Latest news with #TheRecordingAcademy
Forbes
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Bruno Mars Makes His Decade-Old Single A Global Smash Again
Bruno Mars places four songs on the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts this week, as ... More 'Locked Out of Heaven' returns and 'Just the Way You Are' surges. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 02: Bruno Mars performs onstage during the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Arena on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo byfor The Recording Academy) Bruno Mars is never absent from Billboard's global charts these days, whether he's pushing something brand new or fans are focusing their listening on the tracks that made him a superstar years ago. The singer-songwriter regularly fills multiple spaces on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S., and this week is no exception, as the Grammy champion appears with several favorites – including one which rebounds onto both tallies. "Locked Out of Heaven" breaks back onto both Billboard's lists of the most consumed songs around the world and the most popular tunes globally, with U.S. streams and sales excluded. The decade-plus-old smash reenters the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. at No. 162, and it comes in at No. 174 on the Billboard Global 200. "Locked Out of Heaven" has already spent at least two years on both of these rankings. It even reaches the 104 week-milestone on the Billboard Global 200 as it returns. Despite its longevity, the track has never climbed into the top 40 on either list. Mars sits just below the top spot on both rankings with a pair of smashes — ones which have already become some of the biggest hits in the history of these rosters. "Die With a Smile," his collaboration with Lady Gaga, remains steady in the runner-up space on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. At the same time, "Apt," which saw Mars team up with Blackpink star Rosé, is a non-mover in third place on the two rankings. In between "Die With a Smile," "Apt.," and "Locked Out of Heaven" comes "Just the Way You Are," Mars's first solo smash, and it is growing in popularity around the world, which happens from time to time. This week, it leaps more than 30 spaces on both the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. and Billboard Global 200, settling at Nos. 145 and 156, respectively. Just like "Locked Out of Heaven," the track has lived on these lists for a long time but never managed to become a top 40 smash.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Michigan lawmakers unite in ‘bad blood' against ticket bots in Taylor Swift inspired bills
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 02: Taylor Swift attends the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo byfor The Recording Academy) Just as Taylor Swift brought together over 100,000 people to her two Detroit concert nights in 2023 during her Eras Tour, the often partisan-split Michigan legislature seems to have laid its armor down to ban online ticket bots from skipping lines and getting past ticket number limits, preventing fans from getting tickets to see shows. This was the case when Eras Tour tickets went on sale in November of 2022, which fans refer to as The Great War, where glitches and online bots prevented many fans from being able to purchase a ticket for the tour off of Ticketmaster. But even as elected officials in Michigan's Legislature clash on appropriations in the state budget in the Democratic-led Senate and Republican-led House, they're coming together and have both passed bills out of committee to create an Event Online Ticket Sales Act. The bipartisan bills, House Bills 4262 and 4263 and Senate Bills 158 and 159, would prohibit individuals from creating or utilizing a bot that can circumvent ticket purchasing limits, hop the line in online queues or otherwise defrauding the online ticket buying experience through software or bot programs. On the House side, which cleared its bills out of committee with bipartisan support earlier this month, one of the sponsors, Rep. Mike Harris (R-Waterford Township) told lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee that bad actors are exploiting the system and preventing people and their families from experiencing sporting events and concerts important to them. 'As a father of six, yes, I have attended a Taylor Swift concert. That was my duty as a father of four girls,' Harris said during committee. 'I believe these are meaningful safeguards that will increase transparency and ensure a much fairer purchasing process for people here in Michigan.' The House bills cleared the committee unanimously. On the Senate side, Wednesday, the bills cleared the Finance, Insurance, and Consumer Protection Committee nearly unanimously, except for one pass by Sen. Lana Theis (R-Brighton) on Senate Bill 159, which like House Bill 4262, would place a $5,000 civil fine on each violation to the Event Online Ticket Sales Act and allow the Michigan Attorney General's Office to bring civil action against violators. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
