MUSIC NEWS: THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

MUSIC NEWS: THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

LUKE BRYAN ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR THE YEAR

Luke Bryan will mark 2015 with some firsts and some lasts. He will launch the ``Kick Up The Dust'' tour with his first performances overseas, starting in Stockholm, Sweden, on February 28. He brings the tour to the U-S March 22 with a show in Houston. Randy Houser and Dustin Lynch will be opening acts. Bryan will be the first country act to play Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville on July 11. He says he will bring the I-Q of Vanderbilt down for one night. Bryan will perform his last spring break show in Panama City, Florida, on March 11 and 12. He says he doesn't party any more or any less but he and his team have been talking about how many more years they could do it and decided this was the year.

Bryan will also be the subject of an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville beginning in May.

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LIVE EARTH SET FOR JUNE 18

Live Earth is back and Pharrell Williams is in charge. Williams will be the creative director for the Live Earth concerts that will be staged on seven continents on June 18. The shows will be in New York, Paris, Johannesburg, Sydney, Sao Paulo and Beijing, plus somewhere on Antarctica. Williams says he can't go into it yet, but ``we literally are going to have humanity harmonize all at once.''

Williams is working with former Vice-President Al Gore and producer Kevin Wall for the concerts, aimed at fighting global warming. The lineup has yet to be announced. The original Live Earth concerts were in 2007.

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MADONNA PLANS ``REBEL HEART'' RELEASE IN MARCH

Madonna has announced March 10 as the release date for her ``Rebel Heart'' album, but the avid fan can have most of it before that date. Madonna released six of the songs as an E-P before Christmas because of a leak of unfinished cuts. Fans who pre-order the album on iTunes will get two more songs on February 9th. That's eight out of the 19 songs on the album. One of the songs yet to be released is ``Iconic,'' which features Chance the Rapper and Mike Tyson.

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SOCIAL DISTORTION'S MIKE NESS IS A SERIOUS PICKER

If Social Distortion is in town, you might just find singer Mike Ness at your garage sale. Ness collects Americana items from the 1940s and he spends his down time on tour looking for treasures. Ness says he's been collecting for 30 years and he's really good at it. The way he puts it, ``I could out-pick those guys on those T-V shows. I could leave them in the weeds.'' Ness realizes he can't hold onto everything, so he has a store in Orange, California, where he sells the stuff he doesn't keep.

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BILLY IDOL IS SICK

Billy Idol had to miss the first two dates of his own tour. Idol's website reports he's suffering from ``a pesky chest infection'' and is under doctor's orders to rest for a few days. He had to cancel last night's tour opener in New Orleans and tonight's show in Atlanta. Idol promises to make up the dates. He plans to be good to go for Saturday's show in Philadelphia.

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NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK READY TO SHOW OFF

New Kids On The Block are inviting the current crop of boy bands to see them in concert to see how it's done. Joey McIntyre says he hates to sound like an old fogey, but boy bands of today ``don't know what they're missing nowadays.'' New Kids will launch a tour May 1 in Las Vegas with T-L-C and Nelly. McIntyre welcomes an audience that might be fans of the other acts on the bill. He says it's nice to go onstage and know there might be people unfamiliar with what he does. He says that keeps it fresh and ``adds to the juice of the night.''

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GRAMMYS ADD MORE ENTERTAINMENT

Common and John Legend will reunite for a performance at the Grammys. They will perform ``Glory'' from the film ``Selma'' during the Grammys on February 8th. Usher, Miranda Lambert, Sam Smith and Pharrell (fah-REL') Williams have also been added to the lineup. Previously announced performers include Madonna, AC/DC, Ed Sheeran, Eric Church, and Ariana Grande (GRAHN'-day). L-L Cool J will return to host for the fourth time.

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'AMERICAN IDOL'

The ``American Idol'' judges had some good news for an Air Force man. Vanessa Andrea auditioned in Minneapolis on last night's show. Her husband is on active duty. The Idol judges were impressed with her singing, guitar playing and her look. Before they had a chance to vote, Andrea whipped a cellphone out of her boot and the judges called her hubby with the news she's going to Hollywood. The judges also gave a golden ticket to a young guy who sings and plays piano like Jerry Lee Lewis. Mark Andrew also moves on. He's a new dad and works in the family's landscaping business.

Tonight, the Idol auditions move to New Orleans, Harry Connick Junior's hometown.

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The following is HMV Canada's top 10 CDs based on national sales for the week ending Jan. 24.

CDs

1 In the Lonely Hour _ Sam Smith

2 Title _ Meghan Trainor

3 American Beauty/American Psycho _ Fall Out Boy

4 B4.DA.$$ _ Joey Bada$$

5 The Pale Emperor _ Marilyn Manson

6 1989 _ Taylor Swift

7 Uptown Special _ Mark Ronson

8 X _ Ed Sheeran