P!nk To Appear On The Oscars
February 21, 2014
P!nk
Grammy award winning singer P!nk has announced on her Twitter that she is officially performing at The Oscars awards show this year.
“Big news!!! I’d like to thank @TheAcademy for inviting me to perform on the #Oscars on March 2nd!! #holycow” – @Pink
Show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are more than excited to have P!nk perform on their big stage.
“We are very excited to welcome Pink to the Oscar stage for the very first time. She is regarded as one of the greatest voices in pop music and one of the best performers of her generation, and we are thrilled to have her join us for a highly anticipated moment on the broadcast.”
The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Sunday, March 2, live on ABC.
Want To Own Pharrell’s Hat?
February 21, 2014
In a partnership with eBay, Pharrell Williams is offering his famous Vivienne Westwood hat worn at the Grammys to benefit From One Hand to AnOTHER (www.fohta.org). The non-profit foundation’s mission is to “change the world one kid at a time by giving them the tools and resources to meet their unique potential.”
Back on Grammy night the fast food chain Arby’s tweeted, “Can we have our hat back?” on Thursday (2/20), Pharrell took to his twitter to tweet his own responnse, “Hey @Arbys, you want my hat? Now’s your chance… http://bit.ly/1fe5NvD”
The highest bidder is listed was at $10,500. There’s still nearly 10 days left and bidding ends on March 2 at 5pm PST.
Quick Hits: 50 Cent, BRIT Awards, Outkast, Fuel, Motörhead
February 20, 2014
50 Cent
After 12 years with Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records, 50 Cent has signed a worldwide distribution and services deal with Caroline/Capitol/UMG. His first album under the new agreement will be Animal Ambition, scheduled for release on June 3. Album pre-orders will begin on March 18 and fans will immediately receive two instant gratification tracks and the corresponding videos will premiere online. An additional song and video will launch each week leading up to the album’s release. 50 Cent commented, “I have had great success to date with Shady/Aftermath/Interscope and I’d like to thank Eminem and Dr. Dre for giving me an incredible opportunity. I’ve learned so much from them through the years. I am excited to enter this new era where I can carry out my creative vision.”
The 2014 BRIT Awards were held on Wednesday night in London, where Arctic Monkeys took home the coveted prizes for Best British Group and British Album of the Year for AM. One Direction also earned two trophies, including the Global Success Award and the fan-voted Best British Video award for “Best Song Ever.” David Bowie was named Best British Male Solo Artist, and Ellie Goulding earned Best British Female Solo Artist. Lorde was dubbed the Best International Female while Bruno Mars was named Best International Male.
Fans hoping that Outkast’s 40 festival appearances this summer will lead to a new album probably shouldn’t hold their collective breath. Rapper Big Boi told Revolt TV: “We’re just doing the tour only. Just for the fans. That’s all it is, a tour. I got a solo record I’m working on, but this is the Outkast 20th-year anniversary — just a way for us to celebrate with our fans, but no album in the works.”
With singer Brett Scallions back in the lineup of Fuel, the band is ready to offer its first new release in seven years, Puppet Strings, on March 4. “I think getting away from Fuel for awhile was really good for me and my songwriting,” Scallions told Billboard.com. “I told those guys, ‘Hey, if you think you can do this without me, I give you my blessing.’ I’m not going to wish ill will on anybody. Unfortunately for them it’s not easy for any band to go out and succeed without the original singer. So now I feel like it’s my turn to have the freedom of going out and making a record and calling it Fuel and being able to control the destiny of what we do.” Scallions also said some of the songs “are a departure of what Fuel has been thought of as being. There’s more blues-based songs on here than in the past. There’s a little bit of punk rock and stuff in there as well.” The band will hit the road this spring, starting on March 4 in Los Angeles.
Motörhead is launching its very own rock cruise in the fall, aptly titled MotörBoat. The exact dates and band roster are still to be announced, but the event’s Facebook page does say that the cruise will visit Miami, Key West and Cozumel. A short message posted online simply reads: “Introducing Motörhead’s MotörBoat – Launching Fall 2014! Stay tuned for cruise dates, artist lineup and other details!”
