WQKS

Katherine Jackson is expected to discuss plans for the show during a live Monday (Aug. 15) broadcast on CNN.

(Billboard.com) – Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green will pay their respects to the king of pop with performances at the October Michael Jackson tribute concert.

Promoters for Michael Forever: The Tribute Concert confirm to CNN that two of the four The Voice coaches are slated to perform, along with Leona Lewis, Smokey Robinson and Alien Ant Farm, who burst onto the scene in 2001 with an alternative rock version of Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal.”

British boy band JLS and R&B singer Craig David are also in the lineup, with more performers to be announced in the near future.

“This announcement is just the beginning, we have many more to announce,” said Global Live Events exec. Paul Ring. “This concert will unite various generations and musical genres, reminding everyone of just how amazing a talent Michael was.”

Katherine Jackson is expected to discuss plans for the show during a live Monday (Aug. 15) broadcast on CNN, though not all members of the Jackson family are on board.

“We want to make clear that this does not reflect the position of the entire family,” Jermaine and Randy Jackson said in a joint statement. “While we wholeheartedly support the spirit of a tribute that honors our brother, we find it impossible to support an event that is due to take place during the criminal trial surrounding Michael’s death.”

Dr. Conrad Murray, the late Jackson’s former physician, will be tried for involuntary manslaughter in September, with the case expected to continue through October.

Michael Forever: The Tribute Concert is scheduled for Oct. 8 at the Wales’ Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Great Britain. Fans can begin “registering their interest for tickets” online on Thursday, with a lottery to determine which fans will be invited to purchase tickets. The show is a joint venture between Global Live Events and members of the Jackson Family, including Katherine, La Toya, Tito and Jackie.

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Only the Queen of Soul can sing her way out of a parking ticket.

Aretha Franklin was reportedly able to “sing her way out” of a parking ticket this week.

The 69-year-old singer was dining out with a group of ten friends at Neely’s Barbeque Parlor in New York on Monday night. While the star was tucking into her meal on the Upper East Side, she realised the meter had run out and a traffic cop was about to fine her.

So she left the restaurant and went to speak to the officer, who was lost for words when he saw her.

“Only the Queen of Soul can sing her way out of a parking ticket. Aretha Franklin soothed a traffic cop about to ticket one of her cars,” reports New York Post.

Rather than hand her a ticket, the officer asked the star to sign an envelope and she was happy to oblige.

After she had finished her meal, Aretha spent time speaking to the owners of the eatery, Pat and Gina Neely. The pair gave the singer a signed copy of one of their cookbooks, but she already has one at home. Instead, Aretha decided to autograph the book and hand it back to them as a thank you.

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Reported backstage bust-ups are said to be the cause.

The Monkees have cancelled their reunion tour after having several disagreements and bust-ups backstage.

The group’s September concert in Albany, USA, has been forced to be cancelled after a number of ‘conflicts’ ignited within the outfit and now it has been reported that all 10 final shows in their 45th anniversary tour have been cancelled.

A spokesman for the band has said the decision to axe the rest of the tour was down to business reasons.

A statement from Micky Dolenz said: “Management booked dates with venues without running them by the group so we had to cancel the remaining dates. It has nothing to do with any sort of substance abuse whatsoever.”

via musicrooms.net

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The Motown legend will be the recipient of the 20th ELLA Award presented by the Society of Singers.

(Billboard.com) – Smokey Robinson first met Ella Fitzgerald some 50 years ago and calls her “my mom, just such a wonderful lady. I loved her so much, and she was always so sweet to me.” Now he’s getting an award named in Fitzgerald’s honor.

The Motown legend will be the recipient of the 20th ELLA Award presented by the Society of Singers (SOS). The invitation-only ceremony will take place on Sept. 19 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in California, with Robinson’s longtime friend Aretha Franklin slated to receive SOS’ Legend Award and longtime session and soundtrack singer Sally Stevens getting the Voice Award. Both of the latter awards are being presented for the second time.

“I’m very honored by this,” Robinson tells Billboard.com. “Ella Fitzgerald was one of the first people that I ever heard in my life, as a baby growing up in Detroit. I had two older sisters and my mom, and they were always playing music and of course Ella Fitzgerald was one they were playing all the time. When I got the chance to meet her, man, I was so honored and flabbergasted. And she was so sweet. She acted like she had known me all of my life.”

Robinson says he’s also happy to be honored alongside Franklin. “She’s my baby,” he gushes. “I’ve known her since we were kids, y’know? I haven’t seen her in awhile, so I hope she’s there (at the ceremony).”

