Franklin says Houston's mother raised her well (AP)

AP - Aretha Franklin says Cissy Houston raised her daughter Whitney Houston well — and that an interview where Franklin said parents need to make sure children "leave home prepared" was taken out of context.

Kasabian magic continues with "Jurassic" classic (Reuters)

Reuters - British band Kasabian's chart-topping latest album is named for a flesh-eating dinosaur but represents a nostalgic tribute to youthful dreams, once again demonstrating the group's versatility.

Fans, celebs react to Rihanna/Chris Brown collaboration (Reuters)

Reuters - With their mutual collaborations released on Monday, Rihanna and Chris Brown have taken an important step forward in mending their relationship, following the savage beating that Brown gave Rihanna in 2009.

Cowell: 'X Factor' wants 2 female judges, 2 hosts (AP)

AP - Simon Cowell is playing it coy about rumors that Fergie, Britney Spears and Janet Jackson are being considered for "The X Factor."

Singer Jason Crabb gets 8 Dove Awards nominations (AP)

AP - Singer Jason Crabb grabbed eight nominations for the Dove Awards, leading the way for the gospel and Christian music show that will be held in Atlanta for the second year in a row.

Mandeville Live! concerts kick off on March 2

The City of Mandeville kicks off its second year of Mandeville Live! on March 2 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Mandeville Trailhead, 675 Lafitte St. The event will launch the 2012 season of six free concerts that will...

Whitney Houston open casket photo on tabloid cover (Reuters)

Reuters - In a classy move certain to enrage fans while boosting sales, the National Enquirer has published a photo of Whitney Houston's open casket this week.

Appeals court rules against Roger Miller's widow (AP)

AP - The widow of country music legend Roger Miller doesn't own the rights to some of his biggest hits, including "King of the Road," a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Adele breaks Whitney Houston's chart record (Reuters)

Reuters - The late Whitney Houston was unable to oust Adele from the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart, and the British singer's "21" replaced "The Bodyguard" as the longest running No. 1 album by a woman.

'X Factor' teenager Crow signs TV, record deal (AP)

AP - Rachel Crow was a tearful runner-up on "The X Factor," but she's a winner now.

Obama sings the blues with Jagger, B.B King (Reuters)

Reuters - Bill Clinton had his saxophone, but President Barack Obama can sing the blues.

Rihanna could draw criticism for songs with Brown (AP)

AP - Rihanna is known for making bold statements, from her often sexually charged music to her tattoos to even the hue of her hair.

New Concerts: Blink-182 At Mohegan; Cee Lo, Daughtry At Foxwoods

Pop-punk band Blink-182 performs with the All-American Rejects May 18 at Mohegan Sun; tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 24, at 10 a.m. for $69.50 and $49.50, via www.ticketmaster.com. Looks like Ted Nugent, REO Speedwagon and Styx relive the glory days of champion-rock when they share the bill July 5 on their “Midwest Rock ’n’ Roll Express” tour; tickets go on sale March 30, according to a press ...

Adele turns tables on TV execs with finger gesture (Reuters)

Reuters - Singer Adele had the tabloid press up in arms on Wednesday and TV executives running for cover over a middle finger gesture after her moment in the sun at British pop's biggest awards was cut short for programming reasons.

Chieftains "Voice of Ages" among year's best country albums (Reuters)

Reuters - The Chieftains have arrived with one of the best country albums of the year - the country in question, of course, being just a bit east of the U.K., where Ireland's traditional music can sound awfully darned Appalachian, when it comes down to it.

Ukrainian party accused of racism in pop scandal (AP)

AP - A small Ukrainian nationalist party came under fire Wednesday after a high-profile member suggested a singer of African descent was a bad choice to represent the country in the Eurovision song contest.

Journey drummer ordered to anger management (AP)

AP - Drummer Deen Castronovo from the rock group Journey was sentenced to 80 hours of community service in Oregon and ordered to attend anger-management classes for a domestic violence dispute.

Costumes, beads give way to ashes in New Orleans (AP)

AP - Officers on horseback cleared Bourbon Street early Wednesday, declaring an end to Carnival 2012 in New Orleans as Mardi Gras revelers began to prepare for the beginning of Lent, the period of fasting and repentance before Easter.

Four Of The Hottest Concerts To See This Spring

This upcoming Spring Boston will host a number of concerts to some of the best artists in music. Here is a list of some of the most popular artist that have tour dates in Boston.

Grammy boost for Adele's '21,' 21st week on top (AP)

AP - Adele's album "21" has spent 21 weeks atop Billboard's Top 200 albums chart — and its 21st week is the biggest one yet.

Pop band Train plans hometown concerts

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Grammy Award-winning pop rock band Train said Tuesday it is planning a string of six hometown club shows in San Francisco.

