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Beyonce is reportedly planning secret pop-up shows in the UK to promote her upcoming seventh album. According to The Jasmine Brand, the singer's team has been searching for venues in the UK. A source said, "Beyonce's new album is ready but this era will be like no other. She wrote most of the songs during the pandemic, when she was desperate to be with her fans and perform."

The source continued, "This new record and campaign will be her most interactive one yet because she wants to reach out to the fans. It will focus on live experiences outside of touring, including intimate shows and pop-up performances."

The source added, "She is planning to spend a lot of time performing and promoting it in the UK, so there will be unique surprises in store for the British fans. People in her camp have scouted out venues for her to perform at when the music comes out and then there will be another huge tour later on."

UPDATE

TIdal seemingly confirmed that Beyonce's seventh album is coming! Tidal announced on Instagram that the album is entitled Renaissance and that it will be released on July 29th.

In an interview with Essence, Janet Jackson revealed when she will be releasing her next album. The R&B icon said, "It's so funny because I see the fans asking, 'When are we going to get ‘Black Diamond?' 'Will you please release?' Sometimes things happen that you don't expect to happen, and you have to figure things out—or you're in a space in your life when you have to take a step back and take a break for a minute."

She continued, "Even though it's something that I absolutely love, it still is my work, my job. There will be music at some point. Exactly when? I can't say just yet, but there will be. I love it too much not to do it. This is all I know. There's so much that I want to do—but my number one job is being a mama."

Janet also discussed something that people would be surprised to know about her, saying, "When it comes to my personal life, I think mistaking my kindness for weakness. When it comes to my professional life, I would say it would have to be not liking to hear the word 'no.' Especially being a woman, and someone telling you, ‘no, you can't because…'"

JANET SAYS FAME IS NOT IMPORTANT TO HER

Meanwhile, Janet also explained that fame is not really too important to her. She explained, "I've never been that person to have my awards on display. There's nothing wrong with it, that's just not me. Being able to wake up and see my baby another day. The space I might be in at that moment within my soul. What I've accomplished within myself. How far I've come from that child there to the woman that I am today. That's success."

She continued, "If you came to my home, you would never know — if you did not know who I was — that I am an entertainer. I don't have one award on my wall."

Janet added that when she was dating Jermaine Dupri, he wanted her to put her Grammys out, so she did it for him.

She added, "Just the Grammys, nothing else. After we went our separate ways, they went back in the warehouse and haven't come out since."

During an interview with Rolling Stone, Megan Thee Stallion opened up about the July 2020 shooting involving Torey Lanez. Megan recalled the event, saying, "I thought we had a real connection," adding that she and Lanez had bonded over the mutual loss of their mothers. She continued, "I thought he knew me. And I never would've thought he would've shot at me at all." Megan went on, "I want him to go to jail. I want him to go under the jail." If convicted, Lanez faces 22 years in prison.

Megan revealed that after the shooting, she was hospitalized and had to get bullet fragments removed from her feet, saying, "What nobody knows is, I had to get the surgery the same night. I stayed in the hospital in California for maybe four days. Then I was in New York for a while. Both of my legs wrapped up. I could not walk. I still have bullet fragments in my feet right now. I was very scared that I was not able to be Megan Thee Stallion no more. And I was fu**ed up."

Megan revealed that ex best friend Kelsey Nicole met with Lanez two days after the shooting at a hotel room. She said, "I'm like, ‘Kelsey, as my best friend, why would you meet up with the person you saw shoot your best friend?' She said, ‘Megan, y'all wasn't answering my calls. My back was against the wall. I didn't know what to do.' What the f*ck do you mean your back is against the wall? You're the only person in this situation that would clear this up for me."

She continued, "This girl told me out her mouth, ‘He told me, 'Oh, thank you for not saying nothing. Now let me invest in your business. Let me do this. Let me do that.' And all I know was, from that day on, she never said nothing else about the whole situation online."

The rapper also talked about facing backlash after the shooting, saying, "In some kind of way I became the villain. ​I see people saying, ‘Damn, I would've shot that b*tch too.'"

KELSEY NICOLE RESPONDS

Kelsey Nicole took to social media to respond to Megan, saying, "If y'all not catching on to the social media games by now, then I don't know what to tell y'all. But you guys have to pay attention. Like, I knew this was gonna happen. This is just the beginning, y'all. I know y'all want me to talk, but this is just the beginning. So, like, when it's my turn, just know, I'm gonna break everything down, okay?" She added, "And we gon' see who really look bad in the end."

