Facebook.com/DonnaSummerA spokesperson for DonnaSummer's family says reports of a public memorial for the late singer next week in Nashville "are not accurate." "The services being planned will be private to include only family and close friends," family rep Brian Edwards says in a statement provided to ABC News Radio about funeral arrangements for the Queen of Disco.
Music stars, from Mary J. Blige to Dolly Parton, have joined Summer's fans in offering their condolences to the late singer's children and husband, Bruce Sudano. "On behalf of the Sudano Family, the overwhelming outreach from the media, fans and friends alike has been most truly appreciated," the family rep says in a statement. "Thank you for continuing to respect the family's privacy during their time of loss."
Summer passed away Wednesday after a battle with lung cancer. Clearing up rumors about the cause of the singer's death, Edwards further explains that the cancer "was not related to smoking. Ms. Summer was a non-smoker." He adds that, "Obviously, numerous factors can be attributed to the cause of cancer in general, but any details regarding the diagnosis and subsequent treatment of Ms. Summer's case remain between her family and team of doctors."
Donna Summer was in Florida when she died. She was 63.
LaurenDukoff/Columbia RecordsAdele is one of the world's biggest stars, but that doesn't mean she can sell magazines. British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman revealed that the magazine's cover featuring Adele was "one of the worst sellers" in the magazine's history.
Vogue's British website reported that at a talk Shulman gave Wednesday night in London, Shulman told the audience, "Music stars haven't sold well at all. Adele is the most popular woman in the world, but one of the worst sellers we've ever had." She didn't give a reason as to why the issue didn't connect with buyers.
Adele also appeared on the cover of the March issue of the U.S. version of Vogue. No word on how that particular issue sold.
Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagicCeline Dion spends a lot of time in Las Vegas these days, but she insists that's not the reason that she's selling her mansion in Canada for a whopping $29.5 million.
Canada's QMI Agency reports that Celine and her husband Rene Angelil have put the Montreal-area home up for sale, but Angelil says that they will eventually look for a new place in Canada. Angelil explained that since the birth of their twins, Nelson and Eddy, he and Celine haven't spent a lot of time in the mansion.
"We are mostly in Florida," he said, explaining that their older son, Rene-Charles goes to school there, and added, "And of course there are commitments in Vegas because of Celine."
The couple's four-story mansion is located on a private island off of the north shore of Montreal. The $29.5 million price tag makes it the most expensive home on the Montreal market, and the fifth highest in Canada overall. Tourists often rent boats in order to sail past the island and take pictures of Celine's house, which is protected by fencing.
FoxJessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips will compete for the American Idol crown on next week's finale. Joshua Ledet was eliminated on Thursday night's results show, and he sang James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" for his farewell song. Some 90 million votes were cast to determine who made it to the top two.
The top three opened the show with a group performance of the Beatles' "Got to Get You into My Life." In a segment apparently taped before contestant Hollie Cavanagh was eliminated, the top four went to 20th Century Fox Studios to lend their voices to a song from the upcoming movie Ice Age: Continental Drift. Drake, Jennifer Lopez and Queen Latifah also sang on the track.
Songwriter Carole Bayer Sager and actress/singer Rita Wilson sat by Jimmy Iovine in the audience and joined host Ryan Seacrest in remembering the late disco legend Donna Summer, whose death was announced Thursday.
Lisa Marie Presley took the Idol stage for the first time to sing "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet," and Idol alum Adam Lambert performed "Never Close Our Eyes" from his new album, Trespassing.
Jessica and Phillip will perform on American Idol Tuesday night at 8:00 Eastern on Fox. The Idol winner will be announced on Wednesday night's show.
KMazur/WireImageDonna Summer's untimely passing on Thursday inspired an outpouring of emotion from artists of all musical genres -- and an outpouring of anger from Elton John, a friend of the late diva.
In a statement on his official website, Elton says, "I'm so sad. This woman was the queen of disco and so much more. Her records sound as good today as they ever did. That she has never been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a total disgrace, especially when I see the second-rate talent that has been inducted."
While shortlisted several times for the Hall of Fame, Summer had not yet been inducted at the time of her death. She was the first woman, and the first African American, to win a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, for her hit "Hot Stuff."
Elton went on to say of Summer, "She is a great friend to me and to the Elton John AIDS Foundation and I will miss her greatly."
