Lady Gaga Nude For Charity

They hooked up in person at Gaga's Vanity Fair photo shoot by Annie Leibovitz, where Tony, a renowned artist in his own right, sketched the pop icon. more on this story

Britney Spears Songs Leak

(popmusiclife) Britney Spears' fans have enjoyed a good week, so far, as two previously unreleased songs by the pop icon have surfaced online.

"Strangest Love" arrived first; the song was reportedly meant to appear on Britney's 2003 album "In the Zone."

The second to surface is an acoustic version of "Don't Keep Me Waiting," one of the bonus tracks from her 2011 "Femme Fatale" release. Listen to both here.

Heavy D Cause of Death Announced

(TMZ) Heavy D died from a pulmonary embolism caused by deep leg vein thrombosis ... this according to the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.

A pulmonary embolism is a blockage of one or more arteries in the lungs -- most often caused by blood clots which travel in from other parts of he body. In Heavy's case, the clot was formed in his legs.

Officials say Heavy also suffered from heart disease, which could have been a contributing factor in his death.

The Coroner's Office has classified the death as "natural."

As TMZ first reported, Heavy died on November 9, 2011. He was 44-years-old.

Deep leg vein thrombosis is often associated with long plane flights, in which a clot can form due to prolonged immobility.

Days before Heavy died, he was on a flight back from Europe, after performing at the Michael Jackson tribute concert in Wales. more on this story

Skrillex To Join Bon Jovi and Foo Fighters as Bamboozle Headliners

The Bamboozle 2012 unveiled more of its lineup for its 10th anniversary celebration at North Beach Asbury Park, New Jersey on May 18, 19 and 20.

Skrillex has been added as a headline performer, joining previously announced headliners Bon Jovi and Foo Fighters.

The newly added main stage performers (blink-182 were announced earlier this month) include Incubus and Mac Miller. more on this story

T Bone Burnett Leads The Hunger Games With Taylor Swift and More

T Bone Burnett has signed on to produce the all-star soundtrack to the forthcoming movie The Hunger Games.

The companion album will feature all newly written and recorded songs, based on themes embodied in The Hunger Games.

Taylor Swift collaborated with the Civil Wars and Burnett to write and perform the lead single "Safe and Sound," which was launched on iTunes on December 23rd. more on this story

Kelly Clarkson Releases New EP

(popmusiclife) Kelly Clarkson released her "iTunes Session" EP on Tuesday. All the tracks were recorded live exclusively for iTunes.

The project includes three songs off her latest release, "Stronger," as well as a few classics and a bonus recording of "I'll Be Home For Christmas."

The EP also features a 35-minute interview with the pop star. Fans will be able to catch Clarkson live in the new year as Kelly kicks off her Stronger World Tour 2012 on January 13. more on this story

Lee Greenwood Performing at Alamo Bowl For Fallen Heroes

(Webster) Lee Greenwood will take part in a very special tribute to 60 of San Antonio's fallen military heroes when he performs the National Anthem and "God Bless the USA" at the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas on December 29th, at 8pm. The bowl will game feature the Washington Huskies and the Baylor Bears.

A long-time supporter of our troops and their families, Greenwood's pre-game performance will honor those military heroes from the San Antonio area who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past ten years.

A city that knows firsthand the importance of fighting for our country's freedom, members of Lackland Air Force Base 37th Training Wing will unfurl the full field American flag as Greenwood sings "God Bless the USA." The evening will be especially meaningful for 2011 Valero Bowl Chairman and Spurs team physician, Dr. David Schmidt, whose son recently lost his life while serving in the Marines. more on this story

Beyonce's Tribute to Michael Jackson Now Online

(popmusiclife) Family, friends and fellow performers gather together in Wales in October to pay tribute to Michael Jackson.

