Day in Pop Report for 04/20/2015
The crash began a chain-reaction of further crashes, including another band bus for Thompson Square, as well as other vehicles. Images of the bus have been released and, in the words of the mother of Twin Shadow bassist Spencer Zahn, they are "pretty upsetting." The seriously injured person was the bus driver, 41-year-old John Crawford, while 11 others on the bus were taken to the hospital with minor to moderate injuries. Read more here.
And the stars on the stage and the red carpet included not just country artists but also Nick Jonas and Christina Aguilera (who each performed), Steven Tyler, Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara and a host of Dallas Cowboys football players and cheerleaders (fitting, since the venue is home to the Cowboys). Speaking of Luke Bryan, he took home the Entertainer of the Year trophy this year, his second time winning that coveted award. The big difference this year? Instead of bursting into tears (as he did in 2013), he came bounding on the stage, thrilled, yes, but certainly acting more the part of the superstar he's become these past couple years. (The only weirdness of this moment? The fact that his acceptance speech, for the premiere award of the entire ceremony, felt rushed, thanks no doubt to time constraints for the live broadcast.) In terms of sheer numbers, Lambert cleaned up Sunday night, taking home four awards, including Female Vocalist of the Year (which she's won now six times in a row), Album of the Year for Platinum and Song of the Year for "Automatic." Lambert was also one of seven artists Sunday night who earned a Milestone Award from the Academy, recognizing outstanding career achievements in the genre. Taylor Swift was another Milestone winner, and her acceptance turned into one of the night's most emotional moments, when she was presented the award by her mother Andrea (who it was just revealed has been diagnosed with cancer). The show, though, was filled with emotional moments. One of the standouts was certainly Garth Brooks' performance of "All American Kid," a song (written by country artist Craig Campbell) from his 2014 album Man Against Machine. Already a powerful song, Brooks brought intensity to the performance, doubled down by the presence of stoic military members and his dedicating the song to his home stage of Oklahoma. Based on Sunday night's performance alone, "All American Kid" has jumped to the front of the pack as among the best of Brooks' new songs. Dierks Bentley also delivered an emotional moment, performing his song "Riser" alone on acoustic guitar. It's a powerful song about getting past difficult challenges, one that rang true for Bentley after losing his father a few years back (as he recently told Radio.com, when he first heard the song he immediately knew it was "the cornerstone" of his new album). Bentley, by the way, was the second-most-nominated artist at the ACMs this year but only walked away with Video of the Year honors for "Drunk on a Plane." Read more here.
According to Drake, he has two songs that he likes for the fourth LP, one being the track that he made with Beyonce that he says he recorded a "while ago." Though he doesn't say much else about the song with Bey--like what it sounds like or the title--he does say that the other song moves away from his radio friendly jams, but move into a new weirder territory. He's looking to shock us, with the writer making a comparison to what Kanye West did with 808s and Heartbreaks. Something Drake thinks is a good point. Drake still isn't sure about this weirder song, even telling the writer producer Boi-1da wants him to listen to it more to really decide if it's good or not. Read more here.
The short clip, filmed on a phone by a friend of the man Rocky is yelling at, shows the rapper getting in the guy's face asking him "What's up?" and "Should I snuff you right now?" Before the fight escalates any further, Rocky leaves the shop saying "I respect London." In an all-caps tweet after the incident, Rocky made it clear why he left, saying he wasn't interested in taking the fight any further--specifically to the court. "N-S BE DYING FOR A LAWSUIT, I LEARNED MY LESSONS IN THE PAST WITH U SO CALLED TOUGH GUYS, IM TOO KOOL," he wrote. "I GOT $ NOW, PLAN ON KEEPIN IT TOO." He added another tweet. Read more here.
The Kardashian-West family were on the final return leg of their headline-making trip to Armenia. The video shows Ye making his way through the crowds of paparazzi with daughter North in his arms, rushing to hop into their waiting SUV. As he does, a man calmly follows, calling his name. West likely doesn't hear him in the melee, but the guy sticks his head inside the SUV when West hops in and, getting no reaction, finally tosses the legal papers into his car. Kim Kardashian and her bodyguard have to physically move him out of the way of the closed car door so she is able to get in. Kanye's reaction? Several seconds later, he tosses the papers out the back door of the SUV. Check it out here.
