For two weeks in a row, American Idol has sent home one of its female contestants. After a "Home" themed live show last night (March 5) full of largely so-so performances, Latina Emily Piriz was sent back to Florida. Read this

It's the second week of live shows on American Idol, and to further get fans to know the contestants, producers picked the theme of "Home," which basically means the singers can choose anything they have a vocal connection to. Read this

The Billboard 200 was awash with debut albums this week, but things largely remained the same over on the Digital Downloads chart. Although every track in the Top 10 is the same as last week, there was some shuffling. Read this

Finally, the floodgates have been opened and a slew of new albums took over the Billboard 200 Top 10 this week. Glory be! Read this

You would think at some point in the 15 years since the RIAA sued Napster that the music industry would've figured out a way to dissuade internet users from illegally downloading or torrenting music. The closest thing they have come to thus far is guilt. And surprisingly, it wasn't Thom Yorke or Metallica shaming listeners for their actions. It was reality television star RuPaul. Read this

A number of promising music documentaries will appear at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. Read this

Describing music as "hipster" is generally misleading. Fortunately, our friends at Priceonomics Data Services have created a formula for determining an act's hipster score. Read this

Jason Aldean wasn't satisfied just playing professional baseball stadiums during 2014. Now he, as well as even bigger names Bruce Springsteen and Tim McGraw, will take part in the NCAA's March Madness Music Festival at Reunion Park in Dallas, which will take place April 4 through 6. Aldean will play at the "AT&T Block Party" on April 4, McGraw will take the "Coke Zero Countdown Concert" on April 5, and Springsteen and the E Street Band will play April 6 as part of the "Capital One Jam Fest." Read this

Make as many "you're old" jokes as you want about the Rolling Stones, but forgetfulness hasn't become a problem yet. The band dug deep into its catalogue in Tokyo on Tuesday, pulling out the track "Silver Train," a song that hadn't been performed live for more than 40 years. Read this

The Billboard 200 was awash with debut albums this week, but things largely remained the same over on the Digital Downloads chart. Although every track in the Top 10 is the same as last week, there was some shuffling. Read this

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, and the publication has compiled a list of the Top 100 songs ever to grace it. This isn't a ranking system based on the opinions of critics. It actually takes every rap track that's appeared on the Hot Rap Songs chart and assigns scores based on number of weeks on the chart at at which position the song placed. Read this

A number of promising music documentaries will appear at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. Read this

Describing music as "hipster" is generally misleading. Fortunately, our friends at Priceonomics Data Services have created a formula for determining an act's hipster score. Read this

Big news for Timbaland. The super producer was recently recruited by Fox to join the team for its forthcoming hip-hop drama from the writers behind The Butler. Read this

Schoolboy Q has become virtually inescapable since the release of his TDE debut Oxymoron, which has debuted No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. Q recently sat down with Jay Z's Life+Times series DECODED to break down the lyrics of one of Oxymoron's standout tracks "Hoover Street."
Read this

Describing music as "hipster" is generally misleading. Fortunately, our friends at Priceonomics Data Services have created a formula for determining an act's hipster score. Read this

This week’s Mixtape Monday features brand new tracks from Slow Club, Chloe Howl, PAWS and many more artists that released some great tunes over the past week. Once again, this is just a great way to share some fun new tracks with friends like we used to do back in the day, but with a digital twist! Read this

No one does Record Store Day better than The Flaming Lips. From their full cover of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, to their collaborative LP, Heady Fwends, to a toy frog containing the band's first demo, a chocolate human skill, a cover album with Tame Impala and more, Wayne Coyne and friends sure do celebrate the annual holiday right. Read this

We know that there were a handful of fun album releases this week (St. Vincent, Angel Olsen, etc.) but let’s try to focus on the new singles that graced our ears instead! We have some new tunes from Tycho, Architecture in Helsinki, Arthur Beatrice and many more on this week’s mixtape. Read this

Things are looking optimistic for America, as Pharrell Williams' track "Happy" rose to the top of the Billboard Digital Downloads chart last week (not that a song named "Sad" was ever at the top). Williams got a continued boost from radio play, Beats commercials, DVD sales of Despicable Me 2, The NBA All-Star Game...just about everything. The track jumped 31 percent in sales and moved 329,000. Read this

When movie-goers hit theaters on Wednesday, April 16th for the nationwide premiere of the new Sony Pictures film "Heaven Is for Real," they'll be treated to a new song from Rascal Flatts called "Compass," which is featured in the film. Read this

The Academy of Country Music and dick clark productions have announced a star-studded line-up of performers for the 49th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, to be held on Sunday, April 6, 2014 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Read this

Jason Aldean wasn't satisfied just playing professional baseball stadiums during 2014. Now he, as well as even bigger names Bruce Springsteen and Tim McGraw, will take part in the NCAA's March Madness Music Festival at Reunion Park in Dallas, which will take place April 4 through 6. Aldean will play at the "AT&T Block Party" on April 4, McGraw will take the "Coke Zero Countdown Concert" on April 5, and Springsteen and the E Street Band will play April 6 as part of the "Capital One Jam Fest." Read this

Eric Paslay's self-titled Universal Nashville debut hit stores on February 4, 2014. Excited, he went to his local Walmart to buy a copy. His new found fame didn't extend to the clerk! Read this

While fans know the bullet points in Dierks Bentley bio - he was born on November 20, 1975, graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1997, signed to Capitol Nashville in 2003 and is married with three kids - what about those little things that go along with it? The things that make him uniquely him? These are some things you may not know about Dierks ... Read this

From an era when Italianate (and indeed, Italian) tenors were in more plentiful supply, Renato Cioni has passed away at the age of 84. He was also one of the last links to the age of Maria Callas, as one of her last Cavaradossis in Puccini's Tosca Read this

