Music

It might be time for The Weeknd to invest in a new mantel -- he continues to rack up awards, despite the Grammys snub ... this time taking home the most trophies at the iHeartRadio Awards.

Abel was the winner of 3 pieces of hardware Thursday night -- including the coveted Song of The Year and Top Male Artist awards -- for his single, "Blinding Lights," and album "After Hours." The 3 wins tied him with BTS for the most of the night.

The singer was humble in accepting, thanking his team and his fans ... but you gotta imagine the last couple weeks have brought him great vindication after leaving the Grammys with goose eggs.

Fans and fellow artists were outraged when "After Hours" was snubbed. Abel vowed to never submit his work to the Recording Academy for Grammy consideration again, accusing "secret committees" within the org of getting it wrong.

However, just last week, the singer was validated when he took home 10 trophies -- the most of any artist -- at The Billboard Awards.

Guy Fieri smells a comeback in the restaurant industry ... and to celebrate he's throwing a huge party with the help of some famous friends.

The official Mayor of Flavortown will be on "TMZ Live" Monday and says he hopes America's reached the point it can finally be done talking about restaurant closures due to the pandemic ... and begin looking forward.

Enter Guy's Restaurant Reboot ... a live stream special set for June 12 at 7 PM across all of Guy's social media platforms. America's favorite chef calls it a celebration of local restaurants across America.

It's pretty sweet ... Guy and his team got huge backing from LendingTree and Pepsi to support the festivities. Shaq and Gronk will visit their favorite joints in Atlanta (Park Tavern) and Tampa Bay (Datz Restaurant) and actually cook their favorite items.

Diplo and Old Dominion will provide the music. And, $300k will be given away to restaurateurs and entrepreneurs to keep their businesses afloat.

Guy's on a mission to get restaurants up and running again after the pandemic pummeled the industry. More than 100k restaurants either temporarily or permanently closed.

Cardi B claims she had ZERO involvement in the NYC beatdown of an autograph seeker ... and that's why she wants the guy's lawsuit against her tossed out of court.

According to new docs, obtained by TMZ, Cardi says autograph seeker Giovanni Arnold instigated the alleged attack in May 2018 following a Met Gala after-party. She claims Arnold can be heard on video verbally attacking her and Offset after unsuccessfully and aggressively trying to get her autograph.

The most incriminating part of the video, according to Cardi, is when Arnold shouts, "Please beat me up. I'll take all of your money."

In his lawsuit, Arnold alleged Cardi's 3 security guards dished the can of whoop-ass, but the rapper's calling BS. In docs, Cardi claims the unknown assailants did not work for her, nor did she give them directions or instructions to beat up anyone.

As for Arnold's allegation, he feared Cardi was going to slap him -- well, she's kinda laughing that off, saying she was 7 months pregnant at the time ... so it's highly unlikely anyone would legitimately fear her carrying out a physical attack.

Bottom line ... Cardi claims Arnold is a professional autograph hound who triggered the beatdown in order to get money from celebs -- but since she wasn't involved in the attack, she shouldn't be sued.

One of the real singing voices behind the infamous pop duo Milli Vanilli has died at the age of 66 after a battle with COVID-19 ... according to his daughter.

John Davis' daughter, Jasmin, revealed her dad died May 24 with a post that read, “My dad passed away this evening through the coronavirus.” She continued, “He made a lot of people happy with his laughter and smile, his happy spirit, love and especially through his music. He gave so much to the world! Please give him the last round of applause. We will miss him dearly.”

The Milli Vanilli duo the public came to know was made up of members Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The pair won a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1990 after their wildly successful "Girl You Know It's True" album dropped the year before.

However, after wildly successful year -- including multiple #1 hits and tours -- Fab and Rob and their producer came clean that it was all a front. They didn't actually sing the songs they'd released, and it was really Davis' voice, and a few others, on the records.

Perhaps the most infamous moment for the pair came during a live performance for MTV in 1989 when the track for "Girl You Know It's True" skipped on a loop, leaving the duo on stage embarrassed.

From there, it was all downhill for Morvan and Pilatus ... they eventually gave up their Grammy, and lawsuits and demands for refunds came flooding in from fans.

Davis attempted to form his own group with one of the original ghost singers, but couldn't repeat the group's success.

"School of Rock" star Kevin Clark, who played the drummer, is dead after a motorist hit him while he was cycling around Chicago ... TMZ has learned.

The professional drummer -- best known as Freddy Jones, aka Spazzy McGee -- was riding his bicycle on the Northwest Side of Chicago early Wednesday morning when he was struck by a Hyundai Sonata ... according to police.

Kevin was rushed to a hospital, but was pronounced dead at 2:04 AM CT ... according to the Cook County Medical Examiner.

Kevin's sister says he was riding his bike home at the time of the accident. Police say a 20-year-old woman was driving the car that struck and killed Kevin. She was not arrested, but has been issued citations.

As we first reported ... Kevin caught up with Jack Black back in 2018 for an impromptu 'SoR' reunion during a Tenacious D set in Chicago.

Kevin gave Jack a custom shirt from his own band, Dreadwolf, and JB threw it on immediately.

"School of Rock" was Kevin's only movie credit, and he once told us he only got the 2003 role because he could actually play the drums.

Clark was 32.

RIP

The search for Ellen's successor didn't take long, and doesn't come as much of a surprise ... "The Kelly Clarkson Show" will take over the slot currently held by "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" after her 19th season concludes.

NBC made the announcement that Clarkson's show -- currently in its second season and airing in all of the network's markets -- is expected to replace Ellen's by Fall 2022.

As we first told you ... Kelly had been penciled in as the front-runner for Ellen's coveted, syndicated hour of television pretty much since her talk show launched in Fall 2019.

The show debuted to huge ratings, and with NBC honchos predicting DeGeneres would pull the plug on her show eventually ... Clarkson seemed like the perfect successor.

Problem is, Kelly's show's ratings dipped big time during the pandemic -- as did a lot of other daytime programs -- so there was some uncertainty if NBC would still go with her, or opt for someone new ... like, perhaps, Tiffany Haddish.

Clearly, the network wanted to eliminate all doubt by crowning Kelly.

Here's the first look at Ariana Grande's wedding dress ... and it's absolutely gorgeous.

The "7 Rings" singer just shared a photo dump from her big day earlier this month, when she slid a wedding ring on her new husband, Dalton Gomez's finger. There were only 20 people watching at her home in Montecito.

TMZ broke the story of the wedding, and Ariana just confirmed the date -- she got hitched May 15.

Ariana's home was decorated with lots of white flowers and white candles.

Vera Wang designed Ariana's silk wedding dress, following up on a pact they made a few years back at the Met Gala, and Dalton wore a Tom Ford suit ... according to Variety.

Check out all the pics ... there's a bunch of kissing, huge smiles and even a cute little pup.

Akon deserves an award for Most Respectful Citizen Calling the Cops, because he seriously kept his cool with a 911 operator ... who gave him a hard time while he tried to report his stolen ride.

TMZ has obtained the audio of Akon's call to Atlanta PD late Monday night -- where he says his Range Rover got jacked from him at a gas station ... while he was pumping.

It sounds like Akon had called 911 at least a couple times by the time he spoke with this operator, based on the convo he has with this woman, who honestly ... kinda breaks his balls a bit in the chat, and hilariously so.

Take a listen for yourself -- Akon starts by telling her he'd been carjacked at a gas station, and when she asks for the address, he gives her one ... but she quickly shoots that down as NOT being an Atlanta-area address, and asks him again.

Comes off as kinda rude, but Akon's still cool. He apologizes -- scrambling to get her the info she needs -- and eventually tells her he's actually got a tracker on the Rover, and he's providing the address where the vehicle is ... and that this is him calling 911 again to get the cops to respond faster.

The operator seems to take her sweet time processing the info, and then goes back to where this all happened in the first place. She asks if he was carjacked at gunpoint, and when he says no ... she sharply responds, "That ain't a carjacking," and says his car was simply stolen.

Akon agrees with her, and drops "yes, ma'am" throughout the call ... until finally, he tells her a squad car has arrived and they hang up.

DMX's first posthumous album is going to be named after his youngest son -- something that had been in the works before he passed ... and it's now happening thanks to a longtime collaborator.

The CEO of Ruff Ryders Inc., Joaquin Dean, tells TMZ, X's newest album -- the first to hit shelves since his passing -- is going to be titled "Exodus" ... but fans might not have realized it was an idea X had kicked around at length before he died.

We're told DMX had been working on this album for the past year ... as he was growing closer and closer to his 4-year-old, whom he shared with his widowed fiancee, Desiree.

Dean says X had expressed to his lifelong friend Swizz Beatz -- who helped produce "Exodus" -- he wanted to name the project after his boy. So, to fulfill that wish, Swizz made the call to honor X's wish.

In addition to the title, there are two tracks on the album that reference X's relationship with his son -- including a track called "Exodus Skit" and "Letter to my Son (Call Your Father)." "Exodus" also happens to be the final tattoo DMX got before his passing.

Marilyn Manson's dodging authorities in New Hampshire ... at least according to cops who have a warrant to arrest him for an alleged assault, which we've learned went down at a concert, and appears to be a case of stray spit.

According to Gilford PD in NH... Manson is facing 2 counts of misdemeanor simple assault for the alleged run-in with a videographer. TMZ's obtained video that shows Manson sticking his face right in the camera lens, and unloading a huge wad of spit.

It's pretty graphic, as loogies go, but they don't call him a shock rocker for nothing. The videographer's camera was feeding the big screens during the show at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion.

Police confirm the alleged assault took place during that August 2019 concert, and say the videographer, who was in the pit area at the time, was hired by the venue.

According to sources familiar with the case, the videographer is alleging some of Manson's saliva got on them, and that's why they went to cops. Gilford PD tells TMZ the alleged victim suffered "no injuries," but Manson was charged because the spitting constitutes "unprivileged physical contact."

Cops claim Manson, his agent and his legal team have known about the warrant for some time and despite that ... "no effort has been made by him to return to New Hampshire to answer the pending charges."

Our sources in Manson's camp deny that, and say they've been in contact with police ever since the warrant was issued back in October 2019.

If Senator Rand Paul wants to keep beefing with Richard Marx, it sure seems like the '80s hitmaker will be right here waiting for him ... on Twitter.

Marx is not taking a social media break after Paul publicly accused the singer of calling for violence against him, which the Senator suggested was the reason a suspicious, powder-filled letter was delivered to his home Monday.

If you missed it, Sen. Paul tweeted ... "I take these threats immensely seriously. As a repeated target of violence, it is reprehensible that Twitter allows C-list celebrities to encourage violence against me and my family."

Rand added ... "Just this weekend Richard Marx called for violence against me and now we receive this powder filled letter." BTW -- the authorities determined the substance in the package was non-toxic.

So, what did Marx say that got Paul so riled up? According to Marx, it was just a "wise-crack" about Rand's neighbor ... you know, the one who beat up Rand in 2017 over a reported landscaping dispute.

Marx tweeted on Sunday ... "I'll say it again: If I ever meet Rand Paul’s neighbor I’m going to hug him and buy him as many drinks as he can consume."

That was enough for the Senator to accuse the singer of inciting violence, but Marx is not backing down or apologizing for his initial tweet.

Instead, he's publicly scoffing at the claim and pointing out all the ways he says Paul has put people at risk with his behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic ... including recently stating that he's against getting vaccinated.

Marx has also been responding to people saying he should be kicked off Twitter by sending links to stories of GOP figures -- including former President Trump -- allegedly inciting violence or being reckless with their words.

Rap phenom Metro Marrs drew a loud ovation after making it rain at his high school graduation ... but the stunt ended up getting him detained by cops.

So, here's the deal ... Marrs graduated from Langston Hughes High in nearby Atlanta and when he crossed the stage Friday, he decided to go out with a bang. You can see from the video he took wads of cash out from his pants and made it rain ... to the delight of his fellow grads.

The crowd went absolutely nuts ... and grads were more than happy to raise their arms and catch all the green. But, school officials were not happy campers. You can see several of them get up off their seats to corral the 18-year-old rapper who just recently signed with Quality Control ... the label home to Migos, Lil Yachty and City Girls.

Marrs, though, had a can't-stop-won't-stop attitude ... 'cause he kept going into his waistband for more dough. All-in-all ... he threw around $10k in cash to his cap-and-gown colleagues.

Cops stepped in to escort him out of the ceremony ... and we're told he was detained for inciting a riot and disorderly conduct and then ticketed for the offense.  If you ask us, it's ridiculous -- inciting a riot because the grads grabbed some dough?  Really outrageous.

Lady Gaga's dog walker says he's constantly reminded of that horrifying moment he was shot, because strangers constantly want to talk to him about it ... and he's tired of it.

Ryan Fischer poured his heart out Monday, saying over the last few weeks -- ever since Gaga's dognappers were arrested -- he's had to relive the trauma of being shot and nearly killed ... making his recovery and healing that much more difficult.

He says people come up to him and say, "You're Ryan! You got shot. You were shot! Where were you shot? Where'd they shoot you?" In the emotional IG post, Ryan added it's strange being known as the Gaga guy who got shot, but even worse ... he says those conversations bring him right back to the moment he got shot in the chest at point-blank range.

Ryan says, "It's not intentional; it comes from kindness and compassion that I welcome ... It just hasn't always been easy to navigate as I continue to find myself."

He also says he feels like he doesn't have a purpose "because I'm not yet in the proper headspace to care for dogs." Our Gaga sources say Ryan was back at work as recently as last week, but it's unclear when he decided he couldn't do it anymore.

TMZ broke the story ... Ryan was shot in February and thieves ultimately made off with Koji and Gustav ... leaving him bleeding and yelling for help on the sidewalk.

Ray J's living proof the rich just get richer ... because his investment yielded a 17,000 percent return on his investment ... yes, 17,000 PERCENT!!!

Ray J was playing a penny-slot game called "Buffalo" and won $17,000. We're told he plunked down a total of $100 so, yeah, it was a good day at the slots.

In case you want in ... Ray hit up the San Manuel Casino in San Bernardino County. It was quite the scene ... a crowd gathered to watch Ray J rake in the dough.

He played the slots because he considers himself an old man now, and that's what old folks do. BTW ... he's 40.

Ray has retired his days as a big gambler on table games, particularly roulette ... and his most recent lucky streak is probably a sign that's a good idea.

It's not like he needs money ... Ray's Raycon earbuds hit a milestone earlier this year ... 1 million unique customers who paid between $80 and $150 a pop. Translation ... he made a fortune, and that's just on one product.

Rapper Mo Fayne's song and dance about needing to get out of jail to fix a bum wing and send his daughter off to college didn't fly ... 'cause the judge just denied his request.

The "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta" star had a hearing Monday in Georgia, where prosecutors argued Fayne should remain locked up behind bars until sentencing in his federal bank fraud cause ... for which he's already pled guilty.

For starters, prosecutors said Fayne should NOT be let out of jail because long before he was locked up he had already been looking for ways to finagle his way out of jail by Googling which countries he could head to without fear of extradition.

Prosecutors also said Fayne's a hardcore fraudster who talked about swindling other people. They called him a menace and a danger to the public.

The judge shared the feds' concerns about Fayne's online travel search, as well as allegations he'd bragged to a witness he wouldn't end up spending a day in jail.

Fayne's been locked up since December after violating the terms of his bond for allegedly contacting a potential witness. He's slated to be sentenced in September.

TMZ broke the story ... Fayne pled guilty to 6 counts of federal bank fraud after prosecutors say he funded a lavish lifestyle during the pandemic with a Paycheck Protection Program loan. He's accused of using the money to pay off debts, like child support.