USING ‘MY FAVORITE THINGS’ MELODY REQUIRED ARIANA GRANDE TO GIVE UP 90% OF ‘7 RINGS’ ROYALTIES: On her track “7 Rings,” Ariana Grande sings about using her hard-earned money to buy some of her favorite things. But, she’s not earning much money from the song itself. The New York Times reports that Ariana signed away 90% of her songwriting royalties to legendary songwriting duo Rodgers and Hammerstein. That’s because the majority of the song’s melody is from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “My Favorite Things,” sung by Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. Republic Records reportedly made the licensing deal just weeks before the song’s January release and, without further negotiation, agreed to hand over the hefty percentage to Concord, the company that owns the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalog. Rodgers and Hammerstein died in 1979 and 1960, respectively.

KATE BECKINSALE INTRODUCES PETE DAVIDSON TO HER MOM – (03/21/2019)

In another sign that Kate Beckinsale, 45, and Pete Davidson, 25, are seriously into each other, Beckinsale introduced Davidson to her mom Judy Loe, 72. They went out to dinner and marked both the celebratory introduction, but also the sad 40^th anniversary of Beckinsale’s father’s death.

They dined at Nobu along with Beckinsale’s stepfather Roy Battersby. Davidson was seen driving, with Beckinsale sitting shotgun and her mom and Battersby riding in the back of Davidson’s Range Rover. 

Earlier in the day, she paid tribute to her father Richard Beckinsale, who died suddenly at age 31. She wrote on social media: “40 years is a lot of mcissing. Thank you so much to everyone who has been kind. Lots of love xx.” 

Davidson’s father also died when he was a child. The pair were first spotted together at the Golden Globes in January, and have been spotted out and about several times since. 

KYLIE JENNER AND JORDYN WOODS ARE OVER? TMZ is reporting that Kylie Jenner is done with Jordyn Woods after she made out with her sister Khloe Kardashian’s boyfriend Tristan Thompson. The longtime friends were rumored to be talking again, but TMZ says Kylie is over Jordyn and ready for her to pick up the remaining belongings she has stashed at her guest house.

GWEN STEFANI AND BLAKE SHELTON REPORTEDLY PUT WEDDING PLANS ON HOLD FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS – (03/21/2019)

It looks like Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton are waiting for the church’s seal of approval before they walk down the aisle.

Stefani, a practicing Roman Catholic, recently “began the formal process” for church officials to annul her marriage to ex-husband Gavin Rossdale. The couple wed in 2002 and finalized their divorce in April 2016. The reason, Us Weekly reports, is “so she can marry Blake and have it be recognized by the church.” “Gwen’s religion has always been extremely important to her, and Blake is completely supportive of that,” a source tells the mag.

The Catholic church will annul a marriage if there is proof of defect of form, defect of contract, defect of willingness and defect of capacity.

Given that Stefani and Rossdale were married for 13 years, it’s unclear what grounds Stefani may be seeking an annulment under.

Us Weekly also alleges living arrangements may be a hang-up, since Gwen is based solely in Los Angeles, while Blake splits his time between L.A. and his native Oklahoma.

Blake and Gwen revealed their relationship in November of 2015, after his surprise divorce from Miranda Lambert the previous July.

Stefani and her ex-husband share three children – Kingston, 12, Zuma, 10, and Apollo, 4. Shelton does not currently have any kids, but he has been married and divorced twice.

JESSICA SIMPSON WELCOMES NEW DAUGHTER: Jessica Simpson is a mom again. The singer and designer, who is married to former NFL player Eric Johnson, welcomed a new daughter on March 19th, Simpson announced on social media. She said her daughter, named Birdie Mae Johnson, weighed in at 10 pounds, 13 ounces. The couple, who married in 2014, have two other children, a son, Ace, 5 and a daughter Maxwell, 6.

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SHAWN MENDES SWEEPS THE 2019 JUNO AWARDS – (03/18/2019)

Shawn Mendes dominated the Juno Awards this weekend, taking home trophies for five of the six categories he was nominated in, including for Best Artist, Album, Pop Album and Songwriter of the Year.

The Juno Fan Choice Award went to Avril Lavigne.

Mendes, who was not on hand last night at the Junos as he is on the European leg of a world tour, appeared via a taped performance of his hit single “In My Blood.”

A nationwide live telecast on Sunday night was hosted by Sarah McLachlan, who wasted no time in her opening monologue in taking shots at the leader of Canada’s “neighbor to south,” Donald Trump:

“You know when you live somewhere peaceful and beautiful, then you get a crazy neighbor, and they start causing all sorts of trouble like putting up weird walls, picking fights with all the other neighbors, and telling your daughters how they should behave, all the while saying they’re making the area great again, and you just watch, feeling helpless, and hope they’ll be gone by 2020.”]

Also appearing Sunday was The Police lead singer Sting, who introduced David Foster, the top pop music producer, as he was awarded the 2019 Junos humanitarian award.

The Best Country Album award went to Brett Kissel for We Were That Song, while the R&B/soul recording of the year was nabbed by Jesse Reyez. Post Malone won for Best International Album for Beerbongs & Bentleys.

