Paul Oakenfold, the DJ who is supporting Madonna on her “Sticky and Sweet” tour recently stated that the star is not too hard to get in the proper mood. Paul Oakenfold said: “Planning my set for a Madonna show is tough because she covers the whole spectrum. It’s a white, black, gay, straight crowd, aged between 15 and 60. It’s no good making it too underground. Despite the big venues it’ll still be clubby and I’ll get the crowd going. And it doesn’t take much to get Madonna in the mood.” This is all fine and dandy, but still, get Madonna in the mood for what, more exactly? To get her in the mood for performing? I wasn’t aware that such a thing is a requirement for her live shows.
He’s still got an assault charge against him but Chris Brown is already being sued by someone else. A photographer claims that the R&B singer was involved in a violent incident on a Los Angeles basketball court back in March. According to the lawsuit, the photographer claims it all went down just weeks after the Rihanna incident when he shot a photo of Chris playing ball with his friends. He then claimed that Chris’ bodyguards yelled at him so he tried to leave the gym but an LA Fitness employee blocked his escape. The photographer then fell down a stairwell which allowed the bodyguards to catch up with him where they “picked him up by his shorts and physically assaulted him.” He is suing Chris and LA Fitness for assault and battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and premises liability.
It seems that ticket sales for Beyonce’s ‘I Am…’ tour aren’t so great. The singer’s camp has announced that there will be 1,000 tickets priced at only $20 a pop for each date on the North American leg of her tour. Fans of Beyonce can purchase the cheap tickets via Ticketmaster beginning today. Be careful with those clicks. We all know how Ticketmaster has been doing some shady business. I wonder if Beyonce is gifting her fans with affordable tickets because she’s feeling generous or because they weren’t selling otherwise. I don’t really care much either way. I’m not a big fan of hers to begin with.
In a recent interview, Kanye West revealed that he doesn’t like to read. The rapper said “I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book’s autograph. I am a proud non-reader of books. I like to get information from doing stuff like actually talking to people and living real life.” For someone who doesn’t like to read, it sounds kind of foolish that he now tells everyone to go out and buy a book that he just co-wrote. ‘Thank You and You’re Welcome’ isn’t a long read though. It only features 52 pages, some of which are blank and others just have a few words on them. Kanye says that “This is a collection of thoughts and theories.”
Demi Lovato has announced the title of her new album via her Twitter account! Her sophomore release will be called “Here We Go Again,” and it is due out in July. Catch Demi on tour this summer with special guests David Archuleta, Jordan Pruitt and KSM where she promises to play some songs from the new record.
Dave Matthews Band will release Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, the highly anticipated album following the death of band member Leroi Moore, on June 2. The album, a tribute to Leroi Moore, will be the band’s first studio album in 4 years and will include the newly released single “Funny the Way It Is”. Rolling Stone’s four star review states that Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King producer Rob Cavallo, “has brought some of the classic-rock edge of his hit records with Green Day and My Chemical Romance to Matthews arena-size spin on early-Seventies Traffic.” Those who are awaiting the album’s release on June 2 can now stream the complete album at Pandora.com.
Watch Dave Matthews Band Live on Hulu.com June 1 as they stream the band’s live in concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre. For more information on Dave Matthews Band, including tour dates, visit DaveMatthewsBand.com.
Lady Gaga is on the cover of this summer’s Hot Issue of Rolling Stone! Check out RollingStone.com for a behind the scenes look at her special feature, and pick up your copy of this issue on stands today!
Check out Pussycat Dolls’ brand new video for their single “Hush Hush; Hush Hush.” The 70s themed clip is one big dance party featuring amazing costumes, PCD’s trademark moves and a cameo by Perez Hilton!
White Stripes drummer Meg White recently got married to guitarist Jackson Smith, son of rock icons Patti and Fred Smith, in front of a small group of friends and family in Nashville. The couple’s wedding was actually part of a double wedding held in the backyard of band mate and ex-husband Jack White, who lives in an old Southern home about 5 miles out of Nashville. Forget the weirdness it may bring, it’s so cool of Jack to do that for Meg. The other couple who got married was Racounters and Dead Weather bass player Jack Lawrence and his girlfriend Jo McCaughney. I bet that reception was amazing. Congratulations to both happy couples!
