Pop and R&B stars Shakira, Alicia Keys and Usher will all grace the massive Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX with performances for the upcoming NBA All-Star game on Valentine’s Day.

To perform during the halftime show are Shakira and Alicia Keys. Shakira is set to sing her chart topper “She Wolf” from her current release of the same title. She will also be singing “Give it up to Me” to complete her set for the event.

Alicia Keys will also be performing her own chart topper, “Empire State of Mind”, along with her past hit “No One” and her newest single, “Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart” which is taken from her current album, “The Element of Freedom”.

Usher, on the other hand, will be performing during the introduction of the players for the All-star game. He is expected to perform one of his biggest hits, “Yeah!” and the single “More”, which can be heard as part of the NBA’s promotional plug for the All-star games.

The game will be broadcasted over at TNT, ESPN Radio, Score Canada and in 200 other stations worldwide in different languages. The game will begin at 8 PM.

Several Latin music performers, including Shakira and Ricky Martin, will be gathering next month in Buenos Aires and Mexico City for two large concerts to support Latin American early childhood development.

The two concerts will take place on May 17 simultaneously. The shows will be free for the public. According to a recent press release, organizers are not seeking to raise money. Instead they are looking to harness the power from bringing music fans by the thousands together. ALAS (or America Latina en Accion Solidaria), the concert organizers, are hoping to help improve children’s lives who are living in poverty. They are calling on governments, the private sector and fans to join together to help provide programs in early childhood development for children in Latin America.

Some of the artists who will be participating include Paulina Rubio, Los Tigres del Norte, Diego Torres Alejandro Sanz and Mana among others. Over the upcoming weeks announcements for show lineups, venue locations and addition artists are expected.

It indeed was a night for underdogs and dark horses – indie acts, emo rock bands and breakthrough artists – at last night’s MTV Video Music Awards.

With seven MTV nods each, premiere rock act Red Hot Chili Peppers and Latina pop siren Shakira were expected to take home at least one moon man, and they did, but for technical awards like Best Art Direction for Peppers’ “Dani California” and Best Choreography for Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie”, thanks to industry professionals who also took part in this year’s voting process apart from fan votes, which is clearly reflected in the contrasting results for the major and technical awards.

But the biggest awards of the night went out to bands like Panic! At the Disco, All-American Rejects, James Blunt, Avenged Sevenfold and Fall Out Boy.

The night’s highest honor went to Panic! At the Disco For the video “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”. James Blunt took two moon men statues for Best Cinematography and Best Male Video, both for his single “You’re Beautiful”. All-American Rejects bagged the award for Best Group. Another underdog, A.F.I., won the award for Best Rock Video for the song “Miss Murder”, while breakthrough band Avenged Sevenfold won the award for Best New Artist in a Video. Emo rock band Fall Out Boy won the Viewer’s Choice Award for “Dance, Dance”.

Despite not taking home any moon man statues for major honors, Shakira delivered a smashing “Hips Don’t Lie” performance with Wyclef Jean and so did other hit makers like Justin Timberlake who brought “Sexyback” and Beyonce who screamed “Ring the Alarm”. Christina Aguilera also delivered a dramatic and elaborate performance for her single “Hurt”.

Internet quartet sensation OK Go also performed that night with more synchronized stunts apart from their treadmill performance. Former vice president and environmentalist Al Gore also made a special appearance to help MTV launch its environmental and social outlet, think.mtv.com. Gore received a standing ovation from the crowd. Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose also graced the stage to present the show’s final performers – The Killers.

The VMAs are also moving along with the times as a new award, Ringtone of the Year, has been awarded for the first time, and Fort Minor’s “Where’d You Go” gets to pioneer the award.

The show was hosted by Jack Black and Sarah Silverman. The show was also brought back to its home in New York City’s Radio City Music Hall after being held in hurricane-prone Miami for two straight years.

With the recent release of the second volume of “Oral Fixation”, which is Shakira’s all-English follow-up to 2001’s “Laundry Service”, she is now prepping for a US summer tour to further promote “Oral Fixation Vol.2”.

The tour will kick off in August and will run through November. She will be having multiple stops in Southern California and in Texas, details of which can be viewed on her website.

Tickets for the series of shows will be on sale to the public on April 29, Saturday through the artist’s website, with a presale event to be held tomorrow, April 26.

“Oral Fixation Vol.2” features tracks like “Don’t Bother” and “Illegal” which she collaborated with rock legend Carlos Santana. It also features English versions of a couple of tracks from volume one of Oral Fixation (Fijacion Oral, Vol. 1) – “Dia Especial” and “Make Me Believe”. Shakira wrote all the songs from both albums which were chosen from a collection of more than 60 songs written by the artist within the last two years.