Archive: August 2011 (111-120 of 202)

Aug 16 2011 01:16 PM ET

'Idol' alum Brooke White releases debut single as Jack and White, 'Gemini': Hear it here! -- EXCLUSIVE

by
Categories: American Idol, An EW Exclusive!, Brooke White, Buzzworthy, Pop
Brooke-White-Jack

Over two years after the release of her post-American Idol record, High Hopes and Heartbreak, sunny Season 7 American Idol alum Brooke White is back, but no longer as a solo artist.

White now sings alongside Jack Matranga in a duo they’ve named Jack and White, which formed earlier this year after the two met for a songwriting session for White’s own album. “Everything we started writing started sounding like its own thing,” White explains to EW. “This wasn’t a Brooke White record, this was a collaboration.” And so, the duo was born.

A few months later, Jack and White are set to unveil their debut EP, Gemini, on August 30. The disc, currently available for pre-order on iTunes, has a “modern folk-pop” sound according to White. The singer, in true songwriter fashion, also describes her duo’s sound with an image: “Horseback riding down the Pacific coast—that’s what it is!”

EW has the exclusive stream of the pair’s debut single, “Gemini,” a luminous track that, as the lyrics state, walks “a fine line between darkness and sunshine.” Check it out below: READ FULL STORY »

Aug 16 2011 12:47 PM ET

Happy 53rd birthday, Madonna! You're still our lucky star

by
Categories: Divas!, Happy Birthday!, Things We Love, This Day in Rock History
Madonna

Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

Fifty-three years ago today in Bay City, Michigan, one crazy little Ciccone roller was born. (and yes, it was—no joke!—a Saturday.)

Today we salute the woman she’s become: a superstar whose single name is so well known across the globe, it nearly subsumes, you know, that other one; a vanguard of pop and power and general cultural next-leveldom whose thighs still look like a 19-year-old Romanian gymnast’s, and whose boyfriend is, in fact, a 19-year-old Frenchman. (Just kidding, pervs; he’s a wise and seasoned 24.)

So let’s watch some classic pre-fame Madge to celebrate. Here she is, auditioning for Fame in 1982: READ FULL STORY »

Aug 16 2011 11:52 AM ET

Jay-Z says wife Beyonce is 'the second coming' of Michael Jackson: Yes, he knows it's blasphemy

by
Categories: Beyonce, Jay-Z, Ladies, Michael Jackson, Pop, R&B, Things That Make Us Go Hmm
Destinys-Child

Image Credit: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect/Getty Images

His comments should probably be taken with a grain of salt, considering he’s the lady’s husband, but Jay-Z recently bestowed Beyoncé with a heavy compliment.

During an interview with Miami radio station 99 Jamz, Jay compared his wife’s work ethic to that of late pop icon Michael Jackson. Then he took it a step further, saying she’s the closest thing we’ve got to MJ now.

“What I’ve learned from her is the same thing I learned from Mike,” Jay said after being asked what Beyoncé’s taught him.  “And I know it’s blasphemy to compare the two because Mike was such an innovator. But I think she’s like the second coming. The hard work and the dedication that she puts into her shows… It just makes you want to work harder at your craft. She’s like a machine.”

Before you just go on and dismiss Jay completely, know that he’s more than just a loving husband; he is of course a major artist himself, one who even collaborated Jackson years ago.

READ FULL STORY »

Aug 16 2011 11:35 AM ET

Jeff Bridges performs on 'Today,' doesn't care about the Grammys: Watch it here

by
Categories: Country, Y'all!, Jeff Bridges

Jeff Bridges’ musical pedigree was cemented well before he put out an album or even won an Oscar for his portrayal of a down-and-out country star in the film Crazy Heart.

Some thirteen years ago, The Big Lebowski‘s Dude dug on Creedence but hated the Eagles. Now that is country strong.

In any event, Bridges got his band (and his beard) up early this morning to pay a visit to Today to chat with Matt Lauer and play “What a Little Bit of Love Can Do,” the opening track from his new album, which hits store shelves today.

He told Lauer that the song (which was written by former Kris Kristofferson collaborator Stephen Bruton) was one of the tunes considered for inclusion in Crazy Heart, and it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to hear the song coming out of Bad Blake.

