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Ashanti and Keyshia Cole may not face off with a hit-for-hit throw-down after all -- because the former says she's contracted COVID-19 ... but not all hope is lost just yet.

Ashanti announced Saturday that she's got the coronavirus, taking to IG to write ... "Hey y'all I can't believe I'm saying this but I tested positive for COVID-19. I'm ok and not in any pain." Then ... a sliver of hope for fans who were dying to see her on Verzuz.

She says, "I'm actually down to do the verzuz from my house... we're trying to figure it all out!!! No word from Keyshia yet on that front, but if they could salvage the battle and still move forward ... that'd be pretty incredible, as people have been waiting on this for weeks.

Since the announcement that Keyshia and Ashanti would be the next artists to be featured in a Verzuz, the show was getting major pub and attention ... as it might be the most highly-anticipated one to date. Up until now, there haven't been too many females featured on Verzuz -- and the fan base has been clamoring for these two R&B titans to go at it.

Many note that the two women have hits for DAYS, and were eager to see who could crank out more ... and which ones would resonate with people more.

The show was supposed to get started later this evening -- at the moment, it's unclear if it'll get canceled, postponed ... or if it'll proceed. Assuming Ashanti's okay and quarantined in her house, you gotta wonder ... why the hell not???

Charley Pride -- the first Black man to break through in the country music scene -- has died from the coronavirus.

The legendary singer passed away Saturday in Dallas due to complications from COVID-19 -- this according to his PR team, which announced Charley's death. Sources tell us Charley was recently admitted to the ICU of a local hospital, where he was isolated from his family after his health took a turn for the worse.

We're told he was moved to hospice care, where he died with his wife, Rozene, by his side.

Charley was a trailblazer in country -- he's the very first Black artist to be inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame, and quite literally paved the way for other African-Americans in the genre through the '60s, '70s, '80s and beyond.

He's sometimes referred to as the Jackie Robinson of country music, which is apt because ... Charley also played baseball professionally too.

Music-wise, CP broke onto the scene in the late '50s and early '60s with a string of country singles but no major hits. It wasn't until he released "Just Between You and Me" in 1967 that he truly broke through and received recognition, as it started climbing the charts.

Charley was nominated for a Song of the Year Grammy for the song -- and after that, things truly started rolling for him ... as he put out several chart-topping songs between the late '60s and mid-'70s, some of which reached #1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs and charted on the Billboard Hot 100 list too.

Some of those hits included 'All I Have to Offer You (Is Me),' 'I Can't Believe That You've Stopped Loving Me,' '(I'm So) Afraid of Losing You Again,' 'Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone,' 'I'd Rather Love You,' 'I'm Just Me,' 'Wonder Could I Live There Anymore,' and then perhaps his biggest hit ever ... 'Kiss an Angel Good Mornin' ... which became his pride and joy.

The song won him several accolades and went on to be covered by other huge country stars like Conway Twitty, Percy Sledge, Roy Clark and others.

As his career rolled on, Charley racked up three Grammy wins and was honored with a Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. He was inducted in the CMHOF in 2000 ... and is considered one of the most influential artists of any genre for his contributions to music.

Dolly Parton shared some kind words of remembrance for Charley shortly after news came down he'd died, writing ... "I’m so heartbroken that one of my dearest and oldest friends, Charley Pride, has passed away. It’s even worse to know that he passed away from COVID-19. What a horrible, horrible virus. Charley, we will always love you."

She ended by saying, "Rest In Peace. My love and thoughts go out to his family and all of his fans."

Charley leaves behind his wife, his three children and several grandchildren. He was 86.

Blue Ivy Carter is in the running for her first Grammy -- but the timing of her nomination is a little mysterious.

Blue's voice is featured in the beginning and end of Beyonce's single, "Brown Skinned Girl," which received a Grammy nom for best music video. However, when the nominations were announced November 24, Blue's name wasn't mentioned.

Seems like someone made a call, because Blue's name has now been added as a nominee thanks to a recent update on the Grammy's website. Nigerian singer Wizkid was also added for the track.

