Gary Coleman Dies From Brain Hemorrhage

Coleman was removed from life support, and "he passed quickly and peacefully" surrounded by his wife and family, according to a statement from his manager, John Alcantar. - You can read Reuter's report here for more information

Gary Coleman In Critical Condition- Alicia Keys Pregnant?- Willie Nelson Blvd- Usher Tames Miley- Maxwell Delay- Top Idols Signed- Scream 4- Bieber Fan Threats- more

Former "Diff'rent Strokes" child star Gary Coleman was listed in "critical condition" in a Utah hospital on Thursday, according to Reuters. Coleman, 42, was hospitalized on Wednesday, after suffering what his brother-in-law told an online tabloid was a head injury after a fall. more

Alicia Keys is expecting her first baby and plans to marry her long-time boyfriend later this year, according to a rush of tabloid reports late on Thursday. more

Conrad Murray, the charged in the death of Michael Jackson lost a bid Thursday in a California court to resolve a child support issue that threatens his Nevada medical license. more

The first of four videos that Lil Wayne is going to release this weekend has been premiered. Picked as the leader is "Da Da Da" which features Hip-Hop group iMayday!. It sees the rapper going up the roof and drawing attention from the street for his impromptu performance more

Speaking of Lil Wayne, he along with Kobe, Pink and Rihanna will all be guests on Eminem's new album "Recovery." more

Ghost Whisperer, the Jennifer Love Hewitt supernatural drama that was surprisingly axed by CBS last week, will not cross over to ABC. more

Scream 4 has cast a young star to play one of the major characters. Entertainment Weekly reports that Emma Roberts has signed on to portray Jill, one of the film's primary heroines. Her role is said to be similar to the one belongs to Neve Campbell in the previous "Scream" flicks. more

Austin, Texas has no "Whiskey River," but it will have a downtown street named for Willie Nelson. AP reports that the Austin City Council voted Thursday to add the iconic Texas balladeer's name to Second Street downtown. more

Usher led Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart for a third non-consecutive week on Thursday with "OMG", while Miley Cyrus scored the top debut with "Can't Be Tamed" coming in at No. 8. more

Leona Lewis' hopes of touring America have been given a boost. R&B star Toni Braxton is eager to embark on a trek with the British singer. more

Maxwell has been forced to delay the release of his new album - because 2009 "BLACKsummers'night" is still a big hit with fans. The CD was the first in a trilogy and Maxwell had planned to deliver the second installment of the series this summer - but he has decided to push back its release for fear of "inundating" his devotees. more

Music executives are extra fast in signing this year's champion and runner up of American Idol for a recording deal. Billboard, in its exclusive story, said that both Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox have secured a recording contract less than 24 hours since the coronation took place on Wednesday, May 26. more

The American Idol finale on Wednesday drew 24.2 million total viewers Wednesday night, down 15.9% from the 28.8 million that watched Kris Allen take the title in 2009, according to numbers provided by Nielsen Media Research. more

A software developer who invented a free way to censor your Internet to eliminate any mention of Justin Bieber is getting death threats from angry fans. more - more on this story

Crystal Bowersox Would Have Won American Idol Without Flawed Voting Methodology?

Here is an announcement of a study that might interest some American Idol fans who feel that the wrong person won this season: During Wednesday night's American Idol finale show, Lee Dewyze was selected as the winner of the competition for this season. In contrast, viewers participating in the national Idol Democracy study, which employs a "one person, one vote" system, reported that Crystal Bowersox, who received 66.2% of the votes, should have won competition last night by a large margin. Lee Dewyze received 33.8% of the votes in the Idol Democracy study.

The Idol Democracy study was conducted during May 25-26, by HCD Research using its mediacurves.com website, to obtain 3,901 American Idol viewers' perceptions of which contestant should be chosen as the winner on the May 26 results show. HCD Research conducted a series of studies among a nationally representative sample of Americans, which paralleled American Idol voting to determine the weekly winners based on a democratic, "one person, one vote" methodology.

"I would be interested to see a frequency distribution of the number of votes per person for the American Idol final vote," commented Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research, "My guess is that you would see a smaller number of people voting many times, which does not give an accurate reflection of which contestant the majority of viewers wanted to win." - more on this story

Christina Aguilera Explains Bionic Summer Tour Cancelation

Christina Aguilera took to her website to explain to fans why she decided to pull the plug on her summer tour. Here is what she had to say:

I made the decision to move my summer tour and I am truly sorry to those of you who had purchased tickets and have been disappointed by the news. Immediately after wrapping production on Burlesque, I went directly back into the studio and then quickly started the promotional process for Bionic.

