Search Results for: Amy Love

LONDON –  One in 10 albums bought in the United States last year was by a British act, figures from the BPI, which represents the British recorded music business, showed yesterday. The rise to 10 percent from 8.5 percent in 2007 was due to a mixture of established bands like Coldplay which released “VivaLa Vida or Death and All His Friends,” and Radiohead with “In Rainbows” and newer acts like Duffy, Leona Lewis and Estelle. There is one caveat, however. British pop stars are gaining a growing share of a rapidly declining U.S. market. U.S. album sales fell 14 percent… Read more »

Amy Winehouse and Paul McCartney set their recent troubles aside to steal the show Wednesday at the Brit Awards, the British music industry’s most prestigious prizes. Rockers Foo Fighters and British bands Take That and Arctic Monkeys were all double winners at Britain’s equivalent of the Grammys. Although she wasn’t up for any awards, troubled retro-soul diva Winehouse received a rapturous reception when she appeared to perform “Valerie” with Mark Ronson. She followed that up with the sultry ballad “Love is a Losing Game” from her breakthrough album “Back to Black.” Winehouse, who appeared composed and confident, urged the crowd… Read more »

Troubled British singer Amy Winehouse is the perfect poster girl for the current state of the music industry. Music isn’t her problem. Everything else is. That’s exactly the same situation that the music industry – faced with lagging sales, a lack of star power and defection from its biggest moneymakers – finds itself in these days. And when the music industry has problems, the Grammys – celebrating their 50th anniversary Sunday – do as well. Winehouse and her stunning R&B revivalist debut “Back to Black” (Universal Republic) are up for six awards; she’s the only artist nominated in all four… Read more »

2007 was a year of duality for music. While the industry continued to tank, it was quietly a very good year for rock ‘n’ roll and indie music. The Boss returned with his old band, the Police actually got along and even Led Zeppelin reunited. The most exciting music was busy breaking down barriers. Arcade Fire played in intimate churches; Web site TakeAwayShows.com and the film “Once” returned music to the streets; and a certain British band eliminated a very big middle man. “In Rainbows,” Radiohead: The much-ballyhooed online release of “In Rainbows” in some ways obscured what an excellent… Read more »

Ike Turner, whose role as one of rock’s critical architects was overshadowed by his ogrelike image as the man who brutally abused former wife Tina Turner, died Wednesday at his home in suburban San Diego. He was 76. Turner died at his San Marcos home, Scott M. Hanover of Thrill Entertainment Group, which managed Turner’s career, told There was no immediate word on the cause of death, which was first reported by celebrity Web site TMZ.com. Turner managed to rehabilitate his image somewhat in later years, touring around the globe with his band the Kings of Rhythm and drawing critical… Read more »

Kanye West and Amy Winehouse each have had a rough year. He weathered the death of his mother last month, and she has been battling health issues that forced her to cancel scores of shows. But West and Winehouse may at least get some good news at Thursday’s Grammy nominations, where industry insiders predicted they were likely to garner multiple nods. Grammy-nominated producer Sean Garrett said West was a sure bet. The rapper’s third album, “Graduation,” had the year’s biggest debut, selling nearly 1 million copies in its first week, an amazing feat during the industry’s current struggles. Winehouse, though… Read more »

The Grinch might be stealing Christmas from music retailers, but thanks to Josh Groban and Oprah, there’s still some singing in Whoville. For the sales week kicked off by Super Tuesday–the release date before Thanksgiving when record labels typically schedule their big guns–the figures were abnormally bad, with only one Top 10 bow and a seven-week-old album topping the charts. Still, that album, Groban’s Noël, can thank last week’s performance on The Oprah Winfrey Show for driving it past Alicia Keys and into the number one spot. Noël crowned the Billboard 200 by selling 405,000 copies for the week ended… Read more »

McFly’s latest double a-side “Baby Come Back/Transylvania” has put an end to Beyonce and Shakira’s three-week run at the top of the Official UK Top 40, while landing the young pop-rock act their seventh No. 1 single. The track debuts ahead of “Beautiful Liar” which drops to two, while Akon’s “Don’t Matter” jumps up eight spots to three. Gym Class Heroes’ “Cupid’s Chokehold” is at four while Scootch’s Eurovision flop “Flying The Flag” charts at five. The pop trio were ranked 22nd out of 24 at Saturday’s event in Finland. In the rest of this week’s top ten, Linkin Park… Read more »

And then there was one. With the recent departure of drummer Rocky Gray and guitarist John LeCompt, Amy Lee is now the only member of Evanescence left who has been in the band since the release of its smash 2003 breakout album, Fallen. LeCompt was either fired by the band or decided to move on – depending which account you believe – while Gray left of his own accord recently, making them the latest members of the group to fall by the wayside. Original guitarist/ co-founder Ben Moody left in 2003 , and bassist William Boyd quit last June after… Read more »