Tag: Charity (11-20 of 59)

Jan 23 2012 02:55 PM ET

Occupy Wall Street is getting an album featuring Yoko Ono, Willie Nelson, Devo, and more

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What do Willie Nelson, Devo, and Third Eye Blind have in common?

Other than being giants of their respective musical eras (yeah, we said it; just try not to sing along to this), they all support the Occupy Wall Street movement.

They and many other artists will be contributing music to the benefit compilation Occupy This Album: A Compilation of Music by, for and Inspired by the Occupy Wall Street Movement and the 99%. Proceeds from the wordily titled record will go “directly towards the needs of sustaining this growing movement,” The Wrap reports.

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Jan 23 2012 12:12 PM ET

Miley Cyrus' Bob Dylan cover 'You're Going to Make Me Lonesome When You Go' -- Watch the new video here

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Anxious to hear Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan, the massive, 76-track Tribute Album for a Good Cause from Amnesty International?

No worries — Miley Cyrus has got your back.

In conjunction with Amnesty International, the nose-ringed 19-year-old has released the official video for her country-fried cover of Dylan’s “You’re Going to Make Me Lonesome When You Go.”

The song, off 1975′s Blood on the Tracks, loses some of its original spunk and humor (not to mention harmonica), but Cyrus does a decent job with her safe reading of the folk favorite.

Check out the video below to see for yourself:

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Jan 17 2012 11:19 AM ET

Daniel Radcliffe swoops in to Lana Del Rey's 'SNL' defense

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Image Credit: Dana Edelson/NBC

Call it Harry Potter and the Cold-Blooded Critics.

After hosting last weekend’s Saturday Night Live, Daniel Radcliffe is publicly coming to the defense of the episode’s musical guest Lana Del Rey, whose performance has inspired the first Great Music Debate of 2012.

“It was unfortunate that people seemed to turn on her so quickly,” Radcliffe said to the British press of Del Rey, who sang “Video Games” and “Blue Jeans” on that fateful night.

“I also think people are making it about things other than the performance,” the actor continued. “If you read what people are saying about her online, it’s all about her past and her family and stuff that’s nobody else’s business.”

Added Radcliffe, “I don’t think it warranted anywhere near that reaction.”

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Jan 3 2012 11:30 AM ET

Snoop Dogg launches Celebrity Charity Week on 'The Price Is Right,' knows the cost of bird seed: Watch it here

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If you were home yesterday nursing an epic New Year’s Eve hangover with Vitamin Water and gravy-covered sandwiches, you may have caught one of the more surreal moments in the history of The Price Is Right—a visit from Snoop Dogg.

After busting out a Price Is Right-themed freestyle, the rapper, there to launch the show’s special celebrity-charity week, assisted a handful of contestants in an effort to raise matching funds for his Snoop Football League, which brings organized pigskin to at-risk inner city youth.

He managed to coach one contestant to a healthy victory in Plinko, and in the show’s biggest victory, assisted a woman in scoring a 1965 Lincoln convertible. Watch Snoop show off his deep knowledge of the price of ranch dressing below: READ FULL STORY »

Dec 12 2011 11:08 AM ET

Ke$ha covers Bob Dylan's 'Don't Think Twice, It's All Right,' totally doesn't embarrass herself

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Image Credit: Alexandro Auler/Getty Images

In the next issue of Entertainment Weekly, the writers of the music section will be calling out a notoriously awful and ill-advised cover as one of the worst songs of the year (no spoilers here; you’ll have to read our Best & Worst of 2011 issue to find out what it is).

Covers can deadly, especially when the recording involves a pop star taking on a revered piece of rock history. But leave it up to eternal curveball Ke$ha to make us eat our words.

Amnesty International is celebrating its 50th birthday with a compilation called Chimes of Freedom, a four-disc affair that features a whopping 76 covers of Bob Dylan songs. The entirety of the compilation is currently streaming for free on the organization’s Facebook page, with the proper album hitting stores on January 24.

The lineup is all over the place, with a handful of the usual suspects (Joan Baez, Billy Bragg, Tom Morello, Pete Seeger) and some more unusual choices (Adele, Jack’s Mannequin, Airborn Toxic Event, Bad Religion). But the real head-turners are the people from the pure pop universe, including Miley Cyrus, Maroon 5, Darren Criss, and Ke$ha.

The twist is that Ke$ha’s cover of Dylan’s venerable talking blues “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” is actually pretty good. She slows it way, way down and turns it into a slow-burning and devastating torch song, shifting the tone away from Dylan’s flippant indignation into incredible sadness. Give it a listen below. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 28 2011 01:28 PM ET

Did Wyclef Jean misuse millions in Haiti charity funds? He refutes new news reports

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Image Credit: Marion Curtis/AP Images

Haitian-born solo artist and former Fugee Wyclef Jean is defending his charity, Yele Haiti, after a report by the New York Post questioned the spending — or lack thereof — of funds raised for disaster relief.

According to a Sunday article in the Post, Yele Haiti spent only a “pittance” of the $16 million collected after the devastating 2010 earthquake on emergency aid including questionable contracts — such as $350,000 to a construction firm run by Jean’s brother-in-law and $1 million to a Florida firm that may or may not exist.

Jean has defended the charity, calling the article “misleading, deceptive and incomplete.” He said that decisions made by Yele Haiti were made quickly in the aftermath of a catastrophic event and he stands by those decisions. He also provides some explanation for the Florida contract — with Amisphere Farm Labor Inc. — saying the Post failed to mention the preparation and delivery of 100,000 meals by that organization.

