Grammy Awards

Behind this mashed-up pic is a St. Louis native who recently celebrated her birthday. She's got a big heart, and she's here to show you just "What Lovers Do!" Put your celeb knowledge to the test, and see if you can guess this scrambled star!

This sizzlin' celeb is hitting the stage for this weekend's Camp Flog Gnaw music festival. Yes, she owned the stage earlier this year on "Saturday Night Live," but she's also written music for music hotshots like Rihanna and Beyoncé.

"I might kill my ex, not the best idea."

Detrás de esta foto se encuentra una nativa de St. Louis que recientemente celebró su cumpleaños, tiene un gran corazón y está aquí para mostrarte "¡lo que hacen los enamorados!". ¡A ver si adivinas quién es!

Este fin de semana, esta celebridad se subirá al escenario del festival de música Camp Flog Gnaw. Fue la dueña del escenario a principios de este año en "Saturday Night Live", pero también ha escrito música para estrellas como Rihanna y Beyoncé.

"Podría matar a mi ex, pero no es la mejor idea".

Chris Brown will get the chance for competitive revenge against Robert Glasper -- the Recording Academy announced noms for the 66th annual Grammy Awards, and both artists are up for Best R&B Performance!

Last year's winner Muni Long did the honors Friday morning ... revealing Chris' "Summer Too Hot" and Robert's "Back To Love" (feat. SiR and Alex Isley) would be facing off for Grammy gold.

If you recall, CB totally blew his top in February when Robert beat him out for Best R&B Album ... basically writing him off as a nobody before actually doing his homework on RG's legacy.

Rob told TMZ Hip Hop that Breezy's disses were no sweat off his brow, and he would still be down to collaborate with him, despite the poor sportsmanship.

Chris just dropped his new album "11:11" on Friday with a robust 22 tracks, including the nominated one, "Summer Too Hot." So, it appears the game is still on!!!

Music released between Oct. 1, 2022 and Sept. 15, 2023 was considered -- and neither Chris nor Rob is automatic to win the category.

Victoria Monet's ballad "How Does It Make You Feel," Coco Jones' breakout smash "ICU" and clear favorite SZA's "Kill Bill" are also up for the award.

DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince reunited on stage for the first time in years last night in L.A. for the Grammys ... a full-circle moment for the legendary pair!!!

The dynamic duo performed a rendition of hits -- "Brand New Funk," "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," and "Summertime" -- inside YouTube Theater in Inglewood as part of the Questlove-co-produced "Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop" special.

Will was reportedly taping "Bad Boys 4" when Quest tried to get him for the Grammys' celebration of hip hop's milestone birthday during the award show back in February -- but his hometown brethren pulled through this time around!!!

The Fresh Prince was decked out in a Phillies jumpsuit and allowed his world-famous DJ to showcase his skills on the wheels of steel -- much to all the rappers' delight in the audience.

Flavor Flav couldn't contain his excitement and surprised Will on stage with a bear hug as he was finishing up his "Summertime" performance ... and was soon followed by DJ D-Nice, Chance The Rapper and tons of other giants of hip hop!!!

Will and Jazzy Jeff won the first Grammy presented for Best Rap Performance with 1988's "Parents Don't Understand," and were also the first hip hop act to perform at the awards.

The special is set to air on Paramount+ in December and also features Queen Latifah, E-40, Rakim, Latto, Big Daddy Kane, DJ Quik, Too Short, Remy Ma, YG, GloRilla, Gunna and many more.

Jason Aldean's song, "Try That In a Small Town," might've been a hit, objectively, but it sure isn't worthy of any real accolades, including Grammys -- and Shooter Jennings isn't afraid to say it.

The singer-songwriter lived up to his name Thursday when we got him at LAX, 'cause the dude gave it to us straight when we asked if JA's controversial track should be considered for a prestigious golden statuette next year.

With Grammy nomination announcements just around the corner -- next Friday, to be exact -- Shooter told us quite clearly. 'Try That' shouldn't be in the mix, whatsoever.

Give it a watch for yourself, 'cause it's pretty interesting -- SJ's rationale has nothing to do with the politics of the song, but more so ... on the substance, or lack thereof in songwriting.

