Andra Day and her manager of more than a decade are dramatically parting ways with a pair of dueling new lawsuits, each accusing the other of hoarding more than their fair share of royalty payments.

Day (Cassandra Monique Batie) began working with manager Jeff Evans in 2010, five years before the success of her debut Grammy-nominated album, Cheers to the Fall, and its breakout single, “Rise Up.” The two remained in business together for years, but their relationship deteriorated over a series of financial disputes that have now ended up in court.

Evans was the first to sue, claiming in a complaint submitted on Monday (Oct. 6) in Los Angeles court that Day is refusing to honor contract provisions that entitle him to a 40% royalty on her publishing and a 20% commission on other profits.

The Evans lawsuit alleges that Day has withheld this money since 2024. He wants a judge to declare that he’s owed a cut of Day’s publishing advances from Kobalt, which supposedly have totaled $1.5 million over the last two years, as well as backend payments from her acting role in the Netflix movie The Deliverance.

“Plaintiffs are informed and believe and, based upon such information and belief, allege that plaintiffs are owed a minimum of $850,000 as of the date of the complaint,” write Evans’ lawyers Edwin McPherson and Brian Caplan.

Day, however, tells a very different story in her own lawsuit filed against Evans on Tuesday (Oct. 7). She says her original contract giving Evans 40% of her royalties was “exploitative,” and that both that agreement and her 20% commission deal expired in 2023.

According to Day, the real issue is that Evans has been “caught red-handed stealing” from her. The singer says Evan bled her dry by misappropriating a $600,000 recording fund from her label, Warner Records, and stealing more than $1 million worth of royalties on both her compositions and master recordings.

“Evans abused his role as a fiduciary to scam Day with blindless greed,” writes Day’s lawyer James Sammataro. “He siphoned so much money from Day — a quadruple-platinum hitmaker and Golden Globe Best Actress winner — that he left her facing eviction, unable to pay the monthly minimum on her credit card debt and without sufficient funds to tour.”

Day’s lawsuit says that as of this past spring, Evans had stolen at least $1.6 million from her. She claims a fuller investigation is required to untangle the “web of deceit” woven by her manager and determine exactly how much she’s owed from his various “swindling sleights.”

Sammataro declined to comment on the dueling allegations on Tuesday. Evans’ lawyers did not immediately return a request for comment.

After inspiring countless headlines over the past few days, Zach Bryan is looking to change the narrative around the polarizing song snippet he posted to social media over the weekend.

On Tuesday (Oct. 7), Bryan posted two Instagram Stories explaining that the song — particularly his lyrics about police (“cocky motherf—ers, aren’t they?”) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE is gonna come bust down your door”) — had been “misconstrued” and that listeners need to hear the complete song to “understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle.”

He also said he wrote the song “months ago” and even posted a snippet of it three months ago, without any fanfare.

Beginning the message with “pls f—n read this” and “On the ‘new’ song,” Bryan wrote in part: “This shows you how divisive a narrative can be when shoved down our throats through social media. This song is about how much I love this country and everyone in it more than anything. When you hear the rest of the song, you will understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle. Everyone using this now as a weapon is only proving how devastatingly divided we all are. We need to find our way back.”

Since the snippet was posted, Bryan’s lyrics have been denounced by the White House, with spokesperson Abigail Jackson releasing this song-title-filled statement: “While Zach Bryan wants to Open the Gates to criminal illegal aliens and has Condemned heroic ICE officers, Something in the Orange tells me a majority of Americans disagree with him and support President Trump’s great American Revival. Godspeed, Zach!” Tricia McLaughlin — the assistant secretary of public affairs to the Department of Homeland Security — told Billboard that Bryan should “stick to ‘Pink Skies,’ dude,” referring to the artist’s Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit.