Susan Boyle really wants to win ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ because she keeps practicing nonstop. The finale takes place this Saturday and the singer has been practicing all day and night while staying at the Wembley Plaza Hotel in London where guest have complained about her constant singing until 2AM. All that practicing may have caused her a cold which we can all blame for her lacklustre semi-final performance of ‘Memory’ from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Cats’ this past Sunday. After winning the public vote, Susan said “It was totally unexpected — but I’m feeling pretty good about the result. It was a pretty rocky start because to begin with I sort of had a croaky note. That’s because I had a cold. But I said to myself, ‘Pick yourself up, keep going.’”
Gwen Stefani and her band No Doubt had a very special guest to come out on stage at No Doubt’s concert in Salt Lake City this past Monday. The band’s front woman carried her son Kingston Rossdale up on stage in the middle of the set to have the band and the thousands of fans in attendance to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the growing toddler. Aww, that was so sweet. I bet Kingston enjoyed that. The kid can be such a ham when he wants to. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even realize it. I wonder when he’ll figure out that it’s not an everyday thing for any other kid.
Here is a complete list of MuchMusic Video Awards Nominees:
Video
Danny Fernandes — “Private Dancer”
K-OS — “4, 3, 2, 1″
Marianas Trench — “Cross My Heart”
Nickelback — “Gotta Be Somebody”
The Stills — “Being Here”
Director
Bedouin Soundclash — “Until We Burn In The Sun (The Kids Just Want A Love Song)” (Director: Michael Maxxis)
Classified — “Anybody Listening” (Director: Harv)
Danny Fernandes — “Fantasy” (Director: RT!)
Marianas Trench — “Cross My Heart” (Director: Colin Minihan)
Theory Of A Deadman — “All Or Nothing” (Director: Davin Black)
Pop Video
Danny Fernandes — “Private Dancer”
Elise Estrada — “Crash And Burn”
Karl Wolf — “Africa”
LIGHTS — “Drive My Soul”
Shiloh — “Operator (A Girl Like Me)
MuchLOUD Rock Video
Inward Eye — “Shame”
Marianas Trench — “Cross My Heart”
Nickelback — “Gotta Be Somebody”
Ten Second Epic — “Life Times”
Theory Of A Deadman — “All Or Nothing”
MuchVIBE Hip-Hop Video
Classified — “Anybody Listening”
Famous — “Ain’t No Use”
JB featuring Ghetto Flex — “Move Your Body”
K-OS — “4, 3, 2, 1″
Shad — “The Old Prince Still Lives At Home”
VideoFACT Indie Video
Bedouin Soundclash — “Until We Burn In The Sun (The Kids Just Want A Love Song)”
Metric — “Gimme Sympathy”
Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains — “Who Do We Care For?”
Shad — “The Old Prince Still Lives At Home”
The Midway State — “Never Again”
Post-Production
Classified — “Anybody Listening”
Mobile — “The Killer”
Nickelback — “Gotta Be Somebody”
The New Cities — “Dead End Countdown”
The Stills — “Being Here”
Cinematographer
Bedouin Soundclash — “Until We Burn In The Sun (The Kids Just Want A Love Song)”
Elise Estrada — “Crash And Burn”
K-OS — “4, 3, 2, 1″
The Midway State — “Change For You”
Theory Of A Deadman — “All Or Nothing”
International Video (Artist)
Beyonce — “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
Britney Spears — “Womanizer”
Kanye West — “Heartless”
Katy Perry — “Hot N Cold”
Kevin Rudolf featuring Lil Wayne — “Let It Rock”
Kelly Clarkson — “My Life Would Suck Without You”
Lady GaGa — “Poker Face”
Lil Wayne — “A Milli”
Miley Cyrus — “The Climb”
T.I. featuring Rihanna — “Live Your Life”
International Video (Group)
Coldplay — “Viva La Vida”
Green Day — “Know Your Enemy”
Jonas Brothers — “Lovebug”
Kings Of Leon — “Sex On Fire”
Metro Station — “Shake It”
MGMT — “Electric Feel”
Pussycat Dolls — “I Hate This Part”
Rise Against — “Re-Education (Through Labor)”
The Black Eyed Peas — “Boom Boom Pow”
The Killers — “Human”
International Video By A Canadian (Artist Or Group)
Billy Talent — “Rusted From The Rain”
K’Naan featuring Chubb Rock — “ABC’s”
