#billboard music awards 2012

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Psy - Gangnam Style 2012

"Gangnam Style" is a K-pop song by South Korean rapper and singer-songwriter Psy, released on July 15, 2012, as the lead single of his sixth studio album, Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1. The term "Gangnam Style" is a neologism that refers to the nouveau riche lifestyles associated with the Gangnam region of Seoul, where people are trendy, hip, and exude a certain supposed class. Psy likened Gangnam to Beverly Hills, California, and said in an interview that he intended the title as a joke, claiming that he has "Gangnam Style" when everything about the song, dance, looks, and music video is far from high class.

"Gangnam Style" debuted at number one on South Korea's Gaon Chart, receiving generally positive reviews, with praise for its catchy beat and Psy's amusing dancing during live performances and in its music video. The song and its music video went viral in August 2012 and have influenced popular culture worldwide. In the US, "Gangnam Style" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, which at the time, was the highest charting song by a South Korean artist. By the end of 2012, "Gangnam Style" had topped the music charts of more than 30 countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, and the UK. The music video won Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards that year. On December 21, 2012, "Gangnam Style" became the first Youtube video to reach a billion views. As of January 2024, the video is the eleventh most viewed video on Youtube, having reached over 5 billion views.

Psy's dance in the music video itself became a cultural phenomenon. He revealed that South Korean fans have high expectations about his dancing, so he felt a lot of pressure. In order to keep up with those expectations, he studied hard to find something new and stayed up late for about 30 nights to come up with the "Gangnam Style" dance. Along the way, he had tested various "cheesy" animal-inspired dance moves with his choreographer Lee Ju-sun, including panda and kangaroo moves, before settling for the horse trot, which involves pretending to ride a horse, alternately holding the reins and spinning a lasso, and moving into a legs-shuffling side gallop.

"Gangnam Style" received a total of 77,2% yes votes!

[holygraund]

Billboard Music Awards 2012

[d-criss-news]

How Sondheim and Burnett Got Darren Criss to Provincetown

Provincetown hasn’t been compared to The Godfather or Star Wars very often, but those are the examples actor and singer Darren Criss names in acknowledging that his July 21 town hall appearance will be his first visit here.

“Provincetown is like that movie that you haven’t seen but you don’t want your friends to know you haven’t seen, so you don’t incur their wrath and ridicule and disbelief,” he says, noting that several of his good pals visit often. “I don’t bring up that I haven’t been there because my friends will give me crap. I haven’t avoided it — I’ve really wanted to go. Finally, the stars aligned quite nicely.”

Maybe the stars had a little help from Carol Burnett.

Host and accompanist John McDaniel, a Grammy and Emmy award-winning musician, says he invited Criss to be part of his summer Broadway series here after Criss performed on 2023’s Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Love + Laughter TV birthday special. McDaniel was the music director.

Criss’s best-known roles are his breakout portrayal of Blaine for five seasons (2010 to 2015) on Glee in a milestone-for-mainstream-TV gay romance with Chris Colfer’s Kurt, and his 2018 Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning turn as spree killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. (Both roles came thanks to producer and Provincetown part-timer Ryan Murphy.)

In addition to acting and singing — including Glee’s “Teenage Dream” cover that climbed the Billboard charts — Criss is a songwriter. He first won notice for co-writing and starring in 2009’s A Very Potter Musical parody for the Chicago-based StarKid Productions, which he co-founded. Criss’s A Very Darren Crissmas generated national holiday tours.

Shortly after Criss wrote the opening number for the 2022 Tony Awards, his friend Paul Miller, director of the Burnett tribute, asked him to refashion Stephen Sondheim’s “Side by Side” from Company into an homage to Burnett’s famous duets with celebrity guest stars.

In what he called “one of the coolest things I’ve ever gotten to be a part of,” Criss performed “Burnett’s Duets” for the star-studded birthday-party special with Broadway’s Sutton Foster. That came after he meticulously dissected Sondheim’s music to fit new lyrics and fine-tuned the arrangement with McDaniel.

“When I was doing this,” Criss says, “in my mind, I was going, ‘What would the ghost of Sondheim be OK with?’ ”

More Broadway music will be on Criss’s mind in Provincetown for what he says will be an unusual program because it likely won’t include original work or him playing guitar or piano; McDaniel will accompany him. Criss prides himself on not performing the same live show twice and plans to include Broadway songs he’s not yet sung in public.

That said, he recognizes fans might want to hear something connected to his own Broadway star turns. Those include — besides the nonmusical American Buffalo in 2022 — How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in 2012 and 2015’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Plus, earlier this year, Criss starred in off-Broadway’s Little Shop of Horrors.

In September, he’ll originate a Broadway role for the first time, headlining Will Aronson and Hue Park’s musical Maybe Happy Ending. Criss plays an outdated, retired robot in futuristic Seoul who explores the nature of love with another retired robot (Helen J. Shen). To try to help boost its U.S. profile, Criss is also a producer of the musical, which has been a hit in Korea, China, and Japan. Its Broadway debut will be directed by Michael Arden (2023 Tony Award for Parade, Spring Awakening), a longtime Criss friend who directed the English-language debut in 2020 in Atlanta.

