Taylor Swift named top music money maker with $35.7M

Taylor Swift was the world’s highest earning music star on 2011, making $35.7 million.
The ‘Mine’ hitmaker grossed $88 million in the US - which amounted to a personal fortune of $29.8 million - from her ‘Speak Now’ Tour as well as touring across Asia and Europe, selling over 1.8 million albums and a further 7.8 single track downloads, and gaining income from song writing royalties.
Irish rockers U2 follow closely behind the 22-year-old beauty on the 2012 Billboard Money Makers List, with a fortune of $32.1 million, mainly drawn from their huge 360 Degrees shows, the highest-earning tour of 2011.
The ‘Sweetest Thing’ band grossed more than $293 million from 44 concerts throughout the three-year tour, which was watched by nearly three million people, and saw them beat a record set by The Rolling Stones for highest grossing tour ever, taking $763 million in total.
Kenny Chesney, Lady Gaga and hip-hop star Lil Wayne also made up the top five.
‘Lollipop’ hitmaker Wayne pulled in more than $23.1 million last year, while Sade, Bon Jovi and Adele - who has to curtail her touring commitments in October after suffering problems with her vocal cords - also made up the top 10.

2012 Billboard Money Makers list, Top 10:
1. Taylor Swift, $35,719,902
2. U2, $32,116,315
3. Kenny Chesney, $29,837,103
4. Lady Gaga, $25,353,039
5. Lil Wayne, $23,178,722
6. Sade, $16,382,809
7. Bon Jovi, $15,835,856
8. Celine Dion, $14,261,515
9. Jason Aldean, $13,409,011
10. Adele, $13,081,909
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Beyonce Writes Tina Knowles a Heartwarming Letter for Mother's Day

Mother's Day 2012 (May 13) marks Beyonce's first time celebrating her moment as a new mom to daughter Blue Ivy Carter. Since her birth on Jan. 7, the R&B songstress has relied on the beliefs and values her own mother, Tina Knowles instilled in her to raise Blue Ivy. To show appreciation to her mom, Beyonce penned a letter to her just in time for Mother's Day.

In the letter, which the 30-year-old "Love on Top" singer revealed on her website, Tina Knowles receives heartwarming words from her eldest child. "Everything I am is because of you," Beyonce writes to her mother at the opening of the note.

Read the rest of Beyonce's sentiments towards Tina Knowles below.

 

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Country Music Hall of Fame Welcomes David Nail, Jana Kramer for 'Hot Nights'

One of Nashville's hot spots is getting hotter! The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is gearing up for Hot Nights at the Hall this summer. The popular concert series for museum members returns June 5 with a performance by David Nail. The series, which debuted last summer, will feature live music, food, autograph signings and exclusive access to the museum and Museum Store. Additional performers include Jana Kramer on July 13 and Love and Theft on August 31.

Hot Nights at the Hall begin at 6:00 PM and admission is free to all museum members. Membership at the museum begins at $40 and includes admission to all three concert events as well as a year of free admission to the museum and more. Membership may be purchased at the event, by phone at (615) 291-8419 or by clicking here.

"Our members are a vital part of our museum family, and their contributions directly support our mission," says Museum Director Kyle Young. "We created Hot Nights at the Hall last year as a way to say 'thank you' to the members we have, and to encourage others to join us by providing them with a really great value and yet another benefit to museum membership. We're excited to bring the series back this summer and again offer members old and new a chance to hear some great music, meet the performers, and enjoy our exhibits after hours."

One of the not-to-be missed special exhibits currently at the Museum is "The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and California Country." The exhibit spotlights the raw, electric sound that gained tremendous popularity in the 1960s and can still be heard today in the modern country music of acts such as Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson and others.

Also currently at the museum are exhibits dedicated to legendary guitarist and producer Chet Atkins and "Sing Me Back Home: A Journey Through Country Music." For more information, visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's website here.

Up is only Direction for new boy band

NEW YORK — One Direction’s Niall Horan was in a taxi when he learned that the group’s first album, “Up All Night,” debuted at the top of the latest Billboard Top 200 albums chart.

So he did what any 18-year-old would do in that situation: “I freaked out.”

He immediately started spreading the news with phone calls, hoping to keep the news from his mom to play a joke on her. “I wanted to say we had lost out and that whole thing, but Billboard had posted it on their website so my cover was blown,” he said.

Horan and his band mates have a right to be excited. They sold more than 176,000 copies of the album in its first week of release to reach No. 1. It makes them the first British act to debut at No. 1 with their first album.

Harry Styles, 18, called the news “humbling” in a phone interview.

“We’re just five normal boys from the U.K. who’ve been given this opportunity, so we’re having a great time working very hard.”

The fans of One Direction have been hard at work as well. Thanks to social media, the group’s followers have helped to spread the word about their music.

“It’s played a massive part,” said Styles. “Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have been a large percentage of the reason we’ve been known outside of the U.K. ... We owe a massive thank you to the fans.”

One Direction first came together when they all tried out individually for U.K. edition of “The X Factor” in 2010. Judge and mentor Simon Cowell thought they would make an interesting combination instead. The group ended up in third place that season, and Cowell signed them to his Syco music label.

Cowell said the group’s success so far makes him proud. “I desperately wanted [a No. 1 record] for the boys more than anything else,” he said. “I’m probably more excited about this than I have been about anything for a long, long time.”

Tickets for a June 2 concert at Rosemont’s Allstate Arena go on sale at 10 a.m. today (www.LiveNation.com; 800-745-3000).

Liam Payne, 18, hopes the tour will lead to even more opportunities. “The ultimate goal would be to do a big, worldwide tour. That would be the most amazing thing we could do.”

Complete profile SNSD Girls Generation Personnel

Profile and Photo Personnel SNSD Girls’ Generation Yoona Tiffany, Yuri, Hyoyeon, SooYoung, SeoHyun, Taeyeon, Jessica, Sunny.

• Profile and Photo Yoona SNSD Girls Generations
  Nickname: Yoona
  Full Name: Im Yoon Ah
  Nickname in SNSD: Charming Girl
  Date Born: May 30, 1990
  Blood Type: B
  Height: 166 cm
  Weight: 47 kg
  Position: Chairman of the Dancer-3, helps vocals
  No. Favorite: 93
  Specials: Acting
  Duration of Training: 7 years and 2 months
  Favorite song from SNSD: Complete
• Profile Tiffany SNSD Personnel Girls Generations
  
  Nickname: Tiffany
  Full Name: Hwang Mi Young, Tiffany Hwang
  Nickname in SNSD: Brighter Than Gem
  Date Born: August 1, 1989
  Height: 162 cm
  Weight: 50 kg
  Position: Chairman of the Vocal-4
  Hobbies: Playing Flute
  Specialty: English, Main Flute (Flute)
  Exercise duration: 3 years 7 months
  Favorite song from SNSD: Baby Baby
• SNSD Yuri Girls Generations Photo
  
  Nickname: Yuri
  Full Name: Kwon Yuri
  Nickname in SNSD: Black Pearl
  Date Born: December 5, 1989
  Blood Type: AB
  Height: 167 cm
  Weight: 45 kg
  Position: Chairman of the Dancer of the 2nd, helping vowel
  No. Favorite: 19
  Hobbies: Dancing, Ballet, Play Piano, Violin, Swimming
  Specialty: Chinese, swimming
  Duration of training: 5 years 11 months
  Favorite song from SNSD: Baby Baby
• Profile and Photo Hyoyeon SNSD
  
