J Balvin took the 2020 Latin Grammy stage on Thursday night (Nov. 19) with a powerful performance of “Rojo.”

The 13-time nominee, who won best urban music album for Colores at the beginning of the night, kicked off his performance with a black-and-white video that highlighted the current global health crisis and social issues in the world.

“My heart is breaking and I pray for the world,” Balvin, wearing an all-white suit, expressed before singing “Rojo” under a large praying-hand statue.

In the midst of his performance, Balvin was joined by a gospel choir and his heart began bleeding.

“Our fears torment us but this is the moment for our bleeding hearts to have meaning again and that we all unite and continue fighting for our dreams and a better future,” he said.

To watch Balvin’s performance, click here.

Wixen Music Publishing is suing short-form video-sharing app Triller for $50 million alleging copyright infringement on more than 1,000 songs.

Wixen claims that Triller has been “willfully infringing” its musical compositions by allowing its users to include them in videos without authorization or compensation, according to the 15-page federal complaint filed U.S. Central District of California Western Division on Tuesday.

Triller’s app, similar to TikTok’s, allows users to create and share short videos that typically include music. Wixen, who administers more than 50,000 songs written and owned by its more than 2,000 clients — Tom Petty, Neil Young and Missy Elliott among them — alleges that many of their compositions are being used in the app without the proper licenses.

Triller has “brazenly disregarded copyright law and committed willful and ongoing copyright infringement,” states the complaint. Triller is “well aware that it needs to negotiate licenses with Wixen and other publishers” to use those works, but has failed to do so, states the lawsuit.

The complaint continues: “Instead of paying Wixen and the songwriters Wixen represents to use their Works, Triller pays ‘social influencers’ substantial sums of money and provides them with Rolls Royces, mansions (with housekeeping), weekly sushi dinners at Nobu, and, in at least one instance, a helicopter.”

After David Israelite, president and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), a trade group to which Wixen belongs, criticized Triller in July about its need to legitimize fully license NMPA members’ songs, Wixen’s complaint says the company was initially encouraged when Triller’s CEO appeared to agree. But when no agreement was reached, Wixen filed this lawsuit.

“Triller could have reached out and negotiated with Wixen to obtain the necessary licenses, as its CEO promised,” states the complaint. “Instead, it chose to brazenly disregard copyright law and commit willful and ongoing copyright infringement. Among the evidence of Triller’s willfulness is that it continued to use, copy, and exploit the Works even after Wixen notified Triller that it had not obtained the proper licenses for the use of the Works.”

Triller’s CEO Mike Lu though firmly disputes those allegations calling Wixen “an ambulance chasing company set up purely to shake down people and companies” in a statement to Billboard.

“Triller has already pulled down the two songs in question which were put up by users, not Triller,” says Lu in the statement. “This is nothing but a baseless shakedown and it won’t work. We look forward to our day in court where hopefully we can stop them from doing this to others who may not have the resources to fight them and give in to their extortionist demands. Instead of taking the easy route and paying their extortion we are fighting this for all those who cannot afford to do so, to help stop these things from happening in our business. It ends here and stops now.”

Wixen is demanding a jury trial and seeking the maximum statutory relief it says it is entitled to of $150,000 per work infringed, for the sum of at least $50.4 million.

To date, Triller has raised $37.5 million, according to Crunchbase, including a $28 million series B round last year to fuel growth aimed at overtaking TikTok. Snoop Dogg, The Weekend, Marshmello and Lil Wayne are all promoted as investors, and it has licensing deals in place with the big three major labels, Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group. In early August the app reported 65 million monthly active users and then in September said it had reached the 100 million milestone — but that figure was contested by former employees, claiming the company had inflated its reach. It has also grown significantly in India, where TikTok and other Chinese-owned apps are banned.

In January 2018, Wixen filed a $1.6 billion lawsuit against Spotify ahead of the company’s initial public offering, alleging the use of tens of thousands of songs without a license and compensation. In December 2018, that lawsuit was privately settled.

The Masked Singer unmasked not one, but two celebrities on Wednesday night (Nov. 18) when the Whatchamacalit and Serpent were sent home.

