April 29, 2024

Review Category : TMZ Music News

Does Usher’s Hat Stack Up To Pharrell’s?

If his latest sartorial choice is any indication, Usher must have seen all of the excitement that his future "Voice" colleague Pharrell created when he debuted his Vivienne Westwood hat at the Grammys in January.

The singer made similar waves Monday night on NBC's "The Voice" when he donned an attention-grabbing coonskin cap. It wasn't the first time that Ush has worn the furry hat, but it seems to have cemented his intention to make the accessory an essential part of his 2014 persona.

The first public appearance of the piece can be traced back to a picture he posted on his Instagram account on February 21, accompanied by the caption "Hats off to U. #howurockit."

A few days later, the R&B star was seen wearing the fluffy top at a press event for season six of "The Voice," on which he currently serves as a celebrity judge. Later that night, he wore it during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."


All was then quiet on the coonskin cap front — until Chris Brown's "Loyalty" video dropped last week. Usher had the briefest of cameos in the spot, but if you were able to spot him riding up an escalator with Breezy, that means you spotted his hat too.

What's next for the cap? We'll have to wait and see, but odds are this won't be the last we see of Usher's coonskin cap.

Let us know what you think of Usher's headgear choice in the comments!

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Jack White Rises Again With <i>Lazaretto</i>

Jack White will return on June 10 with Lazaretto, his second solo album.

The follow-up to 2012's chart-topping, Grammy-nominated Blunderbuss takes its name from the quarantine stations built for maritime travelers in during the 18th century — of course — and will also be released in a limited-edition, one-time-only vinyl version, complete with hard-bound book, postcards, accompanying 7-inch and a poster "featuring a classic National Archives photo."

The first single off Lazaretto is the title track, set to premiere later this month ... though as he announced his new album, White also gave fans a taste of what's to come, in the form of a live-wire instrumental track called "High Ball Stepper," which will definitely shake the cobwebs out.

So far, White has only announced a handful of festival dates in support of Lazaretto, including Bonnaroo, Governor's Ball and Osheaga. When he hit the road behind Blunderbuss, he famously did so with two backing bands: the all-female Peacocks and the all-male Buzzards.

In addition to his new solo album, White's also (always) keeping busy with a handful of other projects, including a a third album from his group the Dead Weather (they released a pair of new songs late last year) and working with Neil Young on his forthcoming album, A Letter Home, which will be released on his own Third Man Records.

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Watch Jason Segel And Cameron Diaz Do The Dirty In ‘Sex Tape’ Red Band Trailer

Dog attacks, super-thrusty sex and Rob Lowe blowing lines of cocaine: The new red band trailer for the upcoming comedy "Sex Tape," starring Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz, has all that and much, much more.

The raunchy premise of the movie — married couple makes a three-hour sex tape ("The full 'Lincoln'!" as co-star Rob Corddry's character proclaims) to revive their spark — isn't so typical of an activity, but the difficulty that gets Diaz and Segel into a tight spot (har har) is. To be more specific, technology screws the duo over.

We agree with Segel's character: Nobody understands the cloud. Instead of deleting the video of them doing the nasty, instead, Segel accidentally uploads the file into the cloud, syncing it to each of the numerous iPads the couple has given away as gifts. (No, giving away too many iPads as party favors isn't a problem we have either. But still: The cloud, man.)

The two must then dash around and attempt to erase the video from each of the devices undetected, which proves to be a hard (heh) task.

Jake Kasdan, who previously worked with Segel and Diaz on 2011's "Bad Teacher," directs. "Sex Tape" hits theaters July 25.

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Who Will Induct Nirvana Into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?

A ton of musical heavyweights like Nirvana, KISS and Linda Ronstadt will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next week at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. And now we know who will be doing the inducting: Bruce Springsteen, Questlove and Chris Martin, among other luminaries.

According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's website, this year's ceremony with feature musical match-ups for the record books. Chris Martin of Coldplay — currently prepping for their new record, Ghost Stories — will be bringing Peter Gabriel into the fold, while Michael "Losing My Religion" Stipe will usher in Nirvana.

Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello will honor fan favorite KISS, who have declined to play the event as not all members of the band are being inducted, according to the New York Daily News.

Other inductees and inductor match-ups include Linda Ronstadt, who will be honored by The Eagles' Glenn Frey; 1999 inductee Bruce Springsteen, who will bring in compatriots the E Street Band; and Questlove, who is inducting Hall and Oates.

We have yet to find out who will induct Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam). Managers Brian Epstein (The Beatles) and Andrew Loog Oldham (The Rolling Stones) will be inducted by Peter Asher.

Naturally, the event will also feature some tunes courtesy of its participants: Peter Gabriel will perform, as well as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Hall and Oates, and Cat Stevens. Ronstadt will be honored via a tribute from Stevie Nicks, Carrie Underwood, ...

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50 Cent Vs. Jay Z: Fif Says It Was Tough Competing With Beyonce

When an artist competes with Jay Z, most times it doesn't end well for the other guy, but 50 Cent explains his competition with Hov is necessary.

"You need someone to work off; everybody does, wherever you're at. It doesn't always have to be negative. I'm happy where I'm at, so why wouldn't I be happy where he is," Fif said on Monday night when he took part in a special town hall-style interview that aired on SIRIUS XM's Shade 45.

