Music

Jingle Ball 2021 did not disappoint ... lots of big stars showed up, but COVID reared its ugly head after the show.

Nick, Joe and Kevin -- aka the Jonas Bros -- performed, along with Dixie D'Amelio, Ed Sheeran, Saweetie, Bazzi, Tate McRae and Kane Brown. It was super glitzy and as far as what happened on stage ... it seems flawless. But, the virus took its toll, sidelining one of the big stars of the night.

Jimmy Fallon hosted the shindig at Madison Square Garden.

Lil Nas X performed some of his biggest hits including "Industry Baby," "Old Town Road," and "(MONTERO) Call Me By Your Name." Shortly after the concert wrapped, Capital's Jingle Bell Ball shared the upsetting news that Nas and Coldplay will no longer be performing at their scheduled shows. Someone on both of their crews tested positive for COVID. Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran will be playing extended sets on their respective nights.

ArrDee and Tom Grennan will also perform in place of Nas and Coldplay this weekend at the London event.

This news comes after Doja Cat announced that she will no longer perform at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball stops in NYC and Boston this weekend after members from her production team tested positive for COVID.

"We recently learned that a few members on my production team have tested positive for Covid 19 and are now on quarantine," reads the message posted on her socials.

While Ye and Drake's historic concert for Larry Hoover is giving their fans all the feels ... the feds are pissed the music icons are pushing to release a guy the government considers the "worst of the worst."

One federal law enforcement source -- who is connected to Hoover's case -- tells TMZ ... prosecutors are "surprised" to see Drizzy and Ye throwing so much support behind the #FreeLarryHoover movement, considering the facts of his case.

For those not in the know ... Hoover was convicted and sentenced for an Illinois murder in 1973. He wasn't the triggerman, but prosecutors said he directed the shooting of a man he accused of stealing from his gang. Hoover is credited with founding Chicago's infamous Gangster Disciples.

While he was serving 150-200 years for the murder, the feds stepped in to indict and convict Hoover for drug conspiracy, extortion and engaging in organized crime. In 1997, he started serving 6 life sentences in a federal Supermax prison.

The feds think that's exactly where he belongs ... but Hoover's backers believe the U.S. government outrageously over-sentenced him -- considering his federal crimes were related to drug distribution, and not murders.

Our source says the feds acknowledge there are lots of low-level drug dealers who got draconian prison terms in the '80s and '90s -- think Alice Marie Johnson -- who are worthy of this kind of celeb backing. Remember, Kanye even asked then-President Trump to pardon Hoover back in 2018.

Trump shot that down, and just this past summer a federal judge denied Hoover's request for a compassionate release. The 71-year-old has been in prison for 48 years.

Things certainly got heated between DJ Akademiks and IG model Whitney LeDawn -- with cussing, yelling and even drink-throwing -- but Whitney says she NEVER pulled a gun ... despite claims to the contrary.

Ak claimed that during the turbulent interview, Whitney brandished her gun in a threatening fashion ... something LeDawn adamantly denies. The model admits to carrying a firearm, but says she never flashed or threatened anyone with it.

LeDawn now believes the only reason she was brought on the show was to be made fun of, specifically for having a baby out of wedlock as a Christian woman ... and thinks the gun claim was only made to help boost attention around the episode.

During the episode, Akademiks teased LeDawn about the gun, telling her to "reach for it" and "try it" ... but she says she never caved.

The model says Instagram deleted her account after reported "bullying" violations, but she claims she was only responding to hate from DJ Akademiks' fans after her appearance ... she added that she hasn't been contacted by the police or anyone from the podcast.

Travis Scott's Cacti hard seltzer will have to find a new home if it hopes to continue, because Anheuser-Busch has made the decision to discontinue the beverage.

In an announcement Friday, AB said, "After careful evaluation, we have decided to stop all production and brand development of CACTI Agave Spiked Seltzer. We believe brand fans will understand and respect this decision.”

According to a report from AdAge, the company would not specify if the decision came because of what happened at Astroworld.

A source close to Travis, however, tells us the two sides had an agreement that was to end November 30, saying, "this is not a cancelation or creasing of an ongoing agreement." We're told the Nov. 30 decision was a mutual one.

Cacti seemed to be a marketing hit, selling out in stores and even causing a frenzy when TS hit a local grocer in Los Angeles to promote the product.

