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January 2, 2007

Looking Back on 2006

Looking back on 2006, music artists have offered a myriad of songs fluctuating from tolerable to x-rated.

Justin Timberlake oozes “Sexyback, while Nelly Furtado smooths out “I Wanna Love You”.  The album lyric gushes out a little more than just ‘love.’  Britney Spears is another story… rated XHO (Sexually Hungy Only);

But, fear not.  Parents and children alike are letting it be known that their musical attraction is to milder melodies, like Carrie Underwood’s “Some Hearts, which Billboard measures as the top seller; and Rascal Flatts’ “Me and My Gang.”

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October 23, 2006

Robbie Williams Moons Latin Music Fans

The MTV’s 2006 Latin America Music aired last week and with it came a special performance from Robbie Williams.

Britain's Robbie Williams, who won best international pop artist, gave the audience an eye-full before performing "Rock DJ" when he pulled his pants down and mooned the audience.

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October 16, 2006

Global Music Sales Drop

So is Weird Al right in his new song about illegal MP3 downloads? Is it making it harder for artists to get that "solid gold Humvee"? Well according to The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) global music sales have dropped to $13.4 billion a difference of four percent since last year.

If broken down we see that the sale of physical formats has dropped ten percent since 2005, but digital music sales have increased 11 percent. So while there was a lot of controversy among all the peer-to-peer (P2P) programs a while back it appears as though a lot of those users have converted to legal digital downloads.

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Madonna Adopts African Child

Well it looks like the Malawian government did not hang up on Madonna's request to adopt an African toddler. From a country that rarely permits outside adoptions this pop diva has been granted an interim adoption.

A spokesperson for the singer said Thursday that she would now be able to leave the country with the boy - named David Banda, according to the cleric at the orphanage where Madonna first met the child - although there were still a number of issues that would need to be satisfied before a full adoption could take place.

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October 14, 2006

Danity Kane Involved in Ohio Car Crash

Unfortunately four members of the new group Danity Kane were injured in a limousine accident Thursday night while en route to a concert in Toledo, Ohio.

The four members were released, but the group was forced to cancel that nights performance as well as their next show on Friday in Rochester, Michigan. Danity Kane is also scheduled to make a pair of appearances in New Jersey, and Pennsylvania on Saturday. It is not known if those events will be canceled.

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October 11, 2006

Jazz Musician Claude Luter Died

Claude Luter, a well know horn player who hobnobbed with Louis Armstrong and was one of France's most celebrated jazz musicians has died on Tuesday at age 83.

Claude was born on July 23rd, 1923 in Paris, and discovered jazz in adolescence and built his reputation at private gatherings during World War II. His popularity soared after the war as France discovered jazz. His band, the Lorientaise, charmed Paris' intellectual elite.

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October 8, 2006

Hidden Song on Britney Spears' Website

What, what's that I hear? Is that the sound of Britney Spears doing it again? Why yes yes it is. It appears that on her new website which is under construction you can hear a hidden snippet of what appears to be a new song titled "Rebellion" on the main page.

It can be heard after the growling noises simmer down and Britney morphs into a Bengalese tiger. In the song, she sings, "Be wary of others, the ones closest to you/ The poison they feed you and the voodoo that they do ... But in rebellion, there's a sparkle of truth/ Don't just stand there, do what you got to do ... You'll find it so compelling with everyone yelling/ 'Cause your soul, you're not selling, 'cause you're rebelling."

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October 3, 2006

Get The 411 From Fergie and Will.I.Am

Billboard reccently got a chance to talk with Fergie and Will.I.Am in a intimate 1 on 1 Q&A check it out!

Quote: "Clad in booty-baring shorts and flanked by a brigade of costumed Brits, she marched down the red carpet during MTV's Video Music Awards preshow at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Exactly one week later in the same locale, the three other Black Eyed Peas cleared the stage for her show-stopping solo set at Fashion Rocks. Again all ears were attuned to her pandemic first single "London Bridge," which remains in the top five of The Billboard Hot 100 after crowning the chart for three straight weeks."

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October 2, 2006

High School Musical

Disney's High School Musical recently went down in the Guinness Book of World Records for Most Successful Songs from a Soundtrack. Which I guess makes sense with 7.7 million people that watched it on TV and 3.5 million people that bought the CD. But whose to say that the just because people watched and bought the CD that tthe songs are good? Well in February of this year nine of the songs from the soundtrack charted in the US Top 100.

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Weird Al Takes a Swipe at The RIAA

Weird Al Yankovic's new CD "Straight Outta Lynwood" features a song that takes an exaggerated look at the RIAA, Recording Industry Association of America, and their stance on illegal song downloads. Ironically enough the song is titled "Don't Download This Song" and can be downloaded on Al's myspace page.

Personally my favorite part of the song is when Yankovic talks about what downloading songs illegally will lead to, "Cause you start out stealing songs and then you're robbing liquor stores, and sellin' crack and runnin' over school kids with your car."

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October 1, 2006

Legal Downloads From BitTorrent?

Ok, let's say that when P2P (peer to peer) programs first came out all the record companies said "download all our stuff for free," instead of taking legal action. Well that's what's happening now. BitTorrent, a P2P site that accounts for 40 to 60 percent of all internet traffic is now offering music downloads from top artists as well as planning to offer movies.

During the past week BitTorrent has posted a short documentary from Death Cab for Cutie, as well as songs and videos from other popular acts, including the Postal Service, Hot Hot Heat, the Shins, Iron & Wine and Band of Horses. And they have just announced content from Fall Out Boy is coming too.

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September 30, 2006

Get Intimate With Alicia Keys

Billboard reccently got a chance to talk with Alicia Keys in a feature titled "6 Questions With Alicia Keys."

Quote: "In less than five years, Alicia Keys has accomplished more than seasoned performers twice her age, from releasing two multiplatinum albums and winning nine Grammy Awards to consistently selling out concerts. Keys' performance chops are spotlighted on her new CD/DVD, "MTV Unplugged," which J Records released Oct. 11. The project features new single "Unbreakable," which is No. 48 this issue on The Billboard Hot 100, plus collaborations with Common, Mos Def, Damian Marley and Maroon 5's Adam Levine."

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Jet Cancels Tour Dates

Well it looks like if you're a Jet fan and you have tickets to the Philadelphia or Toronto concert this weekend then you will be waiting until November to rock. Singer Nic Cester has come down with acute laryngitis and has been ordered by doctors to rest for four or five days. Don't worry though, the tour will resume on Tuesday and Jet will still appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as scheduled.

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September 28, 2006

Justin Timberlake Is Still #1

Justin Timberlake’s competition must’ve been crying him a river when he hit the #1 spot on Billboard 200. But they finally got the message that sexy was back when “FutureSex/LoveSounds” kept the spot for a second time. What’s amazing is that Justin was able to hold on to the number one spot for a second week despite debuts from artists such as Clay Aiken and Fergie.

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