Fugees rapper Pras Michel had emergency surgery for colon cancer removal on Thursday (Aug. 28), postponing a key court hearing following his conviction on illegal foreign lobbying and conspiracy charges.

Michel was originally due in court Friday (Aug. 29) for a hearing over how much money he must forfeit to the government over the 2023 convictions. But in a filing last month, his lawyers said he had “experienced a significant medical concern” that would prevent him from appearing.

In a statement to Billboard on Monday, Michel’s spokeswoman Erica Dumas revealed why: Doctors had discovered colon cancer in Michel during a routine checkup.

“Pras missed Friday’s sentencing hearing while undergoing emergency surgery for colon cancer removal,” Dumas said. “We stand with him and his family and wish him a full recovery as he addresses this serious health matter.”

The artist is “recovering right now until he is in the clear and focused on spending time with his family ahead of sentencing,” Dumas said, adding, “He still remains hopeful for his future.”

Comprised of Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Michel, the Fugees rose to fame in the 1990s with hits like “Killing Me Softly,” “Ready or Not,” and “Fu-Gee-La.” After splitting up in 1998, the three each had successful solo careers and mostly stayed separate until recent years, when they have attempted multiple reunion tours.

In 2019, Michel was hit with sweeping federal criminal charges over accusations that he funneled money from now-fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low, the mastermind of the 1MDB embezzlement scandal, to Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign. Michel was also accused of trying to squelch a Justice Department investigation into the scheme, and of trying influence an extradition case on behalf of China under the Trump administration.

In April 2023, following a trial that included testimony from actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Michel was convicted on 10 counts including conspiracy, witness tampering and failing to register as an agent of China.

Prosecutors are seeking a decades-long prison sentence, arguing starkly that Michel “betrayed his country for money.” His lawyers have asked for a far lighter sentence of 36 months, which they say would be a “just sentence in this case.” A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

The hearing initially scheduled for Friday was to decide forfeiture — the process of turning over ill-gotten gains after a criminal convictions. The federal government is seeking a whopping $64,923,226 from Pras; his lawyers have called that sum “grossly disproportionate to the offenses of conviction.”

Federal prosecutors consented to the postponement of Friday’s hearing over Michel’s health issues. A new date is scheduled for Oct. 3.

Sabrina Carpenter is rewriting the chilling ending to her Rocky Horror-inspired “Tears” music video.

On Friday (Aug. 29), the 26-year-old pop star released the original version of her haunting “Tears” video, coinciding with the drop of her seventh studio album, Man’s Best Friend.

The nearly five-minute clip follows Carpenter as she recovers from a car accident that appears to have killed her traveling companion. Alone and disoriented, she stumbles upon a creepy, isolated house. Inside, she discovers a world of sex and hedonism, evoking the cult classic horror musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The video culminates with Carpenter ending the life of her presumed-dead lover.

“Wait, no, you died earlier, I thought? It’s a thing, someone has to die every video,” she says, as she throws a stiletto into his chest. “I’m sorry. We’ll always remember you, though.”

On Monday (Sept. 1), Carpenter teased “a new ending” to the “Tears” video on her Instagram Story, sharing a link to the clip on YouTube. In this alternate conclusion, her traveling partner meets yet another grisly fate.

After Carpenter is ejected from the eerie house, she looks up to see the man emerging from the woods. “Babe, I’m so glad you’re okay,” he says, limping and coughing. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Suddenly, lightning strikes as he jitters with sparks and nervous laughter. Carpenter warns him to move aside as a cracking sound approaches. Before he can react, a tree crashes down on him. “I told him to move over,” she says, standing and grabbing her hat.

The video also features Academy Award-nominated actor Coleman Domingo in drag and accompanies Man’s Best Friend, Carpenter’s Jack Antonoff-produced follow-up to 2024’s Short n’ Sweet, which spent four weeks atop the Billboard 200.

Watch Sabrina Carpenter’s “Tears” video — now with a brand-new ending — above.

Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl is already breaking Spotify records weeks ahead of its release.

On Sunday (Aug. 31), the 35-year-old pop icon’s upcoming release became the most pre-saved album Countdown Page in Spotify history. The previous record was held by Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department in 2024. The streaming giant shared the news Monday morning on its official Instagram and X accounts.

