Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood engaged to marry

LONDON (Reuters) - Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood is engaged to be married to a 34-year-old theatre producer named Sally Humphreys, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The twice-married, 65-year-old musician and artist separated from his second wife Jo Wood in 2008 and had a public disagreement with her over the auction of some memorabilia in Los Angeles which went ahead earlier this month.

News of the impending wedding comes just after the Stones played a warm-up gig in Paris for 350 people and announced four dates in London and New York to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

It also comes ahead of the release next February of Jo Wood's memoirs, which promise to reveal her tales of life as the wife of a Rolling Stone.

Wood has recently been focusing on his visual art career and in April opened a New York City art show entitled, 'Faces, Time and Places', featuring portraits of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and other celebrities.

But he is still best known for his music and in April was inducted for a second time into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with other members of his former group The Faces, including Rod Stewart and Kenney Jones.

The Rolling Stones, which Wood joined in 1975 after Mick Taylor left the band, were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989.

(Reporting by Paul Casciato; editing by Steve Addison)

Taylor Swift to co-host Grammy nominations in Nashville

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country-pop star Taylor Swift will co-host the Grammy nominations live on television from Nashville, the capital of country music, the Recording Academy said on Monday.

Swift, 22, who has won six Grammy awards, will join rapper-actor LL Cool J to announce nominees in some of the major categories during a one-hour live telecast on December 5, featuring performances from country artist Luke Bryan and pop-rockers Maroon 5.

The singer is currently on a touring blitz to promote her latest album, 'Red', and has become an awards show favorite, most recently premiering her new single at the MTV Video Music Awards in September.

Swift's addition to the roster is part of the Grammy organization's celebration of country music this year, moving the nominations concert from Los Angeles to Nashville, home to the Grand Ole Opry and dozens of recording studios that have spawned artists such as Swift, Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum.

Organizers began televising the nominations in a live show five years ago in a bid to boost TV viewership for the annual Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles in February. This year, 39.9 million viewers tuned in to see British singer Adele sweep the awards with six major wins.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Dale Hudson)



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R&B singer Natina Reed hit and killed by car in Georgia

(Reuters) - Natina Reed, a member of the R&B singing trio Blaque, was struck and killed by a car as she walked in a major roadway in Georgia, police said on Saturday.

Reed, who also appeared in the cheerleader movie 'Bring It On' in 2000, would have turned 33 on Sunday.

She was struck by a car at about 10:30 p.m. Friday on a state highway just north of the Atlanta suburb of Lilburn, Gwinnett County Police Sergeant Rich Long said.

The car's driver called 911 and a passenger performed CPR but Reed was pronounced dead at an area medical center, police said. Authorities ruled the driver was not at fault and no charges were expected to be filed, Long said.

Investigators were trying to determine why Reed was in the road, Long said.

As part of Blaque, Reed performed the 1999 hits 'Bring It All to Me' and '808' with fellow members Shamari Fears DeVoe and Brandi Williams.

Reed's fellow group members said in a statement on Saturday that Blaque had recently reunited and the group was working on an album and a reality show.

'My world as I know it has forever changed,' DeVoe said on Twitter on Saturday. 'Until we meet again, may you find comfort in the arms of an angel. I love you Natina.'

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Bill Trott)



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Confidante put drugs in Britney's food, singer's mom testifies

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The one-time confidante of Britney Spears said he crushed up drugs in the pop singer's food to help her sleep and disabled her phone lines during the height of her meltdown five years ago, Spears' mother testified on Friday.

Lynne Spears told the Los Angeles jury in a civil trial that Sam Lutfi, Britney's self-styled manager at the time, described his actions to her in a January 2008 exchange at her daughter's Los Angeles home.

'Those were his exact words,' Lynne Spears said on her first day on the witness stand. 'I was very worried and I didn't know what to do so I tried to get her away from there.'

Lutfi is suing Lynne Spears for defaming him in her 2008 book 'Through the Storm,' in which she related some of Lutfi's actions in 2007 when he became the singer's closest friend, and moved into her house.

Lynne Spears admitted under cross examination that she did not call police despite her concerns about her daughter.

She also acknowledged she had been estranged from her daughter for months in 2007, and that Lutfi told her he wanted to help reunite them.

Lynne Spears' book also claims Lutfi tried to cut the singer off from her family, and portrays him as a figure who controlled her every move.

Lutfi, who met Spears in a nightclub in 2007 and has said he tried to wean her off drugs, testified tearfully earlier this week he received death threats after the book was published.

The week-long trial has lifted the lid on the much-publicized meltdown by Spears in 2007 and early 2008, in which she went through a divorce, lost custody of her two kids, shaved her head and wielded an umbrella at paparazzi.

Lutfi is also suing Spears for a portion of her earnings at that time, claiming the 'Toxic' singer hired him as her manager.

Lutfi further alleges Britney's father, Jamie Spears, punched him in the chest in 2008, during a period when the singer was twice held in a psychiatric ward in a Los Angeles hospital.

Jamie Spears was later named conservator of his daughter's personal and business affairs, and the family took out restraining orders against Lutfi.

Spears, now 30, has since made a comeback with world tours hit albums and a new job as a judge on TV talent show 'The X-Factor'. She is not expected to attend the trial.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; editing by Todd Eastham)



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Justin Timberlake apologizes for "distasteful" homeless video

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer Justin Timberlake apologized on Friday for what he called a 'distasteful' video that features homeless people in Los Angeles congratulating him and new wife Jessica Biel on their wedding.

The video was made by a friend of Timberlake's and intended as a humorous gift for the couple's lavish wedding in Italy last week. The joke backfired when gossip website Gawker got hold of the video and celebrity news site TMZ.com tracked down one of the homeless men, who said he had been paid $40 for appearing in it.

In an open letter on his website, Timberlake said he had no knowledge of the video and 'had absolutely ZERO contribution to it' but agreed that it was 'distasteful' and was 'made as a joke and not in any way in mockery'.

'My friends are good people. This was clearly a lapse in judgment which I'm sure no one who is reading this is exempt from. But, I don't believe it was made to be insensitive. More so, I think it was made as a joke on me not having that many friends attending my own wedding (which IS kind of funny if you think about it),' the 'Sexyback' singer said.

'Like many silly rumors that I have been made aware of about the week: It was NOT shown at my wedding...I think we can all agree that it was distasteful, even though that was not its intention.'

Timberlake signed off lightheartedly, saying 'I'm having my friend do at least 100 hours of community service... Boom.'

Gawker was forced to remove the video from their site earlier this week when they were threatened with a lawsuit from attorneys representing Timberlake's friend, Justin Huchel, who said the film was stolen and was made 'to be used and exhibited privately at Justin Timberlake's wedding as a private joke without Mr. Timberlake's knowledge'.

Timberlake, 31, a former member of 1990s boy band N'Sync who has forged a Hollywood acting career, married 'Total Recall' actress Biel, 30, in southern Italy last week with close friends and family in attendance.

People magazine secured the rights to exclusive pictures and details of the three days of festivities, where Biel wore a flowing pink designer wedding dress and Timberlake performed a song he had written for his new wife.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, editing by Jill Serjeant and Andrew Hay)



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Tori Amos puts new spin on old songs for "Gold Dust"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tori Amos has been performing in bars and clubs since the age of 13, but the pianist-singer-songwriter's new tour and album mark 20 years since her breakthrough solo debut album 'Little Earthquakes'.

Throughout October, Amos, 49, has been touring with songs from her new album 'Gold Dust', which reinterprets hits from the past two decades, accompanied by the Metropole Orchestra. The album, released October 2, follows her 2011 song cycle 'Night of Hunters', also inspired by classical music.

Amos, a classically trained musician, talked to Reuters about 'Gold Dust' and how she has forged new paths for American singer-songwriters.

