The Recording Academy has announced that the Police will open the 49th annual Grammy Awards on February 11. The five-time Grammy-winning band is also rumored to be planning a U.S. and European reunion tour. Many reports claim the three members, Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers, have been rehearsing in Vancouver. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Police's breakthrough single "Roxanne."
On February 9, Don Henley will be honored as the 2007 MusiCares Person of the Year. MusiCares President Neil Portnow says, "Don is one of the most relevant and respected musical voices of our time, and it is a fitting testament to his extraordinary talents and charitable work that he will be honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year." Proceeds from the dinner and concert will go to the MusiCares Foundation, which provides services to artists in times of financial, medical and personal emergencies. The Recording Academy created the foundation in 1989.
Italian opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti died on February 1 at the age of 95. Menotti's 25 operas include two Pulitzer Prize winners, "The Consul," which premiered in 1950, and his 1954 work "The Saint of Bleecker Street." In 1958, Menotti founded the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. 19 years later, he founded the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina. Menotti was awarded a Kennedy Center Honor in 1984.
Brandy has been slapped with a wrongful-death lawsuit for her role in the death of 38-year-old Awatif Aboudihaj. Aboudihaj's parents are seeking $50 million in compensatory and punitive damages. It's also being reported that the California Highway Patrol has recommended that the L.A. attorney's office charge Brandy with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. The 27-year-old singer and actress plowed into Aboudihaj's car on a Los Angeles freeway last month while traveling at 65 miles per hour.
On February 6, Columbia Records will release Barbra Streisand's live double-CD, Live Streisand. The collection includes performances from the 64-year-old singer's 2006 tour, which grossed $76 million and ranked at Number 7 on the Top 10 tours of last year. Performances on Live Streisand were taped at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia and New York's Madison Square Garden.
NEW ALBUM RELEASES
New albums scheduled for release on February 6 include: Infinity On High by Fall Out Boy, Headstrong by Ashley Tisdale, Voila by Belinda Carlisle, Waitin' In The Country by Jason Michael Carroll, Yes, I'm A Witch by Yoko Ono, Children Running Through by Patty Griffin and The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard by Rickie Lee Jones.
MUSICAL EVENTS/FESTIVALS/BENEFITS
On February 9, Latin pop singer Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio will host a gala in their Miami home. "En Casa Con Gloria" will benefit her own foundation, which will donate proceeds to the Miami Children's Hospital Brain Institute. This marks the first time the couple has held a fundraiser in their private home. The evening will include a cocktail reception, catered dinner, a live auction run by talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell and an acoustic performance by Gloria and her band the Miami Sound Machine. 300 people are expected to attend the benefit, which costs $5,000 per person.
TOUR DATES AND INFORMATION
Country trio Rascal Flatts will kick off its 21-date "Me and My Gang 2007" tour on February 8 in Charleston, West Virginia. Last year, they performed to over one million fans in 74 cities. After wrapping up shows in early April, Rascal Flatts plans to head into the studio to begin work on a new album.
On February 4, Billy Joel sang the National Anthem before the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts Super Bowl XLI match-up in Miami, Florida. Three days later, Joel will begin a North American concert tour in Jacksonville, Florida. It's also been announced that on February 7, his new single, "All My Life," will premiere on People.com. The single marks his first pop music release since 1993. It will be released commercially at a later date.
Mexican rock band Mana will begin a 10-city U.S. tour on February 10 in San Diego, California. Stops are also planned in Texas, Florida, New York, Virginia, Illinois and Georgia. The group will be supporting its latest album Amar Es Combatir, which received a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Latin Rock, Alternative or Urban Album.
