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Don’t picture little Billy Gilman any more. The kid is 15 now, with a voice that took two years to change and a new CD out. His new release is “Music Through Heartsongs,” an album of songs that are the poems of 12-year-old Mattie J.T. Stepanek. Stepanek battles a rare form of muscular dystrophy, a disease that took the lives of his three siblings and left him dependent on a ventilator that feeds oxygen through a tube attached to his neck. But he has sold more than 1.5 million copies of his inspirational books and has countless admirers including Oprah… Read more »

Paul McCartney is calling for a ban on cluster bombs because of the harm they cause to civilians. “It would be great to outlaw these cowardly weapons,” the former Beatle told British Broadcasting Corp. radio on Monday. “What happens after the war finishes is that it’s the civilians – mainly women and children – who get blown up.” Cluster munitions dropped by U.S. and British aircraft in Iraq contain hundreds of small “bomblets” which sometimes fail to explode until years later. Anti-landmine campaigners – including McCartney’s wife, Heather Mills – say children are particularly at risk because they can mistake… Read more »

Arista recording artist Wakefield hit the road opening for All-American Rejects starting May 4th in Portland, Oregon. Two days later on May 6th, Wakefield’s debut album, American Made, will officially arrive in stores, it was announced today by Antonio “L.A.” Reid, President and CEO, Arista Records. Set to impact at radio on May 19th at modern rock, “Say You Will,” is described as a love song inspired by the movie Scream. “Get your heart broken a few times and the tragedy begins to unfold,” says Ryan the band’s frontman. The video for “Say You Will” was directed by Marc Webb,… Read more »

A jury began deliberating whether to hold rocker Tommy Lee responsible for the death of a 4-year-old boy who drowned during a pool party at the drummer’s home. A 12-member jury met for an hour after closing arguments Wednesday, then adjourned for the evening. They were to resume deliberations Thursday. A lawyer for the boy’s parents told the jury that $10 million would be a suitable damage award. “It would have been so easy for this terrible thing not to take place,” Thomas Girardi said in his closing argument. Daniel Karven-Veres drowned during a birthday party for Lee’s son Brandon… Read more »

Britney Spears’ request for a restraining order against a Japanese fan will be dismissed as part of an out-of-court agreement between both parties, court officials said Wednesday. Masahiko Shizawa’s attorney had said Spears’ misunderstood his client’s interest in her. “He’s not a stalker,” Simon R. Hiller said during a February hearing. “He’s an avid fan.” In asking for a court order keeping Shizawa at least 1,000 yards from her, the 21-year-old pop star said he had sent hundreds of love letters and photographs and tracked her to her homes in Louisiana and California. She said one photo bore the words,… Read more »

Columbia Records chairman Don Ienner was named president of Sony Music’s U.S. division on Monday. Ienner’s new post was announced by Sony Music Chairman and CEO Andrew Lack. In a statement, Lack said Ienner had made Columbia “one of the most powerful and respected labels in the history of popular music.” Ienner, 51, will oversee all of Sony’s music labels, including Columbia, Epic, Sony Music Nashville and Sony Music Nashville. Ienner takes over a position left vacant by former Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola. Mottola was Sony Music’s chairman, CEO and president until January, when he resigned and was replaced… Read more »

City manager Jane Howington asked Miami University to cancel an April 23 concert by rapper 50 Cent because of public safety concerns, but the school says the show will go on. The concert is sold out, and a ticket only could be obtained with a Miami University student identification, university spokeswoman Holly Wissing said Friday. “We’re not expecting any problems,” Wissing said. Campus police and officials say no tickets will be sold at the door, alcohol won’t be allowed and there will be adequate security. Howington is concerned that violence could occur if fans come from other cities and find… Read more »

Rock-rap act 311 has slated a July 11 for its seventh studio album, “Evolver.” The group reteamed with producer Ron Saint Germain (Bad Brains, Sonic Youth) for the Volcano Records set. He last worked with the band on its self-titled third album, released in 1995 via Capricorn Records. Shortly before the album’s release, the group will kick off a U.S. tour July 15 on the West Coast. Dates for that trek, which will extend into September, will be announced soon. The band’s only currently confirmed dates are a July 18 appearance at the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa, Calif.,… Read more »

Demurely clad in a simple yellow T-shirt and black bondage pants, Avril Lavigne didn’t need to frolic about in choreographed routines to impress her minions. A simple rock show, devoid of flash and fancy moves, demonstrated her back-to-basics intentions, and the audience, composed mostly of straight-haired teenage girls at their very first concert (with chaperones, of course), responded like it was watching the Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964. “I touched her hand, the one with the blue wristband!” gushed Madison, 10, from Toronto. It wasn’t the last time she and the dozens like her rushed down the… Read more »

Marching to a different beat for its eighth installment, MTV’s Campus Invasion tour will split into separate rock and hip-hop tours for the first time. Fabolous and Talib Kweli kick off the hip-hop-oriented stretch April 19 at Lincoln University in Philadelphia. The Used, the Exies, and Finch are headlining rock-geared gigs starting May 3 at Towson University in Towson, Md. Tagged with a $18-25 ticket price (to be determined by each university), Campus Invasion 2003 should spread to 20 dates through the spring. Sponsors for this year’s tour include Nintendo Gamecube, Skittles, and T-Mobile. Fabolous is touring in support of… Read more »