More Platinum For *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera
(8.31) Source - LiveDaily: Record companies shipped 430 million full-length compact discs to retailers during the first half of 2000, a record number for the CD format, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Meanwhile, *NSYNC, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were among the acts to receive multi-platinum honors from the RIAA in August.
*NSYNC's "No Strings Attached" was certified nine times platinum in August, while Aguilera's self-titled debut surpassed the seven million sales mark. Spears' sophomore album "Oops!�I Did It Again" hit the six million level, according to the RIAA.
Though sales of music on the CD, DVD, and video formats were higher during the first half of 2000, shipments of every other format declined, according to the RIAA. Just 38.6 million cassettes were shipped during the first half of 2000, down more than 31% from the same period in 1999. Vinyl LP and EP sales fell more than 30%, cassette single sales were down close to 90%, vinyl single shipments were down 16.5%, and CD single sales were down nearly 35%. As a result, overall music shipments were down 2.4% from the same period a year ago. Higher prices, however, increased the dollar value of the music 4.1% to nearly $6.2 billion, according to the RIAA.
"Despite the excitement felt by music lovers and record companies alike over the positive potential of the Internet, for the time-being, loyalty to the physical product remains as is evident by these midyear shipment numbers," said RIAA president and CEO Hilary Rosen said in a statement. "CDs will be around for a long time." The RIAA said that eighty-six percent of all of the music shipped in the first half of 2000 was on CD. The RIAA estimates that its numbers include 90% of all of the prerecorded music sold in the United States.
*NSYNC Joins Son By Four For Latin Grammy Performance
(8.31) Source - AllStar: Chart-topping boy band *NSYNC will join Puerto Rican Salsa stars Son by Four for a performance at the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards, set for Sept. 13 in Los Angeles.
The duet will consist of a bilingual version of *NSYNC's new single, "This I Promise You/Yo Te Voy a Amar," along with Son by Four's "A Puro Dolor." The two groups join Gloria Estefan and Jennifer Lopez as the only announced performers thus far.
The awards, set to air live on the 13th from the Staples Center in L.A. on CBS from 9-11 PM EDT/PDT, will be co-hosted by Lopez, Estefan, Andy Garcia, and Jimmy Smits.
Rock In Rio Lines Up More Performers
(8.31) Source - Billboard: R.E.M., Foo Fighters, James Taylor, Silverchair, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Gilberto Gil will join previously confirmed performers 'N Sync and Britney Spears at the third Rock in Rio Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, running from Jan. 12-21.
The event will be broadcast live in Brazil and will be licensed to outlets in more than 50 countries. AOL will sponsor the event and will create a network of cyber-areas allowing concertgoers to communicate with people throughout the world.
R.E.M.'s performance will be its first since September 1999, and is expected to include songs from the band's next Warner Bros. album, currently in production and set for release sometime next spring.
R.E.M., Foo Fighters Heading To Rock Rio
(8.31) Source - AllStar: R.E.M. and the Foo Fighters have joined the ongoing list of performers set to perform at Rock in Rio for a Better World, a 10-day Brazilian music festival in Rio de Janeiro from Jan. 12-21, 2001.
*NSYNC and Britney Spears were the first artists to sign on for the third installment of the Brazilian concert (it debuted in 1985 and happened again in 1991), and Red Hot Chili Peppers, Silverchair, and James Taylor followed shortly thereafter. Bar�o Vermelho, O Rappa, Gilberto Gil, and Milton Nascimento have also joined fellow Brazilian acts Fernanda Abreu, Pato Fu, and Funk 'N Lata to represent their country on its own turf. Nearly 100 acts will perform once it's all said and done.
The show will take place in the "Rock City," an area of 250,000 square meters in Barra da Tijuca on the west side of Rio. Tickets for the event will go on sale in October.
Oxygen Network To Launch Music Series
(8.30) Source - Billboard: Female-targeted cable network Oxygen will launch a music-oriented series in the coming months. Oxygen will debut the first two episodes of "soundTrackers," a planned five part performance and interview series, on Sept. 4 with back-to-back airings of "Vol. 1 The Rockers" and "Vol. 2 Girls Rule." The show will cull performances taped during the first season of "Trackers," Oxygen's live, interactive TV show for young women. "Vol. 1," airing at 4 PM ET, will feature Hanson, the Goo Goo Dolls, Sister Hazel, Vertical Horizon, Splender and SR 71. Immediately following at 5 PM ET, "Vol. 2" will spotlight Paula Cole, Sleater-Kinney, Jill Sobule, Bif Naked, Tracy Bonham and Aimee Mann. Artists tentatively scheduled to appear during the second season of "Trackers," beginning in October, include *NSYNC, the Barenaked Ladies, Ani DiFranco and Kina.
