JAY-Z NABS FOURTH NUMBER ONE HIT!
Jay-Z earns his fourth number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as his “Empire State of Mind” collaboration with Alicia Keys jumps five spots to the top spot. The song also marks Keys’ fourth number one song on the chart.
NO BEST NEW ARTIST FOR GAGA AT GRAMMYS
Lady Gaga has won a ton of awards already, but the pop star won’t be taking home Best New Artist at the 2010 GRAMMYs. According to the Variety, Gaga isn’t eligible for the award because her song “Just Dance” was nominated at this year’s show for Best Dance Recording. Apparently, this disqualifies her according to the award show’s regulations. Nominations for next year’s GRAMMYs will be announced on December 2nd.
BON JOVI TOPS BILLBOARD ALBUM CHART
Bon Jovi debuts at number one on the Billboard album chart as The Circle sold over 163-thousand copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Last week’s number one album, Carrie Underwood’s “”Play On,” slips to number three, while Andrea Bocelli’s My Christmas climbs one spot to number two. Michael Jackson’s This Is It slips two places to number four, while Taylor Swift’s Fearless rises one spot to number five, following her sweep of the Country Music Association Awards. The Now 32 compilation falls one space to number six, Michael Buble’s Crazy Love is up one spot to number seven, and Flyleaf’s sophomore album, Memento Mori, debuts at number eight selling a career-high 56-thousand copies. The Glee soundtrack drops five slots to number nine and the New Moon soundtrack lands at number ten. Next week’s chart will be debut heavy with new efforts from American Idol-winner Kris Allen, John Mayer, Norah Jones, Leona Lewis, Justin Beiber and 50 Cent.
NICK JONAS ADDED TO GRAMMY CONCERT
Nick Jonas & The Administration will perform at The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live – Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night, a one-hour special which takes place live on Wednesday, December 2nd at Club NOKIA in Los Angeles. Nick Jonas, one-third of the GRAMMY-nominated Jonas Brothers, and his new side project will be introduced by his brothers Kevin and Joe. Nick will join the Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell and Sugarland as performers on the show, with two-time GRAMMY winner LL Cool J set to host. The show will air live on CBS at 9 PM Eastern. Additional performers and presenters will be announced shortly.
KATY PERRY TALKS UNPLUGGED, NEW MUSIC
Katy Perry sat down with the Associated Press to discuss a number of topics, including her new MTV Unplugged DVD which comes out on Tuesday, and also what the follow-up to her hit album One of The Boys might sound like. Read the whole interview now at News.Yahoo.com.
TAYLOR SWIFT TO WRITE CARDS FOR AMERICAN GREETINGS
Taylor Swift has teamed with American Greetings to create a line of greeting cards, gift packaging, stationery, online photo personalization products and online greetings that will be available worldwide in the spring. Swift said, “My idea of a great song is a song that says how I feel better than I could. I feel the same way about greeting cards. I’ve always been fascinated by feelings and how we express them to each other. Getting to write and design these cards is a wonderful experience.”
ANDREW McMAHON ON THE DAILY SHOW
Andrew McMahon of Jack’s Mannequin will be a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight. Andrew will be joined by Jack’s guitarist and backing vocalist Bobby Raw for a rare solo performance of their latest single, “Swim,” from their current album, The Glass Passenger. In addition, McMahon will sit down with Stewart to discuss his recently released documentary Dear Jack, which chronicles McMahon’s own personal fight with leukemia. The Dear Jack DVD is available now.
SLASH TALKS ABOUT FERGIE
Some music lovers are lashing out at Slash for recruiting Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie to do the vocals on his new version of “Paradise City.” The former Guns N’ Roses guitarist has responded to anyone who questioned his decision, writing on his Twitter page, “Until now, not too many people have heard Fergie sing rock & roll but she sings it better than most dudes I know. She’s a screamer at heart.” Cypress Hill are also featured on the new “Paradise City” track. No word yet on if the song will appear on Slash’s upcoming solo album, which is due out early next year. Stay up to date on the rocker at Twitter.com/SlashHudson.
TIMBALAND AND NELLY FURTADO REUNITE AT AMAs
We’ve just learned Timbaland will perform his first single, “Morning After Dark,” during the 2009 American Music Awards. He will be joined by Nelly Furtado and his new artist, SoShy. You don’t want to miss this! The 2009 American Music Awards will air live from the Nokia Theater this Sunday at 8 PM Eastern on ABC.
Timbo’s upcoming Shock Value II album drops on December 8th.
MARY J CHANGES STRONGER ALBUM TITLE
According to Rap-Up.com, Mary J Blige has decided to change the title of her ninth studio album from Stronger to Stronger with Each Tear. Be sure to grab your copy when it hits stores on December 22nd. In addition, you can watch MJB perform her new single “I Am” at the American Music Awards on Sunday at 8 PM Eastern on ABC.
PREVIEW CHRIS BROWN’S GRAFFITI ALBUM
For those who may be curious about what to expect from Chris Brown’s Graffiti album, you can check out 30-second snippets on YouTube before it hits stores. If you like what you hear, be sure to buy Graffiti when it officially drops on December 8th.
