Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk legend, dead at 84

Canadian singer and performer Gordon Lightfoot, who rose to international fame as a folk music star in the 1960s and '70s, died on Monday. He was 84.

"Gordon Lightfoot passed away this evening in a Toronto hospital at 7:30 pm (2330 GMT)," a post on his official Facebook page read, as obituaries started pouring in from the Canadian press.

The immediate cause of death was not made public. "More info to come," read the post.

Lightfoot, born in Ontario, made his performing debut in 1943, at the age of five, singing "I'm A Little Teapot" at a local church Sunday school, according to his website.

He later found himself immersed in the Canadian and American folk scene, amid contemporaries like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.

While he is known as a folk and folk-pop star of the late 20th century, Lightfoot's popularity -- and continued songwriting -- meant he was touring internationally until just last month.

In April, the singer canceled his 2023 tour dates, citing unspecified health issues.

Lightfoot's songs -- dealing with everything from a failed marriage to the beauty of the Canadian countryside -- were covered by artists including Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan and The Grateful Dead.

The singer, known for hits such as "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," "Early Morning Rain," and "If You Could Read My Mind," was often hailed as a modern-day poet in his native Canada.

Dylan once called Lightfoot one of his favorite artists, saying "I can't think of any (songs) I don't like."

Lightfoot, on the other hand, was more reserved about his talents, once telling Canadian paper The Globe and Mail: "Sometimes I wonder why I'm being called an icon, because I really don't think of myself that way."

But his modesty was to no avail.

"He is our poet laureate. He is our iconic singer-songwriter," Geddy Lee, the lead singer of Rock band Rush, told a 2019 documentary about Lightfoot.

Lightfoot "was hailed as Canada's folk troubadour for his soulful music and stirring lyrics," broadcaster CBC wrote in its obituary.

Lightfoot is survived by his third wife, Kim Hasse, according to music publication Billboard.

Agence France-Presse

R&B star Chris Brown sued in US for rape; woman alleges being drugged, attacked

Singer Chris Brown is being sued for rape in California, with his alleged victim claiming he drugged her and attacked her on a yacht at rap mogul Diddy's Florida home.

The woman, identified in court papers only as Jane Doe, is demanding $20 million in damages from the R&B star.

According to the civil suit, which was filed on Thursday and seen by AFP, Brown invited the woman — described as a choreographer, dancer, model and musical artist — to the yacht shortly after she arrived in Miami on December 30, 2020.

She says the drink he offered her there made her feel "disoriented (and) physically unstable."

The filing says Brown led her into a bedroom where, despite her protests, he raped her.

"The traumatic events that Plaintiff Jane Doe experienced shock the conscience and should horrify all of us," says the suit, filed in Los Angeles.

"The time has come to send a message to Defendant Chris Brown that enough is enough. 

"Accordingly, Plaintiff Jane Doe brings this complaint seeking justice for herself (and also with the hope it may serve as an example for others) who may now or have in the past found themselves at the mercy of Defendant Chris Brown."

Lawyers Ariel Mitchell and George Vrabeck told TMZ their client did not report the alleged attack to the police because she was embarrassed.

AFP asked the firm if a criminal complaint would be forthcoming in the wake of the civil case, but 

was no immediate reply.

Grammy Award-winning Brown took to Instagram after news of the suit broke.

"I HOPE YALL SEE THIS PATTERN OF [blue cap emoji]," he wrote. The blue cap emoji is used to denote untruths.

"Whenever im releasing music or projects 'THEY' try to pull some real bullshit."

Brown did not specify who "they" were.

In 2009, Brown was convicted of beating fellow singer Rihanna, his girlfriend at the time, who missed the Grammy Awards because of her injuries.

He also was previously accused of raping a woman in a luxury Paris hotel. He denied the claim, and was not charged.

Agence France-Presse

'Bat Out of Hell' singer Meat Loaf dies aged 74

LONDON -- Meat Loaf, the U.S. rock star who rose to global fame with his debut "Bat Out of Hell" album, has died at the age of 74.

The singer and actor, otherwise known as Michael Lee Aday, had a career spanning six decades, and sold more than 100 million albums worldwide.

His hits included the near 10-minute long title track from "Bat of Hell," "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" from the same album, and "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" from 1993 album "Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell."

