Amerie: ‘Appreciate Me For My Music’
Jul 31, 2007 Album, Album Release, Amerie, Hit Songs, Music, Music Artists, R&B, Record Label, Song
R&B star Amerie has appealed to fans to appreciate her for her talent and not just her stunning looks. The 1 Thing hit maker, famed for performing in mini skirts or tiny shorts, is keen to win fans over with her records alone because she insists it is her music which differentiates her from her peers. Looks can be deceptive cos they are usually done by the make man or the grooming team, so people just get fantasized by those pics appearing on the cover pages of magazines and elsewhere. Voice and singing talents are something others cannot make and create for you, you either have it or you don’t. Some chaps in the music industry fool people by releasing their albums with another person’s voice and their picture on the label. Once on stage they can be seen lip singing the song. Ooooh! “Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful…” Party less work harder and once you master your talents, people will start admiring you for the music part as well.
Mom Sheryl Crow
Jul 30, 2007 Concert Tour, Famous People, Music, Music Artists, News
Mom Sheryl Crow waits offstage as hired nanny Marva keeps her 3-month old adopted son Wyatt at bay. He’s quieted with a pacifier at the Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago on Saturday. Sheryl also put on some noise-canceling headphones on baby Wyatt to keep the kid from going deaf as she performed on stage with Eric Clapton.
But it seems to me that the noise should be the least of her worries. Does anyone else think that baby Wyatt looks tortured? And why does nanny Marva look like she doesn’t give a damn? Mommy needs to figure something out and fast.
Heart ailment sidelines Kiss singer
Jul 30, 2007 Album, Concert Tour, Famous People, Music, Music Artists, Music Bands, News, Rock, Song
Kiss lead singer and guitarist Paul Stanley had to bow out of a Southern California concert because of heart problems before the show, according to his Web site.
Band-mates Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer played the Friday night gig at Soboba Casino, about 90 miles east of Los Angeles, as Stanley was taken to the hospital.
“During sound check yesterday, my heart spontaneously jumped to 190 plus beats per minute where it stayed for over an hour necessitating paramedics to start an IV and give me a shot to momentarily stop my heart and get it into a normal pattern,” Stanley said in the Saturday Web site posting.
“Not knowing if this episode was life threatening made it even more exhausting,” the statement continued.
Phone and e-mail messages for Kiss manager Doc McGhee seeking comment about Stanley’s condition were not immediately returned Saturday night.
It was Kiss’ first ever appearance as a trio, according to the band’s Web site.
As famous for their makeup, stage mayhem and wagging tongues as their music, Kiss recorded the 1970s hits “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “Detroit Rock City.”
The 55-year-old Stanley, born Stanley Eisen, released a solo album, “Live to Win,” in 2006.
Fabolous feat. Ne-Yo – Make Me Better [OFFICAL MUSIC VIDEO]!
Jul 29, 2007 Album, Famous People, Movies, Music, Music Artists, Music Videos, New Single, Performance, R&B, Rap Music, Song, YouTube
Rapper Fabolous performed his new single “Make Me Better” with r&b singer Ne-Yo
Queen guitarist wraps studies for doctorate
Jul 28, 2007 Award, Famous People, Music Artists, Rock
Brian May, the lead guitarist from rock band Queen, is close to earning his doctorate in astrophysics — more than 35 years after quitting his studies to become a rock star.
May arrived on the island of La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands several days ago to conduct astronomical observations in support of his thesis, according to a statement by the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands.
His thesis, “Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud,” is the last component of his PhD studies, and May expected to complete his work on Wednesday.
“Maybe you’d like to see the Telescope we are working in,” May, 60, wrote on his Web site on Wednesday.
“Galileo … Galileo … how full of coincidences life is,” he added, referring to the lyrics in Queen’s hit song “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
After submitting his thesis at Imperial College, London, he will have to wait until university assessors approve his work to be granted his PhD next year.
May was studying astrophysics at Imperial College when he formed Queen with singer Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor in 1970. He dropped his doctorate research into interstellar dust as the band met with increasing success.
After Mercury’s AIDS-related death in 1991, May recorded several solo albums and set up the Brian May Band.
