After three marriages and a few high-profile romances, Britney Spears seems ready to go it alone. In a since-deleted post, the 42-year-old singer who is in the midst of divorcing her third husband, actor/model Sam Asghari, announced that she is done with men.

According to screen grabs from fans of the Sunday Instagram post, Spears paired an inspirational message reading “Her attitude is savage, but her heart is gold” along with the strident vow, “Single as f–k. I will never be with another man as long as I live.” As of Tuesday morning (July 9), the single talk and comments were gone and the post featured just the uplifting quote.

Spears’s first marriage, a Las Vegas wedding to childhood Jason Alexander, lasted less than 55 hours and was quickly annulled. She married former dancer Kevin Federline in September 2004, less than nine months after her Sin City quickie. The pair stayed together for two years and had two sons during their union, Sean Preston Federline and Jayden James Federline.

Spears met her third husband, Asghari, on the set of her 2016 “Slumber Party” video, with the pair making it official in January 2017. The singer and personal trainer stayed together through the difficult unwinding of her long-running conservatorship, marrying in June 2022 and then announcing they were headed for divorce in August 2023.

Before swearing off anymore XY action, in January, Spears also rubbished talk of an upcoming album by clearly stating that “most of the news is trash,” adding, “they keep saying I’m turning to random people to do a new album… I will never return to the music industry !!!”

Check out a fan screen grab of Spears’ vow of singledom.

BLACKPINK’s LISA is the latest addition to the line-up for the 2024 Global Citizen Festival.

The K-pop superstar will mark her first live solo set at a festival she co-headlines this year’s event, where she joins previously confirmed headliners Post Malone, Doja Cat, Jelly Roll and Rauw Alejandro.

The timing is sweet. Just this week, LISA landed her first Billboard Global Excl. U.S. No. 1 with “Rockstar,” which opened at the summit. The song was first teased on TikTok earlier last month when LISA joined the social media site and set a Guinness World Record by gaining 1 million followers in just over two hours. That’s just one in an impressive and expanding collection of records smashed by LISA, Jennie, Rosé and Jisoo.

“We are thrilled to join forces with LISA for what will be her first ever solo performance at a music festival,” comments Katie Hill, senior VP, head of music, entertainment and artist relations at Global Citizen, the world’s leading organization seeking to end extreme poverty. “LISA is not only an incredible performer, but also a powerful advocate, leveraging her voice and platform to drive action on some of the most urgent challenges our world is facing.”

As previously reported, the concert will be presented at the Great Lawn in New York’s Central Park on Sept. 28, and hosted by Global Citizen Ambassador actor Hugh Jackman. The day will also feature appearances from Jane Goodall, as well as Coldplay singer Chris Martin, the festival curator.

“As world leaders gather in New York for the UN General Assembly,” reads a statement, “the 2024 Global Citizen Festival will advocate for the equity of all people, calling on governments, philanthropists and the private sector to ensure the basic needs of the world’s marginalized communities are fulfilled, including immunizations and strong health systems, quality education, and nutritious food.”

Tickets to the Global Citizen Festival are free and can be earned by taking action on the Global Citizen app or at globalcitizenfestival.com to defeat poverty, defend the planet and demand equity.

LONDON — Universal Music Group is to merge its historic Island and EMI label divisions as part of a widespread restructuring of the company’s U.K. business that will also see the launch of new Audience and Media Division to support artists and labels.

The announcement was made on Tuesday (July 9) by David Joseph, chairman and CEO Universal Music U.K. and Ireland, in an internal memo, which has been viewed by Billboard.

The reorganization of Universal Music’s U.K. operations follows changes the company made to its U.S. teams earlier this year with the formation of Interscope Capitol Labels Group and Republic Corps.   

That structure is now being loosely mirrored in the United Kingdom with the creation of what Joseph called “two new powerhouse frontline label groups” — Island EMI Label Group, headed by Louis Bloom as president, and the newly formed Polydor Label Group, led by Ben Mortimer.

Both label groups will be home to multiple labels “all with creative autonomy,” said Joseph’s memo. Each department will also contain a team dedicated to supporting artists from the wider UMG family, said the Universal U.K. boss.

