Joaquin Phoenix Rap Hoax- 40-Year-Old Virgin Convicted of Attempted Murder- Susan Boyle Sings for The Pope- Katy On Top- Fiona Apple Album Plans- Black Eyed Superbowl?- more

(ASB) Willow Smith, the 9-year-old singer who is about to take the Hip-Hop realm with her debut single "Whip My Hair", has released a teaser for the single's music video. Pictures from the video shoot which was held in Los Angeles are given in flashes while the upbeat song is played in full. more - more on this story

Fantasia For Real Premieres This Sunday

Vh1 are gearing up for an all new season of "Fantasia For Real" which is premiering Sunday, September 19th at 10PM ET/PT but we have a little preview for you today!

Season 2 of "Fantasia For Real" follows American Idol and Grammy winner Fantasia Barrino as she balances her complicated personal life, with her desire to connect with her fans through music.

As Fantasia works with her record label, J Records to promote her long awaited new album, "Back to Me" she continues to try and get her life back on track. Throughout the series Fantasia suffers a series of set backs and is almost broken by unexpected news, but as always she comes back fighting harder than ever.
- Check out the preview Super Trailer here

Lady Gaga Sets Two World Records

(Guinness World Records) Who is the world's highest earning celebrity? Which power couple dominates the entertainment world? What pop star commands the most searches on the Internet? The new Guinness World Records 2011 edition out now reveals all this and more in its celebrity-filled pages.

As one of the most talked about pop stars in recent memory, it should come as no surprise that Lady Gaga earned two records for the new book – "Most Searched-For Female" on Google and "Most Weeks On UK Chart In Any Year" with an astounding 154 weeks. Gaga shares her place in the new book alongside two of music's superstars – Jay-Z and Beyonce. Named the year's biggest "Power Couple", Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Beyonce Knowles earned an astounding $122 million through June 2009.

Two celebrities this year making headlines for their high profile personal lives also made the book. Lindsey Lohan, takes the dubious honor as "Most Infamous Female Celebrity" thanks to her run-ins with the law and the unfortunate performances of her latest movies and Tiger Woods, who ruled the tabloids for his extramarital affairs, didn't see an impact on his earnings yet as he assumes his place as the "Most Powerful Sports Star". The golf phenom raked in an impressive $103 million and topped the 2010 BusinessWeek Sports Power 100 list. - more on this story

Singled Out: Jensen Reed's After The War (feat. superbeautiful)

Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today Jensen Reed' tells us about "After The War (feat. superbeautiful)" from his new album "Forget About The Cameras". We now turn it over to for the story:

"After The War (feat. superbeautiful)" started out as a completely different song that I finished prior to bringing it to producer Christian Hand. I always felt that the beat was bangin' but was never completely sold on the song being strong enough to make the cut for my album Forget About The Cameras. Christian felt the same way and we stripped it down to only the drums and a few elements that preserved the chord changes I had written.

The breakthrough came when we found the distorted synth sound that bounced perfectly with the drums. From that point we laid out the structure of the song and added new sounds and reworked some of the originals. Hearing these exciting changes, I knew the song was going to be special.

I immediately wanted to write verses and suggested that Christian work on the chorus to get things started. He killed it. Using his lyrics and direction, I wrote verses reflecting the internal and external battles that everyone goes through at some point in their life. On my first attempt, I actually wrote a verse spewing anger and fire from a dark place in my life. After hearing it, Christian was very insistent that the song, although dark, was triumphant and ultimately positive and challenged me to write something better.

This first verse is a personal introspective of difficult times that I have been through but ultimately came out of a better person. The second verse echoes the same theme, but I tell it in an encouraging way directed at the listener. One of the things I love about the structure of the song is the four bar atmospheric melody parts within each verse. They really add another dimension and texture to the vocals that set it apart from others on my album.

The middle 8 section is extremely dark and we used some interesting filters on the vocals to convey the idea of disillusionment and despair. These feelings are ultimately resolved as the third and final chorus explodes back in. Each chorus builds with new elements and layers until the final comes at the listener like a wall of sound with heavy guitars and more synth sounds.

I see "After The War (feat. superbeautiful)" as a far-reaching song that will resonate with a lot of people. No matter how big or small, each of us goes through difficult times. It is how we react to those situations that determine if we grow. Sometimes there are moments in your life that you know are pivotal. You have to seize opportunities, take control and keep moving forward…

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album - right here!

Fefe Dobson's Stuttering From Joy

Fefe Dobson's new single "Stuttering" is now up for sale at all digital retailers and is the latest advance track from JOY, Fefe's upcoming new album set for November 30th release.

JOY follows up Fefe Dobson, her self-titled debut, which generated JUNO Award nominations for Best Pop Album and Best New Artist. Earlier this year, Fefe delivered a show-stopping performance of the all time classic "River Deep Mountain High" at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Island Records launched a You Tube video contest in support of "Stuttering." Entrants can produce their own "Stuttering" video, or simply submit a video of a fan singing the tune. - more on this story

Good Morning Randy Houser

Randy Houser will be celebrating the release of his new album, They Call Me Cadillac, in New York on September 21 with a performance on ABC's Good Morning America.

Directly following the visit, Houser will make a series of appearances on the nationally syndicated show Better TV as well as Fox News, CMT Insider, CMT Top 20 Countdown, GAC's On The Streets, GAC's Headline Country, and more before traveling to Los Angeles to perform on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday, September 27.

