Entertainment
Rod Wave Sued Over $27M ‘Last Lap’ Tour Advance, Allegedly Used It on ‘Private Jets and Lavish Second Homes’
The promoter of Rod Wave’s Last Lap tour is suing the R&B singer and rapper for allegedly holding onto $27 million worth of advances despite refusing to finish the 35-date trek.
Rod (Rodarius Marcell Green) faced the claims in a Monday (Sept. 29) federal court lawsuit from Grizzly Touring, a joint live events venture between AG Entertainment, Mammoth Touring and CTS Eventim. Grizzly partnered with Rod last year for a North American arena tour supporting his October 2024 album Last Lap, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
The Last Lap tour was supposed to include 35 shows, and Grizzly allegedly advanced Rod $57 million to cover expenses like travel, lodging and production costs. But according to the lawsuit, Rod only completed 26 performances that earned $30 million against the guarantee, leaving $27 million in advances that he now won’t repay.
“Artist refuses to pay Grizzly a single penny of the more than $27 million he owes, and was required to pay in the first instance, and has instead chosen to spend his advance on private jets and lavish second homes,” wrote Grizzly’s lawyers from the firm Weil Gotshal & Manges.
Grizzly alleges that many Last Lap shows had to be canceled because Rod upped the scale of his tour production without warning, requiring more time to put up and take down his arena sets and making it impossible to play shows back-to-back as originally scheduled.
But the lawsuit says Rod is now unfairly blaming these canceled dates on Grizzly, citing a September Billboard interview in which the singer said his promoter messed up routing for the tour. Rod also said in the Billboard interview that he plans to launch a new tour through his own company, Mainstay Touring, in late 2025 — a breach of the exclusivity clause in his contract with Grizzly, per the lawsuit.
Grizzly now wants a court order forcing Rod to repay his $27 million advance, plus additional financial damages for breach of contract. The promoter is also asking for an injunction blocking Rod from embarking on a self-promoted tour without Grizzly’s involvement.
“As a result of artist’s actions, Grizzly has suffered and will continue to suffer irreparable harm, including harm to its goodwill and business reputation,” reads the complaint. “Artist’s actions are a clear breach of Grizzly’s exclusive right to promote and market artist’s shows, which are uniquely popular.”
Reps for Rod did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday (Oct. 1). But the lawsuit attaches a Sept. 18 letter in which Rod’s attorney, David Rose of Pryor Cashman, denied that the singer breached any agreements with Grizzly.
Rose writes in this letter that the canceled Last Lap shows were “solely attributable” to Grizzly’s own errors, including “onerous and inexplicable routing and booking decisions” and failures to properly ship Rod’s touring equipment.
“As a result of Grizzly’s manifest breaches, the agreement and any exclusivity provisions contained in it are no longer in effect,” wrote Rose.
Entertainment
sombr Stops Show to Scold Venue Staff After Fan Seemingly Passes Out: ‘You Need to Pay Attention’
At his recent show in London, sombr paused the program to call out event staff after a fan appeared to faint in the audience without receiving help.
While in the midst of singing his breakout Billboard Hot 100 hit “Back to Friends” on Tuesday at O2 Academy Brixton, the Gen Z pop star suddenly waved at his band to stop playing. “Stop the show,” he said before addressing people working the concert, as captured in videos posted on social media. “Guys, there’s someone passed out over there.”
“This is the most poorly managed venue I’ve ever played at in my life,” he continued. “You need to pay attention. It’s insane. I’ve played three nights here, and I’ve never played at a more poorly managed venue.”
Billboard has reached out to reps for sombr and O2 Academy Brixton.
Before proceeding with the show, the artist told the crowd, “Let me know when everyone’s good.”
sombr is currently on a run of shows in Europe, with dates planned for venues in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Dublin. This summer, he’ll play a slew of festivals, including Coachella and BottleRock Napa Valley.
The New York native also had another mid-show interruption recently, this time during his performance at the BRIT Awards. While he was singing “Undressed” at the ceremony, a man wearing a “Sombr is a homewrecker” shirt ran out on stage and appeared to hit Sombr; as it turned out, it was a pre-planned stint to help promote his new single “Homewrecker,” which recently debuted at No. 26 on the Hot 100.
And despite the momentary frustration, Sombr had only kind words to say about his overall experience playing for fans in London. “I love you so much,” he wrote over a video of the crowd at O2 Academy Brixton on his Instagram Story. “Thanks so much for an unforgettable past 3 nights. I’ll be back London.”
