Janet Jackson will open music awards show
Janet Jackson will open the American Music Awards on Nov. 22 and no doubt she will do a thorough check of all wardrobe functions before she takes the stage. Jackson has performed at the awards show three times previously but not since 1998. Other big names performing at this one: Whitney Houston, Rihanna, Green Day, Shakira, Lil’ Wayne, Mary J. Blige, Keith Urban, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, The Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. The show is in L.A. but we can watch it live on ABC from 8 to 11 p.m. ET
Photo by Dan MacMedan
November 09, 2009
Michael Buble, Randy Travis head up digital holiday album out Dec. 1
Every year around this time, dozens of A-list musicians and groups unveil their Christmas albums – already in the past month or so, we’ve seen releases from Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond, Andrea Bocelli, Sugarland and even Bob Dylan. But for those wanting a little variety in their holiday playlist cheer, Warner Bros. Records is releasing the digital-only Gift Wrapped: 20 Songs That Keep on Giving, available exclusively on iTunes Dec. 1. The album features both Christmas and Hanukkah tracks from artists such as Michael Buble, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Regina Spektor and the Flaming Lips. In addition, nine songs on the album were previously unavailable to music fans, including My Chemical Romance’s cover of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You, Blake Shelton’s Silent Night and R.E.M.’s take on Deck the Halls. If listening to these by the yule log doesn’t get you in the holiday spirit, nothing will.
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Records
November 03, 2009
George Strait and Reba McEntire hit the road
Country music lovers, here's the ticket for 2010: Chart-topping superstars George Strait and Reba McEntire will play to arena crowds around the country from late January through April. (Click here for tour dates and venues.) Strait’s recent release TWANG debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's 200 and the Top Country Albums charts. Reba’s new album, Keep On Loving You, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart – her first solo studio album to do so.
Photo by Donald Lesko
October 30, 2009
'Kiss' drummer Criss had breast cancer
Peter Criss, the Catman of the rock band Kiss, is a breast cancer survivor. He came out, if you will, earlier this month because it seemed right to do so during national Breast Cancer Awareness month, but he didn't do so until, as he puts it: "I prayed on it." I talked with him last week and found him to be a man of faith who really wants to help men who might not otherwise pay attention to their health. "I'm not a holy roller, but I have a whole way of being spiritual and, yes, I do stop by church once a week... Through all the craziness in my life, I would always go and pray," says Criss, bottom left in photo. So he asked God whether he should announce that he's had breast cancer and he got a yes. His aim, Criss says, is to let men know that they can get breast cancer, too, (about 1% of cases) and that early detection is the key to living. "Don't think it will go away." Criss was diagnosed in 2008 after he discovered a lump in his left breast, which was removed surgically. He didn't need chemo or other treatment because it was found early and he's grateful for that. Criss is working on a solo album and a memoir and he says "every day to me is a holiday because I got to go back to my work."
October 16, 2009
Linkin Park's Chester Bennington branches out with Dead By Sunrise
From classic rockers such as Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton to Jack White and Dave Grohl today, musicians have long had side projects in addition to their usual bands. The latest to moonlight with another group is Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, who teamed with members of Orgy and Julien-K to form Dead By Sunrise. The new band issued its debut album, Out of Ashes, this week, and our Brian Truitt says the songs — some of which deal with Bennington’s own struggles with divorce as well as drug and alcohol addiction — are darker, more dynamic and less hip-hop-influenced than Linkin Park’s. Brian talked with Bennington, 33, right after a sound check on Wednesday, so read below for their conversation and check out a music video for the new single, Crawl Back In.
Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Records
October 15, 2009
'Twilight: New Moon' soundtrack gets release tomorrow
Not only do Twilight fans love their vampire romances, they also like their tunes. Due to demand, the soundtrack for The Twilight Saga: New Moon will be released tomorrow online and in stores, four days prior to its originally scheduled date. The first single from the album, Death Cab for Cutie’s Meet Me on the Equinox, is already a hit on rock radio (check out the music video below), and the record also features tracks by the Killers, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Muse (one of Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s faves) and Grizzly Bear. For those needing a test run before buying the album, MySpace Music is streaming the soundtrack in its entirety though the end of today.
Photo courtesy of Atlantic Records
October 14, 2009
'NCIS' soundtrack coming
NCIS, the most-watched scripted show on TV, will release a second volume of its official soundtrack on Nov. 3. I'm an NCIS fan but somehow I missed that first soundtrack. Anyway, the new one has new and unreleased tracks from big names like Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow and Bob Dylan. The latter contributes a song, California, from a never-before-released session. (I just heard an NPR segment on Dylan this morning in which they talked about his new Christmas album and played him delivering a raspy carol. But I digress.) Michael Weatherly (left) — who plays Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo on NCIS— also is featured on the coming soundtrack. How did I not know that DiNozzo could sing? If you have an NCIS fan on your holiday list, this could be just the thing.
Photo by Sonja Flemming/CBS
October 13, 2009
No vacation from celebrities
I'm back to work after a trip to the West but no matter how far any of us go anymore we can't escape celebrity news, right? The morning I departed was the morning that David Letterman's sex-with-staffers scandal was the talk of the airport; I returned the day Michael Jackson's new single This Is It — officially released just yesterday — was leaking. (You can listen to it here.) The documentary This Is It will hit theaters on Oct. 28. Check out the trailer on the movie site and I bet you'll want to see it regardless of your opinion of Jackson, who died in June.
Speaking of documentaries, mark your calendars for Nov. 2. That's when Poliwood — Barry Levinson's look at the connection between politics and Hollywood — will air on Showtime. I wrote about it last spring when I interviewed, Tim Daly, and it was in limited release. Tim's not the only celebrity featured in this movie, much of which was shot during the 2008 presidential campaign. Quite an array of others are too, including Annette Bening, Sting, Susan Sarandon, Elvis Costello, Kerry Washington, Angela Bassett, Will.i.am and more.
Because I was in Colorado last week I got caught up in baseball's National League Division playoffs and I was sorry to see the fun of rooting for the Rockies ending last night. It's good to be home
September 21, 2009
The Proclaimers bring their hit Scottish tunes back to the U.S.
Photos by Colin Bell
September 11, 2009
Meat Loaf is in Hallmark Channel movie Saturday
Meat Loaf would probably take over the stage if he ever won an Emmy. He loves acting and I was surprised to learn that he considers himself an actor first, a musician second. He's done a fair amount of acting and will be in an episode of Monk Sept. 25. "I'm so far out on a limb in that; really over the top. I'm scared to see it," he says. And yet, "I want a series so bad," he confesses. Why? "I just do. A series is like theater, the only difference is you aren't doing the same scene every night."
A few more things I learned about Meat:
• He's working on a new album, which he calls his best one yet, though at times the stress of it feels "like a giant tsunami" is coming down on him.
• He's aiming for a spring release and a long tour after the new album is out.
• He's an Adam Lambert groupie and admits that he voted for Lambert 100 times when Lambert was on American Idol. He also goes for Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, saying they are the kind of acts that "are good for music."
• He's a bit of a yo-yo dieter, having lost 100 pounds some 15 years ago. Most recently, he's been using Nutrisystem on and off but when the album is done he wants to get rid of 30 pounds "again."