The mystery is ... who made the decision or the phone call to add her to the online list??? Hmmm.

Anyway, it's not the first possible slip-up for the award show in the last few weeks. You'll remember, fans and artists alike were outraged when The Weeknd's "After Hours" album and single "Blinding Lights" were left off the nomination list.

Dionne Warwick's calling on her A-list friends to help celebrate her 80th birthday ... which is doubling as a fundraiser for an important cause.

The legendary singer hopped on "TMZ Live" Friday to dish deets on her Holiday Musical Birthday Celebration ... a virtual party and concert, going down Saturday, her 80th birthday.

Dionne's using the occasion to lift spirits with her angelic voice while also raising money for Hunger Not Impossible ... an org connecting kids and families in need with prepaid, nutritious to-go meals from nearby restaurants.

Some of Dionne's pals joining the festivities include Aloe Blacc and country stars John Rich and the Oak Ridge Boys -- but anyone can join through her website, where fans can buy packages with cool perks. Aside from getting entry to the virtual event, you can get a private Zoom meet-and-greet with Dionne and a special shout out from her.

And, Dionne's still making new friends ... she told us all about the friendship she's formed with Chance the Rapper since she playfully checked him on his stage name.

Taylor Swift sent her fans into a spiral -- believing the dress she wears in a new music video means she's hitched -- but we're told there's still no Mrs. before her name.

Taylor dropped her 9th studio album "Evermore" Friday and gave fans a music video for the single, "Willow." In the video, she sports a white-lace dress with a flower headband -- a sure sign, for fans -- that she had recently gotten hitched to her long-term boyfriend, Joe Alwyn.

However, despite what fans want to believe, sources with direct knowledge tell us Taylor and Joe are not married ... and the dress is just that. A dress.

Not to fear, there are still other nuggets in the album's lyrics for fans to find hidden messages. The song "Long Story Short" seems to reference Taylor's 2016 feud with Kim and Kanye, singing, "I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me."

There's another possible reference to her failed relationship with Tom Hiddleston, "Clung to the wrong lips. Long story short. It was the wrong guy."

Taylor Swift dropped her second album of 2020, setting fans on a rabid hunt for hidden meanings in her lyrics ... and some hear references to her Kim and Kanye feud and a failed relationship.

"Evermore" features 17 tracks, one of them being "Long Story Short" ... where Taylor sings, "I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me. Misery." Fans believe it's an obvious reference to her 2016 war of words with Kim and Kanye over the lyrics to his song, "Famous."

If you don't know already ... Kanye's verse, "I made that bitch famous" -- in reference to Taylor -- sparked a massive back and forth between Kanye claiming Taylor knew the lyric was happening and Taylor claiming the opposite.

Shortly after that feud, Taylor started dating actor Tom Hiddleston, but the couple split after just a few months ... and fans think the chorus for "Long Story Short" references that too.

She sings, "Clung to the wrong lips. Long story short, it was the wrong guy."

Diplo's scored a legal victory against the woman he says posted explicit pics of him on social media ... a judge ordered her to remove the pics and stay the hell away from him.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the DJ was granted a restraining order against the woman, and it requires her to stop distributing sexually explicit images of Diplo. She's also been ordered to "identify and remove any such images previously posted or distributed" on social media.

The woman also has to stay at least 100 yards away from Diplo, his son's mother, Jevon King ... as well as one of the DJ's friends. TMZ broke the story ... Diplo claimed his ex-fling had posted photos and videos of the two of them having sex while also harassing him and his family.

Teyana Taylor's gotta be feeling appreciated today ... she celebrated her 30th birthday with a flashy Miami shindig, packed with her celeb friends.

The newly-retired singer danced her ass off Wednesday night at the bash ... surrounded by folks like Diddy, Lil Wayne and A$AP Ferg, just to name a few. You can see in the video ... people were shoulder-to-shoulder at times on the dance floor.

Unclear what, if any, testing went down beforehand -- but there was no social distancing and very few face masks.

Also worth noting, there are very few COVID restrictions right now in Florida.