Kardinal Offishall featuring Akon — “Dangerous”
Kreesha Turner — “Don’t Call Me Baby”
Nickelback — “If Today Was Your Last Day”
UR FAVE Video
Danny Fernandes — “Fantasy”
Kardinal Offishall featuring Akon — “Dangerous”
Marianas Trench — “Cross My Heart”
Nickelback — “Gotta Be Somebody”
Simple Plan — “Save You”
UR FAVE International Video
Jonas Brothers — “Burnin’ Up”
Katy Perry — “I Kissed A Girl”
Lady GaGa — “Poker Face”
Lil Wayne — “A Milli”
Britney Spears — “Circus”
UR FAVE New Artist
Danny Fernandes — “Fantasy”
LIGHTS — “Drive My Soul”
Shiloh — “Goodbye, You Suck”
The Midway State — “Never Again”
Karl Wolf — “Africa”
After Adam Lambert’s performance with the rock legends Queen on the American Idol finale last week, Queen guitarist Brian May told Rolling Stone magazine that the band is toying around with the idea of the runner up becoming the band’s permanent front man. May said “”…[Drummer Roger Taylor] and I are definitely hoping to have a meaningful conversation with [Lambert] at some point. It’s not like we, as Queen, would rush into coalescing with another singer just like that. It isn’t that easy. But I’d certainly like to work with Adam. That is one amazing instrument he has there.” It just goes to show that losing American Idol isn’t the end of the world.
Rumors swirling around former ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’ star turned rapper Aubrey ‘Drake’ Graham being Rihanna’s latest boy toy have been running rampant for several days now. Drake claims that the Barbadian singer is just a friend though. However, when he was performing at Toronto’s Sound Academy, he did a quick shout out to Rihanna. He sang “I wish I could fuck every girl in the world. Maybe not every girl in the world. Maybe every girl in Toronto. Shout out to Rihanna, I love you baby.” They’re just friends my butt. Who does that and says that they’re not friends?
Bruce Springsteen recently announced that he and his “wrecking crew”, the E Street Band, will be the final musical act before Giant Stadium in New Jersey gets demolished after the 2009 football season. If you are a fan of Bruce, you know that he is going to tear that show up. The rock icon has sold out 16 shows at that stadium and 44 shows at the nearby Izod Center. Three shows have been scheduled for September 30, October 2 and October 3. Tickets for the shows will go on sale on June 1. I hope they’re not selling on Ticketmaster. They’ve been screwing up sales for Bruce a couple of times now.
Simon Cowell has ordered his personal bodyguards to protect ex-girlfriend Terri Seymour following her attack after the American Idol finale.
Cowell asked his security team to watch out for her while she recovers from being choked by the 200lb woman, allegedly mad at the judge for his treatment of co-host Paula Abdul.
Seymour, a correspondent for U.S. entertainment show Extra, called the assault ‘horrific’ as she appeared on the show for the first time.
Seymour had just finished reporting on the final performance show when she was attacked.
She said: “The next thing I know this woman has me in a headlock and was trying to choke me.”
Seymour said she had never seen the woman before. “She said, ‘You’re that girl on TV right?’ That was it.”
The drama ended when the woman eventually released her grip and tried to run away.
“The police were fantastic,” said Seymour. “They were close by and managed to catch her.”
According to a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department, officers on hand for crowd control witnessed the incident, which took place around 7pm.
As Seymour was leaving the venue, she was approached by 33-year-old Janice Thibodeaux, who asked if Seymour was Cowell’s ex-girlfriend.
After Seymour answered in the affirmative, police say Thibodeaux attacked Seymour.
Thibodeaux, who is being held on $52,703 bail, spoke to a U.S. website from behind bars to explain her actions.
She said: “I wasn’t cool with Simon Cowell choking Paula Abdul on the show last week and with her crying out ‘help’ as he did so.”
