Clive Davis Shares ‘Clive-isms’ on Music, Artists, His History, and Keeping an Open Mind

Khloe Kardashian and mother Kris Jenner were seen arriving in New York City on Sunday, a day ahead of what's expected to be Khloe's Met Gala debut.Kardashian, 37, kept things casual in an ash grey ensemble of a hooded sweatshirt with sweatpants and white sneakers as she was pictured heading into her hotel.Khloe, who is mother to daughter True, four, with ex Tristan Thompson, 31, wore her long blonde locks parted to the side and black sunglasses on the spring day while carrying a black patterned purse. The latest:Khloe Kardashian, 37, seen arriving in New York City on Sunday, a day ahead of what's expected to be her Met Gala debut, in an outing with her mother Kris Jenner, 66Her mother Jenner, 66, stood out in a magenta coat over a long-sleeved black top with a black fedora hat with a flat brim and black sunglasses.The reality TV matriarch rounded out her fashionable ensemble with black platform boots as she waved to fans in the Big Apple.

Julia Fox left little to the imagination when she was spotted strolling down the street in New York City on Sunday.The 32-year-old ex-girlfriend of rapper Kanye West covered her ample assets with a barely-there black bikini top for her outing in the Big Apple.The Uncut Gems star's washboard abs were on full display in the swirl-patterned bikini top which she paired with extremely low-rise black leather leggings. Sizzling: Julia Fox left little to the imagination when she was spotted strolling down the street in New York City on SundayThe No Sudden Move actress completed her edgy ensemble with sky-high black leather platform boots that laced up to her knees.

