Oscars song category snubs U2, McCartney, Blige

By most criteria, Paul McCartney and U2 have little reason to regard French composers Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas with envy.

But on Tuesday, Wagner and Thomas scored an Oscar nomination for best original song - for "Loin de Paname" from the little-seen French movie "Paris 36" - while neither "Winter," U2's contribution to the soundtrack of Jim Sheridan's "Brothers," nor McCartney's "I Want to Come Home" from the family dramedy "Everybody's Fine," finagled a place in the Academy balloting.

And those were hardly the only notable omissions for best song.

Celebrity birthdays on Dec. 25

Singer Tony Martin is 96. Actor Dick Miller is 81. Rhythm-and-blues singer John Edwards (The Spinners) is 65. Singer Jimmy Buffett is 63. Country singer Barbara Mandrell is 61. Actress Sissy Spacek is 60. Actress CCH Pounder is 57. Singer Annie Lennox is 55. Singer-musician Robin Campbell (UB40) is 55. Singer Shane MacGowan (The Pogues) is 52. Rock musician Noel Hogan (The Cranberries) is 38. Singer Dido is 38. Singers Jess and Lisa Origliasso (The

Veronicas) are 25.

Jamie Foxx ready to tour

Jamie Foxx is taking his Blame It Tour on a 50-city trek to prove that the Oscar-winning actor, comedian and radio host ( The Foxxhole on Sirius XM) is serious about his music.

The classically trained pianist, 41, promises the concert will feature music from his two bestselling albums (2005's Unpredictable and last year's Intuition ), tributes to Michael Jackson and George Strait (Foxx loved country growing up in Texas), and of course, some comedy. (Side note: Miami's DJ Irie is on tour with Foxx).

Q: You are famous for mimicking. How did find your own singing voice?

Florida International University concert features songs about Cuba

Emilio Cueto has a deep passion for history, especially when it comes to his native Cuba.

``I collect and research things about Cuba and, among the things I collect is music that foreigners have written about Cuba,'' said Cueto, 65, a Washington, D.C., attorney.

For the second year in a row, he is sharing some of the music he has collected with music students at Florida International University. The music is part of the Cuban Research Institute's annual Christmas concert on Saturday evening.

Celebrity birthdays on Jan. 4

Actress Barbara Rush (Peyton Place) is 83. Actress Dyan Cannon is 73. Country singer Kathy Forester of the Forester Sisters is 55. Guitarist Bernard Sumner of New Order (and Joy Division) is 54. Country singer Patty Loveless is 53. Singer Michael Stipe of R.E.M. is 50. Actress Julia Ormond is 45. Country singer Deana Carter is 44. Actor Jeremy Licht (The Hogan Family) is 39.