Music

Michael Jackson's estate won a huge victory in court against four siblings who claimed the King of Pop raped and molested them as children ... TMZ has learned.

A federal judge in California ruled Wednesday the "horrific" allegations the Cascio siblings -- Edward, Dominic, Marie-Nicole and Aldo -- made against Michael in their bombshell child sex trafficking lawsuit against the MJ estate must be handled in private arbitration, rather than a courtroom.

In the decision, the judge found the 2019 settlement between the two parties -- which clearly stated that all disputes would be resolved in private arbitration -- is enforceable and left the court with no choice but to send the case to arbitration.

Don Toliver's concert in Texas was abruptly cut short Tuesday night -- after cops say a man tried to smuggle a gun inside the arena, TMZ has learned.

The rapper was towards the end of his set at the Toyota Center in Houston when he suddenly walked off the stage.

The Houston Chronicle reports an announcer speaking into a microphone told everyone to stay in their seats because the concert was not over. But, a short time later, the lights were turned on, and the audience was told to leave the venue.

A rep for the Houston Police Department tells TMZ ... a 30-year-old man entered the arena Tuesday night and got flagged by a security guard after he went through a metal detector with a handgun.

Tyga's having a rough rollout for his latest album ... because Pitchfork just gave it an impressively awful 0/10 rating ... and it sounds like robots did him no favors.

Reviewer Drew Millard deemed the record "slop pop," calling it "smug and complacent and depressing."

He continued by delivering a lethal blow ... "Its very existence has made the world a worse place."

Miller slammed the musician for admittingly using A.I. on the project, saying ... "I'm not saying the record is A.I.-generated; all I'm saying is that I was personally able to generate a song that sounded exactly like '$TARFACE,' assuming it had included a song about a critic trying to write a review of a Tyga album."

Ariana Grande was spotted for the first time since she announced she plans to break free from the public eye.

The pop star was seen on her way to an airport in New York on Monday night, where she was all smiles while sporting her album merch.

Ariana announced earlier this month that she plans to "take a step back from visibility" after her "Eternal Sunshine" tour wraps on September 1.

Blueface booked it out of his own home ... after seemingly catching Nevaeh Akira doing "voodoo" in a closet.

In a stream from Monday, the rapper opened the closet door to find Nevaeh on the floor, sitting in front of a small shrine with some lit candles.

She told him she's doing her prayers and even invited him to join ... but Blueface was convinced something else was going on and hightailed it outta there.

Blueface and Chrisean Rock were pulled over by police in California over the weekend because of equipment violations, TMZ has learned.

A rep for the San Diego PD tells us ... officers made the traffic stop on a vehicle carrying Blueface, Chrisean and their young son, Chrisean Jr., as they were apparently livestreaming Saturday night. Blueface and the others had just left Blu Temple/Blu Cabana after the rapper had performed at the venue.

Cops said officers learned that someone in the vehicle was on probation, which, as part of the conditions of the court, required police to search the SUV for contraband. It's unclear who was on probation inside the vehicle.

Beyoncé is being dragged to court over an alleged unauthorized sample on her hit "Alien Superstar," TMZ has learned. 

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, a company called Hirose Enterprise and a producer named Shuji Hirose are suing Beyoncé and various music companies for alleged copyright infringement.

Hirose says it owns the rights to a song titled "Moonraker," performed by a musician named John Holiday. The company says Beyoncé sampled the “spoken-word introduction” of the song "Alien Superstar," which was released on her 2022 album "Renaissance."

Frank Beard -- the longtime drummer of the rock band ZZ Top -- is dealing with serious health issues ... and it's so bad it's affecting their tour ... TMZ has learned.

The health update comes just days after ZZ Top cancelled their August 5 show at the Hollywood Bowl.

Sources tell TMZ ... Frank's health was the reason behind the cancellation.

At the time, frontman Billy Gibbons said on social media ... "Insurmountable obstacles require canceling our Hollywood Bowl performance."

