Michael Jackson's father, Joe Jackson, plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Dr. Conrad Murray. According to Reuters, the lawsuit will be filed within 90 days. Joe Jackson's lawyer, Brian Oxman, told Reuters, "The continuous administration of drugs over six weeks - he gave him propofol every night - that is Russian roulette. That is loading six bullets into a gun with only six chambers." He says Dr. Murray's actions were "reckless and amounts to second-degree murder."
For the week ending April 10, 16-year-old Justin Bieber will become the youngest solo male artist to top the Billboard 200 since 1963. Bieber debuted at Number One by selling 283,000 copies of his sophomore album "My World 2.0" its first week of release. Stevie Wonder was 13 years old when he topped the Billboard 200 with "Little Stevie Wonder/The 12-Year-Old Genius."
Waitress Didi Benami, 23, was eliminated from the "American Idol" finals on March 31. College student Tim Urban, 20, and 17-year-old Katie Stevens were also in the bottom three vote-getters. Nine contestants remain in the competition. For the week of April 4, they'll perform hits written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
A stage being constructed for Elton John's April 3 concert at Mexico's Chichen Itza ruins collapsed, injuring three workers. Elton wasn't at the location, which has been the site of concerts by several other artists, including Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo. According to Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History, no damage was done to the 1,200-year-old Mayan ruins. In 2007, Chichen Itza was named one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World."
On April 10, Kenny Rogers will tape his 50th anniversary television special at the MGM Grand At Foxwoods in Connecticut. "Kenny Rogers - The First 50 Years" will feature many guests, including Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Tim McGraw, Wynonna Judd and Alison Krauss, among others. With more than 105 million albums sold, Kenny ranks at Number 8 on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of top-selling male artists of all time. An airdate for Kenny's special hasn't been announced.
Country stars Steve Wariner, Patty Loveless and John Michael Montgomery are among the 2010 Kentucky Music Hall of Fame inductees. The ceremony will take place on April 7 in Lexington. Also being added are bluegrass band The Goins Brothers, late Country singers Keith Whitley and Molly O'Day, and gospel singer Larnelle Harris.
NEW ALBUM RELEASES:
New albums scheduled for release on April 6 include: "White Label" by T.I., "For Always: The Very Best of CeCe Winans" by CeCe Winans, "April Uprising" by the John Butler Trio, "The Sticky and Sweet Tour" (CD and DVD) by Madonna, "Women and Country" by Jakob Dylan, "Slash" by Slash, "Without Regret" by Kimberly Caldwell, "Mr. Sad Clown" by the BoDeans, "Last Call" by Jeff Healey, "VOCAbuLarieS" by Bobby McFerrin, "Oyo" by Angelique Kidjo and "Nothing's Impossible" by Solomon Burke.
TOUR DATES AND INFORMATION:
On April 9, Corinne Bailey Rae will kick off a North American tour in Vancouver, British Columbia. Corinne's latest album, "The Sea," marks her first release since the 2008 death of her husband, Scottish musician Jason Rae. Australian singer Daniel Merriweather will open shows on the outing to support his debut album, "Love and War."
