Music

Taylor Swift still can't regain the "Greatest Pop Star" title from Billboard ... losing out on the accomplishment for the second year in a row ... and begging the question, who outdid her???

TS finished at No. 2. on the magazine's "Greatest" list ... one spot higher than she ended last year, but still falling short of the ultimate title.

Last year, Sabrina Carpenter and Kendrick Lamar finished at #2 and #1, respectively ... but they fell behind T-Swift this year ... finishing at #5 and #4. So the person who beat out Taylor this year will be a different star than the last iteration.

Zayn Malik has entered the chat ... after fans expressed shock, frustration and outright rage over Harry Styles' startling ticket prices, Zayn seemed to add to the pile-on during a recent concert.

While on stage at Las Vegas' Dolby Live at Park MGM recently, Zayn said, “A big, big thank you to each and every one of you for being here with me tonight."

Then, with a big smile, he added, "You could’ve been anywhere, but you decided to spend your night with me. Hopefully the ticket prices weren’t too high ... just saying.”

Worth noting ... fans are pointing out that Zayn is now selling tickets below face value -- which TMZ can confirm via Ticketmaster's website -- showing the presale prices climbed to Harry-level numbers, but eventually fell to a more affordable dollar amount.

All good things must come to an end ... even for Bad Bunny. The megastar implied he doesn't plan on doing music forever during a questionnaire with Stephen Colbert.

When the 'Late Show' host asked Benito to describe the rest of his life in five words, BB used "retired" as one of the five!

The other four were "happy," "eating," "tripletas," and "living in Puerto Rico." Tripletas are a street food sandwich staple in Puerto Rico, and obviously, "living in Puerto Rico" is more than one word, but when you're on top of the world, you don't need to be restrained by measly word counts.

"Wuthering Heights" is sure to get hearts pounding when it drops right before Valentine's Day ... especially if the energy on the red carpet is any indication!

The film version of Emily Brontë's classic novel had its world premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre Wednesday night ... with Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie taking center stage as they walked into the event.

Check out the snaps ... Elordi and Robbie gazed tenderly at each other in a preview of the quiet moments from the upcoming film.

Lady Gaga took a moment at her concert in Japan to blast ICE ... calling out the way they "mercilessly" target families in a passionate speech.

The singer-songwriter was performing in Tokyo Thursday night ... when she took a break from playing songs to get real about the state of the USA.

Gaga says she's headed back home after her incredibly successful 'Mayhem Ball' tour ... and her heart's aching for all the families dealing with immigration raids and other scary situations with the federal law enforcement agency.

Nicki Minaj is apparently one step closer to becoming an American citizen ... and is flaunting her new Trump Gold Card to prove it -- which she hinted she got at no charge!

Check out her tweets from Wednesday -- the Trinidad-born rapper posted a photo of a Trump Gold Card in her hand, and in another tweet said it was "free of charge" ... and that she was finalizing her paperwork for citizenship. She also raved about President Donald Trump, calling him her "wonderful, gracious, charming" president.

If you remember, Trump introduced the Gold Card program in September 2025. All folks need to do is pay a $15,000 "DHS processing fee" and a "$1 million gift" ... and they'll be fast-tracked to receive U.S. residency "in record time," according to the government page for the card.

We're switchin' it up and throwin' not one but THREE terrific kiddos your way ... Can you guess who they are?!

1. The kid on the left came into Hollywood like a "wrecking ball!"

2. The macho kid on the top right is ROCK solid!

3. And, the kiddo on the bottom right is "all about that bass!"

Can you guess who they are?!

After you've solved those cute kiddos, can you score the game below?

Lizzo is taking the sudden death of Beauty 2 The Streetz founder Shirley Raines pretty hard ... and she's wearing her emotions on her sleeve.

The "Truth Hurts" singer took to social media Wednesday to react to Ms. Shirley's passing ... and the tears started flowing as Lizzo spoke about Shirley on camera.

As we reported ... the viral social media star was found dead Tuesday night in Nevada, where she was discovered unresponsive next to her bed during a wellness check. Her sister told us Shirley had been healthy and was not on any medication.

Aloe Blacc is "The Man" when it comes to love and understanding ... at least according to a chat we just had with him about Ye -- formerly known as Kanye West -- and his controversial apology letter.

Blacc was all bundled up when we caught him out in NYC Wednesday ... but despite braving the freezing weather, the singer-songwriter had a warm response to Ye's latest apology.

