melody

OLIVIA DEAN may be the queen of singing about self-worth, but she won’t be feeling the love right now.

The British chart-topper is facing a messy legal battle after being sued over her song I’ve Seen It.

A fresh lawsuit has been filed claiming she copied the melody of Bill Withers’ 1981 soul classic Just The Two of Us.

Publishers of the late singer’s catalogue allege Olivia’s track, which appears on her album The Art Of Loving, “shares musical features so striking” that they cannot be by chance.

Rather than going after Olivia or her co-writers directly, the lawsuit lists Olivia’s American record label Capitol Records and its parent company Universal Music Group as the defendants.

The song has been streamed 246million times on Spotify alone.

‘WHO HURT HER?’

Emotional moment Olivia Dean breaks down in tears during love song onstage

OFFER DEAN-IED

Olivia Dean turns down Glastonbury as other Brit set to be named headliner

In comparison, Bill’s hit has 948million global streams.

Talking about penning the emotional track, Olivia previously said: “I’d had a lot of red wine.

“When I heard it back for the first time, I burst into tears.

“It felt like the loveliest note to end on.

“Whether it’s within your friends, your family, or just the love that exists in the strangers around you, it’s there, and it’s inside of you, too.”

APPRENTICE DUO LAND SWEET GIG

IT may sound like a flaky idea, but Apprentice star Lawrence Rosenberg will dress up as a croissant to launch a new bakery.

He is reuniting with Kieran McCartney Jones, his fellow competitor on the BBC One show, at Tuesday’s opening of Signorelli Broadgate in London.

And the pair will replicate the street-trader energy they wowed with on TV.

They gained an army of fans selling out supplies of their team’s carbonara at Greenwich Market this year in Lord Sugar’s talent hunt.

I don’t doubt they’ll make this stunt a success, too.

At the bakery, Lawrence will swap the egg costume he wore during the Apprentice challenge for a croissant outfit. He told me: “We’ll be begging for tips like Lord Sugar’s watching.

“I’ll be dressed in a croissant costume and you can even pretend to be Baroness Brady and mark our performance.”

Sounds like a recipe for making dough . . . 

CONGRATULATIONS to Chris Martin and Coldplay.

Their 2000 hit Yellow has just passed 4 BILLION streams on Spotify. It’s their first song to achieve this, but I’m sure it won’t be their last.

Viva La Vida isn’t far behind on 3.5 billion. No wonder they sold out ten nights at Wembley last summer.

AUSSIE rapper Iggy Azalea is plotting a comeback.

Sliding into Instagram DMs, Iggy wrote: “I stepped away from music for a long time, but now I’m back in the studio, this felt like the right place to share my journey.”

Iggy has had huge hits with the likes of Rita Ora and Britney Spears previously.

LILY STEPS UP DOWN UNDER

LILY ALLEN is legging it Down Under.

The Smile singer shows off her pins in an arty shoot after wrapping up the UK and US legs of her West End Girl show.

Lily is enjoying a break before returning to the stage in Auckland, New Zealand, on October 21.

She will then play six shows across Australia – belting out the brutal album about her divorce from Stranger Things actor David Harbour.

Lily said: “Doing the shows feels like an act of storytelling.

“It’s almost like I’m in a play every night, because I have to brush myself down and take myself back to a time and a place that isn’t now.

“It doesn’t really feel like it’s about me any more. It’s about other women who have experienced something similar.”

PIXIE SHOWS A LOTTA STYLE

PIXIE LOTT looks fashionable as ever as she heads home from another night on stage.

Dressed in a quirky jacket and tiny hotpants, Pixie strutted through London’s West End.

She’s currently starring in Who Killed Marilyn? At the Emerald Theatre.
Pixie plays the lead role of movie legend Marilyn Monroe, who died in 1962 aged just 36.

Talking about Marilyn, she said: “I grew up loving her. She was very strong and intelligent and witty.

“This whole story is told from her perspective.”

