Miley Cyrus
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Miley Cyrus might be a pop singer, but she has country music in her blood. So it makes sense that the CMT Music Awards invited the tween queen and her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, to host this year's ceremony in Nashville. The "Hannah Montana" star has some awards-show experience, having presented at the Grammys and Oscars this month. The pair will also perform at the April 14 show, alongside Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and others. ...

Will Amy Winehouse soon release her own clothing line, à la Gwen Stefani? Well, that's the claim several media outlets are making this week, but according to the singer's publicist, there's no deal in place just yet. According to several reports, Winehouse has been meeting with fashion and cosmetics experts, to help her with her line, which would reflect her distinctive style. But her publicist said that while Winehouse "has been approached by various clothing and makeup companies in the past year, no final decision has been made." ...

According to The New York Times, Mario Lavandeira, better known to readers as Perez Hilton, is in negotiations with Warner Bros. Records to get his own imprint. Citing several anonymous "people associated with the talks," the Times reports that the blogger, who has made a habit of hyping little-known bands he likes, could be offered up an advance of $100,000 a year against 50 percent of profits generated by artists he discovers and releases through the label. ...

Not only did Frames singer Glen Hansard pick up an Oscar on Sunday night for Best Original Song (for "Falling Slowly" from "Once"), he got an ever bigger prize when a congratulatory text from fellow countryman Bono showed up on his phone. In an interview with Ireland's RTE radio, Hansard said, "What was really amazing for me was getting texts from family and friends. It was amazing beforehand, and then I got a text from Bono, and I was like, 'Ah, my God, that's just amazing.' For me it was just like getting a text off the King of the Tribe." According to reports, the message read, "A busker who plays the Oscars, that's the poetry." Hansard also revealed that he and singing partner Marketa Irglova plan to tour the U.S. in the next few months. ...

A comic book publisher has taken to the Internet to fire off allegations at My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way. According to Hart Fisher, who has printed several comic books about some of the world's most notorious serial killers, Way has been dishonest about his own comic book dalliances and he has stolen some of Fisher's own words for some of My Chemical Romance's lyrics - although he wasn't specific. Fisher claims he met Way when he was just 16, then known as "Garry," and that he published Way's comic book "On Raven's Wings" on his Boneyard Press label. Fisher claims the characterization of Way's "The Umbrella Academy" series - published by Dark Horse Comics - as his first foray into comics is misleading. Dark Horse responded to the allegations, saying, "Hart published Gerard's first comics when Gerard was 15. ... [We] don't think we've ever said 'Umbrella Academy' is the first comic Gerard did." ...

Unknown 30-year-old actor Lathan McKay has been tapped to play late Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley in the upcoming biopic "Get Born Again." McKay, an Austin, Texas, native who looks eerily like Staley, was tapped for the role after meeting with journalist Adriana Rubio, who wrote the book on which the movie is based. According to a MySpace page for the movie, McKay has been working with a band called Motherweiser to hone his vocals for the movie. ...

The Sasquatch! Music Festival - which will be held May 24-26 at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington - will feature headlining slots from a pair of alt-rock powerhouses, the Cure and R.E.M., as well as a landing of the Flaming Lips' U.F.O. Show and a debut of the band's years-in-the-making feature film, "Christmas on Mars." Also appearing at the festival will be: Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse, M.I.A., Flight of the Conchords, the Breeders, the Hives, Built to Spill, Tegan & Sara, the National, the New Pornographers, the Kooks, Cold War Kids, Rogue Wave and Beirut. ...

There will be plenty of bands playing this year's South by Southwest festival in Austin in March, but if you can't get one of the coveted badges to gain entry to the always-packed showcases, you might want to wander down to the city's Waterloo Park for the free two-day festival, Mess With Texas. The outdoor fest with three stages will feature a headlining set by the Breeders, as well as shows by NOFX, Simian Mobile Disco, Islands, Kimya Dawson, Black Mountain, Yeasayer, F---ed Up, Lucero, Jay Reatard and Matt & Kim. There will also be comedy from Janeane Garofalo, Human Giant, Brian Posehn and Eugene Mirman. ...

Team Sleep, the side project of Deftones frontman Chino Moreno, have parted ways with their management and their record company, but the band is taking the splits in stride. "[We're] not going to assume that records will be relevant in 2010," reads a statement from the band. "[We] don't know how we'll be interacting with people who like our band two years from now [when Team Sleep's sophomore disc is slated for release], and that is the most exciting and inspiring thing in the world. Hopefully, Team Sleep will be able to make a small contribution to music and the way bands operate." ...

 While there's no release date yet, Spiritualized have finished recording their next album, Songs in A and E. The LP boasts 18 songs, including "Death Take Your Fiddle," "You Lie You Cheat" and "Borrowed Your Gun." ...

This summer's first RockStar Energy Mayhem Tour hasn't even gotten under way, and already, one of the bands on the bill has pulled out. Sevendust, who were to join the likes of Slipknot, Disturbed, Mastodon, DragonForce, and Machine Head on the trek, won't be able to participate, as a result of "changes in their touring schedule." But the band "will be touring in full support of its forthcoming release Hope & Sorrow, Chapter VII," which features a guest appearance by Chris Daughtry.