Apparently there’s a new game plan for how to premiere a big video: Air it along with a new episode of Jersey Shore. After Kanye West scored with his “Power” clip last summer using the strategy, Britney Spears plans to do the exact same thing come Feb. 17. Her Jonas Akerlund-directed “Hold It Against Me” video will premiere on MTV before a new episode of their most popular show at 9:56pm EST and simultaneously on Vevo online.
Find out when her album comes out after the jump.
Don’t agree to get on stage with Prince if you’re not going to shake it, friends. He apparently kicked Kim Kardashian off the stage last night at Madison Square Garden for her refusal to dance. The E! star made good on her second opportunity later in the concert, when Prince brought her back on stage and she complied with the obligatory dance moves. “I was so nervous I froze when Prince touched me,” she Tweeted. “Went up on stage AGAIN! This time I redeemed myself! We all danced while Prince played the piano! Wow! What a night!” Later in the show, Prince sang “Crazy” with Cee-Lo Green: READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Faustine/Dalle/startraksphoto.comLady Gaga has decided she can’t wait until the Grammys this coming Sunday as planned to debut her much-anticipated single, “Born This Way.” The diva tweeted about three hours ago that the single will instead see the light of day on Friday, although its unclear if that means a release on iTunes or a debut on a radio station or through some other means. “Can’t wait any longer, single coming Friday,” Gaga wrote rather cryptically. Details about the single have been shrouded in secrecy, but Gaga did release the credits and the full lyrics to the song about two weeks ago. Folks who have heard the track—from Perez Hilton to Elton John—have showered praise on the song.
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The unofficial start of the summer promises to be a fun one in Quincy, Wash. After last year’s sellout offering, the Sasquatch! Music Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre has announced its 2011 lineup. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Memorial Day weekend festival will feature sets from the Foo Fighters, the Decemberists, Robyn, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Local Natives, Matt & Kim, and Sleigh Bells, among others.
Image Credit: Patrick Semansky/AP Images In theory, the Black Eyed Peas are the perfect band to play at the Super Bowl halftime show. They’re glitzy, entertaining, and it’s hard to believe that any sporting event of the last five years hasn’t played a song by the group at some point during play. Yet, they seemed to fall short during the halftime show — standing up in front of a live crowd of more than 100,000 people, the Black Eyed Peas seemed… well, as small as peas themselves. The dancers surrounding them might have had to adhere to strict choreography, but the Peas, merely standing next to each other in a line, looked awkward, as if they didn’t have a concrete plan for what would happen after they descended from the sky (a cool effect, I’ll admit) at the beginning of the show. No matter how many awesome LED effects they could distract us with, you couldn’t mistake the fact that we were watching a small pack of four musicians — with plenty of sound problems. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Charlie Krupa/AP Images Because the Super Bowl can’t possibly make do with just one diva, two powerhouse songbirds kicked off this year’s game: Lea Michele and Christina Aguilera. Michele went first to warble out a (rather muzak-ically arranged) rendition of “America the Beautiful.” Dressed in a demure white pea coat and beige trousers, Michele sounded fine to my ears and seemed perfectly poised, her voice betraying little evidence of any nerves she might have been feeling. But let’s face it: Girl was merely the warm-up act for the real diva on hand — even if the camera did cut to ex-prez W and the missus Laura in the stadium during her song.
I suppose by Xtina standards, the “five-time Grammy winner” looked pretty modest as she took the stage to turn our national anthem into her usual melisma-palooza, but come on. Christina doesn’t get out of bed without the promise of at least a little razzle-dazzle. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Fin Costello/Redferns/Getty Images Gary Moore — the musician most well-known for being a former member of Irish band Thin Lizzy — has passed away at 58 years old. According to the Irish Times, the guitarist’s body was discovered in an Estepona, Spain hotel room Sunday; a postmortem will be carried out in the nearby Malaga. “We are aware [of Moore's death], and we stand ready to provide consular assistance,” a spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office Ministry. “We are very sorry for his family’s loss.” His death was confirmed on his own website with the following message: “It is with deep sorrow and regret, that we have to announce that Gary Moore passed away while on holiday in Spain last night.”
Moore played on Thin Lizzy’s most successful album, 1979′s Black Rose: A Rock Legend which contained the U.K. hit single, “Waiting For An Alibi.” Moore also worked with some of the industry’s most notable musicians, including Bob Dylan and George Harrison.
Is it really such a hassle to be in a perennially hip and critically acclaimed rock band? Apparently so. Just last week The White Stripes announced that they are calling it quits. Now LCD Soundsystem have posted a message on their official website declaring their imminent retirement from the live circuit.
“good people of earth,” begins the message, “lcd soundsystem are playing madison square garden on april 2nd, and it will be our last show ever. we are retiring from the game. gettin’ out. movin’ on. but for just one more night, we will be playing with friends and family for nearly 3 hours–playing stuff we’ve never played before and going out with a bang. and we’d like you to be there. if you would, we’d love it if people all came in white. or black. or black and white. and come ready to have fun, please. and come early, as the festivities will be opened by our favorites, liquid liquid. yes: liquid liquid. if it’s a funeral, let’s have the best funeral ever!!!”
You can check out the LCD website for ticket info.
Will you be attending this funeral party? Or do you have a favorite memory of seeing James Murphy and crew? Let us know!
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Sadly, Prince fans weren’t able to party like it’s 1999 this weekend: A pre-Super Bowl concert headlined by the musician was canceled just hours before ticket-buyers were set to pack the theater. According to the Associated Press, the concert — which was to be held Friday at TheEvent to benefit arts group The Goss-Michael Foundation — was halted for unknown reasons. First, The Goss-Michael foundation blamed the organizer for its cancellation in a statement early Friday (“It is our understanding that River Alexander Group, the event organizer, was unable to fund and produce the evening,” it said in a statement), then retracted their comments, insisting that Price had arrived in Dallas and that the show would go on. Prince, however, reportedly did not receive transportation to the event from the show’s organizers, and he was unable to get to the venue. Tickets cost upwards of $1,500; though ticket-holders will be reimbursed, Chris Arnold, the emcee and organizer of the event, told the AP: “I just want to let everybody know that I am truly sorry.”