In his Tuesday post, Bryan reiterated that his song isn’t anti-American, writing: “I served this country, I love this country and the song itself is about all of us coming out of this divided space. I wasn’t speaking as a politician or some greater-than-thou a–hole, just a 29 year old man who is just as confused as everyone else. To see how much sh– it stirred up makes me not only embarrassed but kind of scared. Left wing or right wing we’re all one bird and American. To be clear I’m on neither of these radical sides.”

Read the full text from Bryan’s two Instagram Stories posts below:

pls f—n read this

On the “new” song:

I wrote this song months ago. I posted this song three months ago as a snippet. This shows you how divisive a narrative can be when shoved down our throats through social media. This song is about how much I love this country and everyone in it more than anything. When you hear the rest of the song, you will understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle. Everyone using this now as a weapon is only proving how devastatingly divided we all are. We need to find our way back.

I served this country, I love this country and the song itself is about all of us coming out of this divided space. I wasn’t speaking as a politician or some greater-than-thou a–hole, just a 29 year old man who is just as confused as everyone else. To see how much sh– it stirred up makes me not only embarrassed but kind of scared. Left wing or right wing we’re all one bird and American. To be clear I’m on neither of these radical sides. To all those disappointed in me on either side of whatever you believe in just know I’m trying my best too and we all say things that are misconstrued sometimes.

Everyone have a great day and I love each and every one of ya!!!

The last few months of my life I’ve been scrutinized by more people than I ever thought possible. I feel like I’ve tried my hardest in so many ways and it’s so hard to see where my bearings even are anymore. Been falling off a cliff while trying to grow wings at the same time.

I am SO proud to have served in a country where we can all speak freely and converse amongst each other without getting doxxed or accosted on the internet or worse; the violence and heartbreak we’ve faced in the last few months!

God speed ol sons I’m out!

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Glass skin isn’t too hard to achieve when you have brands like Medicube backing you up.

The viral South Korean skincare brand has amassed a ton of fans, especially within the past few years, thanks to its fame on TikTok. Medicube also boasts a big celeb following, namely K-Pop star Tzuyu from the girl group TWICE. That has got to explain her unreal skin. If you’re not a fan of K-Pop, that’s okay. A-listers like Hailey Bieber, Kylie Jenner have used the brand in the past, along with influencer Alix Earle, reality stars Khloé Kardashian and Kyle Richards and even the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle.

If you’re looking to grab some of Medicube’s celeb-loved products without breaking the bank, you’re in luck. Amazon is currently having a sale on Medicube’s top sellers for Prime Day. The sale includes everything from toner pads and collagen face masks to hydrating creams and brightening serums. We’ve picked out seven products from the sale ranging in price from $15 to $79 that may help your skin looking flawless in no time. Keep reading. Your dream skin awaits.

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These Zero Pore Pads 2.0 are true to the name in that they may help minimize pores in the blink of an eye. For those seeking smoother skin, you’ve come to the right place. Each pad features an exfoliating textured side and a smooth side. The pads are soaked in a mixture of BHA and AHA, or in non-skincare speak, chemical exfoliants that gently help rid the skin of dirt and dead skin. 

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This sheet mask is meant to be worn for a while — we’re talking up to three to four hours. To cut down on the absorption time, we recommend using this product as a final step in your nighttime skincare routine. Just slap it on before you hit the sheets, and you could wake up to the glassiest, most hydrated skin you’ve ever seen. Talk about beauty sleep.

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You just pop the little skin-safe capsules on the back of your hand and mix it into the formula. If you want more vitamin C, you can scoop up more of the little capsules and mix them up to create a unique formula for your skincare needs. This formula moisturizes too, thanks to a mix of 50% sea buckthorn extract and 5% niacinamide. This popping capsule concept is available in two other Medicube formulas on Amazon, for hydration and spot treatment.

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Nobody wants dull skin. Medicube’s Collagen Overnight Wrapping Peel-Off Facial Mask Pack may help remedy it. The mask’s unique formula is peel-off, creating a film on the skin that hydrates for up to eight hours after use. You’ve got ceramide NP to help boost your skin barrier and hydration, collagen extract to enhance skin elasticity and adenosine to aid in reducing fine lines. Plus, the mask peels off satisfyingly in one piece for easy clean-up. There’s also a kojic acid and turmeric version available on Amazon for those looking to focus on brightening the skin.

