Music Buzz for Your Weekend

CHRISTINA AGUILERA TO HEADLINE ‘NEW YEAR’S ROCKIN’ EVE’ 2019: Christina Aguilera is set to headline the 2019 Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest celebration this year – her first time back since 2007. She will perform just minutes before the ball drops in Times Square, marking the official start to 2019. The event will kick off at 8 p.m.[ET] on December 31st. Bastille, Dan + Shay and New Kids On The Block will also perform live in the hours leading up to New Year’s Eve in New York City’s Times Square. Other performers will also be joining in from other cities to perform as well.

NIALL HORAN & HAILEE STEINFELD SPLIT AFTER A FEW MONTHS OF DATING: Hailee Steinfeld and Niall Horan have reportedly split up after a few months of dating. “Hailee and Niall were going strong over the summer but split a few months ago and have been trying to keep it low-key,” a source told E! News of the 22-year-old actress and 25-year-old singer. “Hailee realized she had a lot on her plate and her work schedule was insanely busy. She was gearing up for a huge press tour for her new movie [Bumblebee].” The source also added that Hailee realized that they “would be apart for mass amounts of time…They really tried to make it work. It definitely was ‘young love.’” The pair first sparked dating rumors back in February when they were seen together at a concert.

ROBIN THICKE AND PHARRELL WILLIAMS ORDERED TO PAY $5M FOR ‘BLURRED LINES’ INFRINGEMENT: A federal judge in California ordered a final judgment of nearly $5 million to the family of Marvin Gaye for Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ copyright infringement in their song “Blurred Lines.” District Judge John A. Kronstadt said the two artists must jointly pay Gaye’s family damages of $2.9 million. Separately, Thicke must pay $1.7 million and More Water From Nazareth Publishing – Williams’ publishing company – must pay $357,631. The final judgment was a reduction from the initial $7.4 million judgment. The song “Blurred Lines” was released in 2013, hitting No. 1 and earning the artists some $16.6 million in revenue. Gaye’s family sued later that year saying it infringed upon his 1977 hit “Got to Give It Up.” In March, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower jury’s decision that there was in fact infringement. Thicke and Williams’ lawyers argued that the lawsuit went too far in protecting the generic elements of a song’s style shared between the two tracks. Gaye died in 1984.

BEBE REXHA AND LOVELYTHEBAND TO PERFORM ON TIMES SQUARE NEW YEAR’S EVE WEBCAST: Bebe Rexha and lovelytheband will headline the 10th annual Times Square New Year’s Eve webcast, which will include the raising of the famous Times Square New Year’s Eve ball, countdowns, interviews and additional musical performances, as well as the famous Ball Drop at midnight. The entire webcast is commercial free. During the festivities, Bebe will perform John Lennon’s classic “Imagine,” as well as her hits “Me, Myself & I,” “Meant to Be” and “I’m a Mess.” Lovelytheband will perform their hit song “broken,” as well as additional tracks “these are my friends” and “maybe, i’m afraid.” It all kicks off at 6 p.m. [ET] on December 31st. You can watch at TimesSquareNYC.org, NewYearsEve.nyc, Livestream.com/2019 and TimesSquareBall.net.