50 Cent Settles Lawsuit Against Miami Spa Over Alleged Penis Surgery ‘Insinuation’

50 Cent has reached a settlement to end a lawsuit in which he accused a Miami medical spa of falsely suggesting that he’d had penis surgery, according to court documents filed Friday (March 24).

The rapper claims that Angela Kogan and her Perfection Plastic Surgery & MedSpa exploited an innocent photo he’d “graciously agreed” to take with her to imply that he was a client — and, more startlingly, that he had received penile enhancement surgery as part of his work.

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But in a joint filing made Friday in Miami federal court, attorneys for both 50 Cent (real name Curtis Jackson) and Kogan said they had “reached an agreement in principle to settle Mr. Jackson’s claims” and were “in the process of preparing an agreement to finalize and memorialize” the deal.

An attorney for 50 Cent did not immediately return a request for comment. A lawyer for Kogan declined to comment.

50 Cent sued Kogan in September, arguing that he took a photo with “someone he thought was a fan” and had “never consented” to the use of the image for commercial purposes in any form. He says Kogan not only posted the image to Instagram herself but also engineered an article on the website The Shade Room that used the post to make the “false insinuation” that she’d provided him with penile enhancement.

The article in question (“Penis Enhancements Are More Popular Than Ever & BBLs Are Dying Out: Cosmetic Surgery CEO Angela Kogan Speaks On It”) did not directly claim that Jackson had the surgery. But it allegedly said he was a “client” of the practice while repeatedly using the image of him with Kogan, leading Jackson’s lawyers to say the “implication was clear.”

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“Defendants’ actions have exposed Jackson to ridicule, caused substantial damage to his professional and personal reputation, and violated his right to control his name and image,” the star’s lawyers wrote at the time. They included social media comments in which users mocked the rapper, including one that “crudely” said the rapper should be called “50 inch.”

Kogan strongly denied the allegations and immediately moved to dismiss the case, saying 50 Cent actually was a client and had consented to the use of the image as payment for the work he received. She argued it was just an “innocuous” use of the photo, not a direct suggestion that he’d endorsed the office.

But in December, Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. denied Kogan’s request to toss out the case, saying that 50 Cent might eventually be able to prove his allegations at trial.

“As the proverbial saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words,” Scola wrote. “This one in particular depicts a worldwide celebrity next to Kogan with MedSpa’s name repeated all throughout the background. The promotional value is evident.”

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What Will Become of TikTok? After Bitter Congressional Hearing, App’s Future Is ‘Shakier Than Ever’

As the U.S. government considers banning social media app TikTok, the U.S. music industry faces a few scenarios regarding the platform that’s become a lifeline for discovering and breaking artists — and most aren’t good.

The grilling of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew by members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday (March 23) had all the political theater expected from a Congressional hearing. It also had one important characteristic unusual for the United States in 2023: bi-partisan agreement. Despite Chew’s insistence that U.S. TikTok users’ data cannot be accessed from China, home of parent company Bytedance, neither Democrats nor Republicans seem intent on allowing TikTok to operate within their borders.

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The showdown seemed inevitable given TikTok’s foreign entanglements and the app’s quick ascendence. The app accounted for 17% of total time spent on mobile apps globally in 2022, according to Data.ai — second behind WeChat’s 19.5% and well ahead of No. 3 YouTube’s 12.7%. Chew told lawmakers that TikTok has 150 million users in the U.S. That’s 50% more than the 100 million figure TikTok previously made public (and eMarketer’s latest estimate of 95.8 million at the end of 2022). Among U.S. Gen Z consumers aged 18 to 24, TikTok ranks No. 2 behind Instagram in monthly average users, according to Data.ai.

But the app’s fate in the United States “is on shakier ground than ever,” according to eMarketer principal analyst Jasmine Enberg. “TikTok’s decision to highlight how entrenched the app has become in US society was miscalculated,” Enberg said in a statement. “It actually strengthened U.S. lawmakers’ argument that TikTok poses a threat to both national security and young people.”

Brendan Carr, a commissioner with the Federal Communications Commission, agrees. The vocal TikTok critic told CBS News “the day could not have gone any worse for TikTok” and that Chew “completely failed” to gain “some level” of trust and credibility with members of Congress.

