Day in Pop Report for 02/17/2011
(BBC) Aretha Franklin announces she is to return to the stage in May, months after being admitted to hospital for an undisclosed illness. more (BBC) Bruno Mars has pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine but has avoided a jail sentence in the US. He was given 12 months probation, a $2,000 (�1,241) fine, 200 hours community service and ordered to attend drug counseling. more (Billboard) With six debuts on the Hot 100 to be released tomorrow (Feb. 17) on Billboard.com, the "Glee" cast has placed 113 songs on the chart, besting Elvis Presley's 108 chart entries logged between the survey's inception in 1958 and 2003. more (BBC) Len Lesser, best known for his role as Uncle Leo on comedy sitcom Seinfeld, dies aged 88 from cancer-related pneumonia more (Jam) A spokesperson for Pharrell Williams has fired back at reports suggesting the hip-hop star performed an offensive Nazi salute during a recent concert in Las Vegas, insisting the allegations are "downright silly". more (Billboard) Phoenix has begun recording a follow-up to 2009's breakout album, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix." In a video interview with Pedestrian.TV, frontman Thomas Mars called the new effort "futuristic," "experimental" and "minimal." more (FMQB) Lady Gaga makes history this week, as her new single "Born This Way" becomes the 1000th #1 single in Billboard's Hot 100 history. Gaga also breaks Britney Spears' recent record for the largest debut digital sales week by a female artist. more (Billboard) Lady Gaga's upcoming Madison Square Garden concerts will be broadcast by HBO, the station announced yesterday. more (Billboard) Paris Hilton says her new album will be released "in the next few months." more (BBC) The biopic of slain rapper Tupac is back on. The task of casting Shakur would begin immediately, with a shoot planned for late spring and Universal handling the film's release. more (FMQB) Kelly Clarkson took to her Facebook on Monday to tell fans that she's one track away from completing her fifth studio album. more (Gibson) On this day in 2003, Lou Pearlman, the man behind the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC was being investigated over complaints that aspiring stars paid $1,500 to be featured on his website. Pearlman was accused by Florida authorities of getting young actors and models to pay upfront to appear on his Trans Continental company's website by saying he also would help them to find work. On this day in 2008, British soul singer Duffy started a five-week run at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with "Mercy," from the Welsh singer's debut album Rockferry. "Mercy" was the U.K.'s best-selling single of 2008, and won Duffy a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Find out what else happened on this date in music history here
Ten additional dates have been announced for a total of 17 confirmed dates for the North American leg of the LOUD tour thus far. Additional dates include Montreal, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Houston, Dallas, Albuquerque and Boston with more to be announced soon. "I'm a huge fan of Cee Lo since his days with Goodie Mob and with Gnarls Barkley. He's a musical genius, continually reinventing himself and I'm thrilled to have him join me on tour," said Rihanna. more on this story
Hailing back to the show's early roots, the new season will aim to provide a truly personal showcase for some of the greatest songwriters of today. The "VH1 Storytellers" music specials focus on the anecdotes, artistic musings and stories that inspired the artists and their music. These performers aren't afraid to tell all as they expose the most intimate details of their creative process for the audience. Kings of Leon will kick off the new season of "VH1 Storytellers" beginning this May. "With this new season we want to go back to the original idea of great singer/songwriters who you don't see on TV very often talking to a small audience about their inspirations � where the songs come from," said Bill Flanagan, Executive Producer. "'VH1 Storytellers' started with artists like Paul Simon, Elvis Costello and Tom Waits. It feels right to put the spotlight now on singer/songwriters like Jim James of My Morning Jacket and Ray LaMontagne. These are the greats of this generation." more on this story
"E.T." is the fourth single off Katy's Grammy-nominated No. 1 album Teenage Dream. The album's previous three singles, "California Gurls," "Teenage Dream," and "Firework" all peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Katy the first female artist in 11 years to score three No. 1 singles from one album. Katy also made headlines when she announced, via a live appearance on Facebook, the details for her 2011 "California Dreams World Tour." more on this story
The 2011 Essence Music Festival will take place this July 1, 2 and 3 in New Orleans, La. These artists are a part of a group of established and emerging artists who continue to honor "The Roots of R&B" including Charlie Wilson, Fantasia, Boyz II Men, Stephanie Mills, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Macy Gray, Dwele, Alexander O'Neal & Cherrelle, Mint Condition, Kelly Price, M.C. Lyte and New Orleans talent including Irma Thomas, Kourtney Heart, Rebirth Brass Band, Charmaine Neville Band, and TBC Brass Band. more on this story
The idea for this song first came to me when I was flying. As a pilot (in training), I spend a lot of time up in the air- and I reflect on everything that's going on. I remember looking out the window, seeing just sky & air and (as corny as it sounds) thinking that anything is possible. I'm 16, navigating an airplane and writing a record. As soon as I landed, I booked studio time and began the process of recording, "Dreams Come True". Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself as you watch a video of Charlie performing it right here!
"This is a subject very near to my heart," said Toby Keith. "Our soldiers leave their families to fight for us, and we want to fight for them. Long after the 'Welcome Home' parade, many soldiers face medical and legal challenges. It's our duty as Americans to take care of our men and women in uniform when they come home. We invite professionals from all fields to step up to this challenge and help American soldiers and veterans." The mission of Pros 4 Vets is to raise awareness of the enormous needs faced by American service members, veterans and their families and to help them with those needs. The non-profit group will bring together the talents and skills of lawyers, doctors and other professionals to provide free professional services, such as legal assistance or medical care. more info
With first-week sales totaling 150,798, the collection featuring seven #1 hits and other chart standouts is the year's bestselling chart debut. NOW That's What I Call Music! Vol. 37 features 16 pop, hip-hop and crossover country hits, including Eminem featuring Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, P!nk, Ke$ha, Rihanna, Far East Movement featuring The Cataracs & Dev, Pitbull featuring T-Pain, Chris Brown, Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina, Willow, Waka Flocka Flame featuring Roscoe Dash & Wale, Trey Songz featuring Nicki Minaj, Mike Posner, The Ready Set, and Taylor Swift, plus "NOW What's Next" emerging tracks from Greyson Chance, Andrew Allen, Mindless Behavior, and Jacob Latimore. more on this story
Soulful songbird Adele has been capturing the hearts and minds of audiences across the globe. In the first of eight new Unplugged episodes, Adele's powerful performance includes, "Rolling in Deep," "Chasing Pavements" "Don't You Remember," "Someone Like You," and and Carol King's "Natural Woman" made popular by Aretha Franklin. "Turning Tables," off of her sophomore album "21," will be available as an online-exclusive track. Starburst continues as the exclusive partner for the second consecutive season of Unplugged. The brand will be featured alongside each episode of "Unplugged" at Unplugged.CMT.com, Unplugged.MTV.com and Unplugged.VH1.com. "VH1 Unplugged: ADELE" will premiere on VH1 on Friday, March 4 at 11PM ET/PT. more on this story
The first meeting of these kindred spirits took place at The Allen Room at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center for two nights in 2007; their encore appearance was also staged at the heralded jazz house�this time for two sold-out nights at Rose Theater in February 2009 with special guest Norah Jones. Rather than rehash the previous material Nelson and Marsalis had first presented, the threesome paid homage to the music of the late Ray Charles, the iconic star of soul, r&b, country, jazz and pop. On March 29, Blue Note will release the category-defying album from those shows, Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles, a 12-tune song cycle about the ups and downs of love. It features tunes that Charles put on the musical map, including "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "Cryin' Time," "Hit the Road Jack," "Busted," "Makin' Whoopie" and arguably his greatest hit, "What'd I Say." more on this story
The trek kicked off last night at the Birchmere Theatre in Alexandria, Virginia. New dates include stops in Seattle, San Francisco, Santa Monica and Costa Mesa, California. The tour coincides with the release of their critically acclaimed "I Feel You" CD on Concord Jazz. more on this story
Click here to read today's full Day in Rock report tell a friend about this article know of a news item we should cover?
...end |
On the Blue: New Horizons Cruise Days 4 & 5: Starship Lands on the Pearl, Alan Parsons Takes It Home
Kandace Springs - Run Your Race
On the Blue: New Horizons Cruise Day 1: Marbin Gets the Fun Started
Hot In The City: Prog Band Tu-Ner Coming to Phoenix
Watch Motley Crue's 'Dogs Of War' Video
Richie Sambora Returns With 'I Pray', The First Of Four New Songs
The Smashing Pumpkins Reveal New Guitarist
Linkin Park Top Hard Rock And Vinyl Albums Charts With Papercuts
Watch Black Veil Brides' Cinematic 'Bleeders' Video
Singled Out: Evan Boyer's Cedar Creek
Pink Floyd's David Gilmour Reveals Song From First New Album In Nine Years
AC/DC Launching High Voltage Dive Bar At Stops On Power Up Tour
