Nick Jonas Cancels Show Due To Illness- Gary Coleman Arrested- Bonanza Star Dies- Haiti Trumps Susan Boyle- Miley and Mariah for Cowell Haiti Song and more

Justin Bieber apparently is a fan of General Larry Platt. The young singer recently revealed his interest to have the "Pants on the Ground" hitmaker as one of the featured guests on his upcoming studio album "My World (Part 2)". more - more on this story

Rowdy Friends Tour 2010

Country music icon Hank Williams Jr. will team up this spring with Jamey Johnson, Eric Church, and The Grascals for an outing dubbed the "Rowdy Friends Tour 2010."

"The tour is scheduled to commence April 2nd in Charleston, WV with shows each weekend throughout April," says Vector Management's, Ken Levitan.

The tour's initial round of dates will kick off April 2nd, with additional shows spread over the weekends of April and more dates announced. - more on this story

Ke$ha Sets Radio Record

Ke@ha's first single "TiK ToK" lands at the no. 1 spot at Top 40 Radio and sets the all time record for the most weekly spins in the 17 year history of the Billboard Charts.

Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" set the weekly spin record when it was played 10,859 times in a week. This week Ke%ha bests that record with "Tik ToK" logging 11,224 spins, setting the new record.

"Tik ToK" has sold over 3 million copies in the US alone (over 4 million worldwide) and continues to grow weekly. - more on this story

Los Lonely Boys Map Out New Tour Dates

Los Lonely Boys' Acoustic Brotherhood tour that began last summer and ran for the better part of 2009 picks up again this February, kicking off in Santa Fe on February 11, 2010.

The band will be on the road well into the spring, touring in support of current EP 1969, and also in anticipation of their next full-length studio album. "This tour allows us to play the way we play in our backyards and really show the tradition of our Texican roots," Ringo Garza says about the Brotherhood tour. Special guests on the tour include Alejandro Escovedo and Carrie Rodriguez.

About the tour: The brothers met fellow Texan Alejandro Escovedo during a tribute project for him called Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo in 2004 and have been musical comrades ever since. The Boys decided to add a chica into the mix after they watched Carrie Rodriguez break out with 2006's Seven Angels On A Bicycle, win the roots Music Association Award for Songwriter of the Year, and recently release her first live album, Live in Louisville. - more on this story

Carolina Chocolate Drops Genuine Negro Jig Coming In February

Nonesuch Records is set to release the label debut of North Carolina-based string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops on February 16.

Produced by critically acclaimed recording artist and songwriter Joe Henry (Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello, Solomon Burke), Genuine Negro Jig features string band interpretations of Blu Cantrell's beat-box driven R&B single "Hit 'Em Up Style" and Tom Waits' "Trampled Rose," as well as a pair of original compositions, alongside traditional tracks such as "Cornbread and Butterbeans" and "Trouble in Your Mind."

It is the band's second record; their 2007 release, Dona Got a Ramblin' Mind, was praised by Paste for "bravely and expertly reclaiming the string band tradition for modern African-American culture," while NPR's Weekend Edition calls the band "the hottest thing to hit the old-time music community in decades." The band is touring in support of the album's release; please see below for a list of dates. - more on this story

Beast To Perform At Grammy Pre-Telecast Ceremony

The world will soon get to experience the internationally-flavored experimental trip-hop group that is Beast; the band has been confirmed to perform the song from their Grammy-nominated video "Mr. Hurricane" at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Pre-Telecast Ceremony.

The Ceremony will take place at 1:00PM, PST on Sunday, January 31st and will be streamed live internationally on Grammy.com, and will remain available on demand for 30 days following the event.

