Big Winners At Academy of Country Music Awards

Thompson Square won the Vocal Duo of the Year award and Little Big Town were selected as the Vocal Group of the Year. Full winner list.

Rihanna and Diddy Get Swatted By Pranksters

(Radio.com) Rihanna is the latest celebrity to fall victim to "swatting" after police arrived at her home in response to a fake 911 call Thursday afternoon (April 4).

As reported by TMZ, the call falsely claimed that two armed men were inside the pop star's Pacific Palisades, California, home and that someone had been shot.

Authorities confirmed that Rihanna was not home at the time of the Thursday prank. However, CBS Los Angeles reports that LAPD quickly confirmed the call to be yet another "swatting" hoax, where pranksters report fake crimes in the hopes of drawing SWAT teams to celebrity homes.

Diddy's LA home was targeted by "swatters" just one day prior (April 3), attracting a dozen cop cars and two helicopters, according to TMZ.

Chris Brown, Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus are just a few of the other celebrities to fall victim to "swatting" in recent months. more on this story

Tabloid Apologizes To Neal Schon And His Fiancee Michaele Salahi

Last week The Daily Mail published an apologized to Journey guitarist Neal Schon and his fiancee Michaele Salahi for recent false story that that they had published.

This was reportedly the first time the publication has issued an apology on their homepage. Here is what they had to say: On 22 February we published an article about Journey guitarist Neal Schon and his fiancée Michaele Salahi, entitled 'Exclusive: Journey guitarist Neal Schon left ex-wife and daughters "so broke they can't buy food" .. but he gave Real Housewives of DC fiancée $1 MILLION ring'.

It claimed falsely that Mr Schon was a deadbeat dad and repeated allegations that he had neglected his ex-wife and two young children, leaving them in such a precarious financial position that they have no money for food or bills and that their home would have to be sold.

It also reported claims that Mr Schon was a "drunk and abusive man" who had become "increasingly spiteful and vindictive" using his money to bully his ex-wife and that his fiancée Michaele Salahi had turned him against his former wife.

We accept that these allegations are untrue and apologise to Mr Schon, Ms Salahi and the family for any distress caused. We have agreed to pay Mr Schon and Michaele damages and legal costs Daily Mail Apology

Phoenix's Big SNL Break Almost Didn't Happen

(Radio.com) America fell in love with Phoenix after the band's 2009 performance on Saturday Night Live, but it turns out the career-defining moment almost never happened.

Guitarist Laurent Brancowitz told Radio.com that the band almost didn't get their Visas in time to come to New York from France. But even once they finally did make their way to the States, the pressure of playing in front of a live studio audience started to set in.

"We were already working on a tightrope and if we failed we would fail in front of millions of people," Brancowitz said with a smile.

Daniel Glass, head of Phoenix's label Glassnote Records, remembers getting the initial call from SNL looking to get the band on the show in just a few weeks. The label had just leaked "1901," giving fans a chance to download the single for free, which was not the norm four years ago.

"We gave the song away for free and it shot up to number one on the blogs," Glass explained. "They wanted to book the band in a few weeks, which was unheard of because the band would be on SNL way before their album would be out."

The 2009 episode, hosted by Seth Rogen, aired in early April, while the band's fourth album was released on May 25. With all of the travel arrangements being made last minute, the band was feeling unprepared for their first show behind their 2009 album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. But Brancowitz explained that once they get on set, they realized that the cast and crew were feeling the same tension they were. more.

Coachella Festival Saved From 'Outrageous' Amusement Tax

(Radio.com) For those that were scared Coachella was on the outs with the city of Indio, California, don't worry- you'll be able to don feathers, neon, and whimsical hot pants for the next 17 years.

Last July, tempers flared as festival promoter Goldenvoice threatened to move the now two-weekend arts and music event out of Indio over a proposed "outrageous" amusement tax. After the announcement hit the media, councilman Sam Torres quickly backed down from his controversial ticket tax proposal.

On Wednesday (April 3), Indio, with its 77,000 residents, approved a proposal by Goldenvoice to continue operations while also expanding the festivities into the city proper.

Monetarily, this is a great move for the Indio economy. Not only does the city receive $2.33 per ticket (with the number increasing to $5.01 next year), but the Los Angeles Times is reporting that the combined force of Coachella and Stagecoach (country music festival) contributed to create an economic impact of around $89.21 million dollars in 2012 alone.

With a majority vote from the city council, Goldenvoice will also have the ability to put on concerts in the fall although there are no definite plans in the works.

The proposal sets the stage for Goldenvoice to increase its concert offerings from three events per year to five. more on this story

Demi Lovato Releases Heart Attack Video Preview

(popmusiclife) Demi Lovato will release the full video for her new single, "Heart Attack," on Tuesday. Over the weekend, Lovato posted a tease/preview of the clip to get fans excited about its impending release.

The song is the lead single from her forthcoming new album, "Demi," which is due May 14.

"Heart Attack" recently debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes chart in 18 countries (including the U.S.) and No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (the second-best Billboard debut of the year). Check out the tease here.

Ed Sheeran Reluctant To Talk About His Love Life

(Radio.com) Fresh 102.7/NYC's Karen Carson got Up Close and Personal with Ed Sheeran during his Q&A/performance at City Winery in SOHO, NYC when she popped the question every girl is dying to ask.

No, it's not 'will you marry me?' – although there was a lot of talk about marriage and prenups. But rather, is there a lucky lady in Ed's life?

"Even if I did have one, I wouldn't say anything anyway," said Sheeran. U.K. singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran is usually an open book and doesn't hold much back from his fans when it comes to his personal life, but he is going to make an exception on this subject matter.

