Archive: September 2011 (31-40 of 132)

Sep 25 2011 01:05 PM ET

On the scene at the iHeartRadio Music Festival, day two: Lady Gaga takes over the show

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Categories: About Last Night, Attack of the '90s, Buzzworthy, Concert Reviews, Country, Y'all!, Covers, Current Listening, Divas!, Guilty Pleasures, Hip-Hop/Rap, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Music, Nicki Minaj, On the Scene, Pop, R&B, Rascal Flatts, Rock, Songs of Summer, Steven Tyler, Sting, Things That Are Awesome
Gaga

Image Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Clear Channel

Leave it to Lady Gaga to co-opt a music festival featuring dozens of top-line pop stars and make it her own.

The Lady appeared on stage as the final performer last night at the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and stayed on stage for well over an hour—much longer than any of the other acts. “They told me I was only allowed to play for 45 minutes,” she told the crowd. “But I think you’re all pretty drunk so you probably don’t know what time it is, do you?”

And it’s true: No one was complaining when she served up hit after hit, including “Judas,” “You and I,” “Just Dance,” and “Bad Romance,” which basically blew the roof off the arena.

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 24 2011 02:29 PM ET

On the scene at the iHeartRadio Music Festival, day one: Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys, and Jay-Z

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Categories: About Last Night, Alicia Keys, Amy Winehouse, Black Eyed Peas, Bruno Mars, Buzzworthy, Carrie Underwood, Coldplay, Concert Reviews, Country, Y'all!, Divas!, Hip-Hop/Rap, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Jay-Z, Kelly Clarkson, Ladies, Metal, Music, On the Scene, Pop, R&B, Stay Up Late, Things That Are Awesome
JayZ-AliciaK

Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

When you think about it, there’s really only one way to kick off a pop music festival: with the gyrating, electro, pulsing sounds of the Black Eyed Peas, of course.

The foursome opened the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena last night with laser lights, a cadre of jailbird-themed backup dancers (in a word: divine), and one of their signature songs, “Boom Boom Pow.”

It’s almost needless to say, but the party-rocking vibe the show’s producers were no doubt hoping for coalesced perfectly, as the crowd spiraled into dancing through songs like “Just Can’t Get Enough,” “Don’t Stop the Party,” “The Time (Dirty Bit),” and the perfect set-ender: “I Gotta Feeling.” (Personally, I was hoping for “Shut Up,” but no one ever seems to be into that song as much as me.)

Of much interest — at least to me — was Fergie’s delightful getup, which included glittery knee-high boots and onesie, and fascinating, gold fingernail/cap things that contributed to her overall drag queen look. She was Vegas to a T! (Then again, she always kind of is.)

The tone was set from the first act: This show was definitely all about the hits, and the 12,000 fans in the audience at the MGM Grand Garden Arena seemed to get just what they wanted. From top to bottom, the show was quite the Vegas production with huge screens flanking the stage, more than one confetti blast (the first one came at the almost-still-daylight time of 8:01 p.m., no joke), and, yes, Ryan Seacrest as host.

He first appeared after the Black Eyed Peas left the stage to introduce the show: “This weekend,” he said, in a trademark way that’s both overly dramatic and overly bombastic, “all roads lead to Vegas.” Well, all roads carrying the biggest pop stars, at least. And it was during this interlude that he announced something that made the crowd go completely wild: Lady Gaga—already confirmed to be performing during the festival—would appear on Saturday night with Sting. In two words: Instant death!

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 23 2011 01:33 PM ET

Vesta Williams, singer of '80s R&B hits, dies at age 53

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Categories: In Memoriam, R&B
Vesta-Williams

Image Credit: David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images

Vesta Williams, the voice behind such ’80s R&B staples as “Congratulations” and “Sweet, Sweet Love,” has passed away. According to E!, she was found in a hotel room in Los Angeles. She was 53 years old.

“R.I.P. Ms. Vesta Williams,” friend Kimora Lee Simmons tweeted. “What a tremendous talent + great soul! Cuz as long as I can breathe, you’ll always be the one for me!”

Williams was born in Ohio, but made her way out to Los Angeles to find work as a musician. She spent the early part of her career doing session work with the likes of Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight before scoring a recording contract of her own. That led to the release of her 1986 debut album Vesta, which netted her a minor hit with “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.”

She followed that up with 1988′s Vesta 4 U. Her most successful release, it became a staple of contemporary R&B radio and gained Williams her biggest mainstream exposure.

The peak of Williams’ career ended with 1991′s Special, though she was still making albums — her last release came out in 2007 — and performing (this video shows her singing “Congratulations” at a jazz festival just four days ago). She will be remembered as having a unique voice that managed to be much larger than her diminutive stature.

