Search Results for: carrie underwood

Troubled British singer Amy Winehouse is the perfect poster girl for the current state of the music industry. Music isn’t her problem. Everything else is. That’s exactly the same situation that the music industry – faced with lagging sales, a lack of star power and defection from its biggest moneymakers – finds itself in these days. And when the music industry has problems, the Grammys – celebrating their 50th anniversary Sunday – do as well. Winehouse and her stunning R&B revivalist debut “Back to Black” (Universal Republic) are up for six awards; she’s the only artist nominated in all four… Read more »

Madonna is the richest woman in music. The 49-year-old entertainer leads Forbes.com’s list of the top 20 “Cash Queens of Music,” earning $72 million between June 2006 and June 2007. The pop star’s “Confessions” world tour pulled in $260 million, Forbes said. She also made money from album sales, her fashion line with H&M and a deal with NBC to broadcast her concert performance at London’s Wembley Stadium. Forbes.com said it compiled the list by examining concert grosses, merchandising revenue, album sales and other revenue from clothing lines, fragrance deals and endorsements. Barbra Streisand is No. 2 with $60 million,… Read more »

Ashlee Simpson is no more of a threat to Fall Out Boy’s success than Pete Wentz’s affinity for eyeliner. So says the band’s guitarist Joe Trohman, who didn’t take kindly to a New York Daily News gossip item about a source telling OK! that the younger Simpson sis was “poison” to the pop-punk rockers, and could possibly be part of the reason why 2007’s Infinity on High didn’t score any Grammy nods. The group’s “pal” reportedly told the magazine that Grammy voters have been put off by Simpson since she was caught lip-synching on Saturday Night Live in 2004. “This… Read more »

Josh Groban’s “Noel” led the U.S. pop album charts for a third week Wednesday, tying Elvis Presley as the record-holder for the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 with a Christmas album. Now in its ninth week of release, “Noel” moved 581,000 units in the period ended December 9, according to Nielsen SoundScan, an 8% boost over the previous frame. Presley’s “Elvis’ Christmas Album,” meanwhile, ruled the charts for three weeks in 1957. Alicia Keys’ “As I Am” rose one to No. 2 with 234,000 copies, swapping places with the Eagles’ “Long Road Out of Eden,” which sold 204,000. The… Read more »

The Grinch might be stealing Christmas from music retailers, but thanks to Josh Groban and Oprah, there’s still some singing in Whoville. For the sales week kicked off by Super Tuesday–the release date before Thanksgiving when record labels typically schedule their big guns–the figures were abnormally bad, with only one Top 10 bow and a seven-week-old album topping the charts. Still, that album, Groban’s Noël, can thank last week’s performance on The Oprah Winfrey Show for driving it past Alicia Keys and into the number one spot. Noël crowned the Billboard 200 by selling 405,000 copies for the week ended… Read more »

The Eagles will perform during this fall’s Country Music Association Awards for the first time, a nod to the success of their new single, “How Long,” on country radio. The song is from the group’s first new studio album in 28 years, “Long Road out of Eden,” which will be released next month. The single is No. 26 and rising on the Billboard country chart. “From the early ’70s this group has defined country rock, and more than three decades later they are still creating music that resonates with our audience,” said CMA chief operating officer Tammy Genovese. The 41st… 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 »

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 »

LOS ANGELES – In the weeks leading up to the 49th Grammy Awards, many miles of verbiage were unspooled by slick-suited TV pundits and somewhat bitter music journalists to dissect, predict and pick apart music’s biggest night. But as the awards themselves actually unfolded, live from the Staples Center, it was the moments in which very little – if anything at all – was said that carried the most weight. Whether it was the Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines simply – and somewhat fittingly – quoting “The Simpsons” in a kiss-off to the group’s many critics; Chris Brown’s footstep-perfect rendition of… Read more »