MUSIC REVIEWS, AWARDS, TOURS ARCHIVE

 
Toronto Concerts link:
Kenny Rogers – Dec. 3, 2010 @ Massey Hall
The Pointers Sisters – Feb. 18, 2011 @ Rose Theatre, Brampton
Gordon Lightfoot – May 25 - 28, 2011 @ Massey Hall
Sade – June 28, 2011 @ Air Canada Centre

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MUSIC REVIEWS, AWARDS, TOURS ARCHIVE [page 1]
 
NKOTB AND BACKSTREET BOYS ADDED 18 MORE TOUR DATES [Talk Ent, 11/25/2010]
Boy-bands-turned-man-bands New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) and the Backstreet Boys announced Monday, November 22, 2010 on their websites that 18 dates have been added to their summer 2011 co-headlining tour. The announcement comes a day after the two acts performed together at the close of Sunday night’s American Music Awards. The summer tour was originally announced on Nov. 3, 2010, with the new dates added due to demand from fans. NKOTB -- Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood, Joey McIntyre, Jonathan Knight and Jordan Knight -- gained fame in the late 1980s with hits like “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” helping to lay the groundwork for the 1990s boy band movement that catapulted groups like the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync to success. NKOTB and the Backstreet Boys first performed together in June at a NKOTB concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
 
USHER AND BLACK EYED PEAS CAPTURED THE FIRST HONOURS AT AMA [AP, 11/22/2010]
Usher and the Black Eyed Peas captured the first honors at the American Music Awards on Sunday night, with Usher beating out Alicia Keys and Sade for R&B/Soul album of the year. "All of my team back in New York City, I'm bringing this home for you," the leather-clad crooner said as he held his trophy high. The Black Eyed Peas won best pop/rock band, duo or group. While they didn't give a noteworthy speech, frontman will.i.am wore a memorable outfit: A hat and a necklace made out of what appeared to be Legos. The performance-driven show got off to a colorful and sexy start, courtesy of flaming redhead Rihanna, who performed a medley of songs from her latest album, including the No. 1 hit "What's My Name," wearing a bustier and what seemed like a scarf wrapped around her backside. Eminem and Lady Antebellum were both up for a show-topping five awards apiece. Other major nominees included Ke$ha and Katy Perry. A cold Los Angeles night didn't stop the stars from showing a little skin as they arrived for the awards at the Nokia Theatre. Miley Cyrus walked the red carpet wearing a strapless dress with a flowing train. Avril Lavigne rocked in a mini animal-print dress. John Legend was more covered up than the ladies, but even he remarked on the cold and windy conditions. Still, he said he expected a "pop music explosion" during the show.
 
AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS 2010 [Aceshowbiz, 11/18/2010]
After filling the performers line-up with a bunch of A-list singers, organizers for American Music Awards have moved on to announcing the presenters. The names appearing on the list vary from young rising singer like Willow Smith to breakthrough female rapper Nicki Minaj to award-winning movie beauty Jessica Alba. The other celebrities on hand to announce winners include Christina Milian, Eric Stonestreet, Jenny McCarthy, John Legend, Kelly Osbourne, Keri Hilson, Lady Antebellum, Mandy Moore, Mike Posner, Natasha Bedingfield, Samuel L. Jackson, Sheryl Crow, Taio Cruz, Trey Songz and The Band Perry. Dating couple Julianne Hough and Ryan Seacrest as well as married couple Seal and Heidi Klum are tapped for the duty as well. The final nominees vying for the prize are Posner, Antebellum, Justin Bieber and Travis McCoy. The winners will be unveiled during a live ceremony on November 21 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Taylor Swift, Kid Rock, Miley Cyrus, Ne-Yo, Usher, Ke$ha, Katy Perry, Bieber, Rihanna, Pink and Christina Aguilera are set to make live performances. 
 
JOHNNY CASH TO JOIN GOSPEL MUSIC HALL OF FAME [BBC News, 11/18/2010]
The late Johnny Cash is to be inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, following in the footsteps of Elvis Presley and Pat Boone. Cash, who died in 2003 at the age of 71, was brought up with gospel music and famously turned to religion as he tried to beat drug addiction. DeGarmo and Key, the Golden Gate Quartet and Bill "Hoss" Allen will also join the hall of fame this year. They will be inducted on 24 January 2011 in Hendersonville, Tennessee. More than 150 members, including Let's Stay Together singer Al Green and Amazing Grace composer John Newton, have been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame since its foundation in 1971. In 1980, Cash was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame while, in 1992, he became a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
 
DRAKE'S NEW ALBUM IS TITLED "TAKE CARE" Aceshowbiz, 11/18/2010]
Gracing the cover of CQ magazine in a suit and bow tie as one of its Men of the Year, Drake gives update on his upcoming second studio album in an accompanying interview. The "Best I Ever Had" hitmaker revealed that he is going to "Take Care" next year. "Don't think for a second I can't do better," the BET's Best Male Hip-Hop Artist shared. "For Take Care, I'm trying to find a way to make my raps shorter but catchier. I'm trying to condense my thoughts down to 16 bars. And it's coming out more potent." The album is plotted to arrive next spring. In order to meet the release schedule, Drizzy has decided to take timeout from making mixtape. The Young Money artist is focusing on the follow-up to his successful debut "Thank Me Later " in addition to contributing to other artists' projects. Earlier this month, Drizzy revealed about hitting studio with Justin Timberlake for a duet. And since Timberlake has repeatedly said about having no plan for a new album, the collaboration is likely recorded for the rapper's next studio installment. He said, "I've always wanted to work with him and it's in the works right now ... And we've recently talked about it and I think we're going to make it happen."
 
BRITPOP BAND "PULP" REUNION GIGS [BBC News, 11/10/2010]
Britpop band Pulp have reformed and confirmed details of two shows in 2011. The six original members, led by singer Jarvis Cocker, will headline London's Hyde Park on 3 July 2011 as part of the Wireless festival and will also top the bill at Spain's Primavera Sound event on 27 May 2011. The gigs will be their first performances in 15 years having last been on stage together in August 1996. The band said they would "play songs from all periods of their career". They added: "Yes, that means they'll be playing your favourites." Having formed in the late 1970s, the peak of the group's commercial success came during the 90's with tracks like Common People, Disco 2000 and Help The Aged. Since disbanding lead singer Jarvis Cocker has kept a public profile as an actor, radio broadcaster for the BBC's 6 Music and released a number of solo albums.
 
MTV EUROPE MUSIC AWARDS [BBC News, 11/10/2010]
Lady Gaga has bagged three prizes at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Madrid, including best female and best song for her hit Bad Romance. Fellow artists Katy Perry and Justin Bieber were also winners on a night dominated by US stars, with UK artists failing to convert their nominations. The ceremony was hosted by Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria, who had 13 costume changes during the event. Katy Perry, who won best video for California Gurls, arrived at the event with husband Russell Brand in their first public appearance together since marrying in India two weeks ago. Other award winners included best hip-hop act for Eminem, best alternative act for Paramore and best new act for Ke$ha. Linkin Park were named best live performers while 30 Seconds to Mars won best rock act. Teen star Justin Bieber collected two awards for best male and best push act. Marina and the Diamonds won best UK and Ireland act. The bash at Madrid's Caja Magica featured a number of live performances, including Colombian star Shakira, rock veterans Bon Jovi and Rihanna.  Bon Jovi collected a global icon prize marking their three-decades in the music business.
 
KEITH RICHARDS: 'STONES WILL TOUR IN 2011' [BBC News, 11/08/2010]
The Rolling Stones plan to hit the road in 2011, despite rumours that they had retired from touring altogether. "Everybody's ready to go out there again," guitarist Keith Richards told BBC 6 Music. "Who said it should stop, and who said when?" "Only we will know when it comes to an end, with a crashing halt," he added. The Stones' last world tour earned $558m (£344m), but was reported to be the band's last after several dates were postponed due to ill health. The European leg of the Bigger Bang tour was delayed in 2006 when Richards had brain surgery, following a widely-reported fall from a coconut tree. He later said the incident had been exaggerated, telling the NME: "I was sitting on a shrub [and] I happened to fall off it the wrong way". Speaking at the launch of his new autobiography, Life, the 66-year-old told the BBC the Stones were also gearing up to record new material. "After these many years working together, we have a lot of unfinished stuff to work on that we had to leave off the last album."And knowing Mick, as I do, he's a very prolific writer. I have ideas [too] and we'll put them together in December or January. "We're looking forward to working."
 
RIHANNA GETS FOURTH UK NUMBER ONE SINGLE [BBC News, 11/08/2010]
Singer Rihanna has scored her fourth UK number one single after her track Only Girl (In The World) climbed one place to knock Cheryl Cole off the top spot. But the X Factor judge still has cause to celebrate after her new solo album, Messy Little Raindrops, took sole position in this week's album rundown. Cole's success contrasts with that of fellow Girls Aloud member Nadine Coyle. Insatiable, her first solo release, failed to crack the Top 20, entering the singles chart at number 26. Rihanna's latest singles triumph follows that of Umbrella in 2007, Take a Bow in 2008 and Run This Town last year. Just behind Rihanna and Cole in this week's singles chart sits Alexis Jordan, a former contestant on US talent show America's Got Talent. Her debut single Happiness, the title track from her soon-to-be-released first album, is a new entry at three.
 
JOHN LENNON IMMORTALIZED WITH LIMITED COIN EDITION [Aceshowbiz, 30/10/2010]
A commemorative British coin honoring the late The Beatles member John Lennon has gone on sale in the U.K., weeks after what would have been the legend's 70th birthday. On Friday, October 29, the "Imagine" hitmaker was announced winner of an online vote to determine which British luminary would be honored with a commemorative coin struck by the Royal Mint. He beat out late author Jane Austen and late Scottish engineer John Logie Baird. Lennon's coin, which depicts him with long hair and sideburns and his trademark round glasses, will have a face value of GBP5 ($8) but will be sold for GBP44.99 pounds ($71.63). Only 5,000 will be sold. The Royal Mint also plans to produce one single coin in 24 karat gold that will be given to the star's estate. A Royal Mint spokesperson says, "It's entirely fitting that John Lennon has been chosen by the public in what would have been his 70th year. The massive proportion of the vote he received shows clearly just how much his untimely death still resonates with the nation. He ranks alongside, and even ahead of, some of the greatest names in history." Lennon, who was murdered outside of his New York apartment in 1980, would have celebrated his 70th birthday on October 9.
 
NEW BEE GEES DVD TO FEATURE MAURICE GIBB'S FINAL INTERVIEW [Aceshowbiz, 30/10/2010]
One of late Bee Gees star Maurice Gibb's final interviews is to feature on a new DVD documentary about the singing siblings. Gibb conducted the career-encompassing chat shortly before he died in 2003 and his comments will now be part of "In Our Own Time" - a film commemorating The Bee Gees' 50th anniversary. The film, billed as "a revealing look at the history of The Bee Gees", will be released on November 16. The project also features brand new interviews with Barry Gibb and Robin Gibb and rare live performances, TV and film clips. "In Our Own Time" ends with reunited Bee Gees stars Barry and Robin singing new versions of their classic songs. The film will also air on TV in America four days after its release.  
 
WILL.I.AM TALKS BLACK EYED PEAS' FORTHCOMING "THE E.N.D" LP [Aceshowbiz, 12/7/08]
In an interview, Black Eyed Peas' member will.i.am reveals that he plans to make the band's upcoming LP "The E.N.D (The Energy Never Dies)" as a "music diary." He tells Billboard, "It's a diary ... of music that at any given time, depending on the inspiration, you can add to it." "When it comes out, there'll be 12 songs on it, but the next day there could be 100 songs, 50 sketches, 1,000 blogs all (online) around 'The End' so the energy really, truly never dies," will.i.am explains further. "I'm trying to break away from the concept of an album. What is an album when you put 12 songs on iTunes and people can pick at it like scabs? That's not an album. There is no album anymore." On the sounds plotted to be carried by the band's forthcoming record, will.i.am states that it will contain "a lot of dance stuff, real melodic, electronic, soulful" music. Unfortunately, there hasn't been any release date as well as guest star set for the effort. Apart from sharing plans for the new album, will.i.am also unveils about their upcoming tour. Stating that it will be kicked off either in May or June 2009, he says that Fergie a.k.a Stacy Ferguson wants their show "to be [freakin'] ridiculous this time." She says as quoted by him, "We need to put together a monster show. So I'm gonna hold her to that and we're gonna follow her lead and really knock 'em out." Previously, will.i.am said that he had no intention to rush "The E.N.D (The Energy Never Dies)". However, he admitted that he is tempted to release the record in 2008 because he's convinced that this year will be the final year where physical sales are significant.
 
BARENAKED LADIES HOLD 1st CANADIAN SHOWS SINCE FRONTMAN'S ARREST [CBC, 12/7/08]
The Barenaked Ladies performed their first Canadian shows Saturday, December 6 since the band's frontman was charged with drug possession in New York last July. The Juno-winning pop rock troupe were scheduled to stage two shows in Toronto, one in support of their kids' album Snack Time and a holiday-themed concert. In a statement posted on the band's official blog, lead singer Steven Page said he was "doing great" and keen to perform again. Page, his girlfriend Christine Benedicto, 27, and her roommate, Stephanie Ford, 25, were charged in July after police allegedly found the trio with cocaine and marijuana in a Fayetteville, N.Y., apartment. In October, a U.S. judge gave all three the same "adjournment in contemplation of dismissal" ruling, which meant the charges against them would be dismissed in six months time if they aren't arrested again, receive therapy and pass drug screening. The band's drummer, Tyler Stewart, said the band was looking forward to putting the last few months behind them after a "tough year." "We never had a chance to really play many concerts on the kids' record, you know, we were busy this summer doing other things," Stewart said in an apparent reference to Page's tribulations. The band released Snack Time in May. Page also lamented the events of the past year, but added that expressed optimism for the future. "There have also been many things to be happy and grateful for," he reflected on his blog. "Falling in love, a renewed sense of peace, the best health of my adult life, some amazing creative and artistic opportunities, and the chance for a renewed and fruitful relationship with my band, friends and loved ones." Barenaked Ladies are scheduled to play another set of matinee and evening shows in Toronto on Sunday, December 7, then in Ottawa next weekend. They also recently finished recording a version of the old Hockey Night in Canada theme song for TSN.
 
T.I. WILL JOIN KATY PERRY ON "NBC's NEW YEAR'S EVE WITH CARSON DALY" [Aceshowbiz, 12/7/08]
T.I. has been confirmed to make a live appearance alongside Katy Perry on holiday TV show "NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly". Another big name who is also set to perform live at the event is Ludacris. "The addition of T.I. is huge," Daly said regarding the performance lineup. "Since the end of June, either T.I. or Katy Perry has predominantly held the number one spot on Billboard's Hot 100. More importantly, with T.I. we get the artist of the year to perform in primetime." "NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" is NBC's annual show which will be, for the first time, broadcast in primetime this year on New Year's Eve starting from 10 P.M. (ET). Promised to be "a huge show", the event will also offer live reports from Times Square which will be presented by "The Today Show" co-anchor Amy Robach and NBC's News correspondent Luke Russert.
 
NEW $1 MILLION U.S. CLASSICAL MUSIC PRIZE ANNOUNCED IN SWEDEN [CBC, 12/6/08]
A lucrative, international classical music prize has been established, thanks to late Swedish opera star Birgit Nilsson, who died in 2005.  The Birgit Nilsson Foundation announced Friday, December 5 the launch of a $1 million US prize to honour outstanding achievements in international opera and concert performance. According to organizers, Nilsson herself had planned for the creation of the prize years before her passing and had even selected the first winner — who will be named in early 2009. They added that the singer had placed the inaugural winner's name in a sealed envelope and requested that the prize not be announced until three years after her death. Singers, directors or opera companies are all eligible for the new award, which some are likening to a Nobel Prize for music. It is also billed as the largest prize in the world of classical music. Subsequent winners will be selected by a jury of prominent figures in the international classical music scene. The prize is slated to be awarded every two or three years. Nilsson, famed as the greatest Wagnerian soprano of her era, had a nearly 40-year career that brought her to the world's top opera stages. She established her namesake charitable foundation in the late 1980s. The Swedish music icon died in December 2005 at the age of 87.
 
BEST REGGAE ALBUM GRAMMY NOMINATIONS [Klassic Magazine, 12/6/08]
At the Grammy Nominations Concert – The Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night held on Wednesday, December 3 the nominations in the category for Best Reggae Album went to Burning Spear for "Jah Is Real,” Elephant Man for “Let’s Get Physical, Heavy D for “Vibes,” Lee Scratch” Perry for Repentance, Shaggy for “Intoxication” and Sly & Robbie’s “Amazing.” The 51st Annual Grammy Awards will be held on February 8, 2009.
 
WHAT'S AGE GOT TO DO WITH IT? TINA TURNER STILL TERRIFIC [Reuters/Billboard, 12/6/08]
There's always been something larger than life about Tina Turner, but sometimes these realizations don't actually hit home until one sees the R&B dynamo suspended 30 feet above a crowd of 15,000 people. On a hydraulic lift. While wearing five-inch heels. And by the way, Turner is now 69 years old. And she reportedly was suffering from a terrible cold just before her December 1 show at New York's Madison Square Garden, but never considered canceling. The point: this woman defies so much conventional wisdom that being in her presence for two-plus hours is a bit of a head trip. It was also about as much entertainment value as could reasonably be expected from an arena concert: multiple costume changes, several homoerotic-type interludes, trap doors in the stage, scantily clad dancers, celebrities dancing right in front of you (hi there, Anne Hathaway) and then appearing on the Jumbotron (happy anniversary, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes). The show had just the right mix of mega-hits and lesser-known gems, including the ultra-funky "I Can't Stand the Rain," a raved-up "The Acid Queen" and her sultry theme for the James Bond movie "Goldeneye." "We Don't Need Another Hero" came complete with a "Thunderdome" stage set and, amazingly, an enormous extra in a metallic Speedo, armor, pith helmet and fur to watch over it all knowingly. The classics sounded incredible, with Turner in terrific voice on "River Deep, Mountain High," the rapidly key-changing "What's Love Got To Do With It?" and "Private Dancer." A sequence of covers after intermission allowed her to show off her interpretive flair, best heard on a stripped-down version of the Beatles' "Help." "Proud Mary" was a hand-clapping, butt-shaking delight, followed by a frantic "Nutbush City Limits," with Turner on the aforementioned hydraulic lift. By then it was beyond clear that she'll probably outlast us all, still glittering like the sequins sewn into her dresses.
 
JAMAICA JAZZ AND BLUES HAS TOP CLASS LINEUP AS USUAL [YardFlex, 12/6/08]
Described as a potpourri of musical genres, the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival is set to soar on January 22-24, 2009. The joint Jamaica Tourist Board and Turn Key production takes place in Rose Hall, Montego Bay, and it remains a traditional musical jaunt for many across the world. The mighty O’Jays will be celebrating 50 years there and headliner, Lionel Ritchie says, “…Its gonna be one out of control, unforgettable party.” Also appearing are top artists like: Maxi Priest, the satin sounding “Lost Without You” Robin Thicke, Chicago, UK’s Estelle, Atlantic Starr and Randy Crawford and Joe Sample.
 
ADELE 'NOT READY' TO WIN GRAMMY AWARD [BBC, 12/6/08]
Grammy-nominated singer Adele has said she would rather win the U.S award for her fourth album rather than her debut. "I imagine it's like winning an Oscar and I don't think on this record I should get one," the performer told BBC 6 Music. "I think it should be with my second or third record that I should get the Oscar, like from your third or fourth film when you're amazing," she added. Adele is up for four Grammys, including record of the year. Speaking before performing a special session with Paul Weller at the Maida Vale studios, the Londoner admitted she feels it is too soon to be awarded a prestigious Grammy. "If I won one, it would be really important to me but I can't even think about that. Sorry, it's making my heart race really fast." "It would be lovely to get one but I don't feel like I need awards and stuff to feel good about my music," adding that she would not be disheartened if she did not win any gongs. "I can't see how this album life span could get any better and I don't feel like it needs to be. I'm already over the moon and blown away with people's response to it."
 
JAZMINE SULLIVAN WANTS TO DUET WITH CHRIS MARTIN [Aceshowbiz, 12/6/08]
Soul music singer/songwriter Jazmine Sullivan of "Bust Your Windows" stated that she wants to record a song with Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin. "I actually want to do a song with Chris Martin," Jazmine confessed to People during an interview. "So maybe somebody will introduce me to him, or I can slip him an album and he can listen!" Apart from her desire to collaborate with Chris Martin, Jazmine Sullivan also shared her excitement concerning her being nominated for four nods at 51st Annual Grammy Awards, which is to be held on February 8, 2009, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. "It was surreal," she claimed. "I've been working for this my whole life and to see it finally pay off is just wonderful." Jazmine received five counts; Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Contemporary Album, Best R&B Song, and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance; for the upcoming Grammy Awards. In Best New Artist category, she will compete with other contenders, Jonas Brothers, Adele, Duffy and Lady Antebellum.
 
CHER PLOTS TO COVER '60s HIT SINGLES IN NEW LP [Aceshowbiz, 12/6/08]
Cher plans to enter recording booth to cover 1960s classic songs for her forthcoming studio album. Spilling the beans on the matter, she reveals that she wants to re-cycle hit singles from such musicians as The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Otis Redding. "I'm planning an album of all these great songs from the '60s that I've never covered before," Cher said in an inteview. "It was such a magical time for music - groups like The Beatles, The Hollies, The Zombies, The Kinks, the Stones [The Rolling Stones] and singers like [Bob] Dylan and Otis Redding." When asked how she comes up with such idea, Cher shared that she wants to pay tribute to the nostalgic times when she used to listen to a transistor radio. "I want to pay tribute to a time when I used to listen to music on my little transistor radio or on my AM radio in my Ford Mustang," she explained.
 
NINE INCH NAILS FLUSHES 3-D MOVIE IDEA [Aversion, 12/6/08]
The next Nine Inch Nails tour video you see will present the band in simple two-dimensional glory. The band toyed with the notion of filming its latest tour for a proposed 3-D film, which would screen in theatres and go to home video, though had to nix the idea after having trouble coming up with funding in time to make it work: The tour winds down in eight days. If nothing else, it gave Trent Reznor a chance to return to his longtime favorite pastime of pointing recriminating fingers at Interscope Records. "I made two critical mistakes," he wrote on the band's website. "One was to approach a certain record company that owns some of the song rights about producing / funding. The second was to allow said company to fuck around as usual for months before saying um ... no." It almost makes you nostalgic for the good old days when Reznor was whining about TVT Records, doesn't it?
 
