LADY GAGA TOPS SOCIAL 50 CHART
Lady Gaga tops Billboard’s Social 50 chart this week, following her memorable GRAMMY entrance, three GRAMMY wins and her performance on the big show. Gaga’s new single, “Born This Way,” debuts at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week and is the one thousandth chart topper in the chart’s 52-year history. Rihanna falls from the top spot to number two, followed by Justin Bieber, Shakira, Eminem, Akon, Katy Perry, Michael Jackson and Linkin Park. Meanwhile, Wiz Khalifa leaps 21 spots to number 14, following topping the Hot 100 chart last week with “Black & Yellow.”
Rihanna turns 23 on Sunday!
GAGA ON BILLBOARD MAGAZINE COVER
Lady Gaga is on the cover of the latest Billboard magazine. Perhaps it’s only fitting being that her song, “Born This Way,” has now reached the top of the charts and is the one-thousandth number one single in the history of the Hot 100. Check out the cover now at Billboard.com.
DID MADONNA REALLY E-MAIL GAGA?
Earlier this week on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Lady Gaga addressed talk about her new single, “Born This Way,” sounding a lot like Madonna’s classic tune “Express Yourself,” saying that Madge’s people sent an e-mail sending their “love and complete support” for the song. But perhaps that wasn’t exactly the truth. Madonna’s rep told CNN that “she is unaware of any e-mail” sent to Lady Gaga. Read more at HollywoodReporter.com.
BILLBOARD POSTS 1,000 NUMBER ONE HITS!
As we previously reported, Lady Gaga debuts at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with her new single “Born This Way.” The track marks the one thousandth song to top the chart since its inception back in August of 1958. To commemorate the achievement, Billboard.com has posted all one thousand number one songs, starting with Ricky Nelson’s “Pretty Little Fool” up to and including Gaga’s “Born This Way.”
Check out the history of the Hot 100 here:
http://www.billboard.com/html/1000s/1000s.html
JONAS BROTHERS UPDATE!
It’s been a while since the Jonas Brothers released Lines, Vines and Trying Times in 2009. Since then, they’ve focused on music for their various Disney projects and their own solo albums. When MTV News caught up with Nick Jonas, he admitted that he and his brothers are really taking their time to make sure their next album is the best it can be. He added that the guys are in a transitional stage of their careers and they are not sure how the album will take shape. Nick explained, “I think that we don’t necessarily know what the sound is right now, and we’re all kind of in different areas musically. I think that we don’t have the same influences.” Check out MTV.com for more.
GRAMMY AWARDS BOOST ALBUM SALES
Following the GRAMMY Awards, winners and performers normally get a nice boost in sales. This year is no different, as Justin Bieber’s My World 2.0 leaps 14 spots to number three on the Billboard album chart, following his performance on the show and notable GRAMMY losses to Lady Gaga and Esperanza Spalding. The album sold over 48-thousand copies this week, last week the effort shifted under 20-thousand copies. Eminem’s Recovery climbed three spots to number seven, after winning Best Rap Album and Lady Antelbellum’s Need You Now climbed six notches to number 17 after the Nashville band won five awards. Meanwhile, Lady Gaga’s debut album, Fame, leaps 26 rungs to number 35 and her GRAMMY-winning The Fame Monster climbs 23 spots to number 151. Mumford & Sons debut album, Sigh No More, shot nine spots to number two after their GRAMMY performance with Bob Dylan and the Avett Brothers.
CHRISTINA PERRI AND HER ALBUM
Christina Perri has been keeping people updated every step of the way about the recording process of her new album, Love Strong. Follow her at Twitter.com/ChristinaPerri to keep up to date on everything that she’s up to. Still no official word on when we can expect the album.
VH1 UNPLUGGED: ADELE AIRING ON MARCH 4TH
Adele has her very own Unplugged special airing early next month on Vh1 and Vh1.com. During her set, she performs a cover of Aretha Franklin’s Carole King-penned hit “Natural Woman,” and you can see the video of it now at Vh1.com. Vh1 Unplugged: Adele premieres online on Thursday, March 3rd, and will then airs Friday, March 4th, at 11 PM Eastern on Vh1.
ADELE, CEE-LO WANT TO WORK WITH MUMFORD
We reported recently that Mumford & Sons and Adele supposedly “hit it off” backstage at the Brit Awards earlier in the week, but now some more information seems to have come out about their chance interaction. British paper the Daily Star reports that both the “Rolling in the Deep” singer, as well as Cee-Lo Green, want to work with Marcus Mumford and his band. We’ll keep you posted.
DAUGHTRY ROCKS MUSICIANS ON CALL BENEFIT
Wednesday night was the annual Musicians on Call benefit concert at the Hard Rock Café in New York City. It was a wonderful night that featured auctions and raffles in an effort to raise money for the charity, which brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities. The highlight of the evening was a performance from Daughtry, who were playing live together for the first time in over three-months. They performed all their hits, from “It’s Not Over” to their current single, “September,” with lead singer Chris Daughtry even covering Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.” To learn more about Musicians on Call and how you can help out the great cause, head to MusiciansOnCall.org.
