Adam Lambert officially responded this evening to news that Hi Fi Recordings' upcoming disc, On With the Show, will contain eight tracks co-written and recorded by the singer before he achieved fame as American Idol's season 8 runner-up. Lambert's statement, released through a rep for 19 Recordings, is as follows:
"Last Friday I was surprised to find out that songs I recorded back in 2005 were being released. Since then I discovered the entire track listing, revealed online today. I was shocked to learn that songwriting demos of songs that I co-wrote and recorded over the past few years may be released in an album. Like a rough draft that a writer does before finishing a book, I did not intend my work on these demos to be heard by the public. I was unaware that anyone intended to release these recordings until I heard about it in the press, and I'm very disappointed by this entire situation."
In other news pertaining to the popular Idol alumnus, a source close to the singer revealed exclusively to EW.com that Lambert recently met with acclaimed producer Linda Perry (Christina Aguilera, Pink, James Blunt); had writing sessions with Idol judge and in-demand songwriter Kara DioGuardi and Grammy nominated Sam Sparro ("Black and Gold"); and hit the studio with One Republic's Ryan Tedder, the white-hot tunesmith behind Leona Lewis'
"Bleeding Love," Beyonce's "Halo," and Jordin Sparks' latest single
"Battlefield." It was previously reported that Lambert laid down some tracks with Lady Gaga producer RedOne.
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And the record deals for American Idol season 8 finalists continue to roll in at a quick clip. After champion Kris Allen's deal with 19/Jive and runner-up Adam Lambert's deal with 19/RCA were announced earlier this week, EW has exclusively learned that 19 Recordings has also signed fourth-place-finisher, rocker Allison Iraheta, and that her debut album will be licensed to Jive Records, like Allen's forthcoming disc. And just like the the albums from her two fellow alums, Iraheta's is anticipated for a fall release. (Talk about an Idol-rific autumn!)
All week long, Idol fan sites like mjsbigblog were abuzz with rumors of Iraheta's signing. The 17-year-old singer sounds like she's barely processing the news herself: “I think I’m still in shock that this is happening -- getting to record my first album and this whole awesome experience is a dream come true!” Allison said in a statement released to EW by 19 Recordings. (Excited? Check out PopWatch's exclusive "Rocker Signed" video!)
Notably absent from the recent spate of deal-making? That’d be polarizing third-place finisher, Danny Gokey. Says a rep at 19: "There’s nothing to report just yet."
Since the 2006 release of their film Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, Jack Black and Kyle Gass -- partners in the much-loved comedy-rock duo -- have been tantalizing D fans with the promise of another album. Now Black tells EW that the two have, at last, gone back into the studio to record some new songs -- or, at least one new song. Tenacious D is hoping to get a tune into director David Fincher's planned remake of the cult 1981 animated film Heavy Metal. "We're submitting one song for Fincher's consideration," says Black, who squeezed in the sessions before heading off to England to shoot his next comedy, Gulliver's Travels. "That's a horrible scoop to give you," he adds, laughing. "Now if the movie comes out and
you see we're not in it, you'll be like, 'Oh, rejected by Fincher!' " Either way, D diehards will just be happy to know that the band is going to D-liver new material.
Feb 24, 2009, 06:31 PM | by Simon Vozick-Levinson
Categories: Music Biz
The Beastie Boys are putting the finishing touches on their eighth studio album. "It's a pretty weird record," rapper Adam Yauch (MCA) told EW at last weekend's Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, Calif., where Wendy and Lucy, which Yauch's company distributed, was nominated. And unlike 2007's vocal-free The Mix-Up, he promises it will feature "a lot of rhyming and playing and sampling -- all combined." Beyond that, details are scarce, but Yauch hints that the venerable trio has been (no surprise here) experimenting with new sounds: "We still have a good time working together. It's fun to be able to reinvent yourself every time." They're aiming for a summer or fall release, though no date has been set; tentative titles being batted around include Tad Lock's Glasses, a reference to a former tour bus driver's distinctive eyewear. (Additional reporting by Carrie Bell)
More on the Beastie Boys:
Lunch with the Beastie Boys in 2007
Ten essential tracks
Talking about 2004's To the 5 Boroughs
On the scene at a 2007 concert
Feb 18, 2009, 05:19 PM | by Simon Vozick-Levinson
Categories: Music Biz
Hit songwriter The-Dream (Rihanna's "Umbrella," Beyonce's "Single Ladies") is gearing up for the March 10 release of his own sophomore album, Love vs. Money -- but in the meantime, he's staying busy writing songs for Diddy's upcoming Last Train to Paris. The-Dream tells EW he's penned two potential cuts for Diddy's album in recent weeks. And at least one of them, titled "Change," finds the many-named mogul leaving behind his familiar rap flow for a melodic croon. "It's one of the biggest records I ever wrote," boasts The-Dream. "He sang the record gracefully. He really pulled it off, and he really surprised me. Because it's Puff, nobody expects it. [But] he's got the goods."
No date has been officially announced for Last Train to Paris, but The-Dream says Diddy is aiming for a late-spring/early-summer release. The-Dream also revealed that he's planning to team up again with previous collaborators Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige on tunes for their respective upcoming projects.
UPDATE: Diddy's label announced Feb. 19 that Last Train to Paris will hit stores on Sept. 22. "I'm ushering in a new movement called 'train music'," Diddy said in a press release. "It's a profound love story. It's me with my shades off. It's the truth."
