By Laura Ferreiro
photo: Will Ragozzino/Getty ImagesGoing through a divorce is never easy, but when you’re one of rock’s most enduring and revered power couples, playing it out in the public eye makes it even rougher. In late 2011, Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore of legendary alternative rock band Sonic Youth announced they were separating after 27 years of marriage. They largely remained quiet about the cause of the break up, until now.
By Jon Wiederhorn
(Dave M. Benett, Getty Images)
Critically and commercially acclaimed songwriter Lana Del Rey’s star continues to rise. Shawn "Jay Z" Carter, the executive producer of the film, has just announced that Del Rey’s "Young & Beautiful" will be the lead single for the soundtrack to the modern film adaption of Baz Luhrmann’s "The Great Gatsby." The love song features piano, spare electronics and full orchestration that compliment Del Rey’s yearning vocals: "Will you still love me when I’m no longer young and beautiful?"
"The movie is highly glamorous and exciting," enthused Del Rey. "Rick Nowels and I were thrilled to write the song."
Read More »from Lana Del Rey Releases First Single for ‘The Great Gatsby’ Film Soundtrack
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If you ever wanted to walk on by -- or even step on -- the Backstreet Boys, you're in luck. The iconic '90s boy band got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Monday morning in front of hundreds of screaming fans. The star, the Walk of Fame's 2,495th, is located on the 7000 block of Hollywood Boulevard, near the Live Nation building.
Hollywood insiders know that these honors don't come out of the blue -- they're usually tied into some sort of milestone, upcoming album, tour or film. Sure enough our boys from the backstreets celebrated their 20th anniversary on Saturday with a special fan celebration in Hollywood where they previewed some songs from a new album, due later this year, as well as a trailer for a documentary about the band, that's due in 2014. Next month, the group will launch its latest world tour in China.
Read More »from Backstreet Boys Immortalized on Hollywood Street
photo: New York Daily News ArchiveRichie Havens, the renowned New York folk singer who will forever go down in history as the man who opened the Woodstock festival, died of a heart attack Monday at his home in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was 72.
Back on August 15, 1969, Havens was originally slated as the fifth act on the opening day of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, which took place on Max Yasgur's farm outside Woodstock, New York. But Havens was enlisted to be the emergency festival-opener when the first scheduled band on the day's bill, Sweetwater, got stuck in traffic. Havens, along with two other musicians who were already on the festival grounds, helicoptered their way to the Woodstock stage with two conga drums and two guitars, kicked off the show, and performed a legendary three-hour set while other artists were still en route. After Havens ran out of encores, he improvised a song based on the old spiritual "Motherless Child," which became "Freedom." And the rest was history.
photo: Steve Granitz/WireImageBy Laura Ferreiro
Gossip’s powerhouse frontwoman, Beth Ditto, attended the 24th annual GLAAD Media Awards on Saturday night and showed off her svelte new figure, walking the red carpet in a form-fitting black dress.
The indie-rock singer walked arm-in-arm with her fiancé, Kristin Ogata at the Los Angeles awards ceremony, which paid tribute to inclusive media representation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.
Ditto has long been an outspoken advocate for gay and lesbian issues, and has literally been a postergirl for plus-size women, appearing naked on magazine covers and contributing to an advice column on body image for renowned British newspaper The Guardian.
She and her fiancé are preparing for a June wedding, reports the Daily Mail, so it may be that Ditto has been slimming down in preparation for the big day, as many brides do.
Beth wasn’t the only one looking sharp at the GLAAD Awards--President Clinton was on hand to receive the Advocate for Change award
Read More »from Gossip Frontwoman Beth Ditto Shows Off Svelte New Figure at GLAAD AwardsBy Soren Baker
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Nicki Minaj collaborated extensively with rapper Gucci Mane in the early part of her career.
Now she hopes that the incarcerated rapper can redirect his life.
During a recent interview with Atlanta radio station Hot 107.9, Minaj said that even though she had not reached out to the troubled Georgia rapper who has been arrested several times and is currently behind bars on a probation violation, she wished that somebody would.
Read More »from Nicki Minaj Says Gucci Mane Needs to Get ‘Centered’By Jon Wiederhorn
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Controversial Boston-based solo performer Amanda Palmer (formerly with the Dresden Dolls) has provoked a wave of both support and protest for "A Poem for Dzhokhar,” a post she wrote on her official website. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is one of two terrorists accused of committing the bombings at the Boston marathon that left three dead and over 170 injured (his brother Tamerlin was killed Friday in a shootout with police).
[Related: Boston Bombing Suspect Charged in Hospital Bed]
Palmer’s poem is composed of vaguely related sentences all of which begin with the words "You don’t know." Some of the lines are general and could relate to anyone; others are more specific to Tsarnaev’s acts and possible thoughts, such as, "You don’t know why you let that guy go without shooting him dead and stuffing him in some bushes between Cambridge and Watertown," and weird almost nonsensical phrases, including, “You don’t know how precious your iPhone battery time was until you’re hiding in the bottom of the boat."
Read More »from Amanda Palmer Writes Poem for Boston Marathon Terror Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
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Divnyls' singer Chrissy Amphlett died Sunday from complications of breast cancer and multiple sclerosis. She was 53.
Some rock fans know her best from her band's sexy 1991 top 5 hit "I Touch Myself." Here are five things about Chrissy you might not have known.
[Related: Divinyls Singer Christina Amphlett Dies at Age 53]
1. She played Russell Crowe's mother in the musical Blood Brothers, staged in Australia in 1988. Crowe tweeted out his respects to his one-time co-star, writing, "Dear Chrissie [sic], The last time I saw you was in the Botanic Gardens, loving live and reciting verse. That's how I'll remember you, your boy, R."
Read More »from Divinyls’ Chrissy Amphlett: 5 Things You Might Not Have Known
Christina Amphlett in 2007 [photo: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images]Christina "Chrissy" Amphlett--frontwoman for the Australian rock band the Divinyls, whose "I Touch Myself" went to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1991--died Sunday at her home in New York. Amphlett was 53 years old.
Neil Diamond (Photo: Jim Rogash)Bostonians on Saturday were exhilarated with relief at the news that the deadly marathon bomber that put their city on lockdown was finally captured. In true American style, the town celebrated getting back to normal with a good ol' Red Sox baseball game--as well as a surprise performance from another national treasure, Neil Diamond.
The legendary entertainer flew into Boston and worked up the idea all of his own accord, asking if he could serenade Fenway Park with a live performance of his classic "Sweet Caroline"--which is the unofficial anthem of the team and played during every home-game eighth inning since 2002.
Read More »from So Good, So Good, So Good! Neil Diamond Surprises Fenway Park With Live ‘Sweet Caroline’NEW YORK (AP) — Actress Amanda Bynes appeared disheveled in a long blond wig and sweats Friday in a criminal court where she was charged with reckless endangerment after police said she heaved a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — In the new film "Behind the Candelabra," veteran entertainer Debbie Reynolds has just three major scenes to flesh out one of the most complicated figures in piano-playing showman Liberace's life: his loving but sometimes manipulative mother Frances.
SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey rolled out some of its big guns Friday to proclaim that the shore is back following Superstorm Sandy, using Gov. Chris Christie and the cast of MTV's "Jersey Shore" to tell a national audience the state is ready for summer fun.
SINGAPORE (AP) — Portraying USS Enterprise helmsman Hikaru Sulu in the latest "Star Trek" movie comes with big shoes to fill, but the man who played the part in the TV series and six films has given his blessing to the actor currently playing the role.
NEW YORK (AP) — ABC's newest "Bachelorette," Desiree Hartsock, says it's not hard to keep the details of her experience on the show a secret from her friends.
NEW YORK (AP) — Police say actress Amanda Bynes has been arrested in midtown Manhattan after she heaved a marijuana bong out of a window.