He is pop's resident king of party hits, so drinks will no doubt be on Pitbull today (15 January 2016) as he celebrates his 35th birthday. The Cuban-American rapper has somewhat of a magic formula when it comes to crafting the perfect dance floor filler, and he has a bulging black book of collaborators.

Pitbull, real name Armando Christian Perez, burst onto the scene in 2002 featuring on Lil Jon's single Culo before releasing his debut album M.I.A.M.I. two years later in 2004. However, it was not until 2009 when Pitbull enjoyed real chart success with his song I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho), which peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Pitbull has found himself a comfort zone within the party scene, but also with his favourite collaborators, such as Jennifer Lopez whom he has worked with at least half a dozen times, and r'n'b singer Ne-Yo. Other artists whom Pitbull has formed a close allegiance with include Chris Brown, Usher, Kesha and Christina Aguilera.

In celebration of his 35th birthday, IBTimes UK counts down Pitbull's greatest party hits:

I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)

Timber featuring Kesha (2013)

International Love featuring Chris Brown (2011)

Time Of Our Lives featuring Ne-Yo (2014)

On The Floor featuring Jennifer Lopez (2011)

We Are One (Ole Ola) featuring Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte (2014)

DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love featuring Usher (2010)

Zuleyka Rivera got slammed for her “poor” dancing skills and “naked” outfit during her “Despacito” Grammys performance, but the Puerto Rican model says everyone missed the point.

On Monday, Twitter blasted Rivera’s dance and her sheer, fringed bodysuit. “She’s almost naked,” read one tweet, translated from Spanish. “The dress was horrible and she looks really bad. She is talented, beautiful, but why does she have to dress like a prostitute?” read another tweet, according to People.

The former Miss Universe defended herself on Instagram Monday night, insisting that her dance was more political than performance-oriented. “Joy and satisfaction, that’s how I describe my feelings in this instant,” she captioned a photo of herself and “Despacito” singers Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee.

She continued, “Last night was another memorable moment in my life where the eyes of the world were focused on Puerto Rico. An island that has suffered like never before this past year but keeps bringing talent and joy to the rest of the https://www.instagram.com/p/BeiKJVFhb7h/?taken-by=zuleykariveraworld through art. Last night was a historic night when Latin music paved the way. My seconds on the stage were a dream come true, a dream for which I appreciate the Recording Academy for their invitation and for giving the awards this touch of sensuality. Wardrobe? Performance? Award Shows? Trophies? For me, nothing is more important than the genuine satisfaction that we as boricuas [Puerto Ricans] made history again. It’s time to unite and keep succeeding together as Latinos.”

The mother of one couldn’t resist adding, “The day that all of those who gave negative criticism step on a Grammy stage is the day when their opinions will count. Until then, stay looking pretty sitting on the other side of the television screen.”

The backlash directed toward Rivera contrasted with much of the rest of the evening, which at times was a celebration of female empowerment, with celebrities wearing white roses in support of the #MeToo movement and Kesha turning in an emotional performance of “Praying” alongside Cyndi Lauper and Camila Cabello, following Janelle Monáe’s powerful introduction to the song.

“The reaction to this dancer is an example of how much burden we place on women to behave differently and better than men,” Margaret L. Signorella, a professor of psychology and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Pennsylvania State University, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “We’re still implicitly assuming that women are responsible for ensuring men don’t get out of control with their sexual emotions.”

And the fact that Rivera is Latina can’t be ignored; research shows that women of color are hypersexualized in the media, while also being subjected to a social construct that “whitewashes” their ethnic heritage. As a result of this objectification, says Signorella, “there’s more responsibility placed on them to downplay their bodies.”

In light of claims that the #MeToo movement has largely excluded women of color, backlash toward Rivera — on a night that in other ways celebrated feminism and equality for women — isn’t surprising. Actress Blanca Blanco was also shamed when she bucked the all-black dress code in honor of #MeToo and wore a revealing red gown at the Golden Globes.

“I love red,” Blanco told Fox News. “Wearing red does not mean I am against the movement. I applaud and stand by the courageous actresses that continue to break the cycle of abuse through their actions and fashion style choices. It is one of many factors leading women to a safer place because of their status. I am excited about the Time’s Up movement; true change is long overdue.”

Ultimately, says Signorella, women can look sexy and fight sexism.

Nashville‘s series finale aired Wednesday night, bringing to an end the saga of Rayna Jaymes, Juliette Barnes and the rest of the players in their soapy, soulful Music City circle. The finale itself followed the formula for a steel-toe-boot-to-the-heart country song: one part lovin’, two parts tears, 10 parts near-certain tragedy and one part repentant teenager, praise Reba.

