Music

Nicki Minaj's upcoming "Pink Friday 2" album won't just feature her raps ... she's also flexing her singing skills on at least one new song, "Last Time I Saw You."

On Monday, Nicki fired off a one-minute taste test of the song on TikTok along with a montage of photos of herself, as well as scenes from the upcoming music video.

The bubbly crooning is a swift departure from Nicki's 'PF2' kickoff single "Super Freaky Girl," which she released a year ago ... and still holds the distinction of being the last rap song to top the Billboard Hot 100!!!

Longtime Barbz note how 'Last Time' reminds them of her 2014 single "Pills N Potions," where she carried the track by singing and the music video appears to contain similar vibes ... Nicki's standing on a watery platform backed by a green screen which will surely color in the pink effects.

The guy Adele defended this weekend in Vegas appeared to be getting hassled by security without due cause -- but he recorded the whole incident, so it's now clear why security came over, and why she stood up for him.

The fan in question goes by @juanp_lastra on TikTok, and he was filming himself Saturday night while attending Adele's Vegas residency at Caesars. As you can see -- he was very much into the festivities ... standing up and belting out every lyric while she performed.

On its face, this would seem like NBD -- it is a concert after all -- but it looks like some folks behind him were bothered by him blocking their view ... one of 'em came up and told him so.

Juan here was sorta shamed into sitting down and piping down for a bit -- but it wasn't long before he was up and singing again. Once again, someone came up to him to address it -- only this time, it was a security guard working the venue.

That's when Adele spoke up and asked what the heck was going on ... noting that she'd been seeing him get bothered the whole time she was up on stage. At first, security didn't appear to notice she was talking to them -- but as soon as they did, they dropped it.

Of course, this fella was ecstatic Adele came to his defense, and thanked her online -- but he's re-ignited the ol' debate about how amped a fan can/should be at concerts.

Quite a moment, indeed -- and once again, it proves Adele loves her loyal supporters.

It's just the latest example of her connecting with her fan base, and explains why people love her. Remember, she had other highlights this weekend too ... so this was the cherry on top.

A guy suing Future for copyright infringement just had his lawsuit kicked to the curb by a judge -- who apparently knows her hip hop ... 'cause her opinion is full of classic references.

Judge Martha Pacold dismissed a suit filed by a man named DaQuan Robinson -- who sued Future 2 years ago for what he claimed was a lot of lifted elements from the guy's song "When I Think About It" ... which he says mirrored his own track, "When U Think About It."

Robinson alleged he'd emailed a draft of the song to Future's team before the official version came out -- and claims Future's track ended up being eerily similar to his original tune.

Specifically, Robinson claimed Future's song touched on a lot of the same content his track did -- namely, guns, money and jewelry -- but Judge Pacold cut him off there ... saying those general themes are not protected by copyright -- and are omnipresent throughout rap.

To make her point, she cites countless examples where these topics are addressed ... such as Biggie's 'Machine Gun Funk,' 'Wu-Tang Clan's 'C.R.E.A.M.' and even Kanye's 'Diamonds from Sierra Leone.' In all of those, she says, these references exist ... and therefore, they're part of the larger hip hop well of content that no one person can claim copyright to in a given song.

The judge didn't even get to the point about Robinson claiming he sent his tune to Future beforehand because the court found the two songs weren't substantially similar enough for it to matter anyway.

There's more musical shout-outs beyond this, too -- including a nod to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Neil Young, that is). Specifically, the judge mentions their song "Our House" to dispute Robinson's claim about Future's alleged misuse of a "core lyric" that he thought was the same as his.

Basically, she says core lyrics are yet another basic element of songwriting ... and not subject to copyright protection in and of itself.

Bottom line ... there isn't enough there to claim copyright infringement -- and the judge ruled in Future's favor -- tossing Robinson's claim with prejudice. He can appeal if he wants to.

NBA players aren't the only ones dragging Noah Lyles for smearing the NBA's "World Champion" title ... Drake took time out from his 'Blur' Tour to rub the track star's nose in his commentary!!!

