Day in Pop Report for 08/18/2014
In the original post, now deleted, he asked fans to "remember him as someone who gave his all in music" and "pray for his family as they carry on in this world without him," before ending abruptly with "good bye." He also wrote about his longtime wife Ann Gracin in a troubling way, saying, "I've loved her for 17 years� I made mistakes� I admitted them, told her the truth and she turned her back on me when I needed her help the most." This alarmed many, among which the police, who went to the couple's Spring Hill, Tenn. home to make sure everyone was okay. Upon arriving, they saw Ann, according to TMZ. The police reportedly intercepted Josh on his way home and later that evening he was put on a 5150 psychiatric hold. The singer's manager posted to his accounts, noting that Gracin was "with his family" and promised "to update" soon. More.
Kotaku reports that on 2ch, a large Japanese forum, a thread has sprung up about the disrespect inherent in Gaga's choice of outfit. The offending jumper, pictured below, features Korean characters. The outrage stems from the sense that Gaga doesn't realize she's wearing Korean lettering in Japan, and by extension doesn't recognize the difference between the two countries. Those feelings are increased because Japan and South Korea are in a diplomatic dispute at the moment, more.
Billboard has confirmed that Morrissey still has his two-record contract with Harvest - the first being his recent album, World Peace Is None of Your Business - and will presumably put out a second album with them. One has to expect that Morrissey's visits to Harvest are at least a little awkward in light of this misunderstanding, plus his rant about their failure to promote his album. more on this story
The new album, dubbed Michael W. Smith & Friends: The Spirit of Christmas, is scheduled to be released on September 30th and will include an appearance from U2 frontman Bono. Smith also recruited an all-star roster of country music stars for the album including Carrie Underwood, Vince Gill, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Jennifer Nettles and Little Big Town. Other guest stars include Christian music star Amy Grant and former Doobie Brothers singer Michael McDonald. Smith and guests are backed on the album by the London Symphony Orchestra, featuring arrangements by David Hamilton. Hamilton, Smith and Robert Deaton co-produced the album. more on this story
Set in the clouds, the video aesthetic looks like what could be a Ren� Magritte painting - or, at least, the leftover set from The Truman Show. Staircases lead to nowhere and are all-white, Usher dances atop a white platform in the sky and Brown twirls on top of water with an umbrella. Elsewhere, everyone wears all white - except for presumably their new flame, who's cloaked in red with a scarf over her face, and Rick Ross magically emerges at the end on a throne - surrounded by white bikini-clad ladies, of course. Brown and Usher also hit the beach for a dance routine in front of a burning X. It wouldn't be a video for a song with "Flame" in its title unless there was a little fire - plus, the burning structure doubles as promotion for Brown's upcoming album X. Watch the video here.
And now with last Friday's arrival of the movie's second trailer, fans can hear an extended clip of the song, which we now know is titled "Guts Over Fear." Where Eminem could only be heard singing some of the song's hook in the initial trailer, this time the distinctive cadence of Slim Shady rapping can be clearly heard. Check out the trailer here.
"We had to call this one 'Anything Goes,'" Tyler Hubbard told the Good Morning America audience, adding that the "whole album is kind of like album one was." But don't think that means the band is comfortably set in the status quo, creating a new album that's completely the same as their last. The performance on Good Morning America included previous hits "This is How We Roll" and "Cruise," plus "Dirt," the first single from Anything Goes that has peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The band revealed the album's cover on their Instagram page. Check out the track details here.
On Chelsea Handler's Chelsea Lately talk show last week (Aug. 14), the Black Eyed Pea made a new, big revelation: she's at work on her sophomore solo record. Though few details are currently known about the album, Fergie did note that none of her Black Eyed Peas bandmates - no, not even will.i.am - are currently involved, though that could change. more on this story
Paisley plays "Strange Lime Wearing a Cowboy Hat," inspiring the Annoying Orange and his gang of talking fruit to all put on cowboy hats and enjoy Paisley's seemingly metaphorical but actually probably literal song about making margaritas. "I love getting drunk," Paisley says at the end. We believe him. After all, premiering a song may have not been a decision that was probably made sober. more on this story
The Gregory Brothers, know for their hilarious series Auto-Tune the News, switch "Black Widow" from a minor chord to major, which would be funny enough. But the video also adds in bluegrass as the genre of choice. And they play it on a porch, because that is where you play bluegrass. "What if a black widow was a friendly, nice spider, that helped you along on your journey on earth?," The Gregory Brothers wrote on YouTube. "If Black Widows were nice spiders, then maybe instead of being a minor girl-power jam, Iggy Azalea's latest track would've been an upbeat, happy, bluegrass jam." Check it out here.
"When I get off the phone with you, I'm going right into the studio," Rucker told Rolling Stone Country. "We have written like 60 songs for this record, which is way too many. We'll sit down and decide which 12 or 15 we want to cut. We've already cut six or seven." One of those six cut is the title track, which he wrote with Nathan Chapman and Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley. "It's a little different for me. It's not one of those family songs - it's really a country party song," Rucker said. "It's talking about some country girl who lives in New York City. It's got hooks galore." more on this story
Now, they will try to strike the trifecta of hits with "Oblivion," which will get release as an EP, though it is also available on their All This Bad Blood LP. Skewing more toward the fractured dark R&B sounds of The Weeknd, the track slowly burns and ups the tempo until it becomes the type of anthem they have become known for. Check it out more on this story
Now you can add Rick Ross, Jeezy, The-Dream, Lil Boosie, Trae Tha Truth, Nipsey Hussle and Problem to the list of features. In an interview with Wild 94.1 (a CBS Radio station) T.I. revealed the group would be hopping on his album. As for its release date? Ever the astrology fan, T.I. says Paperwork will be out "sometime in Libra" season - which, for non-believers, means somewhere between Sept. 23 and Oct. 22. more on this story
He and his band are placed in a run-down casino, which could be on the shores of Northern England or it could be Atlantic City. It could even just be the seedy side of the Las Vegas strip - doesn't matter, because all of these places look mostly the same. It's the sort of hell, both physically and intellectually, described by Sartre when he famously said, "Hell is other people." Watch the video here.
Following in the tradition of the epic "Lionhearted" music video, the new clip for "Flicker" combines digital images to live action, creating a surreal environment akin to a video game. Where "Lionhearted" explored a youth-gone-wild rampage, the video for "Flicker" offers up a rolling landscape as seen through the window of a moving train. The clip sets a warm, hypnotic mood that perfectly mirrors the track. "I very much love chipmunked-up soul beats. Just late Jay Dilla-t stuff," Robinson told Radio.com about the track during a recent interview. "I think that the reason I love soul samples is because of the Daft Punk Discovery album, which remains my favorite album of all time. So when I heard the same style of records in a hip-hop context I was really, really in love when I was younger. "I was messing with soul samples and made this little beat just for fun, at least I thought. Then I'd made this MP3 of taking a bunch of titles I had in a notepad and ran them through a Japanese text to speech program and it spit out this basically nonsensical Japanese text and I cut it up into this little rap and I was just so charmed by that. It's the two sides of me, very much� that's one of my favorite songs on the album." Watch the video here.
With her second single "Glow" already out now, Henderson is giving us a taste of her upcoming full-length Chapter One with a third, the ballad "Missed." "Chasing rainbows can be fun," Henderson sings on the vocal showcase, and you can't help but think she is talking about more than the love the song centers on. Henderson seems to be catching her professional rainbow, and Chapter One implies she has much more than just a couple singles planned for her career. Listen to the new song here.
Although the couple shares joint custody of their two children, son Hermes, 7, and daughter Helena, 5, a judge recently refused to overturn a previous court ruling that the children should live with their father in France. Kelly told special correspondent Baruch Shemtov that she is feeling very fortunate to spend the summer with her kids in the States. "Most parents are really happy to send their kids to camp in the summer. I'm really happy and my kids are really happy just to be together. We really value the time that we have together." Rutherford explained, "They're aware and as they get older they're more and more aware� They're really in tune with how they feel about it and at least in my home, they are really allowed to express how they feel about it. I tell them I'm doing everything I can when they go back to France this week. My son said, 'Mommy, are you still going to be fighting for us?' and I said. Absolutely, every day.'" She added, "I do my best to say, 'Enjoy your time in France, that's the important thing. Mommy will be there. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here, and I'm here to listen to you. I'm here to understand. This is something that hopefully your Dad and I can work out together.' I say, 'Go be with your dad, love your dad.' I talk about his good qualities because I want them to grow up happy and healthy, and I know if I say negative things or act in a negative way, it impacts them and their sprit and their soul and their future� I'm doing my best to take the high road as I cry in the shower." When asked if Kelly would consider moving to France, she replied, "All my ex needs to do is reapply for a visa and hasn't done it, and he would be here. I don't know why three U.S. citizens would have to move to a country where none of us have any connection whatsoever to appease their dad." The bottom line is that Rutherford is not going to give up. "I'm a mother. I'm always going to fight for my kids. I just don't want my kids to grow up in a world that this is how justice is� I really think that the reason I started The Children's Justice Campaign is to bring awareness around a system that really doesn't seem to be acting in the best interest of children." more on this story
The video, shot in black and white with specks of color, finds the XXL Freshman illustrating the highs and lows of a day in the life. Well, highs mostly: he wakes up in a house packed with friends, grabs a burger, hits the beer-stuffed fridge, plays a game of dominoes, then jumps on the roof and starts rapping. Still, there's a weird sense of danger lurking: it's got something to do with Staples' voice, which carries menace even when he's partying and talking about his new blue suede shoes. Watch it here.
Recently, several photos have surfaced of Swift as she gets out of the gym. But she isn't photographed in a pair of running sneakers and shorts; instead she's dressed to the nines. "That is how everyone looks when they come out of the gym," Swift joked. "I like to bring a change of clothes. I just like a change of clothes. I bring a hairbrush with me. New York is one of those cities it feels worth dressing up for. I don't know. I just feel like when I walk out onto the sidewalk in New York I have to try a little harder." As for her dancing at awards shows? Just trying to stay loose and encourage others to do the same, that's all. "I used to get really nervous at awards shows seemingly they're a huge pressure cooker," she said. "A couple years ago I decided this is the coolest concert you could ever go to." More on this story.
In the new issues of Billboard, Grande says her childhood role models include a kooky British actress, a horror movie icon and the Material Girl. Grande worships at the altar of Madonna saying, "She is strength, she is freedom, she is wisdom beyond anybody's comprehension." Perhaps, Tim Burton would be interesting to know that Grande was "a very weird little girl," who now takes inspiration from Helena Bonham Carter, calling herself "a mini" version of the gothic screen queen. But, maybe most surprisingly, Grande says she idolizes Freddy Krueger. "I always wanted to have face paint on or be wearing a Freddy Krueger mask, and I would carry a hockey stick around." Grande has already made it clear she has a thing for the supernatural, but also reveals to Billboard a love for an aquatic killer. "For my fifth birthday party we had a Jaws theme and all my friends left crying," she said. More on this story.
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