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Day in Pop Report for 03/04/2015


Suspect Arrested For Fatal Stabbing Of Nicki Minaj's Crew Member
(Radio.com) As previously reported, two members of Nicki Minaj's road crew were recently stabbed in Philadelphia during tour rehearsals, with one of the victims dying from their injuries.

News is now coming that Philadelphia native Pierce Boykin is being charged with Murder, Attempted Murder, Aggravated Assault, Terroristic Threats, Simple Assault and related offenses, all stemming from the incident.

Devon Pickett of Brooklyn, New York, died due to multiple stab wounds to his torso, CBS Philly reports. The other victim, Eric Parker, a 27-year-old male, also was inflicted with multiple stab wounds, and remains in critical condition.

Police say that Boykin was apprehended and arrested on February 23 for his involvement in the stabbings. Read more here.

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Taylor Swift Gives 4-Year-Old Cancer Patient Last Wish
(Radio.com) As if you really needed another reason to think highly of Taylor Swift, the country-turned-pop icon has once again won our hearts. When informed that a four-year-old, Jalene Salinas of San Antonio, Texas, was suffering from terminal brain cancer and her dying wish was to dance with Swift to "Shake It Off," Swift dialed in the young girl for a special 20-minute FaceTime session (via Taste of Country).

'I'm so sorry you're having a bad night," the singer told the little girl, who wasn't able to speak much due to her pain. 'I'm so happy to talk to you though and I'm so happy you like 'Shake It Off.' You look beautiful tonight, you really do. You're just as pretty as your pictures."

Some of the encounter was captured on video, with Swift also taking the time to comfort the child's mother. The encounter was made possible in part because of social media, with a hashtag #ShakeItOffJalene being used to get Swift to notice. Watch the video here.

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Bobbi Kristina's Lawyer Denies Reality Show Reports
(Radio.com) There have been plenty of rumors swirling about Bobbi Kristina, Whitney Houston's daughter who was found unconscious in a bathtub in January, since the singer went into a coma, but at least one of them has been disputed by her attorney.

Contrary to reports by TMZ that a reality show was in the works about Brown's family as she remains in the hospital, Brown's lawyer Christopher Brown went on the record to say no such filming has happened in a statement to The Wrap.

'Yet again, TMZ has chosen to engage in false news reporting," Brown told The Wrap. "There is no Brown family reality show that is in production which chronicles Bobby Brown, Bobbi Kristina or the medical emergency she presently faces at Emory Hospital. These reports are irresponsible and Warner Brothers as the owner of TMZ, should be ashamed to publish such nonsense, particularly one day before Bobbi Kristina's birthday." Read more here.

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Kelly Clarkson Announces 2015 Tour Dates
(Radio.com) Kelly Clarkson's celebrated the release of new album Piece by Piece on Tuesday (March 3) in style: by announcing a new tour of North America this summer.

The singer has revealed a headlining tour across North America that will kick off July 11 in Hershey, Pa. She'll be on the road for much of the rest of the summer, with a final tour date Sept. 20 in Camden, N.J.

Pentatonix and Eric Hutchinson will back up Clarkson as openers. Tickets go on sale for certain dates on March 14, while others will be available starting March 21 or March 28. See the dates here.

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All-Star Lineup Announced For Brian Wilson Tribute Show
(Radio.com) A massive tribute concert honoring Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson will feature a cavalcade of music superstars including the Killers' Brandon Flowers, Ann Wilson of Heart, Norah Jones and more performing songs from Wilson's storied catalog.

The show, entitled "Brian Fest: A Night to Celebrate the Music of Brian Wilson," is scheduled for March 30 at Los Angeles' Fonda Theater. Tickets for the event go on sale this Thursday, March 5, with proceeds earmarked for the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, according to Rolling Stone.

Other featured performers slated for the show include Wilson Phillips, Boz Scaggs, Wayne Coyne and Steve Drozd of the Flaming Lips, M. Ward, Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast and more. Read more here.

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'Call Me Maybe' Doesn't Translate To Real Life For Carly Rae Jepsen
(Radio.com) Before she was letting you know how much she really, really, really likes you, Carly Rae Jepsen was wondering if you'd call her, maybe? But when she initially wrote that song, the one that would become a global GRAMMY-nominated sensation, she didn't give the title's pick up line potential any thought.

"I will say, the entire time that song was out and about in the abyss, when it was at its height I was dating somebody, I was a taken woman," she admits to Radio.com while sitting down in our studio. "So I never really thought I'm going to actually have to ask for someone's number or somebody's going to have to ask for my number again. I always thought that this part of my life is done. Great, easy."

However, once she was newly single and that song was still kicking around, she realized just how easy it is to quote her own song when asking for someone's number.

"I remember having an epiphany one time after I'd run into a guy and we'd had a great connection and he kind of walked me to the car and he sort of paused and I sort of paused and realized, 'Hey, how does one ask for someone's number?'" Jepsen says laughing. "How do I be like, 'Hey, so, should we exchange numbers?' I don't know. It's like so cliche to say that because of my song. I screwed myself over."

