Kanye announces two London shows

 Rappers Jay-Z (left) and Kanye on stage at Radio 1's Hackney weekend 2012 Kanye West will play two shows at London's Hammersmith Apollo later this month.

The first London gig and a Paris date were initially revealed on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show.

The Radio 1 DJ tweeted the news that Kanye was to play in London on 24 February and also another gig at Zenith de Paris on 25 February 2013.

An extra date at Hammersmith is now on sale (23 February) after the first night sold out.

Back in December, the rapper announced on stage that his girlfriend, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, is expecting their baby.

He told the crowd of more than 5,000 people at a gig at Atlantic City on 30 December, last year, by singing: "Now you having my baby."

23-24 February Hammersmith Apollo, London

25 February Zenith de Paris, Paris

https://twitter.com/BBCNewsbeat

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BBC to trial selected shows online

8 February 2013 Last updated at 11:45 GMT  Danny Boyle's Olympic opening ceremony was the most requested programme on the iPlayer last year The BBC Trust has approved a 12-month trial which will see selected BBC TV shows broadcast online ahead of their scheduled TV transmission.

The trial will see up to 40 hours of programming across a range of genres initially available on the BBC iPlayer.

Until now, the BBC's online-only content has been limited to pilots and one-off shows such as the Doctor Who web series Pond Life.

Last year saw a record number of requests for programmes on the iPlayer.

Overall 2012 saw 2.32 billion requests for TV and radio programmes, a rise on the 1.94 billion recorded in 2011.

The annoucement comes at a time when streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu are booming in the US.

Last November Virgin Media launched TV Anywhere, an internet TV service that streams programmes to computers, tablets and smartphones.

The BBC iPlayer is still dwarfed by scheduled television broadcasts and only accounts for about two per cent of all of the BBC's viewing figures.

Kevin Spacey (r) stars in House of Cards, which made its debut on Netflix last week

According to media analyst Claire Enders, though, the BBC can afford to take the risk.

"This is a very interesting experiment to see how much people follow specific shows," she told the Daily Telegraph .

"The BBC accounts for about 20 per cent of all viewing in this country, and it is such a significant force that it can afford to experiment."

Last week Netflix premiered the entire series of the US remake of House of Cards online, bypassing traditional networks entirely.

No data has yet been made available on whether the decision to stream the series to paying subscribers has been a success.

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One Year After Whitney Houston's Grammys-Eve Death: Five Award Shows That Were Touched by Tragedy

by Joal Ryan Sat., Feb. 9, 2013 7:30 AM PST

John Shearer/Getty Images, Craig Sjodin/ABC

The 2012 Grammys was one for the history books.

And sadly so.

Held one day after the sudden death of singer Whitney Houston, the music-industry's prime promotional event hastily remade itself, opening with an L.L. Cool J prayer, and showcasing a Jennifer Hudson a cappella rendition of "I Will Always Love You."

Here's a look at five other instances where awards shows were forced to deal with tragic circumstances beyond their control:  

All the scoop on Sunday's 55th Annual Grammy Awards

1. Remembering Pearl Harbor: Shortly after Japan's attack on the United States, the Motion Picture Academy voted to cancel the 1942 Academy Awards. The decision subsequently was reversed, and the ceremony went on, though like never before. There was no host; attendees were asked to wear business attire; dancing was nixed.

2. The President's Been Shot: As March 30, 1981, got underway, Ordinary People was hours away from claiming Best Picture at that night's Academy Awards. But then at 2:27 p.m. ET, President Ronald Reagan was wounded by a would-be assassin, and the Oscars was called off. With Reagan's prognosis good, the show went on 24 hours later. Among its highlights: a pre-taped greeting from the president himself.

3. 9/11: In 2001, the Sept. 11 terror attacks suspended business as usual, including the Primetime Emmys, originally slated for Sept. 16. Rescheduled for Oct. 7, and set to feature a live segment with then-New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the show was iced again when the U.S. war in Afghanistan was launched that same day. The show finally went on, without incident, and with low-key goodwill, on Nov. 4.  

Five big ways Hollywood was changed by 9/11

4. Assassination: The April 4, 1968, shooting death of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. resulted in turmoil throughout the country, including in Hollywood, where the Academy Awards ceremony was scheduled to go on just four days later. When prominent African-American stars, including Best Actor nominee Sidney Poitier, announced they'd sit out the show, the event was rescheduled for April 10, one day after King's funeral. Poitier attended, Gregory Peck paid tribute to King, and a crime drama that hinged on race, In the Heat of the Night, won Best Picture.  

5. Long Live the King of Pop: The 2009 BET Awards were held four days after the June 25, 2009, death of Michael Jackson, and it showed. The event underwent a "total overhaul" in working in all-star tributes to Jackson.

Divas who died too soon

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