HollywoodNews.com: Award-winning, multi-platinum singer Mary J Blige will be performing at a private pre-Grammy event on February, 9th 2012 to celebrate the partnership of Belvedere [http://www.facebook.com/belvederevodka ], the world’s first super premium vodka and (RED)(TM). [http://www.facebook.com/joinred ]

The exclusive performance will be followed by a private party at Bardot, Los Angeles to help raise awareness around HIV/AIDS and emphasize the need for consumers to unite in support of programs that help eliminate HIV and AIDS in Africa.

In winter 2011, BELVEDERE (PRODUCT)[RED(TM)] Special Edition bottle [http://www.facebook.com/belvederevodka ] launched to raise proceeds for the Global Fund(TM) to fight HIV/AIDS. The (RED) [http://www.joinred.com ] inspired packaging will contain the same unadulterated and naturally smooth(R) Belvedere vodka enthusiasts have always enjoyed. 50% of Belvedere’s profits from the global sale of (BELVEDERE)[RED] [http://www.facebook.com/belvederevodka ] will contribute to the Global Fund.
Mary J Blige said: “I’m delighted to be supporting (Belvedere) RED in their fight against HIV & AIDS in Africa. It is one of the most devastating issues faced by millions in Africa and if we can raise awareness with this event and encourage people to buy (PRODUCT) RED, we’ll be one step closer to an HIV / AIDS free generation in 2015.”

Fans can watch the party build up and Mary J Blige’s performance live via Facebook at approximately 10.45pm (PST). The event will be streamed to http://www.facebook.com/belvederevodka. Media can download images and B-Roll footage from the event at 6am Friday 10th February 2012, please visit http://www.epklink.com/BelvedereRedWithMaryJBlige

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But can Baldwin sing? Or dance?

He better be able to, as he’s reportedly set to join Adam Shankman’s planned production of “Rock of Ages,” a movie musical that already has lured Tom Cruise, Mary J. Blige and Julianne Hough of “Dancing With the Stars.”

“So, based on info I got today, I’m gonna confirm Alec Baldwin as Dennis in Rock Of Ages. Hollah,” Shankman tweeted over the weekend.

Dennis Dupree, in the show, is a former rock star who operates a Hollywood club. Baldwin’s reps were contacted, but did not immediately respond to confirm the casting move.

Leave that to Shankman, who followed up his initial Tweet with, “Can’t wait to start #rockofagesmovie. Julianne Hough, alec Baldwin, Mary j Blige, Tom cruise confirmed. I love my cast. More to come.”

And we love Twitter, which now has just as much power as the trades.

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If all goes according to plans, they’ll be joined by “Dancing With the Stars” talent Julianne Hough, who is “in final negotiations” to appear alongside Cruise in “Rock,” according to THR.

Hough would play Sherrie, a small-town girl who moves to Hollywood in the 1980s and is nearly corrupted by the hair-metal music scene that dominated Southern California at the time.

Shankman spoke of Hough, calling her audition “nothing short of a miracle,” THR reports.

“It was a star-is-born moment,” he said.

Production on “Rock of Ages” will begin in May.

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HollywoodNews.com: Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA) Records will honor 2010 BET Awards Nominees Mary J. Blige (nominated for Best Female R&B Artist), Ester Dean (nominated for Best Female Hip Hop Artist), Black Eyed Peas (nominated for Best Group), Diddy-Dirty Money (nominated for Best Group and performing), Wale (nominated for Best New Artist), K’NAAN (nominated for Best International Act), Lady Gaga (nominated for Best Collaboration and Best Video for Beyonce’s Video Phone), Eminem (nominated for Best Collaboration on Drake’s “Forever”), and KeKe Palmer (nominated for YoungStars Award) at their Fourth Annual “Crème of the Crop” Post BET Awards Dinner Celebration.

“We are once again excited to continue the most talked about and largest celebrity driven Post BET Awards Celebration this year,” comments Ron Fair Chairman of Geffen Records, “We want to continue to honor and celebrate the success of our artists.”

“Crème of the Crop has become a highly anticipated part of the BET Awards celebration and IGA is proud to be a part of it,” stated Troy Marshall, Vice President of Rap Department, Promotions, “We have enjoyed a lot of success in the past years, but this year is guaranteed to top the past.”

The Fourth Annual “Crème of the Crop” Post BET Awards Dinner Celebration takes place on June 27, 2010.

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HollywoodNews.com: Dr.Dre will be receiving ASCAP’s highest honor (Founders Award) at the 23rd annual ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards, following past recipients Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Garth Brooks & Billy Joel amongst other top icons.

In addition to the all star tribute to Dr.Dre, Awards of the year are going to Ne-Yo, Janelle Monae and The Dream as well as top songwriters/artists such as John Legend, Eve, Mario, Jamie Foxx, Kid Cudi, Gwen Stefani amongst others.

