Kelly Clarkson performed at the Shockwaves Album Chart show and also made an appearance at Radio One studios to perform on Jo Whiley’s ‘Live Lounge’ this past Tuesday in London, England. The 26-year old original American Idol champion’s new single ‘My Life Would Suck Without You’ has topped the charts at number one this week in the UK, beating out county singing cutie Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story’. If they were the only two to choose from, the UK clearly has a win-win situation. They’ve got good taste. Maybe the complete leak of Kelly’s ‘All I Ever Wanted’ album helped her edge Taylor out.
The Jonas Brothers just give, give and give. Luckily for some fans, they might be able to meet Kevin, Nick and Joe soon. The thing is, fans won’t know before it happens. The band of brothers’ new flick ‘Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience’ opens in theaters nationwide today. The trio recently announced in a press conference that “We can’t give too many details as to what cities or how many cities we’ll be going to. What we can tell you is it will be a coast-to-coast tour and it’s really all about our fans, and being able to experience this with them.” You have to give credit to whoever thought of this publicity scheme. More tweens will be buying tickets to the movie hoping that the Jonas Brothers will be there.
Aubrey O’Day may be saying good things about Danity Kane but we all know she thinks that she’s way better than them and that she doesn’t need them. It looks like Aubrey is already in talks for a solo career. It’s being said that she’s already in talks with Steve Rifkind at SRC/Universal for a deal. Rifkind even allegedly asked Aubrey to go into the studio to work with Akon. It looks like she might be getting her break after all. I doubt anyone is going to care if she does get an album out though. She should just stick to doing Playboy.
In a recent interview talking about having a fourth American Idol judge, it looked like Paula Abdul was talking smack about Kara DioGuardi. Now, the lunatic judge is taking back what she said. Before taking to the stage for the show’s live show on Wednesday, Paula told Entertainment Tonight that her quote to OK! Magazine was taken out of context. She said “It is unfortunate that a quote of mine was taken completely out of context today. I was actually referring specifically to the use of ‘guest judges’ in seasons past, NOT Kara [DioGuardi] or this season. I am thrilled to have her by my side each week on ‘American Idol.’”
Former INXS lead singer JD Fortune just screwed himself over. The reality show winner complained to Entertainment Tonight Canada last week about an incident in which he claimed that he was kicked out of the band after their last international tour, which lead to a downward spiral of cocaine abuse and eventually homelessness. Too bad for JD because the word from INXS is that they still considered him a part of the group. Record label head and former manager Chris Murphy told reporters that an INXS album is in the works and the band was days away from giving JD the news. He said “Not only are we shocked by the claims, even the place the supposed incidident was to have taken place is a mystery to the band. I guess I have no reason to call him now.” I find it a little weird that the band claims that they were just about to call JD after a year hiatus and no contact with the singer during that time.
Despite going through some tough times, Rihanna found enough strength to celebrate her 21st birthday by going to a movie with friends and partying the night away. A source told Life & Style “Rihanna, accompanied by some pals, first went to an early showing of Tyler Perry’s ‘Madea Goes to Jail’ in Santa Monica. She looked beautiful. She was wearing glasses, so you couldn’t see her eyes, but she looked fine to me.” After the movie, Rihanna went to the Hollywood Hills for a birthday party. “People were scrambling at her feet to make sure her every wish was granted. There was birthday cake, champagne, you name it! She was a bit shy at first and kept her glasses on most of the night. But once she saw her old crew and got used to being out, she really got into it. She was even dancing! You could tell she was happy to be out. She needed it.”
John Mayer revealed last week that he was going to be at the Oscars so I was waiting for him to come out with Jennifer Aniston on the red carpet. However, the couple chose to skip the main red carpet but they did choose to pose for photographers inside the Kodak theater. I wonder why they chose to skip it. Maybe it was too avoid a run in with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. I’m also wondering as to why John has that shit-eating grin on his face. He looks like a kid in a candy store who just got told they were going to the toy store too
It seems like no one is safe from getting their albums leaked on the net. Kelly Clarkson just suffered the same fate last week and now, she’s joined by the iconic rock band U2. The Irish band’s ‘No Line on the Horizon’ has leaked, just a week before its official March 3rd release. Apparently, Universal Music Australia’s getmusic.com.au was responsible for putting the album up for sale for a hot minute. A U2 fan site grabbed it up and now the album in on the internet for everyone to steal. After hearing their first single, I already had my doubts. Hearing the rest of the album just cemented them. It’s not worth the money, trust me.
On Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 16 Frames released Where It Ends, the band’s debut recording for Verve Forecast and its first on a major label. The album features 11 perfectly-crafted pop songs, all written by Steve Sulikowski, 16 Frames’ front man.
Where It Ends pairs immediately catchy rock melodies with complex, often dark, melancholy lyrics. The music resonates with fans of bands such as The Fray, U2, and Matchbox 20.
Songs from Where It Ends have already been showcased on television programs such as MTV’s The Hills and ABC’s Men In Trees, helping to establish 16 Frames as a new force in modern pop music. The band features Sulikowski on guitar and vocals with Josh Dunahoo on guitars, Dylan Wilson on bass, and Daniel James on drums.
Throughout the album, Sulikowski mines the depths of relationships between lovers and friends, parents and partners for his song lyrics. For example, his girlfriend feeling depressed one evening inspired him to write the explosive opener “Close Range,” a devastating tale of waking up to see your loved one with bags packed and headed out the door into the arms of another. The title track draws on a past relationship that came to a close since he and an ex continued to make the same mistakes over and over. Sulikowski wrote “Back Again,” the album’s gem of a first single, “at a really dark time when things couldn’t look any worse, career-wise, life-wise, just in general.”
Other songs featured on Where It Ends include the spirited “Daylight,” the hit-bound power ballad “Let’s Not Pretend,” and the touching “Coming Home.”
The band’s name comes from the world of filmmaking: it takes 16 frames for movement on film to progress from choppy to fluid. The cinematic imagery also details Sulikowski’s journey in creating the music. “My manager would tell me making a record is a lot like making movies: you have rewrites, you have dailies, and I started to look at the whole songwriting and creative process unfolding in a way like a movie. Sixteen frames is that moment when things become focused, become clear.”
16 Frames premiered the video for their single, “Back Again,” last week on mtvU where they are now spotlighted on this week’s installment of The Freshmen. Check out the video here and head over to mtvU.com to start voting.
New Kids On The Block have just premiered the video for their song “2 in the Morning.” Shot at a mansion in Pacific Palisades, CA, the video follows a feuding couple throughout the house. Donnie describes the concept of the piece as “somewhat based on a very literal translation of the song with a twist.”
The Soundtrack to Jonas Brothers’ new film “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience” is available today! The jam packed album includes live versions of favorites like “Hello Beautiful” and “S.O.S” as well as performances with Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato, a Shania Twain cover, and one new, never-before-heard studio recording called “Love Is On Its Way.” The highly anticipated film goes behind-the-scenes with Kevin, Joe and Nick on last year’s Burning Up Tour, following their every move along the way.
Check out footage from their MTV special last night and head over to iTunes to grab the Soundtrack.
The Pussycat Dolls have teamed up with two time Oscar winner A.R. Rahman for an English interpretation of the song “Jai Ho!”, the spectacular finale to the Oscar winner for Best Picture, Slumdog Millionaire. Listen here for a preview of A.R. Rahman and the Pussycat Dolls featuring Nicole Scherzinger “Jai Ho!” (You Are My Destiny).
Super-producer Ron Fair (Fergie, Christina Aguilera) produced the lead vocals for Nicole, whose voice blends with that of composer A.R. Rahman. Visit People.com for more info on the story.
Chris Cornell has added ten more dates to his spring tour in support of his forthcoming album, Scream – produced by Timbaland and released by Mosley Music/Interscope on March 10. The 28-date tour now includes a Canadian stop in Vancouver in addition to U.S. cities such as Denver, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Tickets for the 10 newly announced shows go on sale to the public this Friday, February 27. All previously
announced shows are on sale now. Scream showcases a new, seductive sound – dark, multi-layered and full of puzzles and surprises. The songs bring a cinematic scope to Cornell’s performances with potent visual imagery echoing the non-stop musical assault from his internationally acclaimed live band. “Musically, this is the most ambitious thing I’ve been a part of. It’s almost like a movie soundtrack,” says Cornell, who will also be playing other music from his two-decade, 14 –album career.
Get SCREAM with TICKET PURCHASE
Cornell has also announced that fans who purchase tickets online tothe upcoming tour
will also receive a digital copy of his entire new album, Scream. A code will be sent to
online ticket purchasers to redeem a digital copy when the album is released nationwide
on March 10. Chris hopes this will give fans something extra at a time when money’s
becoming tighter for everyone.
