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Mark Hoppus Is Going Solo

Ilan Mester — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:34:10 +0000

Former Blink-182 vocalist and guitarist Mark Hoppus is going solo and said “the future is wide open” to a possible Blink-182 reunion with drummer Travis Barker and the rest of the band, to MTV News.

“Travis has played on a bunch of [my] tracks, and he’s working on his own album as well,” Hoppus told MTV News. “We totally support each other in whatever we’re doing. He’s like a brother to me.”

According to Hoppus, him and Barker have been collaborating, “I see him in our studio every week, and we’ll be in the room of the studio he’s working in, listening to stuff he’s recorded, or he’ll come into the room where I’m working and check out my songs.” said Hoppus to MTV News.

Fans can expect to hear a song Hoppus co-wrote in the movie “Fired Up,” coming out in February. Hoppus also produced the New Found Glory record “Not Without A Fight” which hits stores in March.

Kelly Rowland Appointed ‘Staying Alive’ Ambassador

andPOP Staff — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:01:47 +0000

Kelly Rowland has officially been appointed 2008 Ambassador for the MTV Staying Alive Foundation.

The foundation empowers young people who are working to eliminate HIV and AIDS in their communities.

“I am honoured to work with The Staying Alive Foundation in its mission to transform attitudes to HIV and AIDS around the world,” the Destiny’s Child alum commented in a press release. “The Foundation continues to recognize and reward young people whose relentless mission is to encourage, educate and empower their peers in the fight against HIV and AIDS. I am excited to be a part of this remarkable initiative and look forward to supporting Staying Alive in all its efforts to change the prevailing culture of ignorance which fosters and perpetuates this disease.”

Rowland will kick off her first solo tour and new role simultaneously, when she visits Africa in June. There she will visit tour some of the grassroots projects supported by the Foundation.

Her new album, ‘Ms Kelly Deluxe’, will be released May 12.

Rivers Cuomo Releases Home Recordings

andPOP Staff — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:01:51 +0000

Weezer fans are getting the ultimate Christmas present this year: a collection of home recordings by Rivers Cuomo.

The record, entitled “Alone – The Home Recordings Of Rivers Cuomo,” should not be seen as a solo album, but rather a kind of musical scrapbook. According to Cuomo, who posted on his Myspace page, “This is a CD of my favorite home demos from ‘92 to ‘07 featuring a lot of never heard before songs, a few covers, a few songs from my unfinished rock musical ‘Songs From The Black Hole’ and my original demo for ‘Buddy Holly.’”

Geffen records will release the album on December 11. Cuomo said he may put out more demo collections in the future.

To hear a sample of the song “Blast Off,” the Windows Media file is here, and the Real Player file is here.

Video Interview With Nick Carter

Adam Gonshor — Fri, 12 Sep 2003 19:15:58 +0000

Earlier this week, we brought you all the information from our interview with Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, and so far, thousands of people have read it and learned more about his upcoming album.

Now we bring you some of the video of the interview, conducted at a Hilary Duff charity event earlier this week.

Watch Interview

PLEASE do not link directly to the video! Link to this article. Thank You

Nick Carter Returns to Pop, Hopes to Work with Elton John

Adam Gonshor — Tue, 09 Sep 2003 16:38:15 +0000

Nick Carter surprised his fans last year when his debut solo album was full of rock music. For his next album, Carter will use the styles that made the Backstreet Boys icons.

“What I had done on the last album, I had gone out and did rock music,” Carter tells andPOP, in Toronto for a charity event hosted by Hilary Duff. “It was rock-pop with a little bit of a rock edge.”

“Now what I want to do is kind of go back to my roots. My up-tempo is going to be pop-rock, with dance music, so I can probably dance to it again. The mid-tempo is going to be kind of Backstreet sounding. Low-tempo is going to be R&B, slow, kind of reminiscent of the Backstreet Boys.”

While Carter is changing his sound a little for his upcoming second solo album, his rock influences will still be evident, with the help from Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee.

