LADY GAGA STILL NUMBER ONE WITH “BORN THIS WAY”
Lady Gaga holds on to the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for her sixth straight week with “Born This Way.” Katy Perry’s “E.T.” featuring Kanye West climbs one spot to number two, Rihanna’s “S&M” climbs one notch to number three, Cee-Lo Green’s “Forget You” falls two rungs to number four and the Black Eyed Peas leap 17 spots to number five with “Just Can’t Get Enough.”
BILLBOARD TIDBITS: The Glee cast registers the second-best digital sales week for any of its singles, as “Loser Like Me” soars onto the Hot 100 at number six. The Fox TV troupe also starts at number 16 on the Hot 100 with “Get It Right.” The tracks mark the ensemble’s first recordings of songs written specifically for the series. Meanwhile, teen Internet sensation Rebecca Black enters the Hot 100 at number 72 with “Friday.”
BRITNEY SPEARS FREE SF CONCERT MOVES INSIDE
The Britney Spears concert in San Francisco has been moved due to the possibility of rain. The free show will now take place at the Bill Graham Civic Center, which holds five-thousand people. The show is still free, but fans have to get tickets from Ticketmaster and have to pay a three dollar service charge. The concert takes place on Sunday and is being taped for Good Morning America. It will then air on Tuesday, the same day her Femme Fatale album is released. Spears will also be making several appearances during the week to The Ellen DeGeneres Show. MTV will pay tribute to the pop star by declaring Tuesday March 29th the “Britney take-over” day on the network. Spears will also be making another appearance on April 2nd at the Nickelodeon Choice Awards.
JESSIE J WROTE A SONG FOR BRITNEY SPEARS
British singer and songwriter Jessie J recently wrote a track for Britney Spears’s Femme Fatale album called “Being Britney.” The song did not make the record. In a recent interview with MTV, Jessie J said that having the opportunity to write a song for Britney was still incredible. Jessie also said that she may pitch the song to someone else.
STATEMENT: “For me, one thing I love about Britney Spears is she is Britney Spears: No one can come and try and steal her path, her lane and that’s what I love about her. That’s what the song is about, ‘I’m the s–t.’ ”
ARTWORK & TRACK LIST OF GAGA’S ALBUM LEAKED?
Has the artwork and track listing to Lady Gaga’s forthcoming album, Born This Way, been prematurely revealed? According to RollingStone.com, the website F***ingBornThisWay.Tumblr.com has photos of what appears to be the album, as well as the photo booklet that would be inside, and it seems to feature 14 tracks, including song titles that haven’t been mentioned yet like “Unfathomable,” “One” and “Justice.” Is it the real deal? We’ll have to wait until May 23rd to find out.
http://fuckingbornthisway.tumblr.com/
GAGA GETS BASHED ON BY JASON PATRIC
It seems that most people love Lady Gaga. But there’s definitely at least one person who does not. It’s actor Jason Patric, who told OK! magazine that the pop star is “absolutely preposterous,” and compared her to taking a “s**t in a Cuisinart.” Ouch. Read more at OKMagazine.com.
GAGA STOPS BY TWITTER
Lady Gaga recently stopped by Google headquarters for a long interview, and apparently, while in Northern California, the pop star decided to stop by Twitter for a little bit as well. Co-founder Evan Williams wrote on his Twitter that Gaga was “lovely, smart, and articulate.” Learn more at SFist.com.
FERGIE TURNS 36 ON SUNDAY!
On Sunday, Stacy Ann Ferguson, perhaps better known as Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, turns 36 years old. The singer has been in the limelight for the majority of those years, so when we caught up with her at a recent red carpet, we asked her how she manages to stay grounded after being famous for so long. She filled us in (See Related Cut #4). Be sure to wish Fergie a happy b-day if you see her on Sunday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIAH CAREY!
On Sunday, Mariah Carey turns 41 years old. For someone who has performed for two decades, we were surprised when she told us that she still gets nervous right before she hits the stage (See Related Cut #5). The singer is currently pregnant with twins. Her husband, Nick Cannon, recently tweeted, “I am probably going to faint in the delivery room! I need to man up!” He later wrote, “I am in awe of my wife.”
