MUSIC NEWS: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2017
NELLY - LAWSUIT
She wouldn't co-operate with a criminal rape case against Nelly. But now a woman is suing the rap star, claiming he sexually assaulted her. The Seattle Times reports Monique Green's lawsuit against Nelly seeks unspecified damages. She says the rapper also damaged her reputation by saying she made up her story about what happened on Nelly's tour bus in October. Prosecutors looked into the case _ but said last week they weren't going to charge Nelly because the woman won't co-operate with the case. Attorneys for the rapper say the lawsuit is an attempt to get money from Nelly _ and that the rapper plans to file a countersuit.
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XXXTENTACION - RELEASED FROM JAIL
XXXTentacion is going to be a free man _ sort of.
The Florida-based rap star is to be released from jail today _ and put under house arrest. In the meantime, he will be awaiting trial on charges that he beat up his pregnant girlfriend last year _ then tried to bribe her by offering her money if she agreed to drop the charges. XXXTentacion has had nine songs on Billboard's Hot 100 chart this year, including ``Jocelyn Flores'' which peaked at No. 31.
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MICHAEL RAY - ARREST
At last word, country music star Michael Ray was being held on bond _ after an incident early yesterday in which he ran his car into one ahead of him at a Florida McDonald's drive-thru. Police say it happened in the town of Eustis. An arrest report says Ray told investigators his foot slipped off the brake pedal of his 2012 Jeep. The report also says Ray had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech _ and a glass bottle with brown liquid in his vehicle. Asked what was in the bottle, Ray replied: ``weed oil.'' He faces D-U-I and drug charges.
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PHIL COLLINS - GREETING CARDS
If you get a Christmas card from Phil Collins, you're getting more than just a holiday greeting _ you're getting a work of art. Just ask Patrick Wilson who says Collins is his favourite celebrity card sender. Collins paints _ and Wilson says the painted cards the musician sends ``were pretty awesome.'' While Wilson is lavish in his praise of Collins' cards, he wonders if he has fallen out of favour him. Wilson says he hasn't gotten a card from Collins in a few years _ and hopes to be back on the list this year because those cards were ``pretty great.''
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BILLY JOEL - HIGH SCHOOL NAMED FOR MOM
Billy Joel did something nice for a high school in Long Island on the verge of closing. And now, the school has done something nice in return. Last year Joel, a Long Island native, gave money to help save the performing arts program at the Long Island High School for the Arts' campus in Syosset, New York. On Tuesday, the school rededicated the conservatory and renamed it for Joel's mom, Rosalind, who died in 2014. The Newsday reports Joel attended the ceremony and spent time chatting with students. Joel says it was his mom who stoked his interest in music by taking him to concerts and paying for his piano lessons.
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(The Associated Press)
