American Idol Now A Simon Free Love Fest- Johnny Depp Wizard of Oz?- Xtina Drunk Report All Wet- Taylor Swift, Susan Boyle 3X Platinum- Anne Hathaway Catwoman- more

(Jam!) Actor Jeremy Renner's representative has defended Christina Aguilera over reports she got drunk at The Hurt Locker star's 40th birthday party and fell asleep in his bed. more

(FMQB) The RIAA certified Taylor Swift's Speak Now, Susan Boyle's The Gift and Need You Now from Lady Antebellum as triple-Platinum. The organization has released its year-end roundup of Gold and Platinum certifications. Read about it here

(Hollywood Reporter) Robert Downey Jr. has fallen out of "Oz, the Great and Powerful," Disney's prequel-ish take on the "Wizard of Oz" tale, and the studio is in talks with Johnny Depp to don the great wizard's robe. more

(BBC) Anne Hathaway will play Selina Kyle and her alter-ego Catwoman in Christopher Nolan's third Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises. more

(BBC) Boy George agrees to return to the Church of Cyprus an icon of Christ after learning it went missing after the 1974 Turkish invasion. more

(Yahoo) Cord and Jet McCoy are among the 11 veteran teams competing on the 18th edition of CBS' The Amazing Race. Other returning duos include goth dating couple Kent Kaliber and Vyxsin Fiala, and Harlem Globetrotters teammates Nathaniel "Big Easy" Lofton and Herbert "Flight Time" Lang. more

(Yahoo) Roger Ebert is returning to the small screen. He has his own segment on a new program, "Ebert Presents at the Movies." The weekly show debuts Friday on public television stations nationwide. more

(Yahoo) Beverly Hills police Chief David Snowden tells The Hollywood Reporter in a story posted on its website Wednesday that police will formally close the investigation into the fatal shooting of a prominent Hollywood publicist more

Cher Makes History

The Daily Express reports that, with Cher reaching the top spot on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs chart with the Diane Warren song

"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me," she now can claim a #1 hit in six different decades. The tune is from the soundtrack to Burlesque and won the Best Song award at last weekend's Golden Globes ceremony. more on this story

Katy Perry World Tour

The North American leg of the tour will start on June 7th in Atlanta, GA and will run through August 14th with two hometown shows in Katy's hometown Santa Barbara, CA.

To support her sophomore album Teenage Dream (EMI's Capitol Records), Katy will kick off the California Dreams tour on February 20th in Lisbon, Portugal, traveling throughout Europe, the UK, Australia and Japan before hitting stateside in June. more on this story

Faith Hill and The Pretenders Super Bowl Crossroads

It is the third performance in the concert series and will air from Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie, TX.

Since forming the Pretenders over three decades ago, front woman Chrissie Hynde has proven to be a one-of-a-kind tough-minded, outspoken and an utterly uncompromising artist - yet also capable of moments of heart-wrenching tenderness. more on this story

Alison Krauss and Union Station's Paper Airplane To Land in April

Paper Airplane is Krauss' 14th album and the band's follow-up to 2004's triple Grammy winning Lonely Runs Both Ways (Rounder).

It is Krauss' first release since her 2007 collaboration with Robert Plant, Raising Sand, which won six Grammys including "Record Of The Year" and "Album Of The Year." more on this story

Kate Bush To Release New Music This Year

Reports of new material surfaced via music blog, Wotyougot.com, and a Bush spokesperson responded to the rumors by saying a release from her is likely in 2011, although not confirmed.

They also clarified that new music did not necessarily mean Bush will release a full album to follow up 2005's Aerial. more on this story

How The Wicked Slants Live

The harder-hitting, guitar fueled album is a slight deviation from their synthesizer-driven earlier work and the majority of the songs were written in the small gaps between their endless touring schedule of rock clubs and anime conventions.

Often known as one of the only, if not only, all-Asian dance rock bands in the country, The Slants' catchy hooks, meaningful lyrics that resonate with all outsiders, and dance beats are at the epicenter of the band's appeal. more on this story

I'm From Barcelona Set New Album Release

"Get In Line" is the first single on Forever Today and will be released digitally with remixes by Montag and Flairs on February 1st.

Forever Today was recorded over two sessions with the first session seeing all 27 members eating, sleeping, and playing together over 5 days in Gothenburg, laying down the basic tracks. For the second session, the band moved to Varberg for what front man and bandleader Emanuel Lundgren called, "A soul searching weekend spent by the sea, looking out at the surfers defying gravity outside." more on this story

Nick Lowe's Labour of Lust Revisited

The label will release the new edition on March 15th on CD, LP, and for the first time, digitally.

Originally released in 1979, and out of print for nearly two decades, the album has been remastered to its original glory and now includes both the U.K.-only track "Endless Grey Ribbon" and the U.S.-only track "American Squirm," along with the bonus B-Side "Basing Street." The reissue also comes with a 12-page booklet complete with artwork by revolutionary graphic artist Barney Bubbles, and essays by noted music journalist Will Birch and reissue producer (and former Lowe A&R man) Greg Geller. more on this story

Kylie Minogue Adds Dates

A third show has just been added in NYC and advance tickets go on sale today. Originally scheduled to play two shows at the Manhattan Center's Hammerstein Ballroom on May 2nd and 3rd, Kylie's Aphrodite Live 2011 will now play three nights at the famed venue May 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

It has been only a year and half since Kylie made her inaugural sold out visit to North America, and her return to her scene of triumph starts at Montreal's Bell Centre on April 28th and ends up at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on May 22nd. more on this story

Working Class For CMT

The new 12 episode, multi-camera series follows Carli Mitchell (Melissa Peterman), a single mom from a rough and tumble background, trying to give her three kids a better life by moving them to an upscale suburb. She quickly finds that making the transition to "the good life" is harder than she thought.

She's unwittingly befriended by her cranky neighbor, Hank (Ed Asner), her only "career" prospect is a glorified deli job at the local grocery store, and the man she falls for not only already has a girlfriend � but he's also her boss, Rob (Patrick Fabian). With her ladies-man brother, Nick (Steve Kazee), to help her out (when he's not acting like one of the kids himself), Carli faces the challenges of parenting, dating, and making friends in her new community by doing more with less, staying true to herself and approaching each day with a touch of working class. more on this story

Trent Hancock Sundance Today

Hancock has been scheduled for two performances, one acoustic and one with a full band. The 30 minute acoustic performance will take place at 6pm at the Make-A-Wish Benefit Kickoff Event and the 45 minute full-band performance will take place at 9:30 pm at the House of Blues Foundation Rock Legends Event.

Special guests at these events include Grammy winner � Jonny Lang, Kenny Aronoff (The Smashing Pumpkins, John Mellencamp), Ronni Vannucci (The Killers), Guy Pratt (Pink Floyd) and Fran Sheehan (Boston).

Mansions Album and Tour Coming

Mansions will also the hit road with label-mate, friend and Honorary Title frontman, Jarrod Gorbel in February to support.

Louisville, Kentucky native Christopher Browder may look unassuming enough, but he's a man who's both prone to embracing what's in front of him and running with it, and an artist who's not afraid to look over his shoulder for inspiration. more on this story

New Music Seminar Announce Workshops

Jessie J Eyes America

Jessie J is the winner of the BBC Sound of 2011 award, winning over 160 UK pop culture influencers who have previously chosen Little Boots (2009's winner) and Adele (2008's winner).

Deemed by Justin Timberlake as "the best singer in the world right now", Jessie J is already a smash in her native UK with her single Do It Like A Dude reaching #2 in the charts and the video for the track surpassing 10 million plays on YouTube.

If that didn't convince you, check out Jessie J performing Who You Are in the middle of the Times Square subway station. With poise, confidence and pipes that are worthy of the "goosebumps" factor; she turns an ordinary commute into an extraordinary commute for these lucky spectators. Check it out here

Ohio Teens Wins Second Annual SchoolJam USA

Peligro from Gahanna, Ohio took home the first-place platinum record in the live competition presented by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) during the weekend of the music industry's celebrated NAMM Show.

Competing against nine other finalist bands, Peligro won SchoolJam USA's platinum album-shaped trophy and the coveted grand-prize trip to Europe in April, to perform at the 2011 SchoolJam Germany finals in Frankfurt, a private music video recording session on the John Lennon Educational Bus, and $1,000 towards the purchase of new band gear. more on this story

Wyclef Jean To Perform At National Press Club

Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive will be among the speakers at the Night of Solidarity for Haitian Journalists, which is also meant to raise awareness of the need for a strong, vibrant and free press as Haiti rebuilds from last year's earthquake.

At least 30 journalists were among around 300,000 people who were killed in the earthquake that struck on January 12, 2010. Proceeds from a Night of Solidarity will be used to provide social and professional assistance to Haitian journalists and financial assistance to families of journalists killed in the disaster. more on this story