Phil Collins Quits Music Due to Health Problems

Phil Collins has decided to bow out from the business that made him. The British singer has reportedly told FHM that he is leaving the music industry due to health problems he's experienced for several years.

The 'Sussudio' entertainer revealed that years of sitting hunched behind his drum kit have left him with an array of medical issues. Collins' ailments range from hearing loss to a dislocated vertebra, and nerve damage in the same hands he uses to hold drumsticks, making performing for fans an otherwise painful experience.

Collins apologizes that his choice to retire may upset fans, considering the more than positive run he's had throughout his career. "I'm sorry that it was all so successful," he stated. "I honestly didn't mean it to happen like that. It's hardly surprising that people grew to hate me."

While loyal supporters will have to get their Phil Collins fix by relying on his past catalog of tunes, the performer has a somewhat different view of how he's perceived in the music business. "I don't really belong to that world and I don't think anyone's going to miss me," Collins said. "I'm much happier just to write myself out of the script entirely."

http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=691977&pid=691976&uts=1273167996http://www.popeater.com/mm_track/popeater/music/?s_channel=us.musicpop&s_account=aolpopeater,aolsvc&omni=1&ke=1http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swfGabourey Sidibe attends The American Cancer Society's Choose You luncheon on May 5th in New York City.oKExp.start("popeater3-popeater_music_popscene");

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Britney Ready to Quit Music

BRITNEY READY TO QUIT MUSIC
Britney Spears will quit music and become a ''full-time mom'' if pop stardom ever makes her unhappy.

The "Hold It Against Me" singer would be prepared to walk away from life as a recording artist if she becomes disillusioned with it and focus on raising her two sons, Sean Preston, five, and four-year-old Jayden James - her children with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

In an interview with V Magazine, she said: "I'll be a full-time mom, which would be cool. I'd miss my fans and all of the love the most, but I definitely would not miss having my picture taken everywhere I go."

One thing the 29-year-old singer loves to do with her kids is cook, and she says nothing makes her happier than enjoying a homemade meal with them.

She said: "I love to cook, especially for my boys. I also make a mean southern sweet tea from a recipe my mom passed on to me. It's really good. I love it. I make it for my boys all the time."

Britney - who endured a public breakdown in January 2008 and has been under the conservatorship of her father Jamie Spears ever since - also claims she made the decision to step away from the fame game years ago because she didn't want her children to be subjected to it.

She explained: "I think it's easier to let people in when you're younger, but when I became a mother I wanted more privacy for myself and my children. A life away from my life."

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Lil Wayne Scolded by Adorable Little Girls in Music Video

Lil Wayne's got bling, babes and enough cash to make it rain in biblical proportions.

What he doesn't always seem to have is a lot of respect for women or a particularly pleasant vocabulary, according to girl group Watoto From the Nile.

The three-piece ensemble, made up of Nia, 10, Nya, 9, and Kamaria, 5, has penned 'Letter to Lil Wayne,' an eloquent plea for Wayne to clean up his not-safe-for-school language and to rethink his overall misogynistic vibe. Check out 'Letter to Lil Wayne' (via Vulture) after the jump >>

As for the impetus for recording the track, "He talks about drugs and stuff," says Nia. Adds Nya, "I think he disrespects women." Watch it here:

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Jennifer Lopez Debuts Music Video 'On the Floor' Feat. Pitbull

She might still be 'Jenny From the Block,' but Jennifer Lopez has come a long way, baby.

Currently a high-profile judge in the television series 'American Idol,' Lopez will release a new album on April 19 entitled 'Love?' But, for her fans and followers, there need not be a question mark attached -- Lopez stormed the Billboard Hot 100 on Thursday with the album's first single, 'On the Floor,' landing her in the top 10.

It's a position she's been in before, sure, but it's been a full eight years since she's seen that kind of love -- and she's been engaged and/or married more than once since then.

In a move that demonstrates the kind of genius marketing and branding Lopez -- aka J. Lo -- has employed during her entire career, the digital release for 'On the Floor' (featuring Pitbull) was synced with its video premiere on 'American Idol' on Thursday. Watch the video after the jump.