"God blessed me with my twin," the caption reads. He also posted a solo shot of his curly-haired little girl wearing an adorable blue and white striped shirt. Already a fashion maven it seems. Last month, it was reported that Brown met his daughter for the first time after he was spotted with her mother, a 31-year-old named Nia Guzman-Amey, who is a model he's known for a few years. See the posts here.
Bryan scored the Entertainer nod at Sunday night's ACMs, held in Arlington, Texas on April 19. Bryan, who released his last full-length studio album Crash My Party in 2013, was also one of the co-hosts of the evening, along with Blake Shelton. He had to beat Miranda Lambert, Florida Georgia Line, Garth Brooks and Jason Aldean for the award. Bryan won one other award in the evening: Vocal Event of the Year, doing so as part of his "This Is How We Roll" duet with Florida Georgia Line. "I'm up here with Steven Tyler!" exclaimed Bryan at the start of a shortened speech, as the awards were going right up against the 11:30 p.m. ending slot. Read more here.
It's a touching song that Brooks handled masterfully, keeping things low key but making sure the words--about a high school football hero who joins the military and then pays the ultimate price--cut right to the core. The performance was given added poignancy, though, when it was introduced by Taya Kyle, the widow of the late Chris Kyle of American Sniper fame. Adding drama to the performance, as Brooks was singing, a number of military members filed in through the audience, their faces stoic, as fireworks blasted off on the video screens and a section of the audience flipped cards to show a big, brilliant American flag. Read more here.
"Jealous" actually began with Dan + Shay solely on vocals, harmonizing on the song's inescapable melody before being joined by the snazzily dressed Jonas (though the country boys weren't too shabby in their own right). Then came Jonas' "Chains," the trio exiting the normal stage setup to join each other on the stretched out stage among the crowd to harmonize on the "you got me in chains" refrain. Certainly not a country song by any means, but with the arrangement and Dan + Shay's backing vocals, it didn't seem too out of place on country radio by any means, with a few tweaks here and there. Read more here.
According to Rolling Stone Country, the country singer recently wrote "Two of a Crime" for an upcoming comedy called the Hot Pursuit. The film stars Reese Witherspoon, who plays a green police officer who protects Sofia Vergara from a drug cartel. "Reese texted me and told me about the movie and wanted me to write something or sing or both. I got inspired," she said. "It was a bit of a Thelma and Louise theme and that's totally up my alley. It is really so fun to be part of it." She added that Witherspoon's requirements for the song was that it should have a "Southern and a Latin flavor." Lambert wrote "Two of a Crime" with frequent collaborators Natalie Hemby and Nicolle Galyon. Read more here.
Unfamiliar? It's a new one; it comes from Aguilera's Nashville guest-starring role from earlier this month. Aguilera took the lead on the song, joined by Rascal Flatts in harmony before a white backdrop. Afterward, Rascal Flatts took on new single "Riot," a slow burner on which Aguilera assumed lead vocals on the second verse before she and Read more here.
Instead, after a video recognizing her many accomplishments on the ACMs stage, the multi-platinum superstar was awarded by none other than her mother, Andrea Swift. The moment was particularly poignant, not just because of her mom's emotional giving of thanks to the country music community for taking her daughter in so many years ago, including recounting the time she wrote "Love Story" when she was "mad, real mad" at her parents for disapproving of a boy she liked. It was also the first major appearance of Andrea Swift since her daughter revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer. "I know you love her as I love her," Andrea Swift said. "And for that I thank you eternally." Read more here.
But, if they weren't connected then, clearly Smith has left an impression on Hayes, with the country singer releasing a live acoustic cover of Sam Smith's top five hit "I'm Not the Only One" via PopShackTV. Hayes doesn't countrify the tune, but rather embraces his pop sensibility, giving the song a straight-forward and emotional rendition. We'll see if Smith gets wind of this and returns the favor with a cover of "Wanted" or "Somebody's Heartbreak." Hayes released his second studio album, Storylines, in 2014, and will be hitting the road with Sam Hunt and Lady Antebellum this spring. Check out the cover here.
