Real Music People

Coldplay’s album Viva La Vida has to date been the No.1 selling album in 36 countries around the world, including in the U.S., where it held the top spot for two weeks, and in the U.K. where the album has been No.1 for the last four weeks.

Coldplay’s previous album, the 10 million-selling X&Y, reached No.1 in 32 countries in 2005.

In a number of countries, including the U.K., France, Germany and Japan, first week sales of Viva La Vida exceeded those of X&Y, and Viva La Vida has already been certified gold or platinum in 31 countries including platinum in the USA, Germany and Australia and double platinum in the U.K. and Canada.

In many countries Viva La Vida held the top spot on the album chart in its second week, including in the USA, U.K., Australia, Canada, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and New Zealand.

Viva La Vida set the record for the highest first week album sales ever on the iTunes Store worldwide, in addition to being the biggest album pre-order in iTunes’ history. In the U.S., 288,000 week one sales were digital downloads, the biggest ever first week sales tally for a digital album, and with 394,000 digital albums sold in the first three weeks, Viva La Vida is the all time best selling digital album in the States. U.S. over the counter sales for Viva La Vida across all formats have now exceeded 1.1 million according to Nielsen SoundScan.

In the U.K. Viva La Vida is the fastest-selling album of the year with over the counter sales of more than 600,000 since its release on 12 June, while in Germany the album is already the biggest selling release of the year as well as the fastest.

Coldplay will launch their North American tour with two sold out dates in Los Angeles on July 14th and 15th.

50 artists recently recorded Prince covers in honor of his 50th birthday this past June 7th. Unfortunately for them, their attempt at an honor has gotten them lawsuits. The irony of it all is that it’s Prince who’s suing them. The purple one’s lawyers are demanding that all copies of the tribute album be destroyed immediately. One single has made it into the top 10 in Norway and the Norwegian press has given popular reviews on the album, so what’s the problem? By law, it’s legal to cover songs of someone else’s material so long as you pay about a 10 cent licensing fee per song. Apparently, that hasn’t been done and no one has made any money from the project.

Snoop Dogg was on Big Boy’s Neighborhood on LA’s Power 106 on Wednesday where he said that he recently recorded tracks for Dr. Dre’s highly anticipated and long-delayed new album ‘Detox’. Snoop said “That record is real, it’s coming. You know me, I was starting to doubt it myself and then I went up in there and he played so much music for me it knocked my head off. I see what he got them waiting for, it’s on and poppin. He got records, he got heat.” Snoop has also confirmed that the 10 years in the making project was finished and the Dre was already selecting tracks for the final product.

In the music industry, no one is safe from a lawsuit, not even if you’re on their payroll. Rockers Scott Weiland and Eric Kretz of Stone Temple Pilots have been sued by their own record label Atlantic. According to Billboard, the suit claims that lead singer Scott and drummer Eric have threatened to stop performing under their contract and indicated that they would like to end the agreement unless the label makes significant changes. The company wants the group to record a 7th album and deliver up to 2 more if Atlantic decides it wants them. The band has come out with a statement regarding the matter saying that the were surprised by the suit as they were in the middle of what was believed to be cordial discussion on making a new album. They also denied the claims that they threatened to terminate their contract.

Even though Foxy Brown was once seen everywhere and anywhere pimping out her new album, the formerly incarcerated rapper now thinks that it was a very bad call. Foxy told AllHipHop.com that “This was probably the most illogical business decision I’ve ever made in my entire career … Completely ignoring my intuition.” Foxy has been in a public feud with her former manager ‘Slim’ Williams, who was responsible for putting ‘Brooklyn’s Don Diva’ together while Foxy was still in jail. Foxy has since publicly renounced the album and is now working on a new album which she is calling ‘Black Roses’.

R&B singer Ashanti is featured in the June 2008 issue of Maxim. The singer is sexily promoting her new album ‘The Declaration’ which will drop in stores on June 3. Ashanti talks about the album in her interview saying “I’m declaring that I’m here. The album is a new sound for me. I found out so much about myself working with new people. Everything had kind of been in-house for me, so I was used to having a security blanket—like Linus from Peanuts with his blue blanket. I’m declaring that it’s been four years and a lot of people had questions, but I’m here, baby.”

Busta killed it on this one! Blacksmith Presents the Love Thirst remix
Jean Grae feat. Busta Rhymes, fire! The official release date for the
Jeanius album is 6-17 let’s go!

Lovethurst_feat.BUSTA_Clean.mp3

We all know that Madonna and Janet have a very icy relationship. With the recent release of Janet’s album and Madonna’s promotion of her upcoming album, it almost seems like we have the diva version of Kanye West and 50 Cent. They even have fierce covers to go against each other. Janet brought her own fierceness in the new issue of BlackBook Magazine. The diva was shot by glam master Matthew Rolston for the S&M inspired shoot. Miss Jackson works it in her photos! I wonder if she’s actually into S&M – her pics are too believable for her to not be.

