P!nk has announced that she has began recording on her sixth studio album, the follow-up to 2008′s ‘Funhouse’. The 32-year old singer/songwriter has taken a brief hiatus from the music scene while she started a family with her husband Carey Hart.

The couple, whose on/off relationship has been the subject of some of P!nk’s biggest hits, welcomed a daughter last June and have stayed largely out of the limelight in the months since. However, P!nk now appears to be focusing on her career and on reclaiming her title as one of the world’s biggest touring artists with the release of her first studio album in 4 years.

Her return to the music studio has been eagerly anticipated by her fans, as the four-year period since the release of ‘Funhouse’ marks the longest gap between studio albums in P!nk’s 12-year career. Few details are known about the album, expected to be released later this year, although hit maker Dan Wilson confirmed on Twitter that he has been in the studio writing songs with P!nk in recent weeks.

Wilson most notably collaborated with Adele on her multi-platinum LP ’21′, co-writing two tracks – including the Grammy-winning ‘Someone Like You – and has also written songs for such artists as Keith Urban and The Dixie Chicks.

For P!nk, a partnership with Wilson would mark a departure from her last two studio albums, on which she collaborated primarily with pop guru Max Martin (Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, and Katy Perry), country songwriter Billy Mann (Mary J. Blige, Sting, and Celine Dion), and rocker Butch Walker (Fall Out Boy, Avril Lavigne, and The Donnas).

Since releasing her first studio album, ‘Can’t Take Me Home’, P!nk has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and has made a name for herself as a a must-see live performer. ‘The Funhouse Tour’ spanned 10 months and broke several records in Australia, and was then followed up with P!nk’s first ever stadium tour, playing at over 30 outdoor venues across Europe in the summer of 2010.

Following the success of the ‘Funhouse’ era, P!nk was ranked #27 on Forbes’ 2010 Celebrity 100 List with earnings of $44 million from the previous 12 months. She capitalised on this career momentum by releasing a compilation CD, titled ‘Greatest Hits … So Far!!!” to mark the 10th anniversary of the release of her debut album.

The compilation featured all of her major hits from the previous decade, as well as three new songs, the first of which – ‘Raise Your Glass’ – topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while the second – ‘Perfect’ – garnered P!nk her 11th Grammy nomination.

Despite a brief hiatus from the entertainment industry during her pregnancy, P!nk kept her name in the headlines with a starring role in the 2011 animated feature ‘Happy Feet Two,’ for which she also provided the soundtrack single ‘Bridge of Light’.

Around the same time, P!nk filmed a role in the upcoming drama/comedy film ‘Thanks For Sharing’, co-starring Mark Ruffalo and Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow, and paid $5,000 to fund life-saving surgery for a stray dog after learning of the story in late last December.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.pinkspage.com

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The 54th edition of the Grammy Awards was permeated by a sense of respect and sadness, due to the sudden death of the 48-year-old singer Whitney Houston.

The announcement of Whitney Houston’s death was given by her publicist on February 11. The pop singer died in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. Although the cause of death is not yet totally clarified, sources tell TMZ that a lethal combination of prescription drugs and alcohol could have led Whitney Houston to death.

The Grammy Awards responded to the shock generated by the loss of the late Diva, with a tribute paid by soul singer Jennifer Hudson. The 30-year-old singer gave an emotional performance of Houston’s signature song ‘I Will Always Love You,’ leading single of ‘The Bodyguard’ movie’s soundtrack.

As usual in this event, the show paid respect to the musicians and music executives passed away during the past years; the remembrance started showing 27-year-old British singer Amy Winehouse, while her music played. It then went on showing pictures and playing music belonging to many of those who enriched the music scene, as Motown executive Esther Gordy Edwards, soul-music architect Nick Ashford and rapper Heavy D, just to cite few.

This commemoration ended with an extract of Whitney Houston’s performance at the Grammy Awards in 1986, after winning her first award for the song ‘Saving All My Love For You’. As the image of the beloved singer faded away, a spotlight discovered a graceful Hudson.