Guitarist Joe Trohman wants her to walk his zebras, bring him coffee and read him an algebra book until he falls asleep. Drummer Andy Hurley wants her to work out with him. Singer Patrick Stump wants her to karaoke Fall Out Boy songs and "bring him his biggest fans" (a slew of baby chicks and bunnies). And Wentz enlists her to do a number of physical activities, from paintball to go-kart racing to riding a mechanical bull. Related: Fall Out Boy to Perform at Global Citizen Earth Day Concert She is alternately the band's babysitter, friend and total slave. It's treatment only a super fan would enjoy. Naturally the day ends with the band performing a concert while their fan/assistant has the best spot in the house, on the stage. Selfies for everyone! Watch it here.
The record will feature the previously debuted songs "74 Is the New 24″ and the Kylie Minogue-led "Right Here, Right Now," as well as tracks featuring Charli XCX, Mikky Ekko, Britney Spears, Kelis and others. In addition, the Sia-featuring title track is now available to stream. On the album, Moroder said in a press release, "I'm incredibly happy that I got to work with so many great and talented artists on this new record. This is dance music, it's disco, it's electronic, it's here for you. Once you listen� you'll feel it' dej� vu." Read more here.
On Friday (April 17), the DJ, known for his "United States of Pop" videos at the end of each year, released a video mashup, which is available on YouTube, for fans to visualize some of the country singer's best known hits intertwined in the form of music videos. The mashup includes fan favorites 'Before He Cheats," 'Cowboy Casanova," 'Blown Away," 'See You Again," 'Two Black Cadillacs" and recent single "Something in the Water," among many more. Read more here.
According to Schlogel, one such call resulted in a subscriber to the new music service exclaiming, "This is the best customer service call I've ever received!" So while some musicians may not be sold on the product just yet (if ever), others are embracing it to the point where they'll call to thank you for streaming that new Rihanna song. Read more here.
Parker will reportedly star as Frances, a woman who decided to get a divorce after reassessing her life, but making a clean break is much harder than she thought. Thomas Haden Church will plays Robert, Frances' husband, while Molly Shannon and Mad Men's Talia Balsam will star as Frances' friend. Flight Of The Conchords' Jemaine Clement also appeared in the pilot, but no word yet if he's a series regular. Read more here.
So what does Reba think about romance on country radio? "I think definitely there's room for romance and great relationships [songs] to come back," she says with a big smile. "That's why I titled this album Love Somebody. It's about falling in love, falling out of love, looking for love, all the aspects and different ratios of love. It's going to touch somebody's heart pretty severely." Love Somebody is an emotional album which includes songs penned by Tom Douglas, Brandy Clark, Sam Hunt and Shane McAnally, among others. The most honest song for Reba, though, is 'Just Like Them Horses," which was written by Liz Hengber and Tommy Lee James. She says it touches her more deeply than the other songs she's recorded for the record. "I recorded it and then I played it at Daddy's funeral," she says gravely, referring to her father, Clark Vincent McEntire, who died last October. "I recorded it just weeks before he passed away." A song she admits is difficult to sing, Reba says she doesn't know if she'll perform it on tour. "When I recorded it I had to really concentrate on the lyrics. It was a very emotional song," she confesses. "It was for Mama and Daddy. It was for her letting Daddy go. He had been sick for three or four years and it was time. He was suffering and if he had known where he was and what was really going on, if he could have told us, he wouldn't have wanted that kind of a life. I think he pretty much decided when he wanted to go and God said, 'OK come on boy, let's go home.'" Read more here.
But his portrayal of Ray Charles, which earned him an Academy Award, helped usher in a musical Jamie Foxx in the same year of 2004, where he featured on two smash singles, Twista's "Slow Jamz" and Kanye West's "Gold Digger." Foxx's next album Hollywood was announced last week on Jimmy Kimmel Live and will be released on May 18 via RCA. The album's first single, "You Changed Me" featuring Chris Brown, has already been making the rounds. Read more here.
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