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Wireless Festival goers will be delighted to hear that new acts have been announced for this year's line-up. London's biggest pop festival is looking better than ever with some explosive first announcements.

The weekend of the 3rd-5th July 2015 will feature some of the UK and beyond's finest artists performing at Finsbury Park in London. Among new additions are A$AP Rocky, Mary J. Blige, Major Lazer, Stromae, Partynextdoor, Netsky, Robin Schulz, Tinashe, Rae Sremmurd, Collie Buddz and Pusha T. 

Continue reading: A 'New Look' For Wireless Festival? Mary J. Blige, Tinashe & Robin Schulz Added To 2015 Line-Up

Some of the biggest names in music were among the esteemed guests of the 2015 BET Honors held at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C., with Kanye West and Usher Raymond among honorees and Mary J. Blige closing the ceremony with her performance.

Mary J. Blige closed the show with her performance

Unsurprisingly, it was Kanye West who landed the coveted Visionary Award at the event which he attended alongside his reality star wife Kim Kardashian. While the multi-Platinum rapper may be one of the best modern popstars, having released his sixth consecutive number one album 'Yeezus' two years ago, he's hardly going to win any prizes for modesty. Despite himself, he quipped to the audience upon receiving his award, 'I understand what it is to be humbled for the first time'.

Continue reading: Kanye West And Usher Take The Spotlight For The 2015 BET Honors [Photos]

Fresh from being named the most successful R&B artist of all time by Billboard magazine, Mary J. Blige has explained why she believes she has stayed relevant over the past 25 years. The singer - who releases her latest album The London Sessions on December 2 - was speaking on the red-carpet at the American Music Awards, where she also performed.

Mary J. Blige at the American Music Awards in 2014

"Being myself, but not being afraid to take risks" she said when asked the key to staying popular in an ever-changing music business, "Staying true to my fans and knowing they are the reason that have gotten me here. And staying rounded and spiritual and prayerful. Knowing that God is first. That's what did it. Not wavering at all."

Continue reading: Mary J. Blige Reveals How She Stayed Relevant For 25 Years

Garth Brooks released his new box set, Blame It All on My Roots, to an eager fan-base last week, who have managed to see it rise from No. 3 in the Billboard 200 to the No. 1 spot this week. Britney Spears saw her new album debut to a rather lacklustre start on the other hand, as it only just managed to crack the top five, debuting at No. 4.

Brooks is back on top with his latest compilation

Brooks' second box set to reach the top of the charts - his first being 1998's The Limited Series - will have undoubtedly been helped by value Walmart were offering the six disc collection for. Initially being sold for $29.98 before a sale price of $24.96 was introduced this week, Blame It All on My Roots will likely be lining plenty of country fan's stockings come Christmas. The box set sold an additional 146,000 copies this week, enough to see it move two places to the top.

Continue reading: Garth Brooks' Box Set Debuts At No. 1 As Britney Spears Struggles To Make An Impact On Billboard 200

A new Mary J Blige tax lien indicates that the singer is far from being in the clear when it comes to her financial woes. According to TMZ, the R&B singer – who was recently sued for defaulting on a bank loan – has been hit with a tax lien from the Garden State, who want to know where their $901,769.65 is hiding. TMZ obtained the official documents that state the worrying scale of Blige’s monetary troubles.

This latest revelation is not the first cash-related problem that has faced Mary J Blige recently, either. In fact, the news that she owes almost a million dollars in back taxes merely adds to the already rather gargantuan problems that she’s faced, of late. She was sued for defaulting on a $500,000 bank loan just recently but last year, she was sued for allegedly defaulting on a $2.2 million bank loan and before that, her charity was also sued, this time for failing to pay back a $250,000. Whatever else you might think about Mary J. Blige, all signs seem to point to the fact that this Grammy award winning singer is not good with money.

In reference to the charity’s financial problems, Blige insists that it was a case of ‘can’t get the staff.’ She said the problem there was “I didn't have the right people in the right places doing the right things.” We’re not entirely sure who she’s blaming for all the other mishaps and her people haven’t answered TMZ’s call as yet. 

Continue reading: Mary J Blige Tax Lien - State Of New Jersey Wants $900,000 From Cash-Troubled Singer

Are The Rolling Stones lined up to headline Coachella Festival in 2013?

It looks as though the people that make the band’s official iPhone app may have just secretly leaked details of their plans for 2013. On Friday (December 14, 2012), the band’s app had details of a performance on April 12, 2013, at Indio, at the Coachella Festival, NME reports. Although the date was later removed, in the age of the screen grab, there’s no stopping news like that form going viral.

