Hot Music Beat

When asked about Jim Morrison’s death, everyone will think of ‘heart failure in the bathtub of his Paris apartment at age 27’. But a new tell-all from the Lizard King’s friend Sam Bernett says that the official story is wrong and that Morrison actually died at the Rock and Roll Circus nightclub that Bernett was managing at the time.

Bernett’s book, only available in French, alleges that Morrison was found dead in the men’s bathroom and that the bouncers dragged his body to his apartment. The story was backed up by a former employee, Patrick Chauvel, who said he was present the night it happened.

Bernett says he kept the story a secret because it brought back bad memories. So why bring it out now?

Rap superstar T.I. isn’t one to take things sitting down. He doesn’t take crap, most especially when he’s on stage. Sounds just like Akon, eh?

According to TMZ, a fan launched a cup at the rapper during his performance at an ESPY awards pre-party at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Tuesday night. T.I. got pissed so bad that he jumped off the stage in the middle of his performance to confront the person face-to-face.

When he got to the suspected culprit, T.I. allegedly hit the individual with his microphone which drew some blood. The patron was quickly escorted out of the hotel. Sounds like Akon and Naomi Campbell combined.

Kelly Clarkson took the stage for Live Earth on Saturday. She performed a five-song set at the Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The five songs were ‘Walk Away’, ‘How I Feel’, ‘Never Again’, ‘Sober’ and ‘Since U Been Gone’.

It’s nice that she started and ended her performance with past hits. Otherwise, she’d be one of the easy-to-forget performers. Harsh? I think I only speak the truth. Heck, Avril’s supposedly ripped off ‘Girlfriend’ is more memorable than ‘Never Again’.

At the very least, I’m certain Kelly wrote all of it… which could be the reason why it sucks.

Despite reports that no one could get in touch with her and that she’s been missing, Foxy Brown was just right under our noses.

Foxy was photographed performing at the Urban Music Awards in Manhattan a day before reports came out that she was missing. Doi.

She was also supposed to be the co-host for the event but was late and couldn’t even stop herself from swearing long enough to present an award. She also kept ragging on every female rapper that had a somewhat successful release in the past two years and actually claimed to be a member of the Rocafella group.

Finally, she decided she was over the crowd that was over her before she even came and turned off the mic and left the stage and asked people to take her picture.

She should have just stayed MIA.

Sydney and Tokyo have begun a worldwide sequence of Live Earth concerts aimed at raising awareness of climate change.
A total of 150 artists will be performing in nine cities, including London and Washington, over 24 hours.

Among the biggest names on stage are Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, The Police and Garth Brooks.

Live Earth is organised by former US Vice-President Al Gore, who called the concerts a “global response” to a global problem.

Organisers say the concerts will reach an audience of two billion people via TV, radio and online broadcasts.

But critics have said it is hypocritical for performers who fly around the world on tours to push the message of cutting down on carbon emissions.

The Sydney event kicked off with a traditional aboriginal welcome and Al Gore appeared on video screens to launch the worldwide initiative.

It’s déjà vu as more people around Amy Winehouse are begging her to go to rehab. But now, it’s not just her management, her close friends too. Friends of the troubled singer begged her to ditch her drunken ways via a rehab-style intervention at a London restaurant on Thursday night.

Amy refused to listen and stormed off, leaving in her wake, a crying friend. Witnesses supported the story by saying that Amy ordered vodka and a bottle of champagne and got into it without ordering any food. The conversation turned serious when 4 girls that looked more like school friends than showbiz types went into a hushed conversation with Amy.

After Amy left, one of the friends cried about how they had never seen her this bad and how they need to keep trying until Amy decides to get help. True friends.

Enrique Iglesias isn’t considered as an artist by some people but you can’t deny that he’s a fun pop star. And you can’t help but love that he doesn’t take himself too seriously.

Enrique recently sat down with gay magazine HX to talk about his new album and answer the prerequisite gay questions. And it turned out to be a fun time.

He jokes about the difference between straight girl fans and gay fans saying that the latter are just guys and that fans are fans for him. He says that he does have gay friends and one is even one of his best friends.

He also talked about gay rumors and said that he doesn’t really care. When asked who he would be into if he was gay, he says that he would be lusting for George Clooney after shutting down the Ricky Martin idea. Watch out George!

