NICK JONAS BATTLE OF THE BANDS CAMPAIGN
Nick Jonas has signed on as the face of a new Vh1 Save The Music Battle of the Bands campaign, which encourages teens nationwide to submit videos to DoSomething.org featuring their own musical performances and a testimonial about why music education matters to them. Nick spoke about the campaign saying, “Music inspires creativity and keeps kids in school. But there are thousands of students who do not have access to the benefits of music education. Don’t let our music be silenced.” The six week campaign will run from March 1st through April 16th. A panel of expert and celebrity judges will then evaluate the entries based on musicality, creativity, strength of argument, number of votes, use of social media and overall participation. The grand prize winner will receive a five-thousand dollar grant for their school music program and will be flown to New York City to perform at the Apollo Theater before music executives. Additional winners will be selected to receive up to one-thousand dollars for their school music programs, concert tickets and Rock Band video games. Additionally, DoSomething.org and the Vh1 Save the Music Foundation will present videos of the most compelling testimonials and performances to members of Congress, urging them to keep music in schools.
JUSTIN BIEBER TO APPEAR ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
Justin Bieber will perform on Saturday Night Live in April. The young singer can thank his mobilized fans for the opportunity. The Canadian heartthrob’s huge fan base launched a Twitter campaign, @BieberOnSNL, to get the teen phenom on the show, and it quickly amassed over 26-hundred followers. Now, the pop star will be the late-night comedy show’s musical guest on April 10th. Bieber has already stated that he wants to appear in one of the show’s digital shorts, which have featured the likes of Rihanna and Justin Timberlake. Bieber’s SNL appearance comes shortly after the March 23rd release of My World 2.0, the follow-up to his 2009 album, My World. <JC>
GAGA & BEYONCE TALK “TELEPHONE”
While Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s video for “Telephone” still doesn’t have an official premiere date, info about the clip is slowly but surely making its way to the fans. Last week, Gaga gave fans a glimpse of what she will look like in the video, and Bey recently dished about the clip when she stopped by The Tyra Banks Show. She said, “I am such a huge fan of hers. We just filmed her video two weeks ago in Los Angeles, and it’s gonna be so crazy.” Bey added, “I don’t want to give too much away because I don’t want her to be upset, but it’s a part two of ‘Paparazzi.’ She’s just so smart and she’s becoming an icon in her own right.” On her Web site, Gaga recently revealed the cover art for the “Telephone” single, which is due out on March 2nd. It features a photo of Gaga wearing a hat made from a telephone and a picture of a “Sasha Fierce”-mode Beyoncé. Beyoncé also said she was going to Brazil to shoot the video for Alicia Keys’ “Put It in a Love Song.”
ALISON IRAHETA RETURNS TO AMERICAN IDOL THIS WEEK
Alison Iraheta, who finished fourth last season on American Idol, will once again grace the stage on Thursday. The red-headed rocker will perform her latest single, “Scars,” on the one-hour broadcast. The show will also see the return of 2009 champ Kris Allen. The Arkansas singer will perform and also share some of the footage he shot on a recent trip to Haiti in an effort to raise awareness of the United Nation Foundation’s work in the Caribbean nation in the wake of last month’s devastating earthquake. The foundation is one of the organizations that will benefit from this year’s Idol Gives Back special, which will air on April 21st, and viewers will be asked to make donations online or by text during the episode.
FOLLOW DAVID GUETTA WITH HIS NEW IPHONE APP
GRAMMY Award-winning DJ/Producer David Guetta will launch his first official iPhone and iPod Touch application on March. 2nd. Through the app, fans can follow David as he moves from city to city around the world, receive an ongoing feed of updates, photos, videos and tweets directly from David. The app also contains innovative features such as Tour Tracker, an interactive world map that allows fans to see in real time where David is mixing and DJing. Tour tracker enables fans to connect by sharing their own location, pictures and comments on Guetta’s DJ sets from around the globe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe-z1q6jbWY.
LADY GAGA ON TWO MAGAZINE COVERS
Lady Gaga graces the covers of two different magazines this month, British mag Q and the newest edition of Cosmo. PerezHilton.com has pictures of both covers now, so head to the gossip site to check them out.
ONEREPUBLIC TEACHES YOU THE GUITAR
Ever wanted to know how to play a song from OneRepublic on the guitar? Well band axe-man Zach Filkins posted a video online of how to play their song “Secrets,” which is off their sophomore album Waking Up. See the vid now at OneRepublic.net. <ZS>
AMY WINEHOUSE HEADS HOME
Amy Winehouse has been in Jamaica, supposedly working on her new album, but now it appears that the embattled singer is returning home. According to British paper The Sun, Winehouse is heading back to London, but they had no update on the status of her highly anticipated new effort.
LILY ALLEN TO COOK FOR CHARITY?
Lily Allen’s father Keith is an actor, and he recently auctioned off the chance to have a home-cooked meal by him in an effort to raise money for Haiti. It brought in 48-hundred dollars and, according to British paper The Sun, he may not be alone in the kitchen. It’s being reported that he is going to ask his famous daughter to be a part of the fundraiser. Maybe this is the career change Lily has been looking for, as she keeps saying that she’ll be retiring from music next month.
