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Day in Pop Report for 12/18/2014


Bobby Shmurda Arrested In New York City
(Radio.com) Bobby Shmurda was arrested again in New York City, with an indictment forthcoming. Wondering Sound reports that Shmurda, along with others, was arrested by New York police Tuesday night (Dec. 16), though the exact reason for the arrest is currently unknown.

However, Kati Cornell, director of public information for the city's office of the special narcotics prosecutor, said the arrests were part of a long investigation and that the office "has a sealed indictment against a number of individuals."

The investigation, she said, involved "a number of violent incidents" in addition to drug trafficking. Arraignments are scheduled to take place today, Dec. 18, in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Read more here.

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The Voice Champ Craig Wayne Boyd Almost Quit Music
(Radio.com) Blake Shelton is a winner yet again. On Tuesday night (Dec. 16), country singer Craig Wayne Boyd was crowned the new winner of The Voice. Boyd was a member of Shelton's team on the competition.

Boyd is the Season 7 winner and the third country singer to win the reality competition singing show, following Cassadee Pope and Danielle Bradbery. The 35-year-old father moved to Nashville from Texas 10 years ago to pursue music.

In a press conference after the show, Boyd admitted that he came very close to quitting music. "I remember a little more than a year ago sitting in a pickup outside of a club after I had played to basically no one and talking to my drummer and saying, 'Listen, I may have to quit because it's not paying my bills and I'm losing my house,'" Boyd said. "I lost my pickup. I didn't know what I was going to do. And him telling me, 'Dude, you can't do that.'" Read more here.

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Madonna Calls Out Music Leaks As 'Artistic Rape'
(Radio.com) One more leak has hit Madonna, who's been a victim of leaked photos, shoot outtakes and tracks for the past week--only this is potentially the biggest one yet.

A mass of songs guised as Madonna's upcoming album has hit the Internet one calendar year early. But just before you get too excited to hear Madge's next full-length, which has reportedly titled either Unapologetic B-h or Iconic, know that the pop queen has already dismissed the collection.

On Instagram, she posted one of her Versace campaign images. "Thank you for not listening!" the caption of the image reads. "Thank you for your loyalty! Thank you for waiting and if you have heard please know they are unfinished demos stolen long ago and not ready to be presented to the world."

Later, Madonna posted again about the leaks, calling them "artistic rape." Read more here.

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Charli XCX Performs With Vampire Weekend Star On Letterman
(Radio.com) Wearing a bustier and a satin robe, Charli XCX brought a little sexiness to the Late Show with David Letterman Tuesday night (Dec, 16) with her song "Need Ur Love."

With a little help from Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij--who co-wrote the closing track from Charli's latest album, Sucker--the British pop-tart held her own atop a white baby grand for her performance.

We're talking Michelle Pfeiffer in the Fabulous Baker Boys kind of holding it down. In silver platforms, nonetheless. When Charli spoke with Radio.com she said "Need Ur Love" was "inspired by a lot of ye-ye pop, which is like '60s French girls. So like Sylvie Vartan, Brigitte Bardot, France Gall, people like that."

"I really like the kind of shout-y, childlike vocals that they did," she explained. "When I first started speaking to Rostam [Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend], those were the references that I gave him. We took a trip to Sweden together to work in this strange, empty hotel, which was kind of like The Shining. That's where we wrote "Need Ur Love."

Charli also talked about working with Batmanglij saying, "He's become a great friend of mine. I just love him. He's the most talented person ever. I love that song a lot."

Watch the performance here.

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St. Vincent Releases 'Birth in Reverse' Video
(Radio.com) Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, is capping off a pretty stellar year with a new music video for "Birth in Reverse." The second video (the first was "Digital Witness") from her self-titled album, the clip sees her showing off her excellent robotic dance moves, and even more excellent guitar playing (Guitar World, when are you going to put Ms. Clark on the cover?).

Clark's year, which started with the release of St. Vincent in February, also saw her front an ad hoc Nirvana reunion at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (and later that night at a surprise club gig following the ceremony) in March.