The artist delivered the first a cappella lines of ‘I Will Always Love You’; Hudson then carried on the performance in an extremely elegant and respectful way. In the virtuosity of Hudson’s voice, all the influence of the late Whitney Houston could be retrieved.

Although Jennifer Hudson showed to comfortably go through the song, a certain sense of emotion appeared clear in her eyes. The performance ended with the appearance of all the photos of the music artists and executives at the back of a humble Hudson, who was standing in front of the audience’s standing ovation, and who then turned around to send a kiss to the late music people who passed away during last year.

Due to the timing of Houston’s death, no long planning was possible for her tribute during the show; this might have been one of the things that contributed to make the tribute so special. There was nothing fancy or extreme, but just a very elegant, sweet, but at the meantime full of music talent, commemoration. It was something great, without the need of exaggeration. It was exactly as Whitney Houston was: talented, elegant and graceful.

Image Courtesy of  s_bukley / Shutterstock.com

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Rock band Foo Fighters won five Grammy Awards in occasion of the 54th edition of the music event, being second only to Adele, who won six, in number of awards. The band got awards for Best Rock Album with their ‘Wasting Light,’ Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance with ‘Walk,’ Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for ‘White Limo’ and Best Long Form Music Video with their documentary ‘Back and Forth.’
Foo Fighters were further nominated for Best Album; the award was instead assigned to Adele’s record ’21.’

The success of Foo Fighters was preceded by an incredible year. In April 2011 the band released the album ‘Wasting Light,’ produced by infamous Butch Vig, which debuted as number one in the Billboard 200 chart, selling 235,000 copies only during the first week. After the release of the album, the band toured the world during the whole second half of 2011, and is about to start the second leg of the tour. Furthermore Dave Grohl recently announced that Foo Fighters will be back soon to record their 12th album.

Foo Fighters performed at the 54th 2012 Grammy Awards show bringing on stage their pure rock soul. Their first performance was introduced by a thrilled Jack Black – comedian, actor and musician – who defined the outdoor stage as ‘the place to be,’ because of the raw Foo Fighters’ energy. The band showed up on stage with the excited eyes of the winners.

A jumping crowd enjoyed the band’s performance of the hit ‘Walk;’ a Dave Grohl wearing a Slayer t-shirt seemed particularly energetic, giving a passionate performance while cheering on the crowd. At the end of the performance the frontman clapped the audience, showing once again the sense of gratitude towards fans that has always characterized Foo Fighters.

When later awarded for Best Rock Performance for ‘Walk,’ frontman Dave Grohl expressed the band’s feeling of honor for being a part of the event and defined ‘Wasting Light’ to be a very special album for them. He explained that rather than go to an expensive studio and use fancy computers to create the record, they recorded the mentioned album in Dave Grohl’s garage, using only ‘some microphones and a tape machine.’ He thanked producer Butch Vig, who joined them on stage, and who was defined by Grohl as ‘the best producer in the world.’

The frontman then thanked a number of people involved in the creation of the record, right before stating that the success the band is having with their recent record ‘Shows that the human element of making music is what’s most important. Singing into a microphone, and learning to play an instrument […] that’s the most important thing for people to do. It’s not about being perfect, it’s not about sounding absolutely correct; It’s not about what goes on in a computer, it’s about what goes on in here [pointing to the hearth] and what goes on in here [pointing to the mind].’ Then Dave Grohl screamed in front of a standing ovation ‘Long live rock ‘n’ roll!’ while producers tried to play him off the stage.

Later in the evening Foo Fighters also performed together with Deadmau5. The beginning of performance saw Foo Fighters playing their single ‘Rope’ with a later introduction of the electronic beats of Deadmau5 at a certain point of the track. Deadmau5 then finished the performance alone, with Dave Grohl enjoying it together with the crowd.

On the day preceding the February 12 show, Foo Fighters talked about their music stating that, with their ‘Wasting Light,’ they already won in their own hearts. Dave Grohl then ironically added ‘f–k the heart, I want the Grammy.’ With five Grammy Awards, it seems that Foo Fighters frontman’s desires have been pleased.

Image Courtesy of  Foo Fighters

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