Arch MUSIC NEWS for 9/27/12

Arch MUSIC NEWS is compiled by Jay Philpott -

One rock star who won’t be weighing in on the upcoming presidential election is Paul Stanley.  He’s mystified by the idea, and calls it “absurd that a celebrity could speak out on the economy or politics with no more justification than a hit album or a movie.” Stanley adds that he’s not sure “who is more ridiculous,” the celebrities who discuss politics with reporters or the journalists who ask the stars politically-based questions.

The daughter of Kiss’ Gene Simmons, Sophie, is looking to make it as a singer without the help of her father. Her audition on Fox’s “X Factor” Wednesday night got her three yes votes. The judges came to figure out her background before she starting singing “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele. Sophie told them that she didn’t want her father’s help and wanted to become a singer on her own talent. L.A. Reid wasn’t too impressed with her and passed, but she was saved by Simon Cowell, Britney Spears and Demi Lovato who all moved her to the next round. Some fellow contestants commented that they didn’t think she would’ve gone through if she was just an ordinary person.

Bee Gees fans can now hear Barry Gibb‘s foray into bluegrass. The singer is featured on the track “Soldier’s Son,” which is on Ricky Skaggs‘ new album “Music To My Ears.”

 
Steve Martin is on board for tonight’s International Bluegrass Music Awards. The actor, comedian, and musician is a nominee heading into the ceremony, and he’s also slated to perform at the event. The 23rd International Bluegrass Music Awards will take place at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and the websites BluegrassNation.org and BluegrassToday.com will be streaming the event live starting at 7:30 p.m. STL time.

The long career of late R&B legend Whitney Houston will be honored with a new greatest hits album. Set to be released through RCA Records on November 13th, the album will be called “I Will Always Love You – The Best of Whitney Houston.” It will feature 18 songs and is being described as the “first ever, definitive single disc” hits package. A 36-track greatest hits compilation was released back in 2000 in a double-CD package. The new collection will also feature two previously unreleased recordings. One is a new version of “I Look To You,” featuring R. Kelly, whose original take was the title track of Houston’s last ever studio album in 2009. The other is a song called “Never Give Up.” In an interview with Ryan Seacrest on Tuesday, Houston’s longtime friend and mentor Clive Davis said a CBS special tribute show would also be taped on October 11th.

Pink has landed the first number one album of her career with her latest “The Truth About Love.” The album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 this week with 280-thousand copies sold. It is the best debut sales week that Pink has seen since she started her career over 12 years ago. “The Truth About Love” also saw the third best debut of the year so far, following Justin Bieber’s “Believe” and Madonna’s “MNDA.”

Kelly Clarkson is one of the first artists to sign on to perform at the upcoming 46th Annual Country Music Association Awards. It was announced on Wednesday that she would be performing alongside country stars Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Little Big Town. For the fifth consecutive year, the ceremony will be hosted by “American Idol” winner Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley. Clarkson shares the current CMA Award for Musical Event of the Year with Aldean for “Don’t You Wanna Stay.” This year she’s been nominated in the Female Vocalist of the Year category for the first time. She was previously nominated in the Musical Event of the Year category with Reba McEntire for “Because of You” in 2007. The CMA Awards will air live on ABC from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on November 1st.

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