Music News with Kelly Clarkson, Drake and Eddie Money

KELLY CLARKSON TO HOST AN ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ SEASON ONE REUNION ON HER TALK SHOW: Kelly Clarkson is staging an American Idol Season one reunion on her talk show. According to EW, on September 18th, The Kelly Clarkson Show will welcome original judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, along with Season one runner-up Justin Guarini. Kelly and Justin were the final two contestants on the first season of American Idol back in 2002. She and Justin later teamed up for the universally reviled movie From Justin to Kelly. Ryan Seacrest, who continues to host American Idol on ABC, will also join via satellite, according to Cowell, who mock-complained to Extra, “I told him I flew in from London to be there, he stayed in New York.”

DRAKE UNLEASHES ‘BEHIND THE BARZ’ FREESTYLE FOR STREAMING AS PART OF ‘TOP BOY’ SOUNDTRACK: Drake has released “Barz” to go with the arrival of Season three of Netflix’s Top Boy. The London crime drama, executive-produced by Drizzy, has returned along with a fresh soundtrack via OVO Sound. Dialing in at 13 tracks, the effort includes Drizzy’s “Behind Barz” freestyle, which he previously released in July 2018 in support of his Scorpion album. Additional guest spots on the soundtrack feature the likes of Popcaan, Little Simz, AJ Tracey, Baka Not Nice, Giggs and more.

SINGER JESSE MCCARTNEY, ACTRESS KATIE PATERSON ENGAGED: Jesse McCartney and actress Katie Paterson are engaged. “Locked it up,” McCartney wrote on Instagram. The message captioned a photo of the couple kissing. A large diamond ring can be seen on Paterson’s hand, which is touching McCartney’s face. Paterson shared another photo on her account. She is smiling and has her arms around McCartney’s shoulders, showing off her ring. “SEVEN YEARS.. and also forever,” she wrote. People magazine said McCartney got down on one knee and proposed to Paterson on Friday night at a Los Angeles restaurant where they were having dinner with friends.

THE CARS FRONTMAN RIC OCASEK DIES AT 75: Ric Ocasek, the lead singer of the new wave band The Cars, died Sunday in New York City. He was 75. Ocasek was found unconscious and unresponsive in his Manhattan home late Sunday afternoon and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. He appears to have died of natural causes, sources told Page Six, and was discovered by his estranged wife, model Paulina Porizkova. The Cars, known for their hits “Drive,” “Just What I Needed,” and “It’s All I Can Do,” were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Ocasek was also a successful producer, working with everyone from Weezer to No Doubt to Bad Brains. The Cars’ biggest commercial breakthrough was 1984’s Heartbeat City. The album, co-produced by Mutt Lange and solely written by Ocasek, went to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and yielded five top 40 singles, including the top 10 hits “Drive” and “You Might Think.” The video for the latter song won Video of the Year at the first annual MTV Video Music Awards, beating out Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

EDDIE MONEY DIES AT 70: 1970s and ’80s pop star Eddie Money died on Friday. He was 70. The news comes shortly after Money postponed his ongoing tour in July, and after he later revealed his stage 4 esophageal cancer diagnosis. Money’s breakout success came with his self-titled debut album in 1977, which featured the charting singles “Two Tickets to Paradise” and “Baby Hold On.” He again had a hit with 1986’s “Take Me Home Tonight.” Money has since been public about his drug and alcohol abuse during those years, but he underwent rehab in the early 2000s. Since 2018, Money and his family had appeared on a reality TV show called Real Money. Money underwent “minor” heart valve surgery in May, and while his family said he was “recovering and doing well” in July, he did postpone all his tour dates and the release of his upcoming album.