LeAnn Rimes‘ new single, “Crazy Women,” opens dramatically: “Who’d have guessed that Aquanet/Could start a fire with a single cigarette?” And with that line, a sardonic country-pop revenge tale bursts into flame. You can hear the tune over at People, which compares it to Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats.”
“Crazy women, ex-wives, and old girlfriends/Keep their crazy hidden ’til they’re pushed off the deep end,” goes the catchy chorus. A moment later she clarifies: “Crazy women are made by crazy men.” Might Rimes just possibly be responding to all the tabloid tsking about her personal life? Hmm…
“Crazy Women” will appear on Rimes’ upcoming album Lady and Gentlemen. Take a listen over at People and let us know whether you like it.
Image Credit: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images; Ray Tamarra/Getty ImagesHe may—or may not!—have initially objected to the reality-show songbird’s cover of his elegiac 1972 ballad “Perfect Day,” but now irascible rock icon Lou Reed has decided to go ahead and take a walk on the Scottish side, working with SuBo on her new, homeland-set video for the track.
Reed’s manager confirms that the Velvet Underground godhead did indeed create the concept for the Loch Lomond-filmed clip—but didn’t in fact direct it or even travel to Scotland for the shoot, as severalnewsoutlets have erroneously reported.
In a year that already saw match-ups with R&B space oddity Janelle Monae and Somali-Canadian star K’Naan, Coca Cola has paired once again with a musical artist to create an original ad song–this time, San Francisco pop rockers Train.
Stream the band’s “Shake Up Christmas” spot after the jump (and find the full song on their official YouTube channel here) : READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Solarpix/PR PhotosThe Internet is abuzz with speculation about just how many of Michael Jackson‘s original vocals ended up on Michael, his upcoming album of unreleased material. Those rumors heated up today with the release of “Breaking News,” the first single from the album.
Some fans are convinced that the lead vocals on “Breaking News,” particularly during the verses, don’t sound enough like the late legend they remember. Others feel that perhaps Jackson was just using a different vocal timbre than usual.
Jackson’s label has acknowledged that at least some of the tracks on Michael were brought to completion after his death last year. Beyond that, specifics on these recording sessions are hard to come by, so it’s an open question for now.
Visit Jackson’s official site to hear “Breaking News” if you haven’t already, then hit the jump to vote in our poll: Is that really Michael Jackson singing or not?READ FULL STORY »
The first single from Michael, the set of unreleased Michael Jackson recordings due Dec. 14, is streaming this morning from Jackson’s official site as promised. It hasn’t been made clear exactly to what degree “Breaking News” was completed after the King of Pop’s 2009 death — some have even questioned whether Jackson actually sang on these tracks — and listening may or may not provide a final answer.
The track opens with a few staticky tabloid news headlines: “The paparazzi would not leave him alone… Here we go again, another lawsuit for Michael Jackson… More allegations against him.” In comes a tight new jack swing beat, à la 1991′s Dangerous, followed by some angry, half-whispered lead vocals that remind me more of 1995′s HIStory. “Everybody wanting a piece of Michael Jackson,” he hisses, presciently adding after a few lines, ”They want to write my obituary.” Later on he reaches the chorus: “Why is it strange that I would fall in love?/Who is the boogieman you’re thinking of?”
The theme of lashing out at the press is vintage Jackson, dating back at least to 1987′s “Leave Me Alone.” Aside from that, the melody here feels second-rate, with echoes of his own “Who Is It” and (to my ears, in the descending verses) Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative.” This probably shouldn’t come as a surprise. Jackson chose to leave “Breaking News” unfinished in his vaults for a reason. But dedicated fans will no doubt appreciate the chance to hear even these warmed-over leftovers.
What do you think of “Breaking News”? Will you be buying Michael next month?
Image Credit: Barry Brecheisen/WireImage.comLady Gaga triumphed at the 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards, which aired last night from Madrid, Spain. Gaga took home trophies in the categories of Best Pop, Best Female, and Best Song.
Justin Bieber won two EMAs, for Best Male and Best Push Act. Other winners in the viewer-voted awards show included Eminem, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, and Global Icon honorees Bon Jovi.
Check out MTV Europe’s official site for the full list, and click through to the jump to see Katy Perry perform “Firework” in Madrid.
Did you watch the EMAs? What did you think of the winners and performances? Sound off in the comments. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Vinnie Zuffante/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesHours before his tragic murder in December 1980, John Lennon sat down with a radio DJ for what would be his last interview ever. A producer who was present for the interview at Lennon’s New York home asked the singer to autograph a poster for him afterward — and now, 30 years later, with the autograph about to go up for auction, he’s released a previously unheard recording of the exchange.
You can hear the audio clip over at CNBC. It’s about a minute long, with Lennon bantering idly about which kind of pen to use and so on. In any other context this would be just a random footnote, but there’s something sadly compelling about listening in on what is apparently a mundane moment from Lennon’s last day of life.
What do you think of this clip? Was the producer right to release this after so many years? Let us know in the comments.
It’s been nine years since Huey Lewis and the News released a new CD. But the band who scored twelve top-10 hits (including “The Power of Love” from Back to the Future) during the ’80s has just released Soulsville, a tribute record to the ’60s soul songs of the Memphis-based Stax record label. Once I got over the fact that Lewis is now 60 years old (!), I quizzed him on his new sound…and whether he knew he was MTV VJ Dave Holmes’ childhood crush.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You recorded much of Soulsville in Memphis. How else did you get into the mood besides being there?
