ARCH MUSIC NEWS for 2/18/13

ARCH MUSIC NEWS is compiled by Jay Philpott -

The troubled life of country singer Mindy McCready has come to a tragic end. Sheriff’s deputies in Cleburne County, Arkansas are confirming the singer’s death, saying McCready was found inside her home in Heber Springs Sunday, and that it appeared she died from a single gun shot wound to the head. Her body has been sent to the State Crime unit. No other details have been released. The 37-year-old singer has had a long history of personal struggle. She had been in and out of rehab while battling addiction and mental health issues. McCready was being treated at a facility earlier this month before she was released to an outpatient program. Her death comes one month after the January 13th death of her boyfriend, David Wilson, at his Arkansas home. Mindy leaves behind two young sons.

Mindy McCready moved from her hometown of Fort Myers, Florida at the age of 18 to launch her country music career. She scored a top ten hit with her first single, “Ten Thousand Angels,” which was the title track to her 1996 debut album. The CD also featured Mindy’s first chart-topper, “Guys Do It All The Time” as well as the 1997 hit “A Girl’s Gotta Do (What A Girl’s Gotta Do).” McCready’s next two albums, 1997′s “If I Don’t Stay the Night” and 1999′s “I’m Not So Tough” both cracked the top ten, but the country star never matched the success of her first studio effort.

As the years progressed, Mindy began making more headlines for her turbulent personal life than for her music. In 2004 McCready was arrested on drug charges and put on probation after pleading guilty. But she ended up in jail more than once on probation violations. In May 2005, McCready’s ex-boyfriend, Billy McKnight, was arrested for attempted murder after a brutal attack on the singer. In the months that followed, McCready was twice hospitalized following suicide attempts, the second of which occurred after she learned she was pregnant with McKnight’s child. She gave birth to son Zander in March 2006. In 2008, McCready came forward with allegations that she’d had an affair with baseball great Roger Clemens when she was just 15 years old. Clemens denied McCready’s claims.

McCready’s legal and substance abuse problems led to her losing custody of Zander, who was placed with her mom in Florida. Mindy spent years battling her parents for custody, which she eventually won in late 2011 — after taking the boy from her father’s home and hiding out with him at boyfriend David Wilson’s Arkansas home. Last April she and Wilson celebrated the birth of their son, Zayne. McCready attempted to relaunch her music career in 2010 with “I’m Still Here,” her first studio effort in eight years. The album peaked at number 71 on the chart, and neither single from the disc charted.

Billy Joel isn’t ready to wrap up his performing career just yet – he’s among the headliners for Australia’s new Stone Music Festival, April 20th and 21st in Sydney. Van Halen is also on board for the festival, along with Richie Ramone, Lifehouse, Buckcherry, and Kings of Chaos. The event will mark the first time Van Halen has performed in Australia since 1998, and the first time the group has traveled Down Under with David Lee Roth. Joel, meanwhile, recently told “Rolling Stone” that he was still recovering from a double hip replacement, and wasn’t quite back to 100-percent yet. He added that he was reconsidering his performing future in general, claiming that he’s “not as good” as he “used to be.”

David Bowie fans may soon have another new song to enjoy. Bowie posted a picture on his Facebook page Saturday that many are interpreting as the cover art for the song “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” from his upcoming album “The Next Day.” In addition to the song’s title and Bowie’s name on the image, the post also includes the caption “02.26.13,” indicating a possible release date of next Tuesday, February 26th. Bowie debuted the lead single from “The Next Day,” “Where Are We Now?,” last month, marking his first new music in almost a decade. The album itself is scheduled to hit stores on March 12th.

Julie Andrews is voicing her support for the upcoming NBC remake of “The Sound of Music.” The woman who originated the role of Maria von Trapp tells “The Wall Street Journal” it’s “probably time that a remake is allowed,” since it’s been nearly 50 years since the original film first hit the big screen. She explains that over the years there have been new versions of “Cinderella” and “‘Mary Poppins,” and it’s “all part of the process of those wonderful properties going out and reaching another audience.” She’s also giving a blanket endorsement to Carrie Underwood, who’ll be taking on the role Andrews made famous. Julie says she doesn’t know the former “American Idol” winner, but “maybe” they’ll get the chance to meet. Andrews adds that she “would love to know her.” Few details have been revealed about the planned “Sound of Music” remake. So far Underwood is the only announced cast member for the upcoming production, which is expected to air on NBC as a live TV special in December.

Mariah Carey’s new song “Almost Home” will go to radio and become available on iTunes when it’s officially released by her label Island Def Jam on Tuesday. The new “American Idol” judge co-wrote the track for the “Wizard of Oz” prequel starring James Franco and Mila Kunis. An accompanying video directed by the star’s frequent collaborator David LaChapelle, is slated to premiere in the coming weeks as well. In a statement, she called “Almost Home” “a feel-good record” that “gives you the feeling of reaching home.” Mariah is also currently working on a new album, which is expected out sometime this year. “Oz: The Great and Powerful” hits theaters on March 8th.

Lady Gaga is starting to resurface, days after she shocked fans by canceling her “Born This Way Ball” tour due to injuries. According to one of the star’s fan sites “Gaga Daily,” she was seen on Friday making a coffee run at a Starbucks in Chicago. Gaga was reportedly confined to a wheelchair, and an image tweeted by a fan is making the rounds online. She confirmed the wheelchair rumors on Saturday, tweeting a photo of the chair, which she appears to have named “Emma.” Sources say she’s been staying in the Windy City with her boyfriend actor Taylor Kinney, who stars on the NBC drama “Chicago Fire.” Sources add that she’s scheduled to have surgery sometime this week. Gaga announced last week that she would have to scrap the second half of her tour due to what she called a “severe inflammation of the joints.”

Adele is “seriously considering” a Las Vegas residency as an option for her near future. Although it seems like a strange move so early in her career, the source explains that Adele wants to get back to performing but doesn’t want to uproot her new family with a tour so soon after giving birth. She is supposedly warming to the idea of settling in Vegas for some time with boyfriend Simon Konecki and her newborn son, all while recording her third album. At last week’s Grammys, Adele said she’d be staying in Los Angeles for the next couple of weeks to take some early meetings about her follow up to “21.” She said that she was “not very far along at all.” The singer is set to perform her James Bond theme “Skyfall” at the Academy Awards on February 24th.

Season eleven “American Idol” winner Phillip Phillips is moving right along with his career plans despite ongoing family issues. The singer has released the video for his second single “Gone Gone Gone” following news that his mother was arrested for DUI in his Georgia hometown last week. To make matters worse, Phillips’ parents are reported to have split up in recent weeks as well, according to TMZ. The most recent “Idol” winner has reportedly had a strained relationship with his family back home for some time, and made headlines last November for refusing to help bail out his parents’ failing family business after hitting it big with his debut album. Ironically, the “Gone Gone Gone” video is a montage of families and lovers sticking together in hard times. The 22-year-old is currently on tour with Matchbox 20.