Born in Dallas, Texas, in 1947, Meat Loaf found early success on the stage in the 1970s, performing in the Broadway musicals "Hair" and "The Rocky Horror Show."

He switched focus to rock music around 1972 and started collaborating with Jim Steinman on a debut album which showcased his powerful voice and established his leather-clad, motorcycle-riding rock persona.

"Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone when the morning comes; When the night is over, like a bat out of hell, I'll be gone, gone, gone," Meat Loaf sang in "Bat of Hell."

Later on he appeared in films including "Rocky Horror Show," "Wayne's World" and "Fight Club".

A statement posted on his own Facebook page said: "From his heart to your souls ... don't ever stop rocking!"

"Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight with his wife Deborah by his side."

-reuters

Elton John says hello again with resumed goodbye tour

NEW ORLEANS — Flamboyant British rocker Elton John has resumed his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour, returning to the stage in New Orleans after a nearly two-year hiatus.

The "Tiny Dancer" and "Crocodile Rock" hitmaker, 74, played the Crescent City on Wednesday night. Marking his retirement from performing on the road, John's global tour began in September 2018. Like other musicians he was forced to postpone live shows due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Wow, we haven't played a show since the 6th of March 2020. This is a new experience for us, I've never had this amount of time off in my life ... playing music, well at least since I was 17 years of age," the singer told the crowd.

"I have a fact for you, you have been holding on to these tickets for 745 days. And I can't thank you enough for being so patient. We live in funny times but we're gonna have a great time."

Sir Elton, who in September announced he was pushing back the tour's 2021 European dates due to hip problems, has enjoyed a more than 50-year music career.

He will perform across North America until April. His tour will then take him to Europe and back to North America before playing in Australia and New Zealand next year.

He is scheduled to wrap up the tour in Europe in 2023.

(Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

-reuters

Demi Lovato regrets editing bikini pics, shares photo of her ‘cellulit’ body

Demi Lovato bared her “raw, real” bikini body, revealing at the same time that she would edit her pictures because she was “ashamed” of her body.

The pop singer, in an Instagram post today, Sept. 6, opened up on her “biggest fear”:  “A photo of me in a bikini unedited. And guess what, it’s CELLULIT!!!!”


“I’m just literally sooooo tired of being ashamed of my body, editing it (yes the other bikini pics were edited – and I hate that I did that but it’s the truth) so that others think I’m THEIR idea of what beautiful is, but it’s just not me,” she confessed.

The pictures she was referring to were posted in May while she was on vacation in Bora Bora.


“I want this new chapter in my life to be about being authentic to who I am rather than trying to meet someone else’s standards,” she said. She also mentioned that she was happy to return to work on TV and movie projects without a “strenuous workout schedule before 14 hour days” and eating watermelon for her birthday rather than a cake.

She admitted too her sentiments on her body: “Just so everyone’s clear.. I’m not stoked on my appearance BUT I am appreciative of it and sometimes that’s the best I can do.”

After the Instagram post, which now has nearly 6 million likes as of this writing, she shared on her Instagram Stories, “Literally shaking still… that was so hard for me to post.”

“But wow… so blown away by the love and support… let’s be the change we want to see!!!”

Her message received support from models such as Hailey Bieber and Ashley Graham, actresses Sarah Hyland and Megan Mullaly, and even professional wrestler Ronda Rousey.

“You look incredible,” said Bieber, while Rousey wrote, “You look even better without the editing.”

Lovato has been open about her body image issues, including her recovery from eating disorder bulimia.  /ra

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Jessie J on the ‘pain and sadness’ of being infertile

In her recent concert in London, singer Jessie J opened up about her fertility issues and the “pain and sadness” she has been feeling the past few years.

She then performed “Four Letter Word”—a track from her new album “R.O.S.E.” that hopes to inspire people when things “get really hard.”


“I was told four years ago that I can’t ever have children,” she told the crowd at the Royal Albert Hall.

But Jessie’s not asking for sympathy; she just hopes to remind other people going through similar situations that they’re not alone. “I’m one of millions of women and men that have gone through this and will go through this,” said the “Domino” singer.

“If you have ever experienced anything with this or have seen somebody else go through it, or have lost a child, then please know you’re not alone in your pain, and I’m thinking of you when I sing this song,” she said of the “Four Letter Word”—a part of which goes: “I will never give up, even if it breaks me/ Fills in my heart, we’ll meet one another/ You will be my baby, I will be your mother.”

