Natalia brings you the latest news on Adele’s interview with Anderson Cooper, Kristen Bell’s interview on Ellen is auto tuned, Ladyhawke’s latest music video and much more!
Natalia discusses what’s new with Pharrell Williams and her thoughts on Karl Lagerfeld’s mean comments towards Adele’s weight. She also shows a roster of animals behaving like humans and, wait until you see the new size of coffee available at Starbucks!
Natalia dishes the latest news on the Juno Awards nominees, the upcoming Spiderman 3D film starring Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield and is Katy Perry hooking up with Tim Tebow? Watch today’s episode to find out.
When The Kooks are in the studio they’re focused and most importantly, sober. Watch Hugh and Luke explain their reasoning below.
The Kooks released a new album called “Junk of the Heart,” and you would think Hugh and Luke would be very excited about it. Well, they seemed rather indifferent to be honest. We spoke about that and why they don’t care about critics.
Natalia dishes the latest in entertainment news on Joan Rivers, Lana Del Rey and a brand new trailer for the movie Hunger Games.
Natalia talks about how Snooki might be pregnant, Nicolas Cage’s Cage Rage, Elisabetta Canalis is dating Steve-O and more for Feb 1, 2012.
Natalia dishes the news on Miley Cyrus breaking her tailbone, a 100 year old woman who plays the Nintendo DS to stay young and Houston, Texas contemplating a statute of Beyonce.
David Beckham debuts a new line of underwear, the worst dressed celebrity – Shy’m and Matthew Broderick is back as Ferris Bueller with a brand new commercial airing during the Super Bowl on Feb 5th 2012.
Daniel Radcliffe is back with his new movie The Woman In Black. It’s a bone chilling remake of a film from the ’80s. Ironically, Daniel actually scares very easily but he’s not afraid of ghosts. In this interview he tells us what really gives him the creeps.
Next time you’re struggling to make conversation, try asking this question: “If you could invite anyone (living or dead) to the perfect house party, who would it be?”
Graffiti6 is starting to make their North American invasion, and they are hitting up the Tonight Show. Does this sound familiar? Well the Beatles made the exact same journey over 40 years ago. Naturally, @jordans_life had to make some comparisons.
Nick plays World of Warcraft. Not only that, he’s the head of his guild, demonstrating that it IS possible to juggle being a hardcore gamer with being a top-selling recording artist.
During a LIVE interview on andPOP.com Nick Carter gave out a number and took phone calls from his fans. These were real phone calls from real fans who we gave exclusive access to one of the biggest recording artists of our generation.
There were great questions about music, fitness, the backstreet boys but the most popular question, however, was about his underwear. In this clip Nick talks about his his ‘Haynes’ and covering his fans with glow in the dark paint.
When releasing new music today, half the battle is online promotion. However, contests, signed merch and giveaways aren’t always the best solutions. When working on their latest album, Hedley came up with a brilliant idea, they decided to make trailers.
It’s hard to prepare for an interview with Hedley. So in this interview, we threw caution to the wind, got a 24 of beer and broadcast the interview live on our USTREAM (andPOP.tv). Eventually Jacob, Dave and @jordans_life ended up talking about hairy legs, their newest music video and more.
Diamandis from Marina and The Diamonds talks to us about her very serious disease. It’s called synaesthetic. And we lied, it’s not a disease. More like a cool condition. Diamandis explains further.
Would you be embarrassed if someone scrolled through your iPod? We sit down with Spee and Brendan to talk about the diverse music on their playlist.
Marina and The Diamonds are working on some new music, but Marina is being very secretive about it. Although the release has been delayed, she let’s us in on some secrets about the new album, and how alcohol changed her life.
When andPOP first met the Click Five in the summer, their first single, ?Just The Girl,? was climbing steadily up the pop charts and the quintet spoke confidently about their upcoming debut album, Greetings From Imrie House.
?It?s a party in a package,? exclaimed keyboardist Ben Romans. It?s a party alright ? for 12-year olds. An album this cheesy hasn?t been released in a long time, and one question that you will undoubtedly find yourself asking as you listen to the record is, ?Are they serious??
Greetings From Imrie House opens with ?Good Day,? a peppy pop anthem that sounds like it was ripped off from either ABBA or a bad musical. It?d be a perfect theme song for a feel-good Disney flick starring Lizzie McGuire. But if you?re not a fan of Hilary Duff nor nostalgic for the disco era of the ?70s, you won?t be able to hit the skip button on your stereo fast enough.
However, the Click Five can?t be faulted for their over-the-top sweetness ? this is exactly what they were going for. They label themselves as ?new school power pop? and what they have to offer is dead on target ? strong, tried and true melodies, solid harmonies, and infectious guitar riffs.
The 11-track album borrows from some of the biggest power pop acts of the last few decades. The breezy and way too cute ?Catch Your Wave? makes you want to break out an atlas and resume that search for Kokomo, while ?Lies? is a decent cover of the Thompson Twins hit from the ?80s.
Even the corny lyrics should be expected as often, that?s what pop is about. (But a line like ?I?ll be your shopping mall? in track seven, ?Resign,? should really be reconsidered.)
It can?t be denied that the Click Five are talented, and they even have guest appearances by respected names in rock (Elliot Easton of The Cars on ?I?ll Take My Chances? and ?Angel to You (Devil to Me),? which was co-written by Paul Stanley of Kiss) to prove it.
For that reason, there is no question that Greetings From Imrie House will be lapped up by power pop fans both young and old. While pre-teen girls will undoubtedly swoon over the Click Five thanks to their boy-next-door looks, the band is also 2005?s answer to the Bee Gees and moms will love them for it. As for the rest of us ? well, the Click Five might just be the guilty pleasure of the year.
