Celebrity Scoop – 05/01/2019

SOPHIE TURNER, JENNIFER HUDSON AMONG BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS 2019 PRESENTERS – (05/01/2019)

The 2019 Billboard Music Awards will feature Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner and The Voice U.K. coach Jennifer Hudson as presenters.

Kelly Clarkson, who will host and perform at the awards show, announced Tuesday the 23-year-old actress and 37-year-old singer will present awards at the event Wednesday in Las Vegas. Turner will take the stage with her Dark Phoenix co-star Tye Sheridan, who plays Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, in the upcoming movie. Hudson will present the Icon Award to singer Mariah Carey.

Eva Longoria, Chrissy Metz and Justin Hartley, Asher Angel, Becky G, Cobie Smulders, Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani, David Guetta, Erin and Sara Foster, Florida Georgia Line, Jesse Spencer, Julia Michaels, Julianna Hough, Kane Brown, Olivia Wilde, Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Denver, Ralph Macchio, Rob Gronkowski, Ross Lynch and Kiernan Shipka, Sabrina Carpenter, Terry Crews, and William Zabka will also present awards.

“Here are all of the amazing people who you’ll see presenting on the @BBMAs stage tomorrow night on NBC!” Billboard captioned a video of Clarkson listing the presenters.

The Billboard Music Awards will air live on NBC. Taylor Swift and Panic! at the Disco singer Brendon Urie will open the awards show with a performance of their single “ME!” with Ciara, Dan + Shay, Madonna and Maluma, and other acts to perform.

ED SHEERAN AND JUSTIN BIEBER COLLABORATING – (05/01/2019)

Justin Bieber appears to be teasing an upcoming collaboration with Ed Sheeran.

Bieber, who is currently still on hiatus from music, posted images of himself and Sheeran standing in front of a green screen backdrop. He captioned the snaps simply with the number “10,” which could point towards a single release 10 days from now.

Scooter Braun, Bieber’s manager, also shared an edit of the photos.

Bieber released his last album, Purpose, back in 2015. In January, Scooter Braun teased that its follow-up would arrive in 2019.

Despite announcing he was taking a break to “repair some deep rooted issues” last month, Bieber surprised fans recently by taking to the stage with Ariana Grande at Coachella.

Meanwhile, Sheeran – who released his last album ÷ (Divide) in 2017 – has also been in the studio with Tokyo band One OK Rock. The band described their time recording with the star as “amazing.”

Ed and Justin both recently lent their voices to Lil Dicky’s new charity single and music video, “Earth.”

Justin and Ed are longtime friends, and have teamed up before to co-write the hits “Love Yourself” and “Cold Water.”

TAYLOR SWIFT PERFORMING AT IHEARTRADIO WANGO TANGO 2019; SHARES MORE VIDEO OF NEW CAT – (05/01/2019)

Taylor Swift will perform alongside headliners including the Jonas Brothers and Halsey at the iHeartRadio Wango Tango on June 1st at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

The lineup also includes 5 Seconds of Summer, Ava Max, Fletcher, Tomorrow X Together, Zedd, Ally Brooke and Tyga, and the day-long event will be hosted by Ryan Seacrest.

Taylor is also set to perform “Me!” live for the first time with Brendon Urie at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards tonight.

Meanwhile, you can now see the moment Taylor fell in love with her new kitten, Benjamin Button. On Tuesday, the singer took a break from teasing the title of her upcoming album to reveal how she ended up adopting Benjamin on the set of her “Me!” music video with Brendon Urie.

In the behind-the-scenes clip, you can see the moment Taylor first met Benjamin, and it was love at first sight. Once Taylor found out that the kitten was actually available to adopt, the rest was history.

“I know kittens are cute, but that kitten’s special,” she says. She and Brendon couldn’t stop talking about the kitten throughout shooting, either. “I love that you got him, too,” Brendon says. “It’s the sweetest thing.”

Taylor revealed the new addition to her family, which also includes cats Meredith and Olivia, last Friday – the same day she released the new song and video.

HALLE BERRY REVEALS ICONIC SANDRA BULLOCK ROLE SHE ALMOST GOT: Halle Berry dishes that one of Sandra Bullock’s most iconic roles almost went to her. “I don’t know if you know this, but I was offered Speed before Sandra Bullock,” Berry told ET. “I stupidly said no. But in my defense, when I read the script the bus didn’t leave the parking lot.”

PETE DAVIDSON BAILS ON PERFORMANCE BECAUSE CLUB OWNER BRINGS UP ARIANA AND KATE – (05/01/2019)

Please note the following story contains language that could be considered offensive.

Pete Davidson has had a crazy year, between breaking off an engagement with Ariana Grande and recently splitting from Kate Beckinsale. After Vinnie Brand, the owner of the Stress Factory Comedy Club in Bridgeport, Connecticut about the SNL star’s exes, he left before performing as scheduled.

Page Six reports that Davidson was miffed because he asked Brand to not go onstage, but that he did anyway, and then made a sarcastic request that no one in the audience ask Davidson about Grande and Davidson. 

Davidson took to Instagram stories to apologize. “I’m sorry that we had to leave the show before I got to go on. The owner, Vinnie Brand, disrespected me, and did something that I told him not to do,” Davidson said, “and I can’t perform under those circumstances.”

He is reportedly planning to perform a free show for ticket-holders. 

Fans on social media seemed to support Davidson. “Yo the owner of the Stress Factory CT was wild, uncalled for and disrespectful to Pete so I don’t blame him for bouncing, I would’ve too,” tweeted one fan.

But TMZ reports that the owner played his IG video on the club’s screen, and viewers were angry. One yelled, “F**k you, Pete!!!”

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Celebrity Scoop – 04/30/2019

‘WOODSTOCK 50’ CANCELED OVER FINANCIAL, LOGISTICAL ISSUES – (04/30/2019)

The proposed Woodstock 50 festival in Watkins Glen, New York, slated to mark the 50th anniversary of the legendary music festival that first took place in 1969, has been canceled. According to Billboard, the festival was canceled due to concerns about the capacity of the festival, permit issues and site readiness.

On Monday (April 29th), Dentsu, one of the festival’s main investors, announced that the show, organized in part by Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang, would not proceed. Dentsu said in a statement, “Despite our tremendous investment of time, effort and commitment, we don’t believe the production of the festival can be executed as an event worthy of the Woodstock Brand name while also ensuring the health and safety of the artists, partners and attendees. As a result and after careful consideration, Dentsu Aegis Network’s Amplify Live, a partner of Woodstock 50, has decided to cancel the festival.”

Meanwhile, a representative for the festival issued a statement to the Poughkeepsie Journal saying, “Woodstock 50 vehemently denies the festival’s cancellation and legal remedy will (be) sought.” Michael Lang’s publicist told Billboard, “We do not have a statement and are awaiting further advice.”

The lineup, announced last month, had included The Killers, The Lumineers, The Raconteurs, Robert Plant, Greta Van Fleet, Portugal. The Man, Imagine Dragons, Cage The Elephant, Miley Cyrus, Halsey, Brandi Carlile, Janelle Monae, Vince Staples and many others, although the Black Keys pulled out of the event after being part of the initial bill.

Veterans of the 1969 event who were confirmed to perform included John Fogerty, Santana, Dead & Company, David Crosby & Friends, John Sebastian, Melanie, Canned Heat, Country Joe McDonald and Hot Tuna.

Tickets for the three-day event were supposed to go on sale April 22nd, but the sale was delayed, prompting rumors that the three-day event — set to take place from August 16th through the 18th, the exact 50th anniversary of the original culture-defining event — was in trouble.

According to Billboard, $30 million had already been spent on securing talent for the festival, and organizers allegedly sought another $20 million to keep it afloat last week. Experienced concert organizers were also approached about helping to salvage the show, although two of the biggest — AEG and Live Nation — reportedly both passed.

JOHN SINGLETON DIES AT AGE 51 – (04/30/2019)

The Oscar-nominated writer and director of Boyz N the Hood was taken off of life support Monday, 13 days after a major stroke. John Singleton, 51, has been on life support since the stroke. 

“John passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends,” Singleton’s family said in a statement. “We want to thank the amazing doctors at Cedars-Sinai Hospital for their expert care and kindness and we again want thank all of John’s fans, friends and colleagues for all of the love and support they showed him during this difficult time.”

“It is with heavy hearts we announce that our beloved son, father and friend, John Daniel Singleton will be taken off of life support today,” a spokesperson for the family said. “This was an agonizing decision, one that our family made, over a number of days, with the careful counsel of John’s doctors.”

