Music

Talk about a complete 180 for the National Anthem performance at this year's NBA All-Star Game ... sorry, Fergie. Anthony Hamilton took the reigns Sunday to do his own rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," and he absolutely killed it ... even with a slowed-down version -- unlike his predecessor. The soul singer took his time and hit every note he needed to . . . and the crowd seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. Even more telling . . . no NBA players were laughing. You'll recall . . . Fergie had guys like Draymond Green and other giggling on the court. Fergie eventually came out and apologized for her performance after it was roasted by just about everyone, saying she tried her best. No question ... Anthony's got Fergie beat. But the real question now is, who did better ... AH or Marvin Gaye??? In case you didn't know, MG belted out what many consider to be the best rendition of the National Anthem during the 1983 NBA All-Star Game. Now, Anthony's performance is being exalted as possibly even better than that gem. It's a tough one, but they're definitely in a league of their own. (TMZ)

Grammy winner H.E.R. plays intimate performance in Soho. Straight off a Grammy win, H.E.R. played at an intimate VIP performance in Soho -- to celebrate Los Angeles brand ModCloth's new NYC flagship shop. The California native, born Gabriella "Gabi" Wilson, was signed at the age of 14 to RCA, and made her record debut in 2016 with the H.E.R. persona, before two recent Grammy wins for Best R&B album and Best R&B performance. H.E.R., now 21, performed "Hard Place" during the Grammy telecast, wearing her signature sunglasses. "Orange Is the New Black" and "Russian Doll" actress Dascha Polanco was also spotted at the show at Public Arts for just 100 guests. (PageSix)

"I hope I don't suck, and if I do, I hope she doesn't see it," Clarson added with a laugh, in a final note to the audience. Following the stirring rendition of the track, Clarkson immediately apologized for making a slight mistake during the number. "I messed that one verse up. I like that my favorite part is 'keeping it so hard core,' so I just sang it too early, but it's my favorite part," she told the crowd. "But thank you for clapping," she added, before taking a sip of red wine. Clarkson kicked off her Meaning of Life Tour last month, and every night of the tour she streams a webisode of Minute and a Glass of Wine on Facebook Live, in an effort to connect with fans who might not be able to make it to see her in concert. Of course, this isn't the first time fans have delighted at a surprise performance of "Shallow." Cooper joined Gaga onstage to sing the track while attending her new Las Vegas residency show last month, marking the first time the pair had ever performed the song live -- and they are set to return to the stage together again at the 2019 Academy Awards later this month, where they'll also be singing the track. "It's terrifying, absolutely," Cooper recently told Extra of singing live at the Oscars. "I was like, 'Why? I must have some sort of death wish.'" However, the star went on to note that he did have a "wonderful" time singing the duet with Gaga in Las Vegas. The hit tune has already won best song at the 2019 Critics Choice Awards, best original song at the 2019 Golden Globes, as well as two Grammy Awards. (People)

Sorry, what?! Ja Rule says Fyre Festival 2.0 is happening. We're scared. It was the VIP festival that promised to be "the cultural event of the decade," a Bahamian Coachella with bikini-clad supermodels and A-list performers set against a backdrop of white sand. But in reality, when a group of Instagram influencers, bloggers and socialites descended on a luxury island in April 2017, they were greeted by a building site with shelters that resembled a humanitarian disaster camp. The social media influencers ended up stranded, homeless and hungry, real-time tweeting about the epic scale deception they had fallen victim to. Meanwhile, social media erupted with the hashtag #FyreFestival, mocking the privileged millennials for getting what they deserved. Founded by entrepreneur Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule, the pair infamously declared the multi-million-pound music event would see guests "living like movie stars, partying like rock stars, and fucking like porn stars!" Whether McFarland is a scammer of the highest order, or was simply delusional that he could pull off the event in the first place is now the subject of the new documentary, FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, released on Netflix and literally everyone watched it (if you didn't, we seriously suggest it for your next duvet day). While McFarland was sentenced to six years in a federal penitentiary for defrauding investors out of $24.7 million, co-founder Ja Rule is keen to launch Fyre Festival 2.0. Sorry, what? Speaking to TMZ about the infamous festival, the music mogul said: "I'm not ashamed of Fyre at all. Because man, the idea, it was brilliant. It was fucking beyond brilliant ... It was amazing, but it wasn't what I dreamed it of being, and what I envisioned of it being, and what I wanted it to be. It wasn't done properly. "It's not funny to me, It's heartbreaking to me. It's something that I wanted to be special and amazing, it didn't turn out that way. In the midst of chaos, there's opportunity. It [Fyre] is the most iconic festival that never was. I have plans to create the iconic festival, but you didn't hear that from me." We're already pumped for the second Netflix documentary. Created by filmmaker Chris Smith, the documentary gives a "first-hand look into the disastrous crash of Fyre as told by the organizers themselves," exploring the real-life events of the rise-and-fall music festival that left influencers without basic needs and exploited local residents who are still to this day waiting for pay. The "serial fraudster" McFarland never makes an appearance in the documentary, as Smith explains that he demanded a fee of $125,000 for an interview. In October 2018, he was sentenced to six years in a federal penitentiary for defrauding investors out of $24.7 million. (British Glamour)

