Grammy Awards

Ariana Grande is flashing a big thumbs-up over her ex, Pete Davidson, getting together with Kate Beckinsale -- but on the issue of backing out of the Grammys ... zip.

AG was leaving Westwood One Radio Networks late Wednesday night in Culver City and our photog asked if she thought Pete and Kate -- who's 20 years his senior -- make a good couple. It's a lot better than that. Ariana says they're, "So cute!!!"

PD and KB have been hangin' quite a bit lately, and recently left a theater together hand-in-hand. The new pairing doesn't seem to bother Ari one bit ... nothin' but love here.

And, not only for Pete ... you gotta see her interaction with our guy. Ariana introduced us to her mom and some of her pals. She still wasn't down to talk about her Grammys boycott -- reportedly because the show's producers won't let her perform "7 Rings."

But, there was one topic she was dying to discuss -- eats. Late-night eats. We've all been there.

Miley Cyrus and Shawn Mendes are hard at work putting the finishing touches on a new single together ... TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the project tell us the song will drop in the coming weeks ... and is likely to end up as a track on Miley's new album. It's the first time the duo has paired up for any type of collab.

Shawn and Miley fans started to connect the dots that something was up Tuesday night when Miley posted a photo from rehearsals for the Grammys. Cyrus posed in front of some guitars and amps ... and some noticed Shawn's guitar in the background. What's more ... his name appears to be marked on another piece of equipment.

Bebe Rexha needs to hit up an old friend, fashion designer Michael Costello, because he tells us he's got the perfect look to show off her sexy curves at the Grammys ... size 2 dresses be damned!!!

We got Michael, who appeared on "Project Runway," outside his store in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday ... and he shared some of his plans to highlight Bebe's curvy figure at next month's Grammy Awards -- pro bono!

As you know ... Bebe -- who just got her first Grammy nomination -- went NUCLEAR on fashion designers who she claims refused to dress her for the awards show because her figure isn't small enough ... telling them she doesn't want to wear their "f**king dresses" anyway!

Michael, who dressed Beyonce when she picked up 3 Grammys in 2014, says he's totally on board with Bebe and all those other designers can "f**k" off!

Watch ... Michael delivers his pitch to dress Bebe, and says he's only one call away.

Mac Miller's presence will be felt at the Grammy Awards, and not only through his music ... we've learned the late rapper's family will represent Mac at next month's ceremony.

Sources close to Mac's fam tell TMZ ... his parents will attend the awards show and they plan to accept his Grammy for rap album of the year, if their son wins.

As you know ... Mac's album "Swimming" was posthumously nominated for rap album of the year, his first ever Grammy nomination.

He's got some stiff competition in Cardi B ("Invasion of Privacy"), Travis Scott ("Astroworld"), Nipsey Hussle ("Victory Lap") and Pusha T ("Daytona").

Mac's parents live in Pittsburgh, and his mother has been helping carry on her son's legacy with The Mac Miller Circles Fund, which is already approaching $1 million in donations to help kids in his hometown.

We broke the story ... Mac died from an accidental overdose in September. The toxicology report said it was the result of "mixed drug toxicity" from fentanyl and cocaine.

Demi Lovato's got a lot to celebrate these days, not the least of which being her growing romance with Henry Levy.

The singer and the clothing designer hit up Nobu in Malibu Saturday night. Demi just got a Grammy nomination for her song with Christina Aguilera, "Fall in Line" -- and, by all accounts, she's healthy and continuing to recover from her nearly fatal overdose over the summer.

TMZ broke the story ... she and Henry started hanging out in early November. We got a shot of them at Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills ... holding hands and having a great time.

At the time, sources told us they were mostly supporting each other in sobriety, but seems like it's now blossomed into a full-fledged relationship.

Another reason for Mac Miller's fans to celebrate his life and music -- the late rapper just got his first ever Grammy nomination.

