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(04/14/09 12:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>“South Park” may have accomplished the impossible: getting Kanye West to check his ego.The Comedy Central show skewered the famously self-important rapper on its show Wednesday night, painting him as a narcissistic figure so out of touch with reality he couldn’t even take a (very politically incorrect) joke.West’s love of himself and his work has been almost as integral to his image as his music: Just last year, he told The Associated Press that he was the “voice of this generation.” Also recently, he was quoted as saying his greatest regret was not being able to see himself perform live.Yet, on his blog Thursday, West appeared chastened and ready to turn over a new leaf.In typical all-caps mode, he wrote: “SOUTH PARK MURDERED ME LAST NIGHT AND IT’S PRETTY FUNNY. IT HURTS MY FEELINGS BUT WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM SOUTH PARK! I ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN WORKING ON MY EGO THOUGH. HAVING THE CRAZY EGO IS PLAYED OUT IN MY LIFE AND CAREER.”West said that he started stroking his ego long ago to build up his self esteem – but he now realizes he needs to “GET PAST MYSELF.”In the self-reflective post, he said that people won’t take him seriously if he keeps it up – perhaps referring to his well-documented meltdowns at awards shows when he didn’t win what he expected.“I JUST WANT TO BE A DOPER PERSON WHICH STARTS WITH ME NOT ALWAYS TELLING PEOPLE HOW DOPE I THINK I AM,” he said.And perhaps to show that he’s really serious about making that change, he provided a link to one of the most biting moments from the “South Park” show, and thanked the writers as well.
(09/20/07 3:02am)
NEW YORK – It’s not like Kanye West needed an ego boost, but here it comes, anyway: His “Graduation” album trounced 50 Cent’s “Curtis” in their much-hyped rap sales showdown, selling nearly 1 million copies in its first week, making it the best debut of the year for the struggling music industry.\nWest has sold about 957,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures posted by the industry Web site Billboard.com on Tuesday night. It was his best first-week sales ever and topped the year’s previous first-week champ, Linkin Park, who sold 623,000 copies of “Minutes to Midnight” when it debuted in May. In comparison, 50 Cent sold 691,000 copies of “Curtis.”\nDespite his victory, West was hardly rubbing it in 50’s face. In fact, he said he was humbled by the win.\n“We’re not gloating,” Def Jam President Jay-Z told The Associated Press. “He’s celebrating his win. ... in his mind, he believed he could win the whole time.”\nThough selling almost 700,000 copies in the first week was a sterling achievement, it was still a considerable letdown for 50 Cent. His last album, 2005’s “The Massacre,” sold 1.1 million in its first week. In fact, West’s “Graduation” has been the only other album to come close to those sales since.\n50, who is planning a world tour to promote his album, was conciliatory in defeat. In a statement to The AP, which didn’t address whether he planned to make good on his threat to retire, he said, “I am very excited to have participated in one of the biggest album release weeks in the last two years. Collectively, we have sold hundreds of thousands of units in our debut week. This marks a great moment for hip hop music – one that will go down in history.”\nBut while West is enjoying a No. 2 position on the charts with his hit “Stronger,” 50 has struggled to connect with radio. None of his songs has matched past smashes like “In Da Club”; even his single “Ayo Technology,” featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, is languishing at No. 19.\n50’s album was originally scheduled for release in June on Interscope Records, a division of Universal Music Group, but was pushed back to Sept. 11. Soon after, Kanye West, whose album was supposed to come out sometime in late summer, pushed his album’s release date to Sept. 11 as well. But Antonio “L.A.” Reid, chairman of Island Def Jam, also a division of Universal, says it wasn’t initially intended to be a jab at 50.\n“The decision was really driven by the (MTV Video Music Awards), because the VMAs were on Sept. 9 ... We wanted to use it as a launching pad again for this album,” he said.\nWest said it was his idea to go directly against 50.\n“I was the underdog because I sold less records in the past, so it was a win-win for me,” he said. “If I lost, everyone would be happy that I even went up against him. People have this perception of me being arrogant, but would an arrogant person risk the chance of coming in the second spot just to be a part of history? To me, it’s more about fans and the entertainment value and good music.”\n50 routinely trash-talked West, but it seemed to be in good fun: The pair appeared on the MTV Video Music Awards and BET’s “106 & Park” together, and on the cover or Rolling Stone. Both admitted the battle was a great marketing tool.\n“The rivalry helped both of them,” Jay-Z said. “It was definitely one of those moments in the game that was exciting. Everybody could pick a side and weigh in on and have an opinion ... it garnered a lot of attention.”\nWest said the quality of his music was the key reason he prevailed. “I think my music is really inspirational and I really made it for the people,” he said. “I really understood that in this Internet age people are their own superstars ... the best bet that we had was to make a soundtrack to their own lives.”\nWest said he was especially touched that he had such a groundswell of support given some of the negative media attention he’s gotten of late – namely, his meltdown at the VMAs after being shut out, though he poked fun at himself during Sunday’s Emmy Awards.\n“With all the negativity that the press tries to put on me, (there is) this perception that they try to create of me being a really bad person. For so many fans to go out and say, ‘We still want to buy Kanye’s album,’ means a lot to me,” he said. “This is a really pivotal moment for me emotionally.”
(09/14/07 2:39am)
NEW YORK – 50 Cent may be getting hip-hop’s equivalent of a gold watch next week.\nEarly reports have Kanye West beating 50 Cent in their much-hyped battle of album sales: West’s “Graduation” is on pace to sell about 575,000 to 700,000 its first week out, while 50 Cent’s “Curtis” is on track to sell 550,000, according to Billboard magazine. As of day one, Kanye had sold 437,000 copies to 50’s 310,000, according to Nielsen Soundscan.\nBoth albums were released Tuesday, and a confident 50 Cent famously announced that he would retire if West outsold him in first-week sales.\n“I just don’t view him as competition based on our previous sales histories,” 50 Cent told The Associated Press last month.\nBut it looks as if 50 underestimated the power of West, and perhaps, overestimated his own appeal.\n“I don’t think it’s helped 50 that so many of these prerelease singles that have come out have fizzled on the charts right away,” said Jonathan Cohen, Billboard’s senior editor. “There were street date changes. It has just not been a good run-up to this record for him.”\nMeanwhile, Cohen says West is having a more “charmed” experience, despite his recent tantrum at the MTV Video Music Awards after going home empty-handed.\n“These tantrums he goes on, these outlandish comments he makes, they don’t really hurt him,” said Cohen. “If anything, they’ve got more people interested in what he’s all about.”\nStill, don’t finalize those retirement party plans for 50 Cent just yet; there are several days to go before a final tally is determined, and he could catch up and overtake West.\n“It is a projection,” Cohen said of the initial sales predictions. “It can very easily deviate.”\nAnd there is still the potential of a third-party candidate winning the race: country superstar Kenny Chesney, whose “Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates” also was released on Tuesday, is so far on pace to sell 400,000 to 550,000 copies.
