Anyone lucky enough to have watched Celia Cruz perform live can attest to her magical, infectious force. There was no way to take your eyes off a woman with an energy that was almost supernatural and a voice that thundered with Afro-Cuban soul.
COLDPLAY HOT AGAIN As expected, Coldplay tops The Billboard 200 with Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, which sold 721,000 first-week U.S. copies, falling just short of the band's other chart-topper, 2005's X&Y, which moved 737,000.
Queen Latifah will be among the celebrities joining Alonzo Mourning when he presents Miccosukee Zo's Summer Groove July 9-13. Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade also joins Mourning in the Summer Groove event. The five-day event includes youth basketball clinics, a golf tournament, a youth summit, free block party, all-star basketball game, and several after-parties. Latifah will be performing at the Publix ZSG Beach Ball Benefit Dinner at 7:30 p.m. July 11 at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown...
Beck, Modern Guilt (Interscope Records). Anti-folk hero teams up with producer Danger Mouse. Great Big Sea, Fortune's Favour (Suma Records).
They're not just rocking the vote -- they're salseando, perreando and mariachi-ando it. Latino musicians, actors and celebrities are getting involved in the U.S. presidential campaign to an unprecedented degree this year, from voter-registration campaigns to online music videos for Barack Obama, the candidate drawing the most support from young Latinos.
CELEBRITY Q&A
Ringo Starr's accomplishments sometimes get lost in the glory of John, Paul and George. But the Beatles drummer with the puppy-dog appeal was just as essential to the Fab Four's sound, his steady beat and innovative rhythms anchoring the group's melodic genius. Starr's pleasant voice also added a different dimension to the Beatles' sound on songs such as Act Naturally, Don't Pass Me By, With a Little Help From My Friends, Octopus's Garden and Yellow Submarine.
BACKSTAGE PASS
It doesn't get much better than this for fans of melodic, soulful rock. Maroon 5 and Counting Crows are teaming up for an Oct. 4 show at the sprawling Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach.
LIL WAYNE'S BIG WEEK Lil Wayne crashes in at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 with Tha Carter III, which sold just over 1 million copies to become the first album to cross the six-figure threshold since 50 Cent's The Massacre in March 2005.
Brazilian singer, guitarist and songwriter Gilberto Gil, also the Minister of Culture in Brazil, performs 8 p.m. July 5 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. Tickets are $26.50-$101.50; 305-673-7300 or Ticketmaster.com.
Due in stores Tuesday: Alkaline Trio, Agony & Irony (Sony). Chicago punk-rockers. G-Unit, T.O.S.: Terminate on Sight (G-Unit Records).
Rapper DMX is having a tough week. He was arrested Friday afternoon as he tried to buy cocaine and marijuana from an undercover officer, according to a Miami-Dade police arrest report.
LITTLE HAVANA
One of the hottest artists from the Havana music scene will play a concert in Little Havana on July 17, giving Miami audiences a live taste of contemporary music from the island that's been almost completely absent from the city in recent years.
POP CULTURE
The Beatles broke up nearly 40 years ago, but you can see them live in suburban Philadelphia. Or, at least, you can see their carbon copies.
An exhibit touting 'art and rock 'n' roll'' conjures visions of album covers, vintage concert posters and portraits of Lennon, Joplin, Morrison, Hendrix.
ARTS REVIEW
Celia Cruz was such an enthralling and beloved musical icon that it was natural to want to know more about her. But her very private life, whose great drama was being separated from Cuba, made her an elusive figure. What we got from Celia was music and energy.
BACKSTAGE PASS
Coldplay has stretched its musical vision with its grand, sweeping fourth album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, and now the band is coming back to South Florida to support it.
Alejandro Escovedo, Real Animal (Back Porch). Jon Foreman, Spring and Summer (Credential). Solo effort from Switchfoot singer.
With the instrument's inherent qualities of elegance and nostalgia, a flute recital is perfect summer fare and just the thing to banish the miseries de la humaine.
DISTURBED RULES AGAIN Disturbed claims its third Billboard 200 No. 1 as Indestructible tops the chart by selling 252,000 units to follow in the footsteps of the hard rock band's 2002 album Believe (284,000) and 2005's Ten Thousand Fists (239,000).
Desmond Child might not get the adulation the biggest musical acts of the past three decades are slathered with, but for those who know the industry, the prolific songwriter and producer, who spent much of his childhood in Miami and maintains a home here, is a true superstar.
MUSICAL
There she is, Celia Cruz, her irrepressible smile looming almost as large over Biscayne Boulevard as she does in the consciousness of Cuban Miami.
BACKSTAGE PASS
Remember when the brothers Hanson tore up the heartstrings of young girls all over the world in 1997 with their infectious pop hit MMMBop?
CONCERT PREVIEW
The rejuvenated B-52s -- Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson -- are still dancing this mess around 30 years after their deliriously wacko hit Rock Lobster shook up common notions of what rock 'n' roll should, and could, be.
ALBUM REVIEWS
POP COLDPLAY Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends 5 Capitol ½ At first listen to Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay's fourth studio album, you might wonder: What is wrong with Chris Martin?
Seraphic Fire will present a special summer encore run of its popular Amazing Grace program, performed last November and now available on the choir's self-produced CD. The program traces the celebrated hymn through a variety of American music from rural Appalachia and country to the folk, bluegrass and gospel traditions.
Chicago, Stone of Sisyphus (XXXII) (Rhino Records). Originally recorded in 1993. Coldplay, Viva La Vida (Capitol).
Seattle grunge-rock pioneers Pearl Jam haven't rocked South Florida in five years -- nor have they released a new studio album since 2006. So logic would suggest that the greatest American rock band of all time (according to a 2005 USA Today reader's poll) would treat fans to their greatest hits, the songs that truly put the group on the rock 'n' roll map.