ETHIOPIAN STAR "TEDDY AFRO" JAILED OVER DEATH [BBC, 12/6/08]
Ethiopian pop star Teddy Afro has been sentenced to six years in jail for the manslaughter of a homeless man. The singer was found guilty of running the man down in his car and driving away without reporting the incident in Addis Ababa in 2006. Ethiopia's best-known pop star was also convicted of driving without a licence. His music became an anthem for opposition protests in 2005 and many fans believe the charges were politically motivated. But the Ethiopian authorities have denied this. As he passed sentence, the judge said the prosecution was not in any way a vendetta. There had been some confusion about which night the homeless man had died. On the first date the singer - whose real name is Tewodros Kassahun - had an alibi: He was out of the country. On the second possible date, Teddy said he had been out with friends. But the judge was not convinced and found him guilty on all charges. As he was led away from the courtroom by police, Teddy said: "I feel free."
 
LEONA LEWIS' "RUN" BREAKS DIGITAL RECORD [BBC, 12/5/08]
The latest single from singer Leona Lewis has become the fastest-selling digital-only track in the U.K. Snow Patrol cover Run, which was never originally intended to be released as a single, was downloaded almost 70,000 times in its first two days. It beats Estelle's American Boy, which sold 51,857 downloads in a week to become the biggest digital-only single. Lewis, who is likely to score her third number one, is nominated for record of the year at the Grammy Awards. Her chart-topper Bleeding Love is shortlisted alongside fellow U.K acts Coldplay, M.I.A., Adele and Robert Plant. Lewis first performed "Run" on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, which was originally a number five hit in the UK for Snow Patrol. It was a subsequent performance on The X Factor which prompted record bosses to go ahead with the digital single release. The song also features on an enhanced version of her album Spirit, which became the first re-release to go straight in at number one, beating Dido's third collection. Lewis's album has sold some four million copies around the world since it was first released a year ago. Apple has said, meanwhile, that the singer's song Bleeding Love is its most popular downloaded track of 2008 on iTunes. Coldplay's Viva La Vida is the most popular album on the music download site during the past year.
 
"INKHEART" MOVIE SOUNDTRACK [Aceshowbiz, 12/5/08]
The "Inkheart" soundtrack, performed by Eliza Bennett who plays Meggie Folchart in the film has been premiered. Based on Cornelia Funke's novel of the same name, "Inkheart" revolves around an adventurous story of Meggie, a young girl whose father has a secret ability to bring characters from books to life when he reads them aloud. Starring Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren and Andy Serkis in the fantasy movie is scheduled to hit the U.S. theaters on January 23, 2009.
 
LIL WAYNE LEADS GRAMMY NOMS WITH 8, COLDPLAY 7 [Aceshowbiz, 12/4/08]
Lil Wayne — the most prolific, ubiquitous and successful performer on today's music scene — was the most rewarded by the Recording Academy on Wednesday, December 3, receiving eight Grammy nominations including album of the year for "Tha Carter III." Following close behind was Coldplay, with seven. Their "Viva La Vida," one of the year's best-selling CDs, is in album of the year contention along with Radiohead's groundbreaking "In Rainbows"; singer-songwriter Ne-Yo's "Year of the Gentleman"; and Robert Plant's collaboration with Alison Krauss, "Raising Sand." Nominations were announced in a brand-new format this year, with an hourlong live prime-time CBS concert special that featured a brisk procession of performers and LL Cool J and Taylor Swift as hosts. Coldplay and Plant & Krauss were also nominated in the coveted record of the year category for the respective songs "Viva La Vida" and "Please Read the Letter." Other record of the year nominees were British songstress Leona Lewis for "Bleeding Love"; another British newcomer, Adele, for chasing pavement; and M.I.A. for her breakthrough hit, "Paper Planes." While Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" was not regarded by critics as his greatest CD, it was the album that made the highly regarded veteran a pop superstar, thanks to massive hits like "Lollipop" and "A Milli." The CD was the only record this year to sell 1 million copies in its first week. Coldplay's "Viva La Vida," its first album in three years, was also a huge hit. Held at the Nokia Theatre, the show also celebrated the Saturday opening of the new Grammy Museum next door. The Grammy Awards are scheduled for live broadcast on CBS on Feb 8. Last year's show drew 17.2 million viewers, making it one of the least-watched Grammys and continuing the trend of shrinking awards-show audiences.
 
KANYE BRINGS HEARTBREAK TO GUNS N' ROSES, LUDACRIS AND KILLERS [E! Online, 12/4/08]
This week, Kanye West's got more than love on the lockdown. In a typically stuffed Thanksgiving week of releases, West's 808s & Heartbreak lorded over Ludacris, the Killers and the seemingly forever-awaited new Guns N' Roses. The rap superstar's 808s & Heartbreak sold 450,000 for the week ended Sunday, nearly 200,000 more copies than the next best debut, Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy. Critics often joked that China would have democracy before this album came out, but after a decade-and-a-half, Axl Rose's Best Buy exclusive sold 261,000 copies at No. 3. Clearly that's $14 million well spent, eh, Axl? Guns' last studio debuts, Use Your Illusion I and II, opened in the top spots 17 years ago, selling 685,000 and 770,000, respectively. Among the week's other major newcomers, Ludacris' Theater of the Mind sold 213,000 at No. 5, breaking the rapper's string of three straight chart-toppers. (This is Luda's lowest chart debut since his independently released 2000 debut, Incognegro.) The Killers' Day & Age followed at No. 6, selling 193,000 copies. In other Top 10 action, 2008 leading ladies Taylor Swift and Beyoncé finished nearly equal in their second week of head-to-head retail action, with the country teen getting the slight edge. Swift's Fearless (267,000) finished at No. 2, while Beyoncé's I Am...Sasha Fierce (257,000) fell to No. 4.
 
THE-DREAM'S SOPHOMORE LP PUSHED BACK [Aceshowbiz, 12/4/08]
The-Dream's second major studio effort "Love vs. Money" has been pushed back to early 2009. Originally expected to come out in the U.S. on December 16, the Christopher "Tricky" Stewart-produced album will reportedly be released sometime in February 2009 via Def Jam and Radio Killa imprints. "Love vs. Money" is a follow up to The-Dream's debut record "Love Hate", which has hit the market since December 2007. This forthcoming album includes guest appearances from Mariah Carey who lends her vocals on single "My Love" and Lil Jon who is featured on a song called "Let Me See the Booty". "This album's gonna be the same thing - a little more beefed up, I'm just gonna give you more," The-Dream commented on his latest work during an interview. "Every album I'm just gonna try to give you more of me, and what I think about certain things ... This album is just gonna be the first album on crack, basically." "In the beginning I was just having fun. I didn't want people thinking too hard, I just wanted them to gravitate toward my lyrics," The-Dream told Billboard on a separate occasion. "But this time my vocals are different. I've definitely grown in my singing."
 
GRAMMY NOMINATIONS HIT PRIME-TIME WITH TV SPECIAL [AP, 12/4/08]
In an era where awards shows are as commonplace as reality shows, even the top-tier events are finding it hard to stand out. So the Recording Academy is trying something different when it announces its nominees for its upcoming Grammys. Instead of its traditional morning roll call of nominee names at a staid press conference, top nominees will be revealed during a prime-time concert special to air live Wednesday on CBS. Among the performers are Mariah Carey, John Mayer and Taylor Swift — a potential nominee. "This gives us an opportunity to have more music on television and ... really bring the ultimate amount of attention to the beginning of Grammy season," Neil Portnow, president and chief executive of the Recording Academy, said in an interview. "It's a more grand way to initiate Grammy season for us." Swift and LL Cool J are set to host the Grammy show, which will announce nominees in just a handful of the Grammy Awards' 110 categories. The nominations special — also set to include performances by Foo Fighters, Celine Dion and B.B. King — "has great potential" to become an annual event, Portnow said, adding that artists will perform classic recordings recently inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Portnow also hinted that several newly nominated artists would be on hand Wednesday to talk about their nominations. Swift is likely to be among them. The 18-year-old was nominated last year for a best new artist Grammy and was named favorite female country artist at last month's American Music Awards. Her debut album, released in 2006, has sold more than 3 million copies and her new CD, "Fearless," topped the charts when it was releases last month. Carey is another Grammy darling — she scooped up three awards in 2005 — who could be nominated for her latest CD, "EMC=2." Other potential nominees include Coldplay, Radiohead, Lil Wayne and Rihanna, who won a Grammy last year for best rap/sung collaboration with Jay Z on the smash "Umbrella." Her hit-filled 2007 album, "Good Girl Gone Bad," was re-released over the summer with additional hits, giving her another shot at Grammy love. Welsh singer Duffy, who shot to No. 1 with her catchy single, "Mercy," is likely to be among best new artist nominees, along with fellow Brit Estelle, who raked in accolades for her track, "American Boy," with Kanye West. "The Grammy Nominations Concert Live! — Countdown to Music's Biggest Night," held at the Nokia Theatre, will also celebrate the opening of the new Grammy Museum next door. The Grammy Awards are scheduled for live broadcast on CBS on Feb 8, 2009. Last year's show drew 17.2 million viewers, making it one of the least-watched Grammys and continuing the trend of shrinking awards-show audiences.
 
FERGIE TO BE FEATURED ON SLASH'S SOLO ALBUM [Aceshowbiz, 12/3/08]
Black Eyed Peas' member Stacy Ferguson a.k.a Fergie will be collaborating with Slash for his solo debut album. Breaking the news to the media is his wife Perla Hudson during an interview with The Rockerrazzi. Beside Fergie, another artist mentioned to be the former Guns N' Roses' collaborator is Ozzy Osbourne. "It's going to be Slash and friends, with everyone from Ozzy (Osbourne) to Fergie," Perla said in a statement. When asked about Slash's feeling over Guns N' Roses' latest LP "Chinese Democracy", Perla stated that he "feels great about it." She explained, "He feels great about it ('Chinese Democracy'). It's long-awaited. Our kids like it but they also like Elmo, so that goes without saying." In related news, Fergie will take a hosting job with Ryan Seacrest at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Aired on ABC on December 31, the event will feature performances from Ne-Yo, The Pussycat Dolls, Solange Knowles, Robin Thicke, Natasha Bedingfield, Fall Out Boy, and Jesse McCartney.
 
RECORD LABEL BLAME AXL ROSE OVER "CHINESE DEMOCRACY" FAILURE TO TOP CHART [Aceshowbiz, 12/3/08]
Guns N' Roses' recording company Geffen Records have reportedly put the blame on Axl Rose regarding the market's not-quite-positive response over their latest LP "Chinese Democracy". A source told The Sun, "The label is really glad to have him back. But it is frustrating because the album would have had a much better chance of going to No. 1 if he had only been prepared to show his face." Since it was released on November 23 in the U.S., "Chinese Democracy" has pulled an estimated 300,000 - 500,000 copies sold but only managed to climb to number two on U.K. Albums chart, beaten down by The Killers' "Day & Age" which landed at the top spot on the chart. In further statement, the source said that the disappointing result happened because the band missed out the album's promotion project. "People have been trying to contact him for two months and he's been completely AWOL. You would have thought after spending 15 years on an album you might do a few weeks promotion," the source explained.
 
BEYONCE TO PERFORM AT ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL [AP, 12/3/08]
Beyonce is the first artist lined up for next year's Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. Organizers of the festival announced Tuesday, December 2 the singer has confirmed her participation. The July event will mark the 15th anniversary of the celebration of black music and culture. The festival will include more than 12 musical acts a day. The festival had one of its biggest turnouts this year with more than 270,000 attendees. Performers at the last event included Mary J. Blige and LL Cool J.
 
LILY ALLEN'S U.K. AND IRELAND TOUR DATES [Aceshowbiz, 12/3/08]
Lily Allen embarks on a roadshow to support her sophomore major studio album "It's Not Me, It's You", which will be dropped in the U.K. on February 9, 2009. Ten confirmed dates have been announced to follow one-off gig taking place at London's Koko on January 28, 2009. After Koko's performance, Lily will be playing at Glasgow Academy on March 14, 2009. The next day, she will then head up to Manchester for another live show. Completing the U.K. and Ireland leg, Lily will make stops in Dublin, Bristol, Norwich, Leeds, and many more. She will wrap up the gig on March 26 at London Shepherd's Bush Empire. Lily Allen's U.K. and Ireland tour dates are available from your ticket agent.
 
ANGELA BASSETT AND ERIC McCORMACK SET TO ANNOUNCE SAG AWARDS NOMINEES [Aceshowbiz, 12/3/08]
Two presenters have been chosen to unveil the nominees for the 15th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. On Monday, December 1, executive producer Jeff Margolis has announced that Academy Award-nominated actress Angela Bassett and Emmy Award-winning actor Eric McCormack will join SAG president  to announce the nominations of the latest SAG Awards. The two will uncover which movies and TV series are receiving the nods on a live telecast on Thursday, December 18 at 6 A.M. PT/9 A.M. ET. The nominations announcement for five film and eight television categories itself will be held in the SilverScreen Theater at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, and aired on TNT. Angela Bassett currently join the cast ensemble of NBC's television series "ER" as new ER head Dr. Cate Banfield. She is known for her works in Tyler Perry's romantic comedy "Meet the Browns", Doug Atchison's drama "Akeelah and the Bee" and Brian Gibson's biopic "What's Love Got to Do With It". Meanwhile, Eric McCormack's credits include his title role as Will Truman in NBC's long-running "Will & Grace". The 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, January 25, 2009. It will be having a simulcast live on TNT and TBS at 8 P.M. ET/PT from the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles. It will be produced by Jeff Margolis Productions in association with Screen Actors Guild Awards.
 
TRAVIS BARKER AND DJ AM UP FOR FIRST JOINT CONCERT [Aceshowbiz, 12/3/08]
Travis Barker will reunite with DJ AM for their first live performance since September's deadly jet accident. The two musicians will be headlining a New Year's Nation's Los Angeles New Year's Eve Party taking place at the Lot in West Hollywood, California. "I'm ready to get back on stage with AM and continue to rock the house," Travis shared his excitement concerning the upcoming show. "I'm very excited to bring in the New Year in my hometown of L.A. I'm glad our first show back is here in L.A. on New Year's Eve. I've never been 10 places at once before." Their gig will be entitled "TRSVJDAM" and will be streamed live on the web via newyearsnation.com. Also, it is scheduled to be broadcast in 10 big cities across U.S., including Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, New York, and Seattle.
 
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE'S "SPECIAL LOVE" FOR SAMUEL L. JACKSON [E! Online, 12/3/08]
Justin Timberlake admits he has some special kind of feelings for his Black Snake Moan costar Samuel L. Jackson. "I am here because onscreen and off, I feel nothing but love for the great Samuel L. Jackson," Timberlake said at last night's American Cinematheque gala honoring Jackson in Beverly Hills. "At least for tonight that mysterious 'L' stands for 'Love,' man love—and there's nothing wrong with it." While high on praise, the Cinematheque's annual awards ceremony is more of a roast than anything else. Timberlake got in some of the best cracks. He said past honorees like Julia Roberts, Al Pacino and George Clooney have nothing on the Pulp Fiction star...Other presenters included Denzel Washington, Kerry Washington, Andy Garcia, Vin Diesel, George Lucas and Jackson's Star Wars costars R2D2 and C3PO. You'll be able to catch the tribute yourself when it airs on AMC on Dec. 9, 2008.
 
"THE SPECIALS" TO REUNITE AND TOUR IN 2009 [Aceshowbiz, 12/3/08]
Influential ska-pop band The Specials have announced a full U.K tour. The Coventry outfit revealed in April 2008 that they would reform and return to live action for the first time since their split in 1981. Heralded by the likes of Blur, Lily Allen and The Enemy as a primary influence - the line-up will play eight U.K dates next spring. The jaunt begins in Newcastle on 22 April and concludes at London's Brixton Academy on 7 May, 2009. The gigs will see the line up of Terry Hall, Lynval Golding, Neville Staple, Roddy Byers, Horace Panter and John Bradbury reconvene. The band are largely credited with the popularity of ska punk in the late 1970s and the emergence of the 2-Tone sound. Rumours of an announcement had grown after the majority of the band made a special appearance together at this year's Bestival festival in September. Details of a special hometown show in Coventry are yet to be announced. Meanwhile tickets go on sale on Thursday 11 December 2008.
 
"TAKE THAT" RECORD HUGE OPENING DAY SALES [BBC, 12/3/08]
Take That have scored the biggest first day sale of the year with their new album, The Circus. The album sold 133,000 copies on its launch day on Monday, December 1, according to Official Charts Company sales data. The figure puts the album easily on course to be number one in Sunday's album chart. The year's previous fastest-selling album was Coldplay's Viva La Vida Or death And All His Friends, which sold 125,000 copies on its first day.  Despite netting the biggest first day sale title, sales of the album had actually been hit due to the collapse of major CD distributor Entertainment U.K last week. Several key retailers including Woolworths, Zavvi and WH Smith were left without the album on shelves and online on Monday. Stocks of all albums are expected to be in all key stores by the end of this week, however. "Today's sales figures are even more exciting considering the album wasn't available in all stores yesterday," said Universal Music UK chairman David Joseph. The Circus has comfortably beaten the first day sales of Take That's last album, Beautiful World, which went on to be the second biggest-selling record of 2006 after just four weeks on sale. The group launched their latest album at London's St Pancras station and continued on the Eurostar to Paris.
 
THE DEMISE OF "THE NEWMUSIC" SHOW [CBC, 12/2/08]
CTVglobemedia's cuts announced last week included the demise of The NewMusic, a show that was a legend for its part in launching new bands and the careers of a score of TV hosts and presenters. Alumni of The NewMusic, begun in 1979 on CityTV, include Jeanne Beker, now the host of Fashion Television, John (J.D.) Roberts, who is now an anchor at CNN, Denise Donlon, executive director of CBC Radio and George Stroumboulopoulos, host of CBC talk show The Hour. The show strode across the teen years of countless Canadians, with its mix of Rolling Stone style rock journalism and Britain's more trendy New Musical Express. "You don't really think with something so long-running about the day it will be cancelled," said Hannah Sung, host of "The NewMusic" from 2002 to 2006 and now a writer and broadcaster. "When it was and when I heard about it, I was surprised. I was really sad, I was sad for my friends — the producers at "NewMusic" are brilliant," she told CBC's Q cultural affairs show. She said the demise of the show, hidden in an announcement of 105 jobs cut from CTV last week, was premature. "What else out there is like "The NewMusic" right now? I just don't see anything like it," Sung said. Q's regular media observer, John Turner, said the demise of the show was a result of media concentration and economic realities. "If you look at the show like The NewMusic and CHUM Media Group where it originated, that is a project of Moses Znaimer who in many ways is an intellectual and somebody who was actually inspired by not only the future of television but music and art," Turner told Q. CTVglobemedia took over CHUM in July 2007, gaining control of MuchMusic, CityTV, Space, A-Channel and dozens of other properties. Its cuts also hurt MuchMusic and MTV Canada. "Now you have a new owner, corporate owner, whose bottom line is much different. When you approach it from that side certain other realities come into play." "As you take away a lot of this Canadian-made programming, what do you fill it with? We know that a big part of the business plan of CTV and Global, for example, is to acquire American television, that's their big thing and the biggest cost for them is creating Canadian television, including local news," Turner said.
 
MADONNA 'TO SET SOLO TOUR RECORD' WITH "STICKY AND SWEET TOUR" [BBC, 12/2/08]
Madonna's current Sticky and Sweet tour is set to become the biggest selling tour by a solo artist. The 50-year-old will have raked in an estimated $282 million (£185.7m) when the tour finishes in Sao Paulo, Brazil, later this month. Tour producer Live Nation said the star's 28-date U.S leg sold 550,000 tickets and grossed $91.5 million  (£60.2m). Madonna had held the previous record with her Confessions tour in 2006, having taken $193.7 million (£127.5m). Including her European run, the singer has already made an estimated $207.5 million (£136.6m) in ticket sales. Madonna finished the North American leg of her Sticky and Sweet tour last week in front of 50,000 people at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, before heading south to Mexico City. The tour, supporting her album Hard Candy, will conclude with three nights from 18-21 December in Sao Paulo. The singer divorced director Guy Ritchie last month after eight years of marriage.
 
BRITNEY SPEARS' AMERICAN TOUR DATES REVEALED [Aceshowbiz,  12/2/08]
Seventeen tour dates which are reportedly coming from Britney Spears' American roadshow have been revealed. According to the list on TicketMaster's calendar event, she will be performing on March 3, 2009 at New Orleans Arena in Los Angeles and then will continue to head up to Atlanta, Georgia for another live concert taking place at Philips Arena on March 5, 2009. Despite previous report saying that Allstate Arena's show would be held on March 30, 2009, it is revealed that the gig will take place on April 28, 2009. Complete tour dates of Britney's American leg from TicketMaster can be found online. Furthermore, Britney's European tour dates have also surfaced. On June 19, 2009, the "Womanizer" singer is also expected to perform for a live show at Bercy-Paris Sports Palace. Before taking the Bercy's stage, she has to make a stop in London first for live performances at the O2 Arena on June 3 and 4, 2009. Apart from the news of Britney Spears' tour dates, a video claimed to feature never-seen-before footage of "Circus" music video is available online. It shows the 27-year-old singer lingering in the dressing room, splashing perfume and getting her make up done. 
 
LAWRENCE GOWAN TO HOST CANADIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY AWARDS [CBC, 12/2/08]
Styx keyboardist Lawrence Gowan will host, and singer Burton Cummings will perform at the Canadian Music Industry Awards in Toronto in March. Gowan, a pianist, guitarist and songwriter, launched a successful solo career under the name Gowan in the 1980s. His hit songs in the '80s and 1990s include: A Criminal Mind; Strange Animal; Cosmetics; Moonlight Desires; All The Lovers In the World and When There's Time For Love. Winner of two Juno awards and several Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) awards, he has been with Styx for 10 years. Born in Scotland, Gowan grew up in Toronto and joined his first band, Rhinegold, in the 1970s. Winnipeg's Cummings, best known for his association with The Guess Who, has had a long career as a soloist and last month released Above the Ground, his first solo album of new material in 18 years. He'll be participating in a tribute to Chuck McCoy, the radio industry figure who will be inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame on March 12, 2009. McCoy, who worked on air at stations such as CHUM, CHFI and CKWX, is currently executive vice-president of programming and marketing for all Rogers radio stations. He will be presented with a lifetime achievement award. The industry awards are one of four awards galas held during Canadian Music Week, a four-day music festival in Toronto.
 