Past attendees include ASCAP artists such as Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Smokey Robinson, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Timbaland, Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri and Mary J.Blige.

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Image by PR Photos.

HollywoodNews.com: The 40th Annual Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival in Seattle, Washington has become a great venue to showcase emerging talent alongside veterans. The festival has just announced the lineup for the weekend, which includes a festival kick-off by the legendary Bob Dylan.

The opening night will also feature Neko Case and The Decemberists among others. Weezer will take the stage on Sunday, and Mary J. Blige will close out of the festival on Monday.

Programming Director for One Reel’s Festival Division, Chris Porter, said, “Bumbershoot has a strong history of showcasing emerging talent alongside veteran superstars. This year for our 40th Festival, we’re excited to have artists that span more than four decades of phenomenal music. With this roster of talent, we’re truly offering a music lineup that will engage and entertain people of all ages and interests.”

A couple of changes have been made to the tickets this year, the main being that the Standard Ticket now includes guaranteed access to the Mainstage performances. However, the Standard Tickets are available in limited quantities, so it is encouraged to purchase early to ensure a spot.

Below is a list of confirmed artists:

Bob Dylan / Mary J. Blige / Weezer / Hole / Rise Against / Neko Case / The Decemberists / J. Cole / LMFAO / Billy Bragg / Ozomatli / Angelique Kidjo / Solomon Burke / The Dandy Warhols / Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros / Jenny and Johnny (featuring Jenny Lewis and Jonathan Rice / Jamie Lidell / The Raveonettes / Balkan Beat Box / Motion City Soundtrack / The Thermals / Ra Ra Riot / The English Beat / Justin Townes Earle / Booker T. / Surfer Blood / The Bouncing Souls / Japandroids / Bob Schneider / Anvil / Bomba Estereo / Jay Electronica / Aterciopelados / Baroness / James Cotton “Superharp” Blues Band / David Bazan / Meat Puppets / Crash Kings / This Providence / Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express / The Moondoggies / The Whigs / Greg Laswell / Civil Twilight / Trampled By Turtles / The Clientele / Atlas Sound / Laura Veirs & The Hall of Flames / The Budos Band / Bobby Bare Jr. / Horse Feathers / Vienna Teng Trio / HEALTH / Plants and Animals / Georgia Anne Muldrow & Declaime / Wheedle’s Groove / Hey Marseilles / Kings Go Forth / Sweet Water / Delorean / JEFF The Brotherhood / Chris Pureka / Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra / Garotas Suecas / The Maldives / The Constellations / Coryell, Auger, Sample Trio / Grynch / Visqueen / Victor Shade / Star Anna & The Laughing Dogs / Fresh Espresso/ Pete Molinari / Sista Monica’s “Singin in the Spirit” / Lay Low / Unnatural Helpers / Idiot Pilot / The Round / Wild Orchid Children / The Cute Lepers / Feral Children / Fences / Caspar Babypants / The Tripwires / Fatal Lucciauno / Loch Lomond / The Physics / THEESatisfaction / School of Rock All Stars / See Me River / Zoe Muth and The Lost High Rollers / People Eating People / Eldridge Gravy & The Court Supreme / Brent Amaker & The Rodeo / Born Anchors / Slender Means / BOAT / McTuff Trio / Parlour Steps / The Redwood Plan / Helladope / Lisa Dank / Greta Matassa Quartet / The Lonely H / Matt Jorgensen Quintet / Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin’ Daddies! / Great Waves / Brian Vogan / Johnny Bregar

The festival takes place September 4-6 at the Seattle Center. To purchase tickets and view all details, head to Bumbershoot.org.

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Image by Bumbershoot.org

By Roger Friedman

HollywoodNews.com: Mary J. Blige is one of the coolest performers out there. To prove it, she’s doing double time for charities over the next week.

This Thursday, Mary J. will join Sting, Elton John, Lady GaGa, and Shirley Bassey at the annual concert for the Rainforest Foundation at Carnegie Hall. Trudie Styler puts together this amazing show every other year, and has been for 21 years. Mary J, of course, has sung with Sting before, so there may be a duet on that program.

But then Mary J will o-”blige” AmFAR and be the special guest in Cannes next Thursday, May 20th at the Cinema Against AIDS gala at the Hotel duCap. Mary J finishes her shows with her anthem, “I See Colors.” The folks at the duCap have never heard anything so crazy. Be ready to be dazzled! Alan Cumming is the night’s emcee, and stars could run the gamut from Sean Penn to Mick Jagger to Naomi Watts.

To read more go to Showbiz411.com.

Children’s Health Fund (CHF) is one of the charities benefiting from tonight’s “Idol Gives Back,” the Emmy Award-winning television event and musical celebration raising awareness and funds to benefit various U.S. and international charities. CHF, an “Idol Gives Back” beneficiary for the third time, is the nation’s leading pediatric provider of mobile-based health care to homeless and low-income children and their families – regardless of their ability to pay. At least 14 million children and youth in the U.S. – one in five – live in poverty, and often when people live in poverty, they struggle to get access to ongoing health care. Each one of CHF’s 24 programs across the country has received support from “Idol Gives Back.”

