With a new DVD landing and more touring set for 2010, the members of Creed (booking agent) -- reunited after a nearly five-year split -- plan to keep the band a going concern for the foreseeable future.
"As long as things still just flow smoothly, I don't see why we can't," guitarist Mark Tremonti tells Billboard.com. "Now that the record's out and the first tour's been done and everything, there haven't been any fights or disagreements...It feels good. We've been gone a long time, and we've got a lot to prove, still."
Tremonti says Creed plans to hit the road again in late April "for about a four or five-week Stateside tour of all the tertiary markets that we didn't hit last summer." The group will play in Australia, New Zealand and South America in June, then return to North America for another summer tour of mostly amphitheaters.
Creed's first studio album in eight years, "Full Circle," debuted at No. 2 on the Top 200 chart following its Oct. 27 release. On Dec. 8, the group is releasing its first-ever concert DVD, "Creed Live," a 17-song set that was filmed in Houston and set a world record for the most cameras (239) used for a live concert recording. Director Daniel E. Catullo III also used "big freeze" effects popularized by "The Matrix" film series.
"We're happy with it," Tremonti says. "I don't know how much of a difference all those cameras really made in the end...The coolest thing is we got a plaque that says we're Guinness Book of World Record holders, which is something I never thought I was going to be unless I grew my fingernails real long or something really silly."
Tremonti will not be idle while waiting for Creed to resume touring, however. He and Myles Kennedy have regrouped in Florida to continue work on the third album by Alter Bridge, the group the guitarist and Creed mates Scott Phillips and Brian Marshall formed when Creed first split. Tremonti says they hope to be ready for that band to hit the studio in February and finish before Creed heads out again. Alter Bridge is slated to tour Europe starting in October, with North American dates expected in late 2010 and 2011, followed by European festival appearances that summer.
"Me and Myles need to get on the same page with our ideas, and once we're there we'll realize what kind of work load we have," Tremonti says. "We don't have much time to spare. We feel like we're cutting it really close, but I feel like I'm very well organized at this point, which makes me feel better."
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Though Chris Brown (booking agent) hasn't discussed the intimate details about his assault of Rihanna (booking agent) in interviews to promote the Dec. 8 release of "Graffiti," several tracks from the just-leaked album seem to directly address the singer's feelings about his ex-girlfriend.
"I might have cheated in the beginning/ I was wrong for writing 'Disturbia'/ But I meant it in 'Forever'/We were supposed to be together/And I can't let you go," Brown sings on "Famous Girl." The 20-year-old wrote the song "Disturbia" for Rihanna's "Good Girl Gone Bad" album, while "Forever" likely refers to his own hit of the same name that spawned a viral wedding video.
Brown also sings, "Sorry I bust the windows out your car," on the song, possibly alluding to reports that he smashed the window of a vehicle during an argument with Rihanna that occurred before the February assault.
In addition to "Famous Girl," Brown dabbles in various influences throughout "Graffiti," from dance and rock to reggae, pop and of course, R&B. The slow jam "Take My Time" features Tank and recalls Brown's smooth-talking 2008 single "Take You Down." On the '80s-influenced "I.Y.A.," Brown AutoTune'd voice echoes, "I wanna wake up in your arms." Producers Da Bizness and Brian Kennedy, who also worked on "Disturbia," borrow from Eric Prydz's 2005 European Hot 100 chart-topper "Call on Me" for the dance-R&B track "Pass Out."
"Wait," featuring Trey Songz (booking agent) and Game, delivers a thumping beat that rivals "I Can Transform Ya," Brown's lead single from "Graffiti" that currently stands at No. 20 on the Hot 100. The ballad "Fallin' Down" incorporates rock elements and features Brown's vocals at their most raw. Brown also dabbles in reggae on the song "Brown Skin Girl" featuring Sean Paul.
Like "Famous Girl," Brown's second single "Crawl" implies that the singer would like to be reunited with his ex-girlfriend (the song recently entered Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at No. 69). On "Sing Like Me," however, Brown expresses an entirely different sentiment, boasting about his celebrity status and his skills with women over a beat that harkens R. Kelly's "Feelin' on Yo Booty."
One of the most striking tracks on the album, "I'll Go" is a lush ballad that creatively blends piano with violins and electric guitar. "There's a star in the palm of my hand/ And I think it's yours/ If you don't want it then I'll understand/ You deserve much more," laments Brown.
