Old Rockers Still Rakin' It In

Although the top 4 money makers in the music biz haven't had a hit single in years, they still manage to make millions!!

The annual list of the top 20 highest earning acts in music was just released, and veteran Irish rockers U2 top the list with an 2009 haul of $108 million.

$108 MILLION!!

The band's 360 Degree Tour is on course to become the highest grossing concert tour in history, and their merchandizing deals helped keep them on top.

At no.'s 2-4 are other old-school acts who made big bucks touring this past year.

(Image courtesy of trendsupdates.com)

Bruce Springsteen was a distant second earning $57 mil, while Madonna was the highest earning female at #3 with a cool $47 million. AC/DC enjoy a big comeback year and a big touring year, earning $43 million from touring and their hit album Black Ice.

Our girl Britney Spears comes in at #5, pulling in a HUGE $38 million last year. Talk about a comeback year!

Spears earned most of her money with her Circus tTur, which was one of the highest grossing outings of the year. She also earned bank from her #1 album of the same name and her lucrative deal with Candies.

I guess the recession doesn't effect all!

For the complete list head over to Billboard!

J*Lo Splits From Label

After two albums that tanked and a slew of songs that didn't catch on, I wasn't surprised to hear about Jennifer Lopez parting ways with her longtime record label Epic Records.

Although Lopez says that she just simply decided not to re-up her contract with the label, I'm sure there are other reasons why the two entities are not working together anymore.

It's because J*Lo sucks now!

Do you remember when she was actually REALLY REALLY famous!? She could do no wrong from 1999-2004. Within that time she sold 10 million records, scored three #1 singles, appeared in hit box office films, and created a multi-million dollar empire!

Now? She's dancing around in glittery leotards and falling down on stage.

Let's hope that she gets her act together, hires someone who can actually write GOOD pop songs, and score another hit soon!!

(Image courtesy of gossip.whyfame.com)

Not Lost, Just Confused

The last season of Lost is in full swing, and fans have been glued to their TV sets each week to see what crazy Sh** is going on on the island this time around.

I've watched ONE episode of this series; the first episode of season 1. I wasn't very impressed. But all of my friends who are obsessed with it keep telling me that I have to sit down and watch ALL of the seasons and then I will finally understand why it's so awesome.

...Do I have to?

Two of the cast members grace the cover of this week's Entertainment Weekly. Matthew Fox is a stud, but I'm still not convinced about this show.

Anyone feel free to chime in.

(Image courtesy of EW.com)

Love the Machine

There's been some great female UK acts that haven broken big in the U.S. over the last couple of years; Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Leona Lewis...the list goes on, and now it looks as if there's another destined to make it big.

Florence and the Machine, aka Florence Welch, is a British singer-songwriter who's already scored a multi-platinum album in her home country, but there's a chance she could come to this side of the pond as well!

After taking home the BRIT award (The UK equivalent to the Grammys) for Best Album for her debut Lungs, the songstress saw her album shoot back up into the upper reaches of the album charts.

Her single "You've got the Love" is fantastic, with soaring vocals and an energy that must be electrified even more if you were to see her perform live.

Take a listen to "You've got the Love."

(Image courtesy of lastgasstation.files.wordpress.com)

Dance Track of the Day

If your out at the clubs this weekend, keep your ears open for the sound of Kaylah Marin's new dance hit "On the Floor." The song is currently at #3 on Billboard's Hot Dance Songs, only behind Lady Gaga & Beyonce's "Telephone", and Rihanna's "Hard."

That's pretty impressive for a relatively unknown singer!

It's got a pretty typical synth beat, but Marin's soulful voice makes this little ditty extremely enjoyable and really fun to dance to!!

Check out "On the Floor."

(Image courtesy of eriegaynews.com)

Oscar Predictions Part 1

The Academy Awards are just around the corner, so it's officially time to announce my prediction for the big show!!

The first category we're going to tackle is Best Picture, the biggest award of the night. This year the academy changed the rules, now allowing 10 films to be nominated for Best Picture, as opposed the traditional 5.

This year's nominees (for those of you who have not voted on the poll yet!) are:

- Avatar

- The Blind Side

- District 9

- An Education

- The Hurt Locker

- Inglourious Basterds

- Precious

- A Serious Man

- Up

- Up in the Air

Who Will Win:

The Hurt Locker. Over this entire awards season it's been between Avatar and this film about a bomb defuser in the Iraq War. The film received rave reviews from practically everyone, even James Cameron, who said that it was Kathryn Bigelow's year (the director of the Hurt Locker and ex-wife of Cameron).

Who Might Pull an Upset:

EVERYONE saw Avatar. Everyone was amazed by Avatar. It's officially the highest grossing movie of all time. Most blockbusters are usually overlooked when the academy chooses best picture, but it's hard to ignore Cameron's masterpiece. It is truly a work of art.

