MUSIC NEWS: MONDAY, MAY 11, 2015
PENTATONIX APPEAR IN ``PITCH PERFECT 2''
The a cappella group representing Canada in the film ``Pitch Perfect 2'' might look a bit familiar. It's Pentatonix.
Singer Kevin Olusola says they had never been on a movie set before. He says he thought the actors would be in their own spaces and not want to be bothered, but they were hanging out on the set and chilling with everyone. Olusola says he was surprised that star Anna Kendrick recognized them. Olusola says they don't have any other acting gigs set up but they liked it enough that they would appear in other movies. ``Pitch Perfect 2'' comes out Friday.
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BOBBY BROWN NAMED ONE OF HIS DAUGHTER'S GUARDIANS
Bobby Brown and the sister-in-law of Whitney Houston have been appointed co-guardians for his daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown. Their lawyers issued a joint statement Friday saying Bobby Brown and Pat Houston will have joint responsibility for Bobbi Kristina's medical needs. Lawyer Bedelia Hargrove was appointed conservator to oversee Bobbi Kristina's assets. Bobbi Kristina was found unresponsive in a tub at her home outside Atlanta on January 31st. She is at an undisclosed location after being released from a hospital in March.
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BILLY CORGAN IS READY TO DIVE INTO WRESTLING
Billy Corgan says he is not working behind-the-scenes in wrestling because he's a celebrity. Corgan says he's become a creative force for T-N-A Wrestling because he knows what he's doing. Corgan is a diehard fan and had worked for Resistance Pro Wrestling before landing his new gig. Corgan says he doesn't want to become part of the show because he has plenty of fame. He wants to tell stories to get people talking about T-N-A wrestlers. Corgan says it would not surprise him if down the road his main focus is wrestling. He says he's had an incredible music career but he's also looking for different challenges.
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LYNYRD SKYNYRD AND BRANTLEY GILBERT WILL DO ``CMT CROSSROADS''
Lynyrd Skynyrd will team up with Brantley Gilbert for a new edition of ``C-M-T Crossroads.'' Their episode will air June 27th. Lynyrd Skynyrd first appeared on ``Crossroads'' in 2004, performing with Montgomery Gentry.
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''AMERICAN IDOL`` ANNOUNCES PERFORMERS FOR FINALE
``American Idol'' is lining up all sorts of entertainment for this week's finale. Former judge Steven Tyler returns to perform, along with Vance Joy, Nile Rodgers, Janelle Monae, Echosmith, Fall Out Boy, New Kids On The Block, Pitbull, Michael McDonald, Prince Royce, Ricky Martin, The Jacksons, Jamie Foxx and Chris Brown. They will perform on Wednesday's finale.
``Idol'' finalists Jax, Clark Beckham and Nick Fradiani will sing on Tuesday.
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BLUR RETURNS WITH FIRST ALBUM WITH ORIGINAL LINEUP IN 16 YEARS
Blur frontman Damon Albarn compares the band to a middle-aged couple whose children had grown up, only to find out a baby was on the way. Albarn says they did not intend to make another album. Their new one, ``The Magic Whip,'' was the result of a jam session in Hong Kong two years ago. Albarn forgot about it, but guitarist Graham Coxon didn't. Coxon says he worked on the album with producer Stephen Street, with the goal to make the songs intriguing enough that Albarn would write lyrics for them. Coxon says he kept leaving ``these juicy carrots in there for him to bite.'' ''The Magic Whip`` is out now.
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PRINCE DOES CONCERT IN BALTIMORE
Many came for the music. But fans at last night's concert by Prince in Baltimore also came to hear him make a call to heal a city divided by racial tensions after a black man died in police custody last month. The Baltimore Sun reports Prince did hits like ``When Doves Cry'' and ``Little Red Corvette'' _ and a new song called ``Baltimore.'' Musical guests included Estelle, Miguel and rapper Doug E. Fresh. In brief remarks to the audience, Prince urged young people to fix a system he says is ``broken.''