Meanwhile, Barbra Streisand, who scored a smash hit duet with Summer on the song "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)," posted a note on her website saying, "I was shocked to hear about Donna. She was so vital the last time I saw her a few months ago. I loved doing the duet with her. She had an amazing voice and was so talented. .. It's so sad."
Amy Graves/WireImage for Full Picture -- Los Angeles When Bobby Brown debuted a new song titled "Don't Let Me Die" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Wednesday night, some media outlets assumed it was a tribute to his late ex-wife, WhitneyHouston.
The reports highlighted certain lyrics, including, "I didn't realize that every breath I took was from you, you were my air." Bobby also sang, "I guess I [messed] up pretty bad, I didn't know who you were, I didn't know what we had, now I'm stuck living in the past, trying to get the pieces back, but I guess now you're gone."
However, Bobby's rep denies to E! News that the song refers to Whitney. The song reportedly was written before Whitney died in February.
FoxJessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips will compete for the American Idol crown on next week's finale. Joshua Ledet was eliminated on Thursday night's results show, and he sang James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" for his farewell song. Some 90 million votes were cast to determine who made it to the top two.
The top three opened the show with a group performance of the Beatles' "Got to Get You into My Life." In a segment apparently taped before contestant Hollie Cavanagh was eliminated, the top four went to 20th Century Fox Studios to lend their voices to a song from the upcoming movie Ice Age: Continental Drift. Drake, Jennifer Lopez and Queen Latifah also sang on the track.
Songwriter Carole Bayer Sager and actress/singer Rita Wilson sat by Jimmy Iovine in the audience and joined host Ryan Seacrest in remembering the late disco legend Donna Summer, whose death was announced Thursday.
Lisa Marie Presley took the Idol stage for the first time to sing "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet," and Idol alum Adam Lambert performed "Never Close Our Eyes" from his new album, Trespassing.
Jessica and Phillip will perform on American Idol Tuesday night at 8:00 Eastern on Fox. The Idol winner will be announced on Wednesday night's show.
Dave Hogan/Live 8 via Getty ImagesPaul McCartney apparently is about to be surpassed as the wealthiest rock musician in the world by U2 frontman Bono. NME.com reports that the Irish rocker, who owns a 2.3 percent stake in Facebook, is expected see his net worth increase significantly when the social networking company goes public on Friday.
Facebook is valued at more than $100 billion, which will make Bono's share worth in excess $1.5 billion. In comparison, the Beatles legend's fortune is estimated to be slightly over $1 billion.
Bono bought his Facebook shares for about $90 million back in 2009 through his private equity company Elevation Partners.
Lauren DukoffAdele's winning streak continues. On Thursday in London, her #1 hit "Rolling in the Deep" garnered two trophies at the UK's prestigious Ivor Novello awards for songwriters, the BBC News reports.
"Rolling in the Deep" was named the most-played song of 2011 on radio, TV and other outlets, and Adele herself was named Songwriter of the Year for her participation in it. Ironically, in her acceptance speech, Adele said that initially, she didn't think the song was going to amount to much.
Adele's co-writer on the song, Paul Epworth, joined her onstage to accept the award, and according to the BBC, she said, "No offense Paul, I didn't think it was going to do anything, anywhere!"
Adele also said that in making her world-beating album 21, she'd learned a lesson from her debut album 19. "The main thing was the songs weren't as good as my voice, and I took that on board and now I'm winning songwriter of the year," she explained.
Despite her wins, Adele came up empty in two other major categories in which her album and songs were nominated: Best Album, and Best Song Musically and Lyrically.
The Ivor Novello Awards are named after a popular Welsh composer, singer and actor who was famous in the early 20th century, and are voted on by songwriters.
ABC/Ida Mae AstuteAlicia Keys will present Stevie Wonder with the prestigious Icon Award at this Sunday night's Billboard Music Awards, airing on ABC at 8 p.m. In addition, Alicia will join the legendary musician on stage for a special tribute performance.
This won't be the first time that Stevie and Alicia have shared a stage. They sang together at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards and presented together at the Grammy Awards in 2006. Earlier this year, they both performed at Whitney Houston's funeral.
Meanwhile, Whoopi Goldberg, Charlie Sheen and Zooey Deschanel have been added to the show as presenters, joining a list that already includes Robin Thicke, Brandy, Monica, Miley Cyrus, Gladys Knight, Taio Cruz, Natasha Bedingfield, Jeremy Sisto and Julianne Hough. Performers include Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Brown and Usher, as well as Jordin Sparks and John Legend participating in a tribute to Whitney Houston.