Q. How difficult was it recording and touring with 'Gold Dust' and playing with all these different orchestras?

A. 'It's been a thrilling journey - I have had to really learn that an orchestra is an entity - it's a creature. I have been calling it the dragon and the conductor is the dragon tamer. And you just have to ... ride and don't let go and you will be fine.

'So it's a tango, it's pushing and pulling and answering each other and inspiring each other. And that's really where the love affair comes from 'Gold Dust.'

Q. Was it tricky to re-record and reinterpret old songs?

A. 'I had to realize that you are going to look at songs that you might have known for the last 20 years. You also have to look at who they were when you first met them, and who they have become. So much of the songs on 'Gold Dust' now have a lineage because of other people's experiences, and people stopping me, having a conversation with me ... in a coffee shop or in an airport or at the stage door and telling me their experience with the song.'

Q. Can you give an example of how the meaning of one song has changed for you 20 years later?

A. 'Well 'Winter', when I wrote it, was very much from the viewpoint of going back to when I was a little girl, and running through the snow to catch up to my grandfather, or my father. ... But as I was recording this particular recording, I was seeing Natasha, my daughter, who was falling on the ice in Vienna when we were visiting the palace there and being tourists ... and her dad picked her up and wiped the tears away.'

Q. You're known for being open with your views and experiences with religion, politics and sexual abuse. Twenty years on, do you regret being so open?

A. 'I made a choice before 'Little Earthquakes' ... that I wouldn't walk on eggshells as far as subject matter, and that I was really motivated by women. ... I was motivated by secrets they keep, the stories that they hold close to their heart and possibly hide behind their eyes. And also, after they might tell me their story, they might talk to me about their emotional process. And it is humbling, intriguing, it opens my perception in ways that I never imagined it would over the last so many years.'

Q. You've been hailed as very influential in shaping singer-songwriting after 'Little Earthquakes'. Do you think about that?

A. 'I keep focused on the next project, I keep focused on the one I am doing and where I need to expand as a composer and taking information in, listening to people. Because in the listening is where so much of the learning happens. I don't choose to analyze what I have done and I think that is the right choice, because then I won't be spending my time creating.'

Q. What are you interested in now? How is your musical 'The Light Princess' in London coming along?

A. 'Studying the great classical masters was a life-changing experience because I began to look at structures in a different way. 'The Light Princess' has been completely and totally rewritten than when it started and it's become a different project. ... I would not have composed in the way I have now for 'The Light Princess' if 'Night of Hunters' and 'Gold Dust' had not been in my life.'

Q. So it seems you are feeling somewhat rejuvenated?

A. 'Yes I would say that, I would say an infusion of a sonic palette has changed the way that I see music.'

(Reporting By Christine Kearney, editing by Jill Serjeant and Richard Chang)



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Rolling Stones surprise Paris with $20 gig

PARIS (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones will perform a short warm-up gig in Paris later on Thursday for a few hundred fans and announced on Twitter that they were selling tickets for 15 euros ($19.45) each at a music store in the centre of the city.

Fans queued from the early hours of the morning at the Virgin Megastore on the Champs Elysees after the British band said that 350 tickets would be available there from noon.

'Mobile phones, cameras, video equipment and recording devices are strictly prohibited,' the band tweeted ahead of the gig, which queuing fans said would be held at the Trabendo, a 700-capacity venue in northern Paris.

The Paris music scene has been awash with rumors that the Stones would also play to a crowd of bankers invited by Paris-based investment house Carmignac Gestion at the Mogador Theatre in the heart of Paris on Monday.

In recent years, Carmignac has recruited former Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed and British rocker Rod Stewart to play similar gigs, usually to an exclusive audience.

Speculation that Carmignac had managed to lure the Stones mounted after it sent mystery invitations giving out the date and location of what it called 'the biggest secret event of the year' without identifying the performer.

The investment house has declined to comment.

Earlier this month, the band announced they would perform four concerts - two in London and two near New York - to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

The announcement has been overshadowed by fan complaints about high ticket prices, which ranged from 95 pounds ($150) to as much as 950 pounds for a 'VIP hospitality' seat.

Tickets have been offered online for several thousands pounds each, British media has reported.

Those queuing for Thursday's gig lined up patiently with numbers marked on their hands in red by organizers. Some had driven to Paris from as far away as Hamburg in Germany.

Sebastian Baaske said he set off in his car from Hanover, Germany on Wednesday afternoon in hopes of securing a ticket.

'My girlfriend said I'd regret it if I didn't... It's all worth it,' the 35-year-old Baaske said.

The Rolling Stones, one of rock and roll's most successful acts, will play the O2 Arena in the British capital on November 25 and 29 before crossing the Atlantic to perform at the Prudential Center, Newark, on December 13 and 15.

Guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, lead singer Mick Jagger and drummer Charlie Watts will perform on a stage designed around the band's trademark tongue and lips logo, and organizers have promised a high-tech live experience.

Jagger has already hinted that the four concerts would be a prelude for a longer tour.

The band's last world tour was 'A Bigger Bang', which went on for two years and culminated at the O2 Arena in August 2007. It earned around $558 million, making it the second highest grossing tour in history behind U2's '360 Tour'.

The band behind a string of hits including '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction', 'Honky Tonk Women' and 'Angie', started out on July 12, 1962 at the Marquee Club in London's Oxford Street.

($1 = 0.7711 euros)

(Writing by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)



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China's Ai Weiwei bemoans block on his "Gangnam" parody

BEIJING (Reuters) - Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei criticized the government on Thursday for removing from Chinese websites his parody of Korean pop sensation Psy's Gangnam Style video.

Ai, a world-renowned artist and China's most prominent dissident, and staff of his company performed Psy's famous horse dance in his Beijing studio and posted the video late on Wednesday to Chinese sites such as 'Tudou', the equivalent of the blocked YouTube site.

Ai, 55, called the video 'Caonima'. 'Caonima' means 'grass mud horse' but the word, which sounds like a very crude insult, has also been taken on by Chinese Internet users, and by Ai himself, and featured in postings mocking the government's online controls.

'We only filmed for a bit over 10 minutes but we used a whole day to edit, and eventually put it online at midnight,' Ai told Reuters.

'After we had uploaded it, a few hours later ... we found that a lot of people, tens of thousands, had already watched it. Now, in China, it has already been totally removed, deleted entirely, and you can't see it in China,' Ai said.

Ai said Psy's Gangnam Style song and dance was a grass-roots expression of individualism that should be allowed in his country.

'Overall, we feel that every person has the right to express themselves, and this right of expression is fundamentally linked to our happiness and even our existence,' Ai said.

'When a society constantly demands that everyone should abandon this right, then the society becomes a society without creativity. It can never become a happy society.'

Ai, whose 81-day detention last year sparked an international outcry, has regularly criticized the government for what he sees as its flouting of the rule of law and the rights of citizens.

Last month, a court upheld a $2.4 million tax evasion fine against him, ending a long legal battle with the authorities. He can be jailed if he does not pay.

(Reporting by Maxim Duncan; Editing by Elaine Lies and Robert Birsel)



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Justin Bieber is gonna take Oprah Winfrey around the world

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Justin Bieber and Oprah Winfrey are going global together.

Singing teen heartthrob Bieber will be the subject of a very special edition of 'Oprah's Next Chapter,' which will air in more than 100 countries worldwide thanks to an agreement with Discovery Networks International.

The first-ever global episode of 'Oprah's Next Chapter' will first air November 25 at 9 p.m. on Winfrey's OWN, before airing on Discovery Networks International's female flagship stations TLC, Home & Health and Real Time, also beginning on November 25.

For the episode, Winfrey attended Bieber's concert at All-State Arena in Rosemont, Ill., before breaking bread with him at the RL Restaurant in Chicago for an interview.

