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Day in Pop Report for 07/10/2015



Ariana Grande Under Investigation For 'Maliciously Licking'

(Radio.com) It seems the internet wasn't the only group disgusted by Ariana Grande's choice to lick donuts at a shop in Southern California, now the local cops have gotten involved.

According to CBS News, police in Lake Elsinore, where the shop is located, along with Riverside County public health officials are investigating leaked footage that shows Grande licking donuts. Or, as the police report notes, where Grande was "maliciously licking" donuts with a male companion, identified as her backup dancer (and possible new boyfriend) Ricky Alvarez.

A cashier at the donut shop told officials Grande did not buy any of the donuts she licked and that she was "really rude." While the owner of the shop told CBS a similar story, "One of the trays, yeah, she was licking on them and the other trays, she spit on them."

Grande's actions reportedly led the health department to downgrade the shop's A health rating to a B a day following the leak of the footage. "I've been open for six years since 2009, and it's always been an 'A,'" the owner said. Read more here.

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Madonna 'Rebel Heart' Leaker Gets Prison Sentence

(Radio.com) It might be a message to anyone that hacks and leaks confidential information, or it might just be a message to be careful when crossing Madonna.

Israeli hacker Adi Lederman, the person responsible for hacking into cloud accounts of a number of associates of Madonna as well as her manager, and leaking demos and unfinished tracks from the pop icon's then-unreleased new album, Rebel Heart, has been sentenced to 14 months in prison.

Lederman was found guilty of a four charges: computer trespassing, copyright infringement, prohibited secret monitoring, and obstructing investigation.

Lederman was arrested in January of this year in a join investigation from the FBI and Israeli Police forces. Read more here.

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David Crosby Says Kanye West Is As 'Dumb As A Post'

(Radio.com) David Crosby has unleashed a new round of criticism against Kanye West, because that's apparently what people want to hear from him these days. Crosby went on Twitter, and in response to a fan's question, opted to decry West as "dumb as a post," after a user asked how he felt about the "All Day" rapper describing himself as the "greatest rock star of all time" at Glastonbury.

"As I said ..he can't write, sing, or play," the Crosby, Stills and Nash legend replied. "At all He is an egomaniac He is dumb as a post He creates nothing Helps no one."

Earlier this year, Crosby made similar comments about West during an interview with Huffington Post. He declared that West was a "poser" because "he sits in a chair while the engineer does the work. He's a poser! And I'm not backing off it." Read more here.

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Woman Sues 2 Chainz Over Unauthorized Backstage Video

(Radio.com) 2 Chainz may be in legal hot water after a Charlotte, N.C., woman he videotaped has sued him for no less than $5 million in damages. According to local news station WB3, Christine Chisholm is trying to take the rapper to court, claiming that he filmed her backstage against her permission, causing her to lose her job.

The video was filmed at a concert, after 2 Chainz invited Chisholm backstage. In it, the rapper calls her a "thot," an acronym for "that ho over there."

The video went viral on YouTube, gathering 10 million views. Chisholm's lawsuit claims that this unwanted online fame has forced her to be subjected to unwelcome attention in real life. Read more here.

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Sam Smith And Disclosure Team Up For New Single 'Omen'

(Radio.com) Lightning just might strike twice with the news that Sam Smith and Disclosure have once again teamed up and collaborated on a new single, "Omen."

The two sides having famously joined forces on the massive Disclosure hit, "Latch," new song "Omen" (which is set for release sometime next week, according to Billboard) also has "Latch" songwriter in common, Jimmy Napes.

News of "Omen" came via both Disclosure and Sam Smith's social media, posting the track's arresting cover art."Latch," which was released in 2012, would go on to hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, selling in excess of three million copies in the U.S. alone. Read more here.

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Future Goes To The Farm For 'Real Sisters' Video

(Radio.com) Don't mess with Future: In his latest video for "Real Sisters" off his Beast Mode mixtape from back in February, the "Commas" rapper orchestrates a complex entrapment heist.

Along with the titular sister duo, he relieves a few hapless marks of product and money. The setting is, surprisingly, a farm in the middle of nowhere--Future has set up a drug deal in the countryside. He takes his supposed partners for a walk, surrounded by chickens and goats. The guys test drugs and negotiate a major sale.