Newly Announced Tour Dates – On Sale This Friday, February 27 at 10am ET
April 21: St. Louis, MO – Pop’s
April 22 : Kansas City, MO – Harrah’s Voodoo Lounge
April 24 : Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
April 25 : Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
April 27 : Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
April 28 : Vancouver, BC, Canada – Commodore Ballroom
April 29 : Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
May 1 : San Francisco, CA – Grand Ballroom
May 2 : Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
May 3: Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
Previously Announced Tour Dates – On Sale Now
March 28 : Dallas, TX – House of Blues
March 29 : Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
March 30 : Austin, TX – Stubbs Bar-B-Q
April 1 : Atlanta, GA – CW Center Stage
April 3 : Atlantic City, NJ – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
April 4 : Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
April 5 : Washington DC – 9:30 Club
April 7 : New York, NY – Webster Hall
April 8 : New York, NY – Webster Hall
April 10 : Boston, MA – House of Blues
April 11 : Montclair, NJ – Wellmont Theatre
April 13 : Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
April 14 : Ann Arbor, MI – Michigan Theater
April 15 : Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue Theatre
April 17 : Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater
April 18 : St Paul, MN – MYTH
April 19 : Chicago, IL – Riviera Theater
Rise Against announce a summer tour with punk rock legends Rancid as their special guests. The tour kicks off June 4th in Vancouver and continues through July 31st. See below for a list of U.S. & Canadian tour dates. More dates to be announced soon.
Rise Against released their fifth studio album, Appeal To Reason, on DGC/Interscope Records last fall and it debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart as well as spending one week at # 1 on the iTunes album chart. First single, “Re-Education (Through Labor),” was a top 2 hit at modern rock radio and new single “Audience Of One” is poised to top the charts as well.
Currently Rise Against is on a European headlining tour followed by some dates in Australia and Japan. The band will be back in the states to play the Bamboozle Festival in East Rutherford, NJ on May 3rd with No Doubt.
Also on the bill this summer will be Riverboat Gamblers (June dates) and Billy Talent (July dates) opening the shows. Below is a list of summer tour dates for Rise Against with special guest Rancid:
June 4th Vancouver, BC Pacific Coliseum
June 6th Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
June 7th Calgary, AB Calgary Corral
June 8th Saskatoon, SK Prarieland
June 11th Denver, CO Red Rocks Ampitheatre
June 12th Kansas City, MO Beaumont Club
June 13th St. Louis, MO Pops (Outdoors)
June 15th Cleveland, OH Time Warner Cable Amp
June 17th Montreal, QC Parc Jean Drapeau
June 18th Quebec City, QC Agora
June 19th Ottawa, ON Civic Centre
June 22nd Cincinnati, OH PNC Pavilion
June 24th Detroit, MI Fillmore
June 26th Minneapolis, MN Myth
July 6th Seattle, WA WaMu Theatre
July 8th Reno, NV Reno Events Center
July 10th San Diego, CA Cricket Wireless Amp
July 11th Los Angeles, CA The Forum
July 13th Las Vegas, NV The Joint
July 14th Phoenix, AZ Mesa Arts Center
July 16th Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom
July 17th Austin, TX Stubb’s
July 18th Houston, TX Verizon Wireless
July 20th Orlando, FL House of Blues
July 21st Orlando, FL House of Blues
July 23rd Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues
July 24th Baltimore, MD Ram’s Head
July 25th Philadelphia, PA Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing
July 28th Boston, MA House of Blues
July 29th Boston, MA House of Blues
July 30th Buffalo, NY Agri Center
July 31st Toronto, ON Molson Ampitheatre
Lady Gaga went to the Brit Awards this past Wednesday were she performed with the Pet Shop Boys. Before the performance, the organizers promised for it to be one of the raunchiest shows ever. Considering it’s Gaga, that pretty much goes without saying. The ‘Just Dance’ singer performed her own rendition of ‘Nothing has been Proved’ made famous by Dusty Springfield. The song is about a 1963 political scandal called the Profumo Affair in which a minister was revealed to b e involved in an affair with a showgirl named Christine Keeler. A source said “The organizers wanted a female singer who would really shock to sing this track about the Keeler sex scandal. GaGa is the girl. She will be perfect. Don’t expect many clothes.”
The new Kelly Clarkson album has just leaked on the internet in its entirety. While that may come off as bad news, that’s where it ends. Everything else is good news after that. The great news is that the album is really good. I love it a whole lot even after just listening through it one full time. The whole thing is great! Almost every song has the potential to be a massive single for the original American Idol. That makes it official. Kelly Clarkson is back and she’s back with a vengeance! Congrats! I bet that the leak will even help her sell more albums rather than make her lose money.
