GWEN STEFANI RAKES IN $5.5 MILLION WITH LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY OVER 12 SHOWS: According to Pollstar, Gwen Stefani has already raked in $5.5 million with her 12-show run of “Just a Girl,” her residency at the Zappos Theater in Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas. In addition to playing her biggest No Doubt and solo hits, Stefani has also subtly incorporated her happy love life into the concert. In fact, she appeared to pay homage to her boyfriend Blake Shelton by dressing in a cowgirl outfit for “Make Me Like You,” a song she previously revealed was inspired by her country star beau.GAVIN DEGRAW AND BROTHER TO OPEN BOWLING ALLEY IN NASHVILLE: Gavin DeGraw his brother Joey DeGraw are planning to open a double-decker bowling alley called Broadway Bowl and Bull in Nashville next year, the Tennessean reports. They’ll be installing up to 12 bowling lanes and other vintage games, with the project expected to cost around $4 million. The brothers also own the Nashville Underground, a four-level restaurant and bar with live music. Gavin will be kicking off a co-headlining tour with Phillip Phillips tonight in Park City, Utah. The tour runs through September 5th.
PHARRELL ANNOUNCES YELLOW GALA BALL TO BENEFIT ARTS EDUCATION: Pharrell Williams is raising money for arts education with his first Yellow Gala Ball, to be held September 10th in New York City. Pharrell says after education budget cuts, it was important to him to provide youth with exposure to the arts. “I want all children to have access to that kind of creative growth, access and support. All kids, not just my own,” he tells Billboard. “We just want to do what we can to balance the odds so that as many kids as we can afford – or help and assist in whatever ways – get this access and support.” The event at the Brooklyn Museum, benefiting the Young Audiences Arts for Learning organization, will feature entertainment by Missy Elliott. The name Yellow Ball Gala has a significant meaning for Pharrell. “Yellow is the color for creativity, yellow is the color for curiosity,” he says. “Art is largely diminishing throughout the curriculum throughout this country, and we need to protect the creative mind.”
SAM SMITH AND NORMANI MAKING MUSIC TOGETHER: It looks like Fifth Harmony super fan Sam Smith hitting the studio with Normani. Normani’s management team S10 tweeted a photo of the two smiling and hugging Wednesday and captioned it, “Studio vibes.” It looks like there may be a new collaboration in the works. Normani has been hard at work on her debut solo album, while her duet with Khalid, “Love Lies,” just reached a new high on the Billboard Hot 100, rising to No. 15. Sam has made no secret of that fact that he’s a Harmonizer. He previously freaked out when Fifth Harmony surprised him during his episode of Carpool Karaokewith James Corden.
PLAIN WHITE T’S ‘HEY THERE DELILAH’ HEADED TO TV: The Plain White T’s hit “Hey There Delilah” is being turned into a TV project by a team that includes Plain White T’s frontman Tom Higgenson, who wrote the song. It’s described as a “contemporary fairy tale expanding on the story within the song.” The plot concerns a struggling singer/songwriter and a New York City college student who have a long-distance flirtation. The songwriter promises to write a song for the student on the night they meet and, according to the team, “that promise changes their lives in unexpected ways.” It’s not clear if “Hey There Delilah” will become a TV movie or a TV series – those details are still being worked out. Meanwhile, Plain White T’s will release a new album called Parallel Universe on August 24th. “Hey There Delilah” was the third single off the Plain White T’s 2006 album, All That We Needed. The track was a sleeper hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 the following year and earning two Grammy nominations.
DRAKE MAKES HISTORY AGAIN: Drake continues to make history: He’s now the first artist to surpass 50 billion streams. Drizzy’s album Scorpion remains No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 for a fifth straight week, and “In My Feelings” has been at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks. Last month, Drake set the all-time weekly streaming record when “In My Feelings” earned 116 million streams for the week ending July 19th. That broke the record of 103 million set in 2013 by “Harlem Shake” by Bauer. “God’s Plan” was the first single from Scorpion, and now Drake has filed to copyright the phrase for a clothing line and a TV show. Drake will kick off his Aubrey and the Three Amigos Tour with Migos Friday in Kansas City, Missouri. It was originally scheduled to begin July 26th in Salt Lake City, but was pushed back after Offset was arrested for gun and drug possession on July 20th.