Jonas Brothers are on the cover of People this week and Nick Jonas gave a quick update about their personal lives. He said, he and his wife, Priyanka Chopra, and their 6-month-old daughter, live in Los Angeles. Joe and his wife, Sophie Turner have a 2-year-old daughter and recently moved to Miami and are expecting another child. And Kevin and his wife Danielle have two daughters and still live in New Jersey. Even though they live across the country from each other, he says they connect every day.

Lady Gaga's hit song, "Poker Face," has officially reached a billion views on YouTube. The #1 song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 for 40 weeks, and remains one of the best-selling singles of all-time. Uploaded to YouTube in December of 2008, it's the third song in history to reach the milestone. "Poker Face" became Gaga's first Grammy win.

Megan Thee Stallion is working on her second studio album and there's a chance that it may arrive sooner than originally thought. The 27-year-old says it should be out sometime this summer.

Today, Eminem and Cee Lo Green are releasing a single from the Elvis soundtrack called "The King & I." The soundtrack also features songs by Jack White, Maneskin, Doja Cat, Stevie Nicks, and others.

Sting has extended his "My Songs" Las Vegas residency with a new string of spring 2023 dates. The new shows at the Colesseum at Caesers Palace will play on April 1st, 2nd, 5th, 7th, 8th and 9th, 2023.

According to the announcement: "'My Songs' presents a compendium of Sting's most beloved songs with dynamic, visual references to some of his most iconic videos and inspirations. Throughout the show, the world-renowned musician treats fans to an array of greatest hits spanning his illustrious career, including 'Roxanne,' 'Message In A Bottle,' 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,' 'Every Breath You Take' and several other fan favorites, plus new songs from his latest album, The Bridge."

Sting recently told us that he's especially proud of how adaptable his music is for most any genre he chooses to tackle onstage: "I've always said a good song will survive almost anything. Y'know, I could sit there and play all of these songs on a guitar and just accompany myself, I can do them with a three-piece rock band, I can do them with a slightly larger group with a few jazzers in 'em. Now we can take them to a symphony orchestra and say, 'Well does this work?' And lo and behold, nine times out of ten it does."

Sting will next perform on Thursday and Friday (June 17th and 18th) as part of his Las Vegas "My Songs " residency at Colesseum at Caesars Palace.

It was 55 years ago today (June 16th, 1967) that the Monterey International Pop Festival kicked off at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The historic festival, which took place on June 16th, 17th, and 18th, was forever embedded into popular culture with the release of D.A. Pennebaker's documentary Monterey Pop, along with being the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Who, and Ravi Shankar. The festival will also be remembered for its two breakout artists -- Janis Joplin fronting Big Brother And The Holding Company and the mainstream introduction of Otis Redding.

Monterey proved to be the melting pot of pop/rock with historic sets played by Simon & Garfunkel, the Mamas & The Papas, the Grateful Dead, Lou Rawls, Country Joe & The Fish, the Byrds, the Association, Eric Burdon & The Animals, Johnny Rivers, Moby Grape, Canned Heat, Jefferson Airplane, Laura Nyro, Booker T. & The M.G.'s, and the Steve Miller Band, among others. Most notably the festival turned the tide of the record business looking towards the Bay Area for its new signings, rather than limiting most of their prospects to New York and L.A.

Neil Young quit the Buffalo Springfield prior to their performance and the Byrds' David Crosby was deputized to fill in -- much to this dismay of Crosby's bandmates Roger McGuinn -- then Jim McGuinn -- and Chris Hillman.

In one of the most short-sighted decisions in rock history, although originally advertised, Brian Wilson pulled the Beach Boys from performing at the festival, which permanently left them on the wrong side of the counter culture -- especially in the eyes of the burgeoning hipper-than-thou rock press.

The Rolling Stones' Brian Jones made his last appearance in the U.S. at Monterey, when he announced the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Although she originally hailed from Port Arthur, Texas, Janis Joplin came to embody the San Francisco spirit that permeated Monterey. Joplin made it clear that she finally felt at home within the San Francisco scene. Janis Joplin recalled her long road to personal and creative freedom: "I started singing when I was about 17. I listened to a lot of music first and one day I started singing, and I could sing. It was a surprise (laughs) -- to say the least. About '63, I couldn't stand Texas anymore and I went to California, ‘cause it's a lot freer, and you can, y'know, you can do what you wanna do and nobody bugs you."

