EMI is suing Cash Money Records for late payments. According to a suit filed in the U.S. Federal Court in the Southern District of New York, Cash Money failed to pay a remaining balance of $392,940.93 for clearance of an undisclosed amount of samples that appeared on Tha Carter III.

Beyoncé just gave birth to Blue Ivy two months ago, but she’s already back in tip top shape, as this photo of her in a skin-tight blue dress designed by Victoria Beckham demonstrates. Lookin’ good girl! This is one of the first times Bey has been spotted without Blue Ivy in her arms. The quick return to her svelte frame does a lot to maintain Beyoncé’s ultimate goddess image.

We thought it might be interesting to break down the lyrical adjustments Katy Perry made for her version, and see just how much editing and self-censoring she had to do to get the song to a performable state. Watch the video, and try to follow along with our lyrics sheet.

Justin Bieber got mangled, bloodied, and bruised up in a boxing-themed photo shoot for a recent Complex Magazine cover story. Tony Kelly’s photo shoot for the article depicts every Belieber’s nightmare, and every aggressive anti-Bieber maniac’s cream-dream: JayBee getting destroyed in the ring.

At the end of each week, #Top40Tweets lists a cross-section of artists on the current pop charts and puts their tweets on display (along with their current chart number) for your enjoyment/scrutiny. This week, we look at 5 artists on the Billboard Music Charts.

The 24 year-old Virginia-born songwriter and producer Benny Blanco is actually the protege and main collaborator of Dr. Luke, who we’ve featured before in our producer Friday Mixtape series. The pair have worked together extensively over the past few years (Blanco is listed as co-producer and songwriter on many of Dr. Luke’s biggest hits), but Benny Blanco is really starting to carve out his own niche in the pop production spectrum.

This week on Idol, contestants were tasked with singing a song that was released the year they were born. I thought this was kind of a surprising theme to go with, given that the contestants were born between 1983 and 1996, an era that birthed some of the worst music of all time. Don’t get me wrong — I love 80s music, and cheesy 90s pop has a special place in my heart. I just wasn’t sure how these songs would play with Idol’s predominantly younger audience. Do any 12 year-olds love Michael Bolton?

SAMPLED is a recurring column that examines the skeletal production of a contemporary Rap/R&B/Hip-Hop or Pop song. From what song did the loop, sample, or chopped up vocal providing the backbone for a new interpretation originate? This week, the sample in question is from the Boyz II Men slow-jam “Uhh Ahh.”

For those of you who have been following Rihanna’s acting career, we’ve finally got some evidence that she does, in fact, actually act. Granted, it’s only one word and about five seconds, but Rihanna definitely flexes her acting chops in the newest Battleship trailer.

The contestant who audiences have come to know affectionately as “The Gentle Giant” may not be so gentle after all. And, he’s a liar. Jermaine Jones, a 25 year-old native of New Jersey, entered the competition as a last minute wild-card pick. His deep and soulful voice caught the eye of the judges, and so did his sob-story about him and his mother being abandoned by his father.