Take a guess who was music’s cash queen of 2012

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She did it again.
Britney Spears dethroned Lady Gaga and beat out Taylor Swift and Rihanna to headline the Forbes list of Top Earning Women in Music 2012 released on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old “X-Factor” judge pocketed $58 million in the past year, more than any of the music industry’s cash queens.
The 90s pop princess turned tabloid trainwreck bounced back after her latest album, 2011’s “Femme Fatale,” went platinum. Throw in its accompanying world tour, her commercial endorsements and her Beauty fragrance line with Elizabeth Arden, and the “Gimme More” singer is grabbing millions.
“Britney has an electricity that connects with audiences on screen and off,” Lori Landew, the music attorney who helped ink a teenage Spears’ first record contract, told Forbes. “And it is that intangible quality that always seems to leave her fans, old and new, breathless.”
Brit had some stiff competition. Swift was hot on her heels with $57 million after the country star’s $1 million a night tour and lucrative endorsements with Sony and CoverGirl.
More female artists making bank by hitting the road include Rihanna, who came in third with $53 million thanks to her touring schedule, plus hit singles like “Diamonds” and “We Found Love,” and deals with Vita Coco and Nivea.
Lady Gaga, who topped last year’s list at $90 million, dropped to fourth place with $52 million earned from touring, record sales and her new Fame perfume.
“California Gurl” Katy Perry hit the top five with $45 million, boosted by her $60 million California Dreams tour.
Beyonce banked $40 million despite taking time off for baby Blue Ivy due to royalties from her big hits plus her House of Dereon clothing line, which put her in sixth place. Expect Bey-Bey back on next year’s list in a big way once her $50 million deal with Pepsi begins.
Adele ($35 million), Sade ($33 million), Madonna ($30 million) and Shakira ($20 million) rounded out the top 10.
The Forbes figures represent earnings from May 2011 to May 2012 before management fees, legal costs and taxes. The totals were tallied with data from Pollstar, RIAA and others, plus interviews with managers, lawyers and concert promoters.

Balloon boy' Falcon Heene 9 now part of metal band

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Balloon boy” Falcon Heene resurfaced in a metal band.
“We decided to start a band because every time we saw someone play we always thought, ‘man, I wish I was up there.’” Falcon told the Daily News.

Falcon captured national attention when his parents claimed he flew away in a hot air balloon in 2009. As rescuers pursued the balloon on its 50-mile journey, Falcon was hiding in the family’s garage.

Falcon, now 9, is still in the Spring Hill, Fla. garage, only now it is for band practice. He is the lead vocalist and bassist for the Heene Boyz, which also features his brothers Brad, 13, and Ryo, 12, on guitar and drums respectively.
The band, founded in January 2011, cites Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Dio among their influences. But unlike their heroes, the Heene Boyz sing about topics that are relevant to children.

“They’re about what we like to play with. ‘World of Warcraft’ is one of our favorite video games so we wrote a song about that and ‘Burning to Play’ is about kids wanting to play,” Brad said.
The children have experimented with other genres of music – and even appeared in a rap music video – before deciding to play metal. Brad hopes their debut album “Chasing Tornadoes” is not their last.
“Our goals are to play forever… (and to) tour with Metallica,” said Brad.

The boys’ father Richard Heene said he fully supports his children’s musical aspirations.

“I back them up a hundred percent. Early on I was introducing them to science,” he said. “But their real love is music so I’m supporting that. I try to expose them to things that they will somehow benefit from.”

Afghanistan’s first female rapper won’t be deterred by death threats

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Afghanistan’s first female rapper says threats won’t stop her from making her voice heard.
"How long should we keep this silence?" Sosan Firooz said in an interview with CBS. “There's a need for people to rise up. And others should follow."
Firooz and her family have begun to receive death threats since the 23-year-old released her first single, “Our Neighbors,” on YouTube earlier this fall.
“Listen to my story! Listen to my pain and suffering!" Firooz says in the song, which boasts over 75,000 hits on the website.
The young woman has been hit with a series of menacing text messages demanding that she stop performing. Her mother recently received an anonymous phone call with a similar message.
They told her ‘If your daughter appears on TV again, we will cut off your head,’” Firooz explained.
But none of the risks have deterred Firooz, who makes history performing in front of men, clad in western clothes, in a country where social norms keep women out of the spotlight.
“Everyone wants to be unique, to do something no one else has done before,” said Firooz, who hails from an impoverished neighborhood in north Kabul.
Firooz’s music hits on a variety of different topics, including the repression of women and her desire for a peaceful Afghanistan.
She also raps about the difficulties of growing up as a child in neighboring Iran. She and her family fled there during the Afghan civil war of the 1990s.
"When war started in our country, there were bullets, artillery, rockets. All our trees were burned down. The war forced us to leave our country," she raps in Dari, one of country's two main languages.
We are hopeful for the future in our country. And we request that our neighboring countries leave us alone."
Afghan singer and composer Fared Rastagar, who helped Firooz record her first single, said the danger of being a woman on the stage in Afghanistan is real.
"Some female singers have stopped singing because of threats from the Taliban,” Rastagar told CBS. “Some have left the country.”
The producer, however, praised Firooz for continuing to put herself out there despite the risks.
"I admire Sosan for her courage and appreciate the support of her family," he told the AP when Firooz’s single dropped.
"Rap is needed here. We need to bring changes in all parts of life including music."