Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the Minnesotan production duo behind Janet Jackson's new album Unbreakable, surprised Jackson by joining her onstage Friday night in Inglewood, California. They were on hand to congratulate Jackson (and themselves) on the news that Unbreakable debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, making it Jackson's seventh chart-topping album. (Billboard)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXkC52McGFw

Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead revealed that he's battling bladder cancer. Though medical treatment has forced Lesh to cancel a pair of October shows, he says his prognosis is good and he expects to fully recover. (Rolling Stone)

The shortlist for this year's Mercury Prize has been announced. Among the 12 artists who remain in contention for the prize—presented annually to honor the best album released by a U.K. artist—are Wolf Alice (My Love is Cool), Florence + the Machine (How Big How Blue How Beautiful), Jamie xx (In Colour), and Aphex Twin (Syro). To the disappointment of Blur fans, The Magic Whip didn't make the prize's shortlist. (Rolling Stone)

Bruce Springsteen announced a new box set dedicated to The River sessions. The four-CD, three-DVD set—to be released Dec. 4—will include 11 previously unreleased outtakes, a new documentary about the 1980 album, and the original single-disc album Springsteen planned to release before reconceiving the album as the double-LP set it became. "Meet Me in the City," one of the set's previously unreleased tracks, is out now on YouTube. (Rolling Stone)

In other Springsteen news, the two-bedroom New Jersey shore cottage where the Boss wrote the album Born to Run is up for sale at a price of $299,000. The current owners bought the house in 2009 with plans to open the house as a tourist attraction, but those plans haven't worked out. (Billboard)

Neil Young has launched a new website: GoEarth.com, which Billboard describes as "basically a one-stop shop for all your online environmental causes." The site's motto: "It takes a village to keep the free world rockin'."

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Joanna Newsom describes Spotify as "very evil" and "a villainous cabal of major labels" that's specifically designed to avoid labels' having to pay artists. "It just gives off a fume," she says. "You can just smell that something’s wrong with it."

Adele seems to have shared a 30-second sample of her forthcoming album, details regarding which remain mysterious. The preview came in the form of an advertisement during the U.K. broadcast of The X-Factor on Sunday night. (Billboard)

Video has been circulating online of Katy Perry performing with Christian nu-metal band P.O.D. on The Tonight Show in 2006. The band's guitarist Marcos Curiel said that Perry's role with the band shouldn't be described as a "back-up singer," but rather as a "participant" in the band. "She was and still is," Curiel told Rolling Stone, "one of the few pop artists with strong musicianship roots."

Fox is fighting a $10 million lawsuit alleging that the plot of their hit series Empire was stolen from Ron Newt, author of a memoir describing his journey from a life of crime into a career in the music industry. Newt says that he met with Terence Howard for three hours in 2010, which led to Howard thieving Newt's story. In its defense, Fox says that though Howard is an actor on Empire, he was not involved with the show's creation. (Billboard)

On Oct. 26, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will celebrate her 68th birthday with a fundraising concert to be headlined by John Legend. According to an invitation, Clinton says she "might even dance" at the show. (Billboard)