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez spent their Sunday afternoon with some retail therapy in New York City.The 58-year-old Amazon founder and his 52-year-old girlfriend were spotted shopping at Brunello Cucinelli in SoHo.The couple, who have been dating since 2019, were all smiles on the shopping excursion, while Bezos chatted on the phone. Shopping:Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez spent their Sunday afternoon with some retail therapy in New York CitySanchez stepped out with a slightly-unbuttoned white blouse with a grey fedora, with a huge diamond dangling from a thin necklace.She also wore form-fitting light blue jeans with light brown flats for the retail therapy excursion.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt is perhaps a telling sign of this strange era that one of the breakout music acts of the past 12 months was formed for a laugh by a pair of friends — singer-guitarists Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers — who had for years been trying to perform more “serious” music, mostly unsuccessfully. (Oddest of all, they didn’t even break through via TikTok.)But within weeks of sending around a private link containing four songs with their now-trademark new wave bounce and hilariously deadpan vocals, the deliberately ridiculously named Wet Leg had top management and a record deal.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThere is exactly one person on earth who could be serenaded on his 90th birthday by (in order) Barry Manilow, Patti Smith, Dionne Warwick, Kenny G, Art Garfunkel, Earth Wind & Fire, Bruce Springsteen and Alicia Keys — and have the whole evening capped off by a brilliant Mark Ronson-helmed “megamix” of great songs from across that birthday boy’s 60-plus-year career. The answer is so obvious we’re not even going to bother.Yes, Clive Davis’ 90th birthday party, held Wednesday night at the memorably named Cipriani South Street at Casa Cipriani in Lower Manhattan, was truly one for the ages.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThree members of Congress have written to Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek, criticizing him over the company’s policy of promoting an artist’s music on its Discovery Mode platform in exchange for a reduced royalty rate. Among other notes, the letter requests that Spotify label such as paid content; the company announced the policy, which has come under heavy criticism, in 2020.The letter, written on official Congress stationary and obtained by Variety, is dated March 26, 2022 and signed by Reps.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs predicted, Swedish House Mafia and the Weeknd will replace Kanye West at Coachella on Sunday night.They will perform in the festival-closing Sunday night slot, joining Harry Styles (Friday) and Billie Eilish (Saturday) as Coachella’s 2022 headliners.Although many media outlets reported that the Weeknd would take the slot himself, that was never a realistic proposition: For the past several months he’s been immersed in the HBO series “The Idol” — which he is co-writing, co-directing and stars in — and his own stadium tour doesn’t start until July.Other names thrown into the week’s frenzied prediction mix include Justin Bieber, Travis Scott, Silk Sonic (featuring Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak) and Tyler, the Creator. When the 2022 Coachella lineup was announced back in early January, Swedish House Mafia had rare, almost unprecedented placement in the hierarchy of the festival’s all-important official poster: in a headliner-sized font, but at the bottom of the lineup, and with no specific date listed.A few days later, Variety unspooled several hundred words speculating about what that might mean, one possibility of which was that the festival was hedging its bets in case headliner Kanye West — who’d pulled out of a previous Coachella lineup literally days before it was announced — pulled out again, which is exactly what happened on Monday.It is important to note that not just anyone can pull off a headlining set at North America’s biggest and most popular music festival.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDowntown Music Services has inked a global music publishing administration agreement with Brooklyn-based artist, composer and producer Daniel Lopatin, the company announced Wednesday.Lopatin, who records and performs as Oneohtrix Point Never, has released multiple albums and tracks over the years including his most recent project, “Magic Oneohtrix Point Never.”He also has collaborated extensively with the Weeknd over the past two years, serving as an executive producer on the recent “Dawn FM” album, and also was musical director of the artist’s 2021 Super Bowl Half Time performance. Earlier this year he completed work on his first full album production for another artist, Soccer Mommy’s upcoming album “Sometimes, Forever.” His production credits over the years also include David Byrne, Moses Sumney, Anohni and Charli XCX as well as collaborations with Iggy Pop, Rosalía, James Blake and Elizabeth Fraser.His original film scores include Josh and Benny Safdie’s “Uncut Gems” and “Good Time,” for which he received the Best Soundtrack Award at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWhen the 2022 Coachella lineup was announced back in early January, Swedish House Mafia had rare, almost unprecedented placement in the hierarchy of the festival’s all-important official poster: in a headliner-sized font, but at the bottom of the lineup, and with no specific date listed.Variety unspooled several hundred words speculating about what that might mean, one possibility of which was that the festival was hedging its bets in case headliner Kanye West — who’d pulled out of a previous Coachella lineup literally days before it was announced — pulled out again, which is exactly what happened on Monday.Yet in the hours after news broke that West would not be performing at the festival, which starts in 10 days, speculation was rife about who — if anyone — might fill his slot. Variety has been blowing up phones for the past 24 hours trying to find out what’s what (as has Hits magazine), and while we don’t have any definitive answers, we’ve got some interesting off-the record perspectives.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn a move that sounds like a “Who’s on first?” routine, Shira Knishkowy is joining Another Management Company, leaving Spotify after three years to join the company that oversees the careers of such artists as Kurt Vile, Waxahatchee, Stephen Malkmus, Mary Timony, Snail Mail, Mdou Moctar and Horsegirl, as well as High on Fire, Protomartyr, Sheer Mag and others. Knishkowy’s artist-centric role at Spotify and previous multi-year roles at Matador Records, Partisan Records and Big Hassle Media make her a solid fit for her new role as artist manager and director of digital and creative strategy.Another co-founder Rennie Jaffe says, “I have ultimate confidence that Shira will take the relationships, skill-sets and most importantly the instincts she’s developed over the past 10+ years as a leading music publicist to quickly emerge as a world class artist manager.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSaveLive, the platform launched in 2020 by former WME music execs Marc Geiger and John Fogelman to “bail out” concert venues that were struggling during the pandemic, has announced its first round of partners, some 20 mid-size venues across the country, many in the South.The company has also completed its first round of financing, raising $135 million dollars to invest into the independent live music community. Investors include Breyer Capital, Deep Field Asset Management, Raptor Group, and Shamrock Capital.At the time of the company’s launch in October of 2020, Geiger, who was a cofounder of the Lollapalooza festival, said the plan was to invest in small clubs and build an indie touring network by acquiring a 51% ownership stake in the venues in question.

Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion have gotten super close since collaborating on their new song, “Sweetest Pie.” So, why not reference another iconic music duo while presenting an award at the GRAMMYs?At the ceremony on Sunday, April 3, the duo--who are both previous winners of the GRAMMY for Best New Artist--presented Olivia Rodrigo wiith the honor for 2022. As they announced the nominees for the evening, the musicians threw it back to 1998 to reference an iconic moment between Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.Megan and Dua were wearing matching Versace ensembles, which led to the “WAP” rapper saying, “Not you stealing my look.”“I was told I had the exclusive,” Lipa replied. “I’m going to have to have a talk with Donatella.”That’s when the famous Italian fashion designer emerged from the crowd to work her magic on the dresses.“You know what? Let’s do this,” she told the artists, transforming the ensembles and leaving Dua with a mini skirt and Megan in a thigh-high midi slit, saving them from a fashion faux pas.J Balvin and Valentina Ferrer exude style on the 2022 Grammy red carpetThese are all the Latin nominees and winners at the 2022 Grammy Awards (Updating Live)Kanye West & Olivia Rodrigo could make Grammy historyThe bit was a call-back to a moment from the 1998 Grammy Awards, where Mariah and Whitney presented together in matching Vera Wang wrap dresses.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorKanye West has pulled out of his scheduled appearance at the Coachella festival, a source confirms to Variety. Reps for West and the festival did not immediately respond to requests for comment; the news was first reported by TMZ.The reason for his cancelation was not immediately clear, although a source tells Variety that he had not rehearsed or prepared for the appearance.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFilm footage of an 11-year-old Prince has been discovered in the archives of Minneapolis television station WCCO.The brief clip, filmed during a teacher’s strike in April of that year, captures the future music icon speaking in support of the teachers, and jumping around with his characteristic impish grin on his face.“I think they should get a better education too cause, um, and I think they should get some more money ‘cause they’re working extra hours for us and all that stuff,” he says.WCCO restored the film to as part of a story about an educators strike in the same district last month. Matt Liddy, the station’s production, was reviewing the footage when one boy in particular caught his eye.

Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion had some wardrobe help from Donatella Versace after they wore the same Versace gown while presenting at the 2022 Grammy Awards in a moment reminiscent of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston at the 1998 Video Music Awards. On Sunday, the singers took to the stage to present Best New Artist at the 64th annual Grammy Awards, both wearing black gowns with gold detailing by Versace and black patent leather leggings.

Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion recreated another famous fashion faux pas while presenting at the 2022 Grammys.During the 1998 VMAs, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston participated in a skit where they both wore the same brown dress on stage they bothinitially believed was 'one of a kind.'Dua, 26, and Megan, 27, recreated that skit at the Grammys on Sunday where they stepped out in identical black dresses with gold safety pins - before designer Dontalla Versace stepped in to save the day. Who wore it better?Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion recreated another famous fashion faux pas while presenting at the 2022 Grammys Legendary: In 1998, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston pretended to have a fashion faux pas as they presented at the VMAs wearing identical brown dresses'You stole my look!' Megan told Dua.'I was told I had the exclusive,' Dua told Megan.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSZA revealed that her long-awaited sophomore major-label album, some six years in the making, is finally finished and on the way.“I just finished it up in Hawaii,” she said in answer to Variety’s question. “And it’s coming soon!” Asked for details, she said , “I think it’s my most unisex album.” Met with a slightly confused response, she continued, “I think it’s for everyone.”She also explained why she’s on crutches, which led to a rather comical moment in which she walked up the stairs to accept her first Grammy Award — on crutches with a long gown, which led to Lady Gaga holding her train for her.“I fell out of bad before I came here,” to Las Vegas for the show, she quickly clarified.

Music icons Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion recreated an iconic skit at Grammy's 2022.The 63rd Annual Grammy Award finally arrived in Las Vegas on Sunday (March 3) and delivered unforgettable looks and iconic moments.During the ceremony, New Rules singer Dua 26, and Savage singer Megan, 27, paid tribute to Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston’s iconic 1998 MTV VMA same-dress momentAt the time, a young-looking Mariah and Whitney made light of their alleged feud by wearing the same olive coloured dress.The legends joked about the situation on stage and Mariah said that she had been told that it was "a unique piece", to which Whitney agreed.Mariah then tore her dress and re-structured the outfit, while the ladies looked at each and said, "you look good", as they shut down their feud.Nearly 20 years on and pop culture's biggest names, Dua and Megan, re-created the hilarious moment at this year's Grammys.

Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion had a matching moment! During the 2022 GRAMMY Awards on Sunday, the «Sweetest Pie» artists stepped onstage to present Olivia Rodrigo with the Best New Artist award while wearing matching Versace.The pair stunned in the same black dress and shiny leggings, with both woman accessorizing with oversized safety pins and chunky jewelry.The matching moment was a cute bit as Megan joked, «Not you stole my look!» Dua responded, «I was told I had the exclusive – I have to have a talk with Donatella.» After the women stepped onstage, Donatella Versace joined them to personalize each of their looks. The designer removed the bottom of Dua's dress, turning it into a mini-dress.

Glamour's , for ya!) As Diet Prada pointed out, this isn't the first time this has happened at an award show. In 1998, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston both wore the same brown Vera Wang dress to present an award.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSummer Walker, Chloe Bailey, Muni Love, Cordae and Jimmie Allen delivered rousing performances and groundbreaking female rapper MC Lyte and singer-songwriter John Legend were honored at the Recording Academy’s first-ever Black Music Collective ceremony on Saturday night.“It’s been a long time coming, and I don’t feel great saying that,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told the glittering audience at Resorts World Las Vegas.