Then, the two femme fatales blindfold them--in an erotic way, they think--before pulling guns and snatching the drugs. They all jump into a waiting SUV and speed away, leaving their victims stranded in the boonies. Read more and watch the video here.

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Amy Winehouse Records 'Back to Black' with Mark Ronson in Doc Clip

(Radio.com) In a new clip released from the documentary Amy, detailing the rise to fame and untimely death of Amy Winehouse, comes film of the singer recording the single "Back to Black" in a New York City studio with producer Mark Ronson.

In the three-minute clip, Winehouse can be seen singing a cappella, headphones on, to the backing track as she lays down the song inspired by her on-again/off-again relationship with future husband Blake Civil-Fielder.

"It was just one of those serendipitous things," Ronson said. "I caught her at that magic moment. She was ready to get it going, that's why I couldn't understand what everyone else was saying about this procrastinating, troubled artist."

Amy is in select theaters now, with a wider release coming July 10. "Back to Black" came from the 2006 album of the same name, Winehouse's final release before her death in 2011. Watch the clip here.

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Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard Shares Wedding Video Clip

(Radio.com) Tyler Hubbard's wedding day was a magical one, apparently--and there's video that showcases just this. The Florida Georgia Line singer posted a teaser of his wedding video on Instagram this week (July 8), thanking the production team for capturing the special day.

Hubbard married Hayley Stommel on July 1 in the picturesque mountains of Sun Valley, Idaho, and admitted that he was all nerves on the big day watching his wife walk down the aisle.

"I was a basketcase to be honest," Hubbard told PEOPLE. "I was super emotional. It was a very spiritual moment the first time I got to see her. It was beautiful."

The location of the wedding is where his wife grew up skiing and is a place she says is one of the couple's favorites in the world. "Tyler and I just feel really close to God out in the mountains," she said. "We love being outdoors and the beauty of nature."

Guests were asked to dress in neutral colors and some of those special guests included Hubbard's bandmate Brian Kelley, Brett Eldredge, Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley, Thomas Rhett and Canaan Smith. Eldredge can be heard singing an unreleased song, "Drunk On Your Love," in the video clip. Watch it here.

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The Weeknd's New Album Title and Release Date Leaked?

(Radio.com) Given The Weeknd's current and ongoing win streak of hit songs and triumphant festival appearances, anticipation for his upcoming album has hit an all-time high.

Since we're living in a time when "release dates are played out," according to Kanye West, however, the album has been shrouded in mystery, with no scheduled drop date to look forward to--until now.

According to iTunes in New Zealand (via Complex), The Weeknd's new album is entitled Beauty Behind the Madness and is scheduled for release on Aug. 28.

If the listing is to be believed, the album includes recent singles "Often," "The Hills" and "Can't Feel My Face," although the rest of the full-length's 14 tracks have yet to be revealed. Read more here.

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'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2' Teaser Released

(Radio.com) Fans will have to wait until November 20 for the conclusion of The Hunger Games saga, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, but Comic-Con 2014 in San Diego was the site of a debut of a new teaser and trailer for the highly anticipated film.

While the full trailer is yet to appear online, the teaser is now available to watch. The clip portrays an army, dressed in white, moving in sync as if they were virtually a dance squat, until Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss appears dressed in red and the message "Freedom is worth fighting for. Stand With Us" flashes.

And while we only see Lawrence in the clip, the rest of the all-star cast, including Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, and Natalie Dormer will all be returning for the final installment. Surely the longer trailer will give glimpses of the rest of the cast. Watch the teaser here.

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Luke Bryan Doesn't Not Want The Outlaw Country Label

(Radio.com) Let's be clear: Luke Bryan may sing country, but he is not--repeat, not--an "outlaw." We know, his fans know and according to a recent interview with Hits Daily Double, he knows it as well.

That said, his idea of what defines "outlaw country" may be different from yours and mine. "I'm not an outlaw country singer," Bryan said. "I don't do cocaine and run around. So I'm not going to sing outlaw country."

Wait a second: cocaine and 'running around'? Is that the criteria? In Bryan's universe it's a key factor in what separates his music from that of legendary artists like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, the two chief figureheads of country's so-called 'outlaw' movement of the 1970s.

