Natasha Bedingfield will release her third studio album, Strip Me, November 9, via Phonogenic/Epic Records. The title track will be released digitally September 21. Bedingfield will tour North America this fall and will support the release internationally in 2011…

LFO singer Rich Cronin died Wednesday (September after a five-year battle with acute myelogenous leukemia. He was 35. Cronin suffered a strong and died in a hospital. The group was best known for its 1999 hit single, “Summer Girls,” which reached the No. 3 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart…

KT Tunstall will hit the road in support of her forthcoming album, Tiger Suit, which hits store shelves October 5. The tour kicks off in Portland, Oregon, October 31, and runs through a December 1 performance in New York City. Hurricane Bells will provide support during the tour…

Katy Perry will be the musical guest when Saturday Night Live kicks off its 36th season on NBC, September 25. Parks and Recreation and former SNL star Amy Poehler will host the season-opener…

In conjunction with the release of Bruce Springsteen’s The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story, and the Toronto International Film Festival debut of The Promise: The Making of ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town, the publisher of the companion book, The Light In Darkness has announced that any orders shipped during the festival (September 9 – September 19) will receive a $5 shipping discount. The book can be purchased directly from the publisher at the book’s official Web site…

Rise Against will release their new DVD, Another Station, Another Mile, October 5, via DGC/Interscope Records. The DVD, will be available worldwide, and the digital release will be available via iTunes…

The music industry is rarely kind to artists who disappear from the spotlight for more than a few years, especially artists who put their professional lives on hold in order to do the things that others take for granted, such as starting a family. Music fans want their idols to produce, to tour, to return to the studio, to release another album, to tour again, and to keep this cycle going until they find another artist to idolize. Artists know this, and it is for that reason that so many of them retire (or, at least,  announce their retirements) to focus on their personal lives, only to return a decade later with a new album and a high-grossing reunion tour.

Christina Aguilera did neither. While she took several years off, married, and gave birth to a boy, she never made any grand pronouncements about her future, and she never told anyone she was leaving. She just left. It was a risk – and one wonders how calculated it was – because in the time that she was out of the musical spotlight, other artists, like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, have burst onto the music scene with their own unique personas, and have filled the female pop niche which was left barren after the departures of Aguilera, Britney Spears, and Jessica Simpson. Beyonce has filled the gap, to some extent, but she is often pegged as more of an R&B singer who produces pop hits and is therefore rarely compared to the previously-mentioned singers.

So, when it was revealed that Aguilera was returning to the music scene with Bionic, her first studio album in four years, it was not entirely unsurprising that she would be compared to some of music’s current hitmakers. And it was also not surprising that people would question Aguilera’s relevance and her ability to connect with a fanbase that has, at least partially, shifted its attention to the next big thing. It did not help that Aguilera, who was known for her penchant for flashy outfits was being compared to Lady Gaga. Some with short memories implied (and some flat-out said) that Aguilera was attempting to copy Gaga’s style. And while Aguilera has responded to critics who have floated the Gaga theory, there is something unsettling about the transient nature of fame. Music fans seemed to forget the big difference between Aguilera and her peers: That voice.

She doles it out on Bionic, from the title track to “Elastic Love,” and instantly reminds the listener why they were wowed by Aguilera the first time they hear her. But she doesn’t overdo it. Instead, she tempers her voice on the ballad “Lift Me Up,” allowing the song to be bigger than the singer. And she spends as much time reminding the listener that even though she is a mother, her sexuality has not diminished. From “Woohoo” to “Sex for Breakfast” (sometimes, it’s that obvious), Aguilera uses her vocal platform to bring the heat and, in a way, to show that though she has been gone for a while, she hasn’t missed a trick. There is nothing groundbreaking on Bionic and some would say this album is all over the place but with songs like, “You Lost Me,” Agueilra reminds fans that she hasn’t forgotten how to write a hit ballad.

It’s difficult to become relevant instantly, especially after a lengthy break, and it’s not clear that the release of Bionic alone will be sufficient to carry Aguilera to the heights she once inhabited; however, the disc proves that Christina Aguilera might have been gone but the voice still remains.

Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” (featuring Snoop Dogg) jumps from No. 2 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart after only four weeks on the chart. Perry’s track sold 318,000 downloads this week and the track leads the Digital Songs chart for a third week.

This is Perry’s second Hot 100 No. 1. Her first hit was “I Kissed A Girl,” which topped the chart for seven weeks, starting in July 2008.

Katy Perry hits the net with debut single from her upcoming sophomore album to be released this summer. “California Gurls,” featuring Snoop Dogg and is produced by Dr. Luke.

Katy Perry – California Gurls
(Capital Records)

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Lady Gaga and Sting are among the superstar acts who will perform in New York City this spring and summer as part of the Toyota Concert Series on TODAY.

Sting will kick off the series May 14 and will conclude August 27, wit a performance from Katy Perry. Guest performers are expected to be added to the schedule.

Fans and visitors are encouraged to come to the plaza for the live performances.  Viewing is on a first-come, first-served basis outside TODAY’s  studio, located at 49th Street and Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Fans should arrive by 6:00 a.m. for best viewing positions. Most of the concerts will take place on Friday mornings.

The schedule for the Toyota Concert Series on TODAY follows:

May 14 – Sting
May 21 – The Script
May 27 – American Idol winner and runner-up
June 4 – Justin Bieber
June 8 – Christina Aguilera
June 11 – Rascal Flatts
June 18 – James Taylor
June 25 – Maxwell
July 2 – Maroon 5
July 9 – Lady Gaga
July 16 – Enrique Iglesias
July 23 – John Mayer
July 30 – Carrie Underwood
August 6 – Train
August 13 – Ke$ha
August 20 – Keith Urban
August 27 – Katy Perry

Jill Sobule might have been the first singer to have “kissed a girl” but she certainly won’t be able to kiss her mother with her mouth after her profanity-laced tirade against fellow girl-kisser Katy Perry.

