Search Results for: Backstreet Boys

Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. have nothing to worry about, but a university known more for churning out engineers than hit music is starting its own record label. Drexel University’s MAD Dragon Records expects to put out its first CD – a compilation of eight or nine bands – next year. The student-run label will be an integral part of Drexel’s fledgling music industry program, which in only three years has grown from eight students to more than 150. Students will be in charge of artist development, production, recording, marketing, contracts and distribution, while MAD Dragon musicians – also students… Read more »

Brotherly pop trio Hanson, who unwittingly ignited a teen pop craze when they stormed the charts six years ago with the catchy anthem “MMMBop,” are stripping down this summer. Isaac, Taylor and Zach Hanson have recorded their first album in three years, “Underneath,” and will lay the groundwork for its release early next year by launching an acoustic tour next month. They also will sell an acoustic record at the shows. Casual fans who still carry an image in their minds of three cherubic, pubescent youngsters are in for a surprise. All are strapping young men, and middle brother, Taylor,… Read more »

The first date of Nick Carter’s solo tour in support of his debut album, Now Or Never, was postponed due to the blizzard that blanketed much of the East Coast with snow on Monday (February 17). “I hope the weather hasn’t affected anyone too badly,” said Carter. “I’m really excited about getting on the road to perform for my fans.” Carter was to perform in Pittston, Pennsylvania, on Monday, but was forced to cancel the scheduled performance. The second date of Carter’s tour-scheduled for the Vanderbilt in Plainview, New York-was postponed from Tuesday (February 18) to Saturday (February 22). Opening… Read more »

Boy-band hitmaker Lou Pearlman is the target of a state probe into complaints that hundreds of aspiring models and actors were duped into paying up to $1,500 each for spots on his company’s Web site. Clients say they were led to believe that Pearlman’s company, Trans Continental Talent Inc., would help them find work – not just post their pictures online. The investigation, which began in August, has turned up “hundreds of potential violations” but no one who actually landed a job through the company, Assistant Attorney General Jackie Dowd said. Pearlman, best known for launching the Backstreet Boys and… Read more »

Pre-teens may be tiring of pop idols like Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys, but it seems the R&B community is waking up to Justin Timberlake. The ‘N Sync singer on Monday picked up two Soul Train Music Award nominations, the only white performer to get a mention. Rookie soul divas Ashanti and Amerie led the contenders with three nominations each, while Timberlake was among four acts to earn two apiece, the others being singers Musiq and Nelly, British soul duo Floetry and urban boy band B2K. Winners will be announced during the 17th annual Soul Train Awards, which will… Read more »

Nick Carter will launch his first solo tour on February 17, and from the looks of it, he’s going to have to get used to playing much smaller stages than he did with the Backstreet Boys. Carter will kick things off with a date at the Staircase in Pittston, Pennsylvania. The 17-date theater tour in support of his solo debut, Now or Never, is currently scheduled to run through a March 9 date at the Fillmore in San Francisco, according to his spokesperson. The solo stint comes on the heels of a $75 million lawsuit Backstreet Boys filed in November… Read more »

Canadian female pop-rocker Avril Lavigne will perform at the second annual MTV Asia Awards, scheduled to be held next year at Singapore Indoor Stadium on January 24. The 17-year-old Lavigne has been nominated in two award categories, favorite female artist and favorite breakthrough artist, bolstered by her debut album Let Go. The album’s first hit, “Complicated,” has been inescapable on the airwaves this year, and Let Go has sold more than seven million albums worldwide since its release this spring. Other artists scheduled to perform at the ceremony are Missy Elliott and the Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter. The awards program… Read more »

Backstreet Boy Nick Carter performed a 40-minute concert for students of Wilmot High School, which won a contest by donating more than 10 tons of food for the needy. “I’m a small-town kind of guy,” said Carter, who was born in Jamestown, N.Y., and grew up in upstate New York and in a small Florida town. The Backstreet Boys ignited the recent teen pop craze when they stormed the U.S. charts in 1998 with their self-titled debut, a smash album that was followed by other multiplatinum discs. Carter, 22, recently released his debut solo album, “Now or Never.” He sang… Read more »

Bertelsmann Music Group has completed its Jive lessons. The major label group said Tuesday it has closed its acquisition of Zomba Music Group, home to teen-pop label Jive Records, paying more than $2.74 billion to acquire the stakes in the closely held group it didn’t already own. BMG already held 20% of Zomba’s record labels and 25% of its music-publishing portfolio. The deal, which got rolling in June after Zomba owner Clive Calder triggered a long-standing “put” option to sell his interest, gives BMG full access to Jive’s roster of pop megastars, including ‘N Sync, Britney Spears and the Backstreet… Read more »

Even though Nick Carter has sold more than 36 million records as one of the Backstreet Boys, he thinks of himself as just another new artist with the debut of his “Now or Never” album. “I’m really… like somebody who hasn’t sold a record,” says Carter, the youngest member of the group and the first to release a solo album. But he’s got one advantage over other aspiring singers: an instant fan base. Some two dozen fans waited outside his midtown Manhattan hotel recently, hoping to see him. “These are the small things that mean so much to me,” says… Read more »