JENNIFER Lopez hails the courage of actress pal Kerry Washington at a charity gala.
The singer and actress, 56, wore a blazer over a lace slip dress at the event in Los Angeles for Women’s Cancer Research Fund.
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J-Lo dressed up in a blazer to celebrate her pal Kerry WashingtonCredit: GettyJenny with Anastasia Soare and Kerry Washington, whom J-Lo was celebratingCredit: GettyThe singer was also joined by Sofia VergaraCredit: Reuters
She presented the Courage Award to Kerry, 49, a cancer advocate after her mum was diagnosed with the disease.
J Lo, who was also joined by Sofia Vergara, 53, at the event, said on stage: “Kerry, you remind us that together, through sciences, support of survivors, and the relentless pursuit of answers, that real change is possible.”
But it was understood at the time to be only a one-album deal and they called it a day following disappointing sales.
A music insider said at the time: “Jennifer is obviously massively successful and talented but it’s been hard for her to find a label who she’s on the same page with.
“After her last album came out, it was decided she wouldn’t continue with BMG as it wasn’t the success she wanted.
“It only went to No 55 in the UK. But her team want to push her forward with this new music.
“She has spent a lot of time in the studio this year.”
The Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson is reflecting on his rollercoaster relationship with his younger sibling, guitarist Rich.
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The Black Crowes lead singer Chris Robinson, left, and his guitarist sibling RichCredit: ROSS HALFINThe pair had no set ideas for the record, as they got creative in the studioCredit: ROSS HALFIN
Their explosive chemistry once earned the outfit a fitting accolade — “The Most Rock ’n’ Roll Rock ’n’ Roll Band in the World”.
Chris is first to admit they’ve had their ups and downs since forming in 1984 under their original name, Mr Crowe’s Garden, as schoolkids in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Rich and I, for better or worse, were stubborn and arrogant but always strong believers in the art,” he admits.
“This has always been our path and, no matter what, we have to do it like this.
“Sometimes, you have to take your lumps,” continues Chris, employing that very American phrase for suffering setbacks. “But, right now, we’re in the zone. The chemistry is 100 per cent there.
“The way we feel goes right back to when we started — it’s f*** it, just play it — even if we are more well-mannered.”
But the pandemic slammed on the brakes before the dates finally happened across the US in 2021, uncorking the band’s celebrated freewheeling energy.
Back to the live arena came Jealous Again, Hard To Handle, She Talks To Angels and Twice As Hard, songs that somehow bottled up the band’s influences — Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Little Feat among them — but still refreshingly their own.
The follow-up, A Pound Of Feathers, comes tearing out of the blocks with the rocket-fuelled, riff-driven Profane Prophecy, setting the tone for another of The Black Crowes’ “love letters to rock and roll”.
The album arrives with some sound advice — “This isn’t a record you play on Sunday morning, this is a f***ing Saturday night burner!”
In a world where smoothly produced pop dominates the airwaves, The Black Crowes are unashamedly sticking two fingers up at it.
“None of what’s going on in that world is relevant to me,” decides Chris, “and rock ’n’ roll is still huge for millions and millions of people.”
He is talking to me via video call from Aspen, Colorado, the premier ski resort in the States, playground of the rich and famous.
“My wife is an avid skier. She’s the Franz Klammer of the family,” he reports with a reference to the Austrian downhill legend.
“I get to do the cooking, the reading and the hanging out.” (And talking to people like me about The Black Crowes). Brother Rich is at home in Nashville and begins his call by apologising for being under the weather.
“I’m going to be coughing randomly,” he says. “I’m in the middle of flu that’s going around.”
After clearing his throat, Rich, the less flamboyant one who lets his guitar wizardry do most of his talking, gamely picks up on Chris’s theme.
“When we got back together, we both agreed we needed to do it properly,” he affirms.
“We knew that bringing back a toxic dynamic wouldn’t be healthy for anyone.
“We couldn’t have the overarching idea that when Chris and Rich get together, it’s a bad thing.
“We’ve always written all the songs, we own the name so coming back with a more mature approach has been very helpful.”
Rich acknowledges that the music landscape for the older, wiser Black Crowes is vastly different from when they started out. “There’s a bunch of people in the industry who like to think rock ’n’ roll is dead,” he says.
“But then there’s a bunch of people trying to keep it alive. Guns N’ Roses, the Rolling Stones, Metallica and Def Leppard are still selling out stadiums.
“Tens of millions of people still want to see bands like them. Rock ’n’ roll is one thing that no one could tame.
“And it’s still like that for us. We can go into a studio with almost nothing and, in a week, make a record.
“There’s a human, organic quality to rock ’n’ roll. We don’t have auto-tune and we don’t have to set our s**t to a grid.”
Looking back at their unfettered past, Chris exclaims: “I have to say I’m so f***ing proud of The Black Crowes, man!
“Rich and I started this band when we were teenagers in Mom and Dad’s house, as a vehicle to write songs.
The Robinson brothers weren’t on speaking terms for five years after their so-called ‘contractual obligations’ tour ended in 2014Credit: GettyThe Black Crowes in 1998Credit: Getty
“And we found our way to being musicians and performers.”
Yet the creation of A Pound Of Feathers has still blown Chris away, most notably because of the stellar contributions from Rich.
The album was made in double-quick time, carried along by the brothers’ spontaneous fusion of riffs and lyrics.
Chris says: “I’ve been on stage and sat in studios my whole life with my brother playing amazing guitar.
“But, with this album, I sat there with my mouth hanging open.
“Granted I’m very close to the flame but everything he did, I was like, ‘Wow, this guy’s taking it to a new place.’”
During the sessions, The Black Crowes were visited by Chris’s friend, Todd Snider, the singer/songwriter who died last November from pneumonia aged just 59.
Chris cherished the chance to hang out with Todd — and to get some memorable feedback from him.
“He was a storyteller, a real poet, and he and I had a great friendship. He also really liked The Black Crowes.
“He asked if he could come and check out the recording. I went, ‘Dude, yeah fine, but you’re going to be the only one here’. So he sat there taking in me and Rich putting music together.
“At the end of the day, he said, ‘Are you f***ing warlocks? Is this some kind of ESP or is it a parlour trick? You don’t say anything yet, 30 minutes later, there’s this massive song blasting out of the speakers’.”
For Rich, the studio is his happy place. “I’ve always loved being in a studio,” he says.
“It’s where you bring to fruition all the things you have in your head.
“With this record, we came in without any concrete ideas. By allowing ourselves just to play in the sandbox, it became fun and exciting.”
Rich gives a shoutout to producer Jay Joyce, who also helmed Happiness Bastards.
He says: “Nine and a half times out of ten, he agrees with us when we’re excited about something.
“He’s there with us, not bogging us down by trying to insert himself when its unnecessary.”
So what of the songs? There’s the aforementioned opener Profane Prophecy which captures the unvarnished sound of The Black Crowes’ live mayhem, yet recorded in the calmer confines of a studio.
You hear Chris nodding to past rock ’n’ roll excesses by hollering, tongue firmly in cheek, “My pedigree in debauchery is my claim to fame.”
He smiles, “Of course I have to embrace that life. That’s why I sing, ‘I eat casino breakfast off the kitchen floor’.”
But he maintains that while giving “a vision of a debauched rock ’n’ roller”, he’s also “confusing fact with fiction”.
The four-minute shindig concludes with the ensemble chant of the phrase that yielded the album title, “a pound of feathers or a pound of lead”.
Chris got the line from In Here The World Begins, a song by long-defunct British electro-pop band Broadcast.
“I loved the phrase and what it could mean because a pound is a pound,” he says. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s lead or feathers. There’s some weird wisdom to it.”
We turn our attention to Cruel Streak, pounding rock underpinned by funky rhythm.
“I’m adjacent to funk at all times,” says Chris. “Growing up in Atlanta, there was this multiracial band called Mother’s Finest who played heavy funk with ‘Baby Jean’ Kennedy as lead singer.
“There’s a lot of Mother’s Finest in The Black Crowes.”
On the R&B-flavoured It’s Like That, which comes with heavy basslines and a hint of reggae, the brothers employed an amphibian guest, which, as Chris explains, fits with their anything goes attitude.
“I was staying in Nashville, and the doors were open. I heard this frog, so I recorded him. That’s my Nashville rasta frog on the solo.”
