HOLLYWOOD

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Britney Spears, Kesha Performances Wow Billboard Awards


She did it again. Spears rocked the room at Sunday's Billboard Music Awards, delivering a medley of old hits while collecting the Millennium Award. The pop idol has been teasing a new album, but didn't debut any new music. Meanwhile, Kesha, who'd been temporarily yanked from the bill when producers heard she planned to use images of her allegedly abusive producer Dr. Luke in her performance, delivered an emotional cover of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me, Babe." Adele won artist of the year, while The Weeknd took home eight trophies.

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San Diego Gay Men's Chorus Livid Over MLB Anthem Flap


Oh say, can you hear? When the Padres invited 100 members of the Gay Men's Chorus of San Diego to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Saturday's game, the audio was replaced with that of a female singer - apparently the previous night's recording. The men were pelted with catcalls such as "You sing like a girl!" The Padres' apology was insufficient, the chorus said in a statement. They're asking Major League Baseball and local authorities to investigate whether Petco Park staffers engaged in a hate crime.

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Actresses Lay Claim to James Bond Legacy


It sounds like a spy in the sky dream - and it probably is. But up-and-comer Priyanka Chopra, when asked if she'd play a Bond girl, is aiming higher, saying, "I want to be Bond!" Meanwhile X-Files doyenne Gillian Anderson recently tweeted a fan-made poster of herself as "Jane Bond," garnering thousands of likes. She later told fans online that it's "started an intriguing conversation" but she doubts it'll ever happen in real life. Meanwhile, current odds are on Tom Hiddleston to actually win the role.

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Starz Makes Sunday Play, Crowding TV's Biggest Night


It's fight night on your DVR. The premium cable network is moving its original programming from Saturday to Sunday, a bold play to compete with HBO's Game of Thrones, AMC's The Walking Dead and Showtime's Homeland on what has long been the most prestigious TV night. Starz CEO Chris Albrecht, an HBO alum, wants success "not just in viewership, but in the attention-getting business" at the watercooler and in the media. The move begins with Power on July 17 and continues the following week with Survivor's Remorse.

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Justin Bieber, Skrillex Sued for Swiping Song


It might be too late to say he's sorry now. Casey Dienel, who records as White Hinterland, filed a lawsuit claiming the mega-hit "Sorry" sampled her voice for its infectious hook and never paid for the rights. In a Facebook post, Dienel said she was rebuffed by Bieber's lawyers, who wouldn't even acknowledge the use of her 2014 song "Ring the Bell." Bieber's 2015 track, which Skrillex produced, was a comeback smash for the troubled star - and Dienel said she's prepared for "a full attack" from Bieber's team.

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The Secret Sex Lives of Seniors


Granny might be getting lucky! British social networking site Gransnet says quite a few folks over 50 are finding time for the horizontal bop. A third of 1,000 seniors surveyed - average age 64 - said they had sex at least once a week, and 2 percent claim they're makin' whoopee every day. Sure, nearly a quarter said they no longer enjoy such thrills - another half miss it - but experts say "sex begets sex," so the key to getting more is to simply do it ... at any age.

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Depp's Movie Flops as Abuse Allegations Hit


Rough seas are ahead for Captain Sparrow. The entertainment world was stunned Friday by Amber Heard's restraining order against Johnny Depp, after she showed up to court with a black eye and accused her husband of repeated assaults. Now that his latest film, Alice Through the Looking Glass, has tanked its opening weekend, some industry experts wonder if Depp's megawatt star power is dimming under the allegations - especially in family-friendly franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean, which will see a fifth chapter Memorial Day weekend 2017.

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How We Came to Expect the 'Surprise' Album


The shock has worn off. The music industry's addiction to the sudden album drop - Beyonce's Lemonade and Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool being two recent examples - has reached its logical extreme, when artists promote the "surprises" ahead of time. In our age of ant-sized attention spans, such releases have emerged to seize the spotlight in the way hugely publicized unveilings once did. But some urge against letting shock marketing strategies overshadow the substance - especially when the music astonishes as did Queen Bey's stunning tribute to the spirit of Black women.

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'Roots' Remake Stirs Controversy


History can be hard to watch. The four-night remake of the miniseries about slavery in America debuted Monday on The History Channel, A&E and Lifetime. Bloodier and more foreboding than the 1977 original, the eight-hour event befits the tensions of the Black Lives Matter era. Rapper Snoop Dogg is boycotting, explaining, "They just want to keep showing the abuse that we took." But LeVar Burton, who starred in the original and co-produced the remake, says he hopes the discussion will "deal honestly with what continues to hold us back."

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Mary Poppins Returns' to Fly Into Cinemas in 2018
Will she be practically perfect in every way? Emily Blunt's slated to play the spellbinding nanny alongside a new character, Jack the lamplighter, played by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. The all-new score won't be penned by Miranda, but rather by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, the team behind Hairspray. Set in Depression-era London, the Rob Marshall-directed sequel will follow Jane and Michael Banks trying to navigate adulthood with the help of a visit from their supercalifragilisticexpialidocious former nanny and her famous medicine.