Music

Not part of the Throb Mob yet? Buckle up, ’cause Boy Throb -- the TikTok viral boyband -- will soon have your hearts throbbing too ... but they want to make one thing crystal clear, telling TMZ they’re not satire ... even if the full group hasn’t hit the stage together just yet!

Three of the four Throbbers -- Evan Papier, Anthony Key and Zachary Sobania -- chatted with TMZ Thursday fresh out of a Chase Bank ... where they were trying to score a loan to cover visa costs to get their fourth member, Darshan Magdum, from India to the U.S. Yeah -- that’s one big indicator of just how serious they are.

Their infectious, high-energy hustle to get Darshan -- currently holding it down on Zoom -- over to the States has sent them rocketing to viral fame. And with Grammy dreams already locked in, the guys insist they’re built to last.

Barack Obama let that prima donna spice up his life this year -- the 44th president revealed his favorite music of 2025 ... and none other than BLACKPINK was in ink!

"Jump" by Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé popped up near the top of Obama's official playlist for the year ... so it's safe to say he's the newest member of the BLINK fandom!!

Either that, or Barry O fell victim to Diplo's production on the track. Regardless, it's a big deal for the genre ... as it marks the first-ever K-Pop song to be recommended by the former commander-in-chief.

The high-paced and confident single was released in early July and fed the appetite of hungry Blinks who craved new music after the foursome went on hiatus in late 2023.

Death and taxes are unavoidable, but Britney Spears is trying to get out of making a $600,000 payment to the IRS ... and she says the tax man is grossly mistaken.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the IRS sent Britney a Notice of Deficiency for the tax year ending 2021, claiming she owes over $600K.

Britney is disputing the figure ... and she filed her own legal response claiming the IRS miscalculated and that she doesn't actually owe the tax man so much as a dime.

It's Friday ... y'all feelin' tapped out?! Tap-In to this week's hottest stories Gen-Z couldn't live without!

Lucy Hale and Ian Harding teased a video on socials, "Good To Be Back ...", while sippin' on some to-go coffee ... the setting in which they snapped the moment could definitely pass as a production office somewhere, just sayin'!

Lucy later confirmed on her page, she and Harding are set to star in a holiday rom-com next year!

Our jaws hit the floor when we stumbled upon this dynamic duo -- SZA and Selena Gomez! The two icons cozied up for a photo -- which was shared on SZA's social media, but do we think there's a music collab on the way?!

Charlamagne Tha God is here to stay at "The Breakfast Club" and iHeartMedia, despite hater reports ... the radio czar just signed a new $200 million deal with iHeartMedia!!!

Much speculation surrounded Charlamagne's status with iHeart in the wake of the shake-ups at Hot 97, which led to the departure of Ebro Darden, Peter Rosenberg, and a few others.

However, Charlamagne broke the news through Forbes on Friday, expressing his desire to expand his Black Effect network into the "BET" of podcasting!!!

Cupid has a new name ... and it's Andrea Swift! Taylor Swift's mom revealed she's the one who set her famous daughter up with her NFL star fiancé Travis Kelce in a scene from the 'End of an Era' docuseries.

In the video, Andrea recalled watching a viral clip from Travis' "New Heights" podcast in which he talks about going to one of Taylor's concerts and being disappointed that he didn't get to give Taylor his phone number.

Loving his earnest gesture -- and handsome face -- Andrea immediately called up the biggest Kansas City Chiefs fan she knew to give her the deets on the team's future hall of famer.

Top Dawg Entertainment's annual Christmas Concert was once again the talk of the city of Watts with plenty of gifts and cheers being distributed ... and performances from several of the biggest artists, EVER!!!

TMZ Hip Hop was live and direct inside the renowned Nickerson Gardens housing projects once again to take in the festivities, which included blockbuster performances.

Kendrick Lamar and SZA shut down the evening, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg spread "California Love," and R&B sensation Mario performed "Let Me Love You."

Jelly Roll’s slate is officially clean ... Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee granted the country star a full pardon Thursday, scrubbing the country star's felon past!

The "Need a Favor" hitmaker has never tried to hide his troubled history ... he was in and out of jail for about a decade beginning at the age of 14 for convictions including aggravated robbery, drug possession, drug dealing and shoplifting. His felony convictions include a robbery when he was a teen -- for which he was tried as an adult -- and drug charges at 23.