Eric Church Scores Second #1 Album
February 19, 2014
Country star Eric Church debuts at #1 on the sales chart this week with The Outsiders, selling 288,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It marks the largest sales week of the year so far, as well as Church’s best frame ever. The Outsiders is Church’s fourth studio album and his second #1 effort, following 2011′s Chief. Church’s new album also is the only new arrival in the Top 10 this week.
At #2 is the soundtrack for the movie Frozen, shifting another 100,000 copies for the week. The soundtrack has now sold over 1 million units, making it the first soundtrack to do so since Pitch Perfect in 2013, according to Billboard. The Now 49 compilation is #3 this week with 77,000, and Beyoncé’s self-titled set is #4 with a little over 48,000 sold. Bruno Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox sits in the #5 slot with 48,000, and Imagine Dragons’ Night Visions moves up to #6 with 41,000. Lorde’s Pure Heroine is #7 this week with 39,000 sold, and Toni Braxton & Babyface’s Love, Marriage & Divorce is #8 in its second week with 33,000. Katy Perry’s Prism occupies the #9 spot by shifting another 31,000 copies, and Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz is #10 with 29,000 sold.
Quick Hits: Miley Cyrus & P!nk, SXSW iTunes Festival, Miguel, 3 Doors Down, Guns N’ Roses, Tori Amos
February 19, 2014
Miley Cyrus
Music video site Vevo released its viewership report for 2013, and the report shows that 55 billion music videos were viewed globally in 2013, up 33 percent over 2012. In the U.S. alone, 12.3 billion music videos were viewed. Miley Cyrus had the most viewed music videos of 2013 and she set two Vevo records with the September release of her “Wrecking Ball” video. The clip delivered 19.3 million views in one day, and it was fastest to certified status by reaching 100 million views in just six days. Meanwhile, P!nk’s “Just Give Me A Reason” (featuring Nate Ruess) was the most shared video last year, both in the U.S. and worldwide.
The SXSW conference has announced that the iTunes Festival will be a part of this year’s massive event in Austin, and will take place over multiple days. So far, the iTunes Festival at SXSW lineup boasts Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, and London Grammar on March 11; Pitbull, ZEDD, and G.R.L on March 14; and Keith Urban, Willie Nelson, and Mickey Guyton on March 15. More shows will be added soon. Coldplay also tweeted that their show “will stream worldwide via iTunes.”
Miguel is hard at work on the follow-up to his 2012 album Kaleidoscope Dream. He told Billboard that “It’s coming great. I have a very clear vision, and I have a very clear goal. I know what I want, and I’m getting there.” Miguel has been working in the studio with Jessie Ware and J. Cole. “As a musician, we hear things in our heads, and sometimes it doesn’t really come out the way we hear it,” the singer added. “Somehow, this time around, it’s coming out exactly how I imagined it. The only thing I want to do is be in the studio, because you never want to forsake your creativity. You want to honor it.”
3 Doors Down bassist Todd Harrell is back in police custody after being arrested near Biloxi, MS on Tuesday night. WLOX News reports that Harrell is charged with second offense “DUI other,” which means he was allegedly driving under the influence of a substance other than alcohol. Just last month, a judge upheld a DUI conviction Harrell received concerning an incident that also happened in D’Iberville, MS in 2012. He was sentenced to two days in jail and a $1,000 fine. However, the jail time was suspended granted Harrell completes six months of good behavior along with other requirements. Meanwhile, he also faces a vehicular homicide charge in Nashville following an accident in which a man was killed last April.
Guns N’ Roses has announced a new run of Las Vegas shows this spring. Between May 21 and June 7, GN’R will play nine concerts at the Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino for a residency they’ve dubbed, No Trickery! An Evening of Destruction. Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 21. As previously reported, the band will play a string of Central and South American dates in March and April. They also have two U.S. dates booked on May 13 in Bethlehem, PA and May 16 in Columbus, OH.