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Kylie Jenner is a fan of this peptide serum. So much so that she shared this product as one of her many Medicube faves while shopping at Medicube’s Glowland pop-up in Los Angeles in March. The Jenner-approved pretty pink serum targets dull and dry skin, aiming to create a glassy look to the skin thanks to salmon DNA PDRN, a form of DNA extracted from salmon.

This strange but wonderful ingredient stimulates skin renewal and repair, giving your skin a clearer, more luminous look without much effort. Drop a few drips into the palm of your hands, rub them together and massage into the skin. We implore you: Do not put the applicator on your skin. You’ve likely seen influencers doing this, but just don’t. It’s unhygienic and introduces bacteria to the dropper. Yuck.

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The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, included this jelly moisturizer on her recently launched ShopMy site. Retailing for $19.98, this funky cream features a jelly-like consistency and is imbued with collagen that promotes firmness and vibrancy. The jelly is also silicone-free, lightly scented and free of any skin irritants so our friends with skin sensitivities can use this product as well. When this cream is used, the end result can be bouncy and soft skin that’s tight and shiny.

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A skincare facial tool.

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If you’re like us, you don’t have enough money to shell out on weekly facials. Medicube’s Mini Booster Pro Pink gives you a facial experience at home, and for cheap, too. Used by celebs such as Kylie Jenner, Hailey Bieber and Khloe Kardashian, this product is a beauty wand that is used to help enhance the absorption of your serums or moisturizers.

To use, apply skincare as usual and massage in with the device in a circular motion on Booster Mode. How does it work? Well, the device aims to help open up the skin, allowing deeper penetration of active ingredients in your skincare products so they’re able to penetrate and do what they need to do. There’s also an Air Shot mode that can be used on dry skin to eliminate bacteria and reduce enlarged oil glands.

Days before Maverick City Music co-founder Chandler Moore announced his abrupt departure from the Grammy-winning worship collective, he sued the group’s chief executive for allegedly stealing millions of dollars’ worth of royalties from him.

The civil fraud lawsuit, obtained by Billboard, was filed by Moore’s lawyers in Atlanta federal court last Wednesday (Oct. 1). Five days later, on Monday (Oct. 6), Moore announced on social media that he was leaving Maverick City Music and focusing on solo projects.

The lawsuit names several corporate entities, including Maverick City Music and the group’s label. TRIBL Records. But the primary target is Norman Gyamfi, who was Moore’s manager before buying an ownership stake in Maverick City Music and eventually becoming the collective’s CEO in 2023.

“Moore reposed great trust and confidence in and accepted Gyamfi’s guidance in his business and financial decisions,” reads the complaint. “Gyamfi, however, abused his power and the trust that Moore bestowed upon him.”

The lawsuit claims that Gyamfi’s self-dealing began in 2021, when he brokered the sale of Maverick City Music’s masters to Sony distribution arm The Orchard without telling Moore or disclosing that he would receive a commission from the deal.

Moore then says that in 2022, Gyamfi secretly directed Essential Music Publishing, Sony’s Christian music publishing division, to pay all Moore’s songwriting royalties directly to Maverick City Music. To make this happen, Gyamfi allegedly forged Moore’s signature on a co-publishing agreement that assigned half of all his composition rights to the group.

According to the lawsuit, Moore signed a final contract with Maverick City Music in 2024. Moore says he fulfilled his obligations by writing new music and completing a tour, but that Gyamfi and his associates withheld more than $800,000 in royalties due under the agreement.

Moore ultimately alleges that Gyamfi stole millions of dollars from him through these various forms of wrongdoing. The singer is bringing a slew of civil claims against Gyamfi, including breach of contract, forgery and conversion, and he’s seeking financial damages as well as a court order voiding all his contracts with Maverick City Music.