Drake reps Toronto first and foremost, but even he had to cringe at Lyles' comments and hopped on DJ Akademiks' page to react  ... "He thought this speech was gonna be so hard in the mirror the night before...now the whole league doesn't rate u 😂😂😂"

Lyles' NBA slander also proved to be easy fodder Monday for Charlamagne tha God's "Donkey of the Day" -- countless previous 'DoD' culprits have hailed from the state of Florida and Noah, being born and raised in Gainesville, found himself to be no exception.

Lyles, dominated over the weekend at the World Athletic Games in Budapest, Hungary ... winning 3 Gold medals and many think he got too big-headed to formulate a serious thought.

As Charlamagne -- and several NBA stars noted -- the league attracts the best players from all over the WORLD, and the last 3 MVPs have all been non-American ... and 2 of them won back-to-back!!!

Jason Momoa's status as a loyal and rockin' Metallica fan is secure with this video showing the dude taking on a hectic mosh pit with a swarm of other fans at the band's L.A. concerts.

Check out the clip, obtained by TMZ -- the "Aquaman" star was in the mix with hundreds of Mighty Met faithful Sunday night at SoFi Stadium ... and as the group's moving in a big circle, you can see the actor with a huge smile on his face.

He also shared a clip on his IG story of him heading into the crowd ... and he sounded thrilled as hell, singing along to "Fight Fire with Fire" while jumping into the chaos. Safe to say he was exactly where he wanted to be.

As we reported, Jason was jumping all over the place as Metallica's opener, Pantera, took to the stage Friday night. Apart from JM, folks like John Travolta, Tom Sandoval, and Tommy Lee also enjoyed Friday's L.A. rock fest.

Sam Asghari has his sights set on his acting career in the midst of his divorce from Britney Spears ... and we're told his family's been a pretty big priority, too, in recent weeks.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Sam, who's a SAG-AFTRA member, is planning on continuing with acting gigs when the actors' strike comes to an end. In addition to playing characters, we're told he's interested in hosting gigs.

We're told he wasn't in the middle of any projects before the strike, and obviously has nothing in the pipeline as Hollywood remains shut down, but that's where his head's at.

BTW, Sam's got no plans to get back into the personal training game -- something he'd been doing at L.A.'s Royal Personal Training when he and Britney started dating.

Apart from work, sources say Sam's been focused on spending time with his family ... mainly taking care of his mom in L.A. She came home from the hospital a few weeks ago and needs the help. She was injured in an accident but is on the mend.

Sam filed for divorce from Brit last week after getting into a massive fight over claims she cheated on him.

There's been a lot going on since the relationship was called off -- they've cut off communications, and agreed on custody of their 5 dogs ... but the big, unsettled issue is whether Sam will challenge their prenup.

For more Britney news be sure to check out our new podcast, "Fake Or Fact: Britney Spears," available on all podcast platforms!

Elton John is on the mend after taking a nasty fall at home, and getting admitted to a hospital this weekend.

The singer got treatment Sunday night in Monaco after taking a tumble at his villa in Nice, France. It's unclear what caused his fall, but it was obviously serious enough for Elton to feel he needed to be seen by a doc.

The injury, and whatever treatment he got, required an overnight stay ... as he wasn't discharged until Monday morning -- something his rep confirms to TMZ.

Elton's rep says the hospital stay was just a "precautionary measure," and adds ... "Following checkups, he was immediately discharged this morning and is now back at home and in good health."

This grandfather is lookin' his best and achieving celebrity status while he's at it ... because he's gained quite the following remaking iconic looks from a bunch of A-listers.

77-year-old Alojz Abram has garnered 1.7M followers on Instagram through the page of his grandson, Jannik Diefenbach, and fans are convinced gramps -- who emigrated from Slovenia to Germany more than 55 years ago -- is drowning in some serious drip.

Alojz and his grandson have made some near-perfect replicas of fashion choices by the likes of Kanye West, Kylie Jenner, and even Bernie Sanders' viral inauguration look from 2021.

The fashionable duo tells TMZ ... they've been doing these popular pics since Christmas 2016, and the followers started rolling in not long after that. We're told they pick and choose between celebs they're both into, as well as whoever's big at the moment.

Jannik does a lot of the research and prep -- finding the outfits and the right poses to recreate -- but it all goes to Grandpa for final approval.

