Search Results for: the voice

Lenny Santiago has a rich history in the rap game. His hands have been in almost all Roc-A-Fella Records releases (sans Kanye West’s), and now he is running things over at Def Jam as vice president of A&R. He signed DJ Khaled and also spearheaded the A&R work on Jadakiss’ The Last Kiss and Fabolous’ upcoming Loso’s Way (due July 28th), and his big fall project is the new one from Ghostface Killah. But hold up: There’s been some controversy over whether Ghostface will really live up to early descriptions that the record that will be an R&B album. Tony… Read more »

Mariah Carey told “Today” and her Twitter followers that she thought she “let everybody down” when her voice cracked when she sang “I’ll Be There” at Michael Jackson’s memorial. But Nick Cannon did not think his wife had anything to apologize for, saying that her performance was “all about the emotion.” “To be able to see [the memorial for] not only someone who influenced music and the world, but someone who was a close friend, to have to sit there and perform, it’s just a little tough,” he said Wednesday. Cannon also noted that Carey was not the only performer… Read more »

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shut the door Thursday to a resolution honoring Michael Jackson because debate on the symbolic measure could raise “contrary views” about the pop star’s life. Lawmakers are free to use House speeches “to express their sympathy or their praise any time that they wish,” said Pelosi (D-CA). “I don’t think it’s necessary for us to have a resolution.” A resolution sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) cites some of the singer’s charitable acts and proclaims him an American legend, musical icon and world humanitarian. Even before Pelosi’s comments, some Democrats said privately they did not… Read more »

In early 1984, when Epic Records executives presented their slate of upcoming releases at the convention in Hawaii of parent company CBS Records they couldn’t resist playing up the success they were experiencing. So between the pitches for new albums, Epic inserted stock footage of semi trucks and a voice-over that thunderously announced, “There goes another load of Michael Jackson’s Thriller albums!” Trucks weren’t really leaving the warehouse every few minutes, but Thriller was still shattering expectations more than a year after its November 30, 1982, release. Epic was selling more than 1 million copies per month in the United… Read more »

Alberta rockers Nickelback may have picked up a leading three trophies at the MuchMusic Video Awards last night, giving music critics across the country another reason to groan, but in the end it was all about Lady Gaga’s “flaming boobies.” The critically unpopular group, who picked up three Juno Awards back in March, went into the televised street-oriented awards show – which saw thousands of fans take over the blocks surrounding MuchMusic’s Toronto Queen and John Sts. headquarters – with a leading five MMVA nods, tied with R&B Toronto newcomer Danny Fernandes. Nickelback’s trio of trophies were for best video… Read more »

Kanye West might not be able to tell you the complete background of one of his newer artists, Big Sean, but he can see his guy’s future. Sean may be the next mainstream hip-hop star coming out of Detroit. “He put out mixtapes… His story for me was I heard him rap, he killed it and he got signed,” West said. One cannot script Sean’s introduction to West any better. Sean took a page right out of fellow Detroit native Eminem’s handbook and lost himself in the moment. When he was alerted by a friend that West would be at… Read more »

Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz are keeping their mouths shut for gay marriage. The couple are the latest celebs to take part in NOH8, a campaign supporting efforts to overturn Proposition 8. They were shot by photographer Adam Bouska on Monday with the campaign’s signature look: “NOH8” painted on their cheeks and duct tape over their mouths as a symbol of the pro-gay voices not being heard. Ashlee also holds a wedding veil in the pic. Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus also posed for NOH8 Like the Wentzes, Hoppus took part in the big Hollywood rally and protest shortly after the California… Read more »

President Barack Obama’s promises of change are falling short for one core Democratic constituency: gays and lesbians, whose leaders say Obama’s administration is not keeping up with the times. Gay rights campaigners, most of them Democrats who supported Obama in November, have begun to voice their public frustration with Obama’s inaction, small jokes at their community’s expense and deafening silence on what they see as the signal civil rights issue of this era. His campaign promises to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and the military ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers have not been fulfilled. And the news,… Read more »

One year after he was crowned “American Idol” champion, David Cook returned to the big blue stage last Wednesday night for charity. Cook performed a version of his song “Permanent,” which was made available on the iTunes Music Store immediately following his appearance, with all proceeds going to Accelerate Brain Trust Cure, a charity dedicated to finding a cure for brain cancer. It is a cause that hits close to home for Cook, who earlier this month lost his brother Adam to brain cancer after a decade-long battle with the disease. And that was evident during Cook’s “Idol” performance. Wearing… Read more »

A spokeswoman for Susan Boyle said Thursday that the Britain’s Got Talent finalist lost her cool after being harassed by journalists at a London hotel. The spokeswoman said the golden-voiced and fluffy-haired singer, who became an overnight sensation after appearing on the show, was distressed after being taunted by two reporters at the Wembley Plaza Hotel on Wednesday. “Two journalists were harassing her and pushed her over the edge. She was left slightly distressed and the journalists were removed from the building by police,” the spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity because she represents all of the contestants on the… Read more »