According to the Post, however, no trace of Amisphere Farm Labor could be found in Florida beyond its incorporation in 2008. The business’s listed address is an auto-repair shop in Miami’s Little Haiti and records show that the head of the company purchased three properties in Florida last year including an upscale waterfront condo..

These accusations are only the latest round of controversy surrounding Yele Haiti. Days after the earthquake struck, allegations arose that Jean had been appropriating charity funds for personal use, a claim he disputed. Jean stepped down as the head of Yele Haiti in August 2010.

Read more:
Wyclef Jean denies personal benefit from Haiti charity
Wyclef Jean resigns as head of Yéle Haiti charity

Oct 18 2011 08:44 AM ET

Dixie Chicks headline concert for Texas wildfires relief

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Image Credit: Erich Schlegel/AP Images

Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines told a thunderous crowd Monday night that “there was zero hesitation” when the band was asked to perform with fellow country stars to raise money for victims of recent wildfires in her home state of Texas. She and her band mates joined Willie Nelson, George Strait and other musicians during a mega-concert in Austin that raised more than $500,000. A fire that started Sept. 4 in Central Texas’ Bastrop County destroyed at least 1,500 homes and killed two people, marking the most devastating of the numerous fires that have scorched about 6,000 square miles in Texas in the last year.

Maines told the crowd she was worried that without homes, “you all might not look lovely.” But she told them they all looked fantastic. “When they called us to do this show, there was zero hesitation,” she said. “You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can’t take Texas out of the girl.” READ FULL STORY »

Aug 17 2011 01:27 PM ET

Troubled Michael Jackson tribute concert hits new snag with Kiss's Gene Simmons

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Image Credit: Marcos Hermes/LatinContent/Getty Images

When the news first broke that a cabal of Michael Jackson’s family members (lead by Michael’s mother Katherine) were planning a tribute concert for the late King of Pop in Wales later this year, the red flags immediately went up.

After all, we’ve been through this sort of thing before (remember that concert that was supposed to take place in Vienna a few months after Jackson’s passing in 2009?), and it didn’t help that the Jacksons announced the existence of the concert without mentioning a single performer on the lineup.

Also not helpful? The fact that only hours after Michael Forever was introduced, another set of Jackson family members (including brothers Jermaine and Randy) issued a statement saying they did not endorse the show—though only because it would take place during the manslaughter trial of Jackson physician Conrad Murray, and not because it’s a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad idea). That seemed like a good enough reason to close up shop on the whole thing, right?

Nope! READ FULL STORY »

Aug 11 2011 05:22 PM ET

Justin Timberlake will bring his annual all-star benefit concert back to Las Vegas -- EXCLUSIVE

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Image Credit: Justin Timberlake performs on stage at the closing

He makes us dance, he makes us laugh, he makes us rock our bodies in ways we never thought possible—let’s be real here, Justin Timberlake can make us do just about anything.

This fall, the 30-year-old star will put his powers to good use by co-hosting the fourth annual Justin Timberlake & Friends concert, this year dubbed the Old School Jam, a benefit for the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

The concert, scheduled for Oct. 1 at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, is part of Timberlake’s weeklong men’s pro golf tournament, also held to benefit Shriners.

He will co-host the show with comedian Wayne Brady, with a performance lineup that features artists hand-picked by Timberlake for their influence on him: Earth, Wind & Fire, Charlie Wilson, Vanilla Ice, the Commodores, the Sugar Hill Gang, Sister Sledge and Color Me Badd.

According to a rep for the event, the last three Old School Jam concerts have raised over $1 million for the Shriners Hospital network.

Tickets will go on sale Monday, Aug. 15 at 10 a.m. PST and range in price from $100 to $500 plus applicable live entertainment tax. They can be purchased at the Theatre for the Performing Arts box office at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at Ticketmaster.com, or by phone at 1-800-745-3000. 

Read more on EW.com:

Justin Timberlake directs, appears in new video for FreeSol’s ‘Hoodies On, Hats Low’: Watch it here
Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon perform the sequel to their ‘History of Rap’: Watch it here
All-star Japan Relief album on iTunes now: Madonna, Gaga, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Eminem, U2, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, and more contribute 38 hits to $9.99 comp

Aug 9 2011 09:00 AM ET

U2, Britney Spears, Eminem, Justin Bieber, hundreds more throw their support behind Bob Marley-affiliated Save The Children campaign for East Africa: Learn how you can also give

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Image Credit: Jorgen Angel/Redferns/Getty Images

Save the Children works all over the world to combat hunger, sickness and abuse among the world’s underprivileged children, and starting today they are launching a massive outreach program to aid East Africa—and dozens of the biggest music acts in the world have pledged to drum up support for the program on their Facebook pages and Twitter accounts.

Among the names: Lady Gaga, U2, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Eminem, Avril Lavigne, Rihanna, Madonna, and Beyoncé. (If you see a star send out a message with the hash tag #beafriend, that’s them throwing their support behind STC.)

The name of the social media campaign is I’m Gonna Be Your Friend, which takes its title from a lyric in Bob Marley & the Wailers’ 1973 song “High Tide or Low Tide,” and their goal is to get in front of hundreds of millions eyes to encourage people to donate to Save the Children and help the million suffering children in Somalia and the rest of East Africa.

The proceeds from download sales of “High Tide or Low Tide” will go directly to Save the Children, and filmmaker Kevin MacDonald (director of The Last Kind of Scotland and the forthcoming Bob Marley documentary Marley) has put together a video that features footage from Somalia with “Tide” laid over it, which you can watch here:
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