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Avril Lavigne Tells Topless Protester “Get the Fuck Off” at 2023 Juno Awards

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Avril Lavigne Tells Topless Protester "Get the Fuck Off" at 2023 Juno Awards

Onstage at the Juno Awards in Canada, Avril Lavigne confronted a topless environmental protester. The woman ran onto the stage behind the singer as she introduced a performance at the start of Monday’s ceremony in Toronto.

A message on her back said, “save the green belt,” presumably about the Ontario government’s contentious housing development plan. Before confronting the woman, Lavigne attempted to finish her speech.

Lavigne turned around and told the woman to “get the fuck off,” swatting at her breast. A security guard then escorted the protester off the stage. Avril was introducing Canadian-Punjabi singer AP Dhillon’s performance when the woman appeared on the stage behind her.

Avril Lavigne later won the final award of the evening, the TikTok Juno fan choice award, alluding in her speech to a bizarre moment earlier in the ceremony when a topless protester appeared on stage behind her.

“Now, nobody do anything this time. I’ll fuck a bitch up,” Avril Lavigne joked to the Juno Awards crowd.

In connection with the incident, Casey Hatherly, 37, of Vancouver, British Columbia, was charged with mischief on Tuesday.

In an emailed statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), which hosts the Junos, said the organization does everything possible to avoid interruptions to the program, but “there are always risks with live events and broadcasts.”

“We hope tonight’s brief interruption does not diminish the achievements of this year’s performers, winners, and nominees.”

Jessie Reyez and Preston Pablo both win.

Although The Weeknd won album of the year for Dawn FM, he did not attend the ceremony, prompting jeers from the audience. The Toronto singer received four awards during Juno’s opening night ceremony on Saturday evening.

“It’s an honor to be recognized here,” Reyez said during her acceptance speech, adding that she was honored to be nominated alongside artists such as DVSN and Savannah Ré.

Preston Pablo, a pop artist from Timmins, Ont., was named breakthrough artist of the year. The 21-year-old singer thanked his family and “the amazing fans for being such a huge part of why I’m here today” during his speech.

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Nickelback has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Later, Nickelback was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

During a pre-recorded segment, actor Ryan Reynolds referred to the band as “the pride of Alberta,” followed by an onstage introduction from Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid.

Jessie Reyez of Toronto won the R&B award for her 2022 album YESSIE and later performed her song Mutual Friend onstage.

Chad Kroeger, who appeared alongside guitarist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adair, stated they only had about two minutes to speak.

“It all started 27 years ago in a little town called Hanna, 300 kilometers southeast of here,” Kroeger said, referring to the band’s hometown.

“We had no idea what we were doing, and we still don’t most of the time. But everything we did end up bringing us to this point. But we didn’t get here without a lot of assistance. “Before each band member thanked their collaborators and loved ones, he added.

The band ended the show by performing their songs Rockstar, How You Remind Me, and Animals, followed by a montage of music videos highlighting some of their biggest hits.

After the show, Kroeger spoke to the press about the band’s mistreatment by the music industry.

“We have been the music industry’s whipping boys for far too long. “It’s nice to see a change,” he said, adding that the members of the band don’t “kill puppies.” “or make headlines for inappropriate behavior.

“We’re four musicians who have been ripped through the mud and worse for 15 years of our 27-year career. So, how does it feel? It fucking stinks, “Kroeger went on to say, “How does it feel to win this award tonight? Fucking Redemption!”

 

 

 

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Feds Search Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Properties As Part Of Sex Trafficking Probe

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NEW YORK — Federal Homeland Security Investigations agents and other law enforcement officers searched two properties owned by music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs in Los Angeles and Miami on Monday as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

It is unclear whether Combs was the target of the probe. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly about the probe and talked to the AP on the condition of anonymity.

Homeland Security Investigations stated that it “executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners.”

A spokesman for the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office declined to comment.

combs

Feds Search Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Properties As Part Of Sex Trafficking Probe

Lawyers for Combs and other representatives left messages requesting comments, but they did not immediately respond.

