Music News Page 978

Gwen Stefani is facing a tough opposition from a group of Muslims in Malaysia. The group that is comprised of students has tried to ban Stefani's gig in Kuala Lumpur's Putra Stadium on August 21, claiming 'obscenity'

The 10,000 students believe that the concert will clash with Asian values especially Islamic. "Her video clips promoting the event are too obscene," Mohamad Hilmi Ramli, the group's president, told Reuters. "We want the organizers to cancel the concert, failing which we will ask the authorities to intervene."

R&B crooner Amerie thinks it will be fun to have a collaboration with rock acts The Killers and Coldplay, and she's serious about it. In the coming months she will try to reschedule her brief meeting with Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin.

"I'm a big fan of The Killers. I'd love to do something with them, and Coldplay," Amerie told the Daily Star. "I was due to hook up with Chris Martin a while back but then his baby was born. Hopefully we'll reschedule."

KT Tunstall has found a date to release her highly-anticipated album "Drastic Fantastic". The Grammy-nominated singer will drop the "not so drastically changed in sound" CD on September 18 via Relentless/Virgin.

Following the first single "Hold On" that has been hot on U.K. radio outlets, KT believes that she picks the right time to release the sophomore set. "I feel like I've done the new album just in time," KT said in a statement. "If I'd taken any time off, I might have missed a bit of a window."

Turbulent personal issues aside, Pete Doherty is excelling with his band Babyshambles. The indie rock act is in near completion of their sophomore set that has its complete tracklisting revealed.

The Stephen Street-produced album is aimed for a September release although no specific date has been announced. Drummer Adam Ficek, however disclosed that the first single titled 'Delivery' will arrive September 17.

Madonna is reportedly in talks with Live Nation, meaning if a deal is struck, she will have to leave Warner Music Group. The deal that is rumored to reach $100 million indeed will send the pop queen a number of higher privileges.

Should Live Nation be her house, Madonna will leave it to the tour giant to take care of her album releases, merchandise, sponsorships and of course, tour. But still, album distribution and marketing would be a label responsibility. In return, Live Nation would receive an equity stake in the joint venture.

Lil Jon has spurted the idea of combining his signature "crunk" sound with "rock" vibe to make "Crunk Rock". The TVT release will be the ultimate record to sport collision among artists like P.O.D., Ice Cube, Lil Wayne, Ciara and Kid Rock.

"I worked with the guitar player from P.O.D., Marcos, a punk band called Whole Wheat Bread from Jacksonville, Fla., Kid Rock and a few others," Lil Jon said. "My s**t is real rock guitars with my beats, not keyboard guitars with ghetto beats. It's gonna be a little different from what you hear right now, but I think everyone will love it."

McDonald's is not taking any risk for its first music tour. The fast food chain decided to cross Twista's name from the performers list because the rapper has "controversial lyrics".

"Although we respect free speech and artistic expression, we do not condone or perpetuate derogatory language," McDonald's USA said in a statement. "We want to ensure these free concerts are fun as well as appropriate for all of our customers."

America's very own rock band Fall Out Boy will compete against three British groups to claim victory as Best Band in Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards U.K.. Those giving the boys tough competition are Sugababes, Girls Aloud and McFly.

Justin Timberlake who is a frequent Best Male Singer winner in Nick's U.S. Version is now battling against pop sensation Mika, musical star Drake Bell and McFly's Danny Jones. On the female tally meanwhile, Canadian Avril Lavigne is a heavy contender to Gwen Stefani, Hilary Duff and Girls Aloud's Cheryl Cole.

The Coral's first single "Who's Gonna Find Me" from their new album has been released in U.K. today (July 30). Sporting their signature guitar-driven sound, the British band has even shot the video for the single.

The single is available in both usual CD format and 7 inch vinyl. For the CD version, track "Laughing Eyes" is put on the B-side and the music video is added as a bonus. There will be two versions of the 7" vinyl format, one contains track "The Voice" while the second one gets the radio session of "Ghostriders in the Sky".

Christina Aguilera is too ill to proceed with her concerts in Australia. The Back to Basics tour had to scrap off its last two shows on Sunday (July 29) and Monday (July 30) because Christina's cold was getting worse.

"I want to personally apologize to all of my fans for having to cancel my last two shows here in Melbourne," Christina said in a statement. "Unfortunately, I have fallen ill with a bad flu virus. This is one of the best cities in the world to perform in and I am truly disappointed that I won't be able to share my show with you all. Thank you for all of the continued love and support and I hope to perform for you all again next time."

Kelly Clarkson released a special edition of her controversial third album "My December" that is only available in Japan. The specialty offered here is a bonus track "Fading" that continues the exploration of her 'darker' side.

Kelly once again, made this song another mark of her transition and filled it with gothic-themed lyrics: "Amongst these faithless savants/ Underneath the surface/ Everything so backwards/ It's all a lie". Although heavy with the beat on most of the sound, the song cools down in the chorus with free-flowing verses that remind fans of her first and second album.

In a chart war that has been dominated by Rihanna, Timbaland and Kate Nash in the top three positions, uber-producer Timbaland has claimed the first place. U.K. Singles chart this week has knocked down Rihanna's "Umbrella" from its ten week-reign to not only the runner up position but straight to the third.

Interestingly enough, the top three seems to have battled among themselves since most of those under them staying intact in their position. Stacy Ferguson aka Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry", Enrique Iglesias' "Do You Know (The Ping Pong Song)", The Hossiers' "Worried About Ray" and Avril Lavigne's "When You're Gone" retain their last week post at no 4 to 7 respectively.

On the heels of "Operation: Mindcrime II", Queensryche may have the third edition of it in a half-done project that is due next summer or fall. The progressive metal band has begun the long hours of stay in the studio to work on a new as-yet-untitled album.

"We're just into the first couple months of writing for it, and it's a theme record. It's based on modern American life, sort of a social commentary," frontman Geoff Tate told Billboard.com. "Musically it's very adventurous for us. It's something we haven't done before. It's going to take a lot of people by surprise, and at the same time I think they're going to be very intrigued by the concept of it."

On the weight of his last name, Kid Rock comes subtle on the rap side for his next release. The all-said new title "Rock & Roll Jesus" leans rather heavily on rock with gospel-like materials as side dish. The title track, first single "So Hot" and a song called "Roll On" are all but the two elements leaving "Sugar" as the lone rap song.

Kid stated that he initially might either call the album "Rock & Roll Jesus" or "Amen" because his "best writing ever" laid on the latter. Ironically, the wise producers landed their choice to the former to avoid giving any false impression. Standing side-by-side to "Amen" is "When You Love Someone", a self-proclaimed rootsy gospel hued affair.

Proven to be highly anticipated, Madonna's new R&B tune has leaked online along with its clip. "Candy Shop", a song featuring Justin Timberlake has found its way to video sharing websites but has since been retracted for copyright issues.

The song is said to be mixture of dance, pop and hip-hop sound. Madonna was heard chanting lyrics: "I'll be your one-stop candy shop/Everything that I got/I'll be your one-stop candy store/Lollipop/Have some more." and "Get up out of your seat, come on up to the dance floor, I got something to see. Come on up to the front, boy. I got I need candy in me."