Rihanna is featured in Kanye West’s new music video for his song ‘Paranoid’. It’s the fourth single from the rapper’s fourth studio album ‘808s & Heartbreak’. The 21-year old Barbadian singer doesn’t sing on the song or speaks in the video but she does look absolutely gorgeous. It’s really more like a tribute video to Rihanna’s beauty rather than her talent really. The music video first premiered last week at the Island Def Jam Spring Collection party at Stephen Weiss Studio in New York City. It’s already made its way on the internet and it’s soon to make its way on TV.
Demi Lovato has announced the title of her new album via her Twitter account! Her sophomore release will be called “Here We Go Again,” and it is due out in July. Catch Demi on tour this summer with special guests David Archuleta, Jordan Pruitt and KSM where she promises to play some songs from the new record.
Dave Matthews Band will release Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, the highly anticipated album following the death of band member Leroi Moore, on June 2. The album, a tribute to Leroi Moore, will be the band’s first studio album in 4 years and will include the newly released single “Funny the Way It Is”. Rolling Stone’s four star review states that Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King producer Rob Cavallo, “has brought some of the classic-rock edge of his hit records with Green Day and My Chemical Romance to Matthews arena-size spin on early-Seventies Traffic.” Those who are awaiting the album’s release on June 2 can now stream the complete album at Pandora.com.
Watch Dave Matthews Band Live on Hulu.com June 1 as they stream the band’s live in concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre. For more information on Dave Matthews Band, including tour dates, visit DaveMatthewsBand.com.
Check out Pussycat Dolls’ brand new video for their single “Hush Hush; Hush Hush.” The 70s themed clip is one big dance party featuring amazing costumes, PCD’s trademark moves and a cameo by Perez Hilton!
YouTube Video: Check out Pussycat Dolls, Hush Hush; Hush Hush
If you ever decide to toss some money is rapper Pitbull’s face, be prepared to get your teeth knocked out. During one of his shows in Aspen, Colorado, a fan was tossing money around in the crowd and was pulled on stage by Pitbull. The guy thought it would be a good idea to make it rain in the rapper’s face. Unfortunately for him, the rapper levels the guy with a devastating right hand then follows it up with a kick once the dude was on the ground. The best part of it was that Pitbull never even missed a beat when he was knocking the dude out. Sources say that the fan was tossed out of the venue after getting socked but was let back in once he convinced security that he meant no harm. No cops were even called to the scene.
While Queen has expressed their consideration of Adam Lambert to become their permanent front man, the American Idol runner up has high hopes for his solo album. He recently shared his plans to record, saying “Labels tend to try to put one box around every artist and keep them in one genre, but I think [my album] can be a collection of different styles. I don’t want to do one specific genre. I’m more about fusion. There are a lot of pop artists that are using the ‘glam’ kind of vibe in their music currently so I think I’m actually part of a wave. There just happens to not be many guys doing it right now.”
According to the London Paper, Beyonce recently had a bit of a scare during the after-party for the London stop of her ‘I Am…’ tour when a fan managed to infiltrate security and get backstage. A witness said “A man barged through the backstage door just as Beyonce was walking past. He cried out her name with his arms outstretched before security bundled him back out again. He said he wanted [just] to see Jay-Z to give him a demo tape.” The crazy things people do when they want to get famous. Oh well, the guy just got his few minutes of fame with this one.
Complete list of 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards Nominees:
Video
Danny Fernandes — “Private Dancer”
K-OS — “4, 3, 2, 1″
Marianas Trench — “Cross My Heart”
Nickelback — “Gotta Be Somebody”
The Stills — “Being Here”
Director
Bedouin Soundclash — “Until We Burn In The Sun (The Kids Just Want A Love Song)” (Director: Michael Maxxis)
Classified — “Anybody Listening” (Director: Harv)
Danny Fernandes — “Fantasy” (Director: RT!)
Marianas Trench — “Cross My Heart” (Director: Colin Minihan)
Theory Of A Deadman — “All Or Nothing” (Director: Davin Black)
Pop Video
Danny Fernandes — “Private Dancer”
Elise Estrada — “Crash And Burn”
Karl Wolf — “Africa”
LIGHTS — “Drive My Soul”
Shiloh — “Operator (A Girl Like Me)
MuchLOUD Rock Video
Inward Eye — “Shame”
Marianas Trench — “Cross My Heart”
Nickelback — “Gotta Be Somebody”
Ten Second Epic — “Life Times”
Theory Of A Deadman — “All Or Nothing”
MuchVIBE Hip-Hop Video
Classified — “Anybody Listening”
Famous — “Ain’t No Use”
JB featuring Ghetto Flex — “Move Your Body”
K-OS — “4, 3, 2, 1″
Shad — “The Old Prince Still Lives At Home”
VideoFACT Indie Video
Bedouin Soundclash — “Until We Burn In The Sun (The Kids Just Want A Love Song)”
Metric — “Gimme Sympathy”
Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains — “Who Do We Care For?”