Check out Bridges’ early-morning honky-tonkin’ after the jump. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 16 2011 08:31 AM ET

Joe Jonas and Jay Sean announce joint fall tour -- EXCLUSIVE

by
Categories: Jay Sean, Jonas Brothers, Tours

Two buttery-voiced pop entertainers, one nationwide fall tour.

Baby, are you down? We’re down. Down like the economy, one might say!

Joe Jonas and R&B crooner Jay Sean reveal exclusively on EW.com today that they’ll be teaming up to co-headline a 19-city tour this fall.

The duo will kick off their run on Sept. 6 at Boston’s House of Blues and continue across North America. They’ll hit Chicago, Los Angeles and other major cities along the way.

Jonas, who just celebrated his 22nd birthday yesterday, will be touring to support the release of his Oct. 11 debut album FastLife. Meanwhile, Jay Sean, the man who brought us bouncy R&B jams like “Do You Remember” and of course “Down,” is gearing up for the release of his fourth studio album, Freeze Time.

The tour will conclude in New York on Oct. 6—just in time for Jonas to hop a plane and say “Hej där” to Sweden as he joins Britney Spears on the European leg of her Femme Fatale tour on Oct. 16.

Tickets go on sale starting on Friday, August 19.  Check www.ticketmaster.com, www.joejonasmusic.com, www.jayseanworldwide.com, or local box offices for further information and updates on the tour including additional details on ticket sales.

Read more on EW.com:

Joe Jonas drops new single ‘Love Slayer’
Jay Sean’s new single ’2012′: A late-summer anthem?
Jay Sean’s ‘Down’ dethrones the Black Eyed Peas at last on the singles chart


Aug 15 2011 05:25 PM ET

Kenny Chesney at the New Meadowlands: Summer's best entrance?

by
Categories: Country, Y'all!, Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band
Chesney

Summer is coming to a close, and so is Kenny Chesney’s Goin’ Coastal tour, which wraps Aug. 28.

On Saturday night, Chesney played New Jersey’s New Meadowlands Stadium — home to the New York Giants and New York Jets — with Zac Brown Band, Billy Currington, and Uncle Kracker in a show billed as the biggest single ticketed country event in the New York/New Jersey area since 1983.

Chesney told the crowd it was a date he’d been looking forward to since the tour began in March, and a night so huge for him that he made sure his mother was in attendance. (He invited her onstage to wave to the crowd, estimated at 55,000.)

When I think of Summer 2011, I will always remember the sight of Chesney making his entrance to “Live a Little,” floating high above the crowd, standing in their floor seats, for the entire length of the song in the rain. It was beautiful — seeing the dark stadium in the background with camera flashes that looked like stars. (Watch a fan-shot video after the jump.)

For me, this was the best concert entrance of the summer; it announced that country music could fill the Meadowlands, in more ways than one. (And that’s something anyone who saw the stadium erupt when ZBB closed its set moving from “Free”/”Into the Mystic” to “America the Beautiful”/”Chicken Fried” already knew.)

What’s the best concert entrance you’ve seen this summer? And ever?

READ FULL STORY »

Aug 15 2011 02:56 PM ET

'American Idols LIVE!': Which season 10 contestants did best? Who was the worst?

by
Categories: Music
IdolsLive-Newark

Image Credit: Jemal Countess/Getty Images

On Saturday night in Atlantic City, 11 finalists from American Idol‘s 10th season gathered in front of an audience — which, interestingly enough, skewed much older than former Idol concerts — to prove what they could deliver when not at the mercy of Fox’s HD cameras and a panel of judges with vocabularies smaller than a shopping list. During the two hour-plus showing of American Idols LIVE!, nearly every contestant managed to surprise: When not limited to a weekly genre and schmaltzy group numbers they need to learn in the course of two days, the contestants can truly rock.

