Music

The NFL is pulling out all the stops for Christmas ... 'cause not only is Beyoncé a halftime performer -- Mariah Carey is kicking off the whole day of games!!

The big announcement was made on Thursday ... with the Queen of Christmas slated to give a special rendition of her classic hit ahead of all the holiday football action.

Carey will perform "All I Want For Christmas Is You" before the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at 1 PM ET and the Baltimore Ravens visit the Houston Texans later in the afternoon.

Megan Fox is sold on taking time apart from former fiancé Machine Gun Kelly ... we've learned the actress has just purchased her own home -- without the rapper.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Megan and MGK haven't actually been living together for the past year. We're told he bought a house a couple years ago and always had a lot of people over ... which left the "Transformers" star concerned about safety and resolved to have her own space.

Sources say Megan has been bouncing from rental to rental this past year ... but is ready to settle down in one place -- and she's since scooped up a large home, worth about $8 million, in a popular celeb-filled neighborhood in the Los Angeles area.

Taylor Swift is reflecting on the end of her record-breaking "Eras" tour ... penning a short and sweet tribute following her final stop in Vancouver, Canada.

The pop star posted on Instagram Wednesday, mere days after she performed 3 sold-out shows at BC Place for the final leg of her global tour. As she's done for other tour stops in the past, Taylor uploaded a number of photos from her show ... this time including highlights from her duet with Gracie Abrams and a heartwarming hug shared with her backup dancers.

She penned alongside the upload ... "It was rare. I was there. I remember it. ♥️"

BeyHive rejoice -- Beyoncé will have more time than usual for her Christmas Day game halftime performance ... as TMZ Sports has learned the NFL is extending its intermission to give the superstar singer a longer show.

A typical NFL game halftime is around 12-15 minutes ... but league sources tell us that'll be beefed up when 'Yoncé takes the stage after the second quarter of the Houston Texans' home matchup against the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 25.

While it's not Super Bowl-level time -- the Big Game break can last up to 25 minutes -- we're told the total intermission on Christmas Day will be roughly 20 minutes ... meaning Beyoncé gets more breathing room for her set.

Dozens of hip hop pundits were in disbelief over the news of Drake suing UMG, Spotify, and iHeartRadio to probe the popularity of Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" diss -- but not Wiz Khalifa.

The "See You Again" rapper calls the legal tactics par for Drake's course, as far as he knows!!!

Count Shannon Sharpe as one of those confused pundits -- remember, BET named his "Club Shay Shay" podcast as the year's "Best Hip Hop Platform" -- and he pushed hard for a reaction from Wiz on the subject.

Kendrick Lamar opened the door for California rapper Lefty Gunplay to make history -- a move Wack 100 is calling a historic FAIL!!!

While speaking on 'Back on Figg's podcast, Wack expressed his disgust for Lefty's feature on Kendrick's "TV Off" from his chart-topping "GNX" album.

Lefty closes the track with the adlibs, "S**t gets crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious" ... Wack calls it a laughable attempt at emceeing. Wack's trained studio ear tells him Kendrick's engineer simply looped one of Lefty's takes to make it sound clean.

Sabrina Carpenter’s had a rollercoaster of a year, and she's keeping the wild vibes going -- showing off her bold style during an outing in New York City.

The actor owned the Big Apple streets Tuesday ... turning heads in a black Lillie Rubin mini dress with a bold leopard print collar, buttons, and cuffs.

Sabrina skipped none of the glamor, BTW -- her makeup was flawless, and her voluminous blowout was pure perfection.

Timothée Chalamet hit the red carpet serving looks and serious vibes at the world premiere of his Bob Dylan biopic, "A Complete Unknown."

The actor was channeling his inner rock star at the L.A. premiere Tuesday, rocking a black leather jacket with Bob Dylan pins, a fitted gray shirt -- and a killer 'stache, which is for his other new film, "Marty Supreme."

Timothée may be Hollywood’s heartthrob, but his leading ladies stole the show -- Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro dropped jaws with their red carpet style.

