This Friday Jason Mraz will take the stage and host the season premiere of VH1 Storytellers, the music/reality channel’s original program that invites artists across all genres to perform a collection of their songs and share insight into how the music came to be. In this installment VH1 promises that viewers will be privy to “a rich assortment of songs from [Mraz's] truly outstanding body of work,” including tracks from his latest album Love Is A Four Letter Word. And things will get emotional. In a nearly nine minute preview clip embedded after the break, Jason explores the inspiration behind his hit single “I Won’t Give Up” and tears flow before he performs the song in front of a live audience. The gifted singer/songwriter is known for digging deep into his mind and soul and past life experiences to come up with lyrics and rhythms for his songs; fans should be excited because Storytellers gives him a platform to reveal the secrets behind his most popular tunes. Get a taste of what’s in store after the break. Mraz is arguably the greatest live performer to live, so it is somewhat of an understatement when I say this is must see TV.

VH1 Storytellers with Jason Mraz airs this Friday, June 1 at 11PM. Click here to see pictures from the previously recorded event. (Click here for more…)

It has been confirmed that Ryan Murphy and company will not be putting on a Glee concert this year. After spending the past two summers entertaining Gleeks around the nation in the Glee Live! In Concert! tour, the McKinley High students are taking a well deserved break (a two-and-a-half-month hiatus, to be exact) between season 3 and (the still not yet announced) season 4 of the hit FOX musical dramedy. But fear not die-hard Gleeks; Glee producers are planning a one-off benefit concert to take place this fall at the Hollywood Bowl to raise money for the arts education charity Glee Give a Note. Though ratings have been on a decline this year, Glee co-creator Murphy has made it apparent that he has exciting plans for the future of the show. Expect FOX to make an announcement concerning Glee‘s fate this spring.

[Via THR]

What may be considered the final great game for Nintendo’s Wii console finally has a release date. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword drops November 20, 2011. As detailed at Ninty’s E3 press event, Skyward Sword will ship standalone at the regular $49.99 price point and a limited-edition gold controller bundle will be offered at a reasonable $69.99. If you have your sights locked on the shiny, golden Wii Remote Plus bear in mind that it will not be sold separately from the bundle. To further celebrate Zelda’s 25th anniversary, Nintendo is also bundling in a music CD featuring select orchestral arrangements of iconic music spanning the history of the franchise which will be performed at The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert. For more information regarding the concert–which is coming to Los Angeles and London in October–click here. The CD will be included in every game box (whether sold by itself or as a part of the bundle) during the initial retail run. Eye the packaging above, and read the PR after the break.

[Via Joystiq] (Click here for more…)

For those of you who couldn’t make the Glee Live! In Concert! tour, you won’t want to miss the upcoming 3D Concert Movie that’s packed with the tour’s musical numbers and behind-the-scenes action. The Kevin Tancharoen-directed 3D flick hits theatres August 12.

I just can’t get enough of that mini Warbler!

On Tuesday June 28 the newest members of Kanye West’s music label G.O.O.D. (Getting Out Our Dreams) headlined the Heineken Red Star Access concert in New York City. The private concert was invite-only and it was located at Santos Party House. Hot 97′s DJ Camilo spinned the beats before the main guests arrived. Adrienne Bailon of 3LW fame introduced Cyhi Da Prynce who performed eight songs from his Royal Flush mixtapes. After his too-brief stint on stage, main attraction Pusha T was showered with cheers as he performed a bunch of songs ranging from classic Clipse tracks to more recent tracks off Ye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and the Fear of God mixtape. P confirmed that his next mixtape Fear of God 2 is complete and it will be released later this summer in August. Also, fans can anticipate his first studio album to hit stores on Black Friday (that is late November).

The concert was a raging good time. Thanks to Heineken’s sponsorship free beer was flowing all night, and the speaker setup inside the venue was phenomenal. Standing literally inches from Cyhi and Pusha T made the experience all the more engaging, though I could have done without the onslaught spit and sweat that came my way. Check out pictures from the concert below (please excuse the poor quality, only had iPhone in hand) and jump after the break to find a collection of the night’s performances in video form.