It's currently unclear if Travis will attempt to repurpose the brand elsewhere.

Kim Kardashian wants to move forward with her life as a legally single woman, and just filed docs to do so in her divorce with Ye ... TMZ has learned.

Kim filed legal docs Friday ... which if signed off by a judge, will make her officially single. She's essentially asking the judge to separate issues of child custody and property from marital status. Kim is also asking that her maiden name be restored ... aka, drop the "West."

It's interesting ... Kim's lawyer is disso queen Laura Wasser, who has frequently made similar moves with other celebrity clients, including Dr. Dre and Kelly Clarkson -- separating marital status from other issues. It allows people to get on with their lives ... settling other issues for a different day.

What's especially interesting ... just hours before Kim filed for a change in her marital status, Ye went on stage at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, and as he sang "Runaway" he ad-libbed over vocals at the end of the song to say, "Run back to me ... more specifically, Kimberly."

Kim attended the show, bringing the couple's kids North and Saint to watch dad do his thing and give some family support.

TMZ broke the story, Kim's already taken one big step in figuring out the property side of things -- buying Kanye out of their Hidden Hills Estate for $23 million. But, there are still other property issues that are outstanding. We're told there will not be any dispute over custody ... they will get joint custody and are committed to co-parenting.

One thing is for sure, divorce or not ... Kim and Kanye have, for the most part, remained a united front when it comes to their kids and emotional support. Just days ago they attended close friend Virgil Abloh's funeral together.

It wasn't the first time we'd seen Ye make a public play for his estranged wife, either. On Thanksgiving, he released a 5-minute-long video confessing to his issues with alcohol and times when he embarrassed Kim ... including wearing a MAGA hat.

Dr. Dre and Nicole Young have reached an agreement in principle to finally put their divorce to bed ... TMZ has learned.

The two had been at war over money for well over a year, Nicole wanted $2 million a month in temporary spousal support, and Dre ended up ponying a one-time check for $2 mil and $500k in attorney fees. A photo showing the producer and businessman with balloons that read "Divorced AF" started to make rounds on social media Friday.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us that no deal has yet been signed, and as one source put it, "This whole thing could blow up again."

Michael Nesmith, singer/guitarist for the famously famous 60s group The Monkees, has died.

His family said, "With infinite Love we announce that Michael Nesmith has passed away this morning in his home, surrounded by family, peacefully of natural causes."

Nesmith was part of the quartet that was manufactured for a TV show about a rock 'n roll group ... and the group exploded with hit after hit ... at one point even rivaling The Beatles.

Among the hits ... "Last Train to Clarksville," "Daydream Believer," "I'm a Believer," "Valerie," and many more.

Mike fought for artistic control of the group ... he wanted them to be a real group, not just one that's made for TV. Point of fact ... initially on the show, they didn't actually play the instruments. He once got into such a heated discussion over this he put his fist through a wall.

Mike once said, "We were kids with our own taste in music and were happier performing songs we liked -- and/or wrote -- than songs that were handed to us."

One of his biggest impacts after the group disbanded ... he helped launch MTV by pitching a show called "PopClips," which evolved into the 24-hour video channel.

His mom famously invented Liquid Paper -- AKA white-out -- which became a cash register for the family.

Now 3 of the 4 Monkees have died. Mike and sole survivor Micky Dolenz performed their final show together last month at the Greek Theatre.

Nesmith was 78.

RIP

Kanye West was electric in his return to the stage in Los Angeles, but also showed he's still struggling to accept his ongoing divorce with estranged wife Kim Kardashian -- begging her to come back -- so they can be together again.

Ye and Drake hit the stage in front of 70,000 at The L.A. Memorial Coliseum Thursday night, and to everyone's surprise, Ye played a ton of songs from his entire catalog. One of those songs was "Runaway," but Ye started to freestyle at the end of the song while the music continued.

Kanye continued to repeat "Run right back to me!" then saying, "More specifically, Kimberly."

The crowd went crazy with those words ... but it was the only obvious mention Ye made to his estranged wife outside of lyrics that were already written in songs.

Kim was in attendance at the show, bringing the couple's kids, North and Saint. Kendall and her boyfriend, Devin Booker joined as well.

