Search Results for: prince

Michael Jackson’s surprise attack on Sony Music as racist has grabbed headlines, but many in the music industry have turned a deaf ear – suspecting the pop star has been motivated by self-interest rather than a concern for civil rights. Jackson, under contract with Sony until 2004 and among the highest-paid pop stars of all time, appears to be trying to pressure Sony into breaking the deal so he can exit with his valuable trove of master recordings, industry sources said. They say Jackson’s assault was prompted mostly by anger at Sony for the poor showing of his latest album,… Read more »

When was the last time this happened: a breakthrough artist spends the night its album debuted in the top 10 on The Billboard 200 chart playing the opening slot at a tiny Sunset Strip club instead of headlining its own show – or partying like a rock star elsewhere in town? How about Wednesday (June 12) night, when current it-girl Avril Lavigne, who’s all of 17 years old, played an unexpectedly aggressive early set at the Viper Room in Hollywood. Though Lavigne was there, in theory, to warm the mostly-music-industry-crowd up for the hitless bands Lo Cal AM and Plain… Read more »

There’s apparently still a little Muhammad Ali in Will Smith, who accepted his Best Actor MTV Movie Award last week in the voice of the boxing legend and later talked about his new record with equal confidence as “The Greatest.” “I don’t want to gas it up, but it’s definitely the best album that I’ve ever done,” Smith said backstage at the ceremony. “I think people are going to be really surprised, the direction that I decided to take.” Like the first single, “Black Suits Comin’ (Nod Ya Head),” the rest of Born to Reign finds the former Fresh Prince… Read more »

Hobbits ruled, Kelly Osbourne came out and Jack Black and Sarah Michelle Gellar showed off their pipes when the 2002 MTV Movie Awards were handed out Saturday night at the Shrine Auditorium. The event will be broadcast Thursday at 9 p.m. ET/PT, with MTV News’ pre-show coverage kicking off at 8:30 p.m. Peter Jackson’s adaptation of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” took home the night’s most prized pile of golden popcorn, nabbing Best Movie. However, Nicole Kidman walked away from the Shrine as the night’s big winner, grabbing trophies for Best Female Performance and Best… Read more »

In the city of sin, Britney Spears behaved. There was no dissing of Justin Timberlake during the opening night of the second leg of the Dream Within a Dream Tour. No cigarette smoking. No… whatever vice the rumor mills have her doing this week. Things may have changed in Britney’s well-chronicled life since the last time we saw her onstage – and that’s only if you believe the gossip – but there were no signs of it Friday at Mandalay Bay. The 20-year-old headliner was the same pop princess she was at 19. Nearly every part of Spears’ 90-minute show… Read more »

Universal Music Enterprises (UME) and Disc Marketing, Inc. have entered into a multi-year agreement to create compelling music “premiums” for many of the world’s major consumer brands, it was announced today by Bruce Resnikoff, President, Universal Music Enterprises. Under this agreement, UME, through its Special Markets division, will become the principal supplier of music content for music premiums developed by Disc Marketing for its wide range of corporate clients. UME will also provide manufacturing services for Disc Marketing. The agreement additionally calls for Disc Marketing to become the exclusive supplier of enhanced content for UME’s premium CD music packages. Utilizing… Read more »

Pop star Elton John, one of the biggest names in a star-studded line-up to serenade Queen Elizabeth on her Golden Jubilee, is not quite sure how well even his music will go down with the British monarch. “She grins and bears it. She’s probably the best in the world at grinning and bearing it on every occasion, whether it’s Maori dancing, pop music or whatever,” he told BBC television on Friday. The flamboyant rocker, a close personal friend of the late Princess Diana, will appear at the June 3 concert alongside artists ranging from ex-Beatle Paul McCartney to Ozzy Osbourne.… Read more »

“The Osbournes” have not only captivated you, your bleeping grandma and your bleeping hairdresser, but probably your favorite bleeping rock star as well. The most popular series in MTV history, with nearly 8 million viewers a week, has acquired a particularly loyal audience in perhaps the only people who can truly relate to the madness – other musicians. Incubus, for example, fell so hard for the show they asked their management to record it when they are on the road and send them copies for tour bus screenings. Singer Brandon Boyd said when “The Osbournes” is on, his eyes are… Read more »

Elton John performed at Buckingham Palace – but Queen Elizabeth II was not at home to hear him. The singer recorded a song to be played at a concert in honor of the queen’s Golden Jubilee on June 3. John will be on tour and unable to perform at the show, which will be held on the palace grounds. “Elton was disappointed that he couldn’t be at the concert on June 3, and he wanted to do something special,” a spokesman said Friday on customary condition of anonymity. He said John filmed a video in the Blue Drawing Room at… Read more »

The tagline for “Still Not a Player,” a documentary on fallen rap star Big Pun, reads: “At 26 he became the first Latin solo hip-hop artist to go platinum. At 28 he was dead.” But as the movie shows, there was more to Pun than most ever knew. Family members, such as his wife, Liza Rios, and peers like Nas, Noreaga, Ice-T and his mentor, Fat Joe, all give firsthand accounts of their dealings with the lyricist, helping to paint his biography. “To hear other people talk about him, it helped me out,” Rios said. “It was therapy. [There were]… Read more »