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Day in Pop Report for 03/26/2015


One Direction Part Ways With Zayn Malik
One Direction broke the bad news to fans on Wednesday that Zayn Malik has decided to leave the group. The news comes soon after Malik left the British boyband's current tour due to exhaustion.

Malik explained his decision in a message to fans, "My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band. I'd like to apologise to the fans if I've let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart.

"I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight. I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall. I know they will continue to be the best band in the world."
The band reassured fans that they plan to carry on. They wrote, "Niall, Harry, Liam and Louis will continue as a four-piece and look forward to the forthcoming concerts of their world tour and recording their fifth album, due to be released later this year."

The group had this to say about Malik's departure, "We're really sad to see Zayn go, but we totally respect his decision and send him all our love for the future. The past five years have been beyond amazing, we've gone through so much together, so we will always be friends. The four of us will now continue. We're looking forward to recording the new album and seeing all the fans on the next stage of the world tour."

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Kendrick Lamar Scores First No. 1 Album With To Pimp A Butterfly
Kendrick Lamar not only broke a streaming record on Spotify with his new album, "The Pimp A Butterfly," he has also now scored his very first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart.

Lamar claimed the top spot after the new album sold 324,000 copies during its first week of release. The Billboard 200 chart also now accounts for streams in addition to actual sales, which put the week's total number at 363,000.

"The Pimp A Butterfly," gave Lamar the second biggest sales week of the year. Drake currently holds that record for "If You're Reading This It's Too Late," which totaled 495,000 its first week of release.

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Beastie Boys Win 'Paul's Boutique' Sampling Lawsuit
(Radio.com) Robin Thicke couldn't best the Marvin Gaye copyright lawsuit, but the Beastie Boys have won the case against their landmark album, Paul's Boutique.

What pushed judgment in their favor? A technicality. THR reports that a U.S. District Court granted the New York group summary judgment over TufAmerica because judge Alison Nathan found that the plaintiff "never acquired an exclusive license to the copyrighted material."

It's not a victory for copyright law so much as a legal snafu in which TufAmerica lacked the standing to file this particular lawsuit. Read more details here.

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Action Bronson Throws Fan Off Stage Again
(Radio.com) Some people never learn. At this point, it should be very, very clear that Action Bronson does not--repeat, does not--want you to get on stage with him during his show. And, if you do, you will be removed. Probably forcefully.

Case in point, On Tuesday night (March 24) at the record release show for his latest album, Mr. Wonderful, Action Bronson made sure one fan did not mess up his performance.

While performing his track 'Amadu Diablo" with Party Supplies, a fan jumped on stage and Action wasn't having it. He drops the mic, walks over to the guy and swiftly grabbed him by the T-shirt and threw him off stage. Without missing a beat, Action grabs the mic and keeps on freestyling over Tracy Chapman's 'Give Me One Reason." Of course, Party Supplies had a good laugh at the epic throw.

Watch the clip here.

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Princeton Review Apologizes For Taylor Swift Misquote
(Radio.com) After Taylor Swift took to Tumblr to call out the Princeton Review for misquoting her lyrics and, as a result, attacking her grammar, the test preparation giant has responded.

In a tweet response to the incident, The Princeton Review said "Sorry @taylorswift13! We'll make it up to you. Pick a #grammar lover fan. 2 tickets to a U.S. show on us! @people"

Not sure what exactly qualifies one as being a "grammar lover," but maybe take to Twitter and proclaim your Swift and grammar love for a chance? It should be noted that while the test prep company apologized for the misquoting, they are not backing down on the grammar assessment. Read more here.

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A$AP Rocky Releasing Danger Mouse-Produced Album
(Radio.com) Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky has had a big day. After being named as one of the key acts for this years installment of Lollapalooza, Rocky has also revealed the details for his sophomore LP.

At.Long.Last.A$AP will be the follow-up to 2013's commercial and critical success Long. Live. A$AP, and will see its release soon, though no exact date is known.

His last album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 on its way to achieving Gold certification. The album will feature contributions from a number of high profile guests, including Clams Casino, Lykke Li, and FKA twigs. In addition, Danger Mouse has been at the helm of the release as executive producer. Read more here.

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Florida Georgia Line Release 'Sippin' On Fire' Video
(Radio.com) Florida Georgia Line head to the Las Vegas desert for their latest video, this time for 'Sippin' On Fire." In the new video, which debuted Wednesday (March 25), Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley can be seen performing the track in the midst of a dust storm in the desert.

While two actors portray the back-and-forth love story in the song, the band is shown in the background fittingly performing in a ring of fire as the night heats things up.

In an interview with ET, FGL talked about the video for the banjo-led track."It's a hot spot," Brian Kelley tells ET. "The song's hot, so the video needs to match that."

While Kelley adds that whiskey is often part of the recipe for a good country song, Hubbard talked of how their music is more than just shots and beers.

"I think there's more depth to our music than whiskey, beer, pretty women and big trucks, you know," Hubbard said. "I mean, that's part of our lifestyle. We have two beautiful girls in our life, and we like to drink and have a good time, and we both have jacked-up trucks, so we're gonna sing about that. But at the same time, our music is deeper than that." Watch the video here.

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Earl Sweatshirt And Action Bronson Team Up For 'Warlord Leather'
(Radio.com) Earl Sweatshirt and Action Bronson have revealed their new collaboration, "Warlord Leather." The two of them are among the loudest voices in underground rap, and joining forces, they're nearly unstoppable, especially when paired with the legendary producer Alchemist.

