Actors Jussie Smollett and Yazz From “Empire” to Perform at 2015 Billboard Music Awards

Empire stars Jussie Smollett (Jamal) and Bryshere “Yazz” Gray (Hakeem) will perform with Estelle to sing a medley of the Fox drama’s songs, “Conqueror” and “You’re So Beautiful,” at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. Both actors were featured on the soundtrack, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Smollett told Billboard that he was happy to perform, “There’s no way I could possibly love music more than I already do. The Billboard Music Awards has been the epitome of celebrating some of the best of the best in music.” He added, “To be included as a performer on this year’s celebration is a huge honor.”

Jussie Smollett and Bryshere Gray from Empire on March 16, 2015 in New York City. (Getty Images photo/Astrid Stawiarz).

The Empire soundtrack was released March 10 through Columbia Records. It is the first TV soundtrack to debut at No. 1 since 2010, when three different Glee albums arrived atop the list. During release week, Jussie Smollett performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and on American Idol three days later.

The Billboard Music Awards airs May 17th in Las Vegas. Hosting the show will be Ludacris and Chrissy Teigen. Performances include Fall Out Boy featuring Wiz Khalifa, Kelly Clarkson, Hozier, Nick Jonas, John Legend, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Meghan Trainor, and others.

Empire is an American drama television series which debuted on Fox on January 7, 2015. The show centers around a hip hop music and entertainment company, Empire Entertainment. It includes the drama among the members of the founders’ family as they fight for control of the company. The show was created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, and stars in the show, Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson.

Empire Distribution Files Lawsuit Against FOX

Recently, FOX network has had a lawsuit filed against them by a music distribution company called Empire Distribution. The company applied for the rights to “Empire”, “Empire Distribution”, and “Empire Recordings”. There is a movie called “Empire Records” but there is no word that the company has filed a lawsuit against the people involved with the film.

A scene in the show “Empire”. (Fox images photo/Chuck Hodes).

Empire Distribution thinks that FOX has no right to use the word “Empire” for their TV show. They believe that FOX is using their name, so they are willing to sue for the rights. The company distributes and publishes music with artists like Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Sean Paul, and many more. Empire distribution also claims that it is being hurt by the fictitious label on the show.

The company is willing to compromise if they are paid eight million dollars by FOX. They have even lowered the price to five million if some of their artists are featured on the show “Empire”.

However, FOX is refusing to pay the amount. They are currently filing a lawsuit to ask a judge to declare Empire distribution’s claim illegitimate. Considering that the distribution company is found on the seventh page of Google, FOX feels that the company is obscure.

FOX is reluctant to change the name of the TV show, because it has had seen a lot of success for the music featured in the show. In the week that the Empire soundtrack was debuted, it reached No. 1 on Top R&B/ Hip Hop Albums. This made it the first soundtrack to ever crown the 50 year list. The soundtrack also made No. 1 on the Billboard’s 200 Chart.