Search Results for: kanye

Nashville – Billed as the Best of Both Worlds, the ill-fated co-headlining tour by Jay-Z and R. Kelly ended up with two worlds colliding. The tour’s implosion – at least as a co-headlining attraction – puts a damper on what could have been one of the year’s top-grossing R&B music outings, with a gross potential of about $30 million. Jay-Z is continuing without Kelly under the banner of Jay-Z & Friends. With such marquee artists as Mary J. Blige and P. Diddy in tow, the tour could still be a big winner. But few would argue that Best of Both… Read more »

Days after his Best of Both Worlds tour with R. Kelly was canceled, Jay-Z has reversed course and opted to continue playing shows under the banner Jay-Z and Friends. The next performance will take place Friday in Miami, where Jay-Z will be joined by P. Diddy and Mary J. Blige, among others. A full itinerary for the rest of the tour was not immediately available. The Best of Both Worlds trek was due to run through a Nov. 28 show in Glendale, Ariz., before it fell apart. The tour was thrown into disarray on Friday, after Kelly walked off the… Read more »

More than a year after its release, Howie Day’s STOP ALL THE WORLD NOW is blowing up, thanks to relentless touring and the recent success of surprise hit “Collide.” The breakthrough smash rocketed all the way to No. 20 on the Adult Top 40 Airplay Chart and was recently highlighted in its entirety on the hit WB series “One Tree Hill.” After the show aired, Day’s album sales erupted, rising more than 73%. In addition, “Collide” is garnering extensive airplay on stations such as WPLJ/New York, WTMX/Chicago, WWZZ/Washington, KHMX/Houston, KRSK/Portland, KAMX/Austin, KQMB/Albuquerque and many more. A video for the song… Read more »

Saturday marks the second anniversary of the death of Jam Master Jay. As his family members have pressed on, they continue to keep their loved one’s name alive. A small gathering is planned in the Hollis neighborhood of Queens, New York, on Saturday (October 30), and in January they want to put on a benefit concert to celebrate what would have been the Run-DMC DJ’s 40th birthday. “Basically, we are doing fine,” Jay’s mother, Connie Mizell, said on Monday in New York. “We thank God we are doing as well as we are. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say… Read more »

Since his retirement, Jay-Z says he’s been courted by several labels. But not only to rap: They want to give the Jiggaman an executive position, and one such position could be the president of Def Jam Records. For the last few weeks, rumors have been running rampant that Jay will soon take the job, which is second in command to Def Jam CEO LA Reid. Some say the deal will be finalized in less than a week. Jay does acknowledge that he’s been getting offers, but says he hasn’t accepted anything yet. “It’s just talks in the air right now,”… Read more »

Holding its festivities for the first time in the city of skin, Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards was sizzling, energetic and colorful – yet tame, by MTV standards. There were no wardrobe malfunctions (sorry TiVo). Britney didn’t kiss Madonna like last year – or anyone else, for that matter (neither were at the blowout affair). The most skin shown was from Usher, who preened in front of the camera barechested as simulated raindrops fell on his chiseled body during the opening performance. Even the Christina Aguilera was classy, dressed sexy yet demurely as she debuted a jazzy number, “Tilt Ya… Read more »

The trophy is a silly Moonman. Treasured memories include girl-on-girl kisses, a flying Fartman and the bobbling of a pasty-covered breast. Where other shows confer honors and respect, this one relishes gaffes, guffaws and giggles. Forget “The envelope, please.” It’s time to push the envelope. MTV’s Video Music Awards is among the most irreverent of awards shows. Which may be precisely why it matters. “It’s pop music; how seriously can you take it?” said MTV news correspondent Kurt Loder. “It’s not Martin Heidegger or something. There’s a lot of empty pomp associated with other shows, like the Oscars and even… Read more »

The first Moonman won’t be handed out for another month, but Jay-Z and Beyoncé are already looking like the king and queen of the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards: The two led the pack when nominations were announced Tuesday morning. Usher, Kanye West, Jessica Simpson, Hoobastank, Yellowcard and Jet were also unveiled as the show’s first performers at Tuesday’s announcement in Miami, where the show will be held August 29, marking the VMAs’ first staging outside of New York or Los Angeles. Jay’s gritty “99 Problems” clip grabbed the most nominations with six, including nods for Best Video of the… Read more »

It’s been a big year for Jesus. Mel Gibson made a fortune at the box office with “The Passion of the Christ,” Kanye West has huge plans for his single “Jesus Walks”, and now Green Day have recorded a concept album about their own Jesus character. “The record has a story line throughout it that follows a character by the name of Jesus of Suburbia,” singer Billie Joe Armstrong said Wednesday during a break from rehearsal. “It’s [about] him coming of age and the growing pains that are involved in it and seeing if he makes the right choices or… Read more »

Internet leaks of the new track by Super Bowl starlet Janet Jackson, “Just a Little While,” spurred Virgin Records to deliver the cut digitally to U.S. radio outlets Monday. The Dallas Austin-produced song, a mid-tempo number marked by a prominent electric guitar melody, was apparently not officially chosen by the label as the first single from Jackson’s new album, “Damita Jo,” due March 30. The track’s arrival comes just hours after Jackson’s controversial appearance as part of the MTV-produced Super Bowl halftime show on CBS, in which Justin Timberlake reached across Jackson’s leather gladiator outfit and pulled off the covering… Read more »