But his interest in astronomy continued, and he co-wrote “Bang! The Complete History of the Universe” with Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott, which was published last year.
Earlier this month, the writer of such Queen hits as “We Will Rock You” and “Fat Bottomed Girls” was granted an honorary doctorate from Exeter University in Devon, England.
Blues singer Etta James hospitalized in LA
Jul 27, 2007 Blues, Concert Tour, Music, Music Artists, R&B, Rock
Blues singer Etta James is in stable condition in a Los Angeles hospital, suffering from complications following abdominal surgery, her manager said on Wednesday.
The 69-year-old rock ‘n’ roll pioneer was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, following the mid-June surgery, Lupe De Leon wrote in an email to Reuters.
James hopes to be well enough by the end of August to join blues icon B.B. King and soul veteran Al Green on a tour that began in Florida on Tuesday.
“If it had been left solely up to her, she would have checked herself out of the hospital and started the tour regardless of her delicate health,” De Leon said. “However, her doctor advised that were she to do so, it would put her at very great risk.”
R&B singer Chaka Khan is substituting for James on the tour.
James helped pioneer rock ‘n’ roll in the mid-1950s with tunes such as “The Wallflower” and “Good Rockin’ Daddy.” She diversified into mainstream blues, soul and R&B during the 1960s, after signing with Chess Records. The three-time Grammy winner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, and remains an active recording artist.
Pearl Jam to play private club show in Chicago
Jul 26, 2007 Album, Concert Tour, Famous People, Music, Music Bands, News, Rock, Song, Tickets Sale
Pearl Jam will play a private show for fan club members in Chicago on August 2, three days before its headlining stint at the city’s Lollapalooza festival, the rock group said on Tuesday.
Tickets for the show at the Vic Theatre will go on sale on Thursday, priced at $150 per pair (plus applicable fees). The Vic’s capacity is about 1,400 people, according to the venue’s web site.
Lollapalooza is Pearl Jam’s only U.S. appearance planned for 2007. Apart from a three-week European tour last month, the group has been laying low this year. The Seattle quintet spent much of 2006 on the road in support of a new self-titled album, its first studio release in almost four years.
Starbucks label signs Joni Mitchell
Jul 26, 2007 Album, Famous People, Music, Music Artists, Song
Joni Mitchell is following the lead of Paul McCartney in joining with the coffee giant Starbucks to release her comeback album.
Hear Music, a record label formed in partnership with Starbucks Corp. and the Concord Music Group, said Wednesday that Mitchell is its second signing. “Shine,” her first album of new compositions since 1998, will be released on Sept. 25.
McCartney’s album “Memory Almost Full” came out last month and was played relentlessly at Starbucks franchises, where listeners could purchase it with their coffee. The disc has sold 447,000 copies, 45 percent of them in Starbucks stores, the company said.
The new venture has attracted interest from veteran artists both because the music business is collapsing around them, and their fans are much more likely to be spending time in Starbucks these days than in music stores.
Mitchell worked with Hear Music two years ago as it released a disc of favorite Mitchell songs selected by various artists. She had essentially retired from making music and said this project was one of the things that rekindled her interest, said Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment.
Mitchell wrote nine of the 10 songs on “Shine,” the exception being an adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling poem “If.”
She described it as “as serious a work as I’ve ever done” with some dark lyrics.
Earlier this year, Mitchell was co-director of “The Fiddle and the Drum,” a ballet based on her music that debuted in Canada. She’s also planning an exhibit of her paintings in New York this fall.
Father-son reunion a “blessing” for jazz fans
Jul 25, 2007 Concert Tour, Jazz, Music, Music Artists, News, Reunion, Song
Contact between father and son had been rare and publicly cool for nearly 50 years, and few thought they would ever see Bebo Valdes, 89 in October, and his son Chucho, 66, on tour together.
And yet the Cuban jazz pianists are not only playing 10 concerts in Spain, but on July 10 they finished recording their first collaborative album. The currently untitled release is set for an October launch on Madrid-based Calle 54 Records, with distribution by Sony BMG Spain.
The tour, which includes Chucho’s vocalist sister and Bebo’s daughter, Mayra Caridad, began July 6 in Tenerife and ends August 5 in Huesca after passing through seven cities including Barcelona, Madrid and Zaragoza.
