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Day in Pop Report for 02/25/2011


Kanye West Causes Seizures?- Charlie Sheen Kills Two and Half Men- Eminem Beats Lady Gaga- Another Way To Vote For American Idol- Justin Bieber Going Playboy- more
The Day in Pop Digest for 2/25/11: (Billboard) A UK epilepsy group has condemned Kanye West's new video for "All of the Lights," claiming the flashing neon lights in the clip may cause seizures. more

(BBC) Production of Two and Half Men has been halted after remarks by the hit US series' star, Charlie Sheen. Sheen slammed the program's producer in a radio interview on Thursday. The decision was based on the "totality of Charlie Sheen's statements, conduct and condition", Warner Bros Television studio and the CBS network said in a joint statement. more

(Billboard) Eminem is the most "liked" living artist on Facebook. The Detroit rapper overtook Lady Gaga this week for the distinction, currently coming in at over 28,883,000 'likes' as opposed to Gaga's 28,872,000. more

(BBC) Piers Morgan responds to criticism from his predecessor, Larry King, that he is not "dangerous" enough on his much-hyped US talk show. more

(Jam) Justin Bieber is set to pay publishing mogul Hugh Hefner a visit at his iconic Playboy Mansion - and he's taking his father with him. Hefner insists he will be happy to play host to the teen superstar and his father Jeremy. more

(Billboard) In its 10th season, "American Idol" has added a voting booth that does not require a telephone. Viewers will be able to cast votes on "Idol's" Facebook page more

(Billboard) A single lock of Justin Bieber's newly-shorn hair is being auctioned off for charity and bids had reached $6,700 on eBay early on Thursday. more. Don't worry, he still looks girly with his new haircut.

(AP) Attorneys for Michael Jackson's mother have told a judge they will not pursue a civil conspiracy claim in a wrongful death lawsuit against the organizers of the pop singer's planned series of comeback concerts. more

(Jam) Seal launched a vicious war of words on a Twitter.com user who branded him "ugly" - accusing his detractor of "cowardice". more

(Yahoo) The odds are pretty great that Adele's "21" will score the British singer her first No. 1 album next week on the Billboard 200 chart. more

(AP) Remy Ma, whose meteoric rise as a rap star ended with the shooting of a friend outside a nightclub during a dispute over $3,000, lost an appeal of her eight-year prison sentence Thursday. more

(Billboard) "American Idol" judge Jennifer Lopez will premiere the music video for new single "On the Floor" during the singing talent show March 3. more

(Jam) Lily Allen has blasted outspoken rapper Kanye West after he ranted about the financial cost of abortions. more


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New Dr. Dre, Eminem and Skylar Grey Video For I Need A Doctor
Last night Dr. Dre premiered a music video for his new song "I Need A Doctor," featuring Eminem and Skylar Grey. Directed by acclaimed film director Allen Hughes (Menace II Society, Book of Eli), the seven and a half minute film includes private home video footage from Dr. Dre in a retrospective of his life and career as well as a spectacular car crash that totaled a real Ferrari Modena.

"This is a very unique song, very personal and groundbreaking so when I first heard the track I knew it was something I had to do because I like to do things that are different and innovative," said Allen Hughes. "Besides knowing Dre for 20 years, I felt compelled to do this as a fan and as a connoisseur of popular culture I wanted to be a part of this event because it's from the last album that a large amount of people will listen to from beginning to end."

"I Need a Doctor" is the second track from Dr. Dre's forthcoming third and final solo album, Detox. Dr. Dre, Eminem and Skylar Grey recently performed the song for the first time on the Grammy Awards and the track debuted at #1 on iTunes. Check it out here

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U2 For Glastonbury
(Gibson) The rumors that U2 would headline 2011's Glastonbury festival practically began as soon as the Irish rockers were forced to pull out of the 2010 edition of the event (due to Bono's back surgery). But finally, the band have confirmed their appearance at this year's festival.

Guitarist The Edge announced the news by appearing on a video broadcast during the NME Awards on Wednesday."Congratulations to Michael and Emily [Eavis] and the rest of the team for the continued success of Glastonbury," he said. "It's more a way of life than a festival.

"I have to say there is something really special and iconic about that stage. So, we're all looking forward to coming back to pick up where I left off. U2 will be playing on June 24. And we're so excited to get to play in front of the world's greatest festival audience. We'll see you there!" more on this story

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Members of Calexico Appear on New Maggie Bjorklund Album
You might not know the name Maggie Bjorklund, but you have probably heard her play. You'll be able to hear her front and center when she releases her new solo album, Coming Home, on March 22nd which features guests appearances from members of Calexico, Mark Lanegan, Jon Auer, and Flotard.

Maggie Bjorklund is a Danish pedal steel player who has been featured on the works of many other musicians (including labelmate Mark Pickerel and Rachel Flotard's Cobirds Unite) and has finally stepped out to the helm of her own feature project, Coming Home.

Bjorklund, though born and raised in Denmark, has nailed the wide open American West with her knockout pedal steel skills and resilient vocals. Coming Home is an album that straddles delirium and ecstasy, when the vultures circling overhead look like doves. Psychedelic desert pop music. more on this story

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Marina And The Diamonds Add New Leg To Burger Queen Tour
Marina And The Diamonds have announced the second leg of the "Burger Queen Tour" which is set to hit various markets in North America.

The tour begins with April 7th, 8th, and 9th with a three-night-stand at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas' Book & Stage.

The trek � which includes her first-ever performance at the annual Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California, slated for April 15th � will then traverse the country through a June 21st show at New York City's Webster Hall. more on this story

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Frank Turner Sets June Album Release
Epitaph have set a June 7th release date for Frank Turner's new album England Keep My Bones. Here is what they have to say about it:

Recorded within the stunning confines of Church Studios at Crouch End, Frank, along with his band and producer Tristan Ivemy, has created an album steeped in the heart and soul of England. The record has a touching undercurrent of yearning, playing like a heartfelt homage to Turner's homeland, friends and family which he so often has to leave as he travels the world with his guitar.

With an acoustic guitar very much at its core, the album is noticeably more folky than the proceeding Poetry Of The Deed, and even features a traditional English style a cappella. With contributions from ex-Hold Steady keyboardist Franz Nicolay, folk singers Emily Barker and Chris T-T, and Unbelievable Truth's Andy Yorke, the songs address themes of mortality, relationships and religion in what proves to be an undeniably brave and beautiful album. more on this story

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Datarock Offering Music's Answer To The Happy Meal?
Datarock are stealing a page from the McDonalds Happy Meal playbook with their new single, "Catcher in the Rye," which will be released March 21st.

The single will come as a designer toy with a USB stick that features 110 tracks, 1500 photos taken at their shows in 33 countries, 20 music videos, and Never Say Die, a brand new hour-long concert film.

The single will also be released as a digital 5 track EP. The USB features the EP, the new album Music For Synchronization, both of their previous albums with bonus tracks, the new Lost and Found b-sides and rarities compilation, 15 new instrumentals, and the 40 track remix album Mixed Up. more on this story

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Moses Mayfield's Matthew Mayfield Announces Solo Debut
(PR) Matthew Mayfield has announced the release of his debut full-length solo album, Now You're Free, on April 5, 2011 on Sweet Exchange Records. A tour of the south, including residencies in Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte, has been confirmed to begin on March 25th in Opelika, Alabama.

Matthew Mayfield thought his musical career was off to a tremendous start after signing with Epic Records in 2005. After releasing one album on a major label with his band Moses Mayfield in the early part of 2007, he quickly realized things weren't going to be as easy as he'd hoped.

"We spent lots of their money making a big record, opening big tours, and believing big promises. The wheels eventually fell off, and we realized this isn't about overnight success. You have to work your ass off just to get by. You have to keep paying your dues and keep paying your dues and keep paying your dues," Mayfield says. more on this story

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Myspace Music Killer?
We typically just delete self-promoting announcements from websites but we figured that this might be of some interest to some of our readers, especially since Myspace Music is practically useless since their recent redesign:

Myspace Music has had a stranglehold on the music hosting game for quite some time, but according to Chris Brickhouse, owner and operator of Stereokiller.com, their media player is outdated, their profiles are littered with Myspace navigation, and their pages take too long to load.

"The Myspace media player downgrades the bitrate of the music, making it sound 'fuzzy' and play at a lower volume, whereas our media player doesn't require flash... The music is exactly the same quality as uploaded," said Brickhouse. "They degrade the songs to save disk space... We won't sacrifice the music quality for a few bytes of space." more on this story

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Brandy & Ray J Coming To An End
VH1's "What Chilli Wants" and "Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business" are coming to end with the premiere of their second season finales on Sunday, February 27 at 9PM* and 9:30PM* respectively. Will Chilli and Lasse make it as a couple? Can Ray J and Brandy reunite after their big blow out?

The famous TLC songbird, Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, enlisted the help of matchmaker Tionna Smalls to help find the perfect man who fulfills her long list of demands. With Chilli's high expectations, Tionna knew she had to widen her search to an all out manhunt from Miami to New York City in order to find "The One." Chilli's picky taste has sent many hopefuls packing, but could Tionna have found Chilli the man of her dreams? Is Chilli on her way to finally having it all? On the season two finale of "What Chilli Wants," a visit to a fertility specialist has Chilli considering ways to expand her family � with or without a man. Lasse, her handsome Swedish model boyfriend, arrives in Atlanta to escort her to the "Soul Train" awards. Is their walk down the red carpet a prelude to a walk down the aisle? Tune in to find out on the season finale of "What Chilli Wants" Sunday, February 27 at 9PM* on VH1.

Being in the spotlight is never as easy as it seems, especially for superstar siblings, Brandy and Ray J Norwood. Both have been working on their individual music careers while moving forward in their own personal lives. Brandy is in hopes of landing love, but has found difficulty in finding a man who can handle her fame. Unlike his sister, Ray is looking to maintain his relationship, but finds temptation around every corner. Despite the hurdles the Norwood family encounters, can they come together and celebrate each other's successes? This season finale, Brandy decides on a new approach to her love life and Ray gears up for the biggest night of his career. But when Brandy and Ray meet up for the first time since their big fight it all comes crashing down and threatens to destroy their relationship. Can our brother and sister duo come back from the biggest fight of their lives? See if the brother-sister duo can survive on the finale of Brandy and Ray J: A Family Business" premiering on Sunday, February 27 at 9:30PM*.

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Josh Kelley and Keb' Mo Pen Mike & Molly Theme Song
Josh Kelley co-wrote "I See Love" with Keb' Mo,' which is featured as the theme song to the new CBS sitcom Mike & Molly.

"The Mike & Molly theme song came around sort of randomly," Josh says. "In 2004, I called up Keb' Mo' and said, 'I'd really love to write a song with you.' He called me back and said, 'Let's do it.' I drove up to his house and we sat around for a while and we wrote this song called 'I See Love.' He put it on his album.

"Probably six months ago, he called me and said, 'There's a TV show called Mike and Molly that wants to use the song because they came to my live show and heard it. The creators of the show loved it.' I didn't think much about it. more on this story

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Saigon Joining The Strange Noize Tour
Siagon is celebrating the opening success of his debut album The Greatest Story Never Told and announced his participation in the Strange Noize Tour.

"I'm very thankful to all those that went out and supported me by picking up a copy of The Greatest Story Never Told in stores or on iTunes. After all the struggles I've had trying to get this record out, it's the best feeling in the world to know you have fans that will support you unconditionally," commented Saigon. "I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever see my record up there on the Billboard charts right alongside all the major players in the game. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting Saigon and helping score a victory for conscious hip-hop music."

Saigon will be joining the 2011 Strange Noize Tour set to kick off this spring. The 3rd annual Strange Noize Tour brings together artists from two powerhouse record labels, Strange Music and Suburban Noize. With performances from artists representing both labels, Saigon will be touring alongside Johnny Richter of the Kottonmouth Kings, Krizz Kaliko, Kutt Calhoun, Potluck and J Hornay. more on this story

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