Of course, Kim's been coast-to-coast with Pete Davidson over the last few weeks ... most recently, we saw the two celebrating Pete's birthday at Kris' home in Palm Springs before heading back to L.A. where they were spotted grabbing dinner and then breakfast and snapping photos (above) with a fan in the same weekend.

Russell Wilson has 2 kids with Ciara, but #3 could be on the way soon ... 'cause the NFL star was LOVING his wife's topless twerk sesh on Instagram, letting the whole world know just how much he was feeling it.

The 36-year-old singer posted the steamy vid to her 30 million followers on Thursday ... dropping low and putting her dance skills on display while balancing a bottle of booze on her head, as part of the "Balance Challenge" trend.

"She Got Balance," Ciara captioned the vid. "That @TenToOneRum is fun! 🤩"

The clip is obviously great, but what had even more people going "OMG" was the Seattle Seahawks QB's reaction to the vid.

"❤👀❤ see you later tonight after work hahaha 🤣 #TenToOne 🤣"

Of course, the whole thing was a bit of a marketing campaign for Ciara, who became part-owner of the Ten To One rum back in October.

"I couldn't be more excited to help the brand build on its amazing foundation," Ciara said, "and invite new audiences to rediscover their love for rum through Ten To One."

Cops in and around L.A. are beefing up patrol and bracing themselves for possible gang retaliation killings in the wake of Slim 400's murder and a growing gang war in the city.

Law enforcement sources tell us that while they don't believe Slim was a targeted hit, they still think the killing was gang-related ... which almost always means revenge. Our sources say they believe Slim happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and his alleged ties to the Bloods didn't help.

We're told lately things have really ramped up between the Bloods and the Crips, so tensions are already high, and Slim's murder likely won't help that.

We're told the Inglewood Police Dept. will have a heavy and visible presence around the place of Slim's killing in hopes to discourage it from happening again to someone else.

As we reported, footage of the killing surfaced online Thursday showing the brazen attack. Slim's murderer walked up a driveway, pulled his gun and opened fire several times ... killing the rapper.

Kanye West and Drake made the once seemingly impossible a reality ... hitting the stage together, playing their hits (both old and new) and even performing the other's songs.

70,000 people piled into the L.A. Memorial Coliseum Thursday to see the "Free Larry Hoover" benefit show. Kanye and Drake danced, rapped and hugged it out on top of a giant mound in the middle of what is usually a football field.

The show started out with Kanye's Sunday Service choir performing from the stands, and both Drake and Kanye walking down the stairs and to the middle of the floor.

From there, it was a myriad of the superstar's hits -- both old and new -- for close to 2 hours. The guest list felt like an award show, Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Lizzo, Devin Booker, Megan Fox, MGK, Offset and Drake's dad, Dennis Graham.

Most surprisingly, Kanye played his older, much less religion-based songs like "Can't Tell Me Nothing," "Gold Digger" and "Touch The Sky."

Drake, of course, played some of his biggest songs as well as a good mix from his "Certified Lover Boy" album including "Knife Talk" and "No Friends in the Industry." He also shared some nice words about Ye, saying, “When we were walking through the archway it felt surreal, to be on stage with one of my idols as he runs through his catalog.”

The show, first scheduled to start at 8, didn't go on until about 9:30 ... but traffic and logistics issues seemed to be the cause of that, with cars backed up for more than an hour just trying to get into the venue.

Travis Scott says he broke his silence to start a healing process with his fans, and the families of Astroworld victims -- but an attorney for one of those families says the rapper's words did nothing to ease their pain.

23-year-old Rudy Peña was one of the 10 attendees who lost their lives last month at the festival show, and his family has since declined to accept money from Travis for funeral costs. They've also filed a lawsuit against Scott and others.

We spoke with Valerie Cortinas Fisher, the Peña family's attorney, who says the nearly-hour-long interview was painful for them to watch ... and certainly didn't start any healing for them.

Fisher says Travis' history of inciting crowds to go crazy needs to be taken into consideration when determining how responsible he is for what happened.

During the interview with Charlamagne tha God, Travis was questioned about the "rage" culture at his shows. He explained he's grown over the years, and now urges fans to "rage" by having a good time and letting loose, not by being destructive.

