John Legend's performance of a Prince classic at the Democratic National Convention didn't exactly have everyone going crazy, as some fans think it was an "insult" to have him play the song.
TMZ broke the story that John would be taking the stage at the United Center in Chicago Wednesday night -- but what we didn't know is he'd be singing "Let's Go Crazy" alongside longtime Prince collaborator Sheila E.
8/21/24
Truth is John sounded like ... well, John Legend -- who's an EGOT-winning success. Still, the soul singer doesn't sound like Prince, so some folks think he was the wrong choice to play the upbeat anthem ... right before Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz took the stage to accept the nomination for Vice President.
The heirs to Prince's fortune are calling out Tidal for allegedly lying about streaming data, and they're so pissed about it ... they want to pull the plug on a lucrative deal.
The attorney for Sharon, Norrine and John Nelson blew the whistle on Tidal with the probate judge in Prince's case. In a letter, obtained by TMZ, they say Tidal's been accused of "inflating the streaming numbers" for Beyonce's "Lemonade" and Kanye West's "The Life of Pablo," a claim that has reportedly been denied by Tidal CEO Richard Sanders.
They say Tidal allegedly boosted the numbers by several hundred million streams ... which would jack up the royalties paid to Bey and Ye.
The heirs are asking the judge to reconsider the order that granted Tidal exclusive streaming rights for an upcoming album of unreleased Prince music. They say they don't want the estate getting caught up in the streaming service's legal problems.
Cops just released video shot inside Prince's home the day they found him dead.
The Carver County Sheriff's Dept. is releasing all the records from its investigation on the heels of the County prosecutor announcing there will be no criminal charges in Prince's death. Those records include the videos and photos shot all over Paisley Park on April 21, 2016.
As we've reported, Prince was found lying on his back in front of an elevator door in the home. We've chosen not to show the image of his body.
The rest of the video gives you the point of view cops had as they entered the room where he was found. Dozens of Prince's records are on the walls in an extremely bright room.
There also photos inside his legendary vault showing recordings, large sums of cash and recording equipment stacked on shelves.
One pic shows a white powdery substance spilled out on a table with a bent spoon placed next to it. Looks ominous, however the spoon and cherry appear to be a replica of a Minnesota art piece.
There were 2 patches on Prince's body -- one on his leg, and one on his arm ... and we're told they were placed there by emergency responders when they attempted to revive him.
The files also include a video of Prince from April 20 ... as he walked into the office of Dr. Michael Schulenberg. As we reported, prosecutors say Dr. Schulenberg had written a Percocet prescription for Prince, but they don't believe it played a role in his death.
Prince likely had NO idea he was even taking the fentanyl that ended up killing him, according to prosecutors who have found no one to criminally charge for his death.
Carver County Attorney Mark Metz said Prince had taken counterfeit Vicodin that was laced with fentanyl. He said they could not find sufficient evidence of who supplied the counterfeit pills, and as a result ... there will be no criminal charges in his death.
As we reported, a toxicology report showed Prince had "exceedingly high" levels of the opioid in his system when he died -- even for a chronic pain patient.
Metz added it was likely Prince had also taken one of the counterfeit Vicodin when he overdosed on a private jet the week before he died. TMZ broke the story ... Prince made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, where emergency responders gave him 2 shots of Narcan to save his life.
Metz said Prince had been prescribed Percocet by Dr. Michael Schulenberg days before he overdosed, but says it played no role in his death. TMZ obtained a photo of Prince pacing outside a Walgreens the day before he died, waiting for a prescription to be filled.
Schulenberg had prescribed the Percocet to Prince's bodyguard, Kirk Johnson, as a cover for Prince. The federal government went after Schulenberg for that violation, and he just reached a settlement ... agreeing to pay a $30k fine.
Prince died at 57 at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota on April 21, 2016.
Prince's estate is spending a ton of cash -- at times more than $600k PER MONTH -- and dropping that kinda loot has the singer's heirs worried they'll be left with nothing when it's their turn to collect.
Sources close to Prince's heirs tell TMZ ... they're dumbfounded at how much money it costs to manage the late singer's estate. We're told at the current burn rate, heirs feel there's gonna be close to nothing when it's time to distribute the inheritance.