THE KILLERS" OUTSELL "GUNS N' ROSES" ON U.K CHART [BBC, 12/1/08]
Las Vegas rock group The Killers have scored their third number one album in the U.K with Day & Age, beating Guns N' Roses heavily-anticipated new album. Axl Rose's Chinese Democracy, rumoured to be the most expensive album ever recorded, landed at number two. Other entries came from X Factor star Rhydian at three, Leona Lewis' Spirit at four and Priests - three actual Irish priests - at five. Take That entered the singles chart at number one with Greatest Day, knocking Beyonce's If I Were A Boy to two after a week at the top. The band have now scored 11 UK number ones, and their new album The Circus is expected to enter the album chart at the same position next week. Their closest rival is Britney Spears, whose album is also called Circus. Her current single, Womanizer, rose two places to number seven this week, following her appearance on X Factor. Same Difference, who are alumni of last year's X Factor, provided the second-highest new entry in this week's single chart, as We R One goes in at number 13. McFly also scored a new entry at 18 with double A-side Do Ya / Stay With Me, which is raising money for Children In Need. Britain's Got Talent winner George Sampson fared less well, however, with his debut single Get Up On The Dance Floor only making number 30. Proceeds from the sale of his record go to the Great Ormond Street Hospital. Inside the top 10, rapper T.I. rose one place to three with his europop-sampling single Live Your Life. He thereby switched place with The Killers, whose Human dropped to four. The top five was rounded off by Katy Perry's Hot 'n' Cold, a non-mover. In the album chart, several BBC reality show stars scored new entries outside the top 10 - led by Only Men Aloud, the winners of Last Choir Standing, whose eponymous debut album landed at number 16. 2007 Strictly Come Dancing winner Alesha Dixon entered at 26 with The Alesha Show, while I'd Do Anything judge John Barrowman was at 35 with Music, Music, Music. Other new entries came from Kanye West, whose decision to abandon rap may have resulted in his album, 808s and Heartbreaks, landing at number 11. His last record, Graduation, went straight into the UK album chart at number one in 2007. The Salvation Army also scored a new entry at 20 with Together - a collection of secular and religious classics performed by their International Staff Band.
 
CHEECH AND CHONG LIGHT UP SKITS OLD AND NEW [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 12/1/08]
After 25 years apart, Cheech and Chong didn't have to worry that the humour they perfected, if not pioneered, would be stale. Green leafy gags are hip again. And the duo that personified the genre in the 1970s is back after bogarting their successful multimedia career with an acrimonious split. Richard "Cheech" Marin and his partner in da kine, Tommy Chong, are in the midst of the six-month Light Up America tour, their first together since 1983. And despite lots more gray or missing hair, it's like the party never stopped. The impeccable comic timing remains, and despite the ugly breakup, their chemistry was evident. There wasn't the forced camaraderie that's so obvious in many reunited acts. And the material is as effective as ever. The show was often racy, occasionally profane and genuinely funny. There were visits to Cheech and Chong's hit albums and bong-busying movies, but several bits were from neither and/or included new gags. Among the material familiar to stoners galaxywide was the scene from "Up in Smoke" where Pedro and the Man first meet. There was a cringe-inducing yet knee-slapping new KY reference in the part about the quarter-pounder joint, and when Pedro asks Man if has he any speed, the newly added reply is, "I used it all last night cramming for my urine test." The same was true for the classic "Let's Make a Dope Deal." The host (Cheech) tells contestant Bob Bitchin' (Chong) that there are prizes behind each of the three doors onstage. Bob replies with a line that would have worked great in the original bit: "Oh yeah, Morrison died." No, this isn't thinking-man's humor, and subtle it ain't. Like when Cheech sits too close to an old man on a park bench. "Excuse me, sir," Chong says, "Do you speak English?" "Yes," the guy replies. "Good -- **** ***!" But there also were some red-eyed winks to the partakers in the crowd that others might miss ("It's 4:20, time to play 'Let's Make a Dope Deal'"). Interspersed among the pair's skits together and solo was some well-honed, sometimes riotous material from Chong, who remained in the standup game while Cheech made his name as an actor. But the most memorable moments, naturally, came when the pair was onstage together. Sure, it would have been great to hear such familiar punch lines as "Dave's not here!" or "Claa-aa-aaas -- SHUUUUT UUUUP!" but there was only 75 minutes. Among the sorely missed bits was Tyrone Shoelaces belting out "Basketball Jones." It might have inspired a memorable sing-along judging from the fragrance wafting through the ornate home of the San Diego Symphony. It's hard to come away from this show with anything less than a satisfied smile. Well, and maybe a contact buzz.
 
RAPPER T.I., KATY PERRY LEAD U.S. SINGLES CHART [Reuters/Billboard, 11/14/08]
T.I.'s "Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna began a third non-consecutive week atop the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on Thursday, November 13, while the rapper's former chart-topper "Whatever You Like" held at No. 2. Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold" rose one place to a new high of No. 3 in its 15th week. Kanye West's "Heartless" opened big at No. 4, the fourth-highest new entry of the year. It's also the rapper's third top 5 debut this year. Beyonce's "If I Were a Boy" remained at No. 5, Pink's "So What" slid three to No. 6, and Britney Spears' "Womanizer" was down one to No. 7. Kevin Rudolf's "Let It Rock" featuring Lil Wayne dropped one to No. 8, and Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" traded places with Akon's "Right Now (Na Na Na)" with a 10-9 jump. Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" debuted at No. 12, giving the teen country star her fifth top 20 debut of 2008. That ties the all-time record for the number of top 20 debuts in a calendar year, set three months ago by the Jonas Brothers. Look for her second album, "Fearless," to debut at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 next week. Swift also had reason to celebrate on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, where "Love Story" jumped one place to No. 1, giving the singer her third No. 1 there. Paramore's "Decode" starts at No. 34 on the Hot 100, a career-best debut for the rock outfit. The track is the lead single from the "Twilight" soundtrack, which is the current Billboard 200 champ. On Billboard's rock charts, Metallica's "The Day That Never Comes" led the Mainstream Rock tally for a seventh week, while the Offspring's "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" was No. 1 on Modern Rock for an eighth.
 
KARDINAL OFFISHALL "NOT 4 SALE" ALBUM [Klassic Magazine, 9/4/08]
Kardinal Offishall fourth studio album "Not 4 Sale" (Kon Live/Geffen Records) will hit the market on September 9, 2008. The album includes the hit single "Dangerous" with collaborations on other tracks by T-Pain, Clipse, Estelle, Dream, Pussycat Dolls, Rihanna and many more. The tracklisting for "Not 4 Sale" is: Burnt featuring Lindo P; Set It Of featuring Clipse; Dangerous featuring Akon; Digital Motown featuring Jack Davey; Gimme Some featuring The Dream; Bad Like We Bad; Numba 1 (Tide Is High) featuring Rihanna; I’ll Eagle Alien; Nina; Go Home With You featuring T-Pain; I’m Goin In; Graveyard Shift featuring Akon; Family Tree featuring Glenn Lewis; Due Me A Favour featuring Estelle and Lighter! Kardinal and Akon will be appearing on The Jay Leno Show on September 8, 2008.
 
DAWN OF A NEW STAR: SHAWANDA WINS 5 ABORIGINAL MUSIC AWARDS [CBC, 11/30/08]
Country music sensation Crystal Shawanda led the field taking home five awards at Friday's, November 28 10th annual Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards in Toronto. The star-studded gala celebrating the best in aboriginal music featured performances by 7th Generation, Stevie Salas, Christa Coutoure and Buffy Sainte-Marie. Buffy Sainte-Marie was also recognized with the Lifetime Contribution to Aboriginal Music honour. But the evening belonged to Shawanda, the country artist from Wikwemikong reserve on Manitoulin Island, Ont., whose debut album Dawn of a New Day has been climbing country charts in Canada and the U.S. She won every award she was nominated for, including best female artist, best single and best video for her hit single You Can Let Go. "Dawn of a New Day" was named best country album and album of the year. Four artists were double winners, including Eagle and Hawk, who snagged best rock album and best group for Sirensong. Throat singer Tanya Tagaq, known for her groundbreaking collaboration with Kronos Quartet, won best female traditional and best album design for Auk-Blood. Mitch Daigneault of Regina was named best male artist and best songwriter for Driving All Night and Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk of Toronto, who captured the best fiddle and best instrumental album awards for Omeigwessi Reel Métis: A Tribute To Walter Fleet. Other winners included: Best Folk Album: Christa Couture, The Wedding Singer and The Undertaker • Best International Album: Stevie Salas, Be What It Is • Best Aboriginal Music Radio Program: Ray St. Germain, The Métis Hour • Best Television Program or Special: Winston Wuttunee, Kitohcikew "one who makes music" • Best Traditional Flute: Dallas Arcand, Picking Sweetgrass •Best Blues Album: Texas Meltdown, Feel The Heat • Best Pow Wow Album Contemporary: Northern Cree, Red Rock • Best Rap or Hip Hop Album: 7th Generation, 7th Generation • Best Pow Wow Album Traditional: Whitefish Bay Singers, Oshke Ye II • Best Hand Drum Album: Northern Cree & Friends, Dancin' Til Sunrise • Best Original Score in Aboriginal/Indigenous Theatre, Dance or Film/Video Production: Derek Miller, Good Looking • Best Rap or Hip Hop Music Video: Josh Hill, Chief, Big Boi Boppin.
 
WHAM "LAST CHRISTMAS" 'MOST PLAYED CHRISTMAS SONG' [BBC, 11/29/08]
Wham's Last Christmas is most played festive track of the last five years, according to the company that collects royalties for composers and musicians. The Performing Right Society puts the 1984 hit at the top of their chart of seasonal songs, just ahead of Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas. The Pogues come third with Fairytale of New York, recorded with the late Kirsty MacColl and first released in 1987. Other featured artists include Slade, Mariah Carey and Bruce Springsteen. Carey's song All I Want for Christmas is You comes fourth in the chart, just ahead of Springsteen's version of the popular standard Santa Claus is Coming to Town. The live recording, which took place at Long Island University in 1975, was originally the b-side to My Hometown and famously features the Boss bursting into laughter. Jona Lewie's 1980 single Stop the Cavalry comes sixth, despite not being originally conceived as a Christmas song. The anti-war song does, however, feature the line "wish I was at home for Christmas", while its brass band arrangement and chiming bells make it a common inclusion on Christmas playlists. Surprisingly, Wizzard's ubiquitous I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday and Slade's iconic Merry Xmas Everybody chart relatively low at seven and eight respectively. Mud's Lonely This Christmas comes ninth in the poll, one place ahead of White Christmas by Bing Crosby. The crooner's 1942 recording of the Irving Berlin song, which was originally featured in the film Holiday Inn, has sold at least 50 million copies, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The PRS collects royalties when songs are played on radio, TV, online and in public places and distributes them to its 60,000 members. Jona Lewie, who is finishing work on his third album, told the BBC News website he was still proud of his biggest hit and had not tired of hearing it on the radio. "The only time you might hear the song would be at Christmas, so that's not very often throughout the year," he said. Out of the other nine tracks on the list, he said his favourite was Fairytale of New York. He added: "I'd like to have seen Greg Lake's track [I Believe In Father Christmas] in there, and Elvis Presley's Santa Claus Is Back In Town - it would have been nice to get a bit of blues in there." 
 
'MTV STAYING ALIVE' PICKS UP "THE DIARY OF KELLY ROWLAND" [Aceshowbiz, 11/29/08]
Kelly Rowland takes part on MTV's AIDS awareness campaign. Recent reports have claimed that Rowland's video diary entitled "The Diary of Kelly Rowland" will be used by MTV to mark the 10th anniversary of its AIDS awareness campaign, known as "MTV Staying Alive". In the video, the Destiny's Child alum travels to South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and the United States to meet young people who are affected by HIV/AIDS and those trying to educate people about the risks. "The Diary of Kelly Rowland" can be watched at Staying Alive on December 1, 2008 which is World AIDS Day. In addition, MTV network has announced the 2009 ambassador of Staying Alive Foundation, that is the lead singer of hip-hop band Gym Class Heroes, Travis McCoy. "MTV Staying Alive" has been launched since 1998 and has worked together with celebrities, like Beyonce Knowles, Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige, and P. Diddy, to educate young people about the risks of HIV and AIDS and to encourage them to talk about it as well.
 
"MANIC STREET PREACHERS" PERFORMANCE AT THAI FESTIVAL CANCELLED [Aceshowbiz, 11/29/08]
Manic Street Preachers will not make a live appearance at "Bangkok 100 Rock Festival 2008" this weekend as the show has been pulled out by its promoter. "The festival in Bangkok the Manic Street Preachers were due to play on November 29th has been postponed by the promoter," a statement on the band's official website read. Citing "circumstances beyond our control" as the trigger of the cancellation, the band further wrote their deep regret. "The Manics deeply apologize to all their Thai fans. We hope to see you in future," they said. The promoter announced that due to the blockade of Suvarnabhumi Airport by anti-government protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy, they have to call off the concert. Other musicians who were also scheduled to perform at the event were Hoobastank, Melee, Ash, and Modern Dog. Beside announcing the gig pulling-off, the band also revealed that they have been lingering in the studio for their next album. "It's a record that celebrates the genius of his words, full of love, anger, intelligence and respect. We have to make this great," so they claimed. No fixed release date has been shared but they want to make it done in 2009. "We hope to release the record next April or May. The working titles are 'Journal for Plague Lovers' or 'I Know I Believe in Nothing but It Is My Nothing'," they explained.
 
"APRIL WINE" FRONTMAN HOSPITALIZED AFTER COLLAPSE [CBC, 11/29/08]
April Wine lead singer Myles Goodwin was hospitalized in Montreal on Friday, November 28 after he collapsed on his way to the airport. "He arrived at the airport, collapsed and hit his head," guitarist Brian Greenway, who was travelling with Goodwin, told CBC News. While Greenway said that his colleague appeared to be doing better after initial treatment and undergoing some tests, he added that they were still awaiting further details. "We'll have to wait and see what the doctors say." The band had been heading for Nova Scotia, where they were to play at a sold out concert marking the 25th anniversary of Halifax radio station Q104. The Canadian hard rockers, who originally got their start in Halifax, had been set to surprise fans by bringing original bandmembers Richie and David Henman onto the stage. The show will go on, however, with a tribute to April Wine. Halifax-area rocker Joel Plaskett has also been added to the performance lineup.
 
KINGS OF LEON'S TOUR REPORTEDLY IN JEOPARDY [Aceshowbiz, 11/29/08]
Kings of Leon's tour dates across U.K. and Australia are threatened as the band's members are reportedly in feud due to Caleb Followill's drinking habit. "The others have warned Caleb over and over again that they weren't happy about his drinking but he carried on regardless," a source told The Sun. In a further explanation, the source hinted that the rockers have been in dispute for many times but somehow managed to sort it out. The source said, "The lads have always fought but they usually sort it out the next morning. Things are completely different this time. The label is deeply concerned that if they don't sort out their differences the tour won't go ahead." In a separate occasion earlier, Jared Followill admitted that what put them into a battle was indeed Caleb's drinking habit. "The only time we fight is when Caleb's drunker than he's ever been so it's not really him. He wakes up and he doesn't remember any of it," he stated. Kings of Leon will kick off their tour on December 1 at The Brighton Centre in Brighton and continue the next day at Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, U.K. Several Australian and European dates have also been added to the band's calendar event. For more details on their tour, fans can log on to their official website.
 
BRITNEY COMEBACK REACHES GERMANY [BBC, 11/29/08]
Britney Spears has performed at an awards ceremony in Germany, where she was named best international pop star. The 26-year-old wore hot pants, fishnet tights and a black top hat as she took to the stage with new single Womanizer. She then collected her Bambi award from designer Karl Lagerfeld, who said she had come back "not only as a phoenix but as a bird of paradise." Her appearance at the Offenburg event comes ahead of her performance on Saturday's edition of The X Factor. Her latest album, Circus, is released in the UK on Monday, one day ahead of the singer's 27th birthday. Chart-topping singer Leona Lewis was among the other winners at Thursday's ceremony, picking up the Shooting Star prize. Hollywood stars Meg Ryan and Keanu Reeves were also honoured at the awards, which have been bestowed by the Hubert Burda Media group since 1948. The annual ceremony, it said, "honours people who have especially moved and elated the German audience with their vision and creativity". Last year's event in Dusseldorf saw Tom Cruise, Sophia Loren and Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria Parker walk away with distinctive deer-shaped statuettes. Earlier this week it was confirmed Spears will play two concerts in London next June as part of her forthcoming world tour.
 
CD OF SONGS BASED ON LATE POPE'S POEMS ON SALE [AP, 11/29/08]
A new album of songs based on poems by the late Pope John Paul II and performed by Placido Domingo goes on sale in Italy. The world famous tenor says the album "Amore Infinito" ("Infinite Love") will not just speak to the faithful. He says "these are songs for everyone." The 12-track record was presented Friday, November 28 at the Vatican. The CD features duets with Andrea Bocelli, Vanessa Williams and Katherine Jenkins. The lyrics are in Italian, English and Spanish. The Deutsche Grammophon record label says the CD will come out next month in Mexico, where Domingo grew up, and worldwide in January. John Paul published poems, plays and philosophical essays before he became pope. He died in 2005.
 
REFUNDS AVAILABLE FOR LIL WAYNE'S MAKEUP DATE IN ROCHESTER [Aceshowbiz, 11/28/08]
Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced that full refunds will be given for fans purchasing Lil Wayne's tickets for October 26 concert which had been re-scheduled for December 6 but later was once again canceled, giving fans no clue on the makeup date. "Both Blue Cross Arena and Lil Wayne's promoters are doing the right thing by refunding Rochester-area fans who purchased tickets to a performance that never took place," he said. Concertgoers seeking refunds are required to return their tickets to Blue Cross Arena box office on or before December 10. Meanwhile, those buying the tickets through Ticketmaster must contact the online ticket retailer directly for the full refund. Wayne was forced to postpone the re-scheduled date on December 6 because it clashes with his rehearsal time in anticipation of his upcoming U.S. tour. "Wayne offered the promoter, Ed Strickland, another date without penalty. Due to mandatory tour rehearsal for his upcoming 'I Am Music' tour the date had to be postponed again," Myiah Hughes, a spokesperson for the rapper explained. Despite twice postponing, Strickland is still "hoping to get a call any minute" from Wayne's management team. On the makeup date possibility, he added, "We're going to start fresh, with all new tickets. I'm thinking of the people." Lil Wayne's "I Am Music" tour will kick- off on December 14 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. It will continue with at least ten scheduled shows in December 2008 and two dates in January 2009. Some of the gigs will also be supported by guest appearances from Keyshia Cole, T-Pain, Gym Class Heroes, and Keri Hilson. They will rock out Lil Wayne's performances in Houston, Dallas, Oakland, Detroit, and Atlanta.
 
FUTURE OF PEMBERTON MUSIC FESTIVAL REMAINS UNCERTAIN: MAYOR [CBC, 11/28/08]
Organizers of the 2009 Pemberton Music Festival have cleared one hurdle, but the future of the event is still up in the air, according to town Mayor Jordan Sturdy. Promoter Live Nation refused to comment on the future of the festival when contacted by the CBC. On Wednesday, November 26 B.C.'s Agricultural Land Commission said it would allow Live Nation to use prime farmland for the festival site for the next three years. The ALC concluded the 40,000 people who attended last year's festival from July 25-27 did not damage the farmland it was held on. But on Thursday morning Sturdy said Live Nation has yet to decide if it will put on the event again in 2009 because of some of the problems the festival faced this past summer. Massive traffic jams on the Sea to Sky Highway forced people to wait for hours or sleep in their cars on the tarmac of the local airport that was being used as a parking lot — while waiting for shuttle buses to take them to the festival grounds. Sturdy said the community wants the event to continue because it was good for the town, but Live Nation wants to figure out a solution to the traffic problems before committing to next year. "In terms of bringing back the festival for 2009, the timing is tight. We recognize and identified a number of issues from the festival previously and they've committed to resolving those issues — traffic, recycling, security — this kind of thing," said Sturdy. Last year's three-day outdoor music festival featured 120 acts from around the world, including headliners Coldplay from the U.K.
 
CLIFF AND THE SHADOWS TO REUNITE FOR TOUR [BBC, 11/28/08]
Cliff Richard and The Shadows are to reunite for an arena tour in 2009 to celebrate their 50th anniversary. They dominated the charts in the late 1950s and 1960s and notched up 19 number one hits between them. Their hits included Move It, Living Doll and Travellin' Light. It will be the first time they have performed in concert together for 20 years. The group say it will be their final tour. Tickets for the 11 dates in autumn 2009 go on sale on Sunday. Initially formed as a backing band for Sir Cliff Richard, The Shadows were originally called The Drifters until finding out there was already a U.S band with the same name. The Shadows also appeared with him in films including The Young Ones and Summer Holiday. The line-up split in 1968 to pursue individual careers. The Shadows toured throughout the 1970s and 1980s while Sir Cliff achieved huge success as a solo star. Fans will be able to see Sir Cliff, Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett beginning September, 2009 at London O2 Arena and ending October, 2009 at Manchester Evening News Arena.
 
