Paul Thomas Anderson and Radiohead musician Jonny Greenwood have formally asked for music from Phantom Thread to be removed from the controversial Melania documentary, arguing that its inclusion breaches a composer agreement. The request has added another layer of scrutiny to a film that has already attracted intense attention for its subject matter and unusually high budget.

In a statement released through Greenwood’s representative, Anderson and Greenwood said they became aware that a piece of music from the 2017 film Phantom Thread had been used in the Melania documentary without proper consultation. Greenwood composed the acclaimed score for Phantom Thread, which was directed by Anderson and widely praised for its emotional restraint and atmospheric tension.

According to the statement, while Greenwood does not personally own the copyright to the Phantom Thread score, the studio failed to consult him about the third party use of the music. The pair described this omission as a breach of Greenwood’s composer agreement, prompting them to request that the music be removed from the documentary altogether. Their intervention places renewed focus on how film scores are licensed and reused, particularly in high profile political or biographical projects.

The Melania documentary, directed by Brett Ratner, presents itself as an intimate portrait of First Lady Melania Trump. Despite strong box office numbers for a documentary, with more than $13 million earned domestically after two weekends, the film has been criticised for offering limited insight. Industry observers have also been struck by its staggering cost, with Amazon MGM reportedly spending $40 million to acquire the film and an accompanying streaming series, followed by a further $35 million on theatrical marketing.

These figures are virtually unheard of in the documentary space, where profitability is rarely driven by cinema releases. The heavy investment has led to speculation about Amazon MGM’s motivations, particularly given the political climate surrounding the film’s release. The studio has already taken the unusual step of issuing public statements to contextualise the movie’s box office performance.

Greenwood’s film composing career has spanned more than two decades and includes frequent collaborations with Anderson on titles such as There Will Be Blood, Inherent Vice and Liquorice Pizza. His Phantom Thread score was singled out at the time for its haunting elegance and emotional precision, making its unauthorised use especially sensitive.

Discussion spread across film focused forums and social media, with many users debating the ethics of repurposing iconic film music in politically charged documentaries. Others questioned whether studios adequately protect composers when their work is reused beyond its original context. As of now, Amazon MGM has not publicly responded to the request to remove the music, leaving the dispute unresolved.

As a child, Melania participated in fashion shows that featured children’s clothing. Textiles were Sevnica’s primary industry. Students were excused from school to participate in the shows. From a young age, Melanija expressed an interest in fashion, and she began customizing and sewing her own clothes. She developed a skill for it by watching her mother work. Melanija did well in school, where she was appointed school treasurer.

Trump has said that she can speak English, Italian, French, and German in addition to her native Slovene, but in public she has fluently spoken only English and Slovene.

Tributes have been pouring in from across Ghana and the world since the death of Ghanaian highlife legend Ebo Taylor.

A guitarist, composer and bandleader who died on Saturday, Taylor’s six-decade career played a key role in shaping modern popular music in West Africa.

Often described as one of the founding fathers of contemporary highlife, Taylor died a day after the launch of a music festival bearing his name in the capital, Accra, and just a month after celebrating his 90th birthday.

Highlife, a genre blending traditional African rhythms with jazz and Caribbean influences, was recently added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

“The world has lost a giant. A colossus of African music,” a statement shared on his official page said. “Your light will never fade.”

The Los Angeles-based collective Jazz Is Dead called him a pioneer of highlife and Afrobeat, while Ghanaian dancehall star Stonebwoy and American producer Adrian Younge, who has worked with Jay Z and Kendrick Lamar, also paid tribute to his legacy.

Nigerian writer and poet Dami Ajayi described him as a “highlife maestro” and a “fantastic guitarist”.

– ‘Uncle Ebo’ –

Taylor’s influence extended far beyond Ghana, with elements of his music appearing in the soul, jazz, hip-hop and Afrobeat genres that dominate the African and global charts today.

Born Deroy Taylor in Cape Coast in 1936, he began performing in the 1950s, as highlife was establishing itself as the dominant sound in Ghana in the years following independence.

Known for intricate guitar lines and rich horn arrangements, he played with leading bands including the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band.

In the early 1960s, he travelled to London to study music, where he worked alongside other African musicians, including Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.

The exchange of ideas between the two would later be seen as formative to the development of Afrobeat, a political cocktail blending highlife with funk, jazz and soul.

Back in Ghana, Taylor became one of the country’s most sought-after arrangers and producers, working with stars such as Pat Thomas and CK Mann while leading his own bands.

His compositions — including “Love & Death”, “Heaven”, “Odofo Nyi Akyiri Biara” and “Appia Kwa Bridge” — gained renewed international attention decades later as DJs, collectors and record labels reissued his music. His grooves were sampled by hip-hop and R&B artists and helped introduce new global audiences to Ghanaian highlife.