"My collection of masterpieces just hit a crescendo of domination." -- Kobe Bryant Read this

Music Before 1800 is New York City's longest-running concert series devoted exclusively to early music; the series is currently in the midst of its 39th season. Notable concerts that remain include a performance of Actéon, Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s 1685 tragédie en musique, directed by William... Read this

A nice initiative from the folks at Rhinegold Publishing, the house behind specialist music titles such as Classical Music, International Arts Manager and International Pianist. They have announced the creation of a series of free concerts, six a year, at London's Conway Hall. Read this

Kickstarter has certainly become the vehicle de rigueur for taking productions of all shapes and sizes to the widest possibly audience. This time, Alex Waterman needs your help staging the avant-garde stylings of the late American composer (perhaps thee greatest American composer we've ever had) Robert Ashley. Read this

A number of promising music documentaries will appear at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. Read this

A nice initiative from the folks at Rhinegold Publishing, the house behind specialist music titles such as Classical Music, International Arts Manager and International Pianist. They have announced the creation of a series of free concerts, six a year, at London's Conway Hall. Read this

Designer Rodrigo Maio reimagines recent albums in the style of old jazz covers, of which he consigns to his Tumblr, New Records Old Covers. Read this

Here's a feel-good story for jazz fans, although it's been a long time in the making: The final home of New Orleans piano legend Henry "Professor Longhair" Byrd has finally been renovated following the destruction inflicted by Hurricane Katrina. A ribbon-cutting ceremony last week marked the end of two years worth of work. Read this

After more than a decade-long absence, Maria Schneider will return to Jazz at Lincoln Center with a performance of previously unreleased, unrecorded music. A multi-Grammy-winning composer, arranger, bandleader and Upper West Side native, Schneider brings her internationally acclaimed Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra to JALC's The Allen Room on March 14 to 15. Read this

There is something that seems inherently wrong when rock 'n' roll stars such receive the highest of official recognition, such as Kennedy Center Honors or British knighthood. Lord knows the Rolling Stones didn't enter music to be a positive influencer of culture, hence why Keith Richards blew up when Mick Jagger accepted a knighthood. We imagine things aren't totally different within the world of electronic music, so it's curious to see British DJ Pete Tong receive the MBE, or Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Read this

Red Rocks Amphitheater, a concert venue outside of Denver, has established itself as one of the most unique performance centers in the country, if not the world. Alas, the residents of nearby Morrison don't think that's a good excuse for concerts to run late and volumes to run high. The venue took a preemptive step to answer the complaints by establishing some ground rules for incoming performers. Read this

It was formally announced this week that "Wake Me Up!" by Avicii had become the most-streamed song in the history of Spotify. The single surpassed 200 million streams during February, becoming the first track ever to do so. Read this

The last 12 months have potentially proven Daft Punk to be the current biggest-act-in-music. "Get Lucky" has been a pop culture staple, causing all sorts of videos to go viral. The track itself was one of the best-selling singles of 2013, and the duo's record Random Access Memories was named Album of The Year at the Grammys. And yet there's still been no indication of tour plans for the group. A report from the Rapid City Journal has given hints that plans are in the works however. Read this

Music Times lists its five international music festivals worth taking out a loan for. Read this

Da'dra Crawford Greathouse, one-half of the Grammy-nominated and multiple Dove and Stellar Award-winning group Anointed, has announced that she is working hard on her first solo CD. The first track, "Arms Wide Open," is currently available at iTunes. Read this

Rich Mullins died in an automobile accident in 1997, but his legacy (songs like "Awesome God" and "Sometimes by Step") lives on. On May 2, 2014, fans will be able to learn more about the man, his music and his faith when Ragamuffin, The True Story of Rich Mullins, kicks off a nationwide screening tour. Read this

When Newsboys wrap up the 48-city Winter Jam tour on March 30, 2014, they aren't even giving themselves a 2-week break before hitting the road again - this time on the Spring We Believe Tour. Read this

With the successful miniseries, The Bible, taking in 100 million viewers, the Son of God movie shattering box office expectations (it earned $26 million during the first weekend) and the soundtrack debuting in the top 5 on iTunes Soundtracks Chart, the franchise is already turning heads. Now the people behind it are hoping that the success will continue on with a live tour. Read this

Big Daddy Weave is on the road with Group 1 Crew and Tim Timmons for the second leg of The Only Name Tour. Read this

Apple's iTunes Music Festival is next week and the brand recently made an exciting announcement. It's all going down in Austin as part of this year's South by Southwest (SXSW) music showcase. Read this

Are you a Country, Hip-Hop, Alternative, R&B, Rock or Pop complete artist, group or band who has what it takes to win $10,000? Read this

There's no denying it: 2013 was the year of the viral video music hit. Billboard began incorporating YouTube hits and other streaming video services into its Hot 100 formula this year, leading to some bizarre smash hits. As 2013 comes to a close, it's time to remember the viral videos that had an impact on Internet culture, the charts and out hearts. Read this

Matteo Setti got his "big break" from Luciano Pavarotti. He also sang lead in a Queen cover band. Which is to say the Italian vocalist can handle a wide range of styles. The performer is turning his attention to swing for the Christmas season however, having released his first holiday EP, Home For Christmas. Setti took some time to speak with Music Times prior to his December 10 show at The Cutting Room. Read this

It's easy to forget how young some of our favorite performers are when they enter the music world. From Michael Jackson's Jack 5 debut at the age of 11, to Lorde's chart-topping single "Royals" at the age of 16, it doesn't take much life experience to make a splash in the music industry. Tuesdays Under 21 is a Music Times feature dedicated to bringing attention to talented musicians and performers under the age of 21. Who knows? They just might be the next big thing. This week we introduce you to...Madeon Read this