TMZ.com

Taylor Swift can perform "Shake It Off" and any of her other early hits at the AMAs this Sunday ... because she's gotten the all-clear from both Big Machine and Dick Clark Productions.

DCP and BM say, "The Big Machine Label Group and Dick Clark Productions announce that they have come to terms on a licensing agreement that approves their artists' performances to stream post show and for re-broadcast on mutually approved platforms."

They go on to say ... "This includes the upcoming American Music Awards performances. It should be noted that recording artists do not need label approval for live performances on television or any other live media."

As we reported, Taylor said she was being blocked by Big Machine -- the label she signed with when she started out and recorded her first 6 albums -- from performing her early hits.  It was always clear she could perform these songs in a live broadcast, but the issue was what happens to the AMA show after it airs on TV. Now, DCP and BM have made it clear ... the subsequent re-broadcasts are within the scope of a live performance.

Taylor has not yet responded.

Eddie Van Halen is back home, hanging out with his son after suffering through a few rough days in a hospital with what we're told were complications from his cancer treatment.

Sources close to the legendary guitarist tell TMZ ... he was admitted to the hospital last week with intestinal issues and abdominal pain. We're told both were the result of a bad reaction to the drugs Eddie is taking to battle throat cancer.

He was released Sunday and we're told he's doing fine now.

We broke the story ... the rocker has been flying between the U.S. and Germany for 5 years to get radiation treatment. Eddie believes he developed the cancer from a metal guitar pick he used more than 20 years ago -- he would hold the pick in his mouth and has been told it could be the source of the cancer.

When he got home from the hospital ... we're told Eddie and his son, Wolfgang, hung out and rehearsed music. If ya don't know, Wolfgang became Van Halen's bassist in 2006.

Rock on, guys!

Kanye West is about to perform his Sunday Service at Joel Osteen's megachurch in Houston ... and TMZ is streaming it live.

As we previously mentioned ... Ye brought his choir out for the weekend trip, where they're set to take the stage at 7 PM CT (5 PM PT) at the Lakewood Church -- a place thousands of worshipers come out each week to hear Joel and co. preach from the pulpit.

It's bound to be a packed house again for Sunday's ticketed event, especially after Ye made an appearance in the morning ... standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Joel and talking God.

You'll recall ... it was an eventful chat Kanye and Joel had onstage, with Ye touching on everything from his own upbringing in the church, to how he's an employee of God's now, and even going to bat and defending Joel and his reputation in the Christian community.

Ever since Kanye dropped his new album, 'Jesus is King,' he's been performing pretty consistently with his choir ... playing a bunch of his new songs too, of course. The format thus far has been pretty similar in style to what we've seen in Calabasas and elsewhere.

But with such a big audience tuning in this time around -- and a just-announced opera on the horizon -- it'll be interesting to see what surprises Kanye and his team have in store for the Lakewood congregation.

Alex Band -- lead singer of the rock band, The Calling -- is mounting a comeback after his infamous kidnapping ... and reintroducing himself to the world with a new set of chompers.

TMZ broke the story ... Alex was abducted in Michigan way back in 2013 when he was grabbed off the street, beaten severely and then dumped on some train tracks.

Alex's life spiraled into a deep and dark place after the horrifying incident, but now he says he's overcome the hard times and he's ready to make music again ... with the aid of a new smile.

Alex recently traveled to Las Vegas with his wife and child for a 24-hour dental procedure to fully restore all of his teeth. Dr. Mike Golpa performed the surgery over 2 days, which included the removal of 11 teeth and over 10 implants in Alex's mouth.

Dr. Golpa's the guy to see in Vegas ... he's got a ton of famous patients, like Diamond Dallas Paige, Jake "The Snake" Roberts and 'Sopranos' star Joseph Gannascoli.

Alex tells TMZ ... “As most everyone knows I’ve had a rough bunch of years to say the least; from battling to regain my health and then having to overcome being kidnapped and broken. In 2020 I will finally be back out performing consistently worldwide for the first time in 8 years, and releasing new music!"

Ne-Yo is siding with Taylor Swift in her war with Scooter Braun and Big Machine ... and he's calling for some major changes in the way the music industry operates.

We got the singer Friday at LAX and asked him about Taylor's beef with Scooter and her old record label ... and Ne-Yo was quick to come to her defense.

As you know ... Taylor reignited her war with Scooter and Big Machine this week, claiming she was being blocked from performing her early hits at the AMAs. However, the label tells us she can perform her entire catalog if she wants and besides, there's nothing they could do to stop her.

Ne-Yo can't wrap his head around people who had nothing to do with writing songs owning the master recordings ... he rips the label for holding Taylor back and says she should be allowed to buy back her masters if she has the cash.

As we've reported ... Selena Gomez and Halsey are taking Taylor's side in the fight ... and now Ne-Yo is joining the cause.

Black Eyed Peas member Will.i.am claims a Quantas flight attendant had it out for him because he's black ... this after a confrontation that ended with a police escort.

The rapper was on a flight from Brisbane to Sydney when he says the flight attendants were preparing for landing and asked passengers to store their electronic equipment. Will.i.am says he was using his laptop but didn't hear the announcement because he was wearing noise-canceling headphones.

He claims the flight attendant unloaded on him and someone on the flight -- presumably the pilot -- called ahead for cops to meet the plane when it landed. Will.i.am was escorted off the plane by 5 officers.

He tweeted, "I’m currently on a flight from Brisbane to Sydney.” “I’m sorry to say me and my group have experienced they worse service due to an overly aggressive flight attendant… I don’t want to believe she racist. But she has clearly aimed all her frustrations only at the people of colour.”

Will.i.am then posted a photo of one of the cops who met the plane, saying "@Qantas I was making music wearing noise cancelling headphones on the plane… I’m sorry I couldn’t hear the P.A…I complied when she’s tapped me on the shoulder to put my laptop away… It’s sad that your #RacistFlightAttendant sent the police…”

He wasn't finished: “This is how your [sic] greeted when you land from Brisbane to Sydney flying @qantas with a #RacistFlightattendant. She sent the police after me because [sic] I couldn’t hear the P.A while making beats on the plane wearing noise cancelling headphones…”

He expressed gratitude to the passengers who took his side ... “Your #RacistFlightattendant was beyond rude & took it to the next level by calling the police on me. thank god the other passengers testified that SHE was out of Control. the police finally let me go. imagine if the police were as aggressive as [flight attendant].”

Will.i.am got mixed reviews for posting the name and badge number of the flight attendant.

He said, “If I did something wrong....or if I was the slightest bit rude to a FAN or a journalist during work, I would be publicly named...this is what Twitter is for...we are supposed to call out wrong doings so we can have a safer more compassionate world.”

Kanye West's appearance at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston Sunday will be the most important appearance Ye has made since devoting himself to God, and there's such a demand for tickets we've learned scalpers have reared their ugly heads.

Kanye will have all eyes on him Sunday morning when he takes the stage with Joel Osteen -- which normally isn't an issue -- except this time, the crowd won't be full of Yeezy fans.

Kanye is set to take part in Joel's 11 AM ceremony at Lakewood Church Sunday and will chat with Joel for 20-30 mins about his religious journey. It'll mark the first time Kanye's talked about his religious transformation in front of a large audience -- 45,000 people!!!

Joel's 11 AM service will mostly be made up of his regular churchgoers, and not droves of Kanye fans like at Ye's Sunday Service ... so for Kanye, this is uncharted territory.

Our sources say he's excited to share his message and journey with a room that not only includes Joel but those who have had their own religious awakenings.

As for the service Sunday night -- when Kanye's choir will perform -- we're told both Kanye and Joel's teams expect a crowd made up of mostly Yeezy faithful. TMZ broke the story ... Lakewood teamed up with Ticketmaster to coordinate ticket distribution.

Our sources say scalpers are already trying to mess things up. The tickets are free, but some have already been scooped up by people who just want to make a buck. We're told the tickets they have identified as being held by scalpers have been invalidated.

Kanye West is breaking ground on his very own amphitheater on his sprawling Wyoming ranch ... TMZ has confirmed.

Kanye and Park County, Wyoming officials are already deep into communications about the project -- and in docs, obtained by TMZ, Ye says he wants to build a 70,684-square-foot amphitheater. Photos from the site show he's already moved large amounts of land, apparently clearing a footprint.

Kanye describes the facility as the "West Meditation Space Large Impact Structure."

In the latest docs, County officials inform Kanye he'll have to construct 175 parking spaces, but the State says he could get an exemption to reduce that number in half. Kanye says in his application he does not intend to bring any utilities on the property -- no electricity or plumbing. Sooo ... strictly a port-a-potty situation?

Kanye says the facility will be open-air, the amphitheater will be a circular, concrete design with the ground sloping downhill towards the center of the circle. Sounds like a theater-in-the-round.

It's interesting ... the Park County Planning and Zoning Department is pushing back on some things, they submitted docs asking for more information on the impact construction would have on local wildlife. Officials are suggesting Ye avoid construction in winter months because it would disrupt local wildlife migration patterns.

Kanye West brought the soulful sounds of his Sunday Service choir to prisoners in Texas just days before his face-to-face with Joel Osteen.

Law enforcement sources tell us Kanye and his choir showed up at the Harris County Jail in Houston Friday morning to put on a show. We're told the whole thing was a surprise to almost everyone, with only a few who helped to put it together.

Our sources say Kanye and the team stayed for a couple of hours and performed for a select group of prisoners and staff members.

TMZ broke the story ... Kanye will make an appearance and chat with Joel Osteen Sunday at Osteen's Lakewood Church service. Sunday night, Kanye and his Sunday Service choir will take the stage at Lakewood for a performance of their own.

Osteen's team has been working feverishly behind the scenes, teaming up with Ticketmaster to make sure everyone -- Kanye fans and churchgoers alike -- get a chance to see the performance.

Originally Published -- 12:37 PM PT

Taylor Swift has been complaining she's been blocked from performing her early hits during the AMAs because of her old label, Big Machine, but the label tells us she's dead wrong ... Taylor can perform her entire catalog if she wants.

A Big Machine exec tells TMZ, "Taylor Swift can 100% perform all of her catalog, past and present, on the AMAs." The official adds, BM has no issue with her performance going out on the live broadcast, because it recognizes it doesn't have the right to block her. The official says, "Our confusion with her statement is that we have no legal right to stop this and have never tried. She and her team both know this."

Fact is ... Big Machine is correct. Labels can't block artists from performing any songs -- theirs or others -- live, and since the AMAs are airing live ... have at it, Taylor.

BTW ... it's interesting. Taylor performed "Shake it Off" -- a song from her Big Machine catalog -- live on "Good Morning America" on August 22.

The Big Machine exec says, "We are excited for all her fans, as all of the confusion has now been cleared up, and we now welcome Taylor to perform all of her hits on the AMAs."

Kim Petras is making a huge splash ... first with music fans, and now with the infamously anti-LGBTQ Westboro Baptist Church ... with a bombshell right under its nose.

Kim, an up-and-coming singer who is transgender, has her mug plastered all over 4 electronic billboards in Topeka, Kansas. That's not exactly where you'd expect a singer who's blowing up in the gay community to promote, but it starts to make sense when you realize Topeka is HQ for the hatemongers at Westboro Baptist.

Sources connected to Kim tell TMZ ... they don't know who put the billboards up but they were clearly designed to yutz the church -- known for its campaigns against several entertainers, gay and straight. They once went after Blake Shelton simply because he supports the LGBTQ community.

The billboards are all near the church and, we're told, purposefully directed at Westboro. Pretty great, huh?

So far, Westboro's yet to fire any shots at Kim -- whose music's been compared to early Lady Gaga -- but that's probably only because it didn't know she's transgender, or that the billboards were an intentional jab.

Taylor Swift's claim Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta from Big Machine are blocking her from performing her own songs at the AMAs is a complete fabrication ... according to the record label, which thinks she made a calculated move to harm its people.

Big Machine says it was shocked to see Taylor's comments Thursday, and denies ever saying she could not perform at the awards show or blocking her Netflix special. It adds ... "In fact, we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere."

To be fair, Swift never said BM was keeping her from performing ... she specifically stated it was keeping her from performing her own songs, and using her own songs and performance footage in the Netflix documentary.

Big Machine also claims Taylor's admitted to owing the company millions of dollars and it says it was optimistic the 2 sides were working toward resolving the issue ... but then she bailed.

Instead, BM says "Taylor made a unilateral decision last night to enlist her fanbase in a calculated manner that greatly affects the safety of our employees and their families.

The label adds ... "Taylor, the narrative you have created does not exist."

Taylor's spokeswoman says "Big Machine is trying to deflect and make this about money by saying she owes them, but an independent, professional auditor has determined that Big Machine owes Taylor $7.9 million of unpaid royalties over several years."

Despite Big Machine's denial, Swift's friend, Selena Gomez, has her back 100 percent. Selena says she's "sick and extremely angry" over the situation, and accuses the label of "greed, manipulation and power."

Gomez says of BM ... "You've robbed and crushed one of our best song writers of our time an opportunity to celebrate all of her music with fans and the world." She goes on to praise Swift's character, talent and strength ... and says she knows Taylor will not stop fighting.

Halsey echoes many of the same thoughts, accusing BM of making an awful business move and being mean and vindictive. She says the label is banking on people not sticking up for Taylor ... but says it's "barking up the wrong tree."

Just when you thought Taylor Swift's beef with Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta from Big Machine couldn't get any more bitter ... she now says they're blocking her from performing her own songs at the upcoming American Music Awards ... but sources connected to Big Machine tell TMZ they have tried to reach a compromise with Taylor, but she's rejected everything and is out for blood.

Taylor says she planned to do a medley of her hits throughout the decade at the AMAs -- which is presenting her with the Artist of the Decade Award -- but says Scooter and Scott claim that would be rerecording her music ... something she's not allowed to do until November 2020, because Big Machine owns the masters.

On top of that, Swift revealed Netflix is making a documentary about her life, but she says Scooter and Scott have declined the use of her older music and performance footage for that project too ... UNLESS she bows down to their demands.

Our Big Machine sources say Taylor has admitted she owes the label more than $7 million and hasn't paid for more than a year. The sources add she also owes BM masters and video content. The sources say Scott and Scooter have extended an olive branch to Taylor, asking her to sit down with them and try to bury the hatchet, but she flatly refused, threatening if they didn't give her exactly what she wanted she'd go public and tell people to attack Big Machine as well as Scott and Scooter.

Taylor says BM demanded she NOT rerecord copycat versions of her songs next year like she's planning ... and to stop talking about them. Or as she puts is ... "be a good little girl and shut up. Or you'll be punished."

Swift says she's at wit's end and doesn't know what else to do, so she's asking her fans to speak out and let Scooter and Scott know how they feel about this.

Ultimately, she says she hopes other artists Scooter manages "can talk some sense into the men who are exercising tyrannical control over someone who just wants to play the music she wrote."

Our Big Machine sources say Taylor's lawyer told them he couldn't contain what she does or what she says publicly about them.

Kanye West's appearance at Joel Osteen's megachurch this Sunday is expected to draw overflow crowds ... and the folks at Lakewood Church are scrambling to avoid pandemonium.

We've learned the Church has contacted Ticketmaster and will offer tickets Friday for the first 45,000 takers. It will be strictly first come, first served, and the tickets are free.

Here's the catch. Tickets will only be available for the evening service, where Kanye and his choir will perform their already iconic Sunday Service. As we've first reported, there's an earlier service at 11 AM, where Ye will walk up to the pulpit and have a 20- to 30-minute conversation with Osteen. The 11 AM service will not be ticketed ... the first 45,000 who arrive get seated.

As for what Osteen will talk to Kanye about ... we're told the focus is how Ye found and embraced God.

As for Kanye's Sunday night Sunday Service ... our sources say Osteen's church provides top-of-the-line sound and lighting equipment but might need to find a way to make its stage bigger to accommodate the rapper's 100+ choir members. One source says the choir will be 120 strong.

We're also told the church has an overflow room if the crowd's too big ... and it will almost certainly be utilized.

Justin Bieber's gearing up for a new tour, and he's already making sure his dance moves will be in top form.

Sources close to JB tell TMZ ... he's rehearsing for a new tour and could hit the road as early as summer 2020. We're told the tour will coincide with a new album, which as we told you ... has already been teased as a transition into R&B.

Justin was seen Wednesday heading into 3rd Street Dance in L.A. apparently to start laying the groundwork for his moves for the upcoming tour ... and possibly to work on his hockey skills. Maybe he just has a game afterward, though.

We broke the story ... Bieber's team also just filed legal docs to try to land the trademark for "R&Bieber," the working title of his potential new album.

Justin promised fans he'll release it by Christmas if the October 27 Instagram post gets 20 million likes, but it's currently just at 11.8 million ... so still a ways to go.

Regardless, we're told a new album is coming sometime soon -- which would be his first in 4 years -- and a new tour would be his first since he cut his Purpose Tour short in July 2017 ... after performing 150 shows across 6 continents.

Sir Rod Stewart is a rock star with a super interesting hobby ... building model railways.

Rod says he's spent the past 23 years creating an imaginary U.S. city in the attic of his Los Angeles mansion, complete with intricate details and over 100 feet of railroad tracks. Who knew that's what he was up to when he wasn't making music or performing live?!?

The British rocker finally revealed his secret passion in an interview with Railway Modeller magazine, telling the outlet he even took his hobby on tour, working on skyscrapers and other scenery in extra hotel rooms specifically reserved for his construction project.

Rod says he prefers creating structures and scenery as opposed to laying down railroad ... and his whimsical town features warehouses, high-rises, mills and different landscapes.

The railway infrastructure is pretty detailed too ... there's rail stations, tunnels, bridges and, of course, tracks. There's even cars and ships.

Rod's city is so intricate, he says he made sure every pavement stone in town is a slightly different color. He used black chalk to create cracks and even put fake garbage in the gutters and incorporated rust.

As for the roots of his hobby ... Rod recalls seeing a model railway in a window display when he was growing up in England, and he wondered how he could get paid to build one.