Beast was just recognized for their first-ever Grammy nomination in the category of Best Short Form Video for "Mr. Hurricane". The video features stunningly beautiful bee-swarming visual effects and was directed by Ben Steiger Levine and produced by Sacha Baylin-Stern at Nu Films. "Mr. Hurricane" appears on the band's self-titled debut, released on Verve Forecast last year. Beast is in good company with their nomination - industry heavyweights Coldplay, The Black Eyed Peas and Depeche Mode populate the category. - more on this story

Yes Giantess Aiming Big

Yes Giantess is ready to become a household name in 2010. They're unleashing some of the biggest jams you'll hear all year, starting off with their US debut single "The Ruins." Produced by Starsmith -- the acclaimed British beatmaker lurking behind Ellie Goulding's shadow --"The Ruins" veers towards the darker end of the pop spectrum. With a gut-rumbling bassline, pulsing and hypnotic synth wizardry, and an undeniable hook, this one may very well call for repeat listens. The 7" is backed by B-side "Call My Name," a light R&B jam to a forlorn lady.

The video is directed by the Brooklyn duo of Ben McIntire and Danny Abel. The 1930s-sci-fi-inspired epic features femme fatale robots, a kidnapping, and heavy fog; all of which perfectly compliment "The Ruins'" insistent, throbbing brand of pop.

"The Ruins" will be released by cool-pop-tastemaker-du-jour Neon Gold, the team that first brought you Passion Pit, Marina & The Diamonds and Ellie Goulding. - more on this story

Mulatu Astatke Steps Ahead

Following his acclaimed Inspiration Information collaboration with The Heliocentrics, Mulatu Astatke, the Father of Ethio jazz presents his brand new studio album, Mulatu Steps Ahead for 2010.

The album explores new directions in fusions of Western jazz with Ethiopian modes, moving forward the pioneering sound Mulatu developed during the '60s and '70s, showcased on the recent Strut compilation New York - Addis - London.

For the new album, tracks were recorded with members of Either/Orchestra in Boston, with contributions by traditional Ethiopian musicians in Addis, members of The Heliocentrics and some of the UK's leading jazz and African players during the final sessions in London in November 2009. - more on this story

Corinne Bailey Rae Today

This morning Grammy winner Corinne Bailey Rae will perform on the "Today" show, coinciding with the release of her new album, The Sea. She will appear later this week on "Tavis Smiley" (January 27th), "Ellen" (January 28th) and "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (January 29th). Bailey Rae will be touring extensively in support of The Sea. Her first North American outing since 2007 commences in Vancouver on April 9th and will include a stop at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival. (See below for itinerary.) Prior to the tour's launch, she'll appear on "Late Show with David Letterman" (March 1st) and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (March 8th).

The PBS program "Live From The Artists Den" recently captured a full concert of Bailey Rae's. The complete episode will premiere this spring, but to celebrate the album's release, four songs from the performance will be featured on the free online video service HULU beginning today.

The Sea is the follow-up to her 2006 self-titled debut, whichentered the U.K. album chart at #1 and jumped into the Top 5 of The Billboard 200 after Bailey Rae's performance on the 2007 GRAMMY Awards telecast. "The album is a major creative leap from her debut," said The New York Times of The Sea. "Ms. Rae's voice is deeper...The music is richer, thick with rock, jazz and soul textures." In a four-star review, the Los Angeles Times called it "a remarkable accomplishment," noting "Rae searches for the pinpricks and love sighs that intensify gentle emotions." Entertainment Weekly observed, "The Sea is full of tunes packing an intensity and musical adventurousness that might surprise those who know Bailey Rae only from her breezy breakthrough single "Put Your Records On" while ELLE Magazine said, "Her ability to write and sing gracefully of sorrow and hope turns the record into modern soul music that channels Curtis Mayfield, Van Morrison and Minnie Riperton." - more on this story

Northern State's Hesta Prynn Working on Solo Album

Hesta Prynn is putting the final touches on her first solo album due out later this year. The record is produced by Chuck Brody (Lykke Li, J.Lo, Ra Ra Riot and Wu Tang Clan) with help from Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara, and Eric Gardner (Gnarls Barkley) is providing drums.

Formerly of the hip-hop group Northern State, Hesta's new sound pits euphoric beats and distorted basslines with punkish guitar overlays to create and energetic, edgy sound
Though this is her first solo project, Hesta has already taken the club scene by storm, selling out clubs in New York City and London after only three shows. New Yorkers will have another chance to catch her live this Wednesday, January 27th at Pianos! FILTER premiered Hesta Prynn's first solo track titled "Can We Go Wrong" today
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