The last time the band performed at a festival was back in 2007, when they played at the Isle of Wight Festival and the fans of the band who have a ticket for Glastonbury Festival 2013 will probably still be holding out hope that Jagger & co. will still be announced as one of the UK festival’s main acts, too.

Continue reading: Is The Cat Out Of The Bag? Rolling Stones To Headline Coachella Festival 2013?

With a stage set inside the bands trademark open-lips logo, The Rolling Stones put on an impressive display at Brooklyn’s new Barclays Centre on Saturday night (December 8, 2012). The band may have 50 years of writing and performing under their belts but their stamina (especially that of their lively frontman Mick Jagger) seems not to have abated.

Writing for New York Times, Ben Ratliff’s humorous description of Jagger’s onstage movements perfectly sum up that unique stage presence that he has: “during the show’s two and a quarter hours, he never stopped,” writes Ratliff. “In running shoes and stretchy black clothes he bounced on his toes with knees slightly bent and swinging independently of each other, like a woman in high heels trying to walk in more than one direction.”

Once more, the band was joined onstage by Mary J Blige, who performed ‘Gimme Shelter’ with them and the performance itself was preceded by a montage of clips from various celebrities and musicians expressing their adulation for the Stones. One choice comment came from the garage rock legend Iggy Pop, who said that hearing Keith Richards play guitar back in the late 1960s “felt like being hit with a dead mackerel.” The Barclays Centre was part of the band’s ’50 And Counting’ tour, a celebration of their 50 years of existence. Next, the band will perform at the Prudential Centre in Newark.

Florence Welch was the latest surprise guest to appear on stage with dinosaur rockers The Rolling Stones during their run of shows at The O2 in London, when the Florence and the Machine front-woman joined Jagger and co on stage during last night's performance (Nov 29).

Welch joined the rock veterans on stage for a rendition of the classic hit 'Gimme Shelter,' with R&B heroine Mary J Blige also joining the Stones on stage for a surprise duet during their performance earlier this week. The headlining slots at the O2 didn't stop their with the treats either, as Eric Clapton also came on stage with the Stones for a rendition of 'Champagne And Reefer', with the guitar-god having been rumoured to appear long before he took to the stage.

The second, star-studded performance of the week saw frontman Mick Jagger immediately address the fine the band received after the earlier performance after the show overran. According to NME, Jagger joked with the crowd about the incident at the start of the show, saying "We had to pay £100,000 because we went on too long. That's like... Ten seats."

Continue reading: Florence Welch And Rolling Stones Join Forces At Stones' O2 Gig

Last night at London’s O2 Arena (November 25, 2012), The Rolling Stones were joined onstage by old friends and newer ones, as they celebrated their 50th anniversary. The current mainstays of the band, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts welcomed the band’s original bass player, Bill Wyman to play ‘It’s Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)’ and ‘Honky Tonk Women.’ Mick Taylor, who was a member of the band between 1969 ad 1974 also had his moment in the limelight once more, when he joined them for a version of ‘Midnight Rambler.’

Mary J Blige also performed with the band, helping them out with ‘Gimme Shelter’ and later tweeted “So much fun performing in London w/ the ‪@RollingStones! Congrats on your 50th anniversary!! The response to the show, from those that were there, has been overwhelmingly positive. The Mighty Boosh comedian Noel Fielding told the BBC “I think Keith played incredibly. Sympathy For The Devil...his lead on that was absolutely amazing” and – always one to admire an elaborate costume - added “Mick came out in a cape which - as always - has got to be a bonus.”

In the lead up to the opening night of these 50th anniversary dates, much of the discussion surrounding The Stones’ concerts has been centered on the extortionate ticket prices. Jagger didn’t ignore it, joking to those at the back “How are you doing up in the cheap seats? Except they're not cheap seats, that's the problem.” Hopefully, everyone was having such a wonderful time that they were able to see the funny side.

Continue reading: Old Friends Join The Rolling Stones For 50th Birthday Concert

Flo Rida fans might want to snag a position with a decent vantage point for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York on Saturday, after it was announced the hip-hop star would be performing aboard a 30-foot float. As always, the parade will feature numerous inflatable landmarks and fancily decorated floats. 

"This is a dream come true," Flo Rida told the New York Daily News, "I remember as a kid getting together with my whole family to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade and thinking about how someday I'd be on a float." Flo Rida will actually be riding the newspaper's own 'Big Apple' float and argued that even though he's from a city 1,200 miles away, it's still pretty special. "I know I'm from Miami, but I come to New York City a lot. It's very special to ride on the float of New York's hometown newspaper." The Daily News enlisted the help of R&B legend Mary J Blige for their float in 2011 and they'll be hoping Flo Rida does a similarly sterling job.

