pop music – News Stories About pop music - Page 3

Taylor Swift,
Jacko Rule;
Clumsy JLo
Steals Show

american music awards

Nov 23, 2009 4:44 AM CST

Taylor Swift, Jacko Rule; Clumsy JLo Steals Show

Teen queen snags artist of the year in an upset

(Newser) - Taylor Swift unexpectedly captured artist of the year honors at tonight's American Music Awards, preventing a sweep by Michael Jackson. The 19-year-old country-pop crossover sensation called being included in the same category as the King of Pop an "unimaginable honor." She won five awards; Jermaine Jackson accepted two...

Taylor Swift:
Finally, a
Feel-Good
Teen Idol

pop culture

Oct 16, 2009 12:37 PM CDT

Taylor Swift: Finally, a Feel-Good Teen Idol

It's OK if your kids like her—she's no Miley, Britney, or Paris

(Newser) - Nine-year-old girls can get thong underwear at Wal-Mart, and the hypersexualized antics of Miley et al. rule the headlines. So Hans Eisenbeis was understandably concerned when his ultrasheltered 11-year-old took a shine to Taylor Swift. “Is she too grown up for Phoebe?” he writes for DoubleX. “Is Swift...

New Jackson Single No Classic

MUSIC REVIEW

Oct 12, 2009 8:27 AM CDT

New Jackson Single No Classic

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

...

Jacko's Final Single Debuts

LISTEN

Oct 12, 2009 5:58 AM CDT

Jacko's Final Single Debuts

'This Is It' was written in 1991 but left off Dangerous

(Newser) - Michael Jackson's first posthumous single premiered this morning on his website, featuring backing vocals by his brothers. "This Is It" was written for the 1991 album Dangerous, but was cut before the album was released; it will be the only new song on a double CD coming later this...

Pink Is Ridiculously Underrated

OPINION

Oct 7, 2009 11:32 AM CDT

Pink Is Ridiculously Underrated

She can out-sing all those pop starlets, so why isn't she getting the same hype?

(Newser) - After watching Pink dangle from a trapeze 60 feet above the Radio City Music Hall stage—while belting out "Sober" perfectly—James Montgomery had a revelation: "Pink is totally underrated." She's "the total pop-star package,” he writes for MTV: tattooed, clever, confrontational, and a damn...

U2 Tour Costs $750K a Day

Sep 30, 2009 11:17 AM CDT

U2 Tour Costs $750K a Day

Bono and the boys talk pop stardom, expansive tour with Rolling Stone

(Newser) - Rolling Stone goes behind the scenes—and tags along in a private jet—for its cover story on the U2360° Tour (aka “the biggest rock tour of all time”), which is comprised of a 170-ton stage carted around by 200 trucks, 250 speakers, almost 400 employees—and $750,...

Girls' Debut
'Dizzily
Powerful'

MUSIC REVIEW

Sep 25, 2009 1:27 PM CDT

Girls' Debut 'Dizzily Powerful'

Up-and-coming band 'getting a ton of blog love' for 'heartbreaking' debut

(Newser) - The frontman of the pop duo Girls has a backstory that’s “epically sad and squalid and ultimately triumphant,” but you don’t need to know his history to recognize Girls' debut, Album, as “a dizzily powerful piece of work,” writes Tom Breihan for Pitchfork. Christopher...

Jackson's Mom
Gets $86K a Month

Sep 17, 2009 4:30 PM CDT

Jackson's Mom Gets $86K a Month

Estate awards allowance while singer's affairs are settled

(Newser) - Michael Jackson’s estate pays his mother $86,804 every month, the LA Times reports. Estate administrators set up the allowance because the pop singer’s estate—worth an estimated $500 million—is so vast that settling it in court could take years. The allowance pays Katherine Jackson $26,804...

Lady Gaga: 'Skank With a Brain'

OPINION

Sep 16, 2009 9:57 AM CDT

Lady Gaga: 'Skank With a Brain'

Pop's newest explosion exploits our obsession with sexuality, salaciousness

(Newser) - “Lady Gaga is pretty skanky,” writes James Brady Ryan for Nerve. “That might sound harsh, but there are some facts we all must face: the girl is no fan of pants, for one thing.” She may be crass, outlandish, and over-the-top sexual—but “she is...

Janet on
Michael:
'He Loved
to Laugh'

INTERVIEW

Sep 9, 2009 4:11 PM CDT

Janet on Michael: 'He Loved to Laugh'

He had a big heart and bigger sense of humor

(Newser) - Janet Jackson opens up about her late brother in next month’s Harper’s Bazaar. Though she speaks to her own troubles—“people can have rhinoceros skin, but there's a point when something's going to hurt you”—and the family—“people said to me that Michael's daughter...