Shad — “The Old Prince Still Lives At Home”
The Midway State — “Never Again”
Post-Production
Classified — “Anybody Listening”
Mobile — “The Killer”
Nickelback — “Gotta Be Somebody”
The New Cities — “Dead End Countdown”
The Stills — “Being Here”
Cinematographer
Bedouin Soundclash — “Until We Burn In The Sun (The Kids Just Want A Love Song)”
Elise Estrada — “Crash And Burn”
K-OS — “4, 3, 2, 1″
The Midway State — “Change For You”
Theory Of A Deadman — “All Or Nothing”
International Video (Artist)
Beyonce — “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
Britney Spears — “Womanizer”
Kanye West — “Heartless”
Katy Perry — “Hot N Cold”
Kevin Rudolf featuring Lil Wayne — “Let It Rock”
Kelly Clarkson — “My Life Would Suck Without You”
Lady GaGa — “Poker Face”
Lil Wayne — “A Milli”
Miley Cyrus — “The Climb”
T.I. featuring Rihanna — “Live Your Life”
International Video (Group)
Coldplay — “Viva La Vida”
Green Day — “Know Your Enemy”
Jonas Brothers — “Lovebug”
Kings Of Leon — “Sex On Fire”
Metro Station — “Shake It”
MGMT — “Electric Feel”
Pussycat Dolls — “I Hate This Part”
Rise Against — “Re-Education (Through Labor)”
The Black Eyed Peas — “Boom Boom Pow”
The Killers — “Human”
International Video By A Canadian (Artist Or Group)
Billy Talent — “Rusted From The Rain”
K’Naan featuring Chubb Rock — “ABC’s”
Kardinal Offishall featuring Akon — “Dangerous”
Kreesha Turner — “Don’t Call Me Baby”
Nickelback — “If Today Was Your Last Day”
UR FAVE Video
Danny Fernandes — “Fantasy”
Kardinal Offishall featuring Akon — “Dangerous”
Marianas Trench — “Cross My Heart”
Nickelback — “Gotta Be Somebody”
Simple Plan — “Save You”
UR FAVE International Video
Jonas Brothers — “Burnin’ Up”
Katy Perry — “I Kissed A Girl”
Lady GaGa — “Poker Face”
Lil Wayne — “A Milli”
Britney Spears — “Circus”
UR FAVE New Artist
Danny Fernandes — “Fantasy”
LIGHTS — “Drive My Soul”
Shiloh — “Goodbye, You Suck”
The Midway State — “Never Again”
Karl Wolf — “Africa”
At least 11 people were killed this past weekend in a stampede during the final night of the Mawazine music festival in the Moroccan capital of Rabat. Kylie Minogue and Alicia Keys had performed at the festival in the weeks prior to the incident, which draws over a million people to the city of Rabat annually. 70,000 people had gathered at the closing night of the festival to hear hometown sensation Abdelaziz Stati when a wire fence gave out while the crowd was leaving the festival grounds. The crowd’s surge caused a stampede where 5 women, 4 men and 2 children suffocated to death while being trampled by the mass exodus of concert goers. My condolences go out to the family and friends of the victims.
After ranting on his personal blog where he slams American Idol runner up Adam Lambert and the last handful of winners, Clay Aiken is now apologizing to the closeted singer. Clay recently wrote “I’ll be the first to admit that my opinion is just that, only my opinion, but for as much as some of the bloggers seem to dislike me and care so little about my thoughts, they sure can waste a lot of their space on what I say!… I am sure that some were upset by my choice of words describing my opinion of a performance I heard from Adam Lambert. I hope no one actually believed that blood truly poured forth from my ears when I heard him. I obviously meant it as a colorful statement to imply that I did not enjoy what I heard… so, I do apologize to Adam for my colorful (and negative) choice of words. I hope he can forgive me. I imagine he doesn’t give a damn! God knows he shouldn’t.”
Amy Winehouse has once again cancelled a concert. Wino was slated for a gig in London to celebrate 50 years of Island Records but her management issued a statement saying that she and her band would be missing the performance. However, no actual reason was given as to why. No one would say why she wouldn’t make the trip, just that she wouldn’t. All the spokesperson for the venue would say was “Amy would like to apologize to her fans who bought tickets for the show.” A bit of advice, I don’t think that Wino is going to be performing anytime soon so I suggest you all just save your time, money and effort.
Janice Thibideaux, the woman who attacked Simon Cowell’s ex, Terri Seymour, after last week’s American Idol finale, has come out to talk about the motive behind her attack. She said “I wasn’t cool with Simon Cowell choking Paula Abdul on the show last week and with her crying-out ‘help’ as he did so. Nobody said anything about that so I wanted to confront him about it because that is not appropriate behavior, is it? She was taking some photographs with her camera and I knew she was his girlfriend so I went up to her to tell her how I felt. We started arguing and then I put my hands around her neck and started choking her just like Simon had done with Paula. Then I walked away and I was tackled by the police but I don’t regret what I did because of what Simon did to Paula, nobody seemed to care about that.” Crazy!
