Music

Machine Gun Kelly and Sydney Sweeney have never been more than friends -- despite the Internet buzzing with hookup rumors ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us the two have never hooked up ... not once, not ever. The speculation got some fresh fuel Sunday when the rapper appeared on "Watch What Happens Live" and Andy Cohen tossed MGK a fan question asking if he and Sweeney were more than friends.

MGK's reply? Peak MGK -- "Shut up, dude" -- sending the whole audience into hysterics. That was the last word on it ... at least on TV.

Ari Lennox says she's ready to give the full play-by-play about her defection from J. Cole's Dreamville Records -- now that she's finished with the "Martin" debate!!!

The R&B singer thinks the internet is absolutely insane for making her criticism go viral after she openly ranted about Martin Lawrence and Tichina Arnold's characters' interactions from the hit '90s series "Martin."

Ari says from her POV as a dark-skinned woman, she took all of Martin's jokes personally ... however, the internet largely disagreed with her observations and accused Ari of projecting her own insecurities onto a slapstick TV show.

Chicago rapper King Yella was far from a "drink champ" during his latest interview ... when the camera captured him taking a complete nose dive after his liquor intake took its toll!!!

Interviewer Cam Capone was 2 hours into his sit-down and was attempting to show Yella the video from the story we broke of Tory Lanez getting stabbed, as the rapper hooted and hollered about "clout chasers."

Yella began the interview with a fairly full bottle of Crown Royal, but by the 2-hour mark, the bottle had dwindled down to a few swigs remaining.

Demi Lovato didn’t just mend millennial hearts with her Jonas Brothers reunion -- she gave her own soul a makeover, calling it a full-circle moment!

The singer spilled the tea about the epic MetLife Stadium moment Sunday on the "Chicks in the Office" podcast, revealing Joe Jonas casually hit her up a week before to ask her to perform their classic song, "This Is Me" ... telling her she’d been a huge part of his journey -- and the feeling was mutual.

Demi also said that "This Is Me" holds a special place for her -- adding the song from the 2008 Disney smash hit "Camp Rock" was her first big hit.

Taylor Swift looks like she has big plans related to her new album ... her company has filed a trademark covering just about everything under the sun tied to its title.

Swift's management group, TAS Rights Management LLC, filed docs to lock up the rights to "TLOAS" Monday evening ... just hours before the pop star made her bombshell announcement about her upcoming album, "The Life of a Showgirl."

According to the new trademark filing -- obtained by TMZ -- Taylor's company is apparently trying to corner the market in everything having to do with her music ... from recordings to things like musical instruments, guitar picks and wireless speakers.

Sean Kingston's begging the judge in his federal wire fraud case for some home cooking ... as in, the singer wants to serve his prison sentence from the comfort of home.

Kingston and his attorney filed docs Tuesday asking the court to give him 2 to 2.5 years when he's sentenced this Friday, Aug. 15. They acknowledge official guidelines call for a sentence of 5 to 6 years, but they're hoping for a discount due to the fact Sean's never done time before, and has done a bunch of good deeds in his community.

According to the docs, Sean's organized toy drives, fed the unhoused and gathered clothing for the needy. They include several photos of him performing the charitable work. As his lawyer put it, "He did not just donate money, he rolled up his sleeves and served countless dinners to those in need."

Kelly Clarkson -- Brandon Blackstock's second ex-wife -- has been front and center since his death ... but his first ex, Melissa Ashworth, is now grabbing the spotlight.

Over the weekend, Ashworth took to Instagram to post a tribute to Blackstock, who died August 7 following a long battle with melanoma, a form of skin cancer. She was married to him from 2001 to 2012, before he tied the knot with Clarkson in 2013. Both marriages ultimately ended in divorce.

In her IG post, Melissa describes Brandon as witty, charming and an "absolute gentleman who happened to wear cowboy boots, wrangler jeans, and a cowboy hat." She says he was the greatest dad and "loved hard and he fought hard."

Taylor Swift has announced her 12th studio album -- "The Life of a Showgirl" -- and the latest "Easter egg" might just reveal who produced the highly anticipated album.