But because these recaps have always come from a place of love, let’s start with the happier stuff first. Rayna-Deacon fans were rewarded with the couple’s reconciliation — that marriage counselor apparently was really good at his job — which came as they successfully freed daughter Maddie from the clutches of a predatory producer.

And Scarlett and Gunnar surmounted interloping country stars, the demands of fledgling fame and many hemp chokers, finding their way back to each other in the wake of his tryst with Autumn. So that’s good, right?

Yeah, I know — it’s hard to celebrate small victories while a chasm of unresolved Javery yawns before us. And yawn it will, for eternity or until the series gets picked up by another network or platform, whichever comes first. (Spoiler alert: Magic 8 Ball says: “Signs point toward eternity.”)

Read on for the highlights of “Maybe You’ll Appreciate Me Someday.”

* Maddie’s new label hooks her up with a New York producer, and when the teen posts a selfie with the man to Instagram — duckface and all — Rayna recognizes him as a predatory creep who played the Dr. Luke to her Kesha back in the day. Vowing to save her kid from a similar fate, Rayna writes a letter about her experiences with the producer (and as a woman in the business) and has it published in the Huffington Post.

Later, while Rayna and Daphne take the stage at Rayna’s sold-out benefit concert for FosterMore — at the same time that Deacon is mysteriously MIA — Maddie reads her mom’s open letter online and then tells the producer she wants to leave. He objects in the grossest way possible, forcing a drink into her hand and telling her he thought she wanted “a real, grown-up career.”

Kesha performs onstage during the 2016 Billboard Music Awards at T-Mobile Arena on May 22, 2016 in Las Vegas. (Photo: KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES)

One night after her show-stealing performance of “It Ain’t Me, Babe” at Sunday’s Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Kesha once again paid tribute to Bob Dylan.

This time, however, she was joined by more than two dozen Dylan acolytes paying tribute to Robert Zimmerman at the first night of Dylan Fest, a two-night charity concert celebrating Dylan’s 75th birthday (the second night takes place on his actual birth date, May 24) at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

Kesha let the music do the talking as she pointedly performed Dylan’s gospel-tinged standard of freedom and redemption, “I Shall Be Released.” Dressed in what looked to be a powder blue sparkly Manuel suit and barefoot, Kesha started the song slowly, standing still by the microphone, before building to a swaying, dramatic conclusion, as she held the last “shall” in the final line and looked upward. She didn’t mention Dr. Luke as she continues to fight to be released from her contract with the producer’s Kemosabe label following her allegations that he sexually and verbally assaulted her, but her song choice spoke volumes.

Emmylou Harris, Wynonna and Ann Wilson, “Ring Them Bells”: The trio performed a gorgeous rendition of the spiritual track from 1989’s Oh Mercy, with each taking a verse and then coming together in luscious, rich harmonies on the choruses. Harris’s delicate soprano perfectly complemented Wilson and Wynonna’s belting. Even Wynonna knew it was something special. As the women took the stage, she implored “Can someone take a picture of this and send it to @wynonnamusic? This crap doesn’t happen every day.”

Moon Taxi, “All Along The Watchtower”: The Nashville-based rock band and festival favorite received the evening’s longest standing ovation for its staggeringly powerful version of the ‘60s rock classic. Vocalist Trevor Terndrup and the band started the song with an almost jazzy feel before exploding in to an extended full-throttled rocker, complete with Spencer Thomson’s searing guitar solo that would have made Jimi Hendrix proud.

Ruby Amanfu, “Not Dark Yet”: Frequent Jack White collaborator Amanfu covered the melancholy track, originally from Dylan’s Grammy-winning album of the year, 1997’s Time Out of Mind, on her 2015 album Standing Still, but she took the song to a new height with her soulful, quietly powerful reading that wrenched all the resigned sadness of the song without ever tipping over into the maudlin.

Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra says she has a “woman crush” on singer Meghan Trainor.

Priyanka took to Instagram to share a photograph from the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas held on May 22.

In the image, the “Gunday” star can be seen posing with Trainor and looking gorgoeus in a cerulean halter dress with a thigh-high slit floor-sweeping dress . She chose to go for a nude and sun-kissed look.

“This girl is my woman crush! Meghan Trainor you slayed at the #bbmas tonight. More power to you! With Keli Lee, Anjula Acharia Bath and Troy Carter,” Priyanka captioned the image.

The award gala was attended by Rihanna, Kesha, Britney Spears, Ariana Grande and Jessica Alba among many others along with Priyanka, who gained recognition globally through her stint in the American TV show “Quantico”.

