Bruno Mars will open the 2016 American Music Awards show, marking his first performance on the AMA stage. Mars, who won the Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist award in 2011, has scored seven AMA nominations in the past. The singer/songwriter/producer has just scored his latest hit with "24K Magic," which debuted at NO. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, earning Mars his highest debut to date.
The 2015 American Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Drake broke a 32-year record for the most AMA nominations with 13 nods, beating Michael Jackson's previous high mark of 11 from 1984. The "Hotline Bling" rapper leads all 2016 American Music Awards nominees with nods in categories including Artist of the Year, Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Album, Favorite Rap Artist, Favorite Rap Song and Favorite R&B song, among others. If he wins in any of the categories it will make his first AMA win.
Rihanna is just behind Drizzy with seven nominations, with Adele and Justin Bieber picking up five nominations each, followed by four nods each for Beyonce and The Chainsmokers and three forBryson Tiller, Twenty One Pilots, Carrie Underwood, Fetty Wap and The Weeknd.
Drake will go up against Adele, Beyoncé, Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Rihanna, Twenty One Pilots, Underwood and The Weeknd for Artist of the Year; the 10 nominees will be narrowed to five based on the votes received through Monday, November 14 at 8:59 a.m. PT. Voting for Artist of the Year will close on Thursday, November 17 at 8:59 p.m. PT.
The winner will be determined by the total votes received throughout the entire voting period. If Bieber wins the award he will tie current record hold Taylor Swift for the most wins (3). With eight past wins and this year's five nominations, Bieber needs just one win to become one of the top 10 AMA winners of all time.
Fans can vote for all category once per day, per platform in one or both of the below ways. For New Artist of the Year Un-leashed by T-Mobile, fans can vote 100 times per day, per platform at AMAvote.com or by posting a tweet that includes the nominee's Twitter handle, the category name and #AMAs within the post(s). The 2016 American Music Awards is produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro and Mike Mahan are executive producers. Larry Klein, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are producers.
Members of a Michael Jackson fan club have reached out to officials at the star's resting place in California, offering to clean up the King of Pop's vandalised tomb.
Bosses at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California, where the singer was interred following his death last year, were left fuming recently after discovering Jackson's memorial has been defaced with permanent ink tributes.
They stepped up security onsite in a bid to deter fans from penning messages on the tomb - but a number of Jackson's followers are keen to help out.
Several members of the Official Michael Jackson Fans of Southern California group, who visit the site monthly, have offered their cleanup services at the cemetery, according to TMZ.com.
One fan tells the website the group wants to "fix this mess" so Jackson fans aren't banned completely from paying their respects at Forest Lawn. Source: Ananova
2009-09-04
Final Farewell: Intimate Funeral For Jackson
Michael Jackson's children and parents have led the mourners at a private funeral service for the star.
Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and seven-year-old Blanket arrived for the outdoor ceremony at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, as a piano played in the background.
They took their front-row seats alongside their grandparents Katherine and Joe Jackson as a convoy of more than 30 vehicles carrying other family members filed in.
A few minutes later, the hearse carrying Jackson's body arrived, accompanied by four police officers on motorbikes.
The star's brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy, each wearing a single white glove, acted as pallbearers as the coffin was placed in front of the mourners.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Michael's children placed a crown on their father's coffin to signify the final resting place of the King of Pop.
The service, attended by around 200 family and close friends, was delayed by more than 90 minutes while guests awaited the arrival of the Jackson family.
Hollywood legend Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin and civil rights leader Rev Al Sharpton were among the mourners.
Jackson's former wife Lisa Marie Presley also attended. Debbie Rowe, his second wife and the mother of two of his children, was invited but it is unclear if she was present.
Sky's US correspondent Robert Nisbet said the intimate service was in sharp contrast to the lavish tribute concert held 10 days after the singer's death.
"The family were due to stage the funeral last Saturday, which would have been Jackson's 51st birthday," he said, "but his mother asked for a postponement because she wanted to make sure all the details were correct."
The funeral invitation handed out to guests contained pictures of the singer alongside some of his words.
The Jackson family wrote on the invites: "We loved him, we laughed with him, we sang with him. We danced with him. But on this day, we celebrate him."
While waiting for the Jacksons to arrive, Mr Sharpton posted a message on Twitter saying: "What MJ went through was so unfair, yet he succeeded. In the end, he was the biggest artist ever. He faced the headwinds but he made it."
The service opened with a quote taken from Jackson's book Dancing The Dream which read: "If you enter the world knowing you are loved and leave the world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with."