The laid-back Odd Future young gun and the heavyweight Queens MC both dropped albums this week; Sweatshirt released his long awaited sophomore album I Don't Like S-, I Don't Go Outside, and Bronson shared his major label debut Mr. Wonderful.

Alchemist provides a guitar riff-sampling beat that's more immediately in-your-face than anything on Earl's murky new record. He and Bronson both sound comfortable trading low-key barbs and clever punchlines.

Bronson, in particular, lets his lyricism fly. "My face is on the pen cause I'm a G, you looking for some other s-, send em down the street," he raps in his trademark mix of gruff bravado and stoner humor. "Can't even compute how much I spent on the retreat, I spent about $11,000 yen just on the feet" Check it out here.

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Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks Lead ACM Milestone Award Recipients
(Radio.com) In celebration of 50 years of the ACM Awards, the Academy of Country Music and dick clark productions announced today (March 25) that seven artists will be recognized with its 50th Anniversary Milestone Award.

The Milestone Award goes to seven of the ACM Awards' biggest winners. Recipients will include Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn.

During the ceremony, each winner will receive a trophy designed by jeweler David Yurman, which includes black diamonds, sterling silver and white gold. Read more here.

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Radiohead, Lauryn Hill Albums Added to Library of Congress Registry
(Radio.com) The Library of Congress has announced 2015's new entries into the National Recording Registry. The wide-ranging list includes works from the Doors, Sesame Street, Joan Baez, Radiohead, Steve Martin, Lauryn Hill, Cole Porter, Sly & the Family Stone and the Righteous Brothers.

Each year, 25 recordings are selected "that have been recognized for their cultural, artistic and/or historical significance to American society and the nation's audio legacy."

This year they recognize the debut albums from The Doors, Joan Baez and Lauryn Hill, Cole Porter's original cast recording of Kiss Me Kate, Chet Baker's rendition of "My Funny Valentine," Ben E. King's recording of "Stand By Me," the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling," Sly & the Family Stone's album Stand!, Steve Martin's 1978 comedy record A Wild and Crazy Guy, the album Sesame Street: All-Time Platinum Favorites and Radiohead's OK Computer, among others. Read more here.

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Kacey Musgraves and D'Angelo Added to Bonnaroo Lineup
(Radio.com) Bonnaroo has just made a major addition to their roster. D'Angelo and the Vanguard, Kacey Musgraves and Songhoy Blues will now be playing the festival, Bonnaroo announced.

D'Angelo and the Vanguard is an especially impressive get, considering the elusive singer has only played a handful of dates since releasing last year's excellent surprise album Black Messiah. In a rare overlap, he also appears on the recently announced lineup for Lollapalooza.

The three acts will be joining already-confirmed festival artists like Billy Joel, Mumford & Sons, Deadmau5 and Kendrick Lamar, Florence + the Machine, Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, and more. Read more here.

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Serena Williams Parodies Beyonce's '7/11' Video
(Radio.com) Serena Williams is the Beyonce of tennis--she's been on top forever and she's still on top. Now the tennis star has cemented the comparison forever by recording a new cover version of Beyonce's "7/11," complete with a tennis twist.

In Williams' parody video, Serena starts by playfully bouncing a tennis ball on her racket in time to Beyonce's voice declaring, "smack it, smack it, in the air."

From there, we see Serena practice her serves, fool around in a golf cart with a small dog, stunt in the bathroom mirror, hit the crap out of a bunch of tennis balls, do a handstand in front of some towels, get down with what looks like the staff and patrons of a private tennis club, tango with her trainer, and loads of other tennis-related diversions. Considering that this is a Beyonce parody, there's a bit of twerking thrown in for good measure. Watch it here.

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Beyonce May Star In 'A Star Is Born' Remake
(Radio.com) Beyonce may be gearing up to star in a new film directed by none other than Bradley Cooper. According to Deadline, Warner Bros. is in negotiations with the star of American Sniper to direct a forthcoming remake of A Star Is Born.

Cooper would also star in the film, alongside none other than Beyonce. Apparently, the pop star was already considered for the role a few years ago, when Clint Eastwood was originally attached to the project.

A Star Is Born has gone through many releases over the years, including versions in 1937, 1954 and 1976--the latter starring Barbra Streisand, so there's certainly precedent for a popular diva to play the female lead. Read more here.

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Patti LaBelle Dances To 50 Cent's 'In Da Club' on Dancing With The Stars
(Radio.com) It's been a big week for Patti LaBelle--the 70-year-old singer guest-starred on Empire last week, and this week she had a big moment on Dancing with the Stars.

LaBelle flaunted her stuff and showed off her salsa moves to none other than 50 Cent's "In Da Club." LaBelle was shaking what her mother gave her with such intensity that host Tom Bergeron remarked, "Patti LaBelle holding it together, literally in places."

LaBelle earned a 28 out of 40 score from the judges. Judge Bruno Tonioli compared the "Be Yourself" singer to a character from Empire: the high-powered record exec Cookie Lyon played by Taraji P. Henson. "So Cookie! So Empire!" Tonioli exclaimed.

In an interview before the show, LaBelle gave her reasoning for why she picked that particular song: when it came on at her recent 70th birthday party, all her guests jumped on the dance floor. Watch it here.

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