SONY MUSIC TURNS TO DAVIS FOR HIT$

Clive Davis is quietly reasserting his power at Sony Music Entertainment. Many had assumed the 76-year-old legendary producer was gently being shown the door after an executive suite shuffle in April stripped him of his chairman and CEO role at the BMG Label Group. However, Davis has turned what was initially perceived as the token title of chief creative officer into a hit-making and face-saving role for artist-development-deprived Sony Music. He helped break out UK "Pop Idol" winner Leona Lewis in America, where she's sold 1.1 million albums and 4.2 million downloads of the hit song "Bleeding Love," according to Nielsen SoundScan. And this week Oscar winner and former "American Idol" contestant Jennifer Hudson's 217,000-selling debut, was good enough for No. 2 on the Billboard charts. Now, according to several sources... [read full story]