Music News Headlines

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An Atlanta judge on Friday awarded R&B; singer Usher primary custody of his two sons with ex-wife Tameka Foster Raymond, according to a person with knowledge of the ruling. Usher had been seeking sole custody of Usher V, 4, and Naviyd, 3, while his ex-wife wanted to maintain joint custody and receive …

(Reuters) - Grammy-winning country star Randy Travis has been cited for assault in a fight outside a church in a Dallas suburb after the singer stepped into an argument between an estranged husband and wife, police said on Friday. The incident happened on Thursday night in the parking lot of Prestonwood Baptist Church in …

DETROIT (Reuters) - A two-story house on West Grand Boulevard was once a music-makers' paradise, but is now a monument - a museum, really - to a colorful city that, behind new movie "Sparkle", is recalling its past with renewed pride. The home of Motown Records, which became known as Hitsville USA during the record label's …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country star Taylor Swift's latest single made a record-breaking entry in Wednesday's Billboard Digital Songs chart, scoring the biggest digital sales week ever for a song by a female artist. Swift's song "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," an infectious, punky country-pop anthem, quickly …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Canadian rockers Avril Lavigne and Nickleback frontman Chad Kroeger are engaged to be married, Lavigne's spokeswoman confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday as news of the impending nuptials spread online. People.com reported that Kroeger, 37, proposed to Lavigne, 27, on August 8 with a 14-carat diamond …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A judge on Wednesday finalized an arrangement for Michael Jackson's nephew to serve as co-guardian of the late pop star's three children along with the kids' grandmother, who until recently had been solely responsible for their care. The decision by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Justin Bieber is about to get even more two-dimensional than some people already consider him to be. "Baby" and "Boyfriend" singer Bieber will appear in a cameo in the upcoming season of "The Simpsons," Fox told TheWrap. Bieber broke the news Tuesday in a tweet, since deleted, that revealed, …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - French DJ Martin Solveig caught the attention of the U.S. music audience last summer with his infectious dance hit "Hello," but he also has bigger plans -- to inject comedy into electronic dance music. "Smash," the fifth studio album by Solveig, is the DJ's first record to get a U.S. release following …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Grammy-winning rapper and TV actor LL Cool J fought a burglar in the kitchen of his Los Angeles house early on Wednesday and held him there until officers arrived to take the man into custody, police said. The 58-year-old prowler, whom LL Cool J caught in his house shortly before 1 a.m., appears …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Wonder what Mariah Carey thinks of the reports that Nicki Minaj will be joining her on the "American Idol" judges' panel next season? Look no further than her twitter account. As headlines suggested that Minaj's "Idol" recruitment was a done deal, Carey - who signed on as a judge for the singing …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More than three years after being beaten up by then-boyfriend Chris Brown, R&B; singer Rihanna has admitted that she still loves him, calling Brown possibly "the love of my life". The "Umbrella" singer told Oprah Winfrey in a television interview broadcast on Sunday that she and Brown, 23, had rebuilt …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Grammys are heading to Nashville, the capital of country music, for the first time to announce nominations for the biggest awards in the music industry, organizers said on Tuesday. The Recording Academy said the show, which intersperses the naming of nominees with performances from leading musicians, …

LONDON (Reuters) - Five-time Oscar winning film composer John Williams will receive a lifetime achievement honor from the Classical Brit Awards in London in October, organizers said on Tuesday. Williams won his first Academy Award more than 40 years ago with "Fiddler on the Roof", and went on to earn the famous statuette …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Scott McKenzie, whose 1967 recording of "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" came to encapsulate the hippie movement, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 73. A message on his official website said McKenzie had been ill with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a disease affecting the nervous …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American country singer Wynonna Judd has canceled a series of concerts in Canada next week following a serious motorcycle crash that injured her husband, the singer said in a statement on Sunday. Judd's husband, Michael Scott Moser, and the singer had been on a ride together on separate motorcycles …

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Reggaeton, a Caribbean fusion of hip hop with Latin timbres, is wildly popular across Latin America but is raising eyebrows in conservative Mexico City. Fans of the sexually explicit music have become Mexico's persona non grata of the moment, blamed for a string of offenses ranging from theft to …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mark David Chapman, who shot and killed former Beatle John Lennon 32 years ago, will have his seventh parole hearing this week, New York state's Department of Corrections said on Saturday. A decision on whether to release him will likely be made public by the end of the week, said department spokeswoman …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Madonna, who had already voiced her support for the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, on Saturday joined a chorus of celebrities in slamming a jail sentence handed down in Moscow to three women from the group over a protest against President Vladimir Putin. "I protest the conviction and sentencing of …

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - A group of Russian anti-gay activists sued American pop star Madonna for $10 million on Friday, saying she had insulted their feelings when she spoke out for gay rights at a concert in St Petersburg last week. Performing in black lingerie with the words "No Fear" scrawled on her back, Madonna …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Lady Gaga is fighting back against PETA, after the animal-rights organization blasted her for seeming to wear fur. While acknowledging that she respects the animal rights movement, the "Poker Face" singer lays into the more militant factions of the movement, accusing them of waging "violent, …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lianne La Havas sings from the heart, admires people like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, and may be the latest young songstress to emerge in a steady stream of British talent invading the U.S. music scene. She counts stars like Stevie Wonder as fans, and with her debut album "Is Your Love Big …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Robert Wayne Birch, a backup musician and bass player for Elton John, was found dead in the Los Angeles area on Wednesday of an apparent suicide resulting from a gunshot wound to the head, officials said. Los Angeles County Assistant Coroner Chief Ed Winter said Birch's body was found after 1 a.m. …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray has one less thing to worry about. Joe Jackson, the father of the deceased pop singer Michael Jackson, has dropped his wrongful death lawsuit against Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the musician's death. In a court document filed …