Jem Aswad Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music The family of Brian Wilson, co-founder and primary songwriter of the Beach Boys, has filed for a conservatorship after the death of the musician’s wife last month. The filing states that Wilson, 81, is suffering from a “major neurocognitive disorder (such as dementia).” “Following the passing of Brian’s beloved wife Melinda, after careful consideration and consultation among Brian, his seven children, Gloria Ramos and Brian’s doctors (and consistent with family processes put in place by Brian and Melinda), we are confirming that longtime Wilson family representatives LeeAnn Hard and Jean Sievers will serve as Brian’s co-conservators of the person,” the family wrote in a post on Instagram late Thursday.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Primary Wave Music has announced a partnership with the heirs of a producer behind the legendary dance-music group the Village People that involves a stake in the outfit’s brand, master recordings and publishing assets. Songs included in the partnership are such dancefloor icons as “Y.M.C.A.,” “Macho Man,” “In the Navy,” “Go West” and more.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Few artists have ever fused pop and dance music as fluidly as ABBA, and their influence is writ subtly but large on Dua Lipa’s new single “Training Season” — previewed during her performance at the Grammy Awards earlier this month — the second from her still untitled forthcoming third album. Driving but not as in-your-face as its predecessor “Houdini,” the song struts along on a powerful disco beat, with a melody that swerves into almost Middle-Eastern scales, reminiscent of ABBA’s biggest disco hit, 1978’s “Voulez-Vous.” While the influence there is subtle, it’s unmistakable, and is driven home later in the song with piano flourishes that recalls ABBA keyboardist Benny Andersson’s on many of the group’s hits, most famously “Dancing Queen.” It’s the best kind of tribute: nothing overt, but a sly, fun wink for fans who notice it.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Just two days after Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons was sued for rape by a former Def Jam executive, he was hit on Thursday with another lawsuit for a former employee, Drew Dixon, who has leveled claims of sexual assault against him in the past. She is suing Simmons for defamation for calling her a “liar” after she made those statements, according to court documents filed Thursday and obtained by Variety; the lawsuit was first reported by Rolling Stone. Dixon, who worked as a Def Jam A&R executive from 1993 until 1995, filed suit in New York on Thursday and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music The Black Music Action Coalition and live-entertainment giant Live Nation are partnering to launch a music business intensive course and paid internship program to provide industry newcomers with “insight and the technical skills required to bring a show to the stage,” the organizations announced Thursday. Kicking off this Summer, the program will offer non-college bound, aspiring music business professionals from across the country an all-expense paid experience in Los Angeles as they go through a one-week intensive course that will educate on a broad range of roles in the live music industry.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music After several teasers, Brent Faiyaz has dropped the video for his song “WY@” — featuring “Black Panther”/ “Star Wars”/ “12 Years a Slave” star Lupita Nyong’o. Directed by Markpeaced, the clip features the two filming scenes from a (presumably fictional) action film, involved in a high-speed chase across the desert and apparently arguing.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Just two days after performing with Usher during the Super Bowl Halftime show, Grammy-Oscar-Emmy winner H.E.R. has announced that she’s signed with Lighthouse Management and Media for management across all areas of her career. She will be managed at the company by Aleen Keshishian and Zack Morgenroth.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music In an apparent attempt to undercut Taylor Swift’s potential influence on the presidential election later this year, former president Donald Trump issued a statement on his Truth Social platform Sunday claiming credit for the 2018 Music Modernization Act and stating, without evidence, that Swift would not endorse President Joe Biden’s re-election bid. In the post, Trump claimed: “I signed and was responsible for the Music Modernization Act for Taylor Swift and all other Musical Artists. Joe Biden didn’t do anything for Taylor, and never will.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Damo Suzuki, the Japanese lead singer of the wildly innovative band Can, has died, according to a statement from the band’s social media accounts. No cause of death was cited, although he had been battling colon cancer for a decade; he was 74.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music After a long series of fakeouts that have become standard operating procedure for Kanye West releases, the embattled artist and Ty Dolla $ign have finally dropped their “Vultures 1” album. The release, which occurred sometime in the wee hours of Saturday morning, is curiously not available on Spotify, although it can be found on most other major streaming services.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music In what is apparently the conclusion of a deal that Variety tipped a year ago, Sony Music Group has completed a transaction to acquire half of Michael Jackson’s publishing and recorded masters in a transaction that values the total catalog at around $1.2 billion, and possibly more, sources confirm to Variety. Billboard reports that Sony will pay at least $600 million for the stake. If accurate, the deal is the biggest for a single music artist’s assets to date.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Brittany Howard is not one for the easy path. A dozen-odd years ago, she burst onto the scene as the fiery lead singer of Alabama Shakes, a rootsy combo that brought hope to rock fans, just as the uneasy realization set in that there weren’t many interesting traditional rock bands coming up anymore.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music As expected, Justin Timberlake has dropped his new single and video, “Selfish,” continuing the rollout leading up to his first album in five years, “Everything I Thought It Was.” “Selfish,” which was premiered at a special concert in Timberlake’s hometown of Memphis last week, was written by the singer, Louis Bell (Taylor Swift, Post Malone), Cirkut (Maroon 5, The Weeknd), Theron Thomas and Amy Allen and produced by Timberlake, Louis Bell and Cirkut. The video was directed by Bradley J.