Surgery patients who listen to music may have lower levels of pain and anxiety as well as lower blood pressure and heart rate than people who don’t, according to the analysis. “As many patients have smartphones with personal music playlists, informing our patients before scheduled surgeries of the positive effect of music on their wellbeing could be a low cost intervention that may enhance wellbeing and possibly faster recover,” lead study author Dr. Diana Vetter, a surgery researcher at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, said by email. Overall, music was linked to about 31 percent less pain, 29 percent lower odds of using pain medication, and 34 percent less anxiety.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Celine Dion will honor the victims of the attacks in Paris at Sunday's American Music Awards.

By Fathin Ungku SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The co-founder of a Singapore church and five other leaders were sentenced to jail terms of up to eight years on Friday, for fraudulently diverting millions of dollars to support his wife's pop singing career. The mix of faith and fraud has fascinated tightly-regulated Singapore, where such cases are rare in an affluent city-state with little tolerance for corruption. Senior pastor Kong Hee heads City Harvest Church, one of a growing number of Singapore's megachurches preaching a "prosperity gospel" that blends spiritual and material aspirations.

In an era when many classical musicians despair for their art's future, the heroic brass opening of "Star Wars" is one of the most instantly recognized melodies in the world. When figures ranging from former US vice president Dick Cheney to university sports teams have wanted to toy with their images for ruthlessness, they have made entrances to Darth Vader's theme — and crowds needed no explanation. With more than three-quarters of Americans having seen a "Star Wars" film, covers and parodies of the music — including one recent one by a singing toddler — have generated millions of views on YouTube.

She’ll sing a “special rendition” of Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à L’Amour” on Sunday night’s show.

Hollywood's leading film scorers — Harry Gregson-Williams ('The Martian'), Daniel Pemberton ('Steve Jobs'), Johann Johannsson ('Sicario'), Michael Giacchino ('Inside Out') and Carter Burwell ('Carol') — discuss the perils of talking to filmmakers and why ignoring meddling studio execs is a fantastic idea.

A short film about Ellis Island starring Robert De Niro is getting a release on iTunes on Friday. "Ellis," a 14-minute film from French artist and director JR, recently screened at the New Yorker Film Festival and in select New Yorker theaters and on Thursday was made available for viewing on Facebook for a period of 24 hours by its director.

The Latin music world turned out Wednesday to celebrate Roberto Carlos, the Brazilian ballad singer who is one of the region's most successful artists. The 74-year-old nicknamed the "King of Latin Music" was named Person of the Year at the Latin Grammys, a day before the Spanish- and Portuguese-language music industry's biggest award night. This is without doubt a very special moment in my life," Carlos, who sported an electric-blue sequined tie for the occasion in Las Vegas, told AFP.

This week, a New York City-based hip hop artist posted an ad on Craigslist for an Ina Garten look-alike. As part of a new music video, the producers want to stage a parody cooking show — with Ina in the kitchen. The ad specifies that there is "no nudity involved," but there may be "a bikini shot." This is not something Paula Deen, Ina's former colleague, would agree to. Sadly, the ad, posted in full below, does not ask for a Jeffrey (who is Ina's husband and frequently appears on her show Barefoot Contessa) lookalike.

Elliott will be honored alongside Lady Gaga, Loretta Lynn, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, Fifth Harmony, Kelsea Ballerini and Lana Del Rey at the annual star-studded event in New York.

Music by rockers the Grateful Dead and Fleetwood Mac, jazz greats Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong and singers Blondie and Roberta Flack will be enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame, The Recording Academy said on Wednesday. Grateful Dead's 1970 album "American Beauty," named one of Rolling Stone magazine's 500 greatest albums of all time in 2012, will be inducted after the band ended its 50-year-run this year with a final tour.

The five-minute clip is the first time the virtual reality technology has been used inside a Broadway theater (but not the first time for Broadway altogether, as Andrew Lloyd Webber is quick to point out).