According to official source Ali Lohrasbi, Mohsen Yeganeh and Hami are to perform individual concerts at the Fajr festival. In the absence of the ARIAN and Hamid Askari these artists are the biggest names of the festival.

Cote de Pablo in a scene from current season of NCIS! Check out those cute dimples! Aiiii carambaaaaaaa!!

The Bayat band will be paying a homage to late Babak Bayat at this year’s Fajr Music Festival by performing a piece written for the occasion. The band is consisted of his son Bamdad Bayat, Mohammad Zandevakili and Babak Riahipor, among others.

Dido, one of the best selling female artists in the history of British music, has just released her brand new album. There is not much surprise embedded in the music, as expected! When it comes to aesthetic presentation, however, there is a huge surprise in your face! And that is the image used for the cover, which goes against the consensus of the genre. According to the tradition, when a solo female vocalist of this style and calibre releases an album, people expect to see the artist in rather artistic (or pretentious, if you like to call it) poses being portrayed on the cover. Especially if she is beautiful, which Dido happens to be! Something which has been utilised and adhered to in all her previous albums! The new album however, entitled “Safe Trip Home”, has neglected the tradition, the commercial expectation and instead focused on the poetic concept of the music per se! The result is an album cover more appropriate for- and expected from a “band”! Yes, not even a male solo artist, but only a band! It is the kind of cover one finds on the albums by POP and ROCK bands, without any glimpse of the members of the band. Conventionally such design signals “band”, just focusing on the concept. Not an album by a female singer/songwriter! The decision is rather interesting and makes one wonder why Dido has decided to shift focus from her attractive artistic persona to the music and thereby risk losing a big portion of her commercial appeal (is it to provoke reconsideration regarding genus in the industry or merely an artistic statement?), but most importantly HOW she has managed to convince the record company to let her get away with that!

Dido, the way we know her!

The multi-talented Mehran Modiri who is currently fronting the Darkoob band and had a successful performance at the Aids Day gala, has been denied a permit for a concert in the same concert hall! It should be mentioned that the Darkoob band have in the past year faced many last minute rejections by the ministry and location owners.

Just wanted to let you guys know that if you see that some of the announced music videos haven’t been premiered yet its because the premier dates have been tentative and pushed back! So its not that we are bad-ghols! hehe! Thanks for your patience and understanding!

Schubert Avakian needs no presentation. What I really like and respect about Schubert is his “janbeh” and professional attitude! He has a very constructive way of meeting critique. Something which is really rare in the Iranian industry!

In the past six years Schubert has been a creative member of Black Cats, working hard on HITS like “Joone Khodet (Khanoom Kojaa)”. But as of today he is changing path! Now usually when such separations occur rumours start to spread rampantly, mainly indicating a hostile break-up! Schubert wants to assure us that it is not the case here! He still considers Shahbal as a good friend and respects him as an artist, however time has come to move on in different artistic direction. He is working hard with all the artists he has created for and will be directing music for their future live shows.

Visit Schubert’s myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/schubertmusic1

Note: older readers surely understand that when I was to pick a pic for this blog this image was an obvious choice! Considering my fetish for the nostalgic instrument in question (read)!

Sepideh is back with new material from her forthcoming album, to be released on Avang. The first song is some kind of surprise for old-school music fans! You’ll know once you hear it! Bia2 is proud to premier the video on Thanksgiving, don’t miss it!

Kambiz Roshanravan once again stated in a press conference that its only a rumour that the ARIAN and Hamid Askari haven’t received permits for performance in the Fajr Music Festival while the truth is that the ARIAN have never even applied for one! Hamid Askari too rejected the rumour in an own press conference, saying that he is glad that the festival is giving the less known bands the same exposure that he received last year and an opportunity to make themselves heard.

