Day in Pop Report for 01/07/2015
Sigel has slowly been healing over the last month, and is now finally out of intensive care and moving home for the next stage in his recovery. A friend of Sigel's, the rapper Neef Buck, posted a photo of Sigel on Instagram leaving the hospital and getting into a wheelchair, and then into an SUV. While there's no word from Sigel's camp about his physical condition as of now, reports indicated that while he was in the hospital he remained in stable albeit critical condition after shooting injuries to his back and torso. Read more and the Intagram post here.
What is next is a Honeymoon. At least, that is what her next album will be titled, and she already has nine songs written for it, she tells Billboard. "The production is perfect [on four tracks]; I'm looking for a few more songs to tie everything together," she said in an interview talking mostly about her new Golden Globe nominated song, "Big Eyes." Fans of Ultraviolence should not expect a repeat of that album, though, as Del Rey notes "it's very different from the last one and similar to the first two, Born to Die and Paradise." Read more here.
This weekend while the pop star was hanging out in Turks and Caicos, he posted a photo of himself on Twitter playing soccer. Though the message was simple--"great times"--in the accompanying pic he's wearing the jersey of the struggling English soccer league Everton--they're in 13th place out of 20. Perhaps it brought him bad luck? The pop star let his Beliebers know yesterday (Jan. 5) that he was dealing with some pain, tweeting the rather somber message, "Messed up my damn foot. Smh." Apparently, he's no David Beckham. He tweeted, "Messed up my damn foot. Smh� Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) January 05, 2015" To prove how bad his injury was (or, how not bad it was?) he posted a photo of his reportedly broken foot on Facebook. See the photo here.
The tour will take the GRAMMY-winning group across North America as well as around the world, including stops in Oslo, Stockholm, Dublin, London and Sydney. Plenty of U.S. cities are named as well, among them Dallas, Detroit, New York, Sacramento, Atlanta, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. International dates begin in February, while the North American portion of the tour kicks off May 1 in Lubbock, Texas. Dates for each of the stops have not yet been announced, so stay tuned here or on Lady Antebellum's website for updates. Additional cities may also be announced. Lady Antebellum has also chosen Hunter Hayes and Sam Hunt to join them as the tour's opening acts. Read more here.
The country superstar announced that he'll make an appearance on the Today Show on NBC. But, being Garth, this isn't just some run of the mill morning show appearance. He's making history. Garth will appear on all four hours of the show, from the show's 7 am EST start to their 10 o'clock hour with Hoda and Kathie Lee. It's a first in Today's 62 years of broadcast. Garth will be there promoting his latest album, Man Against Machine--his first studio album since 2001's Scarecrow--which is out now. No word yet on what song (or songs) he'll be performing, but we're going to take a guess that his latest single "Mom" will be one of them. Read more here.
Not only is Bieber seducing with his looks in the new advertisement, but he is also wooing us with his percussion skills. That is what you call a double threat. And it is not just television and video spots. There is also a print campaign for the #mycalvins series with Bieber. Check out the revealing tweet and the video clip here.
The show, featuring music by Sting, was a very personal project to the singer/songwriter, as he recently told Radio.com. 'I've been thinking about this project for a long long time; I've probably been thinking about it my whole life." He continued, explaining that "this is the town I was born and raised in, I'm telling the story of my young life in allegorical form. I come from a very tough town in the north of England, it's tough economically, too, so I'm telling my story. This is where I come from!" However, Sting did not make things easy on himself, or the show, by opting to use mostly new songs (from his latest album, also titled The Last Ship), and only digging into his catalog for three songs: "All This Time," "Island of Souls" and "When We Dance." He declined to use any of his bigger solo hits and eschewed the Police catalog altogether. Read more here.
