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Day in Pop Report for 10/20/2014


U2's Bono Has Eye Disease
(Radio.com) U2 and frontman Bono have been the punchline of the music industry for a minute after they loaded their recent album Songs of Innocence in your iTunes whether you wanted it or not.

Sometimes, these jokes go after Bono's trademark dark sunglasses, which now appears to be a foul, as the Irish singer has a legit reasons for always wearing the tinted specs.

"This is a good place to explain to people that I've had glaucoma for the last 20 years," Bono told Graham Norton on the BBC's The Graham Norton Show (via CoS). "I have good treatments and I am going to be fine."

Read more here.

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Migos Star Jumps Off Stage and Punches Fan
(Radio.com) Could Migos be the next big stars of the WWE? These days you can't go to one of their shows without seeing a few fisticuffs exchanged, usually initiated by the rap group. Case in point: a recent show in Springfield, Mass., when member Offset jumped into the crowd and began punching a fan.

There's no clear reason for his behavior, but the clip, courtesy of rap beef stalwart Vlad TV, shows him staring at the fan for several seconds before the altercation begins.

Though security are finally able to separate the two, Offset is able to land several punches before the fan is whisked away. Similar fights have occurred - reportedly or otherwise - at recent Migos events in Memphis and Indiana, the latter with concert promoters claiming the group robbed them at gunpoint. The message is clear: they may be Migos, but cross them and there's no guarantee they'll be friendly.

Watch video here.

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Iggy Azalea Responds to Divorce Claims
(Radio.com) Iggy Azalea's beef with a Texas man named Hefe Wine, who claims to be her husband, continues to broil. She's shot back on Twitter after his interview with XXL last Thursday, where he discussed their so-called common law marriage and claimed she's under contract to him.

This afternoon, Azalea fired off a series of tweets giving insight into her relationship with Mr. Wine, as well as her planned response to his comments: court. "i have such a great collection of witnesses now and I'm really excited to get my day in court and see justice prevail," the rapper tweeted.

She also claimed that the rapper's actual wife is "currently in court after he strangled her," referring to her name as Annette Buitrago. Iggy also addressed what seems like a case of extortion and blackmail by her "former husband." Read more here.

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Taylor Swift Hosts Secret Fan Events
(Radio.com) You probably haven't heard Taylor Swift's new album, 1989, but throughout the year she's been treating lucky fans in cities like Los Angeles, New York City, Nashville, Rhode Island and London to a first listen. And definitely making them sign a waiver so they don't reveal anything-and we mean anything-about the record, which from the beginning she's been keeping hush-hush.

In the clip, which features her recently released song with Jack Antonoff, "Out of the Woods," fans talk about what it means to get the secret invite. They didn't even know what was going on when they were asked to attend the Swift event. One girl even says she saw a woman with a cat dress and knew she was in the right place. Yeah, that's definitely a good clue.

Swift being the hostess with the mostess makes chocolate coconut cookies for the group, sneaks around the back of her mom's house as not to ruin the surprise and creepily watches them as they hang out in her apartment mingling together and most likely talking about how much they love Tay.

Watch the clip here.

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16 People Die At K-Pop Concert
(Radio.com) Sixteen people have died and 11 were injured after falling through a ventilation grate during a K-Pop concert as part of Pangyo Techno Valley culture festival in Seongnam, South Korea.

While watching the girl group 4Minute, the fans fell 20 meters when the grate gave out in the middle of the show. Around 700 people were in attendance at the show and as the incident occurred, the band continued to play without knowledge of the tragedy.

The dozens of people nearby the incident, however, were transfixed, standing round the three- to four-meters-wide hole and looking into it, according to photos taken.

Many of those who were injured from the collapse were rescued. Read more here.

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Munford & Sons Working On New Album
(Radio.com) We still appear to be a good while for Mumford and Sons third full-length, but news has dropped today that the British folk stalwarts are back in the studio with a pretty high-profile producer: James Ford, whose credits include Arctic Monkeys and Haim.

