The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
- Country singer Mindy McCready dead of apparent suicide (Updates)
- Travis Barker skips Blink-182 Australia tour due to fear of flying
- Piano superstar Lang Lang says concerts the ultimate high
| Country singer Mindy McCready dead of apparent suicide (Updates) Posted: 17 Feb 2013 08:28 PM PST LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas: Country music star Mindy McCready, whose albums include "Ten Thousand Angels" and "If I Don't Stay the Night," was found dead on Sunday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, an Arkansas sheriff said. She was 37. McCready's body was found on the porch of a house in Heber Springs, Arkansas, on Sunday afternoon. She was pronounced dead at the scene "from what appears to be a single self-inflicted gunshot wound," the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. Deputies had been dispatched to the area following reports of "shots fired," the sheriff's office said, adding that McCready's family had been notified. Florida-born McCready moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to break into the country music business at the age of 18, according to allmusic.com. She achieved early success with her 1996 debut album, "Ten Thousands Angels," which sold a reported 2 million copies. Four other studio albums followed. While successful in her career, McCready's personal life had began to unravel in recent years. In 2004 she was convicted of prescription drug fraud and placed on parole. Three years later she spent time in jail for violating her parole terms. The sheriff's office said McCready's body would be taken to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for an autopsy, adding that "the matter will be fully investigated." - Reuters |
| Travis Barker skips Blink-182 Australia tour due to fear of flying Posted: 17 Feb 2013 07:34 PM PST REUTERS - Travis Barker will skip the Australian tour of pop-punk band Blink-182, citing a long-term fear of flying that worsened after he survived a fatal crash nearly five years ago that killed two friends. "I'm sorry to announce I won't be joining Blink-182 on this Australian tour," Barker, 37 and drummer for the group, wrote on Facebook. "I still haven't gotten over the horrific events that took place the last time I flew when my plane crashed and four people were killed, two being my best friends." Barker was one of two survivors of the 2008 crash when a private plane he was on burst into flames during an aborted takeoff. He spent several months in hospital with injuries. Barker said he had hoped to get to Australia by ship if need be for the tour, which starts on Wednesday in Sydney, but that schedules hadn't worked out. "Once again, I'm sorry to all the fans," he said. The band, also writing on Facebook, said Barker would be replaced on the tour by Brooks Wackerman from Bad Religion and Tenacious D. "The band knew the chances of Travis overcoming his fear of flying, which was magnified after the horrible plane crash of 2008, would be a challenge, but we wanted to play for our fans in Australia nonetheless," they said, adding that cancelling the tour had not been an option. |
| Piano superstar Lang Lang says concerts the ultimate high Posted: 17 Feb 2013 04:56 PM PST PARIS: There is no high like playing before a live audience for Chinese-born classical superstar Lang Lang, who says it helps him "transform" into a better person and pianist. The 30-year-old, who got a standing ovation after a performance late Saturday at the famed Paris auditorium Salle Pleyel, also said there was no shortcut to glory in the field of classical music. "There are a million ways to learn music that can be more flexible but the process of practice you can't shorten it... You can't say I can practice one hour and that's it," he told AFP. "I started to learn classical music when I was two," he said. "When I was eight, I used to practice six hours a day. You must do it." Lang Lang, who is on tour for 300 days every year on average, finished recording Bartok's Concerto number 2 under the baton of Simon Rattle, with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the day before the Paris concert. He said there's no kick like a concert. "It's the best. I love performance, this is my love, to perform on stage. "I just believe I can transform on stage, I become more interested as a person, as a musician - the communication, sharing the thoughts... When you get a warm applause, it's the best encouragement you can get." Lang Lang's parents - a professional musician and a telephone technician - made huge sacrifices for his career, spending nearly half of their annual income to buy him a piano before he was two. His musician father quit his job when Lang Lang was nine to accompany him to Beijing when he gained a place at the Central Music Conservatory. - AFP |
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