AP - Jazmine Sullivan's first song was a No. 1 hit on the R&B and hip-hop charts, and her raspy voice has drawn her comparisons to Lauryn Hill. Still, the singer-songwriter was struggling for name recognition in a crowded field of music newcomers.

AP - Lil Wayne didn't get "A Milli" Grammy nominations, but his total haul was still pretty amazing.

E! Online - Britney Spears is proving the adage that it's better to give than receive, with the 27 years young birthday girl bequeathing unto her fans not one but two gifts on her special day. Not only did Spears' second attempt at a comeback album, Circus, drop this morning, the singer has also unveiled, to great anticipation, the dates for her long-awaited North American comeback tour.

Reuters - Jay-Z fans have both new and old music to enjoy this week.

AP - Il Divo first swept onto the music scene in 2005. Fast-forward three years and the pop-operatic quartet — Carlos Marin, David Miller, Sebastien Izambard and Urs Buhler — has sold more than 22 million albums. Their latest, "The Promise," is No. 5 on Billboard's U.S. album charts. They're planning a world tour in 2009.

Reuters - You can't blame Brandy for being a little nervous stepping back into the recording studio. Four years have elapsed since the release of the R&B/pop singer's fourth album, "Afrodisiac." And it has been just two years since her headline-making car accident in which another driver died.

Reuters - Ever since Apple's iTunes store launched in 2003, the digital music market has received an annual Christmas gift in the form of a sales boost, as consumers unwrap new iPods and gift cards for the holidays.

Reuters - Keith Urban will tour North America next spring in support of his as-yet-untitled new album.

AP - Beyonce is the first artist lined up for next year's Essence Music Festival in New Orleans.

Reuters - Odetta, the deep-voiced folk singer whose ballads and songs became for many a sound track to the American civil rights movement, has died aged 77, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

AP - Odetta, the folk singer with the powerful voice who moved audiences and influenced fellow musicians for a half-century, has died. She was 77.

AP - Hollywood stars Jane Fonda and Jack Nicholson are among the latest notable figures being inducted into the California Hall of Fame.