BTW, Aldean is not one of the 4 songwriters credited on the track.

Shooter -- son of country legend Waylon Jennings -- says he doesn't find Jason's song to be all that compelling in terms of lyrics or even music, and suggests it's a shallow message-anthem lacking artistry ... and certainly isn't deserving of recognition from the Recording Academy.

Even on the streaming front, he's dubious, saying he suspects 'Try That' wasn't as successful as the charts seem to indicate.

Nas and Hit-Boy just released their "Magic 2" album back in July, but they've decided to complete the trifecta for Virgo Season.

On Tuesday, Nas revealed Part 3 would be released this Thursday, which coincides with his 50th birthday.

The upcoming album will mark #17 for Nas and his 6th overall produced by Hit-Boy ... a working relationship jump-started after they won the 2021 Grammy for Best Rap Album.

Nas is dubbing the release "The Finale" which waves the flag on their prolific run ... but HB's already begun work on his next ring of projects.

We recently caught up with him and he revealed he's working on his father Big Hit's solo album and he just got tapped to produce on Jennifer Lopez's comeback as well.

Drake and The Weeknd already don't rock with the Grammys, so the possibility of their unauthorized AI collaboration winning an award likely won't mend any fences.

Still, that's the scenario Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. is floating when it comes to the controversial "Heart on My Sleeve" -- the AI-generated track that surfaced in April featuring faux vocals from the Canadian megastars, but convincing enough to be a hit.

Ghostwriter -- the anonymous human creator behind the track -- submitted it for both Song of The Year and Best Rap Song for the 66th Grammy Awards next year.

Mason tells the New York Times he was impressed with "Heart on My Sleeve" as it opened up possibilities for their business and declared it suitable for nomination ... "As far as the creative side, it's absolutely eligible because it was written by a human."

If Ghostwriter earned just a nomination, it could spearhead the next evolution of artists: human songwriters who use other people's artificially-generated voices!

Drake and Weeknd's record label Universal Music Group doesn't share Mason's enthusiasm. When the track was released, the label had it pulled from DSPs ... leaving it to lurk in the internet's dark recesses. This Grammy development offers the song, and others like it, a new light.

The Weeknd and Drake have been boycotting the Grammys for years, going as far as to withdraw nominations and refuse to submit heir own music.

On the other hand, Ghostwriter isn't letting up off the digital throttle in the wake of his new career strides.

He released a new AI concoction Wednesday titled "Whiplash," featuring CPU-generated soundalikes for Travis Scott and 21 Savage -- 2 more artists to piss off, but also another possible path to the Grammys!!!

For more viral news, tune in to the TMZ Verified Podcast. Dropping every Thursday on all podcast platforms.

Things are heating up for Nelly again, 'cause the dude's about to get a helluva lot richer after selling the rights to half of the music he's cranked out ... including his biggest hits.

Sources close to the rapper tell TMZ ... Nelly secured a $50 million deal for 50% ownership over his entire catalog -- which includes 8 albums and a ton of #1 singles that helped define pop culture in the 2000s.

We're told Nelly is teaming up with a company called HarbourView Equity Partners for this, which is forking over the dough to lock up some of his best-known songs ... such as, "Ride Wit Me," "Dilemma" and of course, "Hot in Herre." Obviously they're getting more than just that ... but those tracks are, by and large, the ones Nelly's perhaps best-known for.

In fact, a couple of these songs won him Grammys -- he snagged a statuette in 2003 for "Dilemma" (Best Rap/Sung Performance) and another that same year for "Hot in Herre" (Best Male Rap Solo Performance). He has another Grammy to his name for "Shake Ya Tailfeather."

No word yet on which parts of Nelly's catalog -- besides the above-mentioned singles -- now belong to HarbourView ... but considering the wide range of tunes he has under his belt ... you gotta figure there's more goodies in the vault that they'll now have a claim to.

It's a lot of money, obviously -- so it's great news for Nelly. Interestingly enough, things are going swimmingly for Nelly in other departments of his life ... including his business ventures, like his alcohol brand, MoShine.