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Songwriter Jenna Andrews, whose hits include songs performed by BTS, Drake, David Guetta and more, has sold her catalog to Warner Chappell Music, her management company Milk & Honey Music + Sports has announced. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Burna Boy, Luke Combs and Travis Scott have been added to the lineup of performers for the 66th annual Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy announced on Sunday, joining previously announced artists Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo. Additional acts, presenters and more will be announced in the coming weeks. The Grammy Awards will return to Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, Feb.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Mark Ronson will be honored with the Music for Life award and sit for an interview to open the National Association of Music Merchants show in Anaheim, Calif., next week, the organization has announced. The not-for-profit music trade organization will hold its annual gathering from Thursday, January 25 through Sunday, January 28.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Post Malone, Reba McEntire and Andra Day will perform during the pre-game for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, the NFL has announced. The game will be played at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, Feb.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music The Songwriters Hall of Fame has unveiled its 2024 inductees: R.E.M., Steely Dan, hip-hop and R&B legend Timbaland (hits for Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake, Aaliyah and many more), and songwriters Hillary Lindsey (“Jesus Take The Wheel,” “Girl Crush,” “Million Reasons”), and Dean Pitchford (“Footloose,” “Fame,” “Let’s Hear It for the Boy”). The induction ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, June 13th at its longtime home of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Additional special award honorees will be announced in the coming weeks.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Lana Del Rey, Doja Cat, Tyler, the Creator and No Doubt will headline the 2024 Coachella festival, promoters Goldenvoice announced on Tuesday. The lineup poster appears below. Also on the list are Peso Pluma, Blur, J Balvin, Ice Spice, Sublime, Lil Uzi Vert, Grimes, Victoria Monet, Jon Batiste, Bleachers, Justice, Deftones and Lil Yachty, with big looks for rising artists like Bizarrap, Khruangbin and others.

Tool are one of the world’s biggest cult bands, inspiring a level of fandom and devotion that many artists would envy. And those fans packed two nights at Madison Square Garden last weekend, where the foursome, as is their wont, eschewed most if not all traditional “rock show” expectations and conventions.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music After weeks of rumors, Universal Music Group has confirmed that it will be laying off an unspecified but significant number of employees in the coming weeks. The company’s recorded-music division is said to be receiving the brunt of the layoffs.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” has become the first song to pass the 4 billion stream mark on Spotify, a rep for the company confirms to Variety. The song passed Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” as the all-time most-streamed song on the service just over a year ago, and it is one of two Weeknd songs in the top 10: his 2016 song “Starboy” is at No.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Pioneering BBC DJ Annie Nightingale — the first (and for 12 years, only) female DJ on the network’s Radio 1 station, whose embrace of multiple genres of music cast a vast influence on the country’s music fans — died Friday after a brief illness, according to The Guardian. She was 83.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Ariana Grande’s first single under her own name in more than three years arrives with a feel-good, bouncy lilt in the melody and rhythm, and a clear inspiration from Madonna’s “Vogue” (along with a splash of mid-‘90s Janet Jackson). But first impressions can be deceiving, because the lyrics bear a refreshingly positive I-am-who-I-am, be-yourself-and-keep-it-moving message — but with teeth, as well as some well-placed expletives.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Nearly eight years after Prince’s death, his heirs have gone to court with two former associates of the artist in the latest round of the long, expensive and complex battle over control over his estate. The lawsuit, made public Wednesday in Delaware court, pits four of the artist’s heirs against two of his former business associates in a fight over control of Prince Legacy LLC.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music As the ongoing series of lawsuits and allegations prove nearly every week, sexual misconduct and abuse remain a major problem in the music industry. In the coming weeks, songwriter Tiffany Red and the 100 Percenters, who have long rallied for more equitable treatment for songwriters in the industry, have spoken out against sexual abuse and have announced plans to launch two programs designed to combat it: the Safe Music Business Pledge and the Abuse in Music Recovery Fund.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music The UnitedMasters music platform will again kick off Grammy weekend with a trio of buzzing independent artists: Nigerian-American singer Davido, Dominican rapper Tokischa and South Africa-based DJ-artist Uncle Waffles. The show takes places at the Hollywood Palladium on Friday, Feb. 2.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Tracy Hurley Martin — co-founder and CEO of the Morbid Anatomy Museum, comedy booking agent, film producer and publicist for Prince, George Michael, Depeche Mode, the Cure and others — has died following a two-year battle with cancer, her brother in law Michael Pagnotta confirmed to Variety. She was 53. She is survived by her husband of 20 years, Depeche Mode/ Yaz/ Erasure cofounder Vince Clarke (pictured above with her in 2016); a son, Oscar; a niece, Isabelle Pagnotta; and her identical twin sister, author and screenwriter Tonya Hurley. Clarke’s Erasure bandmate Andy Bell posted a tribute to Martin on social media: “There are no words.