The project includes guest contributions from Lil Wayne, Trey Songz, Game, Plies, Tank and others.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OjQ3wGR5AA
ALICIA KEYS COLLABORATES WITH BEYONCE
The official tracklisting for Alicia Keys upcoming Element Of Freedom album has surfaced. Surprisingly, the disc boasts only one feature and it’s with Beyonce Knowles. The two superstars come together on a track called “Put It In A Love Song.” Be sure to pick up Element Of Freedom drops on December 15th.
Drake helped co-write “Unthinkable (I’m Ready).”
Element Of Freedom tracklisting:
1. “The Element Of Freedom (Intro)”
2. “Love Is Blind”
3. “Doesn’t Mean Anything”
4. “Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart”
5. “Wait Til They See My Smile”
6. “That’s How Strong My Love Is”
7. “Unthinkable (I’m Ready)”
8. “Love Is My Disease”
9. “Like The Sea”
10. “Put It In A Love Song” feat. Beyoncé Knowles
11. “This Bed”
12. “Distance And Time”
13. “How It Feels To Fly”
14. “Empire State Of Mind (Part II)”
50 CENT COMMENTS ON EMINEM’S SUCCESS
According to MTV News, 50 Cent strives to attain the same level of success as Eminem. The mogul explained to MTV that next to Slim Shady and Dr Dre, he is the “smallest one in my circle, in my camp.” Due to that fact alone, 50 wants to generate as much interest with his music as Eminem does, adding that there is always room for growth. 50 Cent’s newest Before I Self Destruct album is in stores now.
JENNIFER HUDSON TO PLAY WINNIE MANDELA
According to Variety, Jennifer Hudson will portray the wife of South Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela, in an upcoming film titled Winnie. The Oscar-winning singer/actress will star opposite Morgan Freeman. The cast will begin shooting in select locations in South Africa on May 30th.
Jennifer explained in a statement that she was “compelled and moved” when she read the script. Hudson added, “Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I’m honored to be the actress asked to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told.”
SPEND NEW YEAR’S EVE WITH MAROON 5 & JASON SEGEL
Looking for something to do New Year’s Ever? Well why not head to Las Vegas to see a show by Maroon 5, with special guest Jason Segel. The band will play at The Palms casino on December 31st, and the Forgetting Sarah Marshall star is set to be the opening act, performing his own original music. Learn more about what’s sure to be a memorable night, at Maroon5.com.
NEW SINGLE FROM THE FRAY?
The Fray took to their Twitter page to reveal some pretty big news. Apparently, the Denver band is thinking about going with the song “Syndicate” as their next single. Let the group know what you think about that choice by following them at Twitter.com/TheFray.
LILY ALLEN TAKES A SPILL
Lily Allen had a bad fall during a performance in Manchester, England on Tuesday and the tumble almost caused her to have to cut her show short. According to ContactMusic.com, the singer-songwriter was wearing high heels which made her tumble into the audience. To prevent it from happening again, she finished her performance barefoot.
CHRIS DAUGHTRY…SEXIEST MAN?
Chris Daughtry…People magazine’s sexiest man alive? Well he might not be the sexiest, that actually went to Johnny Depp, but the singer-songwriter is definitely one of them, as he’s featured in the magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive photo spread. See the pics now at People.com.
WATCH DAUGHTRY TONIGHT FOR FREE!
You can see Daughtry perform live for free tonight, and you don’t even have to leave your house. According to the band’s official Web site, they’ll be putting on a show at 8:40 PM Eastern at BillboardLive.com. Head to that site to watch or to DaughtryOfficial.com for more info.
LEARN HOW TO PLAY “SMOOTH”
Ever wanted to know how to play the song “Smooth” on guitar just like Rob Thomas and Carlos Santana? Well now you can because it’s taught in this month’s online issue of Guitar Edge. Head to Digital.GuitarEdge.com right now to start learning how to play the classic tune.
AMY WINEHOUSE STILL IN THE HOSPITAL
A source told People magazine that Amy Winehouse is still in the hospital. The embattled singer-songwriter had been in since Sunday after she mixed medications which led to her having a bad reaction.
FALL OUT BOY “DECOMPRESSING”
Fall Out Boy scared fans when they announced they were taking a “hiatus,” but Pete Wentz wants to reassure fans that the band is not calling it quits. The word “Hiatus” has a rather nasty connotation these days, but Wentz cleared the air with MTV News. He said, “It’s weird because, if you look it up in the dictionary, ‘hiatus’ is a synonym for ‘a break.’ We’re on a break that doesn’t have a definite ending. There’s no ending date.” Pete added, “We’ve been doing this for eight years straight, where it was pre-recording, record, promo, tour, tour, pre-recording, record, tour, tour, and our band was going to imminently implode.” Wentz decided to coin a brand-new term for his band’s break. He said since hiatus is a dirty word, the band is decompressing right now.
LYNCH TO DO MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI DOC
Director David Lynch is planning to make a movie about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the guru The Beatles learned meditation from. Lynch told New York Magazine that he is planning to head to India next month to start filming. The director is aiming to make the film a documentary but there is no word yet if any of the surviving Beatle will be in the flick. Maharishi died in February 2008. No word yet on when the film will come out.