NEW DETAILS ON ALICIA KEYS NEXT ALBUM
Alicia Keys is looking to release a new album later this year, according to her longtime producer, Kerry “Krucial” Brothers. The hitmaker told Rap-Up.com, “Last week we was in the studio working on stuff. Don’t fix it if it’s not broke.” There’s no working title or release date known for the follow-up to 2009’s The Element of Freedom.
SWIFT MAY TAKE INTEREST IN NEW DESIGNS AT FASHION WEEK
One of Taylor Swift’s favorite designers is sparkling at Fashion Week in New York. Jenny Packham showcased some of her newest gowns and dresses, most of them covered in sequins, metallics and various embellishments. Taylor is known for her love of these sparkly dresses. She wore one of them during the opening act of her 2010 Fearless tour.
GET THE SCRIPT’S ALBUM FOR CHEAP
Still haven’t picked up The Script’s brand new album Science & Faith? Well now is your chance to do it for cheap. The Irish rockers’ sophomore effort is available on iTunes until Monday for just $6.99.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA
President Obama is holding a special celebration in honor Black History Month. According to Billboard, the ceremony will take place in Washington, D-C on Thursday and will air on PBS on March 1st. Performers include Sheryl Crow, Smokey Robinson and John Legend.
PRETTY RECKLESS COVER FIONA APPLE
The Pretty Reckless did an acoustic cover of Fiona Apple’s “Criminal” recently. Gossip Girl actress Taylor Momson’s vocals sound good and fairly similar to Apple’s. Check out video of the song by searching YouTube for “Pretty Reckless Fiona Apple.”
BLINK 182 HAD FIVE SONGS COMPLETE!
Blink 182 have five song completed for their new album, a disc they’ve been talking about since February 2009. Drummer Travis Barker talked, in concrete terms, with MTV News about the record. He said that he still thinks the new Blink album will hit stores in June or July of this year. We’ll believe it when we see it. Check out MTVNews.com for more.
TONY BENNETT’S DUETS 2 TO INCLUDE UNDERWOOD
Tony Bennett is working on Duets 2 and according to HitFix.com, he’s recording with Carrie Underwood, Amy Winehouse, k.d. lang, Michael Bublé, Josh Groban and possibly Aretha Franklin. The album is Bennett’s second duets project and will be released sometime in September, just after his 85th birthday.
SNOOP HEADLINES REDBULL’S SPRING BREAK TOUR
We’ve just learned Snoop Dogg has been selected to perform for the Red Bull Soundclash tour. The two city-outing features two acts from different genres, with the groups collaborating live for the first time ever. The West Coast vet will battle Ghostland Observatory at Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark in Texas on March 17th, while Cee-Lo Green and the Ting Tings will go head to head in Las Vegas on March 12th. Pre-sale tickets are only ten bucks. Visit RedBullUSA.com/Soundclash to learn more.
DIDDY DONTATES 100K TO ENTREPRENEURS
According to AllHipHop.com, Diddy has reportedly supported young business entrepreneurs by donating 100-thousand dollars to 100 Urban Entrepreneurs program. The non-profit organization helps provide resources for urban youth to create their own businesses.
LIL WAYNE SETS FACEBOOK “LIKE” RECORD
Lil Wayne has just set a Facebook record. The rap star began a campaign to garner the Most ‘Likes’ on a Facebook Post in 24 Hours. The previous title holder, Oreo’s Cookies, received over 114-thousand likes. However, Weezy’s 20-million fans helped him receive more than five times the amount of “thumbs up” than Oreos. Amazingly, Wayne attracted over 608-thousand likes in less time for a single post
TALKING POINT: Has the rapper started a new Facebook trend?
LUPE REMIXES KANYE’S “H.A.M”
In true freestyle fashion, Lupe Fiasco just laid down new verses on the instrumental to Jay-Z and Kanye West’s join single, “H.A.M.” In related news, the rapper’s upcoming Lasers album will be available next month. Visit his official website, Lupend.com, for your first listen.
SONG LINK: http://hulkshare.com/0hc182laryop
DR DRE HASN’T HEARD OF 50 CENT’S HEADPHONES
Just days after 50 Cent tweeted that Dr Dre had an issue with the recent launch of Sleek by 50 Cent wireless headphones, the hitmaker told TMZ that he’s never heard of 50’s headphones. The mega-producer seemed completely surprised by the news. Whether or not Dre really knew about it, one thing is for sure: Sleek by 50 Cent is in direct competition with his Beats by Dr. Dre. Only time will tell if 50 plans to release that diss record he tweeted about.
MARY J PERFORMS FOR A&E
We’ve just learned Mary J. Blige has been selected to perform during A&E’s Private Sessions this Sunday at 9 AM Eastern. The singer, who is also scheduled to headline the 2011 Essence Music Festival, will showcase her hits including “Be Without You,” “No More Drama” and “I Can See In Color,” from the Precious soundtrack. Host Lynn Hoffman will also ask MJB about all she’s gone through in her life and about upcoming projects.
WAKA FLOCKA’S TOUR BUS SHOT AT
According to RapRadar.com, Waka Flocka Flame’s tour bus was recently targeted during a shoot-out in Charlotte, North Carolina. Two cars reportedly drove into a parking lot where the bus was parked and opened fire. Luckily, the rapper was unharmed and tweeted after the incident, “I’m good nothing is wrong with my health.” Police are still looking for the unidentified gunman responsible. Visit the site for more details!
