Kelly Khumalo reveals Jub-Jub abuse

Afro-pop singer Kelly Khumalo has revealed that she is in therapy after suffering physical abuse at the hands of ex-boyfriend Jub-Jub. Khumalo accused Jub-Jub of attacking both her and her mother, and also said the hip hop star cheated on her constantly. She said Jub-Jub smashed a bottle over her head and punched her mother in the face when Khumalo refused to let him borrow her car.

Khumalo said: "We thought the first one was a mistake, but the second time he was nothing but a dog. That’s when I decided it's over. I can't be with someone who can lay a hand on my mom."

American Idol winner announced

Scotty McCreery has won the 10th season of American Idol. After a record 122.4 million votes were cast, 17 year old McCreery beat out stiff competition from 16 year old Lauren Alaina to claim the crown.

Cheryl Cole axed from X-Factor

Cheryl Cole has been axed from American version of The X-Factor before it's even aired. According to TMZ.com, Cole's thick accent made her unintelligible to American audiences, and she has been replaced by Pussycat Doll (and Lewis Hamilton's girlfriend) Nicole Scherzinger. 

Old interview reveals Dylan herion addiction

A previously unheard interview with Bob Dylan, recorded in 1966, has been uncovered, and in it the legendary singer reveals that he beat a heroin addiction in the early 60's whilst living in New York City.

Dylan, who turned 70 yesterday (24 May) said: "I kicked a heroin habit in New York City. I got very, very strung out for a while, I mean really, very strung out. And I kicked the habit. I had about a $25-a-day habit and I kicked it."

Eminem, Justin Bieber win big at Billboard Awards

Eminem and Justin Bieber were the big winners at the Billboard Music Awards on 22 May, picking up 6 awards each.

The rapper took home the prizes for Top Artist, Top Rap Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album and Top Rap Album for 'Recovery', as well as Top Rap Song for 'Love The Way You Lie', his duet with Rihanna.
 
The Bieb won awards for Top New Artist, Top Pop Album for 'My World 2.0', Top Social Artist, Top Digital Media Artist, Top Streaming Artist and Top Streaming Song (Video) for 'Baby'.




Other winners included Rihanna, who took home the coveted Top Female Artist award, Lady Gaga, Usher, Taio Cruz, Taylor Swift and indie rockers Mumford and Sons, who won 3 awards each. Beyonce picked up the prestigious Millennium Award for her contribution to music over the course of her career.

Jub Jub trial resumes

The trial of hip-hop artist Molemo "Jub Jub" Maarohanye and Themba Tshabalala is will resume in the Protea magistrate's court in Soweto today. The pair are accused of murder after allegedly drag racing under the influence of drugs and alcohol, which led to the deaths of four schoolchildren.

Nicki Minaj approves of substance-free Britney tour

Nicki Minaj, who is supporting Britney Spears on her "Femme Fatale" world tour, has said she thinks it's "great" that the tour will be totally substance free. Spears is trying to avoid the temptations of alcohol and other substances by banning them from the tour completely.

Minaj told Life & Style magazine: "I think it's a great thing. If that's the way Britney wants it, so be it. She's the queen of her castle. It trickles down and makes everyone responsible."

Snoop Dogg to perform at Kate Moss' wedding

Hip hop star Snoop Dogg is set to perform a set at Kate Moss' wedding. The supermodel is marrying Kills rocker Jamie Hince on 2 July in England, and has reportedly put together a wish list of acts she would like to play at the bash. Apparently she is also hoping to get the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and Gossip frontwoman Beth Ditto to perform at what is turning into a "mini-festival".

An insider recently revealed: "Kate wants it to be a party to remember and like a small festival. She doesn't want her guests to leave for days so she's making sure there is plenty of food and entertainment."  

Professor scoops 3 SAMA's

Kwaito star Professor was the biggest winner at Saturday's SAMA awards, picking up 3 awards on the night. His awards included the coveted Artist of the Year award. Other winners included Locnville and Liquideep, who won two awards each, the Parlotones, Prime Circle, Jax Panik, Kurt Darren, DJ Kent and DJ Cleo.

Teargas nominated for international award

Local hip hop crew Teargas have been nominated for a Black Entertainment Television Award (BET award). They have been nominated in the Best International Act: Africa category at the prestigious American awards show. The other nominees in the category are 2Face Idibia, D' Banj, D-Black, Fally Ipupa and Angelique Kidjo. The winners of the BET awards will be announced in Los Angeles on 26 June.

Rihanna offer Chris Brown twitter olive branch

Pop star Rihanna has become a follower of Chris Brown on twitter and he has in turn decided to follow her on the micro-blogging site, signalling a thawing in their relationship. Until recently, Brown had a restraining order preventing him from being within 30m of the "S&M" star, following an incident two years ago in which he assaulted Rihanna, his then-girlfriend.

Oppikoppi announces first batch of performers

Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse, Not My Dog, aKING, Bittereinder and Jax Panik are the first names announced by the Oppikoppi festival organisers to perform at this years festival.

A spokesperson for the festival said: "The line-up for 2011 is being announced in batches and fans are encouraged to visit or “like” the Facebook group “OppiKoppi festival” for all information. As in the past it is a selection of South Africa’s finest and a few nice international faces."

Timbaland, Fat Joe, Ciara, Lil Kim to perform in SA

Timbaland, Ciara, Lil Kim, Fat Joe and DJ scratch will perform in South Africa in June this year, according to local concert promoter ZAR Entertainment. The stars will perform at the Zarfest, which kicks off in Harare on 27 May and includes performances at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on 2 June, Joburg's Coca Cola Dome on 3 June, and Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on 4 June.