Nashville songwriter Kevin Kadish spoke to Elle magazine about his work with Trainor and managed to clear up that rumor that Beyonce passed on the track. "I think people were speculating on who could have possibly done this song because it's about being proud of your body--or your booty--whatever you want to call it," Kadish said. "Like, 'Who could sing that kind of song? Oh, Beyonce could sing that kind of song.' That sounds to me like something a publisher could have said. That's not something that I ever thought or said." But Kadish did reveal there was one other major female artist who absolutely did hear the song and possibly indirectly passed on it: Miranda Lambert. But once it was a hit, it seems she couldn't pass up the chance to get a little Lambert on it. "Miranda Lambert heard the song before Meghan even had a record deal because my sister-in-law is married to Miranda's personal trainer," Kadish said. "Miranda heard the song over a year ago. And then when it came to the CMAs she was like, 'Oh! Let's do that song.'" Get the story behind the song from the track's other co-writer and performer, Meghan Trainor in our Behind the Song interview here.
Set to descend on the KSU Sports and Entertainment Park on May 16 and 17, the jam-packed two-day festival will also feature appearances from The Band Perry, Dwight Yoakam, Jason Isbell, Joe Nichols, Justin Moore, Kip Moore, the Eli Young Band, Jana Kramer, the Cadillac Three, Sara Evans, Amanda Shires and Old Crow Medicine Show. See the full lineup below. Shaky Boots is Georgia's first major, multi-day country music festival. It was cofounded by local promoter Tim Sweetwood, and it's a companion of sorts to another Atlanta event produced by Sweetwood, the indie-rock-oriented Shaky Knees Festival. Read more here.
"Going Out Like That" is Reba's first new single in four years, and the lead song from her upcoming new album, which she announced last year. The album is expected to see release in April on Nash Icon Records. "Going Out Like That" was penned by veteran Nashville songwriters Ben Hayslip, Rhett Akins, Jason Sellers and produced by Tony Brown, with whom Reba's been working for most of her career. 'When you listen to thousands of songs trying to find just the right one to record, a really great song jumps out at you," Reba wrote in a post on her Instagram page. "That's exactly what 'Going Out Like That' did to me. It jumped out because it's a great song with up-tempo sassiness!!! The first time I heard it, a man was singing the demo. When I sang it coming from a female perspective, it became a woman's power anthem. Sure hope you like it." Check out the song here.
'Have My Money" is a rollicking, soul-sampling taste of classic Dipset updated for our modern age, which basically means they rap about Instagram. Cam'ron also stirs the pot with a few lines alluding to a past sexual relationship with Mariah Carey. 'I ain't talkin music, when I say I did sh*t with Mariah," he raps, adding 'Nick wasn't there." Cam recently posted a few pictures on Instagram of him with Mariah, with the hashtag #NickWasntThere, so he's fairly about that phrase lately. Another instantly quotable Cam verse includes the line 'made a quarter mill off Ebola," a reference to the Ebola masks he sold during the height of the viral craze last year. Jim Jones and Juelz Santana closs out the song in fine form, rapping with the same slickness as ever about money-making prowess and sexual competence. Listen here.
Both have been posting pics of their respective New Year's getaways, Beyonce from Cambodia and Solange from Joshua Tree National Park in California. After Beyonce posted a series of photos of her snow- and champagne-filled Christmas in Iceland, her 2015 Insta pics started rolling in. First there were monks, then Queen Bey in front of a temple, in the style of a modern day deity. See the Instagram posts here.
GS9 has debuted "She All About the Shmoney," a new track from Rowdy Rebel with Shmurda on as a featured artist, as well as--interestingly--Too Short. The Jahlil Beats-produced track (he also helmed Shmurda's top 10 hit "Hot N--") finds Rowdy Rebel on a piano-laden beat--but make no mistake, that doesn't mean the song doesn't hit hard. "Cops tryna find me like I'm Nino/ I'm in Reno, geeking hoes down like I'm Z-Ro," he raps--an interesting line, of course, given both rappers' current situation. Rebel made contact with the outside world recently via his girlfriend in a phone call, though he didn't discuss the charges against him, instead going for some shout-outs. Read more here.