Sobule spoke to the U.K. newspaper The Sun about “I Kissed The Girl,” saying that though she was not “precious” about her song title, Perry stole the song.

While Sobule claimed that “As a musician I have always refrained from criticizing another artist,” she was bugged “a little bit” by Perry’s claim that she came up with the title of the track in a dream. Sobule refuted the story.

In truth, she wrote it with a team of professional writers and was signed by the very same guy that signed me in 1995.

I have not mentioned that in interviews as I don’t want to sound bitter or petty, because that’s not me.

Okay, maybe, if I really think about it, there were a few jealous and p***ed off moments.

So here goes, for the first time in an interview…

“F*** you Katy Perry, you f***ing stupid, maybe ‘not good for the gays’, title thieving, haven’t heard much else, so not quite sure if you’re talented, f***ing little slut.

The MTV Video Music Awards Nominees were announced Tuesday, and the list of nominees includes Katy Perry, Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Eminem, Kristinia DeBarge, Kanye West, Cobra Starship, Paramore, Pink, T.I, Jay-Z, Ciara and more. The awards show will live air at 9pm on MTV on September 13 at  New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, and will be hosted by Russell Brand. Performances from Green Day, Mariah Carey, Pink, Taylor Swift have been confirmed.

Check out the full nominees list below and you can start voting on MTV.com and tune in on September 13th on MTV as the show that returns back to New York City.

Best Female Video Of The Year:
Katy Perry “Hot N Cold”
Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Kelly Clarkson “My Life Would Suck Without You”
Lady Gaga “Poker Face”
P!nk “So What”
Taylor Swift “You Belong With Me”

Best Male Video
Eminem “We Made You”
Jay-Z “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”
Kanye West “Love Lockdown”
Ne-Yo “Miss Independent”
T.I. ft Rihanna “Live Your Life”

Best Hip Hop Video Of The Year
Asher Roth”I Love College”
Eminem “We Made You”
Flo Rida “Right Round”
Jay-Z “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”
Kanye West “Love Lockdown”

Best Pop Video
Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Britney Spears “Womanizer”
Cobra Starship “Good Girls Go Bad (Featuring Leighton Meester)”
Lady Gaga “Poker Face”
Wisin & Yandel “Abusadora”

Best Rock Video
Coldplay “Viva La Vida”
Fall Out Boy “I Don’t Care”
Green Day “21 Guns”
Kings of Leon “Use Somebody”
Paramore “Decode”

Video Of The Year
Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Britney Spears “Womanizer”
Kanye West “Love Lockdown”
Eminem “We Made You”
Lady Gaga “Poker Face”

Breakthrough Video
Anjulie “Boom”
Bat For Lashes “Daniel”
Chairlift “Evident Utensil”
Cold War Kids “I’ve Seen Enough”
Death Cab for Cutie “Grapevine Fires”
Gnarls Barkley “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”
Major Lazer “Hold The Line”
Matt And Kim “Lessons Learned”
Passion Pit “The Reeling”
Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Heads Will Roll”

Best Video (That Should Have Won A Moonman)
Beastie Boys”Sabotage”
Björk”Human Behaviour”
David Lee Roth”California Girls”
Dr. Dre”Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang”
Foo Fighters”Everlong”
George Michael”Freedom”
OK Go”Here It Goes Again”
Radiohead”Karma Police”
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers”Into the Great Wide Open”
U2″Where The Streets Have No Name”

Best Art Direction
Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Britney Spears “Circus”
Coldplay “Viva La Vida”
Gnarls Barkley “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”
Lady Gaga “Paparazzi”

Best Choreography
A.R. Rahman & Pussycat Dolls f/ Nicole Scherzinger “Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)”
Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Britney Spears “Circus”
Ciara ft Justin Timberlake “Love Sex Magic”
Kristinia DeBarge “Goodbye”

Best Cinematography
Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Britney Spears “Circus”
Coldplay “Viva La Vida”
Green Day “21 Guns”
Lady Gaga “Paparazzi”

Best Direction
Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Britney Spears “Circus”
Cobra Starship “Good Girls Go Bad (Featuring Leighton Meester)”
Green Day “21 Guns”
Lady Gaga “Paparazzi”

Best Editing
Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Britney Spears “Circus”
Coldplay”Viva La Vida”
Lady Gaga “Paparazzi”
Miley Cyrus “7 Things”

Best Special Effects
Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Eminem “We Made You”
Gnarls Barkley “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”
Kanye West ft Mr. Hudson “Paranoid”
Lady Gaga “Paparazzi”

Best New Artist
3Oh!3 “Don’t Trust Me”
Asher Roth “I Love College”
Drake “Best I Ever Had”
Kid Cudi “Day N’ Nite”
Lady Gaga “Poker Face”

Mika will release his sophomore album, We Are Golden, September 22, via Casablanca/Universal Republic Records.

The disc, which was produced by Mika and Greg Wells (Pink, Katy Perry), is a follow-up to Mika’s 2007 debut, Life in Cartoon Motion, which has sold more than five million copies worldwide.

The new set includes contributions by Imogen Heap and Final Fantasy’s Owen Pallett.

The title single, “We Are Golden,” will be unveiled exclusively on BBC’s Radio 1 Monday (July 20). The song will also stream on Mika’s official Web site starting that day. A video for the track is currently being created.