A Board of Governors was established for the festival that consisted of: Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Mick Jagger, Smokey Robinson, Andrew Loog Oldham, Donovan, Jim McGuinn, Terry Melcher, Alan Pariser, John Phillips, and Lou Adler.

Steve Miller told us that even today, Jimi Hendrix's talent still manages to floor him: "Y'know, and I was just watching the film of Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival, and just had to stop and sit down and watch and admire what an (laughs) amazing performer he was (laughs) -- just how great."

Pete Townshend recalled that at Monterey there was tension between him and Jimi Hendrix -- who was his labelmate on Track Records -- when Townshend insisted that the Who go on before the Experience in deference to Hendrix's incredible show and musical importance. There was a brief standoff with Hendrix perceiving Townshend wanting the Who to go on first and claim some of the bombast rather than follow Hendrix and his incendiary live show -- much of which had been cribbed from the Who more extreme stage antics.

Today, Townshend remains awed by the organic force of Jimi Hendrix's raw and pure talent: "What Jimi was doing, it was an epiphany in the actual dictionary definition of the word. You felt pained, because in his presence, and in the presence of that music, you felt small and you realized how far you had to go. What was also painful was to meet him afterwards and to realize he didn't know what he was doing and he had no idea of his greatness. So there was also that, y'know, the feeling that one knew -- I knew -- that he was going to burn out very, very quickly. Sweet guy. Really, really nice guy."

Happy Birthday to Lamont Dozier who turns 81 today (June 16th)!!! Dozier and brothers Eddie and Brian Holland formed Motown's legendary songwriting and production team Holland-Dozier-Holland, and have written nearly 300 songs, including the Four Tops' Top Ten hits "Standing In The Shadows Of Love," "Bernadette," "It's The Same Old Song," and their Number Ones "I Can't Help Myself" and "Reach Out (I'll Be There)."

Holland-Dozier-Holland are also responsible for writing and producing Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)," along with Martha & the Vandellas' "Nowhere To Run," "Heatwave" and "Jimmy Mack." However, they are best known for their string of Number Ones with the Supremes, including "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love," "Stop! In The Name Of Love," "Come See About Me," "Back In My Arms Again," and "I Hear A Symphony."

Dozier says that the greatest part of songwriting is the initial buzz from coming up with a new idea: "Y'know, back in the '60s and '70s, the creation part of it, I think was the good thing. When you can create something from nothing. Y'know, starting with a new melody, a new approach to a song, or a new idea for the conflicts between man and woman which is always what we've written about."

He's especially proud of the fact that Holland-Dozier-Holland was able to take people minds off the atrocities of the 1960's: "The '60s were a very terrible time. I think we brought some balance; I like to think we brought some balance to the emotions that people were feelin'. We constantly wrote about love, and being happy, dance music, things like 'Mickey's Monkey' -- that had nothin' to do with the times, but sort of an escape for the people with all of these changes that were taking place. We tried to keep people focused on 'Hey there's a better life, there's good things in life to look forward to' and I like to think we were optimistic in our music."

Ozzy Osbourne says he is" feeling the love and support" from fans following his "life-altering" surgery that involved removing and realigning pins in his neck and back.

He wrote via IG yesterday (June 14th), "I am now home from the hospital recuperating comfortably."

He continued, "I am definitely feeling the love and support from all my fans and send everyone a big thank you for their thoughts, prayers and well wishes during my recovery."

Britney Spears says that her brother, Bryan Spears, didn't attend her wedding because he wasn't invited.

Earlier this week, Bryan's girlfriend, Amber Lynn Conklin claimed they missed Britney's big day because they were attending his daughter's elementary school graduation. But, according to the pop star's now-deleted Instagram rant Tuesday (June 14th), her big brother was a part of the long list of estranged family members who didn't receive an invitation.

She wrote, "You were never invited to my wedding so why even respond ??? Do you honestly think I want my brother there who told me no to a Jack and coke for 4 years … what ???"

