Singer, songwriter and producer Josh Stone, who performs under the name DOT, has sued Ariana Grande for allegedly ripping off the chorus of his 2017 track “You Need I Got It” for her 2019 single, "7 Rings", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight non-consecutive weeks last year. The complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court in New York on Thursday (Jan. 16) by Stone’s lawyer Tamir Young, opens with some impressive numbers related to "7 Rings," noting that the single broke records for the most Spotify streams in 24 hours and that the video has been viewed over 642 million times on YouTube. It further estimates the song has earned over $10 million in revenues to date. Young goes on to state that two different musicologists concluded “7 Rings” likely copied the choruses and hooks from “You Need I Got It,” with one finding 39 respective notes from the songs to be “identical.” “From a scientific, musicological perspective, the rhythmic structure, metrical placement, duration of rhythmic pattern and lyrical elements of composition in ‘7 Rings’ are either identical or substantially similar to [‘You Need I Got It],” the suit reads. The complaint further highlights the obvious similarities between “7 Rings” lyrics “I want it/I got it/I want it/I got it” and Stone's lyrics “You need it/I got it/You want it/I got it." In an attempt to establish access, the suit goes on to note that songwriter and producer Thomas Lee Brown -- a co-defendant who has worked with Grande on all five of her studio albums -- was in attendance at meetings Stone had with Universal Music Group executives in June 2017, during which he played “You Need I Got It," among other songs. Grande is slated to perform “7 Rings” at next week’s Grammys, where the song itself is up for two awards and Grande is nominated for five. “The level of copying in ‘7 Rings’ is simply shocking,” Stone’s attorney Tamir Young tells Billboard. “This is a stronger case of infringement than ‘Blurred Lines’ or Katy Perry’s ‘Dark Horse.’ The rash of copyright infringement in music has caused incredible harm and injustice to lesser known or up and coming artists and songwriters.” Stone is asking the court for declaratory judgment of copyright infringement; a judgment that enjoins Grande and her co-defendants from continued acts of infringement; judgment ordering defendants to deliver “7 Rings” to Stone for destruction; actual damages and profits attributable to the infringement or, alternatively, statutory damages; and attorneys’ fees and other related costs. Grande’s co-defendants in the case are songwriter-producers Brown, Charles Michael Anderson and Michael David Foster; songwriters Taylor Monet Parks (a.k.a. Tayla Parx), Kimberly Anne Krysiuk, Victoria Monet McCants, and Njomza Vitia; BMG Rights Management; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.; Kobalt Songs Music Publishing; The Royalty Network Inc.; Universal Music Corporation; and Concord Music Group.
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Last week, BTS announced its new album, Map of the Soul: 7, which comes out Feb. 21 and will be preceded by a first single this Friday. But fans didn’t even have to hear a lick of the album before it began smashing records.
According to BTS’ management company, Big Hit Entertainment, Map of the Soul: 7 sold a record 3.42 million stock preorders in its first week of availability. On its official social media platforms, Big Hit shared a Naver News article that cited the figure from South Korean entertainment and distribution company Dreamus, formerly known as iRiver. BTS previously set the preorder record with their last album, Map of the Soul: Persona, which sold 2.685 million preorders in its first five days. Who held the record before that? You guessed it: BTS yet again, as their 2018 album Love Yourself: Answer sold 1.511 million preorders in its first week. Both Answer and Persona debuted atop the Billboard 200; based on early preorders, Map of the Soul: 7 seems likely to follow suit. Tomorrow X Together just released their new music video for the Japanese version of “Run Away!” In the fun vid, the group showed off their dancing skills and get sucked into a video game at an arcade. Last year, the guys also released a video for the Korean version of the song. A month-and-a-half after announcing that she was "done with fame," Bhad Bhabie says she's taking a break from Instagram. On Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 14), the "Gucci Flip Flops" artist used an Instagram post to announce that she's taking a break from IG for the sake of her mental well-being. See Bhad Bhabie's IG post about leaving the platform below. "Due to my mental health I will b taking a small break from this app," writes BB. "I hate to say it but y'all won! Congrats mission complete! y'all made the lil 16 year old completely loose it! Social media has not only made me who I am but also every reason I can't sleep at night. Imagine being called a racist white cunt every second of they day." Elsewhere in the post, she speaks on people accusing her of trying to be Black. As a result of this stream of social media criticism, she says she will take away one way people can bash her on IG. "When I do come back I will be Turing all my comments off," she writes. This news comes a month-and-a-half after Bhad Bhabie was called out for wearing box braids, which is a hairstyle generally associated with Black women. Hours after she faced the initial backlash, she said she was abandoning a life of fame and returning to be with her family in Florida. "I’mma keep it real, I’m not fit for this fame...I’m too real nobody can handle the truth and if being attacked for something I’mma tell the the damn truth about it and y’all can’t handle that,” she said at the time. “I’m back in Florida with my family living my best life. I could give two fucks about this fame shit.” The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced the official 2020 Induction Class. What’s really sad, though, about the class of 2020 is that three of the acts won’t be there to perform and soak up their big moment at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland on May 2. Houston died in 2012, while Brooklyn’s own Notorious B.I.G. — only the second solo rapper to ever be inducted, after another slain MC, Tupac Shakur — was murdered in 1997. And T. Rex disbanded after Marc Bolan, the group’s founder and frontman, died at 29 in a 1977 car crash. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces 2020 Inductee class
Jake Miller revealed that his next album is close to being done.
