Search Results for: one direction

So after copping hot wheels that make hearts drop, a crib so plush that even haters have to salute, and enough ice to bring the room temperature down a couple of degrees, what does a multiplatinum rapper do to show he has his floss game down pat? How about spending enough dough to not only be the talk of the town, but to own it? It was exactly that aspiration that led to the title of Nelly’s next album. “I was riding right up by St. Peters, Missouri,” he said last week before a studio session with the Neptunes in… Read more »

What was supposed to be a peaceful, private gathering of the West Coast hip-hop community on Thursday turned into a heated four-hour open-mic assembly dominated by two very different sermons: one from Minister Louis Farrakhan and one from Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight. Tempers flared at the West Coast Hip-Hop Summit inside the posh ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel when Knight spent much of his time at the podium insulting everyone from Dr. Dre, Eminem and Master P to Janet Jackson, women and homosexuals. Knight’s tirades prompted a few outbursts and resulted in several people storming out… Read more »

Universal South, the recently-formed joint venture between Tony Brown, Tim DuBois, and Universal Records, has appointed Bryan Switzer to SVP of Promotion. Based in Nashville, Switzer will develop and implement extensive radio promotional campaigns for such artists as Allison Moorer, Dean Miller, Bering Strait, and Holly Lamar. “We’re thrilled to have someone with Bryan’s experience, knowledge, and passion joining Universal South’s senior management team,” stated Brown. “He has a proven track record in working with and developing the careers of artists, and we are looking forward to his immediate contributions.” “When you combine Bryan’s extensive background in the record business… Read more »

Canadian punkers Sum 41 will begin tracking the follow-up to their 2001 breakthrough, All Killer No Filler, in late April. They have been writing and demo-ing new material during the Tour of the Rising Sum, the band’s first headlining jaunt. Following the conclusion of the tour – which finds the boys rocking the U.S., Japan and Europe – the foursome will enter the studio with plans for a late 2002/early 2003 release. Greig Nori – who manned the board on Sum 41’s debut EP, 2000’s Half Hour of Power – is expected to produce the album. He also serves as… Read more »

When Jean-Marie Messier, the deal-hungry chief of media giant Vivendi Universal, snapped up Seagram and its vast array of entertainment assets last year, the cynics came out in force. How would Messier, a former French banker and civil servant with no experience in the cut-throat and idiosyncratic world of Hollywood, succeed where outsiders had always failed before? And how would the Franco-American conglomerate, with no distribution outlets in the United States to speak of, match the profit potential of rivals like AOL Time Warner Inc., Walt Disney Co. and Viacom Inc. In recent days, Messier has made an ambitious attempt… Read more »

Four of the biggest names in the entertainment industry reveal intimate insights when they join BET Tonight With Ed Gordon for a week of “all-star” celebrity interviews. One of America’s top television interviewers, Gordon sits down this week with Jamie Foxx, R. Kelly, Halle Berry and Will Smith for exclusive insights into their lives and their work. Gordon wraps the week by addressing America’s infatuation with celebrities on his regular Friday night roundtable. Each Friday on the show, Gordon gathers a diverse panel of personalities from various backgrounds for spirited debates on the latest news headlines and topics. The celebrity… Read more »

What do “Pretty Woman” Julia Roberts and “The Material Girl” Madonna have in common besides wealth, fame and beauty? They are the two lone superstars to grace this year’s Hollywood Reporter list of the 50 most influential women in show business, a ranking started 10 years ago to shine the spotlight on the women doing great work behind the scenes. Roberts and Madonna, who ranked No. 3 and 42 respectively on the list, however, were just too powerful to ignore, said officials at the Hollywood Reporter. “We try to make room for the women who have superseded the celebrity aspect… Read more »

Just a little over a year after dropping his multiplatinum third LP, My Name Is Joe, the album’s namesake is preparing to release a follow-up, Better Days, on December 4, his quickest album turnaround ever. “I’m at a good label now,” he said with a smile. “The freedom there is a lot better than it was before. I wasn’t happy where I was, which was Mercury [Records].” The strife caused by recording for Mercury was nothing compared to the anxiety he suffered in the wake of the September 11 attacks. On that unforgettable day, he was sitting in his new… Read more »

Janet Jackson will make her second concert appearance on HBO when the cable network airs “Janet Jackson: All for You: Live in Concert From Hawaii” on February 17. The program, which is expected to feature the greatest hits from Jackson’s two-decade recording career, will be culled from footage shot during a performance at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, according to a Virgin Records spokesperson. The date of that show is still being worked out. Jackson’s first HBO concert, “Janet: The Velvet Rope,” premiered in 1998 and was nominated for four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Music Direction. It won… Read more »

MusicNet today announced the appointment of Alan McGlade as President and CEO. As head of the company, Mr. McGlade will oversee the development and deployment of the MusicNet service, which MusicNet recently announced was being delivered to distribution partners AOL and RealNetworks, as well as programming, distribution and content relations, operations, and all technology initiatives. MusicNet will be headquartered in New York, and the technology development and operations teams will remain in Seattle. Mr. McGlade will also serve on the MusicNet board of directors. “It is a true pleasure to announce that Alan McGlade will be heading up the MusicNet… Read more »