Criss is excited but nervous about the piece; he says it’s intimate and epic at once. “There’s an excitement about the uniqueness and specialness of this show that I’ve never encountered before,” he says. “So that’s either going to crash and burn and blow up in our faces or catch on. I don’t know, but the prospect is very thrilling.”

Criss, who is straight, made headlines this spring for comments at a Chicago expo about being “culturally queer” because of his admiration for the LGBTQ community. “The things in my life that I have tried to emulate, learn from, and be inspired by are 100 percent queer,” he said then, later adding that “it was in queer communities that I’ve found people that I idolize, that I want to learn something from.”

“That had to be the slowest news day ever,” Criss says about his comments getting attention — especially because he’s talked many times before about similar things, including how much it meant to be part of Glee’s Blaine-Kurt relationship story.

Beyond Provincetown and Broadway, in August Criss’s voice will be heard in an unusual spot: on season 10 of Netflix’s Gabby’s Dollhouse, a children’s show, as the new Marty the Party Cat, magical host of the Party Room. It’s a voice role Criss says was planned long before his two-year-old daughter and seven-week-old son were born to him and his wife.

Marty is described by Netflix as a lovable, “exuberant goofball” who has a big heart and the ability to laugh at himself.

“He’s a fun guy,” Criss says. “I’m aspirationally Marty the Party Cat.”

[creature-phases]

Some Icon TØP Performance

For new Clikkies or anyone interested. Feel free to add on. These are specific songs but the shows themselves are great of course.

I put my personal favorites are in bold

Some notes:

- watch the shows they’re very good

- Making this for people who are new including future new fans after Clancy

- If a show is in Ohio, especially Columbus, it’s gonna be incredible

Uh, fair warning some of these may be pretty emotional

LC Pavilion 10/19/12–Addict With A Pen

Club Seven 3/11/11-Addict With A Pen (one of Tyler’s most emotional performances)

EBS Space 2012–Time To Say Goodbye

MTV Unplugged 2022-Stressed Out (and Car Radio)

New Albany High School 7/9/11-Anathema (Josh sings and you can actually hear him)

ERS 7/19/16-Addict With A Pen (Tyler gets choked up during the second verse and the crowd sings louder for him)

Newport Music Hall 2012-Forest (performance that got them signed)

Electric Castle Festival 2022-Heathens (Stranger Things mix)

iHeartRadio Music Festival-HeavyDirtySoul (Tyler faints)

The Live Room 2013-Migraine

Rocket Mortgage Field House 8/30/22-Piano Medley

**Cleveland, Ohio 6/8/16-Old Song Medley

*Fox Theater 2015-The Judge

Billboard Music Awards 2021-Shy Away

Reading Festival 2016-Tyler gets attacked while crowd surfing (kind of just a known concert incident rather than a performance)

*Lowlands Festival 2019-Morph

Summerfest 2021-Formidable/Doubt/Tear In My Heart (Josh on da box)

iHeartRadio AlterEgo 2022-Shy Away/I’m Not Okay

Lucca Summer Festival 2022-HeavyDirtySoul

Wembley Arena 6/25/22-Ride

Wembley Arena 6/25/22-Message, Man (Blurryface ritual)

Vessel 10 year anniversary Livestream

Electric Ballroom 5/9/24-Backslide (Tyler screws up first also there’s a chair)

86 Coffee Bar 2011-Speech/Trees

Nationwide Arena 6/24/17-Hometown

The LC 2013-Kitchen Sink (Ft. Zack Joseph)

Electric Ballroom 5/9/24-The Craving (Jenna’s Version) (Live debut, crowd reacts to how sweet it is, Tyler gets emotional)

Berlin, Germany 5/7/24-Tear In My Heart (Tyler is very silly during the bridge)

[lacasadelasmunecaspreciosas]

Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty (Saint Michael, Barbados; 20 de febrero de 1988), conocida simplemente como Rihanna, es una cantante, actriz, diseñadora y empresaria barbadense. Es conocida por fusionar algunos géneros caribeños con música pop y por reinventar su imagen a través de los años. Su impacto en la cultura popular la ha llevado a convertirse en un icono de la música y de la moda, por lo que se refieren a ella como la «Princesa del R&B» y «Reina de la Moda».3​4​

Nacida en Saint Michael y criada en Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna hizo una audición para el productor de discos estadounidense Evan Rogers en 2003, quien la invitó a los Estados Unidos para grabar cintas de demostración. Después de firmar con Def Jam en 2005, pronto obtuvo reconocimiento con el lanzamiento de sus dos primeros álbumes de estudio, Music of the Sun (2005) y A Girl Like Me (2006), ambos influenciados por la música caribeña y alcanzaron su punto máximo dentro de los diez primeros puestos de la lista Billboard 200 de Estados Unidos.

