Briefly: Diddy, Wham!, Styx, Belinda Carlisle
Rap impresario Sean "Diddy" Combs has signed on as an advertising spokesperson for fast-food company Burger King Corp.
"Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a pop culture icon, and we're thrilled to be able to collaborate, using the breadth of his talents as an artist, entrepreneur and change agent to impact and inspire our guests," Burger King exec Russ Klein said in a press release.
A recent installment of Combs' "DiddyTV" channel on YouTube--which is also being used to promote the upcoming Diddy album "Press Play," due Oct. 17--features the rapper making a visit to a Burger King restaurant.
George Michael reportedly told the UK's Sunday Mirror that he and former Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley will reunite to perform a Christmas concert at London's Wembley Arena.
They'll reportedly be joined by Wham! backup singers Pepsi and Shirlie.
A new CD and DVD that will be issued separately on Nov. 7 capture Styx 's May performance with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra at the Cleveland, OH-area's Blossom Music Center.
Titled "One With Everything: Styx & the Contemporary Youth Orchestra," the album and DVD feature symphonic arrangements of popular Styx tracks including "Blue Collar Man," "Renegade" and "Too Much Time On My Hands."
The band was backed at the concert by the CYO's 115 musicians and 56-member chorus--all teenagers under the direction of Liza Grossman.
The Go-Go's lead singer Belinda Carlisle will issue "Voila!," a French-language album that will mark her first new solo release in a decade, on Feb. 6.
"After I moved to France, I became familiar with the classic French chansons and a lot of French pop music," Carlisle explained in a press release. "I realized there was a whole world of artists and singers I was not familiar with. As I discovered all these amazing songs, I came to love this music and wanted to record some of them with a playful, contemporary feel."
John Reynolds (U2, Sinead O'Connor) produced the set, which features Brian Eno on keyboards and Fianchna O'Braonain (Hothouse Flowers) on guitar.
- Artist Links:
Styx maps summer tour with Boston [July 2008]
Sean Combs Receives Star On Hollywood Walk Of Fame [May 2008]
Regeneration Tour revives the '80s [April 2008]
Dates finalized for Def Leppard, Styx, REO Speedwagon [January 2008]
Def Leppard, Styx, REO Speedwagon together again [January 2008]
T.I. takes the lead at BET Hip Hop Awards [September 2007]
2008 Pitchfork Music Festival Photos - Day 3
2008 Pitchfork Music Festival Photos - Day 2
2008 Pitchfork Music Festival Photos - Day 1
Madonna's "Confessions on a Dance Floor" tour
The Duke Spirit on stage and in the studio
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with Stevie Nicks
Metallica at the KROQ Weenie Roast in Irvine, CA
R.E.M. at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA
Herbie Hancock at the Sonoma Jazz Festival
Brad Paisley, Jack Ingram and Kellie Pickler

