Category: Music TV

Lil Wayne Gets ANOTHER Magic Trial Postponement

Posted by Kat – March 3, 2010

Okay, okay, seriously? Wait… SERIOUSLY? First it’s the dental work that he needed so terribly badly that he couldn’t go to trial until it was taken care of. Then, it was a courthouse fire that took place yesterday that made it impossible for him to have his sentencing done then. I understand that there was a fire and that that isn’t exactly an easy or quick fix, but putting all that aside… the guy’s then able to go and perform at the Jay-Z concert last night in New York. I am aware that we have due process and that he is not in custody and that means he should be allowed to about as if he is doing business as usual. In this case, it meant being at Jay-Z’s “Blueprint 3″ tour, while Young Jeezy had a set during the performance. BUT. If he had gone to his sentencing the last TWO times, he would be currently serving a very real sentence for a very, very real crime.

That being said, the performance was just as much of a surprise for the concert-goers as well. Jeezy and Jay-Z had performed a collaboration “Real As It Gets” onstage, then Jay-Z said he was leaving Jeezy to a solo performance. After leaving the stage, Jeezy performed a couple of verses on his own before ushering in the surprise guest of Lil Wayne. And that surprise performance was one that completely set the audience on fire, as it were. The number didn’t just have Lil Wayne, either. It also featured Nicki Minaj and Drake, and “I’m Goin’ In” wound up being one of the major highlights of the night.

Of course, when it came to an end and Wayne left, Jeezy made sure to give him his “we’re with you 100 percent” vote before they left. And not to sound cynical or like an old fogey, which I’m not, but doesn’t SOMETHING seem off about letting someone whose new sentencing date is Monday, March 8th, be allowed to go pop into a concert when he’s supposed to be preparing for a sentence?

Ahhh, entertainment industry, how you love to treat your stars.

A Trip to Haiti from American Idol Champ Kris Allen

Posted by Kat – February 24, 2010

Season 8 of American Idol was the season that brought Kris Allen into the official spotlight as the champion. But it seems that now, he is taking some of the notoriety and fame he has gained to put it to a good cause. After the simply devastating earthquake that has all but destroyed Haiti, Kris Allen, like so many other celebrities and musicians recently, made a trip out to the country to see first-hand the pain inflicted upon the people and to help find ways that he could assist in helping the country rebuild. The result? The “Idol Gives Back” Concept that originally popped up after the disaster will be revisited on Thursday as Allen will reappear on Idol during the episode to help bring awareness and humanitarianism to the front of everyone’s focus.

Kris Allen’s performance will be a major change for him, given that the last time he was on the stage for Idol was to finish the competition and claim victory. But, before he was an Idol competitor, he had done missionary work, and for Allen, it only seemed natural to go out to Haiti to help now. He was there under the United Nations and spent his time helping people at the temporary shelters, visiting and talking and even singing “Amazing Grace” for some of the people. He also handed out bags of rice whenever he could, and spent his time there gathering footage to show people what was really happening there and how they were rebuilding.

Allen’s performance on Idol will be a rendition of “Let It Be” by the Beatles, and footage, as well as his personal thoughts on his trip. He’ll be encouraging donations by text and providing people a much-needed first-hand account of how the relief effort is going in the torn country. For Allen, though, he is grateful and glad to be of help.

Alice In Wonderland Video By Avril Lavigne A Pleasant Surprise

Posted by Kat – February 20, 2010

It isn’t often that I hear the words “Avril Lavigne” and “haunting” in the same sentence and it actually be a positive comment on her work. But, the compliment is really there and with good reason, as the contribution to the Alice In Wonderland soundtrack for Burton’s much-anticipated movie by Avril is just that, hauntingly beautiful. Instead of going with her Sk8r Boi roots and doing something punk rock and flashy, Avril tried for something much more gothic and ethereal than we’ve seen in the past. And it worked. Her video of “Alice” has been touted as a gothic fall into the rabbit hole that perfectly compliments Burton’s movie, and the music shows a truly desired contribution to the movie’s soundtrack.

