Lionel Richie Nixes MSG Show Cites Crappy Weather

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Bad weather threw a monkey wrench into Lionel Richie’s plans to perform at Madison Square Garden in NYC.

The iconic R&B singer was set to hit the stage with Earth Wind & Fire Saturday night — but the act of nature derailed their sold out show and an hour after it was supposed to start Lionel made his disappointing announcement.

Lionel posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Due to severe weather and being unable to land in the NY and surrounding areas, I’m unable to make it to the show tonight.”

He went on, “I’m so bummed. We are rescheduling the show to Monday Aug 14. Can’t wait to perform for you all. Tickets for tonight’s show are valid for the show on Monday.”

The 20,000 strong audience was totally bummed too. Video from inside the venue shows fans booing as an MSG official announces the show had been canceled.

But come August 14 —  Lionel will have them hooting and hollering.

Right-Wing Music Boom New 'Anthem' from Unknown Artist ... After Aldean's 'Try That'

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Jason Aldean was able to get a little juice out of his right-leaning song -- and now, another guy's doing the same thing ... but he isn't even close to as famous, which is interesting.

The dude's name is Oliver Anthony, and he's a man-of-the-land living in Farmville, Virginia -- however, he's also a musician ... and a song he just released, "Rich Men North of Richmond,: is catching fire among conservatives all over the country ... in just a 24-hour window, too.

The reason ... the track (and the music video, too, it seems) is resonating with folks in a grassroots kind of way -- seeing how he's performing it out in the woods, and in a very stripped-down environment. Plus, yes ... OA definitely has talent -- a unique sound, indeed.

Now, as for the actual lyrics ... they seem to walk the line between the everyman, working-class American POV and far-right sentiments -- depends on how you look at it, we suppose.

Oliver addresses D.C. politicians -- without explicitly identifying a party -- sucking Americans dry and wanting total control of their lives ... while going on to lament social ills, including seemingly slamming the welfare system. He also appears to reference Jeffrey Epstein. 👀

In the wake of Oliver uploading this to streaming platforms, it looks like it's been spiking in sales -- with some sites showing it's #1 on iTunes ... meaning it's been purchased a crap-ton since it went up, but doesn't necessarily account for streaming numbers. Not yet, anyway.

Several right-wing influencers are praising Oliver's song/his passion, and some politicians are chiming in as well with a big thumbs up -- including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

As for Oliver, he's overwhelmed by the attention -- saying he'll be performing locally for the time being. It remains to be seen if 'RMNOR' will have the same chart success Aldean recently experienced, but based on the groundswell already ... it's certainly possible.

This is a pretty fascinating trend we're seeing -- it appears when right-wingers perceive something (like a song) they think addresses their grievances/perspectives, they lean into it ... and, from the small sample size we've noticed, it can be effective in the marketplace.

Capitalism, baby ... it reigns supreme.

Morgan Wallen Ditches Famous Mullet ... Shaves Head For Ohio Concert

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END OF AN ERA

Morgan Wallen made a pretty bold move before his concert in Ohio Friday ... because he's now completely bald -- as in no hair!!!

The country music singer walked out onstage at Ohio Stadium in Columbus after he shaved off his famous mullet with his head looking like a cue ball.

Morgan wore a red baseball cap ... but it couldn't hide the fact all of his hair was missing in action.

Check out video that surfaced on Tik Tok ... Morgan stopped to mention his new look in between songs, making light of the situation by saying, "I didn’t like the long hair anymore so I shaved it off." The crowd just hollered and laughed.

But some of his fans weren't having it and expressed their unhappiness with his transformation.

One person wrote on X (formerly Twitter) ... "Finding out Morgan Wallen cut his hair off just ruined my night."

Another said, "Morgan Wallen cut his hair I can't speak for 5 to 7 business days."

Duran Duran's Andy Taylor Expects To Live 5 More Years ... Thanks To Cancer Drug

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Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor shared some good news about his battle with prostate cancer ... he's says he's expected to live 5 more years thanks to a new drug.