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AUTHORITIES CHARGE WOMAN ACCUSED OF BREAKING INTO CHRIS BROWN'S HOUSE
Prosecutors have charged a woman with burglary, stalking and vandalism for allegedly breaking into Chris Brown's home and staying there for four days. Twenty-one-year-old Amira Kodcia Ayeb has pleaded not guilty in a Los Angeles court. She is being held on 220-thousand dollars bail. Brown called authorities Wednesday night when he found an intruder in his home. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office says prosecutors believe Ayeb broke in on May 2nd and vandalized Brown's house and cars.
She's due in court on May 21st.
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JIMMY BUFFETT DISPENSES ADVICE TO GRADUATES
It's not every graduation that has a commencement speaker who shows up in flip-flops and talks about Santa Claus. The Miami Herald reports Jimmy Buffett told graduates at the University of Miami on Friday to see the world, do everything in moderation and ``be Santa Claus when you can.'' Buffett was given an honorary doctorate in music. He didn't stick around after the ceremony. He said he had some fish to catch.
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OZZY OSBOURNE MAKES DONATION TO KIDS' GROUP
Ozzy Osbourne is so impressed with a Kentucky children's percussion group that he's donated 10-thousand dollars to keep them going. The Louisville Courier-Journal reports Osbourne saw a YouTube video of the Louisville Leopard Percussionists doing their version of ``Crazy Train.'' The group meets after school and consists of more than 60 students from around the Louisville area aged from 7 to 14.
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OBIT-FIDDLER JOHNNY GIMBLE DIES
The fiddler for Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys and later as a session musician has died. Johnny Gimble died Saturday near his home in Dripping Springs, Texas, after having suffered several strokes over the past few years, according to his daughter. Gimble was 89. He spent two years in the Texas Playboys beginning in 1949. He later was a sought-after session musician and played on songs by Merle Haggard, Carrie Underwood, George Strait, Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn. One thing that set Gimble apart: he played a five-string fiddle.
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OBIT-SINGER WHO POPULARIZED SONGS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT DIES
The folk singer who popularized the spiritual ``We Shall Overcome'' for the 1960s civil rights movement has died. Guy Carawan died Saturday at his home outside Knoxville, Tennessee, after years of suffering from dementia, according to his wife. Carawan was 87. He was the leader of the Highlander Research and Education Center in Tennessee, which was a gathering space for social activists in the '60s. He changed the spiritual ``I Will Overcome'' to ``We Shall Overcome'' and taught it to activists.
Carawan is also credited for changing the words ``Keep Your Hands On The Plow'' to ``Keep Your Eyes On The Prize,'' which was another song used in the civil rights movement.
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ARCADE FIRE WILL OPEN HAITIAN RESTAURANT
Win Butler and Regine Chassagne of Arcade Fire are opening a Haitian restaurant in Montreal. The Globe and Mail reports Butler and Chassagne have teamed with restaurant owners Roland Jean and Jen Agg to open a place called Agrikol this summer. Chassagne's family is from Haiti and she says she and Butler have always dreamed of a Haitian place in Montreal. Butler calls it ``an art project'' that's ``really cool and contemporary.''
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JUDGE SAYS B.B. KING SHOWS NO EVIDENCE OF NEGLECT
The children of B-B King are promising to keep fighting for the best care for him. A judge in Las Vegas threw out the family's case claiming that his longtime manager, Laverne Toney, was neglecting his care and has stolen as much as a million dollars from him. The family also claimed Toney was keeping friends like Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Buddy Guy and Carlos Santana from visiting. A judge found no evidence that King is being abused or neglected. Toney says visits can be scheduled as they have always been. King's physician and his attorney say they see no signs of neglect or abuse. King is 89 and in home hospice care.
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SAM SMITH WILL UNDERGO VOCAL CORD SURGERY
Sam Smith will have surgery next week to fix his vocal cords. Smith writes on Instagram he's really nervous about it but he hopes in eight weeks to be able to sing like never before. He says he will not be able to speak for three weeks after the operation. Smith said last week he has a hemorrhage on one of his vocal cords.