Why the F is this Film Even Nominated:

The Blindside!?! Are you serious? I know that they want to draw in viewers for the show, and the Blind Side was another huge hit, but honestly, as my editor at Worcester Mag said, "It's a Lifetime film at best."

(Image courtesy of allthefestivals.file.wordpress.com)

Britney Named Music's Sexiest

Billboard released the results of their sexiest women in music poll, and coming in first, (no surprise here), was Britney Spears!!

The pop icon scored 27% of the vote, good enough to beat out runner-up Beyonce, who only received 13%.

This has been a good week for Brit-Brit! Not only was she named the sexiest woman in music, but her new ads for Candies just debuted all over the world!! And she looks ferocious, if do say so myself!

Other sexy females who made the list include Miley Cyrus (WTF?) at #3, Rihanna at #4, and Lady Gaga, who rounds out the top 5.

On the men's side, Adam Lambert came in first with 20% of the total votes.

Really? That drama QUEEN? Pa-Lease.

Other deserving men on the list include Nick Jonas at #2, d-bag Chris Brown at #3, Justin Timberlake at #4, and Enrique Iglesias in the 5 spot.

What do you think of these results??

(Image courtesy of chinadaily.com)

Avril Returns in Top Form

It's been a while since we've heard any new music from pop-punker Avril Lavigne, but now she's back singing the theme song to the new Tim Burton remake of Alice in Wonderland.

The song is an epic ballad-esque tune that features Lavigne's soaring vocal-prowess that we have not heard since "I'm With You" way back in the day.

I think this song is fantastic! It got that mainstream hook but the format is fairly unique, with only one real verse and then a repeated chorus.

I'm glad to see Avril back and doing her thing! People forget that she has a very strong voice, and has consistently released multi-platinum records since she broke into the music scene in 2002.

Check out the song and judge for yourself!

Avril Lavigne "Alice"

(Image courtesy of andpop.com)

Sade Sells 500,000 in First Week

It's like they don't even have to try.

veteran R&B group Sade debut HUGE on the Billboard 200 album chart this week, with their album Soldier of Love selling 502,000 in its first week, earning the group their second #1 album.

This is a crazy number for a group that has not released a new album since 2000, and barely promotes their music!

But Sade is definitely much more of a "album" band than a "single" band; meaning that they don't really rely on hit songs to sell albums. Sade has a huge following and have been one of the most consistent sellers over the last 25 years.

Lady Antebellum, last week's #1 selling artist, fall to #2 this week with only a 1% decline in sales.

here's a rundown of the top 10 album this week!

1. Sade Soldier of Love (502,000)

2. Lady Antebellum Need You Now (208,000)

3. Jaheim Another Round (112,000)

4. Lil Wayne Rebirth (89,000)

5. Josh Turner Haywire (85,000)

6. tobyMac Tonight (79,000)

7. Lady Gaga The Fame (76,000)

8. The Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D. (67,000)

9. Susan Boyle I Dreamed a Dream (51,000)

10. Taylor Swift Fearless (50,000)

(Image courtesy of jamati.com)

We are the World Remake Makes a Splash on the Charts

The remake of the 1985 charity single "We are the World" debuts at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, thanks to digital download sales of 267,000.

The single features nearly 80 artists from all different genres; Mary J. Blige, Justin Bieber, Barbra Streisand, Lil Wayne...the list goes on!

All proceeds go to help the people of Haiti after the devastating earthquakes killed thousands last month.

The original "We are the World" spent 4 weeks at #1 in 1985 and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

I bought the new single and I have the old one; i prefer the 1985 version myself, but I think it's for a good cause obviously, and so I hope that everyone goes out and buys the new single today!!

Check out the new video for "We are the World" 2010.

(Image courtesy of Billboard.com)

John Gallagher, Jr. Destined for Greatness

I've been getting more and more into the whole broadway thing as of lately, and I can't stop Youtubing clips from the Tony Award winning musical Spring Awakening!

Leah Michelle from Glee is one of the stars of the broadway show, but so is John Gallagher, who took home the Tony for Best Lead Actor in a Musical in 2007 for his role in the show.

I had the chance to meet and hang out with Gallagher (he is the close friend of a friend of mine) when I was living in NYC, and he's a really funny/nice guy. He's also super talented!

He's appeared in tons of TV shows like Law & Order, The West Wing, and NYPD Blue, and is now set to star in the new Green Day inspired musical American Idiot.

I'd lovee to go see that show! And I have a feeling that Mr. Gallagher has even bigger plans ahead for him in the future.

Remember that name!

