Musicians

Smokey Robinson's $500M legal clapback in an ongoing sexual-assault civil suit hit a major speed bump in court ... but it wasn't a total wipeout.

A Los Angeles judge dismissed several claims filed by Robinson and his wife, Frances -- including major defamation claims -- against the women publicly accusing him of sexual assault.

The judge this week found the women's allegations against the "legendary musician" were a matter of public interest ... noting their press conference was broadcast on YouTube, spread across social media, and picked up by major media outlets worldwide.

Justin Bieber finished a pair of fire performances at Coachella ... and he celebrated with a smoke ... puffing away on a cigar back in L.A. earlier this week.

The singer-songwriter left a sushi dinner with his wife, Hailey Bieber, after hanging with their pals Kylie and Kendall Jenner on Tuesday -- and, he immediately sparked up -- puffing away on a huge cigar while standing in the parking lot.

He lit the stogie with a tiny blowtorch ... smoking away in a bright orange sweater and a pair of bright pink shorts.

Taylor Swift really is living the life of a showgirl ... she was just named the most-streamed artist on Spotify ever!

The streaming service turned 20 on Thursday, and the company celebrated by breaking down lists of its all-time top performers.

Taylor topped the list of Spotify's most popular artists ... beating out Bad Bunny, Drake, The Weeknd, and Ariana Grande, who filled out the Top 5.

But taking a closer look at the other lists is where things get a bit more interesting.

The streamer also broke down their all-time, most-streamed albums ... she barely made the Top 10, with "Lover" coming in at Number 8.

The coveted title of most-streamed album instead went to Bad Bunny's "Un Verano Sin Ti."

It's worth noting that Taylor makes two appearances on the list ... "Midnights" also just made the cut at 18.

However Bad Bunny and Drake also have two records in the Top 20 ... and The Weeknd has three.

It's Earth Day y'all, and these Hollywood hotties are keepin' it green and keepin' it clean in their green bikinis ... Be a force of nature with the ladies who are cleaning up their acts!

Leaf your worries behind with Elsa Hosk, who shined in a metallic green bikini ... and check out the strapless swimwear on Saweetie -- you grow, girl!

And you wont be-leaf how gorgeous Emily Ratajkowski looks in green!

Brian McKnight says his ex-wife, one of his sons, some bloggers, and a newspaper rolled out a coordinated assault on his reputation to make money from "malicious character assassination" ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

The legendary singer filed a lawsuit claiming he's the victim of a "shockingly dishonest" and "sensational but false narrative" alleging he abandoned his kids and refused to tell his dying son Niko he loved him.

In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Brian says the false narrative was cooked up by his ex-wife, Julie McKnight, and he says it's been peddled by his son Brian Jr., bloggers Marc Lamont Hill and Tasha K, and the New York Post.

Gregg Foreman -- a founding member of the alternative group The Delta 72 -- has died.

Friends and collaborators of Foreman's -- including Wesley Eisold from the group Cold Cave -- confirmed the news ... remembering him as a truly unique star and passing along their condolences.

A cause of death for Foreman has not yet been released.

Dave Mason, the co-founder of rock band Traffic, has died at age 79.

He passed peacefully in his sleep on Sunday, his family announced on his official Facebook page. They say he died "after cooking an amazing dinner with his beloved wife Winifred," while he was taking a nap with their Maltese dog, Star, at his feet.

They went on ... "He passed away peacefully, in his favorite chair, surrounded by the beautiful Carson Valley that he loved so much. A storybook ending. On his own terms. Which is how he lived his life right up until the end."

Fabio Jackson is having a moment as the ultimate Michael Jackson lookalike ... and with the biopic buzz heating up, some fans are taking it way too seriously.

We caught up with Fabio and his wife in L.A. Monday ... who told us about a wild run-in when a woman came up to him -- thinking he was actually the real late icon -- proclaiming "I knew you weren't dead!"

It’s not a one-off -- Fabio tells us people genuinely do double takes all the time ... and his recent viral meet-up with Jaafar Jackson only added to the lookalike madness.