Yes, per usual, there were plenty of group songs during the live concert — but, this time around, the cheese factor was more brie than Kraft singles. Since this was the fourth American Idols LIVE! concert I’ve been to since the show’s inception — I also attended shows for season 1, season 2, and season 8 — I was fully ready to sit through a terrible Stevie Wonder medley, but, lo and behold, the group numbers were fun, well-executed, and more entertaining than whatever it is Steven Tyler is imagining in his brain right now. (Speaking of whom, the Aerosmith rocker provided a video introduction during the show that saw him mistakenly refer to the singers as season 11 contestants before correcting himself. So awesome to have such an in-touch panel again!)

Haley, Thia, Naima, and Pia opened the show on a high with a fluid performance of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” Paul, Casey, James, and Stefano showed that they could sing Neon Trees’ “Animal” far better than they did for the ever-so-embarrassing Ford commercial. And the entire group — sans Lauren and Scotty — somehow eked in a performance of Cee Lo Green’s “Forget You” that was artistic and had the crowd clapping, despite the fact that you’ll likely hear the overplayed ditty right now if you turn the radio.

Though the group numbers were the bread and butter of season 1 and 2′s concerts, American Idols LIVE! began highlighting contestants’ solo numbers a few years back. So which contestants impressed the most, and which failed to get folks on their feet? A rundown of the contestants, from best to worst: READ FULL STORY »

Aug 15 2011 02:55 PM ET

Miranda Lambert's project Pistol Annies debut new song 'Bad Example': Listen to it here! -- EXCLUSIVE

by
Categories: An EW Exclusive!, Country, Y'all!, Miranda Lambert, Pistol Annies
Pistol-Annies

Pistol Annies, a tough-girl trio made up of Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe, and Angaleena Presley, has already impacted country music with their debut single, the sexy, slow-burning “Hell On Heels,” the first track from their album (also called Hell On Heels), due August 23.

EW now has an exclusive second dose of the Annies—”Bad Example,” a tongue-in-cheek ditty about being naughty and proud. Listen to the new track below: READ FULL STORY »

Aug 15 2011 02:32 PM ET

That song in the new 'Grey's Anatomy' promos? We've got it streaming here -- EXCLUSIVE

by
Categories:
Scars-on-45

Image Credit: Steve Gullick

Over the last six years, how much time have you spent searching the Internet for the name of a teasing snippet of music (see: Snow Patrol, the Fray, Ingrid Michaelson, etc.) you heard on Grey’s Anatomy?

If you’re a fan of the show’s music, EW is giving you the heads up on this one: That song from ABC’s new Grey’s Anatomy Season 8 promos, which hit TV screens last night, is the lovely “Heart On Fire” by British band Scars on 45. And you can hear it here in full first at EW.com. Have a listen below: READ FULL STORY »

Aug 15 2011 01:25 PM ET

Beyonce performs first of four-night run of her new '4' album at small NYC theater -- an EW review

by
Categories: About Last Night, Beyonce, Concert Reviews, Pop, R&B, Things That Are Awesome, Things That Are Beautiful, Things That Are Sexy
Beyonce

Image Credit: Myrna Suarez

Only Beyoncé can call performing to a sold-out audience of 3,500 an “intimate affair” with a straight face.

If there’s anything to be learned from the R&B pop talent’s magnificent set last night at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom for her 4 Intimate Nights With Beyoncé run, it’s that Beyoncé’s bigger than any ballroom.

Queen B’s manic swarm of fans attacked the venue early, shoving and jostling through Roseland’s severely undermanned entrance, then rammed their way up to prime viewing real estate in the standing-room-only floor setup. Clear-eyed and swift, none seemed under the influence of a controlled substance. But obviously, they were high on excitement.

Just after 10pm, Beyoncé’s band arrived. For this evening, the first of four in the mini-series concluding Aug. 19 (All dates are sold out; sorry, guys), she brought along not just a drummer, keyboarder, and guitarist, but also a horn section and an orchestra—all women, cramped up on stage like an extremely concentrated dose of musical girl power.

Then came the lady of the hour. In a shimmering gold dress, Beyoncé opened with a refresher course of how a young lady from Houston, Texas, became a pop icon. Similar to her 2009 stint in Las Vegas (I Am… Yours) at the Wynn, the show began with a performance of the Jackson 5’s “I Wanna Be Where You Are,” which was followed by an audio autobiography of sorts.

READ FULL STORY »

Advertisement

TV Recaps

Powered by WordPress.com VIP