(09/11/07 5:16am)
LAS VEGAS – Somewhere, Kevin Federline is laughing. An out-of-shape, out-of-touch Britney Spears delivered what was destined to be the most talked about performance of the MTV Video Music Awards – but for all the wrong reasons.\nKicking off the show Sunday night with her new single, “Gimme More,” Spears looked bleary and unprepared, much like her recent tabloid exploits on the streets of Los Angeles. She walked through her dance moves with little enthusiasm. She appeared to have forgotten the art of lip-synching. And, perhaps most unforgivable given her once-taut frame, she looked embarrassingly out of shape.\nEven the celebrity-studded audience seemed bewildered. 50 Cent looked at Spears with a confused look on his face; Diddy, her new best friend, was expressionless.\nSome comeback. Breathlessly hyped by MTV as the evening’s most anticipated performance, it became the most shockingly bad of the night. Jive Records might want to push back that Nov. 13 album release date.\nThe VMAs had better luck with their own reinvention on Sunday. After suffering poor reviews and a decline in ratings over the last few years, MTV moved the show to Las Vegas’ Palms Casino, shortened the show from three hours to two, and changed the show’s setup to focus more on performances than awards. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, Kanye West, Fall Out Boy and the Foo Fighters each hosted separate suite parties, where much of the show’s performances were held.\nThankfully, after Spears’ dismal start and an awkward, off-color intro by comedian Sarah Silverman, the show rebounded with several exciting performances. (There was even more drama in the audience: an off-camera fight broke out between Pamela Anderson exes Kid Rock and Tommy Lee, leading Diddy to remark: “It’s not just the hip-hop artists that sometimes have a problem.”)\nTimberlake’s suite was packed with revelers, alcohol and eight lingerie-clad stripper types on raised platforms. Before he accepted the Quadruple Threat of the Year award at his suite, the DJ summoned the partygoers to watch the monitor and go crazy if Timberlake won.\nHe did, they did and Timberlake said: “I want to challenge MTV to play more videos!” Then he was whisked away by bodyguards and disappeared.\nTimberlake was the night’s big winner, with four trophies. After accepting the award for Male Artist of the Year, he jabbed at MTV again: “We don’t want to see the Simpsons on reality television” – apparently he’s not a fan of either Jessica or Ashlee’s MTV shows.\nMeanwhile, Rihanna won the coveted Video of the Year and Monster Single of the Year for “Umbrella.”\nOther performers were appearing on the show’s main stage, in front of an industry-only audience seated at tables, like at the Golden Globes. Chris Brown gave one of the evening’s most extravagant performances – a dance-centric, eye-popping spectacle that channeled Michael Jackson, right down to a brief “Billie Jean” imitation.\nWhile performances like Alicia Keys and Spears were delivered on the main stage, others were delivered in snippets: Akon crooned a bit of his “Smack That” before an award was announced, while the cameras zoomed in on Fall Out Boy and the Foo Fighters mid-performance in their suites, giving viewers the sense that they had happened upon an intimate concert. Soulja Boy was showing Kanye West his “Crank That” dance in West’s suite.\nThough the suites appeared to be chaotic parties, the MTV-cast revelers were carefully organized and strategically placed for the cameras.\nChoreographed or not, Timberlake and Timbaland’s joint suite looked like the most exciting – T.I., buffeted by pole dancers, delivered a rousing version of “Big Things Poppin’” while 50 Cent stopped by to perform “Ayo Technology” with Timberlake and Timbaland.\nBut the TV audience never got full views of those shows, though MTV promised viewers more via its Web site and other “remixed” versions of the show. That might have been the purpose: to whet appetites for repeat viewings by promising glimpses of what they missed during the traditional broadcast. And unlike in recent years, there was plenty reason to come back for more.
(01/26/06 4:55am)
NEW YORK - The rap debut of Kevin Federline -- known as K-Fed to some but to most as Mr. Britney Spears -- features only a snippet of his lyrical prowess. Given the response to it, even less might have been better.\n"PopoZao,"a Brazilian-inspired groove which features Federline rapping about large posteriors in-between a few yelps and a gruff-voiced chorus, made its debut on the Internet earlier this month. Though the track is three minutes long and Federline's rap lasts for less than a minute, it has already become a popular music track circulating on the Web.\nBut popular and likable are two distinct notions when it comes to "PopoZao." Entertainment Weekly said it was worse than expected while the music trade magazine Billboard called it "a monument to mediocrity."\n"It's incredible -- incredibly horrible," laughs DJ Star of the raucous Star & Buc Wild show, which broadcasts from New York's Power 105.1 but is syndicated nationally.\n"The good news is there's a lot of exposure for him; the bad news is 75 percent are rating it as an 'F,'" says Jack Isquith, executive director at AOL Music, which devoted a whole page -- mockingly titled "The Emancipation of K-Fed" -- to the song, and allowed visitors to rate "PopoZao." He said a half-million visitors have been on the site and about 85,000 have played the song.\n"So far, there's a lot of interest but not a lot of people yet are feeling this is a great song or his career is going to go," he said.\nStill, Federline bets he'll end up having the last laugh once his album, as yet untitled, is released this spring.\n"I'm not too worried about any of that," Federline said of the negative reviews in an interview last week with The Associated Press. "Eventually the music will speak for itself. You're only going to look at me like this for so long."\nThe public hasn't had much of a positive view ever since Spears thrust the baggy pants-wearing, chain-smoking Federline into the spotlight as her backup dancer -- and boyfriend -- in 2004. The couple's trashy exploits since hooking up include televising their quickie romance on the reality show "Chaotic" and wearing tracksuits at their wedding celebration (his read "Pimp Daddy" on the back), and have helped make K-Fed a tabloid-target and late-night show joke magnet.\n"He's running a close second for pimp of the decade," says Star. "He's right behind Bobby Brown."\nLately, gossip mongers have suggested that Spears, who recently gave birth to son Sean, is tiring of Federline's alleged partying ways, though Federline denies the rumors of strife.\n"I love my kids, I'm a proud father, a happy husband, and all of that," says Federline, who also has two children with ex-girlfriend Shar Jackson. "I live my life with my wife as a normal person and that's that."\nAnd Federline says he hasn't been spending most of his time partying, but working on the upcoming album.\n"I've been in the closet with it for a while," says Federline. "I don't know, guess I would have to say I'm the rookie of the year"
(02/15/05 5:42am)