Jepsen did later run into that same guy, who came up to her and asked her how someone asks for her number. She only had one response: "I don't know." Even now Jepsen says, "It's super awkward. It's hard not to do it in a joke." Read more here.

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Big Sean Recruits Drake And Kanye West For 'Blessings' Video
(Radio.com) Detroit rapper Big Sean, poised to score his first No.1 album on the Billboard charts with the recently released Dark Sky Paradise, has revealed the epic music video for the full-length's current single "Blessings."

The hit track, which features verses from rap giants Drake and Kanye West, finds both superstar rappers making appearances in the stark black & white clip.

Drake delivers his verse in somewhat incognito fashion, sporting a knit cap and army jacket. West makes a dramatic entrance, depicted floating in a cloud-filled sky followed by scenes of the "All Day" rapper spitting his lyrics demonstratively in a cutoff sweatshirt and fingerless gloves.

'Before I was always caught up in the label being in my ear, saying, 'You need a radio song, you need this, you need that,'" Big Sean himself told Radio.com in a recent interview about his process when making Dark Sky Paradise. "I don' care about that s�t anymore." Watch the video here.

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Modest Mouse Announce Tour and Debut New Song
(Radio.com) Modest Mouse have announced tour dates to coincide with the March 17 release of Strangers to Ourselves. After a delay on the album, the band is also giving fans a preview of the record with new music ahead of the release.

"Of Course We Know" is the latest track Modest Mouse have released. The closing track on their upcoming album, "Of Course We Know" is an ethereal song which kicks off with over a minute of instrumentals. "What the hell we're here for we just do not know," frontman Isaac Brock asks.

The tour will kick off March 7 at Gasparilla Music Festival in Tampa, Fla., with dates currently running all the way through July 25. Listen to the new track and see the tour dates here.

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Carrie Underwood Shares Photo Of Newborn Son
(Radio.com) Carrie Underwood is officially a mom. The country singer welcomed her first son, Isaiah Michael Fisher, into the world on Feb. 27. Underwood shared a picture of her newborn baby boy Tuesday (March 3), on her Twitter and Instagram pages.

'Tiny hands and tiny feet ' God has blessed us with an amazing gift! Isaiah Michael Fisher - born on February 27. Welcome to the world, sweet angel!" she wrote on Instagram. She also posted the news on Twitter.

The "Little Toy Guns" singer announced her pregnancy on Instagram six months ago when she posed with her two dogs on Labor Day. See the new photo here.

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Wiz Khalifa Team Up With Juicy J On New Track 'For Everybody'
(Radio.com) Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa have teamed up for a collaborative new single called "For Everybody." This one follows a stream of free songs from the Three Six Mafia founding member over the past few weeks, which culminated in his early February release of a free mixtape, Blue Dream & Lean 2.

The beat's polished, plinking synths displays the sonic fingerprints of Dr. Luke, who's been working closely with Juicy J recently. For his part, the Memphis rapper calls out a female acquaintance known for engaging in carnal behavior with Drake who then "goes home with Trey [Songz]."

Wiz Khalifa gets even more personal on his verse--he starts off with a thinly veiled shot at his ex-wife Amber Rose. "I fell in love with a stripper," he raps. "Funny thing is, I fell back outta love quicker." He also criticizes the way that Rose used Instagram.

Having spent four minutes listing relationship woes, Juicy J ends the song with a moral: "Are you a cop? Then why are you cuffin'?" Listen to it here.

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Will Hoge Releases New Song 'Growing Up Around Here'
(Radio.com) Will Hoge didn't title his upcoming album Small Town Dreams because it sounded nice. He did so because it meant something to him. Proof of what that is surfaced in "Growing Up Around Here," the lead track from Hoge's upcoming album (due April 7) that premiered on Rolling Stone.

WIth lyrics about a "sleepy little one horse dot on a map" of a town, the song speaks directly to the life experience shared by millions. Ditto his chorus of being "kinda proud" to have "[grown] up around here."

"It took a whole lot of miles to know what I know now," he sings. With its unadorned lyrics and rootsy, guitar-based arrangement,"Growing Up Around Here" leans into the gritty Americana territory often associated with such artists as Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle and John Mellencamp. On certain words and phrases Hoge's voice even has a gruff tone reminiscent of Springsteen, and based on the subject matter alone, you can't help but conjure Mellencamp songs like "Small Town" and "Pink Houses." Read more here.

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Flo Rida Releases 'Once in a Lifetime' Video
(Radio.com) Flo Rida's new song (and subsequent video) for "Once in a Lifetime" finds the usually fast-tempoed dance rapper exploring his own softer side. Over chipmunk-esque soulful vocal, the Florida native sings about his childhood and past loves.

The video features Flo Rida walking in a parade wearing an MLK t-shirt; he filmed the video at this year's MLK Day parade in Miami, at which he was the grand marshal.

In an interview with ETonline, he discusses the inspiration for the soulful song and video. "This record is very heartfelt but at the same time, me growing up from the projects, I thought this was a record that could definitely represent something more real," he explains.