"I like to hunt, fish, ride around on my farm, build a big bonfire and drink some beers--and that's what I sing about," the country singer, whose new album Kill the Lights comes next month, said. "It's what I know. I don't know about laying in the gutter, strung out on drugs. I don't really want to do that."

To be fair, the context of these quotes came during a discussion of Bryan's music and how it reflects a huge range of new influences from across genres, including hip-hop and rock. Bryan is a guy who wants to keep looking forward, not checking the rear-view mirror all the time. Read more here.

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Cody Simpson Talks First Independent Release 'Free'

(Radio.com) Cody Simpson today releases Free, his third album and very first independent record, and the 18-year-old Australian singer-songwriter says he feels like a completely new man.

"Free captures a moment of my life leading up to the summer of 2015 in which I was going through a transitional period and a process of breaking free of certain restrictions I may have had in the past that were keeping me for growing on a personal and musical discovery," he tells Radio.com over the phone from New York City.

While Simpson admits that he's still figuring things out, he hopes to share a piece of his life with listeners on his new releases. He says Free feels like his first album as it's the first time he's been able to create a concept and project from his own vision and execute it himself.

"It's the first time I'm able to share my authentic self with people as opposed to before it was people's reflection of me as opposed to my own which can be frustrating," he adds.

Free follows Simpson's first two major label release, 2012's Paradise and 2013's Surfers Paradise. He is no longer signed with his former label Atlantic and instead will release the album July 10 on his own record label, Coast House Records. The 14-track album is full of acoustic vibes and distinct reggae beats that bring to mind Jack Johnson and John Mayer, who Simpson calls inspirations. Mayer even shared some helpful tips with Simpson after the two met at a restaurant.

"I sent him a couple raw demos I had and he sent back some advice," Simpson recalls in disbelief. "It was unreal. Watching him play guitar is one of the most inspirational things that I can do to myself. He said, 'Nice detail' and 'That was sick."

Simpson adds that Mayer's critiques were "all pretty detailed musical stuff." His biggest tip? "Thinking about a song as an array of frequencies and covering all the frequencies so you have the listener's ear on all levels from low to high," he recalls. Read more here.

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Carrie Underwood Shares Makeup-Free Post-Baby Workout Photo

(Radio.com) Carrie Underwood gave birth to her baby boy Isaiah in February, but the quest to get back in shape is neither easy nor short, as Underwood displayed in a new workout pic of her and her husband, with the country singer appearing without makeup.

"The couple that slays together�stays together! Working out is always better with a partner! #StayThePath," Underwood said in the photo's caption. The picture shows husband Mike Fisher not quite doing his part in the exercise routine, as he is slumped over his exercise bike. Perhaps this is only a short rest during an otherwise vigorous routine.

Underwood, on the other hand, is fresh-faced and gung-ho for her cycling, sporting some metal devil horns with her hand, which she alludes to with the "slay" comment.

Underwood is also hard at work on her fifth studio album, which is almost complete and may include a song about her newborn son on it. See the photo here.

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Patti LuPone Grabs Audience Member's Cell Phone

(Radio.com) Legendary Broadway actress Patti LuPone is fed up with you and your cellphone, and she's not taking it anymore. The same is probably true for most other stage actors and theatergoers. But LuPone doesn't just grouse about it. She takes action.

During a July 8 performance of her current play Shows for Days at Lincoln Center in New York City, LuPone approached an audience member who had been texting and snatched the phone straight out of her hands. All while staying in character.

According to The Daily News, the play Shows for Days is about a community theater, and LuPone plays the artistic director, who usually interacts with audience members. LuPone normally interacts with someone in the front row of the theater, but during Wednesday night's performance, she chose a woman who had been texting earlier in the show.

"We work hard on stage to create a world that is being totally destroyed by a few, rude, self-absorded and inconsiderate audience members who are controlled by their phones," LuPone said in a statement following the incident (via Broadway.com). "They cannot put them down. When a phone goes off or when a LED screen can be seen in the dark it ruins the experience for everyone else - the majority of the audience at that performance and the actor on stage. I am so defeated by this issue that I seriously question whether I want to work on stage anymore. Now I'm putting battle gear on over my costume to marshal the audience as well as perform." Read more here.

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