After Taylor Swift Called Scooter Braun Her 'Nemesis,' He Has Said That He Genuinely Thought She'd Want To Work With Him When He Bought Her Masters
It's no secret that Taylor Swift has long considered Scooter Braun her 'nemesis,' with Scooter being Kanye West's manager during the rapper's infamous 2016 beef with the singer. Kevin Mazur /for The Recording Academy, Jemal Countess / Getty Images fo Anti-Defamation League If you need reminding, the feud resulted in Taylor being branded a 'snake' across social media and led to her retreating from the public eye for almost an entire year. At the peak of her downfall, Justin Bieber even posted a screenshot from a FaceTime call with laughing Scooter and Kanye to his Instagram page alongside the goading caption: 'Taylor swift what up." So, it's pretty unsurprising that when Taylor's former manager Scott Borchetta sold his record label, Big Machine Records, to Scooter's company, Ithaca Holdings, for $300 million back in 2019, Taylor wasn't exactly happy about it. For reference, this deal meant that Scooter would profit from the sales and use of all of the music that Taylor released through Big Machine during her 10-year contract with them, which included her first six albums. Taylor addressed the situation in a lengthy Tumblr post at the time, where she said that she didn't sign a new contract with Big Machine because she knew that Scott was planning to sell. She also revealed that she rejected a new contract even though it offered her the opportunity to 'earn' the rights to one old album for every new one she released. Taylor then said that Scott selling to Scooter was her 'worst case scenario' as she called out the 'incessant, manipulative bullying' she'd received at Scooter's hands over the years. Taylor added that Scooter had 'stripped' her of her life's work that she 'wasn't given the opportunity to buy.' 'When I left my masters in Scott's hands, I made peace with the fact that eventually he would sell them. Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter,' she wrote in the post. 'Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words 'Scooter Braun' escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to.' Related: Here's Why People Are Raising Their Eyebrows Over Chris Pratt's Post About The Fatal Shooting Of His 'Parks And Recreation' Costar Jonathan Joss Scooter has previously admitted that when he acquired Big Machine he assumed that he would 'be in business' with all of the artists that it covered, saying during an appearance on NPR's The Limits podcast: 'The regret I have there is that I made the assumption that everyone, once the deal was done, was going to have a conversation with me, see my intent, see my character and say, 'Great, let's be in business together.' I made that assumption with people that I didn't know." "I didn't appreciate how that all went down. I thought it was unfair," he added at the time. "But I also understand, from the other side, they probably felt it was unfair, too." And in a new interview for Steven Bartlett's Diary of a CEO podcast, Scooter opened up some more about Taylor specifically as he admitted that he thought she would be enthusiastic about working with him despite his connections to Kanye and Justin. Related: 21 Times Celebrities Revealed Wildly Juicy, Shady, Or Even Disturbing Things In Interviews 'When I bought Big Machine, I thought I was going to work with all the artists on [it]. I thought it was going to be an exciting thing,' Scooter began. 'Taylor, she and I had only met three or four times. And one of the times, years earlier, it was really a great engagement; she invited me to her private party, she respected me.' 'In between that time since I'd seen her last, I started managing Kanye West, I managed Justin Bieber. I knew she didn't get along with them,' he continued. 'This is where my arrogance came in — I had a feeling she probably didn't like me cause I managed them, but I thought that once this announcement happened, she would talk to me, see who I am, and we would work together.' Scooter told Steven that he was set to call Taylor to discuss their future when her Tumblr post went live, leaving him 'shocked.' However, he also insisted that the experience gave him a newfound empathy for the people he does work with, saying: 'I'd always say: 'Yeah, I understand', but I never knew what it was like to be on the global stage like that.' "I never knew what criticism like that felt like,' Scooter continued. 'And like I told you, the biggest gift that I got from that was understanding that all the praise I had received up until that moment was not deserved, and all the hate I got after that moment was not deserved, because none of these people knew me. She didn't know me." As it happens, Scooter ended up selling Taylor's catalog, including all associated videos and artwork, to Shamrock Holdings for more than $300 million in October 2020, just over a year after he bought Big Machine. The following month, Taylor issued a statement revealing that her and Scooter's respective teams had been in negotiations for her to regain ownership of the masters, but she backed out when his team allegedly asked her to sign an 'ironclad NDA' stating that she would never say another word about Scooter 'unless it was positive.' Taylor went on to say that she was 'open' to partner with Shamrock when they initially reached out to her, but was left dismayed when she learned that the terms of Scooter's sale meant that his company would continue to profit from her work. 