Grammy award winning singer and actress Whitney Houston, who has sold over 170 million albums worldwide, died today at age 48 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Though her publicist Kristen Foster confirmed the death, she did not reveal the cause. She was pronounced dead at 6:55 pm E.T. despite resuscitation efforts. A police spokesperson said there appears to be no obvious signs of criminal intent, though it will still be investigated. Her death comes on the eve before the Grammy Awards, where she dominated as one of the top pop/R&B singers for decades, starting in the mid 1980s.

Houston’s private life was often made public. She battled a drug addiction for years and had a tumultuous marriage with ex-husband Bobby Brown, with whom she has a daughter. She staged a comeback in 2009, though she didn’t achieve the success she experienced at her peak.

She recently filmed Sparkle with Jordin Sparks, which is set to arrive in theatres on Aug. 10. The film is a remake of the 1976 hit.

The social media world erupted with reactions to her death. Music producer Russell Simmons wrote he was “deeply saddened by the death of Whitney Houston.” Quincy Jones, said he was “absolutely heartbroken” and that “she was a true original and a talent beyond compare.”

Over the span of her career, the music legend won six Grammy Awards, two Emmy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards and 22 American Music awards. She also claims the first female album to debut at #1 on Billboard.

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The 54th Grammys are on tomorrow night and is hosted by none-other than hip-hop legend LL Cool J – and if you can’t be there, might as well stalk those who are via Twitter.

We pulled together a little list of musicians, music critics, comedians and other accounts that are essential to give an inside look at music’s biggest night. Check them out below:

THE MUSICIANS:
@AdamLevine: Maroon 5′s frontman and The Voice judge is performing with the freakin’ Beach Boys and Foster The People.
@BlobTower: Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon – a Twitterholic and up for two major awards.
@BrunoMars: He’d catch a grenade for you and he snagged a few nods.
@CoryMonteith: That Canadian dude from Glee tweets as much as sings.
@Deadmau5: Toronto’s DJ with a nod and a performance this weekend.
@Drake: Stay tuned for lonely thoughts at the after parties.
@JustinBieber: An up-and-coming tween sensation that has some potential.
@KanyeWest: He’s up for seven awards and he likes to talk. A lot.
@KatyPerry: She’s performing, up for a few awards – and she’s Katy Perry.
@LadyGaga: Mother Monster is performing, up for a few awards.
@LLCoolJ: Host for the evening; stay tuned for a snapshot or two from behind the scenes.
@TheLonelyIsland: Everyone’s favourite SNL-group headed by Andy Samberg.
@LupeFiasco: Nominated for Best Rap Performance.
@MileyCyrus: She will be in attendance.
@NickiMinaj: She’ll be performing, nods for her collab with Drake and Best New Artist.
@Questlove: The Roots’ drummer that is “your favourite twitterer’s music critic.”
@Rihanna: She likes to Tweet That Tweet – let’s see what she has to say about Chris Brown’s performance.
@Skrillex: 24-year-old producer is up for Best New Artist.
@TaylorSwift13: No doubt this nominee will be Instagraming all night long.
@WizardCud: Kid Cudi might not be as philosophical since quitting weed, but remains vocal.
@ZooeyDeschenel: Fresh from her SNL-hosting gig Saturday, she’ll be all adorkable at the award show.

THE MUSIC CRITICS:
@AlanCross: Canadian music-history icon will keep us confirmed.
@GerrickKennedy: Music writer for the Los Angeles Times likes to tweeter.
@JianGhomeshi: Canadian radio personality loves his music.
@RobSheff: Rolling Stone’s resident music critic – knows a thing or two about the industry.
@RyanSeacrest: This guy is so addicted to hosting things that he’ll likely tweet as if he is hosting the damn show.

THE COMEDIANS:
@JimmyFallon: The Late Night host that’s a fan of everything – especially music.
@NealBrennan: New York comedian that is worth following year-round.
@RobDelaney: He tweets like breathing – why aren’t you following him already?

THE OTHERS:
@TheGrammys: Pretty self-explanatory
@Fave: One of the official Grammy bloggers.
@KickKickSnare: An official blogger for the Grammys – been snapping a lot of candid pics of the parties thus far.
@RedCarpet: E! Channel’s official red carpet twitter account with photos and commentary for every major red carpet event.

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Following Madonna’s stint at this year’s Super Bowl, a variety of artists have been pitched for next year’s prestigious halftime show – even famous parodist, Weird Al Yankovic.

“This is a serious case to be made,” writes spearheads Paul and Storm. “All the elements are there: lights, video, costume changes, general spectacle. And given a stadium-sized budget? It would be awesome in every sense of the word.”

In all seriousness, let’s look at the facts: he has been doing shows and putting out albums for three decades, 2013 will mark the 30th anniversary of his self-titled debut and he has parodied every major artist under the sun. Over his 30 year career, he’s left his mark on nearly every genre: Queen, Madonna, Nirvana, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus – just to name a few.

