Monthly Archives: March 2002

Final Chance For Hear’Say

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Polydor has told Hear’Say off that their next single must make the Top 5 of the UK singles chart or else their label’ll drop them.

‘Everybody’, the band’s second album, failed to make the U.K. Top 10. Not only that, their last single of the same name only made it to a No 4 placing on the singles chart towards the end of 2001.

A Polydor executive revealed, “The next single’s make or break. If it isn’t a hit, and that means at least Top 5, then they’re finished with us.”Hear’Say lost one of their founding members, Kym Marsh, who quit the band, a couple of months back and have found a replacement in the form of ex-Boom! member Johnny Shentall.

Meanwhile, Hear’Say’s UK tour has been postponed. The delay will definitely provide Johnny the extra time that he needs to learn their songs and dance steps.

In other news, Hear’Say’s Myleene Klass, who was caught snogging fellow bandmate Danny Foster after a concert, is rumoured to have caught the fancy of Manchester United’s winger, Ryan Giggs.

TLC Working On New Album

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TLC, comprising of T-Boz, Left Eye and Chilli, are back in the studios, working on brand new material for their upcoming album. Presently recording in Los Angeles and Atlanta, the trio who got everybody singing ‘No Scrubs’, have recruited long-time collaborator Dallas Austin as well as Babyface, Diane Warren, Raphael Saadiq and Eddie Hustle.

While the group’s representatives at Arista Records couldn’t provide a firm release date for the project, the TLC disc is slated to be released before the year 2002 is up.

When TLC first burst onto the music scene in 1992, they sold more than 4 million copies of their first effort ‘Oooooooh… On The TLC Tip’. Their sophomore release ‘CrazySexyCool’ in 1994 sold more than 11 million discs. Their last release was 1999’s ‘Fanmail’ and that sold close to 7 million copies.In earlier news, former Living Colour lead singer Corey Glover and his writing partner Michael Cirincione filed a copyright-infringement lawsuit on the 1st of February against TLC. Corey and Michael, having submitted a song, ‘Make Your Mind Up’ to TLC for consideration a year prior to the release of ‘Unpretty’, feel that the trio used bits of the pair’s song for their massive hit single and for failing to give them credit and recognition, hence the lawsuit.

Both Corey and Michael are seeking compensatory damages from the sale of ‘Unpretty’, statutory damages and legal fees.

Underneath Shakira’s Clothes

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Causing quite a bit of a stir in Argentina, exotic pop queen Shakira Mebarak, 24, has had all copies of her English album ‘Laundry Service’ pulled from the Tower Records shops across the country. And why is that so you ask?

Well, see, the harsh move is in the disapproval of the featuring of the son of Argentina’s shamed president (Fernando de la Rua) in Shakira’s music video for her second English number entitled ‘Underneath Your Clothes’, the follow-up to her smash hit single ‘Whenever, Wherever’.

Antonio de la Rua is the blonde bombshell’s romantic partner who for a time played the role of advisor to his father. Currently, Antonio’s father is facing an investigation into the shooting of five protesters outside his residence as his term in office drew to a close last year.Sounding somewhat like Jewel on the ‘Underneath Your Clothes’ single, it is climbing Billboard charts and seems like it’s heavily requested everywhere. Cynics say that all the controversy surrounding the music video is just a mere publicity stunt.

Anyway, for all things Shakira, check out her official website at www.shakira.com, and on our Shakira section at shakira.pop-music.com.

Blue on their way to the US!

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Sick of the same old NSYNC and Backstreet Boys playing in your radio? Well, you’re in luck because a new band has just formed in the United Kingdom, called Blue. They are just starting to get popular in the U.S. and Canada. Blue mixes their music styles – they include hip-hop, R&B, and pop in all their songs.

Check them out at www.blueofficial.com.

It’s a Pink Summer

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If you’re a fan of Grammy-award winner Pink, you’ll be in for a ‘Pink’ summer as she hits the road with her US tour.

The tour kicks off at the beginning of May at the Web Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona. The tour lasts two months and will see her visiting most US States.

The full schedule is shown below:May

2 – Phoenix, AZ – Web Theatre

5 – Las Vegas, NV – Rain in the Desert

7 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kingsbury Hall

9 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium

12 – Austin, TX – Austin Music Hall

14 – Houston, TX – Verizon Wireless Theater

15 – Grand Prairie, TX – Next Stage at Grand Prairie

18 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live

19 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Broward Center

22 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle

25 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Arena

26 – Wallingford, CT – ctnow.com Oakdale Theatre

28 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre

31 – Boston, MA – Orpheum Theatre

June

1 – Upper Darby, PA – Tower Theatre

4 – Washington, DC – Nation

5 – Cleveland, OH – Tower City Amphitheatre

7 – Pittsburgh, PA – Amphitheatre at Station Square

9 – Toronto, Ontario – Massey Hall

10 – Detroit, MI – State Theatre

12 – Rosemont, IL – Rosemont Theatre

13 – Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum Theatre

18 – Spokane, WA – Spokane Opera House

19 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Orpheum Theatre

22 – Portland, OR – Rose Garden Arena

25 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield

28 – Los Angeles, CA – Wiltern Theatre

98 Degrees To Release Greatest Hits CD

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There were rumours going around for some time that seem to imply that 98 Degrees, known for their many hits like ‘Invisible Man’ and ‘Give Me Just One Night’, have split up.