She continued, "I know you're my blood and yes blood runs deep but no family of mine would do what you guys did to me … Pssss …I liked your post, brother!!!"

Bryan isn't the only uninvited wedding guest to make headlines Tuesday (June 14th). According to TMZ, Jason Alexander's wedding crasher stunt cost Britney's security team their jobs. The outlet reports that the "Toxic" singer replaced her entire team shortly after her ex-husband crashed Thursday's (June 9th) ceremony.

As expected, the Rolling Stones have postponed their June 17th concert at Bern, Switzerland's Wankdorf Stadium marking the second show the Stones have had to push following Mick Jagger testing positive for Covid.

The Stones were forced to pull out of their June 13th Amsterdam stadium show only hours before hitting the stage after Jagger tested positive.

The band posteded a message on their Instagram page, which reads in full:

The Rolling Stones are deeply sorry for this postponement, but the safety of the audience, fellow musicians and the touring crew has to take priority.

The Stones Milan show on Tuesday, June 21 at San Siro Stadium goes ahead and will take place as scheduled.

The Bern show will be rescheduled for a later date. Ticket holders should retain their tickets. Tickets for the June 17 performance will be honored for the rescheduled date. Reschedule details will be announced as soon as available.

Guitarist Ron Wood told us that at this point -- with 60 years of classic songs and dozens of tours under their belt -- the Stones are clearly sailing in uncharted waters: "We notice that we're cutting new ground, y'know, in that no bunch of guys have ever stuck together this long in the rock n' roll field."

The boys of BTS are planning on taking some time apart.

Footage from the group's annual Festa event shared Tuesday (June 14th) showed Suga telling the crowd in Korean, "We're going into a hiatus now."

Later, Jungkook promised, "We're each going to take some time to have fun and experience lots of things. We promise we will return someday even more mature than we are now."

When reached by Pitchfork, a representative for the band said, "To be clear, they are not on hiatus but will take time to explore some solo projects at this time and remain active in various different formats."

George Harrison's widow, Olivia Harrison, told London's Sunday Times that following George's death, Yoko Ono offered her some solid advice. Olivia will publish her first book of poetry on June 21st, titled Came The Lightening: Twenty Poems For George, and is dedicated to the late-Beatle in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of his death from cancer on November 29th, 2001 at age 58.

Olivia shed light on how she was coping in the aftermath of George's passing, recalling, "I got very busy, managing lots of things and the gardens and business and the people that, y'know, change. . . I did have to jettison a few. Yoko actually said to me, 'You don't know what's going to happen, but I do.' And she was right. There were people who had other ideas about how I should live my life. And I was pretty shocked by that."

Olivia went on to say, "I haven't seen (Yoko) in a long time. She's not been very well recently, but she always befriended me. . . We didn't spend a lot of time together, but she's just magnificent. We would sit in a board meeting together (the Apple Corps board, of which they are both directors), and she would take everyone completely out of this realm into another realm, which I loved. She's the most disarming person."

Olivia, who was firmly in the background during George's lifetime was forced to solely take over the business of the "Quiet Beatle" following his death: "(The legal battles) took years. And after George died I was still doing it. I thought, no, you can't let people just walk all over you. That's not a good message for other people. I had more than one person tell me, 'Well, Mrs. Harrison, you're not going to want your business in the papers.' And I said, 'Well, you know what? I've been in the papers, I don't care. But do you want your business in the papers? Go ahead, make my day.'"

When pressed as to whether Olivia and George had an open marriage, after Olivia briefly touched upon Harrison's infidelities in the recent past, Olivia said: "Absolutely not. I believe he was. . . he shut a door when I met him. And we were very private. He wanted this normal life. And I think that was what I gave him. So, y'know, during our marriage, there was a lot of flirtation, there were some bumps in the road. But we were solid."

Olivia Harrison said that in 2002, while compiling George's last album, the posthumously released Brainwashed, she first realized that there was much more material from his last days than could fit onto the album: "I found a running order. A list of tracks that he was going to put on there, and it was almost identical to what we did. And I found that afterwards. I wish I had found it before. There's still material from that too that I'll try to get to one day. There are a lot of songs that probably won't see the light of day, and some will."

Harry Styles says the thought of a One Direction reunion is "really nice."

