Day in Pop Report for 10/30/2014
Currently, the album is forecast to sell at least 1 million, though it's unclear how high or low above that number it may go. But the new number comes after weeks of insiders upping the total; first, it was expected to sell around 750,000 two weeks ago, followed by a jump to around 800,000 and then 900,000. Red sold 1.21 million copies in its first week in 2012, while Swift's previous album, 2010's Speak Now, also reached that marker at 1.05 million. The number would give 2014 its first Platinum-certified album in terms of first week sales after two years without one. Read more here.
Harry Potter was up for the challenge though, telling Jimmy Fallon-downright bragging, one might say-that he was the first kid in his class to learn all the words to Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady." It should be noted, he was 10 at the time. "I've always had kind of an obsession with memorizing complicated, lyrically intricate and fast songs," he explained. "It's a disease." With the Roots as his backup band and Fallon as his hype man, Radcliffe masterfully got through the song without a single slip-up. Read more and watch it here.
MTV reports that Ariana Grande held a livestream Tuesday (Oct. 28) and let a major bomb drop in doing so: that she recorded a song for the film's soundtrack with Lorde and Diplo. Given that the tracklist for the album has already been released, only one song would fit that bill: "Track 5," which was the only song on the album that did not have a name or its performers revealed. Last week, Lorde tweeted that the song was not kept shrouded in mystery for "secrecy's sake - it's just not quite finished." Read more here.
Tha Carter V was supposed to be released on Tuesday (Oct. 28) but wasn't ready for release, and Wayne revealed why: he's been skating too much, the Cash Money head jokes. In a more serious moment, Wayne says he's been working on the album "every single day" and that it "means a lot" to him. He goes on to say he "refuses to cheat" the real fans by giving them anything "rushed." He explains that he's recorded so many songs that they're now working on a way to release all the music he's been working on, instead of a simple 12-song album, going on to show off the titles of 31 songs he's created, with the promise that there are even more missing from that list. He reveals that the first part of the the album will now drop Dec. 9, with info on the next part of the Carter V to come later. As an appeasement, Wayne teased a single from the first part of Carter V with The Lox, called "Gotti," at the end of his public service announcement. The full-length track was also uploaded to his YouTube channel. Check it out here.
For some, the biggest question: is Lamar taking shots at Drake? In his puffed-up-chest verse, Lamar comes out fighting. "I tell 'em all hail King Kendrick, resurrecting my vengeance/ Been dissecting your motormouth until I break down the engine," he raps. "This ain't no warning shot, this a relevant henchman/ See my opponent then, cease your existence/ Endin' our friendship, baby, I'd rather die alone." Sure, Lamar doesn't list Drake - or anyone except for himself, for that matter - by name, but the pair's friendship and history is enough for some to assume Drake's the target. Then again, it could likely just be a diss directed at no one in particular - like A$AP Rocky's recent attack on other rappers who wear Hood By Air and #BEEN TRILL#. On the other hand, if the verse was aimed at Drake, it'd be the second time Lamar called out the Toronto MC in a track. On his kingly "Control" verse from last year, Drake was one of the rappers over which King Kendrick presided - though Drizzy took it in stride, later calling Kendrick a "king" during his OVO Fest set. Read more and listen to the track here.
The shows will take place Dec. 12-13 at 7 p.m. at the Verizon Arena. Tickets go on sale Friday, Nov. 7, at 10 a.m. CT and can be purchased through online at ticketmaster.com/garthbrooks. Cost for each and every seat, no matter where it's located, is $73.25. Brooks is currently on a world tour with Yearwood. He began the tour this past September in Chicago, and has also performed in Atlanta, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla. He also has upcoming shows in Lexington, Kty., Greensboro, N.C., Minneapolis, Minn., and St. Louis, Mo. Read more here.
Now how old do you feel? To celebrate the label's 15th anniversary, Eminem is releasing a two-disc compilation called ShadyXV, and he's just released the tracklist. The first disc will feature a selection of all new tracks, including songs by Slaughterhouse, Bad Meets Evil, Yelawolf and D12. Eminem recruits two powerful divas, Sia and Skylar Grey, to join him on "Guts Over Fear" and"Twisted," respectively. Of particular interest is "Detroit Vs. Everybody," a major hometown posse cut featuring Detroit MCs Royce Da 5'9″, Big Sean, Danny Brown, DeJ Loaf and Trick Trick. One imagines the song is the collaboration Big Sean and Eminem have teased in the past. On the the second disc, Eminem has collected some of his labels biggest hits, including his own "Lose Yourself," 50 Cent's "In Da Club," and D12′s "Fight Music." ShadyXV is out Nov. 24; see the tracklist here.
One of the most anticipated songs is a new track from Bastille, which is now available for sampling. Titled "The Driver," the song is a little less overtly pop than we've come to expected from the British alternative group, but the darker, moodier turn is fitting for the film, which drifts toward a similar aesthetic. Radio 1 Rescores: Drive - Curated by Zane Lowe will air on BBC Three on Oct. 30. Meanwhile, Bastille have a new mixtape planned, which will feature "The Driver" and be their first release since their massive breakthrough Bad Blood. Listen to the track here.
