May 23-29: Jay-Z Captures Beyonce's Subtler Side In Dressing-Room Rehearsal Footage

It's been a great week for Beyoncé's confident, fist-pumping, female-anthem-making alter ego Sasha Fierce. She rocked three major stages to rave reviews: the "Billboard Music Awards", "Oprah's Farewell Spectacular," and "American Idol." But she's also receiving some deserved attention for her impressive acoustic rehearsal footage.

Following the "Idol" broadcast, Beyoncé's husband, Jay-Z, posted behind-the-scenes footage of his wife singing her new emotional ballad "1+1" in her dressing room. Accompanied by a pianist and her background singers, Beyoncé simply stands in front of a vanity mirror with her head humbly held low and eyes closed as she belts her way through the lyrics while her mother, nephew, and cousin, among others, watch in awe.

In the song, Beyoncé pledges her unconditional love for someone special. "We ain't got nothing but love, and darling you've got enough for both of us," she sings.

Jay-Z, who actually videotaped the clip, stressed the uniqueness of the stripped-down run-through. "This is the dressing-room rehearsal for 'American Idol,'" he wrote on his Life+Times website under the pseudonym Andy WarHOV. "'NO MICROPHONE. No effects."

Fans online are equally pleased, saying this raw performance reflects the depths of Beyoncé's talent. "Amazing pitch! Great control over her voice. No reverb, microphone, fade-in/out, vocaline, compressor, emlodyne, autotune, logic audio or protools needed," Denasimone commented on popular urban blog Concrete Loop, one of the first sites to post the video.

Jay-Z described Beyoncé's "pregame" show as refreshing. "Sometimes you need perspective," he wrote. "You've been right in front of greatness so often that you need to step back and see it again for the first time."

But of course, Beyoncé's "Idol" experience wasn't the only cool "Idol" news to break this week. On Wednesday night, the show named its 10th winner, Scotty McCreery. Elsewhere in the latest happenings in the music world, Justin Bieber and girlfriend Selena Gomez confirmed their boyfriend-girlfriend status when they shared an on camera kiss as the 17-year-old pop singer headed to the stage to receive a Billboard Music Award. The demand for Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" album caused the servers at online retailer Amazon to crash, as eager fans rushed to take advantage of the 99-cent presale promotion. And the Grammys caught flack from music veterans Carlos Santa and Paul Simon who demanded that the respected National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences reinstate the 30 categories it eliminated earlier this year.

Hopefully, this recap gives you the information you need to be pop culture experts at Memorial Day barbecues this weekend. Enjoy. We'll see you back next week.

THIS WEEK'S TOP 5 MUSIC NEWS STORIES

1) Sasha Humble -- Beyoncé's dressing room-rehearsal amazes

2) And The Winner Is -- "American Idol" names its latest winner, country singer Scotty McCreery

3) Status Update -- Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez confirm relationship with a kiss

4) Best Deal In Town -- 99-cent Lady Gaga album sales overload Amazon servers

5) A Change Is Gonna Come -- Paul Simon and Carlos Santa want the old Grammys back

'Oprah' finale raked in more than 16M viewers

© WENN

Oprah Winfrey
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'Oprah' finale raked in more than 16M viewers

June 8, 2011, 3:13 PM EST

By John Sellers
TheWrap

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" finale attracted 16.4 million viewers, the long-running daytime talk program's production company announced Wednesday.

Bing: 'Parks and Recreation' wants Oprah

This figure makes the TV icon's May 25 sign-off the show's most-watched episode in more than 18 years -- since February 15, 1993, to be exact, when Oprah entertained the cougar-centric topic "Why I Love Older Women" and scored 17.3 million viewers.

The final three episodes of the show, including the May 23 and 24 "farewell spectaculars," collectively drew an average of 13.9 million total viewers.

Lady Gaga Greenlights Weird Al Yankovic's "Born This Way" Parody After Big Misunderstanding

Weird Al Yankovic has forged a three-decade career by covering A-list artists, everyone from Madonna to Michael Jackson to Diddy. But one artist who didn't apparently appreciate his sense of humor is Lady Gaga, who had allegedly rejected Al's parody of her song "Born This Way." But it turns out it was all one big misunderstanding--and it was her manager's fault! Apparently Gaga never even heard Al's parody until he came forward and put it online in protest.

"My parodies have always fallen under what the courts call 'fair use,' and this one was no different, legally allowing me to record and release it without permission," Al wrote in a post called "THE GAGA SAGA" on his blog Wednesday. "But it has always been my personal policy to get the consent of the original artist before including my parodies on any album, so of course I will respect Gaga's wishes. However, given the circumstances, I have no problem with allowing people to hear it online, because I also have a personal policy not to completely waste my stinking time."

Al said he had no idea why Gaga supposedly objected ("obviously I take a few jabs at her, but y'know, it's satire--that's how it's supposed to work"), and expressed frustration that Gaga hadn't been able to make her decision based on reading his lyrics alone, before he went to the trouble of entering the studio.  But his greatest regret seemed to be that there would be no music video. "Man, I wish you all could have had a chance to see the video we were going to do for this thing. It was going to be BEYOND AWESOME, and disturbing on many levels. Oh well," blogged Al.