According to docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Comerica's monthly fee to manage the estate is $125k per month. Comerica also hired the law firm Fredrikson & Byron P.A. to rep the estate in court (i.e. Prince's label suing Roc Nation), supervise and coordinate with accountants and advise on tax-related issues. Last November alone, the law firm billed more than $440k in fees and expenses.
The spending keeps going ... F&B then hired other attorneys to deal with trademarks, oversea litigation and services on deal proposals, among other things.
Comerica, for its part, has painstakingly broken down in more than 600 pages of invoices exactly where the money's going and why it costs so much to manage the estate, which is reportedly worth around $250 mil.
Forget the hologram drama, Prince fans are still VERY upset over Justin Timberlake's Super Bowl halftime performance ... and it all stems from an interview the Purple One did in 1998.
At the time, Prince sat down with Guitar World Magazine and was asked about the trend of live musicians using technology to duet with someone who had passed away ... think Natalie Cole's version of "Unforgettable" she did with her dad.
Here's what Prince said at the time ...
Guitar World: "With digital editing, it is now possible to create a situation where you could jam with any artist from the past. Would you ever consider doing something like that?"
Prince: "Certainly not. That's the most demonic thing imaginable. Everything is as it is, and it should be. If I was meant to jam with Duke Ellington, we would have lived in the same age. That whole virtual reality thing... it really is demonic. And I am not a demon. Also, what they did with that Beatles song ["Free As a Bird"], manipulating John Lennon's voice to have him singing from across the grave... that'll never happen to me. To prevent that kind of thing from happening is another reason why I want artistic control."
So, when Timberlake used Prince's voice and image to create a duet -- seems like JT did exactly what Prince didn't want.
There's more ...
Sinbad, the comedian, went off on social media about the drama between JT and Prince that started back in 2006 when Timberlake dropped "Sexy Back."
At the time, Prince joked that sexy never left ... and Timberlake responded with a diss verse in "Give It To Me" in which he said to Prince, "Don't hate on me just because you didn't come up with it."
Timberlake later pulled a stunt where he lowered the mic for Prince to mock his height at the Golden Globes.
Sinbad called Timberlake a "punk ass" for the performance -- and seems to want Timberlake to apologize.
Remember, the world lost Prince (and A LOT of other people) last year -- which left tons of folks shook. But, the fallen stars of 2017 might've been just as earth-shattering.
Take a look back at who we've lost in Hollywood this year ... RIP.
London's O2 arena has been transformed into a Prince museum with hundreds of his belongings on display, including some of his most iconic outfits.
Prince's sister, Tyka Nelson, helped curate the My Name Is Prince exhibition. Most of the items were flown in from from Paisley Park, the Purple One's compound in Minnesota.
The exhibit is lined with everything from guitars, clothes and liner notes from several different times in Prince's life, including the "Purple Rain" era. The O2 is a special place for Prince -- he played a record-breaking 21 sold-out nights there in 2007.
Prince was a perfectionist and it's evident in the handwritten edits he made to "Purple Rain" and lyrics for songs which hit the auction block for a hefty price.
Some 200 Prince-related items are up for bidding via RR Auction including the 9 pages of notes Prince made on his epic 1984 opus which RR thinks will go for more than $12k!!!
They're pretty cool ... you can see where Prince changed and added things to the original screenplay: "1. Glove box opens, Jerome fingers camisole, hands it back 2 Morris, 2. Morris takes it. Uh, 1 more thing here's a little something ..." and so on.
Some other Prince items include:
-- Yellow boots he wore onstage from '86-'92 ... $12k -- "The Ladder" handwritten lyrics ... $8k -- Lace crop top .... $3k -- His Parade Tour tambourine ... $1.5k -- "Camille" Advance Pressing ... $4k -- Prince's 1980 Rick James tour all access pass ... $800
Prince's former sound engineer is claiming victory over the estate in their battle over song rights, at the same time the engineer made an 8-figure offer to own Prince's enormously valuable music vault.
George Boxill claims the late singer gave him the masters and the rights to a number of Prince's published songs, which Boxill also claims he co-wrote.
The songs have been the subject of prolonged litigation, but Boxill says the estate recently admitted in open court he did indeed have the right to release the tracks and profit from them. This is a dramatic turn, since the estate actually got an injunction that derailed Boxill from releasing all but one song. Boxill is aggressively trying to get the injunction overturned.
Now here's where it gets good. Sources connected to Boxill tell TMZ, Boxill and his music label, RMA, recently made a $10 million offer to the cash-strapped estate for the entire vault of unreleased music, but our sources say they were turned down flat.
There were reports Jay-Z offered $40 mil but we're told it was way less and was for the entire catalog. Universal actually made a $31 mil offer for the entire catalog but the deal fell apart.
Prince's estate denies saying Boxill has any rights to Prince's music ... and adds, "After Prince passed away, Mr. Boxill began treating the recordings as his property, and used them for his own benefit at the expense of the Prince Estate."
Maya Rudolph tipped her hat to Prince Thursday night with her cover band, Princess ... the last night of back-to-back sold-out shows honoring the Purple One's 59th birthday.
The 'SNL' vet performed at the Teragram Ballroom in L.A., and her old co-star, Fred Armisen, sat in on drums for "Darling Nikki", "Nasty Girl" and "Purple Rain."
Even Prince had said he was a fan of Maya's group ... easy to see why.
If you know what I'm singing about up here, c'mon, raise your hand!
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
Prince's estate has just been ordered to put $1 million where its mouth is .... if it wants to keep Prince's unreleased music off the market.
A judge just extended a restraining order that blocks the release of the "Deliverance" EP by producer George Ian Boxill, who insists he has the right to release the tunes.
The music still can't be released, but there will eventually be a trial to determine if Boxill had the right to put out the music. The judge wants the estate to post a $1 MILLION bond which will go to Boxill if he ends up winning the trial. That money will cover at least a portion of his losses.
As for the one song that Boxill released ... the judge did not try and unscramble that egg. People who bought it get a pass.
Prince's estate wants to get into the reality show biz, and that's why it went to war to shut down the release of a new album on the anniversary of his death.
Sources close to Prince's heirs tell us the reality show, featuring family members, is in the works right now, and will focus on how their lives have changed since he died.
We're told the family's fighting George Ian Boxill, the producer of the "Deliverance" EP, to keep the music under wraps ... so they can debut it on the show. So, the good news is ... there's still hope the music will see the light of day. The question is when?
We're told the reality show is still in early development. They have a production company on board, but no deal to air yet.
Meanwhile, the court has ordered Boxill to turn over the music to the estate, but he's still fighting that.
It's as if Prince never left his former crib -- his magic touch is all over the place and it can be yours for a VERY shiny penny.
The Purple One's former Toronto pad is back on the market for $13,186,500. And talk about a huge jump in market value -- the house was listed at just under $9.5 mil 2 years ago.
The 14,500 square foot compound has subtle -- and not so subtle -- reminders that Prince once lived there from 2001 to 2006 when he was married to Manuela Testolini.
From the purple carpet in the basement to his stamps on dining room doors and the iron-type desk where he wrote and read, there's constant reminders of his revering presence.
We're told the seller yanked the listing shortly after the singer's death because the seller didn't want to make it look like he was capitalizing on Prince's passing.
And how's this for a bonus: the lucky buyer will live in the same neighborhood as one of Drake's.
Victor Brewda of Forest Hill Real Estate and Barry Cohen of RE/MAX are repping the seller.
Prince absolutely wanted his mountain of unreleased music to be heard after his death ... this according to his friend and longtime protege, Shelby J.
Shelby told us -- on the first anniversary of Prince's death -- she distinctly remembers talking to him about the legendary vault of music he'd recorded ... some even with her. She says Prince was very clear about his wishes.
Prince's estate got a restraining order against the producer who tried to release a 5-track EP of previously unreleased tracks. But according to Shelby -- who worked with Prince for 10 years -- he'd be on board with "Deliverance," and much more, going public.
The first anniversary of Prince's death is marked by a couple of his favorite things -- new music, and his fans.
Fans gathered at Paisley Park, Prince's home and studio, on Thursday night as part of Celebration 2017 -- 4 days of concerts honoring the legend who died a year ago today. Huge bouquets of purple balloons flew outside the event.
And there's this ... Morris Day -- lead singer of The Time and Prince's nemesis in "Purple Rain" -- released a new song in his honor ... "Over That Rainbow."
Morris told Rolling Stone the last time he saw Prince, "I thought maybe something wasn't right. I thought, he looked thin, even though he always looks fragile. After he passed away, I just wondered if he knew something that he wasn't telling me. I just felt like he knew. Like he knew that something wasn't right."
8/21/24