We had Travis' attorney, Ed McPherson, on TMZ Live Thursday ... and he said Travis insisted on speaking to Charalamagne -- despite legal risks -- to show he really cared.

Still, not everyone's buying that. Fisher says the pain is still very deep for the Peña family.

Jimmy Buffett's hotel and restaurant chain Margaritaville is taking to the high seas, literally, turning the whole experience into a cruise ship!!!

Jimmy and team just announced the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise cruise ship is set to sail for the first time in April, taking off from Florida and circling down to the Bahamas.

The cruise ship holds 685 passengers and features a Par-A-Dice Casino, a theater, spa, multiple pools and we imagine a pretty kick a** bar, too. Jimmy also had a hand in the boat's decor.

"To me, the only thing better than being on a beach by the ocean, is to be on the ocean," the singer said.

Travis Scott wanted to be heard -- despite ongoing litigation -- insisting on sitting down with Charlamagne the God to share his message of healing and how to fix concert safety issues moving forward ... so claims Travis' attorney.

We had Ed McPherson on "TMZ Live" Thursday who addressed some of the criticism TS has received from people thinking he shouldn't have done the nearly hour-long chat. McPherson says Travis was adamant, he wanted to talk, to let his fans, family and other concert-goers he was there for them ... and wants to help the healing process moving forward.

As for the fact Travis never fully took responsibility for the lives lost at the show, Ed echoes what Travis said to Charlamagne ... his responsibility now lies with figuring out what exactly happened, and how to prevent casualties at shows in the future.

Finally, McPherson reiterates what we've been told since the show -- Travis could not see or hear what was happening in the crowd -- and says the spot in the audience where at least 7 of the casualties took place never showed evidence of a problem during the show's live stream.

Gene Simmons is selling his Las Vegas home overlooking the strip for $13.5 mil -- turning a massive profit if he sells -- but he doesn't want just any knucklehead to live in it.

The "Kiss" Frontman joined us on "TMZ Live" and we asked why he decided to sell his beautiful estate and why the price has been reduced -- originally listed as $14.95 mil.

The 11,000-sq-ft home has 6 bedrooms and has many unique features -- including a courtyard, private oasis and 11-seat theater. The singer says he bought a half-acre lot next door and planted 137 trees, so it's really like no other property seen in Vegas nowadays.

Simmons stressed that Vegas is the perfect place to live with no income, state or local tax. So, why in the world is he selling it?! He says his family doesn't want to deal with the Vegas heat or any strippers -- for that matter.

His family might share an unpopular opinion, because in recent years out-of-state buyers have flocked to Vegas, and as far as the prices of homes? Soaring!!

In fact, Simmons says he could really sell the home for nearly double its price, but insists that he doesn't just want any random knucklehead living there. Instead, he wants to meet the next tenant and for them to enjoy living there.

Travis Scott is doing his level best to push all responsibility for Astroworld casualties onto anyone other than himself -- that's how an attorney for one of the victims views the rapper's first interview about the tragedy.

Tony Buzbee is representing the family of Axel Acosta ... a 21-year-old who died from injuries suffered at the concert. He says he watched the 50-minute sit down with Charlamagne tha God and was offended by what he sees as Travis attempting to paint himself as a victim.

"Axel Acosta and the many others killed or injured are the victims. Travis Scott, his entourage, handlers, promoters, managers, hangers on and everyone else who enable him are the problem. Everything that Travis Scott has done or said since ten people died and hundreds of others were injured at his concert has been lawyer driven and calculated to shift blame from him to someone else."

Buzbee -- who's already filed a $750 million suit against Travis and others -- also isn't buying the artist's claim he had no idea of the mayhem fans were going through in the crowd ... even if he wasn't told in his ears. Buzbee says, "He now says he had an earpiece in, and was not told what was going on in the crowd. That raises the question: Did he have an earpiece in his eye? Why did he purposely ignore the death and mayhem occurring literally feet from him?”

Travis has acknowledged seeing at least one emergency vehicle in the audience ... and video shows him pointing it out and seeming very puzzled as to why it was there.

Buzbee believes Travis' interview was just an attempt to dodge responsibility and accountability -- and, in doing so, he says Travis "further exacerbates the pain of those that lost loved ones. Axel Acosta’s family doesn’t want to hear Travis Scott’s excuses; excuses do not assuage their grief and pain."