Jannik says they've gotten DMs from celebs as their online presence continues to grow, and even got an invite to the DIOR x Travis Scott show at Paris Fashion Week ... which they say was their "favorite show ever."

Dutch singer Natalie La Rose was 27 years old when her name held a peak position on the music charts -- hitting the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 -- with her hit song "Somebody" featuring Jeremih back in 2015.

In 2013, Natalie signed with American Rapper Flo Rida and Republic Records. She's collab'd with some of the music industry's hottest stars including Fifth Harmony, Bea Miller and Fetty Wapp.

"I wanna rock with somebody, I wanna take shots with somebody, shot, shot, shot, shot!"

Bad Bunny probably ain't gonna be the face of Manscaped anytime soon -- especially south of the equator -- 'cause the dude's letting the hedges run wild ... just look for yourself.

The Latin rapper/pop star appears to be on vacation right now -- or, at the very least, recently was -- and he's throwing up a crap ton of pictures on his Instagram story right now that's documenting the trip, which appears to be somewhere quite scenic and outdoorsy.

Of all the photos he's posting, one in particular has caught the Internet's attention -- it's a nude selfie, which shows BB silhouetted ... and which teases his junk toward the bottom.

His penis isn't totally exposed, but the top of it most certainly is ... a tease for the ages.

Yes, Twitter's losing right now over his hot shot ... but what's also noticeable are his pubes -- which are robust and aplenty. In other words, he's rocking a very vintage look. BTW, the way people know this is because his original photo has been brightened -- including by us -- so we can all get a peek at the goods. Dude isn't shy about it ... take a gander!

What also stands out is that Bad Bunny is looking yolked these days -- he threw up some other shots of himself shirtless and in the gym ... and yeah, homeboy's putting in work.

Again, we don't know when this was all taken -- despite it being posted Sunday -- 'cause there's a clip in there that appears to feature Kendall Jenner ... and BB calling her "mami."

Diddy opened up his wallet this weekend to bolster Black entrepreneurs and creatives while in the Atlanta area -- and he did it with a 7-figure amount that's sure to have a huge impact.

The media mogul was in town this weekend, first stopping off at an event called Invest Fest -- hosted by the Earn Your Leisure network, which offers a platform to up-and-coming Black creators and venture capitalists -- where Diddy was front and center fielding questions.

While there, he made a big announcement ... Diddy's launching an investment fund with EYL brass -- founders Rashad Bilal/Troy Millings -- to kick-start financial strategies immediately ... which will undoubtedly help their growing user base and sprawling roster of talent.

Diddy says, "I'm thrilled to join forces with Earn Your Leisure. We're going beyond discussing finances and taking action to demystify the world of investing for our community." He also said any profits from this will go toward his 3 charter schools on the East Coast.

Like we said, the fund is going to pay for educational tools and resources that teach young Black investors how to properly diversify their portfolios, and how to get their businesses off the ground ... so, a great cause. Diddy didn't stop there, though ... he donated another mil.

He also stopped off at the Cricket MEAC-SWAC Challenge Kickoff in the ATL, and followed through on a pledge he made last year ... donating a million bucks to Jackson State University Football, which will be doled out over the years in regular installments.

Adele continues to be the people's champion ... turning on her own security for bothering a fan of hers in the crowd, and stopping the whole show to do it.

The singer was performing Saturday at her Vegas residency -- getting ready to belt out "Water Under The Bridge" -- and right as she seemed ready to start crooning ... she came to an abrupt halt, telling the band to stand down as she addressed something out in the audience.

Watch ... Adele zeroes in on a man out in the seats that she can see is being hassled by security, and she wasn't having it -- demanding to know what was going on/what he'd done.

Adele says she noticed he'd been getting bothered by security almost the entire time she'd been on stage, and when she didn't get an adequate response ... she ordered the guards to leave the dude alone -- noting he was just there to have fun, as was everyone else.

There's another angle that captures the action from a further vantage point, and you can actually see the security guard in question. He's a bald guy, and he's aggressively talking to this man before Adele calls him out. Sounds like it might've been over him standing up.