Coldplay front man Chris Martin has finally come out to talk about the accusations that he has ripped off guitarist Joe Satriani’s ‘If I Could Fly’, which bears resemblance to the hit ‘Viva La Vida’. Yusaf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, also claims that the hit Coldplay song took from one of his songs too. Chris said “If everyone’s trying to take away our best song, then we’d better write 25 better ones. And so just at the point where I was thinking about getting fat and becoming complacent, I’ve been finding more inspiration. Now we’ve got more to prove than ever before. Some people are suing us at the moment and although it was initially a bit depressing, now it’s become really inspiring.” Obviously, he’s never heard of the term originality.
Depeche Mode has been forced to cancel four more shows recently due to lead singer David Gahan’s severe case of gastroenteritis. In a statement from the band, they said “Dave is currently undergoing further tests. Depeche Mode apologizes to all their fans for this inconvenience and wish Dave a speedy recovery.” The ‘Tour of the Universe’ was shut down until May 21 and affected the rock band’s performances in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia. Ticket holders were advised to hold on to their tickets as information about rescheduling/cancellation is still being ironed out. Announcements regarding the cancelled dates will be announced soon.
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Sooner or later, someone’s going to have a hospital wing named after Amy Winehouse as the British singer has once again visited the hospital for the third time in three months last week. The doctors of St. Lucia knew the drill so well that Wino was even released the same night that she was admitted. Wino’s friends are worried that her latest trip will mean that she is still not ready to go back to the full swing of things regarding her career. Wino is scheduled to make a comeback performance in London at the end of this month and they are saying that she might not make it.
The Jonas Brothers have a new album about to come out called ‘Lines, Vines and Trying Times’. The first single off of the album is called ‘Paranoid’ and some people are saying that the lyrics may be referring to Joe’s ex-girlfriend, country singing cutie Taylor Swift. However, Nick says “This is really funny because people think this is about something particular but the truth to that is it’s one of the only songs of the record that’s not about a direct personal experience.” Kevin added “It’s, like, the most general song.” How do you write a general song about a scorned ex?
One of the guys from Pearl Jam was recently jumped and robbed by three masked scumbags with knives – and the whole ordeal was caught on tape! According to a police report filed in Atlanta, the band’s bassist Jeff Ament, was pulling up to their studio with a friend when the three muggers darted out of some nearby woods, smashed the windows of his car in and demanded money. According to Rolling Stone, the musician tried to take off on foot but the robbers caught up with him, knocked him to the ground and stole over $7000 in money and goods. Jeff suffered a cut on his head and was treated at the scene. But despite having the scene being caught on camera, no arrested have been made.
Former American Idol finalist, MICHAEL JOHNS will be performing his new single “Heart on My Sleeve” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show next Monday, May 25th. The Aussie vocalist will be releasing his first post-Idol solo album, Hold Back My Heart on June 23rd. Encouraged by his mentor David Foster, who invited Johns to appear on his star-studded David Foster And Friends PBS special in December 2008, Johns chose the road less traveled, and for the first time in his adult life, went to work on an album with no deal in place. “Foster always said that the secret of his success is to look at whatever lane is open in the music industry and take it,” Johns recalls. “And the way my record combines old and new, I could open for Alicia Keys one night and John Mayer the next, it’s right in the middle.” Songwriter Diane Warren, who penned the knee-buckling ballad “Heart Is Weak,” was another key endorsement. “There’s nothing more validating than having these heavyweights behind you,” says Johns. “It’s like screw winning American Idol when people like David Foster and Diane Warren are saying you have the real thing here.”
With an album completed and ready to turn in, Johns had the rare freedom to shop it around, and when Downtown Records, home to Gnarls Barkley, Cold War Kids and Santigold, showed interest in a licensing deal, he jumped at the opportunity to finally control his own fate. “I think we’re in the most exciting period of music ever, because there’s so many ways to do it,” he says. And like most of his plans thus far, Johns is thinking big for his future. “The live show is going to be great,” he says excitedly. “I might even take it old school with different bands in different towns — almost like what Chuck Berry and all those guys used to do.”
Tune in to see Michael Johns on The Ellen DeGeneres Show next Monday, May 25th. Check your local listings for times.
New Video from Rise Against for Hero of War now Premiering on Myspace!