With both the album press and film press, I am booked the entire summer and need time to focus on the work at hand. After reviewing the schedule with my team, I realized there was not enough time to put together and rehearse for a proper show, one that is at the caliber you expect from me or at the level I would present to my fans. In addition, my album has not even been released as yet, and I would like for you all to become familiar with the music before you hear it live on tour. - more on this story

Marc Mysterio / Black Eyed Peas Radio Controversy Goes To The FCC

The Marc Mysterio radio call-in controversy we told you about a couple weeks ago has escalated now with the fan filing a complaint with the FCC. Here is the announcement we received this morning: It has been learned that the caller whom had her voice manipulated by KHTC-FM 96.3 Now has filed a claim with the Federal Communications Commission over the Marc Mysterio / Black Eyed Peas Call In Request Scandal.

A caller wanted to hear Mysterio's song One More Time played on Twin-Cities-based KHTC-FM (Now 96.3fm), then charted as number 24 on their website's Top 40. The presenter thinks better of it and cuts caller Michelle Luftus' voice to make it appear that she was requesting the Black Eyed Peas. [ DJ: "You wanna hear the Black Eyed Peas, right?" Michelle Luftus: …Yeah…" That "Yeah" was taken from Michelle's 5 minute call with the DJ, says Michelle.]

Marc Mysterio then learned of the issue via a message from myspace from Michelle and called the station to confront the host, only to be told "Get Over it and do what you've got to do". - more on this story

Fly Gypsy's Alexei Presents The Club Fix (for Free)

Fly Gypsy's producer, one-man band, and DJ, Alexei, is releasing the first installment of his mixtape series that will highlight diverse music genres in a club-friendly format.

Before delving into garifuna music, however, Alexei selects an obvious summer choice for the first installment -- feel-good dance music. On "Alexei presents . . . The Club Fix," Alexei mixes up hip hop and electro, dancehall and house in a continuous 75-min mix that will keep the energy high at any house party or cook-out.

Alexei liberally swaps out vocals and instrumentals and retouches the tracks, turning out unpredictable mashups and remixes. The mixtape features Lil Wayne, Pitbull, Ludacris, David Guetta, Estelle, Busta Rhymes, Lauryn Hill, Nicki Minaj, LMFAO, Beenie Man, Jackson 5, Damian Marley and Nas, Janet Jackson, and many others. It also premieres the new Kanye West track "Diamonds."
- Download link (single-click, no registration required)

Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer Coming To TV

The Documentary Channel have announced the exclusive U.S. television debut of the film that chronicles the amazing life and story of one of the greatest American jazz singers, Anita O'Day.

The acclaimed documentary "Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer" will premiere on Monday, June 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. DOC is primarily available through satellite television services DISH Network (Channel 197) and DIRECTV (Channel 267).

"Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer" tells the astonishing journey of survival, and above all the endurance of O'Day's talent, told in a number of frank interviews with her and those who knew her. Her career was long and eventful, spanning seven decades, with her last album recorded when she was 84. - more on this story

LiveWire Mobile Launching DRM-free Mobile Music Service

LiveWire Mobile is launching a new DRM-free mobile music service for wireless carriers and online service operators that will feature music tracks from artists on the EMI, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group labels.

Two new North American operators are expected to launch the LiveWire Mobile DRM-free music service to their customers later this year. Customers of the wireless carriers will be able to utilize the Infuse integrated storefront to purchase DRM-free digital tracks either as single downloads or bundled with other content types such as wallpapers, ringtones, ringbacks and mobile applications from their handsets.

"Building from our long-standing relationships with the major labels, we believe this expansion to our music download service opens up new go-to-market models for our customers," said Matthew Stecker, CEO of LiveWire Mobile. "Through flexible pricing models and content delivery options, including over-the-air downloads, we believe that our new service will allow operators, content owners and brands to extend their reach across multiple consumer devices and maximize content sales revenue." - more on this story

K'naan Coke Song A Global Hit

"Wavin' Flag: Coca-Cola Celebration Mix," the anthem recorded by K'naan for Coca-Cola's sponsorship of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, is a certified number one hit the world over in countries including China, Mexico, Germany, Canada, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg.

