andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Dunno if you heard, but a concert documentary, starring a little-known performer who died recently, opened across the country at 12:01 this morning.

This performer, Michael Jackson, would likely have been plagued by scandal through much of his adult life had anyone actually heard of him, so perhaps it’s just as well.

To Sony’s credit, This Is It does not feel like a quickie cash-in on Jackson’s death. A bit over-adulatory perhaps, but that’s to be expected. It must be said, however, that Jackson’s death casts a pall over the movie’s early proceedings; to me, his fake cleft chin and overly manufactured nose make his face look like melted wax, his voice occasionally lilts – not in a good way – and some of his dance moves look robotic.

But as time passes, the rehearsals have an obvious effect on him; his dancing becomes smoother, his singing becomes stronger, and he appears to become younger. Performing came as naturally to Jackson as breathing, and while his voice occasionally disappears, he’s never off-key (and explains more than once that he’s trying to save his vocal cords), and every number yields enthusiastic applause from the gathered technicians and back-up dancers.

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Lady Gaga and Kanye West shocked fans on Thursday when they announced they would be canceling their much-anticipated Fame Kills tour without explanation.

But on Friday at an event in New York City, Gaga, who didn’t get into specifics about the cancellation, did say West would be taking some time off and she would be hitting the road on her own.

“Well, actually, it was a mutual decision to cancel the tour,” she told MTV News. “But I’m not taking any time off, so I’ll be leaving just a week later than I was supposed to on my own solo tour. IT will be the same places. So I will see you guys there. I’m putting out my re-release as well – The Fame Monster on November 24.”

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Jay-Z is doing what he knows best on the eighth anniversary of Sept. 11. Tonight, at the Madison Square Garden, the talented rap artist will be giving a memorial benefit concert. All proceeds from the Answer the Call Tribute Show will be donated to the New York Police & Fire Widows’ & Children’s Benefit Fund.

According to MTV news, if the star’s secret show at the Blender Theatre on Wednesday was any hint of what he has in store for his MSG show, fans can expect old hits and fresh cuts off his just released album, The Blueprint 3. At Blender, Jay popped off classics like “Show Me What You Got,” “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)” and “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” and new songs, such as “Run This Town” and “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune).”

Jay-Z’s first Blueprint album was released on Sept. 11, 2001.
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Sony Pictures confirms Oct. 30 as the release date for Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” movie, which documents the King of Pop’s final concert rehearsal.

The film is being produced with the full support of The Estate of Michael Jackson and will be drawn from hundreds of hours of rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage – all captured in high definition.

To add to the experience, “This Is It” will also offer certain sequences in 3-D, along with interviews with some of Jackson’s closest friends and creative collaborators.

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Citing “artist-related medical reasons,” British band Coldplay postponed a concert at the Ford Ampitheatre in Tampa, Florida, scheduled for Sunday, reports Perez Hilton.

“We’re sorry to report that Coldplay has been forced to postpone their show at the Ford Ampitheatre in Tampa on Sunday, August 9th,” read a statement on the band’s web site. “This is due to medical reasons. The show is currently being rescheduled – we’ll give you the new details as soon as we have them. In the meantime, the band have asked us to apologize on their behalf for the inconvenience this causes.”

Yesterday, Our Lady Peace performed at a secret location to launch their latest album, “Burn Burn.” andPOP was part of this exclusive concert where OLP played their latest songs as well as fan favourites from the past.

The event took place at the Sony Soundstage in Toronto and was broadcast live-to-air through 102.1 The Edge and Explore Music.

Throughout the concert, OLP played songs form their new album, including the single “All You Did Was Save My Life” featuring “90210’s” Shenae Grimes in the music video, and “Paper Moon.”

To the excitement of fans, OLP performed “Innocent” and “Somewhere Out There,” off their 2002 album “Gravity,” among other hits. Since only a fraction of their fans were able to see them live in convert, the band answered questions sent to Alan Cross’ Twitter page for those who were unable to attend the event.

So why did they take so long to release another album? OLP vocalist Raine Maida explains.

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A person was killed Thursday (July 16) when the stage for Madonna’s Marseille, France, concert collapsed, according to the Associated Press who reported that an additional six workers were injured due to the accident.

The stage for the queen of pop’s Sticky and Sweet show fell apart at the Stade Vélodrome while under construction at approximately 5:15 p.m. local time, according to reports. The identities of the individuals affected by the incident were not released immediately.

TMZ is reporting that Madonna issued the following statement regarding the incident: “I am devastated to have just received this tragic news. My prayers go out to those who were injured and their families along with my deepest sympathy to all those affected by this heartbreaking news.”

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Montreal-based band Arcade Fire is set to release a concert film which includes both live and behind the scenes footage. The material is from the band’s European and North American tour.

Arcade Fire announced the project through a new website (Miroir Noir or Black Mirror) which shares the same name of a song on the album “Neon Bible”.

Fans can catch a clip of the film – which is set to release on Monday – on the site, according to a news release. The documentary is 70 minutes long and will be available to download and on DVD in 2009.

The film focusses on the period after the band recorded “Neon Bible”. This includes appearances on “Saturday Night Live” and “Friday Night With Jonathan Ross”.

The documentary was shot by French filmmaker Vincent Moon, who has also worked with REM.

Next week, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z will perform together at Power 105.1’s Powerhouse concert in New York. It’s expected that the two will perform “Mr. Carter” together for the first time.

It’s a busy time for Lil Wayne right now – he just had a son, Dwayne Carter III, will rap with Jay-Z, and is gearing up for his tour. One change for his tour plans, though, is that M.I.A. will no longer be on board for the road, since she’s pregnant. Lil Wayne does plan to include a well-rounded roster of artists throughout the tour, saying that he wants it to be more of an event than a musical genre-focused concert.

What do Beyoncé Knowles, Gwen Stefani, Pussycat Dolls and now Avril Lavigne all have in common?

Besides performing to millions of fans at sold-out concerts (Avril not so much recently), all of the artists have faced troubled in Malaysia. According to E! News, this conservative country imposes dress rules and conduct codes on performers, including no jumping, shouting, hugging or kissing on stage.

Last week, the Malaysian government scrapped Lavigne’s concert for being “too sexy.” However, the government has now given Lavigne the go-ahead for her August 29th show.

“The Best Damn Thing” singer had promoters assure the performance would not corrupt the mainly-Muslim country’s youth or disrupt its Independence Day celebration on Aug 31.

“In giving the approval, the cabinet also instructed the (arts and cultural) ministry to monitor the concert to ensure that the performances do not clash with the Malaysian culture and values,” the Arts and Culture Minister Mohamad Shafie Apdal told Bernama, a Malaysian news agency.

But the 23-year-old singer told MTV, “They tend to, you know, sometimes not want Western artists in their country,” she continued. “I respect that, but at the same time, you know, there’s people that listen to music there and want to see their idols and stuff, so it’s all good: been approved by the government and [I'm] going to go put on a show and have fun.”