Coldplay, Led Zeppelin Album Covers Featured On New British Stamps
Album art from Pink Floyd, Blur and David Bowie also included.
By James Montgomery
Coldplay's new British stamps
Photo: Royal Mail
On Thursday (January 7), the U.K.'s Royal Mail unveiled a series of 10 new stamps, honoring the most iconic album covers of the past 40 years.
The albums featured in the new series are the Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed, Led Zeppelin's IV, David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, The Clash's London Calling, New Order's Power, Corruption and Lies, Primal Scream's Screamadelica, Pink Floyd's The Division Bell, Blur's Parklife and — the most recent album on to make the cut — Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head.
Meant to honor "the most potent graphic images of modern times, many of which have provided a visual soundtrack to people's lives," the series is the end result of a lengthy research process by the Royal Mail, who looked through thousands of album covers by British artists before deciding on the final list. And, during a Wednesday night BBC Radio broadcast, it was revealed that the queen herself actually approved each design.
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page — who helped design the cover for IV — was on hand to celebrate the release of the stamps and recalled the mysterious nature of the album's iconic imagery.
"Almost 40 years after the album came out, nobody knows the old man who featured on the cover, nor the artist who painted him," he said. "That sort of sums up what we wanted to achieve with the album cover, which has remained both anonymous and enigmatic at the same time."
Of course, any great honor is befitting of an equally great contest, so, on the same day the stamps were made available to the general public, Coldplay decided to give one of their Rush of Blood stamps away. In a message on their official site, the band held a contest to send one lucky fan "a letter using a Coldplay stamp, postmarked with today's issue date."
"We visited our local post office earlier today and bought some of the Coldplay stamps," the message read. "Very nice they are too."
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Britney Spears Says She'd Love To Tour With Usher
In her 'Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale' special, she calls the 'OMG' singer 'really hot right now.'
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Sway Calloway
Sway Calloway and Britney Spears
Photo: MTV News & Docs
What do Britney Spears and Usher have in common? Well, they are both global superstars with a back catalogue of tunes that have kept fans dancing for a really long time and they both recently hooked up with will.i.am for tracks on their latest releases (the Black Eyed Peas mastermind worked on the pop vixen's Femme Fatale tune "Big Fat Bass"). And, if Spears has her way, she and the "OMG" singer could be hitting the road together.
When Spears sat down to talk with Sway Calloway for her "Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale" special — airing Sunday (April 3) at 9 p.m. ET on MTV — the singer revealed that Usher is first on her list of artists she'd like to join her on tour.
"Oh, I'm so excited. I'm really excited about going on tour, very," she explained about her forthcoming summer trek, which happens to have a spot open on the bill now that Enrique Iglesias has pulled out of the gig. "I think Usher's really great right now. I think he's really hot right now. That would be cool [to tour with him]."
The North American road trip is expected to kick off June 17 in Sacramento, California, and will run for 26 dates, winding up on August 13 in Toronto. More details will be announced soon.
The "Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale" special is a mixture of behind-the-scenes footage of the singer as she wraps up production on her album, which dropped this week, as well as an inside look at her life and fans. In addition, those who couldn't make Spears' recent nightclub show in Las Vegas will get to see her as she takes the stage in her latest pop incarnation.
Don't miss "Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale," airing Sunday (April 3) at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.
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Beyonce Donated Gadhafi Money To Haiti Relief Last Year
Music industry urges other stars who played for Libyan dictator's family to donate their earnings.
By Gil Kaufman
Beyonce
Photo: Al Pereira/ WireImage
Just days after singer Nelly Furtado announced that she planned to donate to charity money she received for playing a concert for the family of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, a spokesperson for Beyoncé said that the "Halo" singer had already done the same.
Documents obtained by the WikiLeaks website revealed that stars including Beyoncé, Usher and Mariah Carey had played big-paycheck gigs for Gadhafi. On Monday, Rolling Stone magazine reported that the industry was urging the stars (noting that rapper 50 Cent had also played such gigs) to return the money they earned for the concerts.
"They've done it for tons of artists," an unnamed music-business source told the magazine about lavish parties by Gadhafi's son, Muatassim, which are reportedly often "jammed" with supermodels. "Those guys are all over the world."
On Wednesday, a rep for Beyoncé — who played a New Year's Eve gig for Muatassim with Usher on the Caribbean island of St. Barts in 2009 — told the Huffington Post that the singer had long ago resolved the matter.
"All monies paid to Beyoncé for her performance at a private party at Nikki Beach St. Barts on New Year's Eve 2009, including the commissions paid to her booking agency, were donated to the earthquake relief efforts for Haiti over a year ago," her publicist said. "Once it became known that the third-party promoter was linked to the Qaddafi family, the decision was made to put that payment to a good cause."
The money was donated to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, established in the wake of last year's devastating earthquake, and a spokesperson for the fund confirmed that it received the $1 million check in the weeks after the January 2010 earthquake.
According to her official Twitter feed, Canadian pop star Nelly Furtado confirmed on Monday that she once did a show for the dictator's family and now plans to donate the money to charity. "In 2007, I received 1million$ from the Gadhafi clan to perform a 45 min. show for guests at a hotel in Italy," she wrote on Monday. "I am going to donate the $."
The star-studded shows were part of the extravagant lifestyle of the dictator's sons, whose splashy parties and out-of-control spending have angered their countrymen, many of whom wallow in poverty as the Gadhafi clan benefits from the country's oil riches.