LOS ANGELES -- Ray Charles had a legendary career that defied categorization and influenced generations of artists, but he never had one of those blockbuster albums that many lesser artists have enjoyed. Eight months after his death, all is right with the world. Charles' final album, "Genius Loves Company," won a leading eight Grammy awards Sunday night, including album of the year, record of the year for "Here We Go Again" with Norah Jones and pop vocal album.\nCharles' big night was less happy for CBS. Viewership for the Grammys was down 28 percent from last year to 18.8 million from 26.2 million, according to Nielsen Media Research. The victories highlighted the astounding success of "Genius Loves Company," which has sold more than 2 million copies -- the most of Charles' 60-plus albums.\n"I'm going to cry, actually," Jones said as she accepted the trophy for record of the year. "I think it just shows how wonderful music can be."\nU2 won three awards, including best rock performance by a duo or group. Green Day, the most nominated rock act with six for their politically charged punk opera, "American Idiot," won best rock album.\n"Rock 'n' roll can be dangerous and fun at the same time, so thanks a lot," Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong said as he accepted the award.\nAlicia Keys and Usher shared an award for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals for their chart-topping duet "My Boo." Each was nominated for eight Grammys; Keys won four, whereas Usher won three. Keys had a chance to win more than any other woman in one evening. In 2002 she won five Grammys for her debut album, "Songs in A Minor," becoming only the second woman to win that many in one night. (Lauryn Hill won five in 1999; Jones and Beyonce also won five after Keys did.) John Mayer was one of the artists who prevented a record night by Keys, as his mellow tribute "Daughters" won song of the year. \nThe most nominated artist of the year was perhaps the most multifaceted: Kanye West, the songwriter-producer who made his rap debut in 2004 with the cutting-edge CD "The College Dropout." He was nominated for 10 Grammys, including album of the year, but he took home only three, including best rap album and best rap song for "Jesus Walks." He was upset in the best new artist category, losing to Maroon 5 in a race that also included country singer Gretchen Wilson, Los Lonely Boys and soul siren Joss Stone. Maroon 5's Adam Levine seemed almost apologetic after winning.\n"Kanye West, I want to thank you so much for being wonderful," he said. The camera cut away to West, who looked less than pleased.\nSome expected West to have a meltdown like he did at the American Music Awards, where he complained bitterly backstage after losing the same award to Wilson. But on Sunday night he went on to deliver an eye-popping performance of "Jesus Walks" and an emotional acceptance speech for best rap album. After referring to the car accident a few years ago that almost took his life, West promised to live life to the fullest.\n"I plan to celebrate and scream and pop champagne every chance I get because I'M AT THE GRAMMYS, BABY!," West proclaimed.\nHe also mentioned his AMA embarrassment. \n"Everybody wanted to know what would I do if I didn't win. I guess we'll never know," he said, holding his trophy high.\nAt least West didn't have to wait decades to get a trophy, as did some veterans finally honored by the Recording Academy.\nSteve Earle's left-leaning "The Revolution Starts ... Now" won for contemporary folk album. Rod Stewart, who had complained in recent years about never winning a Grammy, won for traditional pop vocal album for his standards recording, "Stardust ... The Great American Songbook Vol. III."\nBrian Wilson, who released his album "Smile" after a more than three-decade wait, won best rock instrumental performance for "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow." He never had been honored before, even as leader of The Beach Boys. The big irony: The man who did more for vocal harmony than anyone in rock 'n' roll won in an instrumental category.\n"I waited 42 years for this Grammy, and it was well worth the wait," Wilson said backstage. "It represents triumph and achievement in music that I feel that I deserved, and I'm really glad I won."\nThe oft-maligned Britney Spears also won her first Grammy in the best dance recording category for "Toxic." Spears wasn't present, but another newlywed was on hand. Jennifer Lopez performed a duet in Spanish with new hubby Marc Anthony, their first public performance together. Other performers included Green Day, whose rollicking act was bleeped by the censors, and U2. Even the "Godfather of Soul" James Brown joined Usher for a funky number showcasing their dancing prowess. Perhaps the evening's most exhilarating performance was from Melissa Etheridge. The rocker, who is battling breast cancer, took to the stage for a Janis Joplin tribute with a shaved head but a strong voice and received a standing ovation. \nBut ultimately the night belonged to Ray Charles. Besides the four awards for best album and song, "Genius Loves Company" won for best instrumental arrangement accompanying a vocalist, best gospel performance, best engineered album and best surround sound album. Charles was 73 when he died in June, with a total of 12 Grammys in his 50-plus year career. The most he ever won in one night was four in 1960, including two for the classic "Georgia On My Mind." That was the song Keys and the actor Jamie Foxx performed Sunday; Foxx is considered an Oscar lock for his portrayal of Charles in "Ray." Foxx, a more than decent musician, sat at a piano opposite Keys as Quincy Jones conducted the orchestra.\n"For an old friend," Foxx said as he began to play.
(01/14/05 2:14pm)
NEW YORK -- When Casey Stratton was a struggling singer-songwriter a few years ago, he had idealistic notions about artistic integrity. High on his list of what would jeopardize it: licensing his music to television.\n"When I was younger, I used to be really weird about stuff like that, like, 'I will not cheapen my work by putting it on TELEVISION!'" he recalls with a chuckle.\nThat was before the producers of the teen-oriented drama "Tarzan" called and asked to use the bittersweet ballad "Hollow," from his debut album, on the WB show. Stratton gave the go-ahead, and while the exposure from the show (which was canceled last year) didn't catapult him to stardom, it drew enough attention to help generate some buzz for his self-titled album (released January 2003).\nAnd it helped Stratton change his views on using his melodic, emotionally charged tunes on TV.\n"It doesn't really matter now. It doesn't hurt anyone and it was good for the scene," Stratton said. "And it was a good stepping stone."\nOther artists are finding out the same, as more TV shows especially those heavy on melodramatic teen plotlines rely on musicians to intensify the emotion of a heart-wrenching breakup, intense makeout scene or tear-jerking tragedy.\n"Our challenge is always to make the show contemporary and to make it resonate somehow with kids," said Mark Schwahn, creator, executive producer and writer of the WB drama "One Tree Hill," centered around two half-brothers who grew up on opposite ends of the wealth scale, the girl that comes between them and the soap-opera surrounding their lives.\nJohn Schwartz, creator, executive producer and one of the writers for "The O.C." which follows the wild, reckless and beautiful kids of the pampered set in Orange County, says the trend speaks to the way a new generation of TV producers has been influenced by film.\nThe shift is proving to be a boon to new, alternative artists, who tend to be the kind of musicians tapped for such shows partly because of producers' eclectic tastes, and partly because of their shows' tight music budgets.\n"The reason why we use a lot of undiscovered music or brand new music is because those albums are just breaking, and the artist and the labels want that advertising, they want that promotion," Schwahn said. "These are wonderful acts, but they haven't had the exposure that Britney Spears has had or any of the other huge acts."\nArtists not only get a small payment, but also the exposure which can be worth much more.\nProducers said the incorporation of music is not a cross-promotional marketing gimmick. Music is so central to how Schwartz and Schwahn depict a story that they sometimes write scenes around a particular song that's moved them.\n"It becomes so incredibly difficult to get independent or off-the-beaten track music onto radio or MTV that television and commercials and that kind of stuff has become a really interesting avenue for launching new music," he says.\nAnd Day is ready for the opportunity no matter what the show.\n"Even now, if a soap opera wants to use my song, I'm kind of like, OK," Day said. "I just see it as a great promotion, and it's an easy way for me to make money ... just send me a check"