Broadway Shows go on After Manhole Fires Force Theater Evacuation. Broadway shows including Jersey Boys and Avenue Q were resuming Sunday after manhole fires spurred the evacuation of a theater complex while performances were under way Saturday night. Three windows in the New World Stages complex cracked near the manhole blast and were being replaced Sunday, and all its shows were set to play as scheduled, according to a representative for the company that runs the complex. "All is well at New World Stages this morning," Michael Coco, of the Shubert Organization, said in an email. Flames shot into the air from West 50th Street near Eighth Avenue around 8 p.m. Saturday, photos posted on social media showed. Theatergoers described hearing bangs and smelling smoke. No injuries were reported, but New World Stages was evacuated as a precaution, canceling shows that also included "The Play That Goes Wrong," ''Puffs" and "A Spirited History of Drinking." There were no power outages, as secondary electrical cables kicked in when the primary ones were damaged, said Philip O'Brien, a spokesman for utility Con Edison. The company was working Sunday on repairs. O'Brien said the cause of the fires yet hadn't been determined. Manhole blazes and explosions happen periodically in New York City during winter, when melting snow and ice laden with road salt sometimes seeps into the underground electrical system. (Billboard)

Ariana Grande Dominates Charts Down Under. Ariana Grande doubles-up on Australia's charts this week, nabbing the best-selling album and securing a 1-2 on the national singles survey. Grande's new album Thank U, Next (Universal) blasts to No. 1, and all 12 tracks from it are in the Top 50 of the ARIA Singles Chart. Thank U, Next gives the U.S. pop star her fourth No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart after Sweetener (Aug. 2018), Dangerous Woman (May 2016) and My Everything (September 2014). Meanwhile, Sydney rockers Sticky Fingers enjoy a third top 5 album with Yours To Keep (Sureshaker//RKT), which starts at No. 4. Their fourth studio LP, Yours to Keep is the follow-up to Westway (The Glitter & The Slums), which bowed at No. 1 on the national chart in October 2016. There are notable post-Grammys spikes on the Australian albums list this week for Dua Lipa and Cardi B. Lipa sees her self-titled debut WEA/Warner return to the chart at No. 13 following the British singer's Grammy win for best new talent. Dua Lipa debuted on the tally in June 2017 and peaked at No. 8 in April 2018. And after becoming the first female solo artist to win best rap album, Cardi B's debut Invasion Of Privacy (Atlantic/Warner) leaps 45 26 on this week's frame. The week, however, belongs to Ariana Grande who collected her first Grammy, for best pop vocal album (Sweetener), does the chart double in the U.K. and rules the Billboard 200 with the biggest streaming week ever for a pop set. She's now the undisputed champion of the ARIA Singles Chart, which she rules for a fourth successive week with 7 Rings while her new release Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored opens at No. 2. Bored is one of nine Thank U, Next tracks to impact the chart on debut this week. Finally, Khalid earns his first fresh entry on the chart this year with "Talk" (RCA/Sony), new at No. 24, while The Chainsmokers' "Who Do You Love" (Columbia/Sony) featuring 5 Seconds of Summer opens at No. 28. (Billboard)

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