The Whatchamaclit, a blue creature with luscious blue hair all over was none other than basketball star Lonzo Ball, who began dipping his toes in a rap career in 2018. Panelist Ken Jeong was the only one to correctly guess Ball’s identity.

The Serpent was “Dr. Elvis” Francois, the orthopedic surgery resident who went viral at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to his live performances at hospitals. Nicole Scherzinger guessed the doctor behind the mask.

Throughout the season, Ball performed “Lean Back” by Terror Squad feat. Fat Joe & Remy Ma,  “I Wish” by Skee-Lo and “Moneymaker” by Ludacris feat. Pharrell Williams. Dr. Elvis delivered renditions of “Cool” by the Jonas Brothers, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers and “The Bones” by Maren Morris.

Previously unmasked contestants include Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black (Snow Owls), Bob Saget (Squiggly Monster), Wendy Williams (Lips), Mark Sanchez (Baby Alien), Brian Austin Green (Giraffe), Mickey Rourke (Gremlin) and Busta Rhymes (Dragon).

 

Step aside Giannis Antetokounmpo, Sheck Wes may be the NBA’s next MVP.

The 22-year-old rapper surprised fans on Instagram when he revealed that he has officially entered the NBA Draft, set for Wednesday night (Nov. 18). “Damn… it’s really real , The 2020 NBA DRAFT , all my life I always wanted to follow my passion for music and basketball,” he wrote alongside a series of photos flexing his athletic talent.

“Playing basketball and going to play pro in the @nba is something that I always strived for,” he continued. “Tonight that dream comes true! I want to thank the @nba for their hard work with the growing the game and every team that gave me an opportunity to work out and talk with them . I also want to thank my team and my fans for always being there ! TUNE IN TO THE 2020 NBA DRAFT tonight !!!!”

See his post here.

Sheck’s rap name and government name, Khadimou Rassoul Cheikh Fall, do not appear on the 100-person NBA prospect ranking list on CBS Sports at the time of publication.

Rap and basketball fans alike had mixed reactions to the star’s announcement. See below.

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Miami-Dade made history on Tuesday when Daniella Levine Cava is sworn in as mayor.

She’s the first female to hold the job in the county.

The afternoon ceremony was held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, and was not open to the public.

Levine Cava beat Commissioner Esteban Bovo for the job, garnering 54% of the vote. She replaces Carlos Gimenez who has been elected to Congress.

Moments after swearing-in, Levine Cava reminded the crowd why it’s tough for many families to celebrate.

“Nearly 4,000 Miami-Dade homes are missing a loved one tonight due to COVID-19,” she said.

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With the rising number of new COVID cases in the county, Levine Cava has appointed Dr. Peter Paige, who is the chief physician and Executive Vice President of Jackson Health System, as chief medical officer. He’ll help the county navigate a new normal through testing, tracing and guidelines.

“With this appointment, we will have a clear and open line of communication between our county and our healthcare system. Sharing information, pulling resources, and mobilizing a unified strategy,” Levine Cava said.

The current 2-week average positivity rate for new cases in Miami-Dade is 7.88%. Well above the recommended 5. So, her first act is announcing a new chief medical officer.

Levine Cava said the Response and Recovery Task Force will draft a roadmap to battle the public health and economic problem.

“The task force will be announced in the coming days. It will represent a cross section of our county so we can have one response that is guided by mutual respect and cooperation,” she said.

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She also plans to help struggling business because of the pandemic.

“We need to provide relief to our small business owners, hospitality sector and so many others to get our residents back to work and to get our economy back on its feet,” she said Tuesday. “As mayor, I will create programs to empower small and Black-owned businesses and reprioritize neighborhood investments so no community is left behind.”

Mayor Levine Cava admits COVID-19 has greatly impacted Black and Latino communities.

We are still working to learn how often this task force will meet and whether she plans to pressure Gov. DeSantis for more control over countywide restrictions.

Levine Cava doesn’t have an issue with current restrictions and emergency orders. However, she plans to review the orders and draft new ones along with the curfew.

“We will be balancing the health care issues with the economic ones. We know we need to continue our economy for so many reasons,” she said.