Blacc said, "I think anytime anybody can show unconditional love and growth is a good time."

Of course, some have noted Ye has an album coming out, which could make the apology seem suspicious. The thinking is that the Wall Street Journal ad he took out Monday addressed to "Those I've Hurt," could just be a strategic ploy to get attention for the upcoming project.

Ariana Grande got to work getting tickets into the hands of her real fans after she got fed up over insanely high prices for her tour tickets.

Sources connected to Ariana tell TMZ ... her team worked with Live Nation to correct the secondary sellers.

Ariana took to social media to say she was "bothered" by her 'Eternal Sunshine' tour selling out within minutes, only for scalpers to try and resell the tickets at jacked-up prices.

If there’s one thing Paris Hilton is always gonna ride hard for, it’s her pal Britney Spears ... and she made that crystal clear, calling her an "infinite icon" during a chat with us.

We caught up with the mega-socialite in NYC Wednesday, and Paris had nothing but love for Brit ... gushing about her strength and basically telling fans to relax, because Britney will forever be that girl.

Watch the video ... Paris went full serious mode, praising Britney’s massive heart and declaring we’re all lucky to have her.

Ray J says his health is failing ... and doctors aren't even sure he'll live to see 2027.

The rapper took to social media to directly address his fans after his recent hospitalization ... telling them point-blank "2027 is definitely a wrap for me" -- while waving his hand in front of his throat like he's telling someone to cut the music.

His friend tries to argue with him, telling him to stay positive ... but Ray J just replies by saying that's what the doctors told him.

Justin Bieber's heading back to the stage for his first big performance in years ... readying himself to rock the Grammy Awards on Sunday!

The Recording Academy announced the singer-songwriter -- who was nominated for four awards at this year's ceremony -- will also take the stage as a performer.

While Bieber had performed several private shows and made a guest appearance alongside SZA in the last couple years, he hasn't headlined a major performance since cutting his Justice World Tour short in 2022 after he was diagnosed with Type 2 Ramsay Hunt Syndrome.

Ice-T might share a common name with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but that's where the similarities end ... he told us citizens should be careful, even when protesting peacefully ... because ICE agents might attack.

We got the rapper and actor out in NYC Tuesday, where he had a message to his fans in Minnesota who are demonstrating their dissent against violent immigration raids ... "Stand strong and stay out the way. These cats will kill you."

The Grammy winner has actually been outspoken against ICE for a while now. Clips from an old live show have been making the rounds lately, showing Ice-T changing the lyrics of his classic "Cop Killer," singing "ICE Killer" instead.

Since then, things have sadly gotten much worse.

J. Cole's relationship with Kendrick Lamar went south when Cole appeared to diss -- and later apologize -- to K.Dot back in 2024 ... and it looks like the experience might've made him a stronger person.

Cole appeared to address his past comments in his new track "Bronx Zoo Freestyle" -- released on his freshly dropped mixtape "Birthday Blizzard ’26" on Tuesday.

In case you needed a refresher ... Cole referred to himself, Drake, and Kendrick as the "Big 3" of rap in Drizzy's 2023 track "First Person Shooter." Kendrick responded by rapping "Motherf*** the Big 3" in Metro Boomin and Future's 2024 song "Like That."

As everyone knows, Kendrick started beefing with Drake, too ... and they never patched things up in the ongoing feud.

Cole responded by calling Kendrick's music boring in "7 Minute Drill," released the same year ... but he took it all back during the 2024 Dreamville Festival and called his attempt to diss K.Dot "the lamest s*** I ever did in my f***ing life," Rolling Stone reported at the time.

Cole claimed his apology "dropped me way out of the Top 3" on "Bronx Zoo Freestyle," but insisted he's at his best "when they doubt me."

He said being at the top isn't all it's cracked up to be ... "So I jumped off and landed back at the bottom and restarted at a level where I wasn’t regarded as much / Just to climb past them again and tell them all to keep up."

Fame comes at a price for BLACKPINK's Rosé ... because she can't even answer a simple question about her love life without shedding tears ... and it's all because she says everything she does is overanalyzed, scrutinized, and dissected.

Check out this emotional moment from Rosé's interview with Alex Cooper on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast ... Alex asks if Rosé is dating anyone, and the tears soon follow.

Rosé explains why she's tearing up over a seemingly harmless query ... if she says "yes," then it will be twisted into a narrative about her being "addicted to men."