Music

Elton John is the latest star to land in the pantheon of EGOT greats -- and while he might've had to wait a long, long time ... it was well worth the patience to break through in TV.

The iconic musician won an Emmy Monday night for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) -- due to his Disney+ concert special -- which was a huge deal considering it put him in an exclusive club of other entertainers who've checked all the showbiz boxes.

Of course, with his Emmy win ... EJ becomes the 19th person to have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony -- something the Rocket Man himself was grateful for, in statement only.

Indeed, Elton wasn't on hand at yesterday's awards show to pick up his hardware or to make a speech in front of everyone ... but his husband, David Furnish, and an EP from the special went up there on his behalf and relayed a message from Elton himself, "I am incredibly humbled to be joining the unbelievably talented group of EGOT winners tonight."

He added, "The journey to this moment has been filled with passion, dedication, and the unwavering support of my fans all around the world. Tonight is a testament to the power of the arts and the joy that it brings to all our lives. Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my career, I am incredibly grateful."

As for why he didn't show ... Elton had his knee replaced in surgery recently, and he was at home in the UK recovering -- although Furnish did say they called him up with the news.

Ariana DeBose's former "Hamilton" costar is leaping to her defense ... after a Critics Choice Awards joke at her expense left her visibly insulted.

Christopher Jackson, who played George Washington alongside Ariana in the musical back in 2015, gushes over the "world-class artist" ... telling TMZ she represents every facet of tremendous skill and talent to the highest level.

He's imploring folks to find another artist out there who has delivered performances with Ariana's sheer skill -- basically, he's yet to see her do anything but shine.

Christopher's also reminding us the job of a Broadway star ain't easy, so much so they have to always consider the safe route -- but Ariana's got it all locked down cause she's a triple threat in every sense of the word.

He blasts the "lazy hack-ass" writers for the joke, but Victoria Theodore -- musical director for 'The Donna Summer Musical' in which Ariana starred -- is taking a direct shot at Bella Ramsey for delivering the quip.

She says Bella's scripted line was rude, and lumping Ariana in with "actors who think they can sing" was completely uncalled for.

Victoria also noted how challenging it is to sing live on Broadway while dancing and acting, but despite that ... she says it's no sweat for Ariana, because she can perform all aspects of musical theatre brilliantly.

Ariana's immediate facial reaction to the joke has gone viral ... and she later admitted on social media, she genuinely didn't find it funny.

Maximizing the awkwardness was the fact Bella was standing next to Anthony Ramos ... another one of Ariana's "Hamilton" costars.

Green Day changed their lyrics during a New Year's Eve performance to target the MAGA crowd -- and if they were mad at them then ... they'll be extra pissed after this interview.

We got the main band members heading into LAX Monday, and you bet your ass we asked them about their lyrical switch-up on "American Idiot" 2 weeks ago during their Dick Clark 'New Year’s Rockin’ Eve' gig ... which saw them change the word "redneck" for "MAGA."

Basically, Billie sang ... "I'm not part of a MAGA agenda" instead of the OG line, and it triggered the hell out of Trump supporters, who were dragging the GD crew online.

Now, all these days later ... we asked the boys about it, including Billie Joe Armstrong -- who says it was par for the course for the MAGA people ... likening it all to pearl clutching. When we asked if BJA had a message for all the people he pissed off ... he blew 'em a kiss.

Same vibe from Green Day's longtime bassist Mike Dirnt and OG drummer Tré Cool -- who basically echoed Billie, saying they did what they did ... and have no regrets about it either.

Now, on the question of whether they think America, at large, has gotten dumber since they first put out the song way back in 2004 ... well, they had some interesting responses.

Take a listen for yourself ... sounds like the fellas think the US of A might be a lil' stupider today than they were during the Bush era. More than just that though ... we're divided.

Green Day cambió sus letras durante una actuación de Nochevieja para dirigirse a la multitud MAGA y si, estaban bastante enojados y van a ser extra enojados después de esta entrevista.

Encontramos a los principales miembros de la banda dirigiéndose a LAX el lunes, y puedes apostar tu trasero a que les preguntamos sobre el cambio de la letra de "American Idiot" hace dos semanas durante su actuación en Dick Clark "New Year's Rockin' Eve", donde cambiaron la palabra "redneck" por "MAGA".

Básicamente, Billie cantó: "No soy parte de una agenda MAGA" en lugar de la línea original, y provocó irritación entre los partidarios de Trump, explotando en redes sociales.