The Recording Academy announced Friday morning Mac Miller's "Swimming" is nominated for rap album of the year. The album's got hefty competition ... going up against Cardi B (Invasion of Privacy), Nipsey Hussle (Victory Lap), Pusha T (Daytona) and Travis Scott (Astroworld).

"Swimming" peaked at no. 3 on the Billboard charts when it was released back in August. It returned to the top 10 following his death in September.

TMZ broke the story ... Mac died from an accidental overdose.

"Swimming" got rave reviews, including from Rolling Stone which said Mac revealed "himself to be a sympathetic, even winning presence."

BTW, Mac wasn't the only artist to earn a posthumous nomination. Chris Cornell -- nominated 4 previous times -- is up for best rock performance. Chris died by suicide in May.

Kanye West is gunning for another title ... the new king of rock 'n' roll.

Sources close to West tell us his team at Def Jam submitted Kanye for "Best Rock Song" and "Best Rock Performance" for his song "Freeee (Ghost Town, Pt. 2)" with Kid Cudi for a Grammy. The song is one of 7 from the duo's "Kids See Ghosts" album.

We're told the submissions have already made it through the screening process and were sent out on the first round ballot to voters. If Kanye's submissions snag enough support in the first round, they'll be nominated and up for the awards.

He's got a point ... 'Freeee' sounds like a rock song, loaded with heavy drums and guitars with vocals from Cudi and Ty Dolla $ign.

Our sources say Kanye's also been submitted for "Producer of the Year" -- you'll remember he did 5 albums in 5 weeks -- and his albums with Pusha T (Rap Album) and Teyana Taylor (R&B Album) are up for Grammys as well.

Bottom line -- Kanye could be ... the next Mick Jagger?

Aretha Franklin, known for having one of the greatest voices in music history, and for hits like "Respect," and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" ... died Thursday after a long battle with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Aretha passed away in her Detroit home where she was under hospice care. She'd been in failing health for many months and she was down to 86 pounds. One source told us he was informed more than a week ago that Aretha could go at any time.

She was surrounded by friends and family when she passed. Her family released a statement, saying, "In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart. We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family."

She had appeared incredibly frail in recent years, and rarely performed live. Her most recent appearance was last November for Elton John's AIDS Foundation 25th Anniversary Benefit.

Aretha's career is just incredible. Born in Memphis in 1942, her family eventually relocated to Detroit where she began singing in her father's church. She was such a powerhouse gospel singer, she landed a Columbia record deal in the early '60s.

Her string of chart-topping hits began with her Atlantic Records deal in 1967.

Aretha's achievements in the late '60s were remarkable for any artist, but especially so for a black woman in the midst of the Civil Rights movement. She held the record for the most entries on the Hot 100 list of any female artist for nearly 40 years, only to be dethroned in 2017 by Nicki Minaj.

She won 18 Grammys and was the first woman ever inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Aretha delivered a powerful rendition of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" -- while wearing that unforgettable hat -- at Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration.

Throughout her career, Aretha was known for delivering incredible one-off live performances, including at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors show where she sang 'Natural Woman' in honor of the song's co-writer, Carole King.

The Queen of Soul was 76. She is survived by her 4 sons.

RIP

Quadruple platinum singer Khalid tells TMZ ... Aretha Franklin will be remembered as a strong woman who's accomplished so much -- and will forever be known as the "Queen of Soul."

Remember, there was a controversy about Aretha's royal title a while back -- when Beyonce called Tina Turner the "Queen" at the 2008 Grammys.

Aretha -- who's been called the Queen of Soul since the '60s -- was so pissed at the time, she issued a statement saying, "I am not sure of whose toes I may have stepped on or whose ego I may have bruised between the Grammy writers and Beyonce. However, I dismissed it as a cheap shot for controversy."

Lil Uzi Vert didn't take home a Grammy this year ... but he dominated the bling game by rolling into the show with more than a quarter mil around his neck.