I’m going BLU! Yep, slowly but surely I’m crossing over to the high definition technology (Just like our website!). My only reason as a collector to have been waiting so long is that previously there werent many blu-ray releases coming in exclusive and limited packagings. However things are changing! More and more collectors editions are being released and as my first inquisition I present you the Ultimate 30th Anniversary Edition of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”!

Britney Spears has finished her stint at Promises rehab in Malibu, almost a month after checking in on Feb. 22. Has it really been nearly a month since she checked in?

The pop star checked out of Promises Malibu Alcohol and Drug Rehab Treatment Facility "after successfully completing their program," Spears' manager, Larry Rudolph, said in a statement released by Jive Records late Tuesday.

Here's hoping her troubles are behind her.

Spears Leaves Malibu Rehab Center

News of the World is reporting that Britney Spears wrote "666" on her forehead and ran up and down the hallways of Promises rehab yelling "I am the Antichrist!" and then tried to hang herself with a bedsheet.

We have doubts about the veracity of this story because it seems quite tabloidy and silly. Nonetheless, mainstream news outlets are picking up the story and reporting it.

It's hard to tell where fake tabloid news ends and "real" news begins these days. Something tells me that line is just going to be become more and more blurred as time goes on.

Britney Spears may be suffering from postpartum depression, according to experts. TMZ is reporting that her doctors believe this to be a strong possibility and are leaning towards that as a diagnosis. Spears is reported to be reading Brooke Shields' book "Down Came the Rain," a book documenting her own battle with postpartum depression.

One theory is that Britney may have been using alcohol and drugs to cope with her postpartum depression. It's great that she is remaining in rehab this time and is finally getting the help and treatment she needs. Hopefully her doctors can get to the bottom of the problem.

TMZ: Britney's Post-Partum Struggle

Since we last posted that Britney Spears had checked into Promises rehab in Malibu (for the first time), she did the following in the span of 15 hours:

Checked out of Promises after less than 24 hours.

Tried to enter a tattoo shop but it was closed.

Visited the Bel Air Hotel wearing the same blonde wig she'd worn a couple days earlier.

Went to ex Kevin Federline's house to see her two sons (Federline has had custody of them for the past week). He wouldn't let her see the kids and she reportedly got upset.

Took an umbrella and smashed a paparazzo's car as well as the paparazzo himself, who was left marked by the incident.

Was driven back to Promises rehab by her mother, where she remains for now.

All of the above happened between 8am on Wednesday, when she checked out of rehab, and 10:30pm the same night, when she re-entered rehab.

In other Britney news, her manager Larry Rudolph is denying a story in the National Enquirer that she attempted suicide the night she shaved her head. He told tv show Extra:

“The story is absolutely untrue. She is in rehab, and it is very disappointing that various media outlets are running these false stories about her, as Britney tries to get better.”

Britney Spears has entered rehab in Los Angeles just a day after hitting the town with a cheap blonde wig covering her newly bald head. Her family reportedly staged an intervention and convinced her to seek treatment.

She entered rehab over Valentine's Day and stayed for only 24 hours. Let's hope she stays and gets the help she needs this time.

Her manager said: "Britney Spears has voluntarily checked herself into an undisclosed rehab facility," Rudolph's statement, released to Access, read. "We ask that the media respect her privacy as well as those of her family and friends at this time."

Access Hollywood: Britney Spears Checked Into Rehab Yesterday; Family Staged Intervention

It seems that Britney Spears is going through some serious stuff right now. First, she checked into rehab in the Bahamas and checked out 24 hours later. And now she has shaved her head in front of the paparazzi.

In the KABC interview below the woman who works in the Body and Soul tattoo parlor in Sherman Oaks describes Britney as having been "distraught" while in the tattoo parlor and said that Britney said she shaved her head because she was tired of people touching her.

Brittany Spears has had her second child. The baby boy was born at 2 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Spears and husband Kevin Federline already have a son called Sean Preston, who is due to turn one later this week.

It’s another boy for Britney Spears and Kevin Federline as singer gives birth in Los Angeles
Brittany Spears gives birth to second child