El tercer álbum de Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), incorporó elementos de dance pop y estableció su estatus como símbolo sexual en la industria de la música. El sencillo «Umbrella», que encabezó las listas de éxitos, le valió a Rihanna su primer premio Grammy y la catapultó al estrellato mundial. Continuó mezclando géneros pop, dance y R&B en sus siguientes álbumes de estudio, Rated R (2009), Loud (2010), Talk That Talk (2011) y Unapologetic (2012), el último de los cuales se convirtió en su primer número uno en Billboard 200. Los álbumes generaron una serie de sencillos que encabezaron las listas de éxitos, incluidos «Rude Boy», «Only Girl (In the World)», «What's My Name?», «S&M», «We Found Love», «Where Have You Been» y «Diamonds». Su octavo álbum, Anti (2016), mostró un nuevo control creativo tras su salida de Def Jam. Se convirtió en su segundo álbum número uno en los Estados Unidos y contó con el sencillo «Work» que encabezó las listas de éxitos. Durante su carrera musical, Rihanna ha colaborado con muchos artistas, como Drake, Britney Spears, Eminem, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Adam Levine, Paul McCartney, Ne-Yo y Shakira.

Con ventas de más de 250 millones de discos en todo el mundo, Rihanna es la segunda artista musical femenina con mayores ventas de todos los tiempos. Ha obtenido 14 números uno y 31 sencillos entre los diez primeros en los Estados Unidos y 30 entradas entre los diez primeros en el Reino Unido. Sus elogios incluyen nueve premios Grammy, 13 American Music Awards (incluido el Icon Award, por su trayectoria y contribución al mundo de la música), 12 Billboard Music Awards, siete MTV Video Music Awards (incluido el Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, un reconocimiento entregado a músicos que han tenido un profundo impacto en la denominada «cultura MTV», a través de su discografía y videografía5​) seis Guinness World Records y el premio del presidente de la NAACP. Spotify��le otorgó el título de la artista femenina más escuchada de todos los tiempos.6​7​8​ La revista Billboard la nombró «artista digital» de la década de 2000, «artista Hot 100» de la década de 2010 y «artista mainstream» más importante de los últimos 20 años.9​10​11​12​ En 2023, fue incluida en el puesto número 68 de la lista «Los 200 mejores cantantes de todos los tiempos» de la revista Rolling Stone.13​ Es considerada por dos medios de comunicación estadounidense como la artista musical más influyente y exitosa del siglo xxi.14​15​ Time la nombró una de las 100 personas más influyentes del mundo en 2012 y 2018. Forbes la ubicó entre las diez celebridades mejor pagadas en 2012 y 2014.16​17​18​19​ A partir de 2022, es la música femenina más rica, con un patrimonio neto estimado de $1.4 mil millones.20​21​

Aparte de la música, Rihanna es conocida por su participación en causas humanitarias, proyectos empresariales y la industria de la moda. Es la fundadora de la organización sin fines de lucro Clara Lionel Foundation, la marca de cosméticos Fenty Beauty y la casa de moda Fenty bajo LVMH; ella es la primera mujer negra en encabezar una marca de lujo para LVMH.22​ Rihanna también se ha aventurado en la actuación, apareciendo en papeles importantes en Battleship (2012), Home (2015), Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) y Ocean's 8 (2018). Fue nombrada embajadora de educación, turismo e inversión por el Gobierno de Barbados en 2018, y fue declarada Héroe Nacional de Barbados el primer día de la república parlamentaria del país en 2021, lo que le da derecho al estilo de «The Right Excelente» de por vida.23​ Rihanna encabezó el espectáculo de medio tiempo del Super Bowl LVII el 12 de febrero de 2023.

[wearelatinamericanrockers]

Pitty is a Brazilian Metal rock singer. She was a member of two musical bands, Inkoma and Shes. She is been a soloist since 2003.

The debut album "Admirável Chip Novo" was inspired by the book (Brave New World) and sold more than 250 thousand copies the first year.

Her most famous songs are "Na sua Estante", "Me Adoro" and "admirável chip novo". Fansubmitted propaganda below;

"shes such an amazing singer and her songs are so good and go so hard and she sings a lot about society and i'm honestly just a big fan. i went to see her show and she's just so stunning. pls listen to "admirável chip novo" it's like one of her most popular songs and with reason!" "Um marco na música brasileira, a cantora mais foda desse país, formou uma geração e as músicas são atemporais. Shout out pra as crianças que choraram com o clipe de Sua Estante. Pra quem não assistiu, vale a pena conferir: https://youtu.be/DP3j6hgS4VY?si=4PJ6cSc_TwEf7vyV"

--------------------------

Maná or Sombrero Verde is a Mexican Pop Ska Rock band made in 1986.

The group has won four Grammy Awards, eight Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards Latin America, five Premios Juventud, twenty-four Billboard Latin Music Awards, one Billboard Icon Award and fifteen Lo Nuestro Awards. they has also won multiple awards for his work in favor of caring for the environment. In 2012, the members of Maná left their mark on the Rock Walk in Hollywood, United States. Later, on February 11, 2016, Maná became the first rock band in Spanish to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in recognition of their artistic career.