  Nickname: Hyoyeon
  Full Name: Kim Hyo Yeon
  Nickname in SNSD: Bright Snow White
  Date Born: 22 September 1989
  Blood Type: AB
  Height: 160 cm
  Weight: 48 kg
  Position: Chairman of the Dancer-1, helps vocals
  No. Favorite: 85
  Hobbies: Dancing / dance Nge
  Special: Chinese Language, Dance
  Exercise duration: 6 years 1 month
• Profile SooYoung Girls Generations
  
  Nickname: SooYoung
  Full Name: Choi Soo Young
  Nickname in SNSD: Fun Loving Princess
  Date Born: February 10, 1990
  Blood Type: O
  Height: 170 cm
  Weight: 48 kg
  Position: Supporting Vocals
  No. Favorite: 08
  Hobbies: Eating
  Specialty: Japanese Language, Dance
  Exercise duration: 6 years 3 months
  Favorite song from SNSD: Complete
• Girls Generations SeoHyun Personnel Profile
  
  Nickname: SeoHyun
  Full Name: Seo Joo Hyun
  Nickname in SNSD: The youngest Princess
  Date Born: June 28, 1991
  Blood Type: A
  Height: 168 cm
  Weight: 48 kg
  Position: Chairman of the Vocal-3
  No. Favorite: 64
  Hobbies: Playing piano, watching Keroro
  Special: Chinese Language, Play Piano
  Exercise duration: 6 years and 6 months
  Favorite song from SNSD: Kissing You
• SNSD Taeyeon Bios
  
  Nicknames: Taeyeon
  Full Name: Kim Tae Yeon
  Nickname in SNSD: That little child is like Pack Sol – Ge snack
  Date Born: March 9, 1989
  Blood: O
  Height: 162 cm
  Weight: 44 kg
  Position: Chairmen, chairman of the vocals are to-1
  No. Favorite: 22, 3, 6, 9
  Hobbies: Swimming
  Special: Singing Trot, Chinese
  Duration of training: 5 years 3 months
  Favorite song from SNSD: Merry Go – Round
• Biography Jessica SNSD Girls Generations
  
  Nickname: Jessica
  Full Name: Jung Soo Yeon, Jessica Jung
  Nickname in SNSD: Ice Princess
  Date born: 18 April 1989
  Blood Type: B
  Height: 163 cm
  Weight: 45 kg
  Position: chairman of the Vocal-2
  No. Favorite: 52
  Hobbies: football, boxing
  Specials: Dance, English
  Duration of training: 7 years 6 months
  Favorite song from SNSD: Complete
• SNSD Sunny Profile
  
  Nickname: Sunny
  Full Name: Lee Sun Kyu
  Nickname in SNSD: Energy Pill
  Date Born: May 15, 1989
  Blood Type: B
  Height: 158 cm
  Weight: 43 kg
  Position: Supporting Vocals
  No. Favorite: 26
  Hobbies: Swimming, playing video games, sports
  Specials: Athletics
  Exercise duration: 9 months
  Favorite song from SNSD: Ooh-La-La!
  

Girls’ Generation is a group of South Korean female singers formed by SM Entertainment in 2007. They consist of nine members: Taeyeon, Jessica, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun.

Adele makes Billboard history, named top artist

Well, Adele may be in the middle of recovering from throat surgery, and dealing with a cancelled tour, but the chanteuse just got some great news. She's made history! She just became the first female to be named "top artist" by Billboard. She's also got the top album, "21" and a hit single, "Rolling in the Deep." All in one year! (Oh, and those six Grammy nominations aren't too shabby either._

The girl is only 23. How do you top this? The other thing that sets Adele apart? She never seems to be involved in any scandals. Some of the artist in Billboard's Top 10 haven't had the same luck. The list includes Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Bruno Mars.

Adele told Billboard in an interview, "I think one of the things that sets me apart from other artists who have had the same kind of success is that my life isn't speculated about." She continued, "I'm incredibly private but I'm also incredibly honest, and I think that creates a kind of 'meet in the middle' respectable ground." Talented and smart and off the paparazzi's radar. It's a recipe for success.