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Justin Bieber Will Donate One Dollar from Every Concert Ticket to Charity That Doesn’t Yet Exist, Also He Has a New Album Coming

Roger Friedman
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Justin Bieber Will Donate One Dollar from Every Concert Ticket to Charity That Doesn’t Yet Exist, Also He Has a New Album Coming

You’ll be happy to know that Justin Bieber is feeling charitable. He’s announced that he’s donating one whole dollar from every concert ticket he sells this spring to his his Bieber Foundation. This organization “is committed to supporting mental health wellness.”

Actually, there is no registered charity called the Bieber Foundation. Anywhere. There is also no mention of Bieber’s philanthropy on his website. Ticket buyers will not be able to take a charitable deduction on their taxes, because Justin will take that deduction, thank you. When he starts the Bieber Foundation. Which will support mental health wellness. On his last tour, Bieber cut it short after walking away.

Also, Justin is releasing a new album on February 14th called “Changes.” The first single, a hit for some weeks now, is called “Yummy.”

On the tour, Justin’s opening acts include Kehlani, and Jaden Smith, son of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith.

And so it all begins.

 

Sundance Record Broken as “Palm Springs” Starring Andy Samberg From First Time Director, Writer Beats Old Milestone by 69 Cents

Roger Friedman
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Sundance Record Broken as “Palm Springs” Starring Andy Samberg From First Time Director, Writer Beats Old Milestone by 69 Cents

Content is king, and the streaming platforms want as much royalty as they can get at Sundance.

Hulu, in their partnership with Neon, has set a record by 69 cents at Sundance. They’ve bought “Palm Springs” starring Andy Samberg for $17.5 million and 69 cents.

“Palm Springs” is from a first time director, Max Barbakow, and a first time writer, Andy Siara. They’ve made short films but never a feature film. The movie also stars Oscar winner JK Simmons, Tyler Hoechlin, and Cristin Milioti.

This breaks the previous Sundance record held by Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation,” which Fox Searchlight bought for $17.5 mil in 2016. After Parker’s past history came to light, that movie was a bust. Worldwide it made just under $17 million.

How much does “Palm Springs” sound like “Garden State” or “Happy, Texas” or 20 other movies that a distributor went overboard for? A lot.

The droll producers — Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, Becky Sloviter — say: “We spent over 85 million dollars of our own money on this movie, WE ARE TAKING A BATH on this deal. We hope NEON and Hulu are happy but we definitely have a lot of explaining to do to our families.”

Neon, which has a hit with “Parasite,” will release “Palm Springs” theatrically, at least kind of. Hulu will want to get it on their platform fast. All the streamers– Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, etc — are racing around spending big bucks on movies that are not sure things. So far there have been no fistfights, but there are still a few days to go!

Exclusive: Julian Lennon Prepping First New Album Since 2011, “Exploring Options” for Signing with Record Label

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Julian Lennon Prepping First New Album Since 2011, “Exploring Options” for Signing with Record Label

UPDATE: I’m told Julian attended Musicares on Friday night with BMG but hasn’t signed with them officially. A source says he’s still “exploring options.” Whatever label he’s on, can”t wait to hear the music!

MONDAY: Here’s some good music news: Julian Lennon is getting ready to release some new music.

Lennon’s first new album since 2011’s “Everything Changes” will come from BMG Music, which has built a strong catalog of new releases from legacy artists.

Julian, of course, had massive hits in 1984 with his debut album called “Valotte.” The title track and “Too Late for Goodbyes” are part of the classic rock canon. He’s had scattershot radio hits over the last 35 years, but concentrates mostly on his art and photography career.

Julian is the eldest son of beloved late Beatle John Lennon and wife Cynthia Lennon. When he was a child, Paul McCartney wrote “Hey Jude” for him as “Hey Jules,” but changed the title for the final version.

All Beatles fans would love to see a concert with Julian, half brother Sean Lennon, Dhani Harrison, Zac Starkey, and James McCartney. We can only dream. But their solo projects are all incredibly worthy. Julian is also one of the nicest people you could meet. I hope he puts on some shows to back the release!