SUPERSTAR Ariana Grande is rumoured to be releasing a remix of a track from her hit album Petal.

In February 2024, she teamed up with Mariah Carey for a remix of her hit single Yes, And?

Previously, Ari featured on The Weeknd’s 2021 remix of Save Your Tears.

If she does have something in the works, I see history repeating itself.

DECEMBER 10’S HAIRY NIGHT OUT

DECEMBER 10 are going from strength to strength, but four of the lads were in for a fright this week ahead of Halloween.

John, Hendrik, Cruz, and Nicolas were seen at the scare mazes at Thorpe Park’s Fright Nights.

Simon Cowell‘s boyband have a busy winter of gigs ahead including in London and Birmingham.

Not bad for a band many thought wouldn’t amount to much.

To attract patrons, the Los Angeles County Library turned to some of the most familiar faces on earth: Hello Kitty and her friends.

The bet seemed to be paying off Friday, as thousands of adults flocked to local branches to snag library cards featuring the adorable anthropomorphic gang on launch day.

The county’s library director, Skye Patrick, told The Times Thursday evening that they were bracing for “complete mayhem.”

A library spokesperson said they were still tallying the number of card sign-ups, but at least 4,400 had been issued as of Friday afternoon.

One of them went to Mar Vista resident Sisa Salazar.

“I thought it was super cute,” the 22-year-old said as she waited in line at the Marina del Rey branch Friday afternoon.

The florist used to frequent the library in high school, checking out books and watching shows. But she lost her card in recent years.

So when she came across the special Hello Kitty-themed card on Instagram, she took the opportunity to get a replacement.

Shortly after 2 p.m. Friday, the line for Hello Kitty library cards at the Marina del Rey branch stretched out the door.

(Iris Kwok / Los Angeles Times)

The Marina del Rey library remained busy throughout the afternoon, with a steady line of more than 50 people stretching out the door. Across town, dozens of people lined up outside the South Whittier Library before its 10 a.m. opening, hoping to be among the first to snag the card.

The West Hollywood, Carson, West Covina, La Mirada, Marina del Rey and Alondra branches ran out of cards on the first day, library spokesperson Jessica Lee wrote in an email. She noted the cards can still be found at other locations and roving bookmobiles.

In addition to Hello Kitty, the card depicts several other recognizable characters produced by the Japanese company Sanrio: My Melody, Kuromi, Pompompurin, Keroppi, Cinnamoroll, Chococat and Pochacco.

Many people in line in Marina del Rey chatted about their favorite Sanrio characters and exchanged childhood memories.

Playa del Rey resident Rebecca Leach, 43, already has an L.A. County Library card, which she often uses to read e-books on the Libby app.

Playa del Rey resident Rebecca Leach said she wanted to get the Hello Kitty library card because she grew up with the character and finds it nostalgic.

(Iris Kwok / Los Angeles Times)

But for the registered nurse, who dons a Hello Kitty badge reel at work, nostalgia was part of the card’s appeal. She has fond childhood memories of playing with a color-changing Hello Kitty plush toy. Leach visited several branches Friday before finding a manageable line in Marina del Rey.

“I think it’s great that they’re promoting the library more and doing outreach,” said Jolyne Jimenez, 51, a library assistant at the Santa Monica Public Library and fan of My Melody.

She spent her day off at the Marina del Rey library waiting for the card. (The Santa Monica Public Library is independent of the L.A. County Library system.)

Limited-edition library cards aren’t new in L.A. County. Previous popular designs have included cards commemorating the centennial of the 19th Amendment and the FIFA World Cup, Patrick said.

“What is uncommon is this amount of buzz,” Patrick said, adding that she hoped the heavy interest in the card would translate to increased awareness of the library’s offerings — not just books and e-books, but streaming content, household tools, musical instruments and podcast equipment.

The Hello Kitty card is available through Oct. 18, Patrick said. The library has permission to use Sanrio’s characters for one month for free and plans to restock the cards before the collaboration period ends.