His spokesman noted that Singleton struggled with hypertension, adding: “More than 40% of African American men and women have high blood pressure, which also develops earlier in life and is usually more severe. His family wants to share the message with all to please recognize the symptoms by going to Heart.org.”

LEGACY

In addition to Boyz N the Hood, Singleton’s work, which spanned genres and generations, included a remake of Shaft, historical films such as Rosewood, action films such as 2 Fast 2 Furious, and films that questioned the meaning of American masculinity such as Baby Boy and Four Brothers. He also worked with TV and streaming platforms as a director on hits like Billions, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and Empire.

He is often celebrated for having the foresight to bring mega-talents like Tupac Shakur, Regina King, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Ice Cube, Tyrese and Taraji P. Henson to the attention of the wider public. Henson and Tyrese were among the celebrities who visited Singleton in the hospital. 

Early in his career, he directed the Michael Jackson music video for “Remember the Time.” 

Boyz N the Hood remains one of the definitive movies of a generation. It also led to his Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at age 24; he was the youngest filmmaker and the first African American to earn a nomination in those categories. Boyz N the Hood is currently housed in the Library of Congress. 

LEGAL BATTLE

After Singleton’s stroke, his mother Sheila Ward triggered a legal battle when she asked to be named conservator so she could oversee his business affairs. Singleton’s daughter Cleopatra objected to Ward’s description of Singleton being in a coma, and filed court docs claiming he was “progressing every day.”

She said Ward has “abused” her position as Singleton’s manager and has “stated she plans to liquidate his assets immediately and leave his children with nothing.”

TAYLOR SWIFT RESPONDS TO ‘KALEIDOSCOPE’ ALBUM TITLE THEORY – (04/30/2019)

Taylor Swift is responding to the theories of what her upcoming seventh album might be titled.

Following the release of her “ME!” music video, the 29-year-old singer teased that the album title is hidden in the video – along with a slew of other hidden Easter eggs.

“So… the new album title is actually revealed somewhere in the video AND so is the title of the second single, but I haven’t seen people finding them yet…” Taylor tweeted. Fans did some sleuthing and noticed that the video starts with a snake turning into a group of butterflies. A group of butterflies is called a “kaleidoscope” and fans think that could be the album title.

During an interview on Nova radio show Smallzy’s Surgery, Taylor responded to the theory, saying: “I’m not gonna comment because I really do respect those theories so much, but I’m going to tell them [the fans] all the information when I tell them!”

Before the playful new video featuring Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie premiered at midnight on April 26th, Swift already had fans ready for the serious detective work ahead of them.

“Okay regarding Easter eggs.. there are a lot of them in this video. Some you’ll find out right away and some will take a minute to reveal their meaning (omg why am I talking like a sorcerer),” she first revealed during a YouTube Q&A with her fans in the hours leading up to its debut.

In a 15-minute Instagram live video with Urie that streamed Friday, Swift further teased: “The biggest Easter egg of this entire thing has been missed. But the whole thing … it’s literally the most obvious one I put in the video and nobody has guessed it yet.”

Later that night, she shook things up with a bigger bombshell: “So… the new album title is actually revealed somewhere in the video AND so is the title of the second single, but I haven’t seen people finding them yet.”

See below for other Easter Eggs in the video as well as more fan theories.

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Celebrity Scoop – 04/29/2019

TAYLOR SWIFT TO OPEN BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS 2019 WITH ‘ME!’; GETS A NEW CAT – (04/29/2019)

Taylor Swift will open the 2019 Billboard Music Awards with her new single, “ME!”

The 29-year-old singer and Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie will kick off the awards show with their first TV performance of the song. The Billboard Music Awards will take place Wednesday in Las Vegas and air live on NBC. Swift and Urie released “ME!” and a music video for the song Friday.

“ME!” is expected to appear on Swift’s forthcoming seventh studio album. The singer released her last album, Reputation, in November 2017.

The BBMAs will also feature performances from Ciara, Dan + Shay, Madonna and Maluma, BTS and Halsey, the Jonas Brothers, Kelly Clarkson and other stars. Mariah Carey will receive the 2019 Icon Award during the ceremony.

