The Backstreet Boys were congregating backstage at Saturday’s Wango Tango On-Air festival when a herd of security guards nearly tumbled them. “They were like, ‘Move out of the way, get up against the wall,’” Nick Carter recalled later, smiling and likely embellishing a bit. “And then William Hung came through.” “Who?” Kevin Richardson asked. “Well Hung?” Joke or not, on a bill that included Janet Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, Jessica Simpson and a dozen other acts, William Hung was the headliner. After 14 hours of pop, rock, hip-hop, R&B and everything in between, the “American Idol” reject, dressed in a paisley… Read more »
Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl flash lasted less than three seconds, but the impact continues to ripple through Viacom, the media giant that broadcast the game. Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, right-wing radio commentators and outraged citizens are calling for stricter decency standards – and the artists and executives who make a living from edgy music, performances and videos are in retreat. MTV in particular, which produced the Super Bowl halftime show, is in the midst of a wide-scale re-evaluation of its musical, news and dramatic content. Within a week of the game, MTV – no stranger to criticism, most recently… Read more »
A good bar band singer knows the importance of conversing with the patrons. “Did you come to have fun?” Justin Timberlake asked after taking the House of Blues stage early Tuesday morning (June 17) for his first crack at what he’s dubbed the Show After the Show. “The point of this is to have fun.” And fun it was, yet it certainly seemed there were other reasons for JT – as he was billed – to play a club show a few hours after the lights went up on the Justified and Stripped Tour at the Staples Center. Mainly, the… Read more »
As an independent band that manages to sell more than 300,000 copies of your self-released albums, signing with a major label might seem like the most logical move to the next level. But O.A.R. bassist Benj Gersham tells Billboard.com the Maryland-bred, Ohio State University-brewed group’s decision to ink with Lava/Atlantic was anything but simple. “We had been going over the decision for at least two years before we finally made it, because we wanted to do it when the time was right,” says Gersham. “And all of those numbers are great but we didn’t do it because of that. We… Read more »
Arista recording artist Wakefield hit the road opening for All-American Rejects starting May 4th in Portland, Oregon. Two days later on May 6th, Wakefield’s debut album, American Made, will officially arrive in stores, it was announced today by Antonio “L.A.” Reid, President and CEO, Arista Records. Set to impact at radio on May 19th at modern rock, “Say You Will,” is described as a love song inspired by the movie Scream. “Get your heart broken a few times and the tragedy begins to unfold,” says Ryan the band’s frontman. The video for “Say You Will” was directed by Marc Webb,… Read more »
Save Face have kicked off their new era as an independent band with a bang with their frenzied new track “Found Dead At The Crime Scene”.
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 »
Los Angles – You only need one word to sum up the year in pop 2004: Usher. Clearly, it was his house. The rest of us were just overnight visitors. It began innocently enough, right at the beginning of the calendar year. On the Billboard Hot 100 dated Jan. 10, 2004 (coincidentally, the 55th anniversary of the introduction of the 45 rpm record), the highest new entry was “Yeah!” by Usher Featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris. Six weeks later, “Yeah!” had assumed pole position, and remained there for 12 weeks, tying it as the longest-running No. 1 (with “Lose Yourself”… Read more »
Los Angeles/New York – Columbia Records has moved up by one day the North American release of the new Destiny Child’s album, just as the R&B trio confirmed the first dates for its 2005 world tour. “Destiny Fulfilled” will be issued off-cycle from a traditional Tuesday stateside release on Nov. 15, the same date that the disc will be available internationally. The company says the change is due to the “potential for Internet leaks and ‘burned’ CD counterfeits” that could “lead consumers to experience inferior and incomplete versions of the album.” The move by follows Wednesday’s (Nov. 3) announcement that… Read more »
Canadian band the Barenaked Ladies have completed their sixth full-length studio album, “Everything to Everyone,” and will release it on Oct. 21. The 14-track Reprise set will be preceded by the radio single “Another Postcard.” Chris Bowen, Matt Goldman, Brian Scott, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink of Blue Man Group fame contribute their PVC tube percussion to the song “Shopping,” which is one of four songs featuring strings arranged by bassist Jim Creegan. Producer Ron Aniello (Lifehouse, Days Of The New) adds percussion, guitar and banjo to the set. Over the past few months, fans of the band have been… Read more »
