She's in, she's out, in, out, and back in. During the past week, Britney Spears has entered drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers three times. First, she visited Eric Clapton's Crossroads Centre in Antigua for two hours. That was followed by some bizarre behavior that included shaving her head bald. Then, on February 20, Britney checked herself into the Promise Malibu rehabilitation center, but left less than 24 hours later. According to several online sources, her soon-to-be ex-husband, Kevin Federline, gave her an ultimatum - stay in rehab or lose custody of their two children. Britney's mom drove her back to Promises the night of February 21 and it's been reported that she'll stay for a 30-45 day live-in program. To be continued…
Bruce Springsteen will be the subject of a tribute concert at New York's Carnegie Hall on April 5. Among the many artists who will perform Springsteen's songs at the all-star gala are Jewel, Chris Isaak, Bruce Hornsby and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to Music For Youth, which supports music education for underprivileged youth.
The lineup for the fourth season of ABC-TV's celebrity dance competition Dancing With the Stars has been announced. They include former 'N Sync member Joey Fatone, boxer Laila Ali (daughter of boxing legend Muhammed Ali), Country singer/actor Billy Ray Cyrus, professional basketball player Clyde Drexler, Entertainment Tonight host Leeza Gibbons, Olympic gold medalist Apolo Ohno, supermodel Paulina Porizkova, 2004 Miss USA Shandi Finnessey, actors Vincent Pastore and Ian Ziering, and Paul McCartney's estranged wife Heather Mills. Mills will be the show's first amputee performer. The 38-year-old lost part of her left leg in 1993 after being struck by a police motorcycle while crossing a London street. The new season of Dancing With the Stars begins on March 19. The finale is scheduled to air on May 22.
As expected, more shows are being added to the Police reunion tour. Initial dates sold out in minutes, including the group's May 28 tour opener in Vancouver, its July 25 concert in Montreal, and two shows each in Toronto, Boston and New York.
Just weeks after David Lee Roth reunited with Van Halen for a reunion tour, the group has announced a postponement of the 40-date outing. No reason was given, but the Van Halen News Desk web site says contrary to reports of a cancellation, it's only a postponement. Tickets for some shows are expected to go on sale in March.
The first four of American Idol's sixth season finalists were sent home on February 22. Viewers, who cast nearly 32 million votes the night before, took 22-year-old Amy Krebs, 20-year-old Nicole Tranquillo, 28-year-old Rudy Cardenas and 25-year-old Paul Kim out of the singing competition. During the results show, host Ryan Seacrest announced some of the celebrities who will make guest appearances this season. They include Diana Ross, Jon Bon Jovi, Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Tony Bennett, Martina McBride, Barry Gibb and Peter Noone.
NEW ALBUM RELEASES:
New albums scheduled for release on February 27 include: Straight From the Heart by Daryle Singletary and We Got This by B.G. & The Chopper City Boyz.
MUSICAL EVENTS/FESTIVALS/BENEFITS:
On February 25, Elton John and his partner David Furnish will host a special Oscar night event to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation. The 15th annual Academy Awards Viewing Party, which takes place in West Hollywood, California, includes a dinner, live auction and musical performances. The past 14 viewing parties have collectively raised more than $125 million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
The 3rd annual Music City Jam will be held on February 28 in the Nashville Convention Center. The show kicks off Nashville's Country Radio Seminar, which runs through March 2. Toby Keith will headline this year's Music City Jam.
AWARDS PRESENTATIONS/WINNERS:
The 79th annual Academy Awards will be presented on February 25 in Los Angeles. Dreamgirls leads the contenders with eight nominations, but, surprisingly not Best Picture. A complete list of nominees can be found at http://www.oscar.com. Here are the nominees in the two music categories: Original Score - Gustavo Santaolalla for Babel, Thomas Newman for The Good German, Philip Glass for Notes on a Scandal,"Javier Navarrete for Pan's Labyrinth and Alexandre Desplat for "The Queen." Original Song - Melissa Etheridge for "I Need to Wake Up" from An Inconvenient Truth, Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler and Anne Preven for "Listen" from Dreamgirls, Henry Krieger and Siedah Garrett for "Love You I Do" from Dreamgirls, Randy Newman for "Our Town" from Cars and Henry Krieger and Willie Reale for "Patience" from Dreamgirls.
The NAACP will hold its 38th annual Image Awards on March 2 in Los Angeles. Mary J. Blige and Beyonce Knowles lead this year's nominees with four mentions each. Both are nominated in the Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Song categories. Following close behind with three nominations apiece are John Legend, Corinne Bailey Rae and India.Arie. The awards honor "projects and individuals that promote diversity in the arts in television, recording, literature and motion pictures."
A complete list of nominees can be found at http://www.naacpimageawards.net
TOUR DATES AND INFORMATION:
On February 26, Country star Kenny Chesney will kick off his 4th annual "Keg In The Closet Tour." Kenny and his band make last minute announcements about their concert stops at various college bars. They'll open the tour at the Jupiter Bar & Grille in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Also announced are shows in Tallahassee, Florida on February 27 and Gainesville, Florida on February 28. In other news, Kenny's "Flip Flop" summer stadium tour begins on April 12 in Omaha, Nebraska.