Songwriter Clifton Davis sang The Jackson 5 song "Never Can Say Goodbye," which he wrote for the group.
Police cordoned off the area surrounding Forest Lawn after urging fans to stay away from the event.
Jackson was laid to rest in the Great Mausoleum at the cemetery, where scores of Hollywood legends are buried.
His casket was placed in a private area of the crypt that also houses the bodies of Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard.
The star's sudden death was ruled a homicide last week. Source: Ananova
2009-08-27
La Toya thankful for leaked report
La Toya Jackson has spoken out about the leaked report that said her brother's (Michael Jackson) death is being treated as homicide.
She told the Daily Mirror: "I am thankful to the investigators for uncovering the truth to the world. I look forward to the day that justice will be served to all the parties involved in my brother's homicide."
Court documents have revealed the singer had lethal amounts of the anaesthetic propofol in his body.
On the day he died Jacko's personal doctor Conrad Murray reportedly first gave the star sedatives valium, lorazepam and midazolam in the early hours.
According to details on a search warrant affidavit, when they failed to make Jacko sleep he administered propofol using a drip.
When he examined the singer minutes later he had stopped breathing. About 90 minutes later he had a heart attack.
Police are now looking into three phone calls Dr Murray is said to have made on his mobile after leaving the star's room.
One call was to Jacko's personal assistant Michael Amir Williams. But the identities of the two other people Dr Murray called have not been revealed. All the calls were made before emergency services were contacted.
Dr Murray's lawyer Ed Chernoff said some of the information on the affidavit was speculation by detectives.
He said: "Much of what was in the search warrant affidavit is factual. However, unfortunately, much is police theory." Source: Ananova
2009-08-13
Date Set For Michael Jackson Tribute Concert
The organisers of the Michael Jackson tribute concert in Vienna have set a date for the star-studded event.
The show, to be held at Vienna's Schoenbrunn Palace on September 26, is expected to be watched by hundreds of millions of fans around the world.
Jackson's brother Jermaine Jackson is set to announce the artists who will perform at the concert soon, according to promoter World Awards Media.
Those taking part will perform on a crown-shaped stage in front of the palace, dedicated to the King of Pop.
Promoters said they are working "briskly" to line up major entertainers and a network to broadcast the event live for what they dubbed a "singularly worldwide event".
Earlier this week, World Media Awards chief Georg Kindel said the tribute would last three hours and would feature about 10 artists, performing 15 to 20 Jackson hits.
He said Jackson family members and unidentified Hollywood stars would honour the late singer as images and video clips were screened.
Organisers envisage standing room for about 85,000 people at the concert in the sculpted grounds of Schoenbrunn and grandstands to accommodate 5,000 VIP guests.
Jermaine said Vienna was chosen as the venue because his brother "loved castles".
Many fans had expected the tribute to be staged in London, where the pop star had been booked to perform a marathon of concerts, prior to his death on June 25.
Tickets for the tribute are expected to go on sale on August 20. Source: Ananova
2009-08-12
DEA Search For Jacko's Prescription Documents
Investigators have searched a pharmacy in Las Vegas for documents and hard drives with information relating to Michael Jackson's prescriptions.
Agents from the Drugs Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrived at Applied Pharmacy Services searching for evidence relating to prescriptions written by Dr Conrad Murray.
It follows similar raids at Dr Murray's house and offices last month.
Police are reportedly working on the theory that the doctor administered the powerful sedative propofol shortly before the singer's heart stopped.
Jackson died aged 50 at his rented home in Beverly Hills on June 25.
Dr Murray, his personal physician, was with his at the time of death. It has been suggested the medic administered a powerful drug to help Jackson sleep in the hours leading up to his death.
Dr Murray's home and office in Las Vegas were raided last month, as was a site in Houston, Texas, connected to the doctor.
He has been quizzed twice by police as part of their probe and a third interview is planned.
Dr Murray has not been named as a suspect, but court records have identified the 51-year-old as the subject of a manslaughter investigation.
It is widely believed the results of Jackson's post-mortem will show the singer was on heavy medication when he died.
Los Angeles County Coroner's Office has completed the autopsy on Jackson's body but will not release any details while the official investigation is ongoing. Source: Ananova
2009-08-11
Jackson Post-Mortem Results Withheld
The post-mortem report on Michael Jackson has been written but will not be released until police complete their investigation into the star's death.