NME reports that an unnamed source has commented that, "It's very early days yet, but the sessions have been going well." Which is good news, as the next Mumford and Sons album is going to be one of the most eagerly awaited releases of 2015, whenever it actually materializes.

James Ford (no relation to the Lost character "Sawyer," who bore the same given name), is a member of influential electronic outfit Simian Mobile Disco, and has manned the helm of a slew of noteworthy releases, most recently with work on Jessie Ware's Tough Love, as well as production credits on Florence + the Machine's Ceremonials and Lungs, most everything Arctic Monkeys have done (including Alex Turner's solo work and The Last Shadow Puppets) and Haim's debut Days Are Gone.

Read more here.

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Trace Adkins Launching Christmas Tour and DVD
(Radio.com) Sitting beside a fireplace with stockings hung by the chimney with care, Trace Adkins announced last week that he will be releasing a holiday DVD called The Christmas Show.

While that DVD will surely get all country fans in the holiday spirit, he also just revealed a slew of Christmas Show tour dates. "The holidays are my favorite time of year and I'm excited to bring this show back on the road," Adkins said in a release. "These shows aren't just a straight up concert, they're bigger and more exciting with the 12-piece ensemble, the storytelling and some of the most beautiful arrangements I've ever heard."

Like his DVD, the carols performed on the tour include songs from his 2013 holiday album The King's Gift. "The Christmas season is a spirited holiday full of traditions and rich in history," he told fans in a video posted to Facebook Oct. 14. "A tradition for many families is listening to classic christmas carols on their most treasured holiday albums. Songs that bring warmth and love into their homes. This year I hope to add to your family's collection. I'm going to be releasing a live DVD, The Christmas Show, which features songs from my Christmas album, The King's Gift, and other Christmas classics. I'll take you on a musical and historical journey going back hundreds of years with stories and performances of seasonal favorites."

While the DVD will be available on his website, fans can catch Adkins on the road from Nov. 14 in West Point, N.Y., through Dec. 21 in Clearwater, Fla. Complete dates and venues here.

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Fat Joe and Jennifer Lopez Release 'Stressin' Video
(Radio.com) "No matter the situation, boy, I'm gon' hold you down." Jennifer Lopez and Fat Joe sang this endearing promise to each other on their smash 2005 collaboration, "Hold You Down."

Now they're calling in the favor. "Stressin'" is their new song together, their first in nine years. On Friday (Oct. 17), that song got its own video. The Bronx legends unite on a stomping anthem, proclaiming their love for New York and each other over a huge horn section. Jenny reps her block with a glittery NYC crop top.

In contrast, both he and his counterpart appear devastatingly kingly as they rap beneath a chandelier at a lavish banquette, schmoozing with French Montana.

Jenny asks a rhetorical question on the chorus: "So let me ask you one question, do it look like we stressing?" Watch the video here.

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Lupe Fiasco Reveals First Track From New Mixtape
(Radio.com) Following a little while out of the day-to-day music conversation, Lupe Fiasco has returned with a barrage of announcements and, thankfully, some new music.

After setting the release date for his new Atlantic Records album, Tetsuo & Youth, for Jan. 20 of next year, and a new mixtape titled Lost in the Atlantic, Fiasco has shared his first taste from the latter.

A smooth, brass-filled, early-Kanye-sounding track titled "Lilies," the song gets an assist from Sirah on the chorus and finds Lupe in top form. Not a bad start from the wealth of new Lupe Fiasco we should be expecting down the road. Listen tot eh track here.

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Rich Gang Release 'Freestyle' Video
(Radio.com) Birdman is flying high right now, his Rich Gang project held aloft by the buoyant voices of Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan. The three of them just shared the video for "Freestyle," off their recent successful Rich Gang: The Tour Part 1 mixtape.

