Lady Gaga

The hits just keep on coming... literally. “Now That’s What I Call Music 39” will street on Aug. 9. 

The latest edition of the multi-artist compilations includes such Billboard chart toppers as LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” and Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything,” as well as such top 10 hits as  Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” Lady Gaga’s “The Edge of Glory” and Britney Spears’ “Till The World Ends.”

The set also contains two No. 1s from Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart: Blake Shelton’s “Honey Bee” and Jason Aldean’s “Dirt Road Anthem.”

And there’s more! Although details are scant, there are special plans for the “Now!” series as it turns 40, with standard and deluxe CD and digital editions of the collections. Since its stateside launch in 1998, the originally U.K. series has sold more than 80 million copies in the U.S.

NOW That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 39 tracklisting

1. Katy Perry                                                                 Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
2. LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock         Party Rock Anthem
3. Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer                 Give Me Everything
4. Lady Gaga                                                                The Edge Of Glory
5. Britney Spears                                                           Till The World Ends
6. Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull                                  On The Floor
7. Lupe Fiasco                                                              The Show Goes On
8. Tinie Tempah featuring Eric Turner                              Written in the Stars
9. The Black Eyed Peas                                                 Just Can’t Get Enough
10. Bruno Mars                                                              The Lazy Song
11. Selena Gomez                                                         Who Says
12. Jessie J featuring B.o.B                                           Price Tag
13. Hot Chelle Rae                                                         Tonight Tonight
14. OneRepublic                                                            Good Life
15. Jason Aldean                                                          Dirt Road Anthem
16. Blake Shelton                                                          Honey Bee
BONUS TRACKS: “NOW What’s Next” New Music Preview
17. Maria K.                                                                  Starbucks Smile
18. Jessica Sutta                                                           Show Me
19. Chiddy Bang                                                           Mind Your Manners
20. DEV featuring The Cataracs                                     Bass Down Low


 

Rebecca Black, ohhhhh

Rebecca Black should have stopped while she was ahead, but human nature being what it is, we knew that wasn't going to happen. “My Moment,” her follow up to on-line phenomenon “Friday” is meant to address her nay-sayers and, we presume, to prove that she is a formidable talent.  Sadly, it succeeds on neither count, but, on the fame meter, where all that matters is keeping your name in the news for another day, Black is a big winner.

To recap, earlier this year, a simple little song about waiting for the pleasures of Friday, hit YouTube. It was performed, though not written, by a then-13-year old named Rebecca Black. The song quickly became a viral sensation as some dubbed it the “worst song” ever recorded. A few months later, the YouTube clip had surpassed 100 million hits. Suits involving Ark Music Factory, whom Black’s parents paid $2000 to help develop their daughter’s talent,  and Black started to fly and the “Friday” clip got pulled over some legal issues.

In the meantime, Black, with tremendous poise and likability, appeared on a number of TV shows and upped her Q rating. Despite criticisms flung her way about her dubious talent, she exhibited grace beyond her years.  Katy Perry incorporated Black in her video for “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”

Oh, we know it would be next to impossible to walk away on top like that, especially with a potentially huge fan base, and, of course, Black couldn’t.  Especially because, all you haters, she has something to say to you. You can hate her all you want, but the now 14-year old has worked so hard—all her life, really— for her moment and you can’t take that away from her. She has real talent and she’s going to prove it to you in the “My Moment” video via her autotuned voice, her  band, whom the Partridge Family put to shame, and her awesome dance moves, which make Britney Spears’ recent robotic, stiff motions look like Bob Fosse.

She’s been media schooled within an inch of her life in the video. We can only imagine the instruction:  “Rebecca! Make sure you remember to look upward when you sing the line ‘My head up in the clouds’!” or “A sideways glance is always a good move during a close up to look coy but not overtly sexy!” and “Smile, smile, smile, especially when you’re delivering the ‘F You’ lines to your haters.”  Does this song actually include the line, “I can’t talk to you right now, I’m getting my paper?”  I’m hoping I’m mishearing that one.

[More after the jump...]

Lady Antebellum has revealed new details about its third studio album, “Own the Night,” coming Sept. 13.