The party, sponsored by the clothing line Pretty Little Thing, came less than a week after Teyana announced she was retiring from music because she felt underappreciated by the industry.

She said, "I’m retiring this chapter of my story with the comfort that I can depart with peace of mind seeing that all the hard work & passion put was indeed loved & supported somewhere in the world!"

She definitely got love and support to ring in the big 3-0.

Talk about speaking something into existence ... YFN Lucci's been gifted the first 2021 Maybach SUV in the U.S. to celebrate his success.

The Atlanta rapper's the recipient of Mercedes' first Maybach GLS whip thanks to his gracious boss, Girvan "Fly" Henry. We're told Fly dropped $200k for the luxury whip.

We're told Fly -- who is the CEO of Think It's A Game Records -- wanted to celebrate YFN's release of his latest album ... "Wish Me Well 3." The album's getting a lot of buzz already ... especially for the hitmakers who collaborated, including Rick Ross, Yo Gotti, Mulatto and Mozzy.

The Maybach SUV -- brought to market to compete with the likes of Rolls Royce and Bentley SUVs -- just oozes luxury with rear seats that recline and massage passengers.

The whip's also got a wine fridge big enough to store some good bubbly.

Jason Slater -- one of the original members of the rock band Third Blind Eye -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Jason's daughter, Alyssa Carlson, tells TMZ ... the rock musician died Wednesday from liver failure at a hospital in Maui. Alyssa says her dad kept his condition a secret ... telling us she just found out last month when she got a call he had landed in the hospital.

A rep for Third Eye Blind tells TMZ ... even though they had not spoken to Jason since 1996, "when a spirited member of the music scene is taken too soon it is always a sad time."

Jason was the band's bassist and backup vocalist when it formed in 1993. He recorded their first demo, and left the band after the first year. He went on to be a bassist, songwriter and producer with several other bands, including Snake River Conspiracy, Microdot, Revenge of the Triads and the rap-rock project Brougham.

Back in 2008, Jason posted this video on YouTube showing Third Eye Blind's first recording session. The band enjoyed most of its success after Jason left the band, releasing its self-titled debut album in 1997 and it's second, "Blue" in 1999.

The band's had tons of lineup changes -- singer/guitarist Stephan Jenkins and drummer Brad Hargreaves are the only original members remaining today.

Post Malone's got a new line of custom Crocs, and to test them out ... he put a new pair on the feet of every single kid at his old school FOR FREE.

The Post Malone x Crocs Duet Max Clog II hit the market for the first time Tuesday, and sold out within a few hours -- but one group that was for sure able to snag some before they were swept up was the entire academic body of Grapevine High School in Grapevine, TX.

Sources tell us Posty hooked up his alma mater with a new pair of PM Crocs of their own -- and we're talking every single student and every single faculty member. What does that mean numbers-wise??? Well, Grapevine HS has a student body of about 1,900 and with maybe 100 or so teachers ... we're talking somewhere in the 2,000 range.

Grapevine's principal, Alex Fingers, made the announcement to everyone this week ... saying Post had noticed all the good work they'd been doing for the community of late, so he decided to give back a little himself. Principal Fingers even flashed his own set of Crocs.

We're told a Google spreadsheet was distributed throughout the entire school last week, where everyone was told to put down their shoe size ... and then the Principal dropped the news.

He also posted photos of kids on campus opening their bags of PM Crocs -- and as you can see, people seemed pretty pleased. BTW, we're told these were distributed as safely as possible ... clearly, Grapevine's one of the schools in this country that's open right now.

Taylor Swift is lending a much-needed hand to a couple of mothers struggling financially due to the coronavirus pandemic ... just in time for the holidays.

The singer donated $13,000 apiece to 2 moms who have fallen on hard times, and whose stories were featured in a recent article about the millions of Americans who are unemployed, or behind on their rent and utilities.

The women -- Nikki Cornwell from Nashville and Shelbie Selewski from Michigan -- both received a generous donation from Taylor on their GoFundMe pages ... along with a personal note of encouragement.