The pop star's newest Spotify playlist "And, baby, that's show business for you," has a collection of 22 songs from "Red," "Reputation," "1989" and "Red (Taylor's Version)" -- and eagle-eyed fans have noticed the songs are produced by the same 2 people ... Max Martin and Shellback.

You can put 2 and 2 together -- Swifties are convinced the duo produced the entirety of 'TLOAS'. The theory has not been confirmed ... but as fans know -- there are no coincidences in Tay's world.

Taylor Swift kept fans on the edge of their seats Tuesday, starting a mysterious sparkly orange countdown for an upcoming announcement set for 12:12 AM ET on August 12 ... and it is none other than her 12th studio album titled 'The Life of a Showgirl.'

TS is known for her Easter egg hints, however, this one caught many of her fans by surprise -- and boyfriend Travis Kelce exposed to loyal Swifties that he has been in on the news by allowing her to announce the project on his and brother Jason Kelce's "New Heights" podcast.

Get a load of this ... Taylor Swift is making her debut appearance on none other than Travis Kelce's podcast -- and the famous couple is even giving us a sneak peek.

You heard it right kids ... Taylor is hopping on the "New Heights" podcast with Travis and his brother, Jason Kelce, to record the episode, which will drop Wednesday.

But before then, Taylor has another treat in store for her fans -- which will be revealed at 12:12 am ET, per the countdown clock on her official website.

Can you guess which 'Vanderpump Rules' star put his poolside bod on full display in this eye-popping shot?! Here's a few clues to get you started ...

When he's not workin' on his summer tan, he's spinning discs and mastering his tunes n' beats. "It's not about the pasta!!!"

The Chainsmokers were all about the love ... fanboying over Amaya Espinal before bringing her up onstage for an electrifying performance that had the crowd buzzing!

TMZ’s got the clips -- Alex Pall and Drew Taggart were living for the summer dating show, hugging the S7 winner like she was their bestie before bringing her onstage at Brooklyn’s Under the K Bridge on Friday, calling her "the greatest woman that has ever existed."

Amaya was all about the love too, living her best life and working that crowd into a frenzy -- still riding that summer high!

Kelly Clarkson got real emotional while belting out her reworked version of "Piece by Piece" just 12 days before her ex, Brandon Blackstock, died -- and the clip is gut-wrenching.

Check this resurfaced TikTok from Kelly’s July 26 show in Vegas -- Kelly was choking up as she intro'd the song -- saying she wrote it back when her marriage to Brandon was full of hope and dreams for the future. But now? It's had a few emotional tweaks over the years, to say the least.

Kelly revealed she’d actually changed the lyrics to the song back in '23, three years after her split from Blackstock. But after some therapy and reflection, she realized they came off a bit angry. So, she tweaked them again, making the new version feel more grown-up.

DJ Unk's larger-than-life presence is still being felt in death ... the late "Walk It Out" rapper just received a shimmering headstone that rivals those Big Oomp chains he used to wear!!!

The blinged-out headstone was crafted courtesy of Cemetery Tim's services, who tells TMZ Hip Hop that it was Unk's wife, Sherkita, who reached out to him and provided some of her favorite photos she wanted to use for his headstone.

Unk's headstone was installed and it debuted Sunday at South View Cemetery in Atlanta.

DDG had his life tampered with when someone swatted the rapper/streamer during his paintball tournament -- and cops say they're actively looking for the culprit responsible!!!

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department tells TMZ Hip Hop they responded to a call on Sunday afternoon along the 31000 Block of Charlie Canyon Rd in Castaic -- just north of Los Angeles -- reporting a male adult was brandishing and shooting a firearm, threatening to harm everyone around him.

Sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene, drew their guns, then cuffed and briefly detained DDG ... all captured on his livestream channel for his legions of fans to witness.

Maluma just schooled a mom for bringing her baby to his concert without ear protection for the child -- and his epic public smackdown is sparking major debate online!

The TikTok clip is straight-up wild – Maluma, on his "+Pretty +Dirty World Tour" in Mexico City over the weekend, suddenly hit pause and blasted a woman in the crowd ... "Do you think it’s a good idea to bring a 1-year-old to a concert where the decibels are this f***ing high?"

Maluma kept going in Spanish, telling the mother her infant had no clue what was going on, slamming her for swinging the little one around like a toy.