Search Results for: pop

The old feud between rock music and organized religion has given way to a more open embrace of spirituality. But mixing the two is still as dangerous as ever – these days, appearing too religious can jeopardize an artist’s credibility and commercial appeal. “VH1 All Access: Rock & Religion” takes an in-depth look at the influence of religion on pop music – from imagery in music videos, to artists’ spiritual journeys, to the internal struggles faced by Christian roots rockers in the 1950s – when the latest edition of the hit weekly one-hour series premieres Thursday, June 21 at 10:00… Read more »

Look for the “Made in the USA” label on some best-selling music from Japan’s top pop artists. Japan’s chart-topping musicians, looking to cut music with some of the top talent in the United States or just looking for a bit of anonymity overseas in place of media mayhem back home, are heading to studios in places such as New York and Los Angeles to record. Among the top 20 albums in Japan for May, 14 were made by Japanese artists and six of those were partially or completely recorded in the United States. The other six slots in the top… Read more »

‘N Sync, Faith Hill and Britney Spears, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Tim McGraw, 98 Degrees and Monica will turn their talents to the Lord when they read prayers written by Pope John Paul II for an upcoming spoken word CD. Multi-media company, Compulsion Entertainment will produce the CD project, which also includes actors James Earl Jones and Jennifer Love Hewitt, as well as Pope John Paul II, himself. The CD will be a companion recording to a seven volume collection of the Pontiff’s writings titled, The Private Prayer Books of Pope John Paul II, published by Simon &… Read more »

Having spent the last few months on the road offering glimpses of their new album, Break the Cycle, “It’s Been Awhile” since Staind returned to their hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts. Which helps explain why the estimated crowd of more than 4,000 fans waiting hours in line for an autograph session Thursday at the Westfield Shoppingtown Mall in nearby Enfield, Connecticut, gave the subdued quartet a hero’s welcome. According to industry buzz, Staind’s second major-label album is perched to outsell last week’s Billboard 200 albums chart-topper, Tool’s Lateralus, by approximately 50,000 copies (see). A member of the band’s camp claimed to… Read more »

‘NSYNC have found themselves in a pickle. The group’s forthcoming album, Celebrity, has been shelved until mid summer. The Backstreet Boys’ most recent record, a bellwether for Celebrity if ever there was one, wasn’t quite the huge success the Boys’ previous two were, causing some observers to even decree teen pop dead. And come to think of it, no one in ‘NSYNC is even a teen any more. What’s a boy band to do? Well, creating the largest musical production in concert history is one solution. The PopOdyssey Tour began Wednesday in Jacksonville’s Alltel Stadium with a video montage chronicling… Read more »

British pop band Duran Duran, whose million-selling hits “Rio” and “Hungry Like the Wolf” launched them to superstardom in the 1980s, are reforming with their original lineup, the group said Friday. Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes will join Roger Taylor, Andy Taylor and John Taylor for the first time in 15 years to record a new album and possibly tour. “It’s something we are very much looking forward to,” said founding member and keyboardist Rhodes in a statement. “There has always been an incredible chemistry and musical energy when we have got together,” he said. Duran Duran, who helped… Read more »

While ‘N Sync’s third album, Celebrity, won’t be released until July 24th (long after their tour is underway), fans can get a taste of the first single tomorrow. MTV will preview the song “Pop” during Total Request Live, five days before it hits airwaves officially, and on May 28th the network will premiere the video. “Pop” was co-written and co-produced by Justin Timberlake and Wade Robson. JC Chasez also has songwriting and producing credits on several Celebrity tracks. And, true to its title, the album is loaded with big-name producers, from Rodney Jerkins ( Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Backstreet Boys)… Read more »

Former Rolling Stone bass player Bill Wyman launched a savage attack on British pop phenomenons Hear’Say on Wednesday, saying the band created for a hit TV series were nothing more than “plumpish boys and girls who mimed.” “They are just pretty young people someone has discovered. They don’t write the songs they sing, most of the time they mime when performing live and most can’t play an instrument,” the veteran rocker told the Daily Mail. “I didn’t see any creativity. It’s all a production and of no interest to me,” he said. Wyman, 64, who recently kicked off a European… Read more »

Iggy Pop, the undisputed godfather of punk, is slated to release another blistering sonic assault in July. Entitled “Beat ‘Em Up,” the album is a return to form for the astonishingly ageless Pop, whose last release was 1999’s “Avenue B.” “Beat ‘Em Up,” to be released from Virgin Records America, was produced by Iggy, and engineered by Danny Kader. Joining Iggy are Whitey Kirst (guitar), Alex Kirst (drums), Pete Marshall (guitar) and Lloyd “Mooseman” Roberts (bass). Sadly, Mooseman, formerly of Body Count, was murdered in a drive-by shooting this past winter. Pete Marshall will take over bass duties for Iggy’s… Read more »

The number of people downloading songs from the Internet on any given day has reached more than six million, according to a Pew Internet and American Life Project study. In the six months from August 2000 to February 2001, the average daily number of Internet users downloading music nearly doubled, despite the fact that Napster has recently been hamstrung by the RIAA and the courts in its efforts to openly share copyrighted materials. The study suggests that publicity surrounding the Napster case has contributed to the swelling numbers. Pew surveys showed that Napster users stored an average of about 100… Read more »