After only including releases from the previous 18 months to calculate the best selling albums on the Billboard chart, Billboard will now be incorporating catalog releases due to the massive sales of both Michael Jackson and The Beatles. The sales chart on November 25 will be the first tally of the comprehensive chart. In digital music news, 4 artists have already broken Rihanna’s track sales record of 9.9 million digital songs in 2008, including the late King of Pop, Lady Gaga, the Black Eyed Peas and Taylor Swift. The biggest news is probably that the country singer is the only artist that outsold Michael’s album this year in sales. Congratulations!
The list of exceptionally sought-after artists to perform at the American Music Awards seems to be growing more and more by the hour. It seems Janet Jackson will also be taking the stage at the prolific event. The event’s producer, Larry Klein said the following on the matter: “We’re thrilled about having Janet Jackson open this year’s show. She is an incredibly dynamic performer and I think the audience will be excited to see what she has in store.” What about the prizes? Is Janet Jackson nominated for anything… or is she just going to sing, smile and then shove-off?
If you are part of the Twitter world, I’m sure you would have noticed something a little off with Britney Spears’ page. Obviously, someone was able to hack into the pop star’s page. I have to give some props to whoever did it because it is pretty funny, albeit sick too. The hacker not only has the singer offer herself up to Satan but also has her warn us of the new world order. I wonder how Britney reacted when she saw her page when she woke up. I’m pretty sure she would have worn a face that I would have paid to see.
It seems the singer’s performing plans have once again become trapped by the incessant ramblings of religious men. Beyonce apparently wants to embark upon a noble quest: performing in Egypt. She’s never been there before, but it doesn’t look like she’s going to be welcomed with open arms. Some Islamic conservatives think that Beyonce’s concert is a godless procession of carnal pleasures… actually, there are quite a few of them. But Byonce, brave soul that she is, will go through with her concert. Let’s see just how conservative these people are, if the show sells out, then there might just be a few extra fireworks.
Well, the singer didn’t actually come up with the idea for the law, per say, but she really did give the Australians something to think about. It seems there is a new project of a law in Australia that will require all performers to declare beforehand if they are going to be lip-synching on a concert or not. This new idea comes after Britney Spears is asking for 1500 dollars for a ticket and everybody knows dear Britney Spears can’t be bothered to really sing live anymore. So, it seems Australia is taking the arts one step further… good for them! No pop artist is ever going to go to Australia anymore under these circumstances… aces!
After being hyped to the extreme, the Michael Jackson documentary ‘This is It’ has shaped up to be a disappointment. The late singer’s film made $20.7 million over the Halloween weekend, which was much less than Sony had expected. Execs apparently thought that the initial talk of sold-out screenings during the pre-sale has kept fans from turning out to see the movie. I guess they were way off the mark when they calculated the public interest. Perhaps all the hype surrounding the King of Pop is dying down. It should serve as a lesson to all those money-hungry people who want to get a free ride off it.
In an unlikely pairing, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles will be presenting a special performance from the Bolshoi Ballet and Lady Gaga on November 14th. The production is called ‘Ballets Russes Italian Style (The Shortest Musical You Will Never See Again)’. It’s being overseen by renowned Italian performance artist Francesco Vezzoli and finds the dancers choreographed to the pop singer’s inventive music. The performance is also reportedly going to feature the debut of Lady Gaga’s ‘Speechless’ single off of her ‘Fame Monster’ album. That sounds like an epic! And I think that the title of the show suits it. I doubt we ever will see that type of thing again.
The singer recently came up and admitted that she is terribly excited about hosting the famous Saturday Night Live show. Taylor Swift wrote the following on her twitter: : “Starting the SNL process I kinda feel like I might have a heart attack or pass out in the pitch meeting. I’m that excited.” Taylor Swift probably has nothing to worry about… if she does pass out, Taylor Lautner will most likely be there to catch her. Or, to make matters more amusing, Kanye West will play the part of the human trampoline, after all, it is supposed to be a comedy show.
The very first ever star to be a product of the Pop Idol industry… which is to say, the first prototype, Will Young recently admitted that he had started having some problems with being famous, problems which he solved by going to a therapist. Will Young related the experience: “I had thought I was coping well with my job and being famous but I became scared of going out and meeting people. I was going into loony, reclusive-pop-star mode, which is very easy to do because you’re always busy and people tend to do what you want. I went on the course and stood up and said, ‘Hi, I’m Will, I’m a pop star and I’m not very confident.’ It was like being in a comedy. But it was extremely valuable. I’m going on another one soon. I’m looking forward to it.” So, it looks like therapy is one big joke for Will Young. He shouldn’t take it so lightly, there are serious people there doing some serious things screwing with everyone’s brains.
Posted by Sam on 29th October 2009 in Book, Lady GaGa
I’m sure a lot of Lady Gaga fans are very excited for her newest release ‘The Fame Monster’ and I bet that excitement will grow exponentially once everyone finds out the details of the albums Deluxe Edition. On top of the 8 new studio recordings, it includes the original album ‘The Fame’ and ‘Book of Gaga’ – a highly stylized art book that comes in a custom slipcase documenting the singer’s rise into pop super stardom. It includes a lock of Lady Gaga’s hair, collectible puzzle, pictorials, a behind the scenes look at her creative process, pull out posters, themed fanzines, a paper doll collection, 3D glasses to view forthcoming visuals and personal notes from Lady Gaga. Wow!
