MUSIC NEWS: MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2017
ARIANA GRANDE - MANCHESTER CONCERT
Ariana Grande says the One Love Manchester concert is ``the medicine that the world really needs right now.'' The concert raised funds for victims of a suicide bomber at her concert two weeks ago in Manchester, England. Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons opened the concert with a moment of silence. Canadian pop star Justin Bieber encouraged fans to keep faith in God and asked them to hold their hands up in support for those who died. Katy Perry asked people to touch the person next to them and say ``I love you.'' Pharrell Williams said despite of all that's been going on, he did not ``feel or smell or hear or see any fear in this building.'' Other performers included Coldplay, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, Niall Horan, Miley Cyrus, Imogen Heap, Little Mix and Grande's boyfriend, Mac Miller.
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ARIANA GRANDE - HOSPITAL VISIT
Ariana Grande has visited victims of the bombing at her concert in Manchester, England, two weeks ago. Grande posted photos of her visit to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. The caption was simply a heart. The photos show her hugging children in their beds and posing with nurses.
Twenty-two people were killed and dozens were injured, many of them teens.
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TICKETMASTER - ARIANA GRANDE CONCERT
Ticketmaster says it set aside 14,200 free tickets for yesterday's One Manchester show for fans who were at the Ariana Grande concert two weeks ago when a suicide bomber attacked. Ticketmaster processed 12-thousand requests, even though 25-thousand people claimed they were at the original show. About 35-thousand tickets were sold to the public in 20 minutes on Thursday. Proceeds go to an emergency fund for victims of the May 22 attack.
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GREGG ALLMAN - FUNERAL
Dickey Betts and Jaimoe of The Allman Brothers Band and Cher were among the mourners at Gregg Allman's funeral in Macon, Georgia, on Saturday. The funeral was small and private because the chapel could accommodate only 100 people, but thousands of fans lined the streets of Macon. The funeral was very Allman Brothers. It was in the same cemetery where Allman and his brother Duane wrote songs among the tombstones, it was near Highway 41, mentioned in the song ``Ramblin' Man,'' and a freight train stopped near the end of the funeral, like in the song ``Melissa.'' Allman was buried next to Duane.
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CHRIS CORNELL - WIDOW
Chris Cornell's wife had hoped for answers about her husband's apparent suicide when the toxicology report came back, but it appears not to have given the answers she was anticipating.
Medical examiners in Detroit found Cornell had barbiturates, caffeine and the anti-anxiety drug Ativan in his system, as well as an anti-opioid drug and a decongestant. However, the report says the drugs did not contribute to the cause of death. Vicky Cornell says in a statement that people who knew her husband ``noticed he wasn't himself during his final hours and that something was very off.''
She says a ``moment of terrible judgment seems to have completely impaired and altered his state of mind.'' She adds, ``Something clearly went terribly wrong.'' Cornell died by hanging in a Detroit hotel room May 17th.
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CHRIS STAPLETON - BROKEN FINGER
Chris Stapleton has revealed the reason he's called off three weeks' worth of concerts. He writes on his website he broke a bone and detached a tendon in his right index finger and can't play guitar. Stapleton does not say how he suffered the injury. Stapleton called off the shows last week but did not say why at the time. He has rescheduled the shows and plans to be back to performing June 22nd in Tulsa.
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BRANDY - RECOVERING
Brandy's publicist says she's resting at home after a hospital stay. Publicist Courtney Barnes says Brandy passed out at the Los Angeles airport Friday morning because of a rigorous schedule. He says Brandy was in the studio late Thursday and went directly to the airport for a 5:45 A.M. flight. He says she's taken 10 long-haul flights recently, including international flights.
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FERGIE - BLACK EYED PEAS
Fergie is indeed still in Black Eyed Peas. Her representative tells The Associated Press Fergie has not left the group, despite an Ahlan! magazine interview with will.i.am that implied she was no longer a member. Her rep says Fergie is concentrating on a new album, and that's why she did not appear Saturday at the UEFA Champions League final in Cardiff, Wales, or at the One Manchester concert in Manchester, England, over the weekend.
Will.i.am has issued a statement saying, ``Fergie is family and will always be a Pea.'' He says the group fully supports Fergie's solo album.
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(The Canadian Press)
