IT’S THE BEGINNING FOR THE PEAS
The Black Eyed Peas new album, The Beginning, arrives in stores tomorrow. The effort is the highly-anticipated follow-up to their multi-platinum album, The E.N.D., which has sold over 2.8-million copies to date. The E.N.D. debuted at number one on the Billboard album chart and included the number one hits “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling.” “The Time (Dirty Bit)” is the first single off The Beginning, it samples “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from the hit 1987 film Dirty Dancing.
JUSTIN BIEBER POSTS “IT GETS BETTER” VIDEO
Justin Bieber has joined the ranks of stars speaking out against bullying. The 16-year-old American Music Award-winning singer recently spoke to talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres about his own bullying experience, and in an “It Gets Better” clip that debuted on DeGeneres’ site on Monday, he urged his fans to take action if they see someone being bullied. Bieber joins a long list of stars and politicians who have joined the “It Gets Better” anti-bullying campaign, including President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Ke$ha, Nicki Minaj, Adam Lambert, Aubrey O’Day, Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington and Katy Perry, who dedicated her “Firework” clip to the campaign.
http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2010/11/justin_bieber_on_bullying_1122.php
RIHANNA SCORES ANOTHER NUMBER ONE SINGLE
Two weeks after topping the Billboard Hot 100 with “What’s My Name?” featuring Drake, Rihanna will return to the top spot with “Only Girl (In the World),” the debut single from her new album, Loud. According to Billboard, it marks the first time in history that an album’s debut single reaches the summit after the second single tops the chart. Meanwhile, “What’s My Name” falls one spot to number eight. P!nk climbs to number two with “Raise Your Glass,” while Far East Movement fall to number three after three non-consecutive weeks at number one with ‘Like A G6” featuring Cataracs & Dev. Ke$ha is up two spots to number four with “We R Who We R,” which debuted at number one three weeks ago and Nelly’s “Just a Dream” holds at number five.
SUSAN BOYLE TOPS BILLBOARD ALBUM CHART
Susan Boyle’s The Gift scores a rare second-week increase from a chart-topping debut as it sells over 335-thousand copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The five percent sales increase helps the Christmas-themed album hold the top spot on the Billboard album chart for a second consecutive week. The last number one debut to post a sales jump in its second week was Justin Bieber’s My World 2.0, which had a three percent jump back in April. 10-year-old America’s Got Talent runner-up Jackie Evancho debuts at number two with her four song EP O Holy Night, which sold over 239-thousand copies. Rihanna bows at number three with Loud, selling over 207-thousand copies and marking her fifth top ten album. Josh Groban’s Illuminations bows at number four, while Kid Rock’s Born Free enters at number five.
BILLBOARD TIDBITS: The top nine albums this week all sold more than 100-thosuand copies each. That marks the first time in over one year that has happened. Back on the chart dated January 6th, 2010, the top 16 albums all sold more than 100-thousand copies.
DECEMBER TOURS!
Fresh off his four American Music Awards wins, Justin Bieber keeps his My World Tour rolling into December with shows in New York, Pittsburgh, Miami, Tampa and other cities before wrapping on December 23rd in Atlanta. Meanwhile, his mentor Usher is out on the road, finishing up his tour, which hits Detroit, Chicago and Atlanta, before wrapping on December 8th in Baltimore, Maryland. Enrique Iglesias is playing a host of holiday festival shows in Los Angeles, New York, Tampa and Orlando. He will launch a tour of the U-K in March. Ke$ha heads to Europe in early December, but will return to the states for another tour in February.
JEREMIH TALKS “DOWN ON ME”
We previously reported Keenan Cahill recently appears on the Chelsea Lately show to talk about lip synching to Jerimih’s “Down’ On Me.” The 15-year-old shocked everyone when 50 Cent actually came into his bedroom to perform his verse on the song. We asked the R&B singer who created the tune how he felt about the song’s overnight viral success (See Related Cut #6). Be sure to grab Jeremih’s All About You LP, in stores now.
