Mariah Carey Hospitalized After Video Shoot Injury

Despite the injury, Carey is still expected to perform at a free Major League Baseball Hurricane Sandy Relief event at Central Park's Great Lawn on July 13th. Read the Page Six report here.

Randy Travis Hospitalized and In Critical Condition

Country star Randy Travis was hospitalized in Dallas on Sunday (July 7th), and is listed as being in critical condition at the undisclosed hospital, according to his representative.

Travis's publicist Kirt Webster says that the country singer was hospitalized for "complications of recently acquired viral cardiomyopathy," but did not provide further details.

The National Library of Medicine states that "Cardiomyopathy is a weakening of the heart muscle or another problem with the heart muscle. It often occurs when the heart cannot pump as well as it should, or with other heart function problems.

"Most patients with cardiomyopathy have heart failure."

Lauryn Hill Goes To Prison

Lauryn Hill turned herself in to a federal prison in Connecticut yesterday, (July 8th) to begin serving a 3 month sentence after pleading guilty to tax evasion charges.

Hill was booked into the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury at 11:15 AM EST which is a "minimum security type facility", officials told TMZ.

The former Fugees singer will be housed in "barracks type" housing in the prison's general population, not isolated from other inmates, the officials told the site.

Hill pled guilty to three counts of tax evasion last year, for failure to file tax returns for $1.8 million of income that she earned from 2005 to 2007.

Thirty Seconds to Mars Announce North American Tour

Thirty Seconds To Mars will be following up their summer tour of European festival appearances with a nine city North American headline tour this autumn.

The tour is set to kick off on September 27th at The Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA and will conclude with a performance at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA.

Thirty Seconds To Mars are launching the tour to support their latest studio album, "Love Lust Faith + Dreams" which was released in North America back in May. more on this story

Bon Jovi Donates $1 Million To Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund

Bon Jovi frontman Jon Bon Jovi revealed yesterday that the group has donated $1 million dollars to Hurricane Sandy relief in the singer's home state of New Jersey.

The money was donated to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, which is chaired by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's wife Mary Pat Christie.

Jon Bon Jovi said, "Natural disasters spare no one. But you can't imagine the devastation, destruction and despair until Mother Nature takes aim at your hometown.

"This is bittersweet; it's heartbreaking to see our fellow New Jerseyans so affected by the ravages of Hurricane Sandy but we're happy to make this donation and offer real, substantial help to the residents of Sayreville and the nearby, low-lying communities as they rebuild their homes and lives."

The donation ceremony took place in Jon Bon Jovi's hometown of Sayreville at the Sayreville Borough Hall. The singer, governor and his wife, the mayor of the town and other officials were in attendance.

Governor Christie said, "This incredibly generous donation from Bon Jovi to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund will go a long way in the rebuilding process.

"From day one, Jon has been one of the most visible faces for Sandy recovery here in his hometown of Sayreville and throughout the entire state.

"On behalf of a grateful people, I thank Jon and Bon Jovi for all of the great work they've done for New Jersey."

The band's official site has more details and photos here.

Justin Bieber To Try Something Different For Next Release

Justin Bieber's next release will be a "music journal" and he plans to release it later this year. It will be different from a traditional album release, according to vague comments from the pop star's manager.

"For this project, we want to do things a little bit differently," Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, told MTV News. "And there are more songs than 10 or 12, so if you have more music and you have more things you want to express, you gotta think out the box, and [think like] 'How do I get this out there in a unique way where it gets directly to my fans and I can express myself through music directly to them?'"

As for taking a page from Jay-Z's recent release playbook, Braun says, "I think it depends on what kind of music you're making and how you're trying to release it. But when you're giving something that's really for the fans, which is what Justin wants this to be, [then you can come up with new strategies]".

The first single from the "music journal" will be a track called "Heartbreaker" and will be released later this year. The Beiber camp is also looking at ways to release his next concert movie. Read the MTV report for more details here.

Former Baseball Wives Star Arrested

Former "Baseball Wives" star Anna Benson was arrested Monday morning in Georgia after she allegedly raided her estrange husband Kris Benson's apartment with a gun and a metal baton, according to Star Pulse.

Anna reportedly went to the apartment in a rage on Sunday night wearing a bulletproof vest and pulled out an "expandable metal baton" and threatened to hit Kris.

She then allegedly pulled out a handgun and demanded money, according to the report. Kris told Anna that he would get her the money following the altercation, according to the police report, but then left the home and called police instead.

Anna was arrested and booked on four counts, including two counts of felony aggravated assault with a weapon, one count of criminal trespass, and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

Toby Keith's Oklahoma Tornado Benefit Draws 60,000 Fans

(Radio.com) Figures are not in yet for how much money Toby Keith's Oklahoma Twister Relief Concert raised for the United Way, but early reports from his camp indicate that if the nearly daylong show didn't break records for paid attendance, it sure came close.