Now, those felonies are removed from his record and he will have an easier time booking international tour dates, and carrying out Christian ministry-adjacent work without having to go through extra red tape.

Russell Brand is no fan of his ex-wife Katy Perry's budding relationship with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ... and mainly Justin himself, calling him a "globalist stooge."

The British actor-comedian hit the stage at a Turning Point USA event in Phoenix, Arizona Thursday night and at one point, Russell offered his 2 cents about Katy and Justin's new romance.

He told the packed crowd ... “Look, Katy Perry, I was married to her. I love her still, and I’m glad that her mom’s in the room to hear me say this, but look. I was okay with Orlando Bloom, but Justin Trudeau? Come on, man! Don’t put me in a category with that guy! That globalist stooge."

It's unclear if Katy's mom was at the TPUSA event, BTW.

The "Ghost Adventures" episode featuring Weezer bassist Scott Shriner’s ex-wife, Jillian, is about to air ... and TMZ’s got the chilling first look, giving a pretty unsettling peek into her headspace before that wild run-in with cops earlier this year.

Have a look -- Zak Bagans says things took a seriously dark turn after Jillian gifted him serial killer Samuel Little's ashes, along with hand-drawn portraits of his victims that he’d left her in his will after she once wrote a book about him.

Riley Keough was snapped out and about for the first time since a bombshell lawsuit allegation claiming she's the biological mother to John Travolta's youngest son ... and TMZ has the shots.

Check out the pics ... Riley seemed to be in good spirits, doting on her kids among Christmas lawn decorations. A nanny helps Riley rally the two children while they admire the gingerbread man, miniature reindeer and tiny sleigh on a front lawn.

Riley shares two kids with husband Ben Smith-Petersen -- daughter Tupelo, 3, and a second child, whose name has not been publicly disclosed, who was born earlier this year.

Put down your bottles and pick up this genie posing with her Erewhon smoothie! Do you think you've got what it takes to sip up the sexy singer?!

This sultry swooner's been around since the '90s, and she's "ain't no other!" Catch her in Vegas for her live show ... or showin' off her stunning looks on socials!

Ebro Darden's morning show exile from Hot 97 last week blindsided the entire Tri-State area ... including DJ Drewski, who found out about his coworker getting canned like everyone else -- on the internet!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Drewski outside Johnny Donovan's 9th annual Celebrity Christmas Party this week, which benefits Little Flower Children Services.

Drewski is thankful to still have a job this holiday season and was aware his station was making changes. Still, he thinks Hot 97 skimmed out on the HR protocol, giving everyone the heads up "Ebro in the Morning" had been canceled.

Ella Mai is finally opening up about her son with Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum ... revealing in a new interview this week she feels the little man has both mommy and daddy's talents!!

The "Little Things" singer jumped on the British radio station KISSXTRA to discuss her upcoming album "Do You Still Love Me?" ... but the host also snuck in questions about her motherhood journey.

Mai lit up when she spoke about her son ... saying he's put his musical skills on display -- so who knows, maybe he's the next Troy Bolton?!

Mustard is on the beat and on his ex-wife Chanel Thierry's case, claiming she's been blasting him on social media ... and now he's asking a judge to give him full legal custody of their kids over it.

In court documents, obtained by TMZ, Mustard -- whose real name is Dijon McFarlane -- says he wants sole legal custody of his and Chanel's three children -- Kiylan, 13, Kauner, 10, and Kody, 6.

The ex-couple shared legal custody of the kids under the previous order. At the time, the judge also specifically prohibited both of them from speaking in a "negative, disrespectful, or derogatory manner to or about the other" in their children's presence or "within hearing distance of the child."

In new court papers filed by attorney Samantha Spector, Mustard alleges Chanel violated that order by making disparaging social media postings about him ... including Chanel posting to Threads on October 26, writing, "Dijon I know you are reading this, I'm so sick of your s***. You suck."

"The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants" became ground zero for panicked parents testing their cover-your-kids'-eyes reflexes ... 'cause Ice Spice rolled in to the family-friendly affair practically naked!

The rapper -- who has a role in the flick and contributed the original song "Big Guy" -- went shockingly bold at the NYC premiere for the PG-rated movie Wednesday, rocking a sheer lace getup that left little to the imagination, flashing her thong and plenty of bare cheek.

Ice was posing up a storm in front of that bright, bubbly SpongeBob backdrop ... a wild juxtaposition, considering this was a kids’ movie premiere with families everywhere.