Soulja Boy was just sentenced to 240 days in jail and 265 days of community service for violating his probation.

Soulja was in court Tuesday. His attorney said the rapper had an "awakening" during the last 20 days he's been locked up -- it clearly wasn't enough to convince the judge to let him go easy. Soulja will start the sentence right away and he has credit for 40 days served. 

The judge told Soulja he was originally considering sentencing him to 2 years in state prison but decided to give him some leniency. The judge also acknowledged that Soulja's missed out on business opportunities while behind bars. 
As we reported ... the rapper was taken into custody earlier this month after the judge said he failed to do his court-ordered community service and even conspired to falsify evidence he had completed it. 

Soulja's house in Agoura Hills was raided in February and cops found ammunition during the search. Cops had initially gone there to investigate a claim by one of his ex-girlfriends that Soulja tied her up and held her captive in his garage.

The ammunition turned out to be the start of Soulja's real troubles. Having possession of ammo is a huge no-no 'cause Soulja's on probation for a weapons case that dates back to 2014.

Good news for "Empire" fans ... the show is coming back for Season 6. BUT Jussie Smollett is NOT.....(MAYBE!)

Fox just issued the following statement ... "By mutual agreement, the studio has negotiated an extension to Jussie Smollett's option for season 6, but at this time there are no plans for the character of Jamal to return to 'Empire.'" 

Yep ... sounds weird, that Fox wants to keep Jussie hanging just in case, but that's the deal. It could be ... Fox is hedging its bets, to see what happens in the civil case in which the City of Chicago is suing the actor for the costs of the investigation.  The upshot of that case -- Jussie will be tried for allegedly faking the "attack."  Perhaps if he wins, Fox will reconsider.

​Woodstock 50 is officially over, according to the people investing to produce the iconic music festival's anniversary. 

The heads over at Dentsu Aegis Network, who are the festival's main investor, gave the bad news Monday, saying, it doesn't "believe the production of the festival can be executed as an event worthy of the Woodstock Brand name while also ensuring the health and safety of the artists, partners and attendees."

Tickets for Woodstock 50 were supposed to go on sale last week, but never did. Organizers said they were trying to iron out logistics while waiting to hear back from the New York State Department of Health after applying for a mass gathering permit.  

The promoter, Michael Lang, does not agree Woodstock 50 is sunk. He tells us Dentsu's announcement was a "complete surprise," but adds ... they're not giving up on the festival yet.
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Story developing ...

John Singleton died today at 51.

Singleton was the first African American nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director, and his decorated career spanned nearly three decades in Hollywood.

A Singleton family rep says he passed "peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends." The news comes more than a week after the famed director suffered a massive stroke. As we first reported ... John's mom, Shelia Ward, filed legal docsasking the judge to appoint her temporary conservator because he was "unable to properly provide for his personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter." He had been in a coma in ICU at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A.

The "Boyz n the Hood" director suffered the stroke 12 days ago after returning from Costa Rica and experiencing problems with his legs. He checked himself into Cedars where he suffered a stroke on April 17 in his hospital room. 

John directed 9 films ... including "Poetic Justice," "Higher Learning," "Four Brothers" and "2 Fast 2 Furious." He also has several high-profile producer credits to his name ... including the critically acclaimed film "Hustle & Flow." He co-created the FX hit series "Snowfall" and directed episodes of "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" as well as "Empire" and "Billions."

John's burst to stardom came just 2 years after he graduated from USC. He was only 24 years old when he made his directorial debut ... and the world noticed, earning him an Oscar nomination in 1992 for Best Director. He also earned a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

The family also revealed something we didn't know. He kayaked in Marina del Rey every morning. They also said his greatest joy other than making movies was sailing his boat, J's Dream, up and down the Pacific Coast.  

The family added, "We who have grown up with John, made movies with him, sailed with John and laughed with John, know the universe of calm and creativity he created for so many. Now in the wake of his death, we must navigate the storm without him. It is, for us, heartbreaking."

John was married only once ... to Ghanaian actress Akosua Gyamama Busia in October 1996. They divorced a year later. He's survived by his mom and 7 children.
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John was 51.

Banks is back. Two years after releasing "Underdog," with her new single "Gimme."