In line with the restructuring, which comes into effect Oct. 1, Universal is shuffling its executive ranks.  

EMI Records co-president Jo Charrington has been appointed president of a “reimagined” U.K. arm of Capitol, which will sit within the wider Polydor Label Group, as will 0207 Def Jam, led by president Alec Boateng. (Billboard understands that Boateng’s brother and co-president of 2017 Def Jam Alex Boateng is to remain with Universal and will be given a job within an international division).  

EMI Records’ other co-president, Rebecca Allen, will take up the role of president of Universal’s Audience and Media Division (AMD), a newly formed U.K.-based department dedicated to serving artists and labels that will have a global remit.

Joining Allen in the Audience and Media team will be Suzy Walby (media), Kate Wyn Jones (Audience and Digital Strategy) and data and strategic branch The Square insight team, led by Jack Fryer.  

In his internal staff memo, Joseph said the “industry first” AMD team “will revolutionise how we deliver for our artists” and will become Universal U.K.’s largest division.

Not mentioned in the memo is the scale or number of job losses that will result from the changes, although it does state that the consultation period for staff whose roles are potentially at risk starts today and will continue until mid-September.

In the United Kingdom, it is a legal requirement that companies must follow so-called “collective consultation” rules if it is making 20 or more employees redundant within any 90-day period. Universal U.K. declined to comment on staff redundancies.

Not impacted by the changes are Laura Monks and Tom Lewis, who will continue in their current roles of Decca co-presidents, which will remain a stand-alone label. Hannah Neaves remains sole president of Universal Music Recordings.

“As a company, we must continue to be forward-looking, innovative, and bold. Developing artists now requires more creativity and patience than ever before,” said Joseph in his internal memo.

Joseph went on to say that the restructure would “strengthen our labels’ capabilities to deepen artist and fan connections.”  

“We are committed to being the number one place for artists, fans and talent,” surmised the U.K. CEO. “I have an incredible appreciation for our team given what we have achieved in the past and what I know we will achieve in the future.”  

Bebe Rexha is making it loud and clear that she will not tolerate disruptive behavior at her shows.

During her performance at the Palmesus Festival in Kristiansand, Norway, on July 6, Rexha had a fan ejected for attempting to throw an object at her on stage. This incident occurred nearly a year after she was hit in the face with a cell phone during a concert in New York City, which resulted in significant injuries.

In a video that has since gone viral, Rexha addressed the offending audience member who attempted to throw something on stage directly, saying, “If you hit me with something on stage right now, I’ll take you for everything you’ve f—ing got. Do not f—ing play with me right now. Out! Get the f–k out.”

This isn’t the first time Rexha has had to deal with unruly fans.

On June 1, she had multiple people removed from her concert in Green Bay, Wisconsin, after they threw objects at her on stage.

Fans videos show Rexha directing security to escort a fan out of the venue, saying, “Out, out. Or, if you wanna hit me in the face, I had to press charges for the other guy — I’d love to become richer.”

As fans cheered, she clarified: “I’m not inviting that, please. It was just a joke.”

The June 2023 incident was particularly severe. While performing at The Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York City, Rexha was struck in the face by a cell phone thrown by a fan, which split her eyebrow and required stitches.

The assailant, Nicolas Malvagna, was arrested and charged with multiple counts of assault and harassment. He later accepted a plea deal that included 40 days of community service and a six-month order of protection.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office later reported that the assailant had said in his confession, “I was trying to see if I could hit her with the phone at the end of the show because it would be funny.”

Rexha later shared a pic of her bruised face with the caption, “I’m good.”

But fans throwing objects at artists isn’t limited to the “I’m A Mess” singer. Country star Morgan Wallen has had phones, a drink, and women’s underwear thrown at him while performing over the past year or so alone.

In June 2023, Pink was left shocked when a fan threw their mother’s ashes onto the stage during a performance at BST Hyde Park. Similarly, Cardi B had water thrown at her during a concert in August 2023.

Harry Styles and Kid Cudi have also faced similar disruptions, with Styles being hit in the eye by a Skittle during a 2022 show in Los Angeles and Kid Cudi cutting his Rolling Loud set short due to fans throwing bottles at him.