A spokesman for Los Angeles Police Department said homicide detectives had asked for the report, which includes results from toxicology tests, to remain sealed until then.
Ed Winter, assistant chief coroner at the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, declined to say when that might be.
The post-mortem is expected to show Jackson was on heavy medication when he died at his rented Beverly Hills home on June 25.
The police investigation into the pop star's death has increasingly focused on the role the pop star's personal doctor played in the events leading up to his collapse.
Over the last month, a number of Dr Conrad Murray's offices and his home have been raided by federal agents looking for evidence.
Sources indicate that they are working on the theory he gave the pop star propofol - a powerful sedative - to help him sleep shortly before he died.
Dr Murray has not been named as a suspect but court records have identified him as the subject of a manslaughter investigation.
Some reports say the King of Pop's body has now been buried at the Forest Lawn cemetery in Los Angeles, where a private funeral service took place last month.
This has not been officially confirmed and a cemetery spokesman declined to comment.
Meanwhile, the judge overseeing Jackson's will said he had approved several business deals in relation to the singer's estate.
These include a $60m (£36.5m) agreement with Columbia Pictures to make a feature-length film from video footage of Jackson's rehearsals for a series of concerts at the O2 arena in London. Source: Ananova
2009-08-10
Michael Jackson's Body Finally Laid To Rest
Michael Jackson has been buried, seven weeks after his death, his family lawyer has said.
Brian Oxman told GMTV that after coroners had released certain tissues, including his brain, following an autopsy, they were buried with Jackson's body during a low key ceremony.
Mr Oxman said: "The burial itself was at the time of the memorial. When the tissues were returned to the body, then the interment was made final."
The Daily Mirror is reporting that the ceremony took place at the Forest Lawn cemetary in Hollywood Hills.
The lawyer also moved to deny rumours that former child star Mark Lester was the father of the King of Pop's daughter, Paris.
Mr Lester is godfather to Jackson's three children, and claims that he donated sperm to the singer 13 years ago.
The actor said: "I gave Michael my sperm so that he could have kids - and I believe Paris is my daughter."
Mr Lester cited Paris' pale skin and blue eyes, similar to his own daughter's, as the reason he believes she is his child.
However, Mr Oxman said: "I think what Mark said is what he understands, he was told these things.
"That's what Michael wanted it to be. But Michael always told me he was the papa."
Mr Lester says he is only speaking out because he is concerned Jackson's mother, Katherine, will cut him out of their lives.
He claims since she was given custody of them all of his emails and phone calls to them have gone unanswered. Source: Ananova
2009-08-07
Jacko Phone Call "Stunned" England Star
Michael Jackson said he was "looking forward to meeting" fan Rio Ferdinand in a phone call to the footballer two months before he died, it has emerged.
A video of the telephone conversation has been released showing a stunned England defender speaking to the King of Pop.
In the clip Ferdinand thanks Michael for a Manchester United shirt which he had signed for him.
"You're welcome," the singer said.
"I look forward to meeting you and hopefully you can come to the show and that will be great."
Ferdinand told Sky News Online that it was a "surreal moment."
"He was a massive hero for me as a kid growing up," he said. "I knew all the words from all of his songs.
"It was out of the world. I couldn't believe it at first then it sank it afterwards."
Jackson was due to meet Ferdinand backstage after one of his This Is It comeback concerts at the 02 arena.
The King of Pop, who rarely gave interviews, had agreed to talk to the footballer for his newly-launched #5 Magazine.
He had called Ferdinand to wish him luck with the new venture on April 29 - almost two months before he died.
The footballer said: "It was nice of him to take the time out to phone me.
"But even bigger than that was that he was offering to be part of the magazine and be interviewed when he was over here - that in itself was huge for me."
Ferdinand released the clip to coincide with the launch of the second edition of his digital magazine.
The online venture, which covers sport, music and style, features Roger Federer and Usain Bolt in the new edition.
It also has the full clip of Ferdinand's conversation with Jackson at rioferdinand.com. Source: Ananova
2009-08-06
Jacko's parents to hire private detectives
Michael Jackson's grieving parents are planning to hire private investigators to find out how their son died.
The singer died from a suspected heart attack on June 25 but the family are still awaiting confirmation.
They also want to look at his contract with AEG promoters who were organising the star's O2 London shows.
A Los Angeles judge said Katherine and Joe can see the details of the agreement after AEG previously refused their request.
Dr Conrad Murray - who allegedly gave Michael anaesthetic Propofol the day he died - was employed by AEG on £90,000 a month.