ZAR Entertainment is yet to reveal ticket vendors for the festival.

Coldplay coming to SA

Big Concerts has announced that Coldplay will be touring South Africa. The soft-rock titans will be playing in Joburg and Cape Town.

Big Concerts' statement read: "Big Concerts is proud to announce that Coldplay will be performing live for the first time ever in South Africa on Wednesday 5th October at Cape Town Stadium and Saturday 8th October at FNB Stadium Johannesburg. The tour is presented by 94.5 KFM, 94.7 Highveld Stereo and M-Net."

Coldplay have sold over 50m albums worldwide with hits such as "Yellow" and "Clocks".

Whitney Houston in rehab

Whitney Houston has sought treatment at an outpatient rehab program to help her deal with drug and alcohol problems.The singer's spokesperson told People.com: "Whitney Houston is currently in an out-patient rehab program for drug and alcohol treatment. Whitney voluntarily entered the program to support her long-standing recovery process."

Houston wants to make sure she is in good shape for filming the sequel to her 1995 movie Waiting to Exhale, in which she will star with Angela Bassett.

JR releases video for "Show Goes On"

Local rapper JR has finally released the video for his current hit single "Show Goes On", which features Jack Parow and Die Heuwels Fantasties. The video, produced by Bruce Patterson and Helen Raine of Pilot Films, has garnered favourable reactions on YouTube.

Zim Ngqawana passes away

Renowned South African saxophonist Zimasile “Zim” Ngqawana passed away on Tuesday morning after suffering a stroke during a band rehearsal on Saturday. The musician, who has played with the like Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim, was scheduled to perform at the Wits Literature and Arts Experience (WALE) on Saturday but suffered a stroke during rehearsals at his home in Troyeville, Johannesburg.

Ngqawana, who was 51 when he died, had several top selling albums and won 5 SAMA awards in his career.

Plush release new album

One of South Africa's best rock bands of the last few years, Plush, released their new self-titled album today. The band have spent the last two years on the album, and having enlisted the help of the likes of Grammy winning engineer Vance Powell (The Raconteurs, Jack White), Neal Snyman (Crowded House, Collective Soul) and Sama-winner Matt Allison, the expectations are high. Look out for the review in the coming week!

Kylie to come to SA

International superstar Kylie Minogue has announced four South African dates for her Aphrodite Live world tour. She will be performing at the Sun City Superbowl in Johannesburg on 8 and 9 July and the Grand Arena in Cape Town on 13 and 14 July.
Kylie said: "I have been looking for an opportunity to perform in South Africa for a very long time so I am really delighted that I can now confirm I will be visiting Johannesburg and Cape Town in July this year. I've been having a wonderful time touring Aphrodite and I'm absolutely thrilled I will be able to bring 'Aphrodite Live' to South Africa."

Top local acts to appear at Nelson Mandela Bay International Music Festival

Several of the top acts in the country will be appearing at the Nelson Mandela Bay International Music Festival at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on 14 May in support of George Benson and Hugh Masakela. Acts confirmed include Prime Circle, Freshlyground, Jamali, Goldfish and Loyiso. Tickets for the concert range from R50 - R400 and are available from Computicket.

Taxi Violence tour dates

Taxi Violence will be touring South Africa in support of their latest album, Long Way From Home. The tour kicks off this Friday (6 May) Joburg and finishes off on Saturday 21 May in Port Elizabeth.

All shows are unplugged/semi-acoustic.

Tour dates are as follows:
Friday, 6 May: Tanz Cafe, Johannesburg
Saturday, 7 May: Taco Zula, Durban
Sunday, 8 May: Park Acoustics, Pretoria
Wednesday, 11 May: Iziko Planetarium, Cape Town
Thursday, 12 May: Dorpstraat Teater, Stellenbosch
Sunday, 15 May: Silvertree Restaurant, Kirstenbosch Gardens, Cape Town
Thursday, 19 May: Swing Cafe, Knysna
Friday, 20 May: The Union, Steve Biko Building, Grahamstown
Saturday, 21 May: Pool City, Port Elizabeth

Kwesta wins international award

Local rapper Kwesta has been named ‘The World’s Grittiest Rapper’ in America’s SOHH True Grit Awards, which recognize up-and-coming hip-hop talent across the world. The good news follow hot on the heels of Kwesta's nomination for 2 SAMA awards. The Joburg wordsmith is certainly hot property at the moment!

Beyoncé sued for $100mil

A $100m Lawsuit has been filed by software developer Gate Five LLC against Beyoncé and her company, Beyoncé, Inc, after the singer reportedly bailed out on creating a “motion-sensing dance video” titled “Starpower: Beyoncé”.

Gate Five is holding the star, who is referred to as Ms. Carter, accountable for “a bad faith breach of contract so callous that, on what appeared to be a whim, she destroyed Gate Five’s business and drove 70 people into unemployment, the week before Christmas.” Representatives for Beyoncé have yet to respond to requests for a comment.

A Gay Star for Christina

Christina Aguilera is set to become the first star to appear on the new Gay Walk of Fame in Hollywood. She was chosen for the honour for all the work she has done supporting gay rights and equality.

Dr. Dre Wins Lawsuit against Death Row

Dr. Dre has successfully sued his former label, Death Row Records, for improperly selling his 1992 album ‘The Chronic’ digitally and using some of his music on compilation albums without his permission. It was also found that WIDEawake Death Row Records had failed to pay Dre properly from online sales of the LP.