Rich says: “There are tree frogs all over the South. They were blaring one night and Chris said, ‘Man, I want to use that sound’.
Chris and Rich Robinson reflect on decades of chaos and creativity in the Black CrowesCredit: EL3
“So he took his phone and pressed record. We found the right space for it on the song.” On the loose, laidback country-tinged Pharmacy Chronicles, recalling the vibe of the Rolling Stones’ Exile On Main St., Chris sings “let the demons find you” because, he insists, we mustn’t think everything is “sugar-coated, glossy and gorgeous”.
“Especially something as messy as a 40-year career in rock ’n’ roll,” he adds. “I can’t believe some of the s**t I was doing. Get some surgical gloves and get to it!”
But Chris is not one to dwell on the past, with all its euphoric highs and crashing lows. “I am devoid of nostalgia,” he says.
“I like to think I interact with the world as a poet. I’m always writing — it could be because I overheard a conversation at an airport check-in.
“I’m no Bruce Springsteen,” he confesses. “But I connect with the world through whatever inspires me.”
And, as he puts it, “a lot of the darkness that is the United States right now” informs A Pound Of Feathers.
It explains why final track Doomsday Doggerel with its line “a front row seat to the end of times” is in stark contrast to the closing song on Happiness Bastards.
“On that last record, Kindred Friend was a beautiful pastoral thing with harmonica, about me and Rich, the band and our audience,” says Chris.
“Doomsday Doggerel is much darker. We haven’t remembered lessons from our past and the f***ing racism means we’re operating at a very low frequency.
“I just hope that someone can play this record on a Saturday night, keep out the low frequency and get a better hum going.”
Chris and Rich reunited after having gone their separate ways for years
As Pharmacy Chronicles ebbs to a close, you hear a defiant chorus of “the good times never end”.
As far as Chris and Rich and the rest of The Black Crowes family are concerned, rock ’n’ roll is the perfect antidote to personal and universal turmoil.
“We’re loud, we can be sloppy but we are like an old cartoon of two people fighting on a train,” says Chris.
“The train goes round a bend, leaning all the way over a cliff, but then it comes back up. That’s us.”
THE BLACK CROWES
A Pound Of Feathers
★★★★☆
The Black Crowes’ new album A Pound of Feathers is out in the UK on 13 March 2026
THE list of the richest celebs in the world has been revealed — and it’s good news for Taylor Swift.
The US superstar’s net worth has soared since she was named a billionaire in 2023, and she is now worth twice that.
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Taylor Swift has DOUBLED her net worth and is now worth $2billionCredit: GettyFellow star Rihanna is also a billionaireCredit: Savage X Fenty
She has risen from No9 last year to No7 in Forbes magazine’s annual rundown, which revealed there are now 22 celebrity billionaires — up from 18 last year.
Fellow singer Beyonce, tennis ace Roger Federer, rapper Dr Dre and filmmaker James Cameron are the new additions who have crossed the $1billion threshold.
Taylor, 36, boosted her earnings massively with profits from her record-breaking Eras Tour and the value of her music catalogue, all of which she now owns, having bought back the rights to her first six albums last year.
She is said to have amassed $1billion from royalties and touring, while her catalogue of hits has been valued at $900million.
The Eras 149 gigs across 21 countries from March 2023 to December 2024, made it the highest-grossing tour of all time at $2.077billion, with 10MILLION attendees.
Thanks to the money-spinning shows, she was able to buy the rights to her first six albums.
In 2019 Taylor’s former label, Big Machine, had sold the masters to talent manager Scooter Braun, prompting Taylor to vow to re-record them.
Braun sold them on to LA investment fund Shamrock Holdings in 2020.
But last May she announced she finally controls all her music.
Taylor said last year: “That’s how I spent that Eras Tour money. My fans are why I was able to get my music back.”
The rights to the records had been sold for more than $300million, although it is not known how much she spent to reclaim them.
But she is believed to have made an eight-figure sum in profits from the “Taylor’s Version” remakes of Fearless, Red, Speak Now, and 1989 — which all topped the charts.
She also owns $100million of real estate, including pads in New York, Beverly Hills, Rhode Island and Nashville.
