It’s time for another look at upcoming albums that have had their release dates pushed back, a condition that’s growing ever more chronic as the bottom seemingly falls out of the music industry. Today, we look at albums by Timbaland, Alicia Keys, and Mary J. Blige that are allegedly coming soon, although not as soon as originally thought. MORE »
Posts Tagged ‘mary j. blige’
Delays
Today In Pushed-Back Albums: There Are Few Shockers Here
idolator's american idolatry
Just What “American Idol” Needed: More Drama
After flying Victoria Beckham to Boston so she could once again fill American Idol’s fourth judge’s chair for the second round of auditions there, the show’s producers have decided to switch things up for Round Two in Atlanta: Frequent Idol cover-ee Mary J. Blige will join Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Kara DioGuardi and take over Paula Abdul’s spot. (And lest you think that reports of Beckham being “icy and wooden” during judging led to her getting the heave-ho, a mole inside the show has said that Posh was actually “warm with the contestants.” Good old People, always allowing the celebrity-industrial complex to stay on-message!) [People] MORE »
last night's tv party
“30 Rock” Brings Together A Few Voices That Care
Last night’s 30 Rock season finale closed out with a grand parody of one of those celebrity-studded benefit songs, a la “We’re Sending Our Love Down This Well” and “What’s Going On ‘01.” “Kidney Now!” saw Cyndi Lauper, Michael McDonald, Mary J. Blige, Elvis Costello, Norah Jones, and a slew of other well/sorta-well-known musicians warbling in honor of Jack Donaghy’s dad (played by Alan Alda)’s nephorotic needs. There’s even a splashy mini-site with a karaoke version of the track to go along with it–although Clay Aiken fans are probably going to get a bit riled up, given that its list of participating celebrities somehow managed to exclude their hero, perhaps because of his alleged relation to Kenneth the Page. (Take heart, Claymates: Mike D got left off the list as well, and he doesn’t even have your insane completely devoted fanbase!) Clip after the jump. MORE »
tv party
In this preview for tonight’s 30 Rock season finale, Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy basically blackmails Mary J. Blige, Elvis Costello, and an unrecognizable Clay Aiken into performing at a charity concert for his newly discovered, kidney-deficient father. A commercial for this episode–which will also feature Sheryl Crow and Rob Thomas, because they tend to show up on these sorts of things–promised “an ending that will end up on the Internet,” which I thought was a given since every single episode of 30 Rock has been on Hulu, like, the next morning, but maybe that was a subtle hint that NBC is really serious about getting into the whole music-blog thing? [NBC] MORE »
noon as the news
Pink Floyd Will See EMI On The Dark Side Of The Courtroom
In today’s midday headlines: Pink Floyd gets litigious, Rick Ross gets bored, and Madonna nurses her wounds. MORE »
Happy 44th birthday today to Andre Young, better known as videodrone
Bettye LaVette And Jon Bon Jovi Have A Nice (Pre-Inauguration) Day
So yesterday was the big Obamabration on the National Mall, and to celebrate the looming inauguration of this country’s brand-new president, you had your artists subtly reminding the American public that they had new albums on the horizon and that they could bring hope back to the music industry if they actually purchased said products, as well as your now de rigeur will.i.am sighting. But by far the strangest bit was when Bettye LaVette and Jon Bon Jovi took on Sam Cooke’s stone classic “A Change Is Gonna Come,” which was not odd for the song choice as much as it was for JBJ getting kind of creamed by Bettye on the song’s vocal track. (Seriously, Jon: Stick with country as your crossover genre of choice.) Cleanse your palate with Mary J. Blige busting out “Lean On Me” after the jump. MORE »
leak of the day
will.i.am Is Ecstatic That He Lives In The Land Of Obama And Oprah
ARTISTS: will.i.am, David Foster, Faith Hill, Seal, Bono, and Mary J. Blige
TITLE: “America’s Song”
WEB DEBUT: Jan. 19, 2009 MORE »
80 '08 (And heartbreak)
80 ‘08 (and Heartbreak): Announcing Idolator’s Year-End Extravaganza
What were the 80 most important musical recordings, artists, trends, events, and performances of 2008? What were the eight things this year that broke our hearts—or, at least, our ears? We’re happy to announce 80 ‘08 (and Heartbreak), Idolator’s year-end overview. The list is below the jump. MORE »
videodrone
Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly, And Johnny Gill Will Rub Your Christmas The Right Way
Maybe there are a ton of Christmas-themed mixtapes out there, but Soulful Christmas by DJ Smooth Denali (spectacular name, by the way) is the first one I’ve stumbled upon. While not every track is exactly a winner (Joe’s take on Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” adds little to the appeal of the original), the disc strikes an entertaining balance for those people who want to hear Christmas music, but are wary of tuning into their local 24-hour holiday hits station (”If we don’t play a Carpenters track each hour, call in and win $100!”). A sampling of the tracks featured in the mix—complete with confusing, YouTube-user-generated visuals—fter the cut. MORE »
