Women in music

Jackie Evancho - Ave Maria

Lorde scored her first Number One album as her second LP Melodrama topped the Billboard 200 in its debut week, leading the way on a shook-up Top 10 that featured six new releases.





Watch 'Baby Adult' Lorde Talk 'Emotional Renaissance' 20-year-old singer-songwriter reflects on mourning teenage years and loving Greek melodramas in clip from interview for cover story

Melodrama sold 109,000 total copies in its first week, a slight drop from the 129,000 copies Pure Heroine sold in its debut week in 2014; however, Pure Heroine only managed to peak at Number Three, Billboard reports.

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Lady Gaga surprised students at Walter Reed Middle School in Hollywood when she was recently introduced as their substitute teacher. As AdWeekreports, her guest teaching appearance was filmed for a new PSA to launch a fundraising campaign in partnership with Staples for Born this Way Foundation and DonorsChoose.org, which helps teachers fund class projects and supplies.




Summer 2017's Hottest Tours: Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and More Also: Bruno Mars' funk party, U2’s 'Joshua Tree' encore and other must-see shows making the rounds

In the clip, one stunned student asks, "Wait, are you the real Lady Gaga?" The singer takes off her glasses to emphasize she is indeed the real deal. The students share their goals and dreams while hanging out with the pop star.

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Beyoncé introduced the world to twins Sir and Rumi Carter in the first official photo of her and Jay-Z's newborns. The singer posted the photo on Instagram with the caption, "Sir Carter and Rumi 1 month today."



In the photo, a veiled Beyoncé holds the children in front of myriad flowers in a garden.

The photo mirrors the singer's February announcement that she was pregnant with twins, which found her shrouded in a green veil and kneeling in front of flowers. "We would like to share our love and happiness," the Carters wrote at the time. "We have been blessed two times over. We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes."

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Madonna filed a request for a temporary restraining against the auction house Gotta Have It Collectibles to stop the sale of several personal items, including a breakup letter from Tupac Shakur, Reuters reports.




Per a request filed in New York State Supreme Court, the pop star is seeking to remove 20 items from the sale. These include a pair of underwear, an old checkbook, a hairbrush, personal photos, the Tupac letter and another previously reported missive. That note – addressed to a "J" believed to be actor John Enos, whom the pop star briefly dated – was expected to fetch at least $5,000 because in it Madonna called Whitney Houston and Sharon Stone "horribly mediocre."

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Kendrick Lamar leads the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards nominations pack with eight, while the Weeknd and Katy Perry both scored five. The VMAs will air live from the Forum in Los Angeles on August 27th at 8 p.m. ET/PT.




Perry scored nominations for several songs. Her Witness single "Chained to the Rhythm" picked up Best Pop Video, Direction and Visual Effects, while her Migos collaboration, "Bon Appetit" is up for Best Art Direction. The pop star also received a nod for Calvin Harris' "Feels" video in the Best Collaboration category. As for the Weeknd, the singer's cameo-packed "Reminder" video is up in several creative categories.

Best Pop Video
Shawn Mendes – "Treat You Better"
Ed Sheeran – "Shape of You"
Harry Styles – "Sign of the Times"
Fifth Harmony – "Down" [ft. Gucci Mane]
Katy Perry – "Chained to the Rhythm" [ft. Skip Marley]
Miley Cyrus – "Malibu"

Best Choreography
Kanye West – "Fade"
Ariana Grande – "Side to Side" [ft. Nicki Minaj]
Kendrick Lamar – "HUMBLE."
Sia – "The Greatest"
Fifth Harmony – "Down" [ft. Gucci Mane]

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Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald's legal team subpoenaed Lady Gaga as part of the producer's defamation lawsuit against Kesha, who has, in her own lawsuit, accused Dr. Luke of sexual assault.




"In connection with Dr. Luke's defamation claims against Kesha, various third parties are being deposed by both sides, including celebrities," Gottwald's rep said in a statement.

"Dr. Luke's counsel served a subpoena on Lady Gaga because she has relevant information regarding, among other things, false statements about Dr. Luke made to her by Kesha. This motion has become necessary because Dr. Luke's counsel has not been able to obtain, despite repeated request[s], a deposition date from Lady Gaga."

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Lorde takes over an abandoned island paradise in the gorgeous new video for "Perfect Places." The song appears on the singer's new album, Melodrama.




In the Grant Singer-directed clip, Lorde explores her expansive and breathtaking surroundings, trekking through tall grass, running along the coastline, floating in a lagoon and firing a rifle at some fruit dangling in a tree. The clip also captures a kind of beatific loneliness as Lorde lounges in front of a feast in an empty dining room and dances on her own in front of a raging fire.

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Both Diplo and Rihanna have collaborated with artists across the board, but the prolific music makers have yet to work with each other. In a new interview with GQ Style, Diplo reveals that the absence of a Diplo-produced Rihanna track has not been for lack of trying – on his part.





"I just want her on a Major Lazer song," he told the publication, adding, "She's like the one artist we can't ever get."

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A Colorado radio DJ testified under oath that he did not grope Taylor Swift at a 2013 meet-and-greet while the pop star's legal team countered his story as the trial began in Denver Tuesday, Buzzfeed reports. Swift accused the DJ, David "Jackson" Mueller, of reaching under her skirt at a backstage photo-op and grabbing her butt.




Mueller sued Swift in 2015 for $3 million, claiming the accusations were false and cost him his job. A month later, Swift countersued Mueller for assault and battery.

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