Meanwhile, Taylor officially broke a new YouTube record with the music video for “ME! the streaming service announced on Saturday night. “With 65.2 million views, congratulations @taylorswift13 + @taylornation13 on breaking the record for highest female and solo 24-hour debut for any music video on @YouTube,” the company announced.

In even more Taylor news – she has a brand new furry baby. Taylor revealed she got a new cat in her “ME!” music video and she has now shared his cute name. “This is Benjamin Button. He’s a good boy,” Taylor captioned a photo of the kitten on her Instagram.

During a live chat with collaborator Brendon Urie, Taylor also revealed how to came to be the owner of Benjamin. It turns out that the kitten was brought to the set of the music video as part of a program that puts animals that are up for adoption in film and television.

Benjamin joins Taylor’s two Scottish fold cats Olivia Benson and Meredith Grey. Taylor posted a video of herself cradling the kitten in her arms, saying, “I’ve never personally encountered a cat that preferred to be carried as if it was a human baby, but that’s what’s happening. This is how he prefers to travel.”

JUSTIN & HAILEY BIEBER SHUT DOWN PREGNANCY & SELENA GOMEZ RUMORS – (04/29/2019)

Justin Bieber and wife Hailey Bieber are putting those pregnancy and Selena Gomez rumors to rest. The 25-year-old singer and the 22-year-old model both took to social media to set the record straight.

It all started when Justin and Hailey came across a headline claiming that Hailey was pregnant and that Justin had walked out on her.

“How dare you walk out on me and my very pregnant belly…not,” Hailey jokingly said in an Instagram video he posted.

Meanwhile, Bieber poked fun at the Daily Telegraph’s headline, which incorrectly spelled his last name. “How are you gonna spell my name wrong after all these years ?? Haha,” he wrote on the video the posted of the headline.

Some fans also claimed they saw his ex Selena’s song with DJ Snake and Ozuna, “Taki Taki,” in Bieber’s search history open on the side of the article in the video.

According to photos of comments the Biebs reportedly left somewhere on social media, the star explained that a video of Gomez performing the song at Coachella played as a related video after he and Hailey watched a video of his own Coachella performance from last weekend. He noted he has nothing to hide and was glad Gomez did Coachella, too.

“Please stop reading into things so much and making something out of nothing. The point of the video was supposed to be funny that they were saying I walked out on Hailey and they spelled my name wrong this idea that I secretly plot on opening my history thing purposefully and zoom out just enough so you can see her name is crazy,” he added in another comment. “These are real lives you guys are talking about real emotions stop acting like you know anything about anything.. go to school read your books and focus on your own personal life.”

FALSE ALARM! A hospital near Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s new home sparked a baby panic among royal watchers. The pair have said they want to keep the birth of their first child (due any day now!) private, but it hasn’t stopped anyone from peeping through the hedges at Frogmore Cottage to look for signs of the royal tot’s arrival.

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Celebrity Scoop – 04/26/2019

TAYLOR SWIFT’S BIGGEST INFLUENCES – (04/26/2019)

Taylor Swift is a role model to millions of fans worldwide, but in a new video she made for TIME, she gushes about the person who she calls her role model: former Beatle Paul McCartney.

Asked to name her three biggest influences, Taylor says her No. 1 influence is cats – especially her two cats, Olivia and Meredith. As a matter of fact, Taylor says she is “obsessed” with cats and jokes she accepted a role in the upcoming movie musical Cats because of them:

[“No. 1 for me, most influential factor in my life is cats. I have cats. I’m obsessed with them. They’re just a real joy to live with. I love my cats so much that when a role came up in a movie called Cats, I just thought that I had to do this. This is my calling in life to do this for the ladies. Cats are just really cool. They’re really great. They’re very dignified. They’re independent. They’re very capable of dealing with their own life, and if you fit into that on that day, they’ll make some time for you maybe. I just really respect it.”]

Her third biggest influence is Tumblr, the social media blogging platform that Taylor is constantly on, following her fans, responding and even sometimes posting recipes. She explained:

[“It’s like a window into what my fans are going through. They post about their lives, they post about what they’re into, they post about what they think is cool, what they think is unjust or problematic. And they basically are very, very expressive, and it makes me feel like I can know them better.”]

