Search Results for: GERMANY

The secret’s out: MySpace Music Secret Shows are a hit. Social networking pioneer MySpace has created its most successful music program with the intimate Secret Shows series, whose 150th installment will feature Gnarls Barkley on June 8 at Irving Plaza in New York. MySpace Music launched the Secret Shows franchise in January 2006 and has since hosted such acts as Rilo Kiley, Moby, Maroon 5, the Killers, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tenacious D, Lily Allen, Ice Cube, James Blunt and Neil Diamond in cities around the world. The concept is the brainchild of MySpace Music editor Isac Walter, who wanted… Read more »

“SIMPLE PLAN,” the long-awaited new album from Lava/Atlantic recording group Simple Plan, has made a triumphant chart debut, both here and around the world. The Montreal-based band’s third studio effort — which features the singles “When I’m Gone” and “Your Love Is A Lie” — was the Billboard 200’s highest-charting debut of the week at #14, while also placing high on a variety of additional tallies, including #3 on “Top Rock Albums,” #4 on “Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums,” and #7 on “Top Digital Albums.” In addition, the album reached the #1 spot on the iTunes Store’s “Top Pop Albums” ranking.… Read more »

A teenager who suffered a breakdown on the German version of “American Idol” could end up costing its broadcaster 100,000 euros ($147,000). Germany’s Cultural Council, an official youth protection watchdog, has recommended private German broadcaster RTL be fined for broadcasting the incident, and other humiliating moments on its top-rated “Deutschland Sucht Den Superstar” or “DSDS.” The Cultural Council accused RTL of “malicious disregard” for humanity on the show, arguing that the manner in which contestants are humiliated on the show could have detrimental effects on young viewers. At issue are the early episodes of the current “DSDS” season, which focused… Read more »

The Spice Girls have dropped Australia, China, South Africa and Argentina from their world tour, which reportedly has been drawing a disappointing turnout at some concerts. The group, which reunited in a blaze of publicity last June, said on Friday that the tour will now end in Toronto on Feb. 26. “Sadly the tour needs to come to an end by the end of February due to family and personal commitments for Emma, Geri, Mel B, Melanie C and Victoria,” the group said in a statement. The Spice Girls’ tour kicked off in Vancouver, Canada, on Dec. 2, and has… Read more »

An independent Miami label says it plans to release never-before-heard Beatles live recordings made in 1962 at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany. Fuego Entertainment has partnered with British producer/promoter Jeffrey Collins to put out his catalog holdings. They say those include a live Beatles performance of 15 songs at the club. No release date has been set for the recordings, which the label claims are the first to feature drummer Ringo Starr as part of the group. Other Beatles recordings from the Star Club have been released, but Fuego says its collection includes previously unheard tracks, such as covers… Read more »

Radiohead has confirmed 16 European summer concert dates for 2008, including an appearance at Denmark’s giant Roskilde Festival. The British rock band’s first confirmed concert will take place June 7 at the Malahide in Dublin. The tour, announced Wednesday on Radiohead’s official Web site, will roll on to France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Germany. The band will be promoting its new release, “In Rainbows,” which fans can download from the Web for a price of their own choosing. It will come out on CD early next year. Radiohead manager Bryce Edge said dates… Read more »

Heavy metal fans aren’t usually seen making bids at high-end auctions, but they turned out in numbers to snatch up a coat with embroidered bats, sneakers with skulls on them and other items put up for sale by Ozzy Osbourne. “We had Ozzy fans bidding against these sophisticated fine art buyers, which you don’t see every day,” said Darren Julien, whose company, Julien’s Auctions, ran the charity sale Friday and Saturday. “For the most part the metalheads were outbidding the art crowd.” Bidders came from as far as Germany to try and buy belongings from the Beverly Hills mansion formerly… Read more »

Former Smiths frontman Morrissey is suing music magazine NME for defamation after it printed an article in which he discussed his views on immigration in Britain. The magazine criticized the 48-year-old singer for allegedly saying Britain had lost its identity as a result of higher levels of immigration than other European countries. “We can confirm we have received two writs from Morrissey’s legal representatives pertaining to NME and its editor Conor McNicholas,” a spokesman for NME said on Friday. “NME takes this matter — and the issues it highlights — extremely seriously and we are currently in discussion with our… Read more »

AJ McLean remembers the conversation well. Kevin Richardson was having doubts about his future in the Backstreet Boys, and one night in the dressing room after a 2005 show, he told his friends in the mega-selling boy band how he was feeling. “There’s some things I need to do first, for me,” McLean recalled Richardson saying. The group had been discussing “when we wanted to start recording again,” McLean said. “Everyone was ready, but that was the first time Kevin put it out in the atmosphere that he wasn’t.” The Boys needed some time to digest Richardson’s news. In June… Read more »

50 Cent, who is in a much-hyped battle of album sales with Kanye West, has canceled several performances in Europe. MTV News said the 31-year-old rapper canceled performances at the MOBO Awards and the Vodafone Live Music Awards, both in London on Wednesday, and a performance for MTV in Germany on Friday. No details were posted on the rapper’s Web site, and Polydor Records, 50 Cent’s record label in Britain, wasn’t immediately available for comment Monday. MTV said the rapper canceled the appearances due to changes in his schedule. 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, had said he’ll… Read more »