“The tour means not only the re-encounter of father and son, but a review of the history of Cuban music in the 20th century,” said tour promoter Joan Anton Cararach, who has been the director of the Barcelona Jazz Festival for four years.
“We put on one of their extremely rare concerts together last year and proposed a joint tour,” Cararach said. “Working with them is a blessing.”
Beginning in 1959, Chucho played in Bebo’s Sabor de Cuba band in Havana, but Bebo left Cuba for good in 1961 after differences with Fidel Castro’s revolution. Bebo had been a star in 1950s Cuba, but he spent nearly 40 years unrecognized, playing in piano bars in Stockholm.
He was rediscovered in 2000 by Spanish film director Fernando Trueba for his Latin jazz documentary “Calle 54.” Trueba, who won the 1992 Academy Award for best foreign-language film for “Belle Epoque,” co-produced the new album with Miami-based fellow Latin jazz specialist Nat Chediak.
At the Madrid tour launch, Chucho said, “Bebo is my hero and my ‘maestro,’ and on this tour I will rediscover things he taught me when I was a kid.”
Bebo responded, “This is a dream come true. Nobody in the world plays better than Chucho.”
Isaiah Inspires Stevie
Jul 25, 2007 Movies, Music, Music Artists, Rumor, TV Show
Inspiration and Isaiah Washington can hardly be put in the same sentence together. Unless of course Isaiah inspires you to spit in his face. But things are starting to look up for the homophobic former cast member of Grey’s Anatomy.
First, he scored himself a part on one of the hottest new shows in the Fall, ‘Bionic Woman’, a developmental deal with NBC and he’s got Stevie Wonder singing songs in his praises. Whoa! What?
Isaiah was a guest on Stevie’s radio show on KJLH in Los Angeles on Thursday when Stevie and his crew suddenly broke into a tune about Isaiah. It started of as a mere chant but then Stevie added his flare and it is on! It’s kinda hard to be mad at that.
Lennon’s Spectacles Attract $1.5m Bid
Jul 24, 2007 Famous People, Music, Music Artists, News, Rock
Most of these buyers are not fans but merely investors who want to lay there hands of a piece of Beatle history and cash it 20-30 years later. John Lennon’s trademark ‘granny’ spectacles, which the late Beatle wore during the band’s tour to Japan in 1966, have attracted a bidding of $1.5m at an online auction so far. I could see better without any glasses on what the buyer do with a $1.5m spectacles would. Everyone is bidding to get their hands on the gold-rimmed glass less spectacles that he had gifted to the Fab Four’s Japanese translator Junishi Yore. Yore had removed the dark lenses from the frame by pushing them out with his own thumbs when Lennon was murdered in 1980. He did so because he wanted Lennon to be able to see in death. Whatever the memories and facts associated with this spectacle $1.5m is really exorbitant and let us see that when the final bids are opened will this be the figure for the glasses.
Mills rejects Macca’s 20 million Pound alimony offer
Jul 24, 2007 Famous People, Music, Music Artists, Rock, Rumor
Paul McCartney has offered 20 million Pounds to his estranged wife Heather Mills in divorce settlement, but the latter is adamantly demanding more than twice the offered money at 50 million Pounds. Earlier, it was believed that the couple settled their matter in the range of somewhere between 25 to 30 million out of McCartney’s fortune of estimated 825 million Pounds. But the lady got greedier and yesterday I heard a final figure of some 70 million pounds, it could be plain rumors or it could be true as well. The whole matter could well end up for a trail and this could be a lot murkier than Paul ever thought of. She wants the money and shall not leave him in peace until she has what she wants. The couple’s case is scheduled for a five day hearing next February and by that time she will be dragging about the whole issue and keep harassing the former Beatle all the more longer. If she had a chance then she would have robbed Paul of his money in a whisker.
