Adam Lambert lives in some high-security, 1984-esque society in the music video for “Never Close Our Eyes.” He wakes up in cement cell, which is under 24-hour surveillance, and promptly marches in an orderly fashion to the cafeteria where everyone is distributed a nutritious breakfast of blue and white pills. Yum.
The entire society is brainwashed to submission, sweating over menial jobs like scrubbing the cement floors with soap and water. But Lambert breaks up the hypnotized party by with some sort of Mockingjay-inspired speech, inspiring everyone to rebel against the uniformed-guards.
Despite having virtually no freedoms, the guy manages to look stylish (as always) especially at the end when his grey-toned outfits transform into bright and colourful suits. The track is from his album Trespassing, which topped the Billboard 200 chart.
Watch it here:
I’m officially obsessed with Alfie Magliano, who seamlessly arranged 40 current pop songs into one score. As someone who plays the piano, I’m incredibly impressed he managed to shoot the entire 14 minute song in one take, without any editing.
The track list goes in the exact order of Billboard’s Top 40 list, plus a bonus song. Included, is One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful,” Gotye’s “Somebody that I Used To Know” and Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend.” The whole medley is like a quick rundown of songs that are hot now, while giving makeovers to the ones you may be tired of. Magliano previously posted a top 40 video in September, and we’re crossing our fingers for more.
Listen to it here:
Matt Bomer probably won’t be happy to hear that Gotye wasn’t in love with the cover of Glee he sang with Darren Criss during his cameo as Blaine’s older brother. The song selection reportedly played a huge role in Bomer agreeing to do the show, as he told TVLine: ”I had heard the Gotye song and I asked [series co-creator] Ryan [Murphy] if he ever thought of using that as a duet on the show. And he said he had. And then a week later I got a text from him asking me if I wanted to come on the show to sing it.”
Apparently Gotye was expecting something more vibrant than the dry, crusty cover he got of “Somebody That I Used To Know.” He told Australia’s Courier Mail: “They did such a faithful arrangement of the instruments but the vocals were that pop Gleestyle, ultra dry, sounded pretty tuned and the rock has no real sense, like it’s playing to you from a cardboard box,”
It seems a little hypocritical to be making the comments considering Glee’s cover arguably helped give him the push he needed to stay at number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 for so long.
Still, I understand what he’s saying. Lately, I’ve found many of the songs on Glee to be stale compared to the remixed songs from season one and two. If they’re not going to change the arrangements or make them their own, why not listen to the original instead?
Listen to the cover below:
Victoria Abraham defines one up and coming artist each week so you can impress your friends with your musical brilliance. This week, she tackles Diggy Simmons, a rapper from New York.
This 17-year old up and comer has hip-hop in his genes. He’s the fourth child of Joseph Ward Simmons, better known as Rev. Run, a founding member of the influential hip-hop group Run-D.M.C. Maybe you’ve heard of it?
The celebrity DNA doesn’t stop there, as Diggy’s uncle is Russell Simmons, the co-founder of Def Jam Records. With a family tree like that, its no wonder Diggy’s on his way to becoming hip-hop royalty.
Origins: Queens, New York.
Real name: Daniel Dwayne Simmons III, but he is better known by his stage name Diggy Simmons.
Known for: The teen heartthrob is known for his mad freestyling skills and lyrics that make the ladies swoon.
Used in a sentence: “Diggy Simmons has swag and will make his hip hop family proud.”
File next to: Jerimih
Download now: Although his arrival may have been unexpected, his success isn’t. Listen to “Do It Like You” now.
Watch it here:
Pop Dust had a difficult question ready for One Direction: “Who’s the cutest member of The Wanted?” Awkward! And mean…
Still, the boys handled the unexpected question well by laughing it off. While two of them considered booking it out the door, Louis pointed the finger at Harry as his favourite member of The Band That Must Not be Named The Wanted leaving his band mate a bit perplexed.
The boys proudly showcased their music trivia knowledge by expertly answering questions about fellow brits The Beatles and Spice Girls. They must be pretty happy right now! They’ve hit number one on Billboard’s Top 200 chart for their album Up All Night. Congrats boys! [Source]
Billboard got the chance to follow the boys of One Direction around on March 13 for their autograph signing. From the photos, it looks like the boys were very busy!! Take a look at some of our favourite photos.
4:37 pm: Zayn Malik draws backstage at the Palisades Mall in New York.
4:40 pm: Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson goof around backstage.
4:52 pm: Harry Styles signs a lucky fan’s face backstage at the mall.
5:18 pm: One Direction does a radio interview backstage before the mall signing.
5:50 pm: One Direction signs autographs. Look at the sea of fans!
9:12 pm: One Direction poses for a portrait in the car.
Head to Billboard for even more photos!
Australian heartthrob Cody Simpson tweeted a video of himself playing “Over the Rainbow” fireside, on his ukulele. At the end of the song, he says “rest in peace Iz,” presumably for Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, a Hawaiian singer who died in 1997 and played the same song on his ukulele.
The 14-year-old singer recently told Billboard that there’s a possibility he might work with Justin Bieber in the future: “He just hit me up one time — ‘OK, come into the studio tonight.’ I dropped by and it was artist to artist… and you play some of the stuff you’ve been working on and Justin played me a lot of the stuff on his upcoming album.”
That’s the second Justin Bieber collaboration we’ve heard of today, as Bieber’s manager mentioned the possibility of a One Direction collaboration in the future. That boy certainly gets around!
In the meantime, we’re happy with this acoustic version of a classic song.
Listen to it here:
In a decidedly less epic affair than the Superbowl halftime show, Madonna premiered her new song “Girl Gone Wild,” the second single from her forthcoming studio album “MDNA.”
Apparently Madonna wasn’t satisfied with the mixed reviews she received for “Give Me All Your Luvin” but I actually prefer that song to this one. They’re now calling her first single a “buzz single” meant to create hype, but that’s probably because it started to stall on Billboard’s charts. Quick thinking guys!
Her new song tells the tale of bad girls who “get fired up like a smoking gun.” Although Madonna knows it’s wrong, it feels so good so she is a “bad girl anyway, hey!” I like the beat of this song but I don’t find Madonna is punchy enough. It almost sounds like she’s holding back — she’s not completely selling it to me. But I will say, the chorus will be stuck in my head all day.
What do you think?
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Rihanna is pretty damn tired of people picking on her ex-boyfriend, Chris Brown. Though the world won’t let go of Chris Brown’s previous sentence for her assault, Rihanna seems to have moved on. Just over a week ago, there were rumors of her and Brown reuniting at the pre-Grammy party followed by speculation that they were recording together.
Turns out those rumors were true, as they released two songs online featuring each other. Rihanna’s “Birthday Cake” and Brown’s new single “Turn Up the Music” are a surprise for some people who thought they severed all ties after the assault. Somehow though, I’m not surprised — it seemed to be coming.
On Monday, Brown wished Rihanna a happy birthday on Twitter. When she asked who wanted a cake he quickly replied “YIKES!!! Cake, cake, cake!” and a link to a remix of the song “Birthday Cake.”
Of course, rumors followed that the two are back together. I understand that the assault happened three years ago and that the media can spin a story from what actually happened. But I also know enough about the situation to know that these new songs leave me a little uneasy.
Brown was convicted for beating Rihanna until she was bleeding and unconscious in a rental car. In most professions, private life and public life are separate but when it comes to entertainment it seems to be inseparable. A lot of girls look up to Rihanna as a strong independent woman, but her flippant and public behaviour seems contradictory to the severity of the assault.
Billboard reports the duo were pressured to keep the song private. Instead, they put it up on Twitter and Rihanna remarked: “They can say whatever, Ima do wahtever… No pain is forever <—– YUP! YOU KNOW THIS.”
Brown tweeted “Let them be mad!!!!! We make music. Don’t like it, don’t listen! Turn up the music remix is coming soon too! Guess who’s on it?”