The celebrations begins at 9am on November 24, 2012, at 77th St and Central Park West, where 16 giant balloons, 28 floats and 11 marching bands begin their trip to the south of the city. Plenty of celebrities will appear at the event, including Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, Whoopi Goldberg and basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Continue reading: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Flo Rida To Perform On 30ft Float

The stars came out to raise money for the reconstruction of areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy last week, and fewer seemed more committed to the cause than Bruce Springsteen, a New Jersey native who saw his home neighbourhood devastated in the storms.

Springsteen was among a host of New Jersey locals including Jon Bon Jovi and the E Street Band, whilst Long Islander Billy Joel, Bronx native Mary J. Blige, Bostonian Steven Tyler and Staten Island’s Christina Aguilera also lent a hand for the hour long televised show titled ‘Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together’. It was Springsteen who took the day though, closing the showing and singing with closed eyes and gritted teeth. "God bless New York and God bless the Jersey Shore” he called out at the end of his short performance, with it looking like he’d could’ve gone on for many many more songs if the network had allowed him to.

Other highlights of the event saw Jon Bon Jovi perform a solemn, tributary ‘Prayer’ to his home town. Many of the performances were punctuated with video segments, and footage of the wreckage that came from the storm. It has to be said, though, that despite the undoubted cost of damages, the east coast of the US got off lightly compared to the Caribbean, where 69 people lost their lives.

America is still rocked by the devastating aftermath of hurricane Sandy, and the thought that 'never would a disaster like this happen to me' seemed to resonate on the faces at the Sandy Benefit Concert on Friday (Nov. 2). 

The star power drawn in was impressive, with such entertainers as Bruce Springsteen, Danny Devito and Mary J Blige each pledging their time to the good cause.

Opening the night's proceedings was Staten Island-born Christina Aguilera, who kicked things off with a powerful and stripped down rendition of her song 'Beautiful'. Relying solely on her vocals, Xtina packed a heft punch that delivered all the way home. Next up to perform was New Jersey's Jon Bon Jovi who first gave a shout-out to his hometown of Sayerville, N.J., before re-appropriating his hair-rock hit 'Livin’ On A Prayer' to suit the sombre mood in the studio.

Continue reading: Danny DeVito, Christina Aguilera And Jon Bon Jovi Among Superstars Who Show Support For Hurricane Sandy Benefit

A Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together Telethon was held last night in the hopes of bringing relief to the millions affected when Hurricane Sandy ripped through the East Coast of America.

NBC aired a commercial-free telethon last night (Nov 2) live from storm-ravaged Staten Island, with Matt Lauer helming the celeb fest that urged viewers across America to pledge what they could and help the millions suffering from the storm.

Christina Aguilera got things started, entering a dark stage and delivering a powerful, stripped down version of ‘Beautiful.’ After the Staten Island native’s performance, a rolling montage of just some of the destruction was played, ending with a still of the once bustling Jersey Shore, after which Jersey native Jon Bon Jovi gave acoustic performances of ‘Who Says You Can’t Go Home’ and ‘Living on a Prayer’ with guitarist Bob Bandiera and Lorenza Ponce on the violin.

Continue reading: Stars Show Support For Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together Telethon

It's going to be a tough fight to knock Taylor Swift from the top of this week's chart and looking at this week's major contenders, it seems unlikely that any of them have the commercial punch to do it. As major labels hold some of their big releases back for the Christmas rush, others will be kept back until 2013, so they don't get swamped by a barrage of festive compilations and greatest hits releases.

Neil Young releases his 35th studio album this week. Psychedelic Pill was written and recorded in collaboration with his sometime band, Crazy Horse, marking their first album of original material since Greendale in 2003. As with many of Young's latter-day releases, the quality is less than consistent, though most reviews have erred in favour of the experienced rocker and Metacritic have given it a highly respectable collated score of 82.

Black Country Communion - the super-group featuring Joe Bonamassa, Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian release their third album, Afterglow, this week. There have been rumours bounding around that Black Country Communion were on the verge of splitting but, with an album to promote and, that doesn't seem likely just yet. The album's been well received in the world of rock, metal and blues publications; the lure of Bonamassa may well be enough to create some mainstream appeal for Afterglow, as well.

Continue reading: On The Shelves: US Album Releases, October 30, 2012 - Neil Young, Black Country Communion, Toby Keith, Meek Mill, Rod Stewart, Katherine Jenkins