Ellen DeGeneres is taking her stint on “American Idol” seriously by proving she is a legit music guru. How is she proving it? She is starting her own record label called eleveneleven and signing YouTube sensation Greyson Chance.

Greyson caught the public eye a few weeks ago after his rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” made waves on YouTube, and he ended up as a guest on Ellen.

In an interview airing Wednesday on her show, Ellen tells Greyson, “When I first met you, I said things are going to change … Now [your YouTube hits] are over 30 million.”

On May 13, DeGeneres introduced Greyson to her audience and famously got Gaga to call him live.

“Greyson, you’re so sweet and so talented, and I was so excited that you covered ‘Paparazzi,’” Gaga told the sixth-grade prodigy during the earlier ‘Ellen’ taping. “Everyone loves you so much. Just keep following your dreams and work really hard, and stay away from girls and be focused.”

PopEater reports that Ellen claims to have signed Greyson for $10,000. This contradicts earlier reports that Interscope had signed the 11 year old.

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Granted he is not what you would picture as your stereotypical rapper, but the guy is legit. In celebration of the release of his latest creation “Asleep in the Bread Aisle” Universal Music Canada and andPOP are giving away 3 signed Asher Roth posters. To enter all you need to be is Canadian (sorry to our American friends ) and send an email to contests@andpop.com with the answer to this question:

What is the name of Asher Roth’s latest album? Good luck! Also check back for an andPOP interview with Asher Roth coming very soon!

Contest ends: July 14, 2009

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Get ready for a new sound from Norah Jones.

Jones’ indie rock band, El Madmo, has just been signed to the label Team Love. According to Exclaim!, the band will be releasing an album on May 20.

Jones adopts a pseudonym and blonde wig when performing with the El Madmo. On their MySpace, the band has written this colourful description of themselves: Born of social ineptitude and an ageless belief in trick-or-treatery, EL MADMO offers escape, justice, karmic postulation, and that feeling you get when you know something that no one else does. Starting out as a garage band trapped in the basements of various hockey arenas, their is a powerfully raw sound that could only be inspired by the smell of Zamboni fuel and sweaty skates. The band consists of guitarist/singer, Maddie, bassist/singer, El, and majestically afroed drummer, Mo. Their self-titled debut album is a solid piece of body rocking ear-munition revealing a musical labyrinth that challenges you to, “Choose your own adventure.” From the Aeolian darkness of “Vampire Guy”, to the sassy cha-cha of “Fantasy Guy”, to a song that simply asks, “What good is a smile when your head’s in a vise?”, EL MADMO serves up a hot and tasty meal that’ll fill you up and also “Rock Yer Balls Off.”

Fans can listen to three tracks at MySpace.com/elmadmo.

Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance