Patty was the Andrews in the middle

Andrews died of natural causes at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge, said family spokesman Alan Eichler in a statement.

Patty was the Andrews in the middle, the lead singer and chief clown, whose raucous jitterbugging delighted American servicemen abroad and audiences at home.

She could also deliver sentimental ballads like "I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time" with a sincerity that caused hardened GIs far from home to weep.

"When I was a kid, I only had two records and one of them was the Andrews Sisters. They were remarkable. Their sound, so pure," said Bette Midler, who had a hit cover of "Bugle Boy" in 1973. "Everything they did for our nation was more than we could have asked for. This is the last of the trio, and I hope the trumpets ushering (Patty) into heaven with her sisters are playing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."

It was the second consecutive week

Industry experts had expected about 350,000 downloads for Timberlake's widely publicized single, which precedes a new album later in 2013 - his first since 2006.

But Timberlake, 31, who has been focused on building a Hollywood acting career, was dressed down on the digital chart by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "Thrift Shop" featuring rapper Wanz, which sold some 341,000 downloads in the week ending on January 20.

It was the second consecutive week atop the digital songs chart for the novelty rap song about eschewing designer clothes for a second-hand look.

Timberlake will perform his first concert in five years during a private Super Bowl-related event in New Orleans on February 2, DirectTV announced on Wednesday. The invitation-only concert will not be shown on TV, the satellite providers said.

On the Billboard 200 album chart, rapper A$AP Rocky's debut album "Long.Live.A$AP" entered at the top spot, selling about 139,000 units last week.

Solid Soul

George Benson is feeling the love. After alternating between vocals and electric guitar, grooving to hits such as This Masquerade, Turn Your Love Around and Take Five, the 69-year-old 10-time Grammy-winning jazz and crossover musician is enticed back for an encore.

The born storyteller remembers how his next song was originally recorded for the 1977 Muhammad Ali biographical film The Greatest because their voices sounded the same: "It's all about the fuzz," he jokes, referring to the trademark whisky-edged burr that had women swoon the world over whenever the grandfather of 20 crooned a love song.

"I was in front of the Empire State Building and a girl, maybe 16 or 18, came up to me and said that she was my biggest fan," he relates on a recent visit to Macao. "She then said that she was going to record my song and that it would be a big hit. I said, sure. She was right. This is a tribute to the greatest vocalist of our time: Whitney Houston."

He began the familiar ballad, putting his own unique stamp on The Greatest Love of All while conjuring up ghosts of Houston's more popular cover version. The Venetian Theatre became choked with emotion as every member of the more than 1,000-strong audience keenly relived the tragic loss of Houston earlier this year. As he sang the last ballad, his voice broke and he stated: "This is hard for me to sing" and walked off the stage without another word.

Hundreds Die in Brazilian Nightclub Fire

More than 230 people were killed in a fire that raged through a nightclub in Brazil early Sunday morning, the Associated Press reports. The majority of the victims were local students, who had packed the Kiss club in the university city of Santa Maria.

According to witnesses, the fire began shortly after 2 a.m., during a set by the local band Gurizada Fandangueira, when a flare from the band's pyrotechnic display ignited the soundproofing on the ceiling. The band's guitarist, Rodrigo Martins, told a Brazilian radio station that the group was around five songs into its set when he noticed that the roof was burning. "It might have happened because of the Sputnik, the machine we use to create a luminous effect with sparks," Martins said. "It's harmless, we never had any trouble with it." Martins escaped safely with four of his bandmates, but their accordion player, Danilo Jacques, died in the blaze.

An official with the city's fire department said that the club's security guards had locked the exits, hampering escape and adding to the panic. As of Sunday afternoon, 232 people had been declared dead, making it the deadliest nightclub fire in more than a decade.

For many, the incident brings to mind the deadly Rhode Island blaze that broke out in 2003, when pyrotechnics during a set by the band Great White ignited soundproofing on the walls and ceiling. As a result of the incident, which took 100 lives, Rhode Island banned pyrotechnic displays in all but the state's largest venues.