Hailee Steinfeld is ringing in her 28th birthday today, and we’ve rounded up some of her most fire looks to celebrate the occasion in style!

The Oscar nominee has been in the game since she was a kid ... but these pics prove she’s all grown up now -- serving up a collection of sizzling mirror selfies that scream style and confidence.

As you can see, Hailee's natural beauty shines through, especially in those bare-faced snaps where she proves makeup is totally optional.

Diane Warren's still all smiles, keeping the faith that one day that Oscar will make its way to her mantel.

We caught up with the legend herself -- after 15 near-misses, the songwriter's hoping her 16th shot after submitting her song "The Journey" will finally bring that trophy home.

Wins or losses, Diane's all about the bigger picture at the end of the day ... telling us she's beyond proud of the song, especially since it's featured in "The Six Triple Eight" -- the new Netflix film she's passionate about.

Megan Fox and Michele Morrone have fans buzzing on social media that the two could be romantically involved amid Megan's split from Machine Gun Kelly.

A video from a Q&A session on the set of their film "Subservience" has resurfaced and is going viral on social media Tuesday ... with fans believing the chemistry between the two actors suggests a potential romance.

In the video -- which we're told was filmed over a year ago -- the two engage in lighthearted conversation, but many viewers find Megan and Michele to be flirty in the video. Fans believed the video was filmed in an intimate setting.

50 Cent is downplaying his social media onslaught on Jay-Z as simple rapper competition ... after all, he spent his own hard-earned money to make sure Ja Rule had a lousy concert!!!

The G-Unit rap star came clean during his recent trip to Big Boy's Neighborhood ... back in 2018, 50 announced he intentionally bought all the front row area seats for Ja's show in Arlington, TX -- a prank he says was easy because the tickets were cheap AF!!!

50's diabolical teasing of Ja's concert woes continued this year when he clowned his longtime nemesis for having his UK tour canceled over VISA issues.

Jay-Z's staying on the offensive against attorney Tony Buzbee ... informing a judge there's reason to believe Buzbee is pressuring potential clients to make false allegations in lawsuits.

Jay's attorney Alex Spiro says a woman reached out to his firm, Quinn Emanuel, on Monday night to share her experience with Buzbee's firm. According to a declaration filed Tuesday morning in federal court, one of Spiro's associates says she got a phone call from the woman, who said she'd previously contacted Buzbee's firm seeking representation over allegations of sex trafficking and abuse.

The woman said she reached out to Buzbee because she'd seen his solicitation for anyone who may have been a potential victim of Sean "Diddy" Combs -- but she'd made it clear her allegations were not related to Diddy.

Sabrina Carpenter may be her own No. 1 fan ... admitting her own songs made their way onto her Spotify Wrapped for 2024.

The pop star made the confession in Vogue Arabia, in which she shared she was a bit embarrassed at first to see her own tracks make it onto her personalized end-of-year roundup.

In fact, she felt like she couldn't share her Spotify Wrapped results along with her fellow pop stars ... as she initially thought the outcome was "a bit conceited."

Jay-Z's rape accuser might take the music mogul's advice and file a criminal complaint against him after slapping him with a civil suit alleging sexual assault, according to her attorney Tony Buzbee.

In a statement emailed to TMZ, Buzbee said he's not ruling out filing rape charges against Jay with New York authorities, saying ... "What happens next is up to my client. It’s her case and what she decides to do you will find out in due course."

Per New York state law, there is no statute of limitations for alleged victims to file a first-degree felony rape complaint.

Jay-Z is getting no mercy from 50 Cent, who pounced on the RocNation honcho for stepping out in Hollywood amid the lawsuit claiming he raped a 13-year-old girl.

50 wasted no time trolling ... moments after he saw Jay not only show up at Monday night's premiere for 'Mufasa,' but he happily posed for photos alongside Beyoncé and Blue Ivy, who are both in the 'Lion King' prequel.

In a post he's since deleted, 50 Cent captioned an image of the Carters at the premiere with ... "Jay said they said I rapped [sic] a kid, everybody get dressed we going to see Mufasa LOL.”