Posted Jul 3rd 2009 1:16AM by TMZ Staff
In the '70s and '80s, Evelyn "Champagne" King became famous for disco hits like "Shame" and "Love Come Down." Guess what she looks like now!

Filed under: Music, Beauty, 'Memba Them?!
Tags: Evelyn Champagne King, EvelynChampagneKing, singer songwriter, SingerSongwriter
Posted Jun 25th 2009 2:00AM by TMZ Staff
Adam Lambert claims the album he recorded pre-"Idol" was nothing more than him singing someone else's songs -- but that just isn't true.

We've obtained an internal memo from two divisions of Adam's old label, which clearly lists Lambert as the co-writer on nine of the 11 tracks on the album.
Lambert's new handlers released a statement on his behalf this week condemning the album, which said: "I was hired as a studio singer to lend my vocals to tracks written by someone else ... I was broke at the time and this was my chance to make a few bucks."
Ironically -- or not -- one of the tracks Lambert co-wrote is called "15 Minutes of Fame."
Filed under: Music, American Idol
Tags: Adam Lambert, AdamLambert, amercian Idol, AmercianIdol, record Label, RecordLabel
Posted Jun 24th 2009 3:00PM by TMZ Staff
A day after copping a plea in his assault case against ex-girlfriend Rihanna, Chris Brown was spotted texting his way into a recording studio in Hollywood on Tuesday.

In between community service, probation and domestic violence counseling, the 20-year-old felon is gonna try and squeeze out some more hits.
Filed under: Paparazzi Photo, Music, Chris Brown
Tags: beats, Chris Brown, ChrisBrown, court, rihanna
Posted Jun 23rd 2009 3:10PM by TMZ Staff
Lil Wayne's lawyer went to court today ... ready to pull the trigger on the "bad dog" defense!

Weezy was busted in January 2008 at a border checkpoint in Arizona, where authorities found cocaine, ecstasy and a handgun on his tour bus. Wayne's lawyer told the judge he thinks the drug-sniffing dogs used in the bust may not have been reliable because they weren't adequately trained.
Why, you ask, does that matter? Well Mr. Wayne's lawyer seems to think if the dogs weren't reliable, the resulting search was illegal and the drugs shouldn't be used as evidence. Tough argument -- the dogs found coke.
The judge has yet to rule on whether Wayne's lawyer can probe into how the dogs were trained.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Music, Photo Galleries
Tags: drugs, lil wayne, LilWayne, video
Posted Jun 23rd 2009 1:15AM by TMZ Staff
In the '80s, Anita Baker became famous with hits like "Sweet Love", "Caught Up in the Rapture" and "Giving You the Best That I Got." Guess what she looks like now!

Filed under: Music, Beauty, 'Memba Them?!
Tags: Anita Baker, AnitaBaker
Posted Jun 21st 2009 2:15AM by TMZ Staff
The Accused -- Jani Lane ... that singer dude from the '90s hair band Warrant.
The Debt -- $121,024
The Story -- The Detroit News dug up an IRS record stating Lane, the guy who sang "Cherry Pie" back in 1990, failed to pay federal income taxes for seven years ... that's seven years longer than the amount of time this guy was making money as a rock star.
Lane was busted earlier this week for suspicion of DUI in California.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Music
Tags: debt, irs, jani lane, JaniLane, tax, taxes, warrant
Posted Jun 20th 2009 5:30AM by TMZ Staff
Eddie Van Halen seems destined for Las Vegas ... it's generally the next step for badass rockers who register at Crate and Barrel.

We noticed an online wedding registry for Eddie and Janie Liszewski -- the next Valerie Bertinelli. As for their wish list, it includes bamboo salad hands, appetizer forks and two -- count them -- two different types of whisks.
Not that we don't love C & B. But seriously, there's also a chip and dip bowl ...
Filed under: Music, Wacky & Weird
Tags: crate and barrel, CrateAndBarrel, eddie van halen, EddieVanHalen, fiance, registry, wife
Posted Jun 20th 2009 2:00AM by TMZ Staff
Hypothetical question: If you were a singer accused of beating your girlfriend to a pulp and your preliminary hearing was set for Monday ... would your next release be a song called "Smash" ?????
By the way ... Monday will be extremely interesting. Rihanna is set to take the stand and give the blow-by-blow.
The big question -- will Chris Brown's lawyer, Mark Geragos, cross-examine Rihanna. As we reported, Rihanna was aggressive with Brown in the car, striking him repeatedly after seeing a text message on Brown's phone from another woman.
Filed under: Music, Rihanna, Chris Brown
Tags: Chris Brown, court, Rihanna
Posted Jun 18th 2009 2:33PM by TMZ Staff
A member of Young Jeezy's entourage is recovering in an Atlanta hospital right now, after the rapper's friend was stabbed during a nightclub brawl early this morning.
Sources tell TMZ "Bama" (aka Antonio Henry), Young Jeezy and several members of the crew were partying at an event at the Luckie Lounge in downtown Atlanta. Around 2:30 in the morning, we're told a huge brawl erupted -- in which Bama was stabbed multiple times. It's unclear how serious the injuries are.
Bama was taken to the Grady Memorial Hospital, where he is still receiving treatment. We're told two other people were also stabbed during the fight.
Calls to Young Jeezy's rep have not been returned. So far, no arrests have been made.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Music, Nurse!
Tags: atlanta, club, hospital, rapper, stabbing, young jeezy, YoungJeezy
Posted Jun 18th 2009 2:15PM by TMZ Staff
Sure, Josh Holloway is king of the jungle on "Lost" -- but for our photog, Josh's most memorable role was as the dude who got his ass handed to him by Alicia Silverstone when he tried to steal her purse in Aerosmith's "Cryin'" video.

