Toni Braxton Hospitalized

Lupus is a condition in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. It can affect many different body systems, including joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, the heart and lungs. more on this story

Rihanna Beats Lady Gaga

(popmusiclife) Fan site Rihanna Daily reports the Barbadian pop star has overthrown Lady Gaga for the title of "Queen of YouTube."

As of yesterday's report, Rihanna has clocked a total of 2,033,848,822 video views, which is over 2 million more than Gaga's…and growing daily.

The YouTube crown comes on the heels of Rihanna's recent billing as "Queen of Facebook" late last year where, coincidentally, she also replaced Gaga. more on this story

Adele To Make Live Return

(popmusiclife) Adele is set to make her UK live comeback at the 2012 Brit Awards ceremony, according to NME. The announcement was made at the Brits 2012 launch event on Thursday at the Savoy Hotel in Central London.

Noel Gallagher, Coldplay, Rihanna, Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran all also confirmed to perform live at the ceremony, which takes place February 21 at London's O2 Arena.

In November, Adele went under the knife to have vocal chord microsurgery in Boston, in order to stop recurrent bleeding from a benign polyp. Her condition had forced her to cancel all of her remaining live dates of 2011, as she scrapped 10 scheduled dates in North America and six shows in the UK in order to have the surgery. more on this story

Heather Locklear Hospitalized For Prescription Drugs And Alcohol Scare

(TMZ) Heather Locklear was taken to the hospital by ambulance yesterday afternoon after her sister called 911.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Heather had taken a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol and her sister believed she was in danger.
When paramedics arrived, they examined Heather and determined she needed to be hospitalized.

This is not the first time Locklear has had a medical emergency where 911 responded. In 2008, her doctor was concerned she may have overdosed on prescription meds. He called 911 and the operator described the situation as a "suicide attempt." It turned out to be a false alarm.

Locklear recently called off her engagement to Jack Wagner. more on this story

Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, Bruno Mars To Play Grammys

(popmusiclife) Kelly Clarkson, Jason Aldean, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj, Foo Fighters and Taylor Swift are among the first list of performers announced for the 54th Grammy Awards in February.

Two-time Grammy winner Clarkson is nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Don't You Wanna Stay" (with Jason Aldean).

It's expected that Kelly and Jason will perform their duet on the show. On Friday (13 ), Clarkson launches a 2012 tour in support of her latest album, "Stronger." more on this story

Beyonce's Baby Makes Chart History

(popmusiclife) Beyonce and Jay-Z have a hit on their hands. Well, make that two: little baby Blue Ivy Carter, for one, and the fact that she's the youngest person ever to be credited on the Billboard charts.

Billboard reports Blue Ivy's contribution to Jay-Z's newly-recorded song, "Glory" – which is officially billed as "featuring B.I.C.," enters the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at #74.

"Glory" is Jay-Z's tribute to the new lady in his life, and it features audio of Blue Ivy near the end of the track. more on this story

Vanilla Ice Stops Foreclosure

(TMZ) Vanilla Ice's Florida mansion was in jeopardy of foreclosure ... but only for a second.

Ice lives in a gated community in Palm Beach. Seems Hurricane Wilma destroyed some palm trees back in 2005, and the homeowners association levied a special assessment of around $2,800 per homeowner to cover the cost of replacement.

Ice never paid, and the figure swelled to $4,100, so the homeowners association filed foreclosure documents in order to squeeze the money from the "rapper."

Ice's lawyers, Bradford Cohen and Joseph LoRusso, tell TMZ ... "The issue stemmed from Mr. VanWinkle (aka Mr. Ice) being unaware of any outstanding charges. As soon as he was made aware of the situation it was completely resolved."

The hired guns took a shot at the homeowners association, saying, "It is surprising that the association chose to waste funds on filing an action against our client." more on this story

Madonna Talks Lady Gaga

(popmusiclife) Madonna raved about Lady Gaga during a taping of "The Graham Norton Show" on Wednesday in the UK.

Capital FM reports Madonna described Lady Gaga as "cool" and says the "Born This Way" singer reminds her of herself when she was just starting out in the music industry.

"When I first saw her I was really impressed by her and she was cool," Madonna told host Graham Norton during the interview, which will air Friday on BBC One. "She did remind me of me back in the day." more on this story

The Chemical Brothers In Movie Theaters

You will be able to catch The Chemical Brothers on the big screen when they bring their exclusive concert event, The Chemical Brothers: Don't Think, to select movie theaters nationwide on Wednesday, February 1 at 7:30 p.m. local time.

Presented by NCM Fathom, Omniverse Vision, Astralwerks and Black Dog Films, this event marks the first time the duo's full live experience has been captured for audiences. Considered to be one of the most mind-bendingly psychedelic live shows ever seen, The Chemical Brothers: Don't Think combines the band's famously ferocious modern electronic sounds and hardcore dance beats with striking, eye-catching visuals.

The production was directed by Adam Smith, the band's long time visual collaborator, and produced with 20 cameras at Japan's Fujirock Festival in July 2011 in front of a crowd of 50,000.

Tickets for The Chemical Brothers: Don't Think are available at participating theater box offices and online here.

School of Seven Bells' New Song Streaming Online

School of Seven Bells has just released a new track, and first official single, titled "Lafaye".

