WHITNEY HOUSTON TO PERFORM AT THE AMAS
Whitney Houston will perform at the 2009 American Music Awards. Her performance will mark the first time she’s played the show in ten years. Back in 1999, Houston performed a “Until You Come Back” and “My Love Is Your Love” medley with Babyface and Wyclef Jean. The gig also marks Whitney’s first primetime U-S network performance in five years. The singer will perform her ballad “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength.” Houston will also be given the American Music Awards International Artist Award, a unique honor presented only to those special artists who have gone beyond the borders of their own country to be acknowledged for their superstar status around the globe. Whitney will join other previously announced acts including Rihanna, Green Day, Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Keith Urban, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, The Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry and Adam Lambert. The 2009 American Music Awards will air live on ABC on Sunday, November 22nd at 8 PM Eastern.
NEW NICKELBACK VIDEO
Nickelback have debuted a new video for “Never Gonna Be Alone.” The emotional clip was directed by video veteran Nigel Dick. “Never Gonna Be Alone” is the fifth single off Nickelback’s Dark Horse album, which has sold over 2.3-million copies since its release just under one year ago. Nickelback is nominated for the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Band against The Black Eyed Peas and Kings of Leon. Tune into the big show on November 22nd at 8 PM Eastern to see who wins the award.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GWQ-oDMG6g
THE BLACK EYED PEAS TO PERFORM AT GRAMMY NOMINATIONS CONCERT
The Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell and Sugarland are the first performers announced for The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! – Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night. Two-time GRAMMY winner LL Cool J once again is set to host the one-hour special, which takes place live on Wednesday, December 2nd at Club NOKIA in Los Angeles. The show will air live on CBS from 9 to 10 PM Eastern. Additional performers and presenters will be announced shortly. The special also marks the second time nominations for the annual GRAMMY Awards will be announced live on primetime television. The 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards will air live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 31st, 2010 on CBS at 8 PM Eastern.
TAYLOR SWIFT SCORES THE COUNTRY SONG OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift won her second straight Song Of The Year Award at the BMI Country Awards Tuesday night. She won for her song “Love Story,” off her four-time platinum album, Fearless.
CARRIE UNDERWOOD TOPS THE BILLBOARD ALBUM CHART
Carrie Underwood’s Play On debuts at number one on the Billboard album chart this week, selling 318-thousand copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Last week’s chart topper, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, slides one spot to number two, selling 195-thousand copies. Andrea Bocelli’s My Christmas arrives at number three, while the first soundtrack to the TV show Glee enters at number four. The second installment of the Glee soundtracks is due on December 8th. The Now 32 compilation starts at number five, while Taylor Swift’s Fearless celebrates one year on the chart by falling three spots to number six. It’s sold over 4.2-million copies to date. Weezer bows at number seven with Ratitude, Michael Buble’s Crazy Love falls one rung to number eight, Sting’s If On A Winter’s Night slides three slots to number nine and the New Moon soundtrack rounds out the top 10.
JUDGE DISMISSES $400-BILLION BON JOVI LAWSUIT
A man suing Bon Jovi, Time Warner and Major League Baseball for 400-billion dollars has had his suit dismissed. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Samuel Bartley Steele claims when the band wrote their song “I Love This Town,” the rockers ripped off a tune Steele wrote for the Boston Red Sox called “(Man I Really) Love This Team.” Since the Bon Jovi track was used to advertise the 2007 MLB playoffs on the Time Warner network TBS, the man filed suit. However, even his musicologist doesn’t see similarities in the tracks. Although a judge threw the case out, Steele has appealed that decision.
RIHANNA AND BROWN READY VIDEO PREMIERE
Chris Brown and Rihanna will premiere videos on the same day. Brown will debut the clip to his new single, “Crawl,” on tomorrow’s Wendy Williams Show. The track is off his forthcoming album Graffiti, which drops December 8th. Meanwhile, fans can check out Rihanna’s Anthony Mandler-directed video for “Russian Roulette” on ABC’s 20/20 tomorrow night. The singer’s Rated R album comes out on November 23rd.
MARY J LANDS HOME FOR HOLIDAYS SPECIAL
Mary J Blige will reportedly join Carrie Underwood and Reba McEntire for CBS’ 11th Annual Home for the Holidays special. SingersRoom.com reports the Queen of Hip Hop Soul will help raise awareness about adoption and foster care systems. The program is scheduled to air on December 23rd. Mary’s ninth studio album, Stronger, drops the day before on December 22nd.
Other celebrities that will appear on the special will be announced soon.