“I’ve got a lot of respect from people like Tommy,” Carter says. “Tommy is probably going to be playing some drums on the record with me.”

He also plans to work with producers Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins, and Teddy Riley, and artists like Snow, and maybe even Elton John.

“It’s going to be packed with a lot of celebrities that I’m going to be reaching out to this time around. This one’s going to be hot. I’m out for blood this time around.”

Carter will begin recording in the next two weeks.

As for the status on the Backstreet Boys, Carter remains mum.

“We’re on hiatus for right now.”

Want to see a video of the interview? Check back to andPOP later this week.

Janelle from Velvet Empire Goes Solo

Adam Gonshor — Sat, 06 Sep 2003 17:34:26 +0000

When Velvet Empire split up earlier this year, there was almost no mention of it anywhere. The logical reason behind that could be that there were no rifts between members, like in the Spice Girls, and there were no record label problems, like with Backstreet Boys; it was just a matter of opportunities.

“It wasn?t even really a break-up,” former Velvet Empire member Janelle Belgrave explains to andPOP. “Our contracts ended and then we decided we’d just explore. We got our feet wet. We decided, ‘maybe it’s time for us to go our separate ways and do our own projects’.”

One of those projects is already in motion. Belgrave, speaking to andPOP from a recording studio, is currently in the beginning stages of putting together a solo album.

She started recording about three months ago. “It’s been really good. Just starting to get a go. It’s been really fun so far. A lot of work, but we’re going.”

Belgrave is working with several local producers, and a few different writers.

“I’ve been trying to work with a lot of other songwriters to try to get them to teach me because I’m not a songwriter myself. I like to think I am because I have songs written, but I’m still learning and I’m learning more and more from songwriters everyday.”

The sound she is experimenting with has more of an urban feel to it than when she was in the pop quintet.

“I like more of those old school type songs so we’re going to try to incorporate that into the album and see where that takes us. I think that because I’ve been so influenced by artists like Janet [Jackson], it will be more urban.”

When she was named one of the five winners of Popstars in 2002, the show’s second season, the group was given the luxury of having a record deal in place. This time around, it will be a lot different.

“It’s kind of like I’m doing my demo right now and trying to shop around songs to try to get a deal,” she said. “I did go along through the whole process with Popstars. You meet a lot of people. And I was so grateful to meet people in the urban department and even in the rock department and pop [at Universal Music]. I was able to meet a lot of people and get to talk to them but nothing is etched in stone. We’re just in the middle of talks.”

She hopes to have an album ready for next year.

In the meantime, Belgrave is preparing for her first feature performance as a solo artist. She most recently performed solo this summer at Toronto’s Mabuhay Festival, a celebration of Philippine heritage.

“It kind of got me back up and running because after you get off tour and you’re idle for a bit, you want to get on stage and start performing again. Doing it alone was something that I had to prepare myself for vocally.”

Belgrave works out, dances, and sings everyday in preparation of the concert, which will take place October 18 at Ontario Place’s Atlantis Pavillions. Ryan Hamilton, another former Velvet Empire member, and Jeigh Madjus, who almost made the top 5, will both be special guests. Tickets are on sale and cost $25.

So might Velvet Empire ever regroup?

“You never know,” she says with a laugh. “If times change and also the way that music is directed as well, the boy-girl group may come back in, but until that time? you never know.”

Dave Matthews Accepts Film Role (Plus, win tickets!)

Adam Gonshor — Thu, 28 Aug 2003 11:38:43 +0000

In between preparing for his upcoming solo release and touring all summer, Dave Matthews found time to accept a role in a movie.

The singer-songwriter will appear in “Because of Winn-Dixie,” playing a drifter in his first major-studio film, reports MTV.

The movie begins shooting next month, and Matthews ends the current tour September 20. His debut solo album, “Some Devil,” is scheduled to hit shelves September 23.

Want tickets to his September 3 Toronto show? Head on over to the click2music.ca ticket giveaway for your chance to win.