The rapper -- who was nominated for Best New Artist, but lost to Alessia Cara -- went to the Grammys donning a custom 60-carat upside-down cross wrapped in a gold and diamond vine ... hanging from an 80-carat diamond chain.

We're told Lil Uzi reached out to celeb jeweler, Elliot Avianne of Avianne & Co Jewelers, 3 months ago to get it made ... and dropped about $350k on the piece.

We're told it was finished just 3 hours before the show and hand-delivered to him -- just in time for him to walk the red carpet ... and give this hilariously awkward interview.

Logic's live performance of his song "1-800-273-8255" with Alessia Cara and Khalid at the Grammys wasn't just moving ... it probably helped save many lives.

A spokesperson for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline tells TMZ ... in the 2 hours after the rapper performed his hit track -- the title of which is the number to the lifeline -- the national network answered 3 times the typical amount of calls in the 2-hour window.

The NSPL says Logic's performance was "an incredible moment in suicide prevention," and he helped demonstrate worldwide that "healing is happening every day for people in crisis, and that there is help available.”

Quavo's alleged beatdown of a famous jeweler was all over $10,000 ... but it wasn't Quavo's debt to pay, TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Eric the Jeweler -- who cranks out bling for 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and many more hip-hop stars -- tell us Offset is the member of Migos who owes the $10k. Law enforcement sources confirm Eric said exactly that when he reported the fight and robbery of his $30k chain.

We're told Eric reached out to Offset multiple times about settling the debt, but was given the run-around. Then, when he bumped into Quavo early Monday morning at 1Oak, that's allegedly when the fight broke out. The jeweler suffered a swollen cheek, bloody nose and a bump on his head.

TMZ broke the story ... NYPD wants to talk to all the members of Migos and their manager. According to police docs ... Eric was jumped by Quavo and another man.

Still no word from reps for Migos.

Quavo allegedly beat the hell out of a famous jeweler during a Grammys after party at 1Oak in NYC ... TMZ has learned.

The alleged victim, Eric the Jeweler, reported the incident to NYPD on Tuesday ... according to law enforcement sources. We're told Eric and Migos were in the club early Monday morning -- around 4:30 AM -- when smack talk over money Quavo allegedly owes Eric ... turned physical.

Eric told cops he got jumped by Quavo and another man who was partying with the group. Sources in the club tell us the other man was not Offset or Takeoff.

We're told Eric got the hell out of the club with minor injuries to the face, but as he left noticed his $30,000 chain was missing.

Eric's filed a robbery report with cops. He's kind of a big deal in the biz, having made pieces for Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, French Montana and many more.

Sarah Silverman rolled her eyes at PETA for pissing on the puppy gag at the Grammys.

We got the funny lady Tuesday at LAX and asked about PETA bitching that James Corden handed out pups as a consolation prize. PETA thinks it was wrong to put the dogs under bright lights and it sent a bad message that dogs are prizes rather than family members.

The King from "Black Panther" says his Marvel movie is way more than a superhero flick -- it's also going to debunk a bunch of stereotypes about Africa. In other words ... school's in!

We got John Kani, who plays King T'Chaka, and asked if he thinks the highly anticipated film will ease racial tensions in America. His answer was, quite frankly, awesome.

John also weighed in on fashion. Yes, fashion. Not BP's, but Bey's.

He told us Beyonce was channeling the African tradition of getting glammed for any occasion ... when she stepped out in all-black at the Grammys. He also thinks she was supporting the 'BP' cause -- and he's all for it.

Logan Paul has music on the brain after Sunday night's Grammys, but he's also not trying to hide from the heinous footage he posted of a suicide victim ... and the backlash that followed.

We got the YouTube star at LAX, and it was clear he'd been inspired after watching the music awards show because he was spitting random rap rhymes by Cardi B and Lil Uzi Vert into the convo.

Still, Logan seems focused on learning from his mistakes, and teaching other YouTubers to do better.