Coachella Is Red Hot Chili Peppers Booking Came Down to the Wire

The Red Hot Chili Peppers signed on to headline Coachella about an hour before the annual Indio, California, festival announced its lineup last night, one of the band's managers tells Rolling Stone.

"We've been in talks for months," says Cliff Burnstein, whose firm, Q Prime, also manages Metallica, the Black Keys and other top rock acts. "It goes down to the wire. It's a negotiation."

The Peppers, who have played Coachella twice before, abruptly emerged as the Sunday-night headliner for both the April 12th and 14th weekends after weeks of rumors that the Rolling Stones would play the festival.

But Mick Jagger earlier this week told NME: "We're not gonna do Coachella, 'cos it's too early. There was a rumor we were gonna do that one, but it's very early, Coachella. It's April or something, isn't it? And we're not gonna be ready to go by April. But we're not gonna stop."

Spotify Is Top 10 most viral tracks

Back in 2008, photographer and lifetime Motörhead fan Pep Bonet met up with his favorite rock & roll band to capture their European tour. Since then, Bonet's traveled around the world with Lemmy Kilmister, Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee, capturing everything from soundchecks and backstage antics to studio time and intimate personal moments. Bonet's photos are compiled in a new book, Röadkill, which you can order on his website.

Now you can check out this exclusive multimedia collection of Bonet's pictures, narrated by the photographer himself. "I admired these people before I met them," says Bonet in the clip, "and I can say I admire them more now because I've seen the reality of the best rock & roll band in the world."

From the day that Gong Linna

Gong Linna continues to reshape folk music on the contemporary stage, Chen Nan reports.

From the day that Gong Linna became an Internet sensation for her lyricless song Tan Te, or "Disturbed", she was known as an unconventional Chinese folk singer who breaks all the rules.

With her powerful voice, wide vocal range and dramatic facial expressions, she attracts attention and gets rave reviews when she releases each new song.

Fa Hai, You Don't Understand Love, Gong's latest song - which, like Tan Te, was composed by her German husband, Robert Zollitsch - has conjured up yet another wave of attention and controversy.

First performed at the New Year's eve gala of Hunan Satellite TV on Dec 31, the new song soared to popularity overnight thanks to its contagious melody and quirky lyrics.

Celebrities turn out for inauguration

The divas were happy to play supporting roles over the inauguration weekend as President Barack Obama kicked off his second term. And there was the promise of one more surprise guest at Tuesday's private staff ball— Lady Gaga, who the Presidential Inaugural Committee says will perform at the event intended to thank campaign and White House staffers.

Although it didn't quite have the collective star power of Obama's first inauguration, which featured a televised concert on the mall, Obama turned to younger acts Beyonce and Kelly Clarkson on the podium where last time Aretha Franklin stood with Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman.

Here are photos of the some of the stars who turned out to support the president at events over the weekend.

The all American girl at charity concert

The pop singer sported a bright red suit, blue shoes and a white shirt on the red carpet ahead of her performance at the 9:30 Club. The back on her suit read "U$A."

"I'm very proud to be an American tonight. I'm excited we have another four years," she said in an interview.

The 25-year-old said she was moved by President Barack Obama's speech at the Capitol launching his second term in office.

"I really appreciate him addressing equal rights," said Ke$ha, who is a supporter of gay rights. "It's an issue very close to my heart."

The patriotic vibe continued when she hit the stage just after midnight, where her four male background dancers wore cropped shirts bearing the American flag.

She no longer had on a suit, now wearing a shimmery black and silver leotard as she danced to her pop hits like "TiK ToK," ''We R Who We R" and "Die Young."

"Our president rules. In honor of President Obama, let's party," she said before performing another hit, the jam "Blow."

Lee Is official website

Then he starred in movies like Fly, Daddy, Fly, and action drama Time Between Dog and Wolf, a first lead role that showed he is more than just a pretty face.

In 2006, he released his debut album, My Jun, My Style, and three years later he released J Style.

After two years in the army, Lee, 30, announced his return in February 2012, which was greeted by more than 2,000 fans in Seoul. A new album, Deucer, was also released.

Lee's official website suggested that his first concert in Seoul, in December, sold out within one minute. He then toured Japan.

