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Nirvana ‘Will Resist With Vigor’ as Naked Baby from ‘Nevermind’ Cover Appeals Lawsuit Loss

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The man who appeared as a nude baby on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind is once again asking an appeals court to resurrect his child pornography lawsuit over the iconic album art.

Lawyers for Spencer Elden filed their appeal on Thursday (Oct. 2), just two days after a federal judge issued a judgment throwing out his case against Nirvana for a second time. Judge Fernando M. Olguin originally tossed the lawsuit as time-barred back in 2022, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals revived the claims a year later on technicalities.

Photo of Nirvana; L-R: Dave Grohl, Kurt Coabin, Krist Novoselic.

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Judge Olguin held this time around that there’s nothing pornographic about the famous Nevermind album art, which depicts a four-month-old Elden swimming in a pool and chasing a dollar attached to a fishhook. The judge said this image is not sexually explicit or suggestive, but rather is “most analogous to a family photo of a nude child bathing.”

Elden will now once again ask the Ninth Circuit to overturn that judgment and allow the case to move forward toward trial. His lawyers did not immediately return a request for comment on the appeal.

Nirvana’s legal team, meanwhile, appears confident as they gear up for a second Ninth Circuit showdown in the long-running battle.

“We will resist with vigor and will prevail,” says attorney Bert Deixler, who represents the band as well as its label, Universal Music Group, and Nevermind cover photographer Kirk Weddle, in a comment to Billboard.

Nevermind was originally released in in September 1991, topping the Billboard 200 in January 1992 and ultimately spending a whopping 554 weeks on the chart. It’s widely considered one of the most influential albums in rock history, and its cover art has been interpreted as an edgy critique of greed and capitalism.

Elden, who is now in his 30s, has been pursuing legal action over the cover since 2021. His civil lawsuit alleges that the display of his infant genitals constitutes child pornography under federal law — claims long denied by Nirvana and now rejected by Judge Olguin.

In addition to determining that the Nevermind cover was not sexually-charged, the judge pointed out in his ruling that Elden appeared to endorse the photo for many years before deciding to pursue litigation. Elden at times reenacted the photo, sold autographed memorabilia, and even referred to himself as the “Nirvana baby” — actions that are “difficult to square with his contentions that the album cover constitutes child pornography and that he sustained serious damages as a result,” according to Judge Olguin.


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‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Smash ‘Golden’ Notches 10th Week as U.K. No. 1 Single

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It’s another “Golden” week for KPop Demon Hunters as the breakout song reaches a whopping 10th week at No. 1 on the U.K. Official Singles Chart dated Nov. 7.

(L-R) Musical guests Rei Ami, Ejae, and Audrey Nuna of "KPop Demon Hunters" perform on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" on Tuesday, October 7, 2025.

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The song, taken from the Netflix smash film, is credited to the animated group HUNTR/X and sung by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami. Earlier this week it was reported that Netflix is targeting 2029 as a release date for a highly anticipated sequel to the animated flick. 

“Golden” has now appeared at No. 1 on the U.K. Official Singles Chart for 10 non-consecutive weeks, and is the longest-running No. 1 single for an animated act of all time. The Archies’ “Sugar Sugar” ruled on the U.K. Singles Chart for eight weeks back in 1969, while “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Disney’s 2022’s Encanto achieved seven weeks.

The song is also closing in on Alex Warren’s “Ordinary”, which has spent a whopping 13 weeks at No. 1 throughout 2025.

Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” is a non-mover and ends the week at No. 2. It has already notched three weeks at the summit to give her longest-running No. 1 single since 2022’s “Anti-Hero”. The LP’s other breakout song, “Opalite”, stays strong at No. 4.

Joining them in the top five is RAYE‘s “Where Is My Husband!” which holds its position at No. 3. Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need” lifts one place to No. 5, and is at the same spot on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, a career best.

As Lily Allen’s West End Girl moves up to No. 2 on the U.K. Albums Chart, the LP’s breakout song “Pussy Palace” heads into the top 10, finishing at No. 8. Two more tracks from the record, “West End Girl” (No. 15) and “Madeline” (No. 16), also achieve new peaks.

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Friday Dance Music Guide: The Week’s Best New Tracks From Charlotte de Witte, Illenium, Romy & More

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This week in dance music: Bunt.’s manager Nick Groff talked about using emerging technology to turn phones back on fans during shows during Billboard’s Live Music Summit in Los Angeles on Monday, Nov. 3.