The actual video was shot back in January and only took two days to film. At the Arborteum in Los Angeles, Avril and her director spent their two days in rainstorms talking in detail about ideas both of them had for the music video. Avril had ideas floating around and the director had a plan but wanted her input to create the video until they had the right kind of product. And while you know that Burton wasn’t actually there to be involved with the concept of the video, those who have seen the video have stated outright that it seems to be directly from Burton himself, as if in music form. With its very haunting and gothic tunes, Avril’s song and the video to go with it have really stunned critics everywhere and music fans.

And here’s the funniest part. Tim Burton has been so secretive about the video that no one has been allowed to see it until recently, which meant that the two artists had not seen the movie to even come up with their plans. It turns out, though, that after the fact, the director of the music video Dave Meyers was given a chance to see the film and said that it was incredibly exciting to see. The video fit the movie even more after that and even Burton was able to give his seal of approval on the video. So it looks like a job well done from the unexpected source of Avril.

Ouch. American Idol Does A Kansas City Shuffle

Posted by Kat – February 18, 2010

For those of you who aren’t fans of the movie “Lucky Number Slevin,” you might not know what a Kansas City shuffle is, but it’s basically when everyone looks left so you can go right. AKA, you distract and run. And it looks like for the fans of this season of American Idol, that’s exactly what’s happened here. The twenty four semi-finalists were finally shown just yesterday, but it was a little bit of a quick switch. With nary a word to the viewers, Chris Golightly was supposed to be one of the Top 24 for Wednesday’s episode, yet suddenly, instead of Golightly, we saw Tim Urban show up, although his actual entry wasn’t shown. Instead, we saw his face and his name at the end of the episode, and that was about it.

So what the heck happened and why was there such a big and quick switch, the big wigs at American Idol’s Fox headquarters won’t specifically come out and say why they swapped out Golightly for Urban. It was a quick switch and all they said was that it had been determined that Golightly was disqualified and it had been determined that he was not eligible for the competition. It’s kind of funny, though, because Tweets flew all over as people tried to figure out what was going on. And it was a response by Ryan Seacrest via Twitter that was vague but implied that the major ways to get disqualified from the competition is to break a rule or have a music deal somewhere else without  telling the network.

As we’ve hit the tenth season of this show, you would think that the judges would have some sort of checks and balances in place BEFORE choosing semi-finalists to determine that someone is ineligible, especially when it comes to recording deals like that. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and it looks like different sources that works closely on the show have stated that Golightly had a deal with a different company and were supposed to tell the network way before it got this far.

We Are the World’s Anniversary Will Be Honored

Posted by Kat – February 3, 2010

Ever since the original “We Are the World,” co-written by Michel Jackson and Lionel Richie, made waves everywhere to help encourage peace and humanitarianism, musicians have been inspired by that song to both write more music with that goal in mind, and to take the time to become humanitarians themsevles. Now, twenty-five years later, Lionel Richie has gotten together with Quincy Jones to give a new historic recording of “We Are the World.” Janet Jackson, Nick Jonas, Celine Dion, and Lil Wayne were some of the top musicians and singers, celebrities of the music world, who were there to record a new 25th anniversery version of the song. In fact, it was such a huge deal that ABC had news cameras available on Monday so that they could film the entire thing.

Of the different artists there for the recording was Janet Jackson, who was given the opportunity to sing the solo originally done by her brother, Michael, in the original recording. Also filling in for another musician was Lil Wayne, who performed Bob Dylan’s original part in the piece, to which he was hilariously adamant that he had not performed the part as well as Bob Dylan did. Over all, the atmosphere of the recording was hopeful, uplifting and clearly honoring the spirit of the original recording.