Now Lee is coming to Beijing with a concert titled JG Time. He has chosen a relatively small venue with seating for just 2,000, so his fans can get up close and personal.

The musical production involves a huge investment

"The kung fu fighting we have will be spectacular, and a highlight of the show, but it still has to deliver as a musical, with a great story and songs, even without the martial arts element," he says.

The musical production involves a huge investment of no less than $12 million. According to Robert Vicencio, the producer, it is "probably going to be the most expensive musical in China".

It will be staged first in English, instead of Chinese, at the premiere in Singapore in 2014.

On Dec 12, the production announced in Hong Kong that Ip Ching, the son of Ip Man, will be the chief consultant.

Producer of the movie edition, Raymond Wong, and his son Edmond Wong, the playwright for the movie, have also been signed on as advisors for the new musical.

The music and stage design are underway. Casting will start in the coming months, maybe through a reality TV show, says Vicencio.

Ever since Vicencio relocated to Shanghai 10 years ago, he has wanted to develop the musical and entertainment industry in China.

The systematic management of concerts

Song surprised many when he opened a Peking duck restaurant in February.

But he says he isn't leaving the music industry.

"I have a professional team to run the restaurant. With the new music company's launch, I feel my second spring is coming," Song says, laughing.

His strategy for building up the label is corporatizing concerts.

Song's first move will be staging 10 shows by rock singer-songwriter Wang Feng. Wang staged eight performances nationwide in 2011. Evergrande will hold 10 concerts for Wang within five months in 2012 - at least two concerts a month, Song says.

"The systematic management of concerts not only promotes the musician and his music but also builds up the organizer's image in the concert sector," Song says.

The gurus say they'll not only host performances by established stars but will also discover new talent.

The company's first new singer-songwriter is 16-year-old Zhou Ziyan, who rose to fame by playing guitar in online videos. She will release four albums under the label.

Three Chinese metal bands Yaksa

Among them are not only traditional groups, such as Jiangsu Province Kunqu Opera Troupe and Xinjiang Makit Dolan Muqam Troupe, but also the rock band Second-Hand Roses and "free folk" singer Xiao He.

Three Chinese metal bands -Yaksa, Suffocated and The Falling - will perform at the Wacken Open Air in Germany, one of the biggest metal music festivals in the world, in August.

It seems that Chinese rock music is appearing more often on the international scene. But not many people know that one of the driving forces behind the phenomenon is the Ministry of Culture, which is sponsoring the international travel of the aforementioned Chinese musicians.

This is something new for the Chinese government, which has been sending out official art troupes to tour other countries for a long time but has only recently begun to work with independent musicians. It was hard to imagine in the past that the ministry would support a band with the name "Suffocated" to represent China at an international festival.

The Spice Girls meteoric

Beckham, who has remained in the limelight since the band went into hiatus in 2000 due to her success as a designer and style icon and marriage to soccer star David Beckham, hoped Viva Forever! would bring girl power to a new audience.

"We talked about girl power for a long long time and we're hoping to introduce a whole new generation. What we do individually as well is empower women and it's fun - we want to have fun and we're excited."

Viva Forever! is not a re-telling of the Spice Girls' meteoric rise to global fame after they formed in 1994 having answered an advertisement to form a girl band.

While it does feature their hits, which include "Wannabe", "Spice Up Your Life" and "Viva Forever", it centers around four characters who audition for a TV talent show.

"It's not about actually us, it's the essence of the Spice Girls," said Halliwell, who, like the other four Spice Girls, is a mother in her late 30s.

French Armenian dual citizen

The event's proceeds will go to three charities: Operation Smile, the Shanghai International Film Festival and the Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation Safety for Mothers and Infants Project.

Aznavour, a French-Armenian dual citizen, admits his main reason for agreeing to do the fundraiser was not exactly altruistic. Singing in Shanghai, he says, is a chance to cross off a name from the short list of countries he has not yet visited.

The China he has found in Shanghai, however, turned out to be at least half a century ahead of the China he envisioned.

"Very modern," the grandfather of three says in an exclusive interview at the presidential suite of a boutique hotel along The Bund, Shanghai's famous waterfront of concession architecture that faces 21st-century skyscrapers.