HUEY LEWIS: First of all, you listen to the songs a lot by yourself. You do all that work by yourself, like an actor would. You develop a whole backstory of what this character’s going through and you find a voice for the guy who’s going through this, who’s singing this song.
A lot of the songs on the record involve physical and emotional turmoil. Yet your persona is very happy-go-lucky and positive. It’s true, I do like cheering people up. A buddy of mine in the Tower of Power horns used to say to me, “It’s a big job, cheering up the world, No. 1.” He calls me “No. 1.” I’m unapologetic about the happy part of it, and I would submit to you that many of these songs—“Never Found A Girl,” “Just the One (I’ve Been Looking For)”—are in fact happy.
So have you always been a frustrated soul singer doing pop music? Or do you feel like you were able to infuse some soul into your pop records? Rather than record chestnuts like “Knock On Wood” or “In the Midnight Hour” and give them a modern interpretation, we thought it would be cooler to go into the catalog a little deeper and find songs that people hadn’t heard and capture them faithfully. And oddly enough, when it was all said and done, I had this amazing feeling—and several critics have pointed this out—that it wasn’t all that dissimilar from Huey Lewis and the News [music]. So I realized, “S—! I really was influenced by this soul!” I never heard that in our music. I thought our music was more rock ‘n’ roll. But there you go.
You avoided some very well-known songs like “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay,” but you were willing to follow Bruce Willis, who had a hit with “Respect Yourself.” I never heard his version. I really didn’t.
Do you now feel like you’re a part of the Memphis soul community? Or are they hesitant to admit a blue-eyed member?
Well, I was just in Memphis, and this guy comes up to me and says, “I was James Brown’s road manager for 15 years, and I want to tell you something.” And he whispers in my ear, “You were the only white boy James ever liked.” That’s awesome. Get out of here!
With Elton John and Rod Stewart in the top 10 of the album chart, it’s a good time for artists in their 60s. But it’s still hard to sell records after a certain age, isn’t it? There’s people out there that don’t buy a CD all year. The market has just shrunk. Ten million people bought the Sports record when there were 200 million people in America. One out of 20 owned the stupid thing. So there’s got to be a market out there. But how you get to them, I have no idea. And you know what? I’m not interested.
How do you keep from getting depressed that you can’t play the big concert venues that you used to? I got a very good life. I sold plenty of records, I get recognized plenty, I can always have somebody call up and get me a fine table at a restaurant. What do you really need, ultimately? The only part that’s surprising to me is I always thought if you have a sold-out house of 20,000 people and you do a fabulous show, that they’re going to come back and see you every time you play. I’ve had many people tell me that they saw me at Blossom [outside Cleveland] in ’85 and it was the best rock ‘n’ roll show they’ve ever seen. And so I say to them, “When did you last see us?” And they say, “That was it.” It’s like, “We’ve played there every year since!” But that’s the way it happens. That’s the part of it that I never understood. But I do now.
Did you hear about the “It Gets Better” video that the former MTV VJ Dave Holmes posted, where he said that seeing you at the beginning of the “I Want A New Drug” video made him realize he was gay? Here, I’ll play it for you. That’s cute. I’m flattered! That’s sweet. I remember when I filmed that scene, I didn’t wear a shirt, I wore boxer shorts. It was the Paul Newman scene in The Sting; that’s where I swiped it. Paul Newman wakes up and he’s hung over and fills the sink with ice and puts his head in the ice. So that was just a rip-off of that scene.
Check out Huey and the boys performing the album’s title track:
Image Credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic.comThought Steven Tyler wouldn’t respond to Kid Rock’s smackdown in this week’s EW? Dream On.
In a quote that quicklywent viral, Rock told us that the Aerosmith frontman’s decision to join the judges’ table on American Idol was “the stupidest thing he’s ever done in his life. He’s a sacred American institution of rock ‘n’ roll, and he just threw it all out the window. Just stomped on it and set it on fire.”
“I think whoever’s advising him,” he continued, “we should bring back the guillotine, or whatever they call that thing. And if it was himself, he needs some serious counseling. I love him to death, but I gotta speak the truth.”
This afternoon at a Idol press conference in L.A., Tyler struck back, telling a roomful of reporters: “He’s just jealous, he’s just jealous. And he’s working his new record, so God bless him.”
Not to be outdone, his fellow judge Randy Jackson joked, “Who’s Kid Rock? Is he a singer?”
A new Michael Jackson album titled Michael will arrive in stores Dec. 14, Epic Records announced today via press release. The album will contain previously unreleased songs recorded during the final years of Jackson’s life, at least some of which have been completed by others after his 2009 death.
The first single from Michael, “Breaking News,” was recorded in New Jersey three years ago and finished this year. It will be streaming on Jackson’s official site for one week beginning next Monday, Nov. 8.
Michael is part of the 10-album deal with Sony that was announced in March.
What do you think of this news? Looking forward to hearing “Breaking News”?
LeAnn Rimes‘ new single, “Crazy Women,” opens dramatically: “Who’d have guessed that Aquanet/Could start a fire with a single cigarette?” And with that line, a sardonic country-pop revenge tale bursts into flame. You can hear the tune over at People, which compares it to Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats.”