FAR EAST MOVEMENT DROP NEW VIDEO!
Far East Movement have released the video for “If I Was You (OMG),” featuring Snoop Dogg. The group shot the clip with Snoop at La Cita in the downtown Los Angeles neighborhood where they grew up. The music video features fly women, lots of partying and female Lucha Libre wrestling. Far East Movement will be performing at college campuses throughout the country in April and May.
See the video here: http://goo.gl/mWnG5.
See photos from the set of the video here: http://goo.gl/qdb1k.
Check out the official Club Remix of “If I Was You (OMG) here: http://goo.gl/diVRd.
TAIO CRUZ SCORES DANCE HIT WITH “HIGHER”
Taio Cruz has scored a number one hit on the Billboard Hot Dance Club chart with “Higher” featuring Kylie Minogue and Travie McCoy. Meanwhile, Cruz has written and recorded the theme song for the 3D animated film Rio. The track “Telling The World” appears in the film, which opens nationally on April 15th, and on the soundtrack, which will be available on iTunes beginning Tuesday. The “Telling The World” video can be seen now at Vevo.com.
PERFORMANCE: Check out Taio Cruz performing “Dynamite” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show here: http://goo.gl/UIuP9
FIRST FULL LENGTH GLEE ALBUM!
Glee will release its first full-length album next month. Glee: The Music Presents The Warblers will feature 13 tracks, some of which will not be performed on the hit FOX show. According to Billboard, the effort will feature highlights like covers of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” and Destiny Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills,” as well as covers of Barbra Streisand’s “What Kind of Fool” and Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” The album will be released April 19th.
TRACKLISTING FOR GLEE: THE MUSIC PRESENTS THE WARBLERS:
“Teenage Dream”
“Hey Soul Sister”
“Bills, Bills, Bills”
“Silly Love Songs”
“When I Get You Alone”
“Animal”
“Misery”
“Blackbird”
“Candles”
“Raise Your Glass”
“Somewhere Only We Know”
“What Kind Of Fool”
“Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?”
LADY GAGA TOPS SOCIAL 50 CHART
Lady Gaga continues her reign on Billboard’s Social 50 chart. Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Eminem and Shakira also hold in place in the top five spots. Ludacris leaps seven spots to number six, Akon falls one notch to number seven and Selena Gomez rises to a new chart high at number eight. YouTube sensation Rebecca Black enters the chart at number nine. Her “Friday” clip went from over two-million views on March 14th to over 30-million on March 21st. Katy Perry falls three spots to round out the top ten.
RIHANNA TO PERFORM WITH COUNTRY STAR AT ACMS
Ryan Seacrest announced on his website Thursday that R&B artist Rihanna will perform her new song, “California King Bed,” with Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles at the Academy of Country Music Awards. The song is from Rihanna’s newest album, Loud, which features her hits “What’s My Name?,” “Only Girl (In the World),” “Rude Boy” and most recently, “S&M.” The ACM Awards will be broadcast live on Sunday, April 3rd on CBS at 8 PM Eastern.
TAYLOR SWIFT ADDS MORE TOURS DATES
Just as she’s wrapping up the European leg of her tour, Taylor Swift has added 16 new dates to her U-S tour. The singer will now headline 78 shows in stadiums and arenas in 63 cities in 42 states and provinces in the U-S and Canada this year. Just as she did last year, Taylor is holding T Parties after concerts where she gets to meet fans who have been randomly selected from the audience. She spoke about the parties (See Related Cut #6). A complete list of tour dates can be found on Taylor’s website.
SWIFT PENS NEW MUSIC IN DUBLIN, IRELAND
The beautiful country of Ireland has Taylor Swift in the mood to write new music. She tweeted on Thursday, “Writing a song all afternoon in my hotel room. Dublin, Ireland.” Taylor included a picture of her guitar, pen and paper along with the message. She performs tonight in Belfast and Sunday in Dublin as part of her Speak Now World Tour.
DID TAYLOR SWIFT INFLUENCE RAPPER’S NEXT SINGLE?
