KELLY CLARKSON, CARRIE UNDERWOOD & DAUGHTRY ADDED AS AMA PERFORMERS
Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Daughtry will perform at the 2009 American Music Awards. They will join another American Idol standout, Adam Lambert, as well as previously announced acts Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez and The Black Eyed Peas. Additional performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks. The big show will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre L-A LIVE on Sunday, November 22nd at 8 PM on ABC.
DID RIHANNA RIP OFF A ROCK COMPILATION CD COVER?
Back in 1998, there was a compilation CD put out by Extreme Championship Wrestling. The album included songs by Motorhead and Megadeth and its cover looked suspiciously similar to the cover of pop singer Rihanna’s new record, Rated R. In fact, the two covers look so alike that professional wrestler Paul Heyman, who owns the rights to the ECW album, has accused Rihanna of hijacking his cover art. Both covers have someone with patches over their eyes, wrapped in barbed wire, with their right arm in the air. Read more and check out photos of each at PrefixMag.com.
TAMEKA TALKS “PAPERS”
Usher’s ex-wife, Tameka Foster, stopped by an Atlanta radio station recently and dispelled any rumors that Usher’s song “Papers” is about her gold-digging. She said the song was written by Sean Garret over eight months ago, before she split with Usher.
NE-YO TALKS ABOUT RIHANNA COLLABORATION
Ne-Yo and Rihanna logged some studio time together and banged out her new single, “Russian Roulette.” They also collaborated on other songs that will make her upcoming album, Rated R. The two were introduced to us by Jay-Z, back in 2005 and in 2007, hooked up for the duet “Hate That I Love You.” As for what fans can expect from tracks the pair recently recorded together, Ne-Yo says that the girl he went into the studio with this time isn’t the same as the one he worked with a few years back. And he likes the artist she’s becoming. Ne-Yo said, “I’ll say that Rihanna is not in the same place mentally. She’s more comfortable in her skin now. She’s just realized some things about herself that she can explain better than I can. I’ll say this: It’s refreshing to watch.” Rihanna’s Rated R album hits stores on November 23rd.
SNOOP, ALICIA KEYS & MORE ON DEATH ROW COLLECTION
Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre. and the late Tupac Shakur are among the artists featured on a new compilation album titled, Ultimate Death Row Collection. The three-disc set will include 60 tracks from Death Row artists, a DVD of the most memorable music videos, unreleased footage, and a limited edition Death Row Records t-shirt. It will also spotlight collaborations with 50 Cent and Alicia Keys. The Ultimate Death Row Collection will hit stores on November 24th.
TAYLOR SWIFT SELLS OUT IN A FLASH
The first tickets for Taylor Swift’s Fearless 2010 tour went on sale Friday morning, and all the tickets for the 15 shows on sale were gone within two minutes. The sold out concerts include arenas in Newark (two shows), Uniondale, New York (two shows), Philadelphia (two shows), Houston (two shows), Detroit (two shows), Washington DC, Dallas, Kansas City, Austin and Corpus Christi, Texas. Taylor will appear on Dancing with the Stars tomorrow night and The Ellen Degeneres Show on Thursday.
LIL WAYNE’S SENTENCING
Lil Wayne was sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to felony gun possession on Thursday. The charges were the result of a July 2007 arrest following his show at New York’s Beacon Theater. Wayne will begin his incarceration in February 2010. He is expected to serve eight to 10 months, assuming that he has good behavior while in custody. The minimum sentence for gun possession was raised in 2006 due to a bill that was passed by the New York Legislature. The previous law considered the intent of use for the weapon as a factor in sentencing, the recent bill indicates that it is illegal for anyone to carry a loaded gun. Law experts speaking out against the bill say that if Wayne had been down South or in the West Coast, where gun possession is more common, he would have been facing a lighter sentence.
MADONNA & STELLA McCARTNEY
Madonna was in London last week and PerezHilton.com got their hands on some pictures of the Queen of Pop dining with some family of rock royalty. Madge was eating with none other than Paul McCartney’s daughter Stella. See the pics now at PerezHilton.com.
BEYONCE, KERI HILSON AND MAXWELL LEAD SOUL TRAIN NOMINEES
Beyonce, Keri Hilson and Maxwell head the list of nominees for the return of the Soul Train Awards. The awards ceremony, hosted by actors Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, will be the first special aired on BET’s recently launched CENTRIC Network. The show will honor Chaka Kahn, Charlie Wilson, Antonio “L.A.” Reid, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, as well as a special tribute to the Entertainer of the Year Michael Jackson. Toni Braxton, Trey Songz, Chrisette Michelle, Ledisi and Melanie Fiona are set to perform at the show, which will tape on November 3rd at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The CENTRIC Presents: 2009 Soul Train Awards will air on both CENTRIC and BET on November 29th at 9 PM Eastern.
GLEE DOES JORDIN SPARKS
Are you a fan of the FOX series Glee? Well if not, then you missed the cast of the show performing an original version of Jordin Sparks’ hit song “No Air” on a recent episode. The former American Idol has since posted the clip on her Web site, so head to JordinSparks.com to check it out now.
DESIGN ONEREPUBLIC’S TWITTER
OneRepublic wants you to design the background to their official Twitter page! The contest runs until November 19th – head to OneRepublilc.net for all the details.
SEE A WAX LEONA LEWIS
Leona Lewis has finally made it. How do we know? Well according to British paper the Daily Star, the singer-songwriter has been made into a wax statue at the London Madame Tussauds. The periodical says that the figure of Lewis is wearing a “sparkly black dress” and can be seen now.
KELLY CLARKSON MAKES A GIRL’S DREAMS COME TRUE
Kelly Clarkson has made a little girl’s dreams come true. 15-year-old Bridget got to sing with the original American Idol at a soundcheck before one of her shows on her All I Ever Wanted tour. Bridget wrote about her experience on Kelly’s official site, and there’s also a picture of them together. See it all now at KellyClarkson.com.
SEE NORAH JONES ON TV
You’re going to be seeing a lot of Norah Jones on TV come November. In support of her forthcoming album The Fall, which is due out on the 17th, the singer-songwriter will be performing on Late Night with David Letterman, Good Morning America, The Colbert Report and The View. Head to NorahJones.com for all the info.
MADONNA’S CHARITY WORK
Madonna had a busy weekend! According to the New York Daily News, the Queen of Pop headed to Malawi yesterday to attend a brick-laying ceremony at the site of the multi-million dollar school for girls she is funding. A staffer at her Raising Malawi charity said that the institution is expected to cost somewhere around 15-million dollars to construct.
U2 FRUSTRATED WITH ALBUM SALES
Times they are a-changing. According to the Associated Press, U2 have had some time to reflect on the current state of music while on their world tour. For example, bassist Adam Clayton is worried “impassioned rock ‘n’ roll fans” are becoming a thing of the past. Read more at News.Yahoo.com.
