Music

Donna Summer’s family has confirmed the death of the disco great at the age of 63 after a battle with cancer. In a statement, her family said, “Early this morning, we lost Donna Summer Sudano, a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith. While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy.”

Much of her legacy is rooted in the sexy sound of her music, which first hit the airwaves more than 30 years ago. A publicist who worked with her more recently says she wanted to move away from that.

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Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

With the general election kicking into high gear, President Obama isn’t just telling jokes. He’s being serious about the accomplishments of his first term and showcasing them in this new video, which features the campaign’s new slogan “Forward.” Thoughts?

Presidential contender Mitt Romney is also debuted a new video. While the President makes no mention of his opponent, Romney’s video focuses squarely on President Obama’s perceived shortcomings from the past four years. The clip also promotes the website ObamaIsntWorking.com, which continues the list and counts down the days until the looooong election season will finally be over. We’ve got that video after the jump.

And Rihanna has a new video. Also after the jump, because it’s Monday and you need to dance. Read more

Twitter was all a-Twitter following a Coachella performance by a number of hip-hop artists including Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem, and a hologram of the late rapper Tupac Shakur, who was shot and killed in 1996. Now there are discussions to possibly take the “virtual Tupac” on tour with his fellow Coachella performers.

A company called Digital Domain Image Group created the hologram, which isn’t based on archival footage, but rather used past performances to create something completely new for Sunday’s show. The discussions include talk of whether this would be a huge stadium tour. It was a costly endeavor with the price tag for the digital creation said to be in the $100,000 range.

There’s also chatter already over at MTV.com about doing the same for B.I.G. here in Brooklyn’s new Barclays Center, with the site imagining how the concert would play out. If chatter is any indication, Digital Domain could see its fortunes rise after this stunt. Check out the Coachella performance after the jump.

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Beyoncé has launched a personal Tumblr, revamped her website, and has started tweeting. She’s posted exactly one tweet, promoting the new site, and already has more than 3.5 million followers. Amazing.

The Tumblr is a collection of family photos along with a lot of snapshots from what look to be some very nice vacation travels.

The site is a little more business, with talk of upcoming appearances at Revel in Atlantic City, her albums, and other parts of her body of work.

There’s also a section of the website called Beyhive that’s dedicated to the fans. It even comes with its own vocabulary.

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MTV2, MTV’s sister station, is bringing back Hollywood Squares, but with a few changes.

Hip Hop Squares will debut Tuesday, May 22nd at 11 p.m. While it’s sticking with the Tic-Tac-Toe premise, the celebs in the squares will be a variety of “pop-culture personalities,” some more hip hop than others — Kat Graham, star of Vampire Diaries and singer of this crappy song; Biz Markie, singer of this great song; and Wu Tang’s Ghostface Killah among them

Paul Ricci, head of programming for MTV2, said this about the show in a statement: “Hip Hop Squares is a great representation of MTV2’s new brand filter to deliver smart, funny and relevant content that speaks directly to male Millennials’ – or ‘Malennials’ as we call them.” We hope you seriously don’t call anyone that.

Here’s the website and note the hashtag at the end of the promo.

If your client is the next hot thing in pop or indy culture, you could land print and online coverage in Village Voice. As the “premier expert on New York’s downtown scene,” the alt weekly looks to publicists to arrange interviews, to secure advanced copies of media material (film, books, music) and to obtain access to events (shows, openings).

But be patient when pitching, said music editor Maura Johnston. ”I do try to at least glance at every email I receive, although responding to every one would be a full-time job, or maybe even two,” she explained.

Get contact info for Johnston and all editors accepting pitches in How To Pitch for PR: Village Voice. (subscription required)

It’s almost South By Southwest conference time, and Nikon and Warner Music Group have partnered up to help underground music acts gain some exposure with a major label.

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Not satisfied to win a Grammy, perform on the blockbuster awards show, and have millions of fans and a best-selling album, Chris Brown took to Twitter this week to respond to critics with lots of F bombs.

Some music fans, still disgusted by his assault on Rihanna before the 2009 Grammys,  took issue with Brown’s inclusion and eventual win during this year’s ceremony. According to Mashable, a trending phrase during the broadcast was “wife beater.”

Brown lashed out with a series of tweets. However, only one was captured before they were deleted: “HATE ALL U WANT BECUZ I GOT A GRAMMY Now! That’s the ultimate F–K OFF.”

Today, Us Weekly claims that Brown approached a woman in a Grammy gift suite prior to the show and used the line, “Can I get your number? I promise I won’t beat you!” We know the tabloid mag isn’t always the most reliable news source, but the story is getting picked up because Brown’s reputation makes it seem totally feasible. And, Us Weekly goes on to report that his rep responded to inquiries about the truth of this with, “I’d be surprised if Chris said something that stupid.” No one else would be surprised. Not in the least.

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Last night’s Grammy awards generated press for some very obvious reasons. Awards were handed out, which always gets attention. It drew the second-highest number of viewers in the history of the broadcast. Famous people got dressed up. Ooh and ahh. And there were live performances, which leaves the door open for the hot messitude that was Nicki Minaj’s “exorcism” as well as the loveliness that was Jennifer Hudson’s tribute to Whitney Houston.

But the Grammys are also creating unexpected buzz for some lucky/unlucky buzz-getters.

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Publicist Kristen Foster has confirmed that Whitney Houston has died at the age of 48. Houston’s publicist delivered the sad and shocking news with few details.

Just moments ago, Mark Rosen, a lieutenant with the Beverly Hills Police Department, gave a press conference, stating that the police and fire department responded to an emergency call at the Beverly Hilton Hotel where she had been staying.

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