Actor Channing Tatum, who’s rumored to be dating Jessie at the moment, attended the show and wrote on his Instagram page: “This woman just poured her heart out on stage at the Royal Albert Hall. Whoever was there got to witness something special. Wow.”—ALLAN POLICARPIO

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Garrett Clayton comes out to discuss ‘serious’ matters

Actor Garrett Clayton, who starred in Disney’s “Teen Beach Movie” and “Teen Beach 2,” recently came out of the closet as gay, in an Instagram post about a project that affected him profoundly.

Clayton, who also starred in “King Cobra” as a young gay porn actor, disclosed that he is dating another man, Los Angeles-based writer Blake Knight.

“When I read the script for ‘Reach,’ I immediately knew it was a film I had to be a part of,” the 27-year-old said. “I have personally dealt with suicide within my own family, intense bullying in high school, and—on top of it all—myself and the man I’ve been in a relationship with for a long time (@hrhblakeknight) have both experienced shootings within our hometown school systems, and have witnessed the heartache that takes place in affected communities after such tragic events.”

Clayton, whose recent theater projects include “God Looked Away” and “Sleeping Beauty and Her Winter Knight,” added, “These topics—not always easy to discuss—are close to my heart and, knowing how serious they are, I wanted to share this with you all… If watching it helps even one person, then it was all worth it.”

Posted on Knight’s page are photos of them together, and a message of thanks for the support given by Clayton’s fans.—OLIVER PULUMBARIT

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Tom Petty, heartland rocker with dark streak, dead at 66

NEW YORK—Tom Petty, the heartland rocker whose classic melodies but dark storytelling created a string of hits over four decades, died Monday of cardiac arrest, his family said. He was 66.

His family confirmed that Petty passed away Monday evening surrounded by loved ones after a confusing day in which several media outlets reported and then retracted premature news of his death.

“On behalf of the Tom Petty family we are devastated to announce the untimely death of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty,” a family statement said.

Petty early Monday suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu, just a week after he closed his career in a triumphant fashion.

The rocker had played three sold-out shows at the iconic Hollywood Bowl to wrap up a tour celebrating 40 years of his band the Heartbreakers.

He closed the encore with one of his earliest and best-known songs — “American Girl,” which tells of an ambitious girl “raised on promises” now contemplating suicide, set to guitar harmonies from the golden age of rock ‘n’ roll.

The song was one of many by Petty about struggling to overcome long odds. “I Won’t Back Down,” perhaps his best-known song, took on a second life as a US patriotic anthem after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The singer and guitarist — recognizable for his shoulder-length blonde hair — delivered his vocals in short punches that let on an underlying anger, such as on “You Don’t Know How It Feels.”

The rocker’s characters — small-town Americans full of aspirations but running into a wall of setbacks — reflected the hardscrabble early life of Petty.

His grandfather was a logger from Georgia rumored to have fled south to Florida after axing a man to death in an argument. Petty was born in Gainesville, the university town in northern Florida, to a belligerently drunk father who sold wholesale tobacco and candy.

Petty once recalled that his father, intoxicated and unimpressed by his son’s passion for music, once smashed up the boy’s record collection.

The future rocker said he told him, “Dad, if you’ll just leave me alone, I’ll be a millionaire by the time I’m 35.” It was a prediction that proved prophetic.

Rock as early escape

Petty, speaking in 2015 to Men’s Journal, credited his mother Kitty with saving him by making sure “to show us there was more to life than rednecks.”

“She read to me a lot. And she liked music: She had a record player and would play Nat King Cole and the ‘West Side Story’ soundtrack. I think of her every time I hear those songs,” he said.

But he remained consumed by inner rage.

“Any authority I didn’t agree with could just make me go crazy,” he said of his early life haunted by his father.

He struggled with depression most of his life and formed an addiction to heroin, although later in his life his only vice was marijuana and he instead embraced transcendental meditation to calm himself.

Petty embraced the country influences of the South, especially when he crafted the 1985 concept album “Southern Accents.”

Touring the United States, he flew a Confederate flag on stage — a decision he later regretted, telling Rolling Stone that “people just need to think about how it looks to a black person” as he likened the
controversial symbol to a Nazi swastika.

In a speech in February as he was presented a lifetime award at the Grammys, Petty said he owed a debt to African Americans such as Chuck Berry whom he credited as the creators of rock ‘n’ roll.