With hopes to quash those rumours, according to their official website, 98 Degrees, made up of brothers Drew and Nick Lachey, Jeff Timmons and Justin Jeffre, are still very much together as a band and are just merely taking a break.

They plan to release ‘The Collection CD’ tentatively sometime in May, filled with their old hits dating back to the past 5 years and a brand new single entitled ‘Why’ out on the 12th of March.

For more details, head on down to their official website: www.98Degrees.com.

Rik Waller Pleased With No 6 Slot

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This week’s UK singles chart sees the arrival of another ‘Pop Idol’ contestant. Rik Waller debuts at a No 6 slot with his cover version of Dolly Parton/Whitney Houston track, ‘I Will Always Love You’. Now, he feels like it was a mistake to release his first effort even before Will’s single show signs of falling from the top position.

“I am more than happy with No 6, to get to No 1 with a debut single is not that often heard of, apart from Westlife and Will. I just love the fact that I am in the charts and that people can now go out and buy my record. The chances of me having another hit are now strengthened because it is at No 6 and is the highest new entry”.Rik, the flu-laden ‘Pop Idol’ finalist, whose next single will be out sometime in May followed by his virgin album two weeks later, has revealed that Gary Barlow of Take That fame is indeed writing songs for him. “Gary is a brilliant songwriter and I’d love to sing his tunes”. In addition to Gary Barlow, he has met approximately 70 songwriters who are prepared to compose tracks for him. “There are a lot of other famous ones but I can’t tell you who they are just as yet.”

Just how different is his solo effort going to be? Sounds like it’s going to be a fusion of styles and influences. There might be a few old songs and probably some new ones written in a classic style, according to Rik.

Critising the dispute between ‘Top Of The Pops’ and Will’s management, Rik said “They can’t afford to upset ‘Top Of The Pops’. It’s a shame some of it will be blamed on Will. It’s a record-breaking single and there should be some concessions made.”

World Of Britney Shuts Down

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A word of caution before I begin though. Reading this write-up will most probably make one look at Britney and all associated with the Pop Princess in a totally different light altogether, “a negative light” if you will. It’ll affect Britney’s fans mostly actually.

The leading unofficial Britney Spears website has closed, with the webmaster, Ruben Garay, 19, critising Britney, her mother and the ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ singer’s people.

Attracting huge interest, not only from the media but the public as well for the last 18 or so months, www.worldofbritney.com closed on Sunday.Having established itself as a definitive source of all things Britney, the site now consists of a lengthy word essay, in which Ruben claims Britney is no longer the person she used to be and how little she actually cares about her fans. There’s also a part where he insists her mother Lynne should be ashamed of herself, and loads and loads more.

Here are some excerpts from the essay:

“Britney Spears is not the girl she used to be. The greatness, the power and the fame has changed her. I am tired of seeing her lip-synch. I am tired of seeing how she sometimes sees her fans in millions, instead of seeing them as individual human beings, but most of all, I’m tired of seeing how fake she has gotten.”

“My world does not revolve around making profits for something. I don’t get paid for what I do. I did this website from my heart and whenever I would do something that fans would love, such as put up a video or a song, the guys in suits would come and threaten to shut me down”.

On a personal note, I just pity the dude. Even though I’m not a fan of hers, looking at Britney will never be the same again.

Go to www.worldofbritney.com for the full transcript.

Toni Braxton Doing Studio Time

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Wondered recently what Toni Braxton was up to? Well, here on Pop-music.com, we’ve the latest scoop.

The five-time Grammy winner announced that she has been recording tracks for her follow-up LP after ‘The Heat’ album that came out sometime in 2000. This upcoming album of hers is slated to come out later this year.

Together with producer Rodney Jerkins, Toni Braxton has been in Atlanta for lots of studio time now and so far, two songs, ‘Whatcha Need’ and ‘Do U Remember?’ have been completed for the still-untitled disc. Apparently ‘Whatcha Need,’ is a catchy, up-tempo song using Rodney’s new sound called the “Darkchild on-and-off knock” while ‘Do U Remember’ is described as a mid-tempo jazz number.The ‘Spanish Guitar’ singer who was unable to get to this year’s Grammy Awards said she was surprised by the immense popularity of ‘He Wasn’t Man Enough.’ “I didn’t even want to record the song. That’s what makes the nominations so much more wonderful,” Toni said. “I told them I didn’t think we should record it because the album’s finished. But the record company said I had to do it. Now I’m so glad I did, because I’d be in big trouble if I hadn’t. Maybe my new record better have a few more ‘Man Enough’ kinda songs.”

Gareth Gates, Pepsi’s New Face

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Following the footsteps of Britney Spears, Robbie Williams and Atomic Kitten, Gareth Gates is to become the brand new face of Pepsi.

Signing an undisclosed six-figure deal at London’s glamorous Savoy Hotel, his image is set to appear on special Pepsi cans.

A spokesperson for Pepsi said “Although Will won ‘Pop Idol’, Gareth is just as big a star and is ideal for our campaign.”Mentioned earlier on Pop-music.com, Gareth will release his debut number, ‘Unchained Melody’, which happens to be a cover of The Righteous Brothers’ classic. Out on 18th March, he’s going to do some proper chart battle with George Michael who releases his racy new single, Freeek, on the very same day.