(11/15/04 5:22am)
NEW YORK -- The rap artist O.D.B., whose unique rhymes, wild lifestyle and incessant legal troubles made him one of the most vivid characters in hip hop, collapsed and died inside a recording studio Saturday. He was 35.\nO.D.B. complained of chest pains before collapsing at the Manhattan studio, and was dead by the time paramedics arrived, said Gabe Tesoriero, a spokesman for O.D.B.'s record label, Roc-a-Fella Records.\nThe cause of death was not immediately clear, but O.D.B. recently finished a prison sentence for drug possession and escaping a rehab clinic. He would have turned 36 Monday.\nO.D.B. -- also known as Ol' Dirty Bastard, Dirt McGirt, Big Baby Jesus or his legal name of Russell Jones -- was a founding member of the seminal rap group the Wu-Tang Clan in the early 1990s. With his unorthodox delivery -- alternately slurred, hyper and nonsensical -- O.D.B. stood out even in the nine-man Clan, which featured such future stars as Method Man, RZA and Ghostface Killah.\nThe Wu-Tang blueprint was for each member to pursue solo projects, and O.D.B.'s were among the best. He released hit singles such as "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" and "Got Your Money," and appeared on remixes with artists like Mariah Carey.\n"There's nobody like him in the game," RZA told the Associated Press in an April interview.\nAs his fame increased, so did his erratic behavior, and fans came to expect the unexpected from O.D.B.\nWhen "MTV News" followed him around at the height of his popularity, he took the camera crew and several of his kids (he was said to have more than a dozen, by numerous mothers) to the welfare office -- in a limousine -- to get an allotment of food stamps.\nAnd he received them.\nOver the years, he was wounded in shootings and arrested on a veritable laundry list of charges, including menacing security officers, illegally possessing body armor, driving with a suspended license, shoplifting and threatening a former girlfriend.\nIn 2000, after escaping a court-ordered stint in a California rehabilitation center, authorities searched for him for a month. He was finally arrested in Philadelphia -- three days after performing in a New York City concert with his Wu-Tang clique.\nHe was sentenced in 2001 to two to four years in prison for drug possession, plus two concurrent years for escaping from the clinic. He was released in 2003 and immediately signed with Roc-a-Fella Records.\nHis mother, Cherry Jones, said she received the news of her son's death in a phone call, which she called "every mother's worst dream."\n"To the public he was known as Old Dirty Bastard, but to me he was known as Rusty. The kindest most generous soul on earth," she said in the statement. "Russell was more than a rapper, he was a loving father, brother, uncle, and most of all, son"
(08/27/04 4:11am)
NEW YORK -- In the 21-year history of MTV's Video Music Awards, viewers have been treated to some eye-popping moments -- Prince's bare buttocks, Lil' Kim's sequined pasty, Britney and Madonna's steamy kiss last year.\nAfter the firestorm over the MTV-produced Super Bowl halftime show, in which Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson's costume to reveal her bare breast, might we see tamer VMAs when they air Sunday?\nMTV President Van Toffler isn't promising any flesh-baring moments. But he's also not promising a Nickelodeon-friendly affair.\n"You never know what they're going to do or say," Toffler said of the various artists who will converge at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, where the awards will be held for the first time. "Our audience has come to expect of MTV, and this event, very unpredictable, compelling television. That is not going to change, regardless of the Super Bowl or the kiss."\nThere's talk of using a video delay for the first time on the live broadcast (it's had an audio delay for years).\n"It simply happens when you put musicians and artists together: They don't always do what you want them to do," Toffler told The Associated Press in an interview.\nThat's usually the best part of the show, however. Few watch because of the awards -- who can even remember last year's top winner for video of the year? (In case you forgot, it was Missy Elliott's surreal "Work It?") Instead, people watch to see Eminem threaten a sock puppet, Diana Ross fondle Lil' Kim's breast or Michael Jackson kiss then-wife Lisa Marie Presley.\n"It's always a fun time, a time to relax and let loose," said Jessica Simpson, one of the performers slated for Sunday night.\nOther presenters and performers include Usher, Jennifer Lopez, P. Diddy, Nelly, Christina Aguilera, Dave Chapelle, Will Smith, Hilary Duff and the Miami Heat's newest member -- Shaquille O'Neal.\nThere will be awards to dole out -- Jay-Z's gritty "99 Problems," which depicts his own killing as a metaphor for his supposed retirement, received the most nominations: six.\nOther multiple nominees include his girlfriend, Beyonce, for her videos "Me Myself and I" and "Naughty Girl"; OutKast for "Hey Ya!"; and No Doubt's "It's My Life."\nUsher is up for five awards. He's never won a moonman trophy, so he told the AP that a win "would mean the world. You don't win one every day, and it's very hard to get one."\nFor those not nominated, it's a big party.\nTraditionally, the show has been held in New York; occasionally, in Los Angeles. But for the first time, it's being held outside those two cities, in Miami. The network plans to take advantage of the beach town.\n"Everybody's on a vacation mindset. It's going to be more of a party this time," Simpson said. "It will be nice to lay out at the pool before I perform."\nThere will be other changes too. There's no host, and it will be held on a Sunday, instead of the traditional Thursday night.\n"There's just so much going on this summer with the conventions and the Olympics," Toffler explained. "Sunday night's a festive night over the summer."\nThere's usually a surprise element to the awards, in the form of a special performer or presenter. Toffler teased: "I would not be late to the show, especially in light of what happened last year," referring to the Madonna, Spears and Aguilera performance that kicked off the show and led to same-sex kissing.\nSimpson says her performance will include a "pretty cool entrance." But don't expect anything shocking from her.\n"I'm not good at shocking people unless I'm letting some `Chicken of the Sea' comment fly out my mouth," she said, joking about her infamous bubbleheaded comment. "I think leaving more to the imagination is better, and that's sexier to me."\nAlthough Toffler says MTV hasn't issued any edicts to performers to be on their best behavior, he doesn't expect any Jackson-Timberlake moments at the show.\n"At the end of the day, what Janet Jackson did at the Super Bowl didn't work for her, and the artists that we work with are professionals," he said.
