Music

Coachella kicked off its first weekend on a high note ... managing to rack up a grand total of $0 in curfew fines, which seems to line up with how many tickets were still up for grabs.

A rep for the City of Indio -- where Coachella takes place -- tells TMZ ... no curfew rules were broken during the first installment of the festival, and everyone stuck to the 1 AM curfew for Friday and Saturday ... while shutting things down by midnight on Sunday.

In other words ... there was no reason to fine anyone for going over on time -- and considering the lackluster response to this year's lineup ... we suppose that makes sense.

G. Dep is doing his best to keep up with an advanced America after serving a 13-year bid ... 'cause he's been playing brain games with smartphones.

In his first interview since being released at the top of the month, the ex-Bad Boy artist explained to "The Art Of Dialogue" that his biggest challenge in freedom has been learning all the ins and outs of a social media society.

The 49-year-old Harlem rapper says he's still getting adjusted to buying store items with apps on his phone and says the pay-to-ride mopeds scattered across the streets also gave him a bit of a culture shock.

He also noted an improvement in architecture ... NYC, skyscrapers and everything!!!

G. Dep confessed to a 1993 cold case shooting back in 2010, which wound up being a homicide after NYPD did some digging and he was eventually convicted of 2nd-degree murder.

He was freed on April 4 and granted a 6-month early release but doesn't regret his decision to turn himself in.

Drake's rap Infinity War now has a new ghostwritten attack on his name, but it's not Quentin Miller behind the lyrics this time ... it's Lil Yachty!!!

On Sunday, a reference track hit the internet of Yachty appearing to be the brainchild of Drake's song "Jumbotron S*** Poppin" ... rapping most of the "Her Loss" hit as it was presented to the masses.

According to Akademiks, Metro Boomin sent the track to several sources with a "Merry Christmas" gift note attached 🎁 -- tightly wrapped with intentions to damage Drake's rep.

The ghostwriting rumors have nudged Drake since his beef with Meek Mill, however, Lil Yachty is listed as one of the many writers on the track. It was common knowledge Yachty assisted during the album process.

Metro hasn't owned up to the leak, but if it's him ... it could be payback for his phone getting hacked last month.

An avalanche of Toronto-based numbers spammed Metro for days and thousands of dollars worth of Balenciaga were charged to his account -- a caper he's fully pinning on Drake.

"Jumbotron" doesn't exactly fall under the ghostwriting umbrella, but Rick Ross capitalized on the moment anyway and fueled his Drake beef even further ... claiming Drake's Diamond-certified "Sicko Mode" verse to also be the work of a puppetmaster.

Justin Bieber's giving his fans what they want -- if just for a brief moment ... as he got back on a stage to perform live, joining Tems for her Coachella set.

JB hit the stage with WizKid Sunday night at the California music festival, performing their hit song, "Essence" for the excited crowd. Check it out ... the audience goes totally nuts as Justin appears onstage in a black sweatshirt, cargo pants and a baseball hat.

Justin's cameo was a welcome surprise ... as the singer has been keeping a low profile following his Ramsay Hunt Syndrome diagnosis.

DaBaby is being accused of pocketing a popular YouTuber's $20k deposit for an appearance on his channel ... a claim the "BOP" rapper isn't denying, but says he's simply collecting the fee to pay for his wasted time!!!

A guy named Michael Wright -- who also goes by Lah Mike -- runs the YouTube series "20 vs. 1," and posted surveillance video of DaBaby supposedly showing up for a skit, only to back out of his obligations while keeping the money.

A verbal dispute with someone in Lah Mike's camp appeared to have taken place over a "fart-sucking" joke, which led to DaBaby waltzing right out the door!!!

Billie Eilish is leaning into the fact that she's into girls -- planting a kiss on a female YouTuber at Coachella ... and smacking the gal's ass while she's at it.

The singer was filmed at the music fest this weekend, where she smooched with Quenlin Blackwell -- a Gen Z content creator who's been hanging out with BE a lot lately ... and with whom she's sparking romance rumors after this PDA moment.

Watch ... Billie could be seen grabbing Quenlin's face and pulling her in for a kiss while enjoying music at the festival. It wasn't super show-y or anything ... still, a kiss is a kiss.

11:22 AM PT -- A rep for CBS tells TMZ ... "A network programming timing error ended last night's Billy Joel special approximately two minutes early in the Eastern and Central Time Zones. We apologize to Mr. Joel, his fans, our affiliated stations, and our audience whose viewing experience was interrupted during the last song."

They add, "Due to the overwhelming demand from his legion of fans, BILLY JOEL: THE 100TH – LIVE AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN will be rebroadcast in its entirety on CBS on April 19th at 9:00PM ET/PT."

