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  • U.S. country singer Travis charged with public drunkenness

    Singer Travis arrives at the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las VegasSAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Grammy-winning country singer Randy Travis was arrested and charged with public drunkenness on Monday in Sanger, Texas after police found him sitting in his truck, apparently intoxicated, in front of a church. Sanger Police Chief Curtis Amyx said an officer stopped at the church and noticed the smell of alcohol on Travis and saw an open bottle of wine. The officer said Travis' speech was slurred. Travis was charged with public intoxication and was released after a couple of hours in jail, Amyx said. ...


  • How low can you go? Record label launches bass hunt

    LONDON (Reuters) - The Decca music label is looking for a singer who can go where no other singer is believed to have gone before -- a low "E," which is nearly three octaves below a middle "C" on the piano. Paul Mealor, the composer behind the surprise British Christmas chart hit "Wherever You Are" sung by The Military Wives choir, has written a composition called "De Profundis (Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord." It features a low E which is six semitones lower than the "B Flat" from Rachmaninov's "Vespers. ...

  • Adele's live comeback at February 12 Grammy Awards

    Adele performs LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British chart-topper Adele will make her live comeback at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in just under two weeks, after being on vocal rest since throat surgery sidelined the singer late last year. The 23-year-old singer tweeted the news to her fans, saying "Ima be, Ima be singing at the Grammys. It's been so long I started to forget I was a singer! I can't wait, speak soon xx." In a statement, Adele said she was "immensely proud to have been asked to perform" at music's biggest night on February 12 after a three-month hiatus on vocal rest. ...


  • Arctic Monkeys dominate NME music nominations

    Members of the Arctic Monkeys Jamie Cook, Alex Turner, Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders pose for a portrait in New York's Central ParkLONDON (Reuters) - The Arctic Monkeys lead the field with seven nominations at the NME music awards, including best British band, best album and best track. The shortlists were decided by around eight million public votes, and the winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on February 29 at London's O2 Academy Brixton. "We're up for all the big ones -- we're very happy," said Matt Helders, drummer for the Arctic Monkeys. ...


  • Michael Jackson Cirque du Soleil show heads to Europe

    Cirque du Soleil's CEO Laliberte attends premiere of Michal Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour show by Cirque du Soleil in Montreal(Reuters) - Michael Jackson's Cirque du Soleil tribute show is headed to Europe, travelling to 16 cities after a year-long tour of North America, promoters said on Monday. "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour", the only major tribute show approved by the Jackson estate, will open in London on October 12 then visit cities in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Spain. The show combines Jackson's biggest hits with dance and Cirque du Soleil's signature acrobats and high wire stunts in a celebration of the "Thriller" singer's impact on international pop culture. ...


  • First single from new Madonna album released February 3

    Madonna poses for photographers as she arrives for the premiere of the film LONDON (Reuters) - The first single from Madonna's upcoming album "MDNA" is called "Give Me All Your Luvin'" and is set for a February 3 release, two days before the singer performs at the Super Bowl on Sunday. The track features Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. and was composed by Martin Solveig and Michael Tordjman, and marks Madonna's return to music after focusing on directing her new movie "W.E. ...


  • Manchester's Happy Mondays reunite for tour in May

    LONDON (Reuters) - Happy Mondays will re-form for a month-long tour in May, singer Rowetta Satchell has confirmed, following in the footsteps of fellow Manchester rockers The Stone Roses who reunited in October. Happy Mondays, closely associated with the rave culture of the time, rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s when they produced hits like "Step On" and "Kinky Afro". The group broke up nearly 20 years ago and has been back in variations incarnations since then. But the 2012 reunion has been billed as the first time the main lineup will share the stage since 1992. ...

  • Cheryl Cole to debut new single on The Voice, take that Simon Cowell!

    Cheryl Cole has been very quiet on the music front for a long time. However, it seems that we won't have to wait too long to hear her latest offerings, after rumours emerged that she's set to debut her new …

  • Blues singer Etta James remembered in Los Angeles

    Musician Stevie Wonder sings at the funeral service of singer Etta James, who died last week at age 73, at City of Refuge in Gardena, CaliforniaLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hundreds of mourners gathered at a Los Angeles-area church on Saturday to remember rhythm-and-blues singer Etta James, saying she overcame great personal and professional hurdles to sing "the times that she lived." During a two-hour service that featured performances by pop stars Stevie Wonder and Christina Aguilera, the Rev. Al Sharpton eulogized James as a woman who rose from a tough childhood and poured her pain into her music. Aguilera performed a version of "At Last," James' show-stopping hit and best-known song. ...


