TMZ.com

Elvis Presley is about to make someone the king of rock n' roll memorabilia -- that's if you make the winning bid on a guitar used for his famous 1968 comeback.

The folks over at Kruse GWS Auctions are handling the auction of Elvis' rare cherry red Hagstrom Viking II guitar. EP was slinging this axe when he shot the highly anticipated TV special on NBC, which marked his return to performing live music ... after a 7-year hiatus focusing on movie roles.

This guitar has tons of Elvis history attached to it beyond the special -- it was featured on the cover of his "From Elvis in Memphis" album cover, and it was once displayed at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum.

The winning bidder of this auction -- which kicks off March 27 at 10 AM -- will also get sheet music from the '68 TV special. It's a nice cherry on top, especially considering Kruse GWS anticipates the guitar will fetch somewhere between $750k and $1 million.

And, for those who get outbid on the guitar, no worries ... there's other cool Elvis memorabilia also on the auction block -- like his personally owned 14k yellow gold and blue enamel TCB (taking care of business) necklace.

In the non-Elvis department -- Elizabeth Taylor's personally owned earrings, broach and necklace ... as well as the 1950 Cadillac Fleetwood from "The Godfather."

Cardi B appears to be downplaying The Weeknd's fury about being snubbed at the Grammys with a spotlight on other Black artists who are getting recognized ... which is interesting.

The rapper posted a lengthy statement Saturday about her thoughts on all the Grammys drama, and while she acknowledged she did think some albums and songs probably should've gotten nominated, she doesn't seem nearly as miffed as others are.

All she has to say on the matter of snubs is ... "[M]aybe by next year they will get it right."

What she did want to talk about at length, however, was the fact that a number of lesser-known, independent Black artists WERE nominated this year ... and that they should be allowed to revel in that honor, because too often they're overlooked despite being amazing.

Cardi writes, "Don’t forget to congratulate the small black artist that got nominated that got overshadowed again cause of the drama. It’s their moment finally!" She goes on to cite artists who are up for an award, like Freddie Gibbs, Giveon, Brittany Howard, Ant Clemons, Ledisi, Luke James, Thundercat, Chika, Jean and Marcus Baylor and more ... several of whom Cardi notes that don't get the pub, like marquee names in the music biz do on the regular.

She ends by saying, "Soo besides all the bulls*** let's not forget to congratulate these artists," going on to say this is their moment too and that folks shouldn't overshadow it "cause your favorite might not be on the list." Her choice of words here certainly raises an eyebrow.

Of course, The Weeknd just recently vowed to boycott the Grammys going forward -- this after accusing them of being corrupt and running secret committees that supposedly require a lot of ass-kissing behind closed doors. The Grammys has denied that characterization.

Still, it sounds like Abel's other contemporaries mostly agree with him that the Grammys get it wrong time and again. Drake chimed in not too long ago with that exact sentiment ... and even Beyonce's gonna be a no-show on Sunday, despite being the most nominated artist.

Famous Dex claims he was held up at gunpoint ... telling cops robbers made off with his expensive timepiece and a fat stack of cash.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the rapper told police he met up with a friend Wednesday night in the San Fernando Valley and borrowed a $50,000 watch for a video shoot. Dex claims he was followed after leaving with the watch.

Our sources say Dex told cops when he stopped his car a few men pulled guns on him. Dex claims the gunmen took the watch, plus thousands of dollars in cash, and then took off.

Dex is known to carry lots of cash ... when we ran into him a couple years ago in Atlanta, he dropped a ton of money on a hotel lobby floor.

Gene Simmons is still trying to kiss his Beverly Hills mansion goodbye ... and he's putting it back up for sale, but with a higher price tag after some renovations.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the KISS frontman just relisted his two-acre property in Benedict Canyon for a cool $25 million.

Gene previously put the home up for sale back in October for $22 million, but it never sold and we're told he invested a lot of money in making improvements.

Our sources say the home was almost like a miniature KISS museum, with 4 of the 7 bedrooms decked out with all kinds of band gear ... but as you can see, the rooms no longer look like KISS shrines.

The massive property is 16,000 square feet and it's still got all the bells and whistles you would expect from a rock star's home ... a 60-foot water slide, parking for 35 cars and a professional size tennis court.

The Weeknd's only getting more heated with the Grammys -- he's boycotting the awards show, and not just this year, but for good!

The singer drew a line in the sand Thursday saying he'll boycott the awards show from now on "because of the secret committees" he believes are responsible for selecting nominees.

He told The New York Times he'll "no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys." Boom.

It's the latest chapter in Abel's beef with the Grammys after accusing them of snubbing his critically acclaimed album "After Hours" following a bitter back-and-forth over what his camp claimed was an ultimatum from Grammys brass -- us or Super Bowl LV.

Our sources had said there was a growing suspicion The Weeknd's decision to play the Super Bowl Halftime Show cost him Grammy noms. Grammys chief honcho Harvey Mason Jr. begged to differ ... saying there was nothing corrupt about Abel not being nominated.