As you can tell, the rest of the concert-goers were thrilled that Adele was defending her own ... and they cheered as she scolded the staff. Once again -- Adele speaks to the people.

Megan Thee Stallion hasn't gallivanted much in public since Tory Lanez got sent to the slammer for 10 years -- but she's out there now ... and, boy, is this a look or what?

The rapper hit the town Saturday in Beverly Hills with some pals in tow -- and she was wearing quite the eye-popping outfit ... and that's because her greatest assets were on display in a very sheer dress that you could see right through, right down to the skin.

Don't worry, her top half is actually covered by some nipple pasties -- so, technically, no harm, no foul there ... but she was definitely pushing the envelope and getting risqué.

Even from the side and behind ... she was quite the sight for sore eyes, and her friend seemed to recognize that too, offering a little handsy support as they boarded a waiting SUV.

Indeed, MTS was flaunting her stuff and then some ... which we suppose telegraphs how she might be feeling in the wake of this ugly saga that just ended with her one-time friend/lover being sentenced to a decade behind bars. Remember, Meg wasn't there for the hearing.

While she skipped the in-person appearance, Megan did speak out in a victim's statement -- saying she still suffers trauma from the shooting incident and urged the judge to hand down a stiff punishment ... which ultimately happened. Tory, meanwhile, has said he refuses to apologize or show remorse, insisting he was convicted for something he didn't do.

Meg performed at Outside Lands in SF shortly after the sentencing, and she said "F*** all my haters" during her show, which is really the only direct messaging from her post-sentencing.

With this latest showing though -- the first time she's been out like this since Tory's fate was decided -- it's safe to say Meg's unfazed. No love lost here, and certainly no regrets either.

Taylor Swift's international popularity was pretty obvious Saturday night in Mexico ... not only did she fill the venue, there were hundreds of fans who sat outside on bleachers ... just to get an earful.

Taylor performed in Mexico City Saturday night -- she's had 4 shows in the country -- and it seems there wasn't a venue big enough to satisfy all the Swifties.

The next best thing to seeing Taylor is hearing her, and that they did. Hundreds of fans plopped down to hear the Eras concert. The bleachers were actually filled to capacity and people were turned away.

During the show, Taylor began the show with "Hola!" ... and encouraged her dancers to speak Spanish during the show.

She told the crowd ... "Welcome to the acoustic section! Can I say that, to everyone in the back, you are absolutely incredible. I've been watching you all night. You've been so into it."

Her surprise song last night -- "Cornelia Street."  That was a big deal, and Taylor knew it, telling the crowd, “You guys have been beyond patient and supportive, and it’s taken us this long to come here and play for you, So I wanted to give you a song tonight that a lot of fans have been requesting the whole tour.”

Beyoncé's most loyal fans are in full panic mode after she asked them to wear chrome to her upcoming concerts ... and we've learned that's prompted a mad scramble online for silver clothing.

We spoke with several businesses on Etsy, and they tell us concertgoers have been messaging online shops, desperately trying to find the perfect outfit to please their queen, and one of the biggest challenges is getting it shipped, STAT!

We're told chrome outfits are sellin' like hotcakes, with items as expensive as a $112 shirt already low in stock.

Sequin Fans, one of the hot-selling companies -- says it's seen a 200% sales increase in silver apparel and a 400% bump in overall traffic.

Radiancy Designs saw more than 4 times its usual traffic after Bey posted her request, with 80% of that coming from folks searching "Renaissance Tour"-related keywords.

In case ya missed it, Beyoncé raved about her concerts thus far, and asked fans to celebrate her upcoming birthday by wearing "your most fabulous silver fashions" as her world tour nears the end.

This week's Summer Hot Shots have been strung and positioned to perfection from Los Angeles -- where Zac Clejan AKA The Trap Violinist conducted some high-key shirtless shots poolside holding his instrument ... and the final product deserves a standing O!

When this lean machine isn't looking tuned while basking in the sun, Zac enjoys workin' on his fitness and playing chess, but his biggest passion is his work in music as a rapping violinist ... opening shows for some of music's hottest stars including Soulja Boy and Snoop Dogg.

"Fiddle Like It's Hot!"