“A new wave is coming ? Thank you for being patient,” Jake shared with a series of images on Twitter. The new pics show him at the piano and with his guitar, before revealing a list of track titles that include “Tangerine”, and “Crystal Ball”. Jake wrapped up 2019 with his Summer ’19 EP, and before that, released Based on a True Story EP.
BTS wants to encourage audiences to think about the world around them through art with the launch of their new 'Connect, BTS' venture.
"Connect, BTS is a global project to connect five cities and twenty-two artists, each of whom contributes their unique philosophy and imagination to it,” reads an introductory statement on the project's website. “This project aims to redefine the relationships between art and music, the material and immaterial, artists and their audiences, artists and artists, theory and practice. Connect, BTS may be described in terms of a collective curatorial practice by curators around the world who resonated with BTS' philosophy." Galleries in London, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Seoul, and New York will host artistic events throughout January until the end of March. The 'Connect, BTS' project kicked off today (Jan. 14) at London's Serpentine Galleries with the launch of "Catharsis" by Jakob Kudsk Steensen, which will run through March 6. A show in Berlin will open on Wednesday (Jan. 15), followed by one in Buenos Aires on Jan. 21, another in Seoul will on Jan. 28 and the final show in New York on Feb. 5. The 'Connect, BTS' project is spearheaded by artistic director Daehung Lee, who curated the Korean Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennial and advisor to the interdisciplinary playground ZER0INE in 2018. He is currently on the jury for the Ars Electronic Festival's STARTS Prize and has served as the art director of Hyundai Motor Company. The likes of Sir Antony Gormley, Ben Vickers, Kay Watson, Stephanie Rosenthal, Noemie Solomon, and Thomas Arnold are all also reportedly involved with bringing 'Connect, BTS' to the world. The 'Connect, BTS' event launch comes just days ahead of an upcoming new single from BTS due outon Friday (Jan. 17) in advance of their upcoming Map of the Soul: 7 album (Feb. 21). Billie Eilish is performing the new theme song for the upcoming James Bond movie, No Time To Die. Many fans thought that Beyonce would have the honors, after she posted a picture of her sipping on a Martini.
The 18-year-old musician wrote the track with brother FINNEAS, which makes Billie the youngest artist in history to write and record a James Bond theme song. “It feels crazy to be a part of this in every way. To be able to score the theme song to a film that is part of such a legendary series is a huge honor,” Billie shared in a statement. “James Bond is the coolest film franchise ever to exist. I’m still in shock”. FINNEAS adds, “Writing the theme song for a Bond film is something we’ve been dreaming about doing our entire lives. There is no more iconic pairing of music and cinema than the likes of Goldfinger and Live And Let Die. We feel so so lucky to play a small role in such a legendary franchise, long live 007.” Billie‘s James Bond theme song is set to be released ahead of the April 2020 release date of the movie. YouTube star Nikkie de Jager, better known as NikkieTutorials online, has come out as a transgender woman.
"I wanted to be my own person, my own identity, my own human being without any rules, without any labels and without any restrictions," she says in the video. "I want to start the year off with the truth." Nikkie says that she decided to come out publicly after being blackmailed by some online haters. "Filming this video is scary, but it feels so liberating and freeing," she continued. "I am NikkieTutorials and I am Nikkie. I am me. We don't need labels. If we are going to put a label on it, yes, I am transgender, but at the end of the day, I am me. And at the end of the day you are you." "You can be you," the beauty expert continued. "You are in charge of how you want to live your life. I am here to openly share that I am transgender, and with this message, I want to inspire little Nikkies around the world, who feel insecure, who feel out of place, who are misunderstood. I hope by me standing up and being free, that it inspired others to do the same." After a string of new songs, Hayley Kiyoko has released the first official single and final track from her project I’m Too Sensitive for This Shit. “She” addresses both her struggles and hopes as a closeted teenager. The video for “She” is set in Kiyoko’s childhood bedroom, covered in Fanta and ‘N Sync posters as well as trophies. Sporting her teenage hairstyle and an oversized flannel shirt, she stands awkwardly in front of the mirror before changing her outfit and envisioning herself as a superstar within the confines of the same bedroom. The video features Hayley in her childhood bedroom as she reflects on being a closeted teenager who has big dreams for her life. “She” is the final track from her EP I’m Too Sensitive for This S–t. NSYNC‘s Lance Bass even makes a cameo, lip-syncing along to her lyrics, “Done, she’s gonna get it done / She’ll do it on the run / But still have so much fun, fun.” |
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