However, it turns out Gaga had never even heard the song she supposedly rejected. In a second, later blog, titled "GAGA UPDATE," Al wrote: "After putting my Lady Gaga parody on YouTube this morning--and announcing that it wouldn't be on my next album because Gaga didn't approve it--there was a huge outpouring of disappointment from the Internet. Apparently the fact that she didn't approve it was news to Lady Gaga herself! Gaga's manager has now admitted that he never forwarded my parody to Gaga--she had no idea at all. Even though we assumed that Gaga herself was the one making the decision (because, well, that's what we were TOLD), he apparently made the decision completely on his own. He's sorry. And Gaga loves the song."

Added Al: "I'm thrilled on many levels to hear this, because 1) I truly respect and admire Gaga as an artist and it pained me to think of her as having less than a great sense of humor, and 2) it means I GET TO PUT OUT MY ALBUM!"

So now that Gaga has given Al the thumbs-up, get ready to see Al outdo himself in the "I Perform This Way" video. We shall soon see Al's poker face onscreen!

Mariah Carey And Nick Cannon Announce Names Of Their Twins

Mariah Carey, 41, and Nick Cannon, 30, didn't immediately name their boy and girl twins, who were born Saturday, at an undisclosed hospital in Los Angeles.

But that issue has been resolved, according to CNN. The daughter, who was reportedly born first, is named Monroe Cannon. And the son is Moroccan Scott Cannon. Mariah decided not to give Monroe a middle name because she herself doesn't have one.

Monroe is named after Mariah's idol, Marilyn Monroe. Mariah is such a huge Marilyn Monroe fan that she purchased the late star's white piano from an auction. In her will, Mariah leaves the prized possession to the Smithsonian.

Moroccan's first name was inspired by his father's proposal. Nick asked Mariah to marry him in the Moroccan Room on the top tier of Mariah's apartment in New York City. Moroccan's middle name Scott is also the middle name of his father and maiden name of Nick's grandmother.

Monroe weighed 5 pounds and 3 ounces, and Moroccan weighed 5 pounds and 6 ounces.

Mariah's publicist, Cindi Berger, said she was excited for the family. "It has been a long, emotional journey for this family, and I couldn't be happier for all of them," she told CNN.

The twins were born on the couple's third wedding anniversary. In upholding their tradition of renewing their vows annually, Reverend Al Sharpton officiated an intimate ceremony in the hospital.

Meet Paul McCartney's Fiancée, Businesswoman Nancy Shevell

He loves her, yeah, yeah yeah.

Paul McCartney is getting married. The Beatles legend recently announced his engagement to New York businesswoman Nancy Shevell. The news was first published in People magazine, which quoted an unidentified source. McCartney's publicist later confirmed the report.

Almost immediately, online interest in McCartney's future bride zoomed up the charts. Unlike her soon-to-be hubby, there isn't much information about Shevell. According to the official website of her place of work, New England Motor Freight (NEWF), Shevell works as a vice president and is "responsible for accounts receivable, corporate communications, benefits administration, purchasing of all supplies and equipment -- with the exception of trucks -- and overall office management." In other words, she's not in show business.

Again, according to NEWF, Shevell earned her Bachelor's Degree from Arizona State University, where she majored in transportation. She also serves as co-chairperson of the Arlene Walters Shevell Endowment Scholarship Fund, "a family foundation which provides self-help groups for parents of addicted children and financial support for individuals in accredited rehabilitation programs."

The AP reports that Shevell was married for over 20 years to Bruce Blakeman, a lawyer. Blakeman is a "close friend of former New York Gov. George Pataki, who appointed her to the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Agency." New York Magazine writes that Shevell, a well known socialite, is cousin to Barbara Walters.

McCartney and Shevell met in 2007 in the Hamptons and have been an item ever since. This will be McCartney's third marriage and Shevell's second. A source told People, "They have the right chemistry. They're both cool, chilled-out, and optimistic."

Paul was married to Linda McCartney for 29 years until her death in 1998. He then married Heather Mills, which ended in a messy divorce in 2008. But we have reason to be optimistic about this union. According to the New York Post, Shevell is already quite popular with McCartney's five children. Always important to get the kids' blessing.

Sonny Rollins takes top honors at Jazz Awards

© AP

Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins takes top honors at Jazz Awards

June 11, 2011, 4:55 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) -- Saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins isn't slowing down at age 80, winning musician of the year honors at the Jazz Awards.

Rollins, currently touring New Zealand, was also named best tenor saxophonist at Saturday's awards ceremony at the City Winery club.

Saxophonist Joe Lovano's Charlie Parker tribute, "Bird Songs," is the year's best jazz recording and his band Us Five, including surprise Grammy-winner Esperanza Spalding on bass, the top small ensemble.

Other double winners include Ambrose Akinmusire for up-and-coming artist and trumpeter, and saxophonist Jimmy Health for lifetime achievement and best jazz book ("I Walked With Giants").

The winners, chosen in voting by the Jazz Journalists Association, include Dee Dee Bridgewater (female singer), Kurt Elling (male singer), Anat Cohen (clarinet), Russell Malone (guitar) and Fred Hersch (piano).

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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