While a TikTok ban appears popular amongst politicians, not everybody is supportive. The Cato Institute’s Paul Matzo called a ban “a hamfisted mistake” born from “neo-Cold War paranoia.” It wouldn’t necessarily make America safer, he argued, and would amount to a bail-out for Meta, whose TikTok competitor, Instagram, has failed to win on a level playing field. The Brookings Institute’s Darrell M. West and Michaela Robison argue that a ban would open up U.S. companies in China — such as automaker Tesla — to similar scrutiny.

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If a ban could withstand a legal challenge — former President Donald Trump’s attempt to ban TikTok and Chinese messaging app WeChat both failed — TikTok’s parent company, Bytedance, would be forced to sell the company. President Joe Biden’s administration has encouraged Bytedance to sell TikTok. But it wouldn’t be a straightforward process. China would “strongly oppose” a forced sale, a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said Thursday, and TikTok is subject to Chinese law on tech exports and would require government approval.

A prompt sale of TikTok, which is reportedly valued at $60 billion, would be the best outcome for the music industry in search of new sources of streaming revenue. TikTok’s revenue rocketed from $4 billion in 2021 to $10 billion in 2022, according to reports. Research firm Omdia projects that TikTok’s ad revenue will climb to $44 billion by 2027 — presumably assuming there are no geopolitical interferences — and surpass the combined video ad revenues of Meta and YouTube. Although TikTok is not a major source of revenue for labels and publishers, rights holders expect to eventually have licensing agreements that give them a share of advertising revenue for user-generated content (like their deal with YouTube).

The current hodgepodge of bans also hurts both TikTok and the music industry. In the United States, TikTok has already been banned by some federal agencies, state and local governments and universities. Elsewhere, TikTok has been banned from the official phones of staff of the European Commission, U.K. parliament, Canadian government, Belgian government, Danish Defense Ministry and Latvian Foreign Ministry, to name a few. Fewer TikTok apps installed on fewer smartphones is twice the punishment for an app that depends on user-generated content. Lower usage means fewer people creating and viewing videos.

Perhaps the biggest question is what would happen to TikTok under new ownership. If, say, Oracle owned a stake in TikTok, as was proposed during the Trump administration, would the app continue to have the same magical recommendation algorithm that has made TikTok so irresistible and its competitors unable to keep up? New ownership would eliminate restraints on TikTok’s revenue and user growth, but if the product suffers, the music industry would be handed a less effective promotional tool and a less valuable source of revenue. The only certainty in this TikTok controversy is that such unintended consequences are guaranteed.

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Morgan Wallen, Lainey Wilson & Bailey Zimmerman Set for ACM Lifting Lives All-Star Concert

Morgan Wallen will headline an all-star benefit concert for ACM Lifting Lives during ACM Awards week in May. ACM Lifting Lives LIVE: Morgan Wallen & Friends, Presented by VGT by Aristocrat Gaming, will be held Wednesday, May 10, on the golfing green at Topgolf The Colony.

The show will take place a day prior to the 58th annual ACM Awards show on Thursday, May 11, set to be held at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

Joining Wallen will be reigning ACM new female artist and song of the year winner Lainey Wilson, “Rock and a Hard Place” hitmaker Bailey Zimmerman, and Wallen’s Big Loud Records labelmates HARDY and ERNEST. Also on the bill is DJ 13lackbeard.

Just prior to the benefit concert, ACM Lifting Lives will welcome the return of Topgolf Tee-Off and Rock On Fundraiser at Topgolf The Colony.

General Admission tickets on the green are separate from the Topgolf Tee-Off and Rock On tournament access and will be available to ACM Members, ACM A-List subscribers, 58th ACM Awards ticket holders, and Topgolf Friends and Family through an exclusive presale, which launched Thursday (March 23). Remaining tickets will be available for a general public on-sale beginning this Friday, March 24 at 10 a.m. CST through AXS. Those who have purchased bays for golf will be able to remain in their bay for the concert, with the bay serving as a suite to watch the show.

“ACM Lifting Lives does great work providing aid in times of need to folks inside and outside of the music industry,” Wallen said via a statement. “My band and I are excited to help them raise funds to continue doing this amazing work.”