Usher Taking Legal Action To Shut Down Fansite
Jul 23, 2007 Famous People, Music, Music Artists, News, R&B
R&B singer Usher is attempting to shut down one of his most popular fan sites UsherForever.com, according to reports. The Burn hitmaker is currently in discussions with lawyers to prepare a legal attempt to close down the fan site, run by Erika Jackson. Usher recently sent an open letter to fans via America’s People magazine, declaring, “Some media and bloggers have been totally intrusive, they have misconstrued aspects of my personal life and, because of this, my ‘true’ fans are not sure about what is fact and what is fiction. Blog sites are run so as to air views of fans and shutting the site down means that Usher has no respect and love for his fans and don’t care a damn for their opinion. I personally would read the story and his views before I would make any of my comments. Hope he retracts his wish and lets the site continue. This will in any case not do any good to him, coz there are other sites where fans could air their views and it’s not going change their opinion.
Bobby Brown fears Osama
Jul 22, 2007 Famous People, Music, Music Artists, News, R&B
Bobby Brown has spoken of his fear that he maybe killed by al-Qaeda on his upcoming tour of Australia.
The faded R&B star is due to play the first in a series of shows Down Under on Thursday, with a gig in Melbourne.
However, he admits to being concerned that Osama bin Laden wants him dead, following claims the infamous terrorist is obsessed with Brown’s former wife Whitney Houston.
Sudanese writer Kola Boof recently claimed that he was amongst the main targets on bin Laden’s hit-list, prompting Brown to ramp up security for the new dates.
“Come on, if anybody is threatened by al-Qaeda they’d take it seriously,” Brown told an Australian radio show.
“I figure if bin Laden wants me, and everybody is looking for him, it probably won’t happen. But if he wants to try and find me for something so stupid, he can do what he wants.
“I have to leave it in the hands of my higher power,” insisted Bobby, who is now divorced from Houston.
Switch enables Ashanti to be independent.
Jul 21, 2007 Album, Famous People, Music, Music Artists, Music Videos, R&B
Ashanti’s video “Switch” is the first video which portrays couple Ashanti and Nelly together. Ashanti has made this album “Switch” all on her own without any help from anybody. As previously her albums were produced by Irv Gotti. Ashanti is really happy handling this album by herself. Ashanti says “With this album, I’m taking the lead with everything. I’m steering my own ship. I’m doing everything on my own. I have a label that I’m developing under Universal as well. It’s just a big year for me — I feel really, really excited about the album. Now just because the two are close and have release their first music video together it doesn’t mean that the two are a couple. Means like if anyone was in another person’s company they would make a couple. Well all need a support staff that can help guide us in the murky waters of the music industry and Nelly is just being nice enough to act for her as her support staff, as might not be able to afford one yet. Yeah, all you are absolutely right she needs a support staff.
Slain banda star’s family pay tribute in new work
Jul 20, 2007 Famous People, Music, Music Artists, Music Bands, Music Videos, News, Song
Seven months after Valentin Elizalde’s death, the slain banda star’s relatives are keeping the dynasty going with their own work.
On July 3, Universal Music Latino released “Mi Ultima Bohemia … En Vivo,” a collection of songs Elizalde recorded live at the grave of his father, “El Gallo” Elizalde.
The only survivor of the November shooting that killed the 27-year-old Elizalde was his cousin, producer/bandleader Fausto “El Tano” Castro Elizalde. The latter’s “Dedicado a Ti” with La Banda Guasavena has sold 21,000 copies in the United States since its April release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Far from trying to take the band on its own path, “we want to continue with (Valentin’s) legacy, God willing, for many years with the band and keep doing shows and albums in his honor,” El Tano Elizalde said.
The late singer’s girlfriend, Natalie Fernandez, and archival footage of Elizalde appear in the video for the single “Solo Un Sueno.”
El Chico followed May 22 with his own album of songs, many of them previously recorded by his brother, on Universal Latino. With accompaniment by La Banda Guasavena, the album “De Un Elizalde Para Un Elizalde” has sold 9,000 copies stateside.
In contrast, Jesus “El Flaco” Elizalde’s “Corazon de Acero” on Fonovisa, which was released April 3, does not cover material from his late brother.
“Over time, what will make him stay or be successful is that he will be himself,” Fonovisa VP/general manager Alfonso Larriva said. An emphasis on tributes “will pigeonhole the artist … He’ll always be linked to the tragedy.”
“Corazon de Acero” has sold 6,000 copies in the States, more than El Flaco’s previous efforts combined.