3*
Release Date: August 16, 2005
Lava
1. Good Day
2. Just The Girl
3. Catch Your Wave
4. I?ll Take My Chances
5. Friday Night
6. Angel to You (Devil to Me)
7. Resign
8. Pop Princess
9. Time Machine
10. Lies
11. Say Goodnight
It may have been premature to release a greatest hits album while still a teenager, but Hilary Duff’s move paid off.
Her “Most Wanted” album, a collection of hits plus new material, debuted at number one on this week’s Billboard charts. The album sold over 200,000 copies.
Staind’s “Chapter V,” last week’s chart topper, dropped to seventh.
Somehow Mariah Carey is still selling copies of her album, “The Emancipation of Mimi.” The album sold another 109,000 copies this week, earning her spot number three. The album was released 19 weeks ago.
Right in front of her at number two is Brad Paisley and his “Time Well Wasted” album.
The Click Five debuted at 15 with “Greetings From Imrie House.”
The Click Five are a bit of a paradox. First off, they seem like a blast from the past. With their retro hairstyles and matching suits, they look more like the Beatles than today’s typical tattooed rock stars. Second, they are an undeniably sugary-sweet pop band, with catchy tunes that tell their growing legions of female fans they’re “just the girl I’m looking for.”
But make no mistake ? they are no boy band. The members of the Click Five each play their own instruments, they perform no cheesy dance moves on stage, and their debut album, “Greetings from Imrie House,” boasts guest appearances from some pretty big names in rock, including Paul Stanley of Kiss, and Elliot Easton of the Cars.
“Kiss changed my life,” enthuses keyboardist Ben Romans, who along with bass player Ethan Mentzer, guitarist Joe Guese, lead singer Eric Dill, and drummer Joey Zehr form the Click Five. “Paul Stanley came to our show last summer; then we went to their show. Somehow I ended up going to L.A., to Paul Stanley’s house, to write ‘Angel to You, Devil to Me,’ which is a track on our album.”
It’s clear that the memory still astounds Romans himself, emphasizing just how new the band is to the music scene. There is no air of rock star arrogance surrounding the Click Five yet and they don’t seem as jaded as so many musicians appear to be. It’s not such a surprise ? after all, the band was formed only two years ago, but already they’ve played packed amphitheatres and music halls opening for Ashlee Simpson and now, the Backstreet Boys. The boys from Boston, Mass., all in just their early 20s, seem to have catapulted to success almost overnight.
But bassist Mentzer maintains that where they are now is the product of hard work and determination. “We were really driven to do something and hopefully become really successful with it,” says the graduate of Boston’s esteemed Berklee College of Music, speaking to andPOP before their show in Toronto. Each of his bandmates, except for Dill, attended Berklee, which lists dozens of prominent musicians ? including John Mayer and Diana Krall ? among its alumni. “We set a lot of small goals and just took things a step at a time,” Mentzer adds.
Of course, getting to know the right people also helped. With the assistance of the music director at Boston radio station Kiss 108, the Click Five was invited to play a big show with Simpson, where they got noticed by several interested record labels.
Their first album will be released Tuesday. “Greetings from Imrie House is “a collection of all of our influences, from Buddy Holly to Fountains of Wayne ? of all the great power pop of the last century,” describes Guese, the guitarist. “We just try to put a new twist on it and try to update it. We want to bring it to a younger generation that maybe has never heard it yet.”
That’s right ? power pop. The band makes no apologies for their bubblegum tunes and doesn’t try to hide behind a faux-rock label. In the last few years, the word “pop” has developed an unfortunate stigma attached to it, with critics being all but murderous when it comes to reviewing pop acts. For the Click Five, it’s no big deal.
“I don’t think we’re scared of being labelled power pop or wanting to shy away from that,” says Guese. “That’s what all of our influences are, and that’s what we want to be.”
In Mentzer’s opinion, pop is a big umbrella to fall under, and there is a marked difference between the Click Five and, say, Britney Spears.
“You can lump anything into the category of pop that has a form, as far as the way it was written and something that can be played on the radio,” he explains. “We like good songs and well-written songs. So I don’t look at pop as a negative thing at all. I think the more people we can appeal to by being pop, it’s going to be a good thing.”
Their first single, “Just The Girl” (written by Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger) is definitely one of those radio-friendly songs, with catchy riffs and a chorus that just refuses to get out of your head. The rest of the album promises more of the same. “We’re trying to bring melody back,” says Romans. “There’s loud guitars, there’s harmony, but even more importantly, this is a really positive album. I don’t think we’re afraid to put a really happy album out there. It’s a party in a package.”
This summer, they’re taking that party out on the road for their first big tour with the Backstreet Boys, where they’re being introduced to pyrotechnics (in the Backstreet show), and ? what they’re most excited about ? their first tour bus. “We just came from a minivan. It’s pretty amazing to suddenly be sleeping and back here writing songs and up there watching TV,” says Romans. “It’s awesome.”
And if the show later that night was any indication, they’re doing a pretty good job of warming up the crowd. Gaining new fans along the way should be a piece of cake, with their energetic performance (their cover of Tommy James’ “I Think We’re Alone Now” got almost everyone up and dancing) and slick outfits ? identical black and blue suits.
“The suits help make us memorable and identifiable,” says Mentzer. “It’s a really solid, unifying kind of look.” Plus, he adds jokingly, “I think a lot of moms feel a little more relieved to see guys in suits rather than guys in clown masks and tattoos.”
Meanwhile, the band is continuing to refine the sound they first developed at Berklee by making use of all the experience they’ve garnered so far playing to live audiences daily.
“I think the most important education you can get for writing, music, and creativity is live,” Romans observes. “You can learn the book, but at some point you have to put the book on the shelf and realize that imagination comes before logic.”