  • Jesse Jackson adds voice to Grammy protest

    Reverend Jesse Jackson arrives at the BET Honors in Washington(Reuters) - Civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse James on Friday urged Grammy organizers to reinstate 31 ethnic and minority musical categories that have been cut from the music industry's top awards. In a letter to Recording Academy president Neil Portnow, sent three weeks before the February 12 Grammy Awards show, Jackson said the elimination of awards for Native American and Hawaiian musicians, and cuts in Latin Jazz, R&B and other categories were ill-considered and unfair. ...


  • Loved and loathed, Lana Del Rey set to face the music

    Publicity photo of singer Lana Del ReyLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rarely has a pop star just starting out been so loved and loathed as Lana Del Rey, the 25-year-old who has filled acres of newspaper column inches even before her debut album "Born to Die" hits shelves next week. First came the "breakthrough" when her video for the song "Video Games" was viewed millions of times on YouTube leading to the sultry chanteuse becoming the talk of the music business. ...


  • Father slams Winehouse catwalk show

    John Paul Gaultier's latest fashion show was inspired by Amy WinehouseThe grieving father of Amy Winehouse has accused a top fashion designer of cashing in on the late singer's death by using her as the inspiration for his latest catwalk show.


  • Leonard Cohen's new take on "Old Ideas"

    Canadian singer-songwriter Cohen attends a news conference in OviedoNEW YORK (Reuters) - Sitting in a dimly lit New York City bar wearing a trilby hat and a dark suit, no tie, singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen pauses before responding to a question about how his ideas have changed over his lengthy career. He smiles and recalls something his close friend, the late Canadian poet Irving Layton, once said. "'Leonard's mind has not been contaminated by a single idea,'" the 77-year-old Cohen quipped dryly, eliciting laughter from an audience gathered for a preview of his first studio album of new material in eight years, 'Old Ideas. ...


  • Ne-Yo want to integrate music as new Motown A&R VP

    In this Jan. 10, 2012 photo, actor and recording artist Ne-Yo poses for a portrait in New York. Ne-Yo has been named senior vice president of A&R for Motown Records. (AP Photo/Carlo Allegri) Ne-Yo has a dream: He believes the record industry is segregated, and has hopes of changing that as the new senior vice president of artists and repertoire for Motown Records.


  • Factbox - Nominations for Academy of Country Music awards

    (Reuters) - Nominations were announced on Thursday for the Academy of Country Music awards, to be handed out in Las Vegas on April 1. ...

  • Kenny Chesney leads Academy of Country Music nominees

    Kenny Chesney performs during NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) - Kenny Chesney grabbed the lead with nine award nominations on Thursday from the Academy of Country Music, which hands out its prizes on April 1 in Las Vegas. Jason Aldean was the runner-up with six nods and trio Lady Antebellum had five. Chesney will have plenty of competition for the fan-voted Entertainer of the Year trophy from nominees Aldean, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton and last year's winner Taylor Swift. Fans can vote for entertainer of the year and new artist of the year beginning on March 19. ...


  • Kenny Chesney leads country music nods with 9

    In this June 17, 2011 photo, Kenny Chesney appears on the NBC Kenny Chesney's steamy duet, "You and Tequila" with Grace Potter, continues to radiate heat.


  • Gaultier channels Winehouse, stars shop for Oscars

    A model wears a creation by French Fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier as part of his presentation for Women's Spring Summer 2012 Haute Couture fashion collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, Jan. 25 2012. (AP Photo/ Jacques Brinon) The final day of Paris's spring-summer haute couture week saw Jean Paul Gaultier serve up a cigarettes-and-all homage to late singer Amy Winehouse and Valentino show off the dazzling couture work of seamstresses who toiled for thousands of hours to create a lavish white collection.


  • Murdoch-backed music start-up bankrupt before launch

    (Reuters) - Beyond Oblivion, a digital music start-up backed by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and investment bank Allen & Co Director Stanley Shuman has filed for bankruptcy protection after spending millions of dollars building a service that never saw the light of day. Journalists were given a preview of the New York start-up service that aimed to give away a limitless library of digital music with devices that had the Beyond Oblivion software pre-installed. Such a plan would have had music licensing costs running at tens of millions dollars even before it achieved any scale. ...

  • Music has a greater presence at Sundance festival

    Common, a cast member in The 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Utah isn't just about movies. Festival director John Cooper says organizers added more music to the 11-day festival this year to encourage relationships between independent filmmakers and musicians.