In addition, she played a concert at the Ed Sullivan Theater as part of the Live on Letterman web series (watch the full show here), performed on Saturday Night Live, filled in for Fred Armisen as the bandleader on Late Night with Seth Meyers and toured on her own and opened for the Black Keys.

There was even a film, starring Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy, which used her name. And finally, her album seemed to be the toast of music critics everywhere, with Entertainment Weekly naming it the best album of the year, and Rolling Stone ranking it fourth best.

Watch the video here.

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Little Big Town Extend North American Pain Killer Tour
(Radio.com) Little Big Town will be spending more time on the road in 2015. The country quartet have announced that they'll be extending their Pain Killer Tour through March. Joining them on the road is Chris Stapleton.

The jaunt will begin March 5 in Savannah, Ga., with 10 shows total. The band will complete their run March 28 in Enid, Okla. "Day Drinking," the first single off the album, has been nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. In an interview with Radio.com earlier this year, the band said the song helped to focus the direction of the album.

Additionally, Karen Fairchild explained that the goal with Pain Killer was to create an album "that helped you cope, that eased your pain. That took you high and took you low." So the band chose to 'tip our hat to that theme for the whole record in different ways."

Check out the tour dates here.

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Florida Georgia Line Going Bigger For Their First World Tour
(Radio.com) Florida Georgia Line are gearing up for a very busy 2015. The country duo are hitting the road in January for their 2015 Anything Goes Tour which kicks off Jan. 15 in Toledo, Ohio and runs through May 8 in Atlantic City, N.J. They promise additional dates are on the way which will include stops in Europe and Australia.

So what can we expect from FGL's massive headlining tour? When Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley stopped by Radio.com during record release week for their latest album Anything Goes, they filled us in.

'With this tour, it's our first worldwide tour," Brian Kelley tells Radio.com. 'It's our first full-year of headlining. We're bringing our buddies Thomas Rhett and Frankie Ballard along with us to join the party. It's a bigger scale. Bigger venues, more people, more lights, more smoke. More pyro. Maybe some lasers. You never know. We're still planning.

"We're trying to make it big and fun and try to create the best moments that we can. That's what our shows are all about, moments that you're never going to forget. Feel the music is what we're going after for our fans."

The tour includes stops throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as a gig at New York's Madison Square Garden on Feb. 25 which the guys say is a 'dream come true."

"That's the date that I saw and thought, 'Heck yeah! That's going to be awesome,'" Hubbard recalls. "We're excited about the whole year. Our fans have been asking for a long time for this, and we've been waiting for a long time. We're very, very excited."

Read more here.

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Nicki Minaj Performs and Talks Red Lobster on The Tonight Show
(Radio.com) Nicki Minaj has been making the rounds to promote her latest album, The Pinkprint and Tuesday night (Dec. 16) had her stopping by the Tonight Show to talk "Anaconda," bad yearbook photos and her days serving fish at the Red Lobster.

Minaj has long talked about her rather dubious relationship with the chain seafood restaurant, which was the last job she was fired from. "If you've ever eaten at Red Lobster, I've probably taken your order," she told the Tonight Show crowd, letting it be known she was rude to the customers. So perhaps, she hopes you don't remember her.

Working there did have some positive points though, it did help Minaj realize what she really wanted to do. Minaj also spoke about bad yearbook photos and the "Anaconda" video, saying she didn't really understand why people wanted to watch it so many times. Umm, we think we know why Nicki.

Minaj also performed her song "Bed of Lies" with Skylar Grey, wrapped in fur of course.

Watch the performance here.

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Wiz Khalifa Freestyles Over Mac DeMarco For 'Smoke Chambers'
(Radio.com) Even though he's in the throes of trying to keep his 50 Shades of Grey home project from leaking, Wiz Khalifa is taking out his frustration in his music with a new track dubbed "Smoke Chambers."