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Beyonce No Longer Managed By Father, Mathew Knowles
'I've only parted ways with my father on a business level,' singer says.
By Gil Kaufman
Mathew Knowles and Beyonce
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
Artists cut ties with managers all the time. But when your shot-caller is your dad and he's helped you climb the ladder of fame to the very top, things can be a bit trickier.
After years of rumors, Beyoncé confirmed on Monday that she is parting ways with the man who helped make her an international pop diva: dad Mathew Knowles. According to CNN, the split was amicable and both sides said it was a mutual decision. "I've only parted ways with my father on a business level," Beyoncé, 29, said in a statement released on Monday. "He is my father for life and I love my dad dearly. I am grateful for everything he has taught me ... I grew up watching both he and my mother manage and own their own businesses. They were hardworking entrepreneurs and I will continue to follow in their footsteps."
Mathew Knowles began managing Beyoncé's career when she was a teenager and shepherded her through her mega-success with Destiny's Child in the late 1990s and into her even bigger career as a solo artist, which has garnered her 16 Grammy Awards and millions in sales for her three post-DC albums. Her mother, Tina, is Beyoncé's stylist and is heavily involved in their clothing line, House of Dereon.
"The decision for Beyoncé and Music World Entertainment to part was mutual," Mathew Knowles said in a separate statement also released on Monday. "We did great things together, and I know that she will continue to conquer new territories in music and entertainment."
It was not announced who would take over management duties for Beyoncé, but Knowles said his record label would instead focus on gospel and inspirational artists. "Business is business and family is family," Knowles continued. "I love my daughter and am very proud of who she is and all that she has achieved. I look forward to her continued great success."
Among the artists who are listed on the Music World Entertainment site are Juanita Bynum, From Above, Pastor Rudy, the Bamaz, Beyoncé's younger sister, Solange, and Trin-I-Tee 5:7. Knowles also used to manage former Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, but they parted ways with him, respectively, in 2009 and 2010.
Mathew and Tina Knowles divorced in 2009 after 29 years of marriage. Beyoncé is reportedly close to finishing work on the follow-up to 2008's I Am ... Sasha Fierce, which could include contributions from Sia and Sleigh Bells, along with Ne-Yo, S1, Jim Jonsin, Sean "The Pen" Garrett, The-Dream and Tricky Stewart.
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Is Beyonce Prepping Her Next Music Video?
Photos and reports surface of a B video shoot featuring couture fashion and 200 dancers.
By Jocelyn Vena
Beyonce on the set of her next music video
Photo: Robero Cavalli's Twitter
Last week a photo appeared on NYMag.com of Beyoncé, dressed in a blue Roberto Cavalli jumpsuit and a funky maroon fur coat, reportedly shooting a video in New Jersey for her forthcoming studio album.
A rep for the singer never returned MTV News' request for comment and now, nearly two weeks later, details about the video shoot are being revealed. According to Ace Showbiz, the video will be directed by music video auteur Francis Lawrence, who has gone behind the lens for Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Pink and Bey's former girl group, Destiny's Child.
Rumor has it that 200 African dancers and eight choreographers were hired for the clip. According to several online message boards, auditions for dancers were held in Los Angeles. Fan sites such as BeyonceDaily.com have posted blurry pictures that appear to show the singer on the set of the video, which is reportedly for the song called "Girl."
In the snapshots, Beyoncé's hair is done up in a faux-hawk, and she's wearing a white jumpsuit and sunglasses. The outfit is reportedly Givenchy couture.
The song is a "female empowerment/girl power type of song that is a definite club banger with Top 40/Worldly appeal," according to one commenter who talked about the open call after his friend attended. "The beat is driven by a sample of a popular club song that a lot of you will probably recognize. There's a breakdown in the song that is described as absolutely disgustingly sick! Definitely an anthem in the style of her singing." The post also backs up the claim that there will be upwards of 200 dancers in the video.
Rumors are floating around that Beyoncé's new album may drop this June. Sony Music Australia boss Denis Handlin told The Telegraph in Australia that "it was just amazing." He added that while he was in New York, the star herself was on hand to play some of the new music.
"She came in and played us six tracks from the album. She wants to do a big tour off the back of this record, which will include Australia," he explained. "These songs, the best description I can give is groundbreaking; she's gone to another level."
Over the course of recording the new album, Beyoncé has been rumored to hit the studio with a number of big industry names like Diplo, Sleigh Bells and Kanye West's producer S1. When she spoke to MTV News last November, she made it clear that sonically she was thinking outside the box.
"Well, I wouldn't say I'm inventing a new genre," Beyoncé explained. "I'm mixing every type of genre that I love and I'm inspired by every type of genre. ... I'm not in a box. It's not R&B. It's not typically pop. It's not rock. It's just everything I love all mixed together in my own little gumbo of music."
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Content Film Grabs '96 Minutes,' Sundance Selects Takes 'Last Days Here'
Both films had their premieres at the SXSW FIlm Festival in March.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/riskybusiness/~3/7d5ah38FOOA/content-film-grabs-96-minutes-178716
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Britney Spears - Womanizer
- Artist: Britney Spears
- Label: Zomba Label Group/Jive
- Director: Joseph Kahn
- Album: Circus
Source: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=501686&vid=288244
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