Keys back to work after Grammy night
After her big Grammy night, it was back to work for Alicia Keys.
The soul singer spent Thursday evening performing for fans at the Wiltern Theatre, a night after winning five Grammy Awards, including song of the year for "Fallin'," and best new artist.
Her wins tied Lauryn Hill's five trophies in 1999, the most Grammys ever for a female artist in one night.
The 21-year-old's debut disc, "Songs in A Minor," already has sold more than 4 million copies in the United States. Clive Davis, president and founder of J Records, which released Keys' disc, said he expects that number to go even higher.
"This is an all-timer. We're barely half done," Davis told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Davis said the there's no mystery behind Keys' success: "Alicia comes from a tradition of a young Stevie Wonder, or Prince ... writing, producing, arranging; singing with a distinctive voice, and of course she has the added plus of stunning beauty."
Keys' tour wraps up next week in Las Vegas.
Band's manager says concert mismanaged
Limp Bizkit's tour manager said Friday that a Sydney concert where a teen-age girl was killed was understaffed and poorly managed.
Alexander Murdoch MacLeod was the first person from the rap-rock band's management to appear at the inquest into the death of 15-year-old Jessica Michalik, who was caught in a crowd crush and suffered a heart attack at the concert on Jan. 26, 2001. She died five days later.
Six other people were hospitalized after the multi-band event, called the Big Day Out, which drew a crowd of 65,000.
MacLeod told the Glebe Coroner's Court that he was worried about the crowd's safety only minutes before Limp Bizkit went on stage.
He also accused organizers of compromising safety to cut costs.
Two members of the band will give evidence to the inquiry via video link June 17-19. The inquest before Coroner Jacqueline Milledge was adjourned until June 6.
Malls, movies attract Elton John on tour
Don't be surprised if you run into Elton John at your local mall or movie theater.
That's where the singer-songwriter likes to spend his free time when he's performing on tour, which he is these days with Billy Joel.
"I go to the mall or the cinema and see a movie or see two movies," John told People magazine for its March 11 issue. "To me, that's a luxury -- to go to the cinema in America at 1 p.m."
The 54-year-old said he also tries to keep fit while he's on the road.
"I put on weight very easily," he said. "I play tennis maybe four or five times a week, and I take a tennis pro on the road because I get bored in a gym and I don't like the treadmill very much -- but I'll do it under pressure."
John and Joel's "Face to Face" tour began in January and runs through April 11.
Madonna making West End debut
Madonna will make her West End debut in May, starring in an Australian comedy called "Up For Grabs."
She'll lead a cast of seven in the British premiere of David Williamson's play, a satire on the art world that first was staged in Sydney in February 2001.
Previews start May 9 at Wyndham's Theater, with May 23 the "Up For Grabs" opening night.
The director is Laurence Boswell, who's rehearsing for the London premiere of Kenneth Lonergan's "This Is Our Youth," starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Hayden Christensen and Oscar-winner Anna Paquin.
Madonna, 43, hasn't acted on stage since her sellout 1988 run on Broadway in David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow," though she'd often been discussed since then for theater engagements that never happened.
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