Simon Cowell’s visit to CHF’s Southern Arizona program will air as part of “Idol Gives Back,” airing tonight, Wednesday, April 21 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed), on FOX. During his visit, he saw firsthand how families in rural communities have difficultly accessing health care due to some non-insurance-related barriers, including lack of transportation or hundreds of miles between them and the closest doctor or specialist. CHF’s Southern Arizona program is located in an extremely rural area and experiences myriad challenges with very limited resources. It was founded largely in part to “Idol Gives Back” funding to CHF and brings urgently needed health care services to thousands of children, hundreds of which have special health care needs.

“In many poor communities across the country, children living in poverty can have an extremely difficult time getting the medical services they need. That fact is compounded by the great distances families have to travel to access critically needed services as well as doctor and other health professional shortages. It is particularly devastating for children with challenging medical conditions,” said Irwin Redlener, MD, President, Children’s Health Fund. “We are delighted and honored to be the recipient of ‘Idol Gives Back’ and its viewers’ generosity for the third time. Thanks to their incredible support, Children’s Health Fund has been able to provide care to families in Southern Arizona and all over the country through more than 650,000 health care visits. On behalf of everyone at the Children’s Health Fund and the children and families served by our programs, thank you.”

Access to doctors and specialists. Transportation issues. Language and cultural barriers. It is challenges like these that affect many of CHF’s families across the nation, preventing many kids from just getting to a regular well-child visit to treat a chronic illness before it results in a more serious ER visit or preventable hospitalization. With funding from “Idol Gives Back,” Children’s Health Fund will be able to continue to tackle these barriers and provide comprehensive health care services for even more children across the country.

This year’s special will feature performances and appearances by some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Elton John, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood, The Black Eyed Peas, Annie Lennox, Jeff Beck & Joss Stone and Mary J. Blige & the All-Star Band.

Visit www.childrenshealthfund.org/idol-gives-back for more information on how “Idol Gives Back” funding has helped CHF.

About Children’s Health Fund
Founded in 1987 by singer/songwriter Paul Simon and pediatrician/advocate Irwin Redlener, MD, Children’s Health Fund (CHF) is the nation’s leading pediatric provider of mobile-based health care for homeless and low-income children and their families. CHF’s mission is to bring health care directly to those in need through the development and support of innovative medical programs, response to public health crises, and the promotion of guaranteed access to health care for all children. CHF currently has 50 mobile medical clinics serving 100′s of locations across the country. Over the past 23 years, the organization has supported more than two million health care visits for disadvantaged children, often in places where doctors and health care providers are in short supply. For more information about CHF, visit www.childrenshealthfund.org.

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About “Idol Gives Back”
The brainchild of Simon Fuller, “Idol Gives Back” has made history by raising over $140 million for charity to date. This year’s special celebration will help raise awareness and funds to benefit various U.S. and international charities, including Children’s Health Fund, Feeding America, Malaria No More, Save the Children’s U.S. Programs and the United Nations Foundation.

About “American Idol”
“American Idol” is created and executive-produced by Simon Fuller, founder of 19 Entertainment; and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America; and Ken Warwick, executive producer, FremantleMedia North America. The series features host Ryan Seacrest and judges Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres, Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson. Visit www.americanidol.com for more information on “Idol Gives Back” in addition to exclusive videos, photos, special behind-the-scenes information and all of your “American Idol” news.
Source: Children’s Health Fund

CONTACT: Rebecca Hut of the Children’s Health Fund, +1-917-613-2089

BY STAFF

Bryan Adams is going to be auctioning off a number of exclusive meet-and-greet passes and top of the line concert seats for 6 cities of his tour in order to support the Red Cross Haiti Relief fund.

He has also round up a few of his music friends to donate some items to auction off as well. Mary J. Blige has donated a Valentine’s Day autographed by herself. Toby Keith donated an acoustic guitar and CD both signed by himself. Even Busta Rhymes has donated an autographed cd. To view all the items in the auction, head over to the Universal Music Store on eBay. The auction is open until February 15/16.

Cicely Tyson is the latest woman to join the list of honorees for the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon that takes place on Thursday, March 4 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Tyson will receive the Legend Award at the event and joins other honorees Queen Latifah, Zoe Saldana, Mary J. Blige, and Gabourey Sidibe.

Tyson has become one of America’s most respected performers making her way from model to actress and has appeared with actors George C. Scott, James Earl Jones, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bill Cosby, and Laurence Fishburne among others.

ESSENCE editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray said, “The ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon will pay homage to the outstanding work and contributions of Ms. Tyson. She is a Legend because she continues in her craft with passion and integrity – an accomplishment to which we all aspire.”