Search Results for: one direction

Sony Corp.’s earnings plunged 26 percent for the latest quarter as expenses for job cuts and other restructuring costs and lower profits from its electronics, moviemaking and video games business offset profit improvement in its music business. But the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant said Wednesday its sales rose for the October-December quarter and it boosted its profit forecast for the year due to a gain on a currency investment. Sony said it earned 92.6 billion yen ($875 million) in the October-December period, down from 125 billion yen a year earlier. Sales inched up 0.7 percent to 2.32 trillion yen… Read more »

Lead guitarist Johnny Quaid and keyboardist Danny Cash have quit My Morning Jacket after four years in the band. Both departures were amicable and both Quaid and Cash cited a desire to step back from the rigorous work schedule that the Louisville, Kentucky, troupe took on in support of its third album and major-label debut, 2003’s It Still Moves. Quaid and Cash were on board for MMJ’s debut, 1999’s Tennessee Fire, and its other independent release, 2001’s At Dawn. With buzz from press and other musicians over their high-energy live shows and unique brand of reverb-drenched rock & roll, the… Read more »

Janet Jackson knows sexy – from her topless Rolling Stone cover to videos like the Herb Ritts-directed “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” – but producer Dallas Austin promises her new album is “easily the most sexy thing she’s done.” “Guys won’t know what to do with themselves after this,” he said, laughing at the prospect. “It’s one of the best records she’s made.” Austin said he’s produced five songs with Janet already, having worked with her over the last few months at his DARP Studios in Atlanta. Janet’s still-untitled album is due March 30, according to a spokesperson for… Read more »

The big question as we enter 2004 is simply “Do you want some?” The answer will come when Liam Gallagher and elder brother Noel return to the fray with the new Oasis album later this year. Although to some the Mancunian brothers’ group may be too tied up with the hangover of ’90s Britpop to ever be a potent force again, they are still undoubtedly one of the biggest rock groups in the country. They do like to tread water, however, and a much-needed change in direction may finally come with the introduction of Death In Vegas man Richard Fearless… Read more »

The third time is feeling like a charm for Pink. The popster-turned-rockster – in the middle of promotions for her latest disc, “Try This” – battled her way to creative freedom, which surprisingly for her, came with mainstream success and a few other rewards. “I never expected (second album) “M!ssundaztood” to be that commercial and that successful, and that was a blessing,” Miss Pink said Thursday before going on stage at Motorola’s fifth annual talk-of-the-town holiday bash benefiting Toys for Tots. “The lyrics got out to a lot of people, and I feel like I’ve done it my way and… Read more »

Gwen Stefani’s getting a little help from a lot of friends on her upcoming solo record, but so far, her favorite pairing comes from one of her oldest friends of all – No Doubt bandmate Tony Kanal. Stefani’s not lacking for people to work with – if anything, she’s got enough names for several solo albums to span several different genres, with the Neptunes, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Outkast, the Matrix, Linda Perry, Tim Armstrong, Nellee Hooper, the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, Dallas Austin and Damon Elliott all among her known collaborators. The hodgepodge of songwriters and producers, though, was… Read more »

If you can believe it, Britney Spears would like people to focus on her music, not her midriff. But seeing is believing, and since the debut of her music video “I’m a Slave 4 U” two years ago, fans have seen Spears take an increasingly provocative journey into sexual exhibitionism. From her love life to her infamous MTV Video Music Awards kiss with Madonna to her National Football League kickoff concert and her most recent performance in New York’s Times Square, the artist has tested the limits of her sexuality. But now comes the moment of truth. With her new… Read more »

Continuing to labor away in a Los Angeles studio, Avril Lavigne was reluctant to give too much away about the follow-up to 2002’s Let Go. She promised, however, that when she returns to the fray with her second album, she won’t be the wide-eyed newbie she was a year ago. “I’m a lot wiser now,” she said. “Now I know what the business is like – what you have to do and how to work it. As a writer, I’m growing and my guitar-playing is getting better. I know what it’s all about now, so I’m ready to go back… Read more »

The early buzz on the new Britney Spears album was that it would be adventurous, atmospheric and above all, adult. Two out of three ain’t bad. Sure, Britney has a bit of a trip-hop vibe on her upcoming album, just not enough to justify her love for her mentor Madonna’s latter-day direction. In the Zone is by no means Britney’s Ray of Light. Instead, Spears’ fourth album jumps stylistically all over the place, from techno to hip-hop, even to reggae, with thumping, tribal dance songs being the predominant flavor, save for a touching ballad or two. The only thematic connection… Read more »

The record industry’s trade group has warned 204 people suspected of illegally swapping music over the Internet that it plans to file lawsuits against them. The Recording Industry Association of America started mailing sternly worded warnings last week. Unlike last month’s crackdown against 261 alleged song sharers, the targets are being notified before lawsuits are filed. “In light of the comments we have heard, we want to go the extra mile and offer illegal file sharers an additional chance to work this out, short of legal action,” said RIAA president Cary Sherman. The letters give the recipients 10 days to… Read more »