Additional artists announced so far include Kip Moore, Dwight Yoakam, Ashley Monroe, Randy Houser, Wade Bowen, Brandy Clark, Maddie & Tae and the Cadillac Three. More will be revealed over the coming weeks. FarmBorough is being produced by Live Nation Entertainment and Founders Entertainment, and this isn't the first rodeo for either group. Live Nation's other popular country music festivals include Watershed in Washington and Faster Horses in Michigan. Founders is the organization behind New York's Governors Ball Music Festival, which is also held annually on Randall's Island. Read more here.
The mixtape, his first release since April 2014's Honest album, is out just in time for the spookiest of holidays. It features some Saw-esque art, a guest appearance by Lil Wayne and production by Metro Boomin, DJ Spinz, Southside and TM-88 for a frightening trifecta. The new Monster mixtape features 16 tracks in all, most of which are solo tracks. You can check out a full stream of the mixtape and find the free download link here.
On Wednesday (Oct. 29), Chesney has announced another special guest for his upcoming tour: Brantley Gilbert. The "Bottoms Up" singer will join Chesney on 15 stadium shows in 2015, including dates with Aldean. "When you co-headline a tour with Jason Aldean, you've gotta get someone who can hold their own to go in front," Chesney said in a press statement. "When I looked around, for those stadium shows that Brantley's part of, he's the man for the job. He knows how to reach the crowd, how to make them rock - and he's not afraid to push the rest of us." Read more here.
For their new video for "Sun Daze," the pair open on a familiar scene: a re-enactment of the events in that great commentary on being a corporate drone, Office Space. The boss would like them to get those Orange Peach reports (a nice twist on the infamous TPS reports) done ASAP. The boys would rather be in a pool, partying and having a good time. And thus, they are transported in their minds to the best. Sunday. Ever. We get the duo at a poolside party, listening to Haggard and Jagger, while sliding into a pool with their respective dogs. Air guitar is played, merriment is made and everyone may or may not be a little stoned - or so the lyrics imply. Read more here.
The R&B star was hospitalized for exhaustion, dehydration and seizures. He spent three days in a coma, and canceled tour dates. Now he's back in business, taking stock of the what the haters have been up to in his absence. "A lot of these lames kept hatin' on a n***a," he sings. "When I took a little fall you was steppin on a n***a." Alsina also addresses the lessons he learned from his health scare. "I just got of out of a coma / It showed me that when God is for me, no weapon can hold me," Alsina sings. "That's why I go hard for N.O. and my homies / and I pay homage to n***as before me." Listen here.
As the Cleveland Plain-Dealer notes, it's the first exhibit at the museum that begins under Karen Herman, the new vp of collections and curatorial affairs for the Rock Hall. Among the items featured in the exhibit are handwritten lyrics to "The Boxer," Simon's first guitar and multiple GRAMMYs, among nearly 100 more. According to Herman in a teleconference call, multiple interviews were conducted with Simon to help fill out the exhibit with his stories. "He was very generous," she said. "He gave us about three hours of his time over three sessions. He was very open and didn't ask for questions in advance. Later, he said, 'I was very open with my answers, more than I usually am.'" She continued: "There's just so much about his life and career. The hardest part was editing it all down. How do you do that without losing the story?" Read more and check out some photos from the exhibit here.
Even though West has had a lot of practice with Auto-Tune - in between using it for his seminal album 808s & Heartbreak and on every night of his Yeezus tour where he filters his monologues through it at the tail end of "Runaway" - T-Pain thinks that West's approaching it wrong. "There are a lot of guys that use Auto-Tune that cannot sing," he said. "Kanye uses it, but he doesn't use it correctly." He added, however, that West still "makes great music with it." What exactly is the problem? T-Pain thinks Auto-Tune shouldn't be used after singing. Read more here.
Richard is keeping things moving, announcing a new mixtape called Blackheart to be released on Jan. 15. Blackheart is a sequel to 2013's Goldenheart. "It's a completely different sound," Richard told Billboard. "Lyrically and storytelling-wise, it is in the same fashion of Goldenheart. � But I wanted each album to stand on its own, and have a cohesive story." In addition, Richards has dropped a video for the song "Blow" off the project. You can watch her strutting her stuff and crooning her heart out in diamond-studded fangs. "I really wanted to prove that I had a story to tell," she said of the new project. Watch the new video here.
The obvious message of "Always Gonna Be" is the prevalence of love, no matter the distance. No matter how far apart you are, you're always and forever connected. That's the meaning I think most people will take away from the song, and that's great! It makes for a nice, happy love song (and I like nice, happy love songs). When I was originally writing the lyrics, however, I was looking at it from a slightly different angle. I was basing the song on this idea that once you find someone or something to make you feel not so alone in the world, you never have to feel lonely again. All you have to do is "think back to the memory." Just the knowledge that you're not the only person in the world who feels a certain way or thinks a certain way is enough. No one can take that memory away from you. It's yours to look back on and to comfort you forever. We've been lucky enough to have some of our music featured in videos for PostSecret in the past. I love the idea behind PostSecret, and what I think is most incredible about it is that people recognize their own secrets in a stranger's. And they realize they're not alone. They never have to meet that person or talk with that stranger. Just knowing someone out there shares their secret can be a weight lifted off. So I suppose that's where the inspiration for this song came from. Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!
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