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SNOOP DOGG CALLED ``DOPE SMOKING COP HATER'' BY TEXAS OFFICIAL
According to the chief law enforcement official of Texas, Snoop Dogg is a ``dope smoking cop hater.'' The comments were written in an email by Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw. His emails were obtained through open records laws by D-P-S trooper Billy Spears. He is suing the D-P-S for reprimanding him for taking a photo with Snoop at the South By Southwest festival in March. The department said it reprimanded Spears because Snoop has several drug convictions. Spears says he was reprimanded for filing a complaint several weeks earlier against a supervisor.
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EXTREME LOVE COVER BY JIMMY FALLON AND JACK BLACK
Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme says the Jimmy Fallon-Jack Black cover of Extreme's ``More Than Words'' brought tears to his eyes. Fallon and Black re-created the video for Monday's edition of ``The Tonight Show.'' Bettencourt tells Rolling Stone he was deeply flattered from the beginning of the video, but when Fallon did Bettencourt's ``hair pullback,'' Bettencourt got emotional. Singer Gary Cherone says Fallon and Black nailed the vocals and it's his new favourite version of the song.
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BRANDY COMES ALIVE IN BROADWAY PRODUCTION OF ``CHICAGO''
Slinking around a stage in black lace has rejuvenated Brandy. She stars on Broadway as Roxie Hart in ``Chicago'' and she says she has more life in her than she's had in a very long time. She says we all have a kid inside us and her kid is wide awake. Brandy notes she's naturally pigeon-toed and doesn't have the straightest legs, but she's going to give the show everything she's got.
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BLUES HALL OF FAME FINALLY OPENS
After 34 years of inducting musicians into the Blues Hall of Fame, there's finally a building to honour them.
The Blues Hall of Fame will open today in Memphis after raising nearly three-million dollars, including donations from Sammy Hagar, John Oates, Steve Miller, Dion and Cyndi Lauper. More than 140 performers and dozens of non-performers have been inducted since 1980. Bobby Rush, who was inducted in 2006, says he's so proud that he lived long enough to see the hall of fame come along. He says walking through it makes him feel like he was there when the music was made.
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THE MUPPETS COVER ECHOSMITH, WORK WITH JOSH GROBAN
The Muppets have gotten into making videos for pop songs. They've done an a cappella version of ``Cool Kids'' by Echosmith and a version of the song ``Pure Imagination'' with Josh Groban and violinist Lindsey Stirling. Echosmith say the Muppets version of ``Cool Kids'' made their day and they hope it makes yours too. Groban says his video with The Muppets was ``so FUNNNNN!!!!!!''
- that's ``fun'' with five ``n's'' and six exclamation points. You can find both videos on YouTube.
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YOKO ONO EXPRESSES THROUGH ESPRESSO CUPS
Yoko Ono's latest art form is espresso cups.
Ono designed a collection of cups and saucers that feature the dates and places of tragic events written in her own handwriting. One reflects the day John Lennon was shot in 1980. Another marks the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. One cup has nothing on it to represent hope. The cups are being released as part of Ono's upcoming show at the Museum of Modern Art in Los Angeles.
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FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE GET READY FOR THE SUMMER
Florida Georgia Line believe there's just something different about summer concerts. Singer Brian Kelley says the fans bring a different kind of energy in the summer, and so does Florida Georgia Line. He says it feels good to be in the sun, to be under the stars and to listen to music no matter what genre it is.
Bandmate Tyler Hubbard puts it this way: ``Suns out, guns out, awnings are out, chairs are out, we're having a party, man.''
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GWAR UNLEASH BAND HISTORY THIS FALL
You can say simply that Gwar is releasing a book, or you could say it the way they do: ``GWAR to Destroy Literary World As Well As Actual World With New Book Release.'' It's called ``Let There Be Gwar'' and it will be more than 350 pages of the band's history, photos, posters, interviews and production sketches. They also promise it will be blood-stained. The book will come out in September. A limited run of 150 copies will be autographed by the band and can be ordered through Gwar-dot-net .