You began writing songs in your late teens, at the same time you picked up the guitar. Did you find you had a facility for it, right away? I think so. I was 17 when I started writing. My Dad is a singer-songwriter, and he plays guitar. I felt I got it from him. I just loved it. I started playing guitar, and wrote my first song, and it felt like the first thing that had ever come naturally to me. It was something I didn't have to work really hard at, whereas I had to work hard at everything else I had done. I think it's maybe something you're either born with, or you're not. You have a great talent for storytelling and turns of phrase. Do you know where that talent comes from? I have no idea. I feel like it's God-given, for sure. I think you can hone your skill, but I also think you're born with it. I'm always working to be a better songwriter and musician and singer, but it's truly something I had in my blood. Has being married made it easier or more difficult to write "relationship" songs? I think it's made it easier. I no longer write the "cheatin', burn your house down" songs as much as I once did. It's great being married to another artist. We bounce ideas off one another and give one another advice, and each of us knows what the other is going through. One of your recent songs, "Priscilla," addresses the craziness of tabloid celebrity. That must have been a fun song to write. It was. It's something we're going through-something that's happening at this moment. Recording a song like "Priscilla"-what it talks about-is such a great way to address that. Of course Blake and I are definitely not Elvis and Priscilla. But the things that song had to say really caught my ear. It was perfect for where we are in our lives right now. Is all the notoriety distracting? Does it interfere with work? Everything starts and ends with music. The celebrity and tabloid stuff strays away from that and turns you into a caricature sometimes. It becomes about everything but the music. Blake and I both have to bring it back around to what's important. Without the music, we don't have anything. Read more of the interview here.
'My motivation was to woo her in the old romantic sense of the word," the 40-year-old singer tells Radio.com during a phone conversation from his home in L.A. 'I would lay in bed all day with the BBC on mute and I would just write, thinking, 'Will this song make her fall in love with me?' I wasn't even thinking of recording the songs for anybody but her." Soon enough he had a full body of work, and since the songs did what he set out to accomplish (she fell in love with him and now lives with Radin in L.A.), he decided to release them into the world as his sixth studio album, Onward and Sideways, which hit stores and digital outlets Tuesday (Jan. 6). 'If they had not been successful I might have scrapped them. They are in the true sense a love letter," Radin says. Radin confesses that he didn't pick up the guitar until he was 30 and never had any intention of being a full-time musician. The former teacher said songwriting became the best way for him to communicate his feelings to the people that he loves. 'I'm so bad at telling people how I feel, and that's why I picked up songwriting at such a late age. It really saved my life in a communication sort of way," he reflects. 'With regards to interpersonal communication, I'm just terrible at telling people how I feel and expressing my emotions. And that's why I still do it." Read more here.
Cooper, who is currently starring on Broadway in The Elephant Man and the Clint Eastwood film, American Sniper, took the 30 Rock stage to show off his air guitar skills. Yes, Cooper can play a pretty mean air guitar. Chalk it up to having a lot of time on his hands as a kid. Cooper even got the guitar face to prove it. Seriously, John Mayer, watch out. Cooper, wearing a visor, complete with a red afro hair piece--a gift from Fallon in honor of his 40th b'day, which he celebrated yesterday--channeled Neil Young for an air guitar solo to "Down By The River." Watch the video here.