JASON PRIESTLEY READY TO KEEP GEMINIS ROLLING [CBC, 11/27/08]
As Canadian-born actor Jason Priestley prepares to host Friday night's, November 28 Gemini Awards, he plans to keep the show light and funny. "You've got to keep it funny, you've got to keep it moving, you've got to keep it light," he said Wednesday in an interview with CBC cultural affairs show Q. "I think we've all been forced to sit through enough of these awards ceremonies that are incredibly tedious and incredibly boring and incredibly self-important and, let's face it, downright boring and ass-numbing." The Vancouver native will be hosting the one-hour televised version of the awards show for the best in Canadian TV. He says he's relying on some talented comedy writers to help him make the awards gala entertaining. "One thing we're not short of here in Canada are great comedy writers, great comedians, so I lean on them quite heavily," he said. Up for grabs are awards for best TV drama, movie, comedy and miniseries, as well as best actor and actress honours. Priestley is shoehorning his hosting duties between directing assignments in Los Angeles, where he now tries to spend most of his time. He began directing while still playing the heartthrob Brandon Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210, a role he refers to as "the social conscience of America. "I think I just wanted to be in control of what was going on; I just saw how things could spiral out of control. All of a sudden someone would be in a coma and their twin brother would show up. [I'd be saying] Hey guys, wait a minute. What are we doing here?" he said. "I was trying to fight the good fight for the show and our characters and I didn't want the show to spiral out of control and become a daytime soap opera." Priestley is still spending a lot of time in front of the camera, in Canadian productions such as Hockeyville, Luna: Spirit of the Whale and American series such as My Name is Earl and Medium. But he's also directed episodes of The Secret Life of the American Teenager and 7th Heaven, and is slated to direct an upcoming episode of the new 90210. "These days I sort of split my time 50/50. That's by choice. I turn down a lot of acting roles because I want to stay home with my daughter," he says. His daughter, with wife Naomi Lowde, is 17 months. Also presenting at the Gemini Awards is Shenae Grimes, another Canadian who stars on the current 90210 series. The awards air at 8 p.m. ET on Friday.
 
"NO DOUBT" TO HEADLINE BAMBOOZLE FESTIVAL [Aceshowbiz, 11/27/08]
No Doubt have been confirmed to perform as a headlining act at Bamboozle Festival. They will be playing at the event taking place at Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New York on May 3, 2009. In addition to No Doubt's live appearance, the Live Nation-promoted festival will also line up Fall Out Boy as another musical guest. The band, fronted by Patrick Stump, will perform on May 2, 2009, one day before No Doubt take the show's stage. Previously, during a humorous chat, No Doubt hinted a possible comeback in 2009, plotting to hit the road and enter the recording room. "I think playing some shows will make the studio time event better, playing songs, writing songs, kicking ass, ND 2009," bass guitarist Tony Kanal said.
 
SOUTH AFRICA'S STARS JOIN FIGHT AGAINST CRIME [BBC, 11/26/08]
Some of South Africa's most popular singers have produced an album to help tackle the country's high rates of violent crime. The album, called Take Charge, encourages people to report criminals in their neighbourhoods to the police. "Politicians don't like to admit it but art has a broader and deeper reach than political rhetoric," said Gauteng's provincial minister Firoz Cachalia. Nearly 20,000 people died as a result of violent crime last year. The album is dedicated to Lucky Dube, the South African reggae singer gunned down in a carjacking last year. "This song is going to be heard by millions," Mr Cachalia said. It features South African household names like Deborah Frazer, Steve Kekana and Ihashi Elimhlophe. Singer Maduvha Madima told the BBC that people had to take some responsibility for clearing up the country's crime problem. "Everyone knows the thugs in their communities, but no-one is willing to expose them," she said. "Each and every one of us has to take an initiative." But the BBC's Mpho Lakaje says members of the public at the launch in Johannesburg on Monday, November 24 were sceptical about the message. People still want the government to step up and fulfill their responsibilities, our correspondent says. South Africa is to hold the World Cup in 2010, and the government is afraid visitors will be scared off by the high crime rate. 
 
SWIZZ BEATZ SUBMITS FIVE SONGS FOR EMINEM'S "RELAPSE" [E! Online, 11/26/08]
During an interview at one of the fundraiser events in the Big Apple, Swizz Beatz revealed that he has submitted five songs to Eminem for his sixth major studio album "Relapse". Noting that one of them is a track which features 50 Cent and Dr. Dre, Swizz refused to share further. "I don't know the title yet, but it's classic. It's sounding big," he told MTV. However, in a further statement, Swizz managed to give a peek at another song that he worked on. "You know how 'Stan' ... was the big [song]?" he asked, referring to Dido-featuring single from Eminem's 2000 "The Marshall Mathers LP". "So I worked on part 2, and I think it was, like, totally genius."
 
"PLATINUM BLONDE" BASSIST KENNY MacLEAN DIES [CBC, 11/26/08]
Kenny MacLean of the 1980s band Platinum Blonde has died in Toronto. The 52-year-old bassist was found in his apartment-recording studio. MacLean had just released his third solo album, Completely, last Friday, November 21 at a club in the city. "This is devastating," Mark Holmes, former lead singer of Platinum Blonde, told the Toronto Star. Holmes performed with his old friend Friday night at the Mod Club. "He was incredibly happy – everything was going well for him." According to the Star, MacLean's sister Pamela had been unable to contact the musician and decided to get the landlord to let her into his studio and living quarters on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto. Pamela found her brother collapsed in the bathroom with the tap running, Holmes said. MacLean had another home in the city, but likely stayed at the studio after the Friday night party. The cause of death is not yet known, but police say they are not treating MacLean's death as suspicious. Platinum Blonde, a New Wave band that sported big hair and synthesized sounds, hit it big with singles such as Crying Over You, Standing in the Dark and It Doesn't Really Matter. Guitarist Sergio Galli and drummer Chris Stefller were also band members. The band broke up in 1991.
 
"NOAH AND THE WHALE" SCRAP TOUR DATES FOR RECORDING NEXT LP [Aceshowbiz, 11/26/08]
Noah and the Whale announce that they have to pull out several North American tour dates because they want to focus on recording new songs for their next album. "It is with no little remorse and disappointment that we are compelled to cancel these dates. These words are being typed in the studio as we make progress on the next Noah and the Whale album," they wrote on their MySpace page. "We would like to apologize to all the wonderful friends we made on our most recent American adventure, to anyone who has bought tickets or was preparing to do so," the band explained. "The whole band enjoys an ongoing love affair with the U.S. The autumn tour was one of the most intense and heartening experiences of our lives ... but there is simply not enough time in the world and we are sure that this next record will justify this difficult call." Furthermore, the rockers also promise to hit the road again once their not-yet-titled LP is finished. "With new songs to disseminate and even more America-famished, we will cross the pond to tour across the continent from March 2009. This is a promise, a published, globally-viewable promise," they shared. Noah and the Whale released their debut album "Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down" on September 16, 2008. The album reached number 32 on Irish Albums chart.
 
JONAS BROTHERS DO MAYER, MARLEY AND THE BEATLES [E! Online, 11/26/08]
The Jonas Brothers keep going...and going...and going. Fresh from the American Music Awards, where they were named Favorite Breakthrough Artist and performed "Tonight",  the trio capped off the festivities with a free three-hour 24-song concert at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip. They decided to put together the gig at the last minute on Saturday, November 22, their rep tells me. After promoting it on the radio and their MySpace page, about 1,000 fans were already lined up several hours before Kevin, Joe and Nick even arrived. And the fans got more than just the trio performing all of their hit songs. Read on for all the details... They covered John Mayer's "Gravity," Tom Petty's "Freefallin'" and Bob Marley's "Waiting in Vain." They even covered their hip-hop hero Kanye West's "Heartless." Then there were the surprise guests. Their Camp Rock costar Demi Lovato jumped on stage to sing some of her singles with the brothers and also John Mayer's "Daughters." Jordin Sparks was a showstopper when she joined them for Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." Jesse McCartney was also a performer with his hit, "Leavin'." The most interesting pairing? The JoBros and Dan Aykroyd covering the 1956 Bo Diddley hit "Who Do You Love?" The show ended shortly after midnight with all the performers back on stage for the Beatles' "Hey Jude."
 
NEGOTIATIONS TO PUT BEATLES ON iTUNES STALLED [AP, 11/26/08]
Paul McCartney says negotiations on a long-awaited deal to make the Beatles' catalog available on the online music service iTunes have stalled. "The last word I got back was it's stalled at the whole moment, the whole process," the former Beatle said Monday, November 24. "I really hope it will happen because I think it should." McCartney, who was speaking at the launch of his new album, Electric Arguments, added: "It's between EMI and the Beatles, I think." The band's holding company, Apple Corps Ltd., has so far declined to allow the Fab Four's music on any Internet music service, including iTunes. The situation has been exacerbated by a long-running trademark dispute between Apple Corps and Apple Inc., which owns iTunes — a dispute that was resolved last year. Record label EMI, which owns the Beatles recordings but needs Apple Corps' permission to release the music in new formats, said it was still trying to resolve the matter. An EMI spokeswoman said: "We have been working hard to secure agreement with Apple Corps. to make the Beatles' legendary recording catalog available to fans in digital form. Unfortunately the various parties involved have been unable to reach agreement but we really hope everyone can make progress soon." The spokeswoman spoke on condition of anonymity in line with company policy. Apple Inc. was not immediately available for comment.
 
BRITAIN DOMINATES INTERNATIONAL EMMYS [Reuters, 11/26/08]
British programming dominated the International Emmys on Monday, November 24, while Argentina and Jordan marked their first Emmy victories. Argentina took home one of the 36th annual awards' top prizes, for best TV movies or mini-series, for "Television Por La Identidad," which tells of the country's "disappeared" pregnant women from 1976 to 1983, and their subsequent search for their children. British productions won most other competitive categories, continuing a pattern of recent years, led by David Suchet and Lucy Cohu who won the top acting honors. Suchet won for his performance as the crumbling media mogul Robert Maxwell in the BBC's "Maxwell," while Cohu won for "Forgiven" as a suburban housewife who discovers her husband is sexually abusing their daughter. Britain's virtual sweep also included best comedy for Channel 4's "The I.T. Crowd," best drama series for "Life on Mars" and the arts programing Emmy for Channel 4's "Strictly Bolshoi." "Shaun the Sheep" won for best children's and young people's programming. Mountaineering tragedy "The Beckoning Silence" was named best documentary. The Founders Award was presented to Dick Wolf, creator of the long-running and prolific "Law & Order" franchise, which has recently spawned "Law & Order: London." Liu Changle, the catalyst behind the Hong Kong-based global multimedia empire Phoenix Satellite Television, received the Directorate Award. Jordan won the first-ever telenovela Emmy for "The Invasion Igtiyah," a love story set amid the Israeli military's 2002 operations into West Bank cities. The Emmy for best non-scripted, or reality show, went to The Netherlands' "The Big Donor Show," a controversial program based on a hoax about people vying for a dying woman's donated kidney. The woman was not really dying and the program was aimed at pointing out problems with organ donation laws.
 
MISSING "MANIC STREET PREACHERS" GUITARIST 'PRESUMED DEAD' [BBC, 11/25/08]
Missing Manic Street Preachers guitarist and lyricist Richey Edwards has been declared as presumed dead, a spokeswoman for the band has said. The musician from Blackwood, south Wales, disappeared nearly 14 years ago. Despite alleged sightings all over the world many believe Edwards, whose car was found near the Severn Bridge, took his own life at the age of 27. His parents Graham and Sherry Edwards have been granted a court order for him to be declared presumed dead. Edwards' father said he did not wish to comment on the matter.  The band's publicist Terri Hall said the move was "hugely emotional" for remaining band members James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore. The band are unavailable for comment as they are currently abroad, she said. She told the Mail on Sunday: "This is the parents' choice and the band is happy to go with what the parents decide is best. "We all dream Richey will come back one day. You hope he is still around somewhere."  Edwards, whose unused lyrics for the band are set to be used in new Manics material due for release next year, was last seen in London on 1 February 1995. It is believed Edwards returned to his Cardiff flat, but then drove to the original Severn Bridge where his car was later found.
 
NO DOUBT" TO RETURN FOR 2009 TOUR [BBC, 11/25/08]
U.S group No Doubt are to reform for a tour in 2009 as they put the finishing touches to their first studio album in seven years. The group, led by Gwen Stefani, revealed the tour plans in a live chat on their website. Stefani said it would be "so inspiring to get out there and play all those songs again". The group have not played live since 2004 and their last studio album was 2001's Rock Steady. "I have cabin fever. Maybe we should play some shows or something," guitarist Tom Dumont said in the conversation. Stefani answered: "I think we should go out now. I don't think we should wait. Pack up the babies and get a bunch of nannies." No Doubt have been in the studio on and off throughout 2008, but Stefani's participation has been limited since giving birth to her second son in August. Since the group's last album, Stefani has released two critically-acclaimed solo albums, while the other members have pursued solo and session work as well as producing.
 
JONAS BROTHERS WANNA MAKE MUSIC WITH KANYE [E! Online, 11/25/08]
The Jonas Brothers want to work with Elvis—the wannabe Elvis, that is. Nick Jonas revealed at yesterday's American Music Awards that he and his singing siblings think they may have a future in hip-hop. "We think Kanye [West]'s new record sounded really cool, so that's someone," Nick said when asked who they'd like to team up with. But Nick doesn't want to rush into things. "Usually it's cool to get to know somebody as a friend before forming a work relationship with them," he said. But if Kanye doesn't pan out, there's someone else waiting in the wings. Read on to find out who... R&;B crooner J.Holiday is open to working with the Disney trio. "You might see me on a surprise [track] with the Jonas Brothers," the "Bed" hitmaker said, explaining, "I listen to all types of genres of music. I don't think you should ever be pigeonholed or held in a box." And speaking of collaborations, American Idol winner, David Cook, says Sarah McLachlan is on the top of his list. "I'm a huge fan of hers," Cook said on the red carpet before the show. "I think we could do something very cool." He continued, "I think she's here tonight. Maybe I'll have to give her an elbow nudge or something." No word if he ever got a nudge in.
 
WELSH MUSICIAN GOES SOLO TO MAKE "MOOD" MUSIC [Reuters, 11/25/08]
Geraint Watkins, a much respected keyboardist, has spent much of his career in the supporting cast. After playing sessions and shows with Van Morrison, Eric Clapton and Nick Lowe, the 57-year-old Welsh musician is taking center stage with his third solo album, "In a Bad Mood." The diverse set, from Goldtop Recordings/Jungle Records, displays Watkins' love for vintage R&B but also features surprising sorties into chanson and cajun. The album received a low-key release in September and has been gaining attention since then through Watkins' appearances on BBC 2's "Later ... With Jools Holland" series, live BBC radio sessions and a spot on Bob Dylan's syndicated "Theme Time Radio Hour" satellite radio show. "I've been really pleased with the reaction," Watkins says. "I don't think it's what people who know me would expect in the main, so I'm quite relieved and flattered that it's been given the thumbs-up." Gold Top/Jungle is distributed in the United Kingdom via SRD, and "Mood" is available internationally through licensing agreements in individual territories. Talks are under way with possible U.S. licensees.
 
ON-THE-SET OF BEYONCE KNOWLES "DIVA" MUSIC VIDEO [Aceshowbiz, 11/25/08]
On November 22, Beyonce Knowles filmed a music video in support of her new song "Diva" in downtown Los Angeles. She was seen donning a biker jacket and a unique pair of glasses. On one of the video scenes, she blew up a car next to her by throwing a cigar onto the car. "Diva" is a song produced by Beyonce herself teaming up with Sean Garrett, the same man who helped Chris Brown making single "Run It!". The track appears on the second disc of her third solo studio album "I Am...Sasha Fierce", which has been in the U.S. stores since November 18. In related news, Beyonce Knowles took the stage of 2008 American Music Awards at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre on November 23 and performed "Single Ladies" with several backing dancers. At the show, she was joined by other performers including Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Rihanna and many else. Behind-the-scenes photos of Beyonce Knowles shooting "Diva" music video can be found on Just Jared.
 
MEET RAY MORRISSEY, BRITAIN'S BIGGEST GIGAHOLIC [BBC, 11/25/08]
After more than 5,000 gigs over 35 years, rock fan Ray Morrissey can claim to be Britain's most prolific concert-goer. On piles of notebook pages in Mr. Morrissey's front room, thousands of gigs are listed, one per line, all with a mark out of 10 circled at the end. And stacks of diaries have more details of the shows, three or four a week - what they were like, what they played, who was there. It is a personal history of British music, documenting the hazy glory of rock 'n' roll superstars and long-forgotten bands alike in meticulous, matter-of-fact detail. A few years ago, he spent six months putting most of the information onto his personal website. The 49-year-old started going to gigs in 1973, when he would sneak into his local venue, the Hammersmith Odeon, now the Apollo, without paying. His first gig there was Mott the Hoople, supported by an up-and-coming Queen. "I remember Freddie Mercury's big teeth more than anything," Mr Morrissey says. But he was hooked when punk came along. In 1976, hearing that two older boys from his school had formed a band, he went to check them out. They were called The Sex Pistols. "It wasn't a gig as such, it was a nightclub and the band came on at midnight," he says of the show at the Sundown Club, now the Astoria 2 (he gave it nine out of 10). "The greatest day in live music ever," he declared about Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in 1985 (10/10). "Noel stopped Wonderwall after two lines because he did not want any fans singing along to it," he wrote after seeing Oasis in Brighton in 2002 (9.5/10). "One of the greatest gigs of all time," he declared after seeing The Sex Pistols again at the Notre Dame Club off Leicester Square in November 1976 (10/10). Snapshots from the front of that gig were featured on a poster for The Sex Pistols' Pretty Vacant single, which Mr.  Morrissey proudly displays. He has also met Mick Jagger and Madonna and was at AC/DC's second UK gig at the long-gone Nashville Rooms in Fulham in April 1976 (9.5/10) - the first of 36 times he has seen the band. He made it into the hugely over-subscribed Led Zeppelin reunion at the O2 last year as a guest of one of the Sex Pistols, and is London correspondent for a Sex Pistols website. "Live music's bigger than ever - there's more bands, more festivals, more gigs generally," he says. "So long as they've got quality gigs, I'll be making an effort. I don't like to miss out."
 
KANYE WEST, RIHANNA, CHRIS BROWN EARLY AMA WINNERS [AP, 11/24/08]
Kanye West's reason for throwing a tantrum was removed early Sunday night, November 23 as the rapper won his first American Music Awards. His CD, "Graduation," won favorite rap/hip-hop album. If he was humbled by his win, he didn't show it in his grandiose acceptance speech. "I'd like to thank everyone who accepted me trying to break new boundaries in music," said West. "It's our responsibility as musicians to keep pushing each other. ... We will be the new Beatles, the new (Jimi) Hendrix. I want to be Elvis." He also won favorite rap/hip-hop male, but in generous mood, he said he would give his trophy to best-selling rapper and fellow nominee Lil Wayne. "If it was last year, it would have been my award," he said. Four years ago, West threw one of his first awards-show tantrums when Gretchen Wilson beat him for favorite new artist, beginning what has become somewhat of a tradition at awards shows — the Kanye outburst. West was also set to take the stage to perform a song of his new CD, "808s & Heartbreak," during the performance-packed show, which featured sets by Miley Cyrus, Ne-Yo. The American Music Awards traditionally centers on its performances, and it featured high energy sets from Ne-Yo and Miley Cyrus, though a pair of lackluster medleys opened the program at the Nokia Theatre. Christina Aguilera channeled Madonna and the New Kids on the Block channeled an earlier version of themselves as each sang their latest singles and greatest hits. Pink, whose new track, "Sober," was awkwardly introduced by slurring rocker Scott Weiland. Musical lovebirds Rihanna and Chris Brown captured the first two trophies of the night: she won favorite female soul/R&B artist and he won favorite male pop/rock artist. Rihanna also won for favorite pop/rock female. Alicia Keys, who led the nominees with five nods, including artist of the year and favorite female artist in both the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories, won early in the show: favorite pop/rock album for "As I Am." Other early winners included Brad Paisley, for favorite country artist, Taylor Swift for favorite female country act, and Rascal Flatts for favorite country favorite band, duo or group. Jimmy Kimmel returned for a fifth time as host of the three-hour show, broadcast live on ABC, poking fun at the celebrity-filled crowd during his opening monologue. Other performers included Coldplay.
 
CHRIS BROWN WANTS TO DUET WITH MADONNA ON NEW CD [AP, 11/24/08]
Chris Brown wants Madonna on his next album. The 19-year-old crooner says the Material Girl would be his dream duet for a track on his upcoming CD "Graffiti," which is due out next year. He says he'd also love to work with Coldplay. He's collaborated with Jordin Sparks, David Banner and girlfriend Rihanna in the past. Brown predicts that "Graffiti" will be a bigger project for him. Speaking from the red carpet at the American Music Awards, the platinum-selling R&B star said: "It's going to be my stepping stone from Chris Brown to superstar." If he's not there yet, he's close. Brown took home the most trophies at the Sunday awards show: He won artist of the year, favorite pop-rock and soul-R&B male artist while his gal pal Rihanna won favorite pop-rock and soul-R&B female artist awards.
 
MTV HOLDS ITS FIRST AFRICAN MUSIC AWARDS [AP, 11/23/08]
Two Nigerian singers won top awards Saturday, November 22 as MTV held its first-ever music award program for Africa, with acts from across the world's poorest continent being nominated for prizes. Nigerian singer D'banj won the artist of the year award, while his compatriot, Naeto C, took the laurels for the best new African act, it was announced at the ceremony in Abuja, Nigeria's capital. Winners were selected by fans sending text messages, said Alison Reid, a spokeswoman for MTV Networks Africa. Africa has long featured a vibrant music scene, but artists have had difficulties breaking into overseas markets. Famous African artists include Senegal's Youssou N'dour, Nigerian legend Fela Kuti and South African impresario Miriam Makeba, who died this month. MTV hopes the awards can offer the artists more exposure and celebrate the continent's artistry. Performers from South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Gabon and others also were nominated. Songs by D'banj and Naeto C, both male, are all but ubiquitous on the radio in Nigeria, Africa's most-populous nation of 140 million people. Since independence movements swept the continent in the 1960s, African music also has increasingly been open to outside influence, incorporating salsa rhythms, rock beats and, increasingly, hip hop and R&B styles. MTV's regional music channel MTV Base now reaches almost 50 million African viewers in 48 countries through a network of pay-per-view services and partnerships with domestic channels.
 
DITA VON TEESE FILES SUIT FOR ILLEGAL IMAGE [E! Online, 11/23/08]
Burlesque bombshell Dita Von Teese is fighting her demons. The 36-year-old model and actress has filed a federal lawsuit against a company that put her photo on a book cover without permission. Von Teese is seeking unspecified damages against Macmillan Publishers, which printed Patti O'Shea's In Twilight's Shadow, a paranormal romance novel about demon hunting. The papers filed on Friday, November 21 claim that Dita's face is "a valuable and integral portion of her celebrity persona" and that the company "commercially exploited her image and likeness to their own gain." Von Teese is also suing the photo agency that provided the image.
 
