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Lionel Richie Advises Bruno Mars
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Gossip, Pop, R&B / Soul,
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Bruno Mars seeks advice from Lionel Richie.
The "Grenade" hitmaker is a big fan of the 63-year-old singer and after going to see one of his live shows, he asked the "Hello" star for tips on career longevity. "The new generation are discovering that guys like me can do melodies. Bruno Mars is a killer for melodies and lyrics, and he came to my show. He asked me afterwards: 'Can you tell me how you do it?' and I said, 'Don't worry, you're doing just fine.' These new guys are hungry for longevity. Daft Punk's album shares some of that R&B sound, and they know it's all about writing great songs," Richie said.
Lionel admitted he never expected his songs to stay relevant and was worried about becoming a "laughing stock" with some of his material in the 1970s and 80s: "The words of 'Three Times A Lady' apply in 2013 just as they did in 1978, but at the time disco was happening and I was worried about being a laughing stock."
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Paris Hilton Signs to Cash Money Records
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Industry News, Dance, Electronic, Pop,
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Paris Hilton has signed to Cash Money record label.
The 32-year-old heiress - who released her debut album Paris in 2006 - will release a house music album later this year and has already recorded a single with Lil Wayne.
"Welcome@ParisHilton to tha Family. RichgangRichgirl. YMCMB (sic)," Cash Money's Birdman tweeted.
Paris replied, "@BIRDMAN5STAR Thanks BO$$! Happy to be a part of the family. (sic)." She also posted a link to a YouTube video, writing, "Love this song I recorded with @LilTunechi. Love Lil Wayne, he is so amazing! Can't wait for our new song! (sic)."
(FYI - You can also follow Albumista on Twitter.)
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Prince Signs New Record Deal
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Industry News, Pop, R&B / Soul,
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Prince has signed a new record deal that will also help promote upcoming talent.
The "Purple Rain" hitmaker - who famously changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in a row over musical rights with former label Warner - will allow Kobalt Music Group to market and distribute his future work, but won't lose control of his rights. Prince, 54, will also have the opportunity to provide artist development and recording services for Kobalt's newly-signed artists.
"This new venture gives Prince the flexibility and freedom he's always sought in a label partner. We're providing a high level of diverse services that will be particularly customized to his vision for each release, allowing the world to experience more music from Prince and his creative community," Kobalt President Richard Sanders said in a statement.
Traditional labels often take ownership or part-ownership of an artist's material and decide how it is used, but Kobalt - which was established in 2000 - launched an artist and label services division last year, allowing their talent to maintain ownership of their work and control over when, how and where they will release music.
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Daft Punk Planning Second Album with Rodgers?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Gossip, Upcoming Releases, Dance, Electronic, Pop, R&B / Soul,
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Daft Punk is planning a second album with Nile Rodgers. The French duo - Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter - teamed up with the disco legend for three songs on their new album, Random Access Memories, and he is keen for them to collaborate again on his hoard of unreleased material.
"I recently found a treasure trove of old stuff I wrote years ago that's been hidden in a studio vault. It's unreleased material from the late 70s and early 80s, and it has to see the light of day - especially now I've met producers that I trust like Daft Punk. I already know they'd love to work on some of this music. There's some solo stuff, tracks by Johnny Mathis and Fonzi Thornton, the soundtrack to a film called Alphabet City and Chic recording in Stockholm," Nile said.
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Taylor Swift Wins Eight Billboard Awards
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Awards, Country, Hip-Hop & Rap, Pop, R&B / Soul,
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Taylor Swift led the winners at the Billboard Music Awards last night, taking home eight prizes.
The "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" hitmaker - who is known for her turbulent love life and relationships with stars including Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal and John Mayer - paid tribute to her loyal fans as she picked up the evening's top honor, the coveted Artist of the Year prize.
"Thank you for making my music the soundtrack to your crazy emotions. You are the longest and best relationship I've had," she said.
As well as Artist of the Year, Taylor also took home honors including Top Female Artist, Top Country Artist, Billboard 200 Album and Top Country Album for Red, and Top Country Song for "We Are Never Getting Back Together."
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Daft Punk Think Auto-Tune Ruins Music
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Collaborations, Gossip, Electronic, Pop, New Releases,
Daft Punk thinks Auto-Tune is ruining pop music. Though the duo - Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter - like experimenting with the vocal-tweaking software in a "fun" way, they think it is over-relied on to make a singer's voice sound perfect.
"Pop music is into the uncanny valley. For example, take Auto-Tune. Auto-Tune as an effect is very fun. We put it in the same category as the wah-wah pedal. It's pleasing to the ear and creates those funky artefacts, a bit like the clavinet in Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition.' The other use of Auto-Tune is the invisible one, where you put the voices of the performers in and you set the thresholds so you can't hear the Auto-Tune is there. It makes the voice 'perfect.' If you're using it to solve small imperfections, you're creating something that isn't human. Would you Auto-Tune Roger Daltrey on 'Tommy'? Or Simon & Garfunkel? It stops being a fun effect and becomes like a clone from a terrifying sci-fi movie," Thomas said.
Despite their success as dance music pioneers, the "Get Lucky" duo admit they have always secretly wanted to be like The Strokes, whose frontman Julian Casablancas is one of their collaborators on new album Random Access Memories.
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Beyonce Aspires to Be Like Whitney Houston
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Performances, Pop, R&B / Soul,
Beyonce aspired to be as talented as Whitney Houston.
The 31-year-old singer still remembers the first time she watched the late music legend perform "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl in 1991 and was determined to reach a similar level stardom, doing whatever it takes to reach her goal.
"I turned to my mom and said, 'Oh my God, she's awesome!' My mom said, 'Yeah, baby, she is.' And I said, 'One day I'm going to be like that too.' My mom said, 'Yeah, baby, whatever.' But you just never know what's going to happen in your life because even back then I knew there was something worth fighting for and that I was going to do whatever it took to fight for it."
Beyonce - who has 16-month-old daughter Blue Ivy with husband Jay-Z - was thrilled when she realized a similar in-awe moment takes place animation film Epic, in which she voices Queen Tara, and was overcome with emotion and nostalgia when reciting her lines for the particular scene.
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Miley Cyrus Collaborating with Justin Bieber
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Gossip, Rumors, Hip-Hop & Rap, Pop,
Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber are recording new music together. The "Can't Be Tamed" singer was spotted leaving a Hollywood recording studio within minutes of Justin, 19, on Thursday and they are believed to be working on a collaboration.
"There aren't that many recording booths at this studio, they must be doing something together. Justin and Miley left within minutes of each other - it's too coincidental. There's gotta be a collaboration in the works," a photographer from X17online.com said.
Miley recently worked with gangster-rapper-turned-reggae artist Snoop Lion on the song "Ashtrays and Heartbreaks." He said, "Miley Cyrus was always a great singer to me and I knew she was a fan so it was great for us to collaborate. It's what she's going through and what I'm going through, she makes great music."
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Kelly Rowland Admits Her Jealousy of Beyonce in New Song
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Gossip, Pop, R&B / Soul, New Releases,
Kelly Rowland has admitted to being jealous of Beyonce's success in a new song.
The singer has released a new confessional ballad titled "Dirty Laundry," in which she reveals her envy of her former Destiny's Child bandmate's solo success and also sings about a past abusive relationship. On the track, which Kelly posted on her SoundCloud web page, she laments, "When my sister on stage, killing it like a motherf***er, I was in a rage, feeling it like a motherf***er. Went our separate ways but I was happy she was killin' it. Bittersweet she was up, I was down. No lie, I feel good for her but what do I do now? Post-Survivor, she on fire. Who wanna hear my bulls**t."
Childhood pals Beyonce, 31, and Kelly, 32, formed their chart-topping girl group in 1992 as young girls and would go on to become worldwide stars together as the band found fame with hits such as "Say My Name" and "Bootylicious."
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Lily Allen Inspired by Motherhood
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Upcoming Releases, Pop,
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Lily Allen has joked her new album will be about "nappies."
The "Fear" hitmaker has been on hiatus from the pop world since 2009 but recently returned to the recording studio and claims her lyrics draw on her new life as a wife to Sam Cooper and mother to daughters Ethel, 18 months, and Marnie, four months.
"I wouldn't say it has been easy [writing songs again] but it hasn't been hard. It has just been different because my pool of inspiration is just so different to what it was eight, nine, 10 years ago... It's all about nappies, you're going to love it."
Lily hopes fans will enjoy her new material, which she says is very "catchy." When asked what fans can expect by British station Absolute Radio at the Ivor Novello awards in London on Wednesday, she said, "Just some good songs with catchy choruses and key changes here and there."
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