the buzz log

President Obama talks a lot about the importance of discussion with hostile countries like Iran and North Korea. But the sound of music can breach divisions beyond language.

That's the idea behind the invitation extended to the New York Philharmonic to visit Cuba, a country just 90 miles from Florida but with no diplomatic ties to the U.S. (The U.S. government has given the orchestra special permission to travel to the Communist country.)

It may seem odd to send a world-class orchestra to an isolated place. But it wouldn't be the first time. The symphony traveled to the standoffish North Korea just last year. While the symphony leaves politics out of it, an orchestra official told Yahoo! News that it was a little harder for the North Korean government to call America the devil after the trip. "When we played a Korean piece, you should have seen the change in the stoic, impassive faces of the Koreans. Many of them were weeping."

The request for the tour comes as the baton is being passed to a younger conductor, the 42-year-old Alan Gilbert. The new maestro told the Wall Street Journal he hopes to take the orchestra beyond its home of New York City. He may get his wish.

Filed under: Music

Even in our real-time world, people barely had time to register the news that Michael Jackson had been rushed to UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles before doctors called the King of Pop's death at 2:26 p.m. Within hours, searches on Yahoo! transitioned from "breaking news michael jackson" to "is michael jackson dead" to "r.i.p. michael jackson."

Generation X was still mourning Farrah Fawcett, and the two became the most searched people on the Web—even at times linked ("michael jackson farrah fawcett"). But 50-year-old Jackson spanned multiple decades, and his death may be the most searched in recent memory.

One of the most telling queries that people looked up, however, may have been "elvis died." Elvis Presley died at age 42, bloated, sick, addicted to prescription drugs. Even if Jackson hadn't married Lisa Marie in the '90s, he had already inherited Elvis Presley's throne. Now, he has passed away in the same way as the icon before him—too shocking, too soon.

The obituaries and eulogies didn't take long for Jackson, not for a man who led a supersized life. Below, a snapshot of the Search stream, as people followed a king's passing.

His Death

• Jackson rushed to hospital, michael jackson in ambulance, tmz michael jackson, michael jackson on twitter, michael jackson 911 call, coma, cardiac arrest, cardiac arrest heart attack, condition of michael jackson, live michael jackson coverage, did michael jackson die, has michael jackson died, ap michael jackson dead, age of michael jackson, demerol, king of pop dies, michael jackson 1958-2009, michael jackson alive, michael jackson autopsy

His Family, Friends, Mistaken Ties

• Jackson 5, Janet Jackson, Prince Jackson, Janet Jackson Jermaine Dupri, Joe Jackson Michael, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Samuel L. Jackson, Randy Jackson, Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley, Elvis Presley Biography

His Peculiarities and Places

• Plastic surgery, wacko jacko, Bubbles, Jackson fire, glove, Holmby Hills Mansion, Neverland Ranch, oxygen chamber, Bahrain.

His Life and Legacy

• Jacko, "Bad," "Billy Jean," "Thriller," "Dangerous," dance moves, moonwalking, comeback tour,Facts, michael jackson fan club, greatest hits, record sales, pop star, pop giant, tributes to michael jackson.

Filed under: Music, Celebrities, Death, Michael Jackson

In the end, the South rose again.

In the last possible moment, Kris Allen made "American Idol" history—or perhaps reinforced it. The numbers and judges may have been with Adam Lambert, but Allen once again showed that the Cinderella storyline could rally the American South and the heartland.

Even the city slickers at the Los Angeles Times see Allen's win as bringing "the show back to its original premise," that of someone from nowhere rising to the top while remaining true to him or herself. As for the Arkansas Online, the hometown news outlet calls Allen the "neighbor, fellow churchgoer and friend."

As for supporters of the more polished Lambert, Newsday points out, as so many other "Idol" pundits have, that the runner-up took the news just fine and "doesn't really need the show's voters to validate" his readiness to be a star.

Season 8 messed up our projection record (at least we had three in a row), although we did talk of upsets. Below, a congrats to all "Idol" winners past and present, from wherever they hail. Note the only non-Southerner was Season 6 Jordin Sparks, an Arizona resident born in New York.

"American Idol" Winners (and Birthplace)

1. Kelly Clarkson (Texas)
2. Ruben Studdard (Alabama)
3. Fantasia Barrino (North Carolina)
4. Carrie Underwood (Oklahoma)
5. Taylor Hicks (Alabama)
6. Jordin Sparks (New York)
7. David Cook (Texas)
8. Kris Allen (Arkansas)

Filed under: TV, Reality TV, American Idol, Music