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Beyonce via Instagram Beyonce posts a video on Instagram promoting her surprise album, ‘Beyonce,’ released at midnight Friday. The album was a surprise and spontaneously caused a major spike on Twitter. Just how fierce was the buzz surrounding Beyonce’s surprise album release? Fiercer than a tornado full of Great White sharks, apparently. RELATED: BEYONCÉ RELEASES SURPRISE SELF-TITLED ‘VISUAL’ ALBUM Mrs. ...

Helen Warner/Helen Warner Ciaran Hinds (l.) and Michael McElhatton in ‘The Night Alive’ Conor McPherson’s moody new drama, “The Night Alive,” focuses on two down-and-out Dubliners who meet by chance. Sweet, right? Not really. McPherson is a playwright who embraces life’s dark streaks and mysteries. He has gone there before many times, including in his ghostly dramas “The Weir” and ...

Spencer Platt/Getty Images Spotify users can now stream music free to their mobile devices. Music service Spotify has launched a new free streaming service for mobile devices. The Swedish-based company announced Wednesday that it will allow users to stream playlists for free as long as the songs are shuffled randomly. It’s a step closer to picking songs and albums on ...

David Zimand Boerum Hill artist Elke Reva Sudin is fresh from her first exhibition during Art Basel in Miami. Blending a complex religious identity in modern painting? Brooklyn resident Elke Reva Sudin has it down to an art. The 26-year-old Boerum Hill artist, a Modern Orthodox Jew, is fresh off of exhibiting her work in Miami as part of the ...

Douglas Mason/Getty Images Jazz guitarist, pictured performing during the Newport Jazz Festival 2013 in August, died Tuesday in his sleep. Jim Hall, one of the leading jazz guitarists of the modern era, whose subtle technique, lyrical sound and introspective approach strongly influenced younger proteges such as Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell, died early Tuesday at age 83, his wife said. ...

Instagram New Zealand singer Lorde with her boyfriend, James Lowe.One Direction fans unleashed a racist tirade of Tweets at her. What has “Royals” singer Lorde done to provoke the ire of One Direction fans? The singer, who has been vocal about her opposition to the high-flying lifestyle brand espoused by current pop stars, has never been quoted slamming the band ...

R. Kelly’s ‘Black Panties’ “Black Panties”(RCA Records)2 stars Justin Timberlake may have brought sexy back. But leave it to R. Kelly to reclaim the sleaze. On his 12th solo album, R&B’s most flagrant horndog revives the persona that gave the world odes as elevated as “Banging the Headboard,” “I Like the Crotch on You” and the swoon-worthy “Hit It ’Til ...

MARIO ANZUONI/REUTERS Garth Brooks will begin touring again next year after a more than 10-year hiatus. ‘It sure feels good to get to throw your hat back in the ring,’ he said. American country singer Garth Brooks, the top-selling recording artist of the last 20 years, on Monday said he would return to touring after more than a decade off ...

Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Rebecca Black has released her second music video and song, which is titled … wait for it … ‘Saturday.’ Rebecca Black‘s endless weekend party continues in her new single “Saturday,” the appropriately titled follow up to her first calendar-friendly hit, “Friday.” The 16-year-old YouTube viral sensation’s new video picks up where the last party left off – the ...

Kristoffer Tripplaar /SIPA USA-KT POOL/EPA Billy Joel was one of five stars to receive a Kennedy Center honor at Sunday event in D.C. The entire performance will be aired Dec. 29 on CBS. Billy Joel was bestowed one of the nation’s top awards Sunday as a star-studded crowd at the Kennedy Center in Washington let him know they love him ...