Singer/songwriter Tori Amos is set to release her next studio album, Unrepentant Geraldines, on May 13 via Mercury Classics. The album is described as Pop/Rock in both content and feel and is a change of pace from her most recent releases. Amos also unveiled the North American leg of her Unrepentant Geraldines tour, which launches July 16 in Vancouver, Canada and crosses the United States before wrapping on August 24 in Miami.
Quick Hits: Drake, Nine Inch Nails, My Chemical Romance, Jason Mraz, NPR Music / SXSW, Kelis, David Crosby, Devo
Drake’s 5th annual OVO Fest will take place on August 3 and 4, with Outkast headlining the first night and Drake topping the second night. Both dates will feature a number of special guests. The two-day concert will take place at Toronto’s Molson Canadian Amphitheater, and tickets go on sale this Friday, February 21.
Nine Inch Nails is set to head down under this March for a co-headlining tour with Queens of the Stone Age, so Trent Reznor spoke to New Zealand’s 3 News to talk about the tour and some other projects he has in the works. He said that by bringing along a smaller band of only four people, NIN will be able to play more “aggressive and electronic music” that wouldn’t have worked with a larger band, specifically songs from Fragile and Year Zero. Reznor also said he has finished mixing a reissue of Fragile with “everything in surround, it sounds amazing… I just stumbled across 40-or-so demos that are from that era that didn’t turn into songs, that range from sound effects to full-fledge pieces of music, and I kind of feel like something should happen with that.” However, an exact release date for the reissue has not been set.
My Chemical Romance has released the track “Fake Your Death,” the final song they recorded together, as a premiere on BBC Radio 1 and on its YouTube page. The song will be part of My Chem’s greatest hits compilation, May Death Never Stop You, which is due on March 25. Also on the band’s YouTube page fans can watch a trailer for the career-spanning compilation.
Jason Mraz will do an intimate acoustic tour on the west coast from March 15 in Santa Cruz, CA to March 31 in Redding, CA. Performing with Mraz will be Raining Jane. Tickets for all dates go onsale on February 21. Mraz is currently hard at work finishing his new album, slated for arrival later this year.
NPR Music has announced its signature opening-night showcase at the SXSW festival in Austin, this year featuring Damon Albarn, St. Vincent, Kelis, and Perfect Pussy. The official showcase happens live at Stubb’s on Wednesday, March 12, and kicks off NPR Music’s marathon coverage of SXSW 2014, which will be available at www.npr.org/music, in NPR Music apps and from public radio station across the country.
R&B singer Kelis, known for food-themed songs like “Milkshake” and “Jerk Ribs,” will host her own show on the Cooking Channel. Titled Saucy and Sweet, the new series will highlight her cooking style and give an inside look at how “she composes food with attitude.” Saucy and Sweet premieres Wednesday, February 26 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, Kelis’ new album, Food, is due on April 22.
David Crosby has undergone heart surgery and is postponing his February live shows. Crosby underwent a cardiac catheterization and angiogram, and two stents were placed to provide blood flow to his heart muscle. He is expected to make a full recovery. “I am very glad that I listened to my doctors and my family. It seems I am once again a very lucky man,” Crosby said in a statement on his website. “I’m sorry to have to move the dates, but I promise the music will be good when we do play them.” All Crosby, Stills & Nash shows will continue as scheduled. The first show of CSN’s 2014 tour kicks off in Richmond, VA on March 4.
Devo founding member Bob Casale passed away on Monday, February 17, at age 61 due to heart failure. A brief message posted on Facebook by his brother and fellow Devo member, Gerald Casale, reads: “As an original member of Devo, Bob Casale was there in the trenches with me from the beginning. He was my level-headed brother, a solid performer and talented audio engineer, always giving more than he got. He was excited about the possibility of Mark Mothersbaugh allowing Devo to play shows again. His sudden death from conditions that lead to heart failure came as a total shock to us all.”
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