She also discussed Paul McCartney and his extensive career:

[“He’s created unparalleled art and probably been faced with more pressure than most people and he’s always been known to be kind to people, respectful, and also really selfless as a performer. I really like it when you go and see a show and you want to hear the songs that you loved. You want all that old, iconic, classic stuff. I like it when a performer knows that and will give that to their fans, rather than being like, ‘No, I’m only playing this new project.’ I think that you got to be respectful of what people want, and I just think that’s really cool. I also really like his new music too. He’s still got it. Really love Paul McCartney.”]

AVENGERS: ENDGAME ROARS TO $169M PREMIERE OVERSEAS: Avengers: Endgame is already smashing records overseas, bringing in $169 million on Wednesday alone, with just $107.2 million in China. Endgame opened in 25 markets, and set single day records in multiple areas. South Korea followed China with $8.4 million, followed by Australia ($7 million), France ($6 million), Italy ($5.8 million) and Germany ($5.6 million). 

PETE DAVIDSON AND KATE BECKINSALE ARE DONE? – (04/26/2019)

The romance that titillated many and took everyone else by surprise is over, according to reports. Kate Beckinsale, 45, and Pete Davidson, 25, were hot and heavy for a few months, but it seems that their passion may have burned out. 

Davidson and Beckinsale got together after his equally public and remarked upon engagement to pop star Ariana Grande fizzled out. The SNL star and Beckinsale were first spotted together at a Golden Globes party in January; in the months after, they were photographed making out at hockey games and in cars.

PAULA ABDUL TO PERFORM MEDLEY OF HITS AT BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS – (04/26/2019)

Paula Abdul will be hitting the Billboard Music Awards stage to perform a medley of some of her biggest hits.

The performance, the show’s annual “Throwback” moment, will commemorate the 30th anniversary of Paula scoring a record-breaking four No. 1 hits from her debut album, Forever Your Girl. Paula is the first female artist ever to notch four No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 singles from a debut album: “Forever Your Girl,” “Straight Up,” “Opposites Attract” and “Cold Hearted.”

Paula’s appearance on the BBMAs will reunite with her with Kelly Clarkson, who’s hosting the show and as well as performing. Paula was one of the three judges who helped Kelly on her journey to being crowned the first-ever American Idol.

The BBMAs will also feature performances from Lauren Daigle, Jonas Brothers, Khalid, Halsey, BTS, Madonna and Maluma, Panic! at the Disco, and this year’s ICON Award recipient, Mariah Carey.

The Billboard Music Awards will air live from Las Vegas May 1st on NBC.

CHVRCHES PUTS MARSHMELLO ON BLAST FOR WORKING WITH CHRIS BROWN – (04/26/2019)

Scottish alternative pop act Chvrches has issued a statement on social media in which they slam EDM producer Marshmello for working with Chris Brown and Tyga on a newly released track called “Light It Up.” The irony is that Chvrches itself has collaborated with Marshmello on a song called “Here With Me,” which is currently climbing the Alternative airplay chart.

Chvrches wrote, “We are really upset, confused and disappointed by Marshmello’s choice to work with Tyga and Chris Brown. We like and respect Mello as a person but working with people who are predators and abusers enables, excuses and ultimately tacitly endorses that behavior. That is not something we can or will stand behind.”

Brown pleaded guilty in 2009 to felony assault on his then-girlfriend Rihanna. In 2016, he was arrested for allegedly threatening a woman with a gun, while last year, a woman claimed he hosted a sex party where she was raped multiple times. Earlier this year, he was detained over rape allegations in Paris.

Tyga, meanwhile, dated Kylie Jenner while she was still underage and later settled a sexual assault case brought against him following an alleged incident at a music video shoot. In 2016, a 14-year-old girl accused him of sending her “uncomfortable” messages on Instagram, while Blac Chyna has denied rumors that he was physically abusive to her during their relationship.

Marshmello has yet to comment on Chvrches’ statement. The band showed up at the first weekend of Coachella earlier this month in Indio, California to perform “Here With Me” with the producer during his DJ set.

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Celebrity Scoop – 04/25/2019

TAYLOR SWIFT DEBUTS PINK-DIPPED HAIR, PERFORMS AT TIME 100 GALA – (04/25/2019)

Taylor Swift debuted her new pink-dipped hair at the Time 100 gala where the pop star also performed and discussed her love of songwriting.

Swift arrived to the event on Tuesday in New York rocking a light pink and yellow gown with a matching, sparkling headband.