Billy Joel and his fans got screwed during CBS' broadcast of his iconic 100th concert -- 'cause it started late, and got cut off early ... something that seriously pissed off viewers.

Will Smith made a rare appearance onstage this weekend -- crashing Coachella to perform a song from the '90s ... and doing it alongside none other than J Balvin.

Indeed ... very random, but no less entertaining. Balvin had an alien-themed design and aesthetic for his Coachella gig ... and at one point in the set, he brought out WS who was rocking his signature 'MIB' 'fit ... only to rap the "Men in Black" song from the titular movie.

The crowd loved it ... including Jada Pinkett Smith, J's girlfriend, Valentina Ferrer, and BLACKPINK sensation Lisa who were seen dancing together in the artist pit. Will's performance is getting rave reviews too, 'cause people could clearly hear his vocals as opposed to a backing track.

Colt Ford is doing a little better after suffering a heart attack -- but he's far from out of the woods, and won't be well enough to hit the stage anytime soon ... TMZ has learned.

The country singer's team confirms to TMZ that CF remains in the ICU following his medical episode ... which landed him in the hospital after a show in Arizona.

With that said, his team says Colt is steadily improving -- but it's pretty obvious he isn't doing great, because they've gone ahead and canceled the rest of his touring dates this year.

Uma Thurman sees Drake is under attack by everyone in hip hop -- which is why she's offering up a famous piece of wardrobe from one of her movies ... seemingly taking his side.

The actress posted a photo of her famous yellow suit from "Kill Bill: Volume 1" -- and she tagged Drizzy in this pic, asking if he needed it. Drake responded and wrote, "Yes pls. The pen is the Hattori Hanzo" ... a reference to a famous samurai.

Obviously, what Drake means here is ... yes, he'll take the suit and rock it -- because he too recognizes he's being ganged up on, just like Uma's character in that iconic fight scene.

Stars dug deep and mustered up the courage to brave the final day of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival ... and it looks like they didn't have a problem peeling their party pants off the floor for one last day of craziness!

Ke$ha continued her tee shirt trend and got the crowd going when she joined Renee Rapp on stage and changed the lyrics to her jam 'Tik Tok' to 'Wake up in the morning like f*** P. Diddy!'

Shaun White started his sunday shirtless hanging poolside and making a little music of his own alongside his partner Nina Dobrev ... and Stassie Karanikolaou kept it classy in a white knit top and a pair of cream lowriding cargo pants.

Doja Cat turned into a chameleon at Coachella Sunday night, wearing a hodgepodge of different outfits that dazzled the crowd during her wild performance.

The rapper hit the stage at the 23rd annual festival in Indio, California to close out weekend 1 – while singing many of her popular tunes and constantly changing her racy wardrobe.

Check out these photos of Doja's various clothing choices throughout her set. First, she decked herself out in a baggie white coverall with a flowing blond wig.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were big time power-coupling at Coachella -- and had some other lovebirds tagging along to make it a big old group outing ... no third wheels allowed.

The pop star was out in force Saturday night in the desert -- and she had her BF by her side ... not to mention a newish-looking squad, including other couples ...  Justin and Hailey Bieber were in the mix -- as were Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan (SaBrarry?)

They were all leaving what looked to be the backstage area from Ice Spice's set -- where we'd seen them earlier -- and the whole crew trickled out almost in single-file line fashion.

Justin Bieber and Jaden Smith are still friends after all these years ... with Jaden grippin' Justin in a big hug and gettin' a smooch in return during Coachella.

The two music superstars met up Saturday during the music festival's busy first weekend ... and, JS decided to surprise his best bro by embracing him from behind.

Check out the clip ... Bieber's face lights up when he looks back and sees it's Jaden who decides to move around and go for a real embrace from JB in a VIP area at the festival.

Kesha's on the crap-on-Diddy train right now amid his legal woes -- changing some famous lyrics at Coachella to send a message ... namely, I don't mess with you anymore, Puffy!

The singer appeared as Renee Rapp's special guest Sunday during the music festival -- and sure enough, she sang her biggest hit 'Tik Tok' ... which starts out by name-dropping Diddy, but which she switched up in emphatic terms as she took the stage.

Instead of singing, "Wake up in the morning, feeling like P. Diddy" ... Kesha sang, "Wake up in the morning like f*** P. Diddy" -- and Renee was right there with her to sing it loud too.

Grimes' Coachella performance didn't go as planned ... plagued by constant stoppages she blamed on technical difficulties -- before she let off several frustrated shrieks.

The singer-songwriter took the stage on Saturday night out in Indio, CA, presumably ready to bring the house down ... though ultimately she couldn't keep the music up.

Check out the clip ... Grmies' show on the Sahara Stage is moving along just fine before an incorrectly timed transition throws the musician into a bit of a tailspin.