Other songs on "Graffiti" include the apologetic mid-tempo ballad "So Cold;" the flashy, Plies (booking agent)-assisted "What I Do;" and "Lucky Me," on which Brown thanks music for keeping him strong.
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Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue is to release a download-only concert album, "Kylie Live in New York."
Set for global release December 14, the album was recorded at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom earlier this fall as part of the diminutive singer's first North American tour.
The 25-song set contains live versions of international hits "Confide in Me," "The Locomotion" and "Can't Get You Out of My Head" -- the latter in its remixed form with the New Order track "Blue Monday" and renamed "Boombox/Can't Get Blue Monday Out of My Head." ITunes customers will also receive three bonus tracks.
International release is being handled by Parlophone/EMI, excluding Australia and New Zealand, where the artist is signed to Mushroom Records.
To preview the release, YouTube will be running a one-hour audio stream of the first half of the show from midnight U.K. time December 12. The stream will be available for 24 hours.
Kylie Minogue's debut U.S. tour took place September 30 to October 11 this year.
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The 52 annual Grammy nominations were announced this week on a Wednesday night TV special hosted by LL Cool J (booking agent), and it was definitely ladies night, with Beyonce (booking agent) (10 nominations), Taylor Swift (booking agent)(eight), and Lady Gaga (booking agent) (five) leading the pack.
But one diva who was somewhat surprisingly shut out was onetime Grammy sweetheart Whitney Houston (booking agent).
The Grammy committee usually loves comeback stories. Whether it's artists who left the spotlight for a while and then returned with a vengeance (Bonnie Raitt (booking agent), Natalie Cole (booking agent), Tina Turner (booking agent)), veterans who reinvented their careers by collaborating with other musicians (Carlos Santana (booking agent), Herbie Hancock (booking agent), Robert Plant (booking agent)), or artists who struggled with their demons and made great music as a result (Dixie Chicks (booking agent), Amy Winehouse (booking agent)), such rising-from-ashes back stories usually strongly resonate with industry voters. In this regard, Whitney Houston's "comeback" album I Look To You--released after the singer's long hiatus, divorce from Bobby Brown (booking agent), and infamous battles with drugs--seemed a shoo-in for multiple nominations.
Her record label Arista seemed so sure of Whitney's chances, in fact, that it moved her album release date up in order for it to qualify for this year's voting window. But Whitney was actually completely shut out, with NO nominations whatsoever--not only was she snubbed in the major categories like Album Of The Year, but even in the secondary Pop and R&B categories. This was a shock considering her Grammy history of 24 nominations and six wins, including winning Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year in 1994.
Many industry people and fans alike are wondering why Whitney was overlooked this time. Some say it might have been all the hype. From the moment it was announced that Whitney would be releasing her first original studio album in seven years, the Arista promo machine went into overdrive--with Whitney hosting a star-studded listening party with her longtime mentor, Arista honcho Clive Davis (at which Clive reminded everyone of Whitney's millions and millions of albums sold), and doing a headline-garnering Oprah interview about her struggles. And it seemed many were rooting for her, with I Look To You debuting at #1 with more than 300,000 units sold in its first week (it has sold about 800,000 as of this writing), but the hype was still a little overwhelming.
But then there was Whitney's series of disappointing, poorly received performances on Good Morning America, The X Factor, and Dancing With The Stars, on which her now-hoarse voice was a mere shadow of its former glory, and many started to doubt that this was much of a comeback at all. Perhaps the Grammy voters doubted it as well. Guess Whitney will just have to settle for the lifetime-achievement "International Artist" trophy she picked up at last month's American Music Awards.
Late Thursday, a pair of brand-new Eminem (booking agent) tracks from his upcoming Relapse: Refill album hit the Internet, and while both are filled with his trademark lyrical irreverence, a line in one of the songs — "Elevator" — is raising more than a few eyebrows.
In the track, Em jabs at former 'NSYNC member Lance Bass and a pair of former "American Idol" contestants, Clay Aiken (booking agent) and Adam Lambert (booking agent), all of whom are openly gay. While the actual wording of the lyric is in question, here's what Eminem appears to be rapping, according to several sites, including ThisIs50.com:
"Sorry, Lance, Mr. Lambert and Aiken ain't gonna make it/ They get so mad, when I call them both fake/ It's all these f---ing voices in my head, I can't take it/ Someone shut that f---ing baby up, before I shake it."
However, as gay-news site Towleroad.com has noted, "fake it's" sounds phonetically like "f----ts," a similarity that they claim is anything but coincidental, given the rapper's previous history with the word.
"Eminem cleverly avoids using the word 'f----ts" in his new song 'Elevator' when referring to Adam Lambert (booking agent) and Clay Aiken (booking agent), replacing it with the words 'fake it's,' " site founder Andy Towle writes in a post. "Of course, phonetically, it sounds just like 'f----ts.' "
Contacted by MTV News on Friday (December 4), a label rep for Eminem had no comment, and official lyrics for the song were not available at press time.
At the moment, Lambert seems to be leaning toward the less provocative lyric. On his Twitter account Thursday night, Lambert wrote, "Wow, Eminem (booking agent) mentioned me in a song?! I must be doing something right!? Even if he used the 'F word,' whatever," then followed that up with a second tweet, which reads: "Oh, he says 'fake it.' My bad."
In 2001, Eminem (booking agent) drew the ire of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation over his use of gay slurs on songs like "Kill You" and "Criminal" — from his The Marshall Mathers LP — which featured lines like "You f----ts keep eggin' me on/ Till I have you at knifepoint, then you beg me to stop," and "My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge/ That'll stab you in the head/ Whether you're a f-g or a lez."
GLAAD called the lyrics "homophobic" and "hate filled," and protested outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles during the 2001 Grammy Awards, where Eminem (booking agent) was nominated for a number of awards, including Album of the Year. During the show, Em answered his critics by performing a now-famous duet with Elton John (booking agent), which ended with the two embracing and Eminem (booking agent) giving the finger to the crowd.
In the lead-up to the 2001 Grammys, Moby also famously called Eminem (booking agent) "a homophobe," which Em responded to by referring to the DJ/producer as a "36-year-old, bald-headed f-g" on the song "Without Me," and threatening to fight him during the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. Eminem said in interviews at the time that the content of his songs shouldn't be taken literally, and told MTV News' Kurt Loder, "I think that some people are a little too uptight, and take things a little bit too seriously."
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Two high-profile collaborations from Alicia Keys' (booking agent) forthcoming Element of Freedom LP hit the Internet on Friday (December 4) — along with news that Jay-Z (booking agent) will not be featured on Keys' retake of "Empire State of Mind," although plans originally called for him to contribute a new verse to the song.
One of the collaborations, "Put It in a Love Song," a duet with Beyonce (booking agent) is a bouncy pop track about a girl who just wants her lover to write her a song and prove to her he's worth her time. The song features a brief chat ("Hey yo, B!" "What up, A?") between B and Keys at the beginning.
On the other, "Un-thinkable (I'm Ready)," Keys gets a helping hand from Drake (booking agent), but he sings backing vocals rather than contributing a rapped verse. The song is a gentle, dreamy ballad about contemplating a relationship, with Drake softly crooning in the background.
Finally, although Jay-Z (booking agent) was originally scheduled to contribute a new verse to Keys' remake of their #1 single, "Empire State of Mind," a rep for Keys confirmed to MTV News on Friday that Jay will not appear on the new version of the song, which is titled "Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down." No reason was given for the change of plans.
Earlier this fall, Keys promised fans they should "expect the unexpected" on the disc. "You can expect, like, to be moved," she said. "You can expect to really be into a zone. I think you can expect the unexpected, 'cause there's going to be things that you're going to be like, 'Wow, is that her? Is that her?' And I love that about it. You can definitely expect to see major growth, but you're going to fall in love with this album."
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When Rihanna (booking agent) first arrived on the scene, she was a sun-kissed Caribbean singer who managed to score a minor hit with the reggae-tinged "Pon de Replay." And with each subsequent album, the Def Jam star has evolved, with hits like "Umbrella," "S.O.S." and sweeping ballads such as "Take a Bow" added to the mix.
On Thursday night at Manhattan's Hammerstein Ballroom, Rih Rih's repertoire was on display as the singer powered through a 30-minute set during a special performance for The Release, a MySpace Music concert series. She was continuing to celebrate the release of her fourth album, Rated R.
"New York City, make some noise!" Rihanna urged the crowd.
The leggy singer arrived onstage decked out in a shimmering sequined minidress as paparazzi pictures of her appeared on the television screens behind her. Rihanna's accessories, in contrast, were dark: black shades, black gloves and a heavy dose of black eye makeup.
The booming synths of "Wait Your Turn" then flooded the sound system.
"I pitch with a grenade," she sang as two backup singers and dancers flanked her. "Swing away if you're feeling brave."
The lights quickly dimmed after one verse, and Rihanna took a seat onstage as she launched into a sultry version of "Russian Roulette."