The three-minute song borrows its instrumentals and background vocals from Mac DeMarco's "Chamber of Reflection," a lazily delivered soul standout from his album Salad Days released earlier this year.

What exactly drew the rapper to the track? It could be the song's laid back vibe or the lyrics of the chorus, "alone again," off which Khalifa piggybacks in his verse.

Khalifa's lyrics read like a direct response to his current sticky situation, with the rapper pleading to life his life away from the camera. Read more and check out the track here.

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Zac Brown Band, Cage the Elephant Set For Live From the Artists Den
(Radio.com) The ninth season of Live From the Artists Den on PBS has been announced and includes performances by Zac Brown Band and Alabama Shakes, as well as Cage the Elephant and Damien Rice.

Zac Brown Band's performance is scheduled to kick off the new season and was filmed at Forest Hills Stadium in New York. The episode will air on Jan. 30.

Live From the Artists Den hosts hour-long performances by artists in unconventional venues. In addition to watching this season on PBS, Live From the Artists Den will be available for mobile streaming via Samsung's Milk Video service. Previous episodes will also be watchable and shortened into 30-minute segments. Read more here.

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Calvin Harris The Face Of Emporio Armani's Spring Campaign
(Radio.com) Calvin Harris is ready to roll out his best "blue steel" look. The EDM producer has been announced as the face of Emporio Armani's spring 2015 campaign, in support of the full brand.

This adds to his pre-existing duties as the face of Emporio Armani eyewear and watches. 'It's incredible to be working with Mr Armani and his team at Emporio Armani," Harris said in a press release. 'I feel an affinity to the brand ethos and have been a long time admirer of their designs."

Harris tweeted some behind the scenes photos from the shoot for the campaign, one of which was rather revealing. You can check out the tweets and the photos here.

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50 Cent Launches $100 Underwear Line Frigo Revolutionwear
(Radio.com) 50 Cent has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to rappers venturing into fashion and taking stakes in brands. He invested in Smart Water early on, has his own headphones line, and created a clothing label, G-Unit, which is currently on hiatus.

But the rapper's latest business venture, a high-end underwear line named Frigo Revolutionwear, is his most out-there one yet. To explain it a little more, the rapper stopped by Late Night with Seth Meyers. The first bullet point they hit on? The $100 price tag. Meyers took the opportunity to ask 50 if the price tag was correct.

"Yeah, man, it's $100 at Neiman Marcus," 50 Cent responded, completely unfazed. What could possibly justify a $100 price tag for underwear? "These $100 underwear were actually hand-created and hand-stitched," he explained. He also mentioned that they perfectly hold your "man apples for comfort � "Women spend so much money for lingerie, it's the right project for men."

Read more here.

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Azealia Banks And Lana Del Rey Hug It Out In Fan Drawing
(Radio.com) Azealia Banks and Lana Del Rey might seem like an unlikely friend match on the surface, but if you think about it, they're actually quite similar. They're both industry underdogs who've received a hefty amount of backlash--which explains why the pair have more recently been vocal about their friendship.

Lana Del Rey recently told Galore, "I f-k with Azealia Banks because I have the same artistic inclinations as her and the same taste in men." Meanwhile, Banks returned the favor in an interview with Vogue: "We can talk and have dinner and it's just regular with her' I have one really good music industry friend and her name is Lana Del Rey." Banks also defended Lana Del Rey amid Eminem's "Shady CXVpher" verse where he threatened to punch the chanteuse "right in the face twice like Ray Rice."

So it was just a matter of time until someone drew them together. Banks posted fan art of that very scene today on Instagram, and it's as amazing as you'd expect. For one, they both look like Disney princesses, although LDR's underwear is for some reason exposed. Their headgear--Banks' bow and Lana's flower crown--is realistic. Not to mention, the emojis drawn next to them--Banks' is smiling, Lana's is crying--pretty perfectly capture their personalities.

Banks was enthused about the drawing. "My fans are really creative," she wrote. "This is a drawing of me and Lana del Rey." Check it out here.

