Reuters - Outside the windows of a 36th-floor conference-room suite at New York's Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the morning is gray and befit for April showers. Always the trendsetter, R&B star Usher has plucked from his wardrobe a navy blue military-style button-up adorned with gold clasps to complete his jeans-and-sneaker ensemble.

AP - LOS ANGELES (AP) — Though Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz are keeping a tight lid on their nuptuals, it's looking like a wedding is imminent. Aerial photos posted Friday at several celebrity Web sites, credited to the Insight News & Features paparazzi photo agency, purport to show the Simpson family home near Los Angeles dotted with large white party tents.

AP - After wrapping up a successful concert tour, you'd think Reba McEntire would want to take some time off to relax. Instead, the tireless country star is preparing for her 10th turn as host of the Academy of Country Music Awards this weekend. Over the years, she says she's gained more ease hosting the event.

E! Online - Music today all sounds the same.

E! Online - Her debut album may be called Back to Black, but at this rate, Amy Winehouse seems destined to simply fade to black.

E! Online - Still the one? Not anymore.

E! Online - As the saying goes, no T-Pain, no BET gain.

AP - Daniel Slater's new production of "Lohengrin" wasn't necessarily vintage Wagner, but it deserves praise as a thoughtful and tasteful take on the medieval legend — and certainly none of the boos it received on opening night.

Reuters - T-Pain led the nominees for the eighth annual BET Awards, an event celebrating the leading lights in African-American music, film and sport, organizers said on Thursday.

AP - Jury selection was completed at R. Kelly's child pornography trial Thursday amid contentious exchanges between prosecutors and defense attorneys, who accused each other of trying to stack the panel along racial lines.

AP - DMX has pleaded not guilty to felony drug possession and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges.

AP - TORONTO (AP) — Shania Twain and husband-producer Robert "Mutt" Lange are splitting up after 14 years of marriage. The 42-year-old Canadian country superstar and 59-year-old Lange married in 1993 and have a 6-year-old son named Eja. Her publicist provided no further details Thursday about the couple's breakup.

Reuters - Metallica will launch a tour in October, a month after the rock titans release their first album in five years, drummer Lars Ulrich revealed during a rare club show in Los Angeles Wednesday.

Reuters - British rock band Radiohead's rain-drenched show near Washington D.C. last weekend has triggered an Internet-driven firestorm, with message boards and the blogosphere lighting up amid fan frustration.