Still, The Weeknd -- who's previously won 3 Grammys -- claimed the award show severely lacks transparency. He's said they mean nothing to him now.

When the mural gods close one door, they open another ... at least for Taylor Swift, who's about to get an upgrade in Nashville after being removed from an iconic piece of art.

You may recall ... Taylor was replaced in the "Legends Corner" mural back around Christmas time by the Nashville honky-tonk bar of the same name, but the artist who did it is now working on another mural -- just for Swift.

Tim Davis tells TMZ ... he began designing Taylor's solo mural right after he replaced her with Brad Paisley at Legends Corner, and says it will have a stained-glass look reflecting her country music roots and her crossover into pop.

If ya don't know, Swift's venture away from country was the reason cited for her removal from the iconic Music City mural ... but that didn't sit well with her fans.

So, Davis has launched his own campaign to get her a mural of her own, and he says he already has the new spot locked down ... on a wall within a block of the Legends mural.

Tim says the owner of the wall wants to remain anonymous until the mural goes up, but the artist says it's going to happen -- just as soon as he raises the funds to start painting.

Justin Bieber's on cloud 9 right now, and letting everyone know he was able to snag a pair of Kanye West's sold-out new shoes.

The Biebs showed off his Yeezy 450 in Cloud Whites while running errands Tuesday in Beverly Hills. The kicks are pretty easy to spot, what with the unique profile and all.

Of course, the shoes were pretty much impossible to get your hands on ... as we reported, Kanye's latest offering sold out Saturday in a matter of seconds during a mad scramble on the Adidas app and YeezySupply.com, with most folks walking away empty-handed.

Justin has the best sneaker hookup -- likely getting 'em straight from the source.

Remember, JB and Kanye are super tight these days. Ye even hosted Justin and Hailey at his Wyoming ranch when the couple was tooling around in an RV.

The Yeezy 450 in Cloud Whites retail for $200 and folks are reselling them for around $500.

Jerry Springer revisited his pre-pandemic tradition of singing a famous Elvis tune for the King's birthday -- albeit a couple months late ... but still as incredible as ever.

The famed talk show host popped into Matteo's Trattoria Saturday night in Boca Raton, FL -- where he and a group of pals were sitting near a makeshift stage ... where management had booked a singer for the night to croon to old-timey songs, like Sinatra and whatnot.

We're told that toward the end of the guy's set and as it was nearing closing time, Jerry got up and spoke with the singer ... and then got on the mic himself to belt out EP's 'Love Me Tender.' As he sang, the crowd hooted and hollered ... clearly impressed with his pipes.

While the crowd might've been surprised over Jerry's smooth, silky voice ... it's actually nothing new. The guy stays singing 'LMT' ... or at least he was for years in honor of Elvis' birthday, Jan. 8. He did it back to back in 2016 and 2017 at the same joint in Dallas.

Looks like he took his show on the road this time around ... and got to flex in the middle of the pandemic. As you know, restaurants are opening up all over the country -- so that might be why we hadn't seen this in January ... when JS usually pays tribute.

Beyonce paid homage to one of her fans who tragically died Friday after a 2-year battle with brain cancer, and it was truly moving.

Lyric Chanel's journey was chronicled by her family on Instagram. 600,000 people followed her, along with numerous celebs including Cardi B and, of course, Beyonce.

Things took a turn Wednesday, when the family was told Lyric only had days to live. After her passing Friday, an account posted in her honor -- Go Gold for Childhood Cancer.

Beyoncé connected with Lyric back in September. Lyric caught Bey's attention after posting a video of her years earlier, singing Bey's "Love On Top."

Beyonce's tribute song features a montage of Lyric photos and videos ... it's a celebration of her life, showing her singing and dancing to a mashup of "Brown Skin Girl," "Halo" and "Love On Top."

Notice how she switches out the word "baby" with "Lyric."

Lyric was 13.

Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras looked very much like pre-pandemic times, but there were actually some precautions taken.

An estimated 35,000 people watched the annual parade at the Sydney Cricket Ground. That's a ton of folks, but way less than the 200,000 that lined Oxford Street in Mardi Gras's past.

Rita Ora headlined the event ... she got emotional, at one point telling the crowd she was fighting back tears, telling everyone how much she missed performing during the pandemic. Other performers included The Wiggles and singer G Flip.

Australia has fared way, way better than the U.S. They've had just over 29,000 COVID cases and a total of 909 deaths. From our eye, most people were not wearing masks, but the fact is ... Australia has had stringent rules and apparently it has paid off.

When you look at the pics through an American lens, it seems they've pulled out all the stops, but a number of people who attended called this year's event "muted" compared to past Mardi Gras.

Kygo is going all out to perform a virtual concert from the top of a snow-capped mountain in Scandinavia -- a helicopter dropped off a piano at the summit!!!

Ya gotta see the video of the unique delivery ... the piano was hanging by straps from the chopper as it came in for a landing Thursday ... next to Kygo, who was surrounded by pyrotechnics while spinning tunes. Talk about production value.

