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Yes, we know it’s tough, Far East Movement fans, having to wait until May 22 for the release of Dirty Bass . But, surprise — the album was released in Germany today! And their pair-up with Tokio Hotel ‘s Bill Kaulitz , “If I Die Tomorrow”, has finally made its way online. So is it a foray into new glam-rock territory for the East Los Angeles crew of FM? A stab at a more alternative sound?

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This week the music world lost two legendary performers: Donna Summer and Chuck Brown . And given that other greats such as Etta James , Whitney Houston and Adam Yauch of Beastie Boys have already passed away in recent months, we can’t help feeling that 2012 will sadly go down as the Year Of Death. See how this, and other events such as Lady Gaga ‘s forced cancellation of a concert in Asia and Jay-Z ‘s support for gay marriage, ranked on our weekly Pop & Fizz hype index below. To see exactly how these artists entered the hype index, check below

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Well, at last we have a match-up for next week’s American Idol finale — and it wasn’t quite what we expected. All three of the contestants remaining as of Wednesday night (May 16) delivered shakier-than-usual performances, and even though we viewed  Joshua Ledet  as the night’s winner, America felt differently. After 90 million (!) votes, Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips were catapulted to the title bout.

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Did You Hear? :: Katy Perry has revealed the movie poster for her upcoming concert flick Part Of Me , and of course she would be sporting at least two hair colors. Catch even more wonderful wigs when the movie is released July 5! [ MTV Buzzworthy ] ::   Kreayshawn has revealed the collaborations on her debut album, Somethin’ Bout Kreay  —  Kid Cudi , 2 Chainz and Diplo will all make appearances on the LP. [ Rap-Up ] :: From Fiona Apple speaking her mind at the VMAs to Jerry Lee Lewis marrying his 13-year-old cousin (seriously), check out this list of the riskiest moves in rock. [ Spinner ] :: Adele  says that she hates to “show up out of the blue, uninvited”, but this sketch proves that she loves it.

Donna Summer passed away today (May 17) at the age of 63, but the disco queen leaves behind a lasting legacy that will not soon be forgotten. Upon hearing news of her death, the music and entertainment community has come out to offer condolences and share their pain at losing such an iconic voice and influential presence. Head below for reactions from those who have worked with Summer, as well as those were dancing along to her tunes all these years. Duran Duran ‘s Nick Rhodes wrote a blog post about Donna and the effect her music had on his band: I just heard the very sad news that Donna Summer has passed away

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We’ve got some good news, and we’ve got some bad news for all you Glamberts out there: Adam Lambert ‘s sophomore album Trespassing is expected to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 next week! Unfortunately, Lambert’s success might be bittersweet, as his LP is only expected to sell somewhere between 70,000 and 80,000 units, making it the smallest sum to hit #1 since August 2011, when Adele ‘s 21 sold 76,000 in its 12th non-consecutive week at the top of the charts. There’s also a chance 21 or Carrie Underwood ‘s Blown Away could walk away with sales way past 70,000, leaving Trespassing to settle for a lower spot. (Both singers’ albums moved over 100,000 copies each last week , though Mother’s Day-related sales may have boosted their numbers.) The expected first-week sales of Trespassing are also a far cry from those of his previous album. Lambert released his debut LP  For Your Entertainment  in 2009 during the busy Thanksgiving shopping week.

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Sean Kingston narrowly escaped death last year when he survived a nearly fatal jet ski accident . Thankfully, the “Beautiful Girls” singer is back in good health, and readying his next release. “I’m going back to the whole reggae, island-pop thing,” he told MTV last year, and today comes his newest single, “Back To Life (Live It Up)”, featuring T.I.   Hear the  J.R.

Season 12 Auditions

by Tom on May 17, 2012

Breaking news: We aren’t even done with Season 11 yet, but we have big season 12 audition info. Are you the next American Idol? If you think you have what it takes, make sure you come out and audition in Los Angeles, CA on June 7, Newark, NJ on June 23 and Chicago on July 12th. If you remember back to Season 9, Chicago is where we met winner, Lee DeWyze ! We’ll reveal more cities and dates next week

Rihanna Goes Topless For ‘Esquire UK’

by American Idol Blog on May 17, 2012

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We’re worried that catching  Rihanna wearing next to nothing all too often will one day desensitize us to the pop star’s regularly half-naked body, and we’ll start yawning whenever RiRi decides she’d be much more comfortable without a shirt on. Thankfully, today is not that day. New pics from RiRi’s upcoming spread in Esquire UK have surfaced online, and we’re drooling like usual.

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Fun. is having a bit of fun with  Gotye ‘s “Somebody That I Used To Know” — the band covered the smash single for BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, and nabbed Paramor e ‘s Hayley Williams for Kimbra ‘s part. Everything starts out alright, but frontman Nate Ruess can’t reach the same range as Gotye during the chorus, and by the time Hayley (who only appears via prerecorded vocals) joins in, the whole number turns shaky and comes off like karaoke. As overplayed as it might be, we’ll stick with the original, thanks