In 2018, the Latin Recording Academy (Latin Grammy) paid tribute to Maná, becoming the first Latin group to receive that honor. Propaganda below;

"son el grupo favorito de mi mamá y va a estar tan feliz si ganan" "mi mamá y yo hemos llorado con sus canciones innumerables veces y eso es razón suficiente para mi tbh" "Escribieron Labios Compartidos"

[justforbooks]

Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), also known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, media personality, and actor. His initial fame dates back to 1992 following his guest appearance on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, "Deep Cover", and later on Dre's debut album, The Chronic that same year. Broadus has since sold over 23 million albums in the United States, and 35 million albums worldwide. His accolades include an American Music Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and 17 Grammy Award nominations.

Produced entirely by Dr. Dre, Broadus's debut studio album, Doggystyle (1993) was released by Death Row Records and debuted atop the Billboard 200. Selling 800,000 copies in its first week, the album received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) the following year and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top ten singles "What's My Name?" and "Gin and Juice". He was the lead performer on Death Row's soundtrack album for the 1994 short film Murder Was the Case, wherein Broadus made his acting debut. His second album, Tha Doggfather (1996), likewise debuted atop the chart and received double platinum certification.

In 1998, he parted ways with Death Row in favor of Master P's No Limit Records, through which he saw largely continued success with his albums Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told (1998), No Limit Top Dogg (1999), and Tha Last Meal (2000). He then signed with Priority, Capitol, and EMI Records to release his sixth album Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss (2002), which was further commercially oriented. This effectively continued upon him signing with Geffen Records to release his next three albums: R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece (2004), Tha Blue Carpet Treatment (2006), and Ego Trippin' (2008); the former spawned the single "Drop It Like It's Hot" (featuring Pharrell), which became his first to peak atop the Billboard Hot 100. He then returned to Priority and Capitol—upon his hiring as chairman of the former label—to release his tenth and eleventh albums, Malice 'n Wonderland (2009) and Doggumentary (2011), both of which saw mild critical and commercial response.

During this time, Broadus starred in films and hosted several television shows, including Doggy Fizzle Televizzle, Snoop Dogg's Father Hood, and Dogg After Dark. In 2012, following a trip to Jamaica, Snoop converted to Rastafari and adopted the alias Snoop Lion, under which he released a reggae album, Reincarnated (2013), and a namesake documentary film about his Jamaican experience.

His thirteenth studio album, Bush (2015), was produced entirely by frequent collaborator Pharrell, while his fourteenth studio album, Coolaid (2016), was released the same year as his induction into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame. In 2018, Broadus became "a born-again Christian" and released his first gospel album, Bible of Love in March of that year. In November of that year, Broadus was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2022, Broadus acquired Death Row Records from MNRK Music Group (formerly known as eOne Music), and released his nineteenth studio album, BODR (2022)—preceded by the independently-released I Wanna Thank Me (2019) and From tha Streets 2 tha Suites (2021).

The Washington Post, Billboard, and NME have called him a "West Coast icon"; and Press-Telegram, "an icon of gangsta rap". In 2006, Vibe magazine called him "The King of the West Coast". ABC News journalist Paul Donoughue, cited him among the 1990s acts that took hip-hop into the pop music charts. Broadus received the BMI Icon Award in 2011. In 2023, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Broadus popularized the use of -izzle speak particularly in the pop and hip-hop music industry. A type of infix, it first found popularity when used by Frankie Smith in his 1981 hit song "Double Dutch Bus". The Guardian's Rob Fitzpatrick has credited his album Doggystyle for proving that rappers "could reinvent themselves", expanding rap's vocabulary, changing hip-hop fashions, and helping introduce a hip-hop genre called G-funk to a new generation. The album has been cited as an influence by rapper Kendrick Lamar, while fellow rappers ScHoolboy Q and Maxo Kream have also cited him as an influence.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[365-days-of-taylor-swift]

January Day 23

[onthisdayts]

ON THIS DAY — May 20, 2012 — 11 years ago

2012 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada

[hit-song-showdown]

My favorite poll write-ups

Hello. So for each poll, I included a little blurb/ramble going into some historical or musical context behind each year. Most of these were written the day I posted them and some years didn't give me a lot to work with. But there were years that really gave me an opportunity to expand on areas of music history/business I'm truly passionate about.

So I decided to compile all of my favorite write-ups into one post.