(Image courtesy of broadwayworld.com)

It's Sexy Time

Billboard.com has just released the "50 Sexiest Songs of All Time" and let me tell you, this list is frickin ridiculous!

I'll let you check it out, but these sexy tunes run the gamut of legit hot (Cassie's "Me and U", Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On") to the obnoxiously cheesy (Heart's 'All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You", The Captain and Tennille's "Do That To Me One More Time.")

I was not impressed by their pick for the #1 most sexy song; it's soo cheesy!! And I think it's actually a joke...well I hope it is...

Check out the list for yourself!

Billboard's Sexiest Songs

(Image courtesy of atlantaprideweekend.com)

Sade's Big Return

They've been around for 25 years, but have somehow managed to keep a low-key profile while still selling millions of albums.

Sade (people think it's just one person but it's actually a band, kind of like the Dave Matthews Band) have released their latest album Soldier of Love, and it's expected to debut BIG on next week's Billboard 200 albums chart.

According to Billboard experts are saying the set could sell up to 400,000 copies in its debut week, a big sum for any artist, but especially for a group that rarely does much promotion or spend time in the spotlight.

Sade are a very unique group in the music biz; they hate the celebrity life and often go back to leading a private, low-key life after they release an album. They have managed to sell nearly 25 million records JUST in the United States alone, and are continuing to expand their fan base.

Good for them! I think it's great that there is a band that focuses all on the MUSIC and doesn't care about anything else!

(Image courtesy of tmottgogo.com)

Brit Gives Back (In Her Own Way)

Our girl Britney Spears has really made an effort to stay out of the paparazzi's way since her monster comeback in 2008, to make sure that everyone focuses on her talent and superstar-ness rather than her personal life.

She's been doing a fab job, but unfortunately staying out of the papers also means not attending or making many public appearances at all!

Since ending her world tour a couple months ago, Brit has been low key, only being seen at the Grammy Awards, which was the only big event she's been to in a while. In fact, her appearance at the awards marked only the third time she's actually gone, and almost a decade since her last trip.

But in the wake of earthquakes that devastated Haiti, Brit is giving back in her own way, auctioning off her famous Versace dress that she wore to the 2008 MTV VMA's, where she won Video of the Year.

That dress should pull in some big buckerooos!!

(Image courtesy of sheplaysmusic.com)

The Divas Need to Step Up

I rarely blog about Mariah Carey; I'm not really sure why I don't, I do enjoy her music a lot and think she HAD one of the best voices in pop/r&b music. But if you listen to some of her live performances today and compare them to her 90's concerts, there's a BIG difference.

What happened!? Carey's famous 8-octave voice is so pathetic now that it's almost embarrassing. She doesn't have Whitney Houston's excuse for smoking too much crack...so is it just because MC became lazy and stopped training her powerhouse vocals?

Take a listen to two performances by Carey of her hit song "Make it Happen." One is from 2009 and the other is from 1994. Her voice is MUCH weaker, and she sounds pretty bad. And I don't think I am being unfair and pinpointing just a "bad" performance she had because I have seen many-a-mariah performance lately (does the Michael Jackson memorial ring a bell; when she could barely hit ANY of the notes to "I'll Be There") and they have been piss-poor.

You be the judge.

"Make it Happen" 1994

"Make it Happen" 2009

(Image courtesy of blogs.reuters.com)

Superbowl Earns Super-Sized Ratings

During an economic recession, many people are prone to cut back on going out and revert back to spending time in front of the TV.

If this year's Super Bowl ratings are any indication, most Americans are still planted firmly in front of the boob tube.

The game between the Saints and the Colts has now officially become the most watched show in HISTORY!!

The game in which we saw the Saints take home the trophy was watched by 106.5 million people, beating out the finale of M*A*S*H which drew 105.97 million viewers.

This is huge! That record was thought to be near unbreakable, but apparently we've underestimated the power of Carrie Underwood's voice during the national anthem. (I mean, that' why everyone watched the game, right?)

(Image courtesy of i.telegraph.co.uk)

New Poll!!

Since the Oscar Nominations were announced just yesterday, I thought it's be fun to see which movie you think should take home Best Picture!

This year the Academy has upped the nominees from 5 to 10, so there's way more options for you to choose from!

The nominees run the gamut of films this year, from the epic Avatar to the warm and fuzzy The Blindside, there's something in their for everyone.

So go cast your vote now!

(Image courtesy of nighthawknews.file.wordpress.com)

Gaga's Not the only 'Lady' Topping the Charts

One of my favorite country groups Lady Antebellum score a MASSIVE #1 debut this week, as their second album Need You Now sold 481,000 to debut at the top of the Billboard 200.

