Nas, Wiz Khalifa, Kid Cudi headline Rock the Bells
NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Kid Cudi, Nas and Wiz Khalifa are just a few of the hip-hop heavyweights headlining the 2012 "Rock the Bells Festival," Guerilla Union and Boost Mobile announced on Wednesday. The annual touring festival series always boasts many of the top artists from the world of rap and hip-hop, and this year's installment will kick off in San Bernadino on August 18 and 19. That means it has expanded into a two-day festival. Missy Elliot, who has been battling Graves' disease, will also make an "exclusive North American festival performance" with longtime collaborator Timbaland. ...

MTV's Video Music Awards get a big new location
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The MTV Video Music Awards ceremony is getting some roomier new digs. MTV's annual awards ceremony is moving to Los Angeles' Staples Center this year, giving it a lot more elbow room than its previous location, the Nokia Theatre. The Staples Center, home venue to the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings, has a seating capacity approaching 20,000 for concerts and special events, compared to the Nokia's 7,100 capacity. ...

Violinist Hahn: Music from a different direction
LONDON (Reuters) - Classical music fans know that American violinist Hilary Hahn plays a wicked concerto, knocking out the fiendishly fast final bars of Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto, for example, faster and with more sheer energy than pretty much anyone else alive. "It's a finger twister but it's so fun. ...

Britney is back - and so are the brickbats

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Britney Spears hasn't even taken her seat as the new judge of "The X Factor," but the pop icon is already getting a lesson in the media glare of live, talent show television. Spears had barely wrapped up an appearance in New York confirming she is joining the singing contest before the celebrity knives were out, raising the question of how well the singer, who went through a public meltdown in 2007, can handle all the newfound attention. ...

Tracy Morgan "fine" after Denver health scare

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - For the second time this year, high altitudes wreaked havoc on "30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan, who had to be briefly hospitalized on Saturday when he became dehydrated and suffered flu-like symptoms in Denver. But the comedian, who had to miss a scheduled standup performance in Denver Saturday because of the illness, is now back in New York City and feeling fine, his rep tells TheWrap. TMZ.com first reported the news. Morgan himself updated fans on Twitter Monday, writing, "Feeling a little better … had to call in sick on Saturday. I'm sorry I had to cancel. ...

Lady Gaga gagged in Indonesia after Islamic opposition

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Pop star Lady Gaga has been refused a permit to perform in the Indonesian capital next month over security concerns, police said on Tuesday, after Islamic groups voiced strong objections to her "vulgar" style. Three Islamic groups have expressed their opposition to the concert on June 3, demanding it be stopped, national police spokesman Saud Usman Nasution said by telephone. Indonesia, a secular state, has the world's largest population of Muslims as well as significant minorities of Christians, Buddhists and Hindus. ...

Two arrested in Stevie Wonder extortion plot

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Stevie Wonder's nephew has been arrested and charged with an extortion scheme against the singer, Los Angeles prosecutors said on Friday. Alpha Lorenzo Walker, 38, was arrested on May 2, along with another alleged conspirator, Tamara Eileen Diaz. The pair had threatened to reveal information they claimed would be embarrassing to the "Superstition" singer unless he met their demands, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office said. Celebrity website TMZ. ...

"Godfather of Go-Go"' Chuck Brown dies at 75
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Chuck Brown, known as the "Godfather of Go-Go" for the subgenre of funk music he helped create, died on Wednesday at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore after being admitted earlier this month suffering from pneumonia. A spokeswoman for the hospital confirmed the death but could not provide a cause, and Brown's manager, Tom Goldfogle, was not immediately available to comment. Goldfogle told the Washington Post Brown died of complications from sepsis. Brown, a singer/songwriter and guitarist had been a key personality in the Washington, D.C. ...

Carrie Underwood keeps Billboard No. 1, Adele going strong
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country singer and "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood continued her reign on the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, while British songstress Adele climbed back to No. 2 after 64 weeks on the chart with "21." Underwood's fourth studio album "Blown Away" sold 119,000 copies this week, down from the 267,000 sales debut last week, but enough to keep her No. 1 position on the chart. Grammy-winner Adele's "21" shows no sign of slowing down, selling 101,000 copies over the past week, bringing total sales of the album in the U.S. to more than 9 million. ...

OneRepublic drummer Eddie Fisher arrested in Denver
DENVER (Reuters) - Drummer Eddie Fisher of the alternative rock band OneRepublic was arrested in Denver on Tuesday on suspicion of assault, disturbing the peace and destruction of private property, police said. There was no immediate word from authorities on what led to the arrest, but Fisher, 38, was being held without bond at the Denver city jail, according to the Denver Sheriff's Office. Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said the musician was taken into custody Tuesday morning but he had no details on the circumstances of the case. Fisher was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. ...