I have some exciting new for all you Lady Gaga fans. Not only is the singer’s new single ‘Bad Romance’ already available on iTunes but a detailed track list for her album ‘The Fame Monster’ has been released. The list goes as ‘Bad Romance’, ‘Alejandro’, ‘Monster’, ‘Speechless’, ‘Dance in the Dark’, ‘Telephone’ featuring Beyonce’, ‘So Happy I Could Die’ and ‘Teeth’. Yes, Beyonce will be on one of the Princess of Pop’s tracks! Lady Gaga was recently filming a video for Beyonce’s ‘Video Phone’. I wonder if they filmed a video for ‘Telephone’ too. By the way, I’m having a slight chuckle at the titles of their songs.
The choreographer of the late pop legend’s final concerts and the man behind the soon to be hit movie “This is It!”, Kenny Ortega, recently told the story of how he was helping Michael Jackson fight weight soon before he died. Kenny Ortega said: “He was thin, but he was at what he liked to call his ‘fighting weight.’ He didn’t like to eat, but we were always watching him and making sure he had plenty of protein drinks and fluids. We were there sliding chicken salads in front of him and making sure he was OK. But he was strong and he was getting stronger.” So, let’s try and clarify this: Michael Jackson was at the ideal weight for fighting or what exactly is Kenny Ortega trying to say here? Oh well, at least they were there with the chicken salads every now and again… that must’ve been a real help.
AllGood Entertainment is now after Michael Jackson’s estate in the battle over profits from the upcoming movie ‘This is It’, along with revenues from the Sony catalog. The company is suing for over $300 million. AllGood previously filed a lawsuit against the King of Pop, AEG Live and Frank Dileo for $40 million when the singer was still alive. Now the company filed an amended suit which includes the estate of Michael with the original defendants still named in the amended suit. AllGood sued because it claims that Dileo acted as Michael’s agent and agreed to a Jackson family reunion concert that got torpedoed when the London concerts were booked.
It seems that the pop star has decided to take her new adopted daughter back to Malawi to meet her biological father. Moreover, Madonna also wants to give Mercy a chance to bond with her dad. A source said the following about Madonna’s decision: “Madonna wants Mercy to learn all about her culture and the community where she was born. She realises her kids need a sense of home and she’s determined to do all she can to give that to them. She doesn’t want to deny Mercy anything in life – and that includes meeting her dad if that’s possible.” Apparently the man was against the adoption from the get go… is Madonna really doing this as a sort of “in your face” thing or because her guy-toy boyfriend isn’t really a suficient father figure for Mercy at this time?
It was originally reported that Katherine Jackson will receive 40 percent of son Michael Jackson’s estate with 40 percent going to the late singer’s children and 20 percent going to charity. However, it is ultimately up to the trustees to decide the amount of money to go to the beneficiaries. Regardless of not receiving her whole share from the get go, Katherine has plenty of cash as she’s getting a large allowance at the moment and once the trust is active, she will receive more. Whatever remains in her trust at the time of her death will automatically go to the King of Pop’s kids.
Madonna has finally won damages from a British newspaper for publishing pictures of her wedding to Guy Ritchie. Though the exact amount of the money that the singer collected was not disclosed, in her initial arguments, the Queen of Pop demanded anything in excess of $8 million. The pictures that were published were actually stolen from her California home. There’s no word yet if she will be splitting the money with Guy. I would imagine that it’s highly unlikely though. Why anyone would screw with Madonna, I don’t know. I’m just glad that I can laugh at them for thinking they could actually get away with it.
When your mom happens to be the Queen of Pop, I doubt that you’re not going to want a piece of that pie. That’s why we can’t be surprised when Madonna gave details on daughter Lourdes Leon and her very ambitious entertainment career aspirations. In a recent interview, the singer talked about Lola’s cameo in her ‘Celebration’ video, following her footsteps and accepting Lola’s decision regarding her career path. Madonna said “I’m fine with it, as long as she finishes school, and takes it seriously. She also plays piano, and she’s really into clothes and fashion and style. She can go in any direction. She’s got a lot of diverse interests right now. We’ll see. I’m not pushing anything. We’ll see what she wants to do.” Madonna also said that she thinks Lola wants to be more of an actress rather than a singer.
For some time now, rumors have been going around that the Pussycat Dolls were breaking up. Well, the time has come for the music group to talk of a much needed break. Band member Melody Thornton confirmed that they were taking some time off from each other but assures fans that they will get back together soon. The singer said “Yeah, we’re taking a break. No, [we're not broken up] … everybody keeps saying that, but it’s like, let me see who took a break? Dave Chappelle. Remember when Dave Chappelle took that break? OK, maybe Dave Chappelle’s a bad example. What about, like, Hootie and the Blowfish?” Someone needs to get more familiar with pop culture during her break.
American Idol champ Kris Allen has released his new single ‘Live like We’re Dying’ off of the singer’s as yet untitled album which is scheduled to come out on November 17. Let me say this – I am quite sure that this is going to be a smash hit! The song is actually a cover from the Irish pop rock band The Script. Just like Kris did with Kanye West’s song ‘Heartless’, he totally sang the cover song as if it was it was written for him to sing. Honestly, he’s the only one I know who can make a cover sound totally original.
One of the doctors who assisted the LAPD in Michael Jackson’s death investigation has written a letter to President Barrack Obama. The topic of the letter was to make it tougher for people to obtain controlled medication. In the letter, Dr. Susan Essien Etok, the doctor who claimed that the late King of Pop offered her £500,000 to supply him with drugs, urges the President to consider “harsher punitive measures” for unethical doctors who are willing to hand out strong drugs to anyone for the right price. Etok also said that “no individual Doctor is responsible for Michael’s death.” She also compared the singer’s passing to that of Elvis Presley, Heath Ledger and Anna Nicole Smith – all of whom died with drug cocktails in their system.