- All Music

Elton John had a blunt message on Thursday for Australian Prime Minister John Howard over his conservative government s ban on gay marriages.
Up yours! the 59-year old told Australian television when asked what he would say to Howard about the ban.

John and his partner David Furnish became one of the first gay couples to tie the knot in Britain in a civil partnership ceremony.
It was just a commitment I wanted to make because I love him, and vice-versa, and it was just a great day, John said in an interview with the Seven Network, broadcast on Thursday.
Two decades ago, on
Valentine s Day in 1984, John married German-born woman Renate Blauel in Sydney.

The couple divorced four years later, Blauel complaining that she saw too little of her husband because of his work commitments and that they had grown apart.
Howard s government is strongly opposed to gay marriage and civil unions which would give gay couples the same legal rights as heterosexual married couples. Australian laws say a marriage can only be contracted between a man and a woman.

John s 12th tour of Australia began controversially on Sunday when the singer felt ill during his performance and left the stage briefly to vomit. He returned to the stage for another 45 minutes of performance without incident. Celine Dion has canceled the next five performances of her A New Day show and an appearance at the Billboard Music Awards because of a highly contagious respiratory infection, show producers said Wednesday.

The 38-year-old Grammy-winning singer was being treated for Mycoplasma bronchitis, a contagious bacterial infection, and has been ordered to rest during her recovery, producers said.
Performances of A New Day at Caesars Palace, a revue created by former Cirque du Soleil Artistic Director Franco Dragone, were canceled from Wednesday through Sunday, after which Dion was scheduled to take a holiday break from the five-show-a-week regimen.
The show will not resume until Dec.

28.
Dion also backed out of a scheduled appearance at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on Monday.
Kris Lingle, a spokesman for A New Day, said ticket-holders would receive refunds or could book other show dates.

Dion last canceled performances in April, days ahead of her 500th show at the Las Vegas Strip hotel-casino.
The singer began a three-year, $100 million contract at Caesars in March 2003, then extended it through next year. Snoop Dogg was arrested Tuesday for investigation of illegally possessing a handgun and drugs as he left NBC Studios after performing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, police said.

The 35-year-old rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, and two members of his entourage were arrested around 6 p.m. after a search of his Diamond Bar home and car, Sgt.

Kevin Grandalski said.
Police seized a handgun and some illegal drugs, Grandalski said. He did not have details.

The sergeant said the rapper was arrested for investigation of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, possessing cocaine, transporting marijuana and having a false compartment in his vehicle, Grandalski said.
He was in a car pulling out of the studio when police stopped him, said Donald Etra, the rapper s attorney.
Etra said he believed Broadus was booked at the jail for investigation of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

He made bail of $60,000 and was released shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday, about seven hours after his arrest.

As of this point, he stands innocent of all charges, Etra said. The goal tonight was to get him out of jail. The goal tomorrow is to deal with the case.

The rapper was expected to be arraigned on Jan. 11, Etra said.
Two acknowledged gang members who are associates of Broadus also were taken into custody, Grandalski said.

Michael Mingo, 33, of Lakewood, was arrested for investigation of possessing burglary tools and Lovell Polk, 36, of Moreno Valley, was arrested for an outstanding warrant, Grandalski said. He did not know the nature of the warrant.
The arrests stemmed from an investigation that followed the rapper s Oct.

26 arrest at Bob Hope Airport here after airport police said they found a gun and marijuana in his car, Grandalski said.
Additional follow-up investigation led detectives to obtaining the search warrant, the sergeant said. He did not have details.

No charges have been filed in that case but Broadus has a Dec. 12 court appearance for an arraignment.
Etra said the rapper also has a Dec.

4 arraignment in Orange County following his Sept. 27 arrest for investigation of carrying a deadly weapon at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana.
Security officers said they found a collapsible baton in the entertainer s carry-on luggage.

The rapper told deputies at the time of his arrest that the baton was a prop for a movie.
The rapper was convicted in 1990 of cocaine possession and was charged with gun possession after a 1993 traffic stop. Facing a possible three years in prison, he pleaded guilty in exchange for three years probation and his promise to make anti-violence public service announcements.