Mexican-American Singer Jenni Rivera dies

Jenni Rivera, the 43-year-old Mexican-American singer, had her life cut short on Sunday, December 9^th, when her plane crashed. Rivera was travelling over mountains in northern Mexico when the small plane went down in Iturbide. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.

Known as “La Diva de la Banda,” (The Diva of Banda Music), Jenni Rivera was a powerful performer whose music focused on Mexican corridos (ballads). She is reminiscent of Selena, who also began her career as a Mexican-American diva, later working her way into American mainstream. Rivera had just begun working on breaking into the U.S. scene.

According to police on the scene, “The aircraft was destroyed, totally fragmented.” All seven people on board are presumed to have been killed in the crash, including Rivera’s publicist, attorney, and makeup artists. However, no bodies have yet been identified. Rivera’s family is waiting for the results of a DNA test performed on Tuesday, which could take days.

“We still have hope that she’s alive,” her brother Pedro Rivera Jr. said. “It’s a 95% chance that she’s dead but we have that belief because we don’t have a body. They found clothes.”

The plane fell from an altitude of about 28,000 feet and may have hit the ground at over 600 mph. Wreckage was so shattered and spread out that it has proven difficult to find the crash site. The crash could have been due to a major failure of flight controls, or it could have been human error.

Small jets like the Learjet Rivera was flying in take very skilled pilots to fly, and the accident rate is more than double of that for other small aircraft. There was no emergency call from the plane before it went down; the plane was reported missing just ten minutes after takeoff.

Jenni Rivera’s father, unlike other members of her family, does not believe she survived the crash. “My queen, we will see each other soon,” he said. “We though it was press speculation, we wanted to believe that. But it’s true, my daughter is dead.”

5 Apps for Music Lovers

Many of us carry our music around with us these days. It’s on our phone or iPod, and we can access thousands of songs with the touch of a few buttons. There are a lot of apps to choose from if you have a smart phone, and unique benefits to each. Here are five of the best apps on the market right now:

1.     Spotify: This app lets you stream unlimited music, all while being able to share your music experience with other users through Facebook and Twitter. It makes listening social, something that’s great for those of us who like to share music we like with others. It’s free to stream to your desktop computer, but access to music offline and full access to mobile app capabilities will cost you $10 per month. Not bad for a music service that provides millions of tracks.

2.     Songza: The ultimate mood music app has arrived. Songza builds custom playlists based on your current mood or condition. It’s totally free, and there are no advertisements or limits to how much you listen.

3.     Garageband: This one’s for all the music mixers out there. You can also “play” various instruments and conduct a string orchestra. It’s also got some amazing educational value for those who want to learn to play an instrument. Available only for iOS and Mac OS X for $4.99 or free when you buy a Mac computer.

4.     Pandora: Hopefully you’ve heard of this one by now. It’s still one of the best. Choose an artist or style of music you like and it will create a custom station that is completely editable with the thumbs up and thumbs down buttons. It will also remember all your stations for later listening—even from a different device. Free for up to 40 hours of listening per month (with minimal commercials), or you can upgrade to Pandora One for $36 per year for unlimited, commercial-free listening.

5.     iHeartRadio: This little beauty lets you both listen in on live radio stations all around the country and create your own station based on favorite artists. It’s also free.

Swords and Witches and Dragons, Oh My!

There aren’t many bands out there like The Sword. A heavy-metal group hailing from Austin, Texas, The Sword really knows how to rock hard in songs about science fiction and fantasy themes. Based on a story written by frontman J.D. Cronise, the songs on their 2010, Warp Riders is sure to make nerdy hard-rock fans everywhere jump for joy.

Signed on by Andres Santo Domingo's Kemado Records, The Sword released four albums, Age of Winters (20060, Gods of the Earth (2008), and Warp Riders (2010).  Apocryphon is their fourth album, released earlier this year with Razor & Tie Records.

With each album released, The Sword have seen growing success and presence on the Billboard 200 chart. Drawing on influences from Norse mythology and literature from authors like George R. R. Martin and H.P. Lovecraft for inspiration, The Sword is often likened to groups such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin for their musical style.

The release of The Sword’s newest album kicked off a U.S. tour, which will be followed by a European tour. Their unique sound and themes make The Sword stand out as a crossover band, providing an alternative to other “typical” hard metal or doom metal bands out there.