Winfrey grilled Bieber on such topics as 'his growth as an artist, the pitfalls of fame and living in the spotlight,' OWN said in a release.

The pair then went holiday shopping together at the Ralph Lauren in Chicago.



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Jason Aldean takes Billboard No. 1, Swift's "Red" storming

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country singer Jason Aldean drove straight to the top of the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday with his latest album 'Night Train,' while country-pop darling Taylor Swift's new release is already storming its way to a high debut.

Aldean's fifth studio album notched 409,000 copies in its first week of release according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan, landing the singer his first No. 1 album. It was also the second-largest debut of the year, behind Mumford & Son's 'Babel,' which debuted with 600,000 copies earlier this month.

'Babel' slipped to No. 2 this week when it sold 73,000 copies after a three-week reign at the top of the charts.

Aldean's time at No.1 is likely to be short-lived as Swift's 'Red' is already selling at a fast pace.

Released on Monday, the album shot to the top of the iTunes all-genres album chart within 36 minutes and sold more than 262,000 copies in its first day on iTunes. 'Red' also topped the iTunes charts across 32 countries, according to figures from Swift's Big Machine record label.

Swift has so far released five singles from 'Red,' with three shooting to the top of the Billboard Digital Songs chart, while her latest, 'State of Grace,' landed at No. 2 this week behind Korean singer Psy's dance hit 'Gangnam Style.'

Back on the Billboard 200 album chart this week, three new debuts rounded out the top five.

R&B singer Brandy entered at No. 3 with her sixth studio set 'Two Eleven,' 'American Idol' winner Scotty McCreery at No. 4 with his holiday album 'Christmas With Scotty,' and country singer Jamey Johnson landed at No. 5 with his tribute to Hank Cochran, 'Living For a Song.'

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, editing by Jill Serjeant and Andrew Hay)

Singer Bobby Brown arrested in LA for drunken driving: police

(Reuters) - Rhythm and blues star Bobby Brown, ex-husband of the late Whitney Houston, was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, Los Angeles police said on Wednesday.

Brown was stopped by police at the intersection of Corbin Avenue and Ventura Boulevard, north of Topanga Canyon in Los Angeles, LAPD officer Rosario Herrera said.

Herrera could not immediately provide additional details of the arrest, which was Brown's second this year for drunken driving.

Celebrity online news service TMZ, citing law enforcement sources, said Brown was driving erratically, and when stopped, officers smelled alcohol on his breath. He failed a sobriety test, TMZ said.

In March, Brown was arrested on the same charge, pleaded no contest in April, and went to a treatment center for alcohol abuse over the summer.

In June, Brown married his manager, Alicia Etheridge, in Hawaii, four months after the Houston's death in a Los Angeles hotel room.

(Reporting by Chris Francescani; Editing by Dan Burns and Jackie Frank)



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Whitney Houston's family share struggles in TV reality show

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Making a TV reality show may not be the most obvious way to cope with the sudden death of a loved one, but most families don't count an icon like Whitney Houston among their relatives.

Less than a year after the 'I Will Always Love You' singer drowned accidentally in a hotel bath tub after taking cocaine, Houston's teen daughter, her mother, brother and sister-in-law share with the world their struggle to cope in 'The Houstons: On Our Own'.

Difficult as that is, the Houstons say that making the 14- episode show for cable channel Lifetime has helped rather than hindered the process.

'The show has kept the family close together, (instead of) isolated from one another. We talk about things, we are very open, and we pay attention to the ones who need consoling the most. Doing the show certainly has helped in a huge way,' Pat Houston, Whitney's manager and sister-in-law, told Reuters.

'There are preconceptions about the family that just aren't true. We are a strong family, a working family, and a typical family. Our family member just happens to be an icon,' she added. 'You will see a family that is grieving, that loves one another. You will see a family that is trying to move on.'

The series, which makes its debut on Wednesday, sets the stage for a slew of November tributes to the troubled singer with the golden voice. Upcoming projects include an official glossy book of photos, a compilation album of Houston's biggest hits that features a new duet version of 'I Look To You' with R. Kelly, and the November 16 TV broadcast of a special Grammy tribute starring Jennifer Hudson, Usher and Celine Dion.

Few of the many public salutes to Houston since her February death have touched on her well-publicized addiction to drugs and her tumultuous personal life. Yet the TV series delves into some of family's thorniest issues.

BOBBI KRISTINA IN SPOTLIGHT

Using some of Houston's soaring ballads to set the tone, including her 2003 single 'On My Own', the show opens with the family in their Atlanta, Georgia home days before the first Mother's Day without Whitney and their first visit to her grave.

Her daughter and only heir to the estate, Bobbi Kristina, 19, is finding solace in an alcoholic beverage, and the arms of Nick Gordon, 23, - the teen Whitney Houston took into the family home when he was a troubled high school student.

'We were best friends a long time ago, and now I am in love with him,' Bobbi Kristina explains on camera, before telling appalled family members at a dinner that she and Gordon are engaged, and that she is looking to launch a recording career of her own.

Pat Houston, who in the show's first episode is firmly against any engagement, declined to address the couple's current relationship status. 'It's a journey. You've just got to watch the show,' she told Reuters last week.

The notion of putting Bobbi Kristina in the spotlight so soon after her mother's death, and the singer's messy 2007 divorce from singer Bobby Brown, sparked public dismay when the reality show was announced in May.

Bobbi Kristina was hospitalized twice with anxiety in February 2012 after her mother Houston, 48, was found drowned in a Beverly Hills hotel from what officials later said was a combination of cocaine use and heart disease.

But Pat Houston said that reality shows were nothing new for the Houston clan. Whitney Houston's chaotic relationship with Bobby Brown was chronicled in the 2005 TV series 'Being Bobby Brown' and Pat Houston's life as the singer's longtime manager was featured on the more recent show 'Power BrokHers'.

'We have always been involved in negotiations for a reality show even when Whitney was alive. So this is really no different It's nothing new to the family,' she said.

Houston said she hoped the new show would help Whitney's fans come to terms with her death, as much as it is helping the family.

'It is almost giving them closure in seeing the types of people she had around her, and then hearing her music...and (it is a chance) for them to remember the good instead of all the negativity that may have surrounded her life in the past decade,' she said.

As for the future, 'There will be bumps and grinds as there always will be. But we know how to handle that and keep it moving because we love Whitney, and we love what she represents with her music and we hope her fans continue to do the same with her legacy,' Houston said.

(Editing by Andrew Hay)



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Garth Brooks inducted into Country Music Hall of Fame

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Singer Garth Brooks received country music's highest honor with an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, calling the event 'the biggest night' of his chart-topping career.

Oklahoma native Brooks, 50, was inducted on Sunday in a star-studded ceremony featuring music greats including Bob Seger, George Strait and James Taylor, all of whom Brooks has cited as influences.

'There are big days in your career, like when you join the Grand Ole Opry...and I didn't think anything would top those. I might have lied. This may be the biggest night of my of career. I'm so excited and nervous, and feel so undeserving, all at the same time,' Brooks told Reuters on the red carpet.

The singer is the best-selling solo country music artist in U.S. popular music history with more than 128 million album sales. He has won 2 Grammy awards over his career spanning three decades.

Taylor, who Brooks named one of his daughters after, said he was honored to perform the singer's 1992 hit song 'The River'.

'It's meant so much to me that Garth has mentioned me over the years as one of his influences,' Taylor said.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, located in Nashville, Tennessee, serves to honor the history and traditions of country music. Inductees are voted for by a panel of members, which includes artists such as Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton and The Everly Brothers.

Country music veteran Connie Smith, who is often hailed as the vocalist all country female singers strive to be, was also inducted on Sunday.

The singer, whose hits include 'Then and Only Then' and 'Nobody But a Fool Would Love You,' was the first female country artist to have a number one hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart with her 1964 song 'Once A Day,' which topped the chart for eight weeks.

