Day in Pop Report for 01/22/2015
Madonna has since had to release the leaked tracks as an EP, but it seems that the case of the leaking is not over. Billboard is reporting that a 39-year-old was arrested in Israel after months of investigating for this crime and others. In a statement, Lahav 433 (basically the Israel version of the FBI) said the suspect "broke into the personal computers of several international artists over the past few months and stole promotional final-cut singles which have yet to be released and traded them online for a fee." Read more here.
The brothers, Guy and Howard Lawrence of Disclosure, have refuted these claims via a post on their Facebook page Wednesday (Jan. 21). "Firstly we want to make it very clear that every Disclosure song we have put our names to has been written by us," they wrote. "We sometimes write lyrics and melodies along-side whoever the featured singer may be (i.e. Sam, Eliza etc) and the great Mr. Jimmy Napes, but that is it." They added: "So, just to be clear, all allegations made against us to do with this subject are completely false, as anyone we have ever worked with will back up. We didn't get into this industry to steal other people's ideas and we haven't - we are musicians, artists and producers." Check out the full statement here.
The sequel to his 2011 Sorry 4 the Wait mixtape also has remixes of Beyonce's "Drunk in Love," Dej Loaf's "Try Me," iLoveMakonnen's "Maneuvering", Future's "Sh!t", and Rae Stremmurd's "No Type." What may be more telling is the photo featured on the cover of mixtape, which has Wayne wearing handcuffs, but only cuffed on one wrist. The mixtape comes as Wayne continues to be at odds with his record label, Young Money, who have delayed Tha Carter V, even asking to be released from the roster. Read more and find the download link here.
The tour, which takes the name from a song off his upcoming album (no release date is set yet), will visit several cities, 13 of which he'll play two nights each. He will also headline seven stadiums this year in cities including Denver, St. Paul, Nashville and Detroit. Randy Houser and Dustin Lynch will join Bryan for duration of the tour, while Florida Georgia Line and Thomas Rhett will be added to his seven stadium dates. "We're so excited about the lineup," Bryan said. "We feel that nothing will be a better time than in the summer time rolling into a big stadium and having all these guys." That's not all, though. Bryan revealed that he will be ending his annual Spring Break Tour. On March 11 and 12, Bryan will say goodbye to his seventh annual Spring Break show in Panama City. "We've had such an amazing run down there. It has been something I look forward to year after year. Last year was just amazingly over the top. [We had] over 200,000 people on the beach," he recalled. "We're going to end it on a big bang. It's been an amazing run. We just wanted to play some music on the beach and it's turned into albums and releasing songs online via iTunes and it's turned into physical albums. The last spring break album will be called Spring Break'Checkin' Out.." Read more and see the tour dates here.
You have to hand it to the British icon. Coming up with reasonable excuses for not interacting with fans on the street has to be exhausting. Leave it to Morrissey to lay out the most ridiculous reason ever. From Morrissey-solo.com (via Stereogum) "I met morrissey tonight but unfortunately his bodyguard would not allow me to take a picture and when I asked morrissey for his autograph he told me he couldn't because he has ebola'. typical morrissey answer' still exciting though." Read more here.
Stefani, of course, has performed sans-No Doubt in the years since that band has reactivated, notably at CBS Radio's We Can Survive concert in October of last year. But this will be her first full length headlining show since the end of her tour promoting her last solo album, The Sweet Escape, ended in 2007. The show is part of her recently launched partnership with MasterCard, which included her appearing in a TV commercial for the company that began airing last month. Read more here.
The emcee hosting the show is no surprise, and neither is the announcement that Sam Smith--who has six nominations this year including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist--will be making his debut GRAMMY performance. Also added to the lineup are Miranda Lambert, Usher, Pharrell and the duo of Common and John Legend. Common and John Legend will perform their Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated song from Selma, "Glory." Previously announced performers include Madonna, Ariana Grande, Eric Church, Ed Sheeran and AC/DC. Read more here.
The 2015 edition of the tour is no exception, with the announcement that this year's jaunt will now feature none less than the Neon Icon, himself, Riff Raff. The rapper himself seemed pleased as spiked punch to announce his inclusion on the Warped Tour with an Instagram post, proclaiming himself as one of the 2015 headliners. See it here.
Rather than tell a story, the band's new music video for "Gold" is a tried-and-true performance video, though that doesn't mean it's too straightforward, either. Set in a warehouse, the video finds the band surrounded with brilliant reflecting lights and lasers, creating a scintillating sight to behold. As the video stretches on, the colors change, patterns alter, but the song remains the same: the towering chorus is complemented by slo-mo shots as gold light shines forward. "Gold" is the second song to be revealed off Smoke + Mirrors, Imagine Dragons' second studio album. It follows Night Visions, which put the Las Vegas rockers on the map with a string of top 10 singles in the U.S., including the inescapable "Radioactive," which set a record for longest time spent on the Hot 100 last year. Watch the video here.
Fortunately, cameras were present backstage at House of Blues in Hollywood, Calif. to capture the gritty, introspective song on video. "Oh man, Travis Barker, DJ Clever, Bones Owens and myself just set up backstage and jammed it out acoustic," Yelawolf told Radio.com. "Travis was just sitting there with a snare drum, DJ Clever slappin' his knees and Bones and the guitar, we just put mics up and recorded an acoustic version of it. It's pretty dope, man. Was just a backstage jam with me and my buds. We were going to record an acoustic version with me and Bones and Clever but I was like, 'Trav, jump in on this.' He threw his snare drum down and tapped it out. It was spur of the moment." Yelawolf and Barker worked together two years ago on the Psycho White EP. Originally distributed through the Blink-182 drummer's Famous Stars & Straps clothing company. The five-song disc has since been posted to iTunes. Watch the video here.
For the follow-up to their 2013 debut, Days Are Gone, Este, Danielle and Alana are teaming up once again with producer Ariel Rechtshaid, who seems to have found his spirit animal in David Bowie. Specifically, 1976 The Man Who Fell To Earth Bowie. The HAIM sisters are up for this year's Best New Artist at the GRAMMYs, and Rechtshaid only had good things to say about the trio, telling Radio.com they deserve to win because "there's pop celebrity presence, and then there's the thing that musicians can articulate but I think everyone feels. HAIM has both, really." See the photo and read more here.
The two recently teamed up for a songwriting session, where Trainor says Styles thoroughly impressed her. "Yes, I wrote a song with Harry," Trainor told BBC Radio 1 (via Billboard). "It was unbelievable. He's a very, very talented songwriter - I was very impressed." Earlier in the day, Trainor told The Sun that she was initially "worried he'd just be a 20-year-old boy." "I walked in with a prepared voice and chorus. But he gave me very poetic, mature lyrics," she said. "I was like, 'Well, damn, Harry, you know what love is.'" Trainor did not say when the song would be released, but did say it was a "cute acoustic love thing" on her ukelele. Read more here.
That crazy story is the basis of the new film Kidnapping Mr. Heineken. The film stars Anthony Hopkins, Jim Sturgess, Sam Worthington and Ryan Kwanten, and it was directed Daniel Alfredson, whose credits include The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (the second and third films in the Millennium Trilogy created by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson). At the start of the new trailer for the film, we see a group of friends playing pool in a bar, intercut with shots of Anthony Hopkins (playing the kidnap victim) issuing tidbits of wisdom. The friends are seen conjuring their get-rich-by-kidnapping scheme, while Hopkins is portrayed as the wrench in their plan. He is kidnapped, yes, but his words have bite and begin to get under the skin of the young team of criminals. "There's two ways a man can be rich in this world," Hopkins' character says at one point. "He can have a lot of money, or he can have a lot of friends. He cannot have both." Obviously, there is a lesson to be learned here. Which is why the promotional copy for the film includes this intriguing line: "It was truly the perfect crime'until they got away with it." Kidnapping Mr. Heineken opens March 6 in U.S. theaters and on iTunes/VOD. Watch the trailer here.
'I'm not going to do anything corny, but I'm talking to Kanye about designing new uniforms," Wale said, according to CBS Washington. The rapper said it's all part of his plan to bring some life back to the franchise, perhaps a la Drake with the Toronto Raptors. "I want to see the phone booth rocking every time I come here," he explained. 'I want to create the 'Lake Show," create what the Bulls had. 'I want to take the personality of our stars--John, Otto, Marcin--and create what Kemp and Payton had, what LeBron and D-Wade had. That's the vibe I want." Read more here.
The visual clip for "Day Go By," one of the standouts from Crush Songs, is a sweet escape about one couple's perfect summer day. They go swimming, ride on a motorcycle, and watch the sunset in the video directed by Wilssa, which consists of Vanessa Hollander and Wilson Philippe. 'I wrote this song when I was living in Los Angeles and my boyfriend was stuck freezing in New York--I really needed my fix of being with him but was miles away," Karen O told Vogue. 'Wiissa brings summer loving to everyone who's braving a cold winter's day." Crush Songs, which is Karen O's debut solo album, is out now on Cult Records. Watch the video here.
"What surprised me was the songwriters I worked with," Smith says. "I got put in the room with some of the best songwriters of all time. Even though some of the songs I've done with certain songwriters [didn't make] the album, like I got to work with Sia and Linda Perry�that's amazing, just to meet them." In the end Smith largely wrote with Eg White and Frazier T, who he calls "geniuses" and new songwriting talents Jimmy Napes and Two-Inch Punch. Smith says that he takes a Taylor Swift approach to songwriting, saying he goes in the room and reveals everything about his personal life and mindset that he needs to so the songs that come out of his sessions can be their best. "I think songwriters get a bit shocked with me sometimes because I will sit in there and literally tell them my deepest and darkest secrets," Smith says with a smile. "I've got nothing to hide." Read more here.
Today brings the first look at Cyrus' commercial and, even though it's only 15 seconds long, Miley still manages to pack a whole lot of GIF-ready moments into a short window. She also makes comparisons to Madonna easily reachable with her platinum pixie cut, black lingerie and strip club background that recalls the iconic singer's 1986 "Open Your Heart" video, as Idolator points out. In the commercial set to Miley's Big Sean-featuring Bangerz track, "Love, Money, Party," the #FreetheNipple poster woman lets loose in a mirrored room, dancing on a LED-lit strip pole and licking a disco ball. See it here.
Wonder goes on to show a savvy appreciation for current music. One of his favorites, it turns out, is a young Compton rapper. He said, "Kendrick Lamar is extremely talented. "But not only is he just talented; he has a real concern for the people. The good thing about the young is that they want to fix things. They don't want to fall into the same ol' bulls-." Read more here.
'He's praying the whole night that she's going to have the same vision of the night as he does," Rice told Radio.com of the song. "In this particular song you're basically just saying to the girl, 'Girl, I hope you're gonna wanna tonight.' It's a fun anthem chorus that gets real big. It's not the same rockin' melodies that I've had. It's a little bit softer side." The video, which was released on Wednesday (Jan. 21) on CMT, brings the song to life as Rice is shown writing a song as he envisions the perfect night. There's plenty of hammock laying, drinking from red solo cups, candlelit card games, a campfire with s'mores and a midnight swim. Read more here.
And so the video for "Earned It" finds him doing his best Frank Sinatra on the set of a David Lynch film. The set is a theater, in which he roams from the seats to the stage, while a troupe of dancers, appropriately outfitted in costumes reminiscent of Cabaret chorus girls, swing whips around and flash the X-marks-the-spots taped to their buttocks. Perhaps the highlight is the moment one female dancer, shown doing a full split, twerks her butt cheeks while masterfully holding the black X shaped tape on them in place. Watch it here.
Forgetting that the ocean, among other things, separates one Azalea from the other Azealia, Berube responded with the name of the Harlem upstart best known for "212": "Azealia Banks." What's worse is that none of the other contestants figured out his blunder in time to give Trebek the correct answer. Somewhere right now, Azealia Banks is drafting her Twitter takedown--unless she was consoled by Berube's apology on Twitter. After the episode aired, he tweeted at his favorite Azealia to let her know it was a harmless mistake. "Hey @AZEALIABANKS - I'm the guy on Jeopardy who mixed you up with Iggy Azalea. I apologize. I actually think you're awesome.- Nicholas Berube (@nicholas_berube) January 21, 2015" Read more and watch video here.
"I am in search of a classy female rapper to collaborate with me on my new single,not looking for ghetto style rapper serious inquiries only please DM me," he writes in the caption of a photo of him posing in a black do-rag with a gold chain and an OVO shirt. Nevertheless, he shouldn't have much trouble locating the perfect specimen; the post already has thousands of likes and hundreds of comments from prospective artists. See the photo here.
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