Sparklehorse singer-songwriter Mark Linkous has committed suicide, according to the star’s family.

The U.S. musician, who is thought to have been in his 40s, died on Saturday.

No details about Linkous’ death have been released, but his relatives have issued a statement claiming he took his own life.

The statement reads, “It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member, Mark Linkous, took his own life today. We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There’s a heaven and there’s a star for you.”

Linkous collaborated with Gnarls Barkley star Danger Mouse and film director David Lynch on 2009 album Dark Night of the Soul and previously supported Radiohead on tour.

No further details were available as WENN went to press. [Source]

The Black Eyed Peas captured the Number One spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second straight week as “Imma Be” bought off the continually rising Young Money track “Bedrock,” which moved up one spot to Number Two. Between “Imma Be,” “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling,” Black Eyed Peas have maintained the Number One spot on the Hot 100 for a large chunk of the last year, and The E.N.D.’s first two singles racked up a record-breaking 26 consecutive weeks on the charts between April through October 2009. Ke$ha’s “TiK ToK,” which enjoyed a Hot 100 chart-topping run comparable to the Peas, dropped from Two to Four this week.

Elsewhere on the Hot 100, Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” was the biggest gainer in the Top 10, leaping from Number 23 last week to a Number Nine finish in only its third week on the chart. Ke$ha’s “Blah Blah Blah” with 3Oh!3 seems unlikely to replicate its predecessor’s glory as her second Animal single remained stuck in Number 11 for the second straight week (it has peaked at Seven so far). After getting skewered by the Saturday Night Live cast, the bad news continued for the “We Are the World 25 for Haiti” crew kept on coming, and the charity single plummeted from Number Six all the way down to Number 36.  [Source]

Topping this week’s Hot Tours tally is Grammy-winning group Black Eyed Peas with reported box office totals from seven U.S. dates on the band’s E.N.D. World Tour. Promoted by Concerts West/AEG Live, the tour’s 2010 schedule kicked off in Atlanta at Philips Arena on Feb. 4, followed by stops in Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa, Nashville, Birmingham and Columbus. Grosses from these U.S. markets total just over $5 million, but more than $13.5 million in ticket sales have been reported since the tour began last fall.

Australian markets are well represented among this week’s Hot Tours with box office stats reported from eight venues down under. Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena was the top-grossing Aussie venue hosting four tours that rank among the week’s top 10. Cliff Richard & The Shadows’ 50th anniversary reunion tour ranks at No. 2, Rob Thomas at No. 5, The Motown Event, featuring veteran R&B acts such as The Four Tops, The Temptations, Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves & The Others, at No. 6 and country star Taylor Swift at No. 8.

Other Australian venues contributing box office totals this week include the 13,500-seat Brisbane Entertainment Centre which also hosted Cliff Richard, Rob Thomas and the Motown Event. The Sydney Entertainment Centre brought in two of those tours (Cliff Richard and Motown) and Acer Arena in Sydney had a Rob Thomas performance.  Read full article.

The Black Eyed Peas on Thursday became the first group in 19 years to send three singles from one album to the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

“Imma Be,” from the act’s chart-topping release “The E.N.D.,” rose two places to No. 1, ending the nine-week reign of Ke$ha’s “TiK ToK,” which slipped to No. 2.

Meanwhile, the all-star charity remake of “We Are The World” slid four places to No. 6 in its second week.

The Peas set a record last year with 26 successive weeks at No. 1 when “Boom Boom Pow” (12 weeks) was followed by “I Gotta Feeling” (14 weeks) atop the chart. The Peas’ third single from “The E.N.D.,” “Meet Me Halfway” peaked at No. 7 in November.

Wilson Phillips was the last group to score three No. 1s from an album, when its self-titled debut spawned “Hold On,” “Release Me” and “You’re In Love” in 1990-91.

Young Money’s “BedRock” (No. 3), Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” (No. 4) and Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Know” (No. 5) each rose one place. Read full article.

Coldplay is coming back to the airwaves! Frontman Chris Martin has just announced the band will be releasing a new album in 2010. According to NME, Coldplay is already hard at work on the new record, and they’ve been recording it in a converted church in London.

Martin talked with Globo.com and said he hoped to have the album out by December of this year. He also says the band is taking precautionary measures to make sure none of their music leaks online prior to the release.

“There’s only two people in the whole building who know how to open all the recording files,” Martin explained. “Even we [Coldplay] don’t know how to do it. We couldn’t even steal our own music at the moment. You would have to be a computer genius and a great burglar to get into the building, and download it, and mix it.”

Chris also assured fans that this album won’t be their last with record label EMI. “I think we have about 500 more,” Martin initially joked, before adding: “No, seriously, we signed for a lot.”

This will be their first album since 2008’s huge hit Viva La Vida Or Death and All His Friends. We can’t wait!  [Source]

Chris Martin says Coldplay will release their next studio album by the end of 2010. In a video interview with Globo.com, Martin says he hopes the band’s next record will be out “hopefully this Christmas.” Coldplay is also being extra careful to prevent any material from leaking. “There’s only two people in the whole building who know how to open all the recording files,” Martin said. “Even we don’t know how to do it. We couldn’t even steal our own music at the moment. You would have to be a computer genius and a great burglar to get into the building, and download it, and mix it.” However, BBC 6 Music News reported today that EMI has said “reports the band are releasing their fifth studio album by the end of 2010 are not true.”

 U2 has announced the opening acts for their upcoming North American U2 360 Tour dates. Lenny Kravitz will open in Salt Lake City, Anaheim and Denver, with The Fray opening in Oakland, Seattle and Edmonton. Interpol, who will release a new album later this year, will open for U2 in Minneapolis, East Lansing, Toronto, Chicago, Miami and Philadelphia. Openers for Montreal and New York City have yet to be announced.  Read full article.