Real Music People

In a new twist, the score soundtrack for the upcoming “Simpsons” movie, featuring Green Day’s rendition of the show’s famous theme, will be released simultaneously by three companies.
On July 24, three days before the film opens in U.S. theaters, Warner Bros. Records will put out the Green Day single (the band also appears in the film). Fox Music will make a digital score album available through its Web site and other outlets. And Extreme Music, usually known for its vast production music library, will release 25,000 pink doughnut cases to such specialty retailers as Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart and Barnes & Noble.
For traditionalists, jewel-cased CDs also will be available. “We really wanted to think outside of the box”, Fox Music president Robert Kraft says. “‘The Simpsons Movie’ was a perfect vehicle to try a new approach.”
The idea largely was the brainchild of Kraft and composer Hans Zimmer, who scored the film. “Hans has a great relationship with Extreme Music”, Kraft says. “They are known for their creative packaging. The model of handing over a soundtrack or score to a traditional label and then hoping it does well is changing. This is a coordinated marketing effort of behalf of Extreme, the studio and Warner Bros. Records.”
As previously reported, Green Day recently recorded a cover of another famous tune, John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero”, for the upcoming Darfur benefit “Instant Karma.” The song, which the group performed on Wednesday’s “American Idol” finale, climbs 25-14 on this week’s Billboard Modern Rock chart.

Vancouver was the first town to be chosen as a part of The Police’s reunion tour. The band performed in front of a sold out crowd of 20,000 people. It was the first time they played in a stadium for a long time; around 20 years. “Message in a Bottle”, a smash hit in 1979, was the first song sung, quickly followed by “Synchronicity”.

Fans were delighted to be able to see The Police on stage and while some were not even born when the band had its biggest success, others were happy to get to see them again. It’s always good to see an old success comeback and future plans for The Police also include a super reunion line up that will include Van Halen, Genesis and Eagles. More shows are already planned and if all will be like this first night maybe we will even see a new album soon. Fans around the world would love this or at least a special collector’s edition of the tour.

Barbara Streisand recently canceled her concert in Rome. It was scheduled for next month but it did meet many fans that complained of very high ticket prices. Organizers claimed the move had nothing to do with this. The official statement made by promoter Michael Cohl was:
“We met with unexpected production delays. We deeply apologize to the fans in Rome”
Ticket prices will be refunded and fans will be allowed to book a ticket at another European venue included in the tour. We have to think about one thing here. The prices were very high as they varied from around $200 to $1,200. The show was supposed to happen at the Flaminio Stadium, which has 24,000 seats. Another thing to be taken into account was that the average sales price for a ticket in Barbara’s last tour (2006) was $298 and it still did sell like crazy.

R.E.M. will start work on a new album next wife in a collaboration with Jacknife Lee as a producer. Mills said that:

“We are psyched to work with Jacknife Lee. We’ve got a great batch of songs, and can’t wait to put them down.”

Millions of fans from all across the world will be thrilled at this piece of news. Lee stated that the new songs signed R.E.M. are very exciting and might be the best ones composed by the band. After 2004’s “Around The Sun” fans have been wondering when some new songs will appear. Well, you still have to wait a little. R.E.M. still has some shows planed and only after that we can expect an official launch and even new tour dates to promote the new, yet to be named album.

50 Cent is laughing straight through his feud with Cam’ron — and all the way to the bank. When Cam came out dissing 50, making a song and accompanying pair of videos called “Cuurtis,” 50 promptly flipped the whole scenario and named his next album Curtis. Mo’ money! When 50 tried to play mind games, saying the Diplomats should kick out Cam and nominate Jim Jones as the new head of the organization, some shrugged it off. Lo and behold, a few weeks later, Jones went public with his gripes about Cam and said he’s distancing himself from his longtime friend, musical collaborator and business partner.
50 Cent is laughing straight through his feud with Cam’ron — and all the way to the bank.

So now what’s next? Well last week, 50 appeared on BET’s “106 & Park” and said Cam’ron was basically in his house, scared to come outside because of a recent altercation he had at a New York nightclub with Roc-A-Fella recording artist Tru-Life.
Cam’ron immediately responded, posting a videotape message online from his vacation home. He appeared on camera standing poolside and wearing blue boxer shorts, a white iPod tank top and socks to match. He told 50 enigmatically, “You ain’t left alone, brother. You’re not left alone.” Cam also warned that it would be a “hot summer” – that he’s off probation now and that, when his vacation ends Friday, he’s going to give 50 the middle finger. “Get my pool in the back”, he said to the cameraman as he walked off. A second part of the Cam footage that surfaced showed a close-up shot of the usually tapered-up MC with his hair and mustache unkempt.
“It doesn’t make sense”, 50 said. “For him to shoot a video message in front of his pool in underwear, it doesn’t make sense. I think he’s delusional. For him to make any financial reference, being in the financial space he’s in and where I’m at financially, doesn’t make sense. He’s just upset, he’s angry.
50 won’t give Cam credit for inspiring him to title his album Curtis, but he did shrug off the NYC Harlemite’s using his birth name to dis him.
“He’s delusional”, 50 reiterated. “For a person to think that calling you the name your mom gave you at birth is disrespectful is beyond belief. He’s punished himself more than I can punish him. He’s made a fool of himself. There’s nobody asking me about Cam’ron. … I think people lost interest in it, based on the situation. He’s not even relevant. You’re talking about a guy who sold 270,000 [copies] his last record. I sold 9.8 million my last record. I’m not going to exhaust my audience by talking about somebody they have no interest in.”

