At press time, pop icon George Michael is hospitalized in Vienna, Austria, recovering from a severe bout of pneumonia. The latest official news states that he is out of the ICU and getting better. Thank goodness for that. Michael is one of my favorite artists.

It’s official: The Material Girl is the halftime performer for Super Bowl XLVI. Madonna has declined the high-profile Super Bowl gig in the past, but now there’s no way she’s anything but delighted by the opportunity since she gets to unveil the first single from her forthcoming 12th studio album on the nation’s most-watched TV program.

Dance music has always been a welcoming refuge for older divas. In fact, it’s probably the one popular genre where age really isn’t a factor at all. A dancefloor scorcher by a 50-something, 60-something or even a 70-something (hello 78-year-old Yoko Ono, owner of seven straight Club Play #1s — the most recent coming just last month) has as much chance of success as a track by a 20-something pop tart.

What makes a “real” singer long to be a pop diva – the next Britney, Katy or Rihanna? If you asked vocalist Liz Primo that question she would probably give you one simple, straightforward answer: An irresistable love for the music.

I read a number of message boards devoted to music and I follow the “Billboard” charts pretty closely. I like to think I have my ear to the ground and am pretty good at spotting trends before they bloom. If it’s true, I have a feeling the presently scattershot sniping about Lady Gaga’s recent commercial results might kick into overdrive any moment now.

Billboard magazine, the music chart Bible, marked LGBT Pride Month and the June 24 passage of equal marriage rights in New York by compiling a list of “20 musical moments that were pivotal in advancing the understanding and acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”

Openly gay singer D Alexander has noticed a big change in the music industry since he began recording four years ago. In the beginning, producers tried to force him to become a mainstream pop artist. However, concerned that his music would lose its essence, D Alexander resolved to remain true to his artistry even if it meant never achieving high record sales. (“I told the producers they can keep their money, cars and chicks, just give me a mic and some glitter.”) Now, he sees other musicians following a similar path.

k.d. lang is back with a bang…a Siss Boom Bang to be precise. Earlier this month the peerless singer-songwriter returned with “Sing It Loud,” her first studio album in three years and first recorded entirely with a band of her own since the pair of albums she released with the Reclines that launched her groundbreaking career over 20 years ago.

Music and movies are indelibly linked. So much so, in fact, that the first feature-length talkie was “The Jazz Singer”— the story of a Jewish cantor who defies his family’s religious heritage to perform popular music.

It’s almost odd to talk about “Born This Way” in terms of being Lady Gaga’s comeback song because, well, she hasn’t been anywhere. An unbroken streak of hit singles, her coast-to-coast sell-out Monster Ball tour and a string of red carpet appearances and performances at one awards show after another have kept her in the public’s unblinking eye for two solid years.

These days, George Michael seems more lost than Gilligan, Hurley and the kids from “Dr. Shrinker” combined. But, in the closing years of the ‘80s, he was a pop music juggernaut. Actually, that’s too limiting because he enjoyed unprecedented success on the R&B charts as well. It’s more accurate to say Michael was a music juggernaut.

Overall, it was a down year for music, but I found enough bright spots to get me through with a minimum of complaints. Here’s a rundown of 10 things that kept me listening throughout 2010.

The nominations for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards have been revealed and surprises abound — starting with the overall noms count.

Back to Gift Guide I love to give and receive music for Christmas. It feels thoughtful and personal to me. Yuletide shopping for the Gleeks on my gift list — [...]

The debut release from European duo The Green Children is out now and I’ve been playing it on repeat since it arrived. I’m a sucker for atmospheric dream-pop when it’s done right and “Encounter” is the gauzy goods.

VH1 polled 200 artists and “music experts” earlier this year to assemble a list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.” This updates their first such list, which was similarly compiled in 1998.

In the early days of my nightclubbing it was common for the dance palaces to bring in guest DJs. Sometimes they were nationally known, sometimes they worked in clubs in [...]

More times than I care to remember I’ve read back over an article or review I’ve just written and found it to be…off. Not what I’d intended and certainly not [...]

After an 11-year hiatus, Lilith Fair, the groundbreaking festival that celebrates women in music, is back for a 36-city North American summer tour. The festival boasts an impressive rotating slate [...]