RIHANNA SETS U-K RECORD
According to Billboard, Rihanna scored her fifth number one single in the U-K with “What’s My Name.” The Official Charts Company is reporting the Barbadian singer had rewritten the record books, becoming first female solo artist in chart history to achieve five number one singles in consecutive years. She also matches a record set by Elvis Presley in the 1950s.
NO BIEBER EPISODE FOR GLEE
According to PopDust.com, Glee will not be doing a Justin Bieber episode this season. The Internet lit up with rumors that a Bieber-themed show would be shot, but show creator Ryan Murphy squashed those rumors saying they are not doing any more tribute shows this season and they are “reserved for artists with big catalogues like Madonna and Britney.”
KATY PERRY TALKS ABOUT GIRL CRUSHES
Katy Perry first burst onto the scene with her hit song “I Kissed a Girl,” so perhaps it’s only fitting that she told Maxim about the ladies on who she has a “girl crush.” The pop star said, “Zoe Saldana… She is so chic and cool. And Camilla Belle I love. She is the modern day Liz Taylor.”
GAGA’S “BORN THIS WAY” TO BE ON GLEE
Lady Gaga’s new single “Born This Way,” the title track off of her forthcoming album of the same name, hasn’t even been released yet, but there are already big plans for it in the works. According to EW.com, the pop star has granted Glee creator Ryan Murphy permission to base new material for an episode around the still-unheard track, and it’s set to air sometime in “March or April.”
AVRIL WANTS MADONNA’S CAREER
Avril Lavigne has high hopes for the rest of her music career — she’s wants it to emulate Madonna’s. The pop star told British paper the Daily Record that she can “definitely” see herself still making music in “20 years’ time,” and that she wants “to be around the way Madonna has done it. She’s had her life but still maintained her career throughout.” Good luck, Avril!
RUNNER RUNNER ALBUM AND TOUR
Runner Runner will release their self-titled debut album on February 15th. Last year, the band scored a breakthrough hit with “So Obvious” and followed it with the new single “Hey Alli.” The Southern California based quintet will launch a spring tour with A Rocket To The Moon on March 15th in Poughkeepsie, New York.
TIDBITS: Fans can pre-order a copy of Runner Runner on the band’s website and receive a free acoustic EP at the time of order. There are multiple fan bundle merchandise packages available with the album including a 7” vinyl, an exclusive t-shirt and a hoodie. All pre-order packages are available at RunnerRunnerMusic.com.
VIDEO: “Hey Alli” acoustic video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvYyPa9JG5U
VIDEO: “So Obvious” video:
http://www.youtube.com/runnerrunnermusic#p/a/u/0/PxRNKeMkAeY
Runner Runner album tracklisting:
1. “So Obvious”
2. “Unstoppable”
3. “Papercuts”
4. “Heart Attack”
5. “Hey Alli”
6. “Life After You”
7. “Falling”
8. “She’s My Kinda Girl”
9. “Dedicate”
10. “I Can’t Wait”
11. “See You Around”
12. “Running Away”
NEW AVRIL SINGLE OUT NOW!
Avril Lavigne’s new single, “What The Hell,” is now available on iTunes and all digital providers. The song is off her fourth studio album, Goodbye Lullaby, will be released on March 8th. On the effort, Lavigne worked with Deryck Whibley, Evan Taubenfeld and Butch Walker, as well as songwriter/producer Max Martin.
TIDBITS: Avril Lavigne has sold over 30-million albums worldwide and has earned eight GRAMMY nominations and won seven Canadian Juno Awards.
MAROON 5 PART OF TARANTINO TRIBUTE
It was just announced via press release that Quentin Tarantino will be honored at the 14th annual Critics Choice Awards on Friday with the first ever Music+Film Award for his use of “source and soundtrack music” to heighten his films. This directly affects the house band for the evening, Maroon 5, because they are now going to be playing “a special musical tribute from one of Tarantino’s most memorable movie scenes.” To find out which one it is, be sure to tune into the 14th annual Critics Choice Awards when they air Friday night at 9 PM Eastern on Vh1.
SEE MCR ON CONAN AND LOPEZ
Listen up My Chemical Romance fans! The band is set to appear as the musical guest on Conan on Monday. Be sure to tune in to Conan at 11 PM Eastern on TBS. The group will also play on Lopez Tonight on January 20th. Visit MyChemicalRomance.com for details!