Adele adds to awards haul at triumphant BRITs (Reuters)

Reuters - Soul singer Adele added to her awards haul at the 2012 BRITs on Tuesday and set the biggest night in British pop alight with a rousing performance of "Rolling In the Deep".

Jackson concert promoters out of Joe Jackson lawsuit (Reuters)

Reuters - The promoters of what was to have been Michael Jackson's comeback concerts were dropped on Tuesday from a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the singer's father Joe.

Chris Brown earns musical redemption from Rihanna (Reuters)

Reuters - R&B singer Chris Brown has earned a measure of musical redemption and forgiveness from ex-girlfriend Rihanna by collaborating on new music together, three years after Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting the pop star.

The top 10 songs and albums on the iTunes Store (AP)

AP - iTunes' Official Music Charts for the week ending Feb. 20, 2012:

Blur to play London's Hyde Park at Olympics closing (Reuters)

Reuters - British band Blur will headline a concert in London's Hyde Park that coincides with the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, organizers said on Tuesday.

Elton John had to cancel two concerts

Sir Elton John cancelled two concerts this weekend after he came down with food poisoning.

Hyde Park gigs saved after promoter's threat to abandon free events

Concerts in Hyde Park have been saved - but organisers have been told they will be at risk again if they continue to breach noise limits.

Series of classical concerts in Pendle set for the axe

A SERIES of annual classical concerts in Pendle from one of the country’s top orchestras is set to be axed.

Microsoft working on new Spotify-like service on Xbox, Windows and smartphones (Digital Trends)

Digital Trends - As reported this week by CNET, Microsoft isÂ apparentlyÂ chatting with several record labels regarding the development of a music application that would be more similar to Pandora, Spotify, Rdio, MOG and other streaming music, subscription services than the Zune Music Pass. Conceptually, Microsoft would brand this service with the Xbox Live name rather than the failed Zune brand name and launch the application on the Xbox 360, Windows smartphones and the upcoming revision of the Windows operating system. According to CNETâs sources, specifics regarding how the service would deliver music to consumers in addition to how much the music industry would get paid from any potential subscription fees havenât been finalized.Â

Youth shaping future of online TV, movies, music (AP)

AP - Young people want their music, TV and movies now — even if it means they get these things illegally.

'Playing With Your Phone While Sitting on the Toilet' Gets a Tribute [VIDEO] (Mashable)

Mashable - "We've all had that feeling coming about, staring at the wall and nothing comes out," raps musician Paul The Trombonist in his latest YouTube music video.

Hyde Park concerts to be cut after noise complaints

The number of concerts held in London's Hyde Park are to be cut next year following complaints about the noise they produce.

Sometimes, less is more: Bump 3.0 trims the feature fat (Digital Trends)

Digital Trends - Bump has some veteran app status. Itâs been around since 2009, and has been thrilling users with its so-easy-itâs âstupid sharing tool. When it all got started, Bump was solely a way to transfer contact information between iOS devices. But as all apps do, it grew and launched Android integration, and upped its feature inventory: recent versions of Bump added the ability to share photos, schedules, music, and other apps.

NPR rolls out music streaming app for iPad (Appolicious)

Appolicious - National Public Radio has had an iPhone-optimized music streaming app called NPR Music available for a while now, but the public radio non-profit has expanded its service, bringing the app to iPad for the first time.

EU court: Social networks can't be piracy brakes (Reuters)

Reuters - Online social networks cannot be forced to block users from downloading songs illegally, as this would push up their costs and infringe privacy, Europe's highest court said on Thursday, adding to a worldwide debate on internet policing.

Rumor says HTC developing streaming music service (Appolicious)

Appolicious - One of the earliest adopters of Google’s Android platform, HTC has been struggling lately as it fights to compete amongst an onslaught of competitors, but according to new rumors, that’s not holding HTC back from rolling out new products, including a potential music streaming service.

Study suggests iTunes App Store apps leak private data more than unauthorized ones (Appolicious)

Appolicious - The latest controversy surrounding Apple and its iOS devices concerns apps and what they do with your personal data. A new report from Forbes suggests apps given the green light to be downloaded by Apple are more likely to upload your personal data than those found in unauthorized app stores.

Hyde Park mega-concerts at risk after neighbours complain about the noise

Major music concerts in Hyde Park could be axed because Westminster council believes they are too noisy.

RnBXclusive.com domian seized, now hosts threats instead of music (Digital Trends)

Digital Trends - Being in the music blogging business is becoming fraught with danger, as the owners of RnBXclusive.com have just found out, following the seizure of the domain by the Serious Organized Crime Agency in the UK. They havenât just lost their site either, but have been arrested for fraud.