Priyanka, who is gearing up for her international debut “Baywatch” along with Hollywood actor Dwayne Johnson and Zac Eftron, also took to Intsragram to share a photograph of herself in a flight to attend the award gala. 

A ranking of performances at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards

17.) Britney Spears may have had some impressive 90s theatrics, but poor lip sync will always kill a performance.

16.) Madonna‘s tribute to Prince was passable, but we’ve seen so many better tributes in the past month. Not even Stevie Wonder could make this memorable.

15.) “Seven Years” is a great song, but Lukas Graham needed to do more with it to stand out against the whizz and bang his fellow performers were putting out.

14.) Pink has many better songs than “Just Like Fire,” but at least she justified the selection by bringing in some impressive pyrotechnics.

13.) While several other performers opted to go with backup dancers, Troye Sivan’s only accompaniment on stage was a maelstrom of light and fog

12.) Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton gave a straight-laced performance of “Go Ahead and Break My Heart,” but since the couple puts their soul into it every time they do this song, it was more than enough.

11.) The coolest part of Justin Bieber‘s performance wasn’t Bieber. It was the breathtaking light show happening all around him.

10.) Fifth Harmony kept it simple: striking outfits, flawless choreography, and a crowd-pleasing rendition of “Work From Home”

7.) Ariana Grande took a stumble on the red carpet, but was flawless during her performance of “Dangerous Woman” and “Into You”

1.) Kesha stole the night, no doubt about it. The woman who got her big break brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack finally showed the world what she’s truly capable of as a singer. That is how a Bob Dylan song is supposed to be performed.

Singer Kesha insists she had no intention of bringing up her contentious relationship with Dr. Luke at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday (22May16).

The Tik Tok hitmaker was initially scheduled to perform at the ceremony, but on Tuesday (17May16) executives at Dick Clark Productions, the company behind the big show in Las Vegas, confirmed in a statement that bosses behind Dr. Luke's record label Kemosabe Records, which Kesha is signed to, rescinded their approval for her gracing the stage after initially providing the OK.

Kesha and her former mentor have been engaged in a court battle for years after she accused him of assault and abuse during their decade-long partnership, but the star swears she did not plan to address their ongoing legal dispute at the Billboard Music Awards.

Taking to Instagram.com, Kesha posted a blurry picture of her playing the guitar, adding the caption, "I was very excited to perform a tribute to Bob Dylan by singing a cover of 'It ain't me, babe' at the Billboard awards this year. I'm very sad and sorry to say I won't be allowed to do this."

"I just wanted to make very clear that this performance was about me honoring one of my favorite songwriters of all time and has never had anything at all to do with Dr. Luke," she added. "I was never going to use a picture of him, speak of him or allude to my legal situation in any way. I simply wanted to sing a song I love to honor an artist I have always looked up to. thank u all for the continued support."

TMZ previously reported Dr. Luke changed his mind about releasing the rights to her music for the performance because he was convinced she was planning on discussing their legal battle at the ceremony.

Kesha opened up on Sunday about her battle with depression and an eating disorder, but the good news is the singer appears to be happier -- "happy as a damn clam," in fact.

The 29-year-old "True Colors" singer took to Instagram with a picture of her bare back to the camera and a defiant double fist raised to the haters.

"I have been battling depression and an eating disorder for a while now," she wrote. "My career is in a strange place and it feels like I'm fighting an uphill fight some days. But I have decided to take my life back. My freedom. My happiness. My voice. My worth."

"I will not just f**king be quiet and hide," she continued. "Today I will say f**k it and live. So F*********K it. Today I'm making that choice. AND I'M HAPPY AS A DAMN CLAM. And also a big ol' f**k u if u wanna hate on my body. Just remember that makes u look like a dickhead."

Kesha followed up the post within hours with more photos of what appears to be a tropical vacaction, where the singer swam with whale sharks and also later sported a new tattoo of the huge-but-docile species.

"When a whale shark decides to be ur best friend and reconnect you to your true self and nature and spirituality and magic and beauty and love and gratitude.....I LOVE THIS WHALE SHARK. I CANT EVEN. #whalesharklife," she wrote.

Kesha is planning to bounce back from her legal woes and a bout of depression by taking back her life.

The Tik Tok singer admits her battle for freedom from a contract signed with her producer and mentor Dr. Luke, who she has accused of physically and emotionally abusing her, has taken its toll on her mental health in recent months.

But, following an appearance with DJ Zedd at the Coachella festival in California last month (Apr16) and a performance of Lady Gaga's Til It Happens To You at the Humane Society of the United States Los Angeles Gala earlier this month (May16), the pop star admits she's ready to step back into the spotlight.