But like so many music fans of his generation, he discovered rock ‘n’ roll via Britain when he saw The Beatles perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964.

“I had my eyes opened like so many others and I joined the conspiracy to put black music on the popular white radio,” Petty said.

Campaigner for artists

Petty in the late 1980s joined one of The Beatles, George Harrison, in a supergroup, the Traveling Wilburys, that also featured Bob Dylan. The project was short-lived after the death of another member, Roy Orbison.

Fresh from the glory of the Wilburys, Petty — long backed by the Heartbreakers — in 1989 released his first solo album, “Full Moon Fever,” which featured the wistful “Free Fallin'” and “Runnin’ Down a Dream” as well as “I Won’t Back Down.”

Other major hits by Petty included “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” written with David A. Stewart of New Wave duo The Eurythmics. The track’s playful video, themed around “Alice in Wonderland,” cemented Petty’s reputation as a favorite among stoners.

The three-time Grammy winner was steadfast on artistic control and had a reputation for battling with the music industry — most memorably with the 1981 album “Hard Promises” after he was angered by his label’s plan to put the store price higher than usual.

More recently, English singer Sam Smith agreed to credit Petty as a songwriter on his worldwide hit ballad “Stay With Me” due to the similarities — coincidental, by all accounts — in the chorus to worldwide hit “I Won’t Back Down.”

Agence France-Presse

Greyson comes out

Greyson Chance, the singer who, as a 12-year-old, received international attention after his cover of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” went viral, has come out as gay in a recent Instagram post.

Chance, now 19, said he “fully realized” he’s gay when he was 16, but decided not to publicize it as a “matter of privacy.”

“I was still trying to find comfort and confidence within my own skin,” he wrote.

Greyson added: “I encourage anyone who [is] navigating their sexuality to devote as much time as they need to the process of finding self-confidence, self-acceptance and self-love.” —ALLAN POLICARPIO

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Chris Brown released after assault charge reduced

WASHINGTON — Chris Brown's misdemeanor assault charge in Washington, D.C., could further complicate the R&B singer's unsettled legal situation. Additional time behind bars remains a possibility for the singer — both in the District of Columbia and California — where Brown remains on probation for his 2009 beating of his on-again, off-again girlfriend Rihanna.


Brown emerged from a Washington court on Monday flashing a peace sign after spending more than a day in custody on a charge filed after a man accused the Grammy winner and his bodyguard of punching him and breaking his nose outside a local hotel.

Brown's arrest early Sunday comes at a crucial time for the singer, who is releasing an album this winter and is under a deadline to complete hundreds of hours of community service to satisfy his sentence for the Rihanna attack.

His day and a half in custody are the longest time the scandal-plagued singer has spent behind bars and the case represents the most serious accusations he's faced since his attack on Rihanna. Brown left the courthouse to cheers from supporters, some of whom clapped when a judge announced he would be released.

His time in custody was much longer than the few hours he spent at a Los Angeles jail after the Rihanna attack. In contrast to Brown's LA court appearances, which routinely happen in the afternoon when his case is the only one on calendar, Brown appeared in a crowded D.C. courtroom and had to wait until the end of the day for his case to be called and his release granted.

Brown is accused of punching a man who tried to get a picture with the singer and two other people near Washington's W Hotel early Sunday, according to the man's account in a police report. The report states Parker Isaac Adams, 20, said Brown told him, "I'm not down with that gay s---" and "I feel like boxing." The exact context of Brown's remarks was not immediately clear.

The man told police Brown punched him in the face, and a court filing states the man's nose was fractured. Brown's bodyguard, Chris Hollosy, stepped between them and also punched the man before grabbing Brown by the arm and leading him toward his tour bus, according to the report.

In an interview with police, Brown denied hitting the man and said he was on his tour bus when Hollosy got into a fight with Adams.

"We understand that his security acted to protect Mr. Brown and Mr. Brown's property as he was authorized to do under District of Columbia law. We are confident that Mr. Brown will be exonerated of any wrongdoing," Brown's lawyer, Danny Onorato, said after Monday's hearing.

