JUSTIN BIEBER MEETS CRYING THREE-YEAR-OLD FAN
Yesterday was Justin Bieber’s 16th birthday, but before he opened his own presents, he gave a huge gift to one of his youngest, but most enthusiastic fans. Last week, three-year-old became an Internet sensation when her sister posted a video of her crying over the teen heartthrob on YouTube. In a pre-taped segment for Monday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, Bieber came face to face with the toddler. And in a fortunate turn of events, the encounter didn’t make Cody cry at all. Bieber posted a photo of their meeting and later tweeted about how much he loved meeting his little fan.
TAYLOR SWIFT’S GUITAR AUCTION ENDS WITH HIGH BID
Last Friday, Taylor Swift’s guitar brought in 16,250 dollars at a charity auction which benefits the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Taylor donated the autographed guitar from her performance at the We’re All for the Hall concert that took place in October in Nashville. The charity auction was online for only 13 days. The Taylor brand 12-string acoustic guitar, embellished with Swift’s lucky number 13, had been previously displayed in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s gift shop.
DOWNLOAD KRIS ALLEN’S SONG, HELP HAITI
Kris Allen performed a version of The Beatles’ song “Let It Be” on American Idol last week, but don’t worry if you weren’t able to catch the show. The reigning champ’s performance is available for download on iTunes and all proceeds will go to benefit the victims of the devastating Earthquake that hit Haiti in January. Learn more at KrisAllenOfficial.com, or by heading to iTunes now.
NICOLE FROM PCD WANTS MORE ROMANCE WITH MAN
Pussycat Doll lead singer Nicole Scherzinger has gotten back together with her ex-boyfriend, racecar driver Lewis Hamilton, and now we’re finding out why. A source told British magazine Hello! that they broke up because they didn’t spend enough time together, but they decided to give it another go after Nicole demanded “strict guidelines to put more romance into their relationship.” Read the whole article at HelloMagazine.com.
LIFEHOUSE’S NEW ALBUM IS IN STORES!
Lifehouse’s highly anticipated brand new album Smoke & Mirrors is finally in stores today! The band actually put a few of the songs from the effort up on their MySpace over the weekend, and Chris Daughtry wrote on Twitter that he took a listen. You don’t have to be like Chris and listen online anymore, because you can pick up a physical copy of Smoke & Mirrors right now.
DAVID COOK HEADS TO EUROPE
David Cook is headed to Europe, but if you were hoping to see him play live while across the pond, you’re going to be disappointed. The former American Idol wrote on his Twitter that although he is heading to the continent for the first time, he’ll be “writing for the new record,” not performing. A timetable for the album is yet to be given.
JOHN MAYER AND KE$HA WRITE TO EACH OTHER
John Mayer took to his Twitter account over the weekend to give his thoughts on young pop star Ke$ha. The singer-songwriter wrote that Ke$ha has won him over with her “tricks and charm” and then joked that he tried “brushing with a bottle of Jack” — a line from her hit song “Tik Tok” – and that he “chipped a tooth on the glass.” Ke$ha responded, saying, “Don’t be a little b*tch wit ur chit chat. Jus $how me whur ur d*ck’s at.” Read more at ContactMusic.com.
BRET TALKS ABOUT HIS SONG WITH MILEY CYRUS
Bret Michaels has taken some flak recently for recording his new song, “Nothin’ to Lose,” with 17-year-old Miley Cyrus. The problem is that the country-rock ballad includes lyrics like, “Won’t you fall down on me/So close I can feel you breathe.” While some fans think it is a little weird for him to be singing those words to an underage teen, Bret told UsMagazine.com that he doesn’t understand what the big deal is. He said he’s gotten “75 texts” on the scandal and explained, “I was like, ‘What the f**k is going on?’ Everyone is going nuts!” Hear the track at BretMichaels.com.
BEYONCE ALLEGEDLY STOLE PRODUCER CREDITS?
Billboard.com reports Beyonce and her father/manager Mathew Knowles allegedly stole the idea to use Stevie Nicks’ riffs on Destiny’s Child’s hit single “Bootylicioius” from record producer Rob Fusari. During an interview with Barbra Walters, Bey reportedly took credit for something that Fusari claims was all his idea. The producer told Billboard when he confronted Mathew about it, “He explained to me, in a nice way, he said, ‘People don’t want to hear about Rob Fusari, producer from Livingston, NJ. No offense, but that’s not what sells records. What sells records is people believing that the artist is everything.’”
AMERIE IS ENGAGED!!
According to TheYBF.com, Amerie is officially off the market and is now engaged to her manager, Lenny Nicholson. There were rumors circulating that the couple eloped, but the singer’s rep released a tweet stating: “Amerie just got engaged, she is not getting married, she just got engaged, that’s it.” It’s unknown how long the pair dated before Nicholson popped the question. Head over to TheYBF.com to see a picture of her diamond ring.
