#SHOWBIZ: Justin Bieber reportedly near financial ruin before RM850mil music catalogue sale

NEW YORK: Justin Bieber was reportedly on the verge of financial ruin before selling his music catalogue for US$200 million (RM853.92 million) two years ago.
Sources close to the pop star told TMZ's "What Happened To Justin Bieber" that he was facing "financial collapse" when he made the sale to Hipgnosis Songs Capital.
Bieber, 31, had reportedly spent the entirety of his estimated career earnings, ranging from US$500 million to US$1 billion (RM2.13 billion to RM4.27 billion).
His manager, Scooter Braun, had reportedly advised him against such an early sale, suggesting Bieber wait until early 2023 to secure a tax advantage.
Although the sale was not publicly reported until late January 2023, TMZ revealed that the Grammy winner completed the deal in December 2022, making him the youngest musician to sell his catalogue.
Despite these reports, Bieber's team has denied claims of "financial distress" following the cancellation of much of his 2022 Justice world tour.
They also refuted allegations that he owes Braun's company US$20 million (RM85.43 million).
"Any source that is trying to sell you a story about alleged financial distress either doesn't understand the entertainment industry or, more likely, is trying to paint an unflattering portrait of Justin, which bears no resemblance to reality," Bieber's team informed The Hollywood Reporter.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Star

5 hours ago

• The Star

From bingsu to sashimi, popularity of cup foods going strong in South Korea

SEOUL: With the seasons changing, a new 'bingsu in a cup' trend is gaining popularity among young Koreans gearing up to survive the infamously humid and hot summer. Offered mostly by low-priced coffee joints like Mega Coffee, Compose Coffee and Ediya Coffee, the novelty dish packs all the regular features of the snack in a plastic cup usually used for drinks: frozen milk or cream, sweetened red beans, bite-sized rice cakes, syrup of your choosing, and of course, the chunk of shaved ice that makes it one of the most popular summertime snacks here. Cup bingsu is just the latest in a long line of popular snacks and meals to be packaged in a cup. What may sound like a 'Wall-E'-type dystopian nightmare on paper is actually quite an enjoyable and affordable form of food in South Korea, expanding its scope from the time-proven cup noodles to cup bap (rice), cup tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and apparently just about anything within the palm of your hands. Bingsu is rarely considered a dish for one because of its price and size. Sulbing, one of the most popular local bingju joints, offers its most basic Injeolmi Bingsu (bingsu with bean powder-coated rice cake) at 9,900 won (US$7.17). Served in a large bowl, it is an optimal snack to share with a friend. But the price tag for cup bingsu is usually in the 4,000-won range, rarely going above 6,300 won. This makes it an ideal snack to enjoy by yourself. The affordability of a dish for one has been the main appeal of cup foods here since the grandfather of modern-day cup meals, cup ramen, was first introduced in Japan. Momofuku Ando, a Taiwanese-Japanese man who made and lost his fortune in World War II, famously invented instant ramen and packaged it in a cup - known as Cup Noodles - to appeal to the international market. In 1972, Korean food and beverage company Samyang Foods launched the first localised version of Cup Noodles here, and it rapidly garnered popularity in ensuing decades, particularly with the introduction of convenience store franchises in the mid-1990s. Another popular cup dish is cup bab, a cupped version of rice with toppings that was born as a street food in Noryangjin-dong, Dongjak-gu of Seoul. Noryanjin in the 2000s enjoyed its heyday as a Mecca for aspiring civil servants, with countless private academies offering courses for the government service entrance exam. The cram school students sought dishes that were cheap and quick, which was addressed by street vendors selling cup bab. With rice being the main source of carbohydrates for Koreans, cup bab sold at around 2,000 won and was a welcome change from the cheap sandwiches and hamburgers that had fed them before. Cup-bab vendors in Noryangjin today are not nearly as prominent as before, but the once-popular dish has found its way to convenience stores in their stead. Cup bab is now sold inside cup-shaped wrapped containers, which can be stored longer and heated instantaneously for eating. Some consider the new form of cup bab a hit or miss, as the dried-up toppings and its new price tag are hardly an exact recreation of the once wildly popular dish. Around the same time adult students were having cup bab, their younger counterparts were filling their bellies with cup tteokbokki. Eateries and street vendors started selling the popular snack in small portions to children with limited pocket money, but it has since found its way into official menus. Perhaps the most unusual cup food is none other than sushi, such as the 'cold sashimi soup with beef tartare' offered by a local franchise. The small portion dish is a limited-time offer only for the summer, although affordability hardly factors in for a 13,900-won meal. The Styrofoam containers that cup foods are often packaged in have fuelled a widespread urban legend that pouring steaming hot water could release harmful substances. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2021 debunked this belief in 2021, experimenting on 49 types of disposable containers using polystyrene products to see if applying heat would lead to such results. Though a small amount of styrene was detected in eight containers, it was deemed too low an amount to impact human health. The only issue the ministry found with the containers is that they could break when heated. While the containers may not be harmful, there have been several studies indicating that cup foods do not provide balanced nutrition. In 2020, researchers from the Korea Consumer Agency analysed cup bab provided by 13 major food and beverage companies, which showed that they had much higher sodium levels compared to the total calories. Specifically, each cup bab on average provided about 21.7 per cent of the recommended daily calorie intake — which the research said was about 2,000 calories — but 50.3 per cent of the recommended daily sodium intake of 2,000 milligrams. As in the case of the study by the Food and Drug Safety Ministry, no significant level of harmful substances was detected in the containers. Cup bingsu is high in sugar, with one serving provided by Mega Coffee having 86g of sugar per cup. The World Health Organisation recommends that sugar intake be no more than ten per cent of one's energy intake, or about 50g daily. Tteokbokki and instant noodles are not considered healthy foods, as they consist mostly of carbohydrates while having an excessively large amount of sodium compared to their general calories. As such, it is recommended that one should not regard cup foods as their main energy intake and balance their diet with nutrient-rich foods. The KSA study concluded by saying that one should not eat cup bab with other salty foods like cup ramen, and advised people to eat food with sufficient potassium to help release the excess sodium. - The Korea Herald/ANN