In a recent appearance on the Spout podcast, the "Watermelon Sugar" singer was asked if he thinks the guys will all share a stage together some day. He said, "I don't know, I mean I think the thought of it is really nice, I'd love for there to be a time where it felt like something we all wanted to do."

Styles added, "I think we all went through something really special together and there's a lot of love there. If there's a moment for us to do it the right way, I think it'd be great."

• Metallica's James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett are offering up video courses to teach you how to play just like the band. The first instructional "Riff Lite" is available now, with two more -- titled "Rock In Rhythm" and "Take The Lead," rolling out later this month and in July.
• Loudwire reported, "The lessons promise to take you through 10 of the band's most well-known songs, including 'Enter Sandman,' 'Nothing Else Matters,' 'One,' 'Welcome Home (Sanitarium),' and as Hetfield promises, the REAL way to play 'Master Of Puppets.'" To sign up, log on to: https://yousician.com/ (Loudwire)
  
  
• With Aerosmith on hiatus while Steven Tyler completes his latest round of rehab, Joe Perry has reignited his Joe Perry Project for a small string of shows. Joining Perry on the East Coast gigs will be Extreme frontman Gary Cherone, drummer Joe Pet, Aerosmith, Hollywood Vampires, and Doobie Brothers keyboardist Buck Johnson, and Chris Wise from the Vampires, the Cult, and Ozzy Osbourne on bass. (Blabbermouth)
  • JUST ANNOUNCED: The Joe Perry Project tour dates (subject to change):
    July 21 - Hampton, NH - Hampton Beach Casino
    July 22 - Boston, MA - Leader Bank Pavilion (with ZZ Top)
    July 23 - Atlantic City, NJ - Atlantic City Hard Rock Casino
    
• Def Leppard are the latest rockers to get into the booze biz with their new "Def Leppard Rocket Premium Distilled Gin 700ml." According to the press release: "Inspired by lavender labyrinths in Sheffield (Manor Lodge) this is a premium distilled gin with high intensity of flavors. The grain-based distillate is bold with juniper and herbaceous tones. For a more developed experience of botanical character, additional flavor of lavender and lemon are macerated and blended with the distillate. There are no added sweeteners, ensuring the purest quality of the liquid. The design is created with inspiration from the hit single 'Rocket' from the album Hysteria." (Press release)

Ozzy Osbourne's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne took to social media to update fans on her husband's condition following his major surgery on Monday (June 13th).

She wrote, "Our family would like to express so much gratitude for the overwhelming amount of love and support leading upto Ozzy's surgery!"

She added, "Ozzy is doing well and on the road to recovery! Your love means the world to him."

Ozzy underwent surgery to remove and realign pins in his neck and back.

Simple Minds are back and have just dropped "Vision Thing" -- the lead single from their upcoming 18th studio album, titled Direction Of The Heart, set for release on October 21st. Simple Minds are still led by singer Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill, with the new album released on the BMG imprint.

Jim Kerr said in the album's official announcement: "How to make a feel-good 'Electro-rock' record, during the very worst of times? Direction Of The Heart is the result of that challenge. Who would have thought we'd have so much fun creating it?"

Guesting on Direction Of The Heart is Sparks frontman Russell Mael, who appears on the track, "Human Traffic."

Jim Kerr told us Simple Minds makes a concerted effort to ensure new material can stand tall against the band's classic works: "Let's be honest, because I do it myself when you talk about vintage bands, or something -- even the ones that you're fond of. When they bring out a new work, invariably you're gonna want it with some trepidation because rarely is it as good as it was back in the day. Rarely does it match up, and we not only struggled with that, but we wanted to do everything within our powers and against the odds to come up with an album where you could feel the band engaged as much as we were back in the day."

Simple Minds will next perform on June 18th at Oxfordshire, England at Blenheim Palace

It was 57 years ago today (June 15th, 1965) that Bob Dylan recorded "Like A Rolling Stone." The song not only revolutionized the way lyrics were written and sung, but ultimately pushed the boundaries of how long a hit single could actually be. "Like A Rolling Stone," which clocked in at 6:06, would end up being printed as 5:59 on the 45's label in an effort to fool Top 40 disc jockeys into playing the single.