LADY GAGA, KID CUDI TAKE OVER RADIO CITY!
We’ve just learned that Lady Gaga is scheduled to shut down Radio City Music Hall on January 20th and 21st during her Monster Ball tour with Kid Cudi and Jason Derülo. To ensure that you get to see the pop sensation in action, you can now get your presale tickets now via RadioCity.com.
The passes are recession friendly ranging from $49.50 — $69.50!
RIHANNA LOVES HER “HARD” SINGLE WITH JEEZY
Rihanna told MTV News that her newest single, “Hard,” is one of her favorites off her upcoming Rated R album. Ri Ri explained to MTV that she thinks the record was “fun” with “a lot of attitude.” The singer added that she loved Young Jeezy’s verses and that he was “the perfect person for the topic of the song.” Read the rest at MTV.com now.
KANYE WEST MADE HIP HOP GAY-FRIENDLY?
According to The Advocate, Fergie believes Kanye West played a big role in hip hop becoming more accepting of homosexuals. The Black Eyed Peas songstress explained ‘Ye “really did a great thing for hip-hop and made it very mixed and open.” She even spills about her previous bi-sexual experiences before she got married. Head over to Advocate.com to read the full interview now.
LL COOL J PREPS ANOTHER GREATEST HITS ALBUM
According to RapRadar.com, LL Cool J is ready to unleash another greatest hits album collection titled All World 2. The NCIS: L-A star will officially drop his new effort on December 8th.
NELLY SURFACES WITH NEW SINGLE
According to ConcreteLoop.com, Nelly has retuned to the music scene with a new track titled “She Got Me.” The J.R. Rotem-produced cut is expected to appear on the rapper’s upcoming sixth studio album, the self-titled Nelly. Fans should expect the disc — which features contributions from Janet Jackson, Diddy, Akon, Notorious B.I.G. and Usher — to hit shelves early next year.
http://usershare.net/y56p2ymy7luh
WALE ADMIRES SOLANGE KNOWLES
We’ve been seeing more and more of Solange hanging out with Wale, however they insist they’re just friends. The D.C. native told Honey Magazine that he has a lot of respect for the single mother who managed to contribute to the music industry without complaining. He stated, “She’s definitely an anomaly.”
PETE WENTZ GETS UNDERRATED
Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz has posted a list of the people he thinks are the ten most underrated lyricists. Wentz gives credit to Brand New, Say Anything, The Postal Service and more, with Machester Orchestra taking the number one spot for their song “Shake It Out.” Check out Pete’s top ten underrated lyrists and lyric examples at AOLRadioBlog.com.
GREEN DAY MUSICAL HEADS TO BROADWAY
Green Day’s American Idiot musical is heading to Broadway. According to Rolling Stone, after the play’s San Francisco run ends Sunday, the production will move to New York City. No Great White Way dates have been confirmed just yet. Green Day worked with Spring Awakening director Michael Mayer to create the musical based on the alternative rock band’s tunes.
WEEZER WANTS TO TOUR WITH COBRA STARSHIP
Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo talked with MTV2 recently and told them that if he could tour with anyone, he would tour with Cobra Starship. Rivers goes on to say that he digs the band and their attitude and that they’re not afraid to “mix it up and combined different genres.” See the full video from the Weezer frontman at MTV.com.
http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/453880/rivers-cuomo-of-weezer-on-who-hed-like-to-tour-with.jhtml
HEAR SOME OF SLASH’S SONGS
Slash’s upcoming solo album isn’t out until early next year, but in Japan, the former Guns N’ Roses guitarist just released a two-track CD single with some new music on it. One of the tunes is called “Sahara” and features Japanese singer Koshi Inaba. That track won’t be on Slash’s album but the second track on the CD single will be. It’s a version of the GN’R classic “Paradise City” that features Cypress Hill and Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas. You can hear both tunes now on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaUtV2LSfVg
BLOGGER LEAKS DETAILS OF SLASH’S SOLO ALBUM
A Boston blogger who is also a Music Director at a radio station has gotten a hold of Slash’s upcoming solo album and spilled the beans on who is on it. While not all of these names are official, she claims Chris Cornell, Ozzy Osbourne, Kid Rock, Lemmy Kilmister, Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, Duff McKagan, Dave Grohl, Fergie and Flea are among the many musicians the guitarist collaborated with for Slash & Friends. As for the track with Ozzy, the blogger said, “This song was awesome! And the lyrics are going to piss off Axl and Black Sabbath.” The rest of us will have to wait until Slash’s album comes out early next year to hear the tunes.