One of the invited performers at the Michael Forever Tribute Concert was Beyonce, who explained she had some strong emotional ties to Michael from an early age. "I remember seeing Michael Jackson for the first time," Beyonce said. "Lord knows I fell in love. Watching him, I realized exactly what I wanted to be. He inspired me so much. As a matter of fact, the first song I ever performed with Destiny's Child was a Jackson 5 song. It's called 'I Wanna Be Where You Are.' It was the song we auditioned to get our record deal. It was the beginning of our future. I love you forever, Michael Jackson."

And with that introduction, Beyonce rocked the Jackson 5 tune; video of her full performance has now surfaced. Check it out here.

Nicole Brown Simpson's Nephew Arrested For Domestic Violence

(TMZ) Denise Brown -- who became famous after OJ Simpson killed her sister, Nicole Brown Simpson -- is now in the eerie position of dealing with domestic violence again, and this time the alleged perpetrator is her son.

Sean Brown and his live-in girlfriend, Amy, were arrested at their home in Orange County, CA, for felony corporal injury on a spouse.

Law enforcement sources tell us they received a call at 2:30 AM yesterday, responded to the scene and noticed visible marks on both parties.

Both are currently in custody. Denise founded the Nicole Brown Foundation to combat domestic violence. more on this story

Lady Gaga TV For New Year's Eve

(popmusiclife) Lady Gaga will be very busy on New Year's Eve with TV appearances in the U.S. and Japan.

Billboard reports Gaga has announced that she will appear on Japanese national broadcaster NHK's four-hour plus year-end music extravaganza special called Kohaku Uta Gassen, or the Red and White Singing Contest.

Following her Japanese broadcast, Gaga will appear later that night on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve special. more on this story

Tony Bennett Duets For PBS Special

(WNET) Tony Bennett: Duets II, a presentation of Thirteen's Great Performances, features the singer's greatest hits, performed by Bennett and today's biggest stars, including John Mayer, Michael Buble, k.d. lang, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Queen Latifah, Norah Jones, Josh Groban, Faith Hill, Alejandro Sanz, Carrie Underwood and more.

The sessions, filmed to capture the magic of these performers singing with the master of the Great American Songbook, airs on Friday, January 27, 2012, at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings).

Great Performances is a production of Thirteen for WNET, one of America's most prolific and respected public media providers. For nearly 50 years, WNET has been producing and broadcasting national and local arts programming to the New York community. more on this story

Former Saturday Night Live Writer Commits Suicide?

(TMZ) Former "Saturday Night Live" staff writer Joe Bodolai -- who co-wrote the first draft of the movie "Wayne's World" -- has died ... and cops believe the death was a suicide.

TMZ has learned ... Bodolai's body was discovered yesterday by a cleaning crew at an L.A. hotel.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Bodolai had been staying at the hotel for more than a week.

We're told cops recovered a bottle of antifreeze and Gatorade in the hotel room ... and it's likely his death was due to consumption of the toxic chemical.

Bodolai had posted what appears to be a suicide note on his blog on December 23 titled, "If This Was Your Last Day Alive What Would You Do?"

In the note, Bodolai writes about "Stuff I Would Like to Have Seen In My Life" -- including the Browns winning the Super Bowl and the "truth" about the JFK murder.

He also lists "Things I Regret" ... which begins with, "My inability to conquer my alcoholism" followed by, "The things I did because of it."

Bodolai also lists, "Things I Am Proud Of" -- listing family members, his time as an "SNL" staff writer and "writing the first draft of Wayne's World with Mike Myers."

Bodolai concludes, "May you all have the happy lives you deserve. Thank you all for being in my life."

He was 63. more on this story

Deion Sanders' Wife Learned About Divorce Online

(TMZ) Deion Sanders' wife says the former NFL star didn't have the stones to personally tell her he wants a divorce ... shockingly, she learned about the move by checking TMZ.com.

Pilar Sanders' lawyer, Larry Friedman, tells us she was "heartbroken and surprised when [she] read ... that Deion announced his decision, on his own, to end their marriage."