In a weekend Instagram post, she wrote: "I have been battling depression and an eating disorder for a while now. My career is in a strange place and it feels like I'm fighting an uphill fight some days. But I have decided to take my life back. My freedom. My happiness. My voice. My worth."

She continued, "I will not just f**king be quiet and hide. Today I will say f**k it and live. Today I'm making that choice. AND IM HAPPY AS A DAMN CLAM."

Kesha also issued a warning to her detractors, particularly body shamers who may feel the urge to mock her look as she stages her comeback.

"And also a big ol f**k u if u wanna hate on my body," she wrote. "Just remember that makes u look like a d**khead."

Meanwhile, Sources close to the singer claim she is planning a performance at next weekend's Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas.

She clearly hasn't lost her appeal - Kesha received a standing ovation and high praise from Lady Gaga after performing anti-rape anthem Til It Happens To You at the Humane Society bash on 7 May (16).

Gaga tweeted: "Killed it @KeshaRose. I could feel your pain. Girl these boys won't be in charge forever. The wisdom of women is rising. Let's get louder".

Lady Gaga has hailed Kesha's moving cover of her emotionally-charged sexual abuse song Til It Happens To You.

The Tik Tok singer, who has accused producer and former mentor Dr. Luke of emotional and physical abuse, fought back tears as she struggled through a powerful rendition of the Oscar-nominated track at The Humane Society of the United States Los Angeles Gala on Saturday (07May16), when guests included Zendaya, Ian Somerhalder, Nikki Reed, Riley Keough, and Kate Mara.

Kesha was joined onstage by Gaga's song co-writer and event honouree Diane Warren on piano, but she became emotional and had to take several deep breaths before the music even began playing.

"I want to dedicate this song to every man, woman, child (and) animal that has ever been abused," she said, as she launched into the cover.

During the set, photos and video footage of caged animals were displayed on a big screen onstage, and Kesha received a standing ovation from the celebrity crowd as she completed the track, which first featured on the soundtrack to The Hunting Ground, a documentary about sexual assaults on U.S. college campuses.

Lady Gaga shared a link to news coverage of her pal's rendition on Twitter.com on Sunday (08May16) to show her pride at the performance, and went on to heap praise on Kesha.

"Killed it @KeshaRose. I could feel your pain," Gaga tweeted. "Girl these boys won't be in charge forever. The wisdom of women is rising. Let's get louder".

Gaga, who has previously opened up about being raped at the start of her career, has been one of Kesha's loyal supporters since 2014, when she first filed suit against Dr. Luke. The producer, real name Lukasz Gottwald, has vehemently denied all allegations.

Kesha’s legal battle against Dr Luke is continuing, with new reports claiming she could face Dr Luke, who she alleges drugged her and ‘sexually, physically, verbally and emotionally’ abused her, as she testifies under oath.

Kesha originally filed a lawsuit again Dr Luke, real name Lukasz Gottwald, in 2014, and has been fighting to be freed from her contract with Sony Music, which houses Dr Luke’s Kemosabe Records label.

Copyright [Instagram/Kesha]

The court has refused to let the singer be freed, with a judge recently rejecting her appeal against the decision because ‘every rape is not a gender-motivated hate crime’.

During this legal battle, Kesha has claimed that she was offered her freedom if she publicly ‘lied, apologised and said she never got raped’.

Dr Luke denies Kesha’s allegations and claims she’s pulling a ‘publicity stunt’. 

His spokesperson previously said: “The Court repeatedly stated Kesha is already free to record without Dr. Luke, and that she had not presented any facts supporting her claims. That’s because all the evidence - including Kesha’s own videotaped sworn testimony - show her allegations are false.”

Now, the Daily Mail reports that Kesha has been ‘subpoenaed for an on-camera deposition’, where she will be asked about her allegations of sexual assault and rape against Dr Luke.

As well as dealing with her ongoing legal battle, Kesha is dealing with vile Internet trolls who can’t help but body shame her. 

But for that deal of haters, Kesha has a simple solution. The singer took to Instagram over the weekend to shut down haters with one badass photo, showing her lounging in a pool in a bikini.

[Photo: Instagram/Kesha]

“not a slave to perfection right now. f**k it. ***body shamers please f**k off ain’t nobody got time for it.@lhorizonpalmsprings in my skivvies (sic),” she captioned the photo. 

This drama comes just a year after Kesha revealed to Vogue that she’s battled with an eating disorder in the past. 

“Part of being healthy is being positive,” she told the magazine at the time. “I don’t pay attention to the Internet or bloggers. I surround myself with positive people.”