Search Results for: akon

Michael Jackson appeared in a video to thank fans for the success of “Thriller,” the landmark record the reclusive singer is marking with a 25th anniversary edition. Jackson will release the new version of the blockbuster album Tuesday, featuring new collaborations with Kanye West, Akon, Fergie and will.i.am. “It’s hard to believe that 25 years ago Quincy Jones and I embarked on an album named `Thriller,’” Jackson said in a video message to fans released Monday by his record company, Sony-BMG. It was not immediately clear exactly when Jackson had made the video, or where it was recorded. He also… Read more »

Kanye West and Amy Winehouse each have had a rough year. He weathered the death of his mother last month, and she has been battling health issues that forced her to cancel scores of shows. But West and Winehouse may at least get some good news at Thursday’s Grammy nominations, where industry insiders predicted they were likely to garner multiple nods. Grammy-nominated producer Sean Garrett said West was a sure bet. The rapper’s third album, “Graduation,” had the year’s biggest debut, selling nearly 1 million copies in its first week, an amazing feat during the industry’s current struggles. Winehouse, though… Read more »

Justin Timberlake and Beyonce lead the pop parade of nominees for the MTV Video Music Awards with seven nods apiece, it was announced Tuesday. Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” was nominated for video of the year, as was Timberlake’s ambitiously cinematic “What Goes Around … Comes Around,” which co-starred Scarlett Johansson. Also competing in the category are Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab,” Kanye West’s “Stronger,” Rihanna’s “Umbrella” (featuring Jay-Z) and Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.” Timberlake was also nominated for male artist of the year and “most earth shattering collaboration” for pairing with Timbaland for “Sexy Back.” Beyonce was nominated for female artist of the year and for… Read more »

Pop-punk band Plain White T’s led the U.S. pop singles chart for a second week Thursday with “Hey There Delilah,” while Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry” rose one to No. 2, swapping places with R&B starlet Rihanna’s former chart-topper “Umbrella.” Timbaland’s “The Way I Are” featuring Keri Hilson rose one to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, trading places with Shop Boyz’s “Party Like a Rockstar.” At No. 6, the “High School Musical 2” onslaught began as the cast single “What Time Is It” entered the chart after selling 87,000 physical singles and 31,000 downloads.… Read more »

Some of the world’s biggest names in music were all about Saving Our Selves this weekend. SOS, of course, referring to the campaign being touted Saturday across the globe at the seven-continent, 24-hour Live Earth concert extravaganza, a worldwide shout-out to individuals, political leaders, corporations and every other entity capable of helping put a stop to the environmental scourge that is global warming. In a partnership with Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection and other U.S.-based and international organizations, Live 8 executive producer Kevin Wall put together a bill that included the Police, Madonna, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica,… Read more »

Lesson to all potential Fall Out Boy hecklers: If you plan on plying your craft, perhaps it’s better to do so from the relative anonymity of the arena cheap seats rather than during a private party attended by roughly 200 industry peeps and/or friends of FOB. That latter scenario is exactly what went down early Tuesday morning (June 12) at Chicago rock club Schuba’s, which hosted a Spin magazine party following Fall Out Boy’s concert at the nearby Charter One Pavilion. The band was scheduled to perform a brief acoustic set at the soiree, but thanks to one particularly aggressive… Read more »

McFly’s latest double a-side “Baby Come Back/Transylvania” has put an end to Beyonce and Shakira’s three-week run at the top of the Official UK Top 40, while landing the young pop-rock act their seventh No. 1 single. The track debuts ahead of “Beautiful Liar” which drops to two, while Akon’s “Don’t Matter” jumps up eight spots to three. Gym Class Heroes’ “Cupid’s Chokehold” is at four while Scootch’s Eurovision flop “Flying The Flag” charts at five. The pop trio were ranked 22nd out of 24 at Saturday’s event in Finland. In the rest of this week’s top ten, Linkin Park… Read more »

Avril Lavigne was the best damn thing on the charts this week. Literally. The Canadian pop-punker debuted atop the Billboard 200 for a second consecutive time as her latest, The Best Damn Thing, sold 286,000 copies for the week ended Sunday, according to newly released Nielsen SoundScan numbers. The singer previously topped the charts with 2004’s Under My Skin, which followed the number two opening for her 2002 debut, Let Go. Powered by the hit single “Girlfriend,” The Best Damn Thing sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide, opening at number one in 11 countries, including the U.K., Japan, Germany,… Read more »

Live Earth concert organizers have revealed the lineups for both the U.S. and London legs of what will be a worldwide series of Live Aid-like concerts, scheduled for July 7. The U.S. portion of Live Earth, announced early Tuesday (April 10), will take over New Jersey’s Giants Stadium, and feature an all-star lineup led by Kanye West, Fall Out Boy, AFI, Akon, Kelly Clarkson, Ludacris, Rihanna, and the reunited Smashing Pumpkins. The Police, Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Roger Waters, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, John Mayer, KT Tunstall, and Melissa Etheridge are among the other artists confirmed… Read more »