye view of the stage -- and Blue Ivy's there too. She even came on stage with mom at one point, continuing the tradition of sharing the spotlight.

Beyoncé fans are certainly stoked ... they've been waiting for her hit the road. 'Renaissance' came out about 6 months ago, and their appetite to see their Queen Bey get on the mic has been swelling like crazy. Now, they're getting their first taste of what's surely to come.

Official tour dates have yet to be announced, but after this mass leaking ... she might as well come out with it sooner than later. The people are restless!

Hip hop's most dysfunctional couple, Blueface and Chrisean Rock, are expecting a baby -- according to her, anyway ... but he's not buying cigars just yet. So, congrats?

Chrisean dropped the big baby bombshell on social media ... showing 3 at-home pregnancy test sticks and the caption, "Guess how many heart beats?"

Normally, that kinda post gets people feeling all warm and fuzzy -- but, of course, Blueface and Chrisean are far from a normal couple.

The rapper's immediate response was to announce they're no longer together, accuse her of sleeping with 10 other dudes and finally ... demand a DNA test before he'll believe he's the father of Chrisean's child.

Blueface's reaction is hardly shocking -- remember, this is the couple that's had multiple domestic violence incidents.

TMZ broke the story, one of their most violent spilled out into the streets of Hollywood and saw both of them striking each other multiple times -- and after another fight in a Phoenix bar, she got arrested for trespassing.

Chrisean's insisting Blueface IS the father, and as far as them breaking up ... she claims he's just mad and they'll get back together soon. If not, she says she'll be fine on her own.

While some fans are sending congratulations on social media ... others think this is simply adding fuel to the fire for a dangerously volatile couple.

Lil Meech, the star of 50 Cent's "BMF" TV series, is off the hook in his Florida gun possession case ... and TMZ has learned it was all just a mix-up involving luggage.

Here's what happened ... Meech was arrested in December at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after TSA agents spotted a 9MM in a carry-on bag he put through the security scanner.

Turns out the bag and firearm belonged to Meech's bodyguard, who was with the actor and told cops the gun was his. But, police ignored the bodyguard and busted Meech, accusing him of illegally carrying a firearm into the airport because he placed the bag onto the scanner belt himself.

Meech's powerhouse attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ ... he presented indisputable evidence to Broward County prosecutors that proved the bodyguard owned the pistol, including the purchase receipt, gun case and permit for the firearm.

Cohen also explained to prosecutors that Meech and the bodyguard share the same taste in luggage. As a result, Meech accidentally picked up the bodyguard's carry-on while they were rushing to catch a flight, and Meech's actual bag was accidentally left behind.

Too $hort is all for setting great examples for younger rappers and hopes his recent trip to the White House offers some inspiration to whoever needs it!!!

We linked with Short Dog in D.C. this week fresh outta the Oval Office and as expected, he said the experience was nothing short of greatness.

Short, along with E-40, Mistah F.A.B. and Sway Calloway got to meet their fellow Oakland native, Vice President Kamala Harris ... and the rap legend says he couldn't be more proud of his hometown.

The Golden State Warriors broke their boycott of the White House in light of Donald Trump no longer being the commander-in-chief and $hort says, as a lifelong fan, he was happy to support the team in person.

He has nearly 40 years in the rap game so Short knows a thing or two about perseverance ... so, we switched gears to football to ask him about Tom Brady possibly, finally retiring. Maybe.

Too $hort is in the camp of folks who say TB12 isn't hanging up his cleats just yet.

Brady and the Buccaneers just got embarrassingly bounced outta the NFL playoffs by the Dallas Cowboys -- but, Short says Tom will give us another pump fake "retirement" and be back on the field for next season.

Ex-3LW singer Kiely Williams is copping to being the ultimate B2K groupie/peer ... claiming she was once intimate with Raz B, Lil Fizz, and J Boog. Sorry, Omarion. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Kiely had no shame in her game as she made the revelation on the "Reality With The King" podcast, calling her relations with the B2K trio an "entanglement" -- a clever callback to Jada Pinkett Smith's famous description of her relationship with August Alsina.

3LW's popularity peaked in the early '00s -- the same time as B2K's glory years, so it wouldn't be uncommon for the groups to intermingle, especially while on the road doing shows.

Kiely says she's a grown-ass woman living her truth and continued to push the lines of TMI by further revealing there was one time she was with all three B2Kers at the same damn time!!!

Naughty By Nature's Treach and his "New Jack City" stage play costars are well aware of the real-life violence in hip hop today, and hope their production of the classic '90s film can scare the genre straight.

We got Treach, Gary Dourdan, Flex Alexander and the one and only Big Daddy Kane Friday in Burbank, CA -- they're putting on the play all weekend at L.A. Orpheum Theater, and they say the production doesn't shy away from violence ... even with the recent string of tragic headlines about slain rappers.

Treach says 'New Jack' highlighted the brutality of the '80s crack epidemic, and delivered the message "that wasn't the route to take." He's hoping today's generation will take that lesson and apply it to the rap game.

Flex says most of the cast has known each other for several decades, so it's been easy to mesh ahead of their live performances -- there's no "take 2" in theater -- and they all credit director Je'Caryous Johnson for getting them game-ready months in advance.

We recently got BDK 1-on-1 back in NYC, where he told us having Allen Payne -- who's reprising his role as Gee Money from the film -- was the cheat code the rest of the cast needed to stay in line with the original.

Speaking of those NYC shows, Gary tells us another OG star, Ice-T, showed up to put his stamp of approval.

For fans of the movie ... Treach plays Wesley Snipes' lead character Nino Brown, Gary steps into Ice's role of Scotty and Flex is Chris Rock's Pookie.