The following is a message from the band:
We’ve just completed our new video for the song “Hero Of War” off of our record, Appeal To Reason. “Hero Of War” is the story of one soldier, not all soldiers, as he battles not just the war around him, but the war that rages within. Inspired by true events, we were given the choice to either document the tribulations of these times as they unfold around us, or ignore them. To ignore these problems, in our opinion, is letting down the brave men and women who risk everything. “Hero Of War” is our attempt to lift the stigma that surrounds everything from the skyrocketing suicide rate of troops, torture, internal sexual abuse, an under-funded VA, and the growing number of military personnel fighting Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as they return home. We hope this song and this video help the simmering dialogue about these problems evolve into a rolling boil.
-Rise Against
“The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naive and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who loves his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.”- H.L. Mencken
Dave Matthews Band release second track, “Shake Me Like A Monkey,”
Fans that have purchased the Dave Matthews Band iTunes pass will get a little closer to celebrating the new album, Big Whiskey and The GrooGrux King, with a second track from the upcoming record. The exclusive download of “Shake Me Like A Monkey” from the iTunes pass is the second in a series of pre-album releases with the deluxe iTunes package. Also exclusive with the package is a behind the scenes look at the making of the album as well as unreleased b-sides, a digital artwork booklet and live music from the band’s Spring and Summer 2009 tours.
In addition to these rarities, be sure to check out the Dave Matthews Band channel on You Tube to watch the Groo Grux album artwork come alive with a fun and unique musical animation.
Dave Matthews Band’s latest album Big Whiskey and The GrooGrux King hits stores June 2nd, but is now available for pre-order with the exclusive iTunes pass! For more news, tour dates and to pre-order the album in a variety of configurations visit DaveMatthewsBand.com.
Kate Voegele’s sophomore release, A Fine Mess, is available Now! The Mike Elizondo (Maroon 5, Natasha Bedingfield) produced album features the single “99 Times” and is currently streaming in full on Kate’s MySpace page. Like what you hear? Amazon MP3 is offering a great deal to grab the entire album for only $2.99. Follow these simple instructions to get the discounted tracks from Kate’s album page on MySpace.
GREEN DAY’S 21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN RELEASED WORLDWIDE
First Single “Know Your Enemy” Remains No. 1 at Alternative Radio
21st Century Breakdown, Green Day’s highly-anticipated eighth studio album, was released worldwide on Friday May 15th, by Reprise Records. The album is the follow-up to 2004’s two-time Grammy Award-winning punk-rock opera American Idiot, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart, spawned five hit singles, and went on to sell more than 12 million copies worldwide.
The album’s first single, “Know Your Enemy” is already capturing the imagination of listeners across the country. It has been No. 1 at Alternative radio for three weeks and is the band’s ninth No. 1 single at the format, making them the artist with the second most No. 1’s of all-time at Alternative.
Green Day, which is singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool, are preparing to launch their first proper tour of the United States and Canada in more than three years. The tour begins July 3rd at Seattle’s Key Arena and will cross North America through the summer, including a July 27th stop at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, before finishing up with a show at the Forum in Los Angeles on August 25th. Please visit greenday.com for all cities, venues, and ticket on-sale dates.
While most are calling Kris Allen’s win over Adam Lambert an American Idol upset and some are thinking that Kris was the right choice when it comes to the marketability, some are also saying that Adam was done a big favor by not being named the winner. Adam won’t be stuck singing the song ‘No Boundaries’ for the next six months to a year. Considering that it was co-written by Kara DioGuardi,. It’s pretty much a given that Adam is going to get a record deal. The challenge now is for him to make a great album that not only has his stamp but is also marketable.
Despite putting on one of the biggest productions compared to previous seasons, American Idol season 8’s finale was down in viewership by 12% compared to last year’s finale show. That’s too bad because whoever chose to not watch missed an amazing set of performances. Performers included Queen Latifah, David Cook, Jason Mraz, Carlos Santana, Black Eyed Peas, Lionel Richie, Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper, Keith Urban, Steve Martin, KISS and Queen. Of course, every single one of the Top 13 was also there to perform. It was a great showcase of talent. The past, present and future of music was greatly presented in one amazing show.
Kris Allen was called the dark horse of the competition and was clearly the underdog, but in the greatest upset in American Idol history since Chris Daughtry was eliminated, Kris Allen was named as season 8’s winner. When everyone from the judges to the producers to even Kris Allen himself thought that Adam Lambert was going to win, being announced as the winner was a big shock.