The trio —Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley and the newly-engaged Hillary Scott —wrote 10 of the album’s 12 songs, including first single, “Just A Kiss.”  The group also co-produced the set with longtime producer Paul Worley. The set follows the quintuple Grammy-winner, “Need You Now.”

“We’re definitely more in tune with each other musically and personally than ever,” Haywood said in a statement. “I think we share a real feeling of accomplishment, both as a band and as friends.”

Below is the track listing for “Own The Night.”

1. We Owned The Night
2. Just A Kiss
3. Dancin’ Away With My Heart
4. Friday Night
5. When You Were Mine
6. Cold As Stone
7. Singing Me Home
8. Wanted You More
9. As You Turn Away
10. The Love I’ve Found In You
11. Somewhere Love Remains
12. The Heart Of The World
 

Add another beautifully-shot video to Paramore’s video canon. The clip for “Monster,” which MTV2 premiered today,  opens with the band members floating face up (thankfully) in shallow water like displaced water lilies.
 
Luckily they dry off before they plug in their instruments and start to play the mid-tempo, tortured tune (which is also featured in the new “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” flick. The band is  in a broken down, abandoned hospital, surrounded by dead flowers and exploding light fixtures, and yet, there’s time to play, while they try to figure out what the freak is going on. There's an unseen monster among them and this Scooby gang can't figure out the mystery.

[More after the jump...]

Foster the People

Hey kids, don’t try this at home. In the video for  “Helena Beat,” the new single from Foster the People,  a post-apocalyptic town run by young reprobates captures our band by using one of the oldest tricks in the world: placing a baby decoy in the middle of the road.

Then all manner of gritty, grim scenes follow: some funny, such as one of the tweens looking at a copy of “Playpen” magazine, others a little disturbing, like the ones with kids carrying around guns and then torture an older fellow by sending god-only-knows how many volts into his head turning him into a modern day Frankenstein. If your kids are mad at you, you might not want to let them watch this and get any ideas.

[More after the jump...]

It’s like they were never away. “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie,” the first single from the Red Hot Chili Peppers in four years, is a funky, propulsive slab that is instantly recognizable from Anthony Kiedis’s first line.

The lyrics are typical RHCP:  more dependent on matching the flow and beats of the music rather than creating any real narrative. For example:  “Tick-tock, I want to rock you like the ‘80s/cock-blocking isn’t allowed” or “Rain Dance Maggie advances to the final/who know that she had the goods/ little did I know her body was one delicious vinyl.”

[More after the jump...]

 The cover of Blake Shelton's 'Red River Blue'

 

If there were any doubt that appearing as a mentor on “The Voice” was a good career move for Blake Shelton, he gets the answer—a resounding yes— on next week’s Billboard 200 as “Red River Blue” comes in at No. 1.

The title looks like it will sell up to 115,000, handily surpassing Incubus’s new set, “If Not Now, When,” which will come in at No. 2 with approximately 90,000 units sold.

Other debuts in the top 10 will be Chris Young, whose “Neon” looks good to light up at No. 4, Colbie Caillat’s “All Of You” (read review here), which is in a hot race with Beyonce’s “4” for the No. 5 spot, Theory of a Deadman’s “The Truth Is” and Sublime with Rome’s “Yours Truly,” which are in a dead heat for the No. 9 and No. 10.

Adele’s “21” hangs around at No. 3,  while this week’s No. 1, Beyonce’s “4,” as we mentioned, will drop to either No. 5 or 6. Jason Aldean’s “My Kinda Party” looks good for No. 7, while Selena Gomez & The Scene’s “When The Sun Goes Down” will likely land around No. 8.

Rihanna

 

Credit: Brian Jones

1) Spotify (not ranked): The ad-supported streaming service (or users can choose two premium, ad-free tiers) finally arrives stateside and it brings 15 million tracks with it. We doubt Steve Jobs has lost one minute’s sleep over this.

2) Adele (not ranked): Another week, another record or two: “Rolling in the Deep” becomes the biggest crossover hit in the last 25 years and “21” surpasses Eminem’s “Recovery” as the top-selling digital album since Nielsen SoundScan started keeping track.

3) Rihanna (not ranked): She overtakes Lady Gaga as the female artist with the most “friends” on Facebook, but the little monsters rally. As of this writing, LG is less than 50,000 behind.  We expect her fans will work their fingers down to the nubs to get her back into prime position.

4) Lyor Cohen (not ranked): The Warner Music Group chief of recorded music is expected to get the big bump up to the Chairman/CEO spot, according to the rumor mill, following WMG’s sale to Len Blavatnik by current CEO/chairman Edgar Bronfman and his partners.

5) Chris Brown (not ranked): He draws a record-breaking crowd of more than 18,000 for his Today” show appearance on Friday. Following that and his big wins at the BET Awards, it’s clear that it’s okay to beat a woman and that the public will not only forgive you, but exalt you a few years later. (I would just like to compare this to Leann Rimes, who had an affair with a man she’s now married to, and seems to not be able to come back no matter what and continues to be condemned...just as long as we’ve got our priorities straight).

6) Clear Channel (not ranked): The radio giant takes huge measures to increase awareness for I Heart Radio, its web offering, by announcing a two-day festival, Sept. 23-24, featuring Lady Gaga, Coldplay, The Black Eyed Peas (God, when does that hiatus begin?) Nicki Minaj, Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood and many more. Anyone want to still pretend that radio isn’t still king? Or at least prince?

7) Pandora (not ranked): The service that Clear Channel is taking on head to head with I Heart Radio’s upcoming ability for listeners to create their own station streams, hits 100 million users. That’s a pretty good head start.

8) Jennifer Lopez (not ranked): She likely says yes to “American Idol” for another year for at least $12 million, but no to Marc Anthony as the pair announce their split. I did not see that one coming.

9) Mathew Knowles (not ranked): Did Live Nation set him up by telling his daughter Beyonce that he was allegedly taking money from her? He sues and Live Nation lawyers up with a very big name. Blood may be thicker than water, but money is thicker than blood.

10) Rob Grill (not ranked): Lead singer of the Grassroots dies from complications of a fall. He will live on forever via such perfect pop tunes as “Midnight Confessions” and “Temptation Eyes.”



 

Kelly Clarkson

Credit: AP Photo

Kelly Clarkson’s fifth studio album isn’t out for awhile, but as another song leaks, it sure sounds like a winner.



“Dark Side,” a mid-tempo thumper (girl likes her mid-tempo songs, doesn’t she?) opens with a few wispy, Katy Perry-like “oh,ohs” and a jewelry box-sounding tinker before she gets to the point: can her partner love her “even with her dark side.” 



She sounds sweet and vulnerable before the chorus bursts into an explosion that matches the cacophony going on in her own head.
 â€¨Clarkson’s voice sounds great here. There are times when she’s really belting--and she’s a strong belter-- that the pitch doesn’t match the power. Here, both are perfect.



Between “Dark Side” and “Let Me Down,”  which leaked two weeks ago, sounds like Clarkson’s love life has been less than satisfactory lately. But that’s okay. We’ve had enough of silly little love songs.

Clarkson has been downright lowkey about the leaks, taking them in stride. As she posted on her website on Monday, "Well .....I get back in the states from a vacation and somehow like 50 of my songs are leaked on the Internet?! No point in getting angry because there's nothing I can do so I hope y'all like the music. I can't wait for everybody to hear my actual finished 5th album! On a side note, Tahiti is one of the greatest places I've ever been. It's so beautiful! I had an amazing vacation and and got to hang with some awesome people! There's nothing better than dancing, laughing, having a couple drinks, then more dancing, games, and then more laughing :)"



Clarkson will play at the IHeartRadio festival in Las Vegas, which takes place Sept. 23-24.



Listen to “Dark Side” via Idolator.

Lenny Kravitz

We’ve already declared our love for Lenny Kravitz’s new single, the crunchy, infectious pop delight, “Stand.” And now he’s made a Foo Fighters-worthy video to go along with it. And that is high praise indeed.

The song has a ‘70s vibe to it, so it makes perfect sense that the Paul Hunter-directed clip sets the Wayback Machine to a spoof of “Let’s Make A Deal”--the original with Monty Hall, not the current lame version with Wayne Brady.

Kravitz plays obnoxious host Bart Billingsworth as well as bad, hair-flipping Prince clone, Desmond Richie.  As deal after deal goes south for the contestants, drummer Bubba Washington, also played by Kravitz, pulls back the curtain (literally) on the corruption.

[More after the jump...]