'As soon as we started communication with Shamrock, I learned that under their terms Scooter Braun will continue to profit off my old musical catalog for many years,' she wrote. 'I was hopeful and open to the possibility of a partnership with Shamrock, but Scooter's participation is a non-starter for me.' As you probably know, this entire mess led to Taylor rerecording her first six albums — complete with brand new tracks 'from the vault' — in order to have ownership of her music. And Taylor only had her self-titled debut and 2017 album Reputation left to re-release when she announced at the end of last month that she'd bought the rights to the original master recordings from Shamrock for a reported $360 million. What do you make of Scooter's expectation to work with Taylor? Let me know in the comments below! More on this Kelly Clarkson Just Addressed That Iconic 2019 Tweet Advising Taylor Swift To Rerecord Her Old Albums After Scooter Braun Bought Her MastersStephanie Soteriou · June 23, 2023 Taylor Swift Seemingly Sings About Being Vindicated In Her Scooter Braun Feud On 'The Tortured Poets Department'Stephanie Soteriou · April 26, 2024 A Taylor Swift Fan Shared Their Theory That The Chorus Of "Karma" References Scooter Braun's Most Prominent Artists, And They Might Be Onto SomethingStephanie Soteriou · Aug. 23, 2023 Taylor Swift Has Spent 16 Years Subtly Telling Us Super Intimate Details About Other Celebrities In Her Music. Here's Everything That We've Learned So Soteriou · Oct. 21, 2022 Also in Celebrity: Chrissy Teigen Posted The Results Of Her Hairline Lowering Surgery, And Ouch Also in Celebrity: 18 Celebrities Who Called Out Other Celebs On Social Media For Bad, Problematic, Or Just Plain Mean Behavior Also in Celebrity: Here Are 16 Actors Who Saved Their Skin By Turning Down Roles In Movies That People Notoriously Hated
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Smokey Robinson Countersues Former Employees for Defamation
William 'Smokey' Robinson Jr., February 2023 (for The Recording Academy) Earlier this month, four former employees of 85-year-old Motown veteran Smokey Robinson filed a lawsuit accusing the singer of multiple counts of rape and sexual assault. Now, Robinson has filed a countersuit against the plaintiffs, accusing them of defamation and seeking $500 million in damages. According to court documents obtained by Pitchfork, Robinson also filed a motion to dismiss the women's lawsuit on the basis that they did not file under their legal names (the women filed their suit anonymously). Robinson's countersuit and motion to dismiss were filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court; the former document accuses plaintiffs of 'avarice and greed,' stating that the four women are 'concocting an extortionate plan to take everything from the Robinsons' in an attempt to wrongfully destroy the Robinsons' well-built reputations.' The original lawsuit was brought forth by a personal assistant and three former housekeepers for Robinson. They allege that they were raped and sexually assaulted by Robinson dozens of times at his various homes in California and Las Vegas during their tenure as his employees. The complaint states that the women all worked for Robinson for varying spans between 2006 and 2024. They are seeking $50 million in damages. The plaintiffs filed their lawsuit anonymously for fear of repercussions. The women's attorney, John W. Harris, said in a May 6 news conference that they are all Hispanic women who earn below minimum wage. 'As low-wage workers in vulnerable positions, they lacked the resources and options necessary to protect themselves from sexual assaults,' Harris told The New York Times. The women also feared that coming forward with the allegations would threaten their immigration status, per the lawsuit. In addition to sexual assault, the lawsuit accuses Robinson and his wife, Frances Robinson, of false imprisonment and multiple labor violations. Robinson's lawyer Christopher Frost has called the allegations against his client 'false' and 'vile.' In Robinson's new countersuit, the singer's legal team claims that plaintiffs are close friends of the Robinsons, stating that they 'stayed with the Robinsons year after year,' vacationed with the Robinsons, and accepted financial help and gifts throughout the years. Robinson's complaint also mentioned plaintiffs wishing him a happy birthday via text message, as well as an invitation to the graduation dinner of one plaintiff's son. When reached by Pitchfork, lawyers for the four women accusing Robinson of sexual assault wrote: The cross-complaint filed by Mr. Christopher Frost on behalf of William 'Smokey' Robinson and Frances Robinson, is nothing more than an attempt to silence and intimidate the survivors of Mr. Robinson's sexual battery and assault. It is a baseless and vindictive legal maneuver designed to re-victimize, shift blame and discourage others from coming forward. This type of retaliatory litigation is