DEMI LOVATO REFLECTS ON WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HER 7TH ANNIVERSARY OF SOBRIETY – (03/18/2019)

Demi Lovato is reflecting on her journey to sobriety.

The 26-year-old singer took to her Instagram Story on Friday to reflect on what would have been her 7-year sobriety anniversary. Lovato relapsed last year, and suffered an apparent overdose last July.

“Today I would’ve had 7 years sober. I don’t regret going out because I needed to make those mistakes but I must never forget that’s exactly what they were: mistakes,” she wrote. “Grateful that AA/NA never shuts the door on you no matter how many times you have to start your time over. I didn’t lose 6 years; I’ll always have that experience but now I just get to add to that time with a new journey and time count.”

“If you’ve relapsed and are afraid to get help again, just know it’s possible to take that step towards recovery. If you’re alive today, you can make it back. You’re worth it,” she added.

It’s been an eventful couple of weeks for Lovato, who split from her boyfriend, Henry Levy, earlier this month. They had been romantically linked since last November. She has also reportedly cut ties with everyone in her team, and started fresh.

JAMES GUNN REINSTATED AS ‘GUARDIANS’ DIRECTOR – (03/18/2019)

Director James Gunn was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in July of 2018 after offensive tweets of his were resurfaced by conservative personalities. The firing was controversial, with fans and the film’s stars, including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper and Dave Bautista openly protesting the firing. Bautista has been particularly outspoken in support of Gunn. 

Marvel Studios actually put Guardians 3 on hold amid the controversy; previously, Gunn had said it would open in 2020. Walt Disney Studios opted to rehire Gunn Friday. Gunn tweeted his thanks and delight, writing that he is “tremendously grateful for every person who has supported me these past few months.”

When he was fired, Gunn issued a statement: “My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative. I have regretted them for many years since — not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don’t reflect the person I am today or have been for some time.”

J.LO SHOWS OFF BLING ON DATE NIGHT: Jennifer Lopez and fiancé Alex Rodriguez looked happy in love on date night in NYC, ET reports, amid rumors of trouble between the pair. Onlookers admired the serious ice she wore on her ring-finger, according the report. The ring cost an estimated $1 million.

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LADY GAGA NOW ONE OF ONLY FIVE WOMEN TO EARN HALF-A-BILLION ON THE ROAD: Lady Gaga has been rocking the box office in Las Vegas, home of her new residency shows Enigma and Jazz & Piano. The first figures are in and according to Billboard, her opening run of 11 shows grossed $16 million and sold just over 59,000 tickets at The Park Theater at Park MGM. That’s an average of $1.452 million per show, much higher the first-leg totals of other pop stars’ residencies. Britney Spears, for example, only earned $679,000 per show, on average, when her show Piece of Me started in 2013. Jennifer Lopez, Backstreet Boys and Gwen Stefani also all earned under $1 million per show when their residencies kicked off. As a result of her new Las Vegas grosses, Gaga’s career total gross for live performances has now passed the half-billion mark: It stands at $512.3 million. Only four other women have earned that much or more in concert revenue in their careers: Madonna, with $1.3 billion; Celine Dion, with $1 billion; Taylor Swift, with $935 million and Beyoncé, with $767 million. Gaga will resume her Vegas performances May 30th.

LADY GAGA OPENS UP ABOUT OSCAR WIN & BEING ‘IN LOVE’ WITH BRADLEY COOPER – (02/28/2019)

Lady Gaga, who took home the Best Original Song Oscar earlier in the week, made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night and opened up about her A Star Is Born win, as well as her relationship with co-star Bradley Cooper.

“You had such a connection with Bradley that, instantly, and I guess this is a compliment, people started saying, ‘Oh, they must be in love’.” Jimmy Kimmel said. Gaga, who brought her statue along for the interview, gave a massive eyeroll, and then called social media the “toilet of the Internet.”

[“First of all, social media, quite frankly, is the toilet of the Internet. And what it has done to pop culture is abysmal. And people saw love, and guess what, that’s what we wanted you to see. This is a love song, ‘Shallow.’ The movie, A Star Is Born, is a love story. We worked so hard, we worked all week on that performance. Bradley, who – and you know, I never relinquish control about a live stage performance and I’ve done a million of them – but he directed this film and he directed, obviously, the musical moments in the film, and ‘Shallow,’ the moment, in the film. So I knew that he had the vision for how it should go, and so I was like, ‘What do you think Bradley?’ And he laid it all out.”]

Gaga went on to chalk her and Cooper’s apparent chemistry up to the demands of performing love songs.

[“From a performance perspective, it was so important to both of us that we were connected the entire time. Look, I’ve had my arms wrapped around Tony Bennett for three years touring the world. When you’re singing love songs, that’s what you want people to feel.”]

“Are you having an affair with Tony Bennett?” Kimmel asked. “Be honest.”

“No!” Gaga replied. “I’m an artist, and I guess we did a good job. And, fooled ya!”