Read more on EW.com:
Tony Bennett becomes oldest person to chart on Hot 100
Kelly Clarkson performs ‘Mr. Know-It-All’ on Ellen
Steve Van Zandt says E-Street Band will decide future soon

Sep 23 2011 01:18 PM ET

Jason Aldean's gorgeous, patriotic 'Tattoos On This Town' video: Watch it here

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Categories: Country, Y'all!, Jason Aldean, Let's Argue!, Music Videos

Ever since Jason Aldean released his in-your-face bar-rocker “She’s Country” in 2009, I’ve given him a pretty hard time. Had he never heard of subtlety?

But Aldean’s done a lot to undo that image in 2011. He produced a beautiful ballad with Kelly Clarkson (“Don’t You Wanna Stay?“) and a slow country-rap jam with Ludacris (“Dirt Road Anthem“), both of which hit number one on Billboard’s Country Songs chart.

Now, Aldean has released a fourth single from his smash album My Kinda Party called “Tattoos On This Town,” a nostalgic look at small-town life and love, which currently sits at number 23. Lyrically, the song is pretty standard for the country genre: Drag-racing pickup trucks, rope swings, scars—”real life stuff” Aldean tells us.

The song is just alright, but its new accompanying music video is downright beautiful. Full of sweeping cinematography and vivid natural settings, the video takes you on a heartbreaking journey of young love, pregnancy, and war.

Granted, I’m a sucker for patriotic imagery, but I think “Tattoos On This Town” does a truly classy job of representing the men and women who sacrifice so much for our country.

Check out the deftly edited video below: READ FULL STORY »

Sep 23 2011 12:51 PM ET

Duck Sauce's 'Barbra Streisand' reimagined for actor Luis Guzman: Watch cameos from Mark Wahlberg, Justin Bieber and more here

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Categories: Hip-Hop/Rap, Justin Bieber, Music Videos, Pharrell, Things That Are Awesome

HBO’s How to Make It in America, now entering its second season, wrangled Duck Sauce’s Armand Van Helden and A-Trak to remake their viral smash “Barbra Streisand” in honor of beloved character actor Luis Guzmán.

In the video, Guzmán, who plays wiseguy Rene Calderon on the show, pulls up on some breakdancers busting moves to the duo’s original. “Check this out,” he tells them before lowering his tinted windows and revealing the cut’s creators.

Like “Barbra,” this clip features a wealth of celebrity cameos: Watch Justin Bieber, Mark Wahlberg, Pharrell Williams, Gina Gershon, Q-Tip, Terry Richardson, co-stars Lake Bell and Kid Cudi, and others have a blast in New York after the jump:

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 23 2011 12:23 PM ET

Tony Bennett becomes oldest person to chart on the Hot 100, buries other records in the process

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Categories: Amy Winehouse, Charts, Fall Music, Pop, Tony Bennett
tony-b

Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Fresh off his epic 85th birthday celebration, which featured guest appearances by Aretha Franklin, Elton John, and Bill Clinton, recent Tony Bennett has taken a wrecking ball to a handful of chart records thanks to the release of Duets II and his historic single with Amy Winehouse (which was tragically the late Winehouse’s final recording).

“Body and Soul,” the duet with Winehouse, entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 87, making Bennett the oldest living person to ever appear on that chart. He replaced George Burns, who charted with “I Wish I Was 18 Again” back in 1980 at the sprightly age of 84.

Bennett’s appearance on the Hot 100 also created a number of other new precedents for performers and longevity. The nearly 44 years between his last chart appearance and this one is the longest gap for a solo artist in history. The previous record holder was Otis Redding, who saw 42 years elapse between appearances on the chart — he just showed up on the chart again as a guest on Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Otis” (though you can freely debate whether or not that should even count). Bennett also has the longest career-length chart span, having appeared on the very first Hot 100 way back in 1958.

He may not be done, as Billboard is projecting that Duets II could sell as many as 170,000 copies in its first week of release and may be strong enough to debut at the top of the albums chart. Bennett has never had a number-one album, though the first entry in the Duets series got as high as number three back in 2006. Not too shabby for an 85-year-old guy, eh?

Read more on EW.com:
Alec Baldwin skipped the Emmys to go to Tony Bennett’s birthday party
Tony Bennett says President Bush confided Iraq War ‘a mistake’
Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse’s ‘Body and Soul’ video: Watch it here

Sep 23 2011 10:58 AM ET

Kelly Clarkson performs 'Mr. Know It All' on Ellen, teases new video: Watch both here

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Categories: Kelly Clarkson, Pop

Kelly Clarkson is currently in full promo mode, out pushing her forthcoming album Stronger. Yesterday she hit The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Kelly revealed that Emmy-winning actor Kyle Chandler is her celebrity crush and expressed her disappointment that he’s taken. “I found out he’s married,” joked Clarkson. “So I can’t stalk him now.”