In addition, Randy will unveil his new single, "A Man Like Me," at radio on September 27. For a sneak peek at the single, go
- here

Massive Attack and Martina Topley Bird Announce Fall Tour

Massive Attack and Martina Topley Bird will be returning to the US this October for a Fall Tour

In time for the tour, Topley Bird will be dropping her latest album, Some Place Simple, stateside on Ipecac Recordings on October 26.

Although best known for her contribution to Tricky's breakout debut Maxinquaye, Topley Bird's songbook is also rich with material from her solo albums, the Mercury-nominated Quixotic and Danger Mouse-produced, The Blue God. - more on this story

De Staat Offering Free MP3

De Staat is offering a free download of "Habibi", the first single from the forthcoming EP Here's De Staat.

Described as "admirably adventurous" (The Guardian on De Staat's performance at Glastonbury), "absolutely brilliant" and "beguiling" (Manchester Music), De Staat (The State) took Europe by surprise with the 2009 release of the highly acclaimed album Wait For Evolution. At once homage to old school rock and full embrace of modern electronic music, De Staat composes songs that are both unpredictable and infectious.

Now fans in the U.S. can hear what they've been missing with a free download of the band's new single "Habibi". Fans won't have to wait long to hear more. De Staat's EP Here's De Staat is set for release on 9/28 through Cool Green Recordings. - Grab the download here

Randy Montana Hits The Road With Sugarland and Little Big Town

Randy Montana kicked off a 15-day tour with Sugarland last night in Huntington, WV. Montana will take the stage in advance of Little Big Town for 13 of the dates, and as the sole opener on October 14th in Savannah, Georgia.

He'll be previewing songs from his Jay Joyce-produced forthcoming self-titled debut album such as "Ain't Much Left Of Lovin' You", written by Randy and the late Josh Ragsdale, and "1,000 Faces", written by Randy and Tom Douglas.

"I've never been more excited to play shows in my life," says Montana. "It's so nice of Sugarland to invite us out to be a part of this tour. It means a lot. My band and I have been working hard to be sure we do our part to put on a great show. It's going to be a lot of fun." - more on this story

First Aid Kit's Ghost Town

(Cobra Camanda) First Aid Kit's new video for "Ghost Town," off the duo's debut full-length album The Big Black & The Blue (Wichita), premiered today on Spin.com.

Encapsulating the haunting beauty of the song, the Mats Udd-directed video was filmed earlier this summer in Stockholm, nearby their hometown of Enskede, Sweden.

"We filmed it during a beautiful summer's day at a wheat field and a meadow in Stockholm. Mats Udd and his crew did a fantastic job and really captured the spirit of the song. It's inspired by Picnic At Hanging Rock, among other things," explains First Aid Kit's Klara and Johanna Söderberg. "The shooting was a lot of fun, but we got over 100 mosquito bites each (!!). However, it's all for the art, right?" - more on this story

Boog Brown and Apollo Brown's Brown Study Coming This Month

(Audible Treats) Detroit based producer Apollo Brown and Atlanta based rapper Boog Brown are at it again. The pair's first collaborations resulted in the enchanting mixtape The Grind Season Vol. 1, a tantalizing taste of what was soon to come.

The wait will finally be over when the duo release their first full-length album Brown Study on September 28, 2010, via Mello Music Group. The long-awaited album will feature the likes of Miz Korona, Invincible, Kam Moye, and Kenn Starr.

The first single off of Brown Study is the sensual "Just Be," an intimate whisper that floats over Apollo Brown's shimmering samples and passionate groove, inspiring the intense pleasures of living in the present and savoring every moment. Boog expressed that desire, advising us to "Live in the moment. In all things, intimacy, joy, pain, hurt, loss, gain, triumph. All of that -- be in it. Feel it, because it's the fabric of life. Blink and it's gone." Powerful and vibrant lyrics such as "Enraptured in the scent/ This is bliss at length/ From start to the finish/ Euphoric/ Absorbed in the ebullience/ Elegant every sense awakened" meld with Apollo's sampled soft horns, sweeping strings, and chimes, echoing his thought that "'Just Be' is one of those songs that exude passion and feeling. We don't have a lot of true feeling in the music now days. Emcees and producers shouldn't be afraid to express themselves exactly how they please." - more on this story

New Paleo Album and Tour

Paleo has announced a new album release with a fall tour that kicks off today in Washington D.C. Here is the skinny:

On October 26th Partisan Records will release the album entitled A View Of The Sky. It will be available in CD, LP, Ltd. Edition Color Vinyl and Digital Download formats.

For Paleo, art doesn't imitate life, it is life. Self-contained, he has been traveling the country for the last 6 years. The time has been spent studying the endless facets of a world both in and outside of himself, all the while chronicling his journey through song. - more on this story

Violinist Axel Strauss To Open The San Francisco Academy Orchestra's 10th Season

San Francisco Academy Orchestra Music Director, Andrei Gorbatenko announced the ensembles' 10th anniversary season today, which will open on October 10th, 2010 with violinist Axel Strauss who will perform the tango-inspired Four Seasons in Buenos Aires by Astor Piazzolla.

Axel Strauss was the first German artist to win the Naumburg Violin Award. After studying in Germany he came to the Julliard School of music where he studied with and became a teaching assistant to the late Dorothy Delay. An outstanding solo career followed as well as a brief period as Guest Concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Other season highlights include the, Sing-it-Yourself Messiah to benefit a different humanitarian cause each year, a concert featuring Mozart's First Symphony as well as early music concerti with three titular members of The San Francisco Symphony. - more on this story