1956: The rise of Elvis Presley and rock & roll on the Billboard charts

1959: The Grammy Awards vs Black music

1966: The Vietnam War effect on the pop charts

1970: The traumatic dawn of the new decade

1972: Cultural shifts in the 1970's and the last stretch of the Vietnam War

1973: Watergate, Philly soul, and the birth of hip-hop

1979: Disco Demolition Night and the death (and by "death" I mean "gentrification") of disco

1980: Punk rock, new wave, and the sudden end of the 1970's

1983: MTV vs Black music

1987: Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center vs rock music and the creation of the parental advisory label

1991: Nielsen SoundScan's effect on the Billboard charts, and the controversy of 2 Live Crew and Miami bass

1993: The birth of West Coast hip-hop and the coast wars

1999: Y2K and the MP3 breaches containment

2002: Nu metal's place in music marketing

2004: The South got something to say

2007: The controversy of "ringtone rap" and Auto-Tune

2008: Partying and pirating during the financial crisis

2009: Electropop and Auto-Tune's change in perception

2012: Psy was robbed

2013: The death of club music and the Blurred Lines lawsuit

2016: Streaming killed the MP3 star

2017: The mainstream rise of reggaeton in white America and the "monogenre"

2019: Old Town Road, TikTok, and the question of genre and marketing continues

2021: Covid-19's shadow over the pop charts

2022: The current state of pop music in a splintered musical landscape

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Beastie Boys - Intergalactic 1998

Hello Nasty is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released on July 14, 1998. It sold 681,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart, and won Best Alternative Music Album at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards in 1999.

"Intergalactic" was released as the first single, on June 2, 1998. The single reached number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it the band's third top-40 single, and reached number five on the UK Singles Chart, where it remains the band's biggest hit. It received a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1999.

The wonderful "Intergalactic" video was directed by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch under the pseudonym Nathanial Hörnblowér. The storyline revolves around a giant robot causing destruction by fighting a giant octopus-headed creature in a city. Various scenes are filmed in the Shibuya and Shinjuku train stations in Tokyo, Japan. Throughout the video, the band wear bright uniforms of Japanese street construction workers. The music video won the award for Best Hip-Hop Video at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards.

Beastie Boys have sold 20 million records in the US and had seven platinum-selling albums from 1986 to 2004. They are the biggest-selling rap group since Billboard began recording sales in 1991. In 2012, they became the third rap group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In the same year, Adam Yauch died of cancer and Beastie Boys disbanded. The remaining members have released several retrospective works, including a book, a documentary, and a career-spanning compilation album.

"Intergalactic" received a total of 62,4% yes votes!

[cyarskj52]

The Shady Side Of Drake

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Drake — the artist formerly known as Aubrey Graham — has been able to keep a relatively clean reputation in the public eye, especially for someone with so many scandals attached to his name.

The Toronto-raised rapper has had an image unthreatening enough to host the ESPYs and to be considered one of hip-hop's "nice guys," a far cry from romantic rival Chris Brown and other rappers like his Young Money colleague Lil' Wayne, who makes no secret of his love for guns and his Blood gang affiliation.

Still, if you scratch past the surface of Drizzy's demeanor, you'll find quite a bit of dirt, ranging from a past donning blackface to rap beefs, to cheating allegations, to alleged baby mama drama. While Drake has kept much of his private life private, the dark underbelly of his celebrity has come into the light more than ever, courtesy of stars, like his ex-girlfriend Rihanna, exposing his shady side.

He got into a bottle-throwing brawl with Chris Brown

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In June 2012, Drake and Brown reportedly got into a bottle-throwing bar fight at New York City nightclub W.i.P. Brown's face was injured in the melee, TMZ reported, as were members of Drake and Brown's respective entourages and innocent bystanders(including NBA star Tony Parker) who were just trying to enjoy a night out. The club also suffered significant property damage from the incident, with a lot of broken glass and furniture, as well as scratches on the floor from shattered glass.

A club promoter who was at WiP at the night of the incident claimed to Complex that Brown sent a bottle of champagne to Drake, who returned it with a vulgar note about Rihanna, with whom Brown had been in a volatile on-again, off-again relationship. However, TMZ reported that Drake started the drama when he started screaming at Brown from his side of the VIP section. Both Brown and Drake left the scene before cops arrived and denied any wrongdoing (though Drake's team tried to pin the issues on Meek Mill), and neither faced any charges.

He played the victim in his relationship with Rihanna

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Drake and Rihanna were first linked in May 2009, when Page Six reported that the pair were spotted locking lips at a Lucky Strike bowling alley in the Big Apple. However, they both denied any romance rumors and insisted they were merely platonic pals.

However, in Drake's song "Fireworks," he dropped major hints that there was more to the story, with lyrics including, "I could tell it wasn't love, I just thought you'd f**k with me / Who could've predicted Lucky Strikes would have you stuck with me? ... Now all of a sudden these gossip sites wanna cover me ... You could've been the one, but it wasn't that serious."

He would later tell The New York Times that Rihanna essentially played him and broke his heart, whining, "You know what she was doing to me? She was doing exactly what I've done to so many women throughout my life, which is show them quality time, then disappear. I was like, 'Wow, this feels terrible.'"

He tried to steal Rihanna's spotlight

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Drake went beyond public with Rihanna leading up to the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, even going so far as to rent a billboard gushing over her. At the ceremony, the tuxedo-clad rapper gave a fawning speech about RiRi, effectively making her moment all about him. While Rihanna was quiet about the moment at the time, she later opened up about how uncomfortable it was for her.