ADAM YAUCH NOT “CANCER FREE”
Adam Yauch has opened up about his current battle with cancer. The Beastie Boy says the reports of him being “cancer free” are exaggerated. In a statement, Yauch explained, “While I’m grateful for all the positive energy people are sending my way, reports of my being totally cancer free are exaggerated. I’m continuing treatment, staying optimistic and hoping to be cancer free in the near future.”
STAIND WORKING ON NEW ALBUM
Vegas.com reports that Staind has begun work on a new album. Singer Aaron Lewis says the group is in the studio right now recording their seventh album. Lewis describes the new music as “heavy.” Producer Johnny K is working with the band on the project.
JANET JACKSON READIES U-S TOUR DATES
Janet Jackson just announced the official dates for her upcoming outing, which is being dubbed the Janet Jackson: Number Ones, Up Close and Personal Tour. The icon’s fans helped her choose intimate venues in 35 cities across the U-S. The highly anticipated trek kicks off on March 7th at The Chicago Theatre and ends on April 23rd inside Las Vegas’ The Colosseum. According to her official website, the singer said in a statement, “These concerts will be different from anything I have ever done, I will be as up close and personal as possible. These concerts are not about special effects. This is a love affair between me and those of you who have supported me and my work for all these years.”
March 7th and 8th — Chicago, Illinois
March 12th — Toronto, Ontario, Canada
March 16th — Uncasville, Connecticut
March 18th —New York, New York
March 22nd —— Washington, D.C.
March 25th & 26th — Atlantic City, New Jersey
March 29th — Atlanta, Georgia
March 31st — Saint Louis, Missouri
April 2nd — Grand Prairie, Texas
April 6th — Denver, Colorado
April 8th — Phoenix, Arizona
April 9th — Santa Barbara, California
April 14th — Los Angeles, California
April 19th — San Francisco, California
April 22nd & 23rd — Las Vegas, Nevada
SWIFT INSPIRES WILLOW SMITH
Will Smith’s daughter Willow Smith has a budding singing career with her hit “Whip My Hair” and recently told Radio Disney that meeting Taylor Swift impacted her. First off, Taylor was wearing flats so she wasn’t as tall as Willow had imagined. She saw Taylor in concert and was impressed by the special effects of words being projected onto water. Willow added that she would like to “borrow” some ideas from Taylor’s show for her own stage and tour one day.
FAITH HILL WRITES WITH CHRIS MARTIN
During a recent interview on Chelsea Lately, Tim McGraw revealed that his wife, Faith Hill, had been writing songs with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Faith met Chris when Tim started working with his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, on the movie Country Strong. According to Tim, Faith is a “huge Coldplay fan” and they “spent a lot of time writing songs” though he hasn’t heard any yet. Coldplay are set to release a new album later this year.
MINAJ WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH TAYLOR SWIFT
Rapper Nicki Minaj says she listens to all genres of music and would love to collaborate with country artist Taylor Swift. She told E! Online, “I’ve been listening to her music…it is a very good idea if I could work with the country singer.” Nicki has already recorded with Jay-Z, Christina Aguilera, Kanye West and Mariah Carey. She also mentioned Lady Gaga as an artist she’d like to work with.
RELATED NEWS: Taylor expressed her love for Nicki’s music through a tweet, writing, “Driving back from rehearsals listening to Super Bass by @nickiminaj OVER and OVER. I’m so obsessed with this song!” Nicki responded by tweeting, “POW!”
OMARION DISMISSES GAY RUMORS
Omarion wants to make one thing clear: he’s not a homosexual or bisexual! After a fake “coming-out-the-closet” press release was recently issued to the public, a rep for the former B2K member caught up with Vibe.com to set the record straight. The statement reads, “The previously released statement regarding Omarion is false and was generated for negative publicity by an unknown person. Omarion will not contribute to anything negative said or done against him. Omarion respects all of his fans, no matter religion, sexuality, or race.” In addition, O wrote on his Twitter that he only “loves women, period.”
MORE FROM BRUNO ON ELLEN
We reported that Bruno Mars performed a stripped down version of his hit single “Grenade” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last week, but apparently, that wasn’t the only tune he played. He also sang his song “Just The Way You Are,” and if you missed it, you can watch it now at BrunoMars.com.
50 CENT INVESTS IN TV GOODS
According to XXLMag.com, 50 Cent has recently made an equity investment into a direct marketing company that helped create his Sleek By 50 Cent headphones. The business mogul, who has become a minority owner in TV Goods, tweeted to his fans that they should hurry up and buy stock with the company! Natural born hustler indeed!
