Search Results for: IN HER OWN WORDS

There is no part of a Femi Kuti show that doesn’t thrill or educate. It’s a whirlwind of African percussion, and American funk and soul married in a most danceable state by a colorfully dressed ensemble, with Kuti overseeing the maelstrom with either a saxophone or a set of dictum-weighted lyrics. His act, drawing heavily on material from his second album for MCA,”Fight to Win,” continues to set the bar for the term “first-rate” with new music that is loaded with colors softer than the ones found on his debut, “Shoki Shoki,” or in the Afrobeat music of his late… Read more »

Alicia Keys, the 20-year-old hip-hop star who made a big splash this year with her debut album, scored five American Music Award nominations on Tuesday, easily outdistancing her nearest rivals. Ten acts, including late R&B singer Aaliyah, country star Tim McGraw and boy band ‘N Sync, picked up two nominations each, organizers said. The awards, now in their 29th year, will be handed out on Wednesday, Jan. 9, during a ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles. ABC will broadcast the event that night. Winners are determined by a national survey of about 20,000 Americans, who choose from… Read more »

Frantic, screaming fans filled the streets and stopped traffic in the middle of Times Square when Jackson made what his record company called his first-ever in-store appearance, proving he still has luster on his crown. Emerging in front of the Virgin Megastore on a small stage covered with red carpet, Jackson, clad in a blue silk shirt and matching pants, bopped to the sounds of his single “You Rock My World” and threw kisses to the crowd for about a minute before he went back inside the store to sign autographs and promote his new album, Invincible. “Michael! Michael! Michael!”… Read more »

The Beastie Boys passed the mic on Sunday for the first time in two years while also passing along a message of worldwide peace and justice to their fans. Before a sold-out Hammerstein Ballroom crowd that had been jonesing for a B-Boys fix since 1999’s Tibetan Freedom Concert, their last public performance, MCA, Ad-Rock and Mike D performed tunes mostly from their last two albums – Hello Nasty (1998) and Ill Communication (1994) – at the first of two benefit shows raising money for those affected by September’s World Trade Center disaster. The aim of the New Yorkers Against Violence… Read more »

More than 25 artists – from boys (of the Backstreet, ‘NSYNC and O-Town variety) to men (elder statesmen such as Aerosmith, James Brown and Rod Stewart), from vocal queens (Destiny’s Child, Mariah Carey, Carole King) to the King of Pop – took the stage Sunday at RFK Stadium for the all-day United We Stand – What More Can I Give benefit concert for victims of September’s terrorist attacks. Themes of unity and perseverance permeated every performance, with artists often thanking the sold-out crowd for the message they were sending to the rest of the country – that no matter the… Read more »

What do Osama bin Laden, Britney Spears, Bert from “Sesame Street” and the heavy metal band Anthrax have in common? They were all among the top searches on Internet Web sites for the last week, proving yet again the Internet is nothing if not a mix of serious news alongside a funhouse of wacky pop culture mania, boy bands and hoaxes. Web searches for anthrax, the deadly bacteria that has been mailed to some government and news offices, led many confused surfers to the Web site of the heavy metal band of the same name. “The boys of ‘the good… Read more »

Stevie Wonder was the surprise musical guest at the all-star Wave Of Peace smooth jazz fundraising show on Sunday (October 14) at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles. His appearance prompted an already highly charged audience to leap to its feet. Accompanying himself on piano during one of the last sets of the three-hour show, Wonder launched into some straight-ahead jazz variations on “Giant Steps” before playing compositions like “Overjoyed” and “Ribbon In The Sky.” Wonder was the only previously unannounced guest on a bill packed with smooth jazz greats. The event was organized by saxophonist Dave Koz and… Read more »

No Doubt began as a good-time ska-party band, full of California sunshine. But in the last few years, that’s been obscured by smog: bruised egos within the band, gloomy lyrics and weak record sales for last year’s Return of Saturn. The bad times are all gone on their upcoming album, Rock Steady, reports singer Gwen Stefani. “We’re not taking ourselves so seriously,” she says. “It’s like, get over it. We’re a fucking band and we’re really lucky to be doing what we do.” Rock Steady, out December 18th, is a sweet pop confection, made with arrays of keyboards, a dance-floor… Read more »

Elton John joined rock up-and-comer Ryan Adams on stage at New York’s Irving Plaza Wednesday (October 3) to perform a pair of songs. John took a seat at the piano to accompany Adams on the singer-songwriter’s “La Cienega Just Smiled” and then fronted the group for a version of his own classic, “Rocket Man.” John and Adams have struck up a friendship in recent months-the pop/rock legend even thanked Adams for “inspir[ing] me to do better” in the liner notes of his new album, Songs From The West Coast. Meanwhile, Adams responded on the notes to his own new release,… Read more »

Christina Aguilera’s golden locks, Fred Durst’s backward ball cap, Gwen Stefani’s rainbow makeup and Justin Timberlake’s freshly grown peach fuzz took a back seat Thursday to a look unprecedented even in popular music – blindfolds. “I feel like I’m playing pin the tail on the donkey,” Aguilera quipped in between takes during the first day of shooting proper videos for three all-star remakes of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.” Many of the artists who contributed to the project – from Ja Rule to Staind’s Aaron Lewis to Alicia Keys – will don blindfolds for the video shoot, which heads to… Read more »