Spotify’s Countdown Page for The Life of a Showgirl launched on Aug. 14, accompanied by an exclusive playlist titled And, baby, that’s show business for you, a curated selection of 22 previously released tracks produced by the singer’s longtime collaborators Max Martin and Shellback.

This achievement marks yet another milestone in Swift’s long-standing dominance on Spotify. Over the years, she has shattered numerous streaming records, including becoming the platform’s most-streamed artist of 2024 with more than 26.6 billion global streams.

Swift announced The Life of a Showgirl on Aug. 12, just eight months after wrapping her blockbuster Eras Tour. The surprise reveal came during an appearance on New Heights — the podcast hosted by her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce — where she shared the album’s title in a teaser clip posted to the show’s social media accounts ahead of the full episode’s release.

The Life of a Showgirl, Swift’s 12th studio album, is set to arrive on Oct. 3 and will feature 12 new tracks produced by Max Martin and Shellback.

Her previous album, The Tortured Poets Department, dropped in April 2024 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with the biggest opening week of her career. The project went on to spend 17 nonconsecutive weeks atop the chart and earned Swift her seventh nomination for album of the year at the Grammys.

See Spotify’s announcement of Swift’s latest milestone on Instagram below.

The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” continues to make history.

On Sunday (Aug. 31), Spotify announced on Instagram that the 2020 megahit has officially become the first song in the streaming platform’s history to hit five billion streams. Shortly after, The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) took to his Instagram Story to share the news with his 78 million followers.

The new Spotify record follows another recent honor for the track. Just days earlier, “Blinding Lights” landed No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs of the 21st Century chart, which measures performance on the weekly Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart from the start of 2000 through the end of 2024.

Originally released in November 2019 as the second single from The Weeknd’s fourth studio album, After Hours, “Blinding Lights” dominated the Billboard Hot 100 chart for four weeks and became the first song to remain in the top 10 for an entire year. In November 2021, it made history once again by surpassing Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” to top Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Hot 100 chart.

In January 2024, “Blinding Lights” became the first to reach four billion streams on Spotify.

“I’ll never stop being humbled by anything I create making its way to millions of people let alone billions!” The Weeknd said in an exclusive statement at the time. “I’m so thankful this song makes people feel a way that they keep going back to listen.”

“Blinding Lights” is one of 28 songs by The Weeknd in Spotify’s Billions Club, more than any other artist. He also performed during Spotify’s first-ever Billions Club: Live concert in December.

Check out Spotify’s “Blinding Lights” announcement on Instagram below.

Camila Cabello surprised fans with a piano-ballad rendition of “Torn,” the single that became Natalie Imbruglia’s breakthrough hit on U.S. radio in 1998, at a pair of shows in Australia this week (Aug. 27 and 30).

Melbourne and Sydney, two of the final stops on Cabello’s Yours, C Tour — the C,XOXO singer has a Sept. 14 concert slated for São Paulo, Brazil — were a fitting setting to cover “Torn,” recorded by the Australian-born Imbruglia for her 1997 debut studio album, Left of the Middle. Seated at the piano at both gigs, Cabello channeled the sincerity of Imbruglia’s vocal performance on “Torn, and on Saturday night shared a video of one of her performances on X.

“when in australia… you have to sing torn,” Cabello captioned the clip. “ily natalie imbruglia & ily australia.”

Imbruglia’s “Torn” soared to No. 1 on a trio of Billboard charts (Radio Songs, Pop Airplay and Adult Pop Airplay) in 1998, and peaked at No. 42 on the Hot 100. She was nominated for a Grammy for best female pop vocal performance for “Torn,” but ultimately lost to Celine Dion and her inescapable “My Heart Will Go On.” Though Imbruglia’s take on “Torn” is the one most pop fans know, it was actually a cover for her, too — as the song was first released by the band Ednaswap in 1995.

Imbruglia’s released a total of six albums throughout her career, with 2021’s Firebird being her most recent. She performed under the guise of “Bluebell” on The Masked Singer last year.

Watch Cabello’s live performance of “Torn” below.