La Tricolor radio network program director Napo Sanchez said Valentin Elizalde’s younger siblings previously focused on working Mexico’s Pacific Coast. But now there’s an effort “to internationalize them. Their careers are just barely starting.”
Editors aims for front page
Jul 20, 2007 Album, Music, Music Artists, Music Bands, News, Rock, Song
Editors frontman Tom Smith contemplates the huge anticipation surrounding the British band’s imminent sophomore set, “An End Has a Start,” and shivers. “I get nervous thinking about it,” he says.
No one else around the band seems concerned, however. Editors’ debut, “The Back Room,” was a slow-burn success in the United Kingdom after its bow in 2005. It’s certified platinum, with total British shipments of 450,000, according to Rob Whitaker, who co-manages the band for Zoot Music.
Whitaker says expectations for the follow-up released June 25 in the UK, two days after a high-profile appearance at the Glastonbury Festival, and set to bow July 17 in the United States are even higher.
“The shipment on the new record is Sony’s biggest of the year” in the United Kingdom, he says. “They’re looking at about 170,000.”
That’s in contrast to the steady progress of “The Back Room,” which earned comparisons to gloomy post-punk bands Joy Division and Echo & the Bunnymen, spawned several hit singles and was nominated for the 2006 Nationwide Mercury Prize.
Since its U.S. release in March 2006 via Fader/Epic, “The Back Room” has sold 47,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
First single “Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors” became the band’s first commercially available single June 26 in the States, with a three-track EP of album songs available via iTunes.
The next single, “An End Has a Start,” will coincide with a month long American tour in September.
Smith is happy enough to be compared to the biggest UK band of recent years, although he was more excited that R.E.M.’s Peter Buck turned up to watch the band perform at a Seattle in-store during the last album campaign.
Rihanna tops chart for ninth week
Jul 19, 2007 Album, Famous People, Fergie, Music, Music Artists, News, R&B, Rihanna, Song
R&B star Rihanna has topped the UK charts for a ninth week with her single Umbrella, matching a record for the longest run at number one this decade. The Barbados singer held off Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie, who’s Big Girls Don’t Cry went up six to number two. Rihanna has equaled the run of Gnarls Barkley with the song Crazy last year.
The all-time record for consecutive weeks at the top of the singles chart is held by Bryan Adams with Everything I Do, which achieved 16 weeks in 1991. Records apart the success should be celebrated and she should aim higher with her next single whenever she plans to release one. Being from the land of Bob Marley, music is the way of life in the Caribbean whether it’s a cricket match or while partying they just love their music.
New 50 Cent album pushed back another week
Jul 18, 2007 50 Cent, Album, Famous People, Justin Timberlake, Music, Music Artists, New Single, R&B, Song, Timbaland
50 Cent’s new album, “Curtis,” has been pushed back another week, from September 4 to September 11, according to Interscope, which declined to give a reason for the move.
“Curtis” originally was slated for a June 26 release but was pushed back in late May.
Two singles from the project have met with little success on radio. “Amusement Park” peaked at No. 36 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and is No. 57 in its ninth week there, while “Straight to the Bank” peaked at No. 30 and has since fallen off the chart.
Another new song, “I Get Money,” debuted in early July at No. 75.
“Curtis,” which is the follow-up to 2005’s “The Massacre,” features production from Dr. Dre, Eminem and Timbaland, plus guest turns by Eminem, Akon, Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige, Robin Thicke and Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat Dolls.
Fergie Played To An Audience Of Six
Jul 17, 2007 Concert Tour, Famous People, Fergie, Music, Music Artists
Pop star Fergie was left red-faced after performing to an audience of only six at a village fair with 1990s girl group Wild Orchid. The singer – who has since performed at the world’s biggest arenas with pop group Black Eyed Peas – was left in tears by the terrible reaction her old band received. Did they interview the pigs to see if they liked the show? Pigs are quite musically inclined. And can do a pretty good piggy four step circle mud stomp. There should been at least a few hundred pigs out side listening to the group singing. If she just looked outside then she could well have found some solace by seeing those pigs that were present. But she should also be a happier person today, form the fact that there are now a few thousand people where ever she performs and this should really wash out that bad memory.
