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Following Neil Young and Joni Mitchell‘s requests to pull their music from Spotify, the streaming platform’s No. 1 competitor, Apple Music, is promoting the availability of both artists’ catalogs on its own platform — with a wink.
On Thursday (Jan. 27), Apple Music first highlighted Young’s catalog under the editorial header “We Love Neil,” displayed prominently for users browsing for music on its platform.
By Saturday, a “We Love Joni Too” header highlighting selections from Mitchell’s catalog was added directly below the Young header.
Both phrases seem to be in response to the artists’ requests that Spotify purge their catalogs from its platform, due to COVID-19 vaccine misinformation spread by Spotify’s popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
Courtesy Photo
“The home of Neil Young,” Apple Music had also tweeted on Jan. 27, in a social campaign reminding listeners that Young’s catalog remains fully available on their streaming service, while the hashtag #CancelSpotify and “Apple Music” were both trending topics on Twitter.
Spotify removed Young’s catalog from the platform on Jan. 26, in response to the singer-songwriter’s demand that his music be pulled. In support of Young’s position, Mitchell made the same request on Jan. 28, writing on her website, “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.” At the time of publishing on Jan. 29, her music remains available on Spotify.
Young had first penned an open letter on Jan. 24 (that has since been removed) on his Neil Young Archives website that stated, “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both. I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform.”
“I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them. Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule,” he wrote, addressing his letter to his manager and the co-chairman and COO of Warner Records. “With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, JRE, which is hosted exclusively on Spotify, is the world’s largest podcast and has tremendous influence,” Young continued. “Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, though the company presently has no misinformation policy.”
In a statement provided to Billboard on Jan. 26, a spokesperson for Spotify said, “We want all the world’s music and audio content to be available to Spotify users. With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators. We have detailed content policies in place and we’ve removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon.”
After Jamie Lynn Spears thanked her fans for helping her memoir become a national bestseller, Britney Spears shared her own perspective on the situation.
Drake‘s four-year-old kid is seen having a ridiculously cute conversation with his dad in a new video shared on Instagram.
In the clip, which Drake posted on Friday (Jan. 28), Adonis asks whether his dad “will be much bigger than me,” to which Drake replies, “Am I gonna be much bigger than you? I don’t think so, you’re pretty tall. You think you’re gonna be bigger than me?”
“Yeah! I’m gonna be, like, old,” Adonis predicts.
“When you’re my age, how big are you gonna be?” asks Drake, whose Certified Lover Boy album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in September, and who celebrated his son’s fourth birthday in October.
Adonis — whose mother Sophie Brussaux was born and raised in France — then suggests teaching Dad how to have this conversation in French. They have a practice session, with Drake repeating words after his son.
“I said, ‘When you’re older, you’re all broken and you’re gonna turn back into space,’” Adonis explains, as Drake laughs.
“Is that really what you said or now you’re just making stuff up?” Drake teases. “You’re a funny guy.”
Watch the cute clip below.
“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives,” Mitchell wrote on her official website Friday.
Kanye West and Julia Fox’s romance was on full display during a recent trip to Paris.
Photographer Danielle Levitt took to her Instagram page on Friday (Jan. 28) to share a steamy photograph of the Donda rapper and Uncut Gems actress French kissing during a recent celebrity-filled dinner party.
West (who now goes by Ye) and Fox made their red carpet debut on Jan. 23, posing together at Kenzo’s fashion show during Paris Fashion Week. The pair coordinated in denim ensembles that were accessorized with black gloves.
In Levitt’s candid snapshot, the 31-year-old actress is seen with her arms wrapped around the rapper and fashion mogul, 44, as they share an open-mouthed smooch. Fox donned a one-shoulder red dress and heavy black eye makeup, while Ye sported a black jacket with a gray hoodie and light blue contact lenses.
Other celebs spotted in Levitt’s gallery post included rappers Mos Def and Pusha T. See the photos here.
Ye and Fox met in late December, less than a year after Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from the rapper in February 2021. Fox had married pilot Peter Artemiev in November 2018, and announced their separation three years later.
Ye recently confirmed that he will be releasing a sequel to his 2021 album, Donda. “DONDA2 COMING 2 22 22 EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY FUTURE,” the rapper revealed through social media on Jan. 27.
