Search Results for: R&B

At Juno 2005, the theme was pretty obvious – out with the old, in with the new. Gone from the winner’s circle were artists such as Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette, Barenaked Ladies and K.D. Lang. Instead, Avril Lavigne was queen bee and K-OS was crown prince at this weekend’s Juno Awards in Winnipeg. Both artists walked home with three trophies, tops for the event. Lavigne, who was in Singapore touring and did not attend the show, won Artist Of The Year, Pop Album and Juno Fan Choice, which she accepted via satellite. Toronto rapper K-OS took home Single Of The… Read more »

Berlin – German media group Bertelsmann AG said Thursday its profit rose sharply in 2004 thanks to strong performances by its television, music and media services businesses and lower writeoffs due to changed accounting rules. Earnings rose to 1.03 billion euros ($1.28 billion) from 154 million euros in 2003, while revenue rose 1.2 percent to 17.02 billion euros ($21.17). A company statement did not include fourth-quarter figures. The Guetersloh-based company credited a good showing by subsidiary RTL, Europe’s largest television broadcaster, which boosted earnings to 668 million euros ($831 million) from 503 million euros, helped by the company’s acquisition of… Read more »

Veteran band protests about Justin Veteran R&B group the O’Jays protested about Justin Timberlake’s involvement in their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The group were introduced by the 24-year-old singer at the ceremony at in New York. The O’Jays are best known for their disco 70s hits Love Train and Backstabbers. Eddie Levert, 62, said they were unhappy about Timberlake inducting them into the Hall. He said: “We protested, kicked and stomped. But it is out of our control.” His bandmate Walter Williams, 61, added: “No offence to Justin, because he deserves the respect he has… Read more »

Gwen Stefani – still glowing from “The Aviator” ‘s Oscar wins – is turning her attention away from movie cameos and back to promoting her solo album, Love, Angel, Music, Baby. She’s just shot a video for the next single, the B-girlish anthem “Hollaback Girl,” which she calls her “attitude song.” Like most of the songs on her solo debut, this was a collaboration – but one borne out of a bit of jealousy instead of pure camaraderie. When Stefani originally booked time with Pharrell Williams, it was at the end of the project, when she figured her sessions were… Read more »

Cleveland – Rhythm & blues recording artist Gerald Levert will not face assault charges for his confrontation with police here on Friday. Prosecutor Anthony Jordan said that there was no evidence the singer caused serious physical harm to patrolmen Ronald W. Ross and Daniel Lentz. Levert, 38, was charged with drunken driving, impeding traffic, obstructing police business and resisting arrest. Police said Levert and a passenger in his car, James Austin Jr. of Canton, intervened when authorities stopped a friend of Levert’s for speeding at 12:45 a.m. Ross said he hurt his wrist while dealing with Levert and Lentz said… Read more »

Patrice Pike, a true woman in rock behind the Rock/Alternative group Sister Seven (from Austin, TX, USA) has won the overall top prize of the 2004 Songwriting Competition. “My Three Wishes” was the winning song written by Patrice Pike, Wayne Sutton, Sean Phillips and Darrell Phillips. Winners came from United Kingdom, United States, Czech Republic, Australia, The Bahamas, Germany, Canada and Denmark. David Francey (of Ontario, CANADA) was a finalist in 2003, won first prize in the Folk category of the 2004 USA Songwriting Competition. Canadians have won the prize in this category three years in a row. In 2002… Read more »

Los Angeles – Rock band 3 Doors Down earned its first No. 1 on the U.S. pop albums chart Wednesday with its latest CD, “Seventeen Days.” The Republic/Universal release sold 231,000 copies in the week ended Feb. 13, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the best sales week of the band’s career. The Mississippi-bred combo’s previous high came with 2002’s “Away From the Sun,” which opened and peaked at No. 8 with 115,000 and has sold 3.3 million to date. 2000’s debut “The Better Life” has sold 5.2 million copies so far. Previous champ, rapper the Game’s “The Documentary” (Aftermath/G-Unit/Interscope), slipped to… Read more »

Ray Charles’ Genius racked up plenty of company in the form of gramophone-shaped statuettes. The late soul legend won a total of eight awards at the 47th annual Grammy Awards Sunday night, including Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Genius Loves Company and Record of the Year for “Here We Go Again” with Norah Jones. Jamie Foxx, who is considered a lock for the Best Actor Oscar later this month for his portrayal of Charles in biopic Ray, took the stage with Alicia Keys for a tribute to Charles. Later in the show, Bonnie Raitt and… Read more »

Partial list of winners at Sunday’s 47th Annual Grammy Awards: Engineered Album, Classical – “Higdon – City Scape Concerto for Orchestra,” Jack Renner, engineer – Robert Spano. Producer of the Year, Classical – David Frost. Classical Album – “Adams – On the Transmigration of Souls,” Lorin Maazel, conductor John Adams and Lawrence Rock, producers. Orchestral Performance – “Adams – On the Transmigration of Souls,” Lorin Maazel, conductor John Adams and Lawrence Rock, producers. Opera Recording – “Mozart – Le Nozze di Figaro,” Rene Jacobs, conductor Patrizia Ciofi, Veronique Gens, Simon Keenlyside, Angelika Kirchschlager and Lorenzo Regazzo Martin Sauer, producer –… Read more »

Classic-rock fan George Petersen doesn’t need another copy of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” or Cream’s “Disraeli Gears.” He has spent the past four decades buying and re-buying his favorite music in a succession of new formats: vinyl, 8-track, cassette, compact disc, Super Audio CD, DVD-Audio. Enough is enough. The basement is full. “We as consumers have been trained by the music industry to go out and buy a new piece of plastic every few years,” said the 51-year-old Petersen, editorial director of Mix, a San Francisco-based magazine that covers professional sound recording. “Why do we keep buying… Read more »