Taylor Swift's Full Phone Call with Kanye West Leaks Online, Proves Her Side of the Story
The Taylor Swift and Kanye West drama seems never-ending at this point. On March 21, the full phone call of the infamous "I made that b—- famous" discussion leaked online and it appears to prove Taylor Swift was not told the extent of what Kanye West was going to say in the song "Famous." Their conversation makes no explicit mention of any expletives used, which Taylor sees as vindication. Kim Kardashian West followed up with a series of posts on her instagram calling out Taylor for continuing to play at this narrative especially at a time when people are going through much more important problems due to the coronavirus pandemic. We speak for everyone when we say maybe it's time to put this one to bed, guys?
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Katy Perry wins appeal in 'Dark Horse' copyright suit
Congrats are in order for Katy Perry! The pop superstar scored a major win in her copyright infringement case regarding her 2014 smash hit "Dark Horse." A christian rapper by the name of Marcus Gray sued Katy for $2.8 million claiming she stole an eight-note section of his song "Joyful Noise." After the initial judgement, Katy was ordered to pay $500,000 of the judgement herself, but her lawyer appealed the decision. On March 18, judge Christina Snyder nixed the jury's verdict and ruled that the section Marcus Gray claimed is stolen was "not a particularly unique or rare combination" in music. Marcus reportedly plans to appeal the decision.
Cardi B's rant track shoots to #11 on the iTunes chart
Cardi B is using her infamous Instagram rants to help those suffering from coronavirus. Cardi posted a long diatribe on her instagram asking what is really going on with the government and their failure to properly handle the fallout from Covid-19. Well, iMarkkeyz decided to remix the rant into a song and the track is now sitting at number 11 on the iTunes chart. A fan responded to the news saying, "Yo if y'all are getting royalties off of this @iamcardib @iMarkkeyz maybe u could consider donating a part of it to food banks of shelters that are probably flooded with new people needing help?" Well, Cardi responded saying, "YES ! THATS WHAT WE GOING TO DO !" Cardi has been an outspoken celebrity regarding our current predicament and we love to see her trying to help people!
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Is Britney Spears done with music?
Is Britney Spears ready to hang up her microphone? Well, according to her 12-year-old son that might just be the case! On March 3, Britney's older son Jayden James took to Instagram Live and decided to discuss his mother's musical future and personal life. While the post has been taken down, several important nuggets of information were dropped at the time. When asked if Britney is making new music Jayden said, "Actually I haven't seen her doing a lot of music at all," and continued saying she told him she "might just quit it." Jayden also weighed in on his opinion of his grandpa, whom Kevin Federline (Jayden and Sean Federline's dad) has accused of physically harming Sean. While Jayden laid into his grandfather calling him some rather derogatory names, he did prove to be a fan of Britney's boyfriend, Sam Asghari. Jayden's account was made private shortly after.
Led Zeppelin Scores Big Win in 'Stairway to Heaven' Copyright Case
Led Zeppelin scored themselves a major win in their ongoing copyright battle for their iconic song "Stairway to Heaven." On March 9, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a verdict that found that the song did not in fact infringe on the 1968 song "Taurus." The court overturned the so-called "inverse ratio rule," a precedent that has governed copyright cases in the 9th Circuit for the last 43 years. The music industry has been fighting a battle against "frivolous" copyright suits following the controversial "Blurred Lines" decision in 2015. With this decision, the appeals court says that the idea of "access" has changed in the modern age, as a vast catalogue of works are easily available on streaming platforms. The Led Zeppelin case began in 2014 when a journalist filed suit on behalf of the estate of Randy Wolfe, the frontman of the band "Spirit." The lawsuit claimed that "Stairway to Heaven" was copied from the song "Taurus." Led Zeppelin's attorney said in a statement, "I'm thrilled they did do it. It's a terrific decision. I have renewed faith in the 9th Circuit."
The Dixie Chicks are back after 14 years with empowering song
The Dixie Chicks are back! After a 14 year hiatus, the iconic country girl group dropped their new song "Gaslighter" on March 4. (Gaslighting is a term that describes psychologically manipulating someone into questioning their own sanity.) The song is on their new album "Gaslighter" that's due out on May 1 and was produced by Jack Antonoff, who recently worked on Taylor Swift's "Lover" album. The country community famously shunned the legendary group in 2003 when lead singer Natalie Maines criticized then-president George W. Bush.
Harry Styles got robbed on Valentine's Day
Harry Styles is finally giving us more details on his Valentine's Day robbery. On March 2, the British heartthrob spoke with Howard Stern about what went down on that scary evening. If you'll recall, Harry mentioned earlier this month that while out taking a walk in London on Valentine's Day, he was held at knifepoint and forced to give money to his robbers. Harry said, "It was on Valentine's Day. That's what you get for being single these days, I guess. I should have had other plans. I was home, I'm about five minutes from home. I'm walking up and I see this group of guys and they've all got like hoods up and their faces covered…I turn my music off…and I'm walking up the street and I keep kind of turning around and the guys crossed the road." The singer continued, "And I'm like, 'That's weird.' I hear shuffling of feet trying to catch up to me, so I crossed the street and then they crossed the street, and I'm like, 'Oh f–k sake.' Then I crossed the street again and they crossed the street again and then they crossed the street again. And I'm like, 'Oh for f–k sake, I think I'm about to get robbed.' So they guy's like, 'Hey, can we talk to you for a minute?' And there's nobody around, so I'm like, 'Sure.' And he's like, 'Do you smoke weed?' And I said, 'No.' And he goes, 'Do you want some weed?' And I thought, 'No.' And then he was like, 'What have you got on you?'" Luckily for Harry, while the robbers were asking for his phone and passcode, the street light changed and cars were coming on the street so Harry took his chances and sprinted away and was able to find shelter in a nearby marketplace. What a scary incident! Guess he at least knew to run One Direction.
ACM Sets Lineup for 'Our Country' Special, With Plans for a Kenny Rogers Salute
On March 26, the ACM revealed the lineup for the "ACM Presents: Our Country" special. The mega-watt list includes Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Lady Antebellum, John Legend, Kane Brown, Keith Urban, Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow, Darius Rucker and more. A tribute to the late Kenny Rogers will feature Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, and Darius Rucker— but probably not together, as the awards will be virtual in order to practice social distancing. The "Our Country" special will take place on April 5 beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT, and is being described as a mixture of home acoustic performances and clips from past Academy of Country Music Awards.
Maren Morris gives birth to her first child
Congrats to Maren Morris and her hubby Ryan Hurd. The country singer and her husband welcomed a baby boy on March 23. The couple named their son Hayes Andrew Hurd.
How the coronavirus is affecting the music industry
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect the world, those in the entertainment world are seeing very real-time consequences. Major bands such as Greenday, BTS, Avril Lavigne and more have had to cancel or postpone shows going forward. "There are so many moving parts and implications, not just for movie theaters but for public spaces in general," Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Business Insider on February 28. "The uncertainty is the one thing that is certain. At the end of the year, box-office numbers, particularly regarding China, are going to have an asterisk." Singer Ciara, who is pregnant, was forced to postpone a string of concerts in Texas due to coronavirus fears. Justin Bieber has been forced to scale down his wold world tour from stadiums to arenas in order combat weak music sales, while major country band Zac Brown band was forced to postpone their tour as well. The band released a statement saying, "This was an extremely difficult decision, but the well-being of our fans is always our top priority. Rescheduled dates for all spring shows (through Nashville on April 25) will be announced soon. We ask that our fans retain their tickets as they will be honored on the new dates."
Da Brat comes out
After years of speculation regarding her sexuality, rapper Da Brat has publicly confirmed that she is in fact gay. On March 26, the Grammy-nominated rapper too to Instagram to share a video ahead of her 46th birthday. In the clip, she showed the new Bentley Truck she got from her girlfriend, Kaleidoscope Hair Products CEO Jessica Dupart. The rapper wrote, "Never have I EVER. Needless to say… I've always been a kind of private person until I met my heart's match who handles some things differently than I do. Thank you baby @darealbbjudy for far more than this incredible birthday gift. I have never experienced this feeling. It's so overwhelming that often I find myself in a daze hoping to never get pinched to see if it's real so I can live in this dream forever."