  • Downtown and all around New York with Petula Clark

    To match story PETULACLARK/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Petula Clark likes to think of herself as the Beatles' big sister. After all, the singer's biggest hit "Downtown" personified the 1960's "British Invasion" of America just as much as John, Paul, George and Ringo, or the more grungy Rolling Stones. "The Beatles were fairly reassuring, apart from their funny haircuts, but the Stones and everything else was pretty aggressive," she said of the '60's sea-change in pop music. "I was reassuring to parents," she told Reuters. "I was little bit older and I wasn't singing protest songs! "I was sort of like the big sister. ...


  • Country music great Haggard recovering from pneumonia

    NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) - Country singer Merle Haggard, who was admitted to a Georgia hospital last week after illness forced him to cancel a show, was recovering from a host of health issues discovered while he was being treated for pneumonia, his spokeswoman said on Tuesday. Haggard was admitted to hospital on January 17, when illness forced him to cancel a show in Macon, Georgia, just moments before taking the stage. He later said that being hospitalized "probably saved my life. ...

  • US hospital must pay $1M to Garth Brooks

    Country singer Garth Brooks leaves a courtroom during a civil trial at the Rogers County Courthouse in Claremore, Okla. on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Brooks says an Oklahoma hospital pledged to name a women's center for his late mother in return for $500,000, but a deposition unveiled Monday showed that, after filing a lawsuit, the country singer couldn't remember what he had been promised. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, Matt Barnard) An Oklahoma hospital in Garth Brooks' hometown must pay $1 million to the country singer because it failed to build a women's health center in honor of his late mother, jurors ruled Tuesday evening.


  • Okla. hospital must return $500K to Garth Brooks

    Country singer Garth Brooks leaves a courtroom during a civil trial at the Rogers County Courthouse in Claremore, Okla. on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Brooks says an Oklahoma hospital pledged to name a women's center for his late mother in return for $500,000, but a deposition unveiled Monday showed that, after filing a lawsuit, the country singer couldn't remember what he had been promised. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, Matt Barnard) An Oklahoma hospital in Garth Brooks' hometown must return a $500,000 donation to the country singer because it failed to build a women's health center in honor of his late mother, jurors ruled Tuesday evening.


  • US hospital must return $500K to Garth Brooks

    Country singer Garth Brooks leaves a courtroom during a civil trial at the Rogers County Courthouse in Claremore, Okla. on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Brooks says an Oklahoma hospital pledged to name a women's center for his late mother in return for $500,000, but a deposition unveiled Monday showed that, after filing a lawsuit, the country singer couldn't remember what he had been promised. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, Matt Barnard) An Oklahoma hospital in Garth Brooks' hometown must return a $500,000 donation to the country singer because it failed to build a women's health center in honor of his late mother, jurors ruled Tuesday evening.


  • Jury considers returning $500K to Garth Brooks

    Country singer Garth Brooks leaves a courtroom during a civil trial at the Rogers County Courthouse in Claremore, Okla. on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Brooks says an Oklahoma hospital pledged to name a women's center for his late mother in return for $500,000, but a deposition unveiled Monday showed that, after filing a lawsuit, the country singer couldn't remember what he had been promised. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, Matt Barnard) Garth Brooks' lawyer told jurors Tuesday that the country singer kept his promise by donating $500,000 to his hometown hospital, but that the Oklahoma hospital broke its pledge to honor Brooks' late mother by building a women's health center.


  • Downtown and all around New York with Petula Clark

    To match story PETULACLARK/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Petula Clark likes to think of herself as the Beatles' big sister. After all, the singer's biggest hit "Downtown" personified the 1960's "British Invasion" of America just as much as John, Paul, George and Ringo, or the more grungy Rolling Stones. "The Beatles were fairly reassuring, apart from their funny haircuts, but the Stones and everything else was pretty aggressive," she said of the '60's sea-change in pop music. "I was reassuring to parents," she told Reuters. "I was little bit older and I wasn't singing protest songs! "I was sort of like the big sister. ...


  • Music sales fall again in 2011, but optimism grows

    Adele performs LONDON (Reuters) - Digital music revenues rose eight percent in 2011 to $5.2 billion (3.3 billion pounds), but it was not enough to prevent another annual decline in the overall market to $16.2 billion from $16.7 billion in 2010. Figures released on Monday by record industry body the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) confirmed expectations that a downward trend which began in the late 1990s continued last year. ...


  • Heidi Klum, Seal call it quits

    Model Heidi Klum and husband singer Seal pose on arrival at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles(Reuters) - Supermodel and "Project Runway" TV host Heidi Klum and British singer Seal are separating after seven years of marriage, a parting the pair termed amicable in a statement on Sunday night. "While we have enjoyed seven very loving, loyal and happy years of marriage, after much soul-searching we have decided to separate," the two said in a statement. "We have had the deepest respect for one another throughout our relationship and continue to love each other very much, but we have grown apart. ...


