Archive: May 2010 (1-10 of 123)

May 28 2010 12:00 PM ET

Backstreet Boys part ways with longtime label Jive: 'This is the best thing that could happen to us'

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Categories: Backstreet Boys

backstreet_boysImage Credit: Gary Gershoff/WireImage.comAfter a 17-year relationship that yielded 130 million(!) in record sales, eight top-10 albums, and untold episodes of delirious fan fiction, the Backstreet Boys and their label Jive/Zomba are no more—and apparently they both wanted it that way.

Here’s what the band had to say on their official website, in a post entitled (insert Braveheart voice) “Freedom”:

So the news is out! The Backstreet Boys are no longer signed to long time record label Jive Records. The amicable split is very exciting for the group. “This is the best thing, at the best time that could have ever happened for us”, says Brian Littrell. “We are confident in the future of our band, and are looking forward to the new things to come. 2011 is going to be a great year for us!”

One new thing you can’t join them in, unless you’ve already been waitlisted? The Backstreet Boys cruise, slated to travel from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico from December 9-13; it’s all sold out.

Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

More from EW.com’s Music Mix:
Kanye West’s new song ‘Power’ disses ‘SNL,’ samples King Crimson
Usher stays on top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart
Big Boi’s “Shutterbugg” gets a surreal video
Vampire Weekend go for baroque in ‘Holiday’ video
Lee DeWyze’s post-Idol career: Will he be a Kelly Clarkson or a Taylor Hicks?
The Swell Season covers a disco classic: Stream it exclusively here

May 28 2010 10:08 AM ET

Kanye West's new song 'Power' disses 'SNL,' samples King Crimson

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Categories: Hip-Hop/Rap, Kanye West, Leaks

kanye-westImage Credit: Foc Kan/WireImage.com“I guess every superhero needs his theme music,” Kanye West says at the start of a newly leaked song called “Power.” This is, maybe, our first glimpse of the mysterious album he’s reportedly been working on in Hawaii all these months. Kanye West, back to save the day! Yet “Power” is something darker and more complicated than a rah-rah Superman theme. “No one man should have all that power” is the full line from which the title is drawn. That’s an ambivalent phrase to hook a potential single on. READ FULL STORY »

May 27 2010 03:45 PM ET

Bret Michaels talks Miley Cyrus duet: 'It got really controversial for no reason, and it's kind of a bummer'

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Categories: Bret Michaels, Miley Cyrus

Bret-Michaels-Miley-CyrusImage Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images; Cyrus: Albert L. Ortega/PR PhotosBret Michaels just might be Miley Cyrus’ biggest fan. Last year, Michaels helped Cyrus with her cover of his band Poison’s hit “Every Rose Has Its Thorn.” She repaid the favor by singing on his new single “Nothing to Lose,” whose suggestive lyrics have raised some eyebrows. So how exactly did the two singers, ages 47 and 17 respectively, link up in the studio, anyway? “Miley and her family have been friends of mine for a long time,” the Celebrity Apprentice winner, who’s recovering nicely from a recent brain hemorrhage, tells EW. “I know people tried to start all these rumors, but I’ve been friends with her family forever.”

Some time ago, Michaels happened to be working on his album Custom Built (due July 6) in the same recording studio as Cyrus. When she offered to sing harmony on “Nothing to Lose,” he agreed right away. “I guess in hindsight I should have looked more at the maturity of the song,” Michaels concedes. “But she was never singing it to me, so I never thought about it. It got really controversial for no reason, and it’s kind of a bummer, because it took it away from how beautiful the song really is.”

Gossip or not, he’s happy to sing his duet partner’s praises. “I will say this about Miley,” Michaels adds. “She can sit down at the piano or with a guitar and she can sing and she can play. I think she’s going through that transitional period where you are going from a kid to a teenager to an adult, and that’s a tough transition. I think she’s one of the few musicians that can actually do it.” —Reporting by Dalton Ross

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

More from EW.com’s Music Mix:
Usher stays on top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart
Big Boi’s “Shutterbugg” gets a surreal video
Vampire Weekend go for baroque in ‘Holiday’ video
Lee DeWyze’s post-Idol career: Will he be a Kelly Clarkson or a Taylor Hicks?
The Swell Season covers a disco classic: Stream it exclusively here

May 27 2010 02:59 PM ET

Ornery 'agitprop pop' singer M.I.A. tweets reporter's home phone number after unflattering New York Times profile

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Categories: Divas!, Let's Argue!, M.I.A.

MIAImage Credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic.com Call a pop star out on the contradictions in her “message,” and pay the price—via Tweet.