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10 Stars Including Lorde, Skrillex, Rick Astley in Ubber Mashup
(Radio.com) What happens when you assemble 40 music stars in hopes of writing the greatest song ever? Apparently, the answer is sketch comedy as fans will see in a new online video.

An Australian radio duo put Lorde, Disclosure, Skrillex, Rick Astley, alt-j, Steve Aoki, Flume, Vance Joy, Gotye, Ben Folds and many more together in a new YouTube video with the project of writing their new theme song--in particular, the greatest Triple J song.

The results were: Lorde immediately peaced out, alt-j championed intricate guitar playing, Skrillex dropped the bass, Aoki had his mellow harshed, Skrillex experienced premature bass dropping, Folds offered to "tinkle the ivories," Disclosure agreed that a track with siblings doing harmonies would be lovely, Flume offered to remix it and Astley just decides to Rickroll the whole thing.

In the end, the greatest song is still being cooked. Check it out here.

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Darlene Love's Letterman Christmas Performances' Mashup
(Radio.com) After David Letterman retires as the host of The Late Show, it will mark an end to a televised Christmas tradition: Darlene Love singing her holiday classic "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" each year along with Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra.

According to a CBS release, Love's performance of the song this Friday (Dec. 19) will be the last time she ever does it on TV. The folks at Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, edited together a mashup of Love's many performances of the song starting with her first time singing it for Letterman in 1986.

Does she have a favorite? As she recently told Radio.com, "There's actually two. They decided to televise the show [in 2000] to all the military [in Bosnia] and not only that, they had the Singing Sergeants [of the United States Air Force] come and sing 'Christmas (Baby')" with me. So that night was the first night I ever wore a gown. I said, 'Okay, this is going to be special.' It resonates in my head what Christmas really means: there was a war that did not happen and now we're singing to the soldiers and now the Singing Sergeants are with me, and it looked fabulous on television to see them in all their uniforms and me in a gown.

"So, that's probably the one I remember most, more than any of them. That and the very first one [in 1986]. How I looked was so funny!"

Watch the mashup here.

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Amy Adams Expresses Her Love For One Direction
(Radio.com) Amy Adams just might be the world's biggest One Direction fan. At the very least, she could contend for the title. In the new promos for this week's Saturday Night Live, on which Adams will be joined by the British boy band, the actress is practically beside herself that she'll be in the same room as the quintet.

She even gets the crazed teen mannerisms down pat, burying her head in Taran Killam's shoulder, giving the camera a wide-eyed glance, destroying some Christmas presents and screaming her heart out by the window, the Rockefeller Christmas tree looming outside.

If she's all in a tizzy about the boy band's musical guest appearance on the show, imagine how Twitter will be Saturday night. Adams and One Direction's episode will air Dec. 20, the final SNL of 2014. Given the show's penchant for having the musical guests make cameos in sketches--most prominently Nicki Minaj's multiple appearances two weeks ago--don't be surprised if the boys show up on more than just the stage, too.

Watch the promo here.

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Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon Do Nerdy Third Eye Blind Cover
(Radio.com) When Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon get together, you just know hilarity will ensue. That was certainly true of Tuesday night (Dec. 16), where Timberlake made a stop at the Tonight Show to go back in time to 1997 to play Fallon's camp buddy at good ol' Camp Winnipesaukee.

The two--both with impressive curly-haired wigs--can't get to sleep so they decide to stay up and have some fun, starting with Truth or Dare. "Is it weird if it's just two boys?" Timberlake asks. Of course not!

Soon, Timberlake is revealing he has a crush on Kimmy Gibbler from Full House and talks about his full beard and you know, what's going on down there.

The two then have a little fun singing their favorite song, Third Eye Blind's "Jumper," even doing a little harmonizing. But since it's after lights out, they have to be quiet. Of course they can't do it. I mean, it's "Jumper"!

Watch the clip to see what happens to the two singing campers when their counselor catches them here.

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