Jackson, 50, had  been reported to have fallen into a coma after suffering a heart attack but has since passed away.

TMZ broke the news first and already floods of people have arrived outside the UCLA Medical Center in LA.

The iconic POP figure was set to put on a series of consective shows in London soon, and dancers had reported that the star had looked well and healthy during rehearsals.

It just shows how popular the man was that his 50 London shows sold out in seconds.

RIP.

The company is currently in the throws of a major restructuring initiative to counteract the “transparent generation“, as Tony DiSanto calls them.

He went on “They [teenagers] don’t want to see a reality show that feels produced or is film-like, It’s got to be real, authentic.”

As a result of these revelations, many executives and other employees have been let go.

I’m shocked that such a realisation has taken years to become clear. Ever heard of market research? Why has it taken 2 years for action to be taken?

The disappointing aspect of the company’s proposed revival is that it is still not really going back to its roots. DiSanto has said that they see “16 and Pregnant” as the type of show that will drive viewers back to the ailing channel.

MTV, in my opinion, should be showcasting all of the young hopeful bands – talented or not – that want fans and for people to hear their music. That is the reality shows that they should be concentrating on. 16 and Pregnant should be filmed by a government agency looking to educate teenagers on the difficulties and social issues around pregnancy at a young age. It should not be used as an entertaining topic.

But then, I’m not the president of programming for MTV…

Paul Walden a.k.a Guru Josh, the electronic/house music currently heading up the Guru Josh Project, hit the Internet recently to tell the world that he was set to star in a film with Liam Gallagher. Of course, this is news to the Oasis frontman.

The movie in question is the film adaptation of Kevin Sampson’s novel, Powder. It about the sex, drugs and rock’n roll ride of a band trying to make it big while navigating the motives of the people with power in the music industry.

As good as the film sounds, it seems that Gallagher isn’t going to be involved. A spokesperson has stated that the stories are “simply not true“, following up with “Liam has no plans to be involved on any level with the project.”

This is probably a good thing. His hard man act has been a joke for sometime now – can you imagine what a full film of similar extravagance would be like?

Their sound is heavier than Slipknot and just a little shy of Cradle of Filth. Your kind of thing? Then read on…

5 lads, just out of High school and none over the age of 19 are making massive headway in the heavy music scene. To accompany their album release they have scheduled a large list of shows so that everyone in America can come and see them scream play.

The tour is part of Artery Metal this summer with Carnifex, Impending Doom, Conducting The Grave, Underneath The Gun and Molotov Solution.

The band’s MySpace page has raked up impressive listening figures for their demo’s – over 3 million for Swing alone.

Hit us up in the comments if you have seen the guys live or are set to see them this summer.

Reports have surfaced that Springsteen has made the request to festival organiser, Michael Eavis to extend his performance to last three hours.

Eavis had this to say, “He wants to play for three hours actually. So we can give him two and a half by the sound of it or maybe two hours forty-five.”

The 59-year-old rocker is well-known for his longer than average performances and is set to headline Glastonbury on Saturday night.

Springsteen will play to packed out crowds with hits such as ‘Badlands’, ‘Thunder Road’, ‘The River’ and ‘Born To Run’.

If the recent Bonnaroo festival is anything to go by, fans can expect a lot more hits than that from Springsteen, as he played a whopping 28 song set.

Not bad stamina for the music veteran. I wonder if any of the younger up and coming bands will follow in Springsteen’s footsteps.

Throughout Ghost Notes your ears are gently serenaded to Matt’s voice, which is soft and crisp all at the same time. The album starts with what I believe is its best song: Easily Bruised – a lovely drifting melody.

You could pick up Ghost Notes in any decade and it would fit in – its timeless melodies just make you feel instantly comfortable with it. It’s one of those albums that you find in your record collection years later and smile at, remember what you were doing when you first heard it, before confirming your first instincts to put it on for another listen.

Other songs that you’ll be interested in are Settle My Accounts With You, You and Me and Our Voices – the latter of which I think Barber could have done a whole lot more with (and maybe does when he sings it live??).

The album is quite stripped back and this is something that maybe makes the music and lyrics much more meaningful, but I’d love to hear something more anthem-ic from Matt - I definitely think he has it in him. An artist with his voice should have a big orchestra behind him and try to deliver something comparable to that of David Gray or Damien Rice.

Matt has posted some videos of Easily Bruised and Settle My Accounts With You on his blog that you should check out.