"It's not disappointing. It's only that I had the idea - the very romantic idea - to find out about the old China," he says.

"Through movies and documentaries and expositions, like we had in France in 1937, I had another vision of China."

Though this is Aznavour's first time in the country, his music is no stranger to the Chinese.

Yamaha and Casio

He shuns building music from scratch with computer-generated timbres. He instead seeks out traditional instruments and low-end keyboards, records them and then builds melodies and chords from the tones they yield. His studio is littered with peculiar instruments: rare guitars, ukuleles, a pump organ from Egypt, a Roland analog synthesizer from the 1970s, stacks of cheap Yamaha and Casio keyboards and assorted percussion instruments.

"I just want to sound different than everyone else," he said. "I don't care if it sounds bad."

Yet his collaborators say Mr. Blanco's biggest asset lies in his ears and instincts. Much of what Mr. Blanco does during songwriting sessions, they say, is direct the creative flow of other musicians, pulling them in directions they would normally avoid.

There are very few places

According to a recent survey by Sina.com, about 83 percent of Chinese netizens do not want to pay for downloading music. This is a whole generation who has grown up listening to music for free, since the Internet made it possible more than 10 years ago.

There are very few places where you can still buy CDs, either original or pirated. The norm now is just a click on your computer or mobile phone and the music will play.

It seems that not many people are aware that music doesn't come from nowhere, but is made by professionals who devote their lives to music making. They are entitled to proceeds from their work, which supports them to continue to make music.

A singer Is success

One of the hottest singers in China at the moment, Li Daimo, released a new CD consisting entirely of covers of classic pop numbers. Like most other new Chinese pop singers, Li became famous because of his appearance in a TV talent show.

In the past, a singer's success was inseparable from his or her signature songs, but today, with few left in the business of making music, there is virtually no opportunity for a singer to shine with just a song.

There is a theory that the music industry's loss in recordings has been compensated by an increase in live performances. But music writing, which is the foundation of the music business, is not encouraged under the current system. And without it, there won't be momentum for the development of the art.

Online music has been a very important feature of major websites in providing multimedia entertainment for Internet users, and those websites have benefited greatly from the use of music.

Celebrities perform at the Diamond Jubilee concert

The one-night concert was titled "East Meets West - Three Stars in Collaboration." The trio presented solo and collaborative performances accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus.

Song, one of China's most popular vocalists, performed a selection of her popular Chinese folk songs, including "Little Back Basket" and "Flying Songs".

She was later joined by Bocelli and Lang Lang for "Love Song of Kangding".

Footage of Chinese people expressing their hopes for a successful 2012 London Olympic Games was also shown at the concert.

The event marked the second collaboration between the three musicians following the 2010 Shanghai World Expo's opening ceremony.

Post apocalyptic film

The Hunger Games" won four MTV Movie Awards on Sunday but a "Twilight" film picked up the best movie honor for the fourth straight year in what proved to be a tame evening at the typically outrageous awards show.

Post-apocalyptic film "The Hunger Games" nabbed MTV's golden popcorn trophies for best male performance by Josh Hutcherson, best female performance by Jennifer Lawrence, best transformation by Elizabeth Banks and best fight.

The movie of the year award, voted for by fans online throughout the show, went to vampire romance "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1," beating out "The Hunger Games" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2."

Female-led comedy "Bridesmaids" picked up two awards for best comedic performance by Melissa McCarthy and best gut-wrenching performance for its stomach-turning food poisoning scene, while the final installment of the "Harry Potter" franchise won for best cast and best hero.

Host Russell Brand, known for raunchy humor, launched into jokes about his short-lived marriage to singer Katy Perry, thanking Kim Kardashian for "taking the pressure off me" due to her brief marriage to basketball player Kris Humphries and joking about keeping his "eyes peeled" for a new wife.

His barbs also were directed at pop star Justin Bieber, Charlie Sheen, John Travolta, Kanye West and "Shame" actor Michael Fassbender for "profiting from sex addiction."