The group are relatively new to the country world, but have made a huge impact over the last two years, scoring multiple #1 singles and having their debut album sell over 1 million copies.

The sales of their latest set is the biggest opening for a country record since Taylor Swift debuted in 2008 with 592,000.

The lead single of the album, also titled "Need You Now" spent 5 weeks at #1 on the country singles chart, and the group took home their first Grammy Award over the weekend for Best Country Performance by a duo or group for "I Run to You."

Congrats on all the success!

(Image courtesy of countrymusicislove.com)

Simon Cowell Does Something Good

Simon Cowell's superstar cover of REM's "Everybody Hurts" has just been released. All proceeds will go to those affected by the earthquake in Haiti.

The song features Leona Lewis, Susan Boyle, Robbie Williams, Westlife, Rod Stewart, and Kylie Minogue.

It will go on sale February 8.

Take a listen

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She's a Freak of Nature and We Love It

Now I'm no fashionista, but Lady Gaga's outfit at the Grammy Awards was OUT OF THIS WORLD CRAZY. I loved it!

What would we do without her in the music industry? Things would be soo borring!

Gaga won two awards at the Grammys and arrived in top form wearing this bizarre gown with a 3-D star-type-thingy that she held while walking the red carpet.

Discuss.

(Image courtesy of www.hiphoprx.com)

I Needed a Couple Days To Soak It All In

Well the Grammy Awards have come and gone, and after much thought and meditation regarding the show, here are my thoughts:

-Taylor Swift becomes the youngest person EVER to win Album of the Year, which is undoubtedly the biggest award of the night. I have mixed feelings about this. I love T-Swift, and her album Fearless was a critical and commercial hit this year, so I understand why voters would choose it as Album of the Year.

HOWEVER. I do not think that it was a better album that Lady Gaga's The Fame, which I felt should have taken home the top prize.

-Gaga won two awards that night; Best Dance Recording for "Poker Face" and Best Electronic Album, but she was shut out of all the big awards and didn't even make an awards appearance onstage during the live telecast.

Lame.

- Although Swift won the big prize, Beyonce won the most. Sasha Fierce took home a whopping 6 awards on Grammy night, breaking the record for most wins by a female in one night (Beyonce, Norah Jones, and Lauryn Hill all won 5 awards during past Grammys).

That's impressive, and I think that every award she won was well deserved, EXCEPT Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, which she won with her song "Halo."

I'm sorry, but Pink should have definitely taken home this prize. I think she is highly underrated (she's taken home 2 Grammys during her career, compared to Beyonce's 13), and "Sober" was a powerful pop song this year.

- The Black Eyed Peas somehow won 3 awards...W...T...F...?

I can't believe that people think that BEP's music is 'critically acclaimed'. IT'S NOT. It is complete pop fluff, and don't get me wrong, I enjoy fluff, but this is ridiculous.

That being said, the entire show was highly entertaining and fun to watch, which obviously was apparent to many people as this year's show was the highest rated one in 6 years!

And although Britney did not win (she lost Best Dance Recording to Gaga), and although she was named the Worst Dressed of the night, I was PUMPED that she even showed up!!!!

Can't wait for next year!

(Image courtesy of examiner.com)

You Love The Hangover

The polls are now closed and YOU chose The Hangover as your favorite movie of 2009!

The movie garnered 38% of the votes, beating out contenders Avatar (second place 23%), Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (3rd with 14%), Transformers, and New Moon.

I'm not surprised about The Hangover winning, but I was a little happy to see Harry Potter up there in the top 3! It was by far one of the Best films in the franchise so far.

Stay tuned to Morethanmusiq to see what poll we dish out next!

(Image courtesy of rymeorreason.files.wordpress.com)

Oscar Nominations: No Big Surprises

This morning the Oscar Nominations were announced and as expected, award favorites Avatar and the Hurt Locker both scored a leading 9 nominations, including nods for Best Picture and Best Director for James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow.

Following closely behind these two films was Inglourious Basterds, which snared 8 noms.

In the acting categories there was only one real surprise and it came in the form of one of my fave gal's Maggie Gyllhaal, who was nominated for her role in Crazy Heart.

I was soo excited to see her name on the list! Maggie is a fantastic actress...with a super hot brother!!!

But unfortunately for her, a nomination is all she's gonna get this year, because there is NO stopping Mo'Nique, who has literally picked up every supporting actress award this year for her role in Precious.

I think everyone knows she's going to win, and I think Mo'Nique knows it too!

Other familiar faces include Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep who are competing for Best Lead Actress for their roles in The Blind Side and Julie and Julia, and Jeff Bridges, who looks like a sure thing to win the Best Actor trophy for his role in Crazy Heart.

For a full list of nominees click here!

(Image courtesy of www.cbc.ca)