On "Givenchy," Birdman delivers a spoken word segment about the Rich Gang lifestyle, defined by "marble floors, gold terlets and chandeliers." That luxury is evident in this video: the rappers cavort around a spacious mansion, Thug and Quan goofing around in between Doric columns while Birdman looks on, cigar smoke floating from his diamond-filled mouth.

He looks like a satisfied babysitter, watching the kids run around the mansion while he chaperones. While not everything is champagne and roses - "My baby momma just put me on child support / F**k her I ain't going to court," growls Quan - Rich Gang seem to be enjoying their well-deserved luxury.

Read more and watch the video here.

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Hank Williams Biopic Cast Revealed
(Radio.com) The Hank Williams biopic I Saw the Light has finally started production and is filling out its cast list. Actors David Krumholtz (The Judge, Numb3rs), Josh Pais (The Good Wife, Law & Order: SVU), James DuMont (Get On Up, Dallas Buyers Club) and Wrenn Schmidt (Boardwalk Empire, The Americans) have been added to the cast.

According to Billboard, Krumholtz will play New York journalist James Dolan, who interviews Williams. Meanwhile, Pais will play Dore Schary, the former production president of MGM who tries to persuade Williams in the direction of a film career.

DuMont will play the role of a music promoter and mayor named WB Nolan while Schmidt will play Bobbie Jett, who is the mother of Williams' daughter. She was born five days after his death.

Last month, Elizabeth Olsen was cast as Audrey Williams alongside Tom Hiddleson, who was tapped as the role of Hank Williams earlier this year.

Read more here.

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Gucci Mane Streaming New Album Trap God 3
(Radio.com) The newest in Gucci Mane's long, long line of 2014 releases is officially out. The rapper has tossed Trap God 3, his newest album, onto the Internet and iTunes. It's available to stream online and for a paid download at a rate of $9.99.

The album follows full albums Trap House 4, Gucci vs. Guwop and The Oddfather. A number of mixtapes and other collaborative releases have also been tendered.

Trap God 3 is predominantly focused on Gucci, though Chief Keef pops up on the song "Start Pimpin." The album has 17 songs total, with production from Mike WiLL Made It, London on Da Track and 808 Mafia, among others. Check out the stream here.

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Dillon Francis Remixes Deadmau5's 'Some Chords'
(Radio.com) Earlier this month, it was announced that Deadmau5 will be releasing 5 years of mau5, a double album retrospective containing "highlights from his most beloved back catalog alongside exclusive and new remixes from friends."

Today (Oct. 17), we discover that among those "friends" is DJ/producer Dillon Francis, who's revealed his new remix of Deadmau5's 2010 fan favorite, "Some Chords."

The original track was the lead single of Deadmau5's full-length from the same year, 4�4=12. Where the album version is a brooding, slow-building track that erupts into the artist's most memorable hooks, Francis has given it a much more aggressive and festival-friendly rework thick with multiple drops.

5 years of mau5 is set for release on Nov. 25, which is the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The only American Deadmau5 tour date for the rest of the year is set for Nov. 1 at HARD Day of the Dead in Southern California, where he'll team up with Eric Prydz for a special back-to-back show on the "mau5-ville" stage.

Listen here.

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Little Big Town Releasing New Album, Pain Killer, This Week
(Radio.com) After a summer spent "Day Drinking," it's time for a Pain Killer. No we're not advocating aspirin or other over-the-counter relief. We're talking about the newest studio album from country quartet Little Big Town, which is set to drop this Tuesday (Oct. 21). Pain Killer is the title of the group's sixth studio album, and in honor of this release, Little Big Town is Radio.com's Impact artist this week.

"We knew the record was going to be called Pain Killer way on into the process because we love that song," bandmember Karen Fairchild told Rolling Stone Country in July. "That song is really kind of tongue-in-cheek - 'be the person that numbs my pain.' We started talking about tying that thread through the whole record, to ease your pain. Don't we want the whole record to do that for people, anyway? Whether it's a sad moment, or a song that's more thoughtful and has a lot more substance in the lyric, we want music to take us away. Pain Killer fits, that's the common thread through all the songs."