'I'm excited and nervous and proud and thankful and blessed,' Smith said when accepting her membership. 'I believe it was God's destiny for me to be a girl singer in country music. I'm proud to be part of the country music legacy.'

Smith was welcomed into the Country Music Hall of Fame by member Merle Haggard, while Lee Ann Womack, the Whites and the Quebe Sisters performed Smith's hits on stage.

Country music artist Hargus 'Pig' Robbins, 74, was inducted into the Hall of Fame by harmonica whiz Charlie McCoy.

Robbins, blind since childhood, has overcome obstacles to become one of the most respected musicians in the industry, playing with artists including George Jones, Bob Dylan, Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty.

(Editing By Piya Sinha-Roy and Andrew Hay)



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Womack wins Q best album award, Blur, Muse honored

LONDON (Reuters) - American soul veteran Bobby Womack won Q magazine's best album award on Monday for 'The Bravest Man in the Universe', beating out younger competition including London indie band The Maccabees and Paul Weller.

Womack's first album of original material since 1994's 'Resurrection' was co-produced by Blur frontman Damon Albarn and Richard Russell of XL Recordings, the label behind chart queen Adele, and featured Lana Del Rey among the guest artists.

The 68-year-old, who was diagnosed with colon cancer earlier this year, was encouraged to return to music by Albarn in 2010, when he contributed to the Gorillaz album 'Plastic Beach'.

In its four-star review of The Bravest Man in the Universe, the Observer newspaper said: 'Womack ... is upfront and centre, spewing contrition, bewilderment, disdain and yearning in a voice whose authority has only increased with age.'

Albarn was honored by monthly music magazine Q when Blur won the best live act award, while Muse, who composed the official song for the London Olympics, were named 'best act in the world' ahead of Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Blur and The Stone Roses.

The new act category went to Django Django, Plan B scooped the best track award for 'Ill Manors', Keane's 'Disconnected' won best video while the best solo artist prize was awarded to Emeli Sande.

Techno duo Underworld, who created the soundtrack to the Olympics opening ceremony, was also honored for its part in the Games.

'It's been the most incredible year for British music. Our bands and our anthems transformed the Olympics,' said Q's editor Andrew Harrison.

'A string of great albums announced fantastic new talent on the scene and amazing comeback shows from Blur and the Stone Roses showed the enduring appeal of our best-loved musicians.'

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)



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Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel marry in Italy

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood couple Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have married in southern Italy, People magazine said on Friday.

'It's great to be married, the ceremony was beautiful and it was so special to be surrounded by our family and friends,' the couple told the U.S. celebrity magazine in an exclusive statement.

People said it would carry full details of the wedding, including exclusive photos, in next week's edition.

'Sexy Back' singer and actor Timberlake, 31, and 'Total Recall' actress Biel, 30, have been dating on and off since 2007. They announced their engagement at the beginning of 2012, and carefully shielded the details of their nuptials from the public.

The pair have been in southern Italy for much of the week, partying with friends and wedding guests on a beach before exchanging vows. It was not immediately clear on which day the ceremony took place.

Timberlake has previously had high-profile relationships with pop singer Britney Spears and actress Cameron Diaz.

Tennessee native Timberlake, who rose to fame in the boy band N'Sync, forged a successful solo music career before moving into films. He played Napster founder, Sean Parker, in the Oscar-nominated Facebook film, 'The Social Network' and more recently starred alongside Amy Adams and Clint Eastwood in 'Trouble With The Curve.'

Biel, who was born in Minnesota, started her career on U.S. television in the long-running family drama '7th Heaven.' She broke into movies with a starring role in the 2003 remake of horror flick 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and has since been seen in 'The A-Team' and 'New Year's Eve.'

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Rolling Stones rehearsing 70 songs for upcoming gigs

LONDON (Reuters) - Singer Mick Jagger said the Rolling Stones had rehearsed around 70 songs for a series of 50th anniversary concerts later this year, and guitarist Keith Richards assured fans the veteran British rockers would 'deliver'.

The four Stones appeared on the red carpet on Thursday for the world premiere of 'Crossfire Hurricane', a documentary charting the meteoric rise to fame and fortune following their debut in London in 1962.

Jagger, who is 69, Richards, fellow guitarist Ronnie Wood and drummer Charlie Watts posed for photographers before speaking to the media on their way into the movie theatre in London's Leicester Square.

'Rehearsals are going very well, (we've) done about 70 different songs,' Jagger told reporters. 'I said, 'look, we only need to do 30, we don't need to do 70, but now we are doing 70. I don't know if we will do them all.'

Richards added of the upcoming gigs in London and New York: 'You know, we are looking forward to a great time. See, it's a two-way thing. It's to do with all these people and it's to do with us, we will deliver alright - one love.'

The band, one of the most successful in rock history and behind songs like '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction,' 'Honky Tonk Women' and 'Angie,' is marking its 50th birthday with a greatest hits album, photo book, exhibitions, documentary and gigs.

The Stones will play the O2 Arena in London on November 25 and 29 before crossing the Atlantic to perform at the Prudential Center, Newark, on December 13 and 15. Jagger has hinted that the band could play more dates in the future.

NO SATISFACTION ON TICKET PRICES

Tickets to the London dates go on general sale on Friday, although priority customers, including Amex card users and subscribers to the Stones archive mailing list, have been able to by some of them earlier.

Fans have voiced anger at the ticketing system and reports of prices ranging from 95 pounds ($152) to as much as 950 pounds ($1,520) for a 'VIP hospitality' seat.

At the film premiere, hundreds of fans gathered to catch a glimpse of the band members who signed autographs on their way in.

While clearly enamored with their musical heroes, some in the crowd were unhappy about the concert ticket prices.

'Too much, against rock and roll ethics if you ask me,' said Valantina Bertezzi, a 29-year-old who had taken the day off work to see the Stones. '(They) should be cheaper and more for the people than 'American Express People'.'

'Crossfire Hurricane,' screened as part of the London film festival, is drawn entirely from archive footage and attempts to recreate what it was like to be on stage and backstage amid riotous noise and screams of adulation. Jagger said it looked 'like a pretty mad ride'.

Critics praised its portrayal of the Stones in the 1960s and 70s, when many music critics argue they were at the peak of their powers untainted by commercialism.

'Millions of fans will doubtless indulge these elderly gentleman rebels as they engage in yet another round of lucrative myth-making,' wrote The Hollywood Reporter's Stephen Dalton in a review.

'In other words, 'Crossfire Hurricane' is business as usual from the Stones, and good fun on its own terms. However, anyone expecting buried treasure or fresh insights into ancient rock folklore will get no satisfaction here.'

(Writing by Mike Collett-White, editing by Jill Serjeant)



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Mumford & Sons hold Billboard 200 No. 1 for third week

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British folk band Mumford & Sons continued their hold at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday for a third consecutive week, fending off seven debuts in the top ten.

'Babel', the second studio album from Mumford & Sons, sold 96,000 copies in its third week and came ahead of independent hip hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, who entered at No. 2 with 'The Heist'.

This is the first record from Seattle-based hip hop artist Macklemore and producer Lewis, who have built a steady following on YouTube and Twitter.

They independently produced and released 'The Heist' last week, shooting to No. 1 on the iTunes album chart within hours and selling 78,000 copies in their first week.

Veteran rockers Kiss entered at No. 3 with their 20th studio album, 'Monster'. A Billboard 200 No. 1 album has eluded the band over their five-decade career, with their highest chart position coming from 2009's 'Sonic Boom', which came in at No. 2.

Kiss weren't the only veterans to enter strongly in Wednesday's album chart. Barbra Streisand notched No. 7 with her compilation 'Release Me', which features rare and previously unreleased tracks by the 70-year-old singer.