Maxim garnered a strike when they did a music review for the Black Crowes’s new album ‘War Paint’ without listening to the album. They have since apologized for the screw up but it doesn’t prevent them from doing it again. And that they did. Maxim has done a review for rapper Nas’ new album even though he hasn’t even finished recording it yet. Maxim has also apologized for the review but Nas doesn’t seem to care saying “I’d prefer [a review from] Playboy. That kind of stuff doesn’t reach my radar or affect anybody around me. I don’t know what a music rating from Maxim is . . . I don’t know what it even means really.”

X-Factor champion Leona Lewis has already taken the UK by storm and is even one of the best selling artists of 2007 on that side of the pond. Now, she’s set to release her debut album ‘Spirit’ in the US on April 28th. And she has some extra things in store.

Sources say that the singer is currently busy in the studio recording two brand new songs for the US release. One song, ‘Forgive Me’, is by singer/producer Akon and another is ‘Misses Glass’ by cutting edge producers/writers Madd Scientist and Rock City. Additionally, Leona has also re-recorded the video for ‘Bleeding Love’.

Lenny Kravitz wants to duet with Sir Paul McCartney. Well who wouldn’t?

The ‘American Woman’ singer, who owns a mixing desk from London’s Abbey Road Studios, famously used by The Beatles, wants the legendary musician to fly out to his Miami home to record a song with him.

Lenny said: “All the Beatles’ albums were recorded on that mixing desk and I got it when my first album ‘Let Love Rule’ came out in 1990, as I came into a bit of money. I’d seen a documentary in England made about it by one of the sound engineers and I knew I had to have it. It’s an incredible piece of gear. At the time I blew all of my money on it but if you offered me $10 million for it today I wouldn’t take it.

“When you see pictures of John Lennon sitting at the desk it’s just priceless. I’d love to bring Paul McCartney back to my place and make a record with him. How cool would that be?”

Kravitz’s new album ‘It’s Time For A Love Revolution’ is released next month.

DefJam had a listening session in London on Wednesday wherein most of Mariah Carey’s and Janet Jackson’s new albums were played. Label boss Antonio ‘LA’ Reid was said to be very excited about both of them and even mentioned plans for six singles to come off from Mariah’s ‘That Chick’.

One reviewer gave both albums a 6 out of 10 rating. If you’ve heard Janet’s single ‘Feedback’, the rest of her album is pretty much that but there are also signs of the singer who once sang ‘Let’s Wait a While’ as well as a bit of sleaze. Mariah’s effort was said to be more polished and commercial than Janet’s work and that her lyrics aren’t really up to par.

Robbie Williams recently revealed in his blog that he has lots of new songs in the bag, despite no plans to release them at this time.

I can reveal the best of it is written with Jankel who was behind the 1978 smash hit Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick along with Ian Dury. I’ve heard it’s some of Robbie’s best ever stuff - which makes it even more frustrating for fans he is in no rush to release it.

Last year Robbie returned to the studio with ‘Angels’ co-writer Guy Chambers. But that hasn’t worked out and it’s Jankel’s work that will form the basis of Robbie’s comeback - whenever that may be.

A source revealed: “Robbie and Chaz have been working on some great stuff. “It’s back to Robbie’s funky best. Out of all of his new tunes, the Chaz stuff is the best. Currently his problem is that he has lots of different music that he’s worked with different people on. It all sounds very different so it doesn’t really sit very well as an album. “

If the new promo picture that came out is any indication of the vibe that Janet Jackson’s new album is going to have, then that stuff is going to be shooting through the roof! Hot! Hot! Hot!

The lead single off of the album ‘Feedback’ is already getting massive airplay which has excited even more people about Janet’s comeback. And for those wondering just when we’ll get it, her new album ‘Discipline’ now has an official release date for February 26th. I can’t wait! I really hope that she would do a tour for this one. She needs to really go out there again.

Janet Jackson is officially back and she is on fire! The youngest Jackson singer is ready to toss her hat back in the ring of the music industry with a new album coming out next year. The lead single has already leaked on the internet and it is hot!

‘Feedback’ is the name of the comeback song and here’s some feedback for her, it’s absolutely great! It’s not retro, it’s not futuristic – it’s just now. It’s current, it’s fresh and it’s fun. It’s a classic ‘Janet’ song. It’s also quite smart of her to lead the album with a dance track too.

Mary J. Blige performed on Thursday night at “CNN Heroes: All Star Tribute”. She sang “Come To Me (Peace)”, a new song from her upcoming studio album entitled “Growing Pains”

It’s been reported that Madonna’s next studio album, her last with new material under Warner Bros., will be released in April of 2008 and will carry the title ‘Licorice’. The disc reportedly features collaboration with Kanye West and Pharell amongst others. There’s no word whether a tour will follow but it doesn’t hurt to pray for it.