MatchboxTwenty.comMatchbox Twenty's long-awaited new album finally has a title and a release date. It's called North, and it'll be in stores September 4, according to a tweet from lead singer Rob Thomas. He added that the first single is called "She's So Mean," and it'll be out "in the next couple weeks."
North will be the band's first full album of original material since 2002's More than You Think You Are. Their most recent release as a band was the 2007 best-of, Exile on Mainstream, which contained a handful of new tracks.
Matchbox Twenty guitarist Paul Doucette tells Rolling Stone that the title of North refers to "us finding our way." He explains, "We went into this record with a lot of material. Many different songs that could have taken us in many different directions. It sort of overwhelmed us for a bit. But, at a certain point, we figured it out. We figured out where 'North' was."
Since the release of More than You Think You Are, Rob has launched a successful solo career, with two albums -- Cradle Songs and Something to Be -- and hits like "Lonely No More," "Her Diamonds," "Someday," "This Is How a Heart Breaks," "Ever the Same" and "Streetcorner Symphony."
In other Matchbox Twenty news, Rob Thomas tweeted that he enjoyed American Idol contestant Phillip Phillips' version of the band's hit "Disease." Phillip performed the song, which Rob co-wrote with Mick Jagger, on Wednesday, and Rob wrote, "last night was my first time seeing phillip phillips. i thought he did a really good job. i like where he took it."
Facebook.com/MariahCareyMariah Carey has been forced to do damage control about a comment she made regarding Britney Spears' new job as an X Factor judge.
The day that the announcement came that Britney had been named to the judging panel of Simon Cowell's show, Extra asked Mariah what her reaction was to the news, since her own name had been bandied about as a possible judge. Mariah's response was, "You think I focus on that stuff? Have we met? I love [Britney], honestly. I think she's a very nice person, but I don't care who's going on that show -- as long as it's not me."
Mariah was immediately slammed in the press and online for what some considered to those flippant and "diva-esque" comments. That's why she tweeted Wednesday to both Britney and Simon, "of course I luv+care about you dahhlings, congrats! U never know what's true or gossip,I was joking around! xo."
Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty ImagesRussell Brand continued his amicable split from Katy Perry when he told Ellen DeGeneres that he still loved her.
On Thursday's The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Russell said although he was moving on from his divorce from Perry, he still wished her the best. "I love her as a human being," the 36-year-old British comedian admitted. "I was very happy to be married with her. She's such a beautiful human being and I just have only love and positivity for her."
Promoting his latest film, Rock of Ages, set to hit theaters on June 15, Russell also said that he doesn't regret his 14-month marriage to Perry, because sometimes relationships just don't work out.
"You can’t absolutely make everything the way you want it to be in life," he said. "Sometimes things are just different and then you have to just move with that and try and remain in contact with what is beautiful about yourself and each other…with any situation."
Russell and Katy finalized their divorce in February, following what many have called the friendliest split in Hollywood. Although Russell could have claimed millions in their divorce, he instead waived his right to any of 27-year-old Perry's $44 million fortune.
Katy was spotted with Florence + the Machine guitarist Robert Ackroyd at the Coachella festival last month.
Facebook.com/DonnaSummerDonna Summer has died at the age of 63, after a battle with cancer. Despite her legacy as the Queen of Disco, reaction to her death on Twitter and online proves that her work was a huge influence on every genre of music.
Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes wrote in a blog post that Summer's pioneering hit "I Feel Love" was "certainly a key influence on my work with Duran Duran." He added, "There is no doubt that her song...had a dramatic effect on modern music....[she and her producer] pioneered the use of electronic sequencers in dance music...It’s extremely rare that you hear one song that completely changes the way you perceive music. 'I Feel Love achieved that."
Adam Lambert tweeted,"RIP Donna Summer. glorious disco Goddess."
Boyz II Men tweeted, "It’s unfortunate that we have to say goodbye to another amazing talent. Donna Summer, Queen of Disco, our condolences to her family!"
Matchbox Twenty tweeted, "RIP Donna Summer. Thanks." Lead singer Rob Thomas further tweeted, "RIP Donna Summer. Loss of a great talent."
Ryan Seacrest tweeted, "I remember sitting in the front seat of my mom's toyota while she sang Donna Summer's "she works hard for the money" songs were just classic."
