Beyoncé is removing an offensive term for disabled people from a new song on her record “Renaissance," just weeks after rapper Lizzo also changed lyrics to remove the same word.
“The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced,” a spokeswoman for Beyoncé wrote in a statement to The Associated Press on Monday.
LONDON (AP) — Harry Styles has secured his first Mercury Prize nomination with his third solo album, competing for the British music award with acts like singer-songwriter Sam Fender and rapper Little Simz.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jack Harlow, Lil Nas X and Kendrick Lamar are top contenders with seven nominations at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards.
MTV announced Tuesday that Lil Nas X and Harlow earned multiple nominations for their collaborative hit “Industry Baby,” which is nominated for video of the year.
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.
MOVIES
— Modern influencer culture is skewered in the smart new satire “Not Okay,” streaming on Hulu starting Friday.
Celebrity birthdays for the week of July 31-Aug. 6:
July 31: Actor Don Murray is 93. Jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell is 91. Actor Susan Flannery (“Bold and the Beautiful”) is 83. Actor France Nuyen (“South Pacific”) is 83.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee judge on Monday ordered a mental evaluation for a man police said had planned a mass shooting of people leaving a rap concert in downtown Memphis.
Elijah Hyman went before a Shelby County judge on 30 charges of attempted murder and 30 more counts of possessing a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony, court documents showed.
Celebrity birthdays for the week of July 24-30:
July 24: Actor John Aniston (“Days of Our Lives”) is 89. Comedian Ruth Buzzi is 86. Actor Mark Goddard (“Lost In Space”) is 86. Actor Chris Sarandon is 80.
“Special,” by Lizzo (Atlantic Records)
Singer and rapper Lizzo wasn’t kidding when she came out with the title for her latest album — it truly is a journey to get to your most “Special” self.
NEW YORK (AP) — As a percussion protégé growing up in the Bay Area, Sheila Escovedo would ask visiting bands if she could sit in. She was often told to beat it.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Even though Nipsey Hussle was gunned down outside a Los Angeles clothing store three years ago, the sting of his death remains fresh for those who revered the widely beloved rapper and community activist.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 32-year-old man who grew up on the same streets in the same gang as Nipsey Hussle was found guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder in the 2019 shooting of the Grammy-winning rapper, who rose above his circumstances to become an inspiration to the neighborhood where he was eventually gunned down.
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Sarfaraz Javaid thumps his chest rhythmically in the music video, swaying to the guitar and letting his throaty voice ring out through the forest: “What kind of soot has shrouded the sky?
Celebrity birthdays for the week of July 10-16:
July 10: Actor William Smithers (“Dallas,” ″Peyton Place”) is 95. Singer Mavis Staples is 83. Actor Mills Watson (“B.J. and the Bear,” ″Lobo”) is 82.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nipsey Hussle was a hip-hop star who sought to raise up his neighborhood with him until a friend from the same streets gunned him down, a prosecutor said in his closing argument Thursday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Mary J. Blige’s 2022 is going pretty well. Her new album landed in the top 10 of Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and she was featured at the Super Bowl halftime show. Now she's been tapped for a concert like no other.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Both sides rested their cases Wednesday in the trial of a man charged with the killing of rapper Nipsey Hussle after a day's delay because of an assault on the defendant by fellow jail inmates.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Black culture, in all its glory, will be on display over the 4th of July holiday weekend in New Orleans as thousands converge on the city for the in-person return of the Essence Festival of Culture.
ATLANTA (AP) — A man was killed and two others were injured, including rap star Ludacris' manager, in a parking lot shooting in an upscale neighborhood north of downtown Atlanta on Sunday night.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the men were all taken to hospitals, where one was pronounced dead.
Celebrity birthdays for the week of July 3-9:
July 3: Actor Michael Cole (“The Mod Squad”) is 82. Singer Judith Durham of The Seekers is 79. Actor Kurtwood Smith (“That 70s Show”) is 79. Country singer Johnny Lee is 76.
LONDON (AP) — Rapper Kendrick Lamar has closed this year's Glastonbury Festival with a powerful headline set that saw him chant “Godspeed for women’s rights” as fake blood poured down his face from a crown of thorns.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — With a speech about his own inspirational dream for the Black community, Sean “Diddy” Combs channeled the spirit of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. while accepting the BET Awards' highest honor Sunday night.
HAVANA (AP) — Two members of a loose-knit group of dissident artists have been sentenced to prison in Cuba, the country's prosecutor's office said Friday.