The Sword has been compared to Saviours, who are also signed onto. Baroness, High on Fire, Witchcraft, Red Fang, Graveyard, Black Tusk, and Mastodon have also been marked as similar artists to the band. The group has even been recognized in the past by Metallica, who chose the band to support them on a number of tours.

Top Earning Female Musicians 2012

The ladies of the music industry really raked in the cash this past year, the top five bringing in a total of over $265 million. And the number one spot might come as a surprise to some. We say, nice comeback!

Here are the top five women, in reverse order:

5. Katy Perry—$45 million. Her third album, Teenage Dream, was a smashing success, gaining her the No. 1 billboard spot for five of its released singles. Katy’s quickly become an American icon and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Her next album (yet to be announced) is planned for a 2013 release.

4. Lady Gaga—$52 million. Lady Gaga gained acclaim for her debut album, The Fame, in 2008, and has since released two more albums. She’s also an activist and advocate for LGBT rights and immigration, as well as a powerful ally for other philanthropic endeavors and relief funds. Her fourth album, Artpop, is due out in 2013.

3. Rihanna—$53 million. The Barbados-born star has released seven albums, the latest of which is Unapologetic. If she started as a “teen pop” princess, she’s certainly surpassed that image now; she’s adopted a “bad girl” look and her music has an edgier feel to it than it used to.

2. Taylor Swift—$57 million. Barely missing the top spot, Taylor is also the youngest artist on the top five list. The country pop singer released her debut album in 2006 at just 17 years old and has since moved on to become a musical powerhouse. Her most recent album, Red, was just released, the fourth in her career. It’s opening sales topped any in the past decade at 1.21 million, and she’s now the only female artist to have over a million opening sales two weeks in a row.

1. Britney Spears—$58 million. She was America’s Sweetheart at age seventeen, and after her first two hits she was labeled the “Princess of Pop.” She hit hard personal times after her fourth album and struggled to control her erratic behavior and hospitalizations. But she’s back in the biz these days, and released her seventh album in 2011. Despite her past troubles, Britney seems to be getting a handle on her personal life and as a result her career’s coming back to life.

Chris Brown Fans Threaten to Kill Jenny Johnson

It’s not the first time it’s happened, but somehow it’s still surprising: Chris Brown’s fans, “Team Breezy,” have threatened to kill someone. Jenny Johnson, a comedian, has made a habit of insulting Brown via Twitter and recently had a particularly nasty spat that resulted in him deleting his account for a few hours.

Brown, who infamously assaulted his girlfriend Rihanna in 2009, has a loyal group of fans—but Johnson is not among them. Refusing to let him live down his horrific actions, she didn’t hesitate to start the recent feud.

But more alarming than Brown’s own response to Johnson (which included threats to defecate in her eye and the suggestion that she should perform oral sex on him) was Team Breezy’s response to his account deactivation. Several fans threatened to kill and rape Johnson.

To read several of the threatening tweets, check out HuffPost Celebrity’s article. Please note that the tweets contain swear words and are not for the tender hearted. The article also has a slideshow of the original tweets between Brown and Johnson.

Though Johnson says she’s not scared by the death threats, it’s still alarming that Brown’s fans would react with such violence and hatred over a simple thing like Brown deactivating his Twitter feed. But his fans are notorious for being diehard, having sent previous death threats to Chrissy Teigen after she despairingly commented on his lip-synced Billboard Music Awards performance.

Opinions on the feud vary, as the women of “The View” demonstrated in their discussion of the verbal attacks. “I think it’s disgusting first of all,” said Elisabeth Hasslebeck. “It seems like verbal rape to me.” She went on to say that Brown should be banned from Twitter.

Sherri Shepherd wondered how much of the blame is Johnson’s, though. “I’m not saying Chris Brown was right, he was wrong,” she said, “but I also say to this grown woman, when you tweet out you’re a piece of bleep, what do you expect to get back?”

Whoopi Goldberg said the two share the blame. “I have to say, if you’re gonna mess with him, you have to expect to get your head handed to you… If you feel like that and you don’t want to fight, don’t do that.”

But Hasselbeck refused to agree with any suggestion that Brown wasn’t entirely at fault. “What he wrote should never ever have to go across any sort of Twitter feed,” she said, “it was vile, disgusting and I stand by it.”

