Jermaine Dupri hosted a monstrous private party in Atlanta on Wednesday night, but it wasn’t his usual patented JD throwdown. Sure, some of his closest friends and collaborators came out ? Nelly, Usher, Lil Jon, Monica, Jagged Edge, T-Boz, Chris Webber and of course Janet Jackson ? but this one was a little more special for JD. The party was the grand opening of his club, Studio 72.
For a music mogul whose party-throwing is almost as legendary as his nearly two decades of hit records, it seems like JD would have been in the nightclub business years ago. But believe it or not, he never really thought about opening his own party spot until about seven months ago, when the proverbial opportunity came knocking at his door.
“I don’t know,” JD said on Tuesday when asked why he’d never opened a club before. “I had to find the right spot ? a place where I could do it and feel comfortable. I found a spot, it needed help, so I felt it was the perfect time for me to come in. I never had an inspiration to own no club, but I seen the opportunity and I was like, ‘Let’s go get it.’ ”
Thus, the ATL has a new place JD guarantees will be jamming on the daily ? Studio 72, the inspiration for which should be obvious.
“I wish I could have went to Studio 54,” Dupri said of the notorious disco-era New York nightclub that acted as muse for his new place. “Just from the picture, it looks like the spot I would have been in every week. It looks like it was so poppin’ in there, I would have moved to New York. When you see a club that has Michael Jackson standing on the line outside, you know that sh– was incredible. It ain’t about money for me. I’m trying to have fun. I want people to come from out of town and have to be here, like, ‘I heard Studio 72 is the sh–.’ ”
JD doesn’t do it till rap’s favorite closing time ? 6 a.m. ? but he comes real close. Studio 72 closes at 5 a.m. and is the only club in Atlanta that serves spirits until 4 a.m. Plus, it’s full of special features.
“We got fish tanks, five bars, a lot of VIP [areas],” he said. “Most of the clubs I go to, the dance floors ain’t really a big spot. It’s mostly a room where everybody could sit down and people could mix and mingle. We got so many different areas: the Chocolate Room, the Jacuzzi Room, with girls in the jacuzzi.
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.”
Jordin Sparks doesn’t have a name for her debut album yet, but she’s got a release date set in stone: November 20. In anticipation of the 19 Recordings/ Jive disc, the “American Idol” champ drew back the curtains on her first single on Friday (August 24), debuting “Tattoo”. she’s a bit nervous to be following in the wake of Clarkson and Carrie Underwood’s success. “They’ve risen the bar so high and I’m like, ‘I hope I can reach it,’ ” she said. “Hopefully [my LP will] sell well and people will like it.” …Firstly just stop trying to imitate the past winners, try being someone whose got some of her to talent that she wants to showcase or if she cannot do that then it will be easier becoming a mimckery artist and earn money copying others. And if she wants to make a name for herself then listen dear dare to be different and aim for the stars, and if you start daring then the star will fall at your feer. Yeah don?t start dreaming so fast and get to dizzy heights there a long away to go before you achieve the dizzy heights.
Former Savage Garden front man and still singer Darren Hayes was reportedly arrested in London last weekend. The really juicy part is that it was for a racially motivated verbal attack on a waiter at a Thai restaurant.
The manager at the Busaba Eathai restaurant in Soho confirmed what happened and that the matter was being investigated by the police.
While we all know that racism isn?t the best of things, is that really enough ground to get arrested in the UK?
In response to his arrest, Darren, via his solicitor, just posted a message on his blog saying that while he is cooperating fully, he is deeply upset with the allegation which he strongly denies.
Fans who’ve followed Lori McKenna since she was performing in small cafes, selling self-released CDs after a show, may have been a little nervous when the mainstream country establishment scooped her up.
In mere months, McKenna went from a critically acclaimed but under-the-radar singer-songwriter to a protege of country superduo Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. After McKenna penned Hill’s hit “Stealing Kisses,” she signed a record deal on McGraw’s label, opened for the pair on their huge nationwide tour and even sat next to Hill on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” as Winfrey gushed about McKenna’s talents.