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Gleeks, get this: New Directions is going on tour again! Here’s the scoop. The Glee Live! In Concert! North American concert tour will star 13 Glee cast members and they include Lea Michele (Rachel), Cory Monteith (Finn), Amber Riley (Mercedes), Chris Colfer (Kurt), Kevin McHale (Artie), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina), Mark Salling (Puck), Dianna Agron (Quinn), Naya Rivera (Santana), Heather Morris (Brittany), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike), Chord Overstreet (Sam) and Darren Criss (Blaine). The latter two cast members are the newest additions to the concert lineup. They will perform hit songs from the first two season’s of the FOX show including “Empire State of Mind,” “Toxic,” “My Life Would Suck Without You,” “It’s My Life,” and “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The tour kicks off May 21 in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay Event Center and will travel to 16 locations around the country through June 18 when it will end in Uniondale, New York at Nassau Coliseum. Look after the break for the full listing of tour dates. The previously announced Glee European tour will follow in late June.

Says Glee creator Ryan Murphy: “The cast and I were so moved by the love and enthusiasm of our fans at last year’s concerts that we knew we had to do it again. There is something magical about thousands of ‘Gleeks’ coming together to share a special night with our cast, and this tour is one way we can thank them for their unbelievable support from the beginning.”

Here’s how to snag tickets to the event. If you’re an AMEX cardholder you’ll have access to an exclusive presale beginning Friday, February 11 at 10AM. Tickets go on sale to the general public for most cities on Saturday, February 19 at 10AM. (Here are the other stipulations: tickets for the Boston concert go on sale Friday, Feb. 18 at 10AM; Toronto goes on sale Friday, Feb. 18 at noon; and Sacramento goes on sale Saturday, Feb. 19 at noon.) All tickets will be sold through Ticketmaster. And if last time taught us anything, it’s that getting tix to a Glee concert is a crapshoot; within seconds virtually all venues were sold out. Have the site loaded up with your finger on the submit button at 9:59AM and godspeed.

[Via EW] (Click here for more…)

The Kanye West Foundation, created by Kanye’s late mother Donda West, is all about keeping kids in school.  As an incentive to keep kids in school, they are given this ultimatum: if they improve their grades, attendance, and behavior they are offered free tickets to see Kanye West perform at the Chicago Theatre at the end of the school year.  Last year more than 2,500 students improved their grades and attendance and were able to see Kanye perform live in a televised concert (broadcasted on FuseTV) in their honor.  Currently the Foundation focuses on public high schools in Chicago, Kanye’s hometown.

This trailer promotes the second annual performance by Kanye.  Ever since his “imma let you finish but” incident with Taylor Swift, Kanye has ducked out of the limelight and into the studio.  He’s currently working on his next album rumored to be called Good Ass Job.  With the goal of diminishing student dropouts in the Chicago area, his foundation spreads a good message that hopefully resonates with the rest of the nation.  Thing is, he might just have to go on a nationwide Foundation tour to give more kids the incentive to stay in school and improve themselves.  Or you can just be really smart and set goals for yourself, then watch the performance when it airs on FuseTV this June.

[Via KanyeBlog]

That’s right, fellow Gleeks.  The main ensemble of FOX’s hit show Glee are going on tour this spring.  They will perform seven shows total in four cities.  The cast includes Lea Michele (Rachel), Cory Monteith (Finn), Amber Riley (Mercedes), Chris Colfer (Kurt), Kevin McHale (Artie), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina), Mark Salling (Puck), Dianna Agron (Quinn), Naya Rivera (Santana), Heather Morris (Brittany), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike), and Dijon Talton (Matt).  Matthew Morrison (Will Schuster) and Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester) are noticibly absent from this list; bummer, I know!  Part of the setlist was leaked to the press (I wonder who did that…): “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Somebody To Love,” “Jump,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” and “Sweet Caroline.”  And here’s the schedule:

May 18 – Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre
May 20 – Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheatre
May 21 – Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheatre
May 25 – Chicago, IL Rosemont Theatre
May 26 – Chicago, IL Rosemont Theatre
May 28 – New York City, NY Radio City Music Hall
May 29 – New York City, NY Radio City Music Hall

Tickets go on sale at Ticketmaster on March 12 (for Phoenix dates) and March 13 (for New York, Chicago and LA dates).  And if you can’t make it don’t fret; Glee returns Tuesday, April 13 at 9PM on FOX.

[Via EW-MusicMix]

Peek after the break for the tour dates.  Click here to purchase pre-sale tickets and for additional information.

[Via KanyeBlog; RollingStone]

(Click here for more…)