Other chart entries came from rapper MGK (Machine Gun Kelly), at No. 4 with debut studio album 'Lace Up', and progressive rock group Coheed and Cambria, who rounded out the top five with their seventh studio album, 'The Afterman: Descension'.

Pop-punk band All Time Low's fifth studio album, 'Don't Panic', came in at No. 6. British pop singer Ellie Goulding entered the chart at No. 9 with her sophomore album, 'Halcyon', led by the popularity of her first album's lead single 'Lights', which became a U.S. singles chart hit in August.

Country-pop starlet Taylor Swift dominated the Digital Songs chart with three entries in the top ten, led by her latest single 'I Knew You Were Trouble' at No. 1, 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' at No. 7, and 'Red' at No. 10. All singles are from Swift's album 'Red', to be released on October 22.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Dale Hudson)



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Beyonce confirms she will headline Super Bowl halftime show

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop superstar Beyonce on Tuesday confirmed that she will headline the entertainment at next year's Super Bowl, posting a photo of herself with the words Feb 3, 2013 inked on her cheeks.

Super Bowl organizers also posted the photo news on their official Twitter account, with the words 'Beyonce will perform @pepsi #SB47 Halftime Show in New Orleans. February 3 2013 on @cbs.'

In an entry on her official website, www.beyonce.com, the Grammy-winning singer used the caption 'countdown to touchdown' to acknowledge an earlier report that she would sing during the biggest U.S. sporting and television event of the year.

The annual NFL championship attracts more than 100 million TV viewers and high profile pop acts for its halftime show. Previous performers have included Madonna, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Paul McCartney.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant and Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by David Gregorio)



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Lisa Marie Presley duets with dad Elvis in new video

(Reuters) - When Lisa Marie Presley said she was done fighting her legacy as the only child of rock 'n roll king Elvis, she apparently meant it. Presley's new video, 'I Love You Because,' is an emotional duet with her late father.

Due to premiere on Thursday on country music TV channel CMT and CMT.com, the video was recorded in August for the 35th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death.

It was only intended to be viewed by the 25,000 fans at the special anniversary concert in Memphis on August 16, but the response from fans convinced her to let the video play far and wide, CMT said in a press statement on Monday.

Lisa Marie's latest album, 'Storm and Grace,' released in May, saw her embracing her Americana roots while her lyrics address her efforts to find her place in the world as the King's only daughter.

Presley, who died at the age of 42, recorded 'I Love You Because' in July 1954 at Sun Studio in Memphis, the same time he recorded 'That's All Right.'

Producer Sam Phillips deemed it unsuitable for Presley's first single, and it ended up on Presley's first album, from 1956, never to be performed by Presley again, according to CMT.

Lisa Marie Presley, 44, recorded her vocals to the song in August at the suggestion of producer T-Bone Burnett, as a special song for fans.

The video features family photos of Presley's 4-year-old twin girls, Finley and Harper, as well as her son, Benjamin, and daughter, Riley, along with Lisa Marie and Elvis.

'We were really moved when we saw this video,' said CMT's senior vice president of music strategy, Leslie Fram.

'Lisa Marie and her team were thrilled and so gracious to allow this to be shared,' Fram added.

The single will be available for purchase digitally on Tuesday, and the full video on iTunes on October 25.

Presley also announced a November tour, culminating in an appearance at New York's Carnegie Hall on November 17.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud in New York; editing by Jill Serjeant and Matthew Lewis)



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Rolling Stones to play 4 gigs, Jagger hints at more

LONDON (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones will perform two concerts in London and two near New York as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, the band announced on Monday, and lead singer Mick Jagger hinted there could be more gigs to come.

The British group, one of rock and roll's most successful acts, will play the O2 Arena in the British capital on November 25 and 29 before crossing the Atlantic to perform at the Prudential Center, Newark, on December 13 and 15.

'Sorry to keep you all hanging around but the waiting is over,' guitarist Keith Richards said in a statement, referring to months of rumors and gossip in the music press about an anniversary tour.

'I've always said the best place for rock and roll is on the stage and the same is true for the Stones,' he added. 'I'm here with Mick, Charlie and Ronnie and everything is rocking. See you very soon!'

Richards, fellow guitarist Ronnie Wood, Jagger and drummer Charlie Watts will perform on a stage designed around the band's trademark tongue and lips logo, and organizers have promised a high-tech live experience.

During an interview on BBC's Radio 2 shortly before the gigs were confirmed, Jagger suggested that the four dates could be a prelude to a longer tour.

'It's not going to be a long tour, the first bit,' he said, when asked how many concerts the Stones planned to perform.

The band's last world tour was A Bigger Bang, which went on for two years and culminated at the O2 Arena in August 2007. It earned around $558 million, making it the second highest grossing tour in history behind U2's 360 Tour, and demand for tickets to the 2012 concerts is likely to be high.

'The Rolling Stones are a global phenomenon - and one of the last supergroups still performing with a full line up,' said Ed Parkinson, a spokesman for ticketing website Viagogo.

Viagogo predicted that more than a million people were likely to apply for around 30,000 seats available at the two O2 Arena concerts, meaning the chances of fans being able to see the Stones would be as little as 37:1.

Tickets to the London shows go on sale on the morning of October 19 and can be purchased on www.rollingstones.com and several other websites. Those for the U.S. concerts will be available from October 26.

The shows will mark the launch of a new music venture called Virgin Live combining the Virgin Group and Dainty Group, which is already one of the world's biggest live music promoters.

As part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, the Stones are releasing a new greatest hits album 'GRRR!' on November 12/13 and later this week a new documentary charting the group's rise to superstardom will premiere at the London film festival.

The band behind a string of hits including '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction', 'Honky Tonk Women' and 'Angie', started out on July 12, 1962 at the Marquee Club in London's Oxford Street.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

Rolling Stones to play four 50th anniversary gigs

LONDON (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones will perform two concerts in London and two near New York as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, the band announced on Monday.

The British group, one of rock'n'roll's most successful, will play the O2 Arena in the British capital on November 25 and 29 before crossing the Atlantic to perform at the Prudential Center, Newark, on December 13 and 15.

'Sorry to keep you all hanging around but the waiting is over,' guitarist Keith Richards said in a statement, referring to months of rumors and gossip in the music press about an anniversary tour.

'I've always said the best place for rock and roll is on the stage and the same is true for the Stones,' he added. 'I'm here with Mick, Charlie and Ronnie and everything is rocking. See you very soon!'

Richards, fellow guitarist Ronnie Wood, lead singer Mick Jagger and drummer Charlie Watts will perform on a stage designed around the band's trademark tongue and lips logo, and organizers have promised a high-tech live experience.

The shows also mark the launch of a new music venture called Virgin Live combining the Virgin Group and Dainty Group, which is already one of the world's biggest live music promoters.

As part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, the Stones are releasing a new greatest hits album 'GRRR!' on November 12/13 and later this week a new documentary charting the group's rise to superstardom will premiere at the London film festival.

The concerts are the first time the four Stones have performed together as a band since 2007, according to organizers. The band started out on July 12, 1962 at the Marquee Club in London's Oxford Street.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)



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At 70, Streisand still soars in Brooklyn homecoming

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Blending photo montages with at times a thick accent and a singing voice still soaring at the age of 70, Barbra Streisand performed on Thursday in her first big concert where it all began - her birthplace of Brooklyn, New York.

In the second show of her 'Back to Brooklyn' tour, Streisand performed for nearly three hours at a new 19,000-seat arena, kicking off the concert with the words 'I've come home at last!' from the show tune 'As If We Never Said Goodbye' from 'Sunset Boulevard'.

Accompanied by more than 50 orchestra players, she connected with fans through references to Brooklyn and her Jewish background, talking about the borough's docks and knishes. She recalled that the last time she sang in Brooklyn she was 8 years old and it was 'on somebody's stoop'.

