Eurovision Countdown - Jade Ewen has been chosen to sing Andrew Lloyd Webber's Eurovision Song Contest entry for the UK in Moscow. The Londoner won the public vote ahead of Sheffield siblings The Twins and Welshman Mark Evans after all three acts performed My Time. The ballad, heard for the first time, was composed by Lloyd Webber with US Grammy-winning lyricist Diane Warren. The composer said he would give "101% commitment" to the singer ahead of the Eurovision final on 16 May. In an interview ahead of the contest, Lloyd Webber said that he feared one of three final acts would be unable to cope with the pressure of performing at the event. He said it would be a "mistake to put through somebody who didn't appear to do the song justice".
The Boss is coming - Bruce Springsteen has unveiled plans for a world tour to start in California in April. The singer, whose theme song to hit film The Wrestler won a Golden Globe, has confirmed dates across the US and Europe in the spring and summer. A show is planned for Dublin's RDS on 11 July, but no UK dates have yet been confirmed. Springsteen has been heavily tipped to headline Glastonbury in June. European dates include shows in Stockholm, Munich, Vienna, Rome, Turin and Bilbao, while the last date is in Santiago, Spain, on 2 August.
Grammies Update - Sir Paul McCartney, Justin Timberlake and Radiohead will perform at the 51st annual Grammy Awards, which are being held in Los Angeles later this month. Sir Paul, who is up for two awards, will be backed by Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums. Jay-Z and Kanye West, who have both been nominated for six prizes, will sing with rappers TI and Lil Wayne. They join previously announced performers including Coldplay, Katy Perry and Jennifer Hudson.
On Broadway? - Pop star Michael Jackson is to help develop a US stage musical based on the video to his hit song Thriller, it has been announced. Producer James Nederlander, whose company owns nine Broadway theatres, said the singer would "participate in every aspect of the creative process". Jackson's spokesman said the singer and Mr Nederlander "represent live theatre and musical excellence". Jackson is not involved in current West End production Thriller - Live.
Who's Next - The Who drummer Keith Moon is to be honoured with a blue plaque at the site of some of the band's early gigs. The plaque will be unveiled by his former bandmates Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend at the location of the Marquee Club on Wardour Street, London. Moon, whose wild drumming and wilder lifestyle became legendary, died of an accidental drug overdose in 1978. The ceremony will be held on 8 March after a campaign by The Who fans Gary and Melissa Hurley.
TV News - American Idol creator Simon Fuller is planning to make a TV show based on the popular Now That's What I Call Music compilation albums. Fuller, who started out managing Annie Lennox and the Spice Girls, owns the global TV rights to the music brand. "This show will be nothing like American Idol," he said. "It will be a new take on music programming." It is expected that the programme will create its own "interactive" chart and promote unsigned or up-and-coming acts.
(Jim Evans)