Timberlake-Less Movie
(8.30) Source - Rolling Stone: Monica's acting career is branching out as the singer has signed on for the lead role in the upcoming MTV original movie "Love Song." The singer plays a college senior whose life is turned upside down when she meets a talented guitarist played by Christian Kane (Ed TV, Angel). Naturally, the role will showcase Monica's golden pipes -- the soundtrack features "What My Heart Says," an original song composed by songwriter Dianne Warren and performed by Monica. Justin Timberlake, member of popular boy band *NSYNC, will no longer be starring in the movie.
*NSYNC Announces Ticket On-Sale Date For Fall Tour
(8.29) Source - LiveDaily: Tickets for *NSYNC's recently announced fall tour go on sale on Sept. 16, according to the group's official website and venue representatives. The latest itinerary for the group's tour no longer contains the two-night stands that were originally listed at a number of venues, according to the site.
Shows on Oct. 23 in Birmingham, Ala., Oct. 26 in Indianapolis, Oct. 31 in Ft. Lauderdale, Nov. 7 in East Rutherford, N.J., Nov. 10 in Uniondale, N.Y., Nov. 25 in Las Vegas, Nov. 28 in Los Angeles and Dec. 2 in San Diego have all been removed from the tour itinerary on *NSYNC's official website. Each of these dates was listed as a second night in each market when the group's tour was originally announced earlier this month. It is likely that these dates will be reinstated once the previous night's show in each market sells out.
Most dates on the summer leg of the group's tour in support of "No Strings Attached"--which ended on Aug. 1--sold out quickly despite a stunning 63% increase in average ticket price from the group's 1999 tour. Ticket prices for fall dates were not available at press time.
In addition to the upcoming tour, *NSYNC will be performing at the Latin Grammys on Sept. 13 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The group plans to perform a bilingual song in both English and Spanish, the site says. The group is also scheduled to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 8, a ceremony for which the group is nominated in six categories.
Sisqo, Aguilera Added To MTV Awards Lineup
(8.29) Source - Billboard: Sisqo and Christina Aguilera are the latest performers to be added to the 2000 MTV Music Video Awards broadcast. The artists, who are each nominated for five VMAs, join previously announced talent *NSYNC, Eminem, Blink-182, DMX, Janet Jackson, Rage Against The Machine, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Britney Spears.
Joining the list of presenters for the Sept. 7 ceremony are U2's Bono and Larry Mullen Jr., Jennifer Lopez, Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst, the Wallflowers' Jakob Dylan, Macy Gray, Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz, L.L. Cool J, Moby, and Pink. Actors Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller, and Kate Hudson will also present awards.
In other award show news, the performers list for Canada's MuchMusic Video Awards will include the Barenaked Ladies, Moby, Matthew Good Band, Choclair, Blink-182, Destiny's Child, and soulDecision. *NSYNC has been confirmed to present an award at the Sept. 21 ceremony.
Aguilera And *NSYNC To Perform At Latin Grammys
(8.28) Source - Launch: The first annual Latin Grammy Awards has added two of pop's biggest names to its already impressive list of performers. Officials have announced the addition of Christina Aguilera and a duet between the boys of *NSYNC and Son By Four to the performance lineup that already features Jennifer Lopez and Gloria Estefan. Other Latin acts taking the stage at the ceremony include Santana, Ricky Martin, and Marc Anthony. The Latin Grammys will air live on CBS on September 13.
Hitmakers To Shut Stockholm Studio
(8.28) Source - Billboard: The producers at Cheiron, the Stockholm-based production company which created the internationally revered sound of Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and *NSYNC, will close their 8-year-old operation by the end of December, just as their 3-year-old production and publishing joint venture with the Zomba Group expires.
The company was founded by producer Denniz PoP, who died of cancer two years ago. It is home to 10 in-house producers, including Max Martin, who will continue to work together, sources tell Billboard Bulletin, although the studios will move from Zomba's Stockholm offices.
Tom Talomaa, Cheiron's business affairs manager/co-founder, says "everyone will keep on working as usual. We're just moving studios and changing the name of our company."
Clients including Backstreet Boys - for whom Martin penned the smash hit "I Want It That Way" - and Steps will be retained.
*NSYNC/Son By Four Plan Latin Grammys Duet
(8.26) Source - Billboard: The first-ever Latin Grammy Awards show is shaping up to be a cornucopia of multiculturalism. Billboard has learned that among the highlights in the works for the Sept. 13 event is a vocal pairing of current Latin Tracks chart-toppers Son By Four and pop superstars *NSYNC.