(07/22/04 2:00am)
NEW YORK -- Soprano Jo Appleby studied opera for years, won coveted roles in key operas and performed at some of the most revered venues in classical music.\nYet this year you'll find her singing a semi-operatic, semi-cheesy version of "Unchained Melody" with four other classically trained singers in the group Amici forever, which bills itself as the "world's first opera band."\n"You get to sing to a wider audience to people who perhaps wouldn't hear you otherwise," Appleby told The Associated Press. "I was happy in what I was doing, but this was just a different path, an interesting path."\nAnd a path chosen by more and more acts with classical backgrounds. This spring, 17-year-old Hayley Westenra -- whom some have called New Zealand's answer to former classical cherub Charlotte Church -- made her U.S. debut with "Pure," an album of opera, classic songs and airy ballads with an operatic tilt. Verve Records, which is primarily a jazz label, is readying the debut of Joshua Payne, a hunky, high-powered tenor who's classically trained, with a voice like the multi-platinum pipes of Josh Groban.\nAnd Norwegian singer Sissel, though not a classically trained performer, has been touring the country showcasing her musical mix of classical songs with a smooth, pop feel.\n"I've always done all different styles. I always did a little bit of classical, a little bit of pop and a little bit of folk," explains Sissel, who works with the London Symphony Orchestra on her latest album, "My Heart."\n"I have to do different styles. If I were to only do classical music, it would be boring to me."\nBroadway show tunes were Hayley's first inspiration, then operas. She also worked with a choral group called Canterbury Opera Youth and has received voice lessons from opera singer Dame Malvina Major.\nYet "Pure," the fastest-selling classical debut in Britain's history, is hardly a pure classical album. She even remakes the song "Wuthering Heights" from pop singer Kate Bush.\n"People are not so afraid to combine different styles in the classical area. People are having fun exploring," says Hayley, whose album has sold more than 40,000 copies in the United States, stellar sales for a classical disc.\n"I think it kind of appeals to both," she says. "They do like classical music but they do enjoy listening to something lighter. It's kind of fun and interesting, listening to such a mixture."\nMelding classical music into a pop-palatable project has certainly boosted record sales. Whereas a pure classical record is considered a success if it sells a few thousand copies, classical crossover records can sell upward of 100,000 albums -- and in Groban's case, in the millions.\nThe 23-year-old Groban, who trained vocally for classical and pop, has been the genre's biggest success story in years. He made his self-titled debut in 2002 and sold more than 2 million albums; his latest disc, "Closer," is approaching 4 million.\n"The main challenge on these last two albums is getting everything that I like to do on the album; opening my voice up in a classical way, finding music that's eclectic and working with pop and rock music, but still making it feel like a complete album from beginning to end," Groban told the AP in a recent interview.\n"I didn't realize kind of what genre I was in until lot of other artists were coming out doing the same thing," he said. "Classical crossover was not something that I was even aware of when I was making this album."\nIt's not new. Church sold millions of records worldwide after her 1999 debut, and opera tenor Andrea Bocelli has reached the huge Oprah audience with his recordings. Russell Watson, who was not trained as a classical singer, also had big success with his classically inspired debut in 2001.\n"There really is kind of a broad spectrum from left to right. You might have composers or musicians who are really at their core are classical people but are inspired by popular artists," said Edward Bilous of Juilliard.\nThen there are pop musicians who have dabbled in classical music. Billy Joel released "Fantasies & Delusions," an album of his own classical compositions, and Elvis Costello has recorded with soprano Anne Sofie Von Otter and the Brodsky Quartet.\nBilous says classical crossover tends to appeal to an audience tired of slick pop, but perhaps too intimidated by "pure" classical music.\n"Basically, classical music does take a little bit more work to get into than pop music ... it's more complex," he said. "You have to spend time getting into it. People nowadays are not interested in working toward their artistic experience. What they're interested in is being more entertained."\nAmici baritone Nick Garrett says entertainment is a major component for his group, which includes Appleby, soprano Tsakane Valentine, tenor Geoff Sewell and another baritone, David Habbin.\n"We entertain -- it's all about the singing. People who like classical singing with a little bit of a pop feel, they're the kind of people we're trying to entertain," he says. "It's not really about opera, it's more about a classical style of singing, not a purely pop style."\nStill, Appleby bristles at the notion that her current work is less taxing.\n"It's more demanding. I sing the same way as I've always done. In some venues, we use microphones, but that can be harder work," she says. "We're not singing in a different way. The feel is different."\n"There's some quality in the voice, and some integrity in the singing," Garrett says. "I think that's what people latch onto"
(04/20/04 4:42am)
NEW YORK --Even the folks at VH1 admit they didn't really consider Jessica Simpson diva material when they put together their annual "Divas" extravaganza last year. Rick Krim, a VH1 executive vice president, said she didn't seem to appeal to the targeted audience.\n"At that point, she was geared a little toward a teen audience," Krim said.\nMore bluntly, Simpson was widely regarded as a C--list Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera with diminishing record sales and questionable star power. One year later, Simpson's once dull star has not only brightened-- it has exploded, ever since she and hubby Nick Lachey turned their marriage over to MTV for the hugely successful series "The Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica." Simpson's latest album, "In This Skin," a dud when it was first released last summer, is now platinum and still climbing. The couple's April 11 TV special, "The Nick & Jessica Variety Hour," was so successful ABC ordered another for Christmas. At just 23 years old, Simpson's shooting her own ABC sitcom pilot about a not-so-bright blonde celebrity named Jessica Sampson. And then there's her line of lickable perfumes debuting this month.\n"The best part about life right now is watching prayers being answered. That's so amazing," Simpson said.\nAnd she finally ranks as a diva -- in VH1's eyes. She's one of the headliners at Sunday's live broadcast from Las Vegas.\n"I've always watched 'Divas,' and I knew I could hang with them. I knew I could do it. And I think more than anything, it's an honor to be finally respected for my voice," Simpson said.\nHer considerable vocal talent is what first made her a teen pop starlet. Her 1999 major--label debut, "Sweet Kisses," sold almost 2 million copies (though 2001's follow up, "Irresistible," wasn't a big seller). But it's Simpson's personality -- a delightful mix of ditziness, petulance, wholesome Southern charm and sex appeal --that's now getting her on magazine covers. Krim said though Simpson is a singer, she has another side to her personality.\n"She had a moderately successful recording career, but as a personality, I don't think people got to see that other side of her, that captivated people," said Krim.\nThat "other side" happened to be her ditzy side. She's been widely lampooned for her bubble--head antics on the "Newlyweds" like eschewing Buffalo wings because "I don't eat buffalo." But she's not only accepted her doofus status, she's reveled in it.\n"I think that's what makes it funny, and that's what makes it endearing, is that I'm accepting of the fact that I know I don't think before I talk, and I have my ditzy moments. It's just who I am," Simpson said.\nFor those who ask, "How can she be that dumb?" the answer is, she's not. She's just acting her hair color.\n"Ever since I was in junior high, I've played it up," the Texas native said. "I don't know whether it's being from the South and having blond hair and having this image growing up as a blonde, but it was just something that I always adapted too, and made part of my life, and made part of my personality."\nNow it's part of her shtick, too. In her new pilot, she plays an airhead celebrity who's tapped by a news magazine to join their show in part to boost ratings.\n"It's kind of like playing myself exaggerated, so it's really not that much acting," she said.\nLachey, the former lead singer for the teen pop group 98 Degrees, is developing his own sitcom as well. But his solo debut, also released last year, has not fared as well as his wife's, nor does he garner as much attention. It's led to tabloid speculation that her bright spotlight is causing martial tensions. Simpson, who is quick to rave about her husband during a conversation ("Nick has a great sense of humor" she gushes), is also quick to shoot down rumors of jealousy.\n"I think in general, focus is always more on women because there's always a story in an outfit or in a purse," she said. "From 'Newlyweds,' people have seen what an amazing man of character Nick is, and I think most of the viewers would want to be married to him if I wasn't."\nOf course, if she wasn't married to Lachey, she might not have such amazing success -- she even jokes it was the best move of her career.But she's not sure how long her marriage will be the focal point.\n"It's hard to have cameras around nonstop all the time, but it has given us the opportunity to further our careers, and to take on stuff that we've always wanted to take on," she said.\nOnly a few years ago, Simpson was writing in her journal, wondering why she hadn't achieved the multi--platinum successes that peers like Spears and Aguilera had.\n"I was young and I was comparing myself to them as well," she said. "And now I don't even have to because people see me so completely different, which is awesome.\nHer new found success has made Simpson feel differently about her career and the future. \n"I can just be myself, and maybe somewhere down the line, a new up-and-coming girl will be compared to me"