As for "Day Drinking," that was the album's catchy lead single, released at the start of the summer. And if it didn't inspire actual quaffing of beverages, it certainly led to plenty of singing along-no wonder, then, that the song has reached the Top 10 of the country singles charts.

"It's completely fun," said Fairchild at the time of the song's release this past June. "It kind of led the way on the record. You've got to find one or two pieces that feel like, 'Ah, this is worthy of building this whole record around.'"

Read more here.

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Tanya Tucker Exhibit Coming To Country Music Hall of Fame
(Radio.com) The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville this week announced a new exhibit focusing on the life and career of country superstar Tanya Tucker.

"Tanya Tucker: Strong Enough to Bend" will open Nov. 14 at the museum and run through May 2015. Along with Brenda Lee before her and, later, LeAnn Rimes and Alison Krauss, Tucker is one of the few singers who made a significant impact on country music at a very young age. In Tucker's case, she was only 13 years old when she first caught the ears of famed Nashville producer Billy Sherrill in 1972. But her rich husky voice, confidence and grown-up attitude turned her version of "Delta Dawn" into a major hit.

Written by Alex Harvey and Larry Collins (a former child star himself with rockabilly duo the Collins Kids), Tucker's version of the song reached the country top 10 and earned Tucker a GRAMMY nomination. It also set the Seminole, Texas, native on a lifelong career on the country charts and in the commercial spotlight.

Tucker followed "Delta Dawn" success with a string of chart hits, many of which centered around mature subject matter that many a parent of a budding country superstar would likely frown on today. Hard to imagine, for instance, a teenage Taylor Swift belting out songs but like "Blood Red and Goin' Down," "What's Your Mama's Name," "The Man That Turned My Mama On" and "Would You Lay with Me (in a Field of Stone)." For Tucker, though, they found a ready audience, despite lyrics about public drunkeness, lust, infidelity and even murder.

"He sent me out to wait, but scared, I looked back through the door," Tucker sang on "Blood Red and Goin' Down," her 1973 No. 1 hit (penned by Curly Putman) about a little girl tagging along on her father's quest for violent revenge against his cheating wife. "And daddy left them both soaking up the sawdust on the floor."

Read more here.

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Pharrell Producing Snoop Dogg's New Album
(Radio.com) Snoop Dogg has made more headlines this year for his antics than his music, but expect that to change soon. After trickling out a couple of novelty tracks - "WFTV Millionaire" and "Bishop Gorman Move Them Chains" - Billboard has reported that Snoop is the latest signee to Pharrell Williams' I Am Other imprint, which is a subsidiary of Columbia Records.

I Am Other confirmed the news on its Instagram account, with a picture of Snoop and Pharrell shaking hands. "Snoop Dogg's new album is produced entirely by Pharrell, and will feature Charlie Wilson and Stevie Wonder," text on the photo announced, with an accompanying caption: "We're speechless too."

His new and currently untitled album will mark his first return to rap since 2011's Doggumentary. It will also follow up his reggae phase as Snoop Lion, where he traveled to Jamaica and embedded himself in Rastafari culture.

The latter is a period that inspired the Diplo-produced Reincarnated, which debuted at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Billboard's Reggae Albums chart. Read more here.

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Film Rights For Steamy Harry Styles Fan Fiction Sold To Paramount
(Radio.com) Shades of, well, Fifty Shades of Grey. A steamy fanfiction featuring Harry Styles and One Direction is set to hit the big screen, Music Times reports. After, a story written by Anna Todd, was originally optioned for a book deal earlier this year, but will now potentially hit movie theaters after Paramount acquired the film rights to the fanfic.

The After film would be produced through Paramount's Offspring Entertainment offshoot. After is a very NSFW story written by Todd, a 25-year-old Texan, on the website Wattpad.