Curious about the actual range of musical celebrities they had at the performance of “We Are the World”? Well, with the youngest member being Justin Bieber, the fifteen-year-old singing sensation, then on the other end of the spectrum is Tony Bennet, who is eighty-three years old and represents a veteran of the musical world. If you’d like to see the new recording, you’ll be able to see it on February 12th in 3D with the opening of NBC’s broadcast of the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Erykah Badu’s Newest Tactic? Viral Videos

Posted by Kat – January 29, 2010

Ever subscribe to the Twitter feed of fatbellybella? Well, if you’re a fan of Erykah Badu, then you really should, as that is her official Twitter feed where you can find any news on her work at any time, any place. And yesterday, the feed sparked up new publicity about her new album to be released on CD on March 30th. It wasn’t about the actual album, titled “New Amerykah, Part II: Return of the Ankh,” but rather about something else related to it: viral marketing. I am a huge fan of viral marketing, so hearing that she was going to be pursuing something on that front as well.

If you check out erykahbadu.com, her official site, you can see the new promotional viral marketing video that she’s just posted today. In fact, her publicist confirmed what she’d tweeted about, and now the proof is in the website, as it were. By 3:30 today, the official video had popped up showing different snippets for the music video of “Jump In The Air,” a bonus track for her album. This song has guest appearances by Bilal and Lil Wayne and the album has been cited to be one that won’t disappoint.

“New Amerykah” was originally supposed to be released in late February, but for whatever reason, was pushed back. It seems it will definitely be worth the wait, though, as the new album is going to come out through Universal Motown. Wondering why “Jump In The Air” is a bonus track instead of on the CD, it’s because it got leaked on the internet, changing things up a little.  But, taking a look at the different artists involved in the production of the album, it’s easy to see why people are so excited. 9th Wonder, J Dilla, James Poyser, and Madlib are involved, and others. It’s not going to be a disappointment.

$57 Million Bucks Raised In The Epic Hope For Haiti Concert

Posted by Kat – January 25, 2010

Did you tune in on Friday to the Hope For Haiti telethon and benefit concert? If you didn’t, then you missed one heck of a show. Not only did the insane event riase over $57 million in the name of the cause, but there were some absolutely mind-blowing performances by several different actors and musicians that stunned everyone. The Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Lisa Paulsen, the CEO and president, happily reported the absolutely staggering amount of money that people were able to donate for Haiti. In fact, a new standard had been set by those who donated.

Every major network, as well as a huge variety of major channels aired the telethon that spanned two hours and featured quite a few stars. Also, if you didn’t see it on TV, you could have watched it as a live stream online, and there were several opportunities to call in and donate what you could. From PBS, Bravo and MTV to ABC, NBC and CBS, the world watched the Hope For Haiti telethon and poured out their good will to the people of Haiti. Of the performers, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead and Beyonce, as well as many others, dazzled and used their influence and presence to help inspire good will from the public. The earthquake in Haiti has been estimated to have taken the lives of 200,000 people, and all the relief possible will matter in the weeks and months to come.

Even after the telethon itself, the people behind the telethon have decided to make the actual performance available as both a CD and on iTunes. The proceeds will go right to Haiti relief, and whatever help is possible is needed right now. If you’d still like to donate through other methods, you can still donate online, through text, or by phone.

Looking For Gorillaz? The Wait Is Almost Over

Posted by Kat – January 20, 2010

Anyone else been missing our favorite cartoon grooving monkeys, the Gorillaz? I know I have. After Demon Dayz, the cartoon pop band created by Damon Albarn has been quiet, and people have been wondering when exactly they would even come back. After all, with an interesting niche like the cartoon band, no one wants to think that they’re not going to come around, but the fanbase could become disinterested. It doesn’t seem to be the case, though, and now, if you’ve been waiting, you won’t have to wait much longer.

The Gorillaz will be headlining the Coachella Festival this 2010, but you can expect “Plastic Beach,” a third album, to come out this March 9th. And what an album it’s going to be, too. With sixteen different tracks, the list of guest musicians is quite extensive. You’ll see Gruff Rhys of Super Fluffy Animals, Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, Mos Def, De La Soul, and Mark E. Smith of the Fall. Talk about an all-star lineup to fill the album.

So, if you’re waiting to hear what the album will be like, you don’t have to wait any longer. Tonight, “Stylo” is going to be hidding the radio waves everywhere, their first single of the new album. If you want to pick it up on iTunes stores, you can start on January 26th.

