Music

Awards season is around the corner, and you can tell as Hollywood's biggest stars stepped out for various events this week ... bringing all of the star power to Tinseltown.

For starters, Paul Mescal's press tour for "Gladiator II" has yet to slow down, with the Irish actor stepping out in a crisp blazer and tan shirt for a special screening of his action movie in NYC.

Troye Sivan popped up at the ARIA Awards this week, rocking some clean neutrals for the occasion and a pair of shades ... which makes sense given the fact it's spring down in Australia.

Tyga and his main man Alexander 'AE' Edwards went hard in the paint for the "Rack City" rapper's 35th birthday on Wednesday ... and were wearing the after-effects on Thursday!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the Last Kings crew at LAX on Thursday en route to Tyga's Rolling Loud show in Thailand this weekend, and got a little chit-chat about his recent birthday blowout, when he rented out Six Flags!!!

We brought you the inside scoop -- Tyga, YG, AE, Mustard and more clowned around by the carnival games and rode the roller coasters.

They later hit up Nice Guy in WeHo, where Chris Brown joined the party ... which went all night long. Tyga tells us it was a blast ... that's pretty much all he had until he could recharge on the 20-hour flight!!!

Tyga managed to pass the mic to AE, who was also in healing mode in the cut. At least his diamond teeth were still intact.

Kendrick Lamar just disrupted the hip hop game once again for 2024 -- with a surprise release of his new 12-track album "GNX" hot off the presses and straight to the DSPs!!!

On Friday, Kendrick popped out of nowhere, raining on pre-announced albums from artists such as Ice Cube and Blxst ... going lyrically crazy on the opening track "wacced out murals," which many feel is the final nail in Drake's coffin following the 2024 Rap Wars that apexed with "Not Like Us" earning tons of Grammy nominations.

On that same track, he references his upcoming Super Bowl halftime show gig ... and how all his hard work "let Lil Wayne down."

Kendrick also brags about strangling a "goat" on the song "hey now" ... yeah, he's taking his victory laps in strides with this project.

Taylor Swift's standing up for her pal Sophie Turner on her concert circuit ... performing a mashup of 2 breakup songs aimed at their mutual ex, Joe Jonas.

The singer-songwriter took the stage in Toronto Thursday night and -- as she does at all her concerts -- she performed a mashup of 2 popular tracks ... both breakup songs all about Joe this time around.

Watch the clip ... Taylor sings a medley of "Mr. Perfectly Fine" from Fearless "(Taylor’s Version)," and "Better Than Revenge" from "Speak Now" -- songs about her messy split from Jonas.

Usher turned Sin City into Spin City ... gliding into The Venetian on roller-skates and pulling off some seriously smooth tricks on wheels.

The video is a must-watch -- Usher's living his best life, showing off his favorite hobby as he helped give Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace a VIP welcome before they kicked off their skating rink residency at the iconic venue's Tao Beach.

As you can see, Usher's definitely a smooth operator -- cruising through the venue as a crowd watches in awe.

"Wicked" premiered on Broadway more than 20 years ago ... but, it seems the team behind the film still found a way to shock diehard fans -- 'cause people are posting vids of their friends losing their minds.

The biggest movie of the year opened in wide release in the U.S. Thursday night ... and TikTok is already populating with fan reactions to the movie that's leaving them awestruck.

No spoiler alert here BTW ... 'cause it's unclear exactly which scenes are making people react this way -- though the movie is supposed to be a faithful adaptation of the musical, so if you know the show, you might not be as shocked as these viewers.

Chris Brown says he's currently living a very polyamorist lifestyle and has no issues -- because honesty is the best policy!!!

Breezy was put in the hot seat on Kai Cenat's stream last night when he was asked about his relationship status in front of the millions watching ... or so they thought.

The R&B legend told Kai he's currently in several relationships, with a smirk, but didn't specify the number of GFs on his roster. He keeps it 💯 and the women are with it ... just love Breezy with your mind and not your heart!!!

One of the three men charged with selling the drugs that killed rapper Mac Miller has been released from federal prison, TMZ has learned.

According to a rep for the Bureau of Prisons ... Cameron James Pettit was sprung from the Federal Correctional Institution Mendota, California, on October 11 after he was arrested in 2019 and charged with conspiring to distribute controlled substances resulting in death. His two co-defendants, Stephen Walter, and Ryan Reavis, were also busted and indicted on the same federal charges.

Under a plea agreement with prosecutors, Walter and Reavis each copped to one count of distribution of fentanyl and were sentenced to around 17 years and 11 years behind bars, respectively.

