MUSIC NEWS: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015
Aspiring Canadian country singer dies in Australia
A Winnipeg native and aspiring country singer has reportedly died of carbon monoxide poisoning in Australia.
The Daily Telegraph in Sydney says Derek Kehler died on Monday along with his companion, Helena Curic of Australia, while they were camping in a makeshift cabin in the Blue Mountains northwest of Sydney. The newspaper says it is believed they died in their sleep after taking a pot of hot coals from a bonfire into a converted steel container they were staying in. Curic's sister Natalie, who owns the property and was staying in an adjoining container with her family, reportedly made the discovery early Monday morning.
The newspaper says Kehler, 32, and Curic, 31, began dating after they met while working at an IT firm in Vancouver a couple of years ago and later transferred to the company's Sydney office.
Kehler was an aspiring country singer pursuing a career under the name of Steel Audrey. His website says he released a debut self-titled album in July 2012 and a second album in October 2014 called ``From Which I Came.''
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DISTRICT ATTORNEY GETS TOUGHER ON BONNAROO CITATIONS
Misbehaving music fans at Bonnaroo won't be able to just pay a fine and make it go away this year. Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott tells the Nashville Tennessean festival goers will not be able to pay a fine to avoid appearing in court on minor citations. He says it isn't fair that a person arrested the day before Bonnaroo on minor drug possession could get five days in jail and a year of probation, while someone arrested on the same charge at Bonnaroo simply pays 15-hundred. Northcott says he will stagger court dates to alleviate any extra load on the jail.
Bonnaroo starts tomorrow in Manchester, Tennessee.
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TEEN CHOICE AWARDS PIT ONE DIRECTION AGAINST ZAYN MALIK
The Teen Choice Awards are forcing fans of One Direction to make a very hard decision. One Direction has been nominated for ``Choice Male Hottie,'' and their competition includes former member Zayn Malik (MAL'-ihk). Others nominated in that category include Canadain mega-pop supertar Justin Bieber, Austin Mahone, Ryan Guzman and 5 Seconds of Summer. The female nominees are Cara Delevigne, Fifth Harmony, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift. Nominees in music categories include Ed Sheeran, Pitbull, Iggy Azalea, Demi Lovato, Fall Out Boy, Imagine Dragons, Hunter Hayes and Blake Shelton. The Teen Choice Awards will be August 16th.
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LES PAUL AWARD GIVEN TO BELMONT UNIVERSITY
Gibson Guitars is donating 100-thousand dollars to Belmont University in Nashville to honour Les Paul. The Les Paul Music Innovation Award will be used to fund research to innovate music. The 100th anniversary of Paul's birth was yesterday. Besides being a musician, Paul created the electric solid body guitar, multitrack recording and many other music innovations.
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DEMI LOVATO WILL APPEAR IN ``FROM DUSK TIL DAWN: THE SERIES''
Demi Lovato has joined the cast of ``From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series.'' Details of her role were not given. The second season will premiere August 25 on El Rey Network.
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JACK ANTONOFF CREATES SHADOW OF THE CITY FESTIVAL
Jack Antonoff of Bleachers and of fun. is starting his own festival. Antonoff will stage the Shadow of the City music festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey, on September 19th.
Bleachers will headline, with Charli X-C-X and Vic Mensa among the other acts. Antonoff says he wants to do this festival for the rest of his life.
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SNOOP DOGG SUES PABST OVER COLT 45
Pabst Brewing Company says it would be happy to talk to Snoop Dogg or his representatives to get to the bottom of his complaint that prompted a lawsuit. Snoop is suing Pabst because he says he is owed a chunk of the sale when Pabst sold its Colt 45 malt beer line last year. Snoop signed a contract in 2011 to endorse Blast by Colt 45, a fruit-flavoured version of the beer. He says the contract stipulates if Pabst sold Colt 45 before January 2016, he was entitled to a portion of the sale price. Pabst says neither Snoop nor his representatives contacted the company about the matter, but Snoop says Pabst told him he was not owed anything from the sale.
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IGGY AZALEA DROPS OUT OF PITTSBURGH PRIDE
Iggy Azalea is calling off her appearance at this weekend's Pittsburgh Pride event. Azalea tweets her appearance would be a distraction from the purpose of the event. Azalea came under fire for making alleged homophobic comments. She says she supports the gay community and as a young person she made comments she has come to deeply regret.
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FANS BLAST BEYONCE'S ``BIG ANNOUNCEMENT''
Beyonce's ``big announcement'' is falling flat with fans. Beyonce' appeared on ``Good Morning America'' this week promising to announce something ``amazing.'' She went on the show to talk about her vegan diet. Fans complained on social media they were hoping Beyonce' would announce an album, a tour or something of that nature. Some fans complained they got up early to hear what the announcement was. Others complained she released an album without telling anyone yet made a lot of hype to talk about what she eats.
Beyonce' has not commented on the complaints.
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KATY PERRY'S MANAGEMENT SAYS ``1984'' IS NOT ABOUT TAYLOR SWIFT
In spite of what you might think, Katy Perry's song ``1984'' has nothing to do with Taylor Swift. Perry registered a new song called ``1984'' with performing rights group B-M-I, and fans assumed it was about Swift because of the similarity in title to Swift's ``1989'' album. The two are rumoured to be feuding.
Perry's management tells Billboard magazine the story is ``completely false.'' They say Perry was not involved in writing, singing, recording or registering the song.
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SLASH PUTS HOUSE ON THE MARKET
Slash and his estranged wife are unloading their very rock-and-roll mansion in Los Angeles. The Hollywood Reporter reports the six-bedroom, eight-bathroom home is listed for nearly 11-million dollars. The house comes with a recording studio, wine cellar, movie screening room and a nightclub with a D-J booth, pole-dancing pole and a photo booth. One room has alligator-print wallpaper, while another is covered in skulls and crossbones. The couple announced their divorce in December.
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iTunes in Canada top 10 for the week ending June 7.
ALBUMS
1. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful _ Florence + The Machine
2. X _ Ed Sheeran
3. Peace is the Mission _ Major Lazer
4. At.Long.Last.A$AP _ A$AP Rocky
5. Wilder Mind _ Mumford & Sons
6. ``Pitch Perfect 2'' (Soundtrack) _ Various Artists
7. In Colour _ Jamie XX
8. Smoke + Mirrors _ Imagine Dragons
9. 1989 _ Taylor Swift
10. Everything is 4 _ Jason Derulo
SINGLES
1. Cheerleader _ Omi
2. See You Again _ Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth
3. Bad Blood _ Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar
4. Honey, I'm Good. _ Andy Grammer
5. Shut Up and Dance _ WALK THE MOON
6. Lean On _ Major Lazer featuring MO & DJ Snake
7. Want to Want Me _ Jason Derulo
8. Hey Mama _ David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj & Afrojack
9. This Summer's Gonna Hurt Like a MotherF****r _ Maroon 5
10. Kick the Dust Up _ Luke Bryan
(The Canadian Press)