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Tara Reid Booed from U.K. Television

andPOP Staff — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 18:04:16 +0000

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Tara Reid had an embarrassing time yesterday, and was booed off live U.K. television. Reid was a cast member on Britain’s Celebrity Big Brother, and complained how she was portrayed in the show. She was “evicted” from the Big Brother house.

During a later interview, she said ”We shoot it for 24 hours, they edit it down to one hour – I don’t know what they show.”

She ranted, “To be honest with you, what I’ve seen just of these clips right now, I’m not that happy with that. There was a lot of great times (but) I feel like you guys took the toughest times of me and showed it, which is kind of sad. There were so many good things.

“If that’s the only things that you guys showed in the hour, no wonder why people booed me.”

The live audience booed her as she walked off the stage. Tara can never catch a break.

Eminem Earns $3.3 Million Over Weekend

andPOP Staff — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:27:30 +0000

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Eminem performed two shows at a U.K. festival this past weekend and took home $3.3 Million.

TMZ helpfully points out he made $50,000 per song performed, having rapped roughly 50 songs throughout the two days. Slim Shady was playing at the V Festival in England.

He was also joined by Rihanna, who reportedly got $825,000 per night to perform.

We are in the wrong business!

Tara Reid Joins ‘Big Brother U.K.’

andPOP Staff — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:29:53 +0000

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Now that Tara Reid is a married woman, she also has to help out with the bills. So the newlywed will be appearing in Celebrity Big Brother 2011 in the U.K.

TooFab reports Tara will have some excellent celebrity company, including:

- David Hasselhoff’s ex-wife Pamela Bach

- Sisqo

- Jermaine Jackson

- Stephen Baldwin

- Heidi Fleiss

Although this is probably not the role she dreamed about, a job is a job.

Kelly Rowland Confirmed As Judge For UK X-Factor

Christian Allaire — Mon, 30 May 2011 17:40:07 +0000

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‘Destiny Child’ member and solo singer Kelly Rowland has officially signed on to join the judges panel for the UK’s ‘X Factor,’ reports Perez Hilton.

In its eighth season, Rowland will join fellow judges Gary Barlow, Tulisa Contostavlos, and Louis Walsh.

In a statement, Rowland said: “I am so excited to join The X Factor UK and be able to spend time in one of my favourite places in the world. The music coming out of the UK right now is incredible with artists like Adele, Jessie J and James Blake, so I’m confident this season of The X Factor will give me opportunity to hear a few diamonds in the rough.”

“Being a judge is never easy, but I promise to be as sternly honest as I can and also encourage everyone who crosses the stage. I can’t wait to meet the world’s next superstar!”

I wonder what Cheryl Cole will do with her time now that she is not returning to the UK version. Cole was set to be a judge on the US version, but was replaced with Nicole Scherzinger due to American audiences not being able to ‘understand her.’ And now, there are no spots for Cole to return to on the UK version. Talk about a tough week.

Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’ Explodes UK Charts, Surpasses 1 Million In US

Christian Allaire — Mon, 30 May 2011 16:50:52 +0000

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Lady Gaga’s latest album ‘Born This Way’ blasted onto the U.K. chart this Sunday, marking the biggest first-week sale of the year at 215,000 units.

If that wasn’t enough, the sales of her album are more than the rest of the top ten titles combined. Talk about madness!

Gaga’s opening U.K. sales also narrowly beat Adele’s first-week sales of 208,000 for “21″ in late January, which had spent 16 of the previous 17 weeks at No. 1.

Meanwhile, in the US, Gaga’s first-week album sales are expected to surpasses the 1 million mark. This is partly because her biggest fan base is there, and amazon’s 99 cent sale of the album didn’t hurt.

This was expected, though, so we can’t all be too shocked. The album is great and Gaga is great, so as long as the top-earners are deserving, I’m happy.

Adele May Lose Her Number One Spot To Kate Bush

Christian Allaire — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:52:38 +0000

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For what seems like forever, Adele has been dominating the charts. But after reviewing UK sales, it seems as though soul-singer Adele may lose her number one spot on the charts to Kate Bush.

The iconic singer just released her new album, ‘Director’s Cut,’ which is already expected to top the UK artist album sales this week and potentially beat out Adele’s ’21′ for the first time in 15 weeks.

Bush’s album has sold 17,562 copies this week, compared to the Adele’s 14,645.

Adele is currently number one on the Canadian and American charts. It’s so crazy how big of a hit Adele has become – literally everyone loves her. And I don’t blame them, because I love her too.

I don’t think Bush will beat out Adele in Canada and America, but it looks as though she’s about to be dethroned in the UK.

Creator of ‘Skins’ Quits The Show

Christian Allaire — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 16:09:06 +0000

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The creator of controversial TV show ‘Skins” has called it quits, reports Perez Hilton.

Series creator Jamie Brittain has quit the show, and now its future is said to be in jeopardy. A spokesman for the network Channel 4 has released a statement:

“Jamie has decided after five hit series to move on to write new projects and we wish him well. ‘Skins’ is written by a team of young writers who are hard at work on the new series which is currently in pre-production.”

Creator Brittain himself even released a statement, saying “I’ve just said everything I wanted to say. It’s time for new writers to come forward and portray their truth about teenagers. I’m really sad to leave, but I’m confident that the writing and production team I’ve left behind will do an awesome job.”

His co-creator Bryan Elsley has been left to work on the American remake, as well as current assistant producer Toby Welch and script producer Neil Ducan, who have taken over running the next season.

If the ratings don’t hold up, though, and its content doesn’t live up to the hype – the show could be in danger. It’s hard enough for new shows to really take off, but with the creator just taking off – it doesn’t look good. Especially with the cast due to be changed at the end of the next series as well, there is a strong chance the sixth series will be the show’s last.

The show has already been subjected to much controversy. Its racy content has been deemed inappropriate by many of the older public, as it deals with sex and drugs at such a young demographic, so the show already has a target on its back. What do you think though, will you miss ‘Skins’ if it leaves?

Dan Black interview on Side B – Not Your Average Pop

Dan Busheikin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:45:18 +0000

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HPNTZ – the Rihanna/Biggie pseudo-mashup – may have garnered a lot of attention for Dan Black, but it is his album Un that won me over. Dan has an incredible talent for crafting catchy yet credible pop songs,and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to discuss his music with him.

Steven Tyler and Aerosmith Plan Summer Gigs in Europe

Angelina Irinici — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:54:15 +0000

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It’s recently been a rough go for Steven Tyler and Aerosmith since the rockers have been toying with the idea of breaking up for the past six months now. MTV news, however, has reported they have put those ideas to rest and are planning tour dates for this upcoming summer. Guitarist Joe Perry and drummer Joey Kramer confirmed the news via twitter.

“We are looking to crossing the big pond with Aerosmith this summer for some rockin’ festivals,” Perry tweeted on Tuesday.

Kramer followed the next day, “Aerosmith is back!”

The “rockin” festivals include a gig in England and Sweden. Billboard magazine reported that the band will be adding a number of European dates to its summer line-up after confirming a spot at England’s Download Festival in June of this year.

After months of public bickering and reports that the group was possibly looking to replace Tyler, it seems the long-time-running rock group has put their differences aside for now. Aside from Download Festival on June 13, the group is scheduled to play at the Sweden Rock Festival on June 10, and a U.K. spokesperson is saying to look out for more European dates for the band. Aerosmith has also been offered South American tour dates, but no shows have been confirmed yet.

Replacing Tyler would not be a clever move for the group as Download promoter Andy Copping of Live nation U.K. believes.

“There’s no Aerosmith without Steven Tyler,” he said. “There’s no point in entertaining anything other than (with) Steven Tyler.” He added that booking the band without Tyler was “never part of the conversation” with Aerosmith’s management.

In October after announcing an indefinite hiatus, it seemed positive that the band was at a near breakup; especially after Perry tweeted a month later they were looking for a new lead singer. Only one day later Tyler was back onstage with Perry in New Orleans. He proved that rumor wrong, however a month after that the 61-year-old checked himself into rehab for painkiller addiction, which made fans nervous about a possible breakup. Sounds like they are stable for now.

Little Boots – The Future of Pop

Kathleen Newman-Bremang — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:15:15 +0000

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Forget the Gaga comparisons. Little Boots may be Britain’s reigning blonde synth-pop bombshell, but you won’t catch her hitting red carpets with Kermit the Frog or posing half nude on the cover of Rolling Stone. Plus, she’s not opposed to wearing pants.

To put it simply, Little Boots is just a little more low-key.

“All that sex stuff is really not me,” Boots says of the comparison. “We’re both blonde and we both have a lot of synth in our music [but] I don’t really pay attention to it. I’m not offended by it. I’m not annoyed. I’m just kind of like whatever.”

With the matching hair colours, the shared affinity for producing exhilarating electro-pop songs and corresponding friendships with Perez Hilton, it looks like it’s going to take this songstress from across the pond a little bit longer to shed the “UK’s Lady Gaga” tag, whether she pays attention to the pundits or not.

When andPOP caught up with Little Boots at the Cadillac Lounge on Queen Street West in Toronto, she was just Victoria Hesketh—her infamous platinum hair tied back in a messy ponytail, sipping on water, raving about all the nice Canadians she’d met and looking more like the girl you’d sit next to in Psych 101 than an international pop diva.