Celebrity profiler/muckraker Lynn Hirschberg (she wrote the infamous 1992 Kurt ‘n’ Courtney profile in Vanity Fair, for one) learned that the hard way today when her recent New York Times cover story on M.I.A. displeased the singer enough to make her post Hirschberg’s personal cell number on her official Twitter.

“917.834.—- CALL ME IF YOU WANNA TALK TO ME ABOUT THE N Y T TRUTH ISSUE, ill b taking calls all day bitches ;) ” M.I.A., a.k.a. Maya Arulpragasam tweeted late this morning; the number, of course, is not actually hers but Hirschberg’s (we deleted the last four digits here, in the interest of preserving the writer’s privacy, such as it is at this point.)

In the piece, Hirschberg repeatedly targets the disconnect between the “Paper Planes” singer’s strident rebel persona and the rather luxurious lifestyle she leads in L.A.’s tony Brentwood neighborhood with fiance Ben Bronfman, the scion of the Seagrams dynasty (his grandfather Charles Bronfman’s net worth is estimated at $2.8 billion). And she does call her recent ginger-massacre video for “Born Free” both “exploitative and hollow” and “at best, politically naive.” READ FULL STORY »

May 27 2010 01:30 PM ET

Usher stays on top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart

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Categories: B.O.B., Charts, Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, Usher

usherUsher remains king of Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart. His “OMG” comes in at No. 1 for its third non-consecutive week. Last week’s No. 2, Katy Perry’s “California Gurls,” featuring Snoop Dogg, falls to No. 3. While B.o.B’s “Airplanes” featuring Hayley Williams rises from No. 3 to No. 2. Taio Cruz’s “Break Your Heart,” featuring Ludacris, moves up one from No. 5 to No. 4.

Ke$ha‘s “Your Love Is My Drug” stays at No. 7. Lady Gaga is creeping up to her seventh straight top five hit. Her “Alejandro” moves up two spots to No. 6. Miley Cyrus bursts on to the chart with her latest single, “Can’t Be Tamed.” It debuts at No. 8. Two former No. 1s round out the top 10. Eminem‘s “Not Afraid” drops three to No. 9. And “Rude Boy” by Rihanna goes from No. 9 to No. 10.

La Roux‘s “Bulletproof,” an infectious track that has slowly been burning up the chart, landed at No. 14 this week. Drake closes out the top 20. His “Over” and “Find Your Love” are No. 19 and 20 respectively.

Happy for Miley Cyrus? Think Gaga is going to crack the top five? Talk to us.

May 27 2010 12:32 PM ET

The 'Doctor Who' theme tune gets covered... On giant Tesla coils!

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Categories: Television

Doctor-Who-Matt-SmithImage Credit: BBC AmericaOne of my many peculiar habits is collecting cover versions of the lolloping theme tune to the BBC sci fi show Doctor Who, of which there has been a surprisingly large amount. In 1984, reggae great Augustus Pablo offered up a haunting revamp in cahoots with the Dub Syndicate on their fantastic North of the River Thames album. Four years later, the Timelords (AKA pop culture mischief-makers the KLF) scored a U.K. number one with “Doctorin’ the Tardis,” which spliced the track with Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll (Part Two).” And just the other week, a friend of mine pointed me in the direction of another reworking, this one by British grime-rapper Lady Leshurr.

So, you can imagine my joy when today I saw footage from last weekend’s science-oriented Maker Faire which features the Doctor Who theme being performed on giant Tesla coils while some guy dances around in a Faraday suit. Actually, as I’m not technically a “scientist,” I don’t really know what the blue blazes going on in the video, which I’ve posted after the jump (together with the mighty “Doctorin’ the Tardis”). But I guarantee it’s worth a minute and forty seven seconds of your time.

READ FULL STORY »

May 27 2010 12:16 PM ET

Big Boi's 'Shutterbugg' gets a surreal video: Watch it here

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Categories: Big Boi, Hip-Hop/Rap, Music Videos

Big Boi’s Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty is coming! Really. He swears. The latest release target for the OutKast spitter’s long-delayed solo debut is July 6, 2010. One reason to believe this date over all the other ones we’ve heard through the years is that the promotional gears at Big Boi’s new label, Def Jam, have begun visibly grinding. For instance, “Shutterbugg,” the superb new single that marked Big Boi’s debut as a Def Jam artist early last month, now has a video.

The clip boasts appropriately nutty imagery to go with the song’s wild sound. There are dancers in neon-accented jumpsuits. There’s a band of Crank Yankers-esque puppets, including one felt fella on vocoder. There’s a woman holding Big Boi’s disembodied head in the crook of her arm as if he were a hip-hop Ichabod Crane. There’s also a wall of red plastic cups accompanied by four kegs, which I’m guessing might contain something stronger than mere beer, considering all the other trippy sights in this video. Absinthe, perhaps?

