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Day in Pop Report for 05/02/2012


Lady Gaga Releases New World Tour Details
(42West) Lady Gaga has released new details about her 2012-2013 Born This Way Ball World Tour, including wardrobe collaborations, info about the stage setup and design, and more

The tour kicked off last Friday in Seoul, South Korea and the 100+ stop tour will take the Ball throughout Asia, Australia, and Europe, with more dates to be announced.

"It's been my life's dream to be dressed in Italian designers," said Gaga, and as such she has collaborated on costumes with today's biggest Italian designers including Versace, Armani, and Moschino. Lady Gaga also sought designs from other major designers like Calvin Klein Jeans, while also continuing to work with young, up-and-coming designers, like Void of Course, Kerin Rose, Tex Saveiro and Fred Butler. more on this story

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Nicki Minaj Set For Summer Tour
Nicki Minaj will be hitting the road this summer for the North American leg of her Pink Friday Tour.

The 15 stop North American tour will kick off on July 16th in Chicago and wrap up August 12th in Vancouver, British Columbia.

In addition to the Pink Friday Tour dates, Minaj will also play several radio shows in various markets. Starting off May 10th with KYLD in San Francisco, Minaj will then hit KPWR in Los Angeles on May 12th, WRDR in Philadelphia on June 1st, WJMN in Boston on June 2nd, Hot 97 Summer Jam in New York on June 3rd and WZMX in Hartford on July 20th. more on this story

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Jessica Simpson Gives Birth To Baby Girl
(TMZ) Yesterday, Jessica Simpson gave birth to a bouncing baby girl who weighed 9 pounds 13 ounces and measured in at 21.75 inches!!!

The kid's name is Maxwell Drew Johnson -- which is pretty normal by celebrity baby naming standards.

Jessica and her fiance Eric Johnson decided to use the name Drew because it's Jessica's mother's maiden name. more on this story

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Belle & Sebastian's Stevie Jackson Releasing Solo Album
Belle & Sebastian guitarist Stevie Jackson has set a July 3rd release date for his debut solo album (I Can't Get No) Stevie Jackson.

Jackson has been working on the record for a number of years around his touring and recording commitments, not only with B&S, but notably The Vaselines, Russian Red, Bill Wells Trio and God Help The Girl.

(I Can't Get No) Stevie Jackson features twelve songs, which have been written and recorded with a range of collaborators in Glasgow and Vancouver in the period since Belle & Sebastian's 2006 album The Life Pursuit. In addition to featuring various members of Belle & Sebastian, the tracks recorded in Glasgow include contributions from long-term associates and collaborators of Stevie's including Roy Moller and Gary Thom (The Company), Bill Wells, Alex Neilson (Trembling Bells) and Katrina Mitchell (The Pastels), while the Vancouver recordings feature the New Pornographers' rhythm section, Kurt Dahle and John Collins. more on this story

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Regina Spektor Expands Tour Plans
Regina Spektor has expanded her upcoming world tour plan in support of her new album, What We Saw From The Cheap Seats, which hits stores on May 29th.

Beginning in May with a string of dates on the East Coast, Spektor will cross the Atlantic for performances throughout Europe including a sold out show at Royal Albert Hall in London and her first concert in her native Russia.

She will return to the States in August for performances at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles and The Outside Lands Festival. More dates will be announced shortly. more on this story

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Dave Koz and BeBe Winans Summer Tour
Dave Koz will be hitting the road this summer for a North American tour that will feature special guest BeBe Winans.

The tour is set to kick off on June 22nd at the Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Center in El Paso, TX.

Special guest BeBe Winans sang on the title track of Dave's 1999 album, The Dance. They'll perform together, treating audiences to their biggest hits - and a few surprises, too. more on this story

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Tommy Roe Featured In The Beatles: The Lost Concert Film
(Glass Onyon) '60s music legend and pop pioneer Tommy Roe will be featured in a new film about The Beatles legendary 1964 concert in Washington, DC called 'The Beatles The Lost Concert'.

This new documentary on the birth of Beatlemania in America will have its premiere at New York's world-famous Ziegfeld Theater on May 6, 2012 and will have a limited US theater engagement March 17 & 22, 2012.

The Beatles opened for Tommy Roe on the famed UK tour of 1963, in return the fab four asked Tommy to be on the bill with them at their first ever US concert in Washington, DC. more on this story

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Montgomery Gentry To Headline The Kentucky Cares Concert
(AJE) Montgomery Gentry are set to headline the Kentucky Cares Concert on May 9 to benefit victims from the recent tornado that ripped through eastern Kentucky in early March.

The concert will be held in Lexington, KY at Busters Billiards & Backroom with proceeds to go to the local American Red Cross. Presented by 98.1 The Bull, tickets are on sale now at http://www.ticketfly.com/. Fellow Kentuckian Laura Bell Bundy will also be performing.

"Our hearts went out to all those family and businesses that were affected by the storms," says Eddie Montgomery. "We've been trying to organize something for a while so we're real glad this worked out with The Bull. This is our home and we want to do everything we can to help." more on this story

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Squirrel Nut Zippers' Jimbo Mathus Releasing EP
This July, Squirrel Nut Zippers' Jimbo Mathus will release a six-song vinyl EP on the Big Legal Mess label titled Blue Light, which he recorded with producer Bruce Watson at Watson's Water Valley, Miss., studio, Dialed Back Sound.

Blue Light perfectly captures Mathus' style of Southern musical alchemy. From the proto garage rock of "Haunted John" ("up and down Saint Charles/rides the streetcar all night long"), to the sideways-with-the-law Southern rock of "Blue Light" to the dead-end gospel-fueled country weeper of "Burn the Honky Tonk," Mathus shows the diversity of his vision. The conviction of his singing and storytelling will make you believe every word is true. "I'm singing from absolute experience on this recording. Raw stories of real events," he says.

Engineer Lynn Bridges and Dial Back Sound enhanced the artist's raw, rough and tumble approach, adding warm textures and mournful pedal steel to make a sound akin to a late '60s roadhouse jukebox. more on this story

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Tori Amos Announces First Release On Her New Label
Tori Amos' new record label Transmission Galactic sent over the big news that the label's first release will be The Adventures Of�'s debut album, Top Hats and Scary Tales. They sent over this background:

While Amos will continue to release her own current projects through Deutsche Grammophon/Mercury Classics , she will waste no time in making the grandiose and intricately executed album from The Adventures Of� available to the band's fans. The album will be released immediately digitally and the UK based band will head to the states this summer for select tour dates.

The glammed-up indie-rock trio, The Adventures Of� scored the first signing to Tori Amos' record label via a feat of utmost ingenuity. Upon learning that the multi-platinum, eight-time-Grammy-nominated pianist/singer/songwriter was seeking artists for the label, frontman Adam Hanington gathered repurposed leather, wood, and brass to handcraft, a book-like vessel that would hold the band's demo CD and a letter to Amos. more on this story

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Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias Tour: Who Will Be On Top?
(TMZ) Now that Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias have announced their concert tour, the big issue is .... who gets top billing?

Lopez' manager, Benny Medina, tells TMZ, "Neither Jennifer nor Enrique care who opens or closes. What we want to do is give the fans the best show possible and whatever that means, that's what we will do."

It's a big change from a year ago, when Enrique bailed on the Britney Spears concert tour because she was getting top billing ... and he wasn't having it.

We're told the NEW tour will be a "co-headliner show," with equal production value, money and time spent on both Jennifer and Enrique.

As for who opens and who follows, Medina tells TMZ it hasn't been worked out yet but it won't be a problem. He also said if the venue has a bunch of screaming girls pining for Enrique, it would make total sense for Jennifer to go first.

An AEG rep involved in the concert tells us the plan is to have the two singers flip flop, with Jennifer going first one night and Enrique going first the next. more on this story

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Police Respond After Kat Von D Receives Disturbing Phone Call
(TMZ) Police officers rushed to Kat Von D's L.A. home Monday night -- even dispatching a HELICOPTER to search her neighborhood -- after she received an extremely unsettling phone call ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement tells us, Kat received the call from an unknown number on her home phone -- asking if it was Kat. The caller also asked Kat several personal questions before hanging up.

We're told Kat then received an unwanted text -- from the same person. Kat -- believing the caller was on her property and fearing for her safety -- called police around 10:45pm ... and officers rolled up soon after in full force, sirens blaring.

We're told police even dispatched a helicopter to sweep the surrounding area. Nobody was found.

Police spoke to Kat and took an annoying persons report -- yeah, those exist -- and that was that. The LAPD is currently investigating. more on this story

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Swamp People Star In Nasty 5 Car Pile-Up
(TMZ) For the millionth time, "Swamp People" star Joe LaFont's life was spared by a boat -- except this time ... it wasn't in gator-infested marshlands ... it was on an Arkansas highway.

As we previously reported, LaFont and his gator-hunting stepson Tommy Chauvin were nearly killed on Monday in a nasty 5-car pile-up near the Arkansas-Louisiana state border -- when a tractor-trailer rammed the truck behind him.

According to LaFont, the truck behind him was towing a boat -- and that's the reason he's still alive.

LaFont tells us, when the tractor-trailer hit the boat, it turned the truck sideways -- and the truck T-boned Joe rather than barreling straight through him.

Joe tells us, "If it wasn't for the boat, I would have been killed ... It was like a bomb went off."

According to Joe, his F-150 and its attached cargo trailer were totaled in the wreck.

Joe didn't suffer any serious injuries -- but he says his neck and shoulders have been bothering him since the crash ... so he's visiting a doctor later today.

Joe says he does not plan to sue. more on this story

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UFC Fighter Ross Pearson Arrested
(TMZ) UFC fighter and "Ultimate Fighter 9" winner Ross Pearson was arrested on suspicion of DUI this weekend in Vegas ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us, Ross was pulled over around 4AM early Sunday morning when police noticed his car swerving on the road.

When police approached the vehicle, we're told they observed signs Ross had been drinking and asked him to get out of the car -- where they administered a field sobriety test.

According to law enforcement, Ross performed miserably on the test and was placed under arrest on suspicion of DUI. more on this story

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Patrick Dempsey Rescue 911 Call Goes Online
(TMZ) TMZ has obtained the 911 call placed moments after "Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey rushed to save a teenager, who got into a horrifying car accident in front of the actor's Malibu home last week.

During the call, the female caller tells the operator, "There is a car accident ... one vehicle ... it's upside down." She continues, "My husband and three other guys just pulled the boy out."

One of the men was Dempsey -- who helped pull the 17-year-old out of the wreckage and even called the kid's mother to tell her he was okay.

The boy was airlifted to a nearby hospital. He suffered a concussion and a "stretched" optic nerve -- but he's expected to make a full recovery.

Dempsey later stopped by the hospital to make sure the kid was okay. McDreamy, indeed. more on this story

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Private Eye Vs Gossip Girl's Kelly Rutherford
(TMZ) It costs $65-per-hour to spy on your ex-husband ... this according to a private eye who claims he spent months snooping around for "Gossip Girl" star Kelly Rutherford ... only to get stiffed when the bill came.

The divorce between Rutherford and her ex-husband Daniel Giersch was EPICALLY NASTY -- with restraining orders and allegations of child endangerment.

According to a lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Rutherford hired a private eye to spy on her ex in April 2010 ... "in relation to certain issues regarding child custody and other matters."

The private eye, Edward Banach, claims he worked on the case for a couple of months ... racking up a total bill of $86,249.85 ... but only got paid $28,214.35.

Now, Banach -- who was sub-contracted through a now-defunct security company -- is suing the business AND Rutherford to get the remaining $58k.

FYI -- At the height of the legal war between Kelly and Giersch, the actress admitted she hired a P.I. ... to prove her ex didn't properly secure the pool and play areas at his home -- which she said endangered the couple's 2-year-old son Hermes.

Rutherford explained, "I was concerned about my son's safety." more on this story

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Martin Lawrence Files For Divorce
(TMZ) Martin Lawrence has filed for divorce. Martin filed the docs in L.A. County Superior Court -- citing "irreconcilable differences."

Martin and his wife Shamicka got married on July 10, 2010 -- and separated just last week on April 24th. Martin filed for divorce the very next day.

The couple has two children -- 11-year-old Iyanna and 9-year-old Amara Trinity. Martin wants joint physical/legal custody.

Oh yeah -- There IS a prenup.

Martin and his wife have released a joint statement, claiming, "Out of love and respect for one another, we will continue to remain friends and raise our two beautiful daughters together." more on this story

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Michael Turner Vs Baby Mama Over Twitter Posts
(TMZ) One of Michael Turner's many baby mamas continues to rip him on Twitter despite a court agreement prohibiting her from doing so ... and the star running back wants a judge to get her to stop ... ASAP.

Turner and baby mama Maria Grissom are battling in court over Turner's daycare payments for their daughter. According to documents filed in Georgia, Grissom claims the Atlanta Falcons superstar NEVER pays his daughter's school money on time is demanding he pay her up to four years in advance ... to the tune of $59,121.

But Turner is firing back ... claiming he DOES pay the school on time and it's Grissom who is in the wrong ... blasting his personal life drama all over her Twitter account in violation of their court agreement.

In the docs, Grissom admits to the Twitter rampage, but is adamant that it's Turner's fault ... claiming she had to defend her reputation ever since one of Turner's OTHER baby mamas (he has four in all) was involved in a "ghetto fight" at his house that made national news.

Turner is requesting to pay all the money he owes directly to the day care and NOT to his baby mama, and for her to stop talking trash about him on the internet.

A judge has yet to rule on the case. more on this story

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