Swift was among other Time 100 honorees which included Dwayne Johnson, Sandra Oh, Emilia Clarke, Brie Larson and Rami Malek. Swift took the stage to perform a number of her hit songs including “Style,” “Delicate,” “Love Story,” “New Years Day” and “Shake It Off.”

She gave a speech in the middle of her performance, stating that she believes she was selected for the Time 100 list due to her songwriting:

[I use [writing] as a way to justify things that happen to me. Whether they’re good or bad, I like to honor the good times and really process the bad times.”]

Swift’s Time 100 gala appearance comes as she prepares to release new music on Friday. The singer released a countdown clock recently on her website and has teased fans on Instagram about what is coming by posting images of pastel items such as purses and jewelry.

Swift’s last album Reputation was released in November 2017. The release included the singles “Look What You Made Me Do,” “…Ready for It?,” “End Game” and “Delicate.”

SAM SMITH CANCELS BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS 2019 PERFORMANCE: Sam Smith was forced to cancel his 2019 Billboard Music Awards performance on May 1st. The 26-year-old singer also had to cancel other shows on doctor’s orders. Sam released a statement on Twitter, saying, “In the wake of cutting his South African tour short last week, Sam’s medical specialists are requiring him to have further rest.” The statement continued, “Regrettable, this means that he will be unable to perform at the Azerbaijan Gran Prix in Baku this weekend or the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas next week.” The statement concluded, “We apologize for the disappointment for those affected, but the primary focus at this time needs to be on Sam’s recovery and health.”

PANIC! AT THE DISCO HITS TWO MORE MILESTONES WITH ‘HIGH HOPES’ – (04/25/2019)

Panic! At The Disco has reached two more milestones with its massive hit single “High Hopes.” The song, which was released less than a year ago in May 2018, has now been streamed over half a billion times on Spotify, leaving the band’s previous top streamer, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” and its 286 million views far in the dust.

In addition, the “High Hopes” music video, issued last August, has racked up 268 million views in just seven months and is now the band’s most-watched clip on YouTube. Once again it eclipsed “I Write Sins,” the video for which amassed over 266 million views — but over the course of 12 years.

“High Hopes” has been widely successful on the airplay charts as well, hitting Number One on the Alternative survey and becoming the longest-lasting chart-topper on Billboard’s Adult Pop Songs chart in more than 10 years. It also hit Number Four on Billboard‘s mainstream Hot 100 chart, a new peak for the group.

Panic! At The Disco will next perform at the Billboard Music Awards for the first time ever. The band is up for four awards, including Best Rock Song with “High Hopes.” The show will be held at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 1st, airing live at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBC.

JUSTIN BIEBER HITS BACK AT COACHELLA CRITICISM AND ARIANA BACKS HIM UP – (04/25/2019)

When Justin Bieber hit back at a reporter for criticizing his Coachella performance, Ariana Grande backed him up.

Earlier this week, E!’s Nightly Pop host Morgan Stewart slammed Bieber for his Coachella performance on Sunday, in which he joined Ariana on stage and was caught lip-syncing to his hit song “Sorry.”

“I did not realize it was going to be that bad,” Stewart said on the show before ripping into Bieber’s facial appearance. “He definitely looks like he put an Oxy pad on that forehead, but I don’t care. That is f*cked up!”

In response, Justin tweeted, “Imagine if you spent even half the time you spend laughing at other people’s expense actually building people up and encouraging people, how much positivity you could bring.”

Justin encouraged Stewart to use her platform for good, continuing, “And rather than being positive you belittle people. Think about how awesome it felt for me to be on that stage after being away for so long the excitement and joy it gave me doing the thing i love the most, i sang to [a] backtrack like most cameos do this is a normal thing.”

Ariana quickly came to his defense, tweeting, “We also decided to do this ten minutes before my set started. we had 0 soundcheck, 0 rehearsal. u were singing with the back tracking like most cameos do.”

She added, “people are bored. people don’t know how it feels to be under such scrutiny. the world was happy to have u on stage again.”

After tweeting some more words of encouragement to Justin, she concluded, “i don’t like when people try to ruin beautiful moments for my friends that’s all. have a good day.” Her tweets have since been deleted.