The immediate success of 'On the Floor,' -- perhaps partially propelled by her 'American Idol' status -- marks a comeback of sorts for Lopez, who suffered two commercial failures with her previous two albums, following a string of unstoppable successes during the early 2000's.

In 2009, many saw an omen in circumstance when she fell down and busted her highly-insured behind at the American Music Awards. Lopez has since dusted off and, indeed, appears to have put all that behind her, so to speak. These days, she's crushing it.

http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=691977&pid=691976&uts=1273167996http://www.popeater.com/mm_track/popeater/music/?s_channel=us.musicpop&s_account=aolpopeater,aolsvc&omni=1&ke=1http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swfGabourey Sidibe attends The American Cancer Society's Choose You luncheon on May 5th in New York City.oKExp.start("popeater3-popeater_music_popscene");

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Jennifer Lopez Debuts "On The Floor" Music Video

Soaking up the spotlight as she continues her first run as an "American Idol" judge, Jennifer Lopez was the center of attention at The Grove in Los Angeles on Thursday (March 3).

With hubby Marc Anthony also on hand, the singer/actress walked the arrivals carpet at the popular shopping center for a press event with "Extra" host Mario Lopez.

During the appearance, Miss Lopez also offered up an exclusive look at her steamy new music video for "On the Floor" - which is the first single from her upcoming album Love (due out April 19).

Jennifer's "On the Floor" video was directed by Taj Stansberry and choreographed by Frank Gatson while seeing in its premiere on the latest installment of "American Idol".

Enjoy the pictures of Jennifer Lopez out at The Grove (March 3).

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Hopkins to premiere music skills

23 February 2011 Last updated at 22:11 GMT Sir Anthony Hopkins will present several of his original scores plus a brand new piece in concert at St David's Hall Oscar-winning actor Sir Anthony Hopkins will showcase his lesser known talent as a composer at an exclusive concert in Cardiff this summer.

Hopkins, 73, from Port Talbot, will present several of his original scores, including music from his own movies August and Slipstream, plus a brand new piece in concert at St David's Hall.

He will also appear onstage talking about his music and creative process with concert producer Tommy Pearson.

The Cardiff date is part of a UK tour.

At the concert, Sir Anthony will present a plus a brand new piece written for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO).

The orchestra, conducted by Michael Seal, will also play music from some of the actor's best-known movies, including Shadowlands, Remains Of The Day and Silence Of The Lambs.

'Absolutely thrilling' Sir Anthony said: "I am immensely happy to be working with the CBSO to bring my compositions to the UK for the first time.

"There are themes and passages in these pieces that have been several decades in the making and to bring them all vividly to life with one of the great symphony orchestras of the world is absolutely thrilling."

Concert producer Tommy Pearson said it was "an honour" to work with the star.

"We all know his work in movies of course but Tony is also a fine composer and I know his music means a lot to him personally.

"We're all looking forward to discovering a new dimension to a world-famous legend."

Tickets go on sale on Friday for the 24 July concert St David's Hall concert.

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Nelly Opens Up About Sister's Death On 'Behind The Music'

Nelly had always been public about his sister's health issues, from fighting for bone-marrow donors in an effort to save her life to speaking about how her death affected him. But the rapper has yet to discuss the details surrounding the day she died in 2005 after a two-year battle with leukemia.

In the March 7 episode of VH1's "Behind the Music," however, the St. Louis star finally opens up about the last conversation he had with his big sis, Jacqueline Donahue. He was on the road and was unaware of the severity of her declining health, he said.

"Jackie gets on the phone and I'm like, 'Hey, sis,' " Nelly said, recalling the ordeal. "She's so medicated. The pain got so severe, and there was nothing they could do. They drugged her up just to subdue the pain. I talked to her for about 20, 25 minutes. And she gets off the phone and she lays down, and she's gone. They said the only thing that kept her alive was that she wanted to talk to me before she left."

The news of his sister's death immediately took a toll on him. "I was enraged," Nelly explained. "We had this door in the back where my room was; I split the door straight down the middle, just punched it."

Nelly then punched a TV screen, shattering the monitor. "I just destroyed everything that was back there and I just broke down," he said.

The rapper eventually took time off from his career before rebounding last year with 5.0 after 2008's commercial disappointment Brass Knuckles.

