Search Results for: joan

“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Michael Stipe asked the crowd soon after R.E.M. took the stage Thursday night at the venerable venue. “Practice,” the crowd blurted in unison. “Well, we didn’t,” Stipe responded. “So if you hear a bum note or something that doesn’t sound right, I urge you to sing louder in your head.” The tour-shy Athens rockers and granola-pop folkie Jewel were among those on hand for an evening of spirited entertainment at “You Gotta Have Friends: Partners in the Fight Against AIDS,” a benefit for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis. ( from the event.) Judging… Read more »

Supporters of the famed Stone Pony music club, which has fostered the careers of rock ‘n’ roll greats like Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith, vowed on Thursday to save the club from the wrecking ball. Developers are proposing to tear the Stone Pony down to make way for retail complexes and condominiums along the waterfront of Asbury Park, a century-old resort which has deteriorated in the last three decades under the weight of crime and unemployment. The developers will present their plan soon to the city council for approval. “Hell no, we won’t go,” said Domenic Santana, third owner of… Read more »

Looking to take advantage of what they say is a large and lucrative niche audience untapped by television programmers, two cable divisions of Viacom (news/quote), MTV Networks and Showtime, are developing a plan to create the first cable channel aimed directly at gay viewers. The still unnamed channel would be offered to cable system operators as a pay channel like HBO or Showtime – only much less costly at $5 or $6 a month – but it would also include advertising. MTV Networks and Showtime have conducted extensive audience testing and concluded that there is, as one Showtime executive put… Read more »

Britney Spears, Mick Jagger and Usher are the latest performers who have been added to the 29th annual American Music Awards roster, joining previously announced artists Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz and Shaggy. P. Diddy, who’ll co-host the show with former MTV personality Jenny McCarthy, will also perform, according to a spokesperson for Dick Clark Productions, Inc. Spears will render “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” from her third album, Britney, while Usher is slated to deliver “U Got It Bad” from his latest LP, 8701. The Rolling Stones frontman hasn’t decided exactly what will comprise his stage show.… Read more »

Dido may be out of the spotlight while working on her next album, but she will still be heard literally by millions thanks to a contribution to the new Britney Spears album, Britney, due in stores Tuesday (November 6). The London singer-songwriter co-penned the song, “I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman,” with behind-the-scenes teen-pop kings Max Martin and Rami. Others contributing to Britney include *NSYNC’s Justin Timberlake, while Spears herself also co-wrote songs on the album. Of note too is Spears’s choice in cover songs-Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll.” Dido is currently working on the follow-up… Read more »

Almost a week late, Britney Spears finally kicked off her Britney 2001 Tour Thursday night after the flu and a kink in her pre-production held her up. Obviously the fans who flooded the Nationwide Arena expected the concert to be all about Britney – the person, that is. And sure, she explored some personal issues/interests, appearing with a bald head at one point, bungee jumping and fighting off faceless nemeses during her performance, but the singer kept true to her promise to make a large portion of the show about Britney, the album. She previewed several cuts off of her… Read more »

The Emmys, television’s highest honors, will be presented belatedly Sunday under the cloud of the Sept. 11 attacks with many stars planning to bypass strutting down the red carpet and to leave their egos and low-cut dresses at home. “It’s an awkward time for everybody, and people are still feeling unsure about whether it’s the right time or not,” said veteran Hollywood publicist Heidi Schaeffer. “People aren’t looking to call attention to themselves right now.” Reflecting the Emmys’ subdued tone this year, many stars have decided to forego the ceremony’s red-carpet arrival, among them nominees Martin Sheen of “The West… Read more »

In one of the last weeks before the new season, all four major networks for the first time finished with the same share among young adults for the Sept. 3-9 period – another sign of how hotly contested the upcoming season could be. (However, Tuesday’s terrorist attacks mean the new season, scheduled to start next Monday, could be delayed.) NBC won for the 20th time in 21 weeks in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic (3.3 rating, nine share), according to Nielsen, but second-place CBS (3.1/9) and third-place ABC and Fox (who tied at 3.0/9) were all within three-tenths of the… Read more »

Rob Thomas’ pre-Matchbox Twenty recordings are finally seeing the light of day, thanks to a former bandmate who spent a half a decade trying to put “the nail in the group’s coffin.” Don’t Play With Matches, the only studio album by Tabitha’s Secret (which featured Matchbox Twenty bassist Brian Yale and drummer Paul Doucette as well as Thomas), is due for October 9 release. Guitarist Jay Stanley – who, along with guitarist John Goff, parted ways with the band in 1995 – fought a five-year legal battle to get the album released. “It’s about putting the past behind me, putting… Read more »

Recording a song with boyfriend Justin Timberlake as a co-producer made Britney Spears “a little nervous,” she says. The song, “What It’s Like to Be Me,” was recorded during sessions for Spears’ third album, due November 6. A track listing for the still-untitled album is starting to shape up, as are plans for a tour, which is set to begin October 26 in Miami. At least three songs have made the cut and and are “definitely making the album,” according to Spears’ spokesperson at Jive Records. They include the first single, “I’m a Slave 4 U,” written and produced by… Read more »