The song is set to feature on his upcoming LP My House. Read more and watch the video here.

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Kid Cudi Streaming Outtake Track 'love.'
(Radio.com) It hasn't even been a week since Kid Cudi surprised the world with his new album SATELLITE FLIGHT: The Journey to Mother Moon, but he's back already with a new song, "love."

The track, which is an outtake from Cudi's fourth studio album, is a throwback of sorts to Cudi's 2010 breakthrough single "Pursuit of Happiness"--especially with its opening chords. The sample that sounds familiar not-so-coincidentally comes from Ratatat's "Sunblocks," who, along with MGMT, were responsible for "Pursuit of Happiness."

Dot Da Genius also handled production on "love." Lyrically "love." is as uplifting as its title leads on, with Cudi flexing his vocals and singing about the cure to loneliness. 'Don't be so down, come on young homie/ You'll be OK, you'll find real love/ All of the stories the hero gets lonely/ Now is the time to show what you're made of," he sings.

Read more and stream the track here.

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Britney Spears Loses Her Hair Extensions During Concert
(Radio.com) As the Britney Spears Vegas Spectacular marches on, Spears was forced to keep her calm under pressure during a show when her hair extensions started falling out while she was on stage.

In the short video, Spears is seen moving across the stage during "Do Somethin'," precisely at the most unfortunate moment: when she is singing, "I see you looking at me/Like I'm some kind of freak." As she walks, a large swatch of blonde hair can be seen between her legs.

When she pivots, the extension falls all the way off and hits the floor. But for Spears, the show goes on. She offers no reaction and may not have even known the wayward extension was falling out. Watch the video here.

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Jimmy Fallon and Kelly Clarkson Team For History of Pop Duets
(Radio.com) Kelly Clarkson was totally kidding when she couldn't find collaborators for her new album: even after recording her new album, she's still finding new friends to sing with.

One of those people is Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, who decided to not simply invite her to duet with him, but to explore the history of duets, a la his "History of Rap" collaborations with Justin Timberlake.

Within five minutes, the two traded lines through Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe," "Mockingbird" (popularized by James Taylor and Carly Simon), Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's "Islands in the Stream," the Human League's "Don't You Want Me Baby" (allowing Fallon to show off his faux-Brit accent), Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty's "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," and Elton John and Kiki Dee's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."

Other duets included Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes' "Up Where We Belong," Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt's "Don't Know Much" (for which Fallon applied a fake mole to his face), Paula Abdul and MC Scat Cat's "Opposites Attract," Pink and Nate Ruess's "Just Give Me a Reason" and Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's "Endless Love." Watch it here.

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Cashmere Cat Releases New Song 'Adore' with Ariana Grande
(Radio.com) Cashmere Cat is one of rap's producers du jour in 2015: he's recently built hits for everyone from Ty Dolla $ign ('Drop That Kitty") and Kid Ink ('Body Language") to Kanye West ('Wolves"). He produced 'Be My Baby" for Ariana Grande, and now he's provided her with a new cut of R&B-inspired pop production--"Adore."

The Norwegian producer creates a pillowy pop soundscape, with fluffy synths and percussion that kisses rather than knocks.Grande takes the opportunity to sing her heart out, describing her all-consuming love: 'I give you everything / You got me screaming my, my, my, my."

"Adore" will be the first single off of Cashmere Cat's forthcoming debut album. If you want to see this track performed live, don't miss Ariana Grande's Honeymoon tour this spring, which kicked off last week. Cashmere Cat has been joining her for some of the dates, which include stops in Kansas City, New York, Toronto and more. Listen to the new song here.

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Disneyland Ghost Video Goes Viral
(Radio.com) The internet is freaking out right now over a recently "resurfaced" video that shows what appears to be a ghost walking around Disneyland. The 2009 clip is making the rounds once again after a Reddit user posted it on the social sharing site.

So, after it got posted there lazy journalists around the globe began sharing the footage. Not only that, but some are CONVINCED that this "ghost" is real.

They're not. But why do people keep holding onto such a notion? Christopher French of the University of London wrote in the Guardian recently, "Our fear of our own mortality plays an important role in belief in ghosts. Most of us desperately want to believe in life after death - and the idea of ghosts, however scary, seems to offer support for such a notion."

Watch the video here.

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Katy Perry Selling Left Shark Onesies
(Radio.com) Katy Perry really, really, really wanted you to stop making your own DIY Left Shark costumes from the Super Bowl--they're just terrible--so she's now selling her own Left Shark outfit.

For $129 you can buy your own official Left Shark onesie, or as Katy's calling it a "belovesie." The 100% polyester seems perfect for those chilly nights watching TV. We should mention though that with a description that claims this hooded jumpsuit was made "using a special sublimation technique to provide a vivid graphic image," she definitely won't be quelling any of those Illuminati rumors.

Perry is pretty proud of this new merch item, tweeting in all-CAPs: "ATTENTION INTERNET: NO LONGER DO YOU HAVE TO DIY LEFT SHARK COSTUME LIKE THIS GUY." Read more here.

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