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As befitting the King of Pop, Michael Jackson may forever be part of Hollywood’s starriest constellation…eventually. Led by a police escort, the Jackson family  arrived at Forest Lawn Memorial Park at approximately 8:15 a.m. for an hour-long service, while nearly a dozen helicopters hovered overheard, and hundreds of press and fans gathered outside the gates. But the morning ceremony  did not include a burial. Instead, after the private funeral inside the cemetery’s Hall of Liberty ended shortly after 9 a.m., Jackson’s coffin was loaded into a hearse to be transported 11 miles away to Los Angeles’ Staples Center for the… Read more »

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shut the door Thursday to a resolution honoring Michael Jackson because debate on the symbolic measure could raise “contrary views” about the pop star’s life. Lawmakers are free to use House speeches “to express their sympathy or their praise any time that they wish,” said Pelosi (D-CA). “I don’t think it’s necessary for us to have a resolution.” A resolution sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) cites some of the singer’s charitable acts and proclaims him an American legend, musical icon and world humanitarian. Even before Pelosi’s comments, some Democrats said privately they did not… Read more »

Michael Jackson fans paid tribute to the King of Pop the best way they knew how last week: by buying his music. In the first full week following the death of Jackson at age 50, and with retailers fully prepared for the onslaught of buyers, the fallen pop idol sold an astonishing 800,000 solo albums, dominating the charts in a way not seen since his heyday in the early 1980s. According to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan, Jackson’s sales nearly doubled from the week before, with his music occupying all 10 spots on the Top Catalog Albums chart, led by… Read more »

In early 1984, when Epic Records executives presented their slate of upcoming releases at the convention in Hawaii of parent company CBS Records they couldn’t resist playing up the success they were experiencing. So between the pitches for new albums, Epic inserted stock footage of semi trucks and a voice-over that thunderously announced, “There goes another load of Michael Jackson’s Thriller albums!” Trucks weren’t really leaving the warehouse every few minutes, but Thriller was still shattering expectations more than a year after its November 30, 1982, release. Epic was selling more than 1 million copies per month in the United… Read more »

“As individuals, we’re misfits,” says Fergie, the sultry female singer of the Black Eyed Peas “Together, we’re like one big misfit. People are always questioning who the hell we are.” It is the day after the group’s May 6th performance, on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Chilling out in a small, sparsely furnished room at Center Staging in Burbank, California, she and fellow members of the multiracial group resemble a live version of a United Colors of Benetton ad. Fergie is dressed in black-and-white capri-length leggings set off by a hot pink shirt and a sharp pair of black ankle-strapped heels… Read more »

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Fans of all stripes crowded the Izod Center Saturday, May 16th, to hear a night filled with music from pop artists Kelly Clarkson, Ciara, Jesse McCartney and the Black Eyed Peas to rock from the All American Rejects, and hip-hop from Soulja Boy Tell’Em and The All American Rejects. Zootopia 2009 started with Jesse McCartney and his lead single “Leavin’,” but it was when he took off his sunglasses and sang “Beautiful Soul” that the sing-along really began. McCartney slowed it down for “It’s Over,” which he called his favorite song off his album Depature. But… Read more »

It’s 4 a.m. on the last night of the South by Southwest music conference, and Jim James is belting out Rod Stewart’s “You’re in My Heart.” A few hours earlier, the My Morning Jacket frontman dazzled an intimate crowd at an Austin church with a mostly solo acoustic set, and the full band’s three other performances during the week were some of the most acclaimed of the industry event. But of all the places James could be right now, it’s a cozy terrace suite at Austin’s famed Driskill Hotel, surrounded by a few close friends, a bucket of Miller Lites… Read more »

Jasun Martz, a producer and musician who has recorded for Michael Jackson, toured with Frank Zappa and helped arrange Starship’s classic hit We Built this City, recently found an old, dusty suitcase in the corner of his attic. Inside was a small canvas painting and unmarked audio tape. An unreleased Michael Jackson or Zappa outtake, he thought? The tape, missing for 30 years, turned out to be the only known recording by unknown Los Angeles singer, songwriter, pianist Sue Reed. In the late ’70s Ms. Reed was pioneering the sound now made popular by Tori Amos, Regina Spektor, Fiona Apple,… Read more »

Since Michael Jackson forsook his Neverland Ranch, the King of Pop has popped up in some very unexpected places. He’s taken up residence in the Gulf state of Bahrain, in France and even in a castle in Ireland. He showed up in Augusta, Ga., to give a eulogy at James Brown’s funeral, and materialized in London to accept an award for his contributions to the world of pop music. Lately he’s been spotted in Las Vegas on his famed shopping sprees. So where is he now? In a rare conference call, the singer emerged with his spokeswoman Friday to confirm… Read more »

Among the latest performances announced for the 46th Annual GRAMMY(R) Awards telecast are Prince, The Black Eyed Peas with Justin Timberlake, and Beyonce; a special segment celebrating the 40th Anniversary of The Beatles’ first U.S. appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” featuring Sting, Dave Matthews, Vince Gill, and Pharrell Williams; and a tribute to late singer/songwriter Warren Zevon with Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, Timothy B. Schmit, Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam and Jorge Calderon, it was announced today by the Recording Academy(R). In addition, Britney Spears, Keith Urban, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, and Joshua Bell will make appearances as presenters. The… Read more »