OWL CITY DOESN’T SLEEP
Owl City singer Adam Young has been diagnosed with insomnia, but some people would make the case that that is a good thing. According it ContactMusic.com, Young has said that when he can’t fall asleep, he finds the most inspiration. In fact, his hit “Fireflies” was written when he was “up late and in the basement…not really trying to write anything.” He went on about his insomnia, saying that as long as he gets “three to five hours” throughout the day, he’s usually good to go.
JESSICA SIMPSON’S DAD CALLS JOHN MAYER
Jessica Simpson wasn’t too fond of John Mayer calling her “sexual napalm” in his interview with Playboy, and apparently, neither was her dad Joe. A source told OK! magazine that Joe Simpson supposedly called Mayer for a “man to man” discussion about his comments, and demanded an apology from the singer-songwriter. The source went on, saying that the conversation was “pretty one-sided,” with Joe saying that John should “not even think about uttering Jessica’s name again.” No rep for anyone involved had a comment on the supposed phone call.
THE SCRIPT WIN AN AWARD
The Script had a great weekend in their hometown of Dublin, Ireland. The rockers took home a Meteor Award for Best Live Act, and not only that, but they also had the honor of opening the show with a performance on their hit song “Breakeven.” See footage from the event on YouTube now.
THE SCRIPT’S STOCK IS RISING
The Script are featured in the latest issue of Billboard magazine. An article charts the Irish rockers sales history, showing that even though their self-titled debut album actually came out 15-months ago, it is just now reaching new heights in America. The digital sales of their latest single “Breakeven” have recently skyrocketed, which has led to a dramatic increase in album sales. Learn more at Billboard.com.
TRAVIS BARKER ON THE PAPARAZZI
Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker got into a small altercation with the paparazzi this past weekend after leaving a restaurant. The police were called and a vandalism charge was filed, but no other charges or arrests were made. Barker tweeted about the incident, saying a photographer threatened him and that all he was trying to do was have breakfast with his kids. Follow Travis at Twitter.com/TrvsBrkr.
JAY-Z TAKES CREDIT FOR “SINGLE LADIES” DANCE
According to MTV News, Jay-Z claims he played a big role in the choreography Beyonce came up with for the renowned “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” video. While appearing on BBC One’s Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, Hova jokingly stated that his wife “stole many things from me.” The mogul explained that he not only came up with the “Crazy in Love” “Uh-oh” dance, but he also “created the dance” for “Single Ladies.” He reportedly instructed Bey on how the hand movement should go. Head over to MTV.com to learn more now.
ASHANTI COMMENTS ON STALKER CASE
Now that her text-stalker is expected to serve two years in prison, Ashanti can finally breathe easier. We previously reported that a man named Devar Hurd was arrested for sending vulgar text messages and photographs of his genitals to the singer as well as to her mother and sister. A rep for the R&B princess stated: “We’re really so glad to have this behind us, and we feel justice has been served.”
Ashanti’s next studio album will drop later this year under her new label, Written Entertainment.
COLDPLAY WILL RELEASE AN ALBUM IN 2010
Coldplay will release a new album in 2010. Frontman Chris Martin told Globo.com that he wants to release their new disc around Christmastime. He went on to say that the band are being extra cautious this time around to make sure their new material doesn’t get leaked online. The group is currently in the studio in London laying down the new tracks. Check out Globo.com to see video of Martin talking about the new effort.
SHAUN WHITE LIKES ROCK
Olympic gold medalist Shaun White talked with Spinner.com about his go-to jams when he’s getting psyched up to compete. He said Wolfmother, AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses songs get him pumped up to snowboard and that the one song he loves playing on guitar is the Darkness’s tune “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.” Learn more at Spinner.com.
EXTRA NEWS! You can help raise money for and support Team USA’s Olympic athletes by heading over to Soundtrack.ATT.net and buying songs from Hoobastank, 3 Doors Down, The All-American Rejects and more. 100 percent of the download charges go towards Team USA.
U2 ANNOUNCED SUPPORT ACTS FOR U-S TOUR
U2’s 360 World Tour heads back to North America in June. The band has just announced on their Web site that Lenny Kravitz, The Fray and Interpol will be opening for them during various dates of their tour. Kravitz will play with U2 from June 3rd through June 12th. The Fray will team up with the Irish band on June 16th and travel with them until June 23rd. Interpol will then play with the band through July 12th. There are still several U-S dates without openers as of now. We’ll keep you updated when they are announced.
CORGAN TALKS JESSICA SIMPSON
Smashing Pumpkin’s singer Billy Corgan is talking about the rumors that were swirling last month about him and Jessica Simpson having some kind of relationship. Corgan says he laughed at the tabloid reports that they were dating. He told the Chicago Tribune that the rumors started because he and Simpson were in the studio together working on the theme song for her new Vh1 TV show The Price of Beauty. Her new show is set to premiere on Vh1 on March 14th.