(02/09/04 5:41am)
LOS ANGELES -- Balladeer Luther Vandross, recovering from a stroke, won four Grammys on Sunday including song of the year for "Dance With My Father," and Beyonce earned a record-tying five honors.\nOutKast won album of the year for "SpeakerBoxxx/The Love Below in a ceremony televised by CBS on a five-minute delay to avoid anything like Janet Jackson's Super Bowl flesh flash.\nDespite a tightly scripted show devoid of outrageousness or spontaneity -- a marked contrast to today's pop scene -- Jackson's breast-baring at the hands of dance partner Justin Timberlake remained the major subplot, as CBS and Jackson offered conflicting reports about why she was not at the show.\n"I know it's been a rough week on everybody," said Timberlake, stifling a self-deprecating laugh while accepting the best male pop vocal performance award for "Cry Me a River." He brought his mother as his date. "What occurred was unintentional, completely regrettable, and I apologize if you guys are offended."\nVandross won for best song, best R&B album and best male R&B performance for "Dance With My Father"; and best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals for "The Closer I Get to You," a remake he did with Beyonce.\nHe was unable to attend, but sent a videotaped message, his first public remarks since his April 2003 stroke.\n"I wish I could be with you there tonight. I want to thank everyone for your love and support," said a weak-looking Vandross. "And remember, when I say goodbye it's never for long, because" -- and he sang -- "I believe in the power of love!"\nBeyonce tied a record for female artists with her five awards, but won none of the top categories of song, record or album of the year.\nThe moody British rock band Coldplay, up against four hip-hop nominees for record of the year, won for their song "Clocks."\nRockers Evanescence won best new artist in an upset over rapper 50 Cent -- who briefly walked onstage as Evanescence accepted their award.\n"Thank you, 50," said Evanesence's Amy Lee as the rap star smiled for the camera.\nRock singer Warren Zevon, who rushed to complete a final album before his September death from lung cancer, won his first two Grammy Awards. June Carter Cash also won two posthumous awards, and her husband Johnny Cash and former Beatle George Harrison were also honored after their deaths.\nThe 46th annual awards show began at 4:55 p.m. -- five minute before airtime -- with Prince performing "Purple Rain," marking the 20th year of the groundbreaking song and movie.\nBeyonce, wearing a tight dress with a feather skirt that fleetingly revealed her pink panties, joined Prince on his hits and then sang her own "Crazy in Love," which won two trophies -- for best R&B song and best rap/sung collaboration. Her boyfriend, Jay-Z, won two awards for collaborating on that hit.\nBeyonce also won best female R&B performance and best contemporary R&B album for "Dangerously in Love," and best R&B performance by a duo or group for her song with Vandross.\nHer five trophies tied a record set by Alicia Keys, Norah Jones and Lauryn Hill for the most Grammys won by a female artist.\n"This is unbelievable. Performing was enough for me," an excited Beyonce said.\nOutKast, nominated for a leading six Grammys, won three: best album, best urban/alternative performance for "Hey Ya!" and best rap album for "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below."\nOther multiple winners included Jack White of The White Stripes and Eminem, with two each, and bluegrass singer Alison Krauss, who had three.\nTimberlake was all over the awards, performing on several songs and winning two trophies. CBS said in a statement that it had reservations about allowing him and Jackson to appear as planned, but ultimately "respected the Recording Academy's wishes to produce the program they originally intended."\nCBS said it agreed to allow Timberlake and Jackson as long as they apologized on the air for their Super Bowl stunt.\nBut a statement from Jackson's camp said CBS and the Grammys first asked her not to attend, then reversed themselves and re-invited her, but she chose not to attend.\n"She was never uninvited," insisted Jason Padgitt of the publicity firm Rogers & Cowan, which represents the Recording Academy. "She was always invited to be here and she chose not to be."\nThe incident bubbled beneath the surface all night. "I don't want to have the same thing happen that Janet had done," Christina Aguilera said while accepting the award for best female pop vocal performance in a dress cut so low, CBS briefly imposed a graphic across her chest. "But, uh, if I can keep it together ..."\nPharrell Williams, who along with Jay-Z and OutKast also had six nominations, won his first Grammy during the pre-telecast ceremony for his production work with Chad Hugo as white-hot hitmakers The Neptunes. They have produced songs for artists ranging from Justin Timberlake to Jay-Z in 2003 alone.\nThe Neptunes weren't even nominated last year, because the record companies they produced hits for forgot to put them on the ballot.\n"I was a little upset last year," Pharrell acknowledged during his acceptance speech. He also used the opportunity to stand up for friends Jackson and Timberlake. "What happened at the Super Bowl was a bit much, but I happen to know both of those people ... and they've done great things to support people around the world."\nCash, and director Mark Romanek, won for best short form music video for the haunting song "Hurt." Cash's wife, who died a few months before him in 2003, won best traditional folk album for the posthumous release "Wildwood Flower" and best female country vocal performance for "Keep on the Sunny Side."\nThe most unusual winner was former President Bill Clinton, former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev and Sophia Loren, who won best spoken word album for children for their reading on "Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf/Beintus: Wolf Tracks"
(02/04/04 5:52am)
NEW YORK -- An ailing Luther Vandross will not be able to attend Sunday's Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, where he's nominated for five awards, including song of the year for "Dance With My Father." Luther is most famous for his songs " Here and Now," and Dionne Warwick's "A House is Not a Home." \nVandross' business manager, Carmen Romano admits, this is a wonderful milestone for the R&B singer. \n"It would have been a tremendous moment for Luther to attend the Grammy Awards this year," Romano said in a statement Monday. "But on the advice of his doctors, I regret to say that Luther won't be able to make this trip."\nVandross, 52, suffered a severe stroke last April, and spent several weeks in a hospital before being transferred to a rehabilitation facility in the New York City area. He is still in a wheelchair.\nHe's nominated for five Grammys for his album, "Dance With My Father." The album, which was released last summer, became the fastest-selling disc of his career and has sold nearly two million copies. The title track is a song he co-wrote with Richard Marx in which he pays tribute to his late father.\nWhen the Grammy nominations were announced in December, Romano delivered the news personally to the singer. Vandross was so excited -- he talked about attending the event. The nominations mark the first time the R&B crooner has been nominated in one of the major categories. Although he won't be able to attend, Vandross will still be a major part of the ceremony. Celine Dion and J Records labelmate, Alicia Keys, will take part in a tribute to the star during the show, to be telecast live on CBS.\nMeanwhile, Vandross' mother, Mary, has shot two public service announcements about diabetes, which played a role in Vandross' stroke. Her husband and another son died from the disease, according to a statement from Vandross' publicist.\nVandross is also up for four NAACP Awards this year, including Outstanding Male Artist, Outstanding Music Video, Outstanding Song, and Outstanding Album.
