The Grapevine
A lot of news to report in the world of music and I’m pleased to say a lot of it is in the name of charity. With the devastation continuing to overtake Haiti, celebrities across the board are putting their names, brands, and money towards the cause. For music fans, that means we’ve got a lot of great charitable music to buy. The Hope For Haiti compilation, live recordings from the telethon, is the biggest selling album this week, also making it the highest selling charity CD of all time. Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris‘ version of the song, “Hallelujah” from the telethon is the most downloaded song on iTunes and a MUST for all JT or Morris fans. Quincy Jones is rearranging the hit, “We Are the World”, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. Among the new names scheduled to appear on the reworked track – Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and Kanye West. American Idol‘s Simon Cowell is also putting his efforts towards the suffering – producing a charitable version of the R.E.M. song “Everybody Hurts”. Artists expected to appear on the track include Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey, Kylie Minogue, Leona Lewis, Susan Boyle, and Robbie Williams.
In other music news, it seems we’ll have to wait a bit longer for the long awaited new album from our favorite “Dirrty” girl. Christina Aguilera, who is still filming her film debut Burlesque, announced this week that her album Bionic will be released sometime in April, pushing it back from its initial March release date. RCA, the singer’s label, confirmed the news, but did not give an official new release date, only confirming that her first single from the disc will be a track called “Glam” and would impact radio next month. Christina debuted a new ballad from the album on the Hope For Haiti telethon called “Lift Me Up”.
After some media trouble and failed movie attempts, it looks like Lindsay Lohan has gone back to studio. The actress/singer/hot mess has been working on her 3rd album since 2007 and after putting things on hold, she’s hoping to get this project off the ground.
2010 is shaping up to be another big year for Lady Gaga, who will reportedly be opening this Sunday’s Grammy’s on CBS. The singer confirmed the news on her Twitter page, also noting that she will perform a duet on the show, but it would not be her next single “Telephone” with Beyonce. Rumors are swirling that Gaga may be joined on stage with Sir Elton John. Gaga is also currently shooting the video for her new single with Beyonce this week, and it is said to be released sometime in March.
One artist who won’t be performing at this year’s Grammy Awards is Rihanna. Initially reports indicated that the singer would be taking the stage after her performance last year had to be canceled last minute. It was the night before last year’s awards that she was physically beaten by her boyfriend at the time, Chris Brown. This singer told Carson Daly on his radio show this week that she’s planning to attend, but was not invited to perform saying, “We messed their show up pretty bad last year. They might be a little mad at me”. Rihanna is currently finishing up her new video for the single “Rude Boy”, which is being described by people on set as her most controversial video to date.
The punk-pop princess that took the nation by storm late last year with her single, “Tik Tok”, is continuing to burn up the charts. Ke$ha is prepping the release of her second single, “Blah Blah Blah”, which features Colorado band 3OH!3. A video is expected sometime in the coming months, while the song already holds the top spot on the digital download charts.
Another teen queen who continues to break chart records is country’s Taylor Swift. Taylor broke the record for best first-week sales by a female artist when her single, “Today Was A Fairytale”, from the Valentine’s Day soundtrack, hit 325,000 in sales. The prior record belonged to Britney Spears‘ “Womanizer”, which moved 286,000 in October of 2008.
Speaking of Miss Spears, Scott Storch has confirmed a title for a song he produced for the reigning Princess of Pop’s upcoming album. “Second Chances” is expected to be a cut on the album, which may be out early summer 2010. It seems Britney has recorded quite a few tracks for the album and is said to be excited about getting some more new music out there. And while we won’t hear any new tunes before March, when the expected first single is to be released, Britney will soon appear in the latest Candie’s campaign.
One of our favorites, Matt Morris, announced this morning on Alice 105.9 in Denver that he will be on George Lopez’s Lopez Tonight next week. Set your DVR’s people – I am sure we’ll see another great performance for the talented singer-songwriter. Tickets for Matt Morris’ first show at the Bluebird Theater in Denver are on sale now – if you’re in the area, get them now!
And for those of you gearing up for Super Bowl Sunday – only about one week away – you won’t want to miss the opening ceremonies. It was announced yesterday that Idol alum, Carrie Underwood, will be singing the national anthem. Underwood joins other big names, including Whitney Houston, Beyonce, Billy Joel and last year’s Jordin Sparks. Queen Latifah will also take part in the opening, singing “America the Beautiful”, while The Who will take on the Halftime Show duties. The Super Bowl happens live, February 7th on CBS.
And lastly, Jennifer Lopez, is set to guest star on How I Met Your Mother. The star will play Anita Appleby, an author of self-help books that train and counsel men through denial. Expect to see Lopez on the small screen sometime in March, around the same time Carrie Underwood will appear on the series. J. Lo is also rumored to appear in a late episode of Fox’s hit show, Glee.
