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Amy Winehouse Was Planning a Jazz Supergroup
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Rumors, Upcoming Releases, Jazz,
Amy Winehouse had planned to form a supergroup to record a jazz album before she died.
The Back to Black singer was hoping to team with drummer Questlove of The Roots and saxophone player Soweto Kinch to make the record, according to producer Salaam Remi.
"There were a bunch of other names bouncing around," Remi added, speaking at a playback of Amy's posthumous Lioness: Hidden Treasures collection. He knew of Amy's plans as "she had written down everything she wanted to do."
He also talked about how the singer and songwriter was a perfectionist when it came to her songs and - as they were mostly drawn from her life experiences - was meticulous in crafting them: "She was taking her time with it, and at the end of the day all of her songs are somewhat autobiographical. So she had to live through something, then get out of it and look back at it, to be able to write about it."
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Lady Gaga Splits From Creative Director
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Gossip, Music Videos, Rumors,
Stylish pop singer Lady Gaga has split with long-time creative director Laurieann Gibson. The pair have been working together since before the "Bad Romance" singer's rise to fame, but reportedly parted ways following a number of creative differences in the last year.
Laurieann has previously admitted working on Gaga's "Judas" video, which has strong religious references, including crosses and the death of Jesus, made her feel uneasy. "At one point, there was two completely different views and after the third glass of wine, I was like, 'Listen, I don't want lightning to strike me. I believe in the Gospel and I'm not going there.'"
Tensions continued to rise between them, with differences on the set of Gaga's "You and I" video, and their creative relationship finally ended in the last few weeks.
A representative confirmed the split, but declined to give any more information.
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Katy Perry Set to Lose Producer
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Industry News,
Katy Perry is set to stop working with producer Dr. Luke. The pop star and the studio wizard worked together on her hit album Teenage Dream - which contained several chart-topping hits, including "California Gurls," "E.T." and "Last Friday Night" - but the relationship must end after he signed a new deal with Sony Music.
The producer - real name Lukasz Gottwald - has agreed to join the company in 2012 and run his own record label under the Sony umbrella. The new venture will be called Kemosabe Records and, as part of the contract, Dr. Luke can only work with Sony artists, which rules out future collaborations with Katy because she is on EMI.
The 27-year-old singer - who is married to Russell Brand - is preparing to release the "The One That Got Away," which will be the sixth single from Teenage Dream. Dr. Luke has also worked with a number of other chart-topping artists, including Ke$ha, Britney Spears, Jessie J and most recently with Rihanna on her new album Talk That Talk.
Gallery: Katy Perry Set to Lose Producer
Michael Stipe Cured Snow Patrol Writer’s block
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Upcoming Releases, Alternative, Rock,
Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody was lifted by Michael Stipe while suffering writer's block.
The singer and songwriter of the "Chasing Cars" group was writing "a lot of rubbish" as he struggled to come up with the words for the band's sixth album Fallen Empires, but he was given a "boost" when the REM singer praised some of his tracks.
"I'd try to write but was frantic. It's like pulling a thread of bulls**t out of your head and then you write a lot of rubbish, and then clarity ascends. But I couldn't find any clarity and then just had to stop trying. It became a very dark time for me. Even the thought of trying to write made me feel like I was about to have a panic attack. I started phoning people because I was at the end of my tether. Then Michael Stipe came to the studio to listen to some of the songs I'd already done and he loved them. He gave me such a boost of confidence. I managed to get to the heart of the matter - that this record is about home, the empire of childhood and the naivety of that falling away into adulthood and forgetting how blissful it is as a kid. Once I got to that I could write again."
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Bruno Mars Beat Eminem in Rap Battle
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Gossip, Rumors, Hip-Hop & Rap,
Bruno Mars has joked his collaboration with Eminem came about after he beat him in a rap battle. The "Grenade" hitmaker teamed up with the rapper and Royce da 5'9" - who, as a duo, go by the name Bad Meets Evil - on the track "Lighters," and claims the track came after he challenged the Detroit musician's lyrical ability.
Speaking about "Lighters," he quipped to MTV, "It was a freestyle battle. I said, 'Yo, Em, if I beat you, you're gonna have to do a song with me!' I shut him down right then and there."
Along with working with the "Lose Yourself" singer, Bruno is also excited about his next solo track, which he has recently recorded and is "extremely proud of."
"I'm definitely thinking about what's next. I've got a song that I just wrote that I'm extremely proud of and I worked really hard on, and it's gonna come out soon. But this is just the very beginning and there's a lot more to come."
Gallery: Bruno Mars Beat Eminem in Rap Battle
Maroon 5 Want to Collaborate With Adele, Mumford and Sons
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Pop, Rock,
Pop rockers Maroon 5 would love to collaborate with Adele.
