Search Results for: kanye

In the hierarchy of awards shows, the U.K.’s Brit Awards are the funnest, craziest and, generally, drunkest of the bunch. The champagne-happy show will take place on February 9 this year, celebrating its 25th anniversary with Franz Ferdinand heading up nominations. With nominations being released today, the Scot-rock band are up for five possible awards, including British Group, Album, Breakthrough Act, Rock Act and Live Act. Muse came in second, with four nods, while American bands Maroon 5 and Scissor Sisters were each nominated three times. Since the Brits organizers don’t divide up their genres quite as much as the… Read more »

Even though Led Zeppelin are one of the best-selling rock bands in history (the technically untitled Led Zeppelin IV is among the handful of records that have sold more than 20 million copies in the U.S.), the critics have never really liked ’em. Be it Robert Plant’s screeching vocals, Jimmy Page’s self-indulgent guitar solos or the band’s pilfering of classic American blues, the Zep didn’t receive the greatest reviews in their day and shockingly, never won a Grammy Award (though Robert Plant and Jimmy Page won for Best hard Rock Performance in 1998 for their relatively lame “Most High”). Led… Read more »

Eminem apparently learned to be nice this holiday season because Santa gave the usually naughty rapper another number one. Previously ruling the charts for the last two weeks of November, the Shady One’s Encore encored at number one for the week ended Sunday, selling 430,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan data. Em has a record of reentering the top slot, having done it with both The Eminem Show and the 8 Mile soundtrack. His is the fifth album to regain the number one position in 2004, joining discs by OutKast, Ashlee Simpson, Usher and Now That’s What I Call Music!… Read more »

Los Angeles – To his eight Grammy nominations and slew of No. 1 singles, R&B singer Usher has added the honor of most-shipped U.S. album of 2004 for “Confessions,” according to year-end certifications from the Recording Industry Assn. of America. With 8 million units shipped to retailers (but not necessarily sold through to consumers), the set is the highest-certified album in the star’s catalog. His previous best was 1997’s “My Way,” which is six times platinum. Usher also picked up three honors under the RIAA’s new digital awards program. “Yeah!” featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris, which spent 12 weeks atop… Read more »

If you came anywhere near a radio this year, it should be no surprise that Usher’s Confessions was named the most-shipped album of 2004. The Recording Industry Association of America gave the singer credit for shipping (but not necessarily selling) 8 million copies of his third album, two million more than his six-times platinum My Way from 1997, according to Billboard magazine. The smash single “Yeah!” also took honors in the RIAA’s digital-awards program, earning a digital platinum certification for more than 200,000 downloads. “Burn” and “My Boo” were awarded digital gold for more than 100,000 downloads. Country star George… Read more »

Los Angeles – According to the Chinese calendar, 2005 will be the year of the rooster. Looking back at the year in music, 2004 goes down as the year of Usher, not only in pop, but certainly in R&B/hip-hop. The seemingly invincible singer-songwriter commandeers the top of the R&B and pop charts this year, thanks to his album “Confessions.” In the R&B realm, the Atlanta-based artist takes the No. 1 spot on year-end recaps including Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artists, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artists-Male and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. That’s in addition to his status on the pop recaps: Top Pop Artists, Top Pop… Read more »

New York – As rap stars go, Jin has the typical look down cold: Hoodie, baggy sweats, chunky diamond stud earring, a Chinese character tattooed on his neck and a large blingy necklace. Not everything’s typical, though. “Yeah, I’m Chinese. And what?” he asks with mock exasperation. At just 22, the Miami-bred, New York-based rapper is something of a pioneer – the first Asian-American hip-hop artist to get a major solo record deal. At the same time, he worries that it’s his race, not his rhymes, generating all the attention. “Being Asian helps me so much,” he says. “It definitely… Read more »

Las Vegas – Maroon 5’s members cannot wait to begin work on the follow-up to their multi-platinum debut, “Songs About Jane,” but guitarist James Valentine told Billboard.com, “We just can’t beat the life out of this record yet.” Since its early 2003 release, “Jane” (J Records) has sold 2.9 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and spawned the hit singles “This Love” and “She Will Be Loved.” “As long as there are opportunities to go out and play, we’ll do that,” Valentine said. “But we’re tremendously antsy to get in the studio. We’ll be in there… Read more »

Los Angeles – Chicago rapper Kanye West, who survived a near-fatal car crash to record a debut album that ranked among the year’s biggest sellers, led the field of Grammy Award contenders with 10 nominations, organizers said on Tuesday. R&B singers Alicia Keys and Usher picked up eight nominations each, followed by late “Genius of Soul” Ray Charles with seven, and punk rock band Green Day with six. Jazz pianist Norah Jones, country veteran Loretta Lynn, funk musician Prince and engineer Al Schmitt each earned five. “If I get any nominations, I’m good,” West told Reuters after a press conference… Read more »

Paris – Note to readers: Vivendi Universal provided preliminary, unaudited revenue information on a French GAAP basis for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2004 to ‘Balo’ a French official bulletin for publication in accordance with French regulatory requirements. On a comparable basis(1, the revenues for the third quarter 2004 were up 6%, and 7% at constant currency. On a comparable basis(1, the revenues for the first nine months of 2004 were up 5%, and 7% at constant currency. Vivendi Universal’s consolidated revenues for the third quarter of 2004 amounted to EUR 4,703 million. On a comparable… Read more »