It would be a clean, entertaining, family-friendly show that meets all of the NFL standards.

You can sign the petition that currently holds 2,500 signatures and the #WeirdAlSuperBowl trend has started to surface across all those social media outlets. It’s time for change and we want it now.

Check out Weird Al’s substitute for Madonna and watch ‘Like A Surgeon’ below:

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Actor-turned-rapper Childish Gambino has dropped the heavily anticipated clip for “Heartbeat” from his debut LP Camp.

“I thought the best way to convey the feeling that’s in the song was to be confused ourselves,” Glover told MTV about the Kyle Newacheck directed video. The two had previously worked together on an episode of Community back in 2009. ”I wouldn’t say it’s so much a video as much as it is just a mood.”

Whatever the case, it’s bringing back those Drive-like urges to buy a Scorpion jacket and driving gloves.

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Beyonce and Jay-Z have released the first photos of their baby, Blue Ivy Carter via their personal Tumbler account, helloblueivy with the following message:

“We welcome you to share in our joy. Thank you for respecting our privacy at this time in our lives.
-The Carter Family.”

How hip of the hippest couple in hip-hop to go about this route rather than sell the photos to a glossy magazine. Behold, Blue Ivy Carter…

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For her latest music video, British singer Ladyhawke looked to Faye Dunaway in the 1979 film “The Eyes of Laura Mars”.

Her ’70s inspired music video is the lead single off her upcoming album “Anxiety”. Like Faye, Ladyhawke plays a seductive fashion photographer who slowly shows off her creepy side.

As for the album, it’ll see the light of day March 19.

“I’ve made an album I’m really proud of, so I just can’t wait to start playing with the band again, and touring and having some fun. I can’t wait to get back into it,” Ladyhawke wrote on her website.

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Now that Katy’s got her personal life back on track, she’s about to have an even busier professional life with the release of her upcoming “Teenage Dream” deluxe edition album.

MTV writes ”Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection” will package a ton of remixes and three new bonus tracks.

Prior to its February 21 release date, Katy’s releasing “Part of Me” as her new single. We’ll be hearing a lot of it on the radio in the next few days. Here’s a sneak peek of the uplifting pop song:

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Guess somebody’s not going to be whipping their hair back and forth anymore.

The 11-year-old singer who has a new song out now with Nicki Minaj, recently shaved her head, as you can see on her WhoSay page.

Hair seems to be a big thing for the  tween sensation. When she was last interviewed by MTV, she dished on her most regrettable hair choices, and an afro topped her list.

According to her Twitter page, the daughter of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith is currently on a trip to Costa Rica. With such hot temperatures in that South American country, it’s probably a good thing she got rid of all that hair.

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For decades, many people have been buying into the idea that sex, drugs and music are synonymous. Even The Kooks have built somewhat of a reputation based on the fallacy that they’re just a bunch of party hooligans from Brighton. In reality, they’re actually pretty relaxed people. Like anyone, they like the occasional pint and Luke has dabbled with mind-altering substances. Their key to success, however, is keeping the Rock N’ Roll lifestyle separate from the actual music. When The Kooks are in the studio they’re focused and most importantly, sober. Watch Hugh and Luke explain their reasoning below.

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Cher Lloyd released one of the best pop albums last year. Now, in 2012 Cher is proving to be a force to be reckoned with.

The X Factor contestant, only 18, shows off her amazing pipes during a taping of MTV Live Sessions. She sang “Beautiful People” with just two guitar players backing her up.

The pop version found on her debut “Sticks + Stones”. If you can’t get enough of Cher, you can listen to her acoustic performance of “Superhero” here.

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You may not be familiar with Dia Frampton but after listening to her Lana Del Rey cover, you won’t forget her name.

The 24-year-old was the runner-up on the first season of “The Voice” and late last year she released her debut album, “Red”.

Dia has been making music since she was a little girl. She formed her first band, Meg & Dia, back in 2004. Over the years, she’s really grown as a solo artist. She does a wonderful delivery of Lana’s eponymous “Video Games” single. Some may argue it’s better than the original.

Dia just uploaded an acoustic performance of the song on her YouTube page. Have a look below.

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The Kooks released a new album called “Junk of the Heart,” and you would think Hugh and Luke would be very excited about it. Well, they seemed rather indifferent to be honest. We spoke about that and why they don’t care about critics.

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Mark Zuckerberg may have a lot of friends – U2′s Bono being one of them and his stake in the Facebook stock will soon make him the richest rockstar on the planet.

The Dublin band’s frontman might not have a crucial role in the founding role of Facebook, though Zuckerberg may “like” U2, but his private equity firm Elevation Partners owns 1.5 per cent of the shares.

That means he invested about $90 million in 2009 – but, when the social networking site goes public later this year, Bono’s share will be worth about $1 billion. If you think about it, that’s some $300 million more than the current richest rock star, Sir Paul McCartney

For those of you that might think that amount of cheddar is redonkulous – remember how much of Bono’s finances goes to his many charity projects, mostly focused on humanitarian aid in Africa.

