In his latest movie, The Woman In Black, Dan traded his Hogwarts uniform for a totally new role as a Dad.
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.
The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame is probably the only awards event in the world that honours its recipients twice. Artists and industry types flocked to the Le Royal Meridien King Edward hotel in downtown Toronto Thursday morning for an action-packed press conference to announce inductees into the 2008 hall of fame for the first time. Unlike most other press conferences, which are typically staid, quiet affairs, this one featured four performances from up-and-coming Canadian singers, and Styx’s Lawrence Gowan as droll host. It was a show in itself.
This year’s inductees include Alex Kramer, Andre Lejeune, Claude Dubois, and Paul Anka, and 23 well-known songs, written between 1921 and 1982. Jazz great Oscar Peterson was also named winner of the Founders Award.
But Petersen and the rest of the inductees will have to wait several months before they’ll be able to hold the CSHF award, a golden statuette based on a sculpture by Ontario artist Elizabeth Wyn Wood, in their hands.
The 5th Annual Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala won’t be held until March 1 of next year. But it promises to be a good one – in past years, the event has featured performances from the likes of Herbie Hancock, Rufus Wainwright, Michael Buble, and James Taylor. Parts of the party will be broadcast on CBC in a television special.
Not that press conference attendees got shafted. Four of the songs to be inducted into the hall of fame were given new life at the conference thanks to live performances from four young Canadian artists.
Rockstar: INXS winner Suzie McNeil opened the show with an energetic rendition of Les Emmerson’s Signs. Later, Quebecois singers Cindy Daniel and Dave Bourgeois hit the stage to perform Andre Lejeune’s Une Promesse, and Claude Dubois’s Le Labrador, respectively. Sugar Jones alumna Julie Crochetiere wrapped everything up with a beautiful solo performance of Paul Anka’s Put Your Head On My Shoulder that had guests chatting about her talent long after she left the stage.
The real star of the conference, though, was Gowan, whose valiant efforts to speak French were both amusing and commendable. “English is my second language,” he joked during introductions. As long as the gala in March includes Gowan, the CSHF should have no problem attracting listeners and viewers.
Suzie McNeil is late. Not late enough to merit a J-Lo inspired diva reference or to clump her under the young, irresponsible, late-cause-they-partied-too-hard category of recent songstresses, but, just late enough so that when she finally rushes into the Shanghai Cowgirl on Queen St. West in her hometown of Toronto – her multi-streaked hair pulled into a messy ponytail, bike helmet in hand – she apologizes profusely.
Her full proof excuse and indisputable sincerity are not very rock ‘n roll of her. It’s hard not to be misled by the died hair, the well-inked tattoo crawling up her right arm or the rocker chick persona she developed while a contestant on Rock Star: INXS, but McNeil is not your typical rebellious pop star; she’s polite, grounded, and refreshingly candid.
“I felt like I just gave birth,” she says of what it was like to finally see her debut album, Broken and Beautiful, on stands. McNeil hopes to establish herself as a legitimate artist rather than just “Sweet Suzie McNeil,” the last woman standing on a reality TV show.
So, how does one break free of the reality show stigma? How do you reverse the curse that comes along with the free press and overnight exposure that has many established artists boiling over with animosity? Well, waiting two years to release an album is a start. Also, competing on a show that bent over backwards to make sure it came off as somewhat credible helps.
“The fact that I can’t ride on the Rock Star: INXS momentum anymore is probably positive and negative,” she says while fidgeting with the long black beads that hang loosely around her neck, “but, I have no regrets and I am really proud of how I have translated that experience.”
That experience translated into a whirlwind of opportunity and possibility for McNeil. For the past two years, she has been given the chance to work with music industry legends, collaborate with some of the best voices in the business, and go on tour as a backup singer for power pop veteran Pink.
When it came time for her to live the classic rock ‘n roll experience – the excitement, the parties, the sleepless nights, the inscrutability of life on the road – McNeil felt right at home.
“Everyday was a Saturday,” she says with a laugh.
After the tour, McNeil was itching to create something of her own.
“I think that my record is different than what people might have expected, but I choose not to care,” she says bluntly. “My problem is that I fit into a lot of genres. I’m kind of like a musical Jack-of-all-Trades, but it’s hard for some people to understand that. When you’re all over the place, it takes away from a potential image. But, I’ve got to go with who I am.”
McNeil says that with Broken & Beautiful, she was resiliently aiming for a specific sound, relying heavily on a pop filled “user-friendliness” as well as her rock influences.
Now, she feels as though that focus came, to an extent, at the expense of a certain musical depth. And that expenditure is a detriment that some critics have been quick to notice.
Aside from mostly positive reviews, McNeil has felt the backlash from detractors who feel her record lacks originality and rock-induced profundity. But she’s okay with that. In fact, she wholeheartedly agrees.
“I totally agree with them. I’m really proud of this record as a debut album, but it is very accessible. There’s a formula to hit songs and pop songs and a lot of the songs on this record follow that formula. The power in that is that I made the choice to do it. I wanted my first record to be something really accessible to radio and to people.”
While the highly charged, energetic pop album may have gotten her categorized alongside Ashlee Simpson and Avril Lavigne, McNeil makes one thing clear: Homegirl can sing.
“The funny thing is that the reviews have never insulted my talent. If they were saying I sound horrible, then there would be a problem.”
Her brilliant blue eyes hold a steady expression of humility and intensity, but they soften at the mention of her latest undertaking. We Will Rock You is a musical production playing at Toronto’s Canon Theatre that pays homage to rock gods Queen. McNeil’s raw talent landed her the role of Oz, a Bohemian rebel with a bad attitude. Musical theatre has been a dream of McNeil’s since she was just a kid; it was always fixed goal on her list of future endeavours so when she was offered the part, she saw it as a chance to fulfill her childhood desire. She’s gone from a little girl listening to Broadway soundtracks like Les Mis and Cats, to juggling important conference calls with record execs and dodging rocket attacks while performing in Afghanistan.
Suzie McNeil is proving that there is life after being a reality show loser. She’s already looking towards a studio follow-up to Broken & Beautiful and is ready to hit the road to promote the album. After that, she’ll find herself back in L.A.
“I’m not ever going to stop. I love it too much.”
She may have one of the top ten singles in Toronto, and she may be one of the most promising talents in the industry, but she never got the memo that says it’s a rocker’s job to be untouchably cool. McNeil exudes an “I’m just happy to be here” giddiness and an almost exasperating likeability.
No, she’s not your typical rebellious pop star. She’s the kind that still rides her bike around her home city, and the kind that offers to pay your bill in order to make up for being late. Many artists talk about humility but not many deliver the earnest goods like “Sweet Suzie McNeil.” It looks like it’s going to take her a little longer to shed that nickname.