The Norwegian DJ reportedly dropped over six figures of his own money to make this virtual concert happen ... it's not exactly cheap to get a piano flown to the top of Norway’s Sunnmore Alps.

Kygo's fans might recognize the glass piano ... it's the same one he used during his "Kids In Love" tour. You can see it in action (if you bought a ticket) when the online show begins at 6 PM PT.

The mountain's getting a lot of love from Hollywood these days too ... it was a filming location for Tom Cruise's upcoming "Mission: Impossible 7."

Tekashi 6ix9ine has been on the rollercoaster of a lifetime, but his latest ups and downs are all about yo-yo'ing big time on his weight ... and we found out why.

6ix9ine got into the nitty-gritty of his recent weight gain/loss Wednesday on 'TMZ Live' -- where he dished on how exactly he ended up a full 70 pounds heavier within a few months of getting out of prison.

Ya might've heard ... Tekashi says he hit a whopping 204 lbs. during home confinement last year -- he was about 130 lbs. when he left the pen -- but miraculously dropped the poundage in record time ... something he alluded to recently on social media.

He explains he was able to get himself back down to around 140 lbs., adding this in celebration ... "In the chaos of everything that is going on in your life, tell yourself 'I control what happens in my life' do NOT let anyone tell you that things you want it’s not possible, that’s FALSE!"

So many questions here, which Harvey and Charles dug into with Tekashi -- such as, what the hell was he eating to gain so much weight -- and perhaps just as important, how'd he lose it all so quickly???

Tekashi's got the answers ... and his solution might be a bit more primitive than any fad diet out right now. Turns out, the answer to tons of Chinese food is ... sweat and misery.

Anyone comparing the talent of Beyonce to the talent of Chloe Bailey is an "Idiot. Period." ... at least according to Mathew Knowles.

The Queen B's father is incredulous over comparisons of his daughter to the up-and-coming singer -- who's one-half of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle with her sister -- so much that it appears to hurt him to talk about it.

Mathew says considering Chloe to play Beyonce in a biopic is understandable, but for somebody to be "idiot enough" to liken her talent-wise??? Bey's daddy's not down with that.

He calls the comparisons downright insulting to Beyonce -- he thinks Barbra Streisand is more her level -- and finally tells the interviewer he wants to move on to the next topic.

Tekashi 6ix9ine does NOT believe what he did in court to save his own skin was snitching ... and he laid out his argument Thursday on "TMZ Live."

As you know, Tekashi became the star witness in his 2018 RICO case by testifying against his fellow gang member buddies ... which resulted in their conviction.

Tekashi argues it all boils down to loyalty -- or a lack thereof. He makes a decent point about beefing with just about everyone from coast-to-coast and ultimately being targeted by his own crew in what amounted to a scary stick-up job.

You'll recall ... Tekashi was kidnapped by his own security team in the summer of 2018 -- part of which was captured on dashcam video and surveillance footage. He was taken for a ride around the block, where he was threatened at gunpoint, and ordered to fork over cash and jewels he had at his NYC pad ... an exchange ultimately carried out by his then-GF.

In light of that, 6ix9ine explains he doesn't owe anything to those guys ... and even suggests what he did was wise. The Nine Trey Bloods almost certainly feel differently.

Of course, we also had to ask how he's holding up these days, and whether he fears for his life now that he's labeled a traitor with a violent gang. Fact is ... Tekashi was looking over his shoulder when the subject was raised ... but it ain't for the reason you'd think.

Machine Gun Kelly's drummer got attacked, robbed and hit by a car ... according to law enforcement sources, but he says he's going to bounce back.

We're told JP Cappelletty -- better known as Rook, MGK's drummer -- was walking down a street in the Hollywood Hills Tuesday night around 8 PM, when 2 guys jumped out of a vehicle to rob him.

Our law enforcement sources say there was a physical altercation, and Rook had thousands of dollars worth of property stolen from him. We're told at some point, he was also hit by a car, which injured his foot and arm.

Rook posted a pic from his hospital bed Wednesday showing his right arm and hand in a cast, and another with MGK visiting him. Rook says, "Don't Worry I'll Bounce Back."

Our sources say the suspects got away, and while it's unclear if they were armed ... they certainly used force to rob the drummer.

Britney Spears got some quality time in with her teenage sons ... and shared a rare photo of them all together as a memento.

Britney posted the pic Monday of her and her 2 boys -- 15-year-old Sean and 14-year-old Jayden -- standing in an open field together ... and she looks happy as can be.

She marveled at how big her kids are now and how time flies, saying ... "it's very hard for any mama especially a mama with boys seeing them grow up so fast !!!!"

Brit's also very proud of her sons, adding ... "I'm extremely lucky because my two babies are such gentleman and so kind that I must have done something right !!!!"

The singer says she hasn't posted any photos of Sean or Jayden in a while because -- well, they're teenagers -- but they let her post this one ... including an edited version with a more intense background.

As you know ... Britney's relationship with her sons -- who she had with Kevin Federline -- has been rocky at times, and Kevin has custody of them the majority of the time.