Bruno Mars

Reg Presley, lead singer of the Troggs, who made our hearts sing with the primal-scream, proto-garage-rock anthem "Wild Thing," as well as more tender tunes including "With a Girl Like You" and "Love Is All Around," has died at age 71. The BBC reports that, according to a spokesperson, the band's frontman succumbed after "a succession of recent strokes and a losing battle with cancer. " Presley reportedly died at his home in Hampshire, U.K., surrounded by family members. The Troggs were one of the more notable British Invasion bands that were popular on both sides of the Atlantic in the early and mid-1960s, riding the wave of Beatlemania.

After 28.4 million viewers tuned into the Feb. 10 Grammy Awards, Pop & Hiss had some thoughts on how to improve the show . Some of the suggestions were lighthearted -- no more mimes, for instance -- and others took the Grammys to task for regularly booking familiar faces such as Elton John and Sting.  The telecast's longtime executive producer, Ken Ehrlich, wrote a letter to The Times to respond to the criticisms. Ehrlich, a three-decade veteran...

Travis Garland was seated behind the control board at Shortbus Studios in Century City, previewing tracks from his upcoming EP, “Fashionably Late II,” which continues the 23-year-old's reintroduction as a solo artist. He grabbed one of the switches on the sprawling console midway through a lustful R&B jam entitled “Homewrecker” and turned up the volume. As the tempo of the guitar-laden track slowed, the song transformed into a synth-filled futuristic romp that sounded like a formidable pastiche of Drake, Miguel and Justin Timberlake.

 The 55th Grammy Awards honored a wide range of acts on Sunday night. Mumford & Sons' "Babel" was named top album, Gotye won record of the year for "Somebody That I Used to Know" and the New York City group Fun. took home awards for song of the year with "We Are Young" and for best new artist. What to make of it all? Join Times pop music critic Randall Roberts and Times staff writer Todd Martens as they discuss the Grammys in a video chat right here at 10 a.m. The victories in the four major categories were in keeping with an evening that saw relatively youthful acts rewarded by the voting members of the Recording Academy.

A list of upcoming concerts across the Southland, with on-sale dates in parentheses. Gibson Amphitheatre Paquita la del Barrio, March 26 (Fri.); Bruno Mars & Janelle Monae, June 12 (Sat.) The Forum Rammstein, May 20 (Sat.) Hollywood Palladium Girl Talk, March 21-22 (now) Avalon The Sounds, March 29 (Fri.) Wiltern Queens of the Stone Age, April 12-13 (now); Hollywood Undead, April 30 (Fri.) City National Grove of Anaheim Black Country Communion, June 10; Steven Curtis Chapman, April 28 (Fri.

Anyone looking to understand what happened in pop in 2012 would do well to consult DJ Earworm , whose annual "United State of Pop" mash-up has become one of the more welcome year-end traditions in music. The San Francisco-based mixmaster posted his latest edition, "Shine Brighter," on YouTube this week, and as always it's a fast-moving overview of some of 2012's biggest hits, including Bruno Mars' " Locked Out of Heaven ," Kesha's " Die Young " and, inevitably, " Gangnam Style " by Psy, among many, many others.

Warner Music Group, whose artists include Bruno Mars, Lenny Kravitz and Eric Clapton, posted an 8% drop in revenue for its second quarter, due in large part to a light album release schedule. Sales for the quarter ended March 31 dipped to $628 million, down from $684 million as an increase in digital sales helped cushion a decline in physical CD sales. Revenue from digital sales accounted for 37% of the company's revenue, up from 32% during the same quarter last year. Warner's net loss also dropped slightly to $36 million from $38 million a year earlier, thanks to cost-cutting measures.

Alicia Keys will take fans on a guided tour through her forthcoming album, “Girl on Fire,” a week before its release by way of a live video session for a Google+ Hangout that also will be streamed on Keys' YouTube channel . The Grammy-winning singer and songwriter said those who tune in will “hear all the songs on the record [and] I'll be able to share my creative process and also tell you some of the very special and important meanings behind some of the songs….

A list of upcoming concerts across the Southland, with on-sale dates in parentheses. Staples Center Beyoncé, July 1 (Sat.) L.A. Memorial Sports Arena Green Day, April 18 (Fri.) Nokia Theatre Lupillo Rivera, May 24 (Fri.) Saban Theatre Jewel, June 5 (Fri.) Club Nokia UZ, March 7 (now); Keyshia Cola, April 19; Blackstreet, May 3 (Fri.) El Rey Theatre Crystal Fighters, June 4 (now); Mika, March 27 (Wed.) The Echo/Echoplex Amanda Palmer, March 5; the Spits, March 21; Nik Turner, March 10; Aussie BBQ #5, March 10; Zola Jesus, Feb. 21; Flume, March 26 (Fri.)

With less than a week until the release next Tuesday of his major-label debut, the Canadian R&B singer known as the Weeknd is giving listeners a preview of some of his new material. "Trilogy" will primarily collect songs from a series of free albums the Weeknd (born Abel Tesfaye) originally issued online in 2011. But it's also to contain three previously unreleased tracks, two of which -- "Twenty Eight" and "Valerie" -- are now available to stream in radio-rip form on a website overseen by the Weeknd's XO crew.