Madonna Cancels 10th Show, in London: “I have injuries that have plagued me since the beginning of the tour”

Roger Friedman
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Madonna Cancels 10th Show, in London: “I have injuries that have plagued me since the beginning of the tour”

Madonna has cancelled a performance of her “Madame X” show for the 10th time, in London scheduled for tonight. As I wrote over the weekend, inside sources warn that she may just cancel the rest of the tour, which has dates set for Paris after London. She is supposed to resume performances on Wednesday.

“I am deeply sorry that I have to cancel my concert scheduled for Monday January 27th in London. Under doctors guidance I have been told to rest for a few days.
As you all know, I have injuries that have plagued me since the beginning of the tour but I must always listen to my body and put my health first.
The last thing I want to do is disappoint my fans or compromise the integrity of my show.
So I will keep going until I cannot.
As always- anyone who purchased a ticket will be refunded for tickets purchased that evening.
The show on Wednesday January 29th will go as scheduled.
Again I am deeply sorry to disappoint anyone and please know that it hurts me more than you can imagine to have to cancel any shows.
Thank you again for your understanding.”

P Diddy Speech Was Full of Errors and Omissions: The Grammys Have Always Respected Black Music, But Not Hip Hop Because of Foul Language, Sampling

Roger Friedman
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P Diddy Speech Was Full of Errors and Omissions: The Grammys Have Always Respected Black Music, But Not Hip Hop Because of Foul Language, Sampling

Sean P Diddy Puff Daddy Combs held forth Saturday night at Clive Davis’s dinner for 50 minutes reviewing his life and career, as well as his thoughts on the Grammys and how he says the music business has disrespected black music.

The latter isn’t true at all. The former was a Disney-fied version of a complicated life that often embraced violence.

Combs made a wild statement about Michael Jackson making “Thriller,” which won 8 Grammys, after not getting any for his previous album, “Off the Wall,” in 1979. This alone made no sense. The implication is that no black music received awards in 1979. But Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls” album was nominated for Album of the Year, and records by Summer and Earth Wind & Fire received multiple nominations in the general categories. Jackson got two nominations for his song “Don’t Stop til You Get Enough.” Why he didn’t win had nothing to do with disrespect. And four years later he became the King of Pop.

Diddy’s speech was plaintive. At one point, he was pleading “we are artists, we need awards.” But the fact is, despite his entrepreneurial success, he is not a recording artist. He can’t write or sing. His biggest hit production, “I’ll Be Missing You,” is just a reworking of Sting’s “Every Breath You Take” with a rap twist. Most of rap is based on sampling or covers. There is very little original music. Rap fans hate it when I say this, but that’s the case.

The sampling issue is important to note because those kinds of records are not going to win awards. Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings” is a good example. The whole thing is based on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things.” The little bit that’s original doesn’t constitute a whole new song.

Also, hip hip and rap tends to be full of foul language. And that’s not going to cut it. Songs themed around the f word and “bitch this, bitch that” are not going to get Grammy Awards. Hip hop awards, yes. But not mainstream accolades.

Many of the great writers of popular music were and are respected. Last night two of the very best– Alicia Keys and John Legend– were front and center. A legend, Smokey Robinson, had the Staples center audience singing along to “My Girl.” Diddy is doing them a disservice.

And then there was the sanitized version of Diddy in Wonderland. In 1999, Combs was charged with assault when he and his bodyguards walked into his office of Steve Stoute at Universal Records in midtown Manhattan on the afternoon of April 16 and severely beat him. You can click here to read Diddy’s History of Violence.

So listen, I always liked Sean Combs. He can be charming and courtly. He’s certainly been very smart in making money and marketing himself. But let’s have a major reality check. And his weird threat that the Recording Academy has 365 days to fix itself…or else? Or what? Go back to that link above.

Ratings Low: Grammys Lose Around 2 Million Viewers from Last Year, Thanks to Scandal and Kobe Bryant Death

Roger Friedman
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Ratings Low: Grammys Lose Around 2 Million Viewers from Last Year, Thanks to Scandal and Kobe Bryant Death

Even Alicia Keys’ fine hosting job  couldn’t save the Grammy Awards in the ratings.

