 Rihanna
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Rihanna is "staying strong" and "appreciates the outpouring of support she has received during this difficult time," according to her first statement released after allegedly being assaulted by boyfriend Chris Brown. However, her reps say she will not comment further on the incident.A.R. Rahman was honored with two Oscars last night for his Slumdog Millionaire work, including best original score and best song for "Jai-Ho." Rahman performed a medley of both his nominated songs, alongside John Legend, who sang part of Peter Gabriel's Oscar-nominated song "Down To Earth." In a Baz Luhrmann-directed tribute to movie musicals, Oscar host Hugh Jackman and Beyoncé Knowles took center stage performing classics from Singin' In The Rain and Moulin Rouge. Jackman and Knowles were joined on stage by High School Musical’s Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens and Mamma Mia!’s Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper.
According to multiple reports, a local promoter has announced that T-Pain received "credible death and kidnapping threats" via e-mail and phone calls, forcing the singer to cancel a highly-anticipated concert in Guyana. T-Pain had been the biggest U.S. entertainer scheduled to play Guyana in years. The incident is under investigation by authorities.
Bruce Springsteen will headline the U.K.’s sold-out Glastonbury Festival on June 27, in front of 170,000 fans. "I'm so pleased that Bruce Springsteen has agreed to come to Worthy Farm for the first time," said the event organizer in a statement. "He's one of the all-time rock legends and I'm confident that this will be one of our best shows ever." Franz Ferdinand also confirmed they will perform at the festival, while Blur and Neil Young are rumored to joining the bill as well.
Rise Against have announced their summer tour dates in support of their 2008 record Appeal To Reason. Rancid – who are expected to release a follow-up to 2003’s Indestructible in the summer - will co-headline the trek. Rise Against will play the Bamboozle festival on May 3 in East Rutherford, NJ, with the tour officially kicking off on June 4 in Vancouver, BC.
The Killers filed a lawsuit on Friday in a federal court in Las Vegas, against their former manager Braden Merrick. According to Billboard, the suit states that missed concerts and lost touring revenues resulted in multi-million-dollar damages, in addition to breach of managerial contract, although specific monetary amounts were not included. The suit comes three years after Merrick sued the band for alleged breach of contract. Merrick initially sued his former clients in 2006, claiming they had fired him without legal justification, seeking $16 million from The Killers and their current manager, Robert Reynolds.
AFI bassist Hunter Burgan revealed that the band's next album will be "more in-your-face" than previous discs. "This is definitely more of a rock album -- more immediate and definitely more of a focused, direct approach musically," he told Blender. Burgan also announced that the band hopes to finish and release the disc in time for a summer tour. However, he adds, "whether or not it's out, we'll be on the road."
Manchester Orchestra will headline a spring tour that begins in Nashville on April 21, in support of their upcoming record Mean Everything To Nothing, due out that same day. The tour winds up in Orlando on June 3 and 4. Manchester Orchestra will also play SXSW.