Pilar's lawyer adds, "Pilar's sole focus and top priority for the last 12.5 years has been her marriage and children. Based on recent discoveries, [Pilar] now realizes that Deion did not view their family the same way."

Friedman would not reveal any details about the "recent discoveries" to which he referred.

Friedman tells us Pilar has NOT negotiated a divorce settlement with Deion -- but says she fully intends to protect herself and her children.

Translation -- this divorce ain't gonna come cheap.

Still, Pilar says she isn't 100% convinced the marriage is dead ... chalking up Deion's recent behavior to a "temporary lapse of judgment" ... and insisting she's "confident that he will come to his senses and return to his family as he has in the past."

We called Deion for comment ... so far, nothing. more on this story

Sirius Music Broadcasts for New Year's With Willie Nelson, Grateful Dead Members, Cheap Trick and More

(Sub) Sirius XM Radio plan to ring in the New Year with an extensive lineup of live concerts, special performances, DJ sets, a New Year's Eve music channel and various year-end countdowns.

SiriusXM listeners will hear live concert broadcasts from all over the country featuring a wide-ranging lineup of musicians, including Furthur (featuring Phil Lesh and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead) at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, CA (Grateful Dead Channel, channel 23); Willie Nelson from the Moody Theater in Austin, TX (Willie's Roadhouse, channel 56); Southside Johnny at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ (E Street Radio, channel 20); Patti Smith at Bowery Ballroom in New York City, NY (The Loft, channel 30); Cheap Trick's concert at Jannus Live in St. Petersburg, FL (Classic Rewind, channel 25); Widespread Panic at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC (Jam_On, channel 29); and Little Feat's concert at The Fillmore in Silver Spring, MD (Radio Margaritaville, channel 24).

SiriusXM will present live DJ sets by internationally-renowned DJs live from across the country. Listeners will hear Paul Oakenfold spin from Rain in Las Vegas (Electric Area, channel 52); Avicii from Pier 94 in New York, NY (BPM, channel 51); and Laidback Luke from Pacha in New York, NY (Electric Area, channel 52). more on this story

Mike WiLL Made It Releases Free Mixtape

(AT) Producer Mike WiLL Made It has released his new mixtape, Est. In 1989 (Last Of A Dying Breed). The tape, released exclusively through Livemixtapes.com, is now available for free download.

For Est. In 1989, Mike WiLL pulled together a mix of tracks new and old, giving new fans a chance to catch up on the breadth of his production, while keeping things interesting with a handful of exclusives. "A lot of people knew the name Mike WiLL Made It but didn't know the work; some people knew the work but not the name," explains Mike, "Est. In 1989 touches on all of that – it brings fans up to speed, while giving them some tracks they can't find anywhere else."

The list of featured artists on the tape is extensive, a true testament to networking and the quality of production Mike WiLL has been turning out since he first hit the scene in 2008. The tape features Gucci Mane, Young Jeezy, Big Boi, Yo Gotti, 2 Chainz, Waka Flocka Flame, Future, Daz Dillinger & Kurupt, Lil Boosie, Slim Dunkin, Yung Joey, and more, along with drops from the likes of DJ Drama, DJ Teknikz, DJ Scream, DJ Holiday, DJ Infamous, Beestroh, Sense, and others. "Choosing artists for the tape was an organic process, really," Mike notes. "These are genuinely people that I f**k with. I had 40 songs to choose from and went with the ones that showed the most diversity." more on this story

Family Member Absent From Lindsay Lohan's Family Christmas

(TMZ) The Lohans came together for a traditional family Christmas photo on Sunday -- but one person was conspicuously missing ...

While Ali, Dina, Mike Jr., Lindsay, and Cody chowed down in Long Island to commemorate the birthday of Jesus -- Michael Lohan was stuck in Florida ... completing his court-ordered 4-month stint at a treatment center, which includes a domestic violence intervention program.

Sources close to the Lohans tell us, it was pretty joyous -- lots of gifts, delicious food, and no one jumping off a 3-story balcony. See the photo here.