Last night’s show drew around 16.5 million viewers, down from nearly 20 million last year and 19 million the year before. The numbers may increase in adjustment later today but they’re not good.

The key demo isn’t so hot either. Last year it was a 5.9. This year it’s starting out as a 4.7 and may inch up to around 5. But that means a million or so of the younger audience wasn’t there despite the winner of the night, Billie Eilish, being 18 years old.

The absence of Taylor Swift was felt: she made her point. Also, there were unnecessary segments like an irrelevant tribute to Prince by Usher (it was fine, but why now?) and to rapper Nipsey Hustle (the audience didn’t really know who he was).

The public scandal caused by ousted Grammy chief Deborah  Dugan no doubt turned people off. And then the tragic death of Kobe Bryant became an ABC News special at 10pm, when the Grammy numbers really nosedived.

The first hour got 18 million people. The second hour was 17 million. And the third hour dropped to 14 million. The show ran long, so many viewers on the East Coast probably didn’t wait up to see who won Best Album and Record. Of course, a lengthy musical tribute to the show’s producer, Ken Ehrlich, probably should have been cut to speed things up.

Billie Eilish Sweeps Grammy Awards with Best New Artist, Song, Album of the Year plus Tech Awards

Roger Friedman
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Billie Eilish Sweeps Grammy Awards with Best New Artist, Song, Album of the Year plus Tech Awards

Billie Eilish, 18, swept the Grammy awards tonight. She won Best Album, song, record of the year.  Her album also won awards for best engineered album. Eilish’s brother Finneas won producer of the year. Billie also picked up best pop vocal performance.

This meant, of course, that Lizzo struck out in all the major categories. So did everyone. Did Eilish deserve it? I’ll let you be the judge.

Grammy Awards: Billie Eilish Has the Edge to Win Album of the Year, Already Won Best Engineered, Plus Beyonce, Lil Nas X Pick Up Early Awards

Roger Friedman
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Grammy Awards: Billie Eilish Has the Edge to Win Album of the Year, Already Won Best Engineered, Plus Beyonce, Lil Nas X Pick Up Early Awards

Sorry, Lizzo fans. But it does seem like 18 year old Billie Eilish will clean up tonight at the Grammys show on CBS.

She and her team have already won Best Engineered Album for “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” Her 22 year old brother, Finneas, who also writes her songs, is among the engineers.

Best music video went to Lil Nas X”s “Old Town Road.” Beyonce won best long form video for “Homecoming.”

Congrats to Steve Greenberg of S Curve Records for Best Album Liner Notes, for “Stax 68.”

The “A Star is Born” soundtrack has won two Grammys.

keep refreshing…I’ll bold face the  winners as they come in…

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
I, I – Bon Iver
Norman Fucking Rockwell! – Lana Del Rey
WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? – Billie Eilish
Thank U, Next – Ariana Grande
I Used to Know Her – H.E.R.
7 – Lil Nas X
Cuz I Love You (Deluxe) – Lizzo
Father of the Bride – Vampire Weekend

RECORD OF THE YEAR
“Hey, Ma” – Bon Iver
“Bad Guy” – Billie Eilish
“7 Rings” – Ariana Grande
“Hard Place” – H.E.R.
“Talk” – Khalid
“Old Town Road” – Lil Nas X Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
“Truth Hurts” – Lizzo
“Sunflower” – Post Malone & Swae Lee

SONG OF THE YEAR
“Always Remember Us This Way” – Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey & Lori McKenna, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
“Bad Guy” – Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
“Bring My Flowers Now” – Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth & Tanya Tucker, songwriters (Tanya Tucker)
“Hard Place” – Ruby Amanfu, Sam Ashworth, D. Arcelious Harris. H.E.R. & Rodney Jerkins, songwriters (H.E.R.)
“Lover” – Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)
“Norman Fucking Rockwell” – Jack Antonoff & Lana Del Rey, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)
“Someone You Loved” – Tom Barnes, Lewis Capaldi, Pere Kelleher, Benjamin Kohn & Sam Roman, songwriters (Lewis Capaldi)
“Truth Hurts” – Steven Cheung, Eric Frederic, Melissa Jefferson & Jesse Saint John, songwriters (Lizzo)