The ELLA has been presented since 1989 “to a select entertainer for their significant achievements in music and for their dedicated efforts to benefit the community and worldwide humanitarian causes.” Previous recipients include Natalie Cole, Herb Alpert & Lani Hall, Andy Williams, Gladys Knight, Johnny Mathis, Elton John, Celine Dion, Barry Manilow, Placido Domingo, Julie Andrews, Tony Bennett, Joe Williams, Rosemary Clooney, Lena Horne, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, Peggy Lee, Tony Martin and Frank Sinatra.

In a statement, SOS President Erica Farber said that, “Smokey is one of the most beloved and influential figures in the history of popular music. His outstanding accomplishments as a singer, songwriter and Motown record executive have forever made an impact on American pop culture. We are delighted to present him with this award and pay tribute to his ongoing legacy after more than five decades in the music business.”

A Motown triple-threat as a performer, writer and producer, Robinson has also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a Soul Train Music Award for Career Achievement and an ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award. He’s been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, both on his own and with his group, the Miracles, and he received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2006.

Robinson released a new album, “Time Flies When You’re Having Fun,” in 2009 and is currently “gathering material for my next record,” although there’s no timetable in place for its release.

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On doctor's orders, the legendary artist will cancel his concert dates scheduled between Aug. 26 through Sept. 15.

(Billboard.com) – A lingering upper respiratory condition that cut short a European tour has forced Gregg Allman off the road. On doctor’s orders, the legendary artist will cancel his concert dates scheduled between Aug. 26 through Sept. 15.

According to a rep’s statement, Allman’s treatment will involve several days of hospitalization in addition to 4-6 weeks of home rest. The Allman Brothers Band icon is expected back on the road in late fall to continue promoting his album, “Low Country Blues.”

A European tour came to a halt in June when Allman experienced similar breathing issues. Doctors felt he would be recovered by now, but the issues have persisted. He continues to recover from a liver transplant in 2010. On July 27 he hosted a benefit at NYC’s Beacon Theatre that raised over a quarter million dollars for the American Liver Foundation and the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable.

Allman’s last show for a while was at the AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival in Johnstown, Pa. on Saturday (Aug. 6). Festival marketing manager Shelley Johansson told the Tribune-Democrat that it was a great performance.

“It just makes me more grateful that he was here and put on such a wonderful performance,” she said.

Several reports on Allman’s health have mistakenly stated that a Maryland-based jam band called The Bridge was the icon’s backing band. Not true, a rep for Allman tells Billboard.com. Upon close inspection, the Tribune-Democrat tagged an unrelated news item about The Bridge breaking up at the end of the year to the bottom of the Allman story, and national outlets accidentally tied the group to the guitarist.

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The rock singer passed out after his show in New Jersey on Sunday night.

You may be getting déjà vu, but this is not the same report as a few days ago. Rock star Meat Loaf has collapsed again on stage due to his asthma.

The Bat Out Of Hell star had completed the show at New Jersey’s Balloon Festival and collapsed backstage just as he had last Thursday in the middle of his Pittsburgh show.

Fans of the rocker will remember that during the late seventies, the then over 300lb star used to collapse after his shows and on two occasions was technically dead before being revived by his team with oxygen tanks. There is some difference now though, as the 63 year old really needs to consider his health.

The man himself has always said how much he loves touring, but I’m sure his fans would be just as happy to have more studio output from him and save his health.

via musicrooms.net

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McCartney said he organized the concert in a bid to help New York let out the fear.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Paul McCartney recalled the shock and fear that engulfed New York in the aftermath of the Sept 11 attacks and what he called the magical power of music in helping to heal those wounds.

Speaking ahead of the television broadcast of his 9/11 documentary “The Love We Make”, the former Beatle said that the concert he helped organize after the attacks was one of the most worthwhile moments of his career.

Shot in black and white, “The Love We Make” chronicles McCartney’s personal journey in the devastated city immediately after the attacks on the World Trade Center, and preparations for the “Concert for 9/11″ six weeks later.

It will be broadcast on cable channel Showtime on September 10 as part of a slew of U.S. television programs marking the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

“The whole mood of the world, of America and New York had changed. There was fear in the air and I had never experienced that in New York,” McCartney told television journalists gathered in Los Angeles for a bi-annual meeting of critics.