TENOR'S MET OPERA FEAT: 2 MAJOR ROLES IN A DAY [AP, 11/23/08]
Italian tenor Marcello Giordani has pulled off the rare feat of singing two major roles in a single day at New York's Metropolitan Opera. Giordani performed the title role in Berlioz's "La Damnation de Faust" during a matinee Saturday, November 22. A few hours later he sang the leading tenor role of Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton in "Madama Butterfly." He replaced a sick colleague. Most singers perform only two or three times a week. The Met says only a handful have tackled two leading roles in a day for the renowned company. General manager Peter Gelb calls Giordani the "Iron Man of tenors."
 
NEWMAN'S WILL INCLUDES WIFE, FOUNDATION; CARS SOLD [AP, 11/23/08]
Paul Newman has left the assets to his wife, the Oscars to his foundation and the race cars to the highest bidder. A will made public this week shows that Newman, who died in September, left his personal property, including real estate, to Joanne Woodward. The 10-time Academy Award nominee, who won one Oscar and took home two honorary ones, left those statues and other awards to the Newman's Own Foundation. Interest in Newman's Own and Salad King also went to the foundation, which will distribute all profits to charity. The will also directed that his airplane and race cars be sold, with proceeds going to his estate. Signed April 11, Newman's will was filed in Connecticut and was first reported by radaronline.com.
 
INDIAN AND INTERNATIONAL CELEBS TO TAKE THE STAGE FOR "LIVE EARTH INDIA" [CBC, 11/22/08]
A constellation of Indian stars will come out for the upcoming Live Earth India concert next month, joined by a handful of international celebrities also set to take the stage at the eco-minded fundraiser. Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, one of the previously announced headliners, will bring along his son Abihshek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to the Mumbai event on Dec. 7, 2008. Other South Asian stars slated for the concert include rapper Hard Kaur and actors Preity Zinta and Hrithik Roshan. American pop-rock star John Bon Jovi, also previously announced for the lineup, headlines a list of international recording acts taking part in the Indian showcase. Others taking part include producer and Black Eyed Peas member Will.I.Am., sitar player Anoushka Shankar and Pink Floyd's Roger Waters. Al Gore, who co-founded the Live Earth initiative with Kevin Wall, is also slated to make an appearance and deliver a message. The concert, designed to inspire India to take a lead role in combatting climate change and raise funds for renewable energy projects, will be carried by a host of TV and radio stations around the globe and streamed online. The initial Live Earth event, which took place in July 2007, raised awareness of global warming through a series of concerts held on seven continents over 24 hours.
 
LIL WAYNE'S NORTH AMERICA TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED [Aceshowbiz, 11/22/08]
Rapper Lil Wayne has mapped a series of a roadshow across North America. The gigs are held to continue promoting his sixth studio album "Tha Carter III" which has come out since June 2008. The tour will be started on December 6 in Rochester, New York as a re-scheduling date for his previously-postponed concert on October 26 at Blue Cross Arena. After the makeup date, there are at least eleven scheduled shows in December 2008 and two dates in January 2009. Some of the gigs will also be supported by guest appearances from Keyshia Cole, T-Pain, Gym Class Heroes, and Keri Hilson. They will rock out Lil Wayne's performances in Houston, Dallas, Oakland, Detroit, and Atlanta.
 
SARAH McLACHLAN, LOVERBOY TO BE HONOURED AT JUNOS [CBC, 11/22/08]
Lilith Fair founder and charitable campaigner Sarah McLachlan has been named winner of the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award to be presented at the Juno Awards gala in March, 2009. It is the fourth time the award, for an artist whose "humanitarian contributions have positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada" has been given. The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), which hosts the Junos, also announced Thursday, November 20 that '80s rock band Loverboy would be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The band that created Turn Me Loose and This Could Be the Night was formed in Calgary in 1980 and is now based in Vancouver. Members include Mike Reno on lead vocals, guitarist Paul Dean, bassist Scott Smith, keyboard player Doug Johnson on keyboards and Matt Frenette on drums. Smith died in 2000 after being knocked off a sailboat. McLachlan, best known for her hit Angel, has had a 20-year career as a singer-songwriter and is an eight-time Juno Award winner. She also earned Grammy Awards for Building a Mystery, Last Dance and I Will Remember You. She is widely recognized for founding Lilith Fair, a tour headlined by all female artists that raised money for charities and women's shelters across North America. Lilith Fair ran for three years and was considered ground-breaking for its role in promoting women in music. Her Sarah McLachlan Foundation supports music education among young Canadians and has established a Vancouver program to provide music lessons to disadvantaged children. In 2004, McLachlan and director Sophie Muller created fund-raising video World on Fire, designed to raise awareness about the need for global aid. She also has been involved with music education charity MusiCounts, global charity Free the Children, and the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Previous winners of the Allan Waters Award, named for the CHUM Ltd. founder, include Paul Brandt, Bruce Cockburn and Tom Jackson. The Juno gala is March 28, 2009.
 
PROMOTER SOUGHT TO CANCEL ALANIS CONCERT [CBC, 11/22/08]
The promoter of this fall's Alanis Morissette concert on P.E.I. wanted to cancel in the face of poor ticket sales, but the province offered a $300,000 loan to ensure it went ahead. Tourism Minister Valerie Docherty admitted in question period Thursday, November 20 that the promoter was looking to cancel. It also appears that the loan was not first approved by Treasury Board and the promoter didn't provide any personal guarantee. The loan is being written off. "Alanis Morissette, she certainly had a very famous song. It was called Hand in my Pocket. Well I'm certainly sure somebody had their hand in their pocket on this one," Progressive Conservative MLA Mike Currie said in the house. Docherty responded the province had a great deal to lose and nothing to gain by allowing the concert to be cancelled, noting the artists and equipment had already been paid for. "For Prince Edward Island to back down on an advertised concert, whether or not we sold the 3,000 or the 10,000 tickets we intended, it would be the last time P.E.I. would host a concert," she said. This year's failure followed two years of successful concerts, one by the Black Eyed Peas in 2006 and another by Aerosmith in 2007. Those concerts were held in Charlottetown in the summer, and put together by a different promoter. This year's concert was held on Sept. 13 in Alexandra, east of Charlottetown, with about 3,000 people attending. David Carver, promoter of the 2006 and 2007 events, wanted to bring Van Halen to Charlottetown in August but Docherty turned it down, saying $4 million was too much money to spend for a time when the province was likely to be full of tourists anyway. She wanted a show in the shoulder season. Docherty said she's bringing in new guidelines so taxpayers won't have to put their hands in their pockets to pay for another flop.
 
THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS "LONELY ROAD" [Aceshowbiz, 11/21/08]
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus have completed recording their sophomore major-label studio album "Lonely Road" and plan to drop it across U.S. on February 3, 2009 through Virgin Records. The effort is aimed to follow up their 2006 debut LP "Don't You Fake It", which has scanned more than a million copies in the U.S. Eleven new songs, including singles "You Better Pray" and "No Spell", have been confirmed to appear on the forthcoming LP. Prior to the release of "Lonely Road", "You Better Pray" has hit radio airplays. Alongside a fan's only studio demo for song "Pen and Paper", the single is available for stream on their official website and their MySpace page. "We're really psyched about these tracks and the new record and hope you are, too," proclaims lead vocalist Ronnie Winter. "Just like 'Don't You Fake It', you can be sure 'Lonely Road' will tie together these and a bunch of other sounds in a classic, but new-and-improved RJA-sounding way." To mark the album's release, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus will embark on a headlining, international tour, starting on December 6 at the 97X Next Big Thing 8 in Tampa, Florida. They will then be heading to a number of South East Asian countries in late February and March including Australian dates in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth.
 
KRAFTWERK SAMPLE CASE OVERTURNED [BBC, 11/21/08]
A court in Germany has told electronic band Kraftwerk that a producer who sampled one of their songs was not violating copyright. The ruling overturns an earlier decision against Moses Pelham's use of a short sample from Metal on Metal. Judges in Berlin said the two second extract did not infringe copyright, as his song was substantially different. The move will come as a blow to artists who object to rivals using samples of their work to create new songs. Kraftwerk's case was originally heard in a state court in Hamburg. It ruled in Kraftwerk's favour and said reusing even the shortest bit of a song infringed copyright. In light of today's ruling, the Hamburg court will now have to take up the case again. The Kraftwerk sample appeared in the rhythm section of a song Pelham produced for German rapper Sabrina Setlur in 1997.
 
TRAVIS ACCIDENT TRIGGERS BLINK-182 REUNION... OFFSTAGE [E! Online, 11/21/08]
Former Blink-182 bassist-vocalist Mark Hoppus has offered a wink to fans hopeful for a comeback. In his first blog entry since drummer Travis Barker's fateful plane crash two months ago, Hoppus admits that the erstwhile trio—including guitarist-vocalist Tom Delonge—have been communicating...and even hanging out. "In the midst of everything else that has happened lately, Tom, Travis and I have all spoken together," he writes. "First through a number of phone calls, and then a couple of weeks ago we all hung out for a few hours." While Hoppus admits they have been "positive conversations" and calls it "a good thing," he refuses to predict a reunion. "None of us know. We haven't talked about it at all...The events of the past two months supersede everything that happened before. Life is too short." The threesome went on "indefinite hiatus" in February 2005. Hoppus and Barker most recently collaborated on the band +44.
 
BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF JOHN LEGEND'S "EVERYBODY KNOWS" VIDEO [Aceshowbiz, 11/21/08]
A look at John Legend's music video to promote his new song "Everybody Knows" has been provided through a behind-the-scenes footage on the set of the video shoot. The scenes in the video are divided into three, rooftop, park, and bar. On "Park Scene", he is seen walking down the sidewalk during a rainy day. "Everybody Knows" is a new single written by a team comprising of John Stephens, Kawan Prather, James Ho, and Terrence Smith. The track appears on John's third studio album "Evolver" which has been in the U.S. stores since October 28 through Columbia Records. "I think it's hard to find a general theme [for the album]. It's a lot of love and relationship songs, as people probably would expect from me," John said commenting on the theme brought by the record. "There's not an overarching lyrical theme that goes throughout. It's just a bunch of good songs, I think."
 
BON JOVI TO HEADLINE "LIVE EARTH" [BBC, 11/21/08]
Bon Jovi and Pink Floyd's Roger Waters are among the stars set to headline a Live Earth concert in India next month. The event's founder, former U.S Vice President Al Gore, will also be on hand to talk about climate issues. Other stars attending include Bollywood's Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and the Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am. The concert takes place on 7 December in Mumbai - the sole venue for the event. Nine cities hosted the first Live Earth concerts in 2007. Stars from around the world took part in concerts in cities including London, Johannesburg and Toyko on 7 July last year to highlight global warming. Money raised from this year's concert will be donated to Climate Project India to help fund their educational programs and renewable energy projects. Money will also go to TERI's Light a Billion Lives campaign which provides solar lighting to rural homes without electricity.
 
BRITNEY SPEARS' CONCERT DATE REVEALED [Aceshowbiz, 11/21/08]
One of Britney Spears' concert dates has been uncovered. She has been listed on a calendar event of Rosemont Convention & Tourism Bureau as one of the singers who will hold a concert at Allstate Arena in Chicago. According to the venue site, Britney will make a live appearance on March 30, 2009 starting at 7:30 P.M. Tickets for the gig will start to go on sale beginning December 6, 2008. Other artists who will also rock the venue are Metallica and Slipknot. While Metallica is set for a January 26 show, Slipknot will play four days later on January 30, 2009. Britney Spears is confirmed to attend "Christmas in Rockefeller Center". She will be at Rockefeller Center's Art Deco plaza in the heart of Manhattan on December 3 joining other stars including Beyonce Knowles, David Cook, Jonas Brothers, Faith Hill, Tony Bennett, Harry Connick Jr., Rosie O'Donnell, Rascal Flatts, and Solange Knowles among others.
 
AUBREY O'DAY PREPARING HERSELF FOR SOLO ALBUM [Aceshowbiz, 11/21/08]
During an interview at Karu & Y nightclub in Miami with DJ Short-E for a so-called "The Short-E Show", Danity Kane's former member Aubrey O'Day revealed about her plan on a solo album. "I'm working on my solo album right now ..." she said. Without elaborating on her statement, the 24-year-old singer shared that "a big announcement is coming out in the beginning of year". When pursued further, she stated, "I'm not gonna leak anything right now, It's still really new. I'm just really making sure that it's amazing. It really stand for what I'm before ..." Previously, Aubrey O'Day was booted out of Danity Kane by P. Diddy during the finale of MTV's "Making the Band 4". One of the band's members Richard Dawn said the reason behind his decision was the fact that he "did not like [O'Day's] image ... where her image was going for the group."
 
HARK! COLBERT SINGS IN NEW CHRISTMAS SPECIAL [AP, 11/20/08]
The permanently suit-clad Stephen Colbert has traded in his pinstripes for a cardigan sweater, red turtleneck and furry boots. Following the tradition of Andy Williams and Bing Crosby, Colbert hosts his own holiday special in "A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All." The hour-long special airs Sunday at 10 p.m. EST on Comedy Central, and will on Tuesday be released as a DVD, complete with a Yule log of burning books. Clearly in the Christmas spirit, at the first mention of old holiday specials, Colbert launches into renditions of Williams' "Little Altar Boy" and Crosby and David Bowie's "Little Drummer Boy." The latter was the inspiration for a duet between Colbert and Willie Nelson, who appears — in one of the more bizarre numbers — as a tiny wise man in a miniature nativity scene. "This is just some good fun to watch during your eggnog-induced dementia," Colbert joked in an interview Wednesday. The special finds Colbert far from his "Colbert Report" set in an obviously made-for-TV room of a mountain cabin dressed for Christmas. Hanging by the fireplace are two stockings, one labeled "Stephen," the other "Colbert." While he's snowed in and a bear lurks outside, Colbert is visited by Nelson, Toby Keith, Jon Stewart, John Legend, Feist and Elvis Costello to sing Christmas songs that were penned by "Daily Show" executive producer David Javerbaum and composed by Adam Schlesinger. The 44-year-old comedian, who lives in New Jersey with his wife and three children, is a practicing Catholic who has taught Sunday school at his church. The special concludes on a positive note, with Colbert and Costello singing that "there are much worse things" than believing in Christmas.
 
NEIL DIAMOND, PRODUCER RICK RUBIN TALKING NEW CD [Reuters/Billboard, 11/20/08]
Neil Diamond is about to embark on the final leg of his latest world tour, but he's already put his next album in motion. The veteran singer and Rick Rubin, who produced his last two albums, will meet on January 12m 2009, four days after Diamond's final concert, to start planning the follow-up to his recent chart-topping "Home Before Dark." "I told (Rubin) I want to start writing on the 12th," said Diamond, who hits the road Saturday in Grand Forks, N.D., for a 17-show North American run. "He said, 'Why don't you not start writing and let's sit down and talk about what the concept is and what we're gonna do.' I said, 'Good idea,' so we'll meet on the 12th and go from there." Diamond told Billboard.com that he and Rubin have "spoken about an idea we both like," and that it will be "a different concept, a different approach" to the largely acoustic sets "Home Before Dark" and 2005's "12 Songs." There's material left from both albums, but Diamond said he and Rubin still plan to "start fresh. We're going to make believe there's no such thing as songs in the can. We don't know if the songs we've recorded are going to be meaningful or even usable on this next album." Before fans hear the new music, however, Diamond plans to deliver a souvenir of the tour, which has so far played to nearly a million fans in nine countries since May. He said the show has been filmed, and he expects to roll it out in the new year as a television special as well as a DVD. "I'm very pleased with it," Diamond said. "I've always felt you could never really replicate the experience of being at a concert, but this film comes as close to replicating it as anything I've ever seen."
 
CIARA'S "FANTASY RIDE" DELAYED TO SPRING 2009 [Aceshowbiz, 11/20/08]
Ciara's third major studio album "Fantasy Ride", which was supposed to be dropped on December 9 and then January 2009, is confirmed to be pushed back to spring 2009. "Right now, we are anticipating it for spring 2009," a spokesperson from Zomba Records said in a statement. The delay happens because "the response to 'Go Girl' wasn't strong enough to ignite an album." Since it was released in late September, "Go Girl", the lead single off Ciara's upcoming LP, could only debut at number 60 and manage to climb to number 26 on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "It's a nice setup single because [the video] introduces Ciara's new look and her new body, but it's not the opener," the spokesperson explained. "Ciara opened very wide with her first album ["Goodies"], which gave her a broad audience and crossover appeal. Her second album ["Ciara: The Evolution"] was a little more urban," the spokesperson revealed more. "With 'Fantasy Ride', they're trying to strike a balance [between pop and urban] while looking for the right single." "Fantasy Ride" lines up Ludacris, Missy Elliott, The-Dream, Young Jeezy, and T-Pain as featured guests. The album is expected to be released as a three-disc album rather than all the tracks on a single CD. Five to six songs will be featured on each disc supplying a different theme. The first disc, entitled "Groove City", contains slow jams similar to her singles on "Ciara: The Evolution". The second disc, called "Crunktown", includes crunk-influenced tracks reminiscing "Goodies". The third disc, named "Kingdom of Dance", provides up-tempo house and freestyle cuts.
 
BON JOVI WRITING NEW SONGS FOR HITS SET [Reuters/Billboard, 11/19/08]
With Bon Jovi's latest world tour completed, guitarist Richie Sambora says the New Jersey rockers are looking ahead to plenty of new projects. "We've been filming a documentary and are in the process of mixing a live DVD of last year's 'Lost Highway' concert tour," Sambora told Billboard.com. "Also, I think we're looking at doing a greatest hits album next year. Jon (Bon Jovi) and I are writing some new songs for it and to just load up for the next Bon Jovi record." Bon Jovi's last hits set, the 14-track "Cross Road," came out in 1994. Sambora expected the DVD and latest best-of effort to come out next fall. The Nashville-tinged "Lost Highway" was a critical and commercial success, but Sambora said the band won't necessarily return to that style again. "No, we have to change," he said. "We have to do something different. I don't know what that's going to be. As we get into the writing process and continue on, we'll see what that's going to look like. I think it comes to stylistically what songs you're writing. What kind of music is coming out of you, and what's the mood of those songs. You have to color those little drawings with the right production value and the right music." Outside of Bon Jovi, Sambora is staying active with various extracurricular opportunities. He recently joined B.B. King on stage in Chicago for the taping of a PBS special, and took part in a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum tribute concert for guitar icon Les Paul last Saturday in Cleveland. "I've also been doing multiple sessions out here, some odd recordings with Kid Rock and T.I., some crazy stuff," Sambora said. "So I've been busy. Also, I'm going to be scoring some movies and TV shows. One of the movies is 'The Tournament' with Ving Rhames." Sambora was also looking ahead to next year, when Bon Jovi will become eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. "I hope so," Sambora said with a laugh. "Time flies, man. But yeah, there's talk and rumors. Boy, that would be nice. It's something certainly I've been shooting for all my life. I think if you have a career in the music business, you want to get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum."
 
CANADIAN SONGWRITERS FETED AT ANNUAL SOCAN GALA [CBC, 11/19/08]
A raft of Canadian songwriters — from late jazz great Oscar Peterson to rocker Tom Cochrane — were honoured in Toronto Monday evening, November 17 at the annual SOCAN Awards. The gala, now in its 19th edition, is organized by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada to celebrate Canadian songwriting successes. "People are far more aware of Canadian music around the world than they were when we starting touring Europe and the United States 12 years ago," said Weakerthans frontman John Samson. "It's come a long way." The Winnipeg band, which won acclaim and a host of awards this past year for its latest album Reunion Tour, opened the SOCAN ceremony in Toronto with a performance. Others who took the stage later included country star George Canyon and folk musician Ron Hynes, who was among the evening's special award recipients. Organizers presented Hynes with a national achievement award for his successful domestic career. Peterson, who died last year, was honoured with a special achievement award for his contributions to the Canadian music industry. The night also included a tribute to country music's Ray Griff, who received a lifetime achievement award. SOCAN feted Cochrane for having one of 2007's most played country songs. His early 1990s hit Life is a Highway rocketed up the charts again when covered by country act Rascal Flatts last year. For the second consecutive year, Canadian rockers Nickelback received SOCAN's international achievement award. Songs by Avril Lavigne (Girlfriend, Keep Holding On and When You're Gone), Nelly Furtado (All Good Things Come to an End, Say It Right), Michael Bublé (Everything), k-os (Sunday Morning), Shane Yellowbird (Pickup Truck) and Finger Eleven (Paralyzer) were among those recognized for most radio plays in Canada in 2007. Organizers also recognized a raft of songs that have crossed the 100,000 radio-play milestone in 2007, including: If I Had a Million Dollars; One Week; Jane; Pinch Me; Falling for the First Time; It's All Been Done (Barenaked Ladies);  Suzanne; Ain't No Cure; First We Take Manhattan (Leonard Cohen);  She's So High (Tal Bachman);  Constant Craving (k.d. lang);  Blue Collar; Roll on Down the Highway (Bachman Turner Overdrive);  Superman's Song (Crash Test Dummies). A SOCAN ceremony honouring francophone songwriters will take place in Montreal on Nov. 25, 2008.
 
THE CHEETAH GIRLS DROPPED FROM MACY'S THANKSGIVING PARADE [Aceshowbiz, 11/19/08]
The Cheetah Girls are confirmed to be outed from the performers lineup of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. "The Cheetah Girls are not in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade," Orlando Veras, head of media relations for the parade, said. The announcement has generated speculation in the media saying that the pulling-off is due to Adrienne Bailon's nude photos which hit the web earlier in November. "The girls were scheduled to be in the parade and perform, but after Adrienne's recent photo incident, organizers didn't think it would be appropriate to have her at a family-oriented event," a source told Perez Hilton. In a separate occasion, a publicist for Macy's said that the girl group have a "scheduling issue" which forces them to miss out the event. "Performer confirmations are always fluid and subject to change for any live event," the publicist explained. "In fact we just received confirmations of three new acts this week. The Cheetah Girls were scheduled to appear in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but due to scheduling issues they could not make it." Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be held on November 27 in the Big Apple and broadcast on NBC starting from 9 A.M. ET. Musicians who will play at the annual show include Miley Cyrus, David Archuleta, Kristin Chenoweth, James Taylor, Darius Rucker, and Trace Adkins among others.
 