Taylor continued touring into his 70s and 80s, performing across Europe and the United States as part of a late-career renaissance that cemented his status as a cult figure among younger musicians.

NBA YoungBoy reached out to Nicki Minaj with a public message of support amid political controversy.

The rapper, who recently released a new album, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, writing: “@Nicki Minaj this yo li n*a, idk what’s going on but I love you and I need you.” The tweet comes following backlash against Minaj for her public support of former President Donald Trump, including her description of herself as his “number one fan.” The interaction highlights the ongoing connection between the two artists, who previously collaborated on the 2023 track WTF. Fans reacted to YoungBoy’s message on social media, with many praising his gesture and speculating about potential future collaborations. Instagram users described the message as a supportive act, with comments noting the bond between the two artists and affirming Minaj’s influence in the music industry.

Minaj has faced heightened scrutiny over her political stances, including a recent red carpet appearance at the premiere of Melania with Donald and Melania Trump. Despite the attention, other figures in the rap community, such as Waka Flocka, have publicly offered support. Flocka posted on Twitter on January 30, stating: “S/O my sister @NICKIMINAJ You still Queen of Brick Squad lol Squaddd family,” emphasizing solidarity within the music community.

The exchange between NBA YoungBoy and Nicki Minaj underscores how artists continue to support one another publicly, even amid political debates and public scrutiny. NBA Youngboy has sold over 109 million digital copies in the United States, ranking him among the highest certified artists in the United States. He has garnered 15 billion views on his YouTube channel, also ranking him among the highest-viewed rappers on the site. He is the youngest artist in Billboard history to chart 100 singles on the Billboard Hot 100.

Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny on Sunday turned the Super Bowl into a giant street party, emphasizing unity over division in his groundbreaking Spanish-language set — but still earning President Donald Trump’s scorn.

Anticipation was high for the 31-year-old’s set, amid rampant speculation about whether he would use his platform to renew his criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in front of tens of millions of viewers.

But the wildly popular musician, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, instead made good on his pre-game promise to joyously share his culture — and largely avoided overt political statements in favor of subtle messaging through symbols.

In a set featuring a sugar cane plantation, a traditional “piragua” cart selling treats, and even a wedding, he opened with “Titi Me Pregunto” and feminist anthem “Yo Perreo Sola,” with a cast of dancers fueling the party atmosphere.

Actors Pedro Pascal and Jessica Alba, and rapper Cardi B were among the guest stars vibing in his familiar “La Casita” backdrop, representing a home in Puerto Rico. Bad Bunny wore an all-white ensemble, with a football jersey featuring the number “64” and “Ocasio,” before donning a classy suit jacket.

He delved into more political territory with “El Apagon” (Blackout), which touches on the displacement of Puerto Ricans on their own island, and the constant problems caused by the unreliable power grid. He carried a Puerto Rican flag at one point.

The performance also included a young boy watching the Grammys on an old television set. Bad Bunny, who won the Album of the Year prize a week ago, presented the child — perhaps a younger version of himself — with a golden gramophone.

The internet went wild with unverified rumors that the child was Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old Ecuadoran boy recently detained by US immigration agents in Minnesota.

An NFL spokesman confirmed to AFP that the boy was an actor, and an Instagram post seemingly from the child in question, Lincoln Fox, was hashtagged #youngbadbunny.

Surprise musical guests included Lady Gaga, who sang a Latin-inflected version of her hit “Die with a Smile” — the only English lyrics in the show — and Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin.

‘Affront’

At the Grammys, Bad Bunny made a searing statement about Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, earning cheers for saying “ICE out” from the stage.

But on Sunday, he did not call out the Republican president.

At the end of the set, after listing Latin American countries, Puerto Rico, the United States and Canada, Bad Bunny spiked a football that said “Together, we are America.”

A giant screen in the stadium read: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”

Trump nevertheless quickly took issue with the performance, saying: “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying” — even though government data shows more than 41 million Americans speak Spanish.

Posting on his Truth Social account, he called the show “an affront to the Greatness of America.”

Early backlash

Bad Bunny has been Spotify’s most-streamed artist in the world four separate times, including last year, and won Album of the Year at the Grammys with “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos” — the first Spanish-language work to win music’s highest accolade.

But the decision to showcase his work at the Super Bowl in California was met with conservative outrage — specifically about the idea that he would not sing in English.

The NFL entered into an agreement in 2019 with Jay-Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation, which leads the league’s entertainment strategy.

Since that time, the list of Super Bowl headliners included Jennifer Lopez and Shakira (with a guest spot for Bad Bunny), but the duo did not perform exclusively in Spanish, leaving Bad Bunny to set that benchmark.

From Vega Baja to Super Bowl

Bad Bunny grew up in Vega Baja, a small municipality near Puerto Rico’s capital San Juan.

He was working at a supermarket bagging groceries when he got a call from a label over his viral plays on the DIY platform SoundCloud.