Search Results for: With Confidence

Though charges have yet to be filed, R. Kelly continues to defend himself against allegations that he taped himself having sex with underage girls. On Thursday, Kelly proclaimed his innocence again, even as he settled a lawsuit with a woman who accused him of seducing her when she was 17. After protesters shattered R. Kelly CDs at the offices of WGCI-FM in Chicago, urging the station to stop playing his music, Kelly phoned the station to ask his fans to stand by him. The leader of the protest, the Rev. Bamani Obadele, asked Kelly to explain why there was a… Read more »

In the era of MP3s, CD-Rs, iPods and the ubiquitous mix-CD, everyone from Starbucks to your parents has tried their hand at the DJ game, often with perfectly positive results. But after four arduous days of hearing dance music permeate every sonic inch of the Winter Music Conference, this cultural development bolstered the status of every DJ – the real kind – that performed, laying plain the artistry of their craft. That said, the vast majority of WMC parties fell into the risk-free category of monochromatic, genre-based music, whether progressive house, tech-house or any other permutation in between. DJs who… Read more »

Being in a rock band doesn’t always guarantee beautiful women at your disposal – just ask the guys in Train. Singer Pat Monahan says their new single “She’s on Fire” is mostly about guys like them not being able to get hot chicks, though guitarist Jimmy Stafford jokes that isn’t the case anymore. However, Monahan and guitarist Rob Hotchkiss no longer care either way since they’re both married. The rest of the band may find plenty of attention now that the band’s “Drops of Jupiter” has won a Grammy for best rock song. Hotchkiss told reporters that the band’s achievements… Read more »

Despite a cancellation and a police arrest, approximately 500 people in three cities have put their guitars where their mouths are so far, and more than a dozen have gotten to jam with the rhythm section of Limp Bizkit. In its quest to find a guitarist to replace Wes Borland, the band is holding open auditions at Guitar Centers in cities all over the country. The Put Your Guitar Where Your Mouth Is auditions have drawn an average of 150 players each day in Fresno, California; Clackamas, Oregon; and Seattle, with the try-outs running from approximately 10 a.m. to 10… Read more »

Vivendi Universal (NYSE: V; Paris Bourse: EX FP) announced today it has extended for five more years the contracts of Ron Meyer, President and Chief Operating Officer, Universal Studios, and Stacey Snider, Chairman, Universal Pictures. In making the announcement, Jean-Marie Messier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vivendi Universal, said, “I am thrilled to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of these two outstanding leaders. As the head of Universal Studios Group’s businesses, Ron has brought the studio to new heights. With the recent creation of Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE), Ron, under the leadership of Barry Diller, will now expand his responsibilities… Read more »

Jerry Levin, Chief Executive Officer of AOL Time Warner, announced a senior management succession plan for the Company and said AOL Time Warner will begin to implement a six-month transition to a new leadership team. The plan, which Mr. Levin proposed to the Board of Directors and Mr. Case endorsed, grew out of ongoing discussions with the Board over the past year on succession planning. As part of this plan, Mr. Levin announced that after long and careful consideration, he has decided to retire at the time of the Company’s annual meeting in May 2002. Under this succession plan, which… Read more »

The back-to-back debut of new video game consoles from Microsoft and Nintendo is expected to fuel strong sales of home entertainment goods as jittery Americans opt to spend more time at home after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, analysts said. They said the launch of Microsoft Corp’s Xbox on Thursday and that of Nintendo Co. Ltd’s GameCube – three days later – could even help lift third and fourth-quarter profits for some of the nation’s top consumer electronics stores. The big boost, the analysts said, will also come on a jump in customer traffic to stores… Read more »

The 12th season of MTV’s reality series, which is scheduled to go into production in January, will be shot in Las Vegas, and air in July. The 11th season of the “Real World,” which recently wrapped production in Chicago, is set to premiere in January. At a time when broadcast networks are backing down on their commitment to reality programming, MTV continues to have confidence in the genre. The music cable network will in February begin production on the 11th season of “Road Rules,” which will tape throughout the South. It will also air in July. MTV had been planning… Read more »

Bally Total Fitness and Columbia Records announced today that they have teamed up on a new national promotional and advertising campaign featuring Columbia Records’ recording artist Jessica Simpson. Starting this weekend, Bally Total Fitness will air its new commercial, titled “A Little Bit Goes A Long Way.” The 30-second spot features footage of Jessica Simpson performing her hit song “A Little Bit” from the latest blockbuster album “Irresistible.” “A Little Bit Goes A Long Way” creatively blends clips from the popular “A Little Bit” video with footage of health conscious individuals as they train and work out. The message of… Read more »

From a chair that looked as if it belongs on the starship Enterprise, Hugh Panero flipped a switch Tuesday and formally launched XM, the first of the nationwide satellite radio services to go on the air. While the ceremony marked XM’s official start, it will not be a national service for some months because the signal is being beamed from the company’s two satellites – “Rock” and “Roll” – to San Diego and Dallas. The company plans to roll out service to the southern half of the United States within a month and to the rest of the nation in… Read more »