Music News for Thursday

ZENDAYA TO STAR IN ADAPTATION OF KARIN TANABE’S ‘GILDED YEARS’: Singer and actress Zendaya is set to star in and produce TriStar Pictures’ psychological thriller A White Lie. Monica Beletsky is writing the adaptation of Karin Tanabe’s novel The Gilded Years, which was inspired by the true story of Anita Hemmings, the first African-American woman to go to Vassar College. Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter are producing the project.

ED SHEERAN NOW OWNS FOUR ADJOINING HOMES IN HIS BRITISH VILLAGE: The newly-engaged Ed Sheeran will have enough room if he wants to start a family right away with his fiance, Cherry Seaborn. The singer has purchased four houses next door to one another in the Suffolk, England village where he lives. Ed first purchased a home in the area for more than a million dollars in 2012. At the same time, he bought another property for around $640,000. He then bought another four-bedroom house in September of 2016 for well over a million dollars, and then snapped up a bungalow on the other side of his driveway this past October. Ed’s now having the properties renovated. According to the Daily Mail, Ed plans to build two underground entertainment rooms – a screening room and a music room – which will be connected to his house by an underground tunnel. Those rooms will also be linked to one of the other properties, which he’s converted into a private pub.

KELLY CLARKSON, HALSEY, DUA LIPA & MORE TO WEAR WHITE ROSES IN SUPPORT OF #TIMESUP AT GRAMMYS: Halsey, Dua Lipa, Kelly Clarkson and more will wear white roses in support of the #TimesUp movement at this Sunday’s 2018 Grammys. The show of solidarity was planned by Roc Nation’s Meg Harkins and Interscope/Geffen/A&M Records’ Karen Rait. The decision to wear white roses was plotted during a dinner in New York City on Monday with a dozen other women in music, calling themselves Voices in Entertainment. The white rose is meant to be symbolic, as suffragettes also wore white during their protests. Cyndi Lauper, Rapsody, Rita Ora, Tom Morello and more also plan to participate.

LADY GAGA TEASES A SNEAK PEEK OF ‘JOANNE’ PIANO VERSION: Lady Gaga fired up her fans on Wednesday afternoon with a mysterious tweet. “I have a surprise. #Joanne,” she wrote. She then revealed the exciting news: she’s releasing a piano version of Joanne, the title track of her latest studio album – and she donated to The Lupus Research Alliance in her late aunt’s honor. “Sneak Peek: Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?) Piano Version #Joanne #music #video The@LupusResearch Alliance is receiving a donation in honor of Joanne Stefani Germanotta. Please consider a donation to this tremendous organization,” Gaga wrote.