Will.i.am Reveals Jacko's Last Album: Dance Music

(NEWSER) - It’s no exaggeration to say that Michael Jackson “made a more profound impact in the arenas of soul, R&B and dance-pop than any other singer or songwriter in history,” writes Jim DeRogatis in the Chicago Sun-Times. But while many fans reach for Thriller, “widely considered the best-selling disc of all time,” DeRogatis and other “hardcore fans” cast their lot with 1979’s Off the Wall. More»

Album sales up 90% from first week

(NEWSER) - Michael Jackson is still dominating the Billboard charts, with his solo albums selling 800,000 copies in the first full week after his death and 2.2 million songs downloaded. His Number Ones collection is the top-selling album in the US as well as No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Comprehensive Albums chart, with Thriller coming in second. More»

Response to 'This Is It' tepid from critics, all over the place from fans

(NEWSER) - Michael Jackson’s posthumous single was released to much hype, but the critical response is lukewarm and fan reactions are mixed. A sampling:

• In a roundup of fan comments on Michael Jackson’s website, the Times reports that while some are pleased—“This single is great, even better than I thought it was gonna be”—many others are calling it “garbage.”

Bob Dylan's Christmas album is just the latest in a long line

(NEWSER) - Bob Dylan’s decision to record a Christmas album is certainly ill-advised—“fans may have stuck by him throughout the musically self-destructive late '60s, the God-bothering late '70s, and the Grateful Dead-collaborating-Madonna-imitating mid '80s, but surely even Bob's fans have a limit,” writes John Matthew Hall for the Independent. But Dylan’s not alone; Hall offers up the worst disasters in rock and roll careers, from John Lennon to Michael Jackson: More»

Duets with babymama to be released, plague us all

(NEWSER) - The 40th anniversary of Woodstock—what a perfect day for the announcement that Mel Gibson is making what is sure to become known as musical history. The actor provides guest vocals for two of the tracks on babymamma Oksana Grigorieva’s upcoming album, the Mirror reports. In not nearly so terrifying news, he also directs four of the videos for her album, Beautiful Heartache. More»