WHITNEY HOUSTON RETURNS TO THE BIG SCREEN

(etonline.com) Whitney Houston returns to the big screen to star in and executive produce the remake of the 1976 film, "Sparkle." While on the set of "Sparkle," is sat down with the legend and her on-screen daughter, singer, Jordin Sparks

"She's very quick, very good," Whitney Houston told Etonline of Jordin Sparks. "She knows how to look. Her voice is like an angel's. I think it's ('Sparkle') going to let the world see that the 'American Idol' that was chosen and won is truly capable of handling it."

Whitney Houston has been away from the big screen since her lead role in 'The Preacher's Wife' (1996). Fifteen years later, the legend has decided to return after getting a call. "I got a call from my partner Debra Martin and she said, 'You're not gonna believe this, but 'Sparkle''s been picked up and they want to do a film.' And I was like, you're kidding?... She said, 'and they want you and Mara to do it'…"

"Sparkle," directed by Salim Akil and written by Mara Brock Akil, is in production and set to hit theatres next year. Others set to star in the film are Derek Luke,Cee-Lo and more.

Ne-Yo Joins Motown Roster, Also Appointed Senior VP of A&R

(billboard.com) Singer/songwriter Ne-Yo is moving from Def Jam to Motown Records, the company told Billboard.biz exclusively today. In addition, the Grammy Award-winning artist will bring his Compound Entertainment imprint to the venerable label and take on a creative role at Motown as senior VP of A&R.

In that role, Ne-Yo will serve as a producer and mentor to the label's artists and also discover and sign new talent. Ne-Yo, who co-stars in the current George Lucas-produced film "Red Tails" about the Tuskegee Airmen fighter pilots, will appear on the upcoming season of NBC-TV's " The Voice" as a mentor for Cee Lo Green's team. Ne-Yo will mark his debut as a Motown artist with his fifth studio album, slated for this summer.

"His track record of success at Def Jam will always be a benchmark," says Universal Republic and Island Def Jam Motown chairman/CEO Barry Weiss in a statement announcing the news. "But this move to Motown will provide new and inspiring challenges for Ne-Yo as both an artist and a key member of the new senior management team that is taking form at the label in 2012."

Ne-Yo's move to Motown marks the latest step in the revitalization of the Universal Music Group division. Ethiopia Habtemariam was appointed senior VP of Motown, formerly headed by president Sylvia Rhone, last September. She concurrently serves as executive VP/head of urban music for Universal Music Publishing Group.

"We are committed to discovering, developing and nurturing R&B/soul superstars here at Motown," says Habetemariam in the co-announcement with Weiss. "In Ne-Yo we have both a global superstar and arguably one of the best songwriters in music. His presence on the executive team only strengthens our commitment to be the very best in R&B."

Ne-Yo added, "I'm honored that I¹ve been given such a prestigious title and trusted with such responsibility; terrified because I know that playing this role in the fashion of one of my career role models, Mr. Smokey Robinson -- these are big shoes to fill. But trust, I can handle it."

Coming off a No. 1 Hot 100 hit last year as a featured guest on Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" (also featuring Afrojack and Nayer), Ne-Yo released four albums during his Def Jam tenure. With cumulative U.S. sales of 4.3 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the four include: 2010's "Libra Scale," 2008's "Year of the Gentleman," 2007's "Because of You" and 2006's "In My Own Words." The two latter albums were both No. 1 debuts on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. His hit singles includes "Miss Independent" -- which netted Ne-Yo Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance - "Closer" and "Mad."

Etta James Dead at 73

(rollingstone) The R&B icon sang 'At Last,' 'Tell Mama' and 'All I Could Do Was Cry'

Etta James, one of the great voices of the 20th century who fused R&B with gospel and blues, and scored landmark hits with "At Last," "Tell Mama" and "All I Could Do Was Cry," died today from complications related to leukemia. She was 73. James had been battling health problems for many years.

James had an enormously turbulent personal life with numerous periods of drug addiction and poverty, but she channeled all of that heartache into her music. "There's a lot going on Etta James' voice," Bonnie Raitt told Rolling Stone in 2008. "A lot of pain, a lot of life, most of all, a lot of strength. She can be so raucous and down one song, and then break your heart with her subtlety and finesse the next. As raw as Etta is, there's a great intelligence and wisdom in her singing."

Born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles in 1938, James was largely abandoned by her teenage mother at a young age, and was raised by her grandparents and foster families. She formed the the doo-wop singing group Creolettes with her friends in the early 1950s, and they even scored a minor hit with "Roll Me Henry" in 1955.

James signed as a solo act to Chess Records in 1960, kicking off the first great period of her long career. Working with producers Harvey Fuqua and Ralph Bass, she landed on the charts with "My Dearest Darling" and "All I Could Do Is Cry." Leonard Chess heard tremendous potential in her voice, and in 1961 had her record the ballad "At Last" with a string section. The song became a massive hit, and remained her signature song for the rest of her career.

Despite her incredible success, James started to use heroin in the mid-1960s and it began to have serious effects on her career. At various points she was committed to a Los Angeles psychiatric hospital, though she still occasionally scored hits – most notable the R&B classic "Tell Mama" in 1967.

In the 1970s, James hit the club circuit to support herself. The Rolling Stones took her on tour in 1978, which exposed her music to a whole new generation of rock fans. That same year she signed to Warner Brothers and cut the classic LP Deep in the Night with Jerry Wexler. Her drug habit resumed in the 1980s, but a 1988 stay at the Betty Ford Clinic set her on a much better course. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

James continued to tour until illness sidelined her a couple of years ago. She made headlines in 2009 when she criticized Beyoncé's performance of "At Last" at President Obama's inauguration, but the public didn't realize that she was suffering from dementia at that point.

In 1997, James spoke with Rolling Stone about her life. "Life's been rough," she said. "But life's been good. If I had to go back and do it all over again, I would live it the exact same way."

Funk Legend Jimmy Castor Dead At 64

The cause of death for the legendary saxophonist is currently unknown.

Funk/disco great Jimmy “The Everything Man” Castor passed away on Monday from unknown causes in Las Vegas.

Castor, a respected saxophonist, was the leader of the seminal funk/disco band the Jimmy Castor Bunch. The group was behind funk classics like the 1972 smash, "Troglodyte (Cave Man).”

Though the group’s popularity faded at the end of the disco era, Castor’s music lived on through hip hop as his song "It's Just Begun" became a staple break of the '70s and '80s b-boy break dancing scene. The song served as the back up music for the iconic b-boy collective the Rock Steady Crew in the 1983 film Flashdance.

Eric B. and Rakim, the Ultramagnetic MCs, N.W.A., and Kanye West were among the hip hop names to sample Castor’s tunes over the years.

Before making the switch to funk/disco Castor did a brief stint as Frankie Lymon’s replacement in the legendary doo-wop group The Teenagers.