Ahora, han poasado los días y le preguntamos a los chicos al respecto, incluyendo a Billie Joe Armstrong... Cuando le preguntamos si tenía un mensaje para todas las personas que enojadas... dijo: un un beso.

La misma vibra venía del bajista —Mike Dirnt— y el baterista —Tré Cool— que básicamente se hicieron eco de Billie, diciendo que hicieron lo que hicieron y no se arrepienten.

Ahora, sobre si piensan que América, en general, se ha vuelto más tonta desde que sacaron la canción por primera vez en 2004... bueno, tuvieron algunas respuestas interesantes.

Escúchalo tú mismo, parece que los muchachos piensan que los EE.UU. hoy en día podrían ser un poco más estúpidos hoy de lo que eran durante la era Bush. En ese sentido... creo que estamos divididos.

Anderson .Paak no pierde el tiempo... solo unos días después de terminar oficialmente su matrimonio, se le vio México con una nueva pareja caminando en la playa.

El escriba de Silk Sonic fue visto en Puerto Vallarta el domingo con la cantante holandesa Sterre Marith Tapilatu, y claramente son pareja... tomados de la mano durante un romántico paseo al atardecer.

El impresionante paisaje hace que parezca que están en un video musical de uno de sus clásicos de R & B "Leave the Door Open".

No está claro cuándo se conocieron, pero su salida pública como pareja se produjo pocos días después de que el ganador del Grammy presentara la demanda para poner fin a su matrimonio de 13 años con la cantante Jae Lin.

TMZ publicó la historia, en los documentos de divorcio, Anderson está buscando la custodia compartida de los dos hijos que él y Jae Lin tienen juntos y quiere dividir sus bienes por igual.

Anderson .Paak's wasting no time getting back in the dating game ... days after officially pulling the plug on his marriage, he's hitting the beach in Mexico with a new songbird.

The Silk Sonic scribe was spotted in Puerto Vallarta Sunday with Dutch singer Sterre Marith Tapilatu, and they're clearly a couple ... holding hands during a romantic walk at sunset.

The breathtaking scenery makes it seem as if they're in a music video for one of his R&B classics -- cue up "Leave the Door Open."

It's unclear when AP and Sterre first got together, but their public coming out as a couple happened just days after the Grammy winner filed to end his 13-year marriage to singer Jae Lin.

TMZ broke the story, in his divorce docs, Anderson is seeking joint custody of the 2 kids he and Jae Lin have together, and wants to divvy up their assets equally.

Rick Ross was among the honored guests at 5000 Role Models' Dr. MLK Jr. Scholarship Breakfast on Monday ... a celebration he entered with a heavy heart in the wake of Big Jook's killing.

Ahead of the event, Rozay pumped up a motivational speech to all his followers in Memphis ... lose the ski masks -- or Pooh Shiesty's as they're known in the streets, and also ixnay on the gunplay.

Sounds like Ross wants the city to do better going forward. Memphis led the nation in homicides last year and Jook, who was Yo Gotti's brother and CMG Records top exec, started 2024 on a sour note after he was murdered over the weekend in the 901 after leaving a funeral procession.

Ross eventually arrived at the event where he was all smiles as he was swarmed by admirers and received The Key to the City of Miami from Mayor Francis Suarez and Congresswoman Frederica Wilson ... who stole the show dressed as a crimson cowgirl!!

Suge Knight has questioned the legitimacy of losing his Death Row Records ownership since Snoop Dogg acquired it -- but the label's co-owner says that's far from factual ... as they push the mighty DR into the next millennium!!!

Michael “Harry-O” Harris tells us Snoop's purchase of the label is as legit as it gets, and while he admits he's leery of having discussions about Suge ... he still feels the incarcerated ex-mogul is steaming with hot air!!!

Harry-O has been involved with Death Row for some time now, but a beef between Suge and him quickly boiled over ... leaving both men at the helm during times while the other sat in prison.

Harris was pardoned on Donald Trump's last day as President and immediately got to work with Snoop, re-releasing the label's catalog onto streaming services, and dismissing Suge's commentary. As he put it, the loudest in the room isn't always the correct one.

Aubrey O'Day no se queda callada sobre las cosas que importan... al menos para ella. Está utilizando una famosa cita de Martin Luther King Jr. para promocionar su OnlyFans en el Día del MLK.

La ex cantante de Danity Kane acaba de publicar una serie de videos promocionales en las redes sociales, pidiendo suscripciones y usando las palabras del Reverendo como pie de foto.