With Terri expecting her first child the conversation quickly turned to babies and Terri asked when Kaley and Ryan might want to have a little one of their own. "The Big Bang Theory" star replied, "My husband's just going back out on tennis tour, literally next week, so we're giving that two years, I don't know if I'd want to wait two years to actually start getting going, but maybe a year and a half or so, so I'd like to be like 30, kind of be around then." Kaley and Ryan just celebrated her birthday and their one-year wedding anniversary. "We were in the Bahamas for my birthday for a wedding� he got me a new ring for our anniversary, a new band, no big deal, really shiny, yes. I was like, 'I want a new wedding band.'" Kaley showed off her bling, joking she wants even more. "I know I'm ridiculous. I want to keep building until I can't move my fingers, so that's like my goal. I want it to my nail, every year, he's like great, okay, great." Cuoco also set the record straight on her recent sinus surgery which resulted in rumors she had a nose job. "You've known me for so many years, I would've Instagramed I had a nose job� I would have gladly had a nose job, in fact I'm regretting not getting work done under there cause it's such a waste of my time to get this stupid sinus thing done� you would know 'cause I'd have bruises, it was all internal." Kaley quoted Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off," saying, "Haters gonna hate hate hate. Taylor Swift, great song, that's what I live by, that song." As for "The Wedding Ringer," Kaley said she was the complete opposite of her bridezilla character Gretchen when it came to her own wedding. "I didn't plan, didn't do anything at my wedding, I literally went 'I'll meet you there just have it planned.'" She continued, "I didn't do any tastings, no tastings, nothing, so it was kind of fun to play someone who was much more hands on cause I'm just not like that, just not who I am." Read more here.
The song "Together (You and I)" began its life as a Christmas novelty song, written by my songwriting partner in The Mangoes Bret Bingham. Bret showed me the song as we were gathering material to record and it fell into the 'maybe' pile, mostly because of its lyrical slant. However, when I was compiling a running order for the album I realized we needed a relentlessly upbeat pop song on the album and after discussing it with Bret we decided to take another look at "Together." I made the suggestion of starting the song with the bridge and ending with the V-I chord sequence and Bret rewrote the words to fit the tongue in cheek tone of the album. This was the last new song recorded for The Mangoes debut and the arrangement came together quickly. I decided on playing a harpsichord part inspired by Van Dyke Parks and The Partridge Family with some Mini-Moog snaking into the choruses and Bret added some tasty Brian May-sque harmony electric guitars. When it was time to chose the first single from The Mangoes album the decision was easy and so "Together" was our first video as well. Bret and I had a lot of fun, dressing up as our favorite rock stars of the 70's and 80's and just goofing around for the cameras. We were very pleased with the finished song, and it became popular with our fans - especially because of the infectious "Hey, Hey" section of the chorus. Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself as you watch the video here and learn more about the album right here!
The country star will host the Jan. 24 episode of the sketch comedy show. He'll double as the musical guest, promoting new album Bringing Back the Sunshine. Shelton will be the first musical host of the show's 40th season, giving us a chance to update our super cool list. Think Miranda Lambert, Shelton's wife, will make a cameo? Your guess is as good as ours, but let's jot it down as highly possible. See who else will be appearing on the show here.
According to the story, the pair reportedly hung out in the studio together, as did Shakira and the Mexican rock band Mana, as well as the Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz. Shakira is apparently drawing guest spots from all genres and countries on her next album. She also collaborated with Dizzee Rascal on "Loca," though whether or not that will make the album is in question. Read more here.
The on-stage couple will reportedly be backed by "a chorus of sirens" and musicians, but in a sneak peek of one musical number, Love gives an especially raw rendition of the production's "All I Ever Wanted," backed by Almond on the piano and a cellist. "I really wanted to do theater," Love told The New York Times, who premiered the video, "But probably I'm not ready to do a play quite yet." So a musical was a logical next step for the musician. Watch the video here.
The slow-building, two-part track opens with hazy late-night chords and a lazily delivered verse by Khalifa: "Early night, jumping out the Porsche/ Joy Rich hoodie and sweats," he raps. "Smoking as good as it gets/ Life of the party, know I get it started / I take a shot, you take a shot/ I roll a joint, you roll a joint." Maybe the rapper has recanted on wanting to change that stoner reputation of his? While Khalifa takes the mic on the first part of the track, Ty does his best Weeknd impression and comes in singing, "Say no more/ Don't say nothing." The pair spend the rest of the eight-and-a-half minute release taking turns. Listen here.
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