BEST NEW ARTIST
Black Pumas
Billie Eilish
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
Maggie Rogers
Rosalía
Tank and the Bangas
Yola

POP

BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE
“Spirit” – Beyoncé
“Bad Guy” – Billie Eilish
“7 Rings” – Ariana Grande
“Truth Hurts” – Lizzo
“You Need to Calm Down” – Taylor Swift

BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE
“Boyfriend” – Ariana Grande & Social House
“Sucker” – Jonas Brothers
“Old Town Road” – Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
“Sunflower” – Post Malone & Swae Lee
“Señorita” – Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello

BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM
The Lion King: The Gift – Beyoncé
WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? – Billie Eilish
Thank U, Next – Ariana Grande
No. 6 Collaborations Project – Ed Sheeran
Lover – Taylor Swift

BEST TRADITIONAL POP VOCAL ALBUM
Sí – Andrea Bocelli
Love (Deluxe Edition) – Michael Bublé
Look Now – Elvis Costello & the Imposters
A Legendary Christmas – John Legend
Walls – Barbra Streisand

ROCK

BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE
“Pretty Waste” – Bones UK
“This Land” – Gary Clark Jr.
“History Repeats” – Brittany Howard
“Woman” – Karen O & Danger Mouse
“Too Bad” – Rival Sons

BEST ROCK SONG
“Fear Inoculum” – Danny Carey, Justin Chancellor, Adam Jones & Maynard James Keenan, songwriters (TOOL)
“Give Yourself a Try” – George Daniel, Adam Hann, Matthew Healy & Ross MacDonald, songwriters (The 1975)
“Harmony Hall” – Ezra Koenig, songwriter (Vampire Weekend)
“History Repeats” – Brittany Howard, songwriter (Brittany Howard)
“This Land” – Gary Clark Jr., songwriter (Gary Clark Jr.)

BEST ROCK ALBUM
Amo – Bring Me the Horizon
Social Cues – Cage the Elephant
In The End – The Cranberries
Trauma – I Prevail
Feral Roots – Rival Sons

ALTERNATIVE

BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM
U.F.O.F. – Big Thief
Assume Form – James Blake
I,I – Bon Iver
Father of the Bride – Vampire Weekend
Anima – Thom Yorke

R&B

BEST R&B SONG
“Could’ve Been” – Dernst Emile II, David “Swagg R’Celious” Harris, H.E.R. & Hue “Soundzfire” Strother, songwriters (H.E.R. featuring Bryson Tiller)
“Look at Me Now” – Emily King & Jeremy Most, songwriters (Emily King)
“No Guidance” – Chris Brown, Tyler James Bryant, Nija Charles, Aubrey Graham, Anderson Hernandez, Michee Patrick Lebrun, Joshua Lewis, Noah Shebib & Teddy Walton, songwriters (Chris Brown featuring Drake)
“Roll Some Mo” – David Brown, Dernst Emile II & Peter Lee Johnson, songwriters (Lucky Daye)
“Say So” – PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton featuring JoJo)

BEST R&B ALBUM
1123 – BJ the Chicago Kid
Painted – Lucky Daye
Ella Mai – Ella Mai
Paul – PJ Morton
Ventura – Anderson .Paak

BEST R&B PERFORMANCE
“Love Again” – Daniel Caesar & Brandy
“Could’ve Been” – H.E.R. Featuring Bryson Tiller
“Exactly How I Feel” – Lizzo featuring Gucci Mane
“Roll Some Mo” – Lucky Daye
“Come Home” – Anderson .Paak featuring André 3000

BEST TRADITIONAL R&B PERFORMANCE
“Time Today” – BJ the Chicago Kid
“Steady Love” – India.Arie
“Jerome” – Lizzo
“Real Games” – Lucky Daye
“Built For Love” – PJ Morton featuring Jazmine Sullivan