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For all his "woe is me" talk about Rihanna, rumor has it he actually cheated on the "Umbrella" singer during their on-again, off-again relationship. Sources told Life & Style(via Hollywood Life) that Rihanna caught Drake sending some rather sketchy texts with other women while they were dating in 2016. The magazine (via Hollywood Life) reported that one of those women was Dakota Gonzalez, an Instagram model, while Bossip claimed that he was also seeing another Instagram model, India Love, while he was supposedly dating Rihanna.

His alleged romance with Gonzalez was reportedly the affair that drove RiRi over the edge, with Life & Style claiming that she had a full-fledged "breakdown" over Drizzy's cheating. To be fair, if he was as flagrant about it as was reported — he allegedly "paraded" Gonzalez around his concert on Sept. 11, 2016, after bringing Rihanna out and professing his love for her onstage the very night before — she had every right to be shocked and upset by his behavior.

He's got some serious baby mama drama

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In May 2017, TMZ reported that former porn star Sophie Brussaux claimed she was pregnant with Drake's child and that Drake told her to terminate the pregnancy. His rep denied it, saying in a statement, "This woman has a very questionable background. She has admitted to having multiple relationships. We understand she may have problems getting into the United States. She's one of many women claiming he got them pregnant."

Ouch! However, the rep also added that Drake would handle his business properly if he were proven to the child's father — and TMZ reported in late May 2018 that Drake had been sending Brussaux money since just before the birth of her son, Adonis, and that he believes me he may be father but is awaiting a DNA test to prove his paternity.

Drake's potential paternity was never made too public until Pusha T released diss track "The House of Adidon" in May 2018, which referenced Adonis and Brussaux by name.

He got busted for blackface

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Pusha T didn't limit his Drake disses to audio. He also made an old photo of Drake sporting blackface go viral when he used it as art for his song "The House of Adidon."

The image led to widespread speculation about the origins and context of the photo. Days later, Drake explained himself.

"This was not from a clothing brand shoot or my music career," Drake wrote in an Instagram story (via Page Six). "This picture is from 2007, a time in my life where I was an actor and I was working on a project that was about young black actors struggling to get roles, being stereotyped and typecast. The photos represented how African Americans were once wrongfully portrayed in entertainment ... This was to highlight and raise our frustrations with not always getting a fair chance in the industry and to make a point that the struggle for black actors had not changed much."

He may or may not have written a song that could end Kanye West's career

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Drake talks a big game in terms of his rap beefs, but it's actually unclear how much bite he has behind his bark. In light of his feud with Pusha T, Drake collaborator J Prince revealed on the Sway In The Morning Showthat Drizzy wrote a response track to "The House of Adidon," but the world may never actually hear it.

J Prince claimed that he told Drake to stay "out of the pig pen" of Pusha T's personal digs and revelations, leading Drake to not drop the song in question as of press time. However, J Prince then went on to say that Drake majorly dissed Pusha T's biggest producer from his album Daytona — none other than Kanye West — in the unreleased track, alleging that Drake's insults about West's lifestyle could hurt West's family and livelihood.

"After speaking with Kanye, I spoke with the brother ... and he didn't want this," J Prince said. "I saw this going to a place that I feel would have ended his career if Drake would've put out this song that he had on him. It definitely would've hurt families and we're not in it for that. That's not Drake's character to tear a man down to that extent."

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Drake is accused of being a poor sport with a potty mouth to boot. In May 2018, Drizzy was on hand to watch his beloved Toronto Raptors take on the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he was quite a mess in his courtside seat. Drake reportedly got in the face of Cleveland Cavaliers center Kendrick Perkins and screamed obscenities at the NBA star during halftime, TMZ reported. The exchange got so heated that other Cleveland Cavaliers players reportedly had to hold Drake back in order to keep the verbal altercation from escalating to a physical one.

The beef continued after the game, with Drake screaming for Perkins to come out of the tunnel.

Perkins — who's 6'10" and 270 pounds — later told ESPN (via TMZ), "What happened was I was talking to my old teammate Serge [Ibaka] walking into halftime telling him 'We about to win this game,' and Drake butted in talking s**t to me. So I said something back to him."

The Toronto Sun reported that Drake is a regular distraction behind the Raptors' bench, and Raptors' president Masai Ujiri (pictured above showing his disdain) told the newspaper that he's going to have to talk to Drake about his conduct. ESPN reported that Drizzy received an official warning from the NBA about his use of foul language after the Perkins incident, so hopefully he takes his basketball beefing down a notch.

He may have faked a relationship with J.Lo for press

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Just like Drake stole Rihanna's spotlight at the VMAs in August 2016, he allegedly used Jennifer Lopez to make his own star shine a bit brighter just months later when the pair plastered their PDA all over social media.

Insiders at TMZ, The Daily Beast, and Page Six each reported that the over-the-top, seemingly out-of-left-field romance was simply a ploy to sell records.

Music industry sources told Page Six that Drake and J.Lo were using public speculation about their relationship status to promote a collaboration. The outlet specifically cited video and photographic footage of the maybe-couple kissing at a prom-themed party to a song they worked on together, noting that the setting was actually just a music video set and not a real party.