HERPES SPIKE AT COACHELLA? TMZ is reporting that there was a spike of Herpes diagnosis at Coachella this year. HerpAlert, an online treatment website, saw an enormous rise in people looking to get treated for the issue. While they typically see 12 cases a day, during Coachella weekend they reportedly saw 250.

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Celebrity Scoop – 04/24/2019

IS *NSYNC PLOTTING A RETURN WITHOUT JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE? – (04/24/2019)

Following the surprise appearance of *NSYNC members Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick with Ariana Grande at the Coachella music festival on April 15th, could the group stage a comeback play without Justin Timberlake?

The foursome took to the stage deep into Grande’s song “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” and followed with a joint version of the boy band’s “Tearin’ Up My Heart,” complete with vintage choreography recreated and Grande herself stepping in to replace Timberlake. The response was massive, though viewers were split over whether it’s really ‘N Sync if Timberlake isn’t there.

Now, with a “test run” under their belts, could *NSYNC go out on the road as a quartet? Some people who work in the music industry think so.

“There’s such a hunger now for great pop, for nostalgia,” one industry source told Billboard. “It’s almost like a warm, comfortable blanket, especially for the generation that grew up with them, who are now moms and dads. The timing is right.”

“The four of them would be great,” added Brad Wavra, senior vp touring at Live Nation and *NSYNC’s original promoter. “There’s no denying the talent that Justin has, but the four of them together proved it [at Coachella]: the music sounded great, they looked great, the fan response was awesome and I think that that would be the same all across America.”

Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter is all for an *NSYNC comeback. Over the weekend, he tweeted his support of a reunion, and went so far as to suggest the once competing boy bands collaborate sometime.

Though the band didn’t respond, Fatone did on his personal account, seemingly calling out BSB on unfinished projects. “Hey we still have other Colabs [sic] we have not finished yet before u can think of other things lol” he wrote.

HALSEY REVEALS BRUTAL INJURY AFTER NUDE ROCK CLIMBING ACCIDENT – (04/24/2019)

Halsey’s naked rock climbing trip did not go as planned.

The singer took to Instagram Monday to show off her injured back, showing off her torso covered in red scrapes in cuts. Halsey also had her middle finger wrapped in a bandage.

“Don’t go rock climbing naked. Or do. Do you,” she captioned the photo.

Many of the singers’ famous friends and fans took to the comments section to sympathize with her pain.

“Nightmare,” her collaborates and friend Benny Blanco wrote on the photo.

“Omg, please go to the doctor 🙁 be careful, take care of yourself,” one fan commented.

“I thought this was gonna be you saying you caught measles from an unvaccinated child,” another fan joked.

This is not the first time Halsey has taken to social media recently to show off an injury. The singer went on Instagram Saturday to share a pic of her bruised knees and captioned it, “aw sh*t here we go again,” leading some fans to wonder if she was rehearsing a new routine.

TAYLOR SWIFT SEEMINGLY TEASES NEW MUSIC MERCHANDISE: It looks Taylor Swift might be giving another clue at her upcoming new album. While arriving back at her apartment building on Monday, the 29-year-old entertainer sported a pink-floral print shirt that has “Taylor Swift” in white writing along the back of her right sleeve. While nothing else was spotted on the shirt, fans are hoping the shirt will be part of the merchandise Taylor releases along with new music. A few weeks ago, Taylor released a countdown on social media that she will be dropping something big on April 26th.

BTS MAKE BILLBOARD HISTORY: BTS made history once again by becoming the first K-pop act with two simultaneously-charting hits on the Billboard Hot 100 list. Just one day after the group’s album Map of the Soul: Persona earned No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, the website revealed BTS’ two songs “Boy With Luv (feat. Halsey) and “Make It Right” (feat. Ed Sheeran) are also on this week’s Hot 100 list at No. 8 and No. 95, respectively. This is the first time a K-pop act has ever done this. But that’s not all. Since “Boy With Luv” debuted at the No. 8 spot on this week’s chart, it also became the highest-charting song by a K-pop act in Billboard’s history, breaking a record previously held by BTS’ 2018 track “Fake Love,” which hit No. 10 last year.

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Celebrity Scoop – 04/23/2019

JUSTIN BIEBER PERFORMS WITH ARIANA GRANDE AT COACHELLA – (04/23/2019)

Justin Bieber made a surprise appearance at Coachella, joining Ariana Grande onstage for her second performance at the event.