  • Country music star Brice escapes bus fire in US

    A tour bus carrying country music star Lee Brice caught on fire outside a restaurant in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa, forcing the musician and his crew to flee.

  • Country music star Brice escapes bus fire in Ariz.

    A tour bus carrying country music star Lee Brice caught on fire outside a restaurant in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa, forcing the musician and his crew to flee.

  • James' passion, great range remembered

    FILE - In this April 29, 2006 photo, Etta James performs during the 2006 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans. James, the feisty rhythm and blues singer whose raw, passionate vocals anchored many hits and made the yearning ballad On her last album "The Dreamer," released just three months before her death, Etta James sings a mix of covers, from the R&B classic "Misty Blue" to the Ray Charles song "In the Evening." But perhaps the most curious tune included on the disc may be the Guns N' Roses staple "Welcome to the Jungle."


  • Blues singer Etta James dies at 73

    File photo of jazz singer and songwriter Etta James in HollywoodLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Etta James, the influential 1950s rhythm-and-blues singer best known for her show-stopping hit "At Last," died on Friday from complications of leukaemia in a California hospital surrounded by her family. She was 73. Her death prompted tributes from numerous musicians and artists who were influenced by her singing, from pop star Mariah Carey to Aretha Franklin and legendary rock band The Doors. James died in her home town of Riverside, California, east of Los Angeles, said her manager and friend of some 30 years, Lupe De Leon. She would have turned 74 on Wednesday. ...


  • HMV gets lifeline to keep the music playing

    Shoppers walk past the HMV store in HarrogateLONDON (Reuters) - Hopes that struggling entertainment retailer HMV can survive were boosted after it cut deals with banks and music and film suppliers that will see an imminent test of its lending rules waived and future tests relaxed. Shares in the 91-year-old retailer more than doubled on Friday after it said its banking syndicate led by state-backed Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland had agreed to amend the covenant package on its existing borrowings. ...


  • Legendary blues singer Etta James dies in US

    In this, April 6, 1987, photo, singer Etta James performs at the Vine St. Bar & Grill in Hollywood, Calif. The singer's manager says Etta James has died in Southern California. Lupe De Leon tells The Associated Press the singer died early Friday, Jan. 20, 2012 at Riverside Community Hospital. De Leon says the cause of death is complications of leukemia. (AP PhotoAlison Wise) Etta James, the feisty rhythm and blues singer whose raw, passionate vocals anchored many hits and made the yearning ballad "At Last" an enduring anthem for weddings, commercials and even President Barack Obama, died Friday. She was 73.


  • Renowned Jamaica producer Winston Riley dies at 65

    Winston Riley, an innovative reggae musician and producer, has died of complications from a gunshot wound to the head. He was 65.

  • Factbox - Etta James

    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Three-time Grammy winner Singer Etta James, a pioneer of 1950s rhythm-and-blues and rock music known for her show-stopping hit "At Last," died on Friday at the age of 73. Following are some keys facts about James. * James died on Friday, January 20., due to complications from leukaemia, according to her longtime manager and friend Lupe De Leon. Her live-in doctor said in December she was terminally ill. She had been in failing health for a number of years and also suffered from diabetes, kidney problems and dementia. ...

  • "Willie and the Hand Jive" singer Johnny Otis dies at 90

    Musician Johnny Otis is pictured in this handout photograph released by Broadcast Music, Inc (BMI) to Reuters January 19,2012.LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Johnny Otis, singer of the 1958 hit "Willie and the Hand Jive", has died in California at the age of 90. Otis died on Tuesday in the Los Angeles suburb of Altadena, his friend and music historian Tom Reed told Reuters. "His role in pop and rock'n'roll music made him a legend, he could do it all. He is one of the greatest talents of American music and he was a great American," said Reed. ...


  • Paul McCartney blows "Kiss" to Hollywood

    Former Beatle McCartney greets fans as he leaves a hotel before driving to Olympiysky complex to perform in a concert, in Moscow(Reuters) - Paul McCartney's new album "Kisses on the Bottom" will see the legendary Beatles' singer harking back to the golden era of Hollywood, bringing both old favourites and new compositions to his latest musical offering. "Kisses on the Bottom," named after the lyrics on the album's first track "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter," will showcase the former Beatle on a "deeply personal journey" singing classic American songs that inspired McCartney and bandmate John Lennon when they wrote songs for the Beatles. ...


  • Johnny Otis of 'Willie and the Hand Jive' dies

    Johnny Otis, the "godfather of rhythm and blues" who wrote and recorded the R&B classic "Willie and the Hand Jive" and for decades evangelized black music to white audiences as a bandleader and radio host, has died. He was 90.