Turns out Adele ruled 2012, too — and set a record while she was at it.

When Bruno Mars made it big a couple of years ago with his debut, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans,” the impeccably attired singer did it with such conclusive style that you never really thought about the effort he put into his image.

Madonna was queen of the world in 2012, at least as far as touring pop music performers, delivering the highest-grossing concert tour of the year and raking in nearly US$300 million at the box office worldwide, according to Pollstar, the concert-industry tracking magazine.

A music awards show dubbed the “African Grammys” was hit by an embarrassing series of hitches culminating in the absence Sunday of star Chris Brown and an apology by the organizer.

Of all the musical instruments being taught at Alhamra Arts Council in Lahore, the guitar is by far the most popular. On a typical evening at the iconic performing arts venue, dozens of young aspiring musicians can be seen strumming their guitars.

Wagner, Verdi and a myriad of waltzes will broadcast live to 81 countries when the Vienna Philharmonic kicks off 2013 with its traditional New Year's Concert on Jan. 1.

Haiti's president performed a duet late Friday with Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias in a celebrity-studded concert in the Dominican Republic to help raise money for impoverished children.

U.S. singer Stevie Wonder joined Brazil's Gilberto Gil late Tuesday for a massive free Christmas concert on Rio's Copacabana beach attended by half a million people.

A charity single for the families of those killed in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, featuring Paul McCartney and Robbie Williams, has claimed Britain's coveted Christmas number one spot, officials announced Sunday.

Beatle George Harrison's widow Olivia joined hundreds of fans and family of Ravi Shankar on Thursday at an open-air memorial to the Indian sitar legend near his California home.