Anyone else been missing our favorite cartoon grooving monkeys, the Gorillaz? I know I have.

After Demon Dayz, the cartoon pop band created by Damon Albarn has been quiet, and people

have been wondering when exactly they would even come back. After all, with an interesting

niche like the cartoon band, no one wants to think that they’re not going to come around, but the

fanbase could become disinterested. It doesn’t seem to be the case, though, and now, if you’ve

been waiting, you won’t have to wait much longer.

The Gorillaz will be headlining the Coachella Festival this 2010, but you can expect “Plastic

Beach,” a third album, to come out this March 9th. And what an album it’s going to be, too. With

sixteen different tracks, the list of guest musicians is quite extensive. You’ll see Gruff Rhys of

Super Fluffy Animals, Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, Mos Def, De La Soul, and Mark

E. Smith of the Fall. Talk about an all-star lineup to fill the album.

So, if you’re waiting to hear what the album will be like, you don’t have to wait any longer. Tonight, “Stylo” is going to be hidding the radio waves everywhere, their first single of the new album. If you want to pick it up on iTunes stores, you can start on January 26th.

Queen of Country To Meet Queen of Jordan

Posted by Kat – January 7, 2010

No one is exactly sure how this is working out, but Canadian country singing household name Shania Twain is somehow going to be interviewing the Queen of Jordan. No. No really. She is. On Friday, as in January 8th, 2010, Shania is going to be in Toronto for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. radio station and will be having a chat with Queen Rania.

What exactly is she going to be doing and talking about with the Queen of Jordan? Shania Twain’s stint is going to be guest hosting a show for the CBC called “The Current,” and her main questions for the Queen will be based on what exactly the Queen’s global charity is planning to do in the future. Her charity, called 1Goal, is designed to help underpriviledged young people all over the world, something Twain knows of quite well. Also for this interview, Shania Twain plans to visit a school in inner-city Toronto for the radio show. She plans on performing for the students, as well as giving them a chance to meet and speak to someone who has been through childhood poverty, in the hopes of inspiring them to greater things.

In fact, one reason Shania is so popular in her home country is because of her own personal struggle. She experienced poverty as a child while growing up in Ontario, and yet she climbed to becoming a musical staple. Now, Shania Twain will be guest-judging “American Idol’s” new auditions and just carried the Olympic torch to her own home down, Timmins, Ontario, for the Olympic games in Vancouver.

For Shania Twain, she has quite a legacy she has established for herself, and to know that she’s using her fame to help others is admirable, at the very least. So look for her interview with the Queen of Jordan if you get CBC.

New Year’s Eve Was Live and Wild

Posted by Kat – January 3, 2010

One of the best and most thrilling parts of ringing in the New Year is the multitude of major bands front-lining and performing at venues all over the world. After all, we all love to party, and the best way to do that is with the hottest voices and musicians all over. So, 2010 was rung in wonderfully, but I’m sure you’re wondering by who. Well, Billboard had their own Fox live show, on top of the normal line-ups by all sorts of networks, so let’s take a look.

Allison Iraheta was one of the best acts of the night with her stunning performance and her kick-ass and take names later attitude. She was part of the Billboard performance on Fox, but she certainly wasn’t the only performances out there making people rock.  During Dick Clark’s New Year’s Bash done every year, the Black Eyed Peas made one of their best performances with “Imma Be” off of their album, The E.N.D., and had people rocking and rolling while they waited for the ball to drop.

Also, not to let her newfound confidence and “General badassery” go by the wayside, Rihanna was a frontliner on NBC’s New Years Eve celebration hosted by Carson Daly. Wearing a white coat and a black stylish top hat, she was rocking along and bringing in the New Year with everyone else, performing “Hard”.

Jennifer Lopez looking fantastically hot in a black outfit that seemed a unique combination of nude bodysuit and sheer black, showing that she was more than prepared to make a celebration happen. Green Day was another front-liner for the night, but one of their best performances was knowing that they made their way to the end of the night, ushering in the New Year with “21 Guns,” the perfect wind-down to a fantastic night.