Brown, 24, had a squeaky clean image before his attack on Rihanna on the eve of the 2009 Grammys, but since then has had several flare-ups that have been reported to authorities and noted by Los Angeles prosecutors. Brown broke a window after a 2011 "Good Morning America" interview in New York and was accused of snatching a woman's cellphone in Miami after she tried to snap pictures of the singer. He was also slightly injured in a New York nightclub brawl and earlier this year, was accused of being involved in a fistfight with Frank Ocean's entourage over a parking spot at a West Hollywood recording studio.

He was not charged in any of the incidents, but they have kept his public image tarnished, even as legions of fans continue to support him. Many of Brown's more than 13 million Twitter followers continue to come to the singer's defense and attack his critics on the site.

The release of singer's latest album, "X," was delayed earlier this year and is due to be released in the coming months. Brown's career since the Rihanna attack has been a mixed bag: his 2009 album "Graffiti" bombed but he found success with the back-to-back pop hits "Yeah 3x" and "Deuces," which was — one of 2010's top R&B songs.

He also earned his first Grammy win for his album "F. A. M. E." and received several nominations for his follow-up "Fortune." The album featured 2011's most popular rap song, "Look At Me Now."

While jail time would put a dent in his career, others — from the ultra-successful Lil Wayne to T.I. — have made it to the top of the charts after prison stints.

Brown faces an August 2014 deadline to complete 1,000 hours of graffiti cleanup or other community labor. The additional service was added earlier this year after prosecutors accused Brown of failing to properly complete his service in his home state of Virginia.

In addition to penalties Brown would face if convicted in the Washington case, he also faces the possibility of up to four years in prison if a Los Angeles judge determines he violated his probation for the Rihanna attack.

Probation officials would need to investigate the new arrest for it to become an issue in California, which could happen before Brown's next probation progress hearing on Nov. 20.

Judges typically wait to see if a person on probation is convicted in a new case before imposing new punishments, said Los Angeles defense attorney Steve Cron, however Brown's notoriety may prompt earlier scrutiny.

LA prosecutors cited the "Good Morning America" and Miami cellphone snatching incident in court filings earlier this year seeking modifications to Brown's probation. The office had no comment on the Washington arrest.

Cron said while Brown's fate depends on the facts in the Washington case, the singer's history might lead to some more time behind bars. "If the guy got hurt at all, I think he's looking at some jail time," he said.

source: lasvegassun.com

Singer / singwriter Fiona Apple arrested - police mugshot revealed

Fiona Apple has been arrested in Texas for possession of drugs found by police in a routine search of her tour bus.

The singer-songwriter, who came back with her first album in seven years earlier this year, was caught in possession of hashish by police in Sierra Blanca, Texas.

TMZ reports that Apple is still being held in Hudspeth County Jail. Fellow musicians Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg have both been arrested in Texas on similar charges in the past.

source: gigwise.com

Michelle Branch covers Rolling Stones classic

US singer-songwriter Michelle Branch has posted audio for her version of The Rolling Stones’ Play With Fire.

Track: Michelle Branch – Play With Fire

File under: sparse, country-tinged rendition of the Stones chestnut

The song was produced by John Leventhal, who previously worked on the Arizona-born Branch’s 2003 full-length Hotel Paper and 2010′s EP Everything Comes And Goes, not to mention her music with Jessica Harp in The Wreckers.

source: classicrockmagazine.com

Beck Cruises Through Catalog at 'Surprise' San Francisco Show

Is a "surprise show" packed with several hundred people that much of a surprise? Not really, but that's how Beck's gig was billed at Bimbo's last night in San Francisco. In town for the massive Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate Park this weekend, the singer squeezed in a show here at the last minute, and tickets sold out after going on sale at noon with little warning.

The show was a semi-surprise, but for the most part, the set list was not. It's been four years since Beck's last album, and in the absence of new material, the 90-minute performance drew from songs spanning most of his career, from his 1994 breakthrough Mellow Gold to 2008's Modern Guilt. The mild surprise these days lies not so much in what he'll play as in what order he'll play it. Most of his concerts, including this one, make room for favorites like the set-opening "Black Tambourine," "Girl," "Where It's At" (with a brief puzzling keyboard riff quoting Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon") and "Think I'm in Love," even if he did tease things out by waiting until the first encore to unleash the inevitable "Loser" (and, refreshingly, refrained from doing "Devil's Haircut" at all).

Even the most offbeat offering, a barely recognizable thumping blues-rock cover of Bob Dylan's "Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat," found release in 2009 on the War Child Presents Heroes benefit compilation. A little oddness peeped out elsewhere as well, with "Bad Blood" (from a soundtrack album to the HBO True Blood series) receiving only its second live performance. Oddest of all, the band tried out Neil Young's "Barstool Blues"without even having rehearsed it, as they cheerfully admitted onstage.

But if the mostly younger-than-Beck crowd was impatient to hear evidence of more recent original material, they didn't show it. The crowd's mood was made merrier by clouds of marijuana smoke, the contact high reaching the stage when the band stumbled over lyrics on "Lost Cause" and had to start over (and then launched into the second verse). "Don't hold it against us if we're playing these a little slower than usual," advised the unruffled star, sporting a natty black hat as he delivered his catalog with calm assurance.

While the five-man lineup Beck now fronts can't replicate all the sampling and miscellaneous special effects that give his studio work much of its exoticism, it also frees him to deliver a more straightforward sound unfettered by gimmickry. Few bands are as adept at combining rock and funk in equal measures, chest-thumping bass deftly supporting squealing rock guitar heroics. "Hotwax" mixed country blues (courtesy of Smokey Hormel's slide guitar), Steve Wonder and hip-hop without coming off as the forced genre-blender it would have sounded like in almost anyone else's hands.

And when Beck exchanged his electric guitar for an acoustic model for a sequence of rootsier songs in the middle of the evening, you almost wondered whether he might have missed his calling as a more sensitive country-blues-flavored singer-songwriter. He hit his most comfortable stride on the chorus of the most lilting of these, "Sunday Sun." Almost as if to make sure the crowd didn't get as comfortable as Beck, however, Hormel and bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen concluded the song with some ear-piercing, amp-humping feedback.

Indeed, Meldal-Johnsen was more animated than the bandleader, leaping onto the drum riser at a couple points. Beck himself rarely strayed more than a few feet from his microphone. Only occasionally did he utter droll asides to the audience, enigmatically announcing, "We have come to tell you about the rhythms of . . . Glendale" before launching into the title cut from Modern Guilt. No comments were forthcoming on his just-announced December 2012 "album" Beck Hansen's Song Reader, featuring 20 songs and "existing only as individual pieces of sheet music, never before released or recorded." Perhaps actually playing them in concert might have been spoiling the fun, at least before those buying the album have the chance to play the tunes themselves.

Beck did have one more genuine surprise to unveil, however, before the evening was over. Barely had the second encore, "Mutherfuker," gotten off the ground before he brought it to a halt, finding it not "grooving" enough for a Thursday night San Francisco audience. Revving up their engines again, the band launched into a far faster and funkier version, somewhat along the lines of how Sly & the Family Stone might have played it. "Okay, that's enough dancing," Beck barked after a few minutes, ever the contrarian. "Stop!"

source: rollingstone.com

More Posthumous Amy Winehouse Albums Announced As Nas Duet Premieres And One-Year Anniversary Of Death Nears

In an interview with BBC 6 Music, Amy Winehouse's father, Mitch Winehouse, said that fans should expect one or two more albums of never-before-released material from the late Grammy-winning singer, who passed away July 23, 2011.

"I'm not sure that there is much more but I'm sure that we will get at least one other album out, if not two. There are loads of covers, loads of them, but the problem is we don't want want to rip anybody off," Mitch Winehouse said. "When her fans are so precious to us we don’t want to put out dross."

One posthumous album, 'Lioness: Hidden Treasures, was released to strong sales late last year.

The news comes just a day after her second duet with Nas, "Cherry Wine," from his upcoming Life is Good album leaked online. Nas also appeared on Winehouse's Lioness track "Like Smoke."

source: newsroom.mtv.com

Fiona Apple Reveals Battle With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

The charming Fiona Apple finally dropped her first album in seven years yesterday – ahem, The Idler Wheel Is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do, which is ten tracks of honest perfection (reviews so far have been wildly positive). Despite her widespread appeal, the reclusive singer admits to a history of coping with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

“I had really bad obsessive-compulsive disorder,” Apple tells Elle (via Yahoo). “At its worst, I was compelled to leave my house at three o'clock in the morning and go out in the alley because I just knew that the paper-towel roll I threw in the recycling bin was uncomfortable, like it was lying the wrong way, and I would be down in the garbage."