The session for the song began at 1:20 p.m. at Columbia Records studios in New York City, with Dylan performing the song on the piano as a waltz. By dawn the song had taken shape as one of the all time greatest rock n' roll singles. Producer and friend Paul Rothchild remembered visiting the session in the early hours of June 16th in Bob Spitz' Bob Dylan: A Biography recalling that, "They told me they had played it 25 times before I got there. Dylan just sat in a chair with a smile plastered on his face and his leg going a mile-a-minute. He was grooving on the knowledge that he'd made a great record."

Dylan recalled writing the song in the liner notes to his 1985 box set Biograph revealing that, "My wife and I lived in a little cabin in Woodstock, New York, which we rented. I wrote the song there. . . It just came, you know it started with that 'La Bamba' riff."

The song's title was inspired by Hank Williams' song "Lost Highway," which contains the line, "I'm a rolling stone, I'm alone and lost."

The song has long been rumored to be about the late model and former debutante Edie Sedgwick who was mainstay of Andy Warhol's legendary Factory.

In August 1965 "Like A Rolling Stone" peaked at Number Two in the charts -- his highest ranking single to date.

In 2004 Rolling Stone magazine voted "Like A Rolling Stone" Number One in its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs."

Throughout the years, the song has been covered by the Rolling Stones, John Mellencamp, the Rascals, the Turtles, David Bowie, and Judy Collins, among others.

Dylan himself has performed the song at most of his shows since 1965, often saving it for one of his encores.

Although Bob Dylan performs songs from every era of his career on a nightly basis, going back and listening to his work is a trip he's avoided for some time: "I very rarely listen to the records that I make. I mean, I'm fortunate that I have an audience. Y'know, I don't know if I'd do it if I didn't have an audience, though."

Millie Bobby Brown is down to play Halsey if they ever gets their own biopic.

On Monday's (June 13th) episode of The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon suggested that the Stranger Things star should take the role given their similar looks.

Halsey said, "Millie would be so great. It's kind of uncanny how much we look alike. It's like, ‘Oh no, we actually look like sisters.'"

Brown shared the clip to her Instagram stories and added the caption, "soooo down."

Adele shared her support for the victims of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire on the tragedy's five year anniversary.

On Tuesday (June 14th), the singer shared a post by Grenfell United, a page of "survivors and bereaved families of Grenfell" who are seeking justice for the 72 lives lost.

Adele retweeted their statement, writing, "I stand with the Grenfell families. Follow @GrenfellUnited and join their campaign for truth, justice and change."

Today (June 15th) marks what would have been Harry Nilsson's 81st birthday. Nilsson is best remembered for being an inventive and groundbreaking songwriter, despite the fact that his two biggest hits "Everybody's Talkin'" and "Without You" were actually not written by him. Although he recorded it first, it was Three Dog Night that hit the Top Ten in 1969 with their cover of Nilsson's song "One." Nilsson died of a massive heart attack in 1994 after struggling for years with diabetes.

Released in November 2019 was Losst And Founnd -- an album featuring some of Harry Nilsson's unfinished final songs. The album, which was produced by Mark Hudson, features contributions from Jimmy Webb, Van Dyke Parks, Jim Keltner, and Harry's son, Kiefo Nilsson.

Nilsson was back in the news in 2016 due to the Top 15 success of the Monkees' album, Good Times! The album's lead track, "Good Time," features Micky Dolenz duetting virtually with Nilsson on a demo he had cut for the band in 1967.

Harry Nilsson first caught the ears of the Beatles in 1968 with his three-octave tenor range, became personal and professional friends with all of them, and went on to work extensively with both Ringo Starr and John Lennon. Although Nilsson's Beatles connections often overshadowed his own work, Nilsson actually belonged to a tight-knit group of transplanted L.A.-based songwriters including Jimmy Webb, Van Dyke Parks, and Randy Newman.

In 1994 Randy Newman talked about their relationship, explaining that, "We thought about music. . . The records we made were like the Rolling Stones didn't exist. We thought rock and roll would go in a completely different direction, like a branch of Homo Sapiens that didn't become Homo Sapiens."

Nilsson's wit and musical prowess made it easy for him to move with ease into different genres, composing music for the TV series The Courtship Of Eddie's Father, and providing music to films such as Skidoo, Popeye, The Fisher King, and his own animated feature, The Point.

He continually changed direction throughout his career and at important junctures took risks; such as recording an entire album of Newman's songs or covering 1930's and '40s standards rather than producing the type of infectious pop/rock that was expected of him. It was these left turns that lost Nilsson a broader fan base, yet earned him a solidly loyal and intense cult following.