A police line was formed around the Los Angeles home in the affluent Holmby Hills district near Beverly Hills. Helicopter footage from KABC-TV showed several agents wearing vests, indicating they were from Homeland Security Investigations, and they were gathered in the backyard near the pool. A command post was set up outside the house, and agents were still coming and going hours after the search began.

Combs has faced many sexual assault lawsuits in recent months.

In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit saying that Combs pushed him into soliciting prostitutes and pressuring him to have sex with them. Shawn Holley, Combs’ attorney, stated of the charges, “We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies.”

Cassie, Combs’ former apprentice and girlfriend, sued him in November, accusing him of sexual abuse, including rape, over several years. The lawsuit claimed he pushed her to have sex with male prostitutes while filming them. The lawsuit was settled the day after it was filed.

Another of Combs’ accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her at the age of 17 two decades ago.

The Associated Press normally does not identify persons who claim to have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Cassie did.

In a December statement, Combs stated, “I did not do any of the awful things being alleged.”

combs

Feds Search Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Properties As Part Of Sex Trafficking Probe

According to Douglas Wigdor, an attorney representing Cassie and another woman who sued Combs, “Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct.”

It is unclear whether the search is related to any of the charges in the cases.

Combs is one of the most important hip-hop producers and executives over the last three decades. Formerly known as Puff Daddy, he established one of hip-hop’s most powerful empires, blazing a route with several businesses using his iconic name. He founded Bad Boy Records and is a three-time Grammy winner who has collaborated with several major musicians, including the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans, and 112.

Combs founded the fashion clothing company Sean John, developed the music-focused Revolt TV channel, and produced the reality show “Making the Band” for MTV.

His most recent record, “The Love Album – Off the Grid,” came out last year, just days after Combs was recognized at the MTV Video Music Awards. It was nominated for best progressive R&B album at the February Grammy Awards, but the rapper-mogul did not attend.

combs

Feds Search Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Properties As Part Of Sex Trafficking Probe

The entertainment business has faced a constant stream of career-ending sexual misconduct charges in the years since tales about movie mogul Harvey Weinstein sparked the #MeToo movement in 2017. Weinstein and “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson are both serving jail sentences for rape. Dozens of civil cases have been filed against prominent individuals.

The music industry has not faced the same level of reckoning, but singer and producer R. Kelly is serving a prison sentence for sexually abusing young fans, seven women have sued hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, alleging he raped them, and two women have sued Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler, alleging sexual assault.

Weinstein, Masterson, and Kelly appeal their convictions, while Simmons denies all of the claims made against him. Tyler has had one lawsuit dismissed and is now contesting the other.

SOURCE – (AP)

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Spotify Paid $9 Billion In Royalties In 2023. Here’s What Fueled The Growth

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Los Angeles — Spotify paid out $9 billion in streaming royalties last year, according to its most recent “Loud and Clear” report, released Tuesday.

In response to complaints about its lack of transparency, Spotify released its fourth annual report in 2021, which highlighted its historic achievements, including the largest annual contribution by any merchant to the music industry.

spotify

“Spotify Paid $9 Billion In Royalties In 2023. Here’s What Fueled The Growth

This is everything we know about how much is being paid out, how many artists are achieving different levels of success,” says Charlie Hellman, Spotify’s vice president and worldwide head of music products. “So, everyone can have access to the information and be sort of up to date with the state of the industry.”

According to the data, 1,250 artists earned more than $1 million in recording and publishing royalties in 2023, 11,600 earned more than $100,000, and 66,000 earned more than $10,000. These figures nearly tripled from 2017.

According to the survey, more than half of the 66,000 musicians come from nations where English is not the primary language, indicating a more global music environment.

According to Hellman, “indie” musicians — those who self-distribute and are signed to independent record labels — accounted for $4.5 billion, or half of all royalties paid out by Spotify.

