Search Results for: CANADA

R&B singer Mary J. Blige recently told AP that she and her boyfriend got engaged during the holiday season. Blige had been romantically linked to singers K-Ci Hailey and Case in the past, and she hasn’t set a date for the wedding, but promises that it will be a small private affair. Blige, who recently celebrated her 31st birthday, has never been married and has no children. As for the singer’s groom-to-be, his identity has remained confidential throughout the courtship, but it is only a matter of time before his cover is blown. Prior to the engagement, LAUNCH spoke to… Read more »

Elton John has signed on to perform at the NBA’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia next month. John will first play “Philadelphia Freedom” as the 2002 All-Stars take the floor at the First Union Center as part of specially choreographed introductions before tip-off. He will then return at the game’s halftime to play two songs-his latest single, “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore,” and 1983’s “I’m Still Standing.” The NBA All-Star Game will air live on NBC in the U.S. and CTV in Canada starting at 5 p.m. ET on February 10. It will air in a total of 210 countries… Read more »

Nickelback is continuing its tour of Canada, after one of its equipment trucks was involved in an accident on Tuesday (January 22). The band was en route to Victoria when a semi transporting logs clipped the second of Nickelback’s trucks, which was filled with the band’s gear. The driver of the semi had fallen asleep. When he woke, he swerved to miss the band’s first equipment truck, and then smashed into Nickelback’s second truck, taking out its rear view mirror and windshield. The semi kept driving, and the driver of the second truck was stuck driving to the next city… Read more »

Blink 182 has finally unveiled the video for the song “First Date,” which was shot in Vancouver last August. In typical Blink fashion, the group does its best to infuse comedy into the clip. “We shot it in Canada over the summer and I think it’s our best video by far,” explained Mark Hoppus. “I think it’s the funniest video…it’s just a video with a lot of character. We’re ’70s stoners just cruising the streets of Southern California…We’re ’70s stoners propelled into the future.” “First Date” was directed by Emmit and Brendan Malloy. New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert makes… Read more »

Virgin Recommends artist Rufus Wainwright will begin his first-ever headlining tour with a full band beginning on Feb 8 at Boston’s Avalon Ballroom, and ending Mar 9 in San Francisco at the famed Fillmore. The coast-to-coast North American endeavor lies in the wake of the singer/songwriter/keyboardist/guitarist’s critically-hailed album, Poses (Dreamworks), appearing in the #1 spot on Billboard’s Heatseeker’s Chart. It also comes on the brink of a new emotive song, a Beatle’s cover featured on the I Am Sam soundtrack , “Across The Universe,” where Sean Lennon accompanies him on guitar. Wainwright performed the song on The Tonight Show With… Read more »

Forget Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, a sure bet to impress audiences at next month’s NBA All-Star weekend is Britney Spears. The pop star will be shooting out lyrics – not basketballs – when she performs during a television special organized by the National Basketball Association to promote literacy, according to Spears’ spokesperson. Spears and other artists to be announced will perform at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on February 9 for the “The NBA All-Star Read to Achieve Celebration.” NBC, TNT, Nickelodeon, BET, NBA.comTV and Canada’s MuchMusic will broadcast the special live simultaneously at 11 a.m. ET. (MTV’s parent company,… Read more »

Forget Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, a sure bet to impress audiences at next month’s NBA All-Star weekend is Britney Spears. The pop star will be shooting out lyrics – not basketballs – when she performs during a television special organized by the National Basketball Association to promote literacy, according to Spears’ spokesperson. Spears and other artists to be announced will perform at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on February 9 for the “The NBA All-Star Read to Achieve Celebration.” NBC, TNT, Nickelodeon, BET, NBA.comTV and Canada’s MuchMusic will broadcast the special live simultaneously at 11 a.m. ET. (MTV’s parent company,… Read more »

The world’s largest record company will be the first of the major labels to release a copy-protected CD in the United States, signaling a new chapter in the industry’s efforts to stem music piracy. When Universal Music Group on Tuesday releases the soundtrack, “Fast & Furious – More Music,” consumers won’t be able to copy the music onto another CD or use their PCs to “rip” tracks in digital MP3 format. The copy-protection technology will also render the disc unplayable on Macintosh computers, DVD players and game consoles, such as Sony’s PlayStation 2. It might not even play in some… Read more »

Grammy-winning recording star Alanis Morissette is planning a February release for her first album of all-new material in more than three years, followed by a world tour, her publicist said on Wednesday. The new CD, “Under Rug Swept,” is a collection of 11 songs written and produced entirely by Morissette without the assistance of longtime collaborator Glen Ballard, who co-wrote and produced her first two U.S. major-label releases, starting with 1995’s “Jagged Little Pill.” The new album’s first single, “Hands Clean,” described as a song about a former relationship, is due out in mid-January, with the album set for release… Read more »

Recipients of the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award and Trustees Awards were announced today by Michael Greene, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. Pianist and band leader Count Basie and recording artists Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Al Green, and Joni Mitchell will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards. Engineer/producer Tom Dowd and original rock disc jockey Alan Freed will be honored with Trustees Awards. Formal acknowledgment of the awards will be made in conjunction with the 44th Annual GRAMMY ® Awards ceremony, which willbe held at Los Angeles’ Staples Center on Wednesday, Feb. 27. The show will be a prime-time television special on… Read more »