However, not long after news broke out, Madonna’s publicist Liz Rosenberg has denied reports that the Queen of Pop’s new album will be called ‘Licorice’ and that it’s coming out in April. Music industry insiders are not buzzing that the disc will be called ‘Give It To Me’.

Pink released an album called ‘Missundazstood’ a couple of years back and now, it looks like there’s been a missundazstanding. A musician named Scratch has filed a lawsuit against the pop punk rocker for a featured performance on her hit CD.

In the lawsuit, Kyle ‘Scratch’ Jones claims that he is on Pink’s track ‘Respect’ but wasn’t paid for it. According to the suit, Scratch says he discussed payment with Pink but they never came to an agreement. He’s also claiming that his work was used on her DVD ‘Live in Europe’. He’s seeking $717,600 in damages.

A rep for Pink has released a statement regarding the matter saying “There’s nothing to say on this matter, as it is an unjustified lawsuit.”

In addition to listening to this album in it’s entirity, I was also fortunate enough to hear Laura Critchley perform some of the songs live at the album launch last Wednesday. I did not envy the poor girl, having to perform to a room full of music industry people, but she pulled it off brilliantly before heading off to another gig in her home town of Liverpool. The album is a good mixture of upbeat songs and ballads with a pinch of rock and jazz/funk thrown in. Laura co-wrote all the songs on the album, and is obviously responsible for the great lyrics throughout. She opened her set with the second song on the album, “What Do We Do?”, which was also released as a single on 5 November. This is a break up ballad, which she does so well, as is “I’ll Be Ok” , which is the fourth track on the album. “Lullaby” was beautiful but happy while the title track is a very commercial love song which is coming out as a single in January. The rest of the album includes jazzier entries like “Shoulder To Lean On” and “Don’t Say” , rocky ones like “That Kind Of Love”, and “Superstar (Song For Karen) dedicated to Karen Carpenter. If you like good songs, well written and passionately sung, this album is a must for your collection. Furthermore, I can confirm that she is just as good live as she is on CD.

Almost five years after releasing a near-classic rap debut, Freeway finally gets his second shot, and there’s some unsurprisingly frank talk about his surroundings not being identical. Since Philadelphia Freeway’s early 2003 release, there was the Damon Dash/Jay-Z Roc-A-Fella rift, so Free addresses that, despite it being old news. Free at Last has all the makings of a disappointment — a release destined to slide off everyone’s radar within a couple weeks of release. “Oh, yeah, Freeway eventually put out that second album… uh, Free Again, or something?”

The album is not the least bit deserving of that fate. Even with the amount of expectation-lowering context heavy on the mind, Free at Last sounds like a very strong follow-up. Apart from the 50 feature “Take It to the Top,” with a light and frilly production that is absolutely the worst fit for Free’s gruff and pop-unfriendly voice, there are no obvious points of weakness — unless, of course, Free’s lack of vocal versatility is something to gripe about. But his intelligible grunts and rasps are just as commanding and riveting as any other MC’s best mode. With a pilgrimage to Mecca also in his recent past, the dichotomy between his threat/boast-based rhymes and more introspective side is greater than it was on Philadelphia Freeway, and it isn’t at the expense of toughness — take, for instance, “I will squeeze and leave your spleen on the outside.” He is a sharper, more vivid lyricist, and it can also be sensed that he has done everything in his power to make up for all that lost time. And it must be said that his as-common-as-ever exultations of “Early!” — Practically a tic at this point — are more perplexing and amusing than ever

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.

Kelly Clarkson’s new album is a dud. Her record label which was reluctant to release it in the first place is scrambling to release her new single ‘Sober’ after the first one ‘Never Again’ never took off.

I guess Clive Davis’ remarks about Kelly had merit.

There’s good news and bad news about all this though.

Good news, I think ‘Sober’ is better than ‘Never Again’.

The bad news, the song isn’t all that. It’s pretty but, in Simon’s school of thought, forgettable. It’s the worst thing in the music biz if you want commercial success. ‘Sober’ completely sucks compared to previous ballads of Kelly’s like ‘Breakaway’ or ‘Because of You’.

Bad news for Oasis fans! Noel Gallagher announced there is no perspective for a new album of Oasis this year. He said he want to spend some time with his family and his pregnant girlfriend Sara McDonald. Need to prepare for the baby. The plans are to get the new album started this year and release it afterwards.

After fulfilling the contract with Sonny, there has be no new album from Oasis. Noel Gallagher said that he has decided first to do the album and then search for record labels and sign a contract with a music company.

There were some rumors these days, about Gallagher starting solo career, but the band officially has denied them on their website. Part of their statement says:

“Noel Gallagher is not preparing to launch into a solo career nor will he be playing at Glastonbury this June, as have been strongly suggested in some circles. He is an avid fan of the festival and will no doubt be on site checking out a few of his favourite bands again this year.”