Tag: Pop (21-30 of 855)

Apr 17 2013 11:12 AM ET

Lauryn Hill asks for leniency in sentencing for tax evasion -- citing 'Threats to herself and family'

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After pleading guilty to tax evasion last June, multiple Grammy winner and former Fugee Lauryn Hill is making one last ditch effort to avoid jail time.

In advance of her scheduled sentencing this Monday, April 22, Hill filed legal documents requesting that her sentence be limited to probation, as it would make it easier for her to pay back the bill she owes for the three years—2005, 2006, and 2007—she did not file taxes.

Over those three years, Hill earned a reported $1.8 million, but the documents explain she did not pay the IRS because she “withdrew from society at large due to what she perceived as manipulation and very real threats to herself and her family.”

Hill made similar statements in a blog post when the charges were first brought against her, adding that she had largely disappeared from public view because of the “climate of hostility, false entitlement, manipulation, racial prejudice, sexism and ageism” in popular culture.  READ FULL STORY »

Apr 16 2013 04:40 PM ET

PSY's 'Gentleman' video passes 100 million views on its fourth day

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Around this time last year, PSY was strictly a Korean concern. No more: the international sensation now has another viral hit on his hands with the “Gentleman” video, which has amassed more than 100 million views on only its fourth day on YouTube.

The fast success of “Gentleman,” which was released on Saturday, far outstrips the initial performance of “Gangnam Style,” which hit YouTube on July 15 of last year and didn’t pass the 100-million mark until Sept. 4. And while it’s been panned by many critics, “Gentleman” seems to be fairly well-liked: the video’s YouTube page has more than a million thumbs-ups from viewers, while the number of thumbs-downs had yet to top 200,000 at the time of this post.

The new clip, Reuters reports, racked up more than 20 million hits in the 24 hours following its release — unprecedented for a music video. (Bieber’s “Boyfriend,” for comparison, held the previous record by earning 8 million views on the day of its debut.)

Of course, “Gentleman” still has a long way to go before it can overtake “Gangnam Style,” which famously became the first YouTube video to surpass a billion views last December. In fact, that number has since risen above the 1.5 billion mark, giving it a secure lead as YouTube’s most-viewed video of all time. Yet “Gentleman” still has a chance: A Wall Street Journal analysis predicts that the new video has a fair shot at reaching the one-billion milestone even faster than “Gangnam Style” did.

But those two songs aren’t PSY’s only online hits. On YouTube’s chart of its most-viewed videos, PSY’s collaboration with fellow K-pop star HyunA ranks at No. 19 with more than 330 million views. The man, it seems, is on a roll.

So since everybody else is doing it, why don’t you give in and be the 100,000,001st person to view PSY’s “Gentleman” video, conveniently embedded below? Come on, you know you want to:

READ FULL STORY »

Apr 16 2013 03:37 PM ET

Listen to Jay-Z's 'The Great Gatsby' soundtrack sampler, featuring Fergie, Lana Del Rey, Jack White and more

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Image Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images

No matter how The Great Gatsby does at the box office when it finally arrives in theaters next month, it’s eclectic, star-studded soundtrack is already a newsmaker.

Curated by Jay-Z, the Gatsby soundtrack includes tracks by Jay himself, Beyoncé, Jack White, Fergie, Sia, Lana Del Rey, the xx and more. Twelve of the 14 total core tracks are currently available in snippet form on YouTube, which you can stream below.

Highlights include Florence Welch wailing on the track “Over the Love” and the swing version of Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” delivered by Emeli Sandé.

There’s also the already-released “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” by Fergie, Q-Tip, and GoonRock, which must be ironically titled given the fate of one Gatsby‘s main characters.

Listen to these, as well as Jack White’s cover of U2′s “Love Is Blindness” (as featured in the trailer to the film), a spin below: READ FULL STORY »

Apr 15 2013 10:05 AM ET

Anne Frank House responds to Justin Bieber controversy

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Image Credit: Butch Dill/Getty Images

Last week, pop singer and teenager Justin Bieber visited the Anne Frank House, a museum dedicated to preserving the memory of a young Jewish girl’s experiences and courage while living under Nazi rule.

When leaving, Bieber stopped and signed the guest book. This is what he wrote:

“Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber.”

The world was not pleased.

READ FULL STORY »

Apr 10 2013 10:40 AM ET

Justin Timberlake plays Memphis tribute at the White House -- VIDEO

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Image Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Most fans will have the opportunity to see Justin Timberlake live on stage in baseball and football stadiums this summer, but if you’re the leader of the free world, you can just go ahead and book JT to play your home.

Last night, Timberlake joined Booker T. Jones, Ben Harper, Alabama Shakes, Mavis Staples, and a handful of other performers in a tribute to Memphis soul music. It was the latest entry in the “In Performance at the White House” series, concerts that have become a staple of the Obama White House.

“Let’s face it, who does not love this music?” the President said during his introduction to the evening’s music. “These songs get us on the dance floor. They get stuck in our heads. We go back over them again and again. And they’ve played an important part in our history.” READ FULL STORY »

Apr 9 2013 05:06 PM ET

Paramore's Hayley Williams on new album, moving to Los Angeles, and Blondie

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Image Credit: C Flanigan/FilmMagic

In December 2010, Paramore members Josh and Zac Farro abruptly left the group, leaving a lot of questions hanging in the air. Would they continue on? Would charismatic singer Hayley Williams embark on a solo career? Would the band’s sound change completely?

