Palestinians step up campaign for Gaza "Arab Idol" star
By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian fans and big business are rallying behind a 22-year-old singer from the Gaza Strip in a final push to vote him the next "Arab Idol" in a TV talent contest choosing a winner in Beirut on Saturday. Mohammed Assaf is the first Palestinian to qualify for "Arab Idol", the Middle East's version of "American Idol", in which contestants perform for judges and voting viewers. ...
Has Jay-Z's 'Magna Carta Holy Grail' Album Gone Platinum Before Its Release?
By Tony Maglio LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Jay-Z once spit, "I deserve platinum plaques, to match my bezel." And while the rapper's got a bunch of those (and plenty of bezels), after Samsung announced it would purchase a million copies of his new album "Magna Carta Holy Grail," is there another platinum disc in the mail already? The answer is "not yet," according to a music industry insider. A record cannot be certified platinum (or gold, or multiplatinum) before it's out, regardless of presale numbers. ...
After four decades, Black Sabbath tops U.S. album chart
By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Veteran heavy-metal band Black Sabbath landed its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, more than four decades after the rockers debuted their first album in the United States. "13," the 19th studio album from Black Sabbath, sold 155,000 copies in its first week, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan, knocking last week's No. 1 album by Queens of the Stone Age off the top spot on the weekly U.S. album chart. ...
Rolling Stones release back catalogue on iTunes
LONDON (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones released a career-spanning digitally re-mastered back catalogue on Apple Inc's iTunes Store on Wednesday as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations. The new iTunes release chronicles the British group's entire oeuvre, from their introductory 1963 cover of Chuck Berry's "Come On" to last year's Greatest Hits collection "GRRR!", their record label Universal Music said on Wednesday. The Rolling Stones - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts - emerged alongside the Beatles in the early 1960s. ...
Jeremy Jordan's Followup to 'Smash' Begins Production With Anna Kendrick as Co-Star
By Greg Gilman LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Production on Richard LaGravenese's musical adaptation of "The Last 5 Years," starring Anna Kendrick and "Smash" star Jeremy Jordan, begins this week in New York, Lucky Monkey Pictures and Sh-K-Boom Records said Wednesday. LaGravenese("Beautiful Creatures") wrote and is directing the adaptation of Jason Robert Brown's musical of the same name, which is a deconstruction of the love affair and marriage of Cathy Hiatt (Kendrick), a struggling actress, and Jamie Wellerstein (Jordan), a rising novelist. ...
Kanye West wins over critics with 'daring' new album 'Yeezus'
By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rapper Kanye West pushes the boundaries of hip hop with his latest album "Yeezus," using aggressive electro-dance music beats to channel his anger and win over critics, who have called the record "daring" and "ambitious." "Yeezus," the 36-year-old rapper's seventh solo studio album, has also sped to the top of the iTunes digital music chart upon its release on Tuesday, led by the single "Black Skinhead. ...