Here are the winners for this year’s Brit Awards, held at London’s Earls Court on 18 February. (Winners in bold)
Best British male
Ian Brown
James Morrison
The Streets Paul Weller
Will Young
Best British female
Adele
Beth Rowley Duffy
Estelle
MIA
Best British group
Coldplay Elbow
Girls Aloud
Radiohead
Take That
Best British live act
Coldplay
Elbow Iron Maiden
Scouting For Girls
The Verve
Best British single
Coldplay – Viva La Vida
Duffy – Mercy Girls Aloud – The Promise
Leona Lewis – Better in Time
Scouting for Girls – Heartbeat
Best British Album
Coldplay – Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends Duffy – Rockferry
Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
Radiohead – In Rainbows
The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing
Best British breakthrough act
Adele Duffy
Last Shadow Puppets
Scouting For Girls
The Ting Tings
Best international album
AC/DC – Black Ice
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
Killers – Day & Age Kings of Leon – Only By The Night
MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
Best international male
Beck
Neil Diamond
Jay-Z Kanye West
Seasick Steve
Best international female
Beyonce
Gabriella Cilmi Katy Perry
Pink
Santogold
Best international group
AC/DC
Fleet Foxes
Killers Kings of Leon
MGMT
Static-X has just posted the first single off their forthcoming album, Cult of Static on their official MySpace page. “Stingwray” was inspired by Wayne Static’s wife, former adult film star Tera Wray Static, and the Corvette Stingray she drives.
Keeping the integral tones, Static-X encompasses shredding guitars with solos that have brought the band to a level of playing to be reckoned with. The cybernetic stomp of “Hypure” and “You Am I” bludgeon, bruise and break with precise grooves. Elsewhere, the staccato riffs on “Terminal” crush through an unmistakable guitar tone. Guitarist Koichi Fukuda blazes through incendiary solos, while Tony Campos bolts down demonic bass lines and Nick Oshiro pounds out deadly rhythms. Front-man Wayne Static riffs pure violence and screams out his soul. “Over the years my voice has been destroyed from excessive touring… and I love it,” exclaims Static. “The vocals on the new record are raw and brutal.”
A song you may already be familiar with is “Lunatic” as it was included on the Punisher: War Zone movie soundtrack. Although “Lunatic” is relentless and raw, brandishing a ripping groove and an impenetrable barrier of guitars the album cut was re-recorded to feature a solo by legendary Megadeth front-man Dave Mustaine. “I’ve been a huge Megadeth fan for years,” explains Static. “We’ve toured with them twice. Mustaine and I really hit it off on the road. His lead style is one of the most distinctive styles out there. There’s something amazing about it. When you hear him solo, you know it’s him.”
Since their breakthrough debut, Wisconsin Death Trip, Static-X has sold over three million records, and they’ve completed numerous successful world tours including three Ozzfests, The Family Values Tour and Gigantour. Cult of Static is the bastard child of a 10 year journey of metal annihilation, unleashing the beast to all in their path. “I can hardly believe it’s been a decade since the release of our first cd, “Wisconsin Death Trip,” and we’re still going strong thanks to all of our loyal fans,” explains Static. “The title Cult of Static is meant to be a big thank-you to everyone who has supported us through the years. I’m looking forward to seeing you all on the upcoming world tour.”
Cult of Static hits stores on March 17th on Warner Bros Records
Entire Album Available for Free Streaming on February 20th, Days Before Hitting Stores
MySpace Music myspace.com/music, the world’s premier online music portal, announces the exclusive world premiere of No Line On The Horizon, the newtr studio album from U2. Beginning on February Feb. 20th ,MySpace U.S. users will be able to stream the album in its entirety from U2’s official MySpace Music profile at www.myspace.com/u2, giving fans a chance to preview it before the U.S. release on March 3rd. No Line On The Horizon will be available for purchase on MySpace Music starting on March 3rd.
U2 recently premiered their latest video for the hit single Get On Your Boots on MySpace Music to fans around the world. No Line On The Horizon is the group’s highly anticipated 12th studio album and their first release since How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb came out in late 2004. Recording sessions for No Line On The Horizon were held in various locations around the world, including Fez, Morocco, the band’s own studio in Dublin, New York’s Platinum Sound Recording Studios, and Olympic Studios in London. Long-time U2 collaborators Brian Eno and Danny Lanois produced the album, with additional production by Steve Lillywhite.
For more information about U2 and to stream No Line On The Horizon, visit their MySpace Music official profile at: myspace.com/u2.
Check out this week’s “Hijinks” episode of Clique Girlz TV. After goofing off at the airport, the trio head to Target and continue their crazy antics in the store.
Clique Girlz’ Incredible EP is available now.