As reported earlier this week, the show will feature six bilingual hosts for the evening. Already confirmed are Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan, Antonio Banderas, Jimmy Smits, and Andy Garcia.
Neither CBS, which will air the event, nor the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and its sister organization, the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (LARAS), have confirmed performers for show, to be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. But sources say those slated to appear include Christina Aguilera, Carlos Santana (in a duet with Mexican rock group Man�), Lopez (singing her Grammy-nominated duet "No Me Ames" with Marc Anthony), Shakira, and Ricky Martin. Celia Cruz will appear as part of a tribute to the late Tito Puente.
Son By Four, whose Grammy-nominated hit "Purest Of Pain (A Puro Dolor)" has been topping charts for months, will pair up with the boys from 'N Sync, who will reportedly do some singing in Spanish.
The two-hour show will be the first bilingual broadcast ever to air on network television during prime time. It will be broadcast around the world, either simultaneously or live on tape.
Studio Where Spears, BSB Recorded To Shut Doors
(8.26) Source - MTV: Cheiron Studios, the recording facility in Stockholm, Sweden, where Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, and Celine Dion crafted some of their biggest hits, has announced plans to close by the end of the year. Producer Max Martin, who worked with Spears on both "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again," as well as on the Backstreet Boys' self-titled debut and "Millennium" albums, and studio co-owner Tom Talomaa posted a statement on the Cheiron Studios Web site saying "It's time to move on."
In the message, Martin and Talomaa note that "Cheiron was created with the intention of having fun and not getting too serious about it. At the end of this year, we have fulfilled our commitments and are able to do as we please. The 'hype' of Cheiron has become bigger than itself, and it's time to quit while we're ahead."
The two also said that they were still pained by the loss of producer and friend Denniz Pop, who formed Cheiron with Talomaa in 1993 and was responsible for bringing Martin into the studio's fold. "Denniz made all the incredible success we have experienced possible," Talomaa and Martin wrote in the statement, "and we want Cheiron to be remembered like it is today."
Pop, who died of cancer in August 1998, also worked with Martin on albums for the Backstreet Boys and Ace Of Base, among others. Over the course of Cheiron Studios' seven-year run, the facility hosted and recorded such artists as *NSYNC, Bon Jovi, LFO, Bryan Adams, M2M, Five, and Westlife.
Bloodhound's Lupus Talks "Boobies" Sequel
(8.24) Source - Rolling Stone: The Bloodhound Gang are making plans to collaborate with teen pop sensations *NSYNC on the follow up to this year's Hooray For Boobies. Speaking backstage at Britain's V2000 festival, guitarist Lupus said the rock & roll pranksters met the Florida based quintet recently and the two groups were hoping to combine their talents when the Bloodhound Gang return to the studio early next year. "We've talked to *NSYNC about doing a song together for fun," he said. "We met them [when] we played a show in Orlando -- their hometown -- and Joey and Lance came out to the show to see us...They were so into the show and so friendly and we're like, 'You guys are huge right now and you wanna hang out with us?' So we went out drinking and had an after party and they're like 'You guys gotta come see us' and were like 'Fair enough.' So we flew out to see them." "We'll be recording sometime in March so we're hoping they have some time...even if they just stop in the studio at some point, record their tracks and send them to us," he added. According to Lupus, the band is also looking to work with the Venga Boys, Queens of the Stone Age and Scott Ian of Anthrax, who they are in talks with to guest on the project. Meanwhile, Lupus confirmed that the Bloodhound's DJ Q Ball is enlisting some superstar talent of his own for his solo project, including Eminem. "He's been drawing a bunch of people for guest appearances," Lupus said. "He's asked Eminem to do it and he said he was going to, but they haven't done it yet."
2Gether to Outsell *NSYNC?
(8.23) Source - Spin: This is a crowning moment in popular music, friends. You know the kids are definitely not all right when a fake boy band starts to outsell the real ones. MTV's fictitious boy band 2Gether is, well, just that - fictitious. But the kids don't seem to care, or maybe they just don't understand. Either way, 2Gether's new single, "The Hardest Part of Breaking Up (Is Getting Back Your Stuff)," completely exploded this week, coming in at No. 12 on the Billboard singles charts, selling 17,487 units. But the clincher is that the track came in ahead of *NSYNC's latest single, "It's Gonna Be Me," which is at No. 13 now in its seventh week on the charts, and sold 16,391 units this week. But there's more: album sales for 2Gether's debut album, 2Gether (the soundtrack to the MTV original movie), multiplied by 225 percent last week, all because of a single called "The Hardest Part of Breaking Up (Is Getting Back Your Stuff)." The song will be on 2Gether's new album, 2Gether Again, out Tuesday on TVT Records. This is all simply amazing, really. I mean, granted, I think it's pretty cool that a fake band can outsell the sorry excuse for a real one, but just what in the world is going on here?
