MUSIC NEWS: TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016
PRINCE TAKES - TOPS BILLBOARD ALBUM CHART
Prince owns the number one and number two spots on the Billboard 200 albums chart. ``The Very Best of Prince'' is number one, followed by the ``Purple Rain'' soundtrack. What's significant is that Prince died on Thursday morning, the last day that album sales are tracked for the week. That means those two albums outsold every other album last week in less than a day.
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PRINCE - LAYWER
Prince wasn't ``drugged up.'' That's a quote from his longtime lawyer L. Londell McMillan. McMillan is disputing suggestions that Prince had a drug problem. He tells the A-P that Prince lived a clean and healthy lifestyle, and his death is a complete shock. Prince was found dead Thursday. Authorities say it could take weeks to determine the cause of death.
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JIMY SOHNS - SHADOWS OF KNIGHT - STROKE
Shadows of Knight singer Jimy Sohns is recovering from a stroke suffered on April 12th. The band's Facebook page reports the stroke has affected Sohns' speaking but not his singing.
Sohns is in rehabilitation to re-learn how to the use of the right side of his body. Doctors told him he'd only get back 40 per cent, but he's up to 70 per cent. Shadows of Knight have called off their shows through the end of June. Shadows of Knight are probably best known for their version of the song ``Gloria,'' which was a top ten hit in 1966.
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KID ROCK - ASSISTANT - KILLED
Kid Rock's assistant has been killed in an A-T-V crash. The Tennessean newspaper reports Michael Sacha was found lying face down on the side of a driveway at Rock's suburban Nashville house early Monday. A news release from the Metro Nashville Police Department says the accident happened when Sacha drove two people down the driveway to meet an Uber driver at midnight. Sacha crashed while riding the A-T-V back to the house.
The death has been classified as accidental.
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NORTH CAROLINA - DEMI LOVATO - NICK JONAS
Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas have cancelled their co-headlining shows in North Carolina to protest a new state law limiting L-G-B-T protections. They have issued a joint statement saying they will not perform shows in Raleigh and Charlotte. They say they know the cancellations are disappointing but they ask fans to stand with them against what they call ``a hateful law.''
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NIKKI SIXX - YOUTUBE - PAYMENTS
Nikki Sixx and his band Sixx: A.M. are pushing YouTube to pay artists what they're worth. The band write on their Facebook page YouTube pays artists and labels a sixth of what Apple and Spotify pay. They say YouTube's parent company, Google, has the second-highest market capitalization in the world and had revenues last year of 75-billion-dollars. Sixx: A.M. say it's not about them but current and future generations of musicians. They say Google's first motto was ``Don't Be Evil,'' and it's time to live up to that.
A Google representative did not return requests for comment.
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LUKAS GRAHAM - FAME AND HAPPINESS
Lukas Graham is comfortable knowing he can walk down the street and he doesn't get recognized. Graham says he never got into music to be a celebrity. He says he has yet to meet any rich or famous people who think they're happier because they're rich or famous. Graham says he thought his goal in life was to be happy, but then his father died and he had a new perspective. He says now he's realized he'd rather be content because happiness comes in glimpses and flashes.
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JUSTIN BIEBER - CLEVELAND
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers did their thing _ and that means Canadian pop-star Justin Bieber and his fans can get to do theirs. Tonight's Bieber's concert at the Quicken Loans Arena is on, now that the Cavs have ousted the Detroit Pistons in four straight games. If the Pistons had won just once, it would have forced a Game 5 to be held in Cleveland tonight _ and that would have bumped the Bieber show. And with the other series going longer than four games, it even gives James and his basketball buds time to check out the show, if they wish.
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``THE VOICE''
The show is called ``The Voice'' -- but the shredding also impresses the coaches. Laith Al-Saadi blew away the coaches with his wicked guitar skills on a version of ``Make It Rain'' last night. His coach Adam Levine feels Laith should have no trouble making it through to the next round. Pharrell Williams not only urges viewers to vote for Laith, Williams also wants people at home to buy his songs on iTunes. Last night's show also had impressive performances from coaches' favourites Hannah Huston and Alisan Porter. Tonight, another Voice hopeful will be sent home.
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``DANCING WITH THE STARS''
Wanya Morris was oh-so-close to being perfect.
His jazz routine on ``Dancing With the Stars'' was just a point shy of a perfect score from the judges last night. The Boyz II Men singer did his performance to 'NSYNC's ``Bye Bye Bye.'' 'NSYNC's Joey Fatone and Lance Bass were there to cheer him on. Former C-F-L and N-F-L quarterback Doug Flutie heard crowd chant ``Flutie, Flutie'' but it was a consolation prize. Flutie was voted off last night, after being near the bottom of the judges' leaderboard most of the season. But he says being on the show has been an amazing experience. Next week, two of the remaining celebs will get the axe.
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(The Associated Press)