There are so many great things that we talk about the whole about American Idol. Since it started airing from season 1 until now the show has been a blast. And after several seasons it has already produced many of todays chart toping hits. Great names like Kelly Clarkson, Bo Bice, Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks are just some of the names that definitely made a big impact on the music world. The judges were also a great ingredient in this reality contest. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson did a great job in bringing great new talents to the American Idol. And now, another great chapter adds up to the show as Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis will finally bring out their last performances. Whoever wins in this show they are already both winners to me. Good luck!

Country music singer and recovering alcoholic Keith Urban knew he was back in Australia when a Qantas flight attendant welcomed him with a bottle of wine
The Grammy winner and country music chart topper, who has publicly acknowledged a former addiction to cocaine, recently completed a three-month stint in rehab for alcohol abuse.
Urban, 39, who grew up in Australia, was offered a complimentary bottle of red wine during a recent Qantas Airways flight from Sydney to the South Australia state capital, Adelaide — part of a world tour for his latest album, “Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing.”
“I knew I was back in South Australia when the host came up to me, smiled, gave me a bottle of red and said, ‘Welcome to Adelaide Mr. Urban’”, the country music star told a packed stadium on Sunday, according to a report in News Ltd. newspapers Tuesday.
“So I drank it”, he quipped.
Urban’s manager Rob Potts rushed to assure fans the singer was only joking.
“He didn’t drink it at all”, he was quoted as saying. “I’ve been with him for years and I have a sense of how together he is and how determined he is to put it into his career.”
In a brief statement, Qantas said the gaffe was a routine customer relations gesture “by an individual staff member who genuinely did not realize who the passenger was.”
The New Zealand-born Urban checked himself into the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., last October, less than four months after his wedding to Australian actress Nicole Kidman.

Liberty X have announced they will not be recording any more material together.

The five-piece group, formed from 2001 reality show Popstars, made the announcement in a statement to fans on their website.

Although the group received considerably greater chart success than the show’s winners, Hear’Say, they have never managed to repeat the feat of their 2002 number one Just a Little.

That track won a Brit award for best single. Since then the group, consisting of Michelle Scott-Lee, Jessica Taylor, Kelli Young, Kevin Simm and Tony Lundon, have had six top ten hits including Being Nobody, Jumpin’ and Song 4 Lovers.

Their last release, X, charted at number 46 in the UK singles chart and the group have now decided to call it a day for good.

“We want to let the fans know that Liberty X won’t be doing any more recording together. All of us have separate projects we’re working on and are excited about,” the fivesome said.

“We’re still the best of friends and we’ll still be doing all the dates on the current club tour”, their statement added.

Liberty X have become the next group to split after some years of recording together. They didn’t have the success of the big groups like Spice Girls or Backstreet Boys but they showed their fans they could sing very well and make a good show. But sometimes this is not enough. People have different wishes and being in a group do not let them do what they really want. This is the main reason for the split of world’s best known groups and Liberty X is no exception.

Kanye West is playing it strong and in order to succeed with a tour promoting the soon to be released new LP (“Graduation”). He stated that he will work with choreographer-director Jamie King, made famous by working with superstars like Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Prince, Britney Spears, Shakira and Mariah Carey. Kanye West said for MTV that:

“I’m working with Jamie King. I saw the last Madonna concert — he did the last Madonna concerts and so I’ve been sitting down vibing with him, cause I want to bring the level of entertainment up another level. At the end of the day, regardless of the he said/she said, regardless of whatever sh– I talk, whatever sh– anybody else talks — come to the show and have a good time.”

No tour dates have been confirmed but as I see Kanye West he is ready for a bang. Whenever the rapper drops something he does it big and we all know that.

Wow! U2 in Cannes! I hope Cannes was prepared when U2 performed at the Cannes Festival. These guys are great at their music. I liked their song Vertigo which also has a great music video. I bet the people in Cannes were also blown away by the performances of lead singer Bono. The festival was packed with thousands of visitor, movie fans, and party goers. Their new concert movie, U2 3D was shown in the festival.