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Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are an 11 piece music collective from Los Angeles.
After winning over fans around the world with their single Home, they’ve just released their debut album Up From Below.

With their massive line-up, hippy appearance and old-school folk-rock sounds they’ve been drawing comparisons to acts like The Polyphonic Spree. And as band leader Alex Ebert explained to triple j’s Richard Kingsmill some people are claiming they’re a little cult-like.

“I feel like the closest we came to anything like that was someone writing in the Birmingham paper that someone should blow our bus up, they’d be doing the world a favour. I don’t know what that means exactly. No one in the band is taking the concept of a cult seriously. There’s no guiding ethos apart from really basic principles that are just beneficial for all of mankind. There’s no drink blood at 7am every Wednesday or some bullshit like that. There’s nothing that we do that’s particularly cultish.”

Listening to the tightly knit harmonies, soaring fiddle and complex string arrangements of The Lovell Sisters, it might surprise some people to learn that these siblings are each well under 30. With the much-anticipated release of their second studio album this past April, enthusiasm for the trio is growing internationally. All three sisters are classically trained on the violin and piano; after seeing a live bluegrass show in Chattanooga in 2003, they were inspired to explore the music.

Since then, the excitement of critics and fans has only grown. The Lovell Sisters’ second studio album, Time to Grow, further showcases thee group’s beautiful harmonies and virtuoso instrumentals.

The Recording Academy has added songs by James Brown, Bob Marley, the Beach Boys, Louis Armstrong and others to its Grammy Hall of Fame, bringing the total number of titles in the collection to 851.

The latest batch of 25 recordings added to the list includes Brown’s 1966 “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” and Marley’s 1973 album “Catch a Fire,” which the Jamaican reggae great recorded with his band The Wailers, the academy said.

Also on the list was the Beach Boys’ 1965 song “California Girls,” jazz master Louis Armstrong’s 1931 “Lazy River” and the 1972 comedy album “Class Clown” from George Carlin, who died last year.

The 25 recordings added to the Grammy Hall of Fame will be displayed along with the rest of the collection at the Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles.

Earlier this month, Alicia Keys told Billboard.com that since her album, “The Element of Freedom,” was pushed back from Dec. 1 to Dec. 15, she used the additional time to work on possibly “the most exciting collaborations of my career yet.” Now her label, J Records, confirms the album includes a duet with Beyoncé as well as one with newcomer Drake.

“Put It In A Love Song” features Beyoncé, while “Unthinkable (I’m Ready)” has background vocals by Drake. There’s also the reggae-tinged “Love is My Disease;” the 80s-inspired “This Bed;” and first and second singles “Doesn’t Mean Anything” and “Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart,” which are at No. 18 and No. 41 on this week’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, respectively.

“Element of Freedom” features production from Jeff Bhasker, Swizz Beatz, longtime collaborator Kerry “Krucial” Brothers and Drake’s producer, Noah “40″ Shebib.

In support of “Element,” Keys is set to appear on “The Today Show,” “Oprah,” “Late Show with David Letterman,” and “The View,” among others, in coming weeks. Additionally, she will perform an intimate, sold-out concert in New York City on Dec. 1 (World AIDS day and the original release date of the album), with 100% of the proceeds being donated to the “Keep A Child Alive” charity. The event will be streamed live on YouTube at 8 p.m. EST.

Chris Brown has received an “extremely favorable” report from probation officials overseeing his felony assault case, a judge said.

Brown appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom on Thursday (Nov. 19) to offer a judge his first progress report since being sentenced for beating ex-girlfriend Rihanna earlier this year. He talked and laughed with his lawyer before the hearing, which took less than 10 minutes.

The R&B singer is serving five years of probation and must attend domestic violence counseling and perform six months of community labor in Virginia.

Brown’s attorney, Mark Geragos, says Brown has already done 100 hours of community labor in Richmond, Va.

Los Angeles Patricia Schnegg said Brown has also paid all of his court-ordered fees and fines.

Both Brown and Rihanna are trying to put the beating behind them by focusing on their careers. Rihanna has a popular new single titled “Russian Roulette.” Brown is due to release his third album on Dec. 8.

Brown is due back in court for another progress report on Feb. 18. Schnegg told Brown that once he completes his community service and counseling sessions, she won’t require him to come back to court every three months.