"Gimme" amps up the singer's patented mix of grinding, funky beats and ethereal vocals with a more aggressive, distorted track, spare, bouncing keyboards and pitched vocal effects for a song that, as she says, makes it very clear that she's ready to get what she wants, when she wants it. "You can call me that bitch," she sings in the lead-up to the thumping chorus.

The track was co-written with Buddy Ross (Frank Ocean) and co-produced by Hudson Mowkawke (Kanye West) and BJ Burton (Bon Iver). At press time, no additional information was available about the follow-up to Banks' 2016 album The Altar.

Listen to "Gimme" below.

Earlier this week, Chvrches took to social media to share their disapproval of Marshmello working with Chris Brown and Tyga on their new single “Light It Up." Brown and Tyga responded back in the group's Instagram post.   
 
"We are really upset, confused and disappointed by Marshmello's choice to work with Tyga and Chris Brown," the band wrote in a statement Thursday (April 25). "We  like and respect Mello as a person but working with people who are predators and abusers enables, excuses and ultimately tacitly endorses that behaviour. That is not something we can or will stand behind."

On Saturday, Brown fired back in the comments section of a Chvrches' IG account.      

“BUNCH OF LOSERS. these are the type of people I wish walked in front of a speeding bus full of mental patients," Brown wrote. "Keep groveling over you own insecurities and hatred. IM BLACK AND PROUD. AND I KNOW ITS HURTS THAT U GUYS ARE STRUGGLING WIT LIFE OR PEACE SO U ARE FORCED TO SEE MY SUCCESS. You aren't even #2 (REMEMBER 2nd place only means YOU LOST FIRST! TA-TA. GOODDAY PEASANTS”.

Tyga also commented in the original post, writing, "Where all God’s children. Everyone makes mistakes no ones perfect. Let’s Keep the energy positive."

Chvrches hasn't officially responded to Tyga and Brown's, but frontman Lauren Mayberry has received abusive direct messages on social media since their posts. She posted some of them on her personal IG account.

Chvrches' concerns arise from Brown pleading guilty to assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna back in 2009. For his part, Tyga settled a sexual assault lawsuit against him following a 2011 video shoot, and the rapper was also accused of having a sexual relationship with then-girlfriend Kyle Jenner when she was as young as 16, though the age of consent in California is 18; no legal action was ever taken over their relationship.
 
Chvrches are featured on Marshmello’s 2019 single “Here With Me,” earning them their first Billboard Hot 100 hit, and they made a surprise appearance during the helmeted DJ’s headlining set at weekend one of Coachella.

Taylor Swift just broke a YouTube record with the newly released music video for her single, “ME! (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco),” the company announced on Saturday evening (April 27).

“With 65.2 million views, congratulations @taylorswift13 + @taylornation13 on breaking the record for highest female and solo 24-hour debut for any music video on @YouTube,” the company announced.

Pia Mia‘s new music video for “Bitter Love” just dropped yesterday (April 26).

It features a previously unreleased scene from After, which Pia also starred in.

“I’m self-funding it, it’s not a $200,000 video,” Pia explained. “It’s a lower budget, but I wanted to invest in an amazing crew and also put that money onto the screen. Everyone worked so hard on this video because of their passion. There wasn’t one person who didn’t give it their all and I am so grateful for that.”

“I hardly have any experience horseback riding — let alone riding a star like Galan,” Pia added about her co-star. “But we were best friends by the end of the shoot. There were times on set when he would just follow me around in the field. We definitely bonded. The video wouldn’t have been possible without him.”

“Bitter Love” marks Pia‘s first release as an independent artist.

Listen to Pia Mia tell us about her roll in the movie and about her new music.

Taylor Swift has officially just released her new song “ME!” with Panic! At the Disco‘s Brendon Urie 

“‘ME!’ is a song about embracing your individuality and really celebrating it and owning it,” Taylor said about the single.

​“With a pop song, we have an ability to get a melody stuck in people’s heads and I just want it to be one that makes them feel better about themselves.”

Brynn Cartelli released her new track “Grow Young”. The 16-year-old former Voice champ opened up about the track, calling it her most vulnerable song yet.

“I had to admit something to myself while writing ‘Grow Young.’ It’s my most vulnerable song yet,” Brynnshared in a statement. “This is a raw, imperfect version of a story I wrote for anyone wishing they could go back in time.”

She adds, “I decided to call it ‘version 1’ because the song itself is still a work in progress, but I wanted to share with my fans what I’ve been working on.”

Listen to “Grow Young” here.