McCartney said he organized the concert in a bid to help New York let out the fear. “We were emerging from the fearfulness of the immediate impact, and now you were seeing the emotion releasing through music — it’s one of the reasons I am in music.”

“It was a great feeling. We actually felt like we were doing a bit of good,” he said of the concert.

McCartney was on a plane on the tarmac in New York on the morning of September 11, 2001 which was grounded when hijacked planes were flown into the World Trade Center towers. He spent the next few days stranded on Long Island and immediately came up with the idea of staging a concert for the city.

McCartney said he was a big believer in the transformative powers of music. “I have come to the conclusion that it is magical…One of the things I am most proud of is that I have lucked out and am in a profession like this that can help heal and help people get in touch with their emotions.”

The documentary features footage of McCartney rehearsing for the concert, talking with New Yorkers on city streets and backstage. The film features the likes of David Bowie, Mick Jagger, former President Bill Clinton, Leonardo DiCaprio and many others.

McCartney said he had done nothing with the original footage for years, until the 10th anniversary of 9/11 began to loom. “The documentary was reawakened by the anniversary,” he said.

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McCartney is the latest celebrity to be dragged into Britain's phone hacking scandal

(Billboard.com) – Paul McCartney said Thursday he would contact police over his ex-wife’s claim that the couple had been spied upon by a British newspaper.

In comments to U.S. television journalists delivered via videolink from Cincinnati, Ohio, McCartney said that he would be in touch with law enforcement as soon as he was finished with his summer tour.

“I’m going to talk to the police because apparently I’ve been hacked,” McCartney told the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles.

“I don’t think it’s great. I do think it is a horrendous violation of privacy, and I do think it’s been going on a long time, and I do think more people than we know knew about it. But I think I should just listen and hear what the facts are before I comment,” he said.

McCartney is the latest celebrity to be dragged into Britain’s phone hacking scandal, which centers on allegations that journalists routinely eavesdropped on private phone messages, bribed police officers for tips and illegally obtained confidential information for stories.

Until recently the scandal was largely been limited to the British arm of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, but an allegation made Wednesday by McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills implicates the Trinity Mirror PLC group of newspapers, and CNN celebrity interviewer Piers Morgan, who once edited the group’s flagship Daily Mirror tabloid.

Mills’ allegation, made Wednesday in an interview with the BBC, was that a senior Mirror journalist admitted to her that his paper had been spying on her messages. While the broadcaster said that the unidentified man was not Piers Morgan, the former model’s allegation echoes a claim Morgan himself made back in 2006 – a few months after the couple began divorce proceedings.

In an article published by the Daily Mail, Morgan said that he had been played a tape of a message McCartney had left on Mills’ cell phone in the wake of one of their fights.

“It was heartbreaking,” Morgan wrote. “He sounded lonely, miserable and desperate, and even sang ‘We Can Work It Out’ into the answerphone.”

Questions over how Piers Morgan came to hear such a message have led several British lawmakers to call on him to return to the U.K. and explain himself.

Morgan has so far not offered comment on his article, although he did describe Mills’ allegation as unsubstantiated and noted that the judge in the couple’s divorce case had cast aspersions on her credibility.

He has repeatedly denied having ever ordered anyone to spy on others’ voicemails, while his former newspaper group has insisted that it’s journalists obey the law.

Mills’ office on Thursday declined to elaborate on what she told the BBC, but said that the 43-year-old “looks forward to receiving Piers Morgan’s answer as to how he knew the content of her private voicemail messages.”

Several British parliamentarians have also said that Morgan has questions to answer – among them Conservative legislator Therese Coffey.

“I think it would help everybody, including himself and this investigation, if he was able to say more about why he wrote what he did in 2006,” Coffey told the BBC Wednesday.

Morgan’s publicist, Meghan McPartland, said that as far as she knew the CNN star – who is spending his summer working as a judge on “America’s Got Talent” – was not returning to England to answer questions.

Morgan himself made light of the calls on his Twitter feed, saying he found it “so heartwarming that everyone in U.K.’s missing me so much they want me to come home.”

In a separate development, the publisher of Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper announced late Thursday that it was reviewing its editorial procedures. No reason for the review was given, but Morgan is one of many media veterans who’ve claimed that phone hacking and other shady practices were common across Britain’s newspaper industry.

Associated Newspapers Ltd., which publishes the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday, and London’s free Metro newspaper, said in a terse statement that Liz Hartley, the company’s head of editorial legal services, would be among those working on the review.

Few other details were revealed, and Hartley did not return emails seeking further information.

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