The news coincides with new figures from the British Phonographic Industry, which reveal CD sales in the UK returned to growth in 2025, up 3.1 per cent, largely thanks to 226,000 copies of Taylor’s latest album The Life Of A Showgirl being sold here.
She also contributed to the 19.9 per cent year-on-year rise in vinyl purchases, thanks to 147,000 sales of the record on the format.
It meant The Life Of A Showgirl sold the most vinyl of any new album in a calendar year this century. Her 2023 collection Lover (Live From Paris), which was reissued last year, was also the fourth biggest vinyl of 2025.
Taylor has now scored six No1 singles and 14 No1 albums, beating Madonna’s record of 12 chart toppers for a female artist.
Taylor’s huge net worth dwarfs that of her American football star fiancé Travis Kelce, 36, whose riches total $90million.
The two are expected to marry this summer in a glittering, star-studded ceremony in the US.
Yesterday Travis hinted Taylor has started working on new music for a potential 13th studio album.
He said: “It’s amazing to see her keep going to the table, keep finding new things to write about, keep finding new melodies and things like that.
“On top of that, still seeing her have that love and joy in what she does.
“Of course that’s motivating. That’s motivating for anybody to see, let alone in my fiancée, and knowing that I’m going through something as I try to figure out what the future holds for me.
“Something like that motivates me.”
1. Steven Spielberg
$7.1bn
79-year-old Spielberg earns an estimated $100million annuallyCredit: Getty
THE highest-grossing director of all time, 79-year-old Spielberg earns an estimated $100million annually from gross ticket sales thanks to a 1987 deal.
2. George Lucas
$5.2bn
Star Wars creator George LucasCredit: Getty
THE Star Wars creator, 81, kept the merchandising rights and ownership of the hit sci-fi franchise and in 2012 sold his firm LucasFilm to Disney for $2.2billion plus shares.
3. Michael Jordan
$4.3bn
Basketball legend Jordan made $2billion from corporate dealsCredit: Getty
BASLETBALL legend, 63, made $2billion from corporate deals.
In 2023 he sold majority stake in NBA team Charlotte Hornets, valued at $3bn.
4. Vincent McMahon
$3.6bn
Businessman Vincent McMahon is worth $3.6bnCredit: Getty
BUSINESSMAN, 80, made sports promotion firm World Wrestling Entertainment – WWE – a global brand before a $21billion wrestling mega-merger in 2023.
5. Oprah Winfrey
$3.2bn
Oprah, 72, has also earned millions partnering with Weight Watchers and through real estateCredit: Getty
TALK show host made TV and films through her production firm Harpo.
Oprah, 72, has also earned millions partnering with Weight Watchers and through real estate.
6. Jay-Z
$2.8bn
Jay-Z has made over $1billion from his alcohol brandsCredit: Getty
Rapper, 56, made over $1billion from his alcohol brands D’Usse cognac and Armand de Brignac.
In 2008 he founded the lucrative entertainment firm Roc Nation.
7. Taylor Swift
$2bn
8. Kim Kardashian
$1.9bn
Kim K owns a third of her $5billion shapewear brand SkimsCredit: Rex
Reality star owns a third of her $5billion shapewear brand Skims.
Kim, 45, also earns through her skincare firm, endorsements, real estate, acting and TV shows.
9. Peter Jackson
$1.9bn
Director Jackson is worth $1.9bnCredit: Getty
MOVIE director, 64, made Lord Of The Rings films and sold the tech division of his visual effects company Weta Digital for $1.63billion in 2021.
10. Magic Johnson
$1.6bn
Magic Johnson has a majority stake in a life insurance companyCredit: Getty
FORMER basketball player, 66, has a majority stake in a life insurance company as well as part-ownership of four US professional sports teams.
11. Tiger Woods
$1.5bn
Golf icon Tiger Woods is estimated to have earned $121million in prize moneyCredit: Getty
GOLFING legend made $1.9billion during his sporting career and through endorsements.
Woods, 50, is estimated to have earned $121million in prize money.
12. Dick Wolf
$1.5bn
Producer Wolf signed a five-year, $1billion deal with NBCUniversal in 2020Credit: Getty
THE producer behind hit US TV dramas Law & Order, Chicago and FBI, 79-year-old Wolf signed a five-year, $1billion deal with NBCUniversal in 2020.