Rihanna simply tweeted, "Donna Summer?" and someone replied, "Sadly, yes," which she retweeted.
Katharine McPhee wrote, "RIP Donna Summer…hope you’re dancing up there."
Mary J. Blige: "RIP Donna Summer!!!!!!!!! You were truly a game changer!!!"
Natasha Bedingfield: "just heard that #DonnaSummer died today. This is awful! She was so incredible. Her and her family are some of the most beautiful people. I met Donna at the #NobelPeacePrize awards. her and her husband were so kind. this is such a huge loss
Gloria Estefan tweeted, "Few singers have impacted music & the world like Donna Summer! It's the end of an era. Peace & prayers 2 all who loved her. I will miss her!"
LaToya Jackson: "My condolence to #Donna Summer's family & love ones. She will be terribly missed. She was truly the #Disco Queen!
Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: "woah! donna summer gone to the great beyond !!!...i love donna summer RIP"
Belinda Carlisle of the Go-Gos: "so sad about donna summer....way to young. sending lots of love and light."
Hayley Williams of alt-pop rockers Paramore retweeted a link to video of Summer doing a live performance of her song "On the Radio," and wrote, "rest in peace Donna Summer."
Tom Morello of alternative rockers Rage Against the Machine: "Rip Donna Summer. Thanks for the all time great disco jams."
Country star Billy Ray Cyrus: "R I P #Donna Summer LEGEND !!! Your music will live forever."
The Recording Academy, the organization that hands out the Grammys, said in a statement, "Donna Summer had a dynamic voice and unique musical style that helped define the dance music genre in the ‘70s. She also was an artist who crossed many musical genres, as evidenced by her Grammy wins in the R&B, rock, inspirational and dance categories. Her talent was a true gift to the music industry, and our thoughts and sympathies are with her family, friends and fans throughout the world during this difficult time."
Michael Tran/FilmMagicLast week in an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer on the Today show, Adele said that she wore "four pairs of Spanx" to the Grammy Awards -- and the woman who founded the undergarment company couldn't be more thrilled to hear it.
Speaking about the Grammys, Adele said "I had like three or four pairs of Spanx on that night...I took a couple pairs off when I sang." Now, Spanx founder Sarah Blakely tells Life & Style magazine, "We've heard about wearing double and triple pairs of Spanx, but I'm thrilled to hear that Adele is our first quadruple. Now that's commitment!"
Adele made her Spanx-tastic comments as part of the interview she did with Lauer for her upcoming NBC special Live in London, which airs June 3.
Facebook.com/DonnaSummerDisco and pop music icon Donna Summer has died, according to TMZ. According to the website, the singer passed away after a battle with cancer and died in Florida. She was 63 years old.
Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines, Summer -- a five-time Grammy Award winner known as the Queen of Disco -- revolutionized dance music with her seminal hits "Love to Love You Baby" and "I Feel Love." Those tracks established her career and were followed by a string of hits, including "Last Dance," "Hot Stuff," "MacArthur Park," "Bad Girls" and "Dim All the Lights."
Summer continued her career into the '80s with hits like "She Works Hard for the Money" and "This Time I Know It's for Real." The first woman and the first African-American Artist ever to win a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, for "Hot Stuff," Summer was shortlisted for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but to date has never been inducted.
Summer was most recently seen performing with Seal in David Foster's 2010 PBS special Foster & Friends and on America's Got Talent, performing with former contestant Prince Poppycock.
RCA RecordsGlamberts, rejoice -- your man Adam Lambert is back on the American Idol stage Thursday night to perform a song from his brand-new album, Trespassing, in stores this week.
Unlike some American Idol alumni, Adam follows the show closely, and has been quite outspoken about the fact that he thinks Jessica Sanchez and Joshua Ledet are the two standouts this season. However, he stops short of trying to predict who he thinks will win the competition.
"I'm actually really thrilled at the last three who are there are there," Adam tells ABC News Radio. "They all have something really special. They all have something very different and that's great, and I think at this point, when you get down to the final three, it's not necessarily about who's the best singer, 'cause they're all really good. It's gonna just be about what's the popular style and personality."
Adam adds that he thinks all three of the remaining contestants will probably get great recording deals and make really great albums, adding, "I plan on buying all three 'cause I think they're all great."
And speaking of great albums, Adam's very proud of Trespassing, his sophomore album. He took complete creative control of the project, co-writing nearly every song and overseeing every aspect of the package, including the artwork.
