Search Results for: 2003

In the wake of a major tragedy, some bands and artists find it difficult to stand idly by or wait for someone else to take action. U2, with their politically charged music and frequent humanitarian efforts, are one of those bands. Following news of the shocking destruction of lives and land in southern Asia, U2 posted a call to action on their Web site, asking friends and fans to help the families who lost loved ones in the Indian Ocean earthquake and subsequent tsunami on December 26. In a post on Thursday, the band began by assuring fans that bassist… Read more »

Washington – Members of the rock band The Donnas were kind of glad when Ashlee Simpson was caught lip synching on Saturday Night Live. They were hoping it would show the world the difference between acts like them who never use backing tracks and acts who are all style over substance. Boy, were they disappointed. “We thought, ‘Finally she got caught and she’s going to get punished an everyone’s going to figure it out and it would be like Milli Vanilli, and everyone would return her CDs,’” said guitarist Allison Robertson. Sales of Simpson’s album “Autobiography” dipped for a week… Read more »

Los Angeles – Eminem was the top-seller among last-minute holiday shoppers as “Encore” returned to No. 1 on the U.S. album charts last week after a month-long absence. The rapper’s latest Shady/Aftermath/Interscope set jumped two places after selling 430,000 copies in the week ended Dec. 26, a 36% increase, according to Nielsen SoundScan data issued Wednesday. “Encore” now has three non-consecutive weeks atop the chart, including a two-week stay at No. 1 in November. It took over the top spot from 2Pac’s posthumous “Loyal to the Game” (Amaru/Interscope), which slid to No. 13 with 219,000 copies. Holiday shopping also saw… Read more »

They had throngs of screaming fans, surging popularity and an album gaining chart momentum – but John Nolan and Shaun Cooper, formerly of Taking Back Sunday, left it all behind. “We were just more and more not on the same page as the rest of the band,” said Nolan, now Straylight Run’s frontman. “As time went on, we just had different ideas of what we wanted to do, and eventually it got to the point where it didn’t make sense for us to be in that band anymore”. So Cooper and Nolan ditched the emo-centric Taking Back Sunday and started… Read more »

Eminem apparently learned to be nice this holiday season because Santa gave the usually naughty rapper another number one. Previously ruling the charts for the last two weeks of November, the Shady One’s Encore encored at number one for the week ended Sunday, selling 430,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan data. Em has a record of reentering the top slot, having done it with both The Eminem Show and the 8 Mile soundtrack. His is the fifth album to regain the number one position in 2004, joining discs by OutKast, Ashlee Simpson, Usher and Now That’s What I Call Music!… Read more »

When word came out last week that Hoobastank were canceling the remainder of their U.S. tour, fans began to worry. After all, this isn’t something that happens all the time. For a band that’s been on the road nonstop for more than 14 months to skip out on some shows must mean that something cataclysmic has happened. A meteor striking the Earth. A volcanic eruption. A motorbike accident, like the one guitarist Dan Estrin suffered in 2003. But it actually was a nasty case of bronchial pneumonia that sidelined Hooba frontman Doug Robb, finally bringing their whirlwind four-continent jaunt to… Read more »

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 »

Los Angeles – Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz continued their reign on the year-end Top Independent Albums chart for the second year in a row. The self-proclaimed “Kings of Crunk” finish the year with two of the top five titles on the indie chart. After breaking through in 2003, the Atlanta-bred party-rap trio of Lil Jon, Big Sam and Lil Bo remained steady sellers throughout 2004. The act’s BME/TVT release “Kings of Crunk” has spent more than 100 weeks on the Top Independent Albums chart, and has now led the chart two years running. To date, the album… Read more »

SEATTLE, Wash. – Dwango® Wireless (OTCBB:DWGN), a developer and publisher of entertainment content, applications and mobile lifestyle brands, announced today their release of exclusive audio voice tones from hip-hop artists Styles P and Sheek Louch, members of the LOX and D-Block. This exclusive content deal was done through digital record label INgrooves. Styles P and Sheek Louch first tasted fame as part of a trio for the LOX. After writing songs for Sean “Puffy” Combs’ record label Bad Boy Entertainment, they received international notoriety and multi-platinum status for their tribute to Biggie Smalls, “We’ll Always Love Big Poppa.” The LOX… Read more »

Merchants are describing this year’s holiday-season sales as a roller-coaster ride. That could hardly be said about the full-year sales experience. At least a roller coaster offers the contrast of intermittent highs and lows. Album sales started with one long rise toward a hopeful tally for the first eight months of 2004, followed by a steep decline that stole back most of the year’s advances in just a few weeks, as if a thrill ride had been designed by a party pooper who did not fully grasp the concept. But maybe a better analogy – as Ludacris replaces Jay-Z and… Read more »