Along with "Take a Bow" and "Disturbia," Rihanna (booking agent) delivered a spirited rendition of "Don't Stop the Music," during which she swaggered back and forth across the stage, at one point fondling a male mannequin. The audience roared in approval.
After a quick wardrobe adjustment, Rihanna (booking agent) returned to the stage, this time with a black vest over her dress and coordinating boots. T.I.'s "Live Your Life" kicked in, and Rihanna (booking agent) appeared at the top of the stairs near the middle of the stage. By the time she hit the bottom step, "Run This Town" blasted through the speakers and Rihanna — sans Jay-Z (booking agent) and Kanye West (booking agent) and with a whiplike microphone in her hand — took command again.
"Feel it coming in the air," she sang. "And there's screams from everywhere/ I'm addicted to the thrill/ It's a dangerous love affair."
Rihanna (booking agent) closed things out with her Grammy-winning hit "Umbrella," for which fans fittingly opened countless umbrellas in celebration of the hits that rained down on them tonight, giving the Ballroom an appearance not unlike an aerial shot of a domed stadium.
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Drake, Mos Def, Q-Tip, and Eminem are just a few of the Hip Hop artists who scored Grammy nominations yesterday (December 2).
For Best Rap Album, the following artists were nominated: Common (Universal Mind Control), Eminem (Relapse), Flo Rida (R.O.O.T.S.), Mos Def (The Ecstatic), and Q-Tip (The Renaissance).
Notable Grammy newcomer’s include Drake and Kid Cudi who were both nominated for their first ever Grammy. Both artists received nominations for Best Rap Solo Performance and Kid Cudi also received nominations for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group.
Highly anticipated ‘09 albums including Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 and Wale’s Attention Deficit were left without nominations because of their release dates and the Grammy deadline.
The 52nd annual Grammy Awards will air on January 31, 2010. See below for a complete list of Hip Hop nominations:
Best Rap Album
Common – Universal Mind Control
Eminem – Relapse
Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S.
Mos Def – The Ecstatic
Q-Tip – The Renaissance
Best Rap Solo Performance
Drake – “Best I Ever Had”
Eminem – “Beautiful”
Jay-Z – “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”
Kid Cudi – “Day ‘N’ Nite”
Mos Def – “Casa Bey”
Best Rap Song
Drake – “Best I Ever Had”
Kid Cudi – “Day ‘N’ Nite”
T.I. & Justin Timberlake – “Dead And Gone”
Jay-Z – “D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)”
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West – “Run This Town”
Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group
Beastie Boys & Nas – “Too Many Rappers”
Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent – “Crack A Bottle”
Fabolous & Jay-Z – “Money Goes, Honey Stay”
Kid Cudi, Kanye West & Common – “Make Her Say”
Kanye West & Young Jeezy – “Amazing”
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Beyonce & Kanye West – “Ego”
Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Ne-Yo – “Knock You Down”
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West – “Run This Town”
The Lonely Island & T-Pain – “I’m On A Boat”
T.I. & Justin Timberlake – “Dead And Gone”
Kid Cudi's upcoming album, tentatively titled Cudder, will be very different from his debut, according to the emcee. After crafting the critically acclaimed Man on the Moon, Cudi recently told MTV about his new album, noting that it will feature music that will make it vary from his first official release.
“We got Snoop. We got Pharrell. I just was in the studio with him. We got Jim Jonsin. I did a record with him. I’m gonna get back in the studio with him. Trying to get the right amount of hit records on this. It’s gonna be the complete opposite of what Man on the Moon was. Man on the Moon was so serious. This one is gonna be more playful and fun. It’s about having a good time.”
Presently, Cudi is touring with Lady Gaga and is up for two Grammy's.
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Trace Adkins will play the role of a bodyguard named "Scared" in a TV pilot shooting this week in Nashville. Titled Tough Trade, the original pilot is the first for EPIX, a new entertainment venture between Viacom, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (a division of Viacom's Paramount Pictures unit) and Lionsgate. Press materials refer to the pilot as "a provocative, contemporary one-hour drama about a three-generation Nashville music dynasty whose penchant for drink, debauchery and divorce has left them morally corrupt and on the verge of bankruptcy.
The family with little left is pinning its hopes on its former black sheep, a budding country star turned alternative-rock heart throb." Music producer, musician and songwriter T Bone Burnett will be the executive music producer for the project. Burnett, whose production credits include Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' Raising Sand album, won five Grammy Awards for his work on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? film soundtrack.
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