“There are millions of people who’ve uploaded a song at least once but that doesn’t really speak to whether they’re an artist, or if they’re doing this more as a hobby,” Hellman said.

Spotify focuses on musicians who “at least put up an album’s worth of music once they seem to have some indication that they’re trying to build a fan base.” He believes “about 225,000 professionally aspiring artists” are on the platform.

“They have a small fanbase. “They might have gigs listed on Spotify or something,” he says.

Spotify revealed in December that it would lay off 17% of its worldwide workforce, the music streaming service’s third round of layoffs in 2023, as it seeks to reduce expenses while increasing profitability.

Spotify stated that beginning in 2024, it would no longer pay for music with fewer than 1,000 annual streams.

spotify

“Spotify Paid $9 Billion In Royalties In 2023. Here’s What Fueled The Growth

“Songs that generate less than a thousand streams in a year would be generating pennies, a few cents in royalties,” Hellman says. So what we’re seeing was an increasing number of uploaders with $0.03, $0.08, $0.36 sitting there.”

For those DIY artists, there is a minimum withdrawal threshold from a distributor—$5.35 at DistroKid and $1 at TuneCore, two such distributors—and Hellman claims the withdrawal fees would exceed the royalties.

Spotify, like the majority of other streaming services, pays “streamshare” royalties to the site’s music rights holders. To calculate this, add up all of the streams of music belonging to or under the control of a specific rights holder and divide it by the overall number of streams in that market.

In short, greater rights holders control a larger share of the market. A listener streaming an artist 25% of the time does not imply that the act receives 25% of the listener’s membership price.

spotify

“Spotify Paid $9 Billion In Royalties In 2023. Here’s What Fueled The Growth

“All those pennies sitting in bank accounts all over the place were siphoning money away from artists who were really doing this, as an aspiring professional,” Hellman said about the choice. “And so, those royalties are now being put in the pot so that they can be redirected to artists who are getting more than a thousand streams a year.”

SOURCE – (AP)

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Celine Dion Says Living With Stiff Person Syndrome ‘Has Been One Of The Hardest Experiences Of My Life’

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Celine Dion

Celine Dion focuses on her family and the future while she deals with health issues.

On March 15, the iconic artist commemorated International Stiff Person Syndrome Awareness Day with an Instagram post in which she addressed her autoimmune illness, stating that it “has been one of the hardest experiences of my life.”

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Celine Dion Says Living With Stiff Person Syndrome ‘Has Been One Of The Hardest Experiences Of My Life’

Dion said she is “determined to one day get back on stage and live as normal a life as possible.”

A picture of Celine’s three sons—René-Charles, Nelson, and Eddy—accompanied her heartfelt letter.

Celine had three children with her late husband, René Angélil, who died in 2016.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, stiff person syndrome (SPS) is an uncommon neurological disorder that causes spasms and muscle rigidity. It also causes increased sensitivity to stimuli such as sound, lighting, and emotional discomfort, which can trigger muscle spasms.

dion

Celine Dion Says Living With Stiff Person Syndrome ‘Has Been One Of The Hardest Experiences Of My Life’

Dion first disclosed her diagnosis in 2022. She has ceased touring and performing live.

A documentary about the “My Heart Will Go On” singer, due to premiere on Prime Video, will follow her return to the stage.

On Friday,Celine stated in her caption that she is offering “encouragement and support to all those around the world who have been affected by SPS.”

“I want you to know that you can do it!” “We can do it,” she concluded.

Celine Dion is a powerhouse vocalist from Canada. She’s sold over 200 million albums worldwide, making her one of the best-selling artists ever.

Dion shot to fame after winning the 1988 Eurovision song contest.

dion

Celine Dion Says Living With Stiff Person Syndrome ‘Has Been One Of The Hardest Experiences Of My Life’

Her hits like “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic and “Because You Loved Me” showcased her incredible range and emotional delivery. Despite taking a break to care for her late husband René Angélil, Dion remains a Vegas headliner and touring force.

Her voice and resilience inspire fans globally.

SOURCE – (CNN)

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