Music

Noah Cyrus and Boyfriend Lil Xan Release New Song "Live or Die." Lil Xan and Noah Cyrus aren't just boyfriend and girlfriend -- they're also musical collaborators. The couple dropped their new track "Live or Die" on Monday. "hey babe we have a song out togethheerrrr now," the younger sister of Miley Cyrus recently wrote on Instagram. The duo released the song rather quickly. According to her Instagram account, Noah and Lil Xan wrote the song and decided to share it with the world in just a week and a half. "This song is so special to us, " she wrote. "Out errywhere now." The two seem to reference their romance in the lyrics. "When you lay by my side, I see the whole world through your eyes," she sings. "Ride or die, you and I." News of Noah and Lil Xan's relationship broke earlier this month. However, the rapper actually started pursuing the singer at the beginning of the year. While attending the 2018 Teen Choice Awards, Noah revealed Lil Xan sent her a direct message on social media back in February. She just didn't see the message until later on. She then followed him back and the rest, as they say, is history. Noah had also hinted at a possible collaboration at the time. So, does the star's famous family approve of her new beau? "My family wants whatever makes me happy," she told E! News, "and I'm, like, so happy." (Eonline)

Jennifer Lopez hosting the hottest VMAs party in town. Jennifer Lopez will celebrate receiving the VMAs' coveted Vanguard Award in a big way. We hear the songstress is set to host "the hottest VMAs afterparty in town," with Cardi B, Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes all rumored to attend. The soiree will take place in downtown New York following Monday night's show at Radio City Music Hall. We're told the bash is a "celebration of this monumental award and moment in her career." Lopez, 47, is slated to be honored with the MTV Video Music Awards' Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, celebrating her two-decade career in the music biz. She's also scheduled to perform at the show. We hear that Lopez's beau Alex Rodriguez will join her for her big night. Past recipients of the Vanguard Award include Madonna and Beyonce. (PageSix)

Don't expect Cardi B to make a triumphant return to rap at the VMAs Monday, 'cause her appearance won't include a performance ... TMZ has learned. Sources connected to the production tell us Cardi will in fact open the VMAs Monday as has been announced, but she won't be rockin' the mic for MTV. We're told she will either do a monologue or partake in some sort of skit instead. Many speculated the show would mark Cardi's first musical performance birth to baby Kulture ... but it just ain't happening. Speaking of Kulture ... we're told she won't be making the trek to the show with mom either. It's unclear whether or not Cardi's gig will be in the flesh or a pre-taped segment ... but one thing's for sure, fans will finally get their long overdue Cardi fix. (TMZ)

Nicki Minaj Calls Out Spotify, Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner Over Album Promotion. Nicki Minaj is not pleased with the promotion of her latest album, Queen. On Sunday, Billboard reported that Travis Scott's album, Astroworld, held the top spot on the Billboard 200 charts this week, with Minaj's Queen debuting at No. 2. Then, around the same time the report was published, Minaj took to social media to share her thoughts on her album sales and how Kylie Jenner helped promote her beau Scott's album and tour. Taking to Twitter, Minaj shared a screenshot of Jenner's Instagram post, which said that she and baby Stormi Webster are "ready" for Scott's tour, sharing a link to buy his tour merch and album. "Travis sold over 50K of these. With no requirement of redeeming the album! With no dates for a tour, etc. I spoke to him. He knows he doesn't have the #1 album this week," Minaj tweeted along with the screenshot. "I love my fans for the #1 album in AMERICA! I'll explain on #QueenRadio 4 albums in, #1 in 86 countries." She then tweeted, "I put my blood sweat & tears in writing a dope album only for Travis Scott to have Kylie Jenner post a tour pass telling ppl to come see her & Stormi. lol. Im actually laughing. #Queen broke the record of being number 1 in 86 countries. Thank Jesus & thank you to my fans..." Minaj went on to tell her Twitter followers, "I looked at the numbers the Carters, Kanye, Nas, etc. recently did. Travis sold 200K in his first week of clothes alone. I spoke to him last night & he said he's been selling clothes b4 the music. Billboard says they'll change the rules cuz of this, so it should be changed now!" The "Bed" rapper then called out Spotify, writing, "Spotify put Drake's face on every playlist but told me they'd have to teach me a lesson for playing my music 10 mins early on #QueenRadio. Even tho they've been giving away my music for free for years & I am one of the top Spotify artists of all time." "Spotify had to teach me a lesson but rewarded the man who has had an Apple radio show the longest; inadvertently helping the Apple platform the most," she continued. "Oh I can't wait for #QueenRadio on Tuesday. They took away my promotion they had promised for the 1st cpl days b/c of this. #Queen." Minaj then added, "My music went up on Apple so I played it. I assumed it was on Spotify & Tidal at the same time. Spotify said that Apple tweeted fans advising #Queen was up & therefore they had to teach me a lesson. But PRAISE BE TO GOD!!!!!!" After posting the tweets Minaj clarified that "this is sarcasm/dry humor." "People are calling me thinking I'm huffing & puffing," Minaj tweeted. "Omg y'all this is sarcasm/dry humor. Yikes. I'm having the most iconNIC time. Come let me kiss you. Who's coming to the secret show? When people call me & hear me crackin up laughing they seem so puzzled. Loosen up." Minaj, Scott and Jenner are set to attend the 2018 MTV VMAs on Monday evening, where -- according to a seating chart photo, they'll be seated close to each other. (Eonline)