precisely what California's anti-SLAPP laws were enacted to prevent. Jane Does 1-4 exercised their fundamental constitutional right to seek redress through the courts by filing a civil action to expose and hold accountable behavior that no one should have to endure. In response, Mr. Robinson, filed a cross-complaint that mischaracterizes the facts and seeks to punish his victims for speaking out. This cross-complaint will not stand. We are filing an anti-SLAPP motion to strike it in its entirety and will seek attorneys' fees and costs for having to defend against this abusive tactic. Jane Does 1-4 remain committed to seeking justice—not only for themselves but for all survivors who have been silenced by fear of retaliation. This case is about accountability, transparency, and ensuring that power is not used to harm or suppress others. Earlier this month, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department opened a criminal investigation into the allegations brought forth by Robinson's former employees. Robinson's attorneys offered no additional comment when reached by Pitchfork. If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support: RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline 1 800 656 HOPE (4673) Crisis Text Line SMS: Text 'HELLO' or 'HOLA' to 741-741 Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
New York Post
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Smokey Robinson sues his accusers for elder abuse, defamation in $500M countersuit
Smokey Robinson has filed a $500 million countersuit against his accusers, alleging elder abuse and defamation in response to their claims of sexual assault. The Motown legend, 85, earlier this month was slapped with a $50 million lawsuit from four women, who claimed to be his former employees, which included numerous disturbing allegations, including sexual battery and assault. In his filing, the 'Cruisin'' hitmaker likened the allegations against him to a shakedown, saying the women made 'gratuitous and slanderous allegations' at a 'media circus' press conference on May 6. 4 Smokey Robinson has filed a $500 million countersuit against his accusers, alleging elder abuse and defamation in response to their claims of sexual assault. Getty Images The singer, born William Robinson Jr., denied any wrongdoing and described the four women — who were his former housekeepers — as his 'extended family.' In legal documents obtained by Rolling Stone, Robinson noted that he and his spouse had gifted the four accusers — who allegedly worked as Robinson's housekeepers between 2012 and 2024 — concert tickets, vehicles and cash during their tenure. The Detroit-born musician also noted that he attended the graduation of one of his former housekeeper's children, and submitted text message evidence showing one of the plaintiff's sending him a friendly message. Elsewhere, his legal team submitted an image of Robinson's wife, Frances Gladney, vacationing in Cabo San Lucas Mexico with another one of the plaintiffs — a vacation for which Robinson footed the bill for, he claims. 4 Robinson's wife, Frances Gladney, was also named in the plaintiff's suit. Getty Images for The Recording Academy In his filing, which alleges defamation of character, emotional distress, financial elder abuse, invasion of privacy and civil conspiracy, Robinson's legal team said that the four plaintiffs 'had the ideal access to take advantage of them,' and asked that the women be named in the lawsuit. The four women named the singer in the $50 million lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on May 6, claiming sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, gender violence, hostile work environment, and more. Jane Doe 1 — who said she worked as a housekeeper for the couple from Jan. 3, 2023 until February 2024 — claimed she was sexually assaulted by Robinson at least seven times until her resignation. 4 The Motown legend, 85, earlier this month was slapped with a $50 million lawsuit from four women who claimed to be his former employees. AFP via Getty Images The second accuser claimed that if she refused to have sex with the 'Baby Come Close' singer, he would threaten that he'd make Frances be 'mean' to her. The third plaintiff said she had worked for Robinson from February 2012 until April 2024, and alleged she was 'sexually harassed, sexually assaulted and raped' by the musician 'at least 20 times.' Jane Doe 4 claimed Robinson first sexually assaulted her in 2007 and raped her at his temporary residence in Bell Canyon, California, in 2019. All four accusers claimed they didn't report the alleged sexual assaults out of fear of losing their livelihood, public embarrassment, shame and humiliation. 4 In his filing, the 'Cruisin'' hitmaker likened the allegations against him to a shakedown. Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation John Harris, the attorney for the four women, said that they believe Robinson is 'a serial and sick rapist and must be stopped.' 'Having to tell their [spouses] and children of these despicable actions left them filled with shame and embarrassment. So throughout their dreadful experiences with Mr. Robinson, all four women remained silent,' he said in a statement.