One of Harry Nilsson's biggest breaks came in 1967 when then Monkees picked "Cuddly Toy" out of his group of demos for the group and decided to cut it for the Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, Jones Ltd. album. Micky Dolenz remembered the day Nilsson's career took an undeniable turn for the better: "I remember very clearly the day he came into the studio -- and it's one of my only very clear memories. And (he) obviously impressed everybody and Davy said, 'Yeah, I'll do that song -- 'Cuddly Toy.'"

Dolenz went on to become one of Nilsson's most notorious partners in crime. He recalled there was much more to Nilsson than just music: "He was certainly a very, very powerful character. He had an incredibly powerful personality. I guess because I knew him so well, he was just my friend. The main thing about him is that he was incredibly intelligent. I mean he's probably -- and I don't throw the term around lightly -- he probably was one of the only men or women that I met that I can honestly say was a genius."

Out now on DVD is the critically acclaimed documentary Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talking' About Him)???

Director John Scheinfeld told us that the link between the Nilsson and Lennon families remained extremely strong following Lennon's 1980 murder: "When we asked Yoko if she'd like to participate, there was no hesitation at all. It was, like, 'Absolutely.' Certainly in the years after John was killed there was quite a lot of contact; there were Christmases where families would get together. So there was a lot of good feeling there -- particularly when she talks about how much Harry loved his kids, and the reason she was able to do that was -- she was there."

Legendary singer/songwriter Jimmy Webb was one of Harry Nilsson's biggest fans and closest confidantes. We asked him what comes to mind when he thinks of Nilsson as an artist: "I think of Nilsson Schmilsson right off the bat. I was around for the record in London with Harry and Richard Perry, and it's not only one of Harry's best records, but I think one of the best records ever made. He was such an elaborately perfect singer. He really is our generation's singer; if we had a Frank Sinatra, it would've been Harry. And you can hear that on an album like, A Little Touch Of Schmilsson In The Night, and you go, 'This guy. . . who sings like this guy?' Nobody."

Out now is the first major biography on Harry Nilsson called, Nilsson: The Life Of A Singer-Songwriter by author Alyn Shipton. Nilsson's estate has granted Shipton unprecedented access to the songwriter's files, friends, family, and even Nilsson's own unfinished autobiography.

2013 saw Nilsson's entire catalogue reissued with revamped and expanded editions of his legendary albums.

TMZ reports that Britney Spears and Sam Asghari have an ironclad prenup in place.

Sources close to the newlyweds told the outlet that Asghari won't get a dollar of Spears' fortune if they split up.

She is currently worth a reported $60 million.

It was also revealed Monday (June 13th) that Spears' ex-husband Jason Alexander must stay away from her for the next three years.

Page Six reports that during Alexander's arraignment for breaking into the pop star's home on her wedding day, a judge extended her no contact order against him.

Alexander pleaded not guilty to trespassing, vandalism and battery, but the District Attorney has added a felony stalking charge. He remains incarcerated and now has a bail set at $100,000.

The Rolling Stones were forced to pull out of their Amsterdam stadium show last night (June 13th) only hours before hitting the stage after Mick Jagger tested positive for Covid. There's been no word whether the band's next show set for Thursday, June 17th in Bern, Switzerland has also been scrapped.

Mick Jagger posted a message on Instagram to fans, which read:

I'm so sorry that we've had to postpone the Amsterdam show with such short notice tonight. I have unfortunately just tested positive for Covid. We aim to reschedule the date ASAP and get back as soon as we can. Thank you all for your patience and understanding.

Mick

Although Mick Jagger will turn 79 next month, that doesn't mean that he pulls any punches or holds anything back once he hits the stage: "Listen, when you do it at 19, you do things you can't (laughs) do at my age. But I still try to make the show as (laughs) energetic as I can make it."

Jack Halrow announced Monday (June 13th) that he is adding New York and Cincinnati shows to his Come Home The Kids Miss You tour.

Harlow will kick off the tour with a new stop at The Andrew J Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, OH on September 5th and hit Brooklyn's Barclays Center on October 7th.

The headlining, nationwide trek will run through the Fall with stops in Nashville, Los Angeles, Miami, San Diego and more.