Search Results for: one direction

Usher’s latest confession: the wedding’s off. While word leaked earlier this week that the Grammy winner and his longtime girlfriend–and soon baby mama–Tameka Foster were due to tie the knot in a Hamptons ceremony Saturday, on the morning of the big day, Usher’s publicist confirmed that wedding bells would not be ringing. “It was announced today that the wedding ceremony for Usher Raymond, IV and Tameka Foster was canceled,” publicist Patti Webster told the Associated Press. “No additional information will be given regarding the circumstances of the cancellation, but we hope the privacy of this matter will be respected.” The… Read more »

Last month, when the Dillinger Escape Plan revealed that founding drummer Chris Pennie had left the highly technical mathcore outfit to join progressive rockers Coheed and Cambria, no one wanted to believe it. The surprise move baffled the band’s allegiant fans almost as much as it confused the Dillinger dudes, who started to wonder if Pennie had been fostering some strange, secret obsession with unicorns and minotaurs.”We found out about him playing with Coheed on the Internet,” explained guitarist Ben Weinman. “[Frontman] Greg [Puciato] forwarded me a link to an announcement, and I’m like, ‘What?!?’ At that point, though, he… Read more »

Live Nation is now in the live Maroon 5 business. And not just for one tour. Billboard has learned that the promoter has not only cut a deal to produce rock act Maroon 5’s 28-city fall arena tour, but both parties have also committed to a full-blown Live Nation amphitheater tour for summer 2008. Maroon 5 will play at least 60 shows under the Live Nation banner by the end of next year. The deal follows previous statements by Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino that he wants to extend the life of the relationship between artist and promoter beyond one… Read more »

In October, the hard-partying, grill-sporting dudes in Avenged Sevenfold will release the self-titled follow-up to 2005’s City of Evil, the band’s breakout LP that’s sold close to 810,000 copies in the U.S. alone. The album is the California metalcore act’s first attempt at self-producing, but according to frontman M. Shadows, that wasn’t always the plan.”We were going to do it with Rob Cavallo,” said Shadows, referring to the producer behind Green Day’s 2004 LP American Idiot and My Chemical Romance’s 2006 effort The Black Parade. “It was such a great match – he loved the songs we’d been working on.… Read more »

If the Click Five had sold more copies of its debut album, the Boston pop band might be in an even trickier position than it is now. Modest sales, an executive at the group’s Atlantic Records label says, are precisely what enabled the Click Five to survive the departure of original lead singer Eric Dill, who quit last year during preproduction for the follow-up to 2005’s “Greetings From Imrie House.” “The band had achieved a good deal of success,” says Andy Karp, head of A&R at Atlantic, pointing to “Imrie House” sales of 333,000 copies. “But they hadn’t really become… Read more »

Fall Out Boy’s headlining stint on this year’s Honda Civic Tour had a rough beginning last month. In fact, the trek didn’t start at all. In April, two weeks before they were slated to hit the road, FOB announced that the 43-city North American run would be delayed a month due to “health concerns.” Now the tour is finally under way – it began Friday in Denver . But at the kickoff, it was another artist on the bill who was drawing a lot of the attention: Paul Wall. The People’s Champ is the only hip-hop artist on a bill… Read more »

The last time Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs took on major recording companies, he refused to budge on his 99-cent price for a song on iTunes. As a new round of talks ramp up this month, however, Jobs has opened the door to higher prices – as long as music companies let Apple Inc. sell their songs without technology designed to stop unauthorized copying. Jobs contends that would “tear down the walls” by allowing consumers to play music they buy at Apple’s iTunes store on any digital music player, not just the company’s iPods. Although most of the major labels… Read more »

The one thing fans will immediately notice about Ozzy Osbourne’s forthcoming LP Black Rain is that it’s drenched in some of the heaviest riffage to grace one of the Prince of Darkness’ solo outings – thanks, in large part, to Ozzy’s longtime guitarist, the Jack Daniel’s-chugging Zakk Wylde. According to Osbourne, there were times during the tracking of the album when he wondered whether the songs were too abrasive. But you see, Ozzy’s got this personal rule about making music. “If you’re heavy, don’t try to be f—ing light,” he explained. Wise words from a man whose stamp on the… Read more »

The company representing The Beatles has settled a 30 million-pound ($59 million) royalty dispute with EMI Group, in a deal that could finally pave the way for the Liverpool band’s music to go online. Apple Corps, the company owned by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison, said in December 2005 it would sue the record company after negotiations broke down. Apple Corps said an audit had determined EMI had not been fulfilling the terms of its contract. “We have settled on mutually acceptable terms and there will be no further comment,” a spokeswoman… Read more »

Less than 24 hours after checking into her second rehabilitation clinic in a week, Britney Spears has left the facility. According to a source close to the singer, Spears left the Promises Malibu Alcohol and Drug Rehab Treatment Facility in Malibu, California, at 8 a.m. P.T. on Wednesday (February 21). Last week, Spears briefly visited the Crossroads Centre, a treatment facility on the Caribbean island of Antigua, only to leave less than a day later. This time, her family and manager intervened, and announced yesterday that Spears had voluntarily entered rehab . “We ask that the media respect her privacy… Read more »