Maikel Castillo was sentenced to nine years for attacks and defamation against the country's institutions and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, 34, to five years for insulting national symbols.
PILTON, England (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged music fans at the Glastonbury Festival on Friday to “spread the truth about Russia’s war ” on his country.
PARIS (AP) — He may have died last November, but Virgil Abloh lived on at Paris Fashion Week Thursday in a high-energy runway spectacular for Louis Vuitton menswear. A Black marching band gave a rousing performance on a surreal yellow brick road installation inside the Louvre, while rapper Kendrick Lamar performed a live ode to the American fashion star who was Vuitton’s menswear designer from 2018 until his death.
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on the July Fourth holiday this year will feature guest artist and 10-time Grammy winner Chaka Khan as well as a performance of the Ukrainian national anthem, the Boston Symphony Orchestra announced Wednesday.
LONDON (AP) — Thousands of people are returning to England's Glastonbury Festival as the five-day music and performing arts event reopened Wednesday for the first time in three years after being disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Celebrity birthdays for the week of June 26-July 2:
June 26: Jazz pianist Dave Grusin is 88. Singer Billy Davis Jr. of the Fifth Dimension is 84. Singer Georgie Fame is 79. Actor Clive Francis (“The Crown”) is 76.
NEW YORK (AP) — After a glittering career stuffed with No. 1 hits — not to mention a two-year pandemic delay — Mariah Carey was finally inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on Thursday, but not before challenging her new fellow members to do better by women.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rapper Nipsey Hussle was gunned down outside his clothing shop in a calculated, premeditated fashion by a man upset over a discussion about snitching, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday at the outset of a long-delayed murder trial.
NEW YORK (AP) — Chad Hugo is a man of very few words. But helping craft some of the biggest songs of the early 2000s, his music may have spoken louder than he ever could.
“It’s always just been gratifying to see people enjoy the music when it’s played out loud and you’re cultivating moments or opportunities for moments to share,” said the two-time Grammy winner.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Three people were killed and four wounded in a shooting during a warehouse party in Los Angeles early Sunday, authorities said.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs built one of hip-hop’s biggest empires, blazing a trail with his own music television network and fashion line, and now his decorated career has earned him one of the highest honors at the BET Awards this month.
UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Tess Marie Mata created more than 150 short videos for TikTok and saved them to her mother’s account. Described by her family as bubbly, the 10-year-old loved to dance.
A funeral was being held Monday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church for Tess, one of the victims of the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Celebrity birthdays for the week of June 19-25:
June 19: Actor Gena Rowlands is 92. Singer Spanky McFarlane of Spanky and Our Gang is 80. Actor Phylicia Rashad is 74. Singer Ann Wilson of Heart is 72.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Several artists including Bun B, Lupe Fiasco, 6LACK and Brittney Spencer have recorded songs honoring Juneteenth for Apple Music.
Performers from different genres composed new tracks, while others recorded cover songs for the second annual “Juneteenth 2022: Freedom Songs” playlist, which launches Friday on the streaming platform.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — From the battlefronts of Ukraine comes rap music — filled with the anger and indignation of a young generation that, once the fighting is done, will certainly never forget and may never forgive.
Celebrity birthdays for the week of June 12-18:
June 12: Disney composer Richard Sherman is 94. Sports announcer Marv Albert is 81. Actor Roger Aaron Brown (“The District”) is 73. Actor Sonia Manzano (“Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”) is 72.
PARIS (AP) — Across France, more than 300 people have reported being pricked out of the blue with needles at nightclubs or concerts in recent months. Doctors and multiple prosecutors are on the case, but no one knows who’s doing it or why, and whether the victims have been injected with drugs — or indeed any substance at all.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Doja Cat could make the BET Awards her world later this month.
The chart-topping performer scored six nominations at the show airing live on June 26 from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Celebrity birthdays for the week of June 5-11:
June 5: Actor-singer Bill Hayes (“Days of Our Lives,” “Your Show of Shows”) is 97. News correspondent Bill Moyers is 88. Country singer Don Reid of the Statler Brothers is 77.
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian police are investigating the killing of a popular Punjabi rapper, who blended hip-hop, rap and folk music, a day after he was fatally shot, officials said Monday.
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, also known around the world by his stage name Sidhu Moose Wala, was killed Sunday evening while driving his car in Mansa, a district in northern India’s Punjab state.
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 Formula One world champion, will drive the No. 91 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International road course on Aug.