VIDEO! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeJ9FCadSPc
NEW ALBUMS IN 2011: SCRIPT, ADELE, COLBIE
2010 may be coming to a close, but there’s a ton of good music on the horizon for 2011. In January, we’ll be getting a brand new album from The Script, titled Science & Faith. Then in February, Adele will be releasing her highly anticipated sophomore effort 21. And although an exact date is yet to be confirmed, it’s looking like Colbie Caillat will be releasing her third album sometime in May. Be sure to keep an ear out for all these great releases next year.
TOMORROW’S A BIG DAY FOR NEW MUSIC
Tomorrow’s a big day for new music. No doubt the most popular album release is the Black Eyed Peas’ latest record, The Beginning. It features their single, “Time of My Life,” which the group recently performed at the American Music Awards. Also in stores will be Glee: The Music, Volume 4 and a Deluxe Edition of Bryan Adams’ latest effort, Bare Bones.
MICHAEL FRANTI ON FERGUSON
If you’re going to be staying up late tonight, then be sure to watch the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. That’s because Michael Franti will be performing on the program. Tune in beginning at 12:35 AM Eastern on CBS. Michael Sheen will also be on tonight’s episode.
PREVIEW CHRISETTE’S NEW ALBUM
Good news, you can preview Chrisette Michele’s entire third studio album, Let Freedom Reign, before it arrives tomorrow! Led by her “I’m a Star” single, the R&B singer’s disc includes guest contributions from Talib Kweli and Rick Ross. If you want to listen to the disc, head over to her official MySpace page today. Her album is going up against Jazmine Sullivan’s Love Me Back, El DeBarge’s Second Chance, Soulja Boy’s The DeAndre Way, Flo Rida’s Only One Flo (Part 1) and Black Eyed Peas’ The Beginning. Big music day indeed.
http://www.myspace.com/chrisettemichele
ONLINE BEATLES MUSIC SALES NUMBERS
The Beatles music was finally made available on iTunes on November 16th and during the first week it was online, more than 450-thousand of the Fab Four’s albums and two-million Beatles songs were downloaded. According to Billboard, the top-selling record was Abbey Road and the best-selling song was “Here Comes the Sun.” Compare those numbers to Led Zeppelin when their music first hit the online retailer in 2007. Then, fans downloaded 47-thousand Zep albums and 300-thousand tracks during the first week the music was available. Read more at Billboard.com.
U2 REHEARSING RARITIES FOR NEW ZEALAND TOUR WITH JAY-Z
U2 is currently rocking New Zealand on a ten date tour and Jay-Z is opening the show. U2Gigs.com reports that the band was practicing their 1981 rarity “Scarlet” during rehearsals, as well as “One Tree Hill” off The Joshua Tree and their new song, “Boy Falls From the Sky,” from Bono and The Edge’s Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark musical. U2 only played “Scarlet” live once before for a BBC taping in the early ‘80s and it’s being reported that Jay may join them onstage for the song.
DETAILS ON MILIAN AND THE DREAM’S SETTLEMENT
The Chicago Sun-Times reports new information has surfaced regarding Christina Milian and The-Dream’s divorce case. The singer, who has her first child with the producer, will receive a lump sum estimated around four-million dollars, as well as five-thousand dollars a month, to support their daughter, Violet. Milian recently told TheBoomBox.com, “I’ve been regrouping with my life and everything that was going on…I’m very thankful for being able to see the light and move forward in my life. Sometimes big things have to happen in your life to push forward and I’ve had a lot of big things.”
BUY NICKI’S PINK FRIDAY FOR CHEAP
Similar to Kanye West’s new album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, fans will be able to purchase Nicki Minaj’s debut LP Pink Friday for only 3.99 on Amazon.com. Thanks to the online retailer, you will be able to afford two of the biggest albums of the year for less than 10 dollars. Talk about recession friendly!
KANYE REMIXES KERI’S “PRETTY GIRL ROCK”
We’ve just learned Keri Hilson’s “Pretty Girl Rock” has been officially remixed by none other than Kanye West. It’s unknown if the revamped version will appear on Miss Keri Baby’s upcoming album, No Boys Allowed, which will be available in stores on December 21st. Head over to Rap-Up.com for your first listen!
KEYSHIA COLE DROPS TWO NEW VIDEOS!
RapRadar.com has learned Keyshia Cole has released the visual for her dual singles, “I Ain’t Thru” featuring Nicki Minaj, and “Long Way Down.” The tracks will appear on the singer’s highly anticipated fourth album, Calling All Hearts, which hits shelves on December 21st. Visit the site to check out the Benny Boom-directed video today!