“Les Misérables” Already Oscar Worthy

Tom Hooper’s adaptation of “Les Misérables” is already gaining serious praise from critics and viewers who saw the November 23^rd premier of the new musical, who are calling its nomination for several Oscars a surefire thing. And for those of us who are musical lovers, that’s good news. These days, there isn’t exactly an excess of new musicals to choose from—so the release of one, quickly followed by chatter of Oscars, is rare news.

Anne Hathaway takes the cake for her portrayal of Fantine the factory worker, and Hugh Jackman stars as the ex-con and leading man, Jean Valjean. Both have received rave reviews from critics.

“Anne Hathaway could easily win supporting actress [at the Oscars],” said Dave Karger of Fandango.com. “Her ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ is the showstopper.” Indeed, many are calling Hathaway’s performance a “lock” for a Best Supporting Actress nomination.

Jackman could very well pick up his first Oscar as well. “The audition with Hugh, which was in May of last year, was an extraordinary moment because that was when I knew I had a movie,” said Hooper in an interview with Deadline.com. “Hugh has a kind of innate grace and spirit as a human being and a great kind of moral compass and gentleness that is perfectly suited for this man going on this spiritual journey.”

In fact, the entire film is likely to be a strong contender for Best Picture at the 2013 Oscars. Hooper’s no amateur when it comes to directing jaw-droppers. He directed “The King’s Speech” in 2010, with its all-star cast of Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, and Geoffrey Rush. It won four Oscars in 2011: Best Achievement in Directing (Tom Hooper), Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by and Actor in a Leading Role (Colin Firth), and Best Writing/Original Screenplay (David Seidler).

50 Cent Fights Hunger

It’s always good to see celebrities giving back to the community. 50 Cent is certainly well-known for his music and has seen stunning success in his career. He isn’t someone who suffers from hunger or poverty, but he stepped it up this week when he chose to help out those who aren’t so fortunate.

On Wednesday, November 21^st, he joined Feeding America, the Food Network, and SMS Audio handing out Thanksgiving dinner to struggling New Yorkers. Whether they were down on their luck because of Superstorm Sandy or for other reasons, they were able to get at least one hot meal around Thanksgiving.

The rapper served up turkey dinners at the “Our Table Is Yours” event at Cipriani Restaurant in downtown Manhattan. He’s also been donating proceeds from his SK Energy Drink and SMS Headphones to those who would otherwise go hungry. Showing his charitable side at the meal event in Manhattan, 50 Cent told MTV, “I’m able to provide meals for victims of Sandy or other people in New York that don’t actually have food.”

When we think of people going hungry, we often think of starving children in Africa and other developing nations. It’s completely accurate to think of those people, too, but we shouldn’t forget that we also have millions of people here at home who are going hungry as well. “It’s a world issue,” he said, “it’s not a third-world issue.”

“One in six Americans are actually going hungry,” 50 Cent explained in his interview. “You got kids that’s surviving based on their school lunch and more than one out of five kids are experiencing hunger.”

Calming Music Reduces Agitation

For many of us, listening to calming music has just that effect on us: it calms. But we also have other ways to calm ourselves and are generally more in control of our anxiety than those who suffer from learning disabilities. A study published on Nursing Times suggests that calming music may also reduce frustration in those with disabilities as well, helping prevent “disruptive behavior” during mealtimes.

The article is authored jointly by Jeff Hooper, Derek Carson, and Bill Lindsay—all of Dundee. Hooper is a music therapist, Carson works in the division of psychology, and Lindsay is the chair of learning disabilities and forensic psychology.

Mealtimes can be stressful because of noise and proximity to others. For those with learning disabilities, mealtimes may present a more demanding activity. It’s also often more structured than a free living space might be, and the change from music or television to cafeteria noise can be agitating. 

In an attempt to better understand disruptive mealtime behaviors, which tend to be self-injurious, aggressive, and non-cooperative, the authors conducted a study on how listening to calming music would affect these behaviors and whether it would make them more manageable. 

Thirty adults with varying degrees of learning disabilities were delivered calming music via headphones during mealtimes for two days in a row. The first day, half the adults listened to music and the other half did not; the next day, the two groups switched around. Out of those who wore the headphones, only three had disruptive behaviors.

Some participants refused to participate for a variety of reasons, including music choice and not wanting to wear headphones. The authors also admit the sample size was too small to completely understand the effects, but they did note that some participants showed a reduction in disruptive behavior such as physical harm, complaining, verbal repetition, shouting, swearing, restlessness, and vocalizing.