Staying modest and protecting his lady friend (if there is one) is what he is all about. "Everyone knows almost everything about me. I make it very clear that I'm cool with people knowing all my personal life through my songs" said Sheeran.

"There's stuff that you want to go home to and have a little bit of an escape and I think if I was to ever have one I wouldn't be mentioning her every five minutes in an interview. When people do that it's more for media attention." more on this story

Hanson Release Get the Girl Back Video

(Radio.com) Hanson are back with their latest single "Get the Girl Back," and the trio of brothers prove they still have it going on.

The lead song from their forthcoming album Anthem, due out June 18, embodies a sultry retro vibe complete with a brass section, hand-clapped rhythms and Taylor Hanson's familiar vocals.

The single won't be released until April 9, but fans can check out the the song's music video which stars actresses Kat Dennings and Nikki Reed.

Hanson will be celebrating 21 years as a band this summer on June 17 with a birthday show at New York's Irving Plaza before they hit the road for their Anthem World Tour. The tour kicks off on July 18 in Argentina and ends November 20 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Watch the video.

Hunter Hayes Debuts New Song and Jams With Stevie Wonder

(Radio.com) Hunter Hayes pulled out all the stops for the premiere of his new song "I Want Crazy" during Sunday night's ACM Awards.

On the new song, off the upcoming deluxe edition of his self-titled debut, Hunter Hayes (Encore), which is set for release June 18, Hayes lets everybody know, "I don't want easy/ I want crazy."

Unlike as he does on his debut album, Hayes couldn't play every instrument himself during his live performance. So he took lead guitar and let his five-piece band round out the sound.

Then he gave his fans a treat when he grabbed the mic and made his way into the audience. But things got really exciting when previously announced special guest Stevie Wonder came on the ACM stage to join Hayes for a rendition of his classic song "Sir Duke." Wonder brought out his own horn section for the song, which was written in tribute to jazz legend Duke Ellington, but he let Hayes take lead vocals. more on this story

Brad Paisley Duets With John Mayer

(Radio.com) Brad Paisley is no amateur when it comes to the ACM Awards. After winning 14 different times and performing multiple times on stage, his headlining spot at the ACM Fan Jam is no surprise.

While he started the night with an amazing performance of "Outstanding In Our Field" next to Hunter Hayes and Dierks Bentley, Brad took the stage with a more contemporary artist: John Mayer.

This is one of John Mayer's first live appearances in over two year since his temporary retirement to treat the granulomas on his vocal chords. He joined Brad to perform the second single off his April 9 release Wheelhouse, a 17-track album chock full of summer-friendly, windows-down songs that fans have been dying to get their hands on.

Both artists showed immense talent with harmonious voices and guitar riffs that prove why both these stars are so esteemed. more on this story

Beady Eye Premiere New Song

(hennemusic) A new Beady Eye track has debuted on US radio. On Friday, Santa Monica's KCRW premiered "Flick Of The Finger," the first song from the band's forthcoming second album, which is due in June.

The band recorded the new project with producer and TV On The Radio member Dave Sitek. Beady Eye - led by former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher – released their debut, "Different Gear, Still Standing," in 2011.

The group will begin a series of live dates this year at the Solidays Festival in Paris on June 30. Listen to the new song here.

Gwyneth Paltrow Opens Up About Her Health Overhaul

(Extra) Extra's" Renee Bargh caught up with Gwyneth Paltrow last week at the opening of world-renowned fitness trainer Tracy Anderson's new flagship studio in Brentwood. The actress, cookbook author, and mother of two opened up about her recent health overhaul.

Renee, "You were having a lot of problems with your health, what were some of the symptoms you were going through?" Gwyneth, "I just felt very week, I had anemia which makes you very weak, this is a couple years ago…I had been doing really high stress things like singing at award shows and flying overnight and taking a sleeping pill to have an overnight flight and then having French fries and really burnt out a lot of adrenalin, my doctors recommended I clean up my diet for a few weeks and when I had my round of blood tests my health had improved dramatically.

Paltrow went on to say that she created her new cookbook, "It's All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great," to make real comfort food that's really delicious, but healthier.

Gwyneth who now sticks to the Elimination Diet, also commented on the secret to keeping her marriage to Chris Martin solid, "Like any marriage we have good times and bad times…I think we're really good friends and he's really funny…Good luck so far you never know what's gonna happen." As far as if the couple plans to give their children Apple and Moses any siblings, the star laughed, "Not today." more on this story

Amazon Expands AutoRip Song Downloads To Vinyl Purchases

(Radio.com) While music fans continue to buy physical copies of their favorite releases, those CDs and vinyl LPs are often ripped into digital MP3s for convenience's sake.

Earlier this year, Amazon launched a service called AutoRip, which offered CD purchasers of participating titles a free, high-quality 256-kbps digital version of the music added to their personal cloud. The company has now updated the program to include all vinyl purchases ever made in Amazon's online music store, going back to its inception in 1998.

"AutoRip has been wildly popular with customers since it launched earlier this year," said Amazon's Vice President of Digital Music, Steve Boom, in a press release. "It's a fun experience to suddenly find CDs you purchased just today — or 15 years ago — added automatically and free of charge to your digital library.

"We're thrilled to extend this experience to vinyl records," Boom continued. "Many of our music customers are vinyl fans and it's traditionally been very difficult to make digital versions of vinyl records — now customers can enjoy the albums they buy wherever they are, not just when they have access to a record player."

While not every title in Amazon's vast music store is part of the AutoRip service, there are still thousands of records across all genres that are marked with a special icon signifying their positive AutoRip status, including albums from Bob Marley, David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, Miles Davis and Daft Punk. more on this story

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