New Straits Times

7 hours ago

• New Straits Times

#SHOWBIZ: Paris Hilton buys Mark Wahlberg's RM270mil mansion after losing home in LA wildfires

LOS ANGELES: Paris Hilton has reportedly purchased a luxurious Beverly Park mansion previously owned by actor Mark Wahlberg. The acquisition follows the devastating loss of her Malibu home in the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year. According to The Wall Street Journal and AsiaOne, the 44-year-old reality TV star, entrepreneur, and DJ acquired the expansive 2,833-square-metre estate for a reported US$63 million (RM269.51 million). The grand 12-bedroom property boasts high-end features, including a wine cellar, his-and-hers bathrooms, a sweeping staircase, a library, and a state-of-the-art gym. The lavish grounds offer a host of recreational amenities: a basketball court, a tennis court, a private skate park, a five-hole golf course with a driving range, and a resort-style swimming pool complete with waterslides. Wahlberg and his wife, Rhea Durham, had sold the home for US$55 million (RM235.29 million) in February 2023. Paris, who shares two children—Phoenix and London—with husband Carter Reum, has been searching for a new residence since her previous home was destroyed by fire. At the time of the incident, she posted a heartfelt message on Instagram: "Heartbroken beyond words. Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience. This home was where we built so many precious memories. It's where Phoenix took his first steps and where we dreamed of building a lifetime of memories with London. We're in this together, LA. Hug your loved ones a little tighter tonight. You never know when everything could change." With her new home, Hilton is now looking to rebuild those dreams and embark on a new chapter in her life.

Hype Malaysia

9 hours ago

• Hype Malaysia

(Video) My Chemical Romance To Return To Malaysia? Fans Notice Mysterious Billboard Ads In KL

Ever since My Chemical Romance (MCR) reunited to headline the When We Were Young music festival in Las Vegas last year, Malaysian fans have been manifesting the band's return to Kuala Lumpur. The last time they performed here was back in 2007 at Stadium Merdeka, where over 10,000 fans sang along to their songs at the top of their lungs. Previously, there have been hints that local concert organisers were working to bring the Grammy-nominated band back to our shores, but until now, nothing had been confirmed. That is, until fans recently began noticing something unusual projected onto billboards around the city. Here's what they saw: Over the weekend, a fan posted on both his TikTok and Twitter accounts about something he encountered while out in Bukit Bintang. In the video, he captured a large digital billboard above the McDonald's outlet briefly displaying the words 'Malaysia, are you okay?' alongside an image of a rose, before switching back to the regular advertisements. Another internet user spotted the same mysterious display on a digital billboard at the side of the road in Bangsar. For context, the rose is strongly associated with MCR, having appeared in the band's merchandise and music videos. With this in mind, the cryptic billboard ads have led many to believe that the 'Welcome to the Black Parade' artists could be performing in Malaysia later this year or in 2026. Many MCR fans reacted to the videos with hopeful excitement, saying they've been waiting nearly two decades for the band's return. Others remain sceptical, speculating that it might be a tribute concert rather than the real thing. A few have suggested that the ads may have nothing to do with MCR at all, noting that the rose alone isn't definitive proof. However, some of the biggest hints pointing to a potential concert include the fact that the band will be embarking on their North American tour, raising the possibility of dates being added in other regions. Warner Music Malaysia have also been sharing nostalgic throwbacks to MCR's music on its Instagram account, drawing more interest. Do you think the group will be coming to Malaysia? We can only hope so. Guess we'll have to wait and see if the rumours are true. Here are the viral clips: Sources: TikTok (1)(2)(3), Twitter (1)(2) What's your Reaction? +1 0 +1 0 +1 0 +1 0 +1 0 +1 0