Rapper Nicki Minaj is putting off the release of her song “Fly” with Rihanna to get her other track, “Super Bass,” out to the masses. Earlier this year, “Super Bass” picked up Internet buzz after two different videos of Taylor Swift and Disney star Selena Gomez rapping the song went viral. According to Minaj, it’s not the buzz created by Taylor and Selena that’s changed her mind, rather, she told MTV that she wants to give Rihanna’s other songs a chance to “dominate radio.”
NICKI SAYS NO TO X-FACTOR
We previously reported Nicki Minaj was being considered for the judging panel on X Factor USA. However, like to Mariah Carey, the rapper has turned down the opportunity. A source close to her camp told TMZ, “There’s nothing going on with [‘X Factor’].” The long list of possible judges includes Tommy Mottola, former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger and Cheryl Cole.
CHRIS BROWN APOLOGIZES FOR GMA INCIDENT
Before we get tired of talking about the Chris Brown debacle at Good Morning America, the singer apologized for the incident during an appearance on BET’s 106 & Park. Brown stated, “First and foremost I want to apologize to anybody who was startled in the office, anybody who was offended or really looked disappointed in my actions because I was disappointed in the way I acted.” He added, “A lot of people don’t know what went down. Obviously when I do shows and when I do interviews, we always send out a talking points sheet. And if the network isn’t compliant with what we want to do, we usually kind of back out and wait until it’s a better situation.” He goes on to insist that Robin Roberts’s questions about Rihanna were never pre-approved and vented backstage to “release the anger that I had inside me because I felt like I worked so hard for this music and I love my fans.”
KATY PERRY: OBSESSED WITH CATS
Katy Perry is obsessed with her cats. The pop star told More magazine that she and husband Russell Brand have three felines — Kitty Purry, Krusty and Morrissey — and that she wants to make the “cat-lady personality cool.” She also noted that her cats have a “feminine way” and that it’s “sexy.”
NEW MB20: THEIR “BEST ALBUM?”
There’s been much talk from the matchbox twenty guys about the new album that they’re currently working on, and apparently, they have very high expectations for the effort. The band wrote on their official Twitter page that it will be “the best album” that they have “ever made.” There you have it.
JENNIFER HUDSON PERFORMS ON IDOL
She may not have won American Idol, but Jennifer Hudson has conquered the music industry. Just days after releasing her sophomore album, I Remember Me, the singer returned to American Idol on Thursday night to perform. She recently told us why it’s such a great platform to showcase talent, win or lose (See Related Cuts #7 & #8). Well said. Be sure to go out and support the release of I Remember Me, available in stores now!
DRAKE TO GET HONORED AT SONGWRITERS GALA
We’ve learned Drake will be the recipient of the prestigious Hal David Starlight Award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony this summer. The Toronto native, who is being recognized for being a talented songwriter with a unique vision, will be honored on Thursday, June 16th at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
GINUWINE: “BEYONCE AND AALIYAH WOULD TIE”
It’s hard to believe that Aaliyah passed away in that tragic airplane accident over ten years ago. Ginuwine, who was a close friend of the late singer, told TheBoomBox.com that if she were still alive today, she’d be serious competition for Beyonce. The R&B crooner believes “Aaliyah was in a class by herself, if Aaliyah were still here, she and Beyonce would be neck and neck.” As far as Ciara borrowing elements from “Babygirl,” Elgin stated, “Everyone should aspire to be someone great… Aaliyah was one of the great ones.”
LEONA GETS A NEW TATTOO?
On a recent red carpet, known animal rights activist Leona Lewis was spotted with some new ink on her bare shoulder. It was a small picture of a rabbit, with “End Animal Testing” written underneath. According to WENN.com, there is no word on if the tattoo is permanent or not.
UPDATE ON COLDPLAY ALBUM
Coldplay have sent an update from the studio. The group says that the new songs are “pushing their heads above soil and straining towards the light.” They go on to say, “There’s been much chiseling and smoothing and now things are really developing a recognizable form and emotional resonance.” The post also explains that the group is back in the studio with producer Brian Eno.
BONO AND ALI GO ON A DATE!
It seems Bono and his wife made some time for a romantic meal this week. The U2 singer took his bride of 29 years, Ali Hewson, to Blue Hill at Stone Barns just north of New York City on Wednesday night. The restaurant is also one of President Barack Obama’s favorites.