A STAR IS BORN TO BE RE-RELEASED WITH MORE: Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born will be re-released in more than 1,150 theaters with 12 minutes of previously unseen footage, Warner Bros. has announced. The one-week re-release begins Friday. So far, A Star Is Born has grossed more than $425 million worldwide. On Sunday, Lady Gaga won a Best Original Song Oscar for “Shallow.”

TRISTAN THOMPSON PURSUES KHLOE KARDASHIAN AS SHE LIKES TWEETS SLAMMING JORDYN WOODS – (02/28/2019)

Keeping Up With the Kardashian cheating scandal is a full-time job. To summarize: Khloe found out her boyfriend Tristan Thompson cheated on her (AGAIN), this time with her sister Kylie Jenner’s (former?) BFF Jordyn Woods. 

Since then, Khloe dumped Tristan and the Kardashian clan has closed ranks around her, ousting Jordyn from all future business dealings with the family. (Though Kylie is reportedly torn and is considering possibly reigniting their friendship when enough time has passed, according to reports.) Oh, and Jordyn is set to sit down with Jada Pinkett Smith to tell her side of the story on Friday’s episode of Red Table Talk on Facebook.

In the run-up to the interview, Khloe, 34, is busy looking sexy on social media and “liking” posts that slam Jordyn. 

One tweet that Khloe liked was a tart response to another tweet claiming her family was “smearing” Jordyn’s name “for ratings.” The second questioned Jordyn’s motivation for the interview: “I really don’t understand the point of this. There’s no way she can justify what she did.”

And Khloe isn’t the only one who isn’t a fan of Jordyn’s sit-down. When a fan praised Khloe’s BFF Malika Haqq for always having her back, she wrote: “I’ve been wrong before and I’ll be wrong again but I damn sure wouldn’t make excuses (alcohol) in an interview to gain self pity and save face. No one in my life would condone that coward like behavior.”

Meanwhile, Tristan has also been spending time online, liking Kourtney’s recent gram featuring herself, Khloe and Kendall Jenner showing off super sexy, sheer outfits. 

LENA DUNHAM WEIGHS IN

But Girls creator Lena Dunham, 32, has a soft spot for Jordyn. She tweeted: “Can you imagine if who you’d made out with when you were 21 had massive public shaming consequences? When I was 21 I kissed my friend’s crush in my bathroom during a dinner party. I was inexplicably wearing a dog leash. I stayed in bed for days feeling hot shame. That was enough of a consequence! Nobody slashed prices on my eyeliner brand or whatever.” (The “Jordy” lipstick kit she partnered with Kylie on was put on sale after the scandal broke). 

“The legal drinking age is 21. The legal going on TV age should be 26,” continued Dunham before joking: “Just weighing in on the important national issues!”

NEW TWIST

In a new turn of events, it seems Jordyn may have also hooked up with Khloe’s ex James Harden the same night she made out with Tristan, The Blast reports. Sources tell the site that Jordyn confessed to hooking up with the Houston Rockets star right after her rendezvous with Tristan (Monday, February 18^th). 

IS JORDYN WOODS AGREEING TO INTERVIEW WITH JADA BECAUSE SHE FEARS KIM’S WRATH? Jordyn Woods is agreeing to talk to Jada Pinkett Smith on Red Table Talk Friday because she feels that Jada (a longtime family friend), will allow her to tell the whole story, TMZ reports. Since she got busted cheating with Khloe Kardashian’s boyfriend Tristan Thompson, her professional, social and financial life has been in tatters. She is especially fearful of Khloe’s sister Kim, who is reportedly just waiting to pounce if she breaks the NDA she signed to appear on KUWTK.

TAYLOR SWIFT COMMENTS ON FAN THEORIES ABOUT HER INSTAGRAM PICS – (02/28/2019)

Taylor Swift is responding to all those fan theories about her cryptic Instagram posts. She took to the social media platform to share yet another photo, this time featuring her cat Meredith.

In the snap, Meredith is sitting on her hind legs, with a shocked expression on her face. “She just read all the theories 🙀,” Taylor captioned the image.

While Taylor didn’t elaborate on which theories are true, many are speculating that she has new music dropping this week. Swifties have been speculating that Taylor has been giving subtle hints about the album in her Instagram posts lately. These hints involve palm trees, flamingos, mermaids, and a potential Katy Perry collab.

TAYLOR SWIFT SET TO BE HONORED AT IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS: Taylor Swift is set to be presented with the Tour of the Year honor for last year’s Reputation Stadium Tour at the upcoming iHeartRadio Music Awards. Taylor will be in the audience to accept the honor, which recognizes her achievements with the record breaking-tour. Not only did Taylor sell over two million tickets for the US leg of the tour, she also broke her own record for highest grossing tour by a female artist, bringing in $266 million. Taylor is also up for Best Music Video for her song “Delicate” as well as Best Fan Army, which fans can vote for on social media. The iHeartRadio Music Awards, which tapes at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, will air on March 14th on Fox. Ariana Grande has joined a star-studded lineup of performers at the event. Other performers are set to include Alicia Keys, Halsey, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves and Garth Brooks.

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