Noting that he feels Trespassing is a "make or break" album for him, Adam tells ABC News Radio, "I made sure that every song, whether it was one of the upbeat songs or one of the more introspective, [was] very, very, very honest. And I think my fans...I think I owe them that. I think they've been there for me and I want to give them the most authentic experience possible."
Trespassing is made up of half upbeat funk, pop and electronic dance songs and half introspective ballads, and Adam says that's because he wanted to show his artistic depth. "Obviously, I think everybody has their ups and their downs and there's more dimensions to most people that just what you see when you first meet them or when you're out at a party with them," he explains. "I wanted to give my fans a little more insight into what goes on inside."
Adam says the album's title track, which recalls Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust," sums up his feelings about competing in the pop music world. "It's about feeling like an outsider and feeling like the atypical type that gets to go into this business, in this world," he explains. "And instead of letting that be something that stops me or prevents me from doing it, I think the very fact that I'm different, it actually fuels me."
Adam adds, "It gives me a lot of ammo to go in and do my thing, and that's what Trespassing's all about."
Capitol NashvilleLady Antebellum's Rebuilding Henryville benefit raised $285,000 for tornado relief efforts in the Indiana town Wednesday. The band performed a concert in nearby Louisville, KY to benefit Henryville, which was devastated by a tornado in April. Juniors and seniors from Henryville High School were guests of honor at Lady A's concert after attending a special charity ball the band hosted for them at the venue.
Lady A's Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott surprised the students at the prom event with a short acoustic set. Charles and Hillary brought up students to dance with them on "Dancin' Away with My Heart." They followed it up with their signature hit "Need You Now," but added a little warning to the song's lyrics. When they sang the line, "I'm a little drunk and I need you now," Hillary followed it up telling the teenagers, "You better not be!" Charles added, "No drinking in high school!"
As for the dance music played at the prom, Charles requested LMFAO's "Sexy & I Know It," which was played a few times. He actually DJ'd a bit in high school too and often played the early-90s Sir Mix-A-Lot hit "Baby Got Back."
"The teachers always came over there and made me cut it off halfway through," Charles says with a laugh.
Of note, the Henryville High School students got to dance to "Baby Got Back" at the prom with no interference from their teachers.
Earlier in the day, Lady A actually went to Henryville to see the storm damage and see the new gymnasium currently under construction at the high school. Actually being in Henryville really drove home the reason for this event for Hillary.
She tells ABC News Radio, "I think it definitely has much more of an impact whenever you walk the grounds and see the wires hanging from the roof and all of the exposed electrical and the destruction."
Hillary is also encouraged by Henryville's resilience in the face of such disaster, and she thinks the rebuilding of the high school gym is a big move forward for the community.
Hillary says, "This has to be such a ray of hope, you know, and that things are going to get back to normal."
Frank Micelotta/FOXEarlier this week on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jennifer Lopez said she doesn't know if she'll return to American Idol next season. There are now multiple reports claiming she will in fact leave the Fox competition.
A source tells E! News that J-Lo is "just too busy" to continue with Idol. Similarly, an insider who spoke to Us Weekly says, "There is just too much going on for her right now."
Lopez told Ellen DeGeneres this week that she's unsure of her American Idol future in part because she has four-year-old twins to consider. She also has a summer tour with Enrique Iglesias on the horizon.
American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe is keeping his fingers crossed that J-Lo will commit to another season of the show. He tells TMZ.com, "We want her back. I want her back."
KellyClarkson.comKelly Clarkson may be a worldwide Grammy-winning superstar, but she's still a fan. Earlier this week, she appeared at ABC-TV's upfront presentation in her role as one of the mentors on the network's new show, Duets, but she said she was starstruck when she got to meet the actors from all her favorite ABC shows.
Kelly tweeted a picture of herself with Lana Parrilla, who plays the Evil Queen on ABC's Once Upon a Time, and wrote, "I love that she and the entire cast of Once Upon a Time were incredibly sweet and cool! Also, the casts of Revenge and Modern Family were amazing too!"
She added, "My favorite shows were all in one room for me to act like a ten year old kid and gush over them .....awesome day :)"
Kelly is also happy that she and her close friend, country superstar Reba McEntire, are now both connected to ABC family; this fall, the network will air Reba's new show Malibu Country. Kelly tweeted a picture of herself hugging Reba, and said, "@reba and I are officially members of the ABC family woohoo!!"
