The initial portion of the lineup for the 2012 Essence Music Festival has been announced, and Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige the headliners. Other performers confirmed for the New Orleans festival include Fantasia, Stephanie Mills, Charlie Wilson and Keyshia Cole.

The festival, which is sponsored by Essence magazine, will take place July 6-8 of this year at the Superdome in New Orleans. It is billed as one of the largest gathering of black artists in America. As an additional part of the festival, numerous seminars and panels will be held in the city’s convention center. As it has in the past, the festival is partnering with the City of New Orleans to help the city’s youth population.

The president of Essence Communications, Inc., Michelle Ebanks, told the Associated press that these announcements of performers are only the “first wave,” and that more artists likely will be announced next month. Also announced for the festival was the first wave of speakers, which include Steve Harvey, Rev. Al Sharpton, and U.S. Representative Maxine Waters.

The festival was first held in 1995 as a one-time event that has grown to an annual festival. It has always been held in New Orleans except in 2006, when it was moved to Houston because of Hurricane Katrina. It has been reported that more than 422,000 people attended last year’s festival. Previous performers at the festival include Prince, Alicia Keys, Al Green, Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder.

In other Aretha Franklin news, the 69-year-old Queen of Soul recently announced that she is newly engaged, and she also underwent surgery in late 2010 that resulted in the loss of 85 pounds. This will be her third time performing at the Essence fest, as it is commonly known. She sang at the inaugural event in 1995, and returned in 2005.

Classic singers Aretha Franklin and Steven Tyler are engaged! But don’t worry, they are not engaged to each other.

Aretha Franklin announced recently that she will wed longtime partner William “Willie” Wilkerson, likely in a wedding ceremony in Miami Beach this summer. The 69-year-old Queen of Soul made the announcement along with a dash of humor.

“No, I’m not pregnant,” she said.

In December 2010, Franklin underwent surgery that was originally erroneously reported to be a result of pancreatic cancer. Through Franklin never revealed what the surgery was for, she did confirm it was not cancer, but that it had added 15 to 20 years to her life. Since that time, she has lost 85 pounds. Franklin has been married twice before.

Notorious womanizer Tyler will wed Erin Brady, his girlfiend of seven years. In addition, he recently talked with Oprah Winfrey on an episode of “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” where he revealed new thoughts on monogamy.

“For all the divorces I’ve had, I hurt those girls deeply,” said the Aerosmith frontman and “American Idol” judge. “And there was some behavior that I’m ashamed of and I shouldn’t have done. I don’t want to hurt anybody again.

“I may come off as a sexual animal,” he went on, “and I definitely am on stage, ‘cause trust me, I feel it myself. Bit I’m not really, really that. I’ll sing about it, I put it out there but I’m not… I want [Erin] for my own, and if that’s gonna take that away from it, I don’t (do it).”

Tyler has been married twice. Brady also had some words for Winfrey that suggested she had give Tyler an ultimatum.

“I just said, ‘Hey listen, if you play, I’m gonna play,’” she said. “He didn’t really like when he was on the other side of that scenario.”

Aretha Franklin is releasing a new album. Now that her mysterious illness has been resolved, she is coming out with “Aretha: A Woman Falling Out of Love” independently next week. It is Franklin’s first album to be released in eight years.

It will the third record Franklin has released with the title “Aretha.” However this album, unlike the self-titled sets that were released in 1961, 1981 as well as 1986, the new album will be available from Aretha Records, her own label. Most of the set was produced by herself. Despite all the rumors that R. Kelly was working with Franklin, the only ones helping Aretha with the production were her sons Eddie and Kecalf. Last month Franklin said, it will be taking the boomers back, definitely. However it is contemporary as well.

The 38th studio album from Franklin is a pleasant surprise after nearly a year of having health concerns. Last year Franklin had to cancel a run of concerts. Although Franklin didn’t identify what her illness was, reportedly she suffers from pancreatic cancer. In January she claimed the problem had been resolved after she underwent an operation.

The release date for “Aretha: A Woman Falling Out of Love” is May 3. The album during its first month out will be made available exclusively through Walmart. As of June 3 the set will be available in other shops and through digital services. The new set features familiar classics and modern standards, including a rendition of the BB King song “Sweet Sixteen,” the gospel tune “His Eye Is On the Sparrow,” and “Theme from a Summer Place.” A live recording features Franklin’s performance at the 2009 presidential inauguration of Barack Obama singing the song “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” is also included.

Franklin said, ladies look very closely at my album photo. You should look like this if you are a woman who is falling from love. Girlfriend, don’t sit near the telephone waiting for a call from him. Listen to the song lyrics very closely on this album. You will get some good tips. Then go have a ball.

The last studio album from Franklin was “So Damn Happy.” It was released in 2003 and hit the No. 33 spot on the US album charts.

Soul singer Aretha Franklin is having to cancel all of her concert appearances that were planned for the upcoming months because of a medical issue that has not been disclosed.

According to a report in the Detroit Free Pres, last week for several days Franklin had to be hospitalized at Sinai Grace Hospital in Detroit and was currently at home resting comfortably.

Although the singer’s camp did not provide any details regarding Franklin’s condition, the concert cancellations were announced on November 4.

In an interview with Detroit Free Press publicist Tracey Jordan said that orders from the doctors have required Franklin to cancel all of personal appearances and concerts through May 2011.

The upcoming schedule for Franklin was fairly light, but did include a big Christmas show on December 9 in Detroit in addition to two concerts in February at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

It’s hard to image as winter gets a firm foothold, but the sultry, spring New Orleans Jazz Festival is just around the corner. The festival is headlined by heavyweight music acts like Pearl Jam, Van Morrison, Widespread Panic, The Black Crowes and My Morning Jacket. The 2010 edition of the New Orleans Jazz Festival marks the 41st running of the classic music event that features an eclectic blend of musical genres from rock and pop to gospel and blues.

The festival will take place over two weekends – April 23-25 and April 29-May 2 — at the New Orleans’ Fair Grounds Race Course. This year’s edition of the festival drew crowds of 40,000 to see first time participant Bon Jovi among other acts.
Other big name acts that will be participating in this year’s festival include Elvis Costello, The Allman Brothers, Aretha Franklin, Lionel Richie, Darius Rucker, Jeff Beck and hundreds of other artists. In addition to featuring nationally known acts, the New Orleans Jazz Festival also highlights local musical acts as well as food and craft booths.

Tickets went onsale Tuesday (12/15) via Ticketmaster and range in price from $45 for a single day admission to $120 for a three-day package and $160 for a four-day on the second weekend. If you can stomach the sometimes abrasive heat, this event is one not to be missed.