We’ll let you decide what you think about the songs for yourself.
Birthday Cake
Turn Up the Music
Grammy award winning singer and actress Whitney Houston, who has sold over 170 million albums worldwide, died today at age 48 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Though her publicist Kristen Foster confirmed the death, she did not reveal the cause. She was pronounced dead at 6:55 pm E.T. despite resuscitation efforts. A police spokesperson said there appears to be no obvious signs of criminal intent, though it will still be investigated. Her death comes on the eve before the Grammy Awards, where she dominated as one of the top pop/R&B singers for decades, starting in the mid 1980s.
Houston’s private life was often made public. She battled a drug addiction for years and had a tumultuous marriage with ex-husband Bobby Brown, with whom she has a daughter. She staged a comeback in 2009, though she didn’t achieve the success she experienced at her peak.
She recently filmed Sparkle with Jordin Sparks, which is set to arrive in theatres on Aug. 10. The film is a remake of the 1976 hit.
The social media world erupted with reactions to her death. Music producer Russell Simmons wrote he was “deeply saddened by the death of Whitney Houston.” Quincy Jones, said he was “absolutely heartbroken” and that “she was a true original and a talent beyond compare.”
Over the span of her career, the music legend won six Grammy Awards, two Emmy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards and 22 American Music awards. She also claims the first female album to debut at #1 on Billboard.
NBC’s ‘The Voice’ has announced that they’ve enlisted more celebrity talent for their upcoming season – this will surely challenge those over at ‘American Idol’ the most watched show on television.
According to Rolling Stone, each of the show’s panelists will now be joined by two celebrity advisors from the music industry. Cee-Lo Green will be joined by other R&B heavyweights, Ne-Yo and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds. Maroon 5′s frontman Adam Levine will have some help from Alanis Morissette and Robin Thicke while mentor Christina Aguilera will be joined by Jewel and industry-icon, Lionel Richie.
“I trust the show more than I trust the record industry at this point,” said Levine about reality show singing contests, in a recent Reuters interview. “It is a very tired format, but in a way this is a very fresh way of doing it.”
Another mentor, country-star Blake Shelton is pulling in two reality-show veterans – his wife, Miranda Lambert and Kelly Clarkson. That’s right, Seacrest.
“I chose Miranda and Kelly because they both survived reality television shows,” Shelton told reporters at an annual gathering of TV critics. “I just wanted somebody who could talk to them about what they were going through.”
Executive producer and reality show innovator Mark Burnett admits that the show’s success hasn’t yet fulfilled its expectations. Last year’s winner Javier Colon (who?) released his album and peaked at no.134 on the Billboard 200 album chart. That doesn’t even come close to the success of “Idol” winners in the vein of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.
It’s impossible to predict success in the ever-changing music industry and even making a name for yourself in the Billboard chart is a huge feat. Though this season could change everything, again.
The new season of ‘The Voice’ premieres February 5 on NBC.
Adele continues to roll in the praise by making Billboard history as the first female singer to top the artist, album and singles list in the same year.
The 23-year-old Brit beat out Rihanna, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga in the American magazine’s prestigious Best Artist and No.1 Billboard 200 Album (with ’21′). She fought off the likes of LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem and Katy Perry’s Firework to become top single with ‘Rolling in the Deep’. Although, it’s really a no-brainer.
Tye Corner, editor over at Billboard.com, said that “her success is really inspiring because it shows that there is still room in the music industry for an artist to make it with true, raw talent.
“It’s not necessarily always about the outrageous outfits or flashy videos, but an amazing voice coupled with the right song still has the ability to turn the ears of millions of people and keep them interested.”
It’s been quite the week for her already as she was nominated for six Grammy awards and tweeted to assure her fans that she made it through her vocal-surgery.
Also Rolling Stone, the granddaddy of all music magazines, named ’21′ the Best Album of the Year and her soulful breakup scorcher made the Best Single of the Year also. It’s nice to see an honest and refreshing ballad recognized amongst the Gaga’s and the Perry’s of female pop.