El post de Aubrey comienza con siete fotos en las que muestra sus delantera y el culo y luego se pone muy picante con un par de videos donde baila algo de twerking, y todo está acompañado por esta cita de MLK: "Nuestras vidas comienzan a terminar el día en que nos callamos sobre las cosas que importan".

No sólo cita a MLK, Aubrey también menciona a Donald Trump, al presidente Biden y al ex abogado de Trump, Michael Cohen, para atraer clics a su página, es realmente algo digno de contemplar y una clase magistral de como llamar la atención sin nada de verguenza.

Ella está publicando un montón de memes que básicamente conducen a sus seguidores a su cuenta de OnlyFans y si suena inapropiado en el Día de MLK... bueno, no eres el único que se siente de esa manera.

El hecho es que el mensaje del Dr. King y su legado merecen respeto y reverencia y el post de Aubrey está causando la molestia de un gran número de personas

Chris Daughtry is acknowledging aspiring professional singers these days might not need something like "American Idol" to launch their careers ... but he's walking a fine line here.

The 'Idol' alum was at LAX Monday, and our photog chatted him up about the modern landscape of music and television -- which, in the good old days of the aughts, made for the perfect combination of stardom on shows like 'AI' and others.

CD, of course, is a great example of that -- he didn't win the competition, but came out as a hugely popular artist nonetheless ... and he's been incredibly successful in the music biz.

With that in mind, our camera guy asks if he thinks 'Idol' is pretty much obsolete in the era of TikTok -- when up-and-comers can go viral much more easily than back then ... and break into the industry with a little more ease.

Welp, Chris won't go so far as to say 'Idol' is ancient and irrelevant -- you can tell he doesn't wanna straight up trash the show -- but he does note the obvious ... there are other routes.

Basically, Chris says he's just not sure if there are less people going out for 'Idol' in 2024 as there were back in 2004. On the question of whether can churn out megastars the way you used to in its heyday ... there, too, he kinda gives a shrugged-shoulder response.

Like he says ... he's lucky enough to where he doesn't have to think about that -- 'cause he's been there and conquered the mountain. In other words, he caught the good wave!

Aubrey O'Day is not staying silent about the things that matter ... at least to her ... she's using a famous Martin Luther King Jr. quote to promote her OnlyFans on MLK Day.

The former Danity Kane singer just published a series of thirst traps and OF promo videos on social media, asking for subscriptions and using the Reverend's words as her caption.

Aubrey's post starts with 7 shots of her showing off her boobs and butt and then it gets really raunchy with a couple videos where she's twerking ... and it's all accompanied by this MLK quote ... "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

It's not just MLK she's using here, BTW ... Aubrey's also name-dropping Donald Trump, President Biden and Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen to drive clicks to her OF page ... it's really something to behold and a masterclass in shameless plugs.

She's posting a bunch of memes that basically drive her followers to her OnlyFans account -- and if it sounds inappropriate on MLK Day ... welp, you're not the only who feels that way.

Fact is ... Dr. King's message and legacy deserve respect and reverence -- and Aubrey's post here is rubbing a lot of folks the wrong way ... especially in the context of promoting sexy content just to make a buck.

New York City's rat infestation appears to have taken a turn for the worse ... a reality that's not likely gonna get any better if you ask proud New Yorker Lola Brooke!!!

TMZ Hip Hop recently got the "Don't Play With It" rapper's take on what could be done with the rodent rampage -- last week, city officials were put on alert when the furry pests were spotted seeking warmth underneath a homeless man's blanket.

Kathleen Corradi, the 6-figure salaried specialist hired by NYC Mayor Eric Adams to solve the problem, recently told us there's a 7% decrease in rat complaints ... but Lola thinks that's only because people have just stopped complaining.

Lola's a lifelong Brooklynite -- she tells us she grew up with rats in her home to no fault of her own and says it's basically time for the Rotten Apple to realize it's ... well, rotten.

YG and Saweetie's relationship won’t have a 2024 encore … the couple reportedly called things quits --  without a hitch.

Sources close to both artists tell The Shade Room the decision to end their roughly 7-month romance came on a mutual decision -- they both think they’re better off as friends.

The West Coast rappers confirmed their union last May amid a steamy Mexican vacation and continued to step out together -- and also collaborate, as they did for Saweetie's "Birthday" single during her birthday month.

Don’t expect to see them bounce out with someone new … they’re both said to be busy with their careers going forward.

Blueface is behind bars over a probation violation that he got hauled into court over last week -- and now, we’ve learned he ain't due to get out for a while ... months, in fact.

