Search Results for: 2007

Pop star Britney Spears plans to set the record straight about her personal and professional woes in a documentary to be aired shortly before the release of her new album "Circus" in December. In the 90-minute film, "Britney: For the Record," Spears talks about her high-profile meltdown, which included stints in rehab and psychiatric hospital units, an ugly divorce, losing custody of her two sons and shaving her head. "I sit there and I'll look back and I'm like: I'm a smart person. What the hell was I thinking?" the 26-year-old singer says in the documentary shot by filmmaker Phil… Read more »

Epic pop-rock trailblazers Anberlin may have titled their new CD New Surrender, but the Florida rockers have established a take-no-prisoners trajectory when it comes to storming the gates of Billboard’s Top 200, snagging one of the more solid new entry positions this week with their major label debut coming in at #13. The band also snatched the #5 spot the Top Current Rock chart selling over 36,000 copies its first week. The CD is a dynamic and dexterous follow-up to the band’s previous album, Cities, which debuted on the Billboard Album chart at #19. The group has also launched their… Read more »

Paul McCartney is returning to his Fireman alias after a decade away from the musical collaboration with producer Youth. McCartney will release “Electric Arguments” by the Fireman on November 17 via MPL, an imprint of his London-based publishing company. The 13-track album will be manufactured and distributed by U.K. indie One Little Indian worldwide except in the U.S., where ATO will issue it. The third set from the Fireman, “Electric Arguments” is the first to feature vocals and is described as “entirely different” from the dance and electronic music of previous releases. McCartney and Martin “Youth” Glover, a former member… Read more »

In what is being billed as the first time they’ve ever played at the same concert, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel have signed on for a benefit for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on October 16 at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. Other performers have yet to be announced. Tickets range from $500 to $10,000. Springsteen, who endorsed Obama this spring, recently finished a tour with the E Street Band in support of his 2007 album, “Magic.” On Sunday, it was confirmed that the group will play during the Super Bowl halftime show February 1 in Tampa, Florida. Joel, meanwhile, begins… Read more »

Jon Bon Jovi and Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan will perform at this year’s Live Earth concert, when the music extravaganza aimed at raising awareness of climate change heads to India. Last year’s Live Earth spanned four continents and 150 acts were performed over a 24-hour period. But organizers Al Gore and Kevin Wall decided this year to stage only one event in India, in the hopes of bringing their message to the developing world. “India is not the country that created the climate crisis, but it is a developing nation and we need to open doors for local environmental organizations… Read more »

“Corporate radio stations need to show musicians the money” is the title of a piece written by SoundExchange executive director John Simson, published in the San Jose Mercury News back in August. But internet song aggregator Orchard suggests it needs to start following its own advice. Orchard’s Greg Scholl fired off a letter to the Copyright Board, and published in Billboard, arguing that it was time for a major audit of the service, which supposedly is supposed to collect royalty money for redistribution to rights holders. Scholl says it’s very difficult to figure out what SX is doing with the… Read more »

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will pay tribute to the “father of the electric guitar” this fall. Les Paul will be honored at the annual American Music Masters series, a weeklong event that begins Nov. 10, Rock Hall officials said Tuesday. A tribute concert – artists will be named later – is scheduled Nov. 15 at Cleveland’s State Theater. Paul, 93, is hoping to attend, said Rock Hall President and CEO Terry Stewart. “You have an inductee who in some ways maybe has had one of the biggest influences of all our inductees with the creation of his… Read more »

Rock band Fall Out Boy’s fifth album, “Folie a Deux,” will hit shelves November 4, the same day as the U.S. presidential election. Heralding Island’s release of the album, the band on Monday (August 25) released an online mixtape, “Welcome to the New Administration.” On it are five Fall Out Boy demo tracks expected to appear on the album, including “Lake Effect Kid,” “America’s Sweethearts,” “I Don’t Care,” “ALPHAdog and OMEGAlomaniac” and “Catch Me if You Can/Proclamation of Emancipation,” the latter featuring Gym Class Heroes’ Travis McCoy. The album’s first single, “I Don’t Care,” will be released to radio September… Read more »

Madonna kicks off her “Sticky & Sweet” world tour at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Saturday, the latest test of her enduring appeal just a week after her 50th birthday. The “queen of pop” will be hoping to eclipse her last trot across the globe in 2006. “Confessions” became the top-grossing tour ever by a female artist, with ticket sales of $195 million. “Sticky & Sweet,” featuring hits that span nearly 30 years in pop music including her latest album “Hard Candy,” includes 49 dates and is due to wrap up in Sao Paulo on December 18. As of Thursday, roughly… Read more »

The Verve considers its upcoming album, “Forth,” the reunited British group’s first new set in 11 years, to be the beginning of its new era — and the continuation of a career that’s been interrupted by two previous breakups. “This definitely is an ongoing concern; it’s not something that we’re all just gonna chuck away again,” bassist Simon Jones told Billboard.com. “Looking back I don’t think we had to be so blunt and, ‘Alright, we’re splitting up!’ really. We should’ve just chilled out for a bit and taken some time out, to be honest. “But obviously we all had a… Read more »