Key Tracks: Easily Bruised, You and Me, Our Voices

Track Listing

1. Easily Bruised
2. And You Give
3. (I’m Gonna) Settle My Accounts With You
4. You and Me
5. Modern Woman
6. One Little Piece of My Love
7. Where the River Bends
8. Sleep Please Come to Me
9. Somebody Sometime
10. Our voices

Britney Spears

Talks are said to be taking place to ensure that Britney can star in movie ‘The Yellow Star of Sophia and Eton’, set in World war II times.

Scheduling will be one of the issues on the agenda as Britney is currently in the middle of her ‘Circus‘ Tour and filming would start after Britney finishes the second leg of her North American tour dates in September time.

“If she accepts the role, Britney will reportedly play the main role of Sophia LaMont, who creates a time machine and travels back to World War II where she meets a Jewish man called Eton at a concentration camp,” reports The National Leger Website.

Britney’s acting skills have had experience in the past but have taken time to get the praise she hopes for. Last year audiences enjoyed her cameo performances in US TV show ‘How I Met Your Mother‘.

Britney has also enjoyed a taste of success with her 2002 film ‘Crossroads’, but missed out to Jessica Simpson in 2005, for the part of Daisy Dukes in ‘The Dukes of Hazard‘.

Kasabian’s

West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum  has been produced by American hip-hop producer Dan The Automatic, who is best known for his work on the Gorillaz‘ first album.

Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan once described the album as being “psychedelic” saying,

“It all joins together which is beautiful, there’s no gaps in it, it’s very psychedelic, there’s very much elements of the first but it’s a more distant sounding Kasabian than we have been with the last two albums.”

Or maybe its the less than ordinary title has fans enthralled, as Meighan explained after they had chosen the name, “It’s a loony title mate, we picked one that has lots of words, it’s a tongue twister!”

The rest of the UK album charts this week are as follows:

1. (1) Kasabian: ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’
2. (2) Paolo Nutini: ‘Sunny Side Up’
3. (7) Bruce Springsteen & E St Band: ‘Greatest Hits’
4. (-) George Harrison: ‘Let It Roll’
5. (4) Daniel Merriweather: ‘Love & War’
6. (16) Kings of Leon: ‘Only By The Night’
7. (10) Jim Reeves: ‘The Very Best Of’
8. (3) Black Eyed Peas: ‘The E.N.D.’
9. (-) Jonas Brothers: ‘Lines, Vines and Trying Times’
10. (13) Meat Loaf: ‘Hits Out Of Hell’

Avril Lavinge

The singer was expected to make an appearance at Canada’s annual Napanee Multicultural Festival to collect an award for her cultural contributions to music.

But Avril never showed up at the event in her home town of Napanee to collect anything leaving fans very disappointed and feeling snubbed.

The crowds at the festival, quite clearly annoyed, had to be calmed, a spokesperson for the event said, “The person I was dealing with who made certain promises to me about Avril (or her father) appearing evidently did not keep their promise“.

But Avril is adamant that neither she nor her management knew anything about the award,

“Avril was not committed to attend the Napanee Ontario Multicultural Festival. Her management had no knowledge of this event“, was the statement released on Avril’s MySpace blog.

She continued, “She appreciates the honour, however to say that she ‘flaked and didn’t show up’ is completely untrue, as she had no knowledge of this event whatsoever. Avril is currently in the U.S. working on her 4th album.”

Quite clearly someone has made a mistake here and the people that have come worst off is the fans waiting in anticipation!

St Lucia

So much so in fact that former governor Jeff Fedee has gone as far as posting an article in the newspaper urging residents to not let Amy settle in the Caribbean island as she would taint their “Idyllic” community.

He wrote in the St Lucia communities newspaper,

“I would strongly urge she be denied residency status to purchase property in St. Lucia. Is she being given special treatment?”

He continued, “She’d be a menace and a dangerous influence to our society because the demons that inhabit her tortured body will have to be fed. Are the authorities going to ignore the indulgences in illegal substances for which St. Lucians are arrested and incarcerated.

Strong words from a man who obviously feels adament that his words will be heard, “I predict the relative peace and tranquillity we enjoy will desert us and untold misery and disasters will visit us. Do not let that tattooed reptile become a resident of St. Lucia. We cannot put our future in jeopardy for the sake of selling a house to a character that will draw to St. Lucia untold human suffering.”

His words may be harsh, but his concerns are mainly for the younger generations of the island whom he feels will be adversely affected and perhaps influenced by the antics of the troubled singer.

Amy had been hoping to buy a house in the island and build on a recording studio where she can continue working on new material.

If the residents get their way this seems less and less likely this will happen for Amy.