SPRINGSTEEN TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM [BBC, 11/19/08]
Rock icon Bruce Springsteen has announced plans to release a new album in January, just 15 months since his last record, Magic, went to number one. Working On A Dream was recorded with the E Street Band and features 12 new songs, plus two bonus tracks. The group recorded the album in Atlanta during breaks in their tour. Springsteen, who is also due to play the half-time show at next year's Super Bowl, said: "We all had a blast making this record from beginning to end." "I hope Working On A Dream has caught the energy of the band fresh off the road from some of the most exciting shows we've ever done," the 59-year-old wrote on his website. "All the songs were written quickly, we usually used one of our first few takes." The speed of the album's release may surprise fans - as the rock star is renowned for being something of a perfectionist. On his breakthrough album, 1975's Born To Run, he recorded a dozen guitar overdubs for the title track alone.
 
PARAMORE BEGIN WORKING ON THIRD STUDIO LP [Aceshowbiz, 11/19/08]
Paramore have been "getting started" cooking up new materials for their third major studio effort. During an interview with MTV, lead singer Hayley Williams shared that the band wanted "to make a great record" for their next project. "With the way I write, I feel like I write better from those kinds of intense struggles. I pull a lot from those experiences," Williams commented on her songwriting credit for their still-in-the-work effort. "We've all learned a lot about friendship, we've learned a lot about ourselves, so I'm really excited to see how it turns out." Revealing further about the concept of the record, Williams stated that "it's going to be energetic," she said. "We don't always talk about happy super ridiculous things like that - it's cool that our music feels energetic and positive, and we can talk about things that are more than just great feelings." Refusing to rush their work, Williams revealed that all the band members wanted to have some quality time for themselves, family, and friends. "We're just learning about that side of ourselves - [the side] that's not on the road and not busy and intense all the time. It's amazing, it's really been good for us," she explained. Paramore have so far released two major studio albums "All We Know Is Falling" and "Riot!". Their 2005 debut album could only manage to sell more than 232,000 copies in the United States while "Riot!", their sophomore set, sold around 1,040,000 copies across U.S. since it was released in June 2007.
 
POP STARS, FANS SAY GOODBYE TO MTV'S "TRL" [AP, 11/18/08]
Carson Daly chatted with Eminem, Beyonce gave a show-stopping performance, girls shrieked at the sight of Justin Timberlake and hundreds of fans lined up outside in Times Square for a glimpse at superstars. For few hours, it seemed like old times at MTV's "Total Request Live" — back when the show was not only music's most powerful force but a dominant part of pop culture. Unfortunately, it took the show's demise to make it relevant again. MTV pulled the plug on its most influential franchise Sunday night, November 16 following years of declining ratings, but not before marking the occasion with celebration and nostalgia, as some of pop's biggest stars paid respects to the show that helped launch their careers. MTV has had other shows that will be remembered for changing the musical landscape, including "Yo! MTV Raps," but perhaps none greater than "TRL." It made its debut in 1998, just as the teen pop phenomenon was about to explode, when the rap-rock hybrid was bubbling over, and groups like Destiny's Child were considered emerging acts. While its concept of a video countdown show wasn't new, its model — which included a live show, an audience full of enthusiastic kids and viewer feedback — helped energize the teen fan base and made them music's tastemakers. Soon, "TRL" would become an integral part of boosting the careers of superstars like Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, Eminem and Christina Aguilera. "If it wasn't for 'TRL,' I don't think I would have this launching pad for my career," said a cigar-smoking Kid Rock, who came to prominence as a raucous rap-rocker on "TRL" with his baudy hit "Bawitdaba" but has since morphed into a country-rock career that is more CMT than MTV. "It's a big loss, not having this as a platform to promote our music," said 50 Cent in the show's waning moments. In its prime, "TRL" had "American Idol"-like power to influence sales on the pop charts, and became a required stop, not only for those on the road to pop stardom, but those in TV, movies and even sports superstars. Tom Cruise and Will Smith made stops before a new movie; all-star athletes like Derek Jeter mingled with the teens; even legends like Madonna and Michael Jackson made sure they got "TRL" face-time. But TRL's greatest claim to fame was a no-show. Spears entire career, from its meteoric rise to tragic downturn to recent resurgence, was chronicled on TRL, but she didn't attend the goodbye gala. 
 
McCARTNEY HOPES TO RELEASE FUNKY BEATLES TRACK [AP, 11/17/08]
Paul McCartney says it's time an experimental Beatles track saw the light of day. McCartney says he wants to release "Carnival of Light," a 14-minute experimental track the Fab Four recorded in 1967 but never released. The band played the recording for an audience just once, at an electronic music festival in London. It reportedly includes distorted guitar, organ sounds, gargling and shouts of "Barcelona!" and "Are you all right?" from McCartney and John Lennon. McCartney said during a recording session at Abbey Road studios he asked the other members of the band to "just wander round all of the stuff and bang it, shout, play it. It doesn't need to make any sense." "I like it because it's The Beatles free, going off piste," he told the BBC in a radio interview to be broadcast Thursday. Extracts of the interview were published Sunday in The Observer newspaper. McCartney said he still had a master tape of the piece and "the time has come for it to get its moment." McCartney, usually regarded as the most melodically minded Beatle, told the BBC he had a long-standing interest in avant-garde music. He said "Carnival of Light" was inspired by experimental composers John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen. He said he had wanted to include the track on the Beatles' "Anthology" compilation, but was vetoed by his bandmates. McCartney would need permission from Ringo Starr and the widows of Lennon and George Harrison to release the track.
 
IL DIVO "PROMISE" SOARS TO NO. 1 [BBC, 11/17/08]
Operatic quartet Il Divo have beaten Stereophonics to claim this week's number one album with The Promise. It is the third time the group, created by impresario Simon Cowell, have topped the album charts. Welsh rockers Stereophonics had to be content with a number two placing for hits compilation Decade In The Sun. Cowell's influence is also felt in the singles chart, with The X Factor finalists' charity track Hero continuing its stay at the top. It is two years since the last release from Il Divo, Siempre, reached number two in the album chart. Previous albums Il Divo and Ancora, in 2004 and 2005 respectively, both reached number one. Girls Aloud's Out of Control falls to number three, with Kings of Leon's Only By The Night rising to number four and Pink's Funhouse slipping to number five. Irish singer Enya's And Winter Came is a new entry at number six, while Christina Aguilera's best-of compilation, Keeps Gettin' Better, makes its debut at number 10. In the singles chart, U.S rapper T.I's collaboration with Rihanna, Live Your Life, enters the top 10 at number two, while Killers have a new entry with Human at number four.
 
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE APPEARED AS BEYONCE KNOWLES' DANCER [Aceshowbiz, 11/17/08]
Justin Timberlake surprised his fans as he made a stop at Studio 8H at the GE Building in New York's Rockefeller Center and appeared donning a one-piece black swimsuit. He performed as Beyonce Knowles' backing dancers on November 15 on late-night TV comedy show "Saturday Night Live Show". During his skit on the TV show, Timberlake tried to mimick Knowles' choreographed routine along with two other men Andy Samberg and Bobby Moynihan. The three men pretended in a video shoot for Knowles' "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" music video. The difference is that if her real music video was directed by Jake Nava, the parodied video was directed by actor and comedian Seth Myers. In addition to parodying Knowles' "Single Ladies" music video, the NBC's comedy show also presented her live performances singing "Single Ladies" with two real female dancers and "If I Were a Boy". The two new singles appear on her third major studio album "I Am...Sasha Fierce" which has been in U.S. stores since November 12, 2008.
 
ROCK BAND THE "KILLERS" EMBRACE POP ON NEW ALBUM [Reuters/Billboard, 11/17/08]
Chameleonic Killers frontman Brandon Flowers seems to sport a new look for every album his band releases. He was a dandy for 2004's "Hot Fuss" and an urban cowboy on 2006's "Sam's Town." For "Day & Age," due November 24, 2008 from Island Def Jam, he's remade himself as a new waver. The looks makes sense, since "Day and Age" was produced by Madonna collaborator Stuart Price and sometimes sounds like it was beamed straight out of an '80s disco. But Flowers stopped dancing long enough to answer some questions. Q1: Many popular rock bands live very public lives online, yet you and the Killers are much more private. Do you feel any pressure to start a web site and tell everyone what you ate for breakfast? A1: I'm not very good at talking to fans. I don't think we try to be mysterious on purpose, but most of this blogging and twittering doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I grew up before everyone had a computer and a Web site. It's not that we don't care about our fans, but we don't see the need to communicate with them in that way. Hell, we're so old-school we don't even pay someone to blog for us. Q2: How much input do you and the rest of the band have when it comes to making decisions about marketing the new album? A2: We're very involved in the process. We had very specific ideas in mind for the "Human" video and we actively sought out different treatments. We get along with the label and in the past we've split the cost of the videos or they've paid for it outright. We've proven to them that we're usually right and they give us the space and breathing room to do what we need. Q3: The "human" video was show in the desert close to your hometown, Las Vegas. Was it important for you to shoot the video there? Do you still feel close to Vegas? A3: We all love the Southwest. We've made the mistake of doing photo shoots in Manhattan and it hasn't worked out. I still feel like I'm connected to Vegas, although I wouldn't say I'm part of the scene. When we were starting out, there was no scene -- we would just go out and play with anyone. Q4: Nike recently ran an ad featuring the first album's "all these things that I've done." How do you feel about licensing? A4: I was really inspired by the Nike commercial, because I felt like that song didn't get its due in America and it was great to see it get some attention. In terms of other licensing deals, we have a monthly approval meeting where we go through all the proposals we get and vote on what we think would be best. We've never taken a hard and fast position to say we're never going to work with certain people or a certain company. Q5: The new album is a departure from the last one -- it's much more pop. What brought about that change and how do you think your fans will respond? A5: We don't think about demographics when we're recording -- we want to please ourselves. We figure that if we like it, there are bound to be other people that like it too. In terms of putting the album together, we go with the best songs, but we also want to make sure the album has a certain flavor overall. We did have more rock songs that didn't make it onto the record, and I do think what made it on does have rock moments. In terms of our fans, I'd like to think they're smart and open-minded and don't want us to keep reinventing the wheel. If you've been a fan for a long time, you're prepared for change. Q6: The Killers had a meteoric rise in the touring world after the debut album. How will you tour this time? A6:  I think we keep getting better live and we want to go as far as this will take us. I want to play bigger arenas this time around, for sure.
 
EX-GUNS N' ROSES DRUMMER COPS PLEA [E! Online, 11/16/08]
All it takes is patience… and a smart lawyer for Steven Adler. The original drummer for Guns N' Roses will likely avoid jail time after pleading no contest on Friday, November 14 to felony drug possession charges stemming from a July arrest. A Los Angeles judge ordered Adler, 43, to return to court Dec. 12, where it's expected he will be sentenced to rehab. Adler was arrested in July in Hollywood after someone complained that he was causing a disturbance. He was also charged with a misdemeanor count of being under the influence, but the DA's office says that charge will likely be dismissed if Adler is admitted to the treatment program. 
 
NAACP IMAGE AWARDS TO HONOUR GORE, MAATHAI [AP, 11/16/08]
The NAACP says it will honor environmental activists Al Gore and Wangari Muta Maathai at its 40th Image Awards. The Feb. 12, 2009 ceremony will kick off a yearlong centennial celebration for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Gore and Maathai, both Nobel Peace Prize laureates, were chosen by NAACP Board Chairman Julian Bond to receive the chairman's award. Nominations for the Image Awards, which honor those who promote diversity in the arts, will be announced Jan. 7. Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for bringing attention to global warming. Maathai and the Green Belt Movement, the environmental group she founded, won the Peace Prize in 2004.
 
WHY HAS SOCA/CALYPSO FAILED TO MATCH THE GLOBAL SUCCESS OF REGGAE/DANCEHALL? [BBCCaribbean, 11/16/08]
One Barbadian artiste believes he has the answer. John King, a former island calypso king, says it might be the result of a conspiracy among major  music labels to keep soca at bay. Soca, calypso's party sister, has managed a few hits internationally but a real breakthrough has proved elusive. "Hot Hot Hot" by Arrow is, quite remarkably, still a staple of the international circuit after it was first recorded in 1982. He can lay claim to putting soca on the international map. It was 21 years ago that Buster Poindexter's cover version of Arrow's hit carried it into the American charts. In 2000, there was more success with Baha Men's soca-tinged "Who Let the Dogs Out", another cover of Anslem Douglas' Trinidad carnival hit. Four years later Rupee and Kevin Lyttle also made it to the Billboard Hot 100 with "Tempted to Touch" and "Turn Me On," respectively. But these are rare forays into the mainstream -- and soca remains without a truly genuine international star. John King feels the road has been made difficult, deliberately so, by music labels. He told the Barbados Nation newspaper: "I have tried over the years to get this music to the mainstream American radio stations and all you butt up on is: that the quality of the recording is not good; there is no format that we have that can play it; all sorts of stumbling blocks." Arrow told BBC Caribbean last year that when 'Hot, Hot, Hit' hit the scene, international labels were willing at that time to embrace soca. But he said short-sighted producers and promoters in the region resisted over fears they would be shunted aside. An opportunity was therefore lost, in the Montserratian's view. Machel Montano, like his fellow Trinidadian David Rudder, is one of the leading lights of the genre. Machel admits to a dream to see soca become a global musical force. Billboard reported in August that he had yet to make an impact despite collaborations with Wyclef Jean, Busta Rhymes and Shaggy. The magazine said he'd signed international deals with Delicious Vinyl and Atlantic and recorded two albums which remain unreleased. Rupee and Kevin Lyttle are also signed with Atlantic but their careers seem to have stalled somewhat. Rupee has more than once been forced to deny he has been dropped from the label, amid suggestions that interest may have cooled. Why has soca/calypso not enjoyed the acclaim of reggae/dancehall? Is it resistance from music labels, is it the quality of the music, is the speed (some suggest that soca is too speedy for international tastes?)
 
CANUCK INDIE BAND PLAYS 'YOUNG HOTSHOTS' ON HOUSEWIVES [E! Online, 11/16/08]
It helps to know people in high places — and for Canadian indie band Tokyo Police Club, having a writer friend in Hollywood has meant being name-dropped on one of TV's biggest prime-time shows and getting to play a song for an audience of millions. The band's name was slipped into dialogue in a recent episode of Desperate Housewives, and they're now set to appear and perform on Sunday's episode of the Emmy-winning show. The series has typically drawn audiences of around 15 million viewers in the U.S. this season, but the band is under no illusions that this could be its big break, keyboard player Graham Wright said in a recent interview. "Whether or not the target demographic of Desperate Housewives is going to be interested in Tokyo Police Club is not something I could answer. I would guess we're probably not going to win over a whole bunch of new fans — but that was never the point," Wright said. "It's just something that's really cool and really awesome and exciting for us to do. We've already got what we wanted out of it." Wright can't reveal too much about their roles on the show, but he will say that they compete in a battle of the bands contest against a group started by the men of Wisteria Lane. Tokyo Police Club is "the young hotshot band that's there to make them feel old and inadequate," Wright said. Two of the band's members also have lines in the episode. Sadly, Wright said, only the men were on set when the band did its shoot, so they didn't get to mingle with the female stars of the show. "I walked past Eva Longoria at one point, but I didn't say hi. You know how it is, they probably had better things to do than talk to us," he said. The prime-time television appearance will mark the end of the biggest year in the Newmarket, Ont., band's short career thus far. Tokyo Police Club built up major buzz on the strength of two EPs released in 2007, and last April released its first full-length album, Elephant Shell. This fall the band toured across North America as openers for Weezer. "This Weezer tour was sort of the last big thing we're doing this year, and it's definitely the biggest thing we've done," Wright said. "And then for the Desperate Housewives thing to sort of randomly happen in the middle of that as well just adds to the whole craziness of this month, which is the craziest part of a crazy year," said Wright, noting a writer on the show is a friend of the band. He said the band now intends to take it easy for a while and has no immediate plans to start working on a follow-up album. But they are playing a few shows next month with Metric, the Dears, Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains, and DJ Mike Relm for the Jingle Bell Rock tour that has dates scheduled in Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.
 
THE FRAY TO PERFORM NEW SINGLE AT AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS [Aceshowbiz, 11/16/08]
On November 23, The Fray will perform their new song "You Found Me" live for the first time at 2008 American Music Awards which airs on ABC starting at 8 P.M. EST. In addition, a portion of "You Found Me" will be featured in a new "Lost" music clip on the same day it makes its world premiere, with live band performance footage and exclusive scenes from the upcoming season of "Lost". Meanwhile, the music video for the song will air during the show that starts 9:00 P.M. EST on ABC. "Because this band appeals to everyone from 8 to 80, television really does play a great role in exposing the music to a wider audience," Lee Stimmel, the executive VP of Epic said on attaching the band's song to TV series. "And the band writes amazing songs that work with a picture." Speaking of their new effort, the band's frontman Isaac Slade said that this is "a little more extreme than the last record," adding that "the quieter stuff is a little quieter than our last record and the rock stuff is a little rockier. It definitely spreads the spectrum a little bit." Fans can begin to pre-order the deluxe edition of their new album by logging on to their official page starting at 10:00 P.M. EST on Thursday, November 20. A bonus live digital album during their upcoming January club tour, which will be delivered digitally on February 3, 2009, and will be added as a bonus. In addition, upon pre-ordering the record, fans will also receive a code which gives a chance to purchase two tickets to one of their club shows in January. On top of that, the code will give fans access to an exclusive 2 days pre-sale, starting December 3 and ending December 5, which is before the general public on-sale.
 
BEYONCE TO PERFORM AT ROCKEFELLER CENTRE [Aceshowbiz, 11/15/08]
Beyonce Knowles set to make a live appearance at the 11th annual "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" telecast. The event will be held on the holiday season Wednesday, December 3 at 8 - 9 P.M. ET/PT and will be broadcast live on NBC from Rockefeller Center's Art Deco plaza in the heart of Manhattan. The upcoming concert will be hosted by NBC's weather anchor Al Roker. Other musicians to perform at the concert are David Cook, Jonas Brothers, Faith Hill, Tony Bennett, Harry Connick Jr., Rosie O'Donnell, The Broadway Kids, Rascal Flatts, and Solange Knowles. In related news, Beyonce is also among the singers who will rock 2008 American Music Awards on November 23. At this event, she will be joined by Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Coldplay, Kanye West, the Jonas boys, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Ne-Yo, Pink and many others.
 
50 CENT'S UPCOMING LP HELD BACK [Aceshowbiz, 11/15/08]
A spokesperson from Interscope Records confirmed that 50 Cent's fourth major studio album "Before I Self Destruct" will be pushed back to next year's release. No specific reason is revealed regarding the delay but extra features are reportedly in the work to be added as a bonus. "Before I Self Destruct" was supposed to be dropped in the U.S. market on December 16. However, updated news from 50's camp reveals an unspecified date issued as "The beginning of '09" as the new timetable for his album's release date. Apart from the postponed release schedule, the first single "Get Up" off 50's forthcoming effort has hit the U.S. stores since early October. Produced by Scott Storch, the track has charted at number 17 on Billboard Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop and peaked at number 44 on Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
 
ALBUM REVIEW: I AM . . . SASHA FIERCE [Reuters/Billboard, 11/15/08]
Beyonce devoted half of the tracks on this double-disc set to her feisty alter ego Sasha Fierce (think "Single Ladies"). But, it's the classic, more timeless R&B songs on the "I Am" portion of the album that seem like a much-welcomed stretch for the singer. Lead single "If I Were a Boy" is the first taste of Beyonce's newfound love for powerful ballads, as she croons about reversing gender roles. On "Halo" she sings in a lower register than usual over big drums and an epic piano pattern and belts emotively ("I don't want a broken heart/And I don't want to play the broken-hearted girl") on the Babyface-penned "Broken-Hearted Girl." Songs like "Video Phone," with its repetitive, vibrating beat, and the thumping "Diva," a collaboration with Sean Garrett, don't break new ground but more than provide the radio-ready dance tracks for which Beyonce, er, Sasha Fierce, is beloved.
 
ALBUM REVIEW: DAVID COOK (19/RCA) [Reuters/Billboard, 11/15/08]
"American Idol" season seven champ David Cook already scored a solid hit with his first single, "The Time of My Life," the kind of sentimental ballad every winner is forced to churn out. Much like his predecessors' quick-turnaround debuts, Cook's is fairly generic, but its rock edge is dirtied up with crunching guitars and the artist's tuneful growl. There are a host of big, anthemic choruses that highlight the power of Cook's voice, namely the soaring "Declaration" and Chris Cornell/Brian Howes-penned "Light On." Elsewhere, Cook exercises his right to rawk with the swaggering, gritty "Bar-ba-sol" and bares his soul alongside a delicate piano and string arrangement on "Permanent." There are some lyrical missteps ("Life on the Moon," which marvels at the titular concept), but as the lone rocker winner of "Idol" to date, Cook stands apart from cookie-cutter pop.
 
ALBUM REVIEW: SAFE TRIP HOME (ARISTA) [Reuters/Billboard, 11/15/08]
Dido's haunted voice is a flat line: Whether she's singing bold dismissals like "I can't look at you this morning," or loving declarations like "My heart has found its home," those gauze-covered pipes never modulate. So the sonic settings into which they're placed are all the more important. Her third studio album employs fewer electronic whooshes and more real instruments than the previous two, making it smaller, finer and a better showcase for her uncluttered melodies and lyrics. There are a lot of perfect little songs here; they run less than four minutes, but are rich and deep. "Quiet Times" is a shuffling, string-laden shanty that recalls great Brit folk-pop band the Sundays. "It Comes and It Goes" has an irresistible sway, while "The Day Before the Day" is quietly devastating. There isn't a standout single, but this is Dido's most fully realized and elegantly rendered collection.
 