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Adam Lambert, the flamboyant American Idol alum, was rumoured to be joining Queen for a performance at the Sonisphere Fest in July followed by a string of tour dates.

As we reported yesterday, Lambert gloated to the Daily Mail:  ”The intention is to pay tribute to Freddie and the band by singing some f***ing great songs,” he allegedly said. “It’s to keep the music alive for the fans and give it an energy that Freddie would have been proud of.”

Lambert then took to his Twitter to dismiss the rumours on Friday evening:

“Oooh them clever reporters takin my quotes outta context…. I haven’t confirmed any guest appearances. I was talking about the EMA’S,” he tweeted, without directly referencing the report. “That being said, I’m truly flattered by your jump to such glorious conclusions mr journalist!! ”

They had all performed together at the 2009 American Idol finals as well as a November gig at the MTV EMAs.

Lambert’s sophomore album Trespassing is due in March.

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As Twitter buzzes about faux ‘RIP Drake’ rumours – he must’ve overdosed on confidence – the rapper has some business to take care of himself.

Yesterday, word spread that Drake was being sued by Ericka Lee, his alleged ex-girlfriend and business partner who appeared on the infamous voicemail message in the Take Care single ‘Marvin’s Room’ – now Drake’s party has responded and released the following statement:

“This claim is entirely without merit and our client has not engaged in any wrongful conduct. Ericka Lee consented to the use of her voice in the song “Marvin’s Room” prior to its release. Lee asked only for the credit she received as ‘Syren Lyric Muse,’ and she did not ask for any compensation. It was only after she retained a lawyer that there was a demand for payment. Drake tried for months to resolve the matter amicably, and he now looks forward to being vindicated in court.”

Lee had claimed that she deserves credit as co-writer and should received royalties for her contribution to the song.

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Damn! M.I.A. is on a roll today. Her other music video featuring Madonna and Nicki Minaj has also been released today.

M.I.A. and Nicki act as Madonna’s cheerleaders in her comeback song. All three look amazing — Madonna more so when she’s fully clothes — as they are roaming the streets, being carried off by football players.

This is a great lead up to their Superbowl performance this Sunday night.

The song itself is very corny and playful. It could easily be placed in an iPod commercial. It’s that catchy. See for yourself.

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Freddie Mercury is irreplaceable, but unfortunately, Adam Lambert never got the memo.

The flambouyant “American Idol” winner thinks people will still pay attention to Queen now that he’s their brand new lead singer. Mercury died of bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS in 1991. Queen was just never the same.

Now, 21 years later, the rest of the band wants to ressurect their sound and carry on. Lambert’s busy promoting his new album “Trespassing” that comes out next month but Rolling Stone reveals he’s set to tour with Queen in the summer.

“The intention is to pay tribute to Freddie and the band by singing some great songs. It’s to keep the music alive for the fans and give it an energy that Freddie would’ve been proud of,” Adam tells reporters.

I doubt anybody is proud that the band constantly tries to replace Freddie. Sometimes you just got to give up and start something new.

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If redemption’s for sale it looks like Lana Del Rey has enough cash on her.

The much-talked about singer was back in her hometown to perform on the “Late Show with David Letterman”. Accompanied by a string quartet, Lana performed “Video Games” much more elegantly than when at SNL.

It goes to show Lana really does have the chops to pull such a melodramatic song off and that her flop on SNL was only caused by nerves. Letterman himself didn’t shy away from telling her how beautiful she looked and sounded.

“Can you come back tomorrow night?” he asked her.

“My pleasure!” she responded.

Lana also signed autographs and talked to fans after the show for over an hour. You can watch the footage here.

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Lana Del Rey’s over-hyped album “Born to Die” finally debuted this week and never has an album gotten so many mixed reviews before.

The New York retro beauty queen was poised to be the breakout star of 2012 but it doesn’t look that way anymore, based on all the negative press. Here’s what critics are saying about the “Born To Die” album.

The Bad

“On ‘Million Dollar Man’, Lana drawled like a highly medicated Fiona Apple.” – Pitchfork.

“Her voice is pinched and prim, and her song doctors need to go the fuck back to med school.” – Rolling Stone

“Del Rey swaggers without conviction, vamps without camp, expecting her audience to buy this retro torch act when she clearly lacks the confidence or chops to sell it.” – USA Today

“The only real option is to wash off that face paint, muss up that hair and try again in a few years. There are so many more names out there for the choosing.” – New York Times

The Good

“Inevitably, 51 minutes of melodrama becomes draining, but it captures Del Rey’s mystique perfectly.” – Telegraph

“One of the more cohesive pop albums in recent memory.” – Slate Magazine

“A delicious hybrid of Portishead and Nancy Sinatra.” – The Independent

“It is a record that is positively brimming with atmospheric…all of which imbue it with a truly epic scope.” – MTV

“To indie modernists and loveslaves of internet content, Lana Del Rey is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” – Hipster Runoff

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