MUSIC NEWS: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14
KANYE WEST MEETS WITH DONALD TRUMP
In June, Kanye West released the ``Famous'' video that depicted President-elect Donald Trump naked in bed with a bunch of celebrities. Yesterday, West met with Trump at Trump Tower in New York to talk about ``life,'' according to Trump. They posed for photos after the meeting but did not go into detail about what they talked about. Trump says they're ``just friends'' and West is a ``good man,'' but neither would say whether West is going to perform at Trump's inauguration. When West was asked why he wasn't saying anything, he said, ``I just want to take a picture right now.'' West later tweeted that he met with Trump ``to discuss multicultural issues'' including bullying, education and violence in Chicago.
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FRANKIE VALLI IS UPBEAT AS ``JERSEY BOYS'' WINDS TO A CLOSE ON BROADWAY
Frankie Valli is not sad that the story of the Four Seasons is closing on Broadway, because the story is continuing in other ways. Valli says he never thought the musical ``Jersey Boys'' would last 11 years. The final ``Jersey Boys'' performance on Broadway will be January 15th after more than 4,600 shows. Valli says the show lives on with productions in Japan, the Philippines, Sweden and the U-K. It also has touring productions in the U-S and the U-K and will launch in South America, in schools and on cruise ships. Valli says the beauty of musical theatre is that it can leave and come back many times, even after he's gone. Valli, who is 82, is still producing music, most recently a holiday album called ``'Tis the Seasons.''
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LADY GAGA PRAISES MADONNA'S SPEECH
Lady Gaga has tweeted a note of support for Madonna's speech on feminism at the Billboard Women in Music awards.
Madonna had said she pursued her career in spite of ``blatant sexism and misogyny and constant bullying and relentless abuse.'' Lady Gaga tweeted the speech was ``inspiring'' and added, ``You're so brave & strong. Thanks for being that for us girls. We need that.''
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JO JO PUSHES THROUGH LIFE
JoJo says she's gone through ``serious, meaty times'' in the 10 years since her last album release. JoJo says she's had relationships, heartbreaks, triumphs and adversity. She says she's learned to cope and she's realized the only time she fails is when she gives up. JoJo was 13 when her song ``Leave (Get Out)'' was released and she was caught up in a legal fight with her old label. She turns 26 next week. Her latest album is called ``Mad Love.''
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IMAGE AWARDS PIT BEYONCE VS. SOLANGE
Beyonce and her sister Solange are going head-to-head in four categories at the N-double-A-C-P Image Awards.
They both are up for outstanding female artist; outstanding duo, group or collaboration; outstanding video and outstanding album.
Beyonce leads the awards with seven nominations, while Solange has five. The top male artist contenders are Anthony Hamilton, Bruno Mars, Chance the Rapper, Kendrick Lamar and Maxwell. The awards will be given February 11th.
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BIG AND RICH VISIT TROOPS OVERSEAS
Big and Rich have just returned from a trip to visit U-S troops in Bahrain. They went to the U-S Naval Forces Central Command facility in Bahrain to tape two specials for C-M-T.
Big and Rich debuted a new song there, ``For the Party.'' Big Kenny says it was an honour and a blast to perform for American troops.
The special ``Hot 20 Video of the Year Countdown'' premieres Saturday, while the ``Hot 20 Holiday Salute'' will air on December 24th.
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RICK ROSS ENTERS DEAL WITH RICH HAIR CARE
Given how much Rick Ross loves the word ``rich,''
it makes sense that he would team up with Rich Hair Care for an endorsement deal. Ross says he used the products before the deal and was pleasantly surprised with the results. Wait: isn't Rick Ross bald? Yes, but he says he uses the products on his beard.
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DJ KHALED HAS LIMITED EDITION LOTION
D-J Khaled is now a lotion salesman.
He's teamed up with Palmer's skin care products for a special edition of their cocoa butter body lotion. The bottle has a picture of his ``major key'' and his signature.
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(The Associated Press)
