Arch MUSIC NEWS for 2/5/13

Arch MUSIC NEWS is compiled by Jay Philpott -

On the heels of her electrifying/power-sapping Super Bowl halftime show performance in New Orleans Sunday, Beyonce has announced plans to head out on a world tour, starting in April. She’s calling it the “Mrs. Carter Show,” an apparent reference to her husband, hip-hop star Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter. Set to kick off April 15th in Serbia, the show will keep Beyoncé in Europe through May. She will return stateside in late June for shows that will take her across North America including stops in Los Angeles, Houston, Boston, Atlantic City, New Jersey, Charlotte, North Carolina and Brooklyn…but no St. Louis date. Her fifth album is due out this spring.

Beyoncé is getting the all-clear from the NFL in regards to the power outage that interrupted Sunday night’s Super Bowl for almost 35 minutes. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a press conference Monday that the third quarter outage was unrelated to the singer’s halftime show.

The singer of the 60s classic “Wild Thing”, The Troggs frontman Reg Presley has died at age 71.

Billy Joel says his life is “kinda getting back to normal” after recently undergoing hip replacement procedures on both hips, and is now at “85-percent.” He says that his health issues and age are keeping him from touring — perhaps permanently — because he’s “not as good” as he “used to be.” He explains that his voice has deepened and he’s “not as athletic” and doesn’t “jump off the piano anymore” — a move he admits likely contributed to his hip problems. Billy also says he feels no sense of urgency to release any new music. He describes his situation as a split with himself, saying “The singer broke up with the songwriter and the performer didn’t want to work with the piano player anymore.”

Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood says the group might have a big surprise for fans on their upcoming tour — Christine McVie. The drummer tells the UK’s “The Sun” that he’s spoken with the group’s former singer and keyboardist, who left the fold in 1998. He says that while Christine “loathes flying” and has “never been back to the United States” since leaving the group 15 years ago, she’s agreed to leave her UK home to spend three weeks with him in Maui. Mick adds that during her visit he’ll be working on “persuading her to return.” He admits “it’ll be her decision,” but says he and the rest of the band would “make her very welcome if she wanted to creep on that stage again.”

Sting and Prince will be taking part in this year’s Grammy Awards. They’ve been tapped to team up with nominees Bruno Mars and Rihanna for a performance at the event. Prince has been added to the growing list of presenters. A host of other stars are also on board for the show. Elton John will be sharing the stage with Ed Sheeran while Jack White, the Black Keys, Maroon 5, Taylor Swift, Mumford And Sons, and Justin Timberlake are just some of the other performers. Other presenters include Jennifer Lopez; country stars Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Keith Urban, and Hunter Hayes; and actors Neil Patrick Harris, Pauley Perrette, and Kaley Cuoco. LL Cool J will host the 55th annual Grammy Awards, which will be presented in Los Angeles and air on CBS this Sunday.