TRAVIS BARKER TEAMS UP WITH A NEW DJ
Travis Barker has teamed up with Alain Macklovitch, also known as DJ A-Trak, for a new project. According to Billboard, the pair will put on a DJ-drummer collaboration at The Roxy in Los Angeles on March 9th and 10th, followed by shows at SXSW in Austin, Texas later this month. Barker used to perform with the late DJ AM under the name TRAVI$DJ-AM in the same format, before AM sadly died of an overdose last year.
AMY WINEHOUSE’S DAD CAN’T STOP TALKING
Amy Winehouse’s father Mitch just can’t seem to stop talking about his daughter and her potential reconciliation with ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil. Having already vocalized his displeasure with the thought of them getting back together in the past, Mitch said on his online show that he’d be “devastated” if the pair got remarried, that “their relationship was a disaster” and that it was “lucky that one of them didn’t die.” See what else the worried dad had to say at PerezHilton.com.
MICHAEL FRANTI VIDEO BLOGS FROM NYC
Michael Franti has just posted a new video blog from his two performances with John Mayer at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Head to MichaelFranti.com now to see the singer-songwriter messing around in the World’s Most Famous Arena, as well as taking the time to introduce some of his band members to his fans.
JAY SEAN DOES THE SCRIPT
Jay Sean stopped by the Billboard.com studios for a special performance, but the pop star didn’t feel like singing his hit single “Down.” Jay decided to try his take of The Script’s song “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” and also sat down to discuss why he chose it. See Jay Sean’s rendition of the tune at Billboard.com now.
THE SCRIPT TO GO UNPLUGGED
On Friday in New York City, The Script are going to be filming an intimate concert for Vh1 Presents called The Script Unplugged, and the Irish rockers want their biggest fans to be there. The time is still TBD, so make sure you have the whole day free before you ask for tickets. Learn how to inquire about being a part of what is sure to be an amazing experience, at TheScriptMusic.com.
LADY A LIKE KRIS ALLEN, DAUGHTRY
Lady Antebellum have branched out of the country world, and apparently, vocalist Hillary Scott is a big fan of a couple of pop stars. The “I Need You Now” crooner wrote to both Kris Allen and Chris Daughtry on Twitter, saying that the band has “serious love” for both artists, and that Lady A are huge fans. Follow the group at Twitter.com/LadyAntebellum.
GANG STARR’S GURU GOES INTO CARDIAC ARREST
RapRadar.com reports former Gang Starr member, Guru, has fallen into a coma after suffering a heart attack over the weekend. It’s still not known where the 43-year-old emcee was during the time of his cardiac arrest, but we know that he was scheduled to undergo surgery yesterday afternoon in a New York hospital.
JON BON JOVI IS LOOKING FOR IDEAS
Bon Jovi are on tour in support of their latest album, The Circle, but frontman Jon Bon Jovi won’t just be playing music while on the road. According to the Associated Press, the singer will be heading to different homeless shelters in many of the cities the band heads to in an effort to get some ideas for his own charity, the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. Learn more at JonBonJoviSoulFoundation.org.
U2, SPRINGSTEEN TOP EARNERS
Billboard released their annual Money Makers List and in this edition, the chart is based on the artist’s share of revenue, not how much money each artist generated. U2 top the list with over 108-million dollars made in 2009, followed by Bruce Springsteen, who earned 57.6 mil. Madonna takes the three spot with 47-million bucks followed by AC/DC who raked in 43.6-million dollars. Metallica rounded out the top ten, earning 25 and a half million dollars. Billboard.com has all the details.
HALL & OATES’ BASSIST DIES
Tom “T-Bone” Wolk, who for almost 30 years played bass with Daryl Hall and John Oates, died on Saturday of an apparent heart attack. According to Billboard.com, Wolk, who also recorded with Billy Joel and Elvis Costello, was even supposed to perform on the one-year anniversary show of NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night. In a statement, Hall said he was “shocked” to hear about Wolk’s death, calling T-Bone his “musical brother” and saying “losing him is like losing my right hand.” Oates meanwhile called Wolk’s music sensibility “peerless” adding, “Any instrument that he touched resonated with a sensitivity and skill level that I have never experienced while playing with any other musician.” Wolk was 58 years old.
SLASH’S NEW ALBUM STREAMING ONLINE
“By the Sword,” the first single from Slash’s upcoming solo album, is now streaming online. You can get the track, which features Wolfmother’s Andrew Stockdale, at Spinner.com. Slash’s self-titled record is due out on April 6th.
ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME EXPANDS
Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has tons of artifacts and now, it will have even more space for some of them. According to the Associated Press, later this year, the museum will open its library and archives in a 12-million dollar high-tech building it shares with Cuyahoga Community College. The building will house old audio and video recordings, contracts, album covers, posters and scrap books. Head to RockHall.com for more.
Jim Morrison’s first poem will also be at the archives.
BONNAROO ARTISTS WANT TO HELP END CLIMATE CHANGE
Some of the biggest artists in the world are getting together on a new album to raise awareness of the problems with climate change. Best of Bonnaroo, which features performances from such musicians as the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, Jack Johnson, Phish and many others, is free but those who download it are asked to call or email their elected officials to do something about climate change. Learn more and get your copy of the album at MusicForAction.org.
