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:
Sean Combs leaves Atlantic for Interscope [September 2009]
Weekend Ticketing: KISS, Jason Aldean, Stone Temple Pilots, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Styx [August 2009]
Styx continues classic-rock run [August 2009]
Featured Photos: Janelle Monae, Bonnaroo Festival, Manchester, TN - June 11, 2009 [August 2009]
Sean 'Diddy' Combs focuses on 'Making His Band' [July 2009]
Featured Photos: REO Speedwagon in Chicago, IL - July 10, 2009 [July 2009]



































