BRITNEY SPEARS KICKED OFF U-S TOUR LAST WEEK
Britney Spears kicked off her Femme Fatale Tour on Thursday night in Sacramento, California. Spears donned glitzy costumes for her high production show and performed new songs like “Hold It Against Me” and “Big Fat Bass,” as well as old-school hits like “Toxic” and “Don’t Let Me Be the Last to Know.” The Femme Fatale Tour rolls into Los Angeles tonight. The U-S leg wraps in August and then Spears will take the show to Europe through November.
Rolling Stone called the show “her flashiest, fastest moving, and most entertaining production yet.” The magazine added, “The night belonged to Britney: She managed to prove that she’s still progressing as a showgirl. Not only that, she’s doing it better than even die-hard defenders would’ve predicted.”
SKYLAR GREY DROPS DEBUT SINGLE
Skylar Grey’s debut single, “Invisible,” has been released to radio. The song features Grey singing over an Alex Da Kid-produced hip-hop beat. The 25-year-old told us the song is about feeling neglected and ignored and wanting to scream out for help. She hopes people connect with the song’s strong message. Skylar Grey will be performing at Lollapalooza this August in support of her upcoming album, Invisible, which is due out this fall.
Lollapalooza will take place August 5th through 7th at Grant Park in Chicago.
BRITNEY TO DEBUT NEW VIDEO ON WEDNESDAY
Britney Spears will premiere her new video for “I Wanna Go” on MTV Wednesday. Fans who want to catch the first glimpse of the clip will have to get up early as the singer plans to debut the video at 6 AM Eastern Wednesday morning. The eligibility period for the MTV Video Awards closes on Friday, so many artists will be releasing videos over the next week. Other artists dropping new videos before the deadline include New Boyz, Chris Brown, Rick Ross, Cobra Starship and more. The MTV Video Music Awards will be handed out August 28th at the Nokia Theatre at L-A Live in downtown Los Angeles.
CHRISTINA EARNS MORE THAN OTHER VOICE COACHES
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Christina Aguilera is reportedly making more than 225-thousand dollars per episode of The Voice, while the other vocal coaches are earning around 75-thousand dollars.
BIEBER BACK ON TOP OF SOCIAL 50 CHART
Justin Bieber is back on top of Billboard’s Social 50 chart. Lady Gaga falls to number four after six weeks at the summit. Bieber saw a 15 percent increase in YouTube views this week, likely due to taking home Collaborative Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards last week. The 17-year-old worked with Rascal Flatts on “That Should Be Me” and its video has garnered well over 19-million YouTube views. Rihanna, Akon, Eminem, Shakira, Katy Perry, Michael Jackson, Don Omar and Pitbull all land in the top ten this week. YouTube star Christina Grimmie scores the highest re-entry, coming back in at number 32.
“LADY GAGA DAY” IN TAIWAN
Lady Gaga is heading to Taiwan next month and the country is going all out for her arrival. According to Pop Crunch, Taichung City will be declaring July 3rd “Lady Gaga Day,” and government officials announced that she will also be receiving the key to the city. Read more at PopCrunch.com.
TWEET OF THE DAY
From Lady Gaga (@LadyGaga), who just recently released her video for her song “The Edge of Glory” — “Thank you so much for your sweet messages about ‘The Edge of Glory’ video! I love it so much, and thank you to everyone involved in making it.”
DIRECT LINK FOR VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeWBS0JBNzQ
GAGA GETS KATE MOSS AN ACCORDION FOR HER WEDDING
Lady Gaga won’t be able to attend Kate Moss’ wedding to The Kills frontman Jamie Hince on July 1st, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t send a present. According to British paper the Daily Star, the pop star sent the model an accordion as a wedding gift after the two had previously discussed how much they like the instrument. A source said that “Kate was so touched that Gaga sent her such a thoughtful present.”
CEE-LO TALKS FAME
Cee-Lo Green is one of the most recognizable singer’s around, and apparently that’s not as good a thing as you might imagine. According to The Hollywood Reporter, in a recent interview, the “Forget You” crooner is quoted as saying, “To have to talk and talk and talk — it takes a toll on you. There’s no way you can avoid people unless you can afford to fly private all the time, and I can’t…It’s a toll of being talented.” Cee-Lo’s role as a judge on The Voice has only made him even more popular.
EMINEM, ROYCE SALES PREDICTIONS
According to HitsDailyDouble.com, Eminem and Royce Da 5’9″’s joint EP, Hell: The Sequel, is projected to sell between 150 to 160-thousand copies in its first week. In addition, the disc is expected to claim the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart. The news comes just a few days after we reported the project is listed at number one on the iTunes Album Chart.
FACT OF THE DAY: MARIAH CAREY
While Mariah Carey focuses most of her attention on raising her set of twins with Nick Cannon, we’re confident that her next album will be amazing. Why? Well, we bet you didn’t know that Mi Mi is the only female artist to have her first five singles all reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The songs include “Vision of Love,” “Love Takes Time,” “Someday,” “I Don’t Wanna Cry” and “Emotions.”
KELLY CLARKSON IS PROUD OF WHAT SHE DOES
Kelly Clarkson is going to be releasing a new album sometime later this year, and if it’s anything like her previous effort, All I Ever Wanted, then fans of the original American Idol are going to be very pleased. Kelly told us a little while back that she’s proud of everything she puts out (See Related Cut #9). No reason to think that her next album should be any different.
MADONNA ON INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO
Madonna is going to be appearing on a forthcoming episode of Inside The Actors Studio on Bravo with host James Lipton. According to MadonnaTribe.com, it will be to promote her recently-wrapped film, W.E., but there’s still no word on when exactly the show will tape or air.
JAY-Z, DIDDY APPEAR ON FORBES HIGHEST PAID LIST
According to Forbes.com, Diddy, Jay-Z, Beyonce and Rihanna have all placed high on Forbes’ Top 25 Highest-Paid Musicians list. The figures are based on income generated between May 2010 through May 2011. Check it out now:
1. U2 ($195 million)
2. Bon Jovi ($125 million)
3. Elton John ($100 million)
4. Lady Gaga ($90 million)
5. Michael Buble ($70 million)
6. Paul McCartney ($67 million)
7. Black Eyed Peas ($61 million)
8. Eagles ($60 million)
9. Justin Bieber ($53 million)
10. Dave Matthews Band ($51 million)
11. Toby Keith ($50 million)
12. Usher ($46 million)
13. Taylor Swift $45 million)
14. Katy Perry ($44 million)
15. Brad Paisley ($40 million)
16. Tom Petty & the Heartbreaks ($38 million)
17. Jay-Z ($38 million)
18. AC/DC ($35 million)
18. Sean “Diddy” Combs ($35 million)
18. Beyonce ($35 million)
18. Tim McGraw ($35 million)
18. Muse ($35 million)
23. Rascal Flatts ($34 million)
24. Kenny Chesney ($30 million)
25. Rihanna ($29 million)
ALICIA PLANS SPECIAL SHOWS IN L-A, NYC
To further celebrate ten years since her debut album dropped, Alicia Keys is playing a series of one-night-only shows in select locations. After already showcasing in Paris and London, the diva is scheduled to perform an intimate show at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles on Friday, June 24th. In addition, her New York fans can expect her to also take stage at the Beacon Theater on June 30th. To learn more about the Piano & I: A One Night Only Event With Alicia Keys shows, visit AliciaKeys.com.
STATEMENT: Keys stated, “I am thrilled to bring this show to all of the fans in Los Angeles. These performances have been an absolute blast and the intimate environment of these shows is truly my favorite way to perform. I really can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of songs in A minor.”