'I left Brooklyn to pursue my dreams, but Brooklyn never quite left me,' she told the crowd sprinkled with stars such as actor Michael Douglas and musician Sting. 'I am so glad I was born and raised here.'

She sang a series of songs by Brooklyn-born composers Alan and Marilyn Bergman including 'Nice 'n' Easy' and a love song from her 1983 film 'Yentl', called 'The Way He Makes Me Feel'.

Changing costume several times, she kept the crowd entertained with funny anecdotes and introduced other musical acts including the teenage Italian tenor group Il Volo, trumpeter Chris Botti and her son, Jason Gould.

She paid tribute to collaborators such as Donna Summer with a short, snappy version of their 1979 duet 'No More Tears (Enough is Enough)' and composer Jule Styne with a medley of songs from the musical 'Gypsy', and later 'People' from the musical 'Funny Girl'.

In a tribute to another collaborator, Marvin Hamlisch, who died in August, she sang 'The Way We Were', with his original orchestration, and then 'Through the Eyes of Love', which he wrote for the film 'Ice Castles'.

'He could always make me laugh, which is not an easy thing to do,' she said of Hamlisch.

Other hits included Rodgers and Hart's 'My Funny Valentine' accompanied by Botti, 'Evergreen' and 'Lost Inside of You'.

Toward the end of the concert she asked the crowd to take seriously the environment, the upcoming U.S. election and to 'appreciate the moment'.

She recalled not singing for 27 years after suffering stage fright during a 1967 concert in Central Park, before discarding rumors she would be quitting her career after this tour.

'If I learned anything, it's to say 'Never say never' and it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings - and I ain't fat,' she said, before finishing the concert with two encores ending with 'Happy Days Are Here Again'.

(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Dale Hudson)



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Grammys give Whitney Houston a glittering salute

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Whitney Houston was given a final sendoff by the Grammys on Thursday as Halle Berry, Britney Spears, Jennifer Hudson, Usher and other stars shared their memories and performed in homage to the late singer.

Academy-award winner Berry made a tearful introduction at the 'We Will Always Love You: A Grammy Salute to Whitney Houston' special, and praised the 'unforgettable' performer.

'She inspired a generation of little girls and women to believe in their own dream and to know that they had within themselves the greatest gift of all. I was one of those little girls who then became a woman who never ever, ever, stopped loving Whitney Houston,' Berry said.

The event was attended by Houston's daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, who was joined by boyfriend Nick Gordon and sister-in-law Pat Houston.

Noticeably absent was Houston's mother, Cissy, and her brother Gary. Record label executive Clive Davis, who discovered the late singer, sat alongside the family in the front row.

The tribute comes towards the end of a year in which the music world was rocked by Houston's sudden death at age 48 in February. She was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel bathtub on the night before the Grammy awards, from what authorities said was accidental drowning brought on by cocaine use and heart disease.

A homage to Houston was quickly put together at the Grammy awards in February with Jennifer Hudson singing a heart-felt rendition of 'I Will Always Love You' on a stage lit by a single spotlight. Later in May, R&B star Jordin Sparks, who co-starred with Houston in the late singer's final movie 'Sparkle,' sang the same song at the Billboard Music Awards in tribute.

There was no mention of Houston's turbulent personal life and history of drug abuse on Thursday as the Grammy organizers decided to focus on the late singer's career achievements and best-known performances, including her rendition of the 'Star-Spangled Banner' at the 1991 Superbowl.

Hudson on Thursday channeled Houston's style from the 1980s with big hair and a glittering blazer, performing more uptempo numbers with a medley of 'I'm Every Woman,' 'How Will I Know' and 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody'.

R&B star Usher sang 'I Believe In You And Me' and gospel singers Cece Winans and Yolanda Adams delivered a rousing performance of 'Count On Me,' which had Houston's family in tears.

Canadian singer Celine Dion was on the bill to perform on the night but was unable to make it, taping her rendition of 'The Greatest Love Of All' in Canada to air during the televised special.

The event organizers decided to leave Houston's best-known song, 'I Will Always Love You,' to the late singer, showing a tape of her singing at the 1994 Grammy awards.

Presenters at the event shared their memories. Pop star and 'X Factor' judge Spears said her version of Houston's 'I Have Nothing' scored her a deal with a record label and started her career.

The audience were also treated to exclusive interviews from the early days of Houston's career, showing her talking about fame, philosophy and religion.

The one-hour CBS special will be aired on November 16.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, editing by Elaine Lies and Andrew Heavens)



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Rolling Stones release new single, reviews mixed

LONDON (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones released new single 'Doom and Gloom' on Thursday, their first new song in over six years, and early reviews were mixed.

Celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, the British rock veterans behind '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' and 'Honky Tonk Women' have gone back to their roots in a fast-tempo, blues track described variously as 'gritty', 'dirty' and 'swampy'.

Doom and Gloom is one of two new songs on their upcoming greatest hits album 'GRRR!', which hits shelves on November 12, and there was a sense of relief among critics that the track sounded like the Stones of old.

'Received music industry wisdom has it that new Rolling Stones material exists purely to flog compilation albums or tour tickets,' wrote Dan Silver in the Mirror tabloid.

'It's with some relief that we report it's actually rather good,' he added in a three-out-of-five star review.

Neil McCormick of the Daily Telegraph also gave Doom and Gloom three stars, saying it was 'business as usual' for the band and drawing comparisons between the song and the 'basement rock' of their acclaimed 1972 album 'Exile on Main Street'.

Both critics argued that the song's weakest point was lead singer Mick Jagger's vocals.

'The best bit is when he stops singing and starts blowing,' said McCormick of the harmonica interlude.

Silver praised the 'nicotine-stained chords' of Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards on guitars and Charlie Watts's 'customary magic' on the drums, but added:

'If there's a weak link here then it's actually Jagger, who honks and caterwauls over the track like one of his own tribute artists. His extended enunciation is excruciating - almost to the point of parody in places.'

Music magazine NME called Doom and Gloom a ''Gimme Shelter' for Generation Wii.

'The ... new Stones song ... is a revitalizing reminder of what made them great in the first place, a tune that will sit seamlessly amongst their classics. Are you listening, Macca?' it concluded, in a challenge to ex-Beatle Paul McCartney.

Doom and Gloom and GRRR! are part of a series of events to celebrate half a century of the Stones, one of the world's most successful and influential rock and roll bands who started out on July 12, 1962 at the Marquee Club in London's Oxford Street.

The rockers walk the red carpet at the London film festival next week for the premiere of a documentary called 'Crossfire Hurricane' and they also published a photograph album in July.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York stages a film retrospective opening on November 15 and the Stones are even helping to decorate London's famous Carnaby Street this Christmas.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)



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Rod and Elton? Just call them Phyllis and Sharon

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rock star Rod Stewart may be famous for his bevy of ex-wives and girlfriends, but it is fellow pop star Elton John who comes in for the lion's share of Stewart's affection in excerpts from his new memoir.

In an excerpt to be published in Rolling Stone magazine on Friday, Stewart recalled bygone days the two British singers spent partying and on holiday, the Christmas presents they exchanged, and even their nicknames for each other - Phyllis and Sharon.

'It was in the early 1970s that Elton and I drew especially close, the best of mates for a while,' Stewart, now 67, writes in 'Rod: The Autobiography.' Reuters was given an advance copy of the magazine article on Wednesday.

John lived with his then-boyfriend just down the road from Stewart in the countryside west of London, not far from one of the royal palaces at Windsor, Stewart recalled.

'Our mutual friend Long John Baldry had christened me 'Phyllis,' he had christened Elton 'Sharon,' and that's what we were to each other: Phyllis and Sharon. Or just 'dear'.'