Today, those questions are finally answered. The just-released Paramore, the band’s fourth album, pushes the now-trio’s vision forward. Though the band—Williams, guitarist Taylor York, and bassist Jeremy Davis—hasn’t entirely left its snotty pop-punk roots behind, they’ve fully embraced elements of New Wave, garage rock, and bubbly electro-pop.

The key to Paramore‘s coherence is Williams, whose voice has picked up more colors and whose lyrics are at their most direct and expansive on the new album. EW caught up with Williams via phone a few weeks back, where she talked about her bouts of writers’ block, the weirdness involved in choosing a producer, and the importance of the Warped Tour. And be sure to check out their just-released video for “Still Into You” at the bottom.

Entertainment Weekly: What was the first song that came together for Paramore?
Hayley Williams: “Proof” was the first song that we came up with. It was one of the first sets of lyrics I came up with, and I had this melody idea for it and I took it to Taylor, and like the next day we had the song. So that one came really easily, but then we had two and a half months of the worst writers’ block you could possibly imagine. That’s when we wrote the interludes. We needed something to laugh about and soften the blow that we couldn’t write any songs that we loved. And it was weird, because as soon as those interludes were done, the songs started happening. We realized we don’t need to take ourselves so seriously.

What was driving that writers’ block? What were you thinking while in the midst of it?
I was in this crazy depression about it. READ FULL STORY »

Apr 9 2013 04:27 PM ET

Malawi vs. Madonna: Singer stripped of VIP status, accused of making 'poor people dance for her'

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The nation of Malawi has expressed itself — and it isn’t too happy with Madonna, who recently capped a weeklong visit to the country where her children David and Mercy (both 8 years old) were born.

When Madge, her four kids, and her entourage first arrived in the African nation on Monday, they were treated as VIPs — given heavy security, the right to breeze past checkpoints, and, presumably, a wide berth from any and all hydrangeas.

By the time they returned to Malawi’s Kamuzu International Airport on Saturday, things had changed. The Telegraph writes that the music icon and her crew saw their VIP status revoked. (According to Global Philanthropy Group president Trevor Neilson, the story is “a complete fabrication.” He told EW via e-mail, “Madonna hasn’t been stripped of any status.”)

“There was a directive that Miss Louise Ciccone… and her children should use the ordinary passenger terminal on their way to their jet,” an airport source told the paper. “Each and every person on her entourage went through the normal security checkpoints…. All their luggage went through security screening which never happened before.” Adding insult to injury, “We told them we can’t open the VIP lounge without authorization.”

According to Malawi’s chief immigration officer, visitors can be afforded VIP treatment only if authorities are notified of their visit in advance; Her Madgesty apparently neglected to follow this protocol.  READ FULL STORY »

Apr 8 2013 06:54 PM ET

Avril Lavigne releases new single 'Here's to Never Growing Up': Hear it here!

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When Avril Lavigne got her start in 2002 (that’s over 10 years of Avril, people!), she was a child playing with grown-up feelings. Now that she’s an adult, she’s got no interest in maturity.

Lavigne’s new single “Here’s to Never Growing Up” is a classic drinking tune, an anthemic shout-along about railing against the onset of maturity in favor of telling people “Yeah, whatever” and screaming Radiohead tunes. (As an aside: She means something like “Creep,” right? Because it’s extremely difficult to blow your lungs out pumping your fist to “Codex”.)

The single comes from her as-yet-untitled fifth album, which is expected to surface some time this summer. The single will be on iTunes on Tuesday, but it snuck onto the Internet a little early. Give “Here’s to Never Growing Up” a listen below.  READ FULL STORY »

Apr 8 2013 10:58 AM ET

Selena Gomez's new single 'Come and Get It' leaks early -- hear it here

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Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Selena Gomez’s upcoming single “Come & Get It” wasn’t supposed to drop until Tuesday, but the Internet couldn’t wait.

So after the track leaked last night, Gomez went ahead and pulled back the curtain on her new track, which will appear on her still-untitled solo album due this summer.

She’s clearly gunning for summer jam status; “Come & Get It” is an easy, breezy tune with an ambling melody and a hint of reggae lilt. Give it a listen below: READ FULL STORY »

Apr 5 2013 11:28 AM ET

Jonathan Knight exits New Kids on the Block performance in the middle of the show

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New Kids on the Block have a lot going on in 2013: They just dropped a brand new album called 10, booked a big-ticket cruise, and are headed out on tour with Boyz II Men and 98 Degrees.

But their long road already hit its first speedbump. Last night, during a performance at New York City’s iHeartRadio Theater, Jonathan Knight left the stage suddenly without explanation.

Later on Twitter, he apologized to fans who were there to see the classic boy band perform.

The remainder of the group rolled with it, making jokes about Knight needing to use the bathroom and lending words of support to their comrade. ”We love Jonathan and he loves us,” Joey McIntyre told the crowd.

Knight has notably struggled with anxiety throughout his life—he famously went on Oprah to talk about his experiences with anxiety disorder.

It’s unclear how his latest incident will affect NKOTB’s schedule moving forward. They will play the Sutter Home Winery in Saint Helena, CA this Sunday, April 7; the next opportunity you’ll have to see them is when their cruise sets sail from Miami on May 18.

Read More on EW.com:
On the scene: NKOTB take it step by step at Andy Cohen’s ‘Watch What Happens Live’
Joey McIntyre talks ’90210′ role, possible NKOTB reunion on ‘Blue Bloods’
New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees, and Boyz II Men touring together this summer: ‘Ladies, we’re coming for you’

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