American Idol Replaces Paula Abdul With Ellen DeGeneres

DeGeneres told her talk show audience in an episode scheduled to air Thursday that she would not abandon her Emmy-winning chatfest, but would have "a day job and a night job." - more on this story

Brad Paisley Leads The CMA Nominations

Yahoo reports: Brad Paisley led the list of nominees for this year's Country Music Association awards, to be handed out November 11 in Nashville, the CMA said on Wednesday.

Paisley will compete for the top honor of Entertainer of the Year with Taylor Swift, the first solo female artist nominated in that category since 2000. Other nominees in the category were Kenny Chesney, George Strait and Keith Urban.

Chesney has won the Entertainer award in four out of the past five years , tying him with Garth Brooks for the most wins in the category. - more on this story

Apple Launching Expensive iTunes LP Packages and Ringtones

Billboard reports: Apple CEO Steve Jobs returned to the keynote stage at the company's press event, for the first time since his liver transplant earlier this year, to announce several upgrades to the iTunes service, as well as a new line of video-recording iPod Nanos.

Among a range of improvements to the iTunes software is the addition of what Jobs called the iTunes LP, the official name for the digital album project known until now as Cocktail. Artists such as Bob Dylan, the Doors and Dave Matthews already have iTunes LPs for sale in the store, offering exclusive bonus tracks, videos, photos, lyrics and more for $17 to those users who upgrade to the new version of iTunes.

Additionally, as previously reported, Apple is adding ringtones to iTunes. Until now, iTunes allowed customers to create their own ringtones from certain tracks sold on iTunes, but availability was extremely limited. - A lot more details on these new offerings

Twilight Star Tapped for VMA Preshow

MTV reports: MTV News takes the red carpet to new heights by giving the audience unprecedented access inside the VMAs during the "2009 VMA Preshow" on Sunday, September 13 at 8pm ET/PT.

MTV News reporters Sway & Tim Kash along with our celebrity guest fashion correspondent, Twilight's Ashley Greene, will bring fans all the red carpet action from right outside New York's iconic Radio City Music Hall.

Inside the iconic venue, reporter Jim Cantiello & Kim Stolz will scour the backstage areas to track down all the VMA secrets and show last minute, behind the scenes prep. - more on this story

The Cheap Date Tour featuring Forever The Sickest Kids, The Rocket Summer, Sing It Loud, My Favorite Highway

PR reports: Forever The Sickest Kids will embark on their first ever headlining tour. "The Cheap Date Tour" will kick off this October and run to the end of the year. [Corporate names removed] are all co-sponsors of the event.

"The Cheap Date Tour" coincides nation-wide with the first release of the EP, Friday arriving on November 17, 2009 , the first of three mini FTSK albums to be released in succession in 2010, the group's innovative approach to following up their successful Universal Motown album debut Underdog Alma Mater. Their 2008 debut album was released in a deluxe version in July 2009.

The group just spent the past summer rocking Van's Warped Tour with their unique musical style which features a blend of classic-lined power-pop, punk energy and space-age electronics. - more on this story

Laura Izibor Tour Plans

Atlantic Records reports: Atlantic recording artist Laura Izibor has announced a busy schedule of fall concert dates. The critically acclaimed Irish soul singer will join John Legend as special guest on his upcoming US tour, kicking off on September 16th at Humphrey's Concerts By The Bay in San Diego.

Izibor also has slated a number of major headline shows, including eagerly anticipated dates in Los Angeles, West Palm Beach, and New York City (see attached itinerary).

The tour marks the recent release of Izibor's much-admired debut album, "Let The Truth Be Told." The collection is highlighted by the singles, "From My Heart To Yours" and "Don't Stay." - more on this story

Whitney Houston Tops The Charts

Arista reports: Whitney Houston's album I Look To You debuts at No. 1 on several charts across the world, including the US Top Albums and R&B Album charts, according to Nielsen/Soundscan.

With 304,801 units sold within the first week of release in the US, this marks Whitney's biggest first week sales of her career and the best selling first week by a female artist this year. Houston's No. 1 position extends across the globe and claims the top spots in Canada, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.

Led by the dual release of the album title track and "Million Dollar Bill" at radio, coupled with presale promotional campaigns on Amazon.com, QVC and iTunes, and a heavily promoted appearance on Good Morning America, the chart-topping result marks the official return of "The Voice." - more on this story

Tina Turner Releasing Live CD/DVD

EMI reports: 2008 saw the Queen of Rock "n" Roll, Tina Turner return to the live circuit and announce the 'Tina Turner's 50th Anniversary Concert Tour' much to the delight of her fans. The tour kicked off in Kansas in October 2008 and continued for six months visiting over ten countries in two continents.

To commemorate this record breaking world tour Manhattan Records will release the Tina Live DVD on Ocotber 20th. The DVD was filmed at GelreDome, Arnhem in Holland in March 2009 where Tina played to an enormous crowd of 70,000 people.

Directed by David Mallet for Serpent Productions, this breathtaking footage is filmed in HD and mixed in 5.1 surround sound. At over two hours long it features all of her much loved songs including, 'The Best', 'Private Dancer' and the powerful 'We Don't Need Another Hero'. - more on this story

Little Heroes Return with Thank You

PR reports: Following up on the success of their debut album, Cinematic Americana, on November 10, 2009, The Little Heroes will present their newest offering entitled Thank You.

With Cinematic, The Little Heroes impressed critis by demonstrating this previously unknown band could craft epic indie pop songs that yeilded comparisions to Kings of Leon and Wilco. With Thank You, The Little Heroes expand on their sound in mature and exciting ways. The record showcases the band's unique ability to combine 50's pop melodies with the jangled guitar rock of early 80's indie bands, while still living in a musical place that is new and fresh and uniquly their own.

Thank You was recorded in Los Angeles, California at Kingsize Soundlabs (Built to Spill, Rilo Kiley, Great Northern) and mastered by Dave Harris (John Vanderslice, The Rosebuds) at Studio B in North Carolina. Guest appearances on the record include cello by Angus Cooke (The Snake, The Cross, The Crown) and accordian by Brian Mann (Oingo Boingo). The Little Heroes have shared the stage with the likes of Rosie Thomas, Meiko, Uh Huh Her, Audrey Sessions, Denison Witmer and many others. - more on this story

Amy Lynn and The Gunshow Release Party

PR reports: It was announced today that Amy Lynn and The Gunshow, one of the fastest rising stars in the New York metro area music scene, will be holding a very special EP Release Party and concert performance on Friday October 9th at 830pm at NYC hotspot The Canal Room

It has been said that Amy Lynn has "the ability to inspire and connect with her audiences" and counting empowering female vocalists such as Etta James, Janis Joplin and Dusty Springfield among her influences, she has been captivating audiences worldwide and carving her own niche in the American musical landscape for several years; first as a solo singer and now with her band - the aptly titled Gunshow, which contains virtuoso graduates of The Eastman School of Music, who launch their own aural attack as a counterpoint to her sometimes fierce and always sincere and sultry voice.

When Amy is not fronting her bombastic tandem, she has been known to spend her time performing across the country with The USO, gracing the stage of Radio City Music Hall, performing at The Kennedy Center in DC playing Janis Joplin or touring Europe in the musical Grease. The band will be making their European Debut with an 18-day tour in May 2010. - more on this story

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