The 14 or so people injured by a tent collapse before a Backstreet Boys concert this weekend are lucky to be alive based on this woman's first-hand account of the accident ... which sounds terrifying. We spoke with Oklahoma resident Rhonda Dunn, who was one of the at least 14 victims injured at the WinStar World Casino and Resort Saturday after an awning fell on people waiting in line. She recounts the moment the tent collapsed ... fighting back tears to do so. According to Rhonda, she was pinned under the structure before some heroic bystanders helped lift enough of it for her to get out. She didn't walk away unscathed though -- Rhonda tells us a doctor told her she'd suffered a compression fracture on her spine. There is a silver lining here -- Rhonda says if/when the Backstreet Boys come back to Thackerville, OK ... she'll be back in line waiting to see them in the front row. (TMZ)

Largest Celia Cruz Exhibition Set for Miami Run in October: Exclusive "Forever CELIA" will encompass six decades of the Cuban musical icon's life, featuring previously un-seen artefacts from her life and career "Forever CELIA," a new exhibition about Celia Cruz, is set to open at Miami's American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora in October, Billboard has learned. "This is the first time the public will be able to see all of Celia's things in one place," says Omer Pardillo-Cid, the executor of The Celia Cruz Estate. A previous large-scale Cruz exhibit was curated by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History with Pardillo's participation.) When Cruz passed away in 2003, Pardillo, who became Cruz's manager when he was in his 20s, took custody of her 200-plus dresses and her shoes and wigs, dozens of awards, photos going back to her childhood in Cuba, and personal items including her first passport and the plane ticket that took her to Kinshasa, Zaire to perform with the Fania All Stars in 1974. The collection also, of course, includes copies of the albums she recorded throughout her career, as well as personal mementos she amassed on her world travels. The show is set to open Oct. 18 at the recently-opened Miami museum, known as The Cuban, which is dedicated to documenting the culture of Cuban exile. "Forever Celia" will be the museum's first major exhibition. The installation will cover six decades of Cruz's career, from her early days with the Sonora Matancera in Cuba to her later years as the world's unchallenged Salsa Queen. In addition to never-before-seen costumes and a celebration of her music through the years, a section of the exhibition will recreate her 1990 visit to Guantanamo Bay, where she performed at the U.S. Naval Base. It was the only time she returned to Cuba after going into exile in 1960. Complementing the celebration of Celia in Miami, "Celia," a new Celia Cruz musical starring the Cuban singer Lucrecia, directed by Gonzalo Rodriguez and produced by Pardillo, will be performed at Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center on Nov. 16 and 17. Tickets are on sale. Pardillo notes that the timing of both the exhibition and the musical honor the music icon in the year of the 15th anniversary of her death. (Billboard)

Pearl Jam Cover David Bowie's 'Rebel Rebel' at Wrigley Field. Pearl Jam fans had plenty of surprises at Saturday night's (Aug. 18) show at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Not only was the band joined by former Chicago Bulls rebounding legend Dennis Rodman at the gig, they also busted out a classic David Bowie cover for the first time ever. The group, known for mixing rock classics into their sets, debuted their take on Bowie's 1974 staple "Rebel Rebel" as a tribute to the Chicago Cubs' 2016 World Series victory, ripping through the song as the Series trophy took a prominent spot just over singer Eddie Vedder's shoulder on the stage. PJ have one more show at Wrigley on Monday night (Aug. 20) before moving on to Boston's Fenway Park for the final shows in their ballpark Home x Away Tour. (Billboard)