Taylor -- who joined the British rock band in 1980 -- told BBC News he was contacted by a scientist who suggested Lutetium-177 -- a "nuclear medicine" -- to treat his stage 4 prostate cancer.

The scientist noted Lutetium-177 only attacks cancer cells in the body because it can't see healthy cells.

Taylor claims he first tried the drug six weeks ago and it seems to be working. He said, “It kills stage four cancer in your bones. And so what it’s effectively done is extend my life for five years.”

Although Taylor was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2015, it took seven years for the news to leak out.

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A MESSAGE FROM ANDY

You may recall, Duran Duran front man Simon Le Bon made the stunning revelation onstage as the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year. Taylor was noticeably absent, but Le Bon read a statement from him explaining his health issues.

Glad to hear Andy is seeing some progress in his cancer fight. Fingers crossed.

Cardi B Thrown Mic's $100K Sale Falls Through

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The nearly six-figure transaction for the microphone Cardi B chucked into her crowd, sparking a police investigation, has hit a snag ... we're told the winning bidder didn't pay up.

Here's the deal ... Cardi's infamous microphone was being auctioned on eBay and the bidding war came to an end Tuesday with a $99,900 winning bid ... or so it seemed.

Scott Fisher, the mic owner running the auction, tells TMZ … unfortunately, his suspicions came true and the winning bidder failed to pay for Cardi's mic.

We're told the person who placed the winning bid had 48 hours to fork over the cash, but didn't respond to multiple messages ... so Scott still has the mic. The proceeds from the auction were supposed to benefit charity, and Scott says he's exploring his options ... including sending a purchase offer to the second-highest bidder.

LM Cases, a case company in Ohio, heard about the story and hooked him up with a mic case for whoever ends up with it.

Scott says if the other top bidder doesn't end up buying the mic, he's considering selling it privately.

There's quite a story behind the mic ... as we reported, Cardi was performing at Drai's Beachclub in Las Vegas when she asked the crowd to splash her with water, only to get pissed when someone later tossed ice and liquid on her, resulting in the mic toss.

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MAKIN' A SPLASH

Cardi was then named a suspect for battery when a woman who claimed the mic hit her went to police ... but the rapper was ultimately cleared by officials.

Kevin Costner I'm Officially a Swiftie!!!

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Kevin Costner is a big-time Taylor Swift fan, and he doesn't care who knows it ... giving massive props to the singer after taking in one of her six record-setting shows in L.A.

TMZ broke the story -- Kevin was in a private suite Monday at SoFi Stadium with his daughter, Grace Avery, and a group of friends for Taylor's "Eras" tour.

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The concert buzz was apparently still running through Costner Thursday when he jumped on his Instagram to rave about the show, posting a series of videos with the caption, “My videos are blurry, but I had an amazing time with my daughter at the Taylor Swift show. I was absolutely blown away watching her art bring so many people together.”

Remember, we got video of the "Yellowstone" star jamming along to "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" -- a fitting anthem given the nasty state of his ongoing divorce with Christine Baumgartner.

But, Kevin wasn't done there ... he also wrote of the show, “I had a great view of her band and had a blast watching them, too,” he added. “An inspiring night. I’m officially a Swiftie!”

Monday marked the first time we'd really seen Kevin let loose since Christine filed for divorce back in May -- ending their 18-year union which produced 3 kids.

Christine cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the split -- and it was just last month when a judge ordered Costner to pay $129,755 in child support ... a bargain compared to the $248,000 Christine was asking he pony up.

One thing's for sure, Taylor seemingly made Kevin forget all his trouble and bad blood with Christine ... at least for one night.

Taylor Swift Celebs Pack Final L.A. Show!!!

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Taylor Swift wrapped up the final night of her L.A. shows with a bang -- tons of stars showing up to watch her perform, and a big reveal onstage to stir up Taylor's diehard fans.

SoFi Stadium was packed to the brim Wednesday night for her 6th and final concert, but it wasn't just your regular Swifties in the crowd -- because A-listers like Sydney Sweeney, Emma Stone and Karlie Kloss were rocking out to her hits all night long.

