Search Results for: from first to last

Young indie rockers Arctic Monkeys, who made history with Britain’s fastest-selling debut album in 2006, are out to prove they are no one-hit wonders with their second record released on Monday. Critics wonder if the weight of expectation will be too much for the musicians from the northern city of Sheffield, among the first to make it big by harnessing the power of the Internet. Alexis Petridis, music critic for the Guardian newspaper, called “Favourite Worst Nightmare” arguably the most anticipated second album in a decade. Judging by early reviews and the reaction of fans at gigs across the country,… Read more »

Somewhere out there, “American Idol” producers, and judge Simon Cowell, are hoisting frosty ones and heaving huge sighs of relief. After an inexplicably long run that was full of flash, goofy haircuts, gleaming smiles and more showmanship than all of the other finalists combined, phenom “Idol” underdog Sanjaya Malakar finally ran out of gas Wednesday night. Following a painfully flat rendition of Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” on Tuesday night’s country-themed show , Malakar was sent home to the grinning satisfaction of Cowell, who hinted before the elimination that he suspected the jig was up. The night began with… Read more »

There are actors who sing and singers who act, but throughout pop history few entertainers have successfully balanced those twin careers. Neither could Hilary Duff, though not due to lack of effort. While her career as a pop diva skyrocketed – she released two platinum albums and a best-selling greatest-hits disc in just three years – the former Disney child star found her acting career stalling. Despite her considerable star wattage, Hollywood had difficulty seeing Duff beyond her past sugary sweet roles and good girl persona (no rehab or pantyless partying here). “It always shocks me the lack of openness,… Read more »

U.K. rock act Fiction Plane will release its second album, “Left Side of the Brain,” May 22 via Bieler Bros., just before it begins its run as the opening act for the North American leg of the Police’s reunion tour. The album is the follow-up to 2003’s “Everything Will Never Be OK,” Fiction Plane’s lone release for MCA. Since being dropped from Geffen last year, the band has “had tons of tunes swimming about without a home,” frontman Joe Sumner tells Billboard.com. “When we scheduled this album we basically picked our favorite songs from the whole period. Then we took… Read more »

For then 15-year-old Travis McCoy, high school gym class was nothing more than an excuse to chat about music with buddy Matt McGinley. McCoy, who was an aspiring rapper, was the frontman for a local band, and McGinley played drums for another in their native Geneva, N.Y. The summer after sophomore year, McGinley’s band landed a party gig, and McCoy, who happened to be at the same gathering, stepped to the mic and began to rhyme along with it. Thus Gym Class Heroes was born and went on to release three independent albums before signing to Fall Out Boy principal… Read more »

Nearly five months after Britney Spears filed for divorce from Kevin Federline, the parties reached a settlement late Thursday (March 29) – though it’s not yet certain what the agreement entails. The settlement session took place Thursday at Spears attorney Laura Wasser’s office in Century City, California. Spears, Federline and their respective lawyers met for five hours, during which they came to terms on “all issues of their marriage and child custody,” according to a statement from the spokesperson for Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan. “At one point, Kevin went down for a smoke and Britney followed him outside,” the… Read more »

Movie pirates are spraying chemicals on their bootleg DVDs to confuse two U.S.-loaned dogs that helped Malaysian authorities sniff out nearly 1 million illegal discs, an official said Monday. The two female Labradors have been trained to detect polycarbonate chemicals used in manufacturing discs. But officials received a tip that bootleggers are using chemical sprays to throw Lucky and Flo off the scent, said Fahmi Kassim, the Domestic Trade Ministry’s enforcement chief in southern Johor state. “The pirates are believed to be desperate because the dogs were so successful,” Fahmi told Ministry authorities last week said the dogs were moved to a safe house after a source informed… Read more »

Now that the three young women in Candy Hill, a glossy rap and R&B trio, have signed a record contract, they are hoping for stardom. On the schedule: shooting a music video and visiting radio stations to talk up their music. But the women do not have a CD to promote. Universal/Republic Records, their label, signed Candy Hill to record two songs, not a complete album. “If we get two songs out, we get a shot,” said Vatana Shaw, 20, who formed the trio four years ago, “Only true fans are buying full albums. Most people don’t really do that… Read more »