Check out the “Shutterbugg” video after the jump (clip via One Thirty BPM). How do you like it? Looking forward to Sir Lucious Leftfoot?

READ FULL STORY »

May 27 2010 11:59 AM ET

Vampire Weekend go for baroque in campy 'Holiday' video: Watch it here

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Categories: Indie Rock, New Stuff, Vampire Weekend, Video Gaga

vampire-weekendRock them, Amadeus! Jaunty prep-school rockers Vampire Weekend, in full powdered-wig regalia, get britches-deep in modern L.A. living (pool parties! Venice Beach! iced lattes!) in their new video for the sunny single “Holiday”: READ FULL STORY »

May 27 2010 11:35 AM ET

50 Cent drops 50 pounds for movie role: See the shocking pictures here

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Categories: 50 Cent, Hip-Hop/Rap, Things That Are Odd, Things That Are Strange, Things That Make Us Uncomfortable

50-centImage Credit: thisis50.comWhoa! 50 Cent (real name: Curtis Jackson) made a hell of a sacrifice for his upcoming movie. Usually the MC looks like an NFL linebacker. But for his starring role in the Mario Van Peebles-directed Things Fall Apart, a movie he wrote, 50 dropped 54 pounds to play a college football player battling cancer. On a liquid diet and three-hour-a-day treadmill stints, he went from 214 pounds to a sickly 160 pounds, reports US Weekly.

It’s not unusual for actors to lose extreme weight for movie parts. Matt Damon got bony for Courage Under Fire. Will Smith shrunk for Seven Pounds, and Christian Bale got frail for The Machinist. But those were all for major releases. There’s no word yet on if this movie will hit theaters or not.

Maybe this will be 50′s breakout role. But there’s a good chance it won’t. As an actor, 50 Cent has only starred in a handful of major releases and straight-to-DVD castoffs. His film debut came in 2005 with the semi-autobiographical Get Rich or Die Tryin’, and in 2008 he acted alongside Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in the commercial flop Righteous Kill. All of his showings suggest that he should stick to his day job, though it seems he’s bent on Hollywood stardom.

50′s currently out on his national Invitation tour and back in fighting shape. On his website, a recent picture shows a healthier 50 rapping with his G-Unit mates Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. Check out another picture of the slim 50 after the jump.

READ FULL STORY »

May 27 2010 10:32 AM ET

Lee DeWyze's post-'Idol' career: Will he be a Kelly Clarkson or a Taylor Hicks?

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Categories: Lee DeWyze

Lee-DeWyzeImage Credit: Michael Becker/FoxAs you’ve no doubt heard, Lee DeWyze is your new American Idol. Now what?

DeWyze’s victory last night demonstrates that he has millions of fans who are at least committed enough to call a phone number. The question is how many of those fans will keep supporting DeWyze by buying CDs, concert tickets, and other merchandise in the years to come. Right now, that question is an open one, as it would have been for anyone else who won American Idol‘s ninth season.

That crown, after all, doesn’t carry the same weight it once did. Look at last season’s winner, Kris Allen, whose debut album made an underwhelming first-week splash on the charts in November. A year after winning Idol, Allen is still fighting to stay on the public’s mind and expand his fan base. DeWyze will have to work even harder if he ever wants to be mentioned in the same breath as Idol-winning megastars like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood — and avoid the fate of season five champ Taylor Hicks, who’s been all but forgotten by the mainstream pop world.

So what should he do? Here’s some unsolicited advice: DeWyze should stay true to his own sound. This is a guy who has Cat Stevens lyrics tattooed on his body. I’d suggest booking some extended studio time with a serious producer who shares his love of roots and folk-rock — someone like T Bone Burnett — and seeing what emerges. That might sound like it contradicts my previous suggestion that DeWyze needs to hustle toward a bigger pop profile, but it doesn’t have to. Ultimately, any success DeWyze sees from now on will be largely due to his own merits as a singer and songwriter. Drawing on the influences that he personally cares most deeply about could be his surest path to lasting stardom.

In other words, the future of Lee DeWyze’s career is up to him. Which really means it’s up to you. Will you support DeWyze’s future endeavors? Do you think he has what it takes to become a major-league pop star outside of the Idol dome?

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

More from EW.com’s Music Mix:
The Swell Season covers a disco classic: Stream it exclusively here
Liam Gallagher’s new band is called Beady Eye. Where on earth did he get the idea for having a name that starts with the letters B, E, and A?
Apple’s online practices reportedly spark antitrust investigation
Christina Aguilera explains tour postponement: Are you convinced?

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