Stewart, who had scored by then with both the No.1 single, 'Maggie May' and No.1 album on both sides of the Atlantic, also wrote admiringly of John's stamina for hard partying:

'I also had to be in awe of the fact that, whether it was drink or cocaine, he could see me right under the table every time.'

John's extravagance also impressed. Stewart writes of one Christmas when he scoured shops and found a novelty portable refrigerator for John that opened up automatically as a cloud of vapor emanated and a bottle was hoisted up - 'Brilliant.'

'Elton's present to me that year: a Rembrandt.'

'He later tartly referred to my present as 'an ice bucket,'' Stewart wrote.

In 1985 on safari in Africa, the pair would dress up in bow ties and dark jackets for dinner round the fire.

The book also gave Stewart an opportunity to lay to rest a gay sex rumor that has dogged him since the 1970s. It involved a claim that he needed to get his stomach pumped after an encounter with sailors at a gay bar in San Diego, as he describes it.

The singer, who has eight children from three marriages and other girlfriends, attributed its origins to his flamboyant assistant and publicist, the late Tony Toon, who he said fed the story to the press in revenge for Stewart's firing him.

'This story has stayed with me ever since,' Stewart wrote. 'And God rest his soul -- but he was good at his job.'

'Rod: The Autobiography' will be published on October 23 by Crown Archetype.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud, editing by Jill Serjeant and Marguerita Choy)



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Pussy Riot member freed on appeal by Russian court

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A member of punk band Pussy Riot was freed on appeal on Wednesday but a Moscow court upheld prison sentences for two others imposed over a raucous cathedral protest against Vladimir Putin, who said they had got the jail terms they deserved.

Yekaterina Samutsevich walked free from Moscow City Court after six months behind bars but the appeal judge who suspended her two-year sentence said fellow band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina should serve out their terms.

'I have mixed feelings,' Samutsevich said outside the court, where she was greeted by applause and whistles from a crowd of about 150 people in the rain. 'I'm happy, of course, but I am upset about the girls.'

Samutsevich, 30, Tolokonnikova, 22, and Alyokhina, 24, were convicted in August of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred for a 'punk prayer' imploring the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Putin, and sentenced to two years in jail.

The case had sparked an international outcry, with Western governments and pop star Madonna condemning the sentences as disproportionate, a view not widely shared in Russia where public opinion was shocked by the protest.

Her lawyer told the court that Samutsevich had not performed the 'punk protest' near the altar of Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral in February because she had been stopped and led away before it took place.

Samutsevich's father Stanislav said he would take his daughter away for a time to rest but that when she returned to Moscow 'she will fight for the rest of the girls'.

Defense lawyers, relatives of the women and rights activists including the chairman of Putin's own presidential human rights council, Mikhail Fedotov, welcomed Samutsevich's release but criticized the split ruling.

'It would be reasonable to release all the women,' Fedotov told Reuters. 'What they did was minor hooliganism, for which they should have got 15 days of detention.'

Calling for the immediate release of Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina, Amnesty International said in a statement: 'Justice has not been done today.'

A spokeswoman for the EU foreign policy chief said Catherine Ashton had been 'deeply disappointed' by the original verdict and regretted the appeals of two of the women were rejected.

In emotional statements from a courtroom cage during the hearing, women from the band said they had not meant to offend the faithful but criticize Putin, who foes say has cracked down on dissent since starting a new Kremlin term in May.

'We'll be going to a prison colony while civil war is brewing in this country. Putin is doing everything to make this happen,' Tolokonnikova said, raising her voice to drown out the judge, who interrupted when she mentioned the president's name. 'He is setting people against each other.'

'MORALS AND VALUES'

In an interview aired on Sunday to mark his 60th birthday, Putin defended the sentences: 'It is right that they were arrested and it was right that the court took this decision because you cannot undermine the fundamental morals and values to destroy the country.'

Defense lawyer Mark Feigin said those comments had compromised the appeal and Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina told the hearing their protest was purely political.

'We did not want to offend believers,' said Alyokhina. 'We came to the cathedral to speak out against the merger between spiritual figures and the political elite of our country.'

Tolokonnikova said the group was not motivated by religious hatred: 'It's painful for me to hear that I am speaking out against religion. I have no religious hatred and never have.'

Feigin said they would continue to fight their conviction on procedural grounds and also take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

The women say their protest was an comment on the close ties between the Kremlin and Russia's dominant church, which considers about two-thirds of the population as its flock.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill had given Putin, then prime minister, unofficial but clear support in his campaign for a third presidential term, likening Putin's years in power to a 'miracle of God'.

Kremlin opponents said the jail terms were part of a clampdown on dissent since Putin began his six-year term in May.

'We are in jail for our political convictions,' Alyokhina said. 'Even if our sentences are upheld, we will not be silent. Even if we are in Mordovia or Siberia, we will not be silent.'

Sympathy for Pussy Riot is limited in Russia, where Patriarch Kirill has cast the protest as part of a concerted attack meant to undermine traditional Russian values and curb the church's post-Soviet revival.

An opinion poll conducted on September 21-24 by the independent Levada centre found 35 percent of Russians believe the two-year sentences were appropriate, while 34 percent said they were too lenient and only 14 percent said they were excessive.

Parliament is considering stiffening punishment for offending religious feelings and Putin has warned that such offences - against Christians, Muslims or other believers in diverse Russia - could incite violence.

'The Russian Orthodox Church has practically become the state religion,' said human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva, 85, a Soviet-era dissident. The constitution stipulates that Russia is a secular state.

(Additional reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Writing by Steve Gutterman; Editing by Jon Boyle and Alison Williams)



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One Pussy Riot member freed on appeal by Russian court

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A member of punk band Pussy Riot was freed on appeal on Wednesday but a Moscow court upheld prison sentences for two others imposed over a raucous cathedral protest against Vladimir Putin, who said they had got the jail terms they deserved.

Moscow City Court confirmed the two-year prison sentences handed down to Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina but suspended the sentence on Yekaterina Samutsevich.

Her lawyer told the court that Samutsevich had not performed the 'punk protest' near the altar of Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral in February because she had been stopped and led away before it took place.

In emotional statements from a courtroom cage during the appeal hearing, women from the band had earlier said they had not meant to offend the faithful with their actions but criticized the courts and the Kremlin chief.

'Putin is doing everything for the development of civil war in this country,' said Tolokonnikova, raising her voice to try to drown out a judge who tried to interrupt her as she began to talk about Putin.

Tolokonnikova, 22, Alyokhina, 24, and Samutsevich, 30, were convicted in August of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred for a 'punk prayer' imploring the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Putin, and sentenced to two years in jail.

The case sparked an international outcry, with Western governments and pop star Madonna condemning the sentences as disproportionate, a view not widely shared in Russia where public opinion was shocked by the protest.

In an interview aired on Sunday, Putin defended the sentences: 'It is right that they were arrested and it was right that the court took this decision because you cannot undermine the fundamental morals and values to destroy the country'.

At the appeal hearing, Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina told the court their protest was purely political.

'We did not want to offend believers,' Alyokhina, 24, told the court. 'We came to the cathedral to speak out against the merger between spiritual figures and the political elite of our country.'

Alyokhina said she did not expect the appeal would succeed, however. 'I have lost all hope in our courts,' she said.

Defense lawyer Mark Feigin asked the court to reverse the verdict and censure Putin.

'No official ... is permitted to interfere with the court,' he said angrily.

REPENTANCE

Relatives and lawyers for the trio complained of political interference in the original trial and said that Putin's weekend comments on the case in the interview marking his 60th birthday had compromised the appeal.

'After Putin's comments, I don't think lawyers can do anything anyway,' Samutsevich's father, Stanislav, told Reuters on Tuesday.

The women contend their protest in the cathedral in central Moscow was an acerbic comment on the close ties between the Kremlin and Russia's dominant church, which considers about two-thirds of the population as its flock.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill had given Putin, then prime minister, unofficial but clear support in his successful campaign for a third presidential term, likening Putin's years in power to a 'miracle of God'.

