Girls' Debut 'Dizzily Powerful'

Singer calls rumors over 'California Gurls' bogus

(NEWSER) - Katy Perry is dismissing rumors that she is getting sued for using part of the Beach Boys' "California Girls" in her song "California Gurls". "No one is suing anyone," Perry tweeted , calling the reports "once again" an example of the media's tendency to "fabricate & exaggerate stories to get hits or sell papers." Although she isn't getting sued, Beach Boys published Rondor Music isn't too happy about "California Gurls," Billboard reports . More»

Teen lends her voice to 'power ballad' with other 'random' singers

(NEWSER) - Frances Bean Cobain made her musical debut yesterday—albeit in cameo form—with the release of Evelyn Evelyn. “She’s got a great voice,” says Amanda Palmer, who put together the concept album with Jason Webley. The 17-year-old is featured on the track “My Space” along with other “really random people,” Palmer says, including Weird Al Yankovic, Tegan and Sara, and Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance, People reports. More»

Looking to break into the biz? Use one of these pseudonyms.

(NEWSER) - With Diddy constantly changing his rap name, you might think all the good ones have already been used. But no: There are an awful lot of awesome pseudonyms still left, and Jesse Gissen lists his favorites on XXL :

• Sirius Black: “This bad ass dude from the Harry Potter series is known for practicing black magic, breaking out of prison and being able to turn into a werewolf. Seriously, it doesn’t get any better than this.”

I want it that way. Wait, you want what what way?

(NEWSER) - Some lyrics are just so ambiguous you have no idea what you’re singing about when you sing along. Willa Paskin lists 20 “songs that make you go, huh?” on BlackBook :

• “I Want It That Way,” Backstreet Boys: “Make up your minds dudes, is ‘that way’ a good or a bad thing? Or is it anal sex?”
• “Push It,” Salt N’ Pepa: OK, maybe this one isn’t so vague: “Yeah, the ‘it’ in this song is pretty definitively ween.”

The video for 'Pick It Up' features, mostly, a distraught-looking Brown

(NEWSER) - Not surprisingly, Ayla Brown’s EP was released Tuesday, a mere week after dad Scott Brown won Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat—and months ahead of its original April release. The songs emulate “that cloying strand of '90s soft-pop that emulated '80s soft-pop,” writes Chris Richards for the Washington Post , but at least “Brown’s voice is agreeable enough.” More»