To build on the success of this collaboration, Coca-Cola has debuted a digital radio station, "Coca-Cola Celebration Radio." As official programmer K'naan personally selected many of the tracks played on the station based on their upbeat tempo, celebratory style and inclusion of African artists. Listeners will also hear K'naan's daily audio blogs which will recount his experience from South Africa during the FIFA World Cup. - more on this story

Dave Stewart and Joss Stone Stand Up To Cancer With Up2 You Challange

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) has launched the Dave Stewart "Up2 You" Video Challenge in celebration of its two year anniversary on May 28, 2010. The Dave Stewart "Up2 You" Video Challenge invites the public to upload a YouTube video in response to Dave Stewart's powerful song "Stand Up To Cancer" which has become the anthem for the organization.

The song is featured in a PSA (view here) directed by Jesse Dylan (will.i.am's "Yes We Can") and features the music and vocals of Stewart, Joss Stone and violin virtuoso, Ann Marie Calhoun. The challenge encourages everyone to show how they stand up to cancer by recording their own rendition and submitting their video entry on SU2C's YouTube channel*. All valid entries may be eligible to be included in the September 10th telecast.

"Dave has given us a powerful anthem which is a testament to all 12 million cancer survivors as well as a moving elegy to the millions we have lost from the disease," said Laura Ziskin, Co-Founder of Stand Up To Cancer. "For a long time, the word 'cancer' was taboo, you didn't say it out loud. It was whispered. Now that Dave has fearlessly put the word in this song, we are urging the public to be more open to talking about the disease and fighting it side by side with our organization." - more on this story

Kelis Fireworks

The second single from Kelis' upcoming album, Flesh Tone, hits clubs this week and will be available as a digital single beginning June 8th.

"4th of July (Fireworks)," is a pulsating club banger that's equal parts electro and trance, complete with an old-school piano break, the track was produced by DJ Ammo.

Kelis co-directed the video for "4th of July (Fireworks)" with Rankin and Nicole Ehrlich. Shot in the scorching desert outside of Los Angeles, Ehrlich describes it as a "spectacular array of visual stimulation seeing Kelis play dynamically upon the four elements of the universe." - more on this story

Meaghan Smith Playing Three Lilith Fair Stops

Meaghan Smith will join Sarah McLachlan, Kelly Clarkson, Mary J. Blige and others on the 2010 Lilith Fair this summer.

Smith will join the traveling celebration of women in music for shows at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis on July 16th and First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Chicago on July 17th in the U.S., as well as the Bell Center in Montreal, QC on July 23rd in Canada.

Smith released her debut full-length album, The Cricket's Orchestra, in February 2010 to critical acclaim. - more on this story

Jordan Galland Video Search Party

Jordan Galland released the music video for "Search Party" (the first single off his album of the same name) today, co-directed by animator Michael Collins.

Having already paid homage to the Legend of Zelda with the music video he just created for Mark Ronson's latest track, "Circuit Breaker," this time Jordan takes to the streets of Manhattan on a stop-animation bike ride that paints a surreal picture of the city, the song and the musician himself.

As the slide trombone breaks through the track's first few bars, so does Jordan from behind a big red door. He pedals down Bleecker Street, through The Natural History Museum and into an old cemetery on the Lower East Side before taking flight on the back of a vulture and ultimately settling onto the seat of his blue bicycle. It's a long way to travel in 3 minutes time. - more on this story

FELA! Original Broadway Cast Recording Announced

Knitting Factory Records will be release the FELA! Original Broadway Cast Recording on June 8.

The album features Sahr Ngaujah as Fela singing with members of Antibalas. This cast recording was produced by four-time Grammy nominee Robert Sher.

Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones, with arrangements by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean, FELA! is a provocative hybrid of concert, dance and musical theatre. - more on this story

Jonalee White Naked As Fools Video

Jonalee White debuts the new music video for her current single "Naked As Fools" this week on CMT Pure Country.

The video, directed by Brad Knull and filmed in Columbus, Ohio, can also be viewed at various online outlets including CMT.com, Yallwire.com and Yahoo! Music.

Written by Jonalee White and bandmates, Kay Harris and Molly Pauken, "Naked As Fools" continues to climb the charts and has already landed at No. 53 on the Music Row Breakout Chart in just 4 weeks. "Naked As Fools" is the first single off White's highly anticipated sophomore album, Sugar, releasing August 2010 via Lick Records/E1. Produced by James "Bubba" Hudson, Sugar is the follow-up to her debut album Wake Me, which earned her three Top 40 singles.
- Watch the video here