(01/14/04 4:29am)
NEW YORK -- Antonio "L.A." Reid, who took the helm at Arista Records nearly four years ago and oversaw platinum successes from acts including OutKast, Pink and Avril Lavigne, has left the label, it was announced Tuesday.\nReid became president and CEO of Arista in May 2000 after the company's founder and CEO, Clive Davis, left because of parent company BMG's mandatory retirement policy. Reid was not available to comment, according to an Arista spokeswoman. Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, chairman and CEO of BMG, called Reid "one of the music industry's top record men."\n"His passion for working with and developing some of the world's best artists is unparalleled," Schmidt-Holtz said in a statement Tuesday. "I sincerely wish him the best of luck in all future endeavors."\nReid's departure comes at a surprising time; OutKast has the top two songs on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and "Milkshake" from Kelis, another Arista artist, is No. 3. It also has the top-selling album in the country with OutKast's "Speakerboxxx-The Love Below," which earned six Grammy nominations last month, including album of the year.The company has also had successes this year with albums from Sarah McLachlan and Dido. But the follow-up album from Pink, "Try This," has sold poorly since its release in the fall; her last album, "M!ssundaztood," sold more than 5 million copies.\nReid also re-signed Whitney Houston to a $100 million contract in 2001, despite rumors of drug use and erratic behavior about the singer, who's the label's best-selling artist. Houston's subsequent album, "Just Whitney," was the poorest-selling disc of her career.\nMichael Smellie, BMG's chief operating officer, will be in charge of Arista for now. A spokesman for BMG, Nathaniel Brown, said the company's recent announcement of a planned merger with Sony's music division had nothing to do with Reid's departure.\nReid first gained prominence in the early '80s as a founding member of the R&B group The Deele, which featured then unknown Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. Edmonds and Reid went on to build a successful production and songwriting partnership with hits for artists, such as Houston, and later for the group's own label, LaFace Records, whose artists included Toni Braxton, TLC and Usher.\nDavis, whom Reid replaced, later founded J Records with backing from BMG and is now head of RCA Music Group.
(08/29/03 4:34am)
NEW YORK -- Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera gave a writhing tribute to Madonna as MTV kicked off its 20th annual Video Music Awards Thursday by reaching into its past.\nDressed in the same kind of white bustier wedding dress that Madonna wore while performing "Like a Virgin" during 1984's inaugural show, Spears and Aguilera gyrated on stage while singing a cover of the not-so-innocent tune. Then, while Madonna sang her new song "Hollywood" in an all-black outfit, she shared an open-mouthed kiss with both Aguilera and Spears, proving the former teen stars have come a long way since their Mouseketeer days.\nTypically, MTV's annual celebration of music videos takes a back seat to wacky antics, barely there outfits and eye-popping performances.\nBut this year, things may be different.\n"Hurt," a haunting video by 71-year-old Johnny Cash, was nominated for six VMA awards and threatened to upstage the usual craziness at the night's extravaganza at Radio City Music Hall.\nAlthough Cash had hoped to attend, he was hospitalized with a stomach ailment.\nCash's video, nominated for video of the year, best male video and best direction, among others, was hardly a staple on MTV over the past year. His cover of the Nine Inch Nails song wasn't played very much, and most die-hard MTV watchers may not recall even seeing it. But it resonated with those who vote on the nominations, including music executives, video directors and journalists.\nMore people were familiar with Missy Elliott's "Work It," the most nominated video with eight. The music clip was loaded with special effects, dancing and surreal images. It won the evening's first award, for best hip-hop video, which Elliott picked up after participating in the Madonna tribute.\nNominated for seven awards was Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" video, which takes a not-so-subtle dig at ex-girlfriend Spears; the video features Timberlake exacting revenge on a cheating Spears look-alike.\nChris Rock was the show's host, and got in some early zingers, including one at Ashton Kutcher, who is currently dating Demi Moore, more than a decade his senior.\n"You gotta watch out for Ashton Kutcher, because he'll take your daughter and your mother!" he joked.\nDestiny's Child's Beyonce Knowles was among the performers, and her extravagant stage show was top-secret.\nKnowles says the show is special because "you're able to do some things that are not so serious that you couldn't do at another awards show. It's kind of silly and fun, so you can do more creative, silly things."\nThe party started even before the show; MTV took over nearby Rockefeller Center for performances by Sean Paul and the Black Eyed Peas. Among the celebrities making appearances on the red carpet were 50 Cent and his new squeeze, actress Vivica A. Fox; Ashanti, wearing a pink dress that looked as if it was pasted on with small squares; Aguilera, also wearing a pink dress -- made of feathers; and Snoop Dogg, accompanied by two women he led around by the collar with a long chain.
(04/22/03 4:51am)
NEW YORK -- Nina Simone, whose deep, raspy, forceful voice made her a unique figure in jazz and later helped define the civil rights movement, died Monday at her home in France, according to her personal manager. She was 70.\nClifton Henderson, who was at Simone's bedside at her death, said she died of "natural causes" in her sleep after a long illness. He refused to provide the name of the town where she lived.\n"She inspired other singers to do what they believed in," Henderson said, saying the musician would also be remembered for her activism. "She'll definitely be looked at as a civil rights movement leader."\nBorn Eunice Kathleen Waymon in 1933 in North Carolina, Simone was the sixth of seven children in a poor family. She began playing the piano at age 4.\nIn the late 1950s Simone recorded her first tracks, including "Plain Gold Ring" and "Don't Smoke In Bed." But she gained fame in 1959 with her recording of "I Loves You Porgy," from the opera "Porgy & Bess."\nBut she later wove the turbulent times of the 1960s into her music. In 1963, after the church bombing that killed four young black girls in Birmingham, Ala., and the slaying of Medgar Evers, she wrote "Mississippi Goddam," and after the killing of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., she recorded "Why? The King of Love is Dead." One of her most famous songs was the black pride anthem, "To Be Young, Gifted and Black."\nSimone enjoyed perhaps her greatest success in the 1960s and 70s, with songs like "I Want A Little Sugar in My Bowl," and "Four Women" -- the song with the famous line "they call me PEACHES."\nShe recorded songs from artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Bee Gees and made them her own. Perhaps one of her more popular covers was her version of "House of the Rising Sun."\nSimone spent much of her recent time in France, and in a 1998 interview blamed racism in the United States for her decision to live abroad, saying that as a black person she had "paid a heavy price for fighting the establishment."\nShe left the United States in 1973 and lived in the Caribbean and Africa before settling in Europe.\nShe was survived by a daughter, Lisa -- also a singer.