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'Break down' music software launched

20 February 2011 Last updated at 01:34 GMT By Daniel Emery Technology reporter, BBC News Hit 'n' Mix developer Martin Dawe shows how the software separates instruments from an audio file

A music technology firm in south-east London has developed a system for breaking music into its component parts.

Hit 'n' Mix converts audio files into a proprietary .rip format.

Developers say it will enable users to create their own bedroom mash-ups, karaoke songs or modify their own music.

It is entering a crowded market, however, and some producers say they are reluctant to switch software.

Martin Dawe, a programmer based in south-east London, spent 10 years developing the system. He told BBC News he wanted to do more than current file formats would allow.

"I spent a lot of time looking into how audio could be split up and whether it was actually possible to do.

"Originally I thought it was impossible, but I appear to have proved myself wrong," he said.

Mark Vidler, who works with David Bowie and The Doors, demonstrates how he remixed the BBC News theme

The process for breaking down a track is fairly straightforward. An audio file is loaded up and then, after a rendering process, is displayed on screen into its component parts.

However Mr Dawe was tight-lipped about the actual mechanics involved in breaking apart Mp3 and wav music files, saying - for now - it is a commercial secret.

The developers say it takes about five minutes to ingest a three-minute piece of audio, although this will depend on how fast a PC you are using.

The screen displays the various components of a track, which can be manipulated with a click of a mouse; pitch, tone, duration, pretty much every element of a composition can be tampered with.

Mr Dawe demonstrated his software on the BBC News theme, breaking it down and reassembling it as a brand new musical track. The whole process took, he said, just over an hour.

Remix of the BBC News theme by Hit n Mix software developer Martin Dawe

It is thought Hit 'n' Mix is the first piece of software than can disassemble music prior to editing, although Ceremony's Melodyne Editor and Auto Tune let you adjust individual notes.

But the developers have something of an uphill task to win over established music producers, who have been using existing software for years.

Mark Vidler, who has been making remixes under the nom-de-plume of Go Home Productions - told BBC News that he had been using Sound Forge.

"It's very good for intricate editing and I've always used it since the first version," he said

"I then use Sony's ACID Pro as an arranger. I know people use Pro Tools, Logic, things like that, but I like the homely feel of Acid and I've been using it for 10 years, so I'll stick with the software I love," he added.

Mr Vidler also took the BBC News theme to pieces and reassembled it, although his version took about a day's work.

He had this piece of advice for anyone thinking about trying their hand at remixing music.

"This is all simple technology, you just need to discover it for yourself and get in there. Play with it, don't bother watching television, just get on your laptop and create things; there are endless possibilities."

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PEOPLE's Music Critic Previews Lady Gaga's New Album

Lady Gaga performing in Atlantic City

Donald Kravitz/Getty

Good news, little monsters: Lady Gaga's new album, Born This Way, promises to be a club-friendly successor to the pop star's slew of hits.

Before launching the new North American leg of her Monster Ball tour at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on Saturday, Gaga previewed her highly anticipated third album, due out May 23, for a small group of music press backstage. And the five-song presentation by Vincent Herbert, an executive producer on both 2008's The Fame and 2009's The Fame Monster revealed more of the pumping sounds that will make fans want to just dance all over again.

The empowering, liberating first single "Born This Way," which has already rocketed to No. 1 while drawing controversial comparisons to Madonna's 1989 hit "Express Yourself," was followed by "Judas," a driving, thumping track that is the likely second single.

"Edge of Glory," a rock-tinged tune, features Clarence Clemons from Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band on saxophone, while "Hair" is another club-ready anthem.

At one point during the preview, a yellow-haired Gaga, looking about as stripped-down as you'll ever see her in bodysuit, tights and heels, emerged from her dressing room to playfully prance around to her new tunes. Later, during the sold-out concert, she went on to perform another Born This Way song, the piano-led ballad "You and I."

Gaga finished her show with a rousing rendition of "Born This Way" – an ending that sent all her little monsters home no doubt counting the days until May 23.

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What People Really Think About Britney Spears' 'Hold It Against Me' Music Video

Britney Spears' 'Hold It Against Me' video, the lead single from her upcoming 'Femme Fatale' album, debuted to mixed reviews last night. The singer poured her heart out admitting she "put everything I have into it." But did the video live up to all the hype?

