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There definitely won't be any cars in the parking lot for A.R. Rahman's pedestrian-friendly concert this Saturday in Australia. But is the excitement building Down Under for what Rahman describes as a concert that will hopefully "spread the message of togetherness and peace," and "build a bridge for people who are trying to break it?"

Australia's ABC News reports today that Rahman is aiming to heal cross-continental wounds that have apparently flared up between Australians and Indians, as evidenced by the recent attacks on Indian students in Melbourne. Rahman, though, insists that the crimes were not based on race, but were simply a question of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As he told ABC, "It doesn't matter what race they are, they just want to kill because they're not in their own senses." Currently, more than 100,000 people are expected to turn out for the concert, which will feature Rahman and 18 dancers performing his countless hit songs, including the single 'Jai Ho,' from the acclaimed 'Slumdog Millionaire' soundtrack.

At an event to commemorate the release of their new video in Mumbai, Bollywood musicians Rakhi Sawant and ishq had a lighthearted conversation that soon turned sour. So sour, in fact, it became a full fleged fight. After Rakhi encouraged the audience to buy the "original CDs" in stores, ishq argued that "love is free – music should be free too. Even if you have to resort to piracy on the Internet, make sure you listen to, and share the songs." Thus began the onstage spat. Many initially thought it was a mere publicity stunt, or that the two were just joking around, but as the Times of India reports, it was actually pretty serious. Fortunately, though, the two have reportedly made amends, and all's now well, despite this surprising mini-dispute.

[From: The Times of India]

Indian music legend A.R. Rahman's upcoming concert in Australia will be officially "vehicle free," the Times of India reports. Officials operating the January 16th concert in Sydney said they'd anticipated a huge turnout for the show--upwards of 70,000--and feared that the volume of concertgoers would create traffic jams and other logistical nightmares. They decided, then, to ban cars from the event all together, a first for any Australian concert. The motives may be more pragmatic than environmental, but at the very least, the move speaks to Rahman's growing popularity, and increasing fanbase across the globe.

[From: Times of India]

Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam was hospitalized and treated for low blood pressure just before New Years Eve, according to the Times of India. Said an anonymous friend, Nigam's "hectic schedule is to blame for his deteriorating health as he was working round the clock. To add to it, he had a minor slip disc problem and was under medical observation for a few days. He was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday evening and has been advised bed rest for the next few days." This latest, unanticipated news has stopped all of Nigam's work, which has consisted primarily of recording and meetings. The main concern, though, according to Nigam's companion, is "whether he will feel up to it for his forthcoming tours to Singapore and Israel in mid-January."

[From: Times of India]

Bollywood artists and musicians throughout India are celebrating a legislative overhaul of exisitng copyright laws that, in theory, will mean more royalties for more actors in the supply chain. As the Times of India reports, the Union Cabinet's decision to amend the Copyright Act of 1957 will allow musicians and sound technicians alike to all claim royalties on different media formats that incoporate their creative work--including ringtones, Internet downloads, and TV or radio broadcasts. Until now, there had been no provisions for artist royalties, something that had especially hurt musicians given the decline in sales of CDs and other non-digitized formats. With greater governmental protection over their intellectual property, as well as increased incentive to create music, many in the Indian music community are optimistic that this latest move can only bring good for the industry as a whole.

[From: The Times of India]

Bollywood musician/actress Shruthi Haasan has made no great secret about her passion for music. So intense is her love that she now wants to actively collaborate with Bollywood's most popular composer, Amit Trivedi. According to IndiaGlitz, Haasan has always admired Trivedi's work, but was especially smitten with his score for the film 'Dev D.' In addition to Trivedi, Haasan says her musical style has been influenced by a variety of major artists, including Bob Marley, Tori Amos, The Beatles and Bob Dylan. No official word yet on any future partnership between the two, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on as the new year rolls around.

[From: IndiaGlitz]

Punjabi pop star Malkit Singh, known to many as the King of Bhangra, is all set to release a new album. For his fans, it's long overdue. 'Billo Rani' is Singh's first album in over 4 years, and although it's the 22nd album he's released throughout his storied career, the recent death of his mother led to his decision to take such a lengthy hiatus. More interesting, perhaps, for Bollywood fans, is the revelation that Singh has aspirations of collaborating with the likes of Britney Spears or Whitney Houston. As he tells The Times of India, he met both divas at Hollywood Bowl India Calling, an event featuring artists from across India. According to Singh, both Houston and Spears "were very impressed with my music and have proposed that they would love to sing a Punjabi song along with me someday." Could this be the beginning of a beautiful, cross-cultural pop marriage?

[From: The Times of India]