- Created on 12 December 2012
Hurricane Sandy 12-12-12 Benefit Concert Being Held Tonight
As citizens along the East Coast try to recover from the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy, several artists are jumping in to give a helping hand.
Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Bon Jovi, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, Eddie Vedder and more will be performing to raise money for the relief of the Hurricane Sandy victims.
The benefit concert, "12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief", with proceeds going to the Robin Hood Relief Fund, will take place tonight in Madison Square Garden at 7:30 pm.
The concert will be streamed live for those people that cannot attend.
For more information check out the 12-12-12 concert website.
- Created on 11 December 2012
Beyonce Inks $50M Deal with Pepsi
ABC News reports:
Beyonce Knowles may have told us that girls "Run the World," but did you know that she is "Crazy in Love" with Pepsi?
The pop superstar has scored a new kind of gig — a $50 million deal with Pepsi as its new brand ambassador. The public will now be seeing a whole lot more of "Queen Bey." The diva's visage will even appear on the side of a soda can.
The 31-year-old singer has already begun her brand responsibilities, saying her art and the soda's brand mesh so well.
"Pepsi embraces creativity and understands that artists evolve," Knowles said in a statement. "As a businesswoman, this allows me to work with a lifestyle brand with no compromise and without sacrificing my creativity."
Knowles has worked with Pepsi in the past, appearing on ads for the brand. She will also perform at the halftime show at this year's Pepsi-sponsored Super Bowl.
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/12/beyonce-inks-50m-deal-with-pepsi/
- Created on 10 December 2012
Singer, Reality Television Star Jenni Rivera Dies in Plane Crash
(CNN) -- Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera died when the small plane she was traveling in with at least five others crashed in the mountains of northern Mexico, her brother told CNN.
Authorities notified the family there were no survivors, Gustavo Rivera said late Sunday. He planned to fly to Mexico early Monday to identify his sister's remains.
There were conflicting reports about the number of people aboard the plane, which took off early Sunday from Monterrey, Mexico, and lost contact with air traffic controllers a short time later.
Rivera said there were six people aboard: his sister, her publicist, her lawyer, a family friend and two pilots. The Civil Aviation Authority of Mexico said there were up to seven people on the plane, though it did not identify those believed to be on board.
The news from Rivera's brother confirmed what authorities would only publicly say they suspected earlier in the day.
"The aircraft was destroyed, totally fragmented," Alejandro Argudin, director general of civil aviation, told CNN affiliate Televisa. He said he believed no one survived the crash.
Rivera was known to fans as "La Diva de la Banda," or The Diva of Banda Music, establishing herself initially as a regional Mexican musical powerhouse with her banda and corridos, or traditional ballad, performances.
In recent years, Rivera had been working to crack the U.S. market and was reportedly on the verge of a crossover with an English-language show inspired by the success of "I Love Jenni," a Spanish-language reality TV show on Telemundo's mun2 network.
"We lost an awesome woman, mother, sister, friend and artist," said her business partner and manager Pete Salgado.
Rivera was beloved by fans as much for her music as her over-the-top lifestyle that was chronicled in "I Love Jenni" on Telemundo.
Born in Long Beach, California, to Mexican immigrant parents, Rivera, 43, released her debut album in 1999, according to her website.
She followed that up with two more albums, including the 2003 album "Farewell to Selena" -- a tribute to slain Tejano star Selena Quintanilla -- that increased her popularity.
Her father, Pedro, and two of her brothers also are well-known performers in Mexico and portions of the Southwestern United States.
Rivera sold 15 million records, according to Billboard. She recently won two Billboard music awards, including favorite Mexican music female artist. She also was nominated for Latin Grammy Awards in 2002, 2008 and 2011.
In October, People en Espanol named Rivera to its list of the 25 most powerful women.
Famous for her music, she is also known for her tumultuous personal life. The singer was a single mom at the age of 15 and is the mother of five, her website said.
In 2009, she made headlines when she was detained at the Mexico City airport with tens of thousands of dollars in cash.
A year later, she made headlines again with the marriage to former baseball pitcher Esteban Loaiza, who played for the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. In October, she announced she was filing for divorce after less than two years of marriage. It was her third marriage.
"I Love Jenni," which began airing on mun2 last year, featured her life on the road, balancing the duties of motherhood and stardom as she toured Mexico and the United States.
She also was a judge on the popular TV show, "The Voice, Mexico," which was scheduled to air Sunday night. In its place, Televisa said it would air a special report about the singer.
A fellow judge on the show took to Twitter after news of Rivera's disappearance.
"My heart is devastated," wrote Beto Cuevas. "All my prayers are with you, Jenni, and your family."
Rivera had a concert in Monterrey on Saturday night before boarding the Learjet early Sunday.
In those final hours after the concert, Rivera opened up to reporters about her divorce and the inner strength she found, thanks to her family.
"I'm so happy. So many strong things have happened in my life. I can't get up in the negative, which destroys you," she said.
"I have brothers. I have children. I have nephews. And they keep me from focusing on the negative."
Her plane took off from Monterrey at 3:15 a.m., according to a statement from the Transportation Ministry. Its destination was the airport in Toluca, near Mexico City. Air traffic controllers lost contact with it about 60 miles into the flight, the ministry said.
Two helicopters assisting in the search for the plane spotted the wreckage in Mexico's Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, the ministry said.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, and the ministry is investigating.
Fans and celebrities took to social media to mourn the singer and television star who was known as much for her music as she was sometimes for her over-the-top antics.
"Spent some time with Jenni Rivera recently. What an amazing lady ... Cool, smart, funny & talented. Such a travesty ... God Bless her family," actor Mario Lopez tweeted.
Mexican singing sensation Paulina Rubio was inconsolable on Twitter.
"My friend! Why? There is no consolation. God, please help me!" she tweeted.
- Created on 10 December 2012
Kindred The Family Soul Launches Monthly Series
Kindred The Family Soul brought the heat on Saturday at the launch of their monthly series of shows, featuring special guests, at The Shrine. Their high energy concert went from sultry sizzle to neo-soul nuclear when Jill Scott came out and rocked the stage with Kindred for several songs and some fun, back-in-the-day, reminiscing. Who does Kindred have on tap for next month? Shhh...it's a secret, but odds are...it's going to be hot!
View the photo gallery above to see Kindred The Family Soul and Jill Scott in action.
- Created on 07 December 2012
Gold Coast Cop by Night, Hip-Hop Clown by Appointment
SOUTH SHORE — Donny Simmons makes bad guys cry — and kids laugh.
The longtime Chicago Police officer spends nights patrolling the streets of the Gold Coast. In his spare time, he transforms into Ding Dong the Hip-Hop Clown, working kids' birthday parties, block parties and even performing at Chicago Bulls games.
The jobs "are so far apart, but the same in a lot of different ways," said Simmons, 41, describing both as "community service" positions.
Simmons was raised in Englewood by a mom who was also a cop and a father who worked for the Chicago Fire Department. His aunt put herself through school with the cash she made from clowning, leading him to give it a whirl 23 years ago.
"I discovered I'm a natural entertainer," Simmons said. "I found out how fulfilling it is to make people smile."
Some of those laughing are his co-workers, who give him a lot of heat for his unusual side gig.
"That kind of joking is part of police culture, but there are also of lot of officers that use him" for parties, said Simmons' partner on the beat, Roy Ariza.
Simmons headed to perform at a recent block party after attending a funeral. A rainstorm moved his show into a dark, cramped garage where he set up a sound system between ladders and grills to pump in rap and house music. While thunder and lightning crackled outside, Simmons delighted a dozen children with comedy, magic and dances and made balloon sculptures.
The jobs actually complement each other, Simmons said.
"It's two extremes, but each job helps me with the other," Simmons said.
When he first became Ding Dong, Simmons said he had a hard time turning down a child asking for one more balloon animal after the show was over.
"Being an officer has helped me say, 'I'm sorry, no,'" Simmons said.
And the skills he's developed working with children also have made him a better policeman.
"I do end up baby-sitting drunk adults like they were kids," Simmons said. "I think I come off different than most police officers because of the patience I developed being Ding Dong."
Ariza added: "Although I laughed when I first found out what he did, I soon saw that he's more personable, and patient, and better at dealing with people than most of us."
Working with kids also helps Simmons deal with the tension that comes with patrolling the streets, "which is pretty stressful," he said.