(04/18/03 4:27am)
NEW YORK -- Madonna's "American Life" video has been reincarnated as a tamer, nonviolent version of its former self.\nThe performer scrapped the original version because she thought its violent, antiwar themes were inappropriate during the U.S.-led conflict in Iraq.\nThe first video from her new "American Life" album -- which comes out Tuesday -- featured explosions, a runway show of couture army fatigues and Madonna dancing in a military uniform. At the end, she threw what looked like a hand grenade into the lap of a President Bush look-alike.\nThe new version, which premiered Wednesday night on the cable network VH1, still features Madonna dressed in a military uniform, but she's simply singing in front of a backdrop of ever-changing flags of different countries.\nWhen Madonna decided not to release the original version earlier this month, she said: "Due to the volatile state of the world and out of sensitivity and respect to the armed forces, who I support and pray for, I do not want to risk offending anyone who might misinterpret the meaning of this video."\nBut in a VH1 special that aired before the video's debut, the 44-year-old singer said she was frustrated that some celebrities who express antiwar sentiments are suffering a backlash.\nThe Dixie Chicks, for example, saw sales of their best-selling disc "Home" drop after lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience she was "ashamed" of President Bush, a remark for which she later apologized.\n"You know, it's ironic. We're fighting for democracy in Iraq because we ultimately aren't celebrating democracy here," Madonna said. "Because anybody who has anything to say against the war or against the president or whatever is punished, and that's not democracy -- it's people being intolerant."\nThis is not the first time Madonna's videos have caused a stir.\nIn 1989, religious images in "Like a Prayer" led Pepsi to drop her as a spokeswoman. In 1990, MTV refused to air "Justify My Love" because of its sexual content. Two years later, it relegated "Erotica" to early morning hours, and in 2001, VH1 and MTV wouldn't air "What it Feels Like For a Girl" because of its violent content.
(02/21/03 4:54am)
NEW YORK -- When George Clinton started his band decades ago, he hadn't yet come up with the wild costumes or tripped-out funk grooves that define it today.\n"It started out as a doo-wop group," Clinton said of the Parliaments, which would eventually become the bands Parliament and Funkadelic, among other off-shoots of his "P-Funk" family.\n"Once we decided to change from that, we went as far as we could ... from diapers to any kind of costume that anyone might have on."\nClinton's funky contribution to music, and to R&B in particular, was noted Thursday night when the Rhythm & Blues Foundation honored him as one of its pioneers.\nOther honorees are saxophonist Maceo Parker, best known as James Brown's sideman; blues singer Koko Taylor; New Orleans-based musician Clarence "Frogman" Henry; Johnny Nash, who had the hit "I Can See Clearly Now"; doo-wop group The Del Vikings; the '60s girl group The Dixie Cups; and Motown legends The Supremes.\nThe late R&B crooner Jackie Wilson received the foundation's legacy tribute; Dionne Warwick its lifetime achievement award.\n"It's wonderful to be recognized, and for them to finally understand that after 47 years," Warwick said.\nWarwick, whose hits include "Don't Make Me Over," "I Say A Little Prayer," and "Do You Know The Way to San Jose," has generally been considered more of a pop singer than an R&B singer. But she says her music is "whatever the listening ear decides."\n"I don't categorize music, because music is what it is," she said.\nClinton describes Parliament/ Funkadelic's sound as "definitely R&B based.\n"But it's also the DNA for hip-hop, for alternative, for techno and everything else."\nBlues veteran Taylor sees her award as for her genre as well.\n"I've been out here all through the years, and I'm working hard to do everything in my power to keep the blues alive, to keep everything alive," she said.\nYet she also acknowledged the award was an important personal achievement for her.\n"It means everything to me," she said. "I'd rather chop off my right arm than not have gotten this award."\nBesides the recognition, the awards come with a cash award. While the foundation would not reveal the amount, in the past they have ranged from $15,000 to $25,000.\nThe Rhythm & Blues Foundation was founded to preserve the genre's legacy and to provide assistance to soul musicians who have fallen on hard times.
(03/20/02 4:47am)
NEW YORK -- They represented the anti-establishment, so it was a bit odd to see the Ramones so happy to become part of the music establishment as members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.\nBut for the remaining members of the punk rock originators -- whose lead singer, Joey Ramone, died last year -- Monday night's induction at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel represented long-overdue respect for the band that helped revolutionize rock with their rapid-fire, guitar-heavy songs.\n"I'd like to congratulate myself, and thank myself, and give myself a big pat on the back," joked Dee Dee Ramone. "Thank you, Dee Dee, you're very wonderful."\nThe Ramones were inducted along with another of punk's first generation, the Talking Heads. Also inducted were Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, former teen idol Brenda Lee, soul maestro and "Shaft" score creator Isaac Hayes, and hitmaker Gene Pitney.\nStax Records co-founder Jim Stewart was inducted in the non-performer category. Inducted posthumously was country guitar picker Chet Atkins, as a sideman.\nPetty, who wrote hits like "Refugee" and "Free Fallin'," was inducted by the Wallflowers' lead singer Jakob Dylan. Dylan recalled how he used to watch from the wings as his father Bob Dylan performed with Petty as part of the Traveling Wilburys.\nPetty and the Heartbreakers performed "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and "American Girl."\nPetty said he was sincerely humbled to be a part of the evening.\n"It's very easy to be cynical about the hall of fame," Petty said backstage. "But on the other hand, it's really a beautiful thing for someone like me. I dedicated my entire life to this music."\nLee was just as honored by the induction.\n"I feel like Cinderella at the ball," said Lee, who recorded her two best-known songs -- the ballad "I'm Sorry" and the holiday standard "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" -- before her 16th birthday. "It is a long way from the Georgia cotton field to the Waldorf-Astoria."\nJoey Ramone, the lead singer of the Ramones, had anticipated the day that the Ramones would be inducted into the hall. But it came about a year too late -- he died in April 2001 from cancer.\nStill, his mother said he died knowing that the Ramones -- whose groundbreaking songs included "Blitzkrieg Bop" -- would find their place in the hall someday.\n"He felt pretty sure they were going to be inducted," said Charlotte Lescher. "It was important for him to have recognition for what they did. He never felt they were really recognized."\nEddie Vedder, the lead singer of Pearl Jam, echoed those sentiments as he inducted the Ramones, which he described as the precursor for bands like his own and Nirvana.\n"Something very unusual is happening here tonight, and that is this industry is paying some respect to the Ramones," Vedder said in a long, rambling speech, which he interrupted twice to swill on a bottle of wine.\nThe Talking Heads, who dissolved in bitterness in the early 1990s, played their first live gig in 18 years. They performed "Psycho Killer," "Burning Down the House" and "Life During Wartime."\n"I'd like to thank the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for giving this band a happy ending," drummer Chris Frantz said.\nBut backstage, the band said the media had overplayed their differences, and even caused them.\n"If it wasn't for the press, we wouldn't have had the acrimony," bassist Tina Weymouth said.\nGrammy winner Alicia Keys, not even born during Hayes's early 1970s heyday, inducted the veteran soul singer. Earlier, Hayes directed an orchestra and added the spoken-word passages of his best-known hit, "Theme From Shaft."\nAt the end of the evening, Hayes joined the traditional all-star jam, although it was missing some faces, including the Ramones, Tom Petty, Lee, Keys, Vedder, and a few other participants. The jam was hampered by long delays in between songs and technical difficulties.\nWhen asked why the Ramones hadn't participated in the closing festivities, the Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison said with a smile: "The Ramones don't jam."\nVH1 will show highlights of the ceremony Wednesday night. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland.