Day in Pop Report for 12/15/2014
Turns out, the site Huzlers reported that Azalea was born a boy and that her name was Cody. In the story, the site claims Azalea admitted this shocking, but totally bogus news to MTV, writing that she didn't "mind if the whole world finds, I can't hide it all my life."� The story continues explaining," As a teenager however Iggy went on testosterone blockers and had her name changed and then, at age 18, underwent corrective surgery to get rid of her male genitalia. According to Iggy, all of this happened just a few years prior to beginning her music career." When Azalea caught wind of this story she took to Twitter to not only refute it, but question the choice of her supposed male name, "Why Cody?" She tweeted, "Wait, so I'm just now reading that I was born a man and my name is Cody? *Cackling* why Cody tho? Lol.- IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) December 12, 2014" She then took some time to ponder what name she would actually want if she was in fact a man, choosing to go with "Liam Azalea." Read her tweets here.
But his request ended up denied by the iconic singer himself. "One time I sent him a song to ask him to sing on it," Martin recalled. "He called me and said, 'It's not one of your best.' He's got very high standards and I appreciate that. It inspires the rest of us to keep our standards high." Martin added that Bowie's return to music with 2013's The Next Day gave him a classic case of mixed feelings, but nothing against the quality of the songs at all. Read more here.
It is unusual for Beyonce to so directly address her thoughts, without the trappings of a song around them, but to maintain some distance her delivery is given entirely in voiceover, rather than by addressing the camera. "Happiness comes from you," she said. "No one else can make you happy. You make you happy. And one thing that's for sure: The love I have for the music, my husband, for my child--it's something that will last far beyond my life." This is the first glimpse directly into the mind of Beyonce the public has gotten since her 2013 HBO documentary, Life is But a Dream. With all the talk of dreams in this video, it feels a bit like an audio excerpt from that project. Read more and watch it here.
Sears passed away last Thursday night (Dec. 11) in Gallatin, Tenn. The cause was lung cancer, which she had been fighting since 2012. She was 53. "Dawn Sears sang so beautifully. And lived just as beautifully. She will be missed," Brad Paisley tweeted today. "I will miss her & her beautiful voice," echoed Sheryl Crow. "Rest in peace," wrote Wade Bowen. A native of Minnesota, Sears got her start, like so many country artists, playing regional clubs and contests. She released her debut album, What a Woman Wants to Hear, on Warner Bros. in 1991, followed by 1994's Nothin' but Good (on Decca) and a self-titled (and self-released) collection in 2002. Sears released a handful of radio singles, and although they didn't chart well, songs like "Runaway Train" and "Nothin' but Good" still stand as brilliant showcases for her strong voice. "She's sort of a modern Wanda Jackson with just a touch of polish, or Brenda Lee with more honky tonk feeling," as writer Michael McCall colorfully describes her style in AllMusic. While Sears never had a radio hit, her voice caught the attention of then-rising star Vince Gill, who reached out and asked her to sing with him. "I had never met anyone quite like Vince," Sears said of the Country Music Hall of Famer. "He can sing absolutely anything and each performance is flawless. I'd been in awe of his talent, and a fan, long before we met. So the chance to work with someone of his caliber was, to me, the chance of a lifetime." Read more here.
In it, Minaj is seen in what looks like the basement from Saw. Guys are shown looking worse for the wear, bloody, bruised and scarred, hanging from the rafters or lying half-dead on gurneys. Minaj spends most of the time posing in her sexy negligees, letting others do her dirty work for her. She's too busy rapping. She does let Drake and Wayne get off without getting beaten. However, she does put throw them in creepy underground lair where women with great nail art are holding whips and men are fighting in cages. Some real Fight Club type stuff. Watch it here.
For her turn, XCX gives Bleachers' "Rollercoaster" the John Hughes school yard treatment and hits the pitch perfectly while singing about a "killer queen." For more of Charli XCX doing covers, check out her recently launched cover of the track "Money (That's What I Want)" on Vogue. Bleachers is currently on a Christmas tour across the U.S., ending Dec. 20 in Kansas. Check out the ad here.
Smith is also really committing to the Frank Sinatra aesthetic he went for with his upcoming tour wardrobe consisting of custom suits created by Calvin Klein--and not just because of his tux. Smith has moved onto the choreographed dancing era of his career. In the video, he takes New York City with a crew of friends, dressed just as spiffy, hitting up a corner bar, taking time to smell the roses outside of a bodega and--blink and you'll miss it--pulling out some matching moves on a bridge. Watch the new video here.
CBS Radio presents The Night Before, an exclusive country concert to be held right before the two best teams in the National Football League square off for the championship at US Airways Center in Phoenix, Ariz. The one-night only event will take place Jan. 31 and will feature sets from Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Florida Georgia Line. Bentley made the announcement on Phoenix's KMLE, a CBS Radio station, Friday morning. 'I'm excited to be part of a huge night in country music the night before the biggest event in sports' in my hometown!" Bentley said. 'We're about to take tailgating in Phoenix to a whole new level."� Read more here.
Watts, a comedian, beat-boxer and musician, will join brand new host James Corden on the new version of the show, which is seeing longtime host Craig Ferguson depart. With his long resume, Watts is arguably funny and experienced enough to rival new host Corden, for laughs and praise. Of course, the same could be said of Armisen with Seth Meyers, and they have blended together quite well on their late night show. Read more here.
"We came up with the name for this festival as sort of a nod to the storied railroad history in that area," said Brian O' Connell, Live Nation president of country touring, in a press release. "The Delaware State Fair has always been such a great supporter of country music and we couldn't think of a better location to host this three-day event in what we hope will become a yearly institution." Read more here.
It's not that he's not a fan of the film's soundtrack legacy--"I'd love to do a James Bond song," he said speaking at the BBC Music Awards in London yesterday, according to NME. "But can you imagine it? I just wasn't born with the James Bond voice." But, he added, "You never know--I'm not ruling it out. Maybe in 10 years time, when my balls drop." Sheeran instead feels like a much better fit for writing music for films like 2013's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, for which he penned "I See Fire." "I think the James Bond theme tune should be ballsy," he added. "I feel like if I was going to do it, it would sound a bit wet." Read more here.
D'Angelo's latest was set to be released on Dec. 16, but at the album's listening party Sunday (Dec. 14) it was revealed that the album would-surprise!-be available at midnight on iTunes instead. During the listening session it was also revealed that the album-D'Angelo's first since 2000's Voodoo-would include guest spots from Questlove-who collaborated on three of the record's 12 tracks-and Q-Tip, who tweeted that he co-wrote the song "Sugah Daddy," which D'Angelo was released on Saturday. Stream it via Spotify and read more here.
At the 2014 Billboard Women in Music Awards in New York last week, Aretha Franklin sang birthday greetings to the young Swift on a panel that included Jessie J, Charli XCX, Hayley Williams, Ariana Grande and Idina Menzel. As Billboard noted, Swift earlier accepted her award by making the intentionally unfunny joke, "I turn 25 at midnight tonight, and I fully intend on partying like it's 1989." Check it out here.
In Franco's rendition of the 1984 hit, the actor looks on the verge of tears, squinting his eyes and covering his face with his hands like a veil. He might be the only person in the world who can pull off a sad reading of Madonna's classic--credit his acting powers for that. It's a particularly heartfelt lip-sync and, if it feels a little dizzying, that's because, if you look closely enough you'll notice, Franco is performing it from a moving car. Franco has somewhat of a history of giving musical performances in cars. Last year he performed similar renditions of Selena Gomez's "Love You Like a Love Song," Justin Bieber's "Baby" and Diana Ross' "I'm Coming Out," while sitting aside his grandma. You can revisit those here.
Holding up Shelton's latest album Bringing Back the Sunshine, Kimmel asked about the water tower of his hometown in Ada, Okla., shown on the cover and who the tower was named after. "I don't know who the hell that was, I'm sure it was somebody," Shelton said. "Maybe a Chickasaw princess or somebody like that." When asked if people still get water from this tower, Shelton is perplexed at the question. "What are you talking about? We never actually even thought about the fact that there might be water in that, it's just a landmark," he said. "It's the tallest building in Ada. I never gave a crap about that water tower until I left." Despite both their joking, Shelton said Ada was a good town to grow up in and "it wasn't totally inbred." He even admitted that two country stars from the area helped inspire his dreams to become a county singer. Read more here.
Butler's signature blend was created in collaboration with La Columbe Coffee and is a little more personal for the artist than some of the other rocker variations. For one, the beans come from Haiti, the origin of wife Regine Chassagne's family. The country also served as inspiration for the band's last album, 2013's Reflektor. Butler's coffee is also possibly more worthwhile buying since proceeds of the blend, dubbed "RaRa," will benefit Partners in Health and Haiti Coffee Academy. In a statement, Butlet explained the connection between Haiti and Coffee, and why he wanted to be involved with this project. Read more here.
The show will be broadcast live on CBS from the Nokia Theater L.A. at 9 p.m. ET. 'Music is such an important part of our show, and Lady Antebellum is the perfect addition," said executive producer Mark Burnett in a press release. He adds, 'This show is for the fans and having this seven-time GRAMMY Award-winning band live on our stage will add an amazing element." Additional acts are expected to be announced within the next few weeks. Read more here.
Shailene Woodley returns as the film's star along with Mekhi Phifer, Daniel Dae Kim, Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet. "The Divergent series: Insurgent raises the stakes for Tris as she searches for allies and answers in the ruins of a futuristic Chicago. Tris (Woodley) and Four (James) are now fugitives on the run, hunted by Jeanine (Winslet), the leader of the power-hungry Erudite elite. Racing against time, they must find out what Tris's family sacrificed their lives to protect, and why the Erudite leaders will do anything to stop them. Haunted by her past choices but desperate to protect the ones she loves, Tris, with Four at her side, faces one impossible challenge after another as they unlock the truth about the past and ultimately the future of their world." With Divergent having grossed $288 million worldwide, its followup promises to pack a box office punch. Like The Hunger Games propelled Jennifer Lawrence into super stardom, Shailene Woodley is enjoying a similar stratospheric rise. With Woodley's stunts in Divergent followed by her powerful performance in teen tear-jerker The Fault in Our Stars, the 23 year old Southern California native is on her way to being America's next darling. Watch it here.
Over the course of the chat, which kept promising to talk about the Smashing Pumpkins new album Monuments to an Elegy and barely squeezed it in at the end, Corgan traded stories and opinions with Jones, who all the while referred to themselves as "awake." Apparently he's not the only one, either, as Corgan noted Tommy Lee was also "awake"--meaning they're aware of the goings-on behind the scenes that some might consider conspiracy theories and other things generally going against the norm. "Many artists are because they have been behind the wizard's curtain," Corgan said. The pair discussed the Anderson Cooper controversy in depth, in which Corgan was derided by the CNN host after he posed with his pets on the cover of PAWS Chicago, with Corgan alluding to a much bigger media conspiracy. "'When you are looking at your local media," Corgan said, "and this is looking like propaganda, know that these people are not conscious, they are put in place because they are bootlickers."� When asked if he was worried that the CIA would target him like they reportedly did John Lennon, Corgan responded that instead, now they "digitally assassinate you," a point he would later refer back to--also decrying the "lack of political music right now compared to the 1960s." The two touched on all sorts of subjects, from chem trails, to the Illuminati. Read more here.
Now K.R.I.T. has shared a video for the track. The clip depicts family dinners and summer barbecue cookouts in a haze of golden light and slow motion. K.R.I.T. uses soul food to exemplify familial affection: 'if it ain't made with love, then it ain't fit to serve"� In stark contrast to the outdoor scenes, K.R.I.T. and Saadiq appear in dark rooms cut by sharp beams of light. K.R.I.T uses the difference to express his point that modern society doesn't have time for the rituals of food that keep families together. 'What happened to the soul food?" croons Saadiq. Watch the video here.
If that's a recurring fear, you might want to avoid Imagine Dragons' new video for "I Bet My Life," which features that and much more. According to the band's headcanon, doing so will send one through the water filtering pipes and into some kind of underwater house. You'll wake up on a boat, setting your sail for adventures unknown. Your boat will also be sent over a waterfall and, after floating in the air, you'll land in a big city. The clip stars Dane DeHaan and was directed by Canadian filmmaker Jodeb, who directed Zedd's "Clarity." "As the first video on our new album, it was especially important that we capture the emotion of the song," frontman Dan Reynolds said of the clip. 'Although it was written about my sometimes strained relationship with my parents, our director Jodeb had a powerful vision for how the feeling of the story could be portrayed. We were also lucky to have such amazing talent to work with in our lead actor Dane DeHaan." Watch the video here.
I've known the Novogratz's since we grew up together in northern Virginia and I know how important family is to them. For one thing they have a lot of it - including two sets of twins among their 7 kids! They reached out to me about helping them with a song in the vein of Jason Mraz - whom I had just worked with on his most recent single. We went back and forth with a couple of ideas but this one seemed to resonate the most with everyone. It's fun and breezy and hints a bit at their new California lifestyle - they had moved to Los Angeles from NYC a few months earlier. The song had its inception just strumming a guitar in my Virginia studio. Then my collaborator Colin Killalea really nailed the basic arrangement working more at Lauren Hill's old guitarist's studio in a basement in Brooklyn. Finally, led by family multi-instrumentalist, Breaker, the four youngest boys headed into LA's legendary Village Recorder studios where the whole track came to realization. It's always fun to work there but I think particularly fun for Breaker to be working where many of his favorite albums were made by artists like Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. We laid down the track over two days featuring Breaker on lead vocals, Holly on additional vocals and keyboards, Five on drums, and youngest brother Major making a beatboxing cameo. Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself as you watch the video here and learn more about the band here and also Chris Keup and his White Star Sound studio right here!
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