That's not all ... Adam Sandler, Sadie Sink, Anya Taylor-Joy, Kerry Washington, Hilary Duff, Jason Bateman, Miranda Cosgrove, Halsey, Miles Teller, ex-NFL star Andrew Whitworth and Becky G showed up to jam out.

Even John Krasinski and Emily Blunt headed to Taylor's sold-out show for a date night ... but it certainly wasn't a quiet place at SoFi.

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PARTY LIKE IT'S 1989

Taylor took some time out of Wednesday's show to announce the release date for her "1989 (Taylor's Version)" album ... which obviously drove fans crazy.

As we reported, celebs have been showing up at her L.A. shows over the past week, including folks like Flavor Flav, Kevin Costner and Vanessa Bryant with her daughters.

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SPECIAL GIFT

You'll recall, Taylor kicked off her "Eras" tour back in March in Arizona, and has been crossing the country with her 3+ hour setlist. L.A. is, technically, the end of her U.S. leg -- she's going international next year -- but she's now added a few more U.S. shows for late 2024.

So, we're saying there's still a chance if ya missed her this time.

As for her overseas shows ... she's starting 2024 in Tokyo, and then globetrotting to places like Australia, France, Spain, Ireland, Germany and the U.K.

The world is seeing Red -- Taylor's version, at least.

Tekashi 6ix9ine Jailed In Florida ... For Failure To Appear In Court

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Tekashi 6ix9ine was back in a familiar spot Wednesday night ... posing for a booking photo after getting arrested in Florida.

The rapper was busted for failing to appear in court and brought to the Palm Beach County Jail, where he mugged for his mug shot. He was later released after posting $2,000 bail.

The arrest stems from 3 traffic tickets Tekashi received after he was pulled over by police in June for driving way over the speed limit.

According to court docs ... Tekashi was going 135 mph in a 65 mph zone on the Florida Turnpike before he was given a ticket for speeding. He was also issued citations for having an unregistered vehicle and no car insurance.

Tekashi failed to appear for a July court hearing to address the tickets ... leading a judge to issue a warrant that resulted in last night's arrest.

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BRUTAL BRAWL

6ix9ine has always been a magnet for trouble. His many brushes with the law are notorious and he's perhaps best known for cooperating with the feds in his 2018-2019 racketeering case in which he testified against members of his former gang.

More recently, Tekashi was the victim of a vicious beatdown by several men who attacked him at his gym. The assailants were arrested on assault and robbery charges.

Taylor Swift Re-Releasing '1989' Album In October ... 5 New Songs On The Way!!!

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PARTY LIKE IT'S 1989

Taylor Swift made a HUGE announcement during her final California concert Wednesday night ... she's re-releasing her "1989" album with 5 never before heard songs!!!

The pop legend was performing for the sixth night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood when she surprised the packed crowd with news of the re-release, motioning to a large screen, which pictured fresh art for the record due out on October 27.

Check out video, obtained by TMZ, which shows Taylor revealing her exciting plans for the new album after thanking her gazillion fans for watching her play live during her "Eras" Tour.

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THANKING THE CREW

Taylor originally released "1989" in 2014, featuring 13 tracks on the standard album and 16 tunes on the deluxe version. The records contained some of her biggest songs, such as "Shake It Off," "Blank Space" and "Style."

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Now, Taylor is treating everyone to 21 songs on the "1989 (Taylor's Version)" ... which includes 5 previously unreleased, soon-to-be hits, which she also promoted on Instagram.

Taylor wrote the "1989" re-release was her "most favorite re-record I've ever done because the 5 From The Vault tracks are so insane."

She added, "I can’t believe they were ever left behind. But not for long!"

Robbie Robertson The Band Guitarist Dead at 80

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Robbie Robertson, songwriter and lead guitarist for legendary rock group The Band, is dead ... TMZ has confirmed.

Sources close to Robbie tell us he died Wednesday in Los Angeles after battling prostate cancer for about a year. We're told he'd been doing ok, recently, but on Tuesday he told his wife he wasn't feeling well, and she took him to a hospital.

We're told his wife got a call from the hospital in the early hours of Wednesday informing her Robbie had passed.

Robbie's group first formed in Canada in the late '50s as The Hawks -- including the late Levon Helm and Rick Danko -- but they gained wide notoriety when they backed Bob Dylan on his 1966 tour ... and after that launched their own career as The Band.

Robbie wrote some of The Band's most iconic hits like "The Weight," and "Up On Cripple Creek."

He also had a solo career that included the 1987 hit song, "Somewhere Down the Crazy River."

The Band was the subject of Martin Scorsese's classic 1978 film, "The Last Waltz" ... documenting their final show. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

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LAST TIME WE SAW HIM ...

Robbie was 80.

RIP

Taylor Swift Thrifty Swifties Bribing Security!!! Get into SoFi Sans Tix

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Some Taylor Swift fans are shelling out thousands to get a seat for her L.A. concerts, while others are gaining access for much less ... simply bribing security guards working the venue.

Taylor's set to perform show 6 of 6 Wednesday night -- a stretch of shows that has felt similar to when L.A. hosted the Super Bowl. Resale sites like StubHub are charging at least $700 before fees just for the cheapest seats.

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THE DISCOUNTED VIEWS

However, we have direct knowledge of a handful of fans who've gotten in without tickets -- several of whom bribed security guards with cash.

The method -- these fans make it past the security checkpoints and to the ticketing agent. On Monday night, we know of 2 fans who got in at a mere $60 a piece ... while another paid $100 to get into one of the shows last week.

Once inside ... it's a bit of a stressful process as the fans tell us they were constantly moving, trying to find open seats, or standing in aisles and open zones until they were asked to move along, or the seat's rightful owners came back.

We gotta say though, the views and seats the thrifty fans tell us they scored were pretty amazing ... we've included both pics and videos from some of the different spots.

Starbucks Bumpin' Taylor Swift All Day Long ... New Playlist for Eras Tour

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Swifties in the U.S. will be swarming their local Starbucks -- the coffee chain's brewed up a playlist that's all Taylor Swift, all the time.

A spokesperson for Starbucks tells TMZ ... the company is celebrating Taylor wrapping up the first leg of her Eras tour by rolling out the Taylor playlist for use as a soundtrack inside its U.S. company-operated stores.

Cleverly, the playlist is called "Starbucks Lovers" -- referencing the line in "Blank Space" -- and it has 122 tracks! We're told the company is "a forever Swiftie" and the team is loving "the kindness and joy that her tour is bringing to the world."

In case that's not enough for ya, the chain has given 10 of its popular drinks nicknames that go along with her albums -- so stop ordering a chai tea latte, and start ordering the Folklore instead.

As you know, fans across the country have been going wild at Taylor's concerts -- she's currently rocking SoFi Stadium in L.A., selling out her final U.S. shows on the tour, and drawing tons of celebs.

Sinéad O'Connor Procession Draws Massive Crowd ... Fill Streets Near Dublin

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Sinéad O'Connor is being laid to rest in Ireland, and droves of fans are flocking to the streets to say their final goodbyes during the funeral procession through her hometown.

Sinéad's coffin was driven Tuesday through the town of Bray, just outside of Dublin, and it looks like thousands of her adoring fans turned out to honor her ... tossing flowers onto the hearse as it slowly rolled past.

Mourners applauded the late singer as Bob Marley's "Natural Mystic" blared from a vehicle driving just ahead of the hearse.

The procession stopped in front of Sinéad's former home for a few minutes before continuing to her burial site.

Some of Sinéad's fellow music legends attended the funeral ... including U2's Bono, Edge, and Adam Clayton, as did The Boomtown Rats' Bob Geldof and Ireland's President Michael D. Higgins.

As we reported, Sinéad was found dead inside her London home last month, and her unexpected passing shook the world.

Artists around the world performed touching tributes, including a rendition of her hit, "Nothing Compares 2 U," from Pink and Brandi Carlile.

We discussed Sinéad's legacy on an recent episode of the Last Days Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

'Bachelorette' Star Shawn Booth He & Chuck Wicks Defend Aldean ... His New Song's Not Racist

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DEFINITELY NOT RACIST

Jason Aldean's new controversial song is anything but racist, and is simply being twisted into something it's not -- so say Shawn Booth and Chuck Wicks.