Grande, despite telling fans that she had no special guests planned for her second Coachella show on Sunday, introduced Bieber onstage to perform his song “Sorry.”

“This is my first time performing here in two years, and I had to get my groove back, my swag back, you know what I’m saying,” Bieber told the crowd before teasing that his next album is coming soon.

“Thank you @ArianaGrande. Thank you @coachella. That felt right. Love you,” Bieber said on Twitter Monday.

Grande also performed “God Is a Woman,” “Side to Side,” “Bang Bang,” “No Tears Left to Cry” and “Thank U, Next” among other songs. She previously shared the stage with ‘NSYNC – minus Justin Timberlake – Nicki Minaj, Diddy and Mase at her first Coachella concert last weekend.

However, there was one sour note Sunday night. Video has emerged of Ari being struck by a lemon  during the “Right There”/”Break Your Heart Right Back” segment of her set. The fruit bounced harmlessly off her chest. Ari brushed the incident, sayin “That’s ’cause one of ya’ll threw a lemon at me, sh*it,” she told the audience. 

Fans took their fury to Twitter and Billie Eilish’s brother and collaborator Finneas called out the culprit. “If you throw a lemon at Ariana Grande, you’re a piece of sh*t,” he tweeted.

Grande and Bieber recently appeared together in Lil Dicky’s new pro-environment single “Earth.” The track, which is helping to raise funds for Leonardo DiCaprio’s pro-environment foundation, also features Snoop Dogg, Adam Levine, Shawn Mendes, Sia, Miley Cyrus, Lil Jon, Kate Perry, Ed Sheeran and many others.

In February, Bieber revealed that he had taken a hiatus from his music career, not releasing a new album since 2015’s Purpose.

JIM CARREY RESPONDS TO ARIANA GRANDE AFTER SHE POSTS HIS QUOTE ABOUT DEPRESSION – (04/23/2019)

Jim Carrey took a moment to respond to Ariana Grande after she posted about him over the weekend.

It all started when Ariana posted a quote from Carrey on her Instagram Story that expresses his views on depression.

“Depression is your body saying, ‘I don’t want to be this character anymore. I don’t want to hold up this avatar that you’ve created in the world. It’s too much for me’,” the quote read.

“You should think of the word ‘depressed’ as ‘deep rest’,” it continues. “Your body needs to be depressed. It needs deep rest from the character that you’ve been trying to play.”

Ariana called Carrey, “The whole LOML [love of my life] forever,” and said her first AIM screenname in 4th grade was “jimcarreyfan42.”

In response to her posts, Carrey tweeted at Ariana Sunday: “I read your lovely mention of me and things I’ve said about depression. A brilliant teacher and friend, Jeff Foster was OG on the ‘Deep Rest’ concept.”

He added, “I admire your openness. I wish you freedom and peace. I feel blessed to have such a gifted admirer. Happy Easter!”

Ariana retweeted his message, and wrote, “i can’t process this or breathe hold on.”

“thank u so much for your kindness,” she continued, once she collected her thoughts. “i don’t think u understand how much i adore u or what u mean to me. thank u for taking the time to share this w me. you are such an inspiration.”

She added, “i can’t wait to tattoo this tweet to my forehead. sending you lots of love & all things happy…jimcarreyfan42 is a very grateful girl rn.”

JONAS BROTHERS TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM ‘HAPPINESS BEGINS’ – (04/23/2019)

The Jonas Brothers announced Monday they will drop Happiness Begins, their first album in 10 years, on June 7th.

They shared a promo photo for the album on Twitter. The picture shows Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas and Nick Jonas lying on the edge of an infinity pool. “#HappinessBegins June 7th,” the trio captioned the post.

The band shared also their excitement in a video Monday. “#HappinessBegins June 7th. So proud of this new record and we can’t wait for you guys to have these songs!!” they wrote.

Happiness Begins will include the singles “Sucker” and “Cool,” which debuted in March and April, respectively. The Jonas Brothers released a music video for “Cool” this month.

The Jonas Brothers released the live album LiVe in 2013 but haven’t released a studio album since Lines, Vines and Trying Times, which debuted in June 2009.

The Jonas Brothers will perform May 1st at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. The group will also take the stage during the May 11th episode of Saturday Night Live.

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