Hesketh entered the UK music scene back when she was actually a student at the University of Leeds with a little indie rock band called Dead Disco. But when Hesketh’s dreams of making funky, danceable pop tunes clashed with the band’s direction, she ditched the boys and took to YouTube to broadcast her talents. With that, she became a bit of a sensation.

YouTubers take note. Since her covers of MGMT and Madonna blew up on the site, Little Boots hasn’t looked back. The British media hailed her as the future of pop after winning the BBC Sound of 2009 Poll and garnering a coveted Brit Award nomination before she actually had a full-length album in hand.

“I was on the covers of magazines and I hadn’t even [officially] released a song. It felt like a big bubble of all this talk and all this hype…it was all really scary,” she says. “But once the album came out, the bubble kind of burst and I was ready for the backlash.”

But the backlash never came. The album, “Hands,” hit #5 on the U.K. charts and went gold.

“Now I’m relieved. I just feel like I can get on with my job now and stop worrying.”

Little Boots’ job, it seems, is to provide fans with sweet and sugary synth-pop. It’s that upbeat, sophisticated sound reminiscent of early-80s acts like Depeche Mode and Eurythmics paired with Kylie-esque poppy vocals and light, soothing lyrics. But in a post T-Pain pop climate, Little Boots’ reliance on synth-driven songs and a tech-heavy sound could be perceived as just a resurgence of a passing fad.

The pint-sized powerhouse is quick to defend her art.

“In American hip-hop, it’s become this really cool thing, but in the UK and Europe, dance pop has always been around and it was never really abnormal,” Hesketh explains. “To me, to say synth is a genre is really kind of weird because to me it’s just a tool—like a guitar. It’s like saying ‘guitar music.’ It’s just what I play,” she says with a wave of her hand as if to fend off detractors.

“I guess it’s good for me that it’s kind of taking off [here] but I’d probably do it even if it wasn’t cool,” she laughs.

Well, with the current disco-infused hits of late, Little Boots seems to fit right in. The singer is clearly an avid fan of pop music, revealing her admiration of The Beatles to an unexpected love of Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus.

“I love Miley songs. I will totally admit to it. She has some great pop songs.”

But the same machine that gave us Hannah Montana herself is the same one Hesketh slams for producing too much, as she’s pegged, “stupid pop.”

“I think pop got so caught up in the industry in the last 10 years or whatever so now it’s all too calculated. I mean, you can see when something is a genuinely good song and when something has been tweaked together by boardrooms full of A&R men in suits,” she says.

Then, Victoria Hesketh, self-proclaimed techie nerd and synth-pop enthusiast, seems to have a moment. After denouncing a subset of the very genre that she is now a reputable member, Little Boots smiles and adds:

“I just love good pop music. I’ve always enjoyed that kind of music. I want to make music that everyone can enjoy and everyone can connect to. I don’t want to make some weird white noise record,” she says.

“I want to make something fun that everyone can enjoy and make them feel happy or positive.”

Catch Band of Skulls In Concert And On The New Moon Soundtrack

Ilan Mester — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:30:52 +0000

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If you haven’t heard of “Band of Skulls,” you will very soon. These UK rockers had the first ever global iTunes “Single of the Week” back in April for their debut song “I Know What I am,” and they just keep taking the rock world by storm.

The trio were voted Best Live Band at Toronto’s NXNE festival in June and are fresh off Lollapalooza. Twi-hards may already know “Band of Skulls” has been confirmed to be included alongside Radiohead and Muse in the upcoming “New Moon” Soundtrack, out in November.

The alternative rockers will be touring across Canada throughout September in support of their debut album “Baby Darling Doll Face Honey,” currently available in Canada. Canadian tour stops include Vancouver (Sept. 3), Calgary (Sept. 4), Edmonton (Sept. 5), Ottawa (Sept. 7), Montreal (Sept. 9) and Toronto (Sept. 11).

In the meantime, check out the video for the uber catchy “I Know What I Am.”

http://www.mtv.ca/music/video_content.jhtml?id=1619417

Radiohead, Kings Of Leon Among Reading And Leeds Performers

Eva Lam — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:06:50 +0000

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Radiohead, Kings of Leon and Arctic Monkeys have been tapped to headline this summer’s Reading and Leeds Festivals in the U.K.

The festivals are among the country’s largest annual music showcases and will be held in two different parts of England over the Bank Holiday weekend from Aug. 28 to 30. Most of the performers will play both events.

Among the other confirmed bands: Fall Out Boy, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, the Prodigy, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, Placebo, Deftones, Funeral for a Friend, Maximo Park, White Lies and Glasvegas.

Tickets went on sale Monday; more information can be found at the festivals’ websites here and here.

Radiohead will be making their debut headline performances at the festivals, though the Oxford-based group previously played Reading in 1994. The band picked up two wins at this year’s Grammy Awards, including best alternative music album for “In Rainbows.”