Black Eyed Peas (photo: Jim Rinaldi)

On the heels of their viral video sensation "This Too Shall Pass," Pop-rockers OK Go have announced they are splitting from EMI Music and forming their own Paracadute label. Paracadute and OK Go themselves will oversee the distribution and promotion functions for the band, effective April 1. "We'd like to thank the people who have worked so hard on our behalf," said OK Go singer Damian Kulash, who will discuss the band's departure from the label on NPR's All Things Considered today. "And we'd like to thank our fans for making this choice an easy one for us." OK Go kick off a tour in support of their new album, Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky, on April 13 in Salt Lake City, with dates announced up to their performance at Bonnaroo on June 11.

Billy Corgan is looking for a new bassist and keyboard player for The Smashing Pumpkins via open auditions. Corgan also found current Pumpkins drummer Mike Byrne through auditions. Musicians are asked to e-mail a resume and performance clips to pumpkinsbass@gmail.com or pumpkinskeys@gmail.com. The most recent Pumpkins bassist, Ginger Pooley, has left the group following the birth of her daughter last fall.

BMI will honor John Fogerty as a BMI Icon at its 58th annual Pop Awards, slated for Tuesday, May 18 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. BMI Icons are selected because of their "unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." Fogerty will join Gamble & Huff, the Jacksons, the Bee Gees, Paul Simon, Brian Wilson, James Brown, Hall & Oates and many other previous honorees.

British musician/songwriter/producer Taio Cruz impressively jumps to #1 on the Hot 100 singles chart, with "Break Your Heart" selling over 300,000 digital singles in a week. "Break Your Heart" (featuring Ludacris) jumps from last week's debut of #53 to #1, making it the largest-ever jump to #1 by a newcomer to the Hot 100.

Puddle Of Mudd has annonced a new round of touring, kicking off April 1 in Anaheim, with dates running up to Summerfest in Milwaukee on June 30.

Phil Collins will be the 2010 recipient of the Johnny Mercer Award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Annual Awards dinner on Thursday, June 17 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. "Phil has churned out a massive stream of classic songs that have resonated with audiences around the globe in a career that has won him admiration beyond cultural and linguistic boundaries," commented Chairman/CEO Hal David. "In our professional community, he is among the most respected musical creators of our generation."

British singer/songwriter Kate Nash will release her sophomore effort, My Best Friend Is You, on April 20. Nash told Rolling Stone that the new tunes were inspired by classic girl groups like The Ronettes. "These girl-group songs sound really joyous, but the lyrics are quite dark and heartbreaking," she says. Nash has a brief run of spring tour dates in North America, starting April 26 in Toronto and ending in Los Angeles on May 11. She will also join the 2010 Lilith Fair in the summer for a few dates.

Rolling Stone reports that the soundtrack to the new Doors documentary will include Johnny Depp reading the poetry of Jim Morrison. Depp narrates the film as well. The soundtrack will be out April 6, while Rhino will release vinyl editions of the Doors' Absolutely Live and Live In New York albums next Tuesday.

Rock Band 3 is slated for release later in 2010. Harmonix revealed online that the company is developing the sequel to the hit video game "for worldwide release this holiday season." The statement from Harmonix added, "The game, which will be published by MTV Games and distributed by Electronic Arts, will innovate and revolutionize the music genre once again, just as Harmonix did with the original Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and The Beatles: Rock Band. Stay tuned for more details!"