Conor Oberst Rape Accuser Recants and Apologizes

Joan Harris, known as Joanie Faircloth in the multiple stories covering the accusations, notified Oberst's lawyers today (July 14) after months of silence, apologizing for comments she made in the comments section of xoJane claiming that the Bright Eyes frontman had raped her when she was 16 years old at a concert in Durham, N.C., according to the singer's publicist in an email to Radio.com.

"The statements I made and repeated online and elsewhere over the past six months accusing Conor Oberst of raping me are 100% false," Faircloth said in a statement.

"I made up those lies about him to get attention while I was going through a difficult period in my life and trying to cope with my son's illness. I publicly retract my statements about Conor Oberst, and sincerely apologize to him, his family, and his fans for writing such awful things about him.

"I realize that my actions were wrong and could undermine the claims of actual sexual assault victims and for that I also apologize. I'm truly sorry for all the pain that I caused." more on this story

Meek Mill Going To Jail

Additionally, he reportedly violated his probation from his 2008 arrest for guns and drugs by booking out-of-state shows and changing his number without alerting his probation officer as well as his social media presence where he spoke ill of his probation officer and prosecutor on Twitter and posed with a gun on his Instagram.

He was booked in Pennsylvania, the first day of his incarceration being July 11. He had a show in Philadelphia planned for that day.

The timing of his arrest comes just as Meek Mill announced a September release for his second album, Dreams Worth More Than Money, and a string of shows, which have since been canceled. What about the new album?

R. Kelly Working On House Album

Fact Magazine reports that Kells told a Chicago crowd at the 24th annual Chosen Few DJs Picnic, "I want ya'll to know a secret. I'm working on a house album right now, and I want ya'll to know, it's coming� And ya'll know, I love music and I feel like I can do anything when it comes to music because I am music, just like ya'll."

This new offering is in addition to previously mentioned releases White Panties and a Christmas album, neither of which have release dates or concrete details either.

Of course It's entirely possible White Panties or his Christmas album will be a house album. more.

Weird Al Turns Pharrell's Happy Into Tacky

Jack Black, Margaret Cho, Kristen Schaal, Aisha Tyler and Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet all make appearances - and while she doesn't appear in it, Julianne Moore's is inadvertently referenced as the video was shot the same place where her character in The Big Lebowski lived, at the Palace Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.

In keeping with the song's title, there's a lot of bold fashion choices, from Al's technicolor prints-clashing suit to Black's fanny pack and Stonestreet's money sign necklace and dollar bill-covered shirt.

Lyrically, Weird Al takes digs at compulsive food-pic-sharing-Instagrammers, people who take selfies at funerals, and even Kanye West. More including the video here.

Garth Brooks Kicking Off World Tour In Chicago

CBS Chicago's US99.5 (a Radio.com station) has the exclusive announcement and will also have a precise date for the show, and ticket details, as soon as they're available.

The news of the tour have come via a convoluted route. Garth initially posted a tease on his website that he had a major announcement coming. That announcement then turned to be for a live press conference (yes, it was an announcement for an announcement). During that event (on July 10), he divulged that he'd be embarking on a world tour (which he first dropped news about earlier this year), making his catalog available digitally and recording a new album. more on this story

George Strait, Billy Joel Have Biggest Tours Of The Year

A cool $10 million below Strait is Billy Joel, who has grossed $50.7 million so far. Cher earned $48.5 million, nabbing her a third-place spot on the list. This annual midyear ranking is based on North American shows played between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2014

The top 10 was rounded out by Justin Timberlake, the joint tour of Paul Simon and Sting, Elton John, Celine Dion, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Cirque du Soleil and Bruno Mars. more on this story

Twitter Fans Attempting To Get Drake To Perform At Funeral

Local CBS station WILM reported that Grady was a passenger in a car that ran off the road and overturned. She was not wearing a seatbelt. Since her death, the hashtag has begun to receive national attention; it was reportedly Grady's wish to have Drake sing at her funeral, according to a tweet from Twitter user @DJKGRADY910, a relative.

There's currently no word on when Grady's funeral will be held, which makes it difficult to determine whether or not Drake would even be able to attend at all, should the message reach him. more on this story

Doctors Could Not Repair Rapper's Penis

According to a recent interview with E!, however, he painted a grim picture that doesn't exactly point towards a career in adult film (unless we're talking about some pretty intense fetish stuff).

"Doctors weren't able to repair anything," the rapper admitted. "But, it still gets hard, the little bit that I got. I still got some penis that works� It's not the size of the prize, it's the motion of the ocean. There's no mystery to it, but they couldn't reattach it."

Considering that he's no longer equipped with a complete penis, Christ Bearer is putting a positive spin on his situation.

Ashley Monroe to Resume Tour Following Kidney Infection

But after two nights in the hospital she's feeling better. "I'm finally feeling some relief after spending two nights in the hospital," Monroe said in a press release. "I'm very grateful to everyone for their prayers and understanding during this time."

Monroe, who canceled her first show on Thursday after a doctor in Charlottesville told her not to perform that night, wrote a message to fans on her website later that evening:

"My sweet fans, I have to cancel the rest of the shows for this run because of a severe kidney infection. This is very serious and I'm heading back to Nashville to go to the hospital. Thank you for understanding and please keep me in your prayers. I'm so sorry for the disappointment this will cause, but if I don't take care of this it could risk my life. I promise I will make it up to you all."

Monroe will resume her tour schedule on July 18 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Complete dates for her remaining tour here.