“The support of Country Music artists and the industry as a whole are who make the impactful work of ACM Lifting Lives possible,” added ACM Lifting Lives Executive Director Lyndsay Cruz. “We are so thankful to Morgan, HARDY, Lainey, ERNEST, Bailey and DJ 13lackbeard for volunteering their time to help us raise money and awareness, and we know music fans in Texas will be blown away by this all-star lineup!”

In addition to distributing more than $4 million to date through its Covid Relief Fund, ACM Lifting Lives provides critical support through the Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund, significant annual commitments to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Music Health Alliance, and the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, and individual grants to organizations that reach communities all across America.

The ACM Awards will air live on May 11, exclusively via Prime Video.

Wallen recently broke the record for the most songs simultaneously charted on the Billboard Hot 100, entering 36 songs on the chart on the survey dated March 18, marking the entirety of his new album, One Thing At a Time. The album also marks a second week at the pinnacle of the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart.

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Bumbershoot Announces 2023 Lineup With Sleater-Kinney, The Revivalists & More 

Seattle’s famed Bumbershoot music festival returns this fall with Washington natives Sleater-Kinney as headliners.

On Thursday (March 23), the music and arts festival announced their lineup with The Revivalists, Zhu, Jawbreaker, AFI, Brittany Howard, Fatboy Slim, Sunny Day Real Estate and Phantogram, among many others.

Band of Horses, Descendents, Matt and Kim, Bomba Estéreo, Durand Jones, Uncle Waffles, A-Trak, Valerie June, Ride, Benny the Butcher, Jacob Banks and more will also make appearances at the festival being held from Sept. 2-3 at Seattle Center. The Dip, Temples, Dandy Warhols, Hunx and His Punx, Thunderpussy, Reignwolf, Rebirth Brass Band, Screaming Females, The Black Tones and more will also make appearances at the festival that returns after a three-year hiatus. More artists are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Performers will grace multiple stages for their festival appearances. Bumbershoot will utilize spaces throughout the Seattle Center complex including Fisher Pavilion for Out of Sight and The Art Not Terminal for the Bumbershoot 50th Anniversary Retrospective for art installations.

This year’s festival will also mark the 50th anniversary of Bumbershoot and producers New Rising Sun, alongside partner/non-profit arts and education organization Third Stone, have launched the tuition-free Bumbershoot Workforce Development Program, designed to create a pipeline to support the next generation of music industry professionals and lay the groundwork for a more equitable and inclusive music scene. As part of Bumbershoot’s Workforce Development Program, Climate Pledge Arena will host students on a production tour of the arena giving future production and tour managers a live look at one of the busiest music venues in the world.

Third Stone, the non-profit arm of Bumbershoot, will launch the Workforce Development Program to offer young adults aged 17-25 the opportunity to learn critical business skills within the festival and live music setting. In partnership with The UC Theatre’s Concert Career Pathways (CCP) program, this six-month tuition-free, hands-on education experience and paid internship begins in April 2023 and will culminate in the opportunity to work on the grounds at the festival.

Weekend passes and single day tickets are available for purchase at bumbershoot.com. In celebration of the 50th anniversary, Bumbershoot and Amazon are offering prices 50% lower than when the event was last held in 2019 to create an opportunity for more of the Pacific Northwest community to enjoy the festival. Together with Third Stone, Amazon is also supporting the distribution of 5,000 free tickets directly to nonprofits and communities that have been underserved.

Check out the full lineup below.

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Amy Grant Talks First New Music in 10 Years and ‘The Gift’ of Life’s Fourth Quarter

As Amy Grant prepares to release her first new music in 10 years while in the midst of a 70-city headlining tour, the Christian-pop icon compares herself to a recently restored vehicle returning to the road. “I feel like an old car that got taken to the shop banged up and they’ve put in a new engine and a great paint job,” says Grant. “I feel like a classic.”

In the last three years, Grant, 62, has dealt with a series of medical issues and mishaps. In June 2020 she underwent open heart surgery to repair a rare congenital heart condition, then last summer she hit a pothole while riding her bike and sustained a serious head injury. In January, she had surgery to remove a cyst in her throat.

“There were so many hidden gifts,” she says of the bike wreck, explaining the trauma caused a pre-existing thyroglossal cyst to grow more rapidly — prompting its immediate removal. Following a five-hour surgery, she says “it was like somebody gave me my voice back.”

