Arch MUSIC NEWS for 8/7/12

Elton John is taking aim at Madonna again. Adding more fuel to their longstanding feud, the veteran rocker told Australia’s Channel 7 over the weekend that Madonna’s career is over. Using profane and degrading language in reference to the pop star, Elton delivered a steady stream of insults, calling her current tour a “disaster” and comparing her to a “fairground stripper.” He dropped some not-so-subtle hints that his reloaded attack against Madonna stemmed from the singer’s criticisms of pop star Lady Gaga whose work has been compared to Madonna’s. Elton said, “She’s been so horrible to Gaga.” Lady Gaga is also the godmother of Elton’s son Zachary.

Rush is among the 2012 RockWalk inductees. The Guitar Center sidewalk gallery on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard recognizes rock, blues, and R&B artists who have made significant and lasting contributions to music. Rush’s induction ceremony will include singer-bassit Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer Neil Peart making their handprint block for the Walk. The event is scheduled for November 20th — the day after Rush performs at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles on their “Clockwork Angels” tour.

Lady Gaga has announced the title for her next album. It’s called “ARTPOP” and Gaga insists that it gets the all-caps treatment. She won’t say yet what ARTPOP means or stands for, though there is some speculation it could be an acronym for “Artistic Revolution Through the Potential of Pop,” which she wrote on her littlemonsters.com website. There is also the suggestion that it could be a reference to the late artist Andy Warhol, who made the term “pop art” mainstream. The new album is expected to be released late this year or early in 2013, but Lady Gaga isn’t saying.

NBC is denying Sharon Osbourne‘s claims that the network discriminated against her son Jack Osbourne because he has multiple sclerosis. Osbourne told the “New York Post” she would not be back for another season of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” because the network dropped Jack from the upcoming military exercise show “Stars Earn Stripes” after he announced his M-S diagnosis. In a statement Monday, NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt said although it did not ask Jack to participate in the competition it did offer Jack two “substantial alternative roles on the show,” adding that he declined them both.

Pink is the new face of CoverGirl Cosmetics. She joins the likes of Taylor Swift, Sofia Vergara, Drew Barrymore, Ellen DeGeneres and Queen Latifah who have lent their celebrity to CoverGirl products in the past. Pink’s new album, “The Truth About Love,” is due out September 18th.

Christina Aguilera, Train and OneRepublic are just a few of the acts lending their voices to the 25th anniversary edition of “A Very Special Christmas.” The popular holiday album series has raised more then 100-million-dollars for the Special Olympics, and officials from the organization and the album’s new label, Big Machine, were joined by Train frontman Pat Monahan and others to announce the latest entry at a press conference in Nashville on Monday. Other artists taking part include Jason Mraz, Cheap Trick, Michael Bublé, Vince Gill, the Band Perry and more. “A Very Special Christmas 25th Anniversary Edition” will be released October 16th.

Judas Priest’s Rob Halford says the Chick-fil-A controversy is the U.S. Constitution in action. The openly gay metal singer says that as a fan of America, the Constitution, and the First Amendment, he feels the “people at Chick-fil-A have the absolute right to say and do what they want.” He also says it’s “great” that those who support restaurant president Dan Cathy “have been showing up in droves” to spend their money and peacefully assemble, while those who disagree with him have “gone out and boycotted the company.” Halford adds that it’s “wonderful” to see Cathy’s comments spark open discussions about the gay rights issue, even if it wasn’t his intention to do so.