Music News for Thursday

CHARLIE PUTH RETWEETS EXCITED GRANDMA FAN: Like a lot of Charlie Puth fans, Cyara Bowles’ grandmother was beyond excited to get tickets to see the singer in concert for Christmas. Unlike most fans getting Puth tickets for the holidays, however, this ecstatic grandmother’s happy response was shared by the singer himself, making her celebratory Christmas video go viral. “I’m gonna go see Charlie Puth!,” she exclaims in the video, screaming and kissing the tickets once she realizes what she’s holding in her hands. Cyara’s tweet including the video quickly picked up steam, with Puth retweeting it with the caption, “I love this,” and fellow singer Julia Michaels chiming in for him to “marry her.” “Y’all got Charlie Puth to retweet my gran she’s gonna freak when she wakes up to this,” Bowles posted. Puth’s retweet inspired a celebratory dance party to the singer’s single, “Marvin Gaye.”

CO-CREATOR OF ‘MTV UNPLUGGED’ DIES AFTER BEING STRUCK BY TAXI: The co-creator of MTV’s Unplugged was struck by a taxi while crossing Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and later died. Jim Burns was struck Saturday. The taxi turned onto the avenue and accidentally struck the 65-year-old who had been walking with his seeing-eye dog near his Upper East Side home, police said. Burns suffered a serious head injury and died from his injuries Tuesday. The taxi driver remained at the scene; police still were investigating but said it did not appear to be criminal. Burns co-created MTV Unplugged with Robert Small. The wildly popular show debuted in 1989 and featured artists such as Nirvana, Eric Clapton, Mariah Carey, Jay-Z and Bob Dylan in an intimate venue performing stripped-down versions of their songs. The music series returned to the air this year, with performances from locations around the country that hold meaning for the artist performing. It premiered in September with Shawn Mendes.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE MAY HAVE CAUSED DEATH OF JORDAN FELDSTEIN: Officials completed the autopsy on the remains of Jonah Hill’s brother, Jordan Feldstein, on Christmas Eve. The exact cause of death is expected pending toxicology tests. Feldstein passed away on December 22nd. In their initial statements, his family said that the acclaimed music producer had died of a heart attack, though The Blast reports that sources close to the investigation say that substance abuse was likely a factor. Investigators say that Feldstein’s friends and family have told them he had a history of both heart issues and substance abuse. It’s unclear which contributed to his death, or if perhaps it was a combination of the two. An early report stated that paramedics believed Feldstein had ingested a “substance” prior to his death, and that it was not being treated as a natural passing. Feldstein was the manager for Maroon 5, and personally negotiated the deal to make Adam Levine a judge on NBC’s The Voice.