But don’t worry about McKenna trying to Faith Hill-ify her music and sacrifice her intensely personal, emotional songwriting. With “Unglamorous,” released this month, the 38-year-old makes such a seamless transition even she jokes it has been too good to be true.
“I keep telling my kids, these things normally don’t happen … it’s usually not this easy,” laughs McKenna.
But McKenna’s path to Nashville hasn’t followed the typical major-label debut trajectory. First off, she’s 38 years old and not trying to hide it. She’s also the married mother of five children, ages 18 to 3.
And she still lives the life of a typical juggling mom, living outside of Boston and writing songs in between school dropoffs and cleaning up after kid mishaps.
McKenna wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’m just one of those people, I’ve been so blessed to do what I do, and be able to have my focus still be on the things that I love, which are my kids, and my family and my husband and my songwriting.”
McKenna has maintained this artful balance since 1998, when she put out her first album, “Paper Wings & Halo.” Though McKenna, the youngest of six kids, had been playing guitar since she was a teen and always had a passion for music, she didn’t start her career until after she became a mom. When “Paper Wings” was released, she had to borrow money from family and friends to get it released.
“Music was always one of those things that I sort of did on the side. I remember at first it was considered like, ‘Oh, it’s like a hobby for mom,’ because it’s something that would take me away from home, and I wouldn’t really make money on it,” says McKenna, whose husband is a plumber. “Then the next year, it was like, ‘Well, she’s making a little money, she helps with the grocery bills.’”
Soon, it was her second job, after being a stay-at-home mom. McKenna would load up her minivan and play gigs across the Northeast, often making it back home before the kids got up for school the next morning.
Her stature grew, especially regarding her songwriting, which is filled with strong characters, rich storytelling and haunting melodies.
Kanye West considers a certain ”SexyBack” singer his biggest rival. ”My biggest inspiration and biggest competition is Justin Timberlake,” the 29-year-old rapper tells. ”He’s the only other person that gets an across-the-board response and respect level – black radio, white radio.” What ever color of Radio he his more interested in this is in quite sometime that I have ever seen him talk something sensible and respectful about his competition. Yes true we all need some one to push us beyond our known limits and that?s when we probably get to see what we actually made of ? mud or steel. Some just can?t stand the pressure and fade off into deep darkness and others rise to the occasion and gradually fulfill unthought-of dreams and ambitions. Well may be its another salvo that West has fired at Justin asking him to up the ante as he is prepared for a long battle for supremacy.
Rapper M.I.A. slips a modern history lesson about the plight of Sudanese refugees in Darfur into her latest single – to make sure the topic stays alive. The British born Sri Lankan star is passionate about raising awareness of the destruction of war in Sudan, and hope she can educate her fans. These are the kind of rappers the world needs and needs to have more of, it makes no sense screaming at 10-15 decibels points and shouting out crap of which half cannot be understood and half is not worth understanding. Lyrics should be inspiring and something what can be termed as awesome. M.I.A. I haven?t heard of her till date but surely if there is some meaning in her songs then I would be playing it on my Bose music system. There a moral duty that these celebs always avoid and never give importance to the ill happening of our world, so if she think she needs to do some good and bring international attention to the grim situation and I cast my vote for her. What does M.I.A. stand for by the way?
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.
Singer/songwriter James Blunt has blasted his critics, insisting people who hate him and his music need counseling. Blunt, whose hit song You’re Beautiful was voted the most irritating song of all time in a recent British poll, is fed up of being slammed by people who do not know him. This how you guys run this business and that?s what you get in return, simple give and take, you can?t expect the media to be going ga ga over your voice and terming you as a national treasure. Just keep doing the basic of this business right and you will survive, get your music right and have the fans swearing by your name, pose for the media and smile, they will like you. If his song is a hit they why call it irritating, like wise even that Titanic song from Celin Dion ? My heart will go on is often term the most irritating song, but people still play it again and again.
Pop singer Amy Winehouse has spoken out about her hospital visit earlier this week.
Winehouse was rushed to University College Hospital in London suffering from “severe exhaustion,” on Wednesday.
“I don’t know how to explain what happened. I don’t really know myself,” Winehouse told Britain’s News of The World of the incident.
“I can’t remember what I looked like. I couldn’t recognize myself. It was terrifying. I was terrified,” she added.
While Amy’s rep said only that the singer was suffering from “severe exhaustion,” News of the World claims, the “Rehab” singer’s hospital visit was due to the downing of several hard drugs combined with alcohol.
Though it appears, Winehouse did not comment to the paper on the drugs and alcohol allegations, the singer did say she herself was concerned over her trip to the hospital.
“I was so out of control. It just happened. It shocked me. I’m sorry. I just don’t know what got into me,” she said. “I never want to feel that way again.”
Winehouse’s biggest hit, “Rehab,” was written in response to her manager encouraging her to go to a treatment facility. The singer is known for enjoying her alcohol and is regularly spotted by the paparazzi in British pubs and at off license stores buying booze.
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.
British singer Amy Winehouse was earlier reported the week to have been hospitalized due to ?severe exhaustion? but all you fans feeling sorry and pitiful for the singer can stop feeling so bad, as now there are reports which if believed tell that the singer is in hospital for a reason that plagues all of the entertainment industry today ? DRUGS! Her record company won?t comment on these reports and still is rigidly maintaining that the whole incident took place because of pure exhaustion, yes we know now that exhaustion = drug over dose, if so why would the medics had to pump her stomach. She?s now been taken to her home and has been advised complete rest. Amy has had to pull out of gigs in Norway and Denmark. They?re the latest in a long line cancelled shows. Now how could she be performing anywhere when she is addicted to drugs, she will be out of her minds most of the time, singing drug related tunes that won?t be understandable to her.
The best of the best got together on TRL last Tuesday as Timbaland, Kanye West, Robin Thicke, Rihanna and Chris Brown announced the nominees for the MTV Video Music Awards.
Justin Timberlake and Beyonce led the pack of nominees with seven nominations each. Kanye West and Rihanna both earned five nominations and Amy Winehouse came out with three. A list of performers were also announced. Performers will include Kanye West, Fall Out Boy, Amy Winehouse, Chris Brown, The Foo Fighters and Rihanna. The VMAs will air live from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on September 9th.
With that list of nominees and performances, it will look to be a solid show. I?m watching!
Beyonce and Justin Timberlake have each received seven nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards, including best female and male artist of the year. Rapper Kanye West and R&B star Rihanna are shortlisted in five categories. Umbrella, which topped the UK chart for 10 straight weeks, is also up for “monster single of the year”. This could be the one award that Rihanna grabs because I heard to the number it is one of the coolest I heard in recent times. Lilly Allen has time on hand to sort out her visa problems so that she can make it to the ceremony which should be rocking as Justin, Beyonce, and Amy Winehouse are slated to perform as are many other at the show piece event. Now last year Latin singer Shakira too was nominated for seven awards but landed just one, so lets hope this year turns out to be better for the leading nominees.
R&B hitmaker Akon was pleasantly surprised by his three-year stint in a U.S. prison – because the experience wasn’t horrible or terrifying. The Lonely singer, who was jailed after he was found guilty of grand theft auto, spent much of his time behind bars planning for a pop music career and penning songs that have since become massive hits. I thought that only a pretty woman or a fascinating river side location could be motivating and inspirational enough or for the really dumb people the toilet seat is a place for all those crap songs that feature on MTV. He if really coined those hits in the jail then he ought to have made a contract with the county jail in LA, signing up to stay behind the bars for 15 days every year, seven days he can do some community service and the rest 7-8 he could create his songs. He says, “It definitely wasn’t what I expected. It was actually a lot more pleasant.
Gwen Stefani was terrified she’d be a bad mother to son Kingston because of her hectic life as a glamorous pop star. Stefani gave birth to Kingston – her first child with husband Gavin Rossdale – last year, and was pleasantly surprised she made a natural mother. The 37-year-old says, “My biggest fears about motherhood were, ‘How would I fit him into my life? Would I be too self-obsessed to be able to care about him enough? This statement from her makes me like her more, it shows that she really wants to be a good mom and not just raise a child for the heck of it. But how the child will grow to be, we will only know by the time he is 18+ and she has faded away from the limelight. Good parents will always want their children to be level headed and understand that the world they live in is a false and temporary one that?s not going to be there forever. Hope the kid is not all nuts as most others are in Hollywood, rather has a mind that enjoy life within some limitations.
The latest rumour is that Simon Cowell will be producing a film. At the moment it is tentatively titled as ?Star Struck?. The movie is set behind the scenes of a singing contest where the top 10 contestants are battling their way to the top. Apparently the story is shown through the eyes of those people. Cowell himself said that he wants it to be a feel good underdog story. So far it?s sounding pretty darn lame to me. Almost as lame as that movie they made Justin and Kelly do after the first season of American Idol. For some reason Cowell believes that making a movie that is basically just American Idol still, will be relatable to audiences. And because it is more or less just American Idol in a movie, the cast will be selected after a series of open call auditions. The worst part about all of this is that no matter how absolutely crappy this movie is, people will still go see it. Don?t we have better things to do with our time and money than feed the American Idol monster?
Marilyn Manson’s former keyboardist has sued the shock rocker, claiming he kept millions of dollars meant to be shared and bought items including a handbag owned by Hitler’s girlfriend and a skeleton in a wheelchair.
Stephen Bier whose stage name was Madonna Wayne Gacy says he, Manson and other band members signed a partnership agreement in 1993 to share profits.
The suit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims Manson and others deceived Bier into thinking the band wasn’t making much money.
Bier says he began to think differently several years ago when Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, went on a spending binge. He claims Manson owes him at least $20 million in shared profits.
From 2004 to 2006, the suit claims, Manson used band money to buy a $2 million home, collect Nazi paraphernalia and to give his fiancee at the time a handbag once owned by Eva Braun.
Manson also bought “African masks made of human skin, the full skeleton of a 4-year-old Chinese girl, and the full skeleton of a 17th-century male in a wheelchair,” the suit claims.
In addition, the suit claims Manson spent band money on personal drug treatment, a low-budget movie production, a Los Angeles gallery to display his artwork and about $450,000 for an engagement ring and his wedding to burlesque performer Dita Von Teese. She has since filed for divorce.
Bier contends that Manson and the band’s lawyer and business managers cut off his salary payments and band credit card access and refused to pay his medical bills for work-related problems.
Manson’s agent did not immediately return a call Saturday. But in an interview Thursday with MTV News, Manson denied the allegations and said he would fight them.
“The fact that he’s claiming that I’ve treated him unfairly, financially, is really ridiculous,” the singer said. “And I would never spend my money on a Chinese girl skeleton. That would be crossing the line. It’s a Chinese boy, for the record.”
Christina Aguilera canceled a string of shows in Australia and now she has just canceled a pair of concerts in New Zealand because she is too sick to continue on with the show. Luckily enough, those two shows happen to be the last of the worldwide tour.
Christina has been suffering from a viral upper respiratory tract infection with a high fever and abnormal coughing ? an ailment that went around her crew before getting to her. With the tour over, she now has the time to get well and focus on getting healthier for her and the baby?s sake.
Rapper Keith Murray has dismissed reports he is to retire from the hip-hop industry, insisting he will continue performing until he “dies on the stage”. The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World star – who has spent 14 years in the spotlight – turns 33 in September, and has no plans to take a step back from his music career despite his veteran star status. 33 is when most people are getting a hang of their skills and their trade. There are music artist that are well above 5o and yet they seem that they are never going to give up their lure to perform and have fun on stage and off it. We will not go into the details of who are the top artist above the age of 50 but be well assured there are many and they are still very very wild. As the saying goes, just keeping moving till you are having fun, be it on stage or of the stage, just hang in their and 10 years down the line you will be feeling younger than ever before.
Korn announced today that they will be joining the effort to tour green by fueling all their vehicles with bio-diesel. This effort will lessen their environmental impact on this year’s Family Values Tour by using domestically produced bio-fuels in all 16 of their touring vehicles. Green is a nice color and the planet shall look more natural with a green blanket. But celebs, Rap stars and other high fliers can also do something on their part to show that really care for the environment. Most of them take part in Live Earth Concerts but will come to the concert in their gas guzzling Hummers and stretch Limos and make tall claims that they are here to show their support for a cause and this is their of making people aware of the need of the hour. Like Korn, Harry Potter star Daniel Radcillfe recently bought a furl efficient vehicle on his birthday and this should compel others to follow suit. You needn?t own a limo to show to the world you can act or sing, even some good bathroom singers own limos in the corporate world but we don?t follow them, you guys can set good example man.
From Mmmbop to Mmmboobs. The Hanson brothers, 26-year old Isaac, 24-year old Taylor and 21-year old Zac, took the time to sign one female fan?s boobs at her request as Canada?s MTV Live aired on Tuesday. Jessi Cruickshank, a confessed Hanson lover and MTV host looks like she?s ready to pass out. And who wouldn?t with Taylor pretty much grabbing her boobs.
You should note that all the guys are married.
Hanson is going on tour in support of their fourth studio release called ?The Walk? which was released under their own record label 3CG last week. Zac says that the record is about the struggle and decisions you have to make in life.
Dr. Isobel ?Izzie? Stevens of Grey?s Anatomy AKA Katherine Heigl and her musician fianc? Josh Kelley were photographed sharing a loving hug as they make their way to the supermarket to pick up some groceries on Sunday. Aww, how domestic of them!
Earlier in the day, the couple were said to be house-hunting and took a tour of a potential new home for them to settle into after they get married. The couple will reportedly get married on December 23 in Utah were Katherine owns some property.
The two met and fell in love when Josh hired her to play his love interest in his music video for ?Only You?.
Gorgeous Myleene Klass is eight months pregnant and has an insatiable craving… WORK. Her passion for keeping busy is stronger than ever despite her – perfectly-formed expanding tummy. Myleene admits: “I’m not someone who likes to sit around on the sofa watching TV all day at the best of times. “And I certainly wasn’t going to just sit around and wait for the baby to appear, which is why I’ve been putting in seven-day working weeks.” Yeah, she really working hard and it might be that her baby walks out of her womb says ?mom I am off to work, see you later in the day, do not wait for me at dinner, may me and the other kids would go out tonight.? Being a workoholic is good and it?s a syndrome that has engulfed most of us today. These are very testing times on a woman and she needs rest and care as well, moving all the time means greater risk of an unfortunate happening occuring. She should be careful.
As if her life wasn?t already enough of a gong show, each day seems to add to it. It seems that Britney Spears body guard Julio Camera is being charged because of an assault on a photographer on Thursday. The photographer had been trying to take pictures of Spears and her two children walking through a hotel in Vegas. Her bodyguard lashed out at the man, shoving him which witnesses say caused Sean Preston to also be hurt. Britney is blaming the photographer Kyle Henderson for the incident with her son. The Las Vegas P.D. is charging Camera with battery while Spears is trying to do the same against Henderson. The most amazing thing here is that literally every single day in the life of Britney Spears is a gong show. Courtney Love can breathe a sigh of relief. She is no longer the most screwed up celebrity in Hollywood.
The Spice Girls have added three more dates to their upcoming reunion tour. The shows, in Vancouver, British Columbia (December 2); San Jose, California (December 4); and Shanghai, China (January 8), join a roster of 11 previously announced dates, with the Vancouver gig now serving as the tour’s opening night. This is getting bigger and better from the group. This is the fun in regrouping after a long time. You tend to feel there is so much that you have missed while being away that you add more dates to the world tour so as to be with each other for that wee bit longer, catch up on old times share good memroies and giggle on stupid mistakes that now sound so funny and ridiculous. There would be as much fun as on stage as there would be behind it and if things turn out as I think it would be then this world tour could be of the most successful events of the decade.