During the hour-long sit-down, Fif referenced Hov on two different occasions. First he reflected on Jigga's initial retirement from rap after 2003's The Black Album, something 50 insinuates he had a little something to do with.

"You gotta say, 'Where was Jay Z from 2003 to 2006?' I sold 23 million records between 2003 and 2006. He stopped making music and said I'm gonna go be the president of a record [company]. Like I quit," the G-Unit CEO said, while fielding fan questions and playing new tracks from Animal Ambition, out June 3.

Fif then pointed to the success that Jay's wife Beyoncé experienced, and grouped her individual success as a win for the couple. "When he signed the Beyoncé contract and was like, 'Yeah men lie, women lie, numbers don't.' That sh-- is a tough one to beat," 50 said before laughing and singing the infamous "uh-oh" portion of Bey and Jay's 2003 single "Crazy in Love."

"I can't really get with it. When she start doin' that I was like 'God damn, he done went and got breasts,''' ...

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These 9 Kardashian Selfies Will Make You Insanely Jealous Of Their Thai Vacay

The Kardashians are taking over Thailand.

The reality TV stars have taken their annual family trip and instead of making us wait until it airs on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," they have been posting numerous selfies and family-bonding shots all over their Instagram feeds, making us all just a little ... well, very ... jealous.

The Kardashian/Jenner crew have been soaking up the sun in Thailand as they hit the beach, visit historic spots and even manage to squeeze in some time to ride elephants.

Vogue's latest cover star Kim Kardashian, sans fiancé Kanye West, has done her fair share of sightseeing and managed to post some serious bikini shots. With the Southeast Asian country's beautiful water in the background, Kim shows off her curves on a photo shoot that takes place on a boat ride around the Thai isles. I mean, don't we all do that?

Khloe got in on the action as well, showing off her best sexy sailor and taking several snapshots as she spent some quality time with her half-sisters Kendall and Kylie.

Take a look at the nine photos from the Kardashians' latest adventure and try your best to keep your envy at bay. Just think, summer is right around the corner!

It's Hard Being A Cover Girl

Ahoy, Matey!

Wish We Were There Too, Kim

Sunset Sister Stroll

Proper Etiquette

Kendall's Working On Her Tan

NBD, Just Riding An Elephant In A Backyard

Kim Becomes Enlightened

Sister Bonding

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LaBeouf <i>Still</i> Not Famous, Replaced In Upcoming Indie Film

So long, Shia! With Mr. LaBeouf apparently making a break with Hollywood, it'll be Scott Caan who rocks the kasbah in an upcoming indie flick.

According to Variety, the "Hawaii Five-0" star has stepped in on very short notice to play a conman in comedy "Rock the Kasbah."

The role was left vacant when LaBeouf, who had been attached to the film amidst a plagiarism scandal and public meltdown, departed suddenly from the production.

The movie stars Bill Murray and boasts an A-list cast including Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, Danny McBride and Zooey Deschanel. Murray will play a has-been music producer who finds himself stranded in Afghanistan, only to encounter a young, undiscovered musical talent who could be his big comeback project. Shooting is set to begin this summer.

For Caan, this won't be his first foray into playing a slick, sleazy con artist. A veteran of the "Oceans Eleven" franchise, he's been pulling off heists, scams and swindles onscreen since 2001 — although lately, he's best known for being on the right side of the law as a proud member of Hawaii's best small-screen police force.

Meanwhile, LaBeouf's exit from "Rock the Kasbah" leaves him with zero upcoming projects in Hollywood, with the exception of the already-completed WWII film "Fury."

It remains to be seen whether he'll show up in November to promote that movie's release, but with nothing on his schedule and no statement forthcoming from the actor, this might actually be Shia making good on his promise to retire completely from public life.

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‘How I Met Your Mother’: Fans React To The Series Finale

And that, kids, is how I set the internet on fire.

Last night, the long-awaited series finale of "How I Met Your Mother" was met by fans of the nine-year saga with great fanfare and anticipation.

For those not in the know, a brief and spoilery synopsis: The show's titular and mysterious Mother is revealed to be a) the bass player from Barney and Robin's wedding band, b) the co-owner of the show's ubiquitous and indestructible yellow umbrella, and c) dead for six years as of Ted's 2030 retelling of their "how we met" story.

That last piece of the puzzle, heartbreaking though it was for many, also left Ted free at the end of the series to finally realize his love for Robin — who was divorced from Barney within three years of their ill-conceived nuptials, the better to fulfill her destiny as a freewheeling, internationally-traveling reporter and owner of five dogs.

Barney, in the meantime, fathered a child with the 31st woman he slept with during a month-long sex bender; Lily and Marshall, still happily married, have three kids and a new, bigger place.

And with that, the show ended its nine-year run — and fans immediately turned to twitter to express their excitement, their disappointment, and in many cases, their outrage.

It must be said, first and foremost, that not everyone hated the finale.

But most fans were disgruntled, either by the show's romantic endgame...

Or its misleading title...

Or its too-convenient machinations to get Ted and Robin together.

There were tears.

And there was anger.

Sometimes, the anger was mixed with other emotions.

Sometimes, it led to unspeakable ...

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