"Lafaye" is also the tormented character in their upcoming album Ghostory, which will be released on February 28 in the US on Vagrant/Ghostly International.

The song will be available as a single through all digital retailers on Tuesday, January 17 with an exclusive b-side "Love From A Stone". Take a listen here.

Rosie Thomas Announces Tour Plans and Premieres New Song

Rosie Thomas will hit the road for a North American tour beginning March 15 in support of her upcoming album With Love.

Due February 14 on Sing-A-Long Records, With Love is Rosie Thomas' first full-length record in four years. The first single "Where Was I" can he heard here.

Thomas makes her return to the studio with a band featuring David Bazan (Pedro the Lion), Blake Wescott (The Posies, Damien Jurado), brother Brian Thomas and members of Sufjan Stevens' band along with vocals by Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) and Jen Wood (The Postal Service). more on this story

Rachael Yamagata Announces North American Tour

Rachael Yamagata will be hitting the road for a North American tour in support of her third album Chesapeake.

The Canadian live dates in February will have Yamagata supporting Adam Cohen before her she kicks off her U.S. headlining tour in March with Dan Wilson on select dates.

The trek will launch on February 6th in Lennoxville, QC at Bishop's University and wrap up on March 30th at the Wolf Den in Uncasville, CT. Yamagata will also appear at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin. more on this story

Former CSI Star Gary Dourdan Makes Great Plea Bargain

(TMZ) Gary Dourdan smashed in to 2 parked cars at 3:30 AM on June 13, 2010 ... he was arrested for possession of OxyContin ... yet yesterday, Gary skated in court with a $100 fine.

Dourdan pled no contest to 1 count of disturbing the peace -- an infraction -- and in return the OxyContin possession charge was dismissed. Prosecutors also agreed to dismiss a separate charge of drug paraphernalia possession.

We're told the reason the L.A. City Attorney dropped the drug charge is because Gary completed 20 hours of Narcotics Anonymous. more on this story

Toddlers & Tiaras Mom Defends Tot Singing Sexy Song at Nightclub

(TMZ) The mother of 5-year-old "Toddlers & Tiaras" star Isabella Barrett doesn't care that her daughter's performing LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It" in nightclubs -- telling TMZ, "That's a real catchy song!"

Susanna Barrett was out shopping with her daughter yesterday in NYC -- telling us, Isabella's a big fan of top 40 music ... and that's why she was able to spout off the LMFAO lyrics at a New York nightclub this week. According to Susanna, Isabella also loves Lady Gaga and Rihanna.

But Susanna quickly pointed out ... there are limits -- for instance, Isabella has never seen the music video for "Sexy and I Know It" ... which shows the lead singer shaking his man-package around in a Speedo... see it here.

Halle Berry Engagement Denied

(TMZ) The ring that triggered rumors Halle Berry is engaged is NOT an engagement ring, and sources connected to the couple tell us ... as of last week, Halle and Olivier Martinez were not engaged.

Our sources say Olivier did indeed give Halle the ring as a gift, but it positively is not a symbol of getting engaged.

That said, we're told Halle and Olivier are in a "committed relationship" and marriage "could be in the cards," but as of last week -- when the photo came out -- they were not engaged. more on this story

Pawn Stars Angry About Cajun Spin-Off?

(TMZ) The debut of the new "Cajun Pawn Stars" was a huge hit with the History Channel ... but TMZ has learned the guys at the original "Pawn Stars" show are angry because they had no idea it was being made.

Sources close to Left Field Pictures -- the production company behind "Pawn Stars" -- tell us the Vegas crew feels "blindsided" ... because they only learned about the show a few weeks ago ... when the network made the official announcement.

We're told Chum Lee, Rick, Corey and the Old Man insist they were promised by the network that no "Pawn Stars" spin-off shows would be made of any kind ... and now feel like they were betrayed.

Sources say the guys are "really hurt" by the whole thing and feel like the new show is a "total knock-off" -- but their beef is with the network ... and NOT with the cast of the new show.

Pretty shocking behavior by the network -- considering "Pawn Stars" is the number one show on History and one of the highest rated shows on cable.

No official comment from the "Pawn Stars." Ditto for the History Channel. more on this story

Paparazzo Vs Lindsay Lohan

(TMZ) A paparazzo is suing Lindsay Lohan .... claiming he was badly injured when the car in which Lindsay was riding tried making a fast getaway from a Hollywood club and nailed him.

Grigor Balyan was taking pictures of Lindsay at the time of the accident on January 10, 2010.

Balyan's lawyer, Neil Steiner, tells TMZ ... Lindsay is being sued because her assistant was driving the car at her direction.

Steiner says his client was medically treated for orthopedic and neurologic injuries.

Steiner says he tried settling with Lindsay's insurance company but they only made "an insignificant offer." He says all he wants for his client is "reasonable compensation." more on this story

k.d. lang Splits With Longtime Girlfriend

(TMZ) k.d. lang is done with longtime girlfriend Jamie Price -- k.d. has filed legal docs to dissolve their domestic partnership.

The pair hooked up in 2003 after meeting through a Buddhist teacher, and subsequently filed for domestic partnership in California.

A domestic partnership creates community property rights in a relationship, along with spousal support. It also allows each party to make health care decisions for the other. And for same sex criminals, it gives the non-offending partner jail visits. more on this story