Music News

Usher Set to Host and Perform at the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards. It's Ursher, baby. Usher is hosting the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards! A press release obtained by E! News announced Wednesday that the star is set to not only host, but also perform at the award show on Sunday, March 29, in Los Angeles. Other confirmed performers are Lizzo, Halsey and Justin Bieber, with more to be announced. The seventh annual show will be broadcast live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 29 at 8 pm, with the show being tape-played at 10 pm PT. As the "Love In This Club" singer said in a statement about his new hosting gig, "I'm so excited to host the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards and help celebrate the music that I and millions of other music lovers listened to this past year. It'll be like hanging out with old friends." Those friends will include the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards nominees, like Ariana Grande, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, Camila Cabello, Cardi B, Daddy Yankee, Dan + Shay, Drake, Ed Sheeran, El Fantasma, Halsey, J Balvin, Jonas Brothers and Bieber. Other nominees include Khalid, Kygo, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, Luke Combs, Maren Morris, Post Malone, Selena Gomez, SHAED, Shawn Mendes, Snow, Summer Walker and Taylor Swift. Not a bad lineup! Fans of the award show can participate in selecting the winners by partaking in the online voting, which opened on Jan. 8 and close on Monday, March 23 at 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT. They can vote on Twitter or at iHeartRadio.com/awards. Usher's hosting gig comes fresh off the heels of his epic Prince tribute performance at the 2020 Grammys. Joined on stage by the super talented FKA twigs, the star honored the late "Purple Rain" singer with a high-energy medley of his hits like "Little Red Corvette," "When Doves Cry" and "Kiss." For her part, FKA Twigs gave an impressive pole dance on stage before dancing with the "Burn" singer. Here's hoping Usher pulls out all the stops in his iHeartRadio Music Awards performance, just like he did at the Grammys! (Eonline)

Inside Taylor Swift's bad blood with Grammy attorney. The drama over Taylor Swift's decision to bail on a surprise performance at the Grammys is intertwined with her all-out war with Scooter Braun, Page Six has learned. Last week, we reported that Swift was planning to perform her feminist anthem "The Man" at Sunday's awards show. But she decided not to perform, after a former executive alleged that there had been serious sexual misconduct inside the Recording Academy, which runs the Grammys. One of the allegations that caused Swift to not perform was made against the Recording Academy's general counsel, Joel Katz. In fact, we're told that Katz drafted the legal papers that Swift claims have prevented her from performing her own songs live. At the time, Swift called Braun an "incessant, manipulative bully." "[Katz] is at the forefront of sexual-harassment allegations," says a music insider. "There is no way she was going to support that. Taylor is about supporting women." Katz negotiated the sale of Swift's music catalog and of her former record label, Big Machine Label Group, to Braun in June. Ousted Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan mentioned Katz in a legal filing she submitted last week, claiming he had sexually harassed her and attempted to kiss her at a dinner. Katz has denied the incident. Meanwhile, Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich confirmed in a new interview with Variety that Swift was interested in performing at the show. "She had called us and said, 'I really want to do the show' ... One of her representatives called and said, specifically, that she wanted to do the show for me. And then it was not confirmed," he said. "She was never booked. I had her in a rundown. There was a placeholder if it did confirm. But she was never confirmed." Ehrlich added he wasn't allowed to say why she didn't confirm, "but I understood her reasoning, let's just say that." Swift's rep did not comment. (PageSix)

Kelly Ripa Is Looking to Join Shakira's Super Bowl Halftime Show With This Hilarious 'Audition'. Shakira performs live at The O2 Arena on June 11, 2018 in London. The Super Bowl is just days away, which means we're just days away from watching the much-anticipated halftime show featuring Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. For Kelly Ripa, it's never too late for the "Hips Don't Lie" star to add a few backup dancers to her routine. In an amazing video shared to Instagram on Tuesday (Jan. 28), the talk show host busts a move with fitness instructor and choreographer, Anna Kaiser, who has been training with Shakira for the upcoming performance. "Shakira Super Bowl audition, take three," Ripa announces before the duo delve into a high energy dance to Shakira's 2001 smash hit, "Wherever, Whenever." (Billboard)

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