Music News: Fans demand Janet Jackson be added to Super Bowl halftime show

by Jay Gabler

Janet Jackson performs at Target Center in 2015.
Janet Jackson performs at Target Center in 2015. (Jay Gabler/MPR)

Janet Jackson is definitely not "banned" from Super Bowl halftime shows, an NFL spokesperson tells Billboard. "Nobody is banned." That said, the league has "no clue who will be performing" alongside headliner Justin Timberlake this winter at U.S. Bank Stadium.

That's not good enough for some Jackson fans, who think a Timberlake halftime would be sorely lacking — not to say offensive — if it didn't include an appearance by the star whose career was badly damaged by the 2004 incident when her breast was exposed on live TV when Timberlake tore part of her costume away. A Jackson appearance would be particularly appropriate, note some fans, in the city where she recorded so much of her iconic music. (Billboard)

Remembering two guitarists

Guitarist and producer George Young has died of an undisclosed cause at age 70. He was a member of '60s band the Easybeats and a co-producer of AC/DC’s first several albums, as the older brother of band members Angus and Malcolm Young. The Easybeats, whose 1965 single "Friday On My Mind" cracked the top 20, were one of the first Australian rock bands to find international success. (Rolling Stone)

Guitarist Daisy Berkowitz, a founding member of Marilyn Manson’s band, has died of colon cancer at age 49. After leaving the band in 1996, he launched a solo project called Three Ton Gate. (Pitchfork)

Renee Zellweger to star in Judy Garland biopic

Renee Zellweger will star in a biopic about the final years of Grand Rapids native Judy Garland. The film will open in London, notes Variety, "in the winter of 1968 as Garland arrives for a five-week run of sell-out concerts," and "will also recount the icon's battles with management, and relationships with musicians and fans."

Canadian man fined for singing C+C Music Factory

Was Montreal resident Taoufik Moalla screaming disruptively, or was he simply singing along to C+C Music Factory’s 1990 hit "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)"? Moalla says the latter, but a police officer disagreed and fined him 149 Canadian dollars (about $118 American).

"I understand if they are doing their job," said Moalla. "They are allowed to check if everything's okay, if I kidnapped someone or if there's danger inside, but I would never expect they would give me a ticket for that." (BBC)

Gaga wax figure miffs fans

Since we started with a story about irritated fans, let's also close with one. In this case it's Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters who are hating on a new wax figure of their idol in a Peruvian museum. The figure depicts Gaga in her infamous meat dress from the 2010 VMAs, but it's not the dress that's raising fans' ire: it's the face. (Billboard)

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