Dean Lewis' 'Be Alright' Leaps to No. 1 on Australia's Singles Chart. Dean Lewis, the five-times ARIA Award nominated artist, now has an ARIA chart title to his name. In its seventh week on the ARIA Singles Chart, the Sydney singer and songwriter's "Be Alright" (Island/Universal) rises 2-1 for his first stint at the summit. The platinum-certified "Be Alright" ousts Drake's "In My Feelings" (Republic/Universal) and has topped the local charts of Apple Music, Shazam and iTunes, and reached No. 2 on Spotify. It's just the second track to hit No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart this year after 5 Seconds Of Summer's "Youngblood" (Capitol/EMI), which ruled for eight weeks and currently holds at No. 3. Lewis's career took flight with his 2016 release "Waves," which finished 2017 as the second-best selling Australian track in his homeland (behind Pnau's"Chameleon") and peaked at No. 12 on the weekly chart. It's now four-times platinum certified. "Waves" appeared on the Same Kind of Different EP, which also featured the tracks "Need You Now" (gold) and "Lose My Mind" (platinum). "This is truly unbelievable," Lewis tweeted after "Be Alright" was confirmed as the new No. 1. "I just had a bit of a moment to myself on this rooftop in LA thinking how is this all happening and how glad I am to have all of you along for it all! THANKYOU all so so much!!!" Lewis will take his show on the road this November and December for a homecoming lap, which will visit each of Australia's five capital cities, tickets for which go on sale this Thursday. Also this week, Benny Blanco's "Eastside" (Interscope/Universal), featuring Halsey and Khalid, improves one place to No. 4, a new peak, and Maroon 5's "Girls Like You" (Interscope/Universal) featuring Cardi B slips 4-5, while Disco hit a high note with "High Hopes" (Atlantic/Warner), which vaults 14-7 for the American alternative rock outfit's first ever top 10 on the national singles survey. "High Hopes" eclipses their previous highest peak, No. 12 with "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" from 2006. On the ARIA Albums Chart, Drake's Scorpion returns to No. 1 as Travis Scott's Astroworld (Sony) slips to No. 2, while Nicki Minaj has the week's highest debut with Queen (Universal), new at No. 4. Trippie Redd cracks the Australian charts for the first time with Life's A Trip (Caroline/Universal), the U.S. rapper's debut full-length studio album. Featuring collaborations with Diplo, Travis Scott, Young Thug and others, Life's A Trip starts at No. 14. (Billboard)

Future Proves He's a Trap God With Headlining Set at Billboard Hot 100 Fest. After a thunderstorm ran through the Billboard Hot 100 festival over the weekend, Future decided to shower us with a different kind of blessing: trap music. During his headlining performance on Sunday night (Aug. 19), the rapper transported the venue to his backyard in Atlanta, temporarily making you forget that you were still in the suburbs of Long Island. Future wasted not one minute of his hour-long set, packing just enough hits to make avid rap fans' heads nearly explode with uncontainable excitement. Donning a bubblegum-pink jacket and ripped jeans, he emerged on the main stage to rip into one of his earlier hits -- 2012's "Same Damn Time." Accompanying Future's set was a lively tour DJ and an illuminating cylindrical backdrop that sucked you into his performance like some kind of warped trap version of The Twilight Zone. At one point, the lights glowed in a fitting codeine-colored purple as Future performed his signature DS2 opener, "Thought It Was a Drought." The rapper embodied a "too cool for school" swag throughout the night, almost as if he knew he could drop any track from his massive catalog and the crowd would eat it right up. If so, it definitely worked in his favor because there was not a single low moment. The Atlanta rapper took us to the trap house with "Move That Dope" and "Trap N---a"; the house party down the block with "Mask Off" and "Draco"; and the strip club (preferably Atlanta's King of Diamonds) with "Freak Hoe," "Stick Talk" and "Real Sisters." As if his performance wasn't intense enough, Future proceeded to take his performance to, well, new levels as the haunting chords of "New Level" crept into the speakers. The rapper made up for the lack of an A$AP Ferg appearance by bringing out a slew of dancers who exude bouts of tangible energy. The dancers checked off nearly every viral move that was first born in the south, including "Hit Dem Folks" and BlocBoy JB's "Shoot." One of his dancers even brilliantly replicated the Jordan logo inside the stage's cylinder during Future's performance of What a Time to Be Alive's "Jumpman." Future's closing set continuously fed fans with nonstop hits, even if they were already stuffed from the onslaught of other popular acts through the festival weekend. After an intense performance, we all left the Jones Beach theater thankful that we could officially be part of the rapper's trap reign. (Billboard)

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