By Wonderwall.com Editors
9:57am PST, Nov 15, 2019
2019 CMA Awards highlights
The 53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards took place in Nashville on Nov. 13 and the biggest stars in the genre came out to celebrate! Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton hosted the show where Garth Brooks took home the night's biggest honor, entertainer of the year, and album of the year went to country darling Maren Morris. Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus continued their domination by hopping on stage to accept the musical event of the year prize for "Old Town Road." The country community also hit the red carpet with a parade of high-fashion looks led by Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman.
RELATED: 2019 CMA Awards: The best duos of the night
John Legend is People's Sexiest Man Alive 2019
Surprise! John Legend has been voted the People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive. On Nov. 13, the "The Voice" coach shared the news: "I was excited, but I was a little scared at the same time because it's a lot of pressure. Everyone's going to be picking me apart to see if I'm sexy enough to hold this title. I'm [also] following Idris Elba, which is not fair and is not nice to me!" They will have to coin a new term for the EGOT winner… how does EGOTSMA sound?
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Drake booed off stage as surprise headliner
In what was a shock to the music industry, Drake was unceremoniously booed off stage at the Camp Flog Gnaw Music Festival on Nov. 10. The Canadian rapper was the surprise musical guest at Tyler, The Creator's annual music festival and fans were not amused. Leading up to the show, Drake's headlining spot was kept under wraps with the flyer only showing "???" as the musical guest. As he kicked things off, he was met with boos from the crowd, prompting him to tell them, "Like I said, I'm here for you tonight. If you want to keep going, I will keep going tonight. Alright, it's been love. I love y'all. I go by the name of Drake, thank you for having me." In another blow, the crowd began chanting, "We want Frank," as many assumed the elusive Frank Ocean would be the surprise headliner. Don't feel too bad for the Toronto rapper though! His fans defended him online, bashing the crowd. "Imagine being so [expletive] privileged that when an event doesn't book the surprise artist you want, you boo 4 Grammy winner Drake off the stage. Unreal," tweeted user @virtualvibes.
RELATED: Drake's life in photos
Taylor Swift claims music execs are preventing her from performing her own music
On Nov. 14, Taylor Swift posted a lengthy message to fans alleging that two music execs are blocking her from performing her own songs — tracks from her back catalog, which they control — at the 2019 American Music Awards and in an upcoming a Netflix documentary. According to the music star, Scooter Braun, who purchased her old label this summer, and Big Machine Label Group CEO Scott Borchetta "said that I'm not allowed to perform my old songs on television because they claim that would be re-recording my music before I'm allowed to next year." The following day, Big Machine issued a statement claiming Taylor's allegations are based on "false information" and that "at no point did we say Taylor could not perform on the AMAs or block her Netflix special." Big Machine also alleged that Taylor "has admitted to contractually owing millions of dollars and multiple assets to our company." Hours later, Taylor's rep issued a followup statement, explaining in part that "Big Machine is trying to deflect and make this about money by saying she owes them but, an independent, professional auditor has determined that Big Machine owes Taylor $7.9 million of unpaid royalties over several years." Her rep also asked fans to "notice in Big Machine's statement, they never actually deny either claim Taylor said last night in her post." Stars include Selena Gomez have since publicly taken sides.
Alicia Keys to return as Grammys host for second time
The Recording Academy announced on Nov. 13 that singer Alicia Keys will be returning to host the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. The musical sensation has won a total of 15 Grammys over the course of her career and is the third female to host the award ceremony and the first female music star to host the show more than once. The star earned rave reviews for her hosting duties in 2018. Grammy nominees will be announced on Nov. 20 and the show will take place on Jan. 26, 2020.
Neil Young: U.S. citizenship delayed by marijuana use confession
Looks like music legend Neil Young is feeling the effects of the immigration debate. The Canada-born music legend revealed on Nov. 11 that his attempts to gain American citizenship before the 2020 election have been delayed because of the "good moral character" clause in his application. The singer lamented, "I want to be a dual citizen and vote. When I recently applied for American citizenship, I passed the test. It was a conversation where I was asked many questions. I answered them truthfully and passed. Recently however, I have been told that I must do another test, due to my use of marijuana and how some people who smoke it have exhibited a problem." The music man wants to press forward. "I pay taxes down here; my beautiful family is all down here — they're all Americans, so I want to register my opinion," he said.
Broadway actress Laurel Griggs dies at 13
In heartbreaking news, Broadway child star Laurel Griggs died on Nov. 5. The young actress, best known for her work in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" with Scarlett Johansson, was 13. Her grandfather took to Facebook to reveal that the talented teen suffered a "massive asthma attack." Fellow Broadway star Eliza Holland Madore said, "I'm so incredibly grateful that I got to know you. You will never be forgotten, and we will never stop loving you. Everybody in the Once Family is going to keep you alive through us. R.I.P. My heart goes to her family."
Jennifer Lopez shares her #MeToo experience
Jennifer Lopez has opened up about her own #MeToo experience. During a Nov. 13 The Hollywood Reporter roundtable, the "Hustlers" actress spoke about an upsetting experience with a filmmaker in her past, explaining that a "director at a fitting asked me to take my top off." The Bronx native continued, "I said no. I stood up for myself. But it was so funny because I remember being so panicked in the moment. And by the way, there was a costume designer in the room with me. So there was another woman in the room and he says this, and I said no. Luckily a little bit of the Bronx came out, and I was like, 'I don't have to show you my — No. On the set, you see them.'" J.Lo finished her story by urging women to remember that "It's never OK to feel uncomfortable."
Madonna sued because of late concert start
Madonna is still the queen of controversy and it's led to her being sued! The Queen of Pop, who's on her "Madame X" tour, angered a lot of fans in Las Vegas on Nov. 10 when she started a Tuesday night show at 10:30 p.m. — more than two hours late. Nate Hollander, a ticket holder from Florida, is now suing Madge — along with other attendees he's recruited for a class-action suit — claiming that her continual lateness cost him money as the value of the tickets had gone down. He claims he requested a refund for three tickets he purchased for $1,024.95 and has been denied. Madonna, for her part, got on stage the following evening and told the crowd, "Here's something you all need to understand… And that is that the queen is never late."
2019 Latin Grammy Awards held in Vegas
The 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards took place on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas and a slew of the biggest names in Latin music attended including Rosalia, Sofia Carson, Luis Fonsi and Ricky Martin, who also played host. Stars ike Roselyn Sanchez and Bad Bunny led the fashion hits and misses.
