U.S. album sales rose in 2011 for the first time since 2004, partly reflecting cheaper album prices and special offers as well as a booming vinyl market, music industry analysts said on Wednesday. Album sales grew by 1.4 percent to 330.6 million units in 2011 according to figures published in Billboard magazine, up from 326.2 million in 2010. The small increase in the world’s biggest music market will be welcome news to the industry after years of declining revenues. “This can partially … [Read more...]
Aretha Franklin to perform at Essence Music Festival
Newly engaged queen of soul Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, Stephanie Mills and Charlie Wilson are among entertainers set to perform at this summer’s Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. The event, set for July 6-8, is billed as one of the largest gatherings of black artists in the country. Performances will be held at the Superdome while seminars with speakers, artists and authors will take place at the city’s convention center. This will be the 18th annual Essence Music Festival and … [Read more...]
MLK Memorial: The Site
The Memorial’s address is 1964 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20024. The street number is a reference to the Civil Right’s Act of 1964, a milestone which Dr. King played an integral role in achieving. The approved site creates a visual “line of leadership” from the Lincoln Memorial, which honors the President who protected the United States from internal strife, and where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech; to the Jefferson Memorial, which honors the … [Read more...]
Large study links depression and low levels of vitamin D
A study published by a joint venture of the University of Texas Southwest's Medical Center and the Cooper Institute in Dallas has linked low levels of vitamin D to depression, according to the Mother Nature Network. The study appears in the latest edition of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. What are the specifics of this study? Researchers compared the vitamin D test results of about 12,600 adults over four years, beginning in late 2006. According to ProHealth, participants were divided into two … [Read more...]
Blue Ivy: What’s in a name?
Blue Ivy: It's definitely one of the odder celebrity baby names in recent memory (though Alicia Silverstone named her son Bear Blu -- trend alert?), but for Beyonce and Jay-Z, it makes a lot of sense. Jay-Z's dropped three albums with "blue" in their titles: "The Blueprint," "The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse," and "The Blueprint 3." He's also penned songs that pay homage to the color, like "Blue Magic" and "Empire State of Mind" in which he raps, "You should know I bleed … [Read more...]
Expect to hear a lot less from Chris Brown
If Chris Brown has seemed rather quiet lately, it's all going according to plan. Brown's manager, Tina Davis, tells Billboard that the strategy for the 22-year-old singer/actor is to "not have him do interviews, but concentrate on performing and recording." She adds that it's something they've been planning for a while. "We're not trying to be rude, selfish or disrespectful in any way. If people are going to judge anything, judge him for his talent. He signed up to sing and entertain, not … [Read more...]
Dead blackbirds fall again in Arkansas town
Thousands of dead blackbirds rained down on a town in central Arkansas last New Year's Eve after revelers set off fireworks that spooked them from their roost, and officials were reporting a similar occurrence Saturday as 2012 approached. Police in Beebe said dozens of blackbirds had fallen dead, prompting officers to ban residents from shooting fireworks Saturday night. It wasn't immediately clear if fireworks were again to blame, but authorities weren't taking a chance. Officer John … [Read more...]
Kobe Bryant’s cheating led to divorce filing: report
TMZ reported on Sunday morning that Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant cheated multiple times with multiple partners on his wife of more than a decade -- events that led to Vanessa Bryant's surprise divorce filing in an Orange County, Calif., court Friday. Of course, if this is true, Bryant -- whose public approval rating has vacillated wildly over the years from boy wonder to unlikable cad to uber-determined workaholic -- will likely go back into the media doghouse as the latest celebrity … [Read more...]
Retail sales rise for sixth straight month
Americans spent more on autos, furniture and clothing at the start of the crucial holiday shopping season, boosting retail sales for a sixth straight month. Retail sales rose 0.2 percent in November, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That's lower than October's gain, which was revised higher to show a 0.6 percent increase. Still, more spending on retail goods shows the economy continues to grow at a slow but steady pace. Consumers appeared to make more big purchases in November. They … [Read more...]
Rihanna’s “Talk That Talk” seesaws between romance, raunch
The advance word on Rihanna's new album "Talk That Talk" was that it would be full of dirty talk -- as in stark-raving smutty. That turns out to have been an overstatement: filth-ophilia really only accounts for about a third of the record. But, um, it's a memorable third. "I want you to be my sex slave," she sings in "Cockiness." "I can be your dominatrix ... She may be the queen of hearts, but I'm gonna be the queen of your body parts." No surprise, that, coming from the woman who already … [Read more...]
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