“Defendants’ greed, exploitation and misappropriation of Moore’s assets and intellectual property have deprived Plaintiffs of their contractually owed royalties, assets, monies and ownership interests,” reads the lawsuit.

Reps for Moore and Maverick City Music did not immediately return requests for comment on Tuesday (Oct. 7).

In addition to Moore’s departure from Maverick City Music, fellow member Naomi Raine also announced on Monday that she’s exiting the group, though she is not involved in Moore’s lawsuit.

The upcoming big-screen threequel Tron: Ares features a bold-faced cast including Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Gillian Anderson and Jeff Bridges, but two of the biggest stars in the film are heard rather than seen: Oscar-winning composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, credited under their Nine Inch Nails moniker on a film score for the first time.

The duo (who served as executive producers on the film and do actually appear onscreen, briefly, as fighter pilots) was on hand at the film’s world premiere in Hollywood on Monday night (Oct. 6). They appeared both in the theater — standing alongside the cast and director Joachim Rønning ahead of the screening — and outside of it, when they played a three-song set for premiere guests, marking the first time they performed songs from the soundtrack album live.

Prior to Reznor and Ross’ entrance on the stage erected outside the TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Grauman’s Chinese), their frequent collaborator, Boys Noize, played a throbbing, roughly 30-minute set that wove in music from the Ares soundtrack, much of which he helped produce. Bathed in thick smoke that served as a kind of constantly shifting canvas for the red laser light show that beamed out from behind the stage, the German DJ — who, at least from afar, presents as a doppelganger of Ross and Reznor with his jet-black hair and matching all-black outfit— enraptured the premiere attendees, some of whom were dressed in vaguely futuristic clothing (think lots of black and silver), per the premiere invite’s suggested “On the Grid Chic” attire.

Notably, Boys Noize opened for Nine Inch Nails on its recently-concluded Peel It Back tour and also joined Reznor and Ross onstage for the EDM-influenced portions of those shows (he’s also slated to perform with Reznor and Ross at next year’s Coachella under the name Nine Inch Noize). As the DJ/producer got deeper into his set, the space at the front of the stage began filling in as anticipation grew for NIN’s promised appearance. And then, as if conjured, Reznor and Ross materialized out of the smoke to an enthusiastic reception.

Immediately, NIN launched into “As Alive as You Need Me to Be,”  the soundtrack’s bass- and vocoder-heavy lead single. As they did, the crowd grew visibly more animated, with countless iPhones held aloft to capture the moment. From the song’s opening lyric (“The way it makes me feel, infection/It’s almost like a tongue on the back of my neck”), the now-60-year-old Reznor sounded remarkably similar to the twentysomething man who first hit the mainstream in the late ‘80s, when the band broke through with its triple-platinum debut album, Pretty Hate Machine.

Next on the setlist was “The Warning,” a track from the band’s 2007 album Year Zero. Interestingly, that album ties in somewhat with the themes of Tron: Ares — in which a nihilistic tech scion (Peters), in competition with a rival (Lee), becomes hell-bent on unleashing a dangerous version of artificial intelligence on the world — with lyrics revolving around a dystopian future in which a group of rebels send dispatches, through the internet, to the year 2007 to warn people of the coming apocalypse in hopes of preventing it from happening.

Before departing as they arrived (in a haze of smoke), NIN performed the third and final song in the set, Tron: Ares track “Shadow Over Me.” One of just four vocal songs on the 24-track album, “Shadow” is similar to “As Alive as You Need Me to Be” in that it works equally well as a standalone NIN song and a thematic pairing with the film. With its lyrics about a future world, not so dissimilar to our own, in which every day can feel like a plunge into a strange and disorienting new reality, it’s a song that feels made for the moment. “Hard to tell if I’m awake anymore,” Reznor sings. “Hard to know for sure.”

Tron: Ares is in theaters Friday (Oct. 10).