Search Results for: the voice

With ice on both ears, Justin Timberlake set out to prove that on his own he can accomplish the mission that was set for ‘NSYNC – to generate a little respect for pop. On Wednesday, the crowd at the sold-out America West Arena turned the venue into a balls-out dance club for the opening night of Timberlake and Christina Aguilera’s Justified and Stripped Tour. The fans, most of whom were women in their late teens and early 20s, screamed at Justin and Christina’s every move and word. Aguilera’s set began with images of her on a video screen showing her… Read more »

Hoards of teenage girls are racing to Phoenix’s America West Arena for Wednesday’s Justified and Stripped Tour kickoff, but if Justin Timberlake’s recent European outing is any indication, they are not the only ones. Just before taking a London stage two weeks ago, the ‘NSYNC star estimated the average concertgoer on the trek was 26 or 27, and he said he’d seen as many adult couples in his audience as mothers and daughters. “I was pleasantly surprised,” Timberlake said. “It’s nice to have so many different cultures and so many different ages and generations in one room.” Timberlake’s portion of… Read more »

Just a month after opening its doors, the Apple iTunes store is looking to expand. With content already available from all five major labels, the online music service is reaching out to independent labels in hopes of offering the broadest, deepest catalog of downloadable music. Apple has invited hundreds of indie label representatives to a private presentation on Thursday at the computer giant’s Cupertino, California, campus to discuss hopping onboard and adding their content to the more than 200,000 songs already available through the service. “The plan was to go out of the gate with the five major labels, but… Read more »

When a music critic suggested to Justin Timberlake recently that the world in which his career was spawned is a distant memory, the singer immediately got defensive. “Teen pop will never be dead,” he said. “The death of teen pop and its venue as it was, sure, but… as long as there’s teens and as long as we have culture with popular music in it, teen pop will never die, as far as I’m concerned. I just think it takes on a different head.” So when ‘NSYNC reunites in the studio this fall, expect the group to take on different… Read more »

Paul McCartney’s dream to perform in Red Square came true Saturday with the former Beatle capping off a sold-out concert with a rousing rendition of “Back in the U.S.S.R.” It was a dream come true for fans, too, who turned out nearly 20,000 strong for the concert near Lenin’s mausoleum and Stalin’s grave. “I’ve waited my whole life for this,” said Vladimir Snopov, 52, of Samara, about 550 miles south of Moscow, who remembered when the only place to hear McCartney sing was on banned and often-fuzzy broadcasts over Voice of America and the British Broadcasting Corporation. Back in the… Read more »

In a strange twist of fate, it took a few blondes (and a pink) for Linda Perry to discover her true calling. After producing Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani and Pink, the former 4 Non Blondes leader has chosen to forgo her singing career in favor of working behind the scenes. “I’m so loving what I do, and I’m so good at it,” Perry said at Tuesday’s ASCAP Pop Music Awards. “I’m a horrible producer when it comes to me, but for other artists, I don’t know what it is, but something happens and I’m just really good at it.” Perry… Read more »

Mariah Carey’s unlikely to give Eminem a charm bracelet, much less extend an olive branch. The pissed-off pop songstress, who’s relaxing in the Caribbean before setting sail on a six-month world tour in support of her new album, Charmbracelet, had some pointed words for the rap superstar after hearing reports that Em threatened to include samples of several rambling voicemail messages she left him in an upcoming tune. “I don’t know what the hell he’s doing,” Carey grouses in the New York Daily News on Thursday. “It’s a little excessive. Doesn’t it seem a little bit girly? Like we’re in… Read more »

Mullets, Chevelles, BMX bikes, muscle cars, cheesy mustaches. The science of guitar solos by White Lion and Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt. These are ’80s things bands like Blink-182 like to poke fun at. Damone’s Dave Pino, however, isn’t laughing with them. “That whole mullet thing, American Hi-Fi and Sum 41 can goof on that stuff – the Camaro-driving guy with the mustache. It’s funny and I get it, but it’s offensive to us,” said Pino, the musical mastermind behind Waltham, Massachusetts, rockers Damone. “In this town, we’re stuck in some ’80s suburb,” Pino explained of the working- class Boston ‘burb of… Read more »

A veritable who’s who of the pop music world are urging federal regulators to give the public and lawmakers a chance to review any changes made in the regulations that govern media ownership. In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, 34 recording artists ranging from Jimmy Buffett to Michael Stipe said the changes should be fully vetted before they win final approval. “A refusal to allow Congress and the public to view and debate your specific proposal would be a tremendous disservice to the American public and the citizens who depend on these media structures for their livelihoods,” the… Read more »

Anyone who thinks they can control the Internet received an object lesson during the past week. It all started when Madonna literally lent her voice to a popular antipiracy technique. Warner Music Group had audio files purporting to be her new songs uploaded onto peer-to-peer file-sharing services. Anyone who downloaded the decoys, however, heard nothing but the pop star swearing at them. But since then, the pithy profanity has taken on a life of its own. Some observers thought Madonna was smart to fight piracy with its own tools. Others perceived a thrown gauntlet – hackers soon defaced Madonna’s Web… Read more »