Ariana Grande is serving a whole lotta gratitude as "Wicked" finally hits theaters -- gushing over fans and even poking fun at her press tour emotions, saying, "Who’s surprised?"

The singer got real with fans on IG Stories Friday ... flipping the script on their gratitude, saying that while they thank her for changing their lives, she says they’ve massively impacted hers, too -- helping her in countless ways over the years.

Ariana made it clear she wouldn’t be where she is today without them, saying her supporters have held her hand and healed her heart over the past decade.

Cher’s always been that woman, with guys falling at her feet ... but plot twist -- Val Kilmer was one celeb who actually ended up dumping her.

The convo started on "The Howard Stern Show" Thursday, where Howard asked Cher if men expect mind-blowing sex because of her status ... and she didn’t hold back, saying she could tell from their reactions -- yep, they definitely did!

When Howard asked, "Who would ever leave you?" Cher replied that very few men had ... before dropping the bomb, "Look, I was madly in love with Val Kilmer, and he left."

Three 6 Mafia is among the many blockbuster acts at Travis Scott's custom-designed Coachella next year -- and DJ Paul is promising nothing but the best of da Mafiaaa!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with Mr. "King of Memphis" just as the dust settled on the lineup announcement ... completely new territory for him, being his first time ever attending Coachella.

Paul tells us he doesn't care if Coachella has a reputation for being chill. He and Juicy J are gonna turn the stage area into a mosh pit like they've been doing for decades.

Tina Knowles isn't sweating Beyoncé's upcoming live performance on Netflix, despite the streamer's past glitches ... as she believes there will be a holy presence during the Christmas day production.

We caught up with the Knowles matriarch outside ABC Studios in NYC this week, where we asked for her opinion about Netflix's inaugural streaming of 2 Christmas Day NFL games ... Bey will be the halftime performer at the game in Texas.

Though the big red N caught flak during its recent Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight -- many  outages and disruptions were reported -- Tina made it clear she's confident ahead of her daughter's holiday halftime show.

Juice WRLD fans are ready to start a riot over their late hero's new album cover ... and not in a good way!!!

On Tuesday, Juice WRLD's label unveiled the cover art for his third posthumous project, "The Party Never Ends," through a collaboration with the massive audience of "Fortnite."

The cover is said to be drawn by renowned Japanese artist Takashi Murakami of Kanye West's "Graduation" fame ... but fans wondered if they were they were being trolled after first review.

The album kicked off last week with Nicki Minaj and Juice's newest collab and there was also a special listening at ComplexCon.

The 999 generation would hear none of it ... accusing the alien-looking Juice of being a disrespect to his legacy, saying he would have never approved of the shoddy art.

Of course, Juice WRLD's breakout debut album "Goodbye & Good Riddance" also featured cartoony artwork, so there's a chance fans are just being touchy.

Ice Spice took a fun-filled trip all the way to the zoo -- and not just any zoo -- but all the way over in Dubai!!!

The rap star made the long journey from the U.S. to the United Arab Emirates partly to come face-to-face with a bunch of exotic animals.

Check out the photos ... for starters, Spice looks like a goddess in her powder blue gown with her long, flowing red hair.

As you can see, she feeds a bear, plays with a lion and tiger cub, poses with a snake around her neck, messes around with monkeys, and more.

You'll have to take a look-see for yourself to examine all the pics. Trust us, you won't be disappointed.

Afrobeats megastar Davido has some words for Black Americans who think the grass is greener in the African pastures ... it ain't, and let him tell ya, you're gonna be drowning in oil!!!

Davido was a recent guest on "The Big Homies House" podcast, where he ripped the notion of Black people, especially those upset over the Presidential election, fleeing for the Motherland, especially his own beloved Nigeria.

“It’s not cool back home…The economy now is in shambles,” Davido complained to host Big Homie Kodaq, and pointed out how African citizens are being reamed ... buying the homegrown oil for more than the people who get it imported!!!

Diddy is accusing federal prosecutors of dirty pool ... claiming they showed the judge an edited version of the Cassie beating video to make him look more dangerous than he is.

Diddy and his attorneys filed new docs ahead of his bail hearing scheduled for Friday ... accusing prosecutors of mischaracterizing and concealing critical facts, including allegedly editing the sequence of events from the March 2016 surveillance video.

They claim the government has the more complete version of that surveillance video -- presumably the version the world saw when it was released -- but, instead, tweaked the order of events to offer their "most powerful evidence of danger and obstruction."