13. Tyler Perry
$1.4bn
Tyler Perry, 56, now owns the largest film production studio in the USCredit: Getty
THE actor and filmmaker has 100 per cent ownership of his 22 films and over 1,200 TV episodes.
Perry, 56, now owns the largest film production studio in the US.
14. LeBron James
$1.4bn
LeBron James has a lifetime $1billion endorsement deal with NikeCredit: Getty
SPORTS contracts have earned $500million for the 41-year-old basketball player – and he has a lifetime $1billion endorsement deal with Nike.
15. Bruce Springsteen
$1.2bn
Springsteen received $500million when he sold his entire music catalogue to Sony in 2021Credit: Getty
ROCKER, 76, has toured for five decades, released 21 studio albums and received $500million when he sold his entire music catalogue to Sony in 2021.
16. Arnold Schwarzenegger
$1.2bn
Schwarzenegger has earned $500million from filmsCredit: Getty
HAVING earned $500million from films, the 78-year-old actor has also made savvy investments, including in an investment firm which manages $1 trillion in assets.
17. Jerry Seinfeld
$1.1bn
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has earned almost $500million from syndicating his self-titled sitcomCredit: Getty
THE comedian has earned almost $500million from syndicating his self-titled sitcom.
Seinfeld, 71, still does stand-up and has a Porsche collection valued at $100million.
18. Roger Federer
$1.1bn
Tennis pro Federer has numerous lucrative dealsCredit: AFP
Retired tennis player, 44, won 20 Grand Slams but also had lucrative deals with Rolex and Mercedes.
He also has a stake in athletic
19. James Cameron
$1.1bn
James Cameron is worth $1.1bnCredit: Getty
FILMMAKER behind three of the four highest-grossing films of all time.
Cameron, 71, directed Titanic, Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water, which made over $7.5bn.
20. Rihanna
$1bn
THE Umbrella singer, 38, has a $200million music catalogue but made her main fortune through cosmetics firm Fenty Beauty and lingerie brand Savage X Fenty.
21. Beyonce
$1bn
Beyonce has a $300million music catalogueCredit: Instagram
AS well as grossing more than $1billion in back-to-back tours, the singer, 44, has a $300million music catalogue and a haircare line, Cecred, valued at $100million.
22. Dr Dre
$1bn
Dr Dre co-founded Beats Electronics and Beats MusicCredit: Getty
RAPPER, 61, co-founded Beats Electronics and Beats Music, and launched the careers of Kendrick Lamar and Eminem through his label Death Row Records.
SINGER Anne-Marie has sparked concern after branding herself a “wreck” in a new social media message.
The star tweeted a lengthy message in which she also suggested people “wouldn’t care” about her “emotional” struggles.
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Anne-Marie has sparked worry online after branding herself a “wreck” in a new social media postCredit: SplashThe performer insisted no one would ‘care’ about her emotional strugglesCredit: Instagram/annemarieThe concerning tweet sparked plenty of fan reactionCredit: X
The Ciao Adios singer penned: “Still figuring out how to be a good mum AND write the best album you’ve heard from me. It’s intense.
“I want to post, but I look and feel like a wreck most of the time.”
She added: “I know you don’t care about that though hahah.
“I miss you all so much and hope you are feeling as happy as you can be.”
Anne-Marie signed off her message by posting: “A cuddle is needed.”
The mum-of-two’s post sparked worry among her fans as many rushed to check in on the performer and insist they “do care” after her troubling words.
One said to her: “Anne marie you never ever need to apologise for being distant. You’re balancing being a mum, being human, and creating something beautiful for all of us that’s a lot for anyone.”
Another echoed: “We all care about you so much. You prioritise yourself, your health and your family.”
Another alarmed fan penned: “I’m proud of you. Speaking out is already so brave.”
Before a fourth went on to comment: “You didn’t have to force yourself, we care about it and care about you. Take care yourself and kids love u.”
The mum-of-two has faced personal struggles and career setbacks in recent yearsCredit: GettyShe is a mum-of-two with rapper husband SlowthaiCredit: Instagram @annemarieThe star hinted at intense mum guilt in her new messageCredit: Instagram