One insider dished, "This relationship is fake, it is just a publicity stunt to publicize their record together. If Jennifer and Drake were really dating, they'd be way more private about it ... Doesn't Drake realize that it looks weird to declare his love for RiRi at the MTV awards, then start flaunting his chemistry with J.Lo a few months later?"

Indeed, in March 2017, Drake dropped the song "Teenage Fever," which sampled Lopez's first hit, "If You Had My Love."

He was accused of threatening a stripper

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In October 2014, TMZ reported that a stripper going by the moniker Jhonni Blaze filed a police report after allegedly receiving threats from Drake and his entourage after she slept with the rapper. She claimed that Drake believed she was going to speak publicly about her hook-up with him and sent her angry text messages and that several of his associates began banging on her door at home and threatening her life.

Drake's camp denied the allegations, and, days later, Blaze somewhat backpedaled on her claims, telling the Madd Hatta Morning Show on Houston, Texas' 97.9 The Box that she never actually called the police on Drake specifically, noting, "I actually called the police because my friend came home and she said that two guys said that they were looking for me. So, I documented that for my protection and for some odd reason people were calling me looney ... We were just supposed to be friends and we had some disagreements, some things were said, some threats were being made as far as argument and that was it." She added that she leaked text messages between them to prove that they were, in fact, in contact, because people were accusing her of lying about knowing him personally, and she denied that she'd ever bash him. She said that she believed the threat she received after her encounter with Drake may have been a coincidence.

He signed a man who assaulted a woman

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Drake signed his close friend and former bodyguard, Baka (also known as "Baka Not Nice") to his October's Very Own (OVO) label in June 2017 after Baka was released from jail.

Baka was behind bars for 11 months for a major crime: He pleaded guilty to and was convicted of assaulting a 22-year-old escort, allegedly his girlfriend at the time. He was initially also charged with human trafficking and accused of forcing the woman into prostitution, but she declined to testify against him, so those charges were dropped, the Toronto Sun reported. He had prior convictions of armed robbery, assault, and possession for the purpose of trafficking and had previously spent 13 years in prison.

"When [Baka got out of jail], there's a lot of different paths that he could have took," Drake said in a statement on Instagram (via BET) when he signed Baka. "And he decided to focus on music. And when he focused on music ... It's an honor and a pleasure [to sign Baka to OVO]. I just want to give this pen to my brother. I love you, G. Trust me. You've been holding it down for a long time."

He got way too touchy-feely with a teenager

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In January 2019, a video surfaced of Drake kissing a 17-year-old girl onstage during a concert in Colorado, knowing that she was 17. The legal age of consent in that state is 17, but it's still pretty creepy for a grown man to pursue a teenage girl. TMZ reported that the clip was from May 2010, which would make Drake 23 at the time it was filmed.

After the fan revealed her age to the rapper, he told her, "I can't go to jail yet, man! 17? How do you look like that? You thick. Look at all this." He then tells her some rather gross stuff we don't want to reprint here about her chest and kisses her several times.

Drizzy hasn't commented on the video — perhaps because he's too busy giving young Millie Bobby Brown dating advice. Here's hoping he's warned the Stranger Thingsstarlet to avoid men like him.

Sent from my iPhone

[d-criss-news]

Darren Criss Live at Tre Posti Vineyards

Pre-Concert Wine Tasting Reception • Live Concert in the Vineyard • Post-Concert 3-Course Vintner's Dinner

Time & Location Jul 25, 2024, 6:00 PM Tre Posti Vineyards, 641 Main St, St Helena, CA 94574, USA

About the event Please note: Concert is at 7:30pm. Arrival time varies based on ticket type. Broadway & Vine invites you to an unforgettable evening pairing some of Napa Valley most beloved vintner's with a concert by Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy, Critic's Choice, and SAG Award Winner Darren Criss (TV: Glee, Ryan Murphy’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, Hollywood, Broadway/Off Broadway: Maybe Happy Ending, Little Shop of Horrors, American Buffalo, Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2015), How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying) at Tre Posti's Vineyard. For this concert, Darren will be performing a playlist of songs featured throughout his wildly eclectic career as both a songwriter and performer.  Supplement your concert experience with a pre-concert wine tasting reception and post concert Vintner's dinner.

Since bursting onto the pop-culture landscape over a decade ago, Darren Criss has embodied the kind of kaleidoscopic artistry that’s entirely uninhibited by form or genre.  Before Darren Criss exploded into the internet’s subculture as both an actor and songwriter for the YouTube viral hit A Very Potter Musical in 2009, he had made a small name for himself playing unique interpretations of popular songs he’d perform at cafes and bars in his hometown of San Francisco.  Little did he know that the same knack for covering tunes would serve him well in 2010, when he was cast on FOX’s massively successful musical series Glee, from which many of his performances of popular songs would lead to several Billboard-topping records.  In 2015 his songwriting also landed an Emmy nomination for Best Original Music and Lyrics, from penning the song “This Time” for the show’s series finale.