Entertainment
The 15 Most Surprising Member Exits From K-Pop Groups
While the K-pop world is grappling with the unexpected news that ENHYPEN is no longer seven members following member Heeseung’s seemingly out-of-nowhere announcement of his departure, the industry has certainly been blindsided by such abrupt exits many times.
While Heeseung’s situation was shocking, it unfolded fairly calmly. On March 10, announcements came from ENHYPEN’s official channels, alongside a handwritten letter from Heeseung himself and ENHYPEN’s own statement on social media. Comparatively, some of K-pop’s biggest groups have been changed forever by dramatic announcements from members, via notices of legal action or vague updates from their agencies — the latter of which can sometimes be the most heartbreaking for fans.
From one of K-pop’s most landmark member exits in Junsu, Yoochun and Jaejoong from TVXQ! in 2009 (which ultimately rid the industry of so-called “slave contracts”) to years like 2014, 2019 or even last year, where multiple popular groups saw members drop from their groups, Billboard is sharing a timeline of the 15 most shocking exits from K-pop groups.
Membership changes are never easy, even when fans suspect something may have shifted for the group or there is an internal or external issue. Members of K-pop groups have left for the sake of their mental health or sometimes due to ongoing external pressure from issues from their past arising. For the purposes of this timeline and its relation to the news surrounding ENHYPEN and Heeseung, we’re focusing on K-pop member exits that seemingly came out of nowhere, with no prior indication, hiatuses or controversy.
Read on to learn how rare it is to have Heeseung remain under the same label as his former group in BELIFT LAB to pursue his solo career and more, in this look through K-pop’s most unexpected member departures.
Entertainment
Watch Harry Styles Bust Marcello Hernandez for Impersonating Him Ahead of ‘SNL’: ‘Are Those My Clothes?’
Sorry, Marcello Hernandez — there’s only one Harry Styles. On the set of Saturday Night Live ahead of the pop star’s upcoming hosting and performing stint, the comedian got a little too comfortable impersonating that week’s guest in a promo video posted Wednesday (March 11).
The teaser opens as a spoof on Styles’ One Night in Manchester concert special trailer, with the piano intro to his new single “American Girls” playing over shots of what looks like the singer’s silhouette striking poses and dancing across the stage. A record-scratch moment happens when the real Styles walks in with SNL castmember Kenan Thompson, busting Hernandez, who’d been pretending to be the Grammy winner that whole time.
“What are you doing, Marcello? Are those my clothes?” Styles asks a visibly embarrassed Hernandez.
“Yeah, sorry,” the stand-up comic stutters, suddenly shy about wearing Styles’ pinstriped, flared slacks. “I thought you weren’t coming, so I thought I’d just go on as your understudy.”
Perplexed, Styles explains where he and Thompson had been. “I’m 15 minutes late, because Kenan and I went out for pain au chocolat. It’s a tradition when I host.”
Suffice to say, it’ll be Styles — the real Styles — helming SNL on Saturday (March 14), returning to host for the second time. He previously led an episode of the show in 2019.
The Brit will also serve as musical guest on the new episode, having just dropped his new album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. The project was led by Billboard Hot 100-topping single “Aperture” and features second single “American Girls,” both of which are strong contenders for the tracks Styles will perform at 30 Rock — although fans will have to tune in to the live show to find out.
Watch Styles’ SNL promo above.
-
Politics6 months agoSEND IN THE TROOPS! At Least 5 Dead, 10 Wounded So Far in Chicago Weekend Shootings
-
Business6 months ago
How I Paid Off My Mortgage 10 Years Early On A Teacher’s Salary
-
Politics6 months agoBlack Lives Matter Activist in Boston Pleads Guilty to Federal Fraud Charges – Scammed Donors to Fund Her Lifestyle
-
Tech6 months agoGet a lifetime subscription to the “ChatGPT for investors” for under $60
-
Tech6 months agoReview: The Dreame H15 Pro CarpetFlex is the first wet/dry vacuum I liked
-
Business6 months ago
25 Low-Effort Side Hustles You Can Start This Weekend
-
Business6 months ago
9 Ways to Command a Six-Figure Salary Without a Bachelor’s
-
Entertainment5 months agoFat Joe Recalls Bruno Mars Snapping on Him Over Question About Puerto Rican Roots: ‘Broke My Heart’
