Search Results for: dixie chicks

Los Angles – You only need one word to sum up the year in pop 2004: Usher. Clearly, it was his house. The rest of us were just overnight visitors. It began innocently enough, right at the beginning of the calendar year. On the Billboard Hot 100 dated Jan. 10, 2004 (coincidentally, the 55th anniversary of the introduction of the 45 rpm record), the highest new entry was “Yeah!” by Usher Featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris. Six weeks later, “Yeah!” had assumed pole position, and remained there for 12 weeks, tying it as the longest-running No. 1 (with “Lose Yourself”… Read more »

Las Vegas – On November 6, 2004, YANNI will tape his first TV special in seven years, and his first ever in America, from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The TV special will be filmed live from the opening performance of his upcoming YANNI LIVE 2004/5 World Tour. His last three television specials were recorded in spectacular overseas locations at the Acropolis in Greece, the Taj Mahal in India, The Forbidden City in China and at London’s legendary Royal Albert Hall. The show will be a 16-camera production shot on High Definition and will include a… Read more »

John Mellencamp hasn’t appeared at the MTV Video Music Awards since the mid-1980s, but the singer says the right cause will bring him to Sunday’s live telecast in Miami. “I’m going to talk about freedom of speech and protest songs,” the Bloomington musician said Thursday. “And then I’m introducing Outkast.” Mellencamp will join younger stars such as Usher, Jessica Simpson and Dave Chappelle on the program, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on the cable network. An MTV spokesman wouldn’t reveal what song Outkast plans to perform. The hip-hop duo, nominated for five awards, has recorded songs titled… Read more »

After Bruce Springsteen announced plans to participate in the anti-Bush concert tour, Vote for Change, a New York candidate for U.S. Senate has countered with a “Boycott the Boss” television spot. Conservative Party candidate Marilyn O’Grady appears in a 30-second televison commercial, urging her supporters to show their solidarity to Bush by not buying Springsteen’s music. “He thinks making millions with a song-and-dance routine allows him to tell you how to vote,” O’Grady says in the spot. “Here’s my vote: Boycott the Boss. If you don’t buy his politics, don’t buy his music.” (The spot makes no mention of O’Grady’s… Read more »

Elton John tells Interview magazine that the U.S. government is using “bullying tactics” to prevent anti-war music from being heard, and that performers are so scared that they are just letting it happen. “There’s an atmosphere of fear in America right now and that is deadly,” John explained, according to the New York Daily News, noting, “Everyone is too career-conscious. They’re all too scared… things have changed.” The British pianist pointed out that supporters of the war in Iraq-such as country star Toby Keith-are given free reign, while the Dixie Chicks faced a huge backlash after singer Natalie Maines made… Read more »

Worried you won’t be able to land a ticket to your favorite concert this summer? Not to fear, the music industry has a club you can join. For a small fee. In a trend that started with the Grateful Dead and has taken off in recent years, artists are offering tickets to members of their fan clubs before sales open to the general public. Even some venues have exclusive – and pricey – clubs fans can join with the promise of premier seating. The artist fan clubs offer an increased chance – but no guarantee – of getting a concert… Read more »

Beyoncé Knowles, multiplatinum sweetheart of the music award show circuit this year, was exhausted. She’d just appeared on the Vibe Awards and breathlessly arrived across town just in time to change clothes and take bows at the VH1 Awards. “Too many,” she said as she leaned against a wall backstage. Bad planning by VH1 and Vibe? Not really, there were four award shows that week including the American Music Awards and they were bound to butt heads somewhere. With television networks relentlessly reaching for younger viewers, an unprecedented 26 music award shows are now on cable and network TV. “There’s… Read more »

Bruce Springsteen was the top concert draw across North America in 2003 as more than 1.6 million fans paid to take in his marathon shows and musings on the struggles of the working man. According to preliminary data published on Tuesday by concert trade publication Pollstar, the 54-year-old New Jersey rocker grossed $115.9 million from 47 shows to lead the annual rankings. His tour ranks as the second-biggest of all time, behind the Rolling Stones’ 1994 outing, which grossed $121.2 million. While Pollstar is still calculating final figures, it expects sales for all acts to rise for the fifth consecutive… Read more »

Sony Corp. plans to launch a music download service in the spring, vice chairman Howard Stringer said Thursday at a gathering of electronics dealers in Paris. Stringer briefly mentioned the initiative during a presentation with Kunitake Ando, president and group chief operating officer of Sony Corp. “We believe in maximizing the opportunities for people to enjoy music by making networks much friendlier places to visit and easier to obtain music from – in a legal manner,” said Stringer, who also is chairman and CEO of Sony Corp. of America. Few details were disclosed at the Sony Dream World exhibition, but… Read more »