Criss has continued to write and produce music extensively through the years, whether for his own releases as an artist or as a songwriter for theater, film & television.  In 2019 Criss created, executive produced, starred in, and provided all the original songs for his short-form musical comedy series Royalties, and earlier this year provided the music & lyrics for the opening number of the 2022 Tony Awards: Act One.  As an artist, he most recently delivered a genre-diverse collection of "character-driven" singles as part of his 2021 solo EP titled “Masquerade” (BMG), and in the same year, released a full-length Christmas album titled- aptly- A Very Darren Crissmas (Decca).

As an actor, Criss is a veteran of the stage whose Broadway credits include the titular role of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2015), How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (2012), and the most recent 2022 revival of David Mamet’s seminal play American Buffalo alongside Laurence Fishburne and Sam Rockwell.  In 2018 his work in Ryan Murphy’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story received wide critical acclaim, earning him a Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Critics’ Choice Award.  He was most recently seen starring in Netflix’s hit series Hollywood, for which he also served as executive producer.”

Please Note: The event will be held outdoors at sunset and the temperature will vary. Seating is based on party size and arrival time, and is up to the discretion of the event management. No seat is greater than 35 feet from the stage in this exclusive Broadway concert experience.  ALL SALES FINAL.

[swiftracer13]

All my lifesize Cardboard Taylors

iHeart Radio Music Awards 2014:

BBC Teen Awards 2010:

Speak Now World Tour 2011:

BBC Teen Awards 2013:

Eras Tour 2023:

65th. Annual Grammy Awards (2023):

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2013:

BBC Teen Awards 2012:

2019 Billboard Women in Music:

2023 MTV Video Music Awards:

Roberto Cavalli Spring/Summer 2011 Fashion Show:

iHeart Radio Music Awards 2016:

2019 American Music Awards:

Somebody knows a house near my place where they can live? My house gets a bit small for all of us :D

[culturalshocks]

CulturalShocker of the Day: Kali Uchis

-Karly Marina Loaiza, mostly known as Kali Uchis, was born on July 17, 1994

-She born was born in Alexandria, Virginia to a Colombian father and American mother. She has citizenship in Colombia.

- In high school, she learned to play the piano and saxophone. She participated in a jazz band, and graduated from Alexandria City High School (then called T. C. Williams High School).

-She often skipped class to spend time at the photo lab, making experimental short films. Her interest in photography led to her creating mixtape cover art. Skipping class and breaking the curfew set by her parents led to her being kicked out of her home. 

-During this time, she lived in her car and wrote songs on her keyboard which would later appear on her debut mixtape Drunken Babble (2012)

-She was given the nickname "Karluchis" and she would later modify to be used as "Kali Uchis"

-Her debut album, Isolation (2018), gained widespread acclaim from critics. It was officially released worldwide on April 6, 2018.

-On December 9, 2019, Kali Uchis was featured on the single "10%" by Canadian producer Kaytranada, which was taken from his album Bubba. The song would go onto win a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.

- April 24, 2020, Uchis released an extended play titled To Feel Alive. The EP was recorded entirely in isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

-On April 21, 2022, Uchis announced on the red carpet of the Latin American Music Awards that she has completed her third and fourth studio albums, with one in Spanish and one in English.

-On January 23, 2023, Uchis announced her third studio album Red Moon in Venus, which was released on March 3, 2023, with an accompanying tour featuring special guest Raye. On July 31, 2024, Uchis announced a follow up to Orquídeas, titled Orquídeas Parte 2. It was released on August 9, 2024.

-Some of her musical influences include: Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Celia Cruz, Selena, Shakira, La Lupe, and Ivy Queen.

-Uchis is bisexual

-She has been in a relationship with American rapper Don Toliver since 2020. She gave birth to a son in March.

-Some her accolades include: 1 Grammy win and 3 nominations, iHeartRadio Music Award for Best New Latin Artist, 9 nominations for the Latin American Music Awards and 1 one win for Favorite Pop Album (Orquídeas), 11 nominations for the Billboard Latin Music and 1 win for Latin Pop Album of the year (Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios)

Other artists she's worked with are: Tyler The Creator, Steve Lacy, Raye, Daniel Caesar, Kaytranada, Mac Miller, JT, Rico Nasty, Don Toliver, Summer Walker, Omar Apollo, and El Afa.

*All information comes from Wikipedia.com*

[aaliyahunleashed]

HAPPY HEAVENLY BIRTHDAY TO NATINA TIAWANA REED

October 28, 1980 – October 26, 2012

She was discovered by Lisa Left Eye Lopes (of TLC) and is more popularly known for being apart of the girl group ‘Blaque’ and appearing in the hit film 'Bring it On’. She was engaged to rapper Kurupt and gave birth to a son. On October 26, 2012, Reed died after being struck by a car near Lilburn, Georgia. She was two days shy of her 32nd birthday.

She appeared in Lil Kim’s “Not Tonight” music video in '97 as well as Ludacris’ “Welcome to Atlanta” in '01. She also made a cameo appearance in the movie “Honey” in '03.

She was nominated for several honors for her work with Blaque winning Best New Artist-R&B at the 2000 Billboard Video Awards for “Bring It All To Me”