Taylor wrote to Nikki ... "I read about you in the Washington Post and thought it was really brave of you to share your story. I'm so sorry for everything you've had to go through this year and wanted to send you this gift, from one Nashville girl to another."

Shelbie's message says ... "I'm sending you this gift after reading about you in the Washington Post. No one should have to feel the kind of stress that's been put on you. I hope you and your beautiful family have a great holiday season."

Both women have suffered both medical and financial hardships this year and say they are in danger of being kicked out of their homes if they don't catch up on bills.

Sadly, there are millions more in the U.S. who are also in dire straits, and without another government stimulus for support ... are feeling helpless.

The final numbers are in and Nipsey Hussle's estate is worth a little over $4 million ... TMZ has learned.

The late rapper's estate filed legal docs documenting the estate's final inventory appraisal ... which puts the estate value at $4,169,088.57. According to docs, obtained by TMZ, a big chunk of Nipsey's net worth comes from his trademark portfolio, shares of companies he owned as well as personal items ... like gold necklaces and Rolexes.

For example ... he owned a 25% share of stock in The Marathon Clothing worth $271k and a 100% interest in All Money In No Money Out Inc. worth just over $2 million. His trademark portfolio -- which includes his name, voice, signature, photograph or likeness on or in products, merchandise or goods -- is worth $913,000.

Chance the Rapper is a study in redundancy ... this according to none other than Dionne Warwick, and her words sent Chance into orbit!!!

Dionne tweeted Saturday night, "If you are very obviously a rapper why did you put it in your stage name? I cannot stop thinking about this."

Solid point, Dionne. Chance flipped out, but not because of Dionne's note. He fired back, "Sorry I'm still freaking out that u know who I am. This is amazing!"

Dionne, who's a big fan of Chance and loves "Holy," responded, "Of course I know you.  You're THE rapper. Let's rap together." Our take ... THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!!!

But, Dionne wasn't done ... after calling herself "Dionne the Singer," she wondered, "The Weeknd is next. Why?  It's not even spelled correctly?"

He then responded ... "I got roasted by Dionne Warwick and I feel honored! You just made my day."

Jeremih has beat COVID!!! He's been released from the hospital and is at home recovering ... TMZ has learned.

Jeremih tells TMZ, "First and foremost, I would like to thank God and the incredible team of doctors and nurses at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for saving my life. I will be forever grateful."

The R&B singer goes on ... "I would also like to thank my family and friends for all their prayers and well wishes. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude. A special thanks to Chance The Rapper, 50 Cent and Diddy for their love and support."

Those prayers from other artists and friends may have been just what the doctor ordered. As we reported, there was a time last month when it looked like Jeremih wouldn't make it. He was on a ventilator in ICU last weekend, when 50, Chance and others asked for prayers on Jeremih's behalf.

50 made it clear a week ago, things were not looking good ... "Pray for my boy Jeremih. He's not doing good. This  COVID s*** is real."

Jeremih says, "I would like to thank all my fans and people around the world who prayed for me. I'm getting stronger everyday, and look forward to spending time with my sons."

Morgan Wallen has a plan to make sure he's not booted from his second crack at 'SNL' ... but his strategy already has some gaping holes of his own doing.

We got the country music star in New York City Friday and our photog asked him how he's planning to stay COVID safe ahead of his big 'SNL' performance.

Morgan tells us he "ain't leaving the damn hotel" ... as he's literally walking out of said hotel.

As you know ... Morgan is getting a second chance at 'SNL' 2 months after the show axed him from an earlier, planned gig. He got the boot after he was seen taking shots in a crowded bar and kissing women during some maskless partying down in Alabama. Y'know, stuff that's NOT COVID safe.

Morgan's thanking the Lord for another shot -- at 'SNL,' not the bar -- and says he'll do things differently this time. As for leaving the hotel, maybe he's going to 30 Rock for rehearsals.

Good on Morgan for wearing a face-covering as he climbs into a waiting SUV with his masked-up team.

The show should be pretty funny, with host Jason Bateman already in fine form.