Hipsters were able to rejoice last week with Arcade Fire taking over the top spot on the Billboard charts but their celebration with the indie band will have to get cut short as music industry experts say that Eminem’s ‘Recovery’ is making, for lack of a better term, big recovery back to the number one spot in its eighth week on the charts. Congratulations in advance go out to the rapper! It’s a well deserved spot. As for Arcade Fire, all hope is not lost. If they can maintain good sales, they have a chance at staying in the top 10 for a good while.
If all you has-beens are planning to make a comeback, you may want to learn a couple of things from Eminem. The rapper’s latest disc ‘Recovery’ is holding strong at the top spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart for the fourth straight week, selling 195,000 copies. Congratulations to Eminem! Hopefully, he doesn’t veer off the path that he’s on now and keeps on giving us great music. I have to admit that I missed the guy. I wonder if he managed to dethrone Katy Perry on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and took the top honors there too.
For a second week, Eminem’s album “Recovery” is still on top. This is really of no surprise, the album selling 313,000 as Nielsen SoundScan reported. The album was sold in 1.1 million copies in the U.S., in two week’s time. The song “Love The Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna, also stays number one for a second week on the Digital Songs chart. The song was downloaded 280,000 times during these two weeks. The first single of this album was “Not Afraid” released on April 29 and landed number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Lady Gaga is absolutely on fire as the singers latest single Bad Romance has hit the number one spot on Billboards pop songs. In case you lost count, that makes it the princess of pops fifth consecutive song to reach the top of the charts. Congratulations are most definitely in order for Lady Gaga. I cant wait until the next single comes out and hits number one too. She has to have broken another record or something. Lady Gaga is making history folks! And shes pretty much still just at the beginning of her career. Shes bound to reach higher things.
Lady Gagas latest hit Bad Romance debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 last week at number 9! That makes it the fifth Top 10 single in America for the pop princess. The singers hit Paparazzi is still going strong at number 6 on the Hot 100 too! Lady Gaga is also at number 3 on the Digital Songs with 142,000 downloads of Bad Romance. With that, shes getting ever so close to reaching five number 1 singles from a single album. I have no doubt that its going to happen. We all just have to wait just a few more weeks, perhaps even just one.
Taylor Swift doesnt seem to be slowing down as the country singer officially has Billboards longest charting album of this century with her self-titled debut album. Taylor Swift was first released in October 2006 and now in its 157th week in the Top 200 albums chart beating out previous record holder Nickelback. If the cuties first album has done this well, I cant wait to see how well Fearless ends up doing. I can just imagine it breaking even more records. Congratulations Taylor! You are truly one amazing talent. I dont think us music fans will ever get to see another one like you in our lifetime.
Pop-rockers Honor Society debuted at #18 on the Billboard Top 200 this week, moving over 22,000 units of their debut album, Fashionably Late. The band kicked off their second headlining tour on Monday, September 21 in Minneapolis, MN and will continue a run of nearly 40 dates with shows across the United States and Canada including an appearance on The Today Show on Friday, September 25.
The release of Fashionably Late caps off a busy summer for Honor Society as they joined the Jonas Brothers on their World Tour 2009 performing to nearly 1 million fans throughout North America. Honor Society simultaneously headlined their own club tour called The Full Moon Crazy Tour where they brought their high-energy live shows to sold out venues including the Blender Theater in New York City and over 1,500 fans at Club Nokia in Los Angeles.
See below for what the press is saying about Honor Society and Fashionably Late and visit HonorSocietyMusic.com for more info and a full list of tour dates.
Rolling Stone
“Over You” (3 stars) — delivers “shiny heartbreak that splits the difference between *NSYNC and Maroon 5 – all riffing synths… and tunefulness.”
Entertainment Weekly
Honor Society are “crafty pop rock dudes” with songs that “shimmer with freeze-dried funk licks…”
People Magazine
“…fans will likely swoon over ” whose strongest tracks include the power ballads ‘Where Are You Now’ and ‘Goodnight My Love’ both showcasing Bruno’s emotive tenor. ‘My Own Way’ is an infectious pop-rocker.
Dallas Morning News
Honor Society are “purveyors of that frenetic catchy-crunchy pop sound of the day…”
Madonna just keeps on blowing minds and breaking records and it looks like shes not going to stop any time soon. In the September 26th issue of Billboard, the Queen of Pops single Celebration has become the singers 40th number one single on the Hot Dance Club Play Chart. Thats more hit singles than any other artist in the history of the chart! Talk about achieving a great milestone. I bet the second placer with regards to number one hits doesnt even come close. Madonna is utterly amazing! Congratulations are definitely due out to her. And you can bet that theres more where that came from.
Multi-platinum pop singer Katy Perry just nabbed another number one hit with her latest single Waking Up in Vegas. That song makes it the singers third number one Top 40 song from her debut album One of the Boys. There have only been three other artists in the history of the Billboard charts to have achieved that feat, including Ace of Base, Avril Lavigne and Lady Gaga. Wow. Avrils in the list? Anyway, back to Katy. Congratulations to her! Im such a big fan of hers and I couldnt be more proud that shes achieved that milestone. Im sure shes got plenty more up her sleeves for us to watch out for.
Michael Jacksons 50-show run at Londons O2 Arena was set to be the highest grossing single concert engagement if it took place. The concert promoter, AEG Live, went all out on the production and may now be facing some serious financial problems. According to Billboard, AEG sold $85 million worth of tickets along with $30 million spent on spent on production and $10 given to the late singer as an advanced payment. Theyre not sure whether nonappearance insurance will cover the unfortunate situation. If the King of Pop died from a drug overdose or a pre-existing condition, the producer will not get reimbursed and will be forced to refund 750,000 already purchased tickets.
The movie might not even be in theaters yet but the soundtrack for the vampire movie ?Twilight? has snatched the top spot on the Billboard charts from rock icons AC/DC. The soundtrack has sold around 165,000 copies last week. 29% of which, or 48,000 were digital downloads. The soundtrack for the movie scored the second biggest digital download week for a soundtrack since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking album download sales in 2004. The biggest digital week honor goes to ?High School Musical 2? back in August 2007 when the soundtrack sold 62,000 downloads in a week. If the soundtrack is any indication, the movie ?Twilight? is going to be huge!
Universal Republic Records? rock band 10 Years landed a Top 15 debut on Billboard?s Top Album chart this week, coming in at #12 with their new album Division. The new CD also grabbed the top spot on iTunes coveted rock page and currently sits at #7 on the Top Albums. It also garnered the #1 spot on the Top Hard Music Chart, #2 on the Top Alternative Album Chart and #3 on the Top Current Rock Album Chart rallied by their soaring hit single ?Beautiful.? The single was launched at radio in early February and was the #1 Most Added single at Alternative and Active Rock radio.
The video for the new single has also garnered wide acclaim, with the clip taking a swipe at both celebrities and paparazzi in the current Gotcha game of celebrity journalism. 10 Years has also earned a place on one of 2008?s most anticipated summer tours, joining mega-rockers Linkin Park on their 5th annual rollout of the Projekt Revolution tour, which kicks off on July 16 at the Tweeter Center in Boston, MA. 10 Years will share the Revolution stage with multiple other bands on the raucous trek, including metal icons Atreyu, Hawthorne Heights, and Armor For Sleep. The 24 city trek hits multiple major U.S. cities in July and August, including New York City on July 22, Washington DC on July 27, Atlanta on August 3, and Chicago on August 16, winding up in Houston Texas on August 24 for the final Projekt Revolution event at the Cynthia woods Mitchell Pavilion.
Critics have cited no let-down in the momentum10 Years established with the across-the-board fan response they received with their previous album The Autumn Effect, which spawned the hits ?Wasteland? and ?Through The Iris.? ?Wasteland? was hailed by the rock, video, and digital world as one of the decade?s breakthrough rock singles, setting career highs for the band as it reigned for more than a year on the rock charts. The song notched the #4 spot on the year-end Active Rock chart, and pulled off a hat-trick of #1 citations at Active Rock, Billboard?s Modern Rock chart, and in the Alternative Rock format.
The new album, Division, was produced by acclaimed production veteran Rick Parasher (Pearl Jam, Nickelback, Soundgarden. Rob Zombie, among others), and recorded during what the band
has described as ?an intense creative process.? Songs on Division include ?Just Can?t Win,? ?Drug of Choice,? ?11:00AM (Daydreamer),? and ?Focus,? among others. The latter song was co-written by guitarist Dean DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots? fame.
Formed in 2002, members of 10 Years are longtime friends, gaining notoriety with their independent release Killing All That holds You, and signing on with Universal Records in 2005.
Tokio Hotel stormed the Billboard album charts with SCREAM, the band?s first U.S. full length to date. Landing at #5 and #6 on the Alternative Albums and Rock Albums charts respectively and in the top 40 of Billboards Top 200 it is safe to say ? Tokio Hotel have more than arrived.
In their next step in U.S. domination, Bill, Tom, Georg and Gustav, will find themselves in millions of living rooms as their ballad, ?Monsoon,? is released as downloadable content for Rock Band!
If Tokio Hotel have it their way, they?ll be back in the States this August rocking out live for fans old and new. Keep up-to-date on tour information and the latest news in the world of Tokio Hotel at www.tokiohotel-us.com!
About Staind:
In the past decade, Staind has had four No. 1 singles at mainstream rock radio, seen six more singles break the Top 10, and watched their last three albums debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Album Chart. The group has earned their place as one of the most successful rock bands of the new millennium, with four major-label studio recordings and a highly anticipated new release due later this summer. Staind’s music and core sound remains timely and relevant, as the group’s primary focus has always been songwriting over fashion and the latest trend.
Chris Cornell went on the record with Billboard.com that he really liked David Cook?s rendition of ?Billie Jean? on American Idol last week ? especially because he did it first. In his interview, the rocker admits that the Idol wannabe ?sang it great? but then adds that ?it was literally a note-for-note take on what I came up with.? And they say Cook is an original. While Chris was given credit for the innovative arrangement on the show, Idol?s imitation also pays Chris off as his cover of ?Billie Jean? has jumped to #12 on iTunes. And by the way, Doxology was finally given credit for their version of ?Eleanor Rigby? which Cook also sang.
She may have conquered the iTunes singles chart but I guess that?s the only positive thing that we can expect from Mariah Carey. The curvaceous singer?s new single ?Touch My Body? is not on the number 15 spot on the Billboard singles chart this week. The song has been on the chart for six weeks but has failed to even just break into the top 10 having only peaked at a high of the number 14 spot last week. But with her single being number 1 on iTunes, here?s to hoping that the digital downloads will help her even just for a little bit.
Idol fans, this is your time for sweet revenge. He may not have won the competition, but he won the hearts of album buyers this year. Billboard named Chris Daughtry the most popular album of 2007. They sold about 3.2 million copies.
Just half a million shy of that, in second place, is Akon’s album “Konvicted”, followed by the Hannah Montana soundtrack (2.5 million), Fergie’s “The Dutchess” (2.4 million), and Carrie Underwood’s “Some Hearts” (2.3 million).
Number one song of the year was “Irreplaceable” by Beyonce, with Rihanna coming in just behind with “Umbrella”. Top tour of the year was The Police’s reunion tour, bringing in $212 million at last estimate.
Alicia Keys hit the top of the charts this week with her new album ?As I Am?. The gorgeous and talented singer has hit Number one with her album in the Billboard 200 charts, after it sold over 700,000 copies in the US. Blimey girl that?s a lot of albums!
Keys has had 3 previous albums hit number one in the first week of their release; hinting that this little lady is not just a pretty face. She seems to have the ?key? to our hearts, or at least our ears, as fans sweep in to buy her music as fast as it can hit the shelves.
And what a perfect name for the album. We?ll definitely take you as you are Alicia?it seems to be working so far. Keep your ears peeled folks ? if you haven?t heard it yet, get buying it; before it?s sold out!
A look at Evanescence on paper reveals a band that should be in its glory. Following a best new artist Grammy Award for 2003 debut studio album “Fallen,” a Billboard 200 No. 1 debut for 2006 follow-up “The Open Door” and the top 10 launch single “Call Me When You’re Sober,” the group toured the world for nearly a year. So what happened? Single follow-ups “Lithium” and “Sweet Sacrifice” never even charted in the States. The fourth single from “The Open Door,” piano-driven rock ballad “Good Enough,” is as intense and affecting as anything before it?and this time, Lee’s lyric steps from the dark side, reveling in the relief of positivity: “It’s been a long time coming, but I feel good enough.” It’s a make-or-break moment for a band that seemed to own the world one year ago.
Black Eyed Peas leader will.i.am says he’s “really excited and nervous at the same time” about becoming a solo artist with the September 25 release of “Songs About Girls.”
“I was like, ‘How and why should I put out a solo project?’ I could just do another Black Eyed Peas record,” he tells Billboard.com. The hook, he says, was making “Songs About Girls” a semi-autobiographical conceptual piece “where all the songs could tell a story of falling in love, falling out of love, trying to get back in love, destructing love and destroying love and then starting a new situation. That journey is what makes this unique.”
The album features only one guest star, Snoop Dogg, on the electroclash-styled track “Donque.”
Besides the album’s 12 songs, will.i.am shot videos for eight of the tracks and stitched them together into “a movie about making a movie” that will accompany the CD.
will.i.am plans to perform some of the “Songs About Girls” material live when Black Eyed Peas hit the road for a two-month international tour on September 4 in Israel. The group will play in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, South America and Mexico but not in North America. “There’s no Black Eyed Peas record out,” he explains, “and America’s weird like that. If you ain’t got nothing in the marketplace, (the fans) ain’t showing up.”
Last week, rappers UGK released their perennially delayed seventh album, Underground Kingz. The act, composed of longtime friends Chad “Pimp C” Butler and Bernard “Bun B” Freeman, hadn’t released an album’s worth of new material since 2002’s somewhat thrown-together Side Hustles collection ? an album that debuted at #70 on Billboard’s albums chart with 14,800 copies scanned during week one. This a nice jump from their previous release as the previous release debuted at 70 and this one has debuted at #1. But while Pimp C spent four years behind bars on assault charges, UGK’s legend and influence grew ? and the duo’s first new album in five years scanned almost 160,000 copies last week, making Underground Kingz the group’s first #1 on the Billboard albums chart.
Earlier in the week, 50 cent said that he?s going to stop putting out solo records if his arch rival Kanye West?s new album outsells his when they drop on the same day next month. Get ready with your retirement plans 50.
They might be getting equal promotion at the very top of the iTunes store but Kanye is still outselling 50 when it comes to pre-orders. Kanye is up at #3 on the iTunes Top Albums chart while 50 is only at #9. On the singles chart, Kanye?s kick-off song ?Stronger? is at #2 while 50?s ?Ayo Technology? is at #10.
It seems that not even Justin Timberlake?s collaboration could help 50. Game over.
The person who makes you the happiest can hurt you the most just ask 17-year-old rapper/songwriter .
“I was going out with this girl for two years — the most beautiful girl in school — but she cheated on me with my best friend,” the Miami-born, Jamaica-bred Kingston says about his first heartbreak.
The experience, though, served as inspiration for the record-setting “Beautiful Girls,” from his self-titled debut, due July 31 via Beluga Heights/Epic Records. The single, which samples Ben E. King’s 1961 classic “Stand by Me,” entered the Hot 100 Airplay chart in June at No. 58, and in just four weeks jumped to No. 5, the quickest climb by a new male artist since Lou Bega in 1999.
Kingston, who is the first artist signed to J.R. Rotem’s Beluga Heights label, was so eager to work with the producer that he “wrote a message asking him to check out my music and sent it via MySpace. I kept going back and copying and pasting the e-mail and resending it to J.R. three times a day for weeks,” he says. “I knew eventually he would have to reply.”
Rotem’s younger brother Tommy, who manages his page, weeded out Kingston from the many requests and started to correspond with him. “(Tommy) saw the promise in Sean when he first heard him, so he started to work with him, giving him beats and direction so he could present him to me in the best possible light,” says Rotem. “When I heard him, I knew it felt right.”
Kingston, whose grandfather is Bob Marley & the Wailers producer Jack Ruby, discovered his affinity for music at the age of 10, when he wrote his first song over an Alicia Keys beat. His mother was so impressed that she started to invest in studio time for Kingston. With her support, Kingston spent the next few years penning tracks and recording music, hoping to catch his big break.
“I used to go to different studios, barbershops, skating rinks, flea markets … you name it. I was always ready to show talent and hand out my CDs.” But at 14, Kingston experienced the second heartbreak of his young life when his mother was arrested for tax evasion. “I was really close to my mom, and so when she went away it took a big chunk out of me,” Kingston says. “My sister stayed with me, but then she also went away for her involvement in my mother’s crime.” His sister was released after four months, but his mother is still serving time.
Instead of allowing the ordeal to deter him, Kingston, who chooses not to curse in his music (“If a pastor’s daughter wants to buy my CD, she’ll be able to because I make clean music,” he says), used the events to inspire the track “Prosecutor,” in which he recounts his family’s court trials.
“Beautiful Girls,” which will be made available July 24 on iTunes, sits at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has sold 593,000 mastertones through the week ending July 8, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Kingston is the No. 1 artist on MySpace, with more than 5 million profile views.
American Idol rocker Chris Daughtry has scored the biggest-selling record in America of 2007 after sailing past the three million sales mark with his debut, Daughtry. The success also gives Daughtry the fastest-selling rock debut in the 16-year history of the Billboard album chart’s sales tracking system. Daughtry admits he has been struggling to come to terms with his success since the album hit the one million sales mark. Good for your Chris.. Don?t let the fame screw with your head. The album has also been certified triple platinum and is the fifth best-selling digital release of all time. It?s a rare thing for a singer to have such huge success with his debut album becoming the fastest selling rock album and 5th best selling digital release of all time. Looks like now there must be no looking back for him and this should be a stepping stone for him as he looks forward to more success.
Radio stations billboard that showed Britney Spears unflattering photos on which she looked bald and scowling have been taken down after the pop star?s attorneys threatened legal action.
Britney Spear?s attorneys sent a letter to Clear Channel Communications Inc. dated Thursday
In which they accused the company of ?offensive, unauthorized commercial exploitation? of the 25-year-old singer. Their demand is that the billboards in the Tampa area be removed. The letter was posted on The Smoking Gun Web site.
The billboards, advertisements for WFLZ FM?s ?The MJ Morning Show?, depicted a bald Spears and show host Todd Schnitt along with the slogans ?Total Nut Jobs?, ?Shock Therapy? and ?Certifiable.?
?We have confirmed that the billboards are down?, Clear Channel spokeswoman Michele Clarke said Tuesday. She referred other questions to the Clear Channel offices in Tampa, whose representatives didn?t immediately return a call seeking comment.
?Clear Channel has removed the billboards, and I?m not happy with that?, Schnitt told the St. Petersburg Times.
A call to Britney?s attorney who sent the letter to Clear Channel Inc wasn?t immediately returned.
The singer spent a month in the Malibu?s California rehabilitation center after she attracted people?s attention with her wild parties and unusual behavior. The singer even shaved her head at a stop at a San Fernando Valley hair salon
With all four members ensconced in solo projects, the Black Eyed Peas have been unusually dormant in 2007. And singer Fergie says it may be that way for a little while longer.
?We don?t have an album yet, a Black Eyed Peas album?, she tells Billboard.com. ?We haven?t had time; everybody?s been constantly working, as we always do. But we will have an album. We?re not going away.?
The group won?t be completely invisible this year. The quartet will perform at the London Live Earth concert on July 7 and at Japan?s Summer Sonic Festival on Aug. 11 in Tokyo and Aug. 12 in Osaka.
The group is also planning a special tour for later this year. ?It?s 15 different countries featuring 15 shows in some pretty unique places?, she says. ?So that?s going to be exciting. This will have been the longest time we have not performed together, so it?ll be a nice reunion.?
Fergie, who joined the Peas in 2002, reports that bandmates will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo are all working on solo albums, all of which are on target to be released before the end of the year. But Fergie isn?t concerned about the group breaking up- even in the wake of the success of her solo debut, ?The Dutchess? which has sold nearly two million copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Fergie plans to spend the bulk of 2007 on the road, either on her own or with BEP. She?s currently ?knee-deep? in a tour sponsored by Verizon Wireless and supporting ?Big Girls Don?t Cry? the fourth single from ?The Duchess?. She expects more singles to pop off the album but says at this point it?s anybody?s guess which will be released.
?I love ?Mary Jane?s Shoes? that kind of chill girl thing?, says Fergie. ?Or maybe ?Clumsy? a throwback to oldies. I?d just like to get as much music out there as possible so that I can show as many sides of myself as possible and so people can discover that there?s something on the album for them.?
Pop band Maroon 5’s first album in four years opened at No. 1 on the U.S. charts Wednesday, while veteran rocker Ozzy Osbourne scored a personal best with his first release in six years.
Maroon 5’s “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long” sold 429,000 copies in the week ended May 28, according to Nielsen SoundScan data. The group’s prior best sales week came in December 2004, when its 2003 debut, “Songs About Jane” sold 138,000.
Maroon 5 currently also rules Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart with “Makes Me Wonder”.
The group sold 102,000 copies of its new album digitally, breaking a record set last week when rock band Linkin Park’s “Minutes to Midnight” moved 84,000 via that format to debut at No. 1. The latter album fell to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 198,000, a hefty 68 percent sales slide.
Osbourne flew in at No. 3 with “Black Rain”, which sold 152,000 copies. That’s only 1,000 fewer than the opening week for 2001’s “Down to Earth”, which entered at No. 4. Nearly a quarter of sales for “Black Rain” came from digital retailers, which offered early ticketing to this summer’s Ozzfest with pre-orders for the limited edition of the album.
Hip-hop trio U.S.D.A., Young Jeezy’s collaboration with Slick Pulla and Blood Raw, started at No. 4 with “Cold Summer”, which sold 95,000 units.
Rock troupe the Used’s “Lies for the Liars” bowed at No. 5 with 92,000, a chart high-water mark. The quartet’s last effort, 2004’s “In Love and Death” opened at No. 6 with 93,000.
Other debuts included the soundtrack to box office champ “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” at No. 14; Lil Boosie, Webbie & Foxx’s “Survival of the Fittest” at No. 17; the Bravery’s “The Sun and the Moon” at No. 24; and the Beach Boys compilation “Warmth of the Sun” at No. 40.
Paul McCartney’s entire solo catalog will appear on-line for the first time as part of a “comprehensive re-launch” of the Beatles legend’s repertoire, his former record company, EMI Music announced.
EMI Music also confirmed its Parlophone label has retained the McCartney catalog, terms for which were not disclosed. Through the planned reissue campaign, albums from McCartney and his group, Wings, will be made available across all digital platforms and in physical formats.
The project will cover the singer/songwriter’s post-Beatles legacy, from his first album “McCartney” (1970), to his most recent studio album “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard” (2005), which earned three Grammy Award nominations and worldwide sales in excess of 1 million copies.
“Our digital campaign will be DRM-free,” explains an EMI spokesperson, adding that more details will follow shortly.
The news follows McCartney’s recent revelation to Billboard that a deal to finally make the Beatles catalog available for sale on-line is “virtually settled.”
McCartney left EMI earlier this year to sign with Hear Music, the label formed by Starbucks Entertainment and Concord Music Group. His new studio album, “Memory Almost Full,” arrives June 4 internationally and a day later in North America
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