Search Results for: Will Ferri

Barack Obama partied with Hollywood celebrities Tuesday night and with the help of Oscar-winning singer and actress Barbra Streisand raised an eye-popping $9 million for his presidential campaign and the Democratic Party. The night was split into two glitzy events, a reception and dinner costing $28,500 each at the Greystone Mansion, followed by entertainment by Streisand at the nearby Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. About 250-300 people were expected at the dinner and about 800 at the entertainment, which cost $2,500 a ticket. Dinner guests seen by reporters, or noted by waiters, included Will Ferrell, Jodie Foster, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Lee… Read more »

The first time Arcade Fire performed in Paris, Mathieu Saura stood outside the venue with his girlfriend, holding up a sign that read, “Please, we want to come to the show.” The band’s bassist, Richard Reed Perry, got them in, and ever since, Saura might as well have not left. Under the name Vincent Moon, he’s gone from a fan begging for tickets to an in-demand filmmaker who has revolutionized music video. His films are stripped down, intimate videotaped performances – shot in one take, often of an act simply strolling down a street or playing in a parking lot.… Read more »

A foreclosure auction scheduled this week for Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch was canceled after an investment company bought the loan. Colony Capital LLC spokeswoman Caroline Luz said the loan purchase was recently made by Colony and the auction slated for Wednesday was off, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. In a statement released Sunday by a Jackson spokesman who identified himself as B. Michael, the singer said he was “pleased with recent developments involving Neverland Ranch … that would allow me to focus on the future.” Jackson had gone into default on the $24.5 million he owes on the 2,500-acre… Read more »

CHARLOTTE, N.C. –Wading back into the Democratic presidential race, billionaire businessman Bob Johnson said Monday that Sen. Barack Obama would not be his party’s leading candidate if he were white. Johnson’s comments to the Charlotte Observer echoed those of former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro. She stepped down as an adviser to Sen. Hillary Clinton last month after saying Obama wouldn’t be where he is if he were white. “What I believe Geraldine Ferraro meant is that if you take a freshman senator from Illinois called ‘Jerry Smith’ and he says I’m going to run for president, would he start… Read more »

When rapper Flo Rida set a digital sales record with his single “Low,” which moved 470,000 copies the first week of January despite not being available on an album, it was emblematic of an intriguing trend. Digital hip-hop song sales are at an all-time high, but in terms of digital album commerce, hip-hop is lagging behind other genres. In 2007, of 500.4 million albums sold industry-wide, 10 percent were sold digitally. In comparison, of the 41.7 million rap albums sold, only 7 percent (2.9 million) of those were digital. So far this year (through the week ending February 17), according… Read more »

Irish rockers U2 have hit the studio in Dublin to continue work on their next studio album with longtime collaborators Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. “We’re going to try and break new sonic ground and deliver a masterpiece,” Lanois told Billboard.com. “The sleeves are rolled up. Bono is all charged up with a lyrical angle.” U2, Eno and Lanois have spent time working on new material on three prior occasions in France and Morocco. “There’s so much material,” he said, referring to speculation that the sessions could yield two new albums. “When you get Eno and I and those guys… Read more »

Herbie Hancock won the coveted album of the year Grammy on Sunday, becoming the first jazz instrumentalist to win the honor in more than 40 years and causing Hancock to remark “it’s a new day” at the Grammys. Hancock’s “River: The Joni Letters,” an all-star tribute to Canadian singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell was a surprise victory at the 50th annual Grammys, beating out other nominees Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black,” Kanye West’s “Graduation,” rock band the Foo Fighters’ “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace” and country singer Vince Gill’s “These Days.” “Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell, thank you so much,” said… Read more »

Yahoo is dropping its subscription music service and replacing it with Rhapsody America, a competing service operated by RealNetworks and MTV Networks. As part of the deal, Yahoo will exclusively promote Rhapsody on its site and integrate the service into Yahoo Music. The two plan to collaborate on other digital music services such as music downloads. It’s part of a broad strategic partnership announced Monday by the two companies. Yahoo and RealNetworks said the process of transferring subscriptions from Yahoo Music Unlimited to Rhapsody will start midyear and will be painless. Existing Yahoo subscribers will be able to maintain their… Read more »

Most young men can be forgiven for not knowing what they’ll be doing two days from now, much less two years. Not the three siblings who comprise the hit trio the Jonas Brothers. The superstars-in-the-making have every day mapped out for the next 24 months. If you’re not a tween/teenage girl or don’t live in proximity to one, you may not yet be in on the phenomenon created by 20-year-old Kevin, 18-year-old Joe and 15-year-old Nick. They opened for Miley Cyrus on her fall “Hannah Montana” tour to the delight of shrieking girls everywhere. Their song, “S.O.S.,” catapulted to No.… Read more »

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced Friday at the World Economic Forum that his foundation would give $306 million to use green technology and farming techniques to boost millions out of hunger and poverty. The announcement by Gates, who is a long-time favorite speaker at the annual meeting of business and government leaders, injected a shot of optimism into the gathering which had been weighed down the first two days by fears of a global economic downturn. Gates, who is stepping down as Microsoft chair later this year and expected to focus more on philanthropy, received a standing ovation at the… Read more »