Search Results for: 2003

A woman accusing Roc-A-Fella CEO Damon Dash of sexual assault filed a $15 million lawsuit Tuesday in New York’s State Supreme Court seeking damages. Kirstie Thompson alleges that Dash forced himself on her in the early hours of January 1, 2003, after a New Year’s Eve party in Brazil. Thompson spoke out against Dash in an interview published Wednesday (January 14) in the New York Post, saying she turned down three of Dash’s sexual advances during the party. The 32-year-old told the Post she returned to a hotel room she was sharing with a friend after consuming eight glasses of… Read more »

Aerosmith, will headline the Super Bowl XXXVIII pre-game show at Reliant Stadium in Houston on Sunday, Feb. 1, the NFL announced today. Super Bowl XXXVIII will be televised by CBS to an expected 130 million viewers in the United States and a potential worldwide audience of 1 billion viewers. The Super Bowl is annually the nation’s highest-rated TV program and the most-watched single-day sporting event. Game time is 6 p.m. EST/5 p.m. CST/3 p.m. PST. Said Steven Tyler, “The Super Bowl is Rock and Roll! It’s sexy, it’s slammin’, it’s precision, it’s passion and pure energy. That’s Sweet Emotion to… Read more »

Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Outkast are among the latest performers added to the 46th annual Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy announced Tuesday (January 13). The acts will join previously announced performers the White Stripes at the February 8 ceremony, to be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Former “Mickey Mouse Club” co-stars and 2003 tour mates Justin and Christina will, of course, perform separately, while Andre 3000 and Big Boi will be joined onstage by George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic; Earth, Wind & Fire; and Robert Randolph & the Family Band for a tribute to funk music. Outkast… Read more »

Though U.S. album sales were down last year for the third year in a row – the longest stretch in 20 years – Nielsen SoundScan numbers still contain some bright spots for 2003. For the full year, album sales declined 3.6% to 667.9 million units from the 693.1 scanned in 2002. But when looking at the fourth quarter, album sales rose 4.7% from the October-December period in 2002. That has caused some executives to proclaim that the industry has hit bottom. Indeed, at mid-year, sales were down 8.6%. That gap was closed by the fourth-quarter surge. What’s more, 2004 is… Read more »

Maroon 5 has an incredible 2004 planned with the launch of “This Love,” their second single and video (premiering on MTV on January 6), an upcoming tour with John Mayer and a special live performance on MTV’s Total Request Live on January 13. In 2003, LA’s Maroon 5 saw the fruits of their labors when their debut album, Songs About Jane, was certified gold and their first national headlining tour was all but completely sold out in every market. The band’s first single and video for “Harder To Breathe,” received massive airplay at Top 40, VH1 and MTV. The video… Read more »

Gibson Audio, launched by the Gibson Guitar Corp. in May 2003, will introduce the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox at the Consumer Electronics Show, to be held Jan. 8-11 in Las Vegas. Two of the three Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox models – a floor-standing, all-in-one design featuring a Klipsch speaker system and a component version designed for integration into existing home entertainment equipment – enable users to store 1,000 CDs as Windows Media files and feature a wireless touchscreen remote control. Both will be priced for less than $2,000. The third, which will sell for less than $1,000, is a tabletop model with… Read more »

Although industry-wide album sales were down from the same weeks of last year in the two stanzas prior to Christmas, an extra gift-shopping day during the holiday frame closed 2003 on an up note. With the holiday shifting back a day, from Wednesday in 2002 to Thursday, album sales are up a whopping 20.6% over the same week of the prior year. The final week’s splurge more than compensates for the 5.8% deficit seen the week before the Christmas frame or the 0.5% gap of the year’s 50th week. Further, the 31.3 million album units sold during this Christmas shopping… Read more »

After Simple Plan finish their 2004 headlining tour, the French Canadian pop punkers will hit the studio to work on their second record. And they won’t be starting from scratch. They’ve already written the skeletons for 10 to 15 new songs, not including the new track “Crash and Burn,” which was on a bonus three-song audio CD included with their recent “A Big Package for You: 1999-2003” DVD. The song, which balances an insistent punk beat and buzzing guitars with harmonized vocals, is about the difficulties of returning home after being on the road. “Being away from our families and… Read more »

Jack White of the White Stripes turned himself in to Detroit police Tuesday morning shortly after 8:30 a.m., the city’s police department said. He was arraigned on a charge of aggravated assault for beating up Von Bondies singer and guitarist Jason Stollsteimer in Detroit’s Magic Stick club on December 13, and given a court appearance date, which was not made public. White arrived at the back door of Detroit’s 13th police precinct, had his mug shot taken and faced a judge via teleconference. He was released shortly after on $100 bond and left through the back door, police said. On… Read more »

Bruce Springsteen was the top concert draw across North America in 2003 as more than 1.6 million fans paid to take in his marathon shows and musings on the struggles of the working man. According to preliminary data published on Tuesday by concert trade publication Pollstar, the 54-year-old New Jersey rocker grossed $115.9 million from 47 shows to lead the annual rankings. His tour ranks as the second-biggest of all time, behind the Rolling Stones’ 1994 outing, which grossed $121.2 million. While Pollstar is still calculating final figures, it expects sales for all acts to rise for the fifth consecutive… Read more »