The massive concert was held this past Saturday (July 6) at the University of Oklahoma's Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., just outside Oklahoma City and not far from Moore, a town that was devastated by a tornado this past May.

Along with Keith (who grew up in Moore and currently owns a house in Norman), the show featured Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Willie Nelson, Ronnie Dunn, Mel Tillis, John Anderson, Sammy Hagar, Krystal Keith, Kellie Coffey, and (via satellite) Carrie Underwood.

The sold-out concert packed more than 60,000 fans who, despite the heat, remained energetic throughout, both for the artists and the cause. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the United Way of Central Oklahoma May Tornadoes Relief Fund.

Krystal Keith (Toby's daughter) kicked off the show at 3 p.m. Saturday, followed by sets from Kellie Coffey and country legend Mel Tillis. more.

Randy Houser Shared His 'First' With Jamey Johnson

(Radio.com) Randy Houser's current single "Runnin' Outta Moonlight" is climbing the charts amping up over radio airwaves, where it's currently No. 10 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart. Radio.com sat down with the singer to learn the story behind his first time — on the receiver, that is.

"The first time I heard my song on the radio was in the front yard of my buddy Rob Hatchett's house," Houser recalled. "It was me and Jamey Johnson sitting in my truck. I had just hit the Top 40 with 'Anything Goes' and he was probably in the 30s with 'In Color.'"

Houser knew his song was about to play and went out to his car to hear it for the very first time on the radio. "I said, 'Jamey, let's go out here. My song's about to come on the countdown. It's the first time I've actually heard it,'" he said.

So Houser and Johnson sat in his car listening to his debut single "Anything Goes" on the radio and a flood of memories rushed passed him. "[I was] remembering learning to play the guitar as a small child. My daddy teaching me chords and all the nights I spent in my bedroom playing that guitar and singing and learning how to play and sing. Then learning how to write songs," he said. "All those clubs that I played for so many years. Learning how to work a crowd and learning how to play with a band and all of those things that I did all through my teenage years. Just years and years of experiences really flooded my mind. Things that I had forgotten about really came to the surface. It was just a really amazing experience."

Houser said the memories come back every time he hears a new song of his on the radio. more on this story

The Civil Wars' Soap Opera Continues

(Radio.com) Ever look at a status update on Facebook and think, "What's going on with them?" Well that's what seems to be going on between vocalist/pianist Joy Williams and guitarist/vocalist John Paul White, better known as the acclaimed country-folk duo the Civil Wars right now. Except it's taking place in the mainstream music press and it's giving fans more questions than answers.

In a recent interview, Williams said of the duo's forthcoming self-titled album, "I'm just really proud of what we created together. And we created it together — we just happened to be in a bit of a civil war ourselves.

"John Paul and I aren't speaking right now," she reaffirmed, "but to me that doesn't determine the outcome of the band because if we're not speaking we can't determine the outcome of the band at this moment. So the other elephant in the room is what's happening with the band? The reality is I'm not even quite sure."

The duo released a statement last November canceling all remaining tour dates citing "internal discord and irreconcilable differences of ambition" for being unable to continue touring. Since then, Williams and White have remained relatively mum until now about their future as the Civil Wars, even as they maintained separate careers, with White contributing music for the ABC drama Nashville.

It's a tough and uncertain position to be in for such a promising new country upstart, which formed after White and Williams were randomly paired together at a Nashville "[song]writing camp" in 2008. They battled internal conflict just as their star was rising, following the release of their 2011 debut Barton Hollow and a GRAMMY-winning collaboration with Taylor Swift. According to Williams, however, all will be explained by the songs on the Civil Wars' sophomore album, set for release August 6.

"All I can do is just be myself and be vulnerable," she added in the interview. "This isn't some marketing ploy to make things more interesting for a second album. This is my life, and my life is on this album. And if you want to know what happened to the band, listen to the album." more on this story

How Bloody Beetroots Scored Paul McCartney Collaboration

(Radio.com) Sir Paul doesn't just show up for anyone - let alone twice. Over the weekend, masked Italian DJs Bloody Beetroots released the music video for "Out of Sight," their inspired collaboration with Paul McCartney, and the legend appears in the eerie clip.

How the collaboration came to be has been of particular interest in the weeks since its announcement; though an unlikely pairing, it seems the Beatle and Beetroots share a producer in Youth (aka, Martin Glover).

"This year, I've been spending quite a lot of time in the studio producing new stuff with Youth of Killing Joke," explained Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo, the mastermind behind the Bloody Beetroots, during a recent interview with L.A.'s KROQ (a Radio.com station). "He asked me if I was looking for some new features for my upcoming album. I said yeah, I have two names: one is Penny Rimbaud [formerly] of [punk band] Crass, and the other one is Paul McCartney. You never know if it will happen or not. But at least you ask and maybe they'll say yes.