Plus, he's not even done making music at this point in his career ... the guy produced a full-on country album, "Heartland," in 2021 -- and we're hearing part 2's on the horizon as well.

Cynthia Weil, one of the most prolific and successful songwriters of all time, has died ... TMZ has learned.

Cynthia's daughter, Dr. Jenn Mann, tells TMZ ... "My mother, Cynthia Weil, was the greatest mother, grandmother and wife our family could ever ask for. She was my best friend, confidant, and my partner in crime and an idol and trailblazer for women in music."

Jenn says her mother, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, passed on Thursday night.

Cynthia's catalog is eyepopping ... The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin," Dolly Parton's "Here You Come Again," The Drifters' and George Benson's "On Broadway," The Crystals' "Uptown," The Righteous Brothers' "You're My Soul and Inspiration," The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of this Place."

The list just keeps going, with Paul Revere & the Raiders' "Kicks," The Ronettes' "Walking in the Rain," Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire," which Kanye West sampled for his debut solo single, "Through the Wire" ... and that's a VERY short list of the hits she wrote.

Cynthia's writing partner for many of her hits was her husband, Barry Mann. They were married for 62 years.

They were nominated for an Academy Award and won 2 Grammys for Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram's "Somewhere Out There" from Steven Spielberg's "An American Tail."

She and Barry received the first-ever National Academy of Songwriters Life Achievement Award.

In her early years, Cynthia was an actress, singer and dancer and became a protégé of Tin Pan Alley songwriter Frank Loesser.

Cynthia and Barry had massive hits in the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s.

She worked with other collaborators to produce hits like "Running With The Night" and "Love Will Conquer All" with Lionel Richie. She also worked with David Foster for the soundtrack to "St. Elmo's Fire," including the hit, "For Just a Moment." And then, there's Peabo Bryson's "If Ever You're In My Arms Again,” and "He's So Shy" by The Pointer Sisters.

BTW ... "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" was the most played song of the 20th Century!

Cynthia received 112 pop, country and R&B awards from BMI.

Cynthia and Barry produced another big hit ... their daughter, Jenn Mann, AKA Dr. Jenn, a psychotherapist, author, and host of VH1's "Couple's Therapy." Jenn and her fiance Eric Schiffer were by Cynthia's side when she passed.

The family adds, "Cynthia Weil's Grammy award winning lyrics touched the hearts and souls of hundreds of millions of people around the world, making her one of the most iconic songwriters of the 20th Century. Her husband, Barry Mann, says, "I'm a lucky man. I had two for one, my wife and one of the greatest songwriters in the world, my soul and inspiration."

Cynthia was 82.

American musician Jason Mraz was in his early 20s when he rose to fame... with his talented voice and stellar guitar-playing skills to back it all up! After the release of his 2002 debut album, "Waiting for My Rocket to Come" ... Mraz's music career would become one to reckon with!

The talented singer has quite the list of accolades, including two Grammy wins for his singles "Make It Mine" and "Lucky" featuring Colbie Caillat. His sing-along tunes, like "I'm Yours" held a record spot on the Billboard Hot 100 list, remaining there for 76 weeks back in 2008.

Grammy-winner Robert Glasper is thankful for Chris Brown's temper tantrum about this year's Grammy ceremony ... mainly because the controversy helped line his pockets!!!

We caught up with Rob at LAX, where he told us he's still raking in the residuals from his "Black Radio III" album.

If you remember, the project took home the "Best R&B Album" Grammy in February -- and Chris cast a bigger spotlight on Robert's win with a sore loser reaction ... asking his 130 million+ followers "Who The F*CK is Robert Glasper?"

Rob eventually got an apology from Chris, but even better than that -- he sold the negative question on t-shirts, which he says earned him enough to buy a really nice car.

Our only question now is ... are we talking a Bentley or a very brand-new Buick?!!

He also says Chris' viral outburst scored him around 20,000 new followers and several musicians flooded his DMs hoping to collaborate.

LL Cool J is pleading no contest in the case of allegedly laughing at Jay-Z's freestyles when the latter was in high school ... a legend LL doesn't exactly recall happening.