More importantly, she hit the stage to bang out Stronger lead single “Mr. Know It All.” In a sexy dress (hello, cleavage!) Clarkson and her band ran through the cut about a guy who seriously needs a clue. Check out the performance and a preview from the song’s video after the jump.

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 23 2011 09:32 AM ET

Kid Rock's album 'Born Free' quietly goes platinum after 44 weeks: What albums took even longer?

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Categories: Country, Y'all!, Kid Rock, Music Biz, Rock
kid-rock-publicity

So, here’s some random news: Kid Rock’s latest album, Born Free, just passed the 1 million mark in album sales after a whopping 44 weeks on the chart.

Most impressively, Kid reached that number without a major hit single (“Born Free” peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Rock Songs chart), and without any help from iTunes, where he has long chosen not to release his music for download.

”I don’t have a beef with Apple, or iTunes, or any of them,” he told EW in 2008. “I do have a beef with that it seems kind of socialist of them to charge the same price for every song. What if every car cost $4,000, you know what I mean? A song from my neighbor’s garage band is not the same value as Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run.’ I just want to decide how my product gets sold with the people who sell it.”

The album’s long journey to platinum-status (technically, Born Free was certified platinum in May for shipping 1 million copies to stores, but it just crossed the 1 million copies-sold mark) has us thinking about what other albums took their sweet time to reach the milestone.

According to the RIAA, the answer is quite a few: Coldplay plugged along for 59 weeks to earn a platinum certification for their debut album, Parachutes, which came out in 2000. Buckcherry’s 2006 album, 15, spent 1 year and 9 months (93 weeks) working towards that number. Flyleaf’s All Around Me, meanwhile, took 2 years and 9 months (about 143 weeks!) to reach platinum status following its 2006 release. Jason Mraz’s We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things took its sweet 43-week time, while Mumford and Sons’ Sigh No More spent 53 weeks working to reach the coveted plateau.

Unlike Mumford, who had a high-profile Grammy gig and rode a wave of critical buzz, or Mraz, who produced a long-germinating über-hit with “I’m Yours,” Kid Rock managed to sell 1 million albums (after a solid, but not huge 189,000 debut week) without many accolades or promotions besides “Born Free” being named the official song of the 2010 MLB playoffs on TBS.

What do you think caused Born Free to slowly chug along to success? And what helps others like it?

Read more:
Born Free album review
Kid Rock: A 2008 Entertainer of the Year

Sep 23 2011 09:15 AM ET

Steve Van Zandt says E-Street Band will decide future soon

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Categories: Bruce Springsteen, Rock
Clarence-Clemons

Image Credit: Vince Bucci/Getty Images

Steve Van Zandt says Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band will get together over the next couple of weeks to discuss how the band will proceed without Clarence Clemons. The saxophonist died in June following complications from a stroke.

Van Zandt said the band, which has periodically toured and recorded with Springsteen since 1972, will never be the same without Clemons. But then he added it wasn’t the same after keyboard player Danny Federici died in 2008.

Clemons provided the band with its trademark horn sound apparent on such hits as “Blinded By the Light,” ”Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” and “Jungleland.”

“That’s a void we will never replace,” Van Zandt said.

But the E-Street band guitarist feels they will still play music until the end because he says: “That’s what we do.”

Van Zandt made the comments while attending Ocean’s Kingdom in New York, a new ballet with music by Paul McCartney.

Read more:
Bruce Springsteen posts eulogy for Clarence Clemons online
E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons dies at 69
Rediscovering the Joy of Sax

Sep 22 2011 06:04 PM ET

Queen drummer's own tribute act might have found its singer: Watch him here!

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Categories: Things On The Internet, Things That Are Awesome, YouTube Delights

When Queen frontman and general force of nature Freddie Mercury passed away in 1991, that looked like the end of the band (the tracks on 1995′s Made In Heaven feature vocals Mercury recorded prior to his death).

Still, that hasn’t stopped the members of Queen from trying to keep the magic alive. There was the ill-advised 2008 album with Paul Rodgers, as well as a number of theater projects that incorporate the band’s most iconic songs.

Queen drummer Roger Taylor has decided to go a different route. Even though he’s an actual member of Queen, he has decided to put together his own tribute act, which he is calling Queen Extravaganza, and he is looking for a few good men (or women) to fill in the various necessary roles.

Of course, the most difficult jumpsuit to fill is Mercury’s, but there is already one guy who is apparently up to the task. The Internet has been buzzing about Marc Martel, frontman for Canadian Christian rockers downhere.

His take on “Somebody to Love” was uploaded to Queen Extravaganza’s YouTube page and immediately caught fire. Is he the heir apparent to Mercury’s glittery throne? Decide for yourself after the jump. READ FULL STORY »

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