Her smug graces the cover of Billboard’s latest issue and it includes an interview with the soulful singer. She answers the question that everybody wants to know, what she feels about finding love again:
“Not having someone to share all this with made me miserable at times, to be honest. I wanted nothing more than to be in love and be loved back. That was until I remembered I was sharing it with millions and millions and millions of people! I haven’t been ready to be in love again since summer 2009 … until now. And I hadn’t met anyone along the way who’s changed that.”
She also shared some details on her next album:
“I’m really looking forward to some time to do nothing. I imagine I’ll be 25 or 26 by the time my next record comes out, as I haven’t even thought about my third record yet. I’m just gonna lay some concrete, set up home and just ‘be’ for a bit. I’ll disappear and come back with a record when it’s good enough. There will be no new music until it’s good enough and until I’m ready.”
The City of Toronto is pissed off at one of their own. Drake used a billboard in the city to promote his album “Take Care.” However, the city argues there is a trademark infringement over the word “Toronto,” which is spelt in a font distinctively used by the city.
The sign has been up for a couple of months, but only recently has it been brought to the attention of Toronto officials. The city believes it looks like an official “Welcome” sign.
“We would suggest that the treatment of the word Toronto used on the billboard is very similar to the wordmark that forms part of the Toronto logo,” city spokesperson Francine Antonio-Forte told the Toronto Star. “The similarity of the wordmarks, in conjunction with other creative elements used for the billboard, may cause some confusion about the source of the information.” There’s been no word as to whether Toronto officials will take legal action against their pride and joy. “While the city is proud of its local and international talent, we have a general practice of reviewing and addressing reported or known cases related to the possible misuse of the Toronto logo,” Antonio-Forte added.
If the city was smart, they would leave Drake alone. The rapper has put Toronto and Canadian hip-hop on the map, and the rapper proudly represents the city. Hopefully they just give him a warning.
I couldn’t think of anyone who deserves it more!
After the immense success Nicki Minaj’s album, Pink Friday has seen since its release in November 2010, Billboard has decided to honor the “Super Bass” rapper with the title of “Rising Star of the Year” at ther Women in Music event on December 2. Last year the award was received by Jazmine Sullivan, proceeding Lady Gaga in 2009 and Colbie Caillat in 2008.
“I am deeply honored to be recognized by Billboard,” Minaj says. “My nation of Barbz and I have come a mighty long way; yet we are nowhere close to where God will take us. Sit back and enjoy the ride.”
“Nicki Minaj has established herself as a force in hip-hop and pop music, and we’re thrilled to recognize her accomplishments over the past year by honoring her as this year’s Rising Star,” says Billboard‘s editorial director, Bill Werde. “Her unique style and powerful sound will undoubtedly lead to a long and lustrous career, and we look forward to seeing where she goes and what she does next.”
Minaj has also just announced that she will be releasing an album entitled, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, this coming Valentines Day.
Nicki, all I can say is that I’m so proud of you!
It’s been a ridiculous few weeks for Justin Bieber. The Sultan of Swagger confronted allegations that a thirty second backstage de-virginizing resulted in a love child, organized a paternity test AND released a new album. Business couldn’t be better for JB.
Yet again, Justin has returned to the top of the charts with Under The Mistletoe. His Christmas album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200. According to MTV, Justin has already racked up 210,000 sales in his first week and he’s just getting started.
After he heard the news, JB took to Twitter to share his elation with the world and blow off a little steam, tweeting:
“So this past week and even today every rumor and lie about me possible has been coming out in the press. Just need to ignore it..but even through all the crap and lies my fans have been there for me and i just got word..It is OFFICIAL!! that…
#UnderTheMistletoe is the #1 Album on the BILLBOARD 200 this week!!! WE ARE THE #1 ALBUM!! so to the people making up this BS…SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN TO TOWN B*Tches! #ILOVEMYFANS!! THANK U. Here is the NEW VIDEO as Promised! THey cant break Us!