Kremlin opponents said the jail terms were part of a clampdown on dissent that has produced restrictive laws and criminal cases against critics of Putin since he began his six-year term in May.

'We are in jail for our political convictions,' Alyokhina said. 'Even if our sentences are upheld, we will not be silent. Even if we are in Mordovia or Siberia, we will not be silent, no matter how uncomfortable it is for you.'

Tolokonnikova also told the court the group was not motivated by religious hatred.

'It's painful for me to hear that I am speaking out against religion. I have no religious hatred and never have,' she said.

Sympathy for Pussy Riot is limited in Russia, where Patriarch Kirill has cast the protest as part of a concerted attack meant to undermine traditional Russian values and curb the church's post-Soviet revival.

Parliament is considering legislation stiffening punishment for offending religious feelings and Putin has warned that such offences - against Christians, Muslims or other believers in diverse Russia - could incite violence.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said last month that they have already served enough time, while the Russian Orthodox Church has said they should repent if they want forgiveness - a request they made clear they found inappropriate.

An opinion poll conducted on September 21-24 by the independent Levada centre found 35 percent of Russians believe the two-year sentences were appropriate, while 34 percent said they were too lenient and only 14 percent said they were excessive.

(Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska and Alissa de Carbonnel; Writing by Steve Gutterman; Editing by Jon Boyle)



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Rihanna, Nicki Minaj lead American Music Awards nominations

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - R&B star Rihanna and rapper Nicki Minaj led nominations for the American Music Awards with four apiece on Tuesday, edging out stiff competition from pop sensations Justin Bieber and One Direction.

Rihanna, 24, was nominated in the top category - artist of the year - where she will compete with Bieber, Katy Perry, pop-rockers Maroon 5 and Canadian rapper Drake.

She also won nods for female soul/R&B artist and album for 'Talk That Talk,' and will battle Minaj, 29, in the female pop/rock artist category.

Minaj scored two nods for her album 'Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded' in both the pop/rock and rap/hip hop categories this year, as well as a nomination for favorite rap artist, alongside Drake and American newcomer Tyga.

Minaj has been making headlines after joining the 'American Idol' judging panel, where she was caught feuding on camera with fellow judge Mariah Carey in early audition rounds.

'Boyfriend' singer Bieber, 18, landed three nominations this year, tying with British boy band One Direction, Maroon 5, Drake and R&B star Usher.

Following in the footsteps of the Grammy Awards earlier this year, which hosted a tribute to electronic dance music, the American Music Awards introduced a new category in that genre, with David Guetta, Calvin Harris and Skrillex competing for the trophy.

Last year's big winners, Adele and Taylor Swift, who both scored three awards each, received one nomination each this year. Swift scored a nod for female country artist alongside Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert, while Adele was nominated in the favorite adult contemporary artist category alongside Kelly Clarkson and Train.

The closely-watched new artist category will be a battle between R&B singer J.Cole, indie-pop ban fun., Australian singer-songwriter Gotye, Canadian pop singer Carly Rae Jepson and One Direction.

The AMA winners are determined by fans through online voting, which starts on Tuesday.

The American Music Awards will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and the ceremony and performance show will be broadcast live from Los Angeles on November 18.

Pop star and 'The Voice' judge Christina Aguilera, who announced the nominees on Tuesday, was the first performer to be announced for the live show.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, editing by Jill Serjeant and Marguerita Choy)



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Rihanna's "Diamonds" reaches UK pop chart summit

LONDON (Reuters) - Barbadian pop singer Rihanna climbed to the top of the British charts on Sunday with her new single 'Diamonds', ousting South Korean pop star Psy and his internet video sensation 'Gangnam Style' from the number one spot.

Local boy band One Direction were new in third place with 'Live While We're Young', while London-born singer Adele burst in at number four with the theme song for the latest James Bond film 'Skyfall'.

English singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding arrived in fifth place with her new single 'Anything Could Happen', the Official Charts Company said.

British stadium rockers Muse shot to the summit of the album charts with their new release 'The 2nd Law', including the track 'Survival', the official song of London's 2012 Olympic Games.

Boy band Overtones entered the charts at number six with their second album release 'Higher'.

Veteran British rock band the Electric Light Orchestra re-entered the list at number 10 with their 2005 greatest hits compilation 'All Over The World', notching up a 173rd week in the charts. (Reporting by Tim Castle; Editing by Will Waterman)



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Amnesty issues rights plea to Rihanna, Shakira before Azeri concerts

(Reuters) - Human rights group Amnesty International urged pop stars Rihanna and Shakira on Friday to open their eyes to recent arrests of journalists, bloggers and activists in Azerbaijan, before their performances in the former Soviet republic this month.

Amnesty and Sing for Democracy said in a joint letter that it wanted to draw the singers' attention to human rights and freedom of speech issues in Azerbaijan.

'Both singers should be aware of the situation in the country post-Eurovision,' the letter said, referring to the singing contest in the Azeri capital of Baku in May, which spurred protests and rallies by Azeris demanding democracy.

Authorities in Baku arrested dozens of protesters in May and have since arrested several journalists and political activists.

'We Found Love' singer Rihanna, 24, is scheduled to perform in Baku on Saturday. 'Hips Don't Lie' singer Shakira, 35, is performing in Baku for football organization FIFA's under 17 women's world cup on October 13, and at another venue in the capital on October 14.

International rights groups often have criticized Azerbaijan for curbing public dissent, while the government in Baku says Azerbaijanis enjoy full freedom of speech.

'Amnesty International believes that the Azerbaijani government should afford all artists, journalists, activists and ordinary citizens the right to express themselves freely without fear of reprisal. We hope that you share our belief,' said the letter to Rihanna and Shakira.

Representatives for both singers did not immediately return calls for comment.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, editing by Jill Serjeant)



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Fans, filmgoers get look at vintage Rolling Stones

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fans celebrating the Rolling Stones' 50th anniversary get a never-before-seen look at the band on tour in 1965 with a new film revealing the young musicians chased by crazed fans, poking fun at musical rivals and playing raw versions of songs that would become legend.

'The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling - Ireland 1965,' premiered at the New York Film Festival held this week, featuring painstakingly restored footage from a hand-held camera of the band's two-day journey to Belfast and Dublin.

Shot in the wake of the release of 'A Hard Day's Night' with its close-up look at the Beatles, the filming was an effort to get the Rolling Stones used to being followed around by a camera, said producer Robin Klein. It was shot by filmmaker Peter Whitehead.

'They didn't know what they were going to do with it at the time,' she told reporters at the festival, which like the Stones is also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. 'It was just to have them in front of the camera.'

While edgier and darker than many of their musical contemporaries, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts nevertheless exude a youthfulness and affability as they cavort for the camera.

But their sophistication shines through, particularly in Jagger's comments pondering the band's success and the politics of the era. Also on display is the Stones' sexual power, as the notorious front man seduces audiences into such a frenzy that the band is chased off stage in Belfast by excited fans.

The tour took place just weeks after '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' hit the top of the musical charts.

Behind the scenes, the film shows Jagger and Richards playfully singing the Beatles' tunes 'I've Just Seen a Face' and 'Eight Days A Week' and imitating Elvis Presley crooning 'Are You Lonesome Tonight.'

'Charlie' features more than 90,000 hand-restored individual frames, and more than half of it has not been seen publicly before, said director Mick Gochanour.

Two earlier and shorter versions were made from the footage in the 1960s but never formally released, although they made their way into the bootleg market, said film publicist Tracey Jordan.

'Charlie is my Darling,' will be released in DVD and Blu-ray formats as part of a box set on sale worldwide on November 6.

(Editing by Christine Kearney and Marguerita Choy)



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