The "Bachelorette" alum and country star were chatting on the former's podcast -- "In the Booth with Shawn Booth" -- and they started talking politics, touching on how divided the country is. Eventually, they landed on the topic of Aldean's track, "Try That In a Small Town."

Chuck was quick to defend the song and its underlying message, which he says is incorrectly being labeled as hateful toward Black people -- arguing that couldn't be further from the truth.

Instead, he thinks it's just a song about solidarity in a community -- and the reason Jason used BLM looting footage is because it's the clearest, most recent example of storefronts and small businesses being destroyed en masse ... which Wicks says was objectively criminal and wrong.

He also says people quick to assign this to race are probably racists themselves.

Shawn pretty much cosigns everything Chuck says here, and they both agree the folks involved in writing the song and shooting the music video -- most of whom they know -- are not bigoted whatsoever.

Wick and Booth end up concluding the Aldean saga is just a microcosm of a larger issue of extremism in America right now -- where things are either black or white, or this and that. It's worth noting that Wicks is married to Jason's sister, Kasi Williams Morstad ... so, his opinion's hardly unbiased.

Of course, Jason himself has defended his work ... distancing himself from any notion of racism. Despite the controversy, or likely because of it, 'Try That' topped the charts last week -- but also plummeted this week to number 21.

Flavor Flav Having A Blast At Taylor Swift's Concert ... Hugs From Taylor's Parents!

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FLAV SHARES THE LOVE

Flavor Flav is proving once again he's a die-hard Swiftie ... 'cause the rapper was feeling the love from Taylor Swift's parents at her latest L.A. concert, and they even gave the guy an important task!

Flav showed his support for Taylor at her "Eras" Tour stop Monday night at SoFi Stadium, decked out with a ton of friendship bracelets to trade with other fans, and he had huge hugs for Tay-tay's parents, Scott and Andrea Swift.

FF said "Papa Swift" gave him a bunch of guitar picks to pass out in the crowd ... along with the bracelets and his own Flavor Flav-themed buttons.

Safe to say the guy was busy all night long, mingling with the 70,000 or so Taylor fans. Pretty remarkable that the 64-year-old hip hop icon is now a Swiftee ambassador of sorts.

Flav wasn't the only celeb in the crowd ... folks like Tiffany Haddish, Cameron Diaz, Sofia Richie, Zoe Saldana, and Ashley Greene were also singing along to Taylor's hits.

As for Flav, he's been a self-proclaimed Swiftie for a while now -- he told us back in June all about his love for Taylor, and how he couldn't understand why others were shocked to see him having fun at her Detroit show.

Beyoncé Pays $100k for Extra Train Hour ... D.C. Show Weather-Stricken

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Beyoncé's fans had to wait out a storm in D.C. just to see her perform live, and she returned the favor by shelling out a lot of dough to make sure they could get home afterward.

The singer's show Sunday was hit with really bad weather just before the concert was set to begin at FedEx Field in neighboring Maryland -- with lightning storms and a downpour of rain coming down in the area ... and forcing everyone to shelter in place for a hot minute.

There's tons of video showing the D.C. Beyhive huddling up by the thousands in and around the stadium as they waited for the green light ... reports say they were waiting about 2 hours.

Eventually, the elements subsided enough so that the show could start -- but even as Bey did her thing on the big stage, it was still pretty freaking wet out there, as you see.

More importantly, because things were running late from the jump ... the local Metro's train service hours had to be extended, something that doesn't come cheap -- and an expensive tab that somebody had to cover.

In the end ... Bey's 'Renaissance' tour company footed the bill, coming out to $100,000, all told. This allowed the trains at the surrounding 98 stations to run for an extra 60 minutes, and it sounds like that might've bled into the wee hours of Monday morning.

For those who stuck it out and caught the performance in person, they were able to see Blue Ivy -- who's working as a dancer on her mom's tour. Kinda cool, if you're into all that.