Search Results for: GOLD

Michael Jackson’s long-awaited new album looks set to enter the charts at number one, according to mid-week sales figures. Jackson’s “Invincible,” released in Britain on Monday, is expected to sell between 100,000 and 150,000 in its first week, says HMV chart expert Gennaro Castaldo. “He is in the number one position and is outselling Steps’ ‘Gold Collection’ by a margin of three to one,” Castaldo told Reuters on Tuesday. “His sales are about the same as the rest of the top five combined.” “Invisible” cost an estimated $30.5 million and is Jackson’s first album of all-new material since “Dangerous” in… Read more »

Jermaine Dupri says fame has not gone to his protégé Lil’ Bow Wow’s head. On the contrary, in a couple of weeks the rhyming teen titan will be letting everyone know just how grateful he is for his success when he releases “Thank You,” the first single off his Doggy Bag album. “It’s a song directed to the fans,” Dupri said Wednesday from his Atlanta studio. “The song is thanking everybody, not just the fans. [He’s thanking the] mom-and-pop retail stores, just everybody who had a hand in helping Bow sell 3 million records.” The producer said he’s been working… Read more »

Retailers have seen a groundswell in demand for music with patriotic themes in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, sending record labels scrambling to keep the supply coming. That fervor helped to drive Columbia Records’ benefit compilation “God Bless America” to No. 1 in an otherwise quiet week for music sales. Nearly 181,000 copies of “God Bless America” headed out the door in the week ended Oct. 21, according to data compiled by SoundScan. Columbia parent Sony Music said a “substantial portion” of proceeds from the release, which includes tracks by Celine Dion, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, will… Read more »

More than 25 artists – from boys (of the Backstreet, ‘NSYNC and O-Town variety) to men (elder statesmen such as Aerosmith, James Brown and Rod Stewart), from vocal queens (Destiny’s Child, Mariah Carey, Carole King) to the King of Pop – took the stage Sunday at RFK Stadium for the all-day United We Stand – What More Can I Give benefit concert for victims of September’s terrorist attacks. Themes of unity and perseverance permeated every performance, with artists often thanking the sold-out crowd for the message they were sending to the rest of the country – that no matter the… Read more »

Carole King-Her Greatest Hits (Songs of Long Ago), has been certified platinum by the RIAA on September 4. The compilation was originally released in March, 1978 and reissued by Sony Legacy in May, 1999. This certification joins Music and Rhymes & Reasons as King’s third Platinum album award, which she now adds to six Gold albums and her Diamond award-winning 1971 album Tapestry. Tapestry stayed on Billboard magazine’s Top 200 album chart for an incredible 302 consecutive weeks and was the best-selling solo album by a female artist for over 25 years. Her 24th solo album release, Love Makes The… Read more »

Virgin Records’ critically acclaimed, gold-certified, robotic duo, Daft Punk, are set to release Alive 1997 on November 6th – the band’s first live album release! Alive 1997 is an immediate must-have for all Daft Punk fans as only 50,000 copies will be manufactured in the United States. The idea for Alive 1997 started when Daft Punk happened upon a live recording captured from a stellar performance in Birmingham, UK during their first European tour. After listening to the recording, the duo decided that it was their best live performance ever and wanted to share it with Daft Punk fans worldwide.… Read more »

Beyonce Knowles, one-third of pop/R&B sensation Destiny’s Child, is in advanced negotiations to make her feature film debut as the female lead in New Line Cinema’s “Austin Powers 3: Goldmember” for director Jay Roach. Production is scheduled to begin next month for a July 26 release date. The project will mark Knowles’ second outing as an actress; she made her debut this year in the title role of the MTV telefilm “Carmen: A Hip Hopera.” The third installment of “Austin Powers,” written by Mike Myers and Michael McCullers, continues the adventures of the swinging ’60s superspy and his nemesis, Dr.… Read more »

Mobb Deep’s “Burn,” the group’s first single serviced to the street from the highly anticipated “Infamy” album, is starting to heat up on the mix show and mix tape circuit. The hard-hitting cut from Havoc and Prodigy features guest vocals from long-time Mobb collaborator Big Noyd as well as Murder Inc’s Vita, best known for her inspired work with Ja Rule on his “Put It On Me” single. Vita, who handles the chorus on “Burn,” puts suckers on alert: “When will you ever learn, keep playing with that fire, that ass’ll get burned?” “Burn” also provides the public with its… Read more »

A fire erupted Tuesday afternoon (October 9) at the building housing Hit Factory Recording Studios, birthplace of records by artists ranging from John Lennon to Notorious B.I.G., causing an unknown amount of damage. No one who worked in the building was hurt in the blaze, according to police on the scene, though the section of the building that faces West 54th Street appeared severely damaged. The fire was contained chiefly to the fourth-floor offices of SESAC, a performing-rights organization representing songwriters and publishers that leases space in the building, according to Hit Factory executive Troy Germano. The Hit Factory has… Read more »

Radio Free Virgin, a leading digital broadcast company, today launched the Shortlist Channel in cooperation with the Shortlist project, a new award which highlights innovative and adventurous artists rather than established hitmakers. Ten Shortlist finalists including Ryan Adams, Nikka Costa, PJ Harvey and Gorillaz were announced on October 3rd at the Museum of Television & Radio in Beverly Hills, and the winner of the Virgin Megastore Shortlist Prize for Artistic Achievement in Music will be announced in mid-November at an all-star concert and party in Hollywood, CA. Radio Free Virgin’s Shortlist Channel is comprised of tracks culled from the ten… Read more »