Casey Abrams, who placed sixth in Season 10 of American Idol, has signed a recording contract for his debut album with Concord Music Group.  The 20 year-old singer-songwriter from Idyllwild, CA names artists like Ray Charles, James Taylor and Frank Sinatra as major influences.  Abrams studied music at the University of Colorado at Boulder and can play an amazing 11 instruments by ear.  Casey's album is tentatively titled Simple Life and is due out this summer.

Donna Summer passed away today (May 17) in Florida, after a battle with lung cancer, according to TMZ.  The "Queen of Disco" was 63.  Summer, a five-time Grammy winner, was known for her hits like "Last Dance", "Love To Love You Baby" and "Bad Girls" and scored an impressive 19 number one dance hits between 1975 and 2008 - second only to Madonna.  She is survived by her husband, producer and singer Bruce Sudano; their daughters, Brooklyn and Amanda; and Summer's daughter, Mimi, from a previous marriage.

The 34th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival is set to take place on June 16-17 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.  Boney James will headline the show Saturday night, while legendary pianist Ramsey Lewis will close out the event on Sunday evening.  Also included in the all-star line-up are Robin Thicke, Sheila E., Keb' Mo', Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, the Christian McBride Big Band and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, among many others.  Bill Cosby will be the Master of Ceremonies again this year.  The full festival line-up is available here: playboyjazzfestival.com/.

Billboard announced Whitney Houston will be honored posthumously with their 2012 Millenium Award.  A tribute will be performed by Jordin Sparks and John Legend at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Arena this Sunday, May 20.  Whitney died on February 11 at the age of 48, but her musical legacy lives on.  The six-time Grammy winner holds the distinction of being the first artist to have seven consecutive number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and also had four number one albums on the Billboard 200.  Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina, and sister-in-law, Pat Houston, will accept the award in her honor.  The Awards will air live May 20 on ABC at 8pm ET.

Grammy winning guitarist Norman Brown has teamed up with saxophonist Gerald Albright and the two will release their new album, 24/7, on June 19 via Concord Jazz.  The project features Norman on lead and rhythm guitars with Gerald on alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, flutes, bass guitar, electric wind instrument, percussion, programmming and background vocals.  Albright says, "The title is reflective of the commitment that both of us have made in terms of our instruments.  Even when we sleep we're thinking about melodies, recordings, concerts and whatever we're going to do next."  Brown adds, "When we were recording the project, we didn't have a lot of time - so we were working on it 24/7!"  The two will be performing together this summer for their 'Summer Jam' shows including a stop in Newport Beach, CA this Saturday, May 19.

Mariah Carey and her husband, Nick Cannon, have announced they're working together on a fairytale that their children can enjoy.  The star duo admits they love the fantasy/fairytale genre and are really "both kids at heart."  The couple hosted an elaborate first birthday party for their twins, Monroe and Moroccan, in Paris, France on April 30 and while in the City of Light they also renewed their wedding vows.  Mariah is currently working on her next album and just released a new hits compilation called The Essential Mariah Carey, a 28-track, 2-CD collection that contains 14 of her #1 Hot 100 Hits, rare remixes and selected album tracks. 

Eight-time Grammy winner, Adele will be featured in an hour-long NBC special titled, "Adele Live in London with Matt Lauer" airing June 5 at 8pm ET.  The show with feature an exclusive interview with the media-shy star and offer several performances from her DVD, Adele Live At The Royal Albert Hall.  According to NBC, the British star dishes on celebrity pals, jokes about the four pairs of Spanx she wore to the Grammys and discusses some of the crazy rumors that swirl around her.  Adele's most recent album, 21 released in 2011, has spent 63 weeks on the Billboard 200 with 23 weeks at number one.

A Whitney Houston tribute is planned for the next installment of the 'VH1 Divas' special.  According to Billboard, the show will be taped in Los Angeles in December and the line-up of performers has yet to be finalized.  Rickey Minor, Whitney's longtime musical director, has signed on to be the executive producer for the special.  Whitney performed on 'Divas' three times during her career, in 1999, 2002 and 2003.

Legendary singer, songwriter and producer, Stevie Wonder will receive the Billboard Icon Award at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 20.  Wonder has a record 32 number one singles and is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  The award show will air on ABC at 8pm ET from the MGM Grand Arena and will be hosted by Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell of the ABC comedy "Modern Family."  Adele leads the finalists with 18 nominations.

Dave Koz announced he'll be joined by R&B and gospel icon BeBe Winans for a summer tour that kicks off on June 22 at the Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Center in El Paso, TX.  BeBe was featured on the title track of Dave's 1999 album, The Dance and the two have been friends for years.  Dave says, "BeBe and I have been friends for 20 years, but this is the first time we've toured together and I'm so excited.  We've unofficially dubbed it 'The Brothers From Another Mother' tour because superficially we couldn't be more different, but we actually have so much in common."  BeBe will also release his new album entitled America, America on June 19 on Razor & Tie.  You can check out the full list of Dave's concert dates here: www.davekoz.com/.