Widespread Internet chatter that Madonna may participate in some capacity in the Twilight sequel, New Moon, may be only partly true, a source close to the production tells EW. Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the movie series, has no plans to cast the pop star and sometime actor in New Moon. However, because Madonna's manager, Guy Oseary, is a producer on the project, there is some talk of her providing songs for the sequel. Still, no deals have been made yet, and the plans haven't progressed beyond the that'd be cool stage. (Reporting by Christine Spines)
Multiple sources have confirmed to EW that representatives of Chris Brown are on the lookout for a crisis-management expert to help the pop star rehabilitate his image in light of his Feb. 8 arrest on felony battery charges. Many news organizations have reported that Brown argued with his girlfriend, Rihanna, after a pre-Grammy party, which resulted in both singers canceling their Grammy appearances. The singer and sometime actor turned himself into police on Feb. 8 and was quickly released on $50,000 bond.
Among the experts who have been recommended to Brown's people were Alan Nierob, the veteran Hollywood publicist who advised Mel Gibson in 2006 after he spewed anti-Semitic comments at an arresting officer during a drunk-driving incident; and Howard Bragman, who repped Isaiah Washington in 2007 after Washington used an antigay slur to refer to costar T.R. Knight on the set of Grey's Anatomy. EW has confirmed that neither Nierob nor Bragman has been hired -- for now.
Meanwhile, Bragman (author of the book Where's My Fifteen Minutes?) already has a lot to say about Brown's arrest. Speaking to EW earlier this week, Bragman said Brown should prepare himself for months -- even years -- of intense scrutiny. The fallout from Brown's arrest was swift: Wrigley suspended his Doublemint gum ad from airing on TV, the Milk Mustache campaign issued a statement that it was "taking the allegations against Chris Brown very seriously" (though Brown's ad was already scheduled to end its run this week), and Sesame Street pulled a 2007 episode guest-starring Brown from all future airings. Meanwhile, Rihanna postponed a Feb. 13 concert scheduled in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
"What he is accused of doing is a bad thing -– and I'm talking about that in the court of public opinion," Bragman said. "The only thing probably worse is murder, rape, and hurting an animal. This isn't a bong hit like Michael Phelps, which everybody has done. This is serious. What he's got going for him is that he's young, talented, likable, and we forgive people. You can go home again, but it takes time. It's not something you can turn around overnight. He has to strap himself in and be ready for a long ride. It's not a comfortable ride."
We're finally starting to see some motion in the Billboard 200 album sales chart after a fairly static month of January. The Fray take the top spot in this week's chart, selling 179,000 copies of their self-titled album in its first week. That's not a huge number by any means, but it's the band's best sales week to date nonetheless, and it was enough to knock last week's champ, Bruce Springsteen's Working on a Dream, down to No. 2 with 102,000 units moved.
Coming in at No. 3 was country star Dierks Bentley's Feel That Fire, which debuted with 71,000 in sales. The once-invincible Taylor Swift, whose album Fearless recently spent eight weeks at the top of this chart, slid to No. 4 with 64,000, while Beyonce's I Am...Sasha Fierce rounded out the top five with 51,000.
Other noteworthy chart debuts included Kidz Bop 15 at No. 7 with 38,000 and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus' Lonely Road at No. 14 with 26,000.
The fallout from Chris Brown's arrest last night has begun. In a statement to EW.com concerning its ad campaign for Doublemint gum that incorporated Brown's song "Forever", the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company said that it is "concerned by the serious allegations made against Chris Brown," and while they believe Brown deserves "due process," they are suspending all ads "and any related marketing [featuring Brown]...until the matter is resolved."
Brown turned himself into police custody last night in connection with an investigation into charges of a felony battery that allegedly took place in a car early Sunday morning. He was released from LAPD custody after posting $50,000 bail on Sunday night and is due in court March 5. It is being reported that the alleged victim's name is Robyn Fenty, the real name of R&B singer, and Brown's girlfriend, Rihanna.
Two people close to Joaquin Phoenix tell EW that the actor's recent attempt to reinvent himself as a rapper is not what it appears to be.
Ever since the actor announced he was ditching his career in movies to try to make it as a rap artist, speculation has flown wildly about what, exactly, the two-time Oscar nominee might be thinking. Following his widely panned three-song debut as a rapper at a Las Vegas nightclub on Jan. 16 -- a shambling performance that concluded with the actor falling off the stage -- two competing theories emerged: Either Phoenix is perpetrating an elaborate Andy Kaufman-style hoax (with an assist from his friend and brother-in-law Casey Affleck, who's ostensibly shooting a documentary about his career transition), or he's truly lost his marbles. The truth, it seems, is closer
to the former. "He
said, 'It's a put-on. I'm going to pretend to have a meltdown and
change careers, and Casey is going to film it,'" says one source who recently worked with Phoenix.
Though Phoenix's interest in music is sincere (he earned Oscar and Grammy nominations for his turn as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line and has directed several music videos), with this supposed career reboot he is evidently trying to both lampoon pompous actors and punk the media that covers them. Whatever his motivation or ultimate endgame, don't expect him to break character anytime soon. "It's an art project for him," says a source. "He's going full out. He probably has told his reps that he's quit acting. Joaquin is very smart. This is very conscious. He has a huge degree of control."
UPDATE: Phoenix's publicist responds