"So Youth gave me the stems of a Fireman song called 'Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight' and he said to me, 'Bob, try to remix this track and let's see if Paul likes it,'" Rifo continued, referencing the opening track on Electric Arguments, the third album from The Fireman, McCartney's electronic side project with Youth.

"So if you know me, you know that if I do a remix, it will probably end up being something totally original, basically a new song," Rifo explained, having already produced a slew of remixes for the likes of Britney Spears ("Till the World Ends"), Rob Zombie ("Burn") and the Killers ("Spaceman"). "That's exactly what I did. I recomposed all the harmony and redesigned Paul's melody. Then I went to the RAK Studios in London to replay all the instruments."

After sending the new version to McCartney (who liked it), Rifo had one more request. Find out what that was here.

Pusha T Promises 'Best Album Of The Year'

(Radio.com) During an interview last week with Charlotte's Power 98 (a Radio.com station), rapper Pusha T discussed his long-awaited solo debut LP, hijacking a track from Kanye West, and the status on a reunion of hip-hop duo the Clipse, which also features his brother No Malice.

"It's not coming out on the 16th [of July]. We're going to push it back a month," Pusha T explained in regards to My Name is My Name, set to drop on Kanye West's G.O.O.D. record label.

"It's been a lot of music coming out. You got the 'Ye album, You got the Cole, the Wale. I think Hov's album is even on the 4th (of July)," the rapper explained in regards to the onslaught of recent high-profile hip-hop releases from Kanye West, J. Cole, Wale and Jay-Z. "But at the end of the day, I still stand my ground. That's politics and logistics. My album is the best album of the year… I think the streets are going to have a classic hip-hop album. My Name is My Name is definitely the hardest album that's going to come out this year for sure"

"As far as the production goes, it's still an all-star cast," he said of the marquee producers who made beats for the album. "It's still Pharrell [Williams], It's Still Kanye, It's still Swizz (Beatz). It's still The-Dream. It's still Nottz. It's some of everybody, man. As far as my features go, you got the best of the best. You got [Rick] Ross, you got [Young] Jeezy, you got Kendrick Lamar, Future, Wale."

Discussing the new single from the album, "Who I Am" featuring 2 Chainz and Big Sean, Pusha T admitted it was a track he had to wrestle away from producer Kanye West.

"This record, man, I'm going to be honest. I had to fight and steal this record from 'Ye," the rapper explained. "I heard the record and I loved it, and he called to tell me he wasn't going to be able to give me the record. I ran in the studio real quick and laid a verse to it. I was like, 'Nah, this is my record already. I already rapped to it. What are you talking about?' We just went back and forth, and he ended up giving me the record… It's just that energy I'm trying to bring back to the streets." more on this story

Ellie Goulding Releases 'Burn' Video

(Radio.com) Instagram introduced video to their photo service, so how long until there's a music video option? Ellie Goulding isn't waiting to see. Her latest video, for her new single "Burn," integrates a full four minutes of golden hour into the footage — the type most of us can only get if we slap Instagram's Valencia filter over our images.

Director Mike Sharpe (Cher Lloyd, Depeche Mode) obviously didn't use that actual filter, but anyone familiar with Goulding's past video work knows she likes a touch of the ethereal, so he's clearly just giving her a look that fits her brand.

In the video, Goulding walks around an airport landing strip while a group of kids, backpacks in tow, jump the airport fence to meet up with her. The song's climax features an airport dance party and fields full of glowing orbs.

"Burn" is a new single released by Goulding this past Friday (July 5), one not included on her latest album, Halcyon. The song was written by OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder (Adele, Beyoncé), GRAMMY-nominated songwriter Greg Kurstin (Kelly Clarkson, P!nk), Noel Zancenella (Demi Lovato), Brent Kutzle (OneRepublic's bassist/songwriter) and Goulding. It was originally demoed by Leona Lewis, who never included it on an album. The production from her original demo sounds unchanged. more on this story

Singled Out: The Exits' You Gotta Help Me Out

Today The Exits tell us about their new single "You Gotta Help Me Out" from their brand new EP "The Exits EP". Here is the story:

You Gotta Help Me Out is an important song for the band, and captures the 'dancey' side to our sound. It stems from a time when we were using the synthesiser a lot to write songs, and using it as a lead instrument around which the other instruments revolve.

You Gotta Help Me Out centres on a hectic ascending, then descending synth riff. I came up with this while tinkering around on the synthesiser, and attempting to play something that used the black keys as well as the white keys.

Ray wrote the lyrics, and they are arranged in an almost call and response manner, with each verse followed by the main riff. There are no chorus parts in this song.

There is an interesting breakdown/ instrumental section in the middle of the song, where it changes time signature.

You Gotta Help Me Out is an almost permanent fixture of our live set and has bailed us out when gigs have not been going quite as well as they should. The song always seems to provoke a crowd reaction and coax some movement. For a long time we always closed our set with it, but now we often open with it.

A great song and a great riff.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself here and preview clips from the full EP right here!

Wait there is more!