Search Results for: Queen

“Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin added another jewel to her illustrious musical crown on Friday night when she was honored at the annual MusiCares dinner, a Grammy-related event that raises money for musicians in need. “There may be a debate about who is the president, but there is no debate on who is the queen,” said civil rights leader Al Sharpton, one of many luminaries on hand to pay tribute to the 65-year-old Franklin. The singer, who has garnered 17 Grammy Awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a career spanning four decades, will perform this Sunday at the… Read more »

One ticket to the Super Bowl: $2,000. Thirty seconds of advertising during the Super Bowl: $2.7 million. Five seconds’ worth of Madonna in a Super Bowl ad: A heck of a lot more than that. Sources tell E! Online that the Material Girl was paid $10 million to appear in a new advertising campaign for Sunsilk hair-care products, including a commercial that will premiere during the the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and New York Giants (most of whom do not make $10 million in an entire season). In the 30-second spot, old stock footage… Read more »

Madonna is the richest woman in music. The 49-year-old entertainer leads Forbes.com’s list of the top 20 “Cash Queens of Music,” earning $72 million between June 2006 and June 2007. The pop star’s “Confessions” world tour pulled in $260 million, Forbes said. She also made money from album sales, her fashion line with H&M and a deal with NBC to broadcast her concert performance at London’s Wembley Stadium. Forbes.com said it compiled the list by examining concert grosses, merchandising revenue, album sales and other revenue from clothing lines, fragrance deals and endorsements. Barbra Streisand is No. 2 with $60 million,… Read more »

The stars of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” were among the fan favorites at the 34th annual People’s Choice Awards on Tuesday, as CBS scrapped its usual live broadcast of the show in favor of a strike-friendly, pre-taped program. The two-month-old Writers Guild of America strike has taken a toll on Hollywood’s awards season, leading to the cancellation of the Golden Globes and the scaling-down of People’s Choice. The fate of other shows, including the Oscars, remains in question. The People’s Choice Awards announced last month that it would replace its traditional live show with “a new format”… Read more »

The other high-heel shoe has dropped. With no end in sight for the Hollywood writers’ strike, the 34th annual People’s Choice Awards will slash its red carpet, it was confirmed Wednesday. Organizers, meanwhile, announced a “reinvention” of the telecast as a pretaped, “magazine-style format” show: Think two-hour special, rather than Christine Lahti-caught-in-the-bathroom live TV. People’s Choice spokeswoman Jeannie Tharrington said the show requested, and was denied, a waiver from the Writers Guild of America that would have allowed union writers to work on the Jan. 8 CBS telecast. Later, WGA spokesman Greg Mitchell said the union had taken no action… Read more »

British public broadcaster BBC’s Radio 1 has cut out the word “faggot” from an old Christmas hit in a move the mother of the song’s late performer branded “ridiculous.” In “Fairytale of New York,” released 20 years ago by Irish band the Pogues and singer Kirsty MacColl, she sings “You scumbag, you maggot/You cheap lousy faggot” as her character in the song argues with one sung by Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan. MacColl died in 2000 when she was killed by a speedboat off the coast of Mexico. The song is a perennial favorite in Britain around Christmas time, and is… Read more »

Pop-punk band Plain White T’s led the U.S. pop singles chart for a second week Thursday with “Hey There Delilah,” while Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry” rose one to No. 2, swapping places with R&B starlet Rihanna’s former chart-topper “Umbrella.” Timbaland’s “The Way I Are” featuring Keri Hilson rose one to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, trading places with Shop Boyz’s “Party Like a Rockstar.” At No. 6, the “High School Musical 2” onslaught began as the cast single “What Time Is It” entered the chart after selling 87,000 physical singles and 31,000 downloads.… Read more »

Some of the world’s biggest names in music were all about Saving Our Selves this weekend. SOS, of course, referring to the campaign being touted Saturday across the globe at the seven-continent, 24-hour Live Earth concert extravaganza, a worldwide shout-out to individuals, political leaders, corporations and every other entity capable of helping put a stop to the environmental scourge that is global warming. In a partnership with Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection and other U.S.-based and international organizations, Live 8 executive producer Kevin Wall put together a bill that included the Police, Madonna, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica,… Read more »

Reunited rock band Rage Against The Machine will be one of the headliners at the third annualVegoose Music Festival, set for October 28-29 in Las Vegas, sources said. Vegoose producers declined to comment on specific artists booked for the show at Sam Boyd Stadium, but said an official lineup will be announced in mid-July. Rage ended a seven-year hiatus in April when it played the Coachella festival in southern California. Also on tap for the Los Angeles quartet are a July 28-29 run with the Rock the Bells tour at New York’s Randall’s Island, an August 24 date at Alpine… Read more »