ALBUM REVIEW: LIVE: HOPE AT THE HIDEOUT (ANTI-) [Reuters/Billboard, 11/15/08]
Last year, Mavis Staples released a revelatory collection of protest songs ("We'll Never Turn Back") that, though such a thing was hardly needed, reaffirmed her vitality in the current music scene. "Hope at the Hideout" is her victory lap, a joyous house party that benefits from a wonderful alignment of the stars: It was recorded in her return to a cozy, sold-out blues house in Staples' Chicago hometown and released on Election Day. At 69, Staples' power-train voice is close to rugged perfection throughout, and she's wonderfully fired up. And while the studio versions of these tracks are driven by a singular purpose, their live cousins shimmer and shake. Nowhere is that clearer than on a lively and soulful "For What It's Worth," a soaring "This Little Light" and the singularly majestic "We Shall Not Be Moved."
 
ALBUM REVIEW: THE PROMISE (SONY MUSIC) [Reuters/Billboard, 11/15/08]
Opera and ABBA: two great tastes that taste great together? In Il Divo's hands, definitely. Unlike some in the wildly lucrative pop-classical scene, the four hunks in this baritone-beefcake boy band (originally created by "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell) couldn't care less about converting serious-music snobs. They're happy to pull every heartstring known to man -- or at least middle-aged woman -- which gives their crescendo-crammed records a kind of refreshing honesty. The quartet's fifth full-length (including an easy-money 2005 Christmas set) is Il Divo's most shameless -- and therefore its most enjoyable -- yet. Highlights include covers of Charles Aznavour's "She" and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (the latter in a surprisingly stripped-down arrangement), as well as an over-the-top reading of "The Winner Takes It All" that to post-"Mamma Mia!" ears sounds quite a lot like cha-ching.
 
ALBUM REVIEW: COSMIC UNIVERSAL FASHION [Reuters/Billboard, 11/15/08]
Sammy Hagar isn't all tequila and sunburns on his first solo disc in eight years: This new set kicks off with a lightly industrial collaboration with young Iraqi songwriter Steven Lost that finds him reviving the "Right Now" approach to addressing deeper issues than the nation's unreasonable speed limits. Hagar spends half the record in such uncharted waters, but before things get too serious, there's "Loud," a Spandex-and-codpiece rocker that teleported in from 1986; a cover of "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)," which did the same; and a country track called "When the Sun Don't Shine," basically a tribute to Jimmy Buffett, rock's other premier tequila pitchman. The second half of the record depends on how you process the phrase "album-closing nine-minute unplugged version of 'Dreams.'" But if you're a 61-year-old beach bum with a pretty decent day job, what else would you do?
 
GIRLS ALOUD SET "OUT OF CONTROL" TOUR DATES [Aceshowbiz, 11/15/08]
British girl group Girls Aloud are confirmed to hit the road for a promotional tour for their fifth major studio album "Out of Control". Starting the end of April 2009, the concert will be set for a ten-date roadshow and the rehearsal for the show will be started after Christmas. "We can't wait to get back out on the road to see our fans and play the music that we love from the past albums, and especially playing the new songs in those arenas next year," the band's member Nadine Coyle said referring to the upcoming concerts. "We look forward to seeing you all there." "Out of Control" has been dropped across the U.K. on November 3. Described as "their most exciting and thrilling album yet", the effort debuts at number 1 on U.K. Albums chart. Meanwhile, their first single off the record titled "The Promise" also hits number 1 on U.K. Singles chart since it was released in mid October.
 
PUBLIC MEMORIAL FOR SINGER MAKEBA [BBC, 11/15/08]
A memorial service for South African singer Miriam Makeba, who died last weekend after a concert in Italy, will be held on Saturday, November 15 in Johannesburg. The service, which Makeba's family will attend, is also open to the public. It will take place in the Coca Cola Dome, one of South Africa's top concert venues, with room for 20,000. Arts ministry spokesman Sandile Memela told Agence France Presse "musicians, actors and artists" would also attend to remember the 76-year-old performer. Makeba's family is expected to hold a smaller service for her cremation on Sunday, November 16. South Africa began a period of mourning on Thursday for the singer, who was known as Mama Africa. She spent more than 30 years in exile after lending her support to the campaign against apartheid. Makeba was the first black singer to win a Grammy award, which she shared with Harry Belafonte in 1965. She was one of Africa's best known singers, famed for hits such as Pata Pata and The Click Song. Former president Nelson Mandela said she was the "mother of our struggle" and "South Africa's first lady of song". Her body was flown home to South Africa on Wednesday.
 
COLUMBIAN ROCKER "JUANES" WINS 4 LATIN GRAMMYS [AP, 11/14/08]
A sweep was still in the cards for Juanes on Thursday night, November 13 at the Latin Grammys, as the Columbian rocker picked up four awards and was in the running to win record of the year. Juanes, who was nominated for five awards, took trophies for song of the year for his joy-filled love song, "Me Enamora"; the year's best album, "La Vida ... Es Un Ratico"; best male pop vocal and best short form music video. The awards bring his total Latin Grammy wins to 16, breaking Alejandro Sanz's mark of 14. "This is incredible. A million thanks, truly," Juanes said, after the song of the year win. "I have to thank my father, who is in heaven, God, my children. Since I was very young, my family taught me to listen to Latin-American music ... They have all been an influence." The Medellin-born musician, who has become a voice for social causes, also opened the show's live broadcast with an emotional duet with soul singer John Legend. Backed by a chorus, Juanes and Legend performed "If You Are Out There," a new collaboration that's scheduled to be released next week. Earlier in the evening, Puerto Rican singer Kany Garcia picked up the best new artist honor, winning against Mexican alt-pop sensation Ximena Sarinana. Garcia was also nominated in three other categories, including song of the year, album of the year, and best female pop vocal album. Mexican alternative rock group Cafe Tacuba, which led the night's nominations with six, picked up awards for rock song of the year for "Esta Vez" and alternative song of the year for "Volver a Comenzar." The quartet was also still in the running for record of the year. Latin pop diva Gloria Estefan, who was honored with the 2008 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year award Wednesday night, also scooped up awards for best traditional tropical album for "90 millas" and best tropical song. In pre-show awards, Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas picked up two Latin Grammys for best long form video and best alternative music album. This year marked the Houston debut of the Latin Grammys, which give out awards in 49 categories from ranchera to rock en espanol. The show's lineup of performers reflected the theme of musical diversity and fusion, starting with the opening duet and bursting to life in a rousing accordion jam featuring performers from Colombian vallenato, Argentine tango, Mexican norteno and Tejano genres, and showcasing Julieta Venegas' pop hit "El Presente." Another of the night's highlights was a vibrant rendition of Gloria Estefan's hits, "Mi Tierra" and "Oye Mi Canto," which featured musical legends Jose Feliciano and Carlos Santana. During the show, a video package highlighted the iconic images and multicultural mix of Houston, the country's fourth largest city. Oil rigs, glass-walled skyscrapers and Tex-Mex food painted a quick portrait of the sprawling metropolis.
 
JAMES BOND'S LOTUS UP FOR AUCTION [BBC, 11/14/08]
James Bond's Lotus from The Spy Who Loved Me is to go under the hammer at a London auction next month. The white 1976 Lotus Esprit is expected to fetch between £100,000 - £120,000 at Bonhams annual motoring sale. It is one of two Lotus cars - driven by Roger Moore in the 1977 film - which turned into an amphibious car when it ended up in the sea during a chase. Bond fans will get the chance to bid on the car at the auction in Olympia, west London, on 1 December. The registration number AU1 from Bond classic Goldfinger will also be up for auction in the same sale. The first registration issued in Nottingham in 1903, AU1 was fitted to the Rolls Royce Phantom III used by arch villain Goldfinger in the film, as AU is the chemical symbol for gold in the periodic table. Bonhams hope the plate will fetch more than £80,000.
 
MARIAH CAREY LINED UP FOR 2008 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS PERFORMER [Aceshowbiz, 11/13/08]
Mariah Carey has been added as a musical guest at 2008 American Music Awards. She will join previously-revealed performers including Jonas Brothers, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Ne-Yo, Pink, The Pussycat Dolls, and New Kids on the Block. The star-studded show will be held at Los Angeles' NOKIA Theatre and will be broadcast live on ABC on November 23, 2008. Hosted by comedian Jimmy Kimmel, the ceremony will also have Paris Hilton, Akon, and Kate Walsh as its presenters. Speaking about the awards itself, Alicia Keys has been revealed as an artist who leads the pack with five nods, including "Artist of the Year" competing with Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Eagles, and Coldplay. Complete list of the awards' nominees can be found online.
 
SWIFT, WILLIAMS BIG WINNERS AT BMI COUNTRY AWARDS [AP, 11/13/08]
Taylor Swift's "Teardrops On My Guitar" won country song of the year, and Hank Williams Jr. was honored as a music icon during the 56th Annual BMI Country Awards. The awards were presented Tuesday, November 11 in Nashville. Casey Beathard won songwriter of the year for the second time. Beathard co-wrote several recent hits including Kenny Chesney's "Don't Blink." Swift co-wrote "Teardrops On My Guitar." The song earned iTunes' No. 1 country song honors of 2007. Williams joins Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and others as a BMI icon. His hits include "Family Tradition" and "Country Boy Can Survive." Even non-country fans know his "Monday Night Football" theme. BMI, or Broadcast Music Inc., is a performing rights organization.
 
SOUL DIVA ARETHA IS NAMED GREATEST SINGER [BBC, 11/13/08]
Soul diva Aretha Franklin has been named the greatest singer of the rock era in a Rolling Stone magazine poll. The 66-year-old, best known for her hit song Respect, topped the list of 179 musicians, producers and other music-industry insiders. Ray Charles came in at number two, with Elvis Presley voted third, Sam Cooke at four and John Lennon at five. Voters included Keith Richards, Iggy Pop and James Blunt who each submitted their top 20 choices. Besides Franklin, the only other living people in the top 10 were Bob Dylan at seven and Stevie Wonder at number nine. Other stars on the list included Paul McCartney at 11 and Mick Jagger at number 16. Among the top 25, Michael Jackson, aged 50, was the youngest artist. The 100-strong list will be published in Rolling Stone's next issue, which is out on Friday. The magazine also includes testimonials from musicians, including R&B singer Mary J Blige who said that Franklin was "the reason why women want to sing". Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, number 15 on the list, described Presley's voice as "confident, insinuating and taking no prisoners". Brought up in Detroit, Franklin began singing in her father's choir. A live version of Precious Lord brought her into the public eye at the age of 14. She later teamed up with producer Jerry Wexler, and her rendition of Otis Redding's Respect, released in 1967, was hailed as a social and political anthem. Her other hits include Think, Spanish Harlem, I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You), A Deeper Love and Rock Steady.
 
FAN OF ABDUL FOUND DEAD NEAR "IDOL" JUDGE'S HOME [AP, 11/13/08]
A fan of Paula Abdul whose failed audition for "American Idol" aired in season five was found dead in a car near the home of the pop star and judge she admired, authorities said Wednesday, November 12. Police indicated that Paula Goodspeed, whose rendition of "Proud Mary" was roundly criticized by Simon Cowell and rejected by Abdul and Randy Jackson, had possibly committed suicide, said Ed Winter, assistant chief of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner. An official cause of death had not been determined. Authorities found Goodspeed's body Tuesday evening, November 11, 2008 in a car that photos show bearing the vanity license plate "ABL LV" in a Los Angeles Lakers frame. Her parents had reported her missing hours earlier and expressed concern that she might hurt herself. Los Angeles police spokeswoman Julianne Sohn says officers responded to a call about 6 p.m. Tuesday and arrived in the Sherman Oaks area to find the body. "I am deeply shocked and saddened at what transpired yesterday," Abdul said in a statement released by her publicist, Jeff Ballard. "My heart and prayers go out to her family." Goodspeed's audition was aired during the season that began in January 2006. She told the show's host, Ryan Seacrest, how she was a huge fan of Abdul and created life-size paintings of the singer and former Laker Girl; she also called Abdul "beautiful" after Cowell said he noticed a resemblance between Goodspeed and Abdul. But Cowell also made light of Goodspeed's braces and bloggers trashed her appearance, which she noted in a MySpace posting months after the show aired. "American Idol" producer Fremantle Media North America declined comment. Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Ross Bonfiglio said relatives hadn't seen the woman since about 11 p.m. on Monday and were concerned she might try to hurt herself. In June, the department checked on the woman at her home in Thousand Oaks after deputies received a tip from Los Angeles police that the woman might be at risk of self-harm, Bonfiglio said.
 
EMINEM'S "RELAPSE" SET FOR 2009 RELEASE, TENTATIVELY [Aceshowbiz, 11/13/08] 
Despite previous hint claiming that Eminem's eagerly-awaited album "Relapse" would hit the U.S. market before the end of 2008, the upcoming album has reportedly been held back for 2009 U.S. release. "There's a 50-50 chance it will be done by the end of this year - but most likely it'll be the first quarter of next year," a source told New York Post. Speaking of the album's release delay, the source revealed that it was Eminem's perfectionism which makes his upcoming effort pushed back. "Eminem has been through a lot," the source stated. "He is being a perfectionist and is completely obsessive-compulsive about this album." Eminem's camp have been silent when asked about the album's fixed release date. His representative even said, "There was never a release date set." "Relapse" is Eminem's sixth major studio album. Dr. Dre and DJ Premier were reportedly signed to handle the production process of the record. Meanwhile, 50 Cent and T.I. collaborate with the Detroit rapper on several songs off the installment.
 
LIL WAYNE TO TOUR WITH T-PAIN [Aceshowbiz, 11/13/08]
Lil Wayne is plotting an eight-week roadshow with T-Pain, a spokesperson for the latter confirmed. Also joining them are Keyshia Cole and Gym Class Heroes. The concert will be kicked off on December 18 and include a performance at Joe Louis Arena on December 26. In addition to Lil Wayne's newly-revealed roadshow plan, a tracklisting for his upcoming mixtape titled "Dedication 3" has also been uncovered. The upcoming record is produced by DJ Drama and features beat sounds from OutKast's "Art of Storytelling 4", T.I.'s "Whatever You Like", Too Short's "Couldn't Be a Better Player", Soulja Boy's "Shootout", and V.I.C.'s "Get Silly". "People have their opinions or their comments, but Wayne putting out a mixtape shows he's still in the game," DJ Drama shared his thought about the record to MTV. "[This mixtape] isn't for the money or the fame, it's for the people. It's for the game. You can hate on Drama or Wayne all you want, but we're doing this for the game." 
 
BIG BOI PREPARING FOR SOLO ALBUM [AP, 11/13/08]
OutKast's member Big Boi revealed that he has finished cooking up his solo studio album. "Me and 'Dre [Andre Benjamin aka Andre 3000] were on the conference call [recently]," he told MTV. "He's working on his album, my album is done. We're gonna wait until the top of the year - January or February - to put it out." Beside gearing up for his solo effort, Big also hinted that another OutKast's record will be worked on soon. "'Dre is gonna come hit y'all, and [then] we're gonna do the Outkast album. So y'all gonna get three records from the 'Kast next year," he added. Beside lingering in the recording room making new music, Big will also appear in front of camera guest-starring on TV series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" on November 25, 2008. He plays a rapper, who instead of relying on his ability as an artist, decides to earn his money from animal smuggling and when cops catch him, he turns sides and works undercover for the authorities.
 
N'SYNC STAR 'TWO INCHES SHORTER' AFTER COSMONAUT TRAINING [BBC, 11/13/08]
N'Sync star Lance Bass says he is two inches shorter since returning from his Russian cosmonaut training in 2002. Speaking on Jay Leno's U.S chat show, the 29-year-old said: "I got shorter. I did! I don't know what happened. "My torso was too long to fit in the rocket seat," he added. "They had to make a special suit so when I was in space it would contract me." The star had been training to be a space tourist but failed to come up with funding to secure his seat. He explained that he had had to curl up to fit into the cramped Soyuz rocket module. "I came back shorter. Everyone said: 'You're much shorter', so I measured myself and... yeah," the star added. Bass described his training regime as "intense - every day from five in the morning until nine at night. "It was condensed training because it takes years to become a cosmonaut and they only had six months to train me. "I had a translator that didn't speak much English and a Russian teacher that spoke only French and Russian - they thought that's how I'd learn it better," he said. Bass said he had always wanted to be an astronaut and added the food he received while in Russia was "not so good". The star was originally due to host a space competition show where contestants would compete for a seat on the Russian Soyuz space capsule. After the concept fell through, Bass was approached to feature in a documentary to put the youngest person and first entertainer in space. But after beginning the training, the Russian Space Agency said the star and his representatives had been given several deadlines in which to come up with the $20m (£12.9m) needed to fund the trip, but had failed to hand over any cash. The star is currently taking part in US reality show Dancing With The Stars - a spin-off of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.
 
MICHAEL JACKSON GIVES NEVERLAND TO CORPORATION [AP, 11/13/08]
Michael Jackson has given up title to his Neverland ranch, transferring the deed to a company he partly controls. The singer filed a grant deed on the ranch Monday, November 10 that makes the new owner an entity called the Sycamore Valley Ranch Co. LLC, Tom Pearson of the Santa Barbara County clerk-recorder's office said Wednesday. Sycamore Valley Ranch Co. is a joint venture between Jackson and an affiliate of Colony Capital LLC, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction who was not authorized to speak on the record and requested anonymity. The person could not say what would become of the 2,500-acre property in the bucolic, oak-studded hills of Santa Barbara County's wine country, 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles. A call to an attorney for Jackson, L. Londell McMillan, was not immediately returned Wednesday. Jackson had gone into default on the $24.5 million he owes on the property and had faced foreclosure before Colony Capital bailed him out earlier this year by purchasing his loan. Pearson said the deed did not indicate who owns Sycamore. A listing on the California secretary of state's Web site says the company filed with the state in June. It does not identify its owners, but the company has the same Century City address as Colony Capital LLC. Colony Capital is a Los Angeles-based real estate investment company run by billionaire Tom Barrack. It owns several properties in Las Vegas, including the Las Vegas Hilton. Jackson has struggled to pay his debts since his financial empire began to crumble following his arrest in 2003 on charges that he molested a 13-year-old boy at the ranch. He has not been seen in the Los Olivos area since a jury acquitted him of all charges, and recent aerial photos show the ranch falling into disrepair.
 
MITCH MITCHELL, DRUMMER OR HENDRIX, FOUND DEAD [AP, 11/13/08]
Mitch Mitchell, drummer for the legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience of the 1960s and the group's last surviving member, was found dead in his hotel room early Wednesday, November 12. He was 61. Mitchell was a powerful force on the Hendrix band's 1967 debut album "Are You Experienced?" as well as the trio's albums "Electric Ladyland" and "Axis: Bold As Love." He had an explosive drumming style that can be heard in hard-charging songs such as "Fire" and "Manic Depression." The Englishman had been drumming for the Experience Hendrix Tour, which performed Friday in Portland. It was the last stop on the West Coast part of the tour.Hendrix died in 1970. Bass player Noel Redding died in 2003. An employee at Portland's Benson Hotel called police after discovering Mitchell's body. Erin Patrick, a deputy medical examiner, said Mitchell apparently died of natural causes. An autopsy was planned. "He was a wonderful man, a brilliant musician and a true friend," said Janie Hendrix, chief executive of the Experience Hendrix Tour and Jimi Hendrix' stepsister. "His role in shaping the sound of the Jimi Hendrix Experience cannot be underestimated." Bob Merlis, a spokesman for the tour, said Mitchell had stayed in Portland for a four-day vacation and planned to leave Wednesday. "It was a devastating surprise," Merlis said. "Nobody drummed like he did." Mitchell performed with Hendrix and Redding at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967, the U.S. debut of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He also was member of a later version of the band that performed the closing set of the Woodstock Festival in August 1969 — where Hendrix played a psychedelic version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the band launched into "Purple Haze." During his career Mitchell played with the best in the business — not just Hendrix, but also Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Keith Richards, Jack Bruce, Jeff Beck, Muddy Waters and others.
 
BEBO VALDES CELEBRATES 90 YEARS WITH MUSIC [AP, 11/12/08]
At 90, Bebo Valdes is still unstoppable. The legendary jazz musician, who just landed one more Latin Grammy nomination, is celebrating his nine decades with a music tour along his son and fellow jazz star, Chucho Valdes, in Spain. Dionisio Ramon Valdes Amaro, his complete name, was born October 9, 1918, in the Cuban town of Quivican. After studying music in the Municipal Conservatory of Havana, he worked in 1943 as musical arranger for the Communist Party's radio station. In 1948 he started a successful decade as pianist and arranger of the iconic Tropicana club, which gave him the chance to travel all around the world. In 1960, after Fidel Castro took power, he decided to leave everything behind and left the island for Mexico. Eventually he settled in Sweden, where he lived for more than 40 years until last year, when he moved to Malaga, Spain. The musician spoke about his musical career and life lessons via e-mail, because he was too tired to do it otherwise, according to the publicist for the multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy winner. 
 
GORDON LIGHTFOOT TO TOUR IN 2009 [CBC, 11/12/08]
Legendary folk singer Gordon Lightfoot will tour for the first time since 2005, taking his act to 21 cities in Canada and the U.S. beginning in April, 2009. The Orillia, Ont.-born singer, who turns 70 this month, will start his tour April 8 in Nanaimo, B.C., followed by stops in cities including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Thunder Bay, Ont. His final concert in Canada will be in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., on April 18. Tickets go on sale Friday. Other dates include concerts in the U.S. Lightfoot, who has 16 Junos, has been in frail health since 2002, when he halted a tour because of a stomach aneurysm that nearly killed him. Since then, he has made rare appearances, especially to perform. His last tour was in 2005, with 33 dates including stopovers in Toronto, Stratford, Ont., Las Vegas, Detroit, San Francisco, Boston and Atlantic City, N.J., A companion to the Order of Canada, Lightfoot's many hits include Early Mornin' Rain, If You Could Read My Mind, Sundown and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
 
WORLD'S MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN HONORED BY GLAMOUR [FWD, 11/12/08]
For women, the night was bigger than the Oscars, the Emmys and the Grammys combined. If you combined all those awards with the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, then you might have a sense of what it felt like to attend the 19th Annual Glamour Women of the Year Awards, held Monday night, Nov. 10, at Carnegie Hall, one of New York's architectural splendors. The women honored represented not only a global cross-section of impressive achievements, but they were the preeminent examples of the world's most influential and accomplished people, man or woman: Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Jane Goodall, Nicole Kidman, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Tyra Banks, CEO Chanel Maureen Chiquet, Olympians Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, artist Kara Walker, children's human rights advocates Nujood Ali and Shada Nasser of Yemen and the six female Nobel laureates who make up the Nobel Women's Initiative. Opening with a piano-accompanied performance by multi-platinum and Grammy Award-winner Fergie, the whirlwind night reveled in a spirit of post-election optimism. "Tonight is the most electric night of the year," said Glamour Editor-In-Chief Cindi Leive as she kicked off the night's proceedings. "Okay, last Tuesday was a pretty close second." Actress Natalie Portman introduced the award for the Nobel Women's Initiative, the group of six of the seven living female Nobel Peace laureates: Kenyan environmental leader Wangari Maathai, Iranian human rights advocate Shinrin Ebadi, American anti-landmine activist Jody Williams; Irish peace activists Mairead Corrigan Maguire and Betty Williams and Guatemalan indigenous-rights worker Rigoberta Menchu Tum. The seventh laureate, Burma's Aug San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest. Together the women are working to fight violence and inequality, this year calling for an international ban on cluster bombs and meeting with female refugees in Darfur to plan for peace. "It's not about the work we do individually, but about the work we do with other people," said Jody Williams as she accepted the award with Menchu Tum and Ebadi on stage. "It's not the rainbow, it's not the dove" - she continued, citing the stereotypical feel-good peace signs - "It's hard work everyday. Feeling sad about an issue is not enough. Feeling bad about global warming is not enough. Getting up and doing something is what matters." But the highlight of the evening was the sight of Sen. Clinton gushing and gleeful at the sight of "American Idol" winner David Cook, who serenaded the woman who this year was in the running to become America's first female president.
 