Wang later spent six years in a local military school

Wang, who was born and raised in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, started learning ballet at age 3. One day when he was 9, he passed a local sport center near his neighborhood and saw fitness dance for the first time.

Wang later spent six years in a local military school as an art soldier, where he learned fitness dance. At 20, he won a national fitness dance competition and decided to develop a career in dance.

In early 2009, he attended a training class organized by Zumba in Beijing, where he got an invitation to go to the US and to learn with teachers there.

Created in the late 1990s in Colombia by fitness instructor Alberto Perez, Zumba is a high-energy aerobic workout based on dance steps borrowed from salsa, meringue and other dances.

Wang's father, a retired photographer from Nanjing Film Studio, and his mother, a teacher, gave him lots of support.

"My mother dances with neighbors in a park near our house every morning," Wang said.

Uehara is a world acclaimed Japanese jazz pianist

Grammy-winning jazz trio Hiromi Uehara will take the stage of Xinghai Concert Hall in Guangzhou.

Uehara is a world-acclaimed Japanese jazz pianist, known for fusing classical, jazz, country and rock music. She's described as a "jazz fairy" and often appears onstage in colorful outfits and outlandish hairdos.

She cooperated with American jazz master Chick Corea at age 17. The Stanley Clarke Band won Grammy's Best Contemporary Jazz Award in 2011, and Uehara is billed as a featured artists, playing piano on four of the album's songs.

The improvisations of the trio's drummer and the bass player are critically acclaimed.

If we take a look at the songs

In the vast provinces, where CDs were never a main media for music, most songs are disseminated through either Internet cafes or KTVs, and what people listen to there is often quite different from what people like in Beijing and Shanghai.

If we take a look at the songs that are popular in provincial areas, there is a higher percentage of the so-called "ethnic trend". Songs like Taking a Train to Lhasa by Xu Qianya or Moonlight over the Lotus Pond by Phoenix Legend are all based on the traditional Chinese pentatonic scale, while many also feature Chinese instruments, making it easy for these songs to resonate among people who are not yet that cosmopolitan.

In terms of rhythm the "ethnic trend" songs usually have strong beats to dance to. They sometimes remind one of Hollywood East, a series of tape cassettes of remixed Western disco music that used to be popular in China in the 1980s, but "ethnic trend" songs are certainly more localized.

Those provincial hits likely better represent the situation of Chinese pop music, just like provincial areas better represent the country — compared to the few developed coastal metropolises.

A new folk singing show is high on Guangxi Satellite TV

New programs are offering twists on singing competition reality shows - blind auditions are ensuring judges' decisions are based on vocal skills alone. Guangxi Satellite TV recently launched Sound of Love, a folk program based on the concept of selecting the singer with the best voice, regardless of appearance and style.

Liu Xichen, president of Shixi Media - the country's leading TV content provider, which produced the show - says it's adapted from True Talent, a singing competition program created by Paris-headquartered Zodiak Media.

"A new folk singing show is high on Guangxi Satellite TV's agenda," Liu says.

"The broadcaster hopes to use the project to promote the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region's annual Nanning International Folk Song Art Festival. It also wants to borrow the packaging of an already-successful foreign program," Liu continues.

"That's why we bought Zodiak's entertainment format. It's high-ratings, and its concept of focusing solely on voices is fresh in China."

Initial auditions are under way in six cities, including Liaoning's provincial capital Shenyang and Shaanxi's provincial capital Xi'an. Applicants must be at least age 18.

In this phase, three judges - all professional musicians - will turn their backs to listen to contestants.

If they like a contender's voice, the judges will turn around and face the singer. If even one judge doesn't turn around, the contestant is out.

Madonna Beastie Boys Yauch was one of a kind

NEW YORK  — Madonna says Adam Yauch, the Beastie Boys rapper who died Friday, was one of a kind and that the group was important to her musical history.

The singer says the seminal hip-hop group was "integral to the musical revolution that was happening at the time."

Yauch's representatives confirmed that the rapper, also known as MCA, died Friday morning in New York after a nearly three-year battle with cancer.

Madonna says she was sad to hear of Yauch's death and asked God to bless his family.

The Beastie Boys opened for Madonna on tour in the 1980s, and the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month.