At any rate, the Rock The Bells creator suspects his long-ago mocking of Jay could be the reason he's never been invited to the Roc Nation brunch!!!

LL was being quizzed inside "Big Boy's Neighborhood" about some of his iconic career mysteries when the topic of battling Jay-Z came up.

While LL can't remember teasing a young Jay, he doesn't see the big deal, because ... well, it was freakin' high school after all.

Despite his hazy memory, LL knows for a fact he's never been invited to the yearly Grammy weekend shindig, and now he's wondering if his wisecracks have anything to do with it.

Jay actually remembered things slightly differently in a 2003 interview with Sway Calloway. He says he confronted LL outside a club, not in a high school hallway, and he didn't hint at losing the battle either.

The two also didn't exactly see eye to eye during Jay's short stint as Def Jam President in the mid-2000s ... which also coincided with LL's exit from the label.

Gordon Lightfoot, a folk music and soft rock icon of the 1970s, is dead ... according to his publicist.

Gordon, best known for his hit, "If You Could Read My Mind," passed away Monday evening in Toronto, where he'd been hospitalized. His publicist, Victoria Lord, did not say why he was getting medical treatment or release a cause of death.

The folk singer and songwriter became a Canadian national treasure, but also scored big hits throughout the '70s on the U.S. Billboard charts -- like 'Read My Mind,' "Sundown" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

Lightfoot was a 4-time Grammy nominee, and he's been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, as well as the Canadian Music HOF.

He had a rep for being a fitness nut and had remained active on the road ... touring the U.S. and Canada for years before the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to take a break.

In fact, he was still touring earlier this year, until an announcement just a few weeks ago that he was canceling all remaining dates due to an unannounced "health-related" issue.

He's survived by his 6 children and his wife Kim Hasse, to whom he's been married since 2014.

Gordon was 84.

Canadian singer Nelly Furtado was 21 years old when she stormed into the millennium -- topping the music charts -- with hit songs "I'm Like a Bird" and "Turn Off the Light" back in 2000.

Not only did her 2000 album "Whoa, Nelly!" make her one to reckon with in the music biz, but she also scored herself a Grammy. Furtado went on to have success in the mid-2000s with her third studio album "Loose" which featured bops like "Promiscuous" and "Maneater."

It's been a minute since Furtado has been in front of the mic, but she recently shared some studio selfies ... new music, who this?!

"And I say follow me follow me follow me down down down down!"

American R&B group 112 made waves in the music world with the hit song "Peaches & Cream" back in 2001. The group originally consisted of Daron Jones, Michael Keith, Quinnes "Q" Parker and Marvin Scandrick aka "Slim."

"Peaches & Cream" -- one of their biggest hits -- topped the music charts and scored a Grammy nomination. The group's other popular songs include "Cupid" and "Only You."

Throughout their career, 112 has collabed with some of music's hottest stars including Whitney Houston, P. Diddy and Janet Jackson.

Today, both Mike and Slim continuing to performing and tour as 112, giving stellar performances to all their fans.

Ben Affleck is clearing the air on what he says is a widely held misconception -- that he's totally miserable most of the time ... even when he's pretty damn happy.

Ben was on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Tuesday to promote his new movie "Air," and the guys chatted about a number of things, including Ben's RBF ... y'know the thing he went viral for at this year's Grammys. You'll recall, he looked very unamused as his wife Jennifer Lopez danced alongside him.

Now, Ben cleaned it up a bit for Kimmel, instead of "resting bitch face" ... he said, "I have a very unhappy-looking resting face."

The guys joked Ben's face played a key role during a Christmas party Ben and Jen threw. They'd invited Jimmy and his wife, but as JK put it, "It did seem like you weren't quite as psyched about the party as everybody else".

Ben then tried to address the issue once and for all ... by showing a range of emotions on his face.

Amused and content looks a lot more like pissed off and I'd rather die than be here.

Hey, he's admitting it, but BA says don't blame him ... "That's how God made me, you don't have to punish me for it!"

Of course, Ben and JLo recently attended the "Air" premiere ... and the two looked happy as ever together, as they locked lips and took photos.