The private investigators are also likely to question a doctor who gave the star a clean bill of health for the shows.
A source told The Sun: "Joe has been obsessed with AEG's role from the start and wanted to see the contract.
"Joe didn't trust them and told Michael. He is adamant he only agreed or wanted to do ten shows and was pressured into doing more."
Katherine was awarded permanent guardian of the star's three children by the court earlier this week.
It has also been agreed that monthly allowances should be paid to the 79-year-old to help look after the children. Source: Ananova
2009-06-26
Singer Michael Jackson dead at 50
Michael Jackson, the show-stopping singer whose best-selling albums, including "Off the Wall", "Thriller" and "Bad", and electrifying stage presence made him one of the most popular artists of all time, died Thursday, CNN has confirmed.
He was 50.
He collapsed at his residence in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, California, about noon Pacific time, suffering cardiac arrest, according to brother Randy Jackson. He died at UCLA Medical Center.
Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said an autopsy would probably be done on the singer Friday, with results expected that afternoon.
"Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color," the Rev. Al Sharpton said. "To say an 'icon' would only give these young people in Harlem a fraction of what he was. He was a historic figure that people will measure music and the industry by."
Jackson's blazing rise to stardom (and later fall from grace) is among the most startling of show business tales. The son of a steelworker, he rose to fame as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, a band he formed with his brothers in the late 1960s. By the late '70s, as a solo artist, he was topping the charts with cuts from "Off the Wall, including "Rock With You" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."
In 1982, he released "Thriller", an album that eventually produced seven hit singles. An appearance the next year on a Motown Records 25th-anniversary special cemented his status as the biggest star in the country.
For the rest of the 1980s, they came no bigger. "Thriller's" follow-up, 1987's "Bad", sold almost as many copies. The pop music landscape was changing, however, opening up for rap, hip-hop and what came to be called "alternative" and Jackson was seen as out of step.
And then "Dangerous" was knocked out of its No. 1 spot on the album charts by Nirvana's "Nevermind", an occurrence noted for its symbolism by rock critics.
After that, more attention was paid to Jackson's private life than his music career, which faltered. A 1995 two-CD greatest hits, "HIStory", sold relatively poorly, given the huge expense of Jackson's recording contract: about 7 million copies, according to Recording Industry of America certifications.
A 2001 album of new material, "Invincible", did even worse.
In 2005, he went to trial on child-molestation charges. He was acquitted.
In July 2008, after three years away from the spotlight, Jackson announced a series of concerts at London's O2 Arena as his "curtain call." Some of the shows, initially scheduled to begin in July, were eventually postponed until 2010. Source: BillBoard
2009-05-21
Michael Jackson postpones first London dates
"Perfectionism" moves three shows back to 2010
Michael Jackson has rescheduled the opening four nights of his forthcoming This Is It residency in London.
Organisers claim that the move is to ensure the technical challenges of the mammoth event are amply met.
In a statement, promoters AEG explained: "Due to the sheer magnitude of the This Is It concerts... AEG Live and Kenny Ortega, Michael’s directorial partner and creative collaborator, have elected to move back a few of the opening shows in order to meet the challenges presented by such a massive and technically complex show.
"Kenny and Michael are, at the same time, both creative pioneers and perfectionists. This show has grown in size and scope, thereby necessitating more lead time for manufacture of the set, programming the content for the massive video elements, and, most importantly, more time for full production and dress rehearsals."
The statement continued: "It is AEG Live’s sincere hope that those lucky enough to have purchased tickets will have enough time to change their personal schedules and travel plans if they are coming from outside of London. We do not want anyone to miss this once-in-a-lifetime experience."
The first show, originally scheduled for 8 July, will now take place five days later on 13th July, while the 10 July show is pushed back to 1 March 2010, 12 July is postponed to 3 March 2010 and 14 July takes places on 6 March 2010.
Tabloid reports of Michael suffering from skin cancer have been strenuously denied by his representatives, although the star was pictured leaving a medical centre in Virginia yesterday (20 May). Source: Ananova
2008-11-04
Take That: 'Robbie Williams' album is better than ours!'
Take That have smashed UK box office records after 600,000 tickets for the band's 2009 stadium tour, The Circus - Live, were snapped up in fewer than five hours.
The tour became the fastest-selling in UK history, beating previous records held by ex-bandmate Robbie Williams in 2005 and Michael Jackson's 1987 Bad Tour.
Gary Barlow insisted that Robbie would be proud of their achievement, despite the fact his own record had been broken.