While Apple says she’s doing better now, she still has issues with OCD that keep her from travelling very much: "I'll be going to [Los Angeles venue] Largo to see my friends ... [and] I'll start freaking out, and it won't stop until I'm actually there."

Similarly, she told Pitchfork earlier this month, "I still don't know how to drive. I don't go anywhere, really, except for Largo. My brother drives me. I walk around my neighborhood but I don't go anywhere, nor do I want to."

Clearly, Apple is quite the emotional person. She said as much during a rare chat with Jimmy Fallon earlier this week. Fallon recounted opening up a concert for Apple with a comedy routine. He became concerned during her performance when she had an emotional breakdown and couldn’t stop crying. She seemed to laugh off the incident to Fallon, saying she’s simply a “human being” and became “overwhelmed” during her concert.

source: mtv

Sheryl Crow Claims Benign Brain Tumor Gives Her ‘A Fit’

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sheryl Crow was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year but she does not worry about it because it is benign, the singer-songwriter told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

In a story posted on the newspaper’s website on Tuesday, Crow, whose hits include “All I Wanna Do” and “Soak Up the Sun,” said the tumor was discovered when she went to a hospital to be tested because she was experiencing memory loss.

“I haven’t really talked about it,” she told the newspaper’s nightclub and entertainment reporter Doug Elfman, “In November, I found out I have a brain tumor. But it’s benign, so I don’t have to worry about it. But it gives me a fit.”

A representative for the singer was not immediately available for comment.

Crow told the Review-Journal that she has a history of memory loss dating back to the 1990s when she forgot the lyrics to her hit “A Change Would Do You Good” while singing in a show in Las Vegas.

“I worried about my memory so much that I went and got an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). And I found out I have a brain tumor,” she said. “And I was like, ‘See? I knew there was something wrong.’”

She made headlines in May when she forgot words to “Soak Up the Sun” at a show in St. Petersburg, Florida. Onstage at the time, she joked, “I’m 50. What can I say!”

Crow, who has two children, was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in 2006, which was successfully treated that year.

source: mb.com.ph

John Mayer Cancels Tour After Throat Condition Returns

John Mayer has been forced to take an indefinite break from live performance after learning that a granuloma on his vocal cords has grown back after doctors believed it had healed. The singer went to the doctor after noticing that something about his voice wasn't quite right in rehearsal on Tuesday. "This is bad news," Mayer wrote on his Tumblr this morning. "Though there will be a day when all of this will be behind me, it will sideline me for a longer period of time than I care to have you count down."

The singer says that his new album Born and Raised, which had been delayed by his throat ailment, will be released on May 22nd as scheduled, and in the meantime he will begin work on writing new songs. "I feel really vibrant as a writer at the moment and there’s no reason not to begin the next album project in the time I would have been touring," says Mayer. "Somewhere in all of this is another surgery and a very long chemically-imposed period of silence, so I hope you’ll understand that I have to really pick that date carefully.

"I’m pretty emotionally burnt out at the moment, but please know how hard I tried to resolve this and how disappointed I am that I can’t perform this record yet," Mayer added.

article source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/john-mayer-cancels-tour-after-throat-condition-returns-20120309

Fiona Apple Unveils 23-Word Album Title

Fiona Apple has revealed that her long-delayed fourth album will be titled The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do. This incredibly long title would be very weird for pretty much any other artist on the face of the earth, but readers should remember that the singer's second album, generally known as When the Pawn…, was in fact an eight-line poem. It's likely that the singer's audience will take to abbreviating the new album's title as simply The Idler Wheel, since that is easier to remember than a 23-character acronym.

As of yet there is no official release date set for The Idler Wheel, but Epic is planning to have it stores sometime in June. The singer has committed to a number of tour dates in the near future, including a small theater tour later this month and a set at the Governor's Ball festival in New York City in June.

source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/fiona-apple-unveils-23-word-album-title-20120307

Noel Gallagher: 'If Obama loses, I'll run for president myself'

(CNN) -- "I don't know the ins and outs of his politics (but) for his procession to become President I was in America and his speeches were spine tingling. Barack Obama can talk, and coming after Bush it was something to behold. In my humble opinion, if he loses the next election to the other bunch then, good Lord, I will run myself."

