Obama sings the blues with Jagger, B.B King »

(Reuters) - Bill Clinton had his saxophone, but President Barack Obama can sing the blues. Obama lent his voice to a White House jam featuring Mick Jagger, B.B. King, Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy on Tuesday during a celebration of blues and its influence on modern pop culture. After wowing crowds in January by singing a line from Al Green's classic hit "Let's Stay Together" at a Harlem fundraiser, the U.S. president sang a verse of "Sweet Home Chicago" in the all-star finale of a TV special taped at the White House. "We were trying to get you to help us sing. ...

Michael Fassbender boards Ridley Scott's "The Counselor" »

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Michael Fassbender has signed on to star in "The Counselor," with his "Prometheus" director, Ridley Scott, TheWrap has confirmed. Cormac McCarthy, the Pulitzer Prize winning novelist and playwright whose "No Country for Old Men" was adapted to the Academy Award-winning 2007 movie, wrote the script. Fassbender will play the counselor -- a respected lawyer who finds himself in over his head after he gets involved in a drug operation. Nick Wechsler, Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz are producing. (Editing By Zorianna Kit)

Supreme Court rejects Phil Spector murder case »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review the murder conviction of legendary music producer Phil Spector, turning down an appeal by his attorney arguing his constitutional rights had been violated at his trial. The justices without any comment let stand a ruling by a California appeals court that upheld the second-degree murder conviction of Spector for the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson in his suburban Los Angeles home. ...

Chris Brown earns musical redemption from Rihanna »

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - R&B singer Chris Brown has earned a measure of musical redemption and forgiveness from ex-girlfriend Rihanna by collaborating on new music together, three years after Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting the pop star. Brown, 22, and Rihanna, 24, were openly tweeting each other and promoting their collaboration on each others' singles over the weekend as the Barbadian "We Found Love" singer celebrated her 24th birthday. ...

Roland Martin's on-air apology approved by GLAAD »

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Roland Martin, the CNN commentator who was suspended by the cable news outlet earlier this month for a pair of homophobic tweets he sent out during this year's Super Bowl, has received a thumbs-up from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) for his on-air apology on Sunday. GLAAD had earlier called for Martin's firing over the tweets. During his "Perspectives" segment on his show "Washington Watch," Martin recalled his February 14 meeting with GLAAD's Herndon Graddick over the tweets. ...

Bret Michaels/Tony Awards lawsuit saga continues »

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Bret Michaels -- or rather, his attorney -- is accusing the Tony Awards of hitting a bum note in its latest move in the legal saga over the Poison singer's 2009 injury. The rocker's lawyer, Alex Weingarten, has lashed out at the Tonys organization and CBS, accusing the awards group of trying to duck its responsibility over the injury, which occurred when Michaels was struck in the head by a set piece at the end of his performance at the ceremony. According to Weingarten, the Tonys organization and CBS have filed a third-part cross-complaint in U.S. ...

Whitney Houston's clothes, earrings up for auction »

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Whitney Houston has barely been dead a week, and already several of her belongings -- including a pair of earrings and a vest that she wore in the 1992 movie "The Bodyguard" -- will go on the auction block next month. The items, which celebrity auctioneer Darren Julien obtained following the singer's February 11 death, will be included in the Hollywood Legends auction, which will be held at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills on March 31 and April 1. ...

Michael Douglas added to list of Oscar presenters »

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Two-time Oscar-winner Michael Douglas is the latest presenter announced for the 84th Academy Awards ceremony. Producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer made the announcement Monday. Douglas won an Oscar for his lead performance in "Wall Street" (1987) and a Best Picture award as a producer of "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975). His film credits include "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," "Solitary Man," "You, Me and Dupree," "Traffic," "Wonder Boys," "Falling Down," "Fatal Attraction" and "The China Syndrome. ...

ESPN fires employee over racist Jeremy Lin headline »

LOS ANGELES, Feb 19 (TheWrap.com) - ESPN has fired one employee and suspended another for using the same racist word in connection to New York Knicks' guard Jeremy Lin. In both cases, an employee used the word "chink" in reference to Lin, a Palo Alto, California, native of Chinese descent. "We again apologize, especially to Mr. Lin," ESPN wrote. "His accomplishments are a source of great pride to the Asian-American community, including the Asian-American employees at ESPN. ...

Why Hollywood should make a movie about John Fairfax »

LOS ANGELES, Feb 19 (TheWrap.com) - From "The King's Speech" to "The Blind Side," Hollywood loves an incredible true story. In John Fairfax, the movie business has a doozy. The adventurer died this month, his exploits largely forgotten and overshadowed by a glut of balloon boys and "Survivor" spin-offs. That should change with a range of appreciations in papers like the New York Times and the Washington Post that read like pitches for a rollicking and uplifting version of "127 Hours. ...