He told BBC Radio 1: "He'll be delighted for us. We played him our new album a couple of months ago and he absolutely loved it."
Mark Owen added that he was still jealous of Robbie's talent, especially after hearing his forthcoming new album.
He said: "We heard quite a bit of his new stuff when we were out in LA. It's really, really good - in fact it's even better than ours!
"I was a bit gutted. I just want him to get something out. I think he's going to release something in the new year."
He added: "I was telling him he should do a double album, but I don't know if he'll pay any attention to me." Source: Ananova
2008-10-28
Dido says farewell to late father
Dido has revealed that a song on her forthcoming album, Safe Trip Home, is a tribute to her late father, who recently passed away from lupus – a condition that has previously affected Michael Jackson and Seal..
"Grafton Street" recalls Dido’s memories of singing traditional Irish song ‘Raglan Road’ to her father whilst on his deathbed.
Her farewell contained the line: “On Grafton Street in November, we tripped lightly along the ledge of a deep ravine where can be seen the worst of passions pledged.”
She told The Sun: “Him dying was huge. I was so close to him. I got to be with him and I was glad about that.
“He was around to hear some of [Safe Trip Home]. It’s gutting I can’t play him the whole album." Source: Ananova
2008-01-28
NRJ Awards dished out
Britney Spears scooped Best International Album at the NRJ Awards in Cannes on Saturday (January 26).
Despite her troubled personal life, Toxic Brit's Blackout album was honoured with the Best Album of last year by listeners of French radio station NRJ, while RnB star Rihanna was awarded the gong for Best International Song for Don't Stop The Music.
Mika was among the other winners at the star-studded ceremony where he was named Best International Revelation, with Avril Lavigne and Justin Timberlake winning the Best International Female and Male awards respectively.
Meanwhile Michael Jackson won a Lifetime Achievement award. Source: Ananova
2008-01-28
Jackson confirms comeback
Michael Jackson has been speaking about his return to the music scene for the first time in public.
Rumours have long suggested that 2008 would be the year of Jacko, and during an acceptance speech at the NRJ Awards in Cannes, he confirmed just that.
As is reported in the Daily Mirror, after accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award at the French ceremony, Jackson confirmed by video message: "I'm coming back. And I've got a very special treat for all my fans.
"I have been recording Thriller: 25th Anniversary, with a lot of surprise guests," he added.
Thriller, with 104 million sales worldwide, is comfortably the biggest selling album of all time.
It is not yet known as to whether the Bad singer will follow up the album with a series of live shows. Source: Ananova
2007-10-11
MJ calls on Kanye for comeback
Michael Jackson is readying a comeback album and has got Kanye West working on material.
As reported on Orange World yesterday (October 10), Jacko had written a letter to his European fan club saying he had some "exciting and suprising news" to reveal soon.
Stronger rapper Kanye revealed: "I'm working on stuff for Michael Jackson.
"If I like a person's outlet or what a person brings to the table, then I'll speak to them."
Ne-Yo and Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am are also lined-up for Jacko's first studio album since 2001, which is rumoured to be released early next year. Source: Ananova
2007-09-21
Akon bigs up legends
Senegalese rapper Akon has revealed his plans for three massive collaborations with Madonna, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.
Speaking to MTV, the Locked Up star didn't give away too many details about each of the projects but still managed to get completely carried away when hyping up each collaboration.
On teaming-up with Jacko, Akon said: "We about to shake the world up, man.
"Just to be in the same room (with him), I felt everything I wanted to accomplish in life has been achieved."
From working with the King of Pop, he then raved about his upcoming studio time with the Queen of Pop, stating that the pair will "shock the world" before the year is out.
And last but not least, Akon bigged up the much-maligned Whitney Houston, who he is helping along the comeback trail by collaborating with her on a couple of tracks.
"She's the truth. She's undeniable.... This album is going be one of the biggest albums she decided to put out," he boasted.
With so much work on his plate, it doesn't look the rapper has any time to work on his own new material, estimating that it'll be 18 months before the world gets a new Akon album. Source: Ananova
2004-08-30
Jacko 'fears Neverland is bugged'
Michael Jackson is said to be selling his Neverland ranch because he fears it has been bugged by police.
He has refused to enter the Ј8 million home since he was arrested there last year, claims the Daily Star.
A source told the paper: "He has had it debugged several times and now wants to sell."
The pop star denies child molestation charges. He is due to stand trial in January.
Source: Ananova
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