So says Noel Gallagher, former creative force of British band Oasis and one of rock 'n' roll's biggest mouths. Singer-songwriter, brother to Liam and now a U.S. presidential candidate: 2012 promises to be quite a year for the 45-year-old whose song-writing talent has taken him from unemployment in a city called Manchester in northern England to sell-out stadium tours around the world, playing to millions.

By September, Gallagher will have completed the tour of his first solo album since the demise of Oasis in 2009; an expedition entailing 81 shows across Europe, the Pacific (Japan and Australia) and America as well as being a voyage into the unknown for the forthright backing-singer-now-frontman.

It was initially intended as a small affair, but such has been the demand for the new record -- "Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds" topped the charts in the UK in October 2011-- theaters have rapidly been upgraded to arenas to cope with demand. A move that surprised the man himself and maybe explains the overriding mood of calm satisfaction the guitarist exudes from beneath a leather jacket as he sits down with a coffee to talk to CNN.

source: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/06/showbiz/music/noel-gallagher-oasis-obama-high-flying-birds/index.html

Fans: Whitney Houston's music spanned an era, breaking barriers and records

(CNN) -- Another musical titan whose soaring voice ruled the charts for decades has fallen.

Whitney Houston joins an august list of the departed since Michael Jackson's death nearly three years ago.

"First there was MJ, then there was Heavy D and now Whitney," said Shaun Jones, 47, of Titusville, Florida, adding that he jumped out of bed in disbelief when he heard news of Houston's death.

Rapper Heavy D died last year, as did Nick Ashford, who was one half of the Motown duo Ashford and Simpson.

And in late 2010, singer Mary Christine Brockert, better known by her stage name Teena Marie, died in her sleep.



"It's shocking ... all these people are legends. A lot of them are dying too young. It's crazy."

Pop icons such as Houston enjoyed staggering success through the 1980s and into the 1990s, and served as role models to a generation of singers today.

Announcements about their deaths are always almost followed by tributes from younger pop stars acknowledging how much influence they've had on their careers.

"Icons from that era stood out," Jones said. "They had distinct voices -- I can always tell when a song is by Whitney -- they made music back then."

Stunned celebrities who gathered for pre-Grammy festivities in Los Angeles expressed their shock Saturday night as fans worldwide paid tribute to the singer whose music spanned borders and generations.

"I remember dedicating some Whitney songs while writing letters to girls in my high school," said Mark Keith Muhumuza, who lives in Kampala, Uganda.

The 26-year-old said his favorites included "The Greatest Love of All" and "I Will Always Love You," which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the second-longest reign in the chart's history.



Houston's decorated music career included smash hits such as "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," six Grammys and a slew of Billboard and American Music Awards. She also appeared in movies such as "Bodyguard" and "The Preacher's Wife."

"She was fresh, her music just drove everybody to want to dance," Jones said. "We all knew she was gonna be somebody -- I can't believe she's gone."



While she ruled as the queen of pop in the 1990s, a rocky personal life tainted her skyrocketing success.

Her marriage to Bobby Brown and their tumultuous years were marred by allegations of drug abuse and domestic violence. The pair starred in a reality show, "Being Bobby Brown," an unflattering look at their challenges as couple.

"Despite her personal setbacks, I never stopped believing in Whitney," Jones said. "It hurt me, and I'm sure it hurt a lot of fans. ... But she was trying to turn her life around. People always remember the bad things, but I am going to remember her for the good things."

Like Jones, her fans say they will focus on her legacy as a singer and the happy memories she brought to their childhoods.

"I can still remember riding with my sister as a teenager and first hearing, 'I Will Always Love You' on the radio. It was the most beautiful song that I had ever heard. It was breathtaking," said Traci Nichols of Bowie, Maryland. "Whenever I had a bad moment, I would play Whitney's CDs and sing along with them, and then, I would immediately feel better. I still do this because her music continues to uplift me."

She had a mesmerizing voice and a perfect poise, Nichols said, a trait that made fans feel connected to her.

"When I was a kid, she was the one I wished I could be -- supremely talented, gorgeous, amazing effortless performances, and she looked like she was having so much fun," said Marina Nelson, a San Francisco resident. It's a shame she didn't have a happier life while her music provided the soundtrack for so many fun times when I was growing up."

Nichols plans to do her part to ensure that despite Houston's untimely death, her legacy will live on.

Come Monday, she will discuss the legendary singer's appeal with her 11th-grade students.

source: CNN