NICKI MINAJ TO HOST RIP THE RUNWAY
Similar to her Young Money labelmate Drake, Nicki Minaj is having one hell of a career so far and she doesn’t even have an album out. In addition to recording with everyone from Mariah Carey to Ludacris, the fem-cee will host and perform for BET’s upcoming Rip The Runway show. The annual event will also include performances by Janelle Monae, Estelle, Luda, Roscoe Dash, Soulja Boy and Grand Hustle’s B.o.B. The show airs this spring.
DETAILS ON RIHANNA’S BIRTHDAY PARTY
Over the weekend in Arizona, Rihanna’s unofficial boyfriend, L-A Dodger Matt Kemp, threw her a surprise birthday party that included a dance performance from a porn star named Bridget The Midget. TMZ has obtained footage from Ri Ri’s 22nd birthday bash, where the little person puts on a show to the singer’s hit single “Hard.” In addition, Kemp gave Rihanna “an amazing diamond necklace” and her cake was decorated with all of her signature tattoos.
http://www.rihannadaily.com/2010/02/21/rihanna-gets-her-party-on/#comments
HIP HOP ON OLYMPIAN’S PLAYLIST
Team USA has revealed what helps pump them up before each event during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Artists who appear most frequently on the gold-winning athletes’ iPods include Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Beyonce and Eminem. To review the full list, head over to Rap-Up.com.
J-LO PERFORMS IN ITALY!
Jennifer Lopez traveled to Italy this past weekend for the 60th Annual Sanremo Music Festival. The pop star, as reported by ThatGrapeJuice.net, “performed a medley of her biggest hits” including a new song titled “What Is Love” off her upcoming new album, love? According to the reports, Lopez “lip-synced the entire performance” and received a lack of response from the audience. Her new studio effort is set to hit stores this April!
DETAILS ON KELLY ROWLAND’S THIRD ALBUM
According to ThatGrapeJuice.net, Kelly Rowland is in the process of finishing her third solo album. The former Destiny’s Child member has confirmed that she will be collaborating with mega-producer Polow Da Don on the project. The pair has worked together previously on Rowland’s smash hit “Like This.” Be sure to look for the singer’s much-anticipated effort this summer!
TWO UNRELEASED BEYONCE SONGS
According to her official fan site, two new songs from Beyonce have just surfaced. The tracks, “I’m Glad There Is You” and “Baby You’re The Only Man,” were said to be recorded during the singer’s Dangerously In Love studio sessions. Fans can check them out on YouTube now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoZIOaEislQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBcAhZNw5JE
LIL WAYNE REVEALS NEW TEETH, JOINS TWITTER
Lil Wayne has decided to open up a Twitter account and will give his fans the chance to follow his last days of freedom. The emcee is currently counting down until he serves one year in prison for illegal weapons possessions. It’s not yet known if someone will update the account wile he’s incarcerated. In addition, Weezy also posted a UStream video of himself showing off his new teeth. Learn more at WorldStarHipHop.com. <WM>
SNOOP RECRUITS KID CUDI ON MORE MALICE
According to RapRadar.com, Snoop Dogg has teamed up with Kid Cudi on a new track titled “That Tree” off his upcoming re-release project. Fans can get their hands on the Doggfather’s much anticipated effort, More Malice, on March 23rd. The disc will also contain an exclusive mini movie called Malice N Wonderland.
LUDACRIS CHANNELS TIGER WOODS ON “SEXTING”
According to Rap-Up.com, Ludacris makes fun of the infamous Tiger Woods voice message in his new song titled “Sexting.” Throughout the Neptunes-produced song, the rapper makes light of the golf star’s many transgressions. Be sure to get Luda’s upcoming seventh studio effort, Battle Of The Sexes, when it drops on March 9th.
http://limelinx.com/files/a449c4dafab34ff596d262123c97fda2
MICHAEL BUBLE OPENS UP
Michael Buble recently sat down with Vh1 to answer five special questions. In the interview, the singer-songwriter says which artist he loves to listen to the most, what he would be doing is he wasn’t a musician, and much more. See the video now at MichaelBuble.com.
EMI NOT SELLING ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS
Beatles fans fret not, EMI is not planning on selling Abbey Road Studios. However, according to Reuters, the company is speaking with third parties about how to revitalize the studio and making it a historic landmark. Read more at RollingStone.com.
SANTANA PLAYS THE HITS, TALKS ABOUT TIGER
For almost a year, Carlos Santana has been playing a residency at Las Vegas’ Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. At the show, which is called Supernatural Santana, the guitarist performs some of his biggest hits including “Black Magic Woman,” “Maria Maria,” “Smooth” and “Evil Ways.” At Saturday’s concert, while wearing a shirt with Bob Marley on it, Santana spoke about the importance of “one love,” as he called it a “love supreme.” He described Tiger Woods having to come clean in front of the world, and calling him his “brother.” Carlos explained he understands people like Tiger and Michael Jackson, because like him, they were made to work when they were very young and didn’t get to experience certain things so they are now trying to “catch up.” Santana stated he is not making excuses for them but hopes everyone can forgive people and believe in an “unconditional love.” See what Santana says to his audience by catching one of his upcoming performances. Get the dates at Santana.com.