BEST URBAN CONTEMPORARY ALBUM
Apollo XXI – Steve Lacy
Cuz I Love You (Deluxe) – Lizzo
Overload – Georgia Anne Muldrow
Saturn – NAO
Being Human in Public – Jessie Reyez

Kobe Bryant Death Throws the Already-Plagued Grammy Awards into Disarray at Staples Center

Roger Friedman
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Kobe Bryant Death Throws the Already-Plagued Grammy Awards into Disarray at Staples Center

It’s as if the Grammy Awards are jinxed. Eight years ago, Whitney Houston died on the eve of the show, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The next day the Grammy Awards turned into a memorial service.

Now Kobe Bryant, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers in the Staples Center, has died tragically in a helicopter crash hours before the Grammys will be broadcast from the Staples Center.

The Grammy Awards are already a mess because of a variety of scandalous charges, accusations, and allegations. Host Alicia Keys was scheduled to open the show with a mashup song she’d written that reflected the chaos before Kobe’s death. Now, the whole thing is up in the air. What do you do when the star of your venue, beloved by millions, has died at age 41 in the prime of his life?

Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich has a huge challenge for his final show. He retires from the Grammys after tonight’s show. But first he has to get through it. There won’t be a dry eye in the house, and a pall will certainly overshadow what should be a night of musical celebration. Most of the Grammy performers and presenters will have known Kobe or have a deep connection to him.

But the show must go on.

Stay tuned…

 

Flashback 2009: Kobe Bryant Names His Favorite Actors, Actresses, and Predicts Tiger Woods’ Fate

Roger Friedman
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Flashback 2009: Kobe Bryant Names His Favorite Actors, Actresses, and Predicts Tiger Woods’ Fate

Kobe Bryant’s tragic death today in a helicopter crash reminds me of the pain we were all in when Yankees catcher Thurman Munson died in a private plane crash in August 1979. Condolences to his family, friends, and to all the fans. It’s something you just never get over.

A couple of years after the following encounter, I ran into Kobe again. He was just lovely, remembered the whole thing, and we had another great talk. He had kind of glowing personality, magnetic, the whole room was charged with electricity when he was present. This is absolutely tragic.

from December 18, 2009:

It’s Oscar season, and everyone has an opinion!

But lo and behold, who was at the premiere of Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes” last night? Why, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant! He came as the guest of producer Joel Silver, and hobnobbed a bit first at Alice Tully Hall and then at the Metropolitan Club on Fifth Avenue. The club made an exception for Kobe on the dress code, too. They usually don’t allow sneakers, and sort of insist on a jacket if not a tie. (Tip of the hat to Paula Schwartz of the Carpetbagger for picking up’ on this.)

Kobe was truly nice, accessible and ready to talk. At the party, we chatted for a bit about basketball, and he promised to be nice to the Knicks the next time he played them. (The Lakers play the Nets on Saturday, and no Knicks until January 22.)

Anyway, Kobe suddenly said to me, “I’ll tell you who my favorite actresses are!” Okay. It’s so great when stars do the interview for him. He said, “First, Hillary Swank. Her focus is amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it. She’s my favorite.” And he’s met her too. Second: “Kate Winslet,” Kobe declared. I asked him if he’d seen “The Reader,” in which Winslet is very naked. “Yup! Hannah Schmidt!” he said enthusiastically, referring to Winslet’s character.

Kobe’s favorite actors? “Robert De Niro, for all his characters,” he said. “And Johnny Depp.” He told Paula while I was listening that his Oscar pick this year was “Invictus” ‘ Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman.

He also told me that he thought Tiger Woods would survive his scandal. We didn’t get into Bryant’s past scandal, but he survived and surpassed it. So maybe he knows what he’s talking about.

The basketball superstar also took lots of pictures with fans, especially Giacomo Sumner, the 14-year-old son of Sting and Trudie Styler. The latter was sort of the instigator for “Sherlock Holmes,” hooking director Ritchie up with star Robert’ Downey, Jr. Bryant also got a kick out of meeting the movie’s female star, Rachel McAdams.

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