Britney Spears is being sued by her former bodyguard. Kerry Vine has decided to file a lawsuit against the recovered pop star, claiming to have sustained physical injuries while working for the singer. Court documents filed recently state that Britney “negligently operated her home and business thereby causing injuries to” the bodyguard. He also claims that the security firm he used to work for was responsible for forcing him to “perform duties that put him in harm’s way.” I smell something fishy about this suit. If you really thought you were going to get hurt, you can quit – or at the very least speak out about it and ask for things to change.
The Killers front man Brandon Flowers recently had an interview with Entertainment Weekly talking about the difference between their fans in Britain and in America. He said “We’ve been embraced in Britain in a way that I’ll never understand, and it’s such a wonderful thing. But over here [in America], people are still so obsessed with Led Zeppelin and Nirvana, those sorts of bands, that nobody else is allowed [to grow]. It’s not just us; there are a lot of great bands that have been held down or confined by the influence of these people that we’ve put up on pedestals. I’m tired of it, you know? I just want to knock them all off! And people don’t like that attitude. It’s almost like they don’t believe that it’s possible that anybody else can be the real deal.”
Lady Gaga recently had an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald where she talked about being who she is both on stage and off. The ‘Poker Face’ singer said “The biggest misconception about me is I’m a character or a persona. That when the lights and cameras turn off, I turn into a pumpkin. It’s simply not true. I make music and art and design all day long. Yes, I wash my face and go to sleep but when I wake up, I am always Lady Gaga.” There’s nothing fake about this one folks. What you see is always going to be what you get.
Former American Idol finalist, MICHAEL JOHNS will be performing his new single “Heart on My Sleeve” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show next Monday, May 25th. The Aussie vocalist will be releasing his first post-Idol solo album, Hold Back My Heart on June 23rd. Encouraged by his mentor David Foster, who invited Johns to appear on his star-studded David Foster And Friends PBS special in December 2008, Johns chose the road less traveled, and for the first time in his adult life, went to work on an album with no deal in place. “Foster always said that the secret of his success is to look at whatever lane is open in the music industry and take it,” Johns recalls. “And the way my record combines old and new, I could open for Alicia Keys one night and John Mayer the next, it’s right in the middle.” Songwriter Diane Warren, who penned the knee-buckling ballad “Heart Is Weak,” was another key endorsement. “There’s nothing more validating than having these heavyweights behind you,” says Johns. “It’s like screw winning American Idol when people like David Foster and Diane Warren are saying you have the real thing here.”
With an album completed and ready to turn in, Johns had the rare freedom to shop it around, and when Downtown Records, home to Gnarls Barkley, Cold War Kids and Santigold, showed interest in a licensing deal, he jumped at the opportunity to finally control his own fate. “I think we’re in the most exciting period of music ever, because there’s so many ways to do it,” he says. And like most of his plans thus far, Johns is thinking big for his future. “The live show is going to be great,” he says excitedly. “I might even take it old school with different bands in different towns — almost like what Chuck Berry and all those guys used to do.”
Tune in to see Michael Johns on The Ellen DeGeneres Show next Monday, May 25th. Check your local listings for times.
New Video from Rise Against for Hero of War now Premiering on Myspace!
The following is a message from the band:
We’ve just completed our new video for the song “Hero Of War” off of our record, Appeal To Reason. “Hero Of War” is the story of one soldier, not all soldiers, as he battles not just the war around him, but the war that rages within. Inspired by true events, we were given the choice to either document the tribulations of these times as they unfold around us, or ignore them. To ignore these problems, in our opinion, is letting down the brave men and women who risk everything. “Hero Of War” is our attempt to lift the stigma that surrounds everything from the skyrocketing suicide rate of troops, torture, internal sexual abuse, an under-funded VA, and the growing number of military personnel fighting Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as they return home. We hope this song and this video help the simmering dialogue about these problems evolve into a rolling boil.
-Rise Against
“The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naive and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who loves his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.”- H.L. Mencken
Dave Matthews Band release second track, “Shake Me Like A Monkey,”
Fans that have purchased the Dave Matthews Band iTunes pass will get a little closer to celebrating the new album, Big Whiskey and The GrooGrux King, with a second track from the upcoming record. The exclusive download of “Shake Me Like A Monkey” from the iTunes pass is the second in a series of pre-album releases with the deluxe iTunes package. Also exclusive with the package is a behind the scenes look at the making of the album as well as unreleased b-sides, a digital artwork booklet and live music from the band’s Spring and Summer 2009 tours.
In addition to these rarities, be sure to check out the Dave Matthews Band channel on You Tube to watch the Groo Grux album artwork come alive with a fun and unique musical animation.
Dave Matthews Band’s latest album Big Whiskey and The GrooGrux King hits stores June 2nd, but is now available for pre-order with the exclusive iTunes pass! For more news, tour dates and to pre-order the album in a variety of configurations visit DaveMatthewsBand.com.
Kate Voegele’s sophomore release, A Fine Mess, is available Now! The Mike Elizondo (Maroon 5, Natasha Bedingfield) produced album features the single “99 Times” and is currently streaming in full on Kate’s MySpace page. Like what you hear? Amazon MP3 is offering a great deal to grab the entire album for only $2.99. Follow these simple instructions to get the discounted tracks from Kate’s album page on MySpace.