Diplo reflected on his ex Katy Perry and her new boyfriend, the former prime minister of Canada Justin Trudeau. Demo Lovato’s new dance album It’s Not That Deep bumped Tame Impala’s Deadbeat out of the number one spot on Top Dance/Electronic albums and the co-writer of Deadbeat’s star single “Dracula” Sarah Aarons told us about the production process and the procrastination that brought the song to life.

“It was like, ‘Cool, this mix is due in 45 minutes,'” Aarons recalled of finishing “Dracula.” “When you know you have a deadline, your brain just goes, ‘This is the right thing.’ [Kevin Parker] called me and he went, ‘What about this melody?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah! How did we not do that melody already? It totally fits the song.’ We’d written lyrics so many times, we already had so many lyrics floating around our brains. We had so much of what we knew the song was that it kind of clicked.”

Meanwhile, Fred again.. continued his 10 shows/10 songs/10 weeks run in Dublin (and in fact released three songs this week), we celebrated the 20 year anniversary of Madonna’s disco-laced Confessions On a Dancefloor and Calvin Harris announced a 2026 Las Vegas residency at Wynn Nightlife, the property where the Scottish producer had his first ever Vegas residency back in 2011.

The Avicii Estate and Pophouse released the first of a three-part documentary series about the making of the late artist’s 2015 album Stories and Above & Beyond released their own documentary about the making of their July album Bigger Than All of Us. Plus, Grammy season kicked off with the nominations announced today, with Skrillex, PinkPantheress and Fred again.. leading the dance/electronic fields with two noms each.

Is there more? You bet there’s more. These are the best new dance tracks of the week.

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Anuel AA & Blessd’s ‘Pórtate Bonito’ Skyrockets to No. 1 on Latin Airplay Chart

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Anuel AA returns to the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart with “Pórtate Bonito,” his first team-up with Blessd. The track flies 9-1 on the Nov. 8-dated list, Anuel’s first champ in over three years.

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Released August 21 on Real Hasta La Muerte, “Pórtate Bonito” was initially announced on Anuel’s Instagram account on August 6, alongside news that Blessd would join him on his RHLM 2 tour.

The collab, produced by Ovy on The Drums, surges 9-1 in its seventh week on the chart with the Greatest Gainer weekly honors, after a 32% boost in audience impressions, to 7.6 million, logged during the Oct. 24-30 tracking week, as reported by Luminate.

The new win marks Anuel’s first No. 1 in over three years, since “Ley Seca,” with Jhayco, ruled for one week in February 2022. In sum, he’s placed 11 rulers, here’s a recap of those since “Ella Quiere Beber,” with Romeo Santos, in 2019:

Title, Artist, Peak, Weeks at No. 1
“Ella Quiere Beber,” with Santos, Feb. 2, 2019, one
“Secreto,” with Karol G, May 4, 2019, one
“Baila Baila Baila,” with Ozuna, Daddy Yankee, J Balvin & Farruko, May 11, 2019, one
“Otro Trago,” with Sech, Darell, Nicky Jam, & Ozuna, Aug. 31, 2019, one
“China,” with Daddy Yankee, Karol G, Ozuna & J Balvin, Sept. 21, 2019, two
“Aventura,” with Lunay & Ozuna, Nov. 9, 2019, one
“Keii,” May 2, 2020, one
“Fútbol & Rumba,” with Enrique Iglesias, Aug. 8, 2020, one
“Location,” with Karol G & J Balvin, April 10, 2021, one
“Ley Seca,” with Jhay Cortez, Feb. 5, 2022, one
“Pórtate Bonito”” with Blessd, Nov. 8, 2025, one

Colombian star Blessd adds his third No. 1 on the overall Latin radio ranking. “Medallo,” with Justin Quiles and Lenny Tavarez, and “Si Sabe Ferxxo,” with Feid, each led for one week in 2022 and 2024, respectively.

Beyond its Latin Airplay coronation, “Pórtate Bonito” ascends 3-1 on the Latin Rhythm Airplay chart. Plus, it gains traction on the Hot Latin Rhythm Songs chart, where it narrowly misses the top 10 with an 18-11 leap.

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