Lindsay Lohan to host SNL on March 3 »

LOS ANGELES, Feb 19 (TheWrap.com) - Lindsay Lohan will be making a high-profile appearance on Saturday, March 3, and this one isn't court-ordered. "SNL! I love @NBC !!!!!!!!!!!!!," 25-year-old Lohan tweeted after NBC's "Saturday Night Live" revealed in an on-air promo and Twitter posting that she would host its March 3 episode. "That's right: March 3rd, @lindsaylohan with musical guest Jack White!! See you then! #SNL #March3rd," the show tweeted. Lohan publicist Steve Honig confirmed that she would host the show. ...

Lin pleads for consideration for relatives in Taiwan »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jeremy Lin, whose meteoric rise from obscurity to dazzling court general for the New York Knicks has become a global story, had a rare favor to ask of the massive media turnout for his team's 104-97 victory over the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. The NBA's first Taiwanese-American player, after scoring a team-high 28 points and doling out 14 assists, appealed for consideration for members of his family in Taiwan. ...

Whitney Houston laid to rest in New Jersey »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Whitney Houston was laid to rest on Sunday in a private burial before family and close friends near her birthplace in Newark, New Jersey, more than a week after her sudden death shocked the world. The pop star, whose powerful voice fueled her rise to fame in the mid-1980s with self-titled albums that made her a global pop star, died in a Beverly Hills hotel room last week. She was found underwater in a bathtub, but an exact cause of death has yet to be determined. ...

Bobby Brown blames security for exit from Houston funeral »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Singer Bobby Brown abruptly left the funeral of his ex-wife Whitney Houston on Saturday, claiming security guards asked him to move several times and prevented him from seeing his and Houston's daughter. Brown said in a statement that upon arriving to the service he was moved three times by security, who also refused to allow him to his daughter with Houston, Bobbi Kristina Brown, 18. Brown and Houston divorced in 2007 after a 15-year turbulent marriage as portrayed in a reality TV series, "Being Bobby Brown" that showed an affectionate yet troubled relationship. ...

Stars mourn Whitney Houston at rousing New Jersey funeral »

NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - Stars, family and friends mourned Whitney Houston in a spirited Baptist funeral service at her hometown church on Saturday, a week after the death of the singer whose spectacular voice made her one of the biggest pop stars of her era. Gospel and soul music greats, celebrities and family members swayed to gospel hits and delivered tributes both sung and spoken to the crowded New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where Houston honed her wide vocal range as a young choral singer with her mother Cissy Houston, a backup singer for Aretha Franklin. ...

Kevin Costner recalls "sweet miracle of Whitney" »

NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - Actor Kevin Costner gave an emotional tribute to singer Whitney Houston at her funeral on Saturday, revealing insights into the singing sensation who died suddenly last week and hit film "The Bodyguard" they made together. Costner told family, friends and greats of the music industry who packed the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark during the uplifting ceremony that he and Houston both came from musical families and grew up as Baptists. ...

Whitney Houston's hometown remembers her fondly »

NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - The New Hope Baptist Church, where pop star Whitney Houston first sang and family and friends will gather on Saturday to pay her a final tribute, sits in a hardscrabble corner of Newark, New Jersey. Its well-maintained red-brick facade seems at odds with the dusty parking lot and derelict housing projects around it. But to hear the gospel choir sing on Sundays, which once featured teenager Houston and her mom Cissy, was to be briefly transported to a faraway, trouble-free world, its patrons say. ...

Iommi illness forces Black Sabbath tour changes »

(Reuters) - Veteran British rockers Black Sabbath have been forced to scale back plans to tour this year as guitarist Tony Iommi continues treatment for lymphoma, the band said on its website. In November, the original four man line-up announced it would record its first new album in 33 years and stage a 2012 world tour, joining the long list of ageing acts hitting the road for lucrative live performances. But Iommi was diagnosed with cancer in January, forcing the group to move from Los Angeles to Britain in order to continue recording while he underwent treatment. ...

Stars mourn Whitney Houston at rousing New Jersey funeral »

NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - Stars, family and friends mourned Whitney Houston in a spirited Baptist funeral service at her hometown church on Saturday, a week after the death of the singer whose spectacular voice made her one of the biggest pop stars of her era. Gospel and soul music greats, celebrities and family members swayed to gospel hits and delivered tributes both sung and spoken to the crowded New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where Houston honed her wide vocal range as a young choral singer with her mother Cissy Houston, a backup singer for Aretha Franklin. ...

Whitney Houston's hometown remembers her fondly »

NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - The New Hope Baptist Church, where pop star Whitney Houston first sang and family and friends will gather on Saturday to pay her a final tribute, sits in a hardscrabble corner of Newark, New Jersey. Its well-maintained red-brick facade seems at odds with the dusty parking lot and derelict housing projects around it. But to hear the gospel choir sing on Sundays, which once featured teenager Houston and her mom Cissy, was to be briefly transported to a faraway, trouble-free world, its patrons say. ...