SOULJA BOY ISSUES “SPEAKS GOIN HAMMER” VIDEO
We’ve just learned Soulja Boy has dropped the video for his new single, “Speakers Going Hammer.” The Gil Green directed music video was shot in Los Angeles and serves as a great reminder for fans everywhere to buy SB’s third studio album, The DeAndre Way, tomorrow!
MAROON 5 HEAD TO JAMAICA
Maroon 5 are heading to Jamaica. According to a post on the band’s official website, the rockers will be headlining the 15th annual Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival, which takes place from January 23rd through the 29th. Learn more at Maroon5.com.
KATY PERRY WATCHES CATFISH
Katy Perry might seem like she’s always on the move, but apparently she had the chance to have a quiet movie night at home last week. The pop start took to her Twitter to say that she watched the film Catfish and that it will “blow your mind.”
GAGA HONORS MJ
Lady Gaga was in Prague recently with her Monster Ball tour, and she paid tribute to a music legend. British paper the Daily Record reports that the “Bad Romance” singer sported a “sparkly silver glove” during her set as an homage to Michael Jackson.
ONLY SILK UNDERWEAR FOR GAGA?
If reports coming out of England are to be believed, Lady Gaga will only wear silk underwear. Now magazine reports that a source told them “the finest silk, made to order, is all she’ll wear now” and that she believes it helps her “creativity.” The source also added that Gaga has spent close to 10-thousand dollars replacing her old wardrobe with all new silk undergarments.
GAGA HAS A STAKE IN AN NYC RESTAURANT
Lady Gaga now has a stake in a restaurant in New York City. According to the New York Post, the pop star, along with her parents, has invested in the Italian restaurant Vince & Eddie’s on the Upper West Side. The paper couldn’t say if Gaga will have anything to do with the day-to-day operations.
Learn more at NYPost.com.
GAGA DRINKS, HAS AN INTERVIEW WITH ANDERSON COOPER
Lady Gaga recently sat down for an interview with Anderson Cooper for 60 Minutes, and it’s going to be one that the CNN host will remember for a long time. Cooper told The Insider that the two ended up in a pub in London drinking Jameson whiskey, and that after two drinks, he was “ready for the interview to be over” because he doesn’t usually drink, and he “couldn’t ask any more questions.” The interview is set to air GRAMMY night, February 13th, on 60 Minutes.
NEW VIDEO FROM MICHAEL FRANTI
Michael Franti has just released a brand new video for his song “Hey Hey Hey.” The tune is off of his latest album, The Sound of Sunshine, and you can watch the clip now at MichaelFranti.com.
ADAM DURITZ AND EMMY ROSSUM BREAK-UP
Adam Duritz and Emmy Rossum have broken up. The Counting Crows frontman and the actress actually split two months ago after dating since late 2009. Rossum told USAToday.com that although they’re not together anymore, they’re “still very close friends.”
DANE COOK SURPRISE TAYLOR ON LENO
Last week, Taylor Swift was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and she got surprised by none other than Dane Cook. The comedian came out shirtless with a fake tattoo on his chest of Taylor’s face, and proceeded to serenade her. Check out the video now at PopEater.com.
http://www.popeater.com/2010/11/23/dane-cook-taylor-swift-tattoo/
IS LILY ALLEN ENGAGED?
Have Lily Allen and boyfriend Sam Cooper gotten engaged? According to MTV U-K, British magazine Now is reporting that Cooper popped the question after the singer-songwriter suffered a miscarriage earlier this month. MTV U-K reports that a rep for Allen is denying that the two have plans to get married anytime soon. Learn more at MTV.co.uk.
JAY-Z AND EMINEM: HIGHEST GROSSING TOUR
According to TheBoomBox.com, Eminem and Jay-Z’s spot tour dates in Detroit and New York have become the quarter’s biggest grossing series of concerts. Hov and Slim Shady sold over 6.9-million dollars in only two shows at Detroit’s Comerica Park in September. The New York dates are still being calculated, but if its anywhere near the Detroit sales, the rap stars would fall second to Metallica’s three dates in Australia, which raked in over 15-million. Not bad at all!