Donda, named after his late mother, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in September. The set features guest appearances by Chris Brown, DaBaby, Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Lil Durk, Marilyn Manson, Roddy Ricch and The Weeknd.
Donda 2 would be mark first sequel project in Ye’s 10-album catalog. No additional information about the project was available as of press time.
Ezra Miller on Thursday posted a cryptic video to social media in which the actor appears to threaten members of a Ku Klux Klan chapter in North Carolina.
Wearing a Flash ring, the DC superhero actor does not explain what prompted the video, and their rep could not be immediately reached for comment. A connection between the town, identified by Miller as Beulaville, and the KKK was not immediately apparent.
Says Miller in the video: “Look, if y’all want to die, I suggest just killing yourselves with your own guns. OK? Otherwise, keep doing exactly what you’re doing right now — and you know what I am talking about — then, you know, we’ll do it for you, if that’s really what you want. Talk to you soon, OK. Bye.”
Along with the video, Miller wrote in the caption, “Please disseminate (gross!) this video to all those whom it may concern. This is not a joke and even though I do recognize myself to be a clown please trust me and take this seriously. Let’s save some live [sic] now ok babies? Love you like woah.”
As of Thursday evening, the actor was trending on social media, with a number of viewers taken aback by the message.
The actor, known for playing the Flash in Justice League, will star in their own DC film, The Flash, due out from Warner Bros. on Nov. 4. Miller will next be seen in Warners’ Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore on April 15. The actor plays Credence Barebone in the Harry Potter prequel series. Miller is also in a band called Sons of an Illustrious Father.
Video circulated in April 2020 that appeared to show Miller choking a woman while in Iceland. The footage sparked backlash, but Miller never addressed the matter. A source confirmed to Variety at the time it was a serious altercation, rather than a joke as some had speculated.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
After Jamie Lynn Spears took to Instagram on Thursday to thank her fans for helping her controversial memoir, Things I Should Have Said, become a national best seller, Britney Spears shared her own perspective on the situation.
The pop star shared clips from talk shows The Real and The Talk on Friday (Jan. 28), in which respective hosts Adrienne Bailon and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila expressed that Jamie Lynn should have cleared out family issues with her sister in private.
“She should have named this book Things I Should Have Said to My Sister and My Sister Alone But Instead I’ve Decided to Make a Book for Profit,” Bailon quipped, while Gbaja-Biamila compared the situation to Will Smith, who alternatively “brought everyone in that was mentioned in the book and got their approval” for his 2021 memoir, Will.
“National best seller ???? DUH [eye-roll emoji],” Spears wrote in the caption accompanying the videos. “The timing of your book was unbelievable Jamie Lynn … especially knowing the whole world had no clue what was really done to me !!!! My whole family including you is saying YOU DIDN’T KNOW …. Bulls— !!!”
Britney then applauded The Real and The Talk for “telling it like it is,” before bringing up a part of the memoir in which her sister accused her Zoey 101 co-star Alexa Nikolas, who had previously said Jamie Lynn bullied her on set, of spreading rumors that she was “mean and b—-y” and that she “smelled bad.” Jamie Lynn wrote that Nikolas’ bullying accusations against her were for attention since her “fame had waned.”
“The nerve of you to sell a book now and talk shit but your f–king lying just like you lied about Alexa Nikolas !!!!” Britney wrote. “I wish you would take a lie detector test so all these masses of people see you’re lying through your teeth about me !!!! I wish the almighty, Lord would could come down and show this whole world that you’re lying and making money off of me !!!! You are scum, Jamie Lynn.”
On January 13, Nikolas also refuted Jamie Lynn’s claims on Instagram, sharing that her co-star was “lying up a storm” in her memoir. “I recently thought we were fine after she tried to use me in her Zoey 101 music video to make herself look better after I finally came out about what happened to me while on set/being left out once again during the reunion reboot ploy,” the actress, who played Nicole Bristow in the popular Nickelodeon series, wrote.
After revealing that she unfollowed Jamie Lynn amid the #FreeBritney movement and was later confused when the “Follow Me” singer recently asked to send her a gift,” Nikolas said that she wants “absolutely nothing to do with it.”
“Typical move for a bully to play the victim card/gaslight other while straight up lying,” she concluded in her statement. “I responded to her and said ‘Please do not send me anything and please stop contacting me.’ She never addressed anything that she mentioned in the book to me personally because she knows everything she is saying is a total lie and I would have called her out on that. One on one.”
See Nikolas’ full post below.
Joni Mitchell is joining her old friend and contemporary Neil Young in having her legendary music catalog pulled from Spotify over concerns about vaccine misinformation being spread on the platform’s popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
In a brief note posted to her official website on Friday, the singer-songwriter wrote, “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”
Mitchell’s announcement comes just two days after Spotify confirmed it would be granting Young’s request to have his music removed from the platform. Young made the demand on Monday (Jan. 24), writing in part, “With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, JRE, which is hosted exclusively on Spotify, is the world’s largest podcast and has tremendous influence. Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, though the company presently has no misinformation policy.”
Spotify and a representative for Mitchell did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s request for comment.
This is a developing story.
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It’s Janet Jackson appreciation day!
Jackson’s new documentary is giving fans a new reason to celebrate, with the first episode of Janet premiering on A&E and Lifetime tonight (Jan. 28). (Find how to watch here.)
There’s a good chance that watching Jackson’s documentary will evoke feelings of nostalgia, and if you consider yourself a true fan, now’s a great time to stock up on merch and collectibles inspired by Ms. Jackson. The superstar’s website has an official online shop of T-shirts, tumblers and other goodies, but for those who want more variety, we put together a list of awesome items that are tailor-made for die-hard fans.
See the roundup below.
Janet Jackson 1989 Rhythm Nation Key Hoop Earring
“We are a part of a rhythm nation!” This cool accessory is a replica of the infamous key hoop earring worn by Jackson during the Rhythm Nation era.
Buy: $49.99 on Amazon.com.
Janet Jackson Puzzle
This jigsaw puzzle might be too cute to pass up. It’s made from high-quality chipboard pieces and arrives in a gift box that features the complete puzzle design on the front. The 16 x 20-inch puzzle includes 500 pieces.
Buy: $30.69 on Etsy.com.
True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself
In True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself, Jackson travels the road to self-acceptance. Pulling back the velvet rope on the honest but painful journey to loving herself, Jackson discusses her career, shares life lessons and fitness tips, addresses rumors, and offers an intimate look at on her family.
Buy: $22 on Amazon.com.
Janet Jackson Prayer Candle
Feeling prayerful? This handmade, 8-inch white wax candle features Jackson showcasing that million-dollar smile.
Buy: $24.99 on Amazon.com.
Janet Jackson Illustrated Eras Hoodie
It’s cozy season! Show your love for Janet with this illustrated hoodie, which captures iconic eras in her career. The pre-shrunk cotton hoodie is available in sizes ranging from a men’s small to XL and you can buy it in several different colors. You also might like this pink hoodie which is on sale at Old Navy ($17).
Buy: $36 on Etsy.com.
Janet Jackson Retro Personalized First Name 1970s T-Shirt
The internet is literally packed to the brim T-shirts depicting your favorite artists and bands. This vintage-style shirt is a unique choice among a seemingly endless array of shirts that you can find online. It comes in multiple colors, including black, brown and blue, and sizes ranging from XS to 4X.
Buy: $17.99 on Amazon.com.
Janet Jackson: All the Top 40 Hits
The name says it all. This 2017 book written by Craig Halstead is a compilation of Jackson’s top 40 hits (singles and albums). Each entry is illustrated and includes the catalog number and release date.
Buy: $8.95 on Amazon.com.
Janet Jackson 2022 Calendar & Planner
Stay up to date with this Janet Jackson 2022 calendar and planner. Aside from a photo for each month, the calendar includes tabs and a note section to write down notes and keep your schedule on track.
Buy: $9.99 on Amazon.com.
Janet Jackson 1993 Janet Original Double-Sided Promo Poster
Looking for authentic memorabilia? Ebay is a good resource for rare finds such as this double-sided promo poster for the 1993 Janet album.
Buy: $18.74 on Ebay.com.