Backstreet Boys - *NSYNC Contest?
(8.23) Source - LiveDaily: Miami radio station Y-100 is promoting a Backstreet Boys - *NSYNC contest in which the winners will get to see the two groups perform together at London's Wembley Stadium. However, as of press time, the show, which is not mentioned on Wembley Stadium's website, could not be confirmed.
*NSYNC Knows The Meaning Of Keepin' Busy
(8.22) Source - Me: The members of pop group *NSYNC are currently in California shooting the video for upcoming single "This I Promise You". The single is scheduled for release September 18th, the video to follow soon after. The guys will be in Cali for the next two days before heading off to Japan for a week or so to do some promotion for their 9 times platnium album "No Strings Attached". After that, they head off for the second leg of their No Strings Attached 2000 Tour, tickets for which go on sale September 16th. The tour begins October 17th in Charlotte, NC & ends December 1st in San Diego, CA. The final stop on their busy schedule takes them to Brazil from December 12th to the 18th where they will be one of many acts performing at the "Rock In Rio" Concert. Let's just hope the guys get some time to settle down for Christmas this year after that heavy load.
Fox News Previews The Teen Choice Awards
(8.22) Source - FOX: Teen power is alive and kickin'. Tuesday night's second annual Teen Choice Awards celebrates the young, influential talents whose impact on American youth and culture continues to grow.
"This is something that the teens can say: 'This is all ours,' " said Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC. "They feel very responsible for the winners, the people here, it's their show."
"It's very flattering," said teen pop sensation Britney Spears. "Hopefully, I can just do my thing and ... they'll take on the positive things about me."
Some who were asked to attend were somewhat surprised by their invitation. "I never knew I'd be at the teen choice awards," said Frankie Muniz, the child star of Fox's Malcolm In The Middle.
The awards show presents 36 hip categories - with 36 multi-colored surf boards to be awarded the winners - waxed and ready to ride the huge teen marketing wave crashing on consumers.
Top name celebrities such as Jim Carrey, who picked up a board last year, relived their prepubescent years. Most in attendance agreed that the performance highlight of the Teen Choice 2000 Awards was the singing group Old Town. The majority of performers turned out for their fans.
"It's important to us because this is a huge part of our fan base," said Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees.
"I'm all about pleasing my fans and the fans are the ones who do vote for the winners and nominees and it's a huge honor to know I'm in a category with Britney and Christina and people look at me like that," said pop singer Jessica Simpson.
For most, winning isn't the most important part of the night. "I'm really looking forward to seeing the performances, I'm really excited about that, cause usually I'm performing at awards shows," said Spears.
"I saw her (Spears's) butt for a half a second," said Christopher Masterson, Muniz's Malcolm co-star, in an interview backstage.
*NSYNC Do Some Retooling For Second Leg Of Tour
(8.22) Source - MTV: If it ain't broke, don't fix it; just tinker with it a little. That's the approach *NSYNC is taking as the group prepares for the fall leg of its U.S. tour. As we previously reported, the group will return to the road on October 17 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and will then roll on through early December. The trek follows *NSYNC's summer tour, and this time out the boy band heavy hitters are packing a few extras into their set. "It will be a little different," *NSYNC's Lance Bass recently told MTV Radio. "We're going to bring out some Christmas songs to get you in the Christmas mood, and we will have different opening acts too." That means fans won't be seeing Pink return to the opening spot she filled on *NSYNC's summer tour, though Bass noted that the group would like to tour with her again someday. In addition to the changes mentioned above, the guys are also planning a change of scenery as well. The fall tour will hit a number of markets that Bass and company missed on their summer outing. If you missed *NSYNC's big shiny road show this summer, here's where you can catch it this fall: TOURDATES
*NSYNC Go Multi-Lingual
(8.19) Source - Rolling Stone: When *NSYNC release "This I Promise You" as the fourth single off "No Strings Attached" on Sept. 18, they will break language barriers. The group has recorded three different versions of the Richard Marx-penned song: one in English, one in Spanish and a "Spanglish" hybrid. In other
*NSYNC news, tickets go on sale for the second leg of the group's tour on Sept. 16th.