PopEater hit the streets of New York to see what people really thought about the new music video and their answers may surprise you.

 

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Paramore Plan To Release New Music This Summer

Paramore just launched their much-discussed run of South American shows (their first gigs since the departure of Josh and Zac Farro in December) and now, it seems they're getting to something else they spent a whole lot of time talking about since the Farros split: making new music.

In a new interview with AOL Music, frontwoman Hayley Williams said she and her remaining Paramore mates were already making studio plans and are "hoping to record a batch of songs to release over the summer."

That announcement echoed sentiments she expressed to MTV News in December, when Williams made it clear that not only were they already writing new tunes, but that they would "definitely" be releasing some of them in 2011.

And the last time we checked, "the summer" was definitely part of 2011. Williams also identified one track, "In the Mourning" — a demo of which she posted on her blog in January — as a song Paramore are focused on finishing and releasing, plus a handful of other new tracks too. Those songs would precede a brand-new album, which the band is also making plans to begin work on.

"We definitely do want to release ['In the Mourning']," she said, "And some other ones before we put out a record."

Paramore wrap their run of shows — which feature guitarist Taylor York's brother Justin and drummer-to-the-stars Josh Freese filling in for the Farros — in early March, but there's no word on where (or when) they plan on to record the new songs, or how they'll release them. A spokesperson for the band's labels, Atlantic/ Fueled By Ramen, could not be reached for comment about Paramore's plans by press time.

Are you excited to hear new music from Paramore this summer? Tell us in the comments!

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Lady Gaga Reveals She Smokes Pot When Writing Music On '60 Minutes'

During Anderson Cooper's sit-down with Lady Gaga on CBS' "60 Minutes," the veteran anchor noted her refreshing candor, and in the segment the megastar demonstrated just how open she could be.

The "60 Minutes" cameras followed Gaga across the globe for a segment that aired Sunday night (February 13), and Mother Monster freely dished that while she no longer dabbles in cocaine, she does partake in some herbal refreshment when she opens her lyrics.

"I smoke a lot of pot when I write music. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it for '60 Minutes,' " Gaga said matter-of-factly, adding that she knocks back whiskey as well when she writes. The "Born This Way" singer, who maintained in the same interview that she had "mastered the art of fame," added that her upfront manner is central to her superstardom.

"What artists do wrong is they lie, and I don't lie. I'm not a liar," she said.

And as we all know, she's not shy either, letting the "60 Minutes" crew tag along with her on a walk on the Thames river in London that gets crashed by paparazzi (she admitted she never gets used to the overamped photogs), showing up nearly nude to a sit-down in Milan ("I just didn't want to wear clothes today," she explained. "I just wanted eyeliner and my McQueen boots") and describing her rocky years as a high-school misfit.

"I felt disenfranchised by my school and the people at the school who would make fun of me ... and make me not feel cool," she said. Her new nom de stage — and the elaborately creative persona that accompanies it — liberated her from her confidence issues.

"I was able to leave such a massive amount of insecurities behind me by giving me that name," she said. "You have the freedom to pull that superstar out of yourself that you were born to be."

As her fans can attest, she's got the superstar thing down; the segment showed her preaching self-empowering proclamations to crying, emotional fans in concert. She also batted away any notions that she doesn't helm her image personally, insisting she works studiously when it comes to creating her headline-making getups and chart-topping anthems.

"I'm a true academic when it comes to music and when it comes to my style," she maintained. "There's always some sort of a story or a concept that I'm telling."

During the interview she rocks out to a few seconds of "Born This Way," tries to drop in on her old New York apartment and dishes about what she does and does not answer to in bed. Given the outrageousness of her antics and image, Cooper asked what the real Gaga is like. The pop sensation maintained there's no difference between who she is onstage and off.

"How much more real could I be?" she wondered, when recounting how photogs often ask for Gaga to be herself. "This is what I'm really like. This is the coffee I drink every day, this is the diamond I put in the cup when I get nervous," she added, suckling a fake diamond-like rock that she dropped in her cup — which is very likely a singular Gaga quirk.

What did you think of Lady Gaga's "60 Minutes" interview? Let us know in the comments!

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