JASON PRIESTLEY TAPPED AS GEMINI GALA HOST [CBC, 11/12/08]
Canadian actor Jason Priestley is coming home to celebrate this year's Gemini Awards broadcast, organizers of the annual television honours announced Tuesday, November 11. The Vancouver-born actor will serve as host of the televised Toronto gala on Nov. 28, 2008. Priestley — who shot to fame in the 1990s as Brandon Walsh on the teen soap Beverly Hills, 90210— has juggled work as an actor, director and producer over the years. He also helped promote the careers of Canadian band Barenaked Ladies in the U.S. during the 1990s, eventually even directing a music video and a feature-length documentary of the band. Presenters who will join Priestley on the Gemini stage include fellow Canadian actors Natasha Henstridge (Eli Stone), Christopher Bolton (Rent-a-Goalie) and Shenae Grimes (90210, Degrassi: The Next Generation). The 23rd annual Gemini Awards gala will reveal winners of 14 prominent television categories, including best dramatic series, best comedy and best news anchor. A humanitarian honour will also be presented to veteran Toronto news anchor Gord Martineau. Last month, three non-televised awards ceremonies presented this year's winners with the bulk of the Gemini trophies in less prominent categories.
 
JOURNEY'S "DON'T STOP BELIEVING" HITS DOWNLOADING RECORD [CBC, 11/12/08]
The 1981 song from California rockers Journey, Don't Stop Believing, has become the biggest selling song on iTunes. Reaching in excess of two million downloads, the power ballad is now the biggest-ever catalogue song on digital platforms, according to SoundScan. First made available through Apple's service in April 2003, the song made a huge resurgence in the finale of the hit mafia drama the Sopranos in June 2007. The final scene features mob boss Tony, his wife and children gathered in a diner for supper surrounded by shady characters as the screen faded to black and the song blared. The song was written by Jonathan Cain, Neal Schon and Journey's then-lead singer Steve Perry. Perry, who left the band in 1998, said he insisted on knowing the ending before allowing the song to be used. "I was not excited about [the possibility of] the Soprano family being whacked to "Don't Stop Believing," said Perry last June in an interview. The singer was told and kept the secret, not even telling his wife. Perry has said he was pleased with the way it turned out, praising series creator David Chase. "He must have heard the song enough that he wrote something that fit the lyrics," Perry said. "The whole thing blew my mind." iTunes sales soared 482 per cent between the episode's airing on June 9 and the following Tuesday, June 12. "Don't Stop Believing" was originally released in 1981 on the band's Escape album and is described by All Music Guide as having "one of the best opening keyboard riffs in rock." Back then, Don't Stop Believing reached No. 8 on the Billboard rock chart. In 2006, it was ranked as the 11th greatest song of the 1980s by VH1.
 
BOB DYLAN TURNS UP AT NEIL YOUNG'S CHILDHOOD HOME FOR A TOUR [CBC, 11/12/08]
When you live in the house where a world-famous musician grew up, it's expected to be a bit of a draw. But John Kiernan, who occupies Neil Young’s former Winnipeg home on Grosvenor Avenue, never imagined another famous musician would show up at his door. Kiernan told CBC News on Monday, November 10 that he was looking out the window a week ago Sunday and saw his wife talking with two strangers on the front lawn. “And I'm looking around, and I realize, this guy having a touque on has really great boots on, these sort of cowboy, motorcycle boots. And he was wearing really nice leather pants. And I realize I'm staring face-to-face with Bob Dylan.” After the music legend and his manager were invited into the house, Dylan asked a lot of thoughtful questions, including about Neil Young's old bedroom. “OK, so this was his view, and this was where he listened to his music. It suddenly dawned on me, when you're looking at Bob Dylan standing in a hallway, that he had a very parallel experience 200 miles to the south, sitting in his room, listening to his music, looking out his window.” Dylan grew up in Hibbing, Minn., about 500 km southeast of Winnipeg, while Neil Young spent his formative high school years playing in Winnipeg rock band The Squires. Kiernan said Dylan and his manager visited for a while before heading off to tour other areas of the city. Dylan then played a concert at Winnipeg's MTS Centre later that night, Nov. 2, 2008.
 
JON STEWART, LILY TOMLIN TO HONOR GEORGE CARLIN [AP, 11/11/08]
The late comedian George Carlin — famous for those "Seven Words You Can Never Say on TV" — will be honored Monday night November 10 with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the only award he saw as a legitimate comedy prize. Jon Stewart, Lily Tomlin and Joan Rivers will be among the comedians performing at the awards ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The prize was announced shortly before Carlin died of heart failure in June at the age of 71. This is the first time in its 11 years that the award will be presented posthumously. The program will be aired later on PBS stations. "He was thrilled," Carlin's daughter, Kelly Carlin McCall, told The Associated Press shortly before the award ceremony. "I think he represented a lot of what Mark Twain did for our country, not only being smart and funny but also being a sharp commentator." The Twain Prize was instituted in 1998 and first given to comedian and actor Richard Pryor. Recent recipients have included Billy Crystal in 2007 and Steve Martin in 2005. Carlin remained active right up until his death, and his 14th and final HBO special, "It's Bad For Ya," in which he mocks death, is scheduled for release on DVD on Nov. 25. His 1984 album, "Carlin on Campus," was re-released earlier this month. Carlin was enthralled by the 2008 election, Hamza said. He had been an early supporter of Hillary Clinton but later switched sides. "When he saw that a black guy could wind up with this, he was so excited," Hamza said of Barack Obama's election. "It's too bad he didn't live long enough. That would have really, really made him happy."
 
SINGER DAVID ARCHULETA TO PERFORM ON "Z100's JINGLE BALL 2008" [Aceshowbiz, 11/11/08]
David Archuleta is lined up along with Katy Perry to perform at annual holiday concert "Z100's Jingle Ball 2008" on December 12, 2008. Other musicians scheduled to make live appearances at the gig include Chris Brown, Leona Lewis, Ne-Yo, Jesse McCartney, Paramore, Brandy, and Lady GaGa. Prior to that, Archuleta will first make a live appearance at 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Joining him on the November 27 event are Miley Cyrus, Kristin Chenoweth, James Taylor, The Cheetah Girls, Darius Rucker, and Trace Adkins among others. Archuleta has also landed himself in the acting world. He will make his acting debut on Nickelodeon's "iCarly" in an episode titled "iRocked the Vote", playing himself. His episode will be aired next spring.
 
KATY PERRY GETS EVEN MORE WORLDLY [E! Online, 11/11/08]
Katy Perry is packing up the cherry ChapStick and hitting the road. The smooch-happy pop star is embarking on her first world tour next year in support of her debut album, One of the Boys, which contains her smash-hit single "I Kissed a Girl," as well as...some other songs. Perry's 50-city global jaunt will touch down in large clubs and small theaters from Arizona to Amsterdam. She starts off Jan. 23, 2009 in Seattle, heads to Europe a month later and then returns to the states before wrapping April 28 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Her website connects all the itinerary dots. Danish pop group Alphabeat will open for Perry on her North American dates, while electronic rockers 3OH!3 will join her overseas.
 
ANDREWS, HEY ROSETTA! SHINE AT MUSICNL FEST [CBC, 11/11/08]
Jazz guitar virtuoso Duane Andrews and St. John's alternative sextet Hey Rosetta! swept the top awards this weekend at Newfoundland and Labrador's key music industry conference. Andrews, who won male artist of the year among a haul of four awards at a MusicNL show in Gander, said Sunday night's presentation was sweet. "This is home," said Andrews, whose spirited style — inspired by his hero, jazz legend Django Reinhardt — has won acclaim from international jazz publications and fans. "You know, it's home and it's also your peers. So really for me it's just — it's inspiration. It's encouragement to just keep doing what I'm doing. Cause you need that sometimes." Andrews also won as jazz-blues artist of the year; album of the year for his latest release, Raindrops; and songwriter of the year for the tune D.D.'s Blues. Hey Rosetta! — which combines driving alternative rock with a string section — won three awards, including group of the year, entertainer of the year and pop-rock artist of the year. MusicNL presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Simani, the legendary folk duo of Bud Davidge and Sim Savory. Simani is best known for The Mummer's Song, a tune that started off as a lament for a declining Christmas tradition but has been credited with helping to keep it alive. Singer Sherry Ryan won the female artist of the year award, while St. John's ska outfit The Idlers won the Rising Star award, which recognizes up-and-coming talent. Angela Antle, the host of Weekend Arts Magazine on CBC Radio, won MusicNL's annual nod as media person of the year. Full list of 2008 MusicNL award winners are available online.
 
MUSIC NOMINATIONS FOR 2009 PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS [AP, 11/11/08]
Nominees of the 35th annual People's Choice Awards have been announced. Breaking the news are Joshua Jackson of "Fringe" and Carrie Ann Inaba of "Dancing with the Stars" alongside actors from "Gary Unmarried", Paula Marshall and Jay Mohr. It is revealed that Rihanna leads the nomination list by receiving three nods. She is nominated for "Favorite Female Singer", facing off Alicia Keys and Carrie Underwood. On "Favorite Pop Song", her up-beat jam "Disturbia" will compete with Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" and Jordin Sparks' "No Air" featuring Chris Brown. Following Rihanna's domination on the list are Brown, Underwood, Keys, Rascal Flatts, and Coldplay, who all get two nominations each. Brown is nominated for "Favorite Male Singer", battling Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley, and for "Favorite R&B Song" on which his single "With You" will compete with Rihanna's song "Take a Bow" and Keys' "No One". Beside entering a battle on "Favorite Female Singer", Underwood will also try her luck on "Favorite Country Song" where her "Last Name" will compete with Taylor Swift's "Love Story" and Rascal Flatts' "Take You There". On another category, Rascal Flatts get their second battle on "Favorite Group" along with Maroon 5 and Coldplay. Besides being nominated for "Favorite Group", Coldplay with their single "Viva La Vida" have been among the nominees of "Favorite Rock Song" with Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" and OneRepublic's "Apologize" featuring Timbaland. Meanwhile, "Favorite Hip Hop Song" will see a stiff competition between Kanye West's "Good Life", Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" featuring Static Major, and Flo Rida's "Low" featuring T-Pain. The last nomination in honor of fans' favorite in music is "Favorite Combined Forces". The collaboration between Madonna and Justin Timberlake on "4 Minutes" is set to battle joint forces between Natasha Bedingfield and Sean Kingston on "Love Like This" and Spark with Brown on "No Air". Winners will be revealed during a live show which will be hosted by Queen Latifah from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 9:00-11:00 PM, ET/delayed PT on CBS Television Network. Fans can start voting for their favorites in each category on an online voting page. The full list of Music Nominations for 2009 People's Choice Awards are available online.
 
35TH ANNUAL PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS NOMINEES FOR TV [Aceshowbiz, 11/11/08]
Several Hollywood's celebrities who have made contributions to the TV world as well as both popular and new shows that have continuously attracted audience this year have been chosen as the nominees of the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards. Among the shows that have become a favorite is medical drama "Grey's Anatomy". Not only does the show is picked as the candidate of Favorite TV Drama along with "House M.D." and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", the show's star Patrick Dempsey who portrays the famous Dr. McDreamy is put under the nomination of Favorite Male TV Star. Interestingly, he will battle it out with Hugh Laurie, the titular character of "House" in that category. "Two and a Half Men" also got its share of spotlight after revealed as the contender of Favorite TV Comedy and its star Charlie Sheen is nominated for Favorite Male TV Star. Meanwhile, from the female realm, "Samantha Who?" star Christina Applegate will have to fight with Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") and Sally Field ("Brothers & Sisters")to bring home Favorite Female TV Star. Ellen DeGeneres is also taking a nomination, being put under Favorite Talk Show Host. New categories in TV are added this year, Favorite TV Drama Diva where Holly Hunter is one of the nominees, and Favorite Scene-Stealing Guest Star where Britney Spears gets a nod. People's Choice Awards is one of the events that leads to the Oscar next year but unlike the prestigious awards show, the winners of People's Choice will be voted by movie, TV and music fans. Voting line has been opened and can be accessed at Pcavote.com in which it can also be seen other nominees from movie and music. The ceremony to hand out the prizes will be held on January 7 at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium, broadcast live by CBS at 9/8c and hosted by Queen Latifah. Nominees for 2009 People's Choice Awards are available online.
 
MANDELA MOURNS ICON MIRIAM MAKEBA [BBC, 11/11/08]
Former South African President Nelson Mandela has paid tribute to singing legend Miriam Makeba, who has died aged 76 after a concert in Italy. She was the "mother of our struggle" and "South Africa's first lady of song", Mr Mandela said. Makeba became a symbol of the fight against apartheid and spent three decades abroad after South Africa's government revoked her passport. Mr. Mandela said her haunting melodies gave voice to the pain of exile. "She... richly deserved the title of Mama Afrika," Mandela said in a message. "Her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us. Even after she returned home she continued to use her name to make a difference by mentoring musicians and supporting struggling young women," Mr. Mandela said. South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) also paid homage to her musical contribution "to the liberation of South Africa". "One of the greatest songstresses of our time has ceased to sing," South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said. "Throughout her life, Mama Makeba communicated a positive message to the world about the struggle of the people of South Africa and the certainty of victory over the dark forces of apartheid and colonialism through the art of song." Makeba was born in Johannesburg on 4 March 1932. Her singing career started in the 1950s as she mixed jazz with traditional songs. She came to international attention in 1959 during a tour of the United States with South African group the Manhattan Brothers and performed for President JF Kennedy at his birthday party in 1962. It was while living in exile in the U.S that she released her most famous songs, Pata Pata and the Click Song. She was forced into exile soon after when her passport was revoked after starring in an anti-apartheid documentary and did not return to her native country until after Mr. Mandela was released from prison in 1990. In 1963, Makeba appeared before the UN Special Committee on Apartheid to call for an international boycott of South Africa. The South African government responded by banning her records, including Pata Pata and the Click Song. Makeba was the first black African woman to win a Grammy Award, which she shared with Harry Belafonte in 1965. Charlie Gillett, who presents the BBC World of Music program, says there is nobody to compare to her, as she was popular in West Africa - after living in exile in Guinea - and East Africa - she recorded a version of the Swahili song Malaika, as well as her home in South Africa. She was African music's first world star blending different styles long before the phrase "world music" was coined. After her divorce from fellow South African musician Hugh Masekela, she married American Black Panther Stokely Carmichael and moved to Guinea. She appeared on Paul Simon's Graceland tour in 1987 in Zimbabwe. "You sing about those things that surround you," she said. "Our surrounding has always been that of suffering from apartheid and the racism that exists in our country. So our music has to be affected by all that." Makeba announced her retirement three years ago, but despite a series of farewell concerts she never stopped performing. When she turned 75 last year, she said she would sing for as long as possible.
 
COLDPLAY 2008's BIGGEST ACT AT WORLD MUSIC AWARDS [Reuters, 11/10/08]
British band Coldplay was crowned the world's top-selling act of 2008 at the World Music Awards (WMAs) in Monaco. Their latest album "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," released mid-year, topped charts in the United States, Britain, Japan, Germany, France and elsewhere. Sales apparently benefited from Coldplay's marketing strategy, including giving away the first single free over the Internet for a week and staging a series of free concerts before embarking on an international tour. The band was also named the WMA's rock act of the year at an awards ceremony, although they were not there to accept it. Beyonce and Kid Rock were among the performers on the night. The annual awards honor artists based on worldwide sales figures provided by IFPI, a London-based body representing the recording industry. The female pop award went to Britain's Leona Lewis, who outsold Madonna and Mariah Carey, while the male pop category was won by U.S. singer Kid Rock, who released the album "Rock N Roll Jesus" late in 2007. Troubled British singer Amy Winehouse, whose private life and battle with addiction have overshadowed her career success, was named female pop/rock act of the year, while Kid Rock made it a brace by winning the pop/rock male award. Alicia Keys won the world's best R&B category while Lewis capped a triumphant year with the new artist prize. Lil Wayne of the United States was named world's top hip-hop/rap artist, while Senegal-born Akon was crowned biggest Internet artist of the year. On behalf of his old band The Beatles, Ringo Starr was in Monaco to accept the diamond award, created in 2001 to honor artists who have sold more than 100 million albums during their career. According to the WMA, the Fab Four have sold more records than any other act in history, with music sales estimated by their label at more than 1 billion records worldwide. U.S. record executive L.A. Reid also received a prize for outstanding contribution to the music industry.
 
SOUTH AFRICAN SINGER MIRIAM MAKEBA DIES IN ITALY [AFP, 11/10/08]
South African singer Miriam Makeba has died aged 76 after being taken ill near the southern Italian town of Caserta following a concert, ANSA news agency reported Monday, November 10, 2008. She died overnight after taking part in a concert for Roberto Saviano, a writer threatened with death by the Mafia, the Italian agency said. Miriam Makeba, known as "Mama Africa", was the legendary voice of the African continent who became a symbol of the fight against apartheid in her home country. She died just after having sung for half an hour for the young author of "Gomorrah" at Castel Volturno near Naples along with other singers and artistes. She was taken ill and was quickly taken to a clinic in Castel Volturno where she died of a heart attack, ANSA said. Miriam Makeba was born in Johannesburg on March 4, 1932. She made an international farewell tour in 2005. Born from a Swazi mother and Xhosa father, Makeba captured international attention as vocalist for the South African group, The Manhattan Brothers, while they toured the United States in 1959. The following year, when she wanted to return home to bury her mother, the apartheid state revoked her citizenship and later also banned her music. As a result she spent 31 years in exile, living in the United States and later in Guinea. She became the first black African woman to receive a Grammy Award which she shared with folk singer Harry Belafonte in 1965. Two years later her fame sky-rocketed with the recording of the all-time hit "Pata Pata" (Xhosa for "touch, touch" describing a township dance) although she unknowingly signed away all royalties on the song. She hit an all-time low in 1985 when her only daughter, Bongi, died aged 36 from complications from a miscarriage. Makeba did not have money to buy a coffin for Bongi, and buried her alone barring a handful of journalists covering the funeral. But she picked herself up again, as she did many times before, like when her father died at a young age, or when she recovered from cervix cancer, or her many unhappy relationships, or unfounded rumours of alcoholism, according to her biography. She returned to South Africa in the 1990s after Mandela was released from prison but it took a cash-strapped Makeba six years to find someone in the local recording industry to produce a record with her. She since released "Homeland" which contains a song describing her joy to be back home after the many years in exile in which she spoke out against apartheid and testified twice before the United Nations. "I kept my culture. I kept the music of my roots. Through my music I became this voice and image of Africa and the people without even realizing," she said in her biography.
 
COUNTRY STAR MERLE HAGGARD BATTLING LUNG CANCER [Reuters, 11/10/08]
Country singer Merle Haggard, recently diagnosed with lung cancer, had part of a lung removed and is recovering at home, his spokeswoman said on Sunday, November 9. The 71-year-old singer-songwriter underwent surgery on Monday in a Bakersfield, California, hospital. "I'm feeling good ... better and better each day," Haggard was quoted as saying in a statement. "If not for the love and wisdom of my wife (Theresa), I might not be around today." Doctors removed the upper lobe of Haggard's right lung after a biopsy revealed that he had non-small cell lung cancer, the statement said. Tests revealed that all the affected tissue was removed. According to the American Lung Association, non-small cell lung cancer usually spreads to different parts of the body more slowly than the less-common small cell lung cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer of men and women in the United States. The expected 5-year survival rate for lung cancer patients is 16 percent, according to the association. Haggard has been touring and recording since 1965, combining folk, jazz, pop and blues traditions to compose songs that have been covered by the likes of Elvis Costello, the Grateful Dead and Lynyrd Skynyrd. He is perhaps best known for his anti-hippie anthem "Okie From Muskogee," which topped the charts in 1969. Haggard entered the business following a decade of run-ins with the law, culminating in a stint in California's San Quentin State Prison.
 
CARLA BRUNI GLAD TO BE FRENCH AFTER BERLUSCONI QUIP [Reuters, 11/10/08]
French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy says she is glad not to be Italian any more after hearing Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi joke about U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's "suntan." Italian-born Bruni-Sarkozy, a top model turned pop singer who wed French President Nicolas Sarkozy in February after a whirlwind romance, became a French national and lost her Italian citizenship after her marriage. In an interview with French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche published on Sunday, she criticized Berlusconi for saying on Thursday, November 6 that Obama, who will be the first black U.S. president, was "handsome, young and also suntanned." "When I hear Silvio Berlusconi making light of the event (Obama's election) and joking about the fact that Obama is 'always tanned', it feels strange to me," Bruni-Sarkozy was quoted as saying. "Some people will no doubt put it down to humor, but often I find that I am pleased to have become French," she said. Italy's left-wing opposition parties accused Berlusconi of bringing discredit on the nation with the quip. He responded by calling them "imbeciles" with no sense of humour.

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