Jaafar Jackson is deep in promo mode for the "Michael" biopic -- and he’s already shutting down some long-running myths about his iconic late uncle.

At the L.A. premiere Monday, Jaafar addressed the narrative that Michael Jackson "wanted to be white" -- making it clear his battle with vitiligo was a major part of his life that people misunderstood.

He told Extra the film will dive into MJ’s vitiligo journey in full -- showing what he was dealing with from a young age, not the rumors people ran with.

Kanye West looks like he’s fully in apology mode -- 'cause we caught him stepping out of a Jewish human rights center ... and yeah, we had questions.

Take a look ... Ye was leaving the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Beverly Hills Monday night after spending about an hour and a half inside... but when we tried to get a word on what went down inside, he clammed up completely.

No answers, no comments -- just a straight walk to the car ... though it’s pretty clear he’s doing some long-overdue homework after all the antisemitic rhetoric he’s pushed.

Alan Osmond, the eldest brother in the iconic 1970s Osmond Brothers group, has died, according to a family member.

Brother and former bandmate Merrill Osmond announced Alan's death in a Facebook post early Tuesday morning. Alan reportedly died Monday evening with his family at his side. Although no cause of death was given, Alan had suffered from multiple sclerosis since 1987.

In his FB post, Merrill talked about seeing Alan two days before his death and having a heart-to-heart "as brothers do," while also discussing their musical accomplishments.

Hollywood turned into MJ mania Monday night as stars walked the red carpet for the premiere of the Michael Jackson biopic, "Michael."

The star-studded event took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles ... and notably saw the King of Pop's eldest child, Prince Jackson, and sister, La Toya Jackson, smile their way down the carpet.

You can see our gallery -- Magic Johnson, Usher, Martin Lawrence, Raven-Symoné, Miles Teller, and so many more showed up to support the film. And, we can't forget the star of it all, Michael's nephew Jaafar Jackson, who plays him in the film, dazzled on the black and gold carpet.

While fans seem to have mixed feelings about the upcoming biopic, one thing's for certain -- Jaafar is the spitting image of his late uncle in all the promos we've seen so far.

D4vd has just pled not guilty to murder and other charges in connection with the death of Celeste Rivas ... and he is challenging the D.A. to put their cards on the table, or fold.

D4vd went before a judge just hours after being charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances, including lying in wait, committing the crime for financial gain, and murdering a witness to an investigation.

Prosecutors also charged D4vd with lewd and lascivious sexual acts with a person under 14 years old and the mutilation of a human body.

D4vd's lawyers asked the judge for a preliminary hearing within 10 days ... that's something to which a defendant is entitled. There's a clear strategic reason for the move -- given that D4vd was arrested just a few days ago, the defense seems to be banking on the case still being a work in progress.

Zayn Malik is hitting pause on his big comeback because his health just took center stage.

Sources familiar with the situation confirm to TMZ ... the singer has canceled his planned appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" set for Tuesday to promote his new album "Konnakol" ... after a scary hospitalization.

Zayn himself broke the news Friday, posting a photo from a hospital bed and telling fans he was "unexpectedly recovering" after a "long week." He didn't reveal what landed him there, but made it clear it was serious enough to derail his schedule.

Those sky-high Coachella ticket prices are coming in handy -- because festival organizers just got slapped with a pretty hefty curfew bill!

A rep for the city of Indio, where Coachella goes down, tells TMZ ... Weekend 1 stayed on track ... but Weekend 2 racked up $44,000 in fines after Anyma and Justin Bieber's sets ran over.

Friday night saw Anyma go nine minutes past the 1 AM cutoff -- costing organizers $24K. Then Saturday, Bieber pushed things just two minutes over ... but that still tacked on another $20K, bringing the total to $44K.

If you're flying high today ... you're most certainly not alone!

So many stars are 4/20-friendly and -- if we're being totally honest -- chances are some of them are celebrating as we're writing this post!

Natalie Nunn, Charly Jordan, and Wiz Khalifa have all posted pics smoking fat ones and hitting their pens.