It follows Tessa Young, 18, who meets a "rude boy" named Harry - who is actually, indeed, One Direction's Harry Styles. Other members of the group make appearances as well.

The fanfic currently has 99 chapters and has received over 260 million hits on Wattpad, along with 1 million comments. Read more here.

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Jason Aldean's New Album Almost Had A Different Title
(Radio.com) It's been nearly a decade since Jason Aldean released his self-titled debut album, but instead of celebrating his past successes, the award-winning, multiplatinum-selling singer keeps his gaze ahead on his new album Old Boots, New Dirt.

He shares that very sentiment in "Just Gettin' Started," the album's lead track. "We're already having the time of our lives and we're just getting started tonight," he sings. "That actually was almost the title of the album," Aldean tells Radio.com. "It's a radio monster, I think. It's going to be a single for sure."

"Just Gettin' Started" is an energetic song, and it's become somewhat of a career motto for Aldean, who was determined to keep pushing forward on Old Boots, New Dirt, his sixth studio album, which just dropped last week. "I think we've got some of the best songs we've had on any record," Aldean says.

While it's been 16 years since the Georgia singer left his hometown of Macon for Nashville, Tenn., Aldean hasn't forgotten his roots. In fact, tracks like "I Took It with Me" remind him of where he's from. With lyrics talking about Highway 41, which runs right through Macon, he knew he had to cut the song.

"I was so drawn to that song because it does talk about Georgia," he tells Radio.com. "It took me back to moving to Nashville in 1998. I was born and raised in Georgia and never lived anywhere else, [and then I] moved somewhere where I didn't know anybody."

Aldean was only 21-years-old when he packed up his things and headed for Nashville. He says he didn't know it at the time, but he was getting ready to get beat down for a few years. As a result, he credits his stubbornness for helping him successfully navigate the industry.

"I always tried to be smart with decisions I made, just tried to remember where I came from and how long it took me to get there," he reflects. "Even once I got to town it wasn't easy. I think being stubborn was the best thing for me. It made me refuse to give up and take no for an answer. No matter how many of these guys would come up and say they didn't believe in what I was doing, I still did. I still felt that what we were doing was cool and different."

Aldean credits his stubbornness and his Georgia upbringing to his parents, and he says it's something that he's glad he's taken with him throughout his career. Read more here.

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Fall Out Boy Recruit Rick Ross For New Video
(Radio.com) Fall Out Boy take it way, way back - centuries, we'll say - in their new music video for "Centuries." In the video, the band depicts the era of the gladiator. All four members play competitors in a massive coliseum who must square off against a brute of a fellow gladiator - as both commoners and some of society's elite look on.

Perhaps they would have stood some chance against someone more their size, but the members of the band are defeated one by one by their opponent, who's clearly a mismatch for them.

But in a twist at the end, Fall Out Boy realize they might have a shot after all, thanks to a mysterious helper. Oh, and their next opponent is Rick Ross. "Getting back up. Dusting it off. My dad used to tell me the most important part of any of it was getting back up on the horse - I didn't grow up on a farm - but it still applied," bassist Pete Wentz said of the video in a release. "David vs. Goliath, us vs. them, you vs. the world� brains, talent and luck are great but heart will always trump them. That is the sentiment of this video."

Watch the video here.

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Sting Presents 'Stingtones' On Fallon
(Radio.com) If Sting was to sing ringtones for your cellphone, they would not be some ordinary ringtone like marimba. According to Jimmy Fallon, these jingles would be appropriately called "Stingtones."

On last Thursday night's episode of The Tonight Show, Sting showed off his pipes turning boring old ringtones into Sting-approved new ones for those fans who want to hear his voice every time they receive a call or text.

Sting even made the xylophone ringtone sound like something off the Police's Synchronicity. But, whether you want any of these ringtones, Sting shows he's a good sport and very funny. Watch it here.

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