Josh was amused.
Filed under: Music, Lost
Tags: aerosmith, alicia silverstone, AliciaSilverstone, josh holloway, JoshHolloway, lost, sawyer
Posted Jun 18th 2009 8:27AM by TMZ Staff
We've just learned the lead singer of 80's hair band Warrant was arrested for misdemeanor DUI traffic accident last night in Los Angeles.
Cops tell TMZ Jani Lane was involved in a small fender bender in the Woodland Hills area at around 9:30 PM. We're told Lane hit a parked car, no one was injured, but when cops arrived at the scene he showed signs of intoxication.
The 45-year-old singer was arrested and is currently being held on $30,000 bail.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Music
Tags: 80s hair band, 80sHairBand, drunk driving, DrunkDriving, dui, Jani lane, JaniLane, warrant
Posted Jun 13th 2009 1:30AM by TMZ Staff
Norwegian group a-ha is famous for their 1985 hit single "Take On Me." Guess what they look like now!

Filed under: Music, 'Memba Them?!
Tags: a-ha
Posted Jun 12th 2009 6:15AM by TMZ Staff
The last thing the world needs is another New Kids on the Block -- which is exactly why the band is suing someone for allegedly trying to form a fake New Kids on the Block.

NKOTB just filed a Federal lawsuit against a company called SM Productions, who in 2005 allegedly attempted "to form a new group also entitled 'New Kids on the Block'" -- so SMP could record music with a band that people thought were the real deal.
The suit also says SMP tried to register the band's name and album art from "Hangin' Tough" with the U.S Patents and Trademark Office.
NKOTB is suing because they want the court to officially tell everyone that the NKOTB name belongs to NKOTB and NKOTB only (say that a few times fast).
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Music
Tags: lawsuit, new kids, new kids on the block, NewKids, NewKidsOnTheBlock, nkotb
Posted Jun 10th 2009 7:05PM by TMZ Staff
Etta James is being sued by a guy who claims she hired him to be in her band -- then went back on her word and caused him to lose a bunch of cash.
Leo Nocentelli claims he and Etta reached an oral agreement in February of '08 for him to play guitar on her tour, which was set to last from March '08 - March '09.
After playing the first few shows with Etta, she became ill and was forced to cancel a number of her concert dates -- problem is, Leo says she forgot to tell him she was 86'ing the shows.
According to the lawsuit, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, when she became healthy enough to perform again in August of 2008, Leo claims she brought back all the band members except him -- something she once again forgot to tell him.
Once Leo finally got in touch with Etta's people to see if he had been terminated, they kindly informed him "you should have figured it out."
Leo's suing for at least $50,000 for breach of contract.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Music
Tags: at last, AtLast, etta james, EttaJames, lawsuit, music, sued
Posted Jun 10th 2009 12:38PM by TMZ Staff
Michael Jackson turned on his own flesh and blood by torpedoing a family reunion concert, according to a lawsuit that was just filed.
AllGood Entertainment just filed a Federal lawsuit, claiming Jackson reneged on his promise to perform with his brothers and sister Janet before performing any other concerts on his own.
After allegedly agreeing to the deal with AllGood -- the company that was producing the family concert -- Jackson inked a separate deal to perform a series of concerts in London.
According to the suit, Jackson and his manager, Frank Dileo, "secretly teamed up with AEG [the London producer]" knowing full well that Jackson committed to doing the family concert first.
AllGood claims its deal with Jacko prohibited him from signing any other contracts until 3 months after he performed the family concert.
Jackson has claimed he never signed the deal with AllGood -- his manager did. AllGood says the manager speaks for Jackson.
AllGood is suing for $20 million -- minimum. The company is also asking the judge to derail the London concerts, scheduled to kick off next month.
Filed under: Music, Michael Jackson
Tags: jackson 5, Jackson5, janet jackson, JanetJackson, lawsuit, london, michael jackson, MichaelJackson