2007 is half-way over. I can barely remember the time that has passed. In music news, the biggest surprise is the fact that an American Idol castoff scored the biggest hit.

Chris Daughtry came in fourth in American Idol 5. His band Daughtry has the biggest selling record in the US in 2007 thus far. Over 3 million albums have been sold and he’s well on his way to beating record sales of Idol winner Taylor Hicks, whose career never really took off, and runner up Katharine McPhee who is resorting to posing provocatively for Stuff magazine.

Daughtry’s album is certified triple platinum and is the 5th best-selling digital release of all time and the fastest-selling rock debut in the 16-year history of the Billboard album chart’s sales tracking system.

Wow!

Bill Pinkney, the last survivor of the original members of the musical group The Drifters, died Wednesday. He was 81.

Pinkney was found dead at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort, Daytona Beach Police spokesman Jimmie Flynt said. The death was not considered suspicious, he said.

Pinkney was scheduled to perform for Fourth of July festivities there.

Pinkney’s manager, Maxine Porter, declined to discuss his cause of death, but said Pinkney had health problems.

The Drifters, whose hits include “Under the Boardwalk,” “Up on the Roof,” and “Save the Last Dance For Me,” still performed Wednesday night. An announcement about Pinkney’s death was made after the show, said the group’s publicist, Donnie Lowery.

Pinkney, born in Dalzell, S.C., wasn’t with The Drifters when they recorded their biggest hits. He left in the band in 1958 because of an argument over cash. His distinctive bass voice can be heard on the group’s version of the holiday classic “White Christmas.”

Even though he left the group, Pinkney didn’t let go of The Drifters’ name. He fought for laws allowing performers or bands to claim an affiliation with a classic group like The Drifters or The Coasters only if at least one member recorded with the original group.

The Drifters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Pinkney was a World War II veteran and pitched for the New York Blue Sox of the Negro Baseball League in the late 1940s and early ’50s.

Rain, the biggest pop star in all of Asia, is facing a chunk of legal trouble in the US. A concert promoter claims in a lawsuit that Korea’s ‘Justin Timberlake’ pocketed more than $500,000 without even performing. And that’s all just the beginning.

Rain has cancelled two out of his US dates citing a trademark suit in Nevada and technical glitches. Rain’s Korean promoter blames its local counterpart in LA of financial mismanagement for using equipment that weren’t up to code.

It’s all a big game of pointing blame on everyone. This is going to be one ugly lawsuit. Bigger than divorce court!

I am so over Beyonce that it’s not even funny. I think the only one left that still digs her is the girl herself. But someone has expressed his lack of affection for the bootylicious singer louder than anyone. And that’s Rufus Wainwright.

The Canadian-American gay pop icon has openly called Beyonce one of the worst performers making hit singles and that her music is thoughtless. Wainwright even told the press that “I’m really sick of Beyonce. All her songs are formulaic and produced in a way that’s utterly mesmerizing in the basest way. There’s no enlightenment. Like most mainstream pop these days, it’s more of a scientific experiment than an artistic experience. I’m scared of what young people are being force-fed. I’m sick of trash culture.”

Ouch!

Mutya Buena has been killing with her solo effort. The former Sugababes member just released a new video for her single ‘Song 4 Mutya’. The song is a collaboration of the buxom British-raised Filipino babe with Groove Armada. The clip is a little on the cheesy side but the quality of the song more than makes up for it.

It just goes to show that you don’t have to do a reunion tour with people you don’t even like anymore to stay famous. Mutya is certainly proving that with all the recent success that her solo efforts have attained.

Rock on girl!

Waving their arms in the air and dancing with 70,000 fans at London’s Wembley Stadium, princes William and Harry celebrated the life of their mother, Princess Diana, on what would have been her 46th birthday Sunday at a concert they organized.

William, 25, rocked his hips as Canadian pop star Nelly Furtado belted out her song “Man Eater” — to the embarrassment of younger brother Harry, who shook his head and laughed.

Harry, 22, said they asked Elton John to play “Candle in the Wind,” the song he sang at Diana’s 1997 funeral in Westminster Abbey. Originally about Marilyn Monroe, its lyrics were reworked in tribute to Diana and it became a worldwide No. 1 hit that same year.

“This evening is about all that my mother loved in life: her music, her dance, her charities and her family and friends,” William told the crowd, thanking them and millions more who watched the show on television.

Diana died Aug. 31, 1997, along with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed and their driver when their Mercedes crashed inside the Pont d’Alma tunnel in Paris with media photographers in hot pursuit.

Security for the event was increased after the discovery of two unexploded car bombs in central London on Friday and an attack on Glasgow airport on Saturday where a sports utility vehicle slammed into the main terminal and burst into flames. At least 450 officers patrolled the concert.

The concert mixed rock, pop, hip hop and classical ballet and featured some of Diana’s favorite acts including Duran Duran and Tom Jones. In honor of her love of dance and theater, there was a performance of an extract from “Swan Lake” by the English National Ballet and songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Remember Lauryn Hill? The girl of Fugees fame and then just as herself? Well, she’s still continuing to commit career suicide if you happen to be wondering what’s up with her.

In her 90-minute set at Wednesday night’s late-starting concert at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre, Lauryn mixed never before heard material with hits from a decade ago, most of which were virtually unrecognizable due to the massive amount of rearranging and a poor balance of sound.

Her look of a rusty afro-haired bag lady didn’t help her any. At one point during her performance, she even fell flat on her backside.

Obviously, her efforts weren’t appreciated. She should just stop while she still has even a few remnants of dignity.

Michael Caine, Kirsten Dunst and Judi Dench were among the stars that helped Elton John raise a staggering $12.2 million for charity at the singer’s latest celebrity bash. The Rocket Man star and his partner David Furnish threw their annual White Tie and Tiara Ball at their Berkshire, England, home on Thursday night, with other $6,000-a-ticket guests including supermodel Elle Macpherson, former British royal Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, and artist Tracey Emin. The lavish party was thrown to raise funds for Sir Elton’s Aids Foundation charity, and an auction saw items like a four-day tennis lesson with tennis ace Roger Federer and an Audi R8 sportscar snapped up by celebrity guests for $650,000 and $800,000 respectively. However, the most coveted items on the night were an appliqued blanket by Emin, a trip to South Africa with Sir Elton and Furnish, and a Rolls Royce Phantom coupe – which reportedly has a waiting list till 2009 – all of which went for $1.6 million each. These celebs collect so much money but are it ever enquired that where and how this money is spent. Like do they submit the books of accounts with the government?

Britney Spears is attempting to do something again, except this time, her clothes are on… for now.

Friends of the singer are reportedly saying that she’s been talking and hanging out with her ex-husband Kevin Federline. According to a report by the National Enquirer via MSNBC, she supposedly told KFed that she wants her family back which supposedly stunned Kevin.

Kevin doesn’t seem to be interested however. Their divorce is taking another turn since KFed will not sign the final property settlement agreement. He says that he would sign if Britney can prove that she can handle joint custody.

Due to Britney’s recent actions of flashing and whatnot, KFed will also reportedly seek for full custody of their 2 sons.

The Latin heartthrob, who saw his star rise earlier this decade with the crossover success of such songs as “Hero” and “Escape,” all but disappeared from the spotlight except for tabloid speculation about his romantic relationship with tennis pinup Anna Kournikova.

Iglesias, 32, has a decent excuse for his self-imposed hiatus. After a string of back-to-back records, the singer devoted three years to work on his latest disc, “Insomniac,” released this month. It has 15 songs featuring typical Iglesias come-ons (”On Top of You”) and lovelorn laments (”Wish I Was Your Lover”). But he also takes a musical detour by adding rock and hip-hop sensibilities.

He samples a reggaeton beat and pingpong ball sound effects for good measure.

Iglesias said It’s not that I wanted to make a musical change. It’s not that I wanted to make a more profound album. I just wanted to write songs and pick the best ones. It’s as simple as that.
He also said you know, every single musician out there, no matter what they tell you, we all want to have a hit song. I’d be a liar if I told you I don’t. But the main thing is to have fun with it and to truly, truly believe in it. … I can’t wake up at 5 in the morning and do `Regis and Kelly’ and do the `Today’ show and do every single show around the world every single day and not believe in what I’m doing.