Ed Sheeran Named Most Important Act in Black and Urban Music

The list, released last Friday (July 11), was compiled for the first time, creating a list of who the station, BBC's top station for urban radio, consider the "most important UK artists on the scene over the last 12 months."

Sheeran topped the list and was followed closely by DJ duo Disclosure, both of whom are also white. The ranking has, according to Buzzfeed, caused some discontent, listing Twitter reactions from people who did not agree with, as one user, journalist Sam Diss, put it, a "really, really super white dude" who was "named the most powerful man in black music today."

See the drama unfold here.

Kenny Chesney Reveals Surprising Album Cover

Chesney revealed the cover art to his forthcoming album The Big Revival via Twitter after premiering it on Billboard, and it looks very familiar. The album image is the colorful painted school bus showcased in his music video for "American Kids."

"I wanted an album cover that was surprising� Not what people expect, but that also suggests anything is possible," Chesney told Billboard. "That no matter where you are in your life, how tired or lost or demoralized, with a little faith and a little help, anything is possible� Because it's all within you! Or me."

He added: "That was the thing about that bus. It was so far beyond coloring outside the lines, yet what is more common than a school bus? We've all seen them, no matter how old we are, our entire lives� and yet, when you look at that bus after we were done painting it, it was a whole new notion!"

Read more and see the cover here.

Dr. Dre Joins Eminem On Stage At Wembley Show

Whatever the reason, a new precedent was set but that alone was not enough to impress the London Stans who had not seen Eminem perform in their city since 2001. And so, Eminem brought out his longtime producer Dr. Dre to perform a song.

Dre came out at just before the two-minute mark of the video above to perform a medley of hits, including, "Still D.R.E.," "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang," "Forgot About Dre" and "The Next Episode."

Check out video here.

Wiz Khalifa Reveals Blacc Hollywood Guest List

Khalifa spoke to this point to RapUp TV, noting "Blacc Hollywood in general is gon' be sonically something that people kinda expect, but it's like they want it, so it's gonna be a good thing for me to deliver."

Those helping the stoney rapper on this effort include Ty Dolla $ign, Curren$y, Project Pat, Juicy J, and Chevy Woods. Check out the tracklist for the album here.

Bleachers and Grimes Team Up on 'Take Me Away'

Now, ahead of its July 15 release, the first collaborative track with Grimes has been unveiled. "Take Me Away" sees the pair trading off croons in the delicately layered vocal style that Grimes established with her debut album Visions.

Instrumentally, the balmy slow-burner consists of a few simple piano chords that build up to an off-kilter rhythm - but just when the track feels like its hitting its stride, it abruptly ends. Clocking in at only two-and-a-half minutes, the track seems like it could have been stretched a little longer. Listen here.

Tyler Farr Scores First No. 1 As Songwriter With 'Whiskey in My Water'

Written with Phillip LaRue and Jon Ozier, Farr said the three were at a writing retreat in East Tennessee when the song "just came out." "I write country music for country music fans," he told Radio.com last year. "I write about the country lifestyle and what I know about. I don't know if I'll ever completely figure out women. Actually, I know I won't. I may have figured out whiskey."

He added: "It's just a song about a country guy telling a girl that he loves her and what he thinks about her and doesn't know how to quite say it so he says she's the moon in his shine and the whiskey in his water." more on this story

PARTYNEXTDOOR Releases 'Recognize' Feat. Drake

"Recognize" is of particular importance for obvious reasons, and on initial listen (via Complex), any excitement that Drake brings to a track is well-warranted.

"Can name a lot of things any other man won't do for you," Drake claims in his verse on the silky R&B track, before firing the kill-shot: "I'll do it for you, that's real."

PARTYNEXTDOOR's PARTYNEXTDOOR Two is due on July 29 via Drake's OVO. Listen here.

Rihanna Partied with Germany's Team After Their World Cup Victory

Because she's Rihanna, her fandom wasn't one-sided. Germany, clearly happy to count her as a fan, rewarded the singer with an invite to their celebration after the game, kisses and the privilege of taking selfies with their World Cup trophy.

Of course, Rihanna live-tweeted the entire evening. One particular gem showed that she got to cross a major event off her bucket list: "I touched the cup, held the cup, kissed the cup, took a selfie wit the cup!!! I meeeaan�� what is YO bucket list looking like bruh?"

Read more here.

Singled Out: (We Are) Nexus

When we sat down to create our latest single "Shamelessly" it was on the heels of us trashing a few tracks. It's amazing how much work can end up in the gutter before you have that right moment! We are fortunate to have some decent success out of the gate with (We Are) Nexus and we firmly believe that's because we have chosen our tracks carefully during our evolution. However, there's nothing worse than burying a few weeks of work.

It's not because the tracks weren't good, it's simply because they didn't resonate with what we had in mind for Nexus as an EDM duo. Honestly, we produced a couple of sticky sweet commercial numbers that kinda made us gag a little and go WTF! That kind of stuff happens, especially when you start to over think about how your going to get the support of the community. It's a slippery slope for sure.

So we finally said, lets get back to basics! With Nick being classically trained we pulled from his roots and trusted his basic producer instincts. We went out on a limb and produced a 140 BPM 3/4 meter track which is completely outside the current dance norm. It was the right idea for us as it ended up being a darker, more complex and vocally stylized track that told a story. Exactly what we wanted to project to fans!

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and check out some of the remixes right here!

Wait there is more!

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