Stay true to yourself. they can never break us. we are a family. #TEAMBIEBER goes HARD!”
This flurry of tweets was a nice way to celebrate the accomplishment. In 140 characters or less Bieber was able to repeatedly thank his fans and give the h8ters a digital middle finger. It’s a classy rebuttal to all the “BS” that’s been circulating on the internet. Also, it’s the first time we’ve seen Bieber use such colourful language.
It’s nice to see the human side of the teen-Messiah (who normally only shares squeaky clean dialogue with his followers). So, buy his album b*tches and Merry Christmas Mother F*ckers!
Scott McCreery can add another accomplishment to his list besides winning American Idol. McCreery is the youngest male in history to open at number 1 on the Top 200 chart.
McCreery told RadarOnline: “My hopes were just to go out there and have fun and let people know that the album was out there. Everybody hopes for the number one, but you never really expect it.”
Scott is also the first AI winner in eight years to land his debut album in that spot.
Congrats Scott!
Taylor Swift has been voted the 2011 Billboard Woman of the Year. She will receive her prize at the Billboard Women in Music event on December 2 in New York City. Taylor is the youngest person in history to receive this award.
“Taylor has shown the power of good songwriting with music that has transcended genres, and we’re thrilled to recognize all of her successes over the past year by honoring her with the Billboard Woman of the Year Award,” says Bill Werde, Billboard’s Editorial Director. “At the young age of 21, Taylor has already made a major impact on music and has been an incredible role model for aspiring singers/songwriters and young women everywhere. I look forward to watching her career continue to flourish in the years to come.”
Fizzled out pop icons of the 80′s better watch their back! Rihanna’s in it to win it. The 23-year-old singer has now beaten Madonna as the fastest solo artist to reach 20 Top-10 hits.
Rihanna’s newest single, “Talk That Talk” with Calvin Harris currently sits at #9 in its second week on the charts, giving her a total of 20 songs on the Top-10 charts in just six years and four months.
For the Queen of Pop herself, well it took her a little bit longer. Slow and steady didn’t win the race, it seems. Madge was beaten by just five months.
It appears Rihanna’s popping hit after hit since Pon De Replay. while Madonna’s giving us flop after flop. I mean, remember her urban pop album Hard Candy? Yeah, we don’t either.
LMFAO is number 1 on the Billboard chart. “Party Rock Anthem” has been number 1 for four weeks now. The boys have some pretty tough competition, but they are still holding strong. The compelete list is as follows:
1. LMFAO – “Party Rock Anthem”
2. Katy Perry – “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”
3. Pitbull – “Give Me Everything” ”
4. Nicki Minaj – “Super Bass”
5. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep
6. Lil Wayne – “How to Love”
7. Hot Chelle Rae – “Tonight Tonight”
8. Lady Gaga – “Edge of Glory
9. “OneRepublic – “Good Life”
10. Bad Meets Evil – “Lighters”
You know you’re pretty great when you beat records previously broken by yourself.
Last week, pop singer Katy Perry broke the record for most plays of a pop song in a single tracking week. Her hit ‘E.T.,’ featuring Kanye West, logged 12,330 plays on all 131 Pop Songs reporters, besting the previous record of 12,159 plays set by ‘California Gurls’ last summer.
But that’s not all. In fact, Perry holds the top four spots with all of her last four singles. Check out the numbers:
12,330, “E.T.,” Katy Perry featuring Kanye West, May 14, 2011
12,159, “California Gurls,” Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg, July 17, 2010
11,857, “Firework,” Katy Perry, Jan. 22, 2011
11,841, “Teenage Dream,” Katy Perry, Oct. 16, 2010
I know that every time I get into my car the XM radio is always playing a Katy Perry song of some sort, so it’s hard to disagree with this news. Must feel pretty great to be at the top – enjoy it while it lasts, and here’s to hoping for more great singles to come.