Jacko Glove Sells for $49K

Sep 6, 2009 12:49 PM CDT

Jacko Glove Sells for $49K

King of Pop's signature accessory fetches twice expected price

(Newser) - One of Michael Jackson’s jewel-encrusted gloves sold for $49,000 in an Australian auction, Reuters reports. The glove, which was the first to go up for sale since Jackson died in June, sold for nearly twice what the Bonhams and Goodman auction house expected. "There was a huge...

Whitney 'Sublime'
After 7 Years Away

album review

Aug 26, 2009 11:35 AM CDT

Whitney 'Sublime' After 7 Years Away

'The Voice' is still there, with help from industry giants

(Newser) - It’s been seven years since Whitney Houston’s last album, and many younger listeners probably know her better for her recently-troubled life than for her series of huge hits. But her new album, I Look to You, marks a triumphant return, writes Jim DeRogatis in the Chicago Sun-Times. “...

Meet the New Women of Pop

OPINION

Aug 24, 2009 12:10 PM CDT

Meet the New Women of Pop

Up-and-comers making waves here and abroad

(Newser) - Women are front and center in the world of pop music this fall. Three of the most exciting up-and-comers catch the ear of Lizzy Goodman, writing in New York:

Amanda Blank, I Love You: The Philly-based MC “is a white girl from the burbs who dresses, talks, and raps

...

It Was 40 Years Ago Today...

Aug 8, 2009 9:45 AM CDT

It Was 40 Years Ago Today...

(Newser) - Forty years ago today, the Beatles walked out of No. 3 Abbey Road and shot one of the most famous album covers of all time. Seemingly fraught with symbolism and precision, the image was actually a rush job, the BBC reports. Photographer Iain Macmillan “was given about 15 minutes,...

Fans Want Nobel
Peace Prize for Jackson

Jul 27, 2009 2:53 PM CDT

Fans Want Nobel Peace Prize for Jackson

(Newser) - Fans of Michael Jackson are pushing for a Nobel Peace Prize nod for the late pop star. 12,000 have signed various online petitions putting the singer up for the honor because of his “lifelong dedication to the well-being of humanity,” and one organizer hopes for 100,000...

Jackson
Couldn't Face
Man in the Mirror

OPINION

Jul 27, 2009 11:27 AM CDT

Jackson Couldn't Face Man in the Mirror

He 'was most himself' when someone else

(Newser) - Michael Jackson was always trying to be somebody else: he "was most himself when he was someone other than himself,” writes Hilton Als in the New York Review of Books. The need to redefine himself emerged in his thirst for fame that would let him “wrest from...

Thriller Nears All-
Time US Sales Record

Jul 20, 2009 2:00 PM CDT

Thriller Nears All- Time US Sales Record

Set to break Eagles' Greatest Hits figure

(Newser) - Buoyed by the singer’s passing, Michael Jackson’s Thriller looks set to match the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 as the bestselling album ever in the US, Billboard reports. The Eagles compilation was certified 29 times platinum in 2006, having sold at least 29 million copies—but Billboard says...

Murder Charges
'Unlikely' in
Jacko Case

Jul 19, 2009 8:51 AM CDT

Murder Charges 'Unlikely' in Jacko Case

Docs not suspects, says insider

(Newser) - Despite “a lot of hysteria,” there likely won't be murder charges in Michael Jackson’s death, a top law enforcement official tells the Los Angeles Times. “There's nothing I have been told that would suggest a murder charge. It's just so remote and so unsupported by the...

Destiny's 'Third' Child
Hits London's West End

Jul 13, 2009 3:49 PM CDT

Destiny's 'Third' Child Hits London's West End

Michelle Williams plays Roxie in Chicago

(Newser) - Often labeled “the third one” in Destiny’s Child, Michelle Williams is swinging the spotlight her way, the Independent reports, playing Roxy in a production of Chicago in London’s West End. “People just think I’m the quiet one. Or not talented,” Williams says of comparisons...

Casey Kasem Hangs Up His Headphones

Jul 6, 2009 6:41 PM CDT

Casey Kasem Hangs Up His Headphones

Legendary DJ, voice of Scooby-Doo counted down hits for 39 years

(Newser) - Casey Kasem counted down the week's hit songs on his radio show this weekend, then quietly dropped a bomb: He's through, effective immediately. Kasem, 77, introduced the countdown format, peppering his shows—"American Top 40," now hosted by Ryan Seacrest, was his signature achievement—with factoids,...