Kelly Clarkson's got a big voice, but when it comes to her assets ... not so much ... at least according to her.

The singer was chatting with the audience at her Caesars Palace residency in Las Vegas on Saturday when she got worried her boobs were gonna pop right out of her shirt ... after a gust of wind exposed her bra.

Kelly joked ... "They're too small, they won't come out. You're fine," insisting she wasn't actually on the verge of a wardrobe malfunction.

A gaudy Palm Springs pool party went from bottles popping to bottles flying ... leaving nine people injured and seven rushed to the emergency room after The Chainsmokers played a set.

The chaos erupted early Sunday during Splash House's "After Hours" event at the Palm Springs Air Museum.

Palm Springs Police say officers working the festival were alerted to an assault around 1:37 AM ... after a dispute broke out and escalated into bottles being hurled into the crowd.

Police say nine partygoers who had nothing to do with the original altercation were injured ... with some getting cut by broken glass.

Lauryn Hill's Diaspora Calling! festival rang some big stars ... and they answered -- rocking a crowd of 35,000 in the United Kingdom on Friday.

The singer-songwriter's event took place at The National Bowl in Milton Keynes, England ... and hosted by Dave Chappelle -- who has got a ton of experience working a crowd.

Hill -- who conceived the event to celebrate Africa and its global diaspora -- took the stage of course ... and was joined by Erykah Badu. Together, the pair played the track "Doo Wop (That Thing).”

Morrissey's latest Vegas gamble is a bust ... the singer has pulled the plug on his entire four-show Sin City residency just days before he was supposed to hit the stage.

Ticket holders were informed Friday that Morrissey's run at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas was canceled due to "unforeseen logistical challenges," according to a Rolling Stone report.

The former Smiths frontman had been scheduled to perform August 14, 15, 18 and 19.

Earth, Wind & Fire drummer John Paris is the band member who suffered a medical emergency that forced the group to postpone its San Francisco concert ... sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ.

We're told none of the group's three longtime members -- Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson -- were involved.

The San Francisco Fire Department told TMZ ... a fire engine and private ambulance responded to the venue for a cardiac incident, and one person was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

Sophia Laforteza of KATSEYE is taking a break from the group to focus on her mental health ... making her the second member to step away this year.

Sophia and the band posted messages about the break Friday, with SL saying ... "Making this decision wasn't easy -- but I am learning health comes first. I'm realizing that if I don't take care of my mind and body now ... I won't be able to keep doing what I loved the most for so long."

The global girl group echoed her sentiment, saying ... “We will continue to closely monitor her progress and support her journey … We sincerely appreciate your understanding and continued support for Sophia, and we look forward to her being back with KATSEYE.”

Earth, Wind & Fire hit the pause button on their Thursday night concert in San Francisco with Lionel Richie after one of their band members fell seriously ill.

The legendary funk band posted a statement on Instagram, saying they were unable to perform at SF's Chase Center because of a medical emergency involving the band member, who was not identified.

The music group has changed throughout the years, but the notables are Maurice White, Verdine White, Philip Bailey, Myron McKinley and Ralph Johnson -- and went on to say the show would be rescheduled for a later date, which would be announced soon.

Cam'ron's not playing around with a member of Cardi B's team anymore ... demanding money he feels he's owed from a studio session ... and using alleged NSFW messages as leverage.

Here's the deal ... Cam'ron hopped on the Revolt show, "Talk With Flee," earlier this week in a show recapping the first season ... and he ripped into Cardi B's team for an unreleased track and verse on a remake of his song "What Means the World to You."

Basically, Cam'ron says Cardi wanted his help with the remake, which he agreed to give in exchange for an interview ... but the song was never released -- and the interview never happened.

Cam'ron says he felt stiffed by Cardi's team and went back to them asking for either the interview or cold hard cash for his time and effort ... but he says he never got the reciprocity he was looking for ... and now he's making demands.