The rapper was making headlines on Friday after officials say he violated one or more of the terms of his probation in his club beatdown assault case here in L.A. from a few years ago.

On Friday, there was a hearing scheduled in the case citing some type of probation violation ... although it's unclear what exactly he's alleged to have done. BTW, this was just the latest in several probation violation hearings during the case.

Anyway, there was video of him making the rounds online as well ... showing him presumably heading to court. In the clip, Blue said he was just there to handle some business -- although, he did hint at the possibility he might be jailed right on the spot.

As it turns out ... he was. TMZ can confirm Blueface is in custody at the county jail right now -- and according to online records ... he ain't scheduled to be released until the summer.

More specifically, Blueface is not scheduled to be cut loose until July 2, 2024 ... although, with overcrowding in the jail -- it's certainly possible he'll be released sooner than this. No word on which wing of the jail he's being housed in just yet ... it looks like they're still sorting that.

Still ... Blue will likely be out of the public eye for the foreseeable future -- something his mother was decrying on Friday, and also blaming on his baby mamas ... Chrisean and Jaidyn.

She claimed these ladies had brought him nothing but trouble -- a sentiment echoed by Blue's manager, Wack 100, as well. As you well know, he's been very active over the past 12 months on a number of fronts ... and it looks like somewhere along the way, law enforcement saw something they felt violated his probation terms -- and then rang him up for it.

We're still working to figure out what exactly Blue is accused of doing -- and getting clarity on a realistic timeline for his release. Until then, he's locked up.

Blueface's manager Wack 100 is sending an apology to Martin Luther King Jr. for what he sees as him dying in vain -- nearly 56 years after the Civil Rights leader's assassination, Wack is pissed about violence bleeding into the rap game.

Wack, like many fans, grew deeply troubled by the news Yo Gotti's brother Big Jook was shot and killed over the weekend, and declared MLK's vision to be dissolved in 2024 -- while owning up to his own sins as well.

In his open letter, Wack laments ... "My apologies Dr. King, You fought for desegregation & we turned around and segregated ourselves. Your fight for the people was turned into the fighting of our own people. I myself at one time played a part in this. My apologies on your born day. You died for what we take for granted. #RIP Dolph #RIP Big Jook #RIP King Von #RIP Drakeo #RIP Marlo #RIP NIPSEY HUSSLE"

Dozens of "stop the violence" movements have followed each of the rap artists' deaths ... but to Wack's point, don't appear to be that effective.

The longtime music mogul has since taken to podcasting and has been vocal about his past gang ties and the bad decisions that played out afterward.

Lil Nas X está tratando de limpiar el caos que su single "J Christ" ha causado en la comunidad cristiana, pero el daño podría estar hecho, si las reacciones de estos artistas significan algo.

El Sr. Montero se expresó en Insta el lunes para pedir disculpas por todas las reacciones, pero también admitió que estaba sorprendido por el nivel de odio que recibió.

Lil Nas X dice que se imaginaba que las masas habrían captado su sátira, es decir, su lucha contra Satanás en el video y su alejamiento del lado oscuro, por así decirlo. Continúa diciendo que la inspiración en Jesús pretendía ser una metáfora de su carrera resucitada.

Admite, sin embargo, que su video promocional quizás llevó las cosas demasiado lejos. Se disculpa por las payasadas, al tiempo que niega ser el anticristo enviado para arruinar los valores familiares.

A pesar del "lo siento" de Nas X, varios de los principales raperos cristianos de hoy en día no están de acuerdo. Piensan que su nueva campaña "J Christ" se burla abiertamente de su religión y ¡no están de acuerdo!

Dee-1 no es ajeno a llamar la atención a artistas que siente que están llevando a los fans por caminos oscuros, y publicó una foto junto a un mural de Lil Nas X advirtiendo que su sello discográfico —Columbia Records— le estaba permitiendo ser un maniquí de choque para los cristianos.

Dee sugirió que Lil estaba "Herido por la iglesia", siendo rechazado por ser gay.

Lecrae, el primer rapero en ganar un Grammy al Mejor Álbum Gospel, se hizo eco de pensamientos similares e instó a sus seguidores a orar por Lil, argumentando que no es una causa perdida, todavía.

El huracán Chris —que nos dijo que le dio crédito a Jesús por su veredicto de inocencia tras ser absuelto de asesinato— fue mucho menos indulgente y amenazó con resucitar las Cruzadas y luchar por su Señor y Salvador contra lo que él percibe como el mal en la canción de Nas X.