As a result, the poignant single “Trees We’ll Never See,” out Friday (March 24) via Capitol Christian Music Group, is a welcome return for the artist know for her distinctive voice and thoughtful lyrics. For decades, Grant — who launched her multi-platinum career as an earnest Nashville teen — has left listeners inspired while becoming the face of the Christian-pop crossover movement with such enduring hits as “Baby, Baby” and “Heart in Motion.” 

Today, Grant is healthy, happy and excited about making new music. She returned to the studio in February to work with songwriter and producer Marshall Altman — who produced her last studio album, 2013’s How Mercy Looks From Here, which peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 — on a yet-to-be-released feature for Cory Asbury. She says she was so moved by the experience that she and Altman began playing songs for each other they’d written, one of which was “Trees We’ll Never See” (which he co-wrote with Michael White). 

“Marshall wrote that song five years ago. I get choked up thinking about it,” says Grant. “It just felt like I could have written it. It’s so much how I see life … Everybody assumes I wrote it because it’s the mantra I have lived by.”

The song’s lyrics reflect Grant’s world view: “We’re all sons and daughters/Just ripples on the water/Trying to make it matter/Until our time to leave/One day they’ll carve your name in stone/Then send your soul on home/‘Till then it’s praying for rain. And pulling up the weeds/Planting trees we’ll never see.”

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Grant, a six-time Grammy winner and recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2022, says she now sees her life in its fourth quarter. “I was thinking about my mom and how she died at 80. If we’re lucky we have four 20-year spans, I think the gift of fourth quarter is the perspective and awareness and the appreciation of all of it.”

“The first half of life you’re so worried about measuring up,” she continues. “‘They’ve got a better voice. I hope my songs don’t sound stupid’ — and then by the end, if you’ve opened up your own heart and mind to how loved everyone is, even people you don’t care for, that’s the gift of the last quarter.”

Grant’s heightened awareness of mortality has been fueled by the recent deaths of Bobby Caldwell, who co-wrote her chart-topping duet with Peter Cetera “The Next Time I Fall”; legendary bass player Michael Rhodes and friend Beth Nielsen Chapman’s husband Bob Sherman. “So much of your younger life is saying, ‘Now what’s that going to do? How does that play out? What am I going to see from this investment? In the fourth quarter we don’t have that luxury of time. You just have to say, ‘I am flinging love out there,’”  Grant says. “I’m passing the baton on and not because I don’t still have life to live, but I want to empower people who are coming behind me.”

Grant admits not everyone can appreciate her perspective, including her own children. “My kids — the ones I’ve birthed — are all in the second quarter. They don’t want to hear this crap,” she says with a laugh.  

Following “Trees,” Grant plans to release another single in April. Co-written with Natalie Hemby and Barry Dean, she played the song for Altman the same day he shared “Trees.” He immediately booked musicians and they recorded both songs within 10 days. (The new song was written after Grant attended a therapy session with one of her grown children, saying she and husband Vince Gill “gave the gift of therapy to our family…Natalie sat down at the piano, and I just felt the lyrics spilling out of me.”)  Grant says she’s “taking it two songs at a time. Hopefully, I’ll have one a month and by the end of the year, cull out the ones that weren’t good and put the rest out.”

The return to music has helped Grant put the last three years behind her — though she’s still adjusting in some ways.  Her memory has returned and she no longer has to rely on a notebook to remember extended family members’ names or a teleprompter to remember song lyrics. She used to take her bicycle on tour and ride 30 miles before a show, but now takes it a little easier. “I started building my stamina back by going to the Y probably every other day and I felt like I was swimming kind of slow. Now I feel like I’m starting to get my rhythm back,” she says. “It’s still hard for me to balance if I have my eyes closed, [which is] typical for a head injury.  But if nothing else changed, I would be fine . . .I feel like my mind has never felt so vibrant and active during a show.”

Perhaps the biggest change, Grant says, is that she doesn’t take anything for granted. “When I’m on stage, I’m just flooded with gratitude. It feels so good to have shared a journey for decades with an audience. I have a sense of humor about myself in my own songs. It’s not like we’re curing cancer here. It’s music, but music is something that we can share and participate in simultaneously.  You don’t have to agree with their politics, spirituality or anything.  Somebody buys a ticket and sings along and there’s a feeling of unity. That’s beautiful.”   

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