The band members are huge fans of the "Someone Like You" hitmaker, and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael revealed that she is top of his list of musicians he wants to work with: "In terms of collaborations, I don't know. My personal favorite would be to work with Adele right now. She's amazing."
However, lead singer Adam Levine is worried the singer is too popular to have time for them and spoke of his wish to work with Mumford and Sons. "Get in line. Mumford and Sons album is my favorite album of the year. Last time I saw them they were rehearsing for a performance with Bob Dylan at the Grammys and they were freaking out. It was awesome to see them so excited."
Meanwhile, Jesse revealed the band were worried their number one single with Christina Aguilera -- "Moves Like Jagger" -- would flop, because Adam loves it and when the lead singer hates one of their songs, it is usually successful. "In the past we had this barometer, which was that if Adam hated a song, we knew it was going to be successful," Jesse said.
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Drake Wishes Justin Bieber Would Swear
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Gossip,
Drake wishes Justin Bieber had kept the swearing in his remix of the rapper's track "Trust Issues." The "Over" hitmaker had expected the 17-year-old singer's take on the song to be the "transformation" of the star, and was surprised when he heard the cleaned-up edit.
"I wish he would've left all the cuss words in it. I feel like that would've been so [gangsta], if he would've done all the swearing. I was excited when I heard he remixed it, because there was like a gang of swearing in that song. I was like, 'Oh, we're about to hear the transformation of Bieber,'" Drake said.
Among the changes Justin made to the track were amending the line "F**k it, I'm on one" to "You know I'm on one" and altering a lyric referring to bitches and drinking. In the original, Drake sings, "You know what I'm sippin'/ I teach you how to mix it/ But you're the only one, 'cause I don't trust these bitches." The remix instead features the line "You just need to listen/ Teach you how to fix it/ 'Cause you're the only one, because I don't trust these women."
Despite the changes, Drake thinks it is "incredible" that the Never Say Never hitmaker tackled the song: "He's like a talented kid ... from Canada, so to hear him even remix that song is crazy. That's incredible."
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Marilyn Manson Announces Born Villain
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Music Videos, Upcoming Releases, Rock,
Marilyn Manson has confirmed his new album will be called Born Villain. The shock rocker announced his new record today through his website and has given a preview of it in the form of a music video, directed by Hollywood actor Shia LaBeouf.
The "Beautiful People" hitmaker's announcement read: "Born Villain is the title of the new Marilyn Manson album. While looking to experiment in unlikely collaborations, I met Shia, and we spent a long night at my studio. After seeing Maniac, his short film, which is somewhat inspired by Man Bites Dog, I was astonished by his directing ability. So I shared quite a few of my favorite inspirations in art, literature, and obviously.film. We ended up writing a short film, and just recently released a trailer. The score is from my new album, and is, in the words of Macbeth, `full of sound and fury.'"
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Jay-Z Begins Working on New Album
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Upcoming Releases, Hip-Hop & Rap,
Jay-Z has started working on a new album. The "99 Problems" rapper only released his Watch the Throne album with Kanye West last month, but producer No I.D. said he's already started work on his next studio album.
"Jay has started again. He played me a couple of things. I gave him some music while we were at the Watch the Throne sessions. But with Jay, you never know what he's really doing, thinking, planning until it's really done. I'm sure he'll make a decision one day to make an album very quickly, like he usually does. I think he's at a place where he has visions of what he wants to do, and it's not really dependent on any of us. It's dependent on his vision and he's gonna do it, and hopefully I'll be involved," No I.D. said.
No I.D. and Jay have previously worked together on tracks including "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" and "Run This Town." The producer is also working with rappers Nas and Common on their respective albums, and said they are hoping to "revive" hip hop: "We're really trying to revive a certain part of hip-hop that seems to be fading out. They're gonna be full bodies of work that are really dedicated to the fan base."
Gallery: Jay-Z Begins Working on New Album
Krist Novoselic to Perform Nevermind
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Concerts / Tours, Performances, Reunions, Rock,
Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic will perform the band's classic Nevermind album in full. The 46-year-old rocker will join forces with the likes of Seattle bands Campfire OK, the Long Winters, Visqueen, the Fastbacks, and Vaporland for a tribute show which will pay homage to the 20th anniversary of the legendary 1991 album.
According to radio station 107.7 The End, Krist will perform the record in full on September 20 at the Sky Church at Seattle's Experience Music Project. Former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl - who now fronts the Foo Fighters - recently admitted he thinks that Krist is the "soul" of their previous group, and hanging out with him stirs up strong memories.
"He hasn't changed a bit, so to hear him speak or to hear him tell stories or to hear him talk about Nirvana - it really brings back the feeling of being in the band because it's just part of his soul," he said.
Dave also explained the dynamic of the grunge band - which disbanded after the suicide of singer Kurt Cobain in 1994 - was created by the fine balance in drive and personality between Kurt and Krist:
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