Boyz II Men, Sisqo Help NARAS Announce Date, City For 43rd Grammy Awards
(10.31) Source - AllStar: Flanked by an outsized pair of brass "gramophone" Grammy statues in L.A. on Tuesday, Michael Greene, president/CEO of the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences and L.A. mayor Richard Riordan announced the date and locale of the 2001 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The event will take place on Feb. 21, 2001 at the Staples Center, which is also where the press conference took place.
On hand to help with the announcement were Boyz II Men, who Greene quipped that "*NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys wished they could sing like," as an understatement of incredible irony, given that the scoreboard of the Center was flashing the news that *NSYNC's Nov. 26th show there had already sold out.
Among the artists also present were Sisqo (surprisingly diminutive, with visible Ralph Lauren undies, perhaps a subtle or not-subtle reference or allusion to his hit "Thong Song"), Dwight Yoakam, in white cowboy boots and grey Stetson, and a fatigued-looking Eddie Money.
The mayor and Greene waxed rhapsodic about the upcoming event, noting that that the Grammys brought in 25 million bucks in revenues for the city. (L.A. lost the event a few years back over a quibble with the event's promoters over who would pay for added police, overtime, et al., and New York hosted and cashed in; never again, one might assume).
"It is another example of how L.A. stands in the forefront," said Riordan, who was presented with a large table drum signed by the artists as a gift. He pounded on the instrument with great gusto, but not a great deal of rhythm prompting much hilarity from the press corps and assembled publicity folk.
Lipnicki Claims Fame Stinks
(10.30) Source - Spin: Jonathan Lipnicki, 10-year-old star of the new movie "Little Vampire," knows what it's like to be in the limelight. And he's not so sure he likes it. "People used to be really wild. They would follow me around," he said. "They thought I had a cell phone in my backpack and stuff. And I was in kindergarten."
Lipnicki, who previously appeared in the films "Jerry Maguire" and "Stuart Little," said he doesn't envy stars with heartthrob status. "I've heard when girls meet *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys, they throw up on them and faint. I wouldn't want to get thrown up on," he said.
Sting Joins Rock In Rio Lineup
(10.30) Source - AllStar: Sting is the latest act to sign on for Rock in Rio for a Better World, a 10-day Brazilian music festival in Rio de Janeiro from Jan. 12-21, 2001.
Sting joins previously announced acts *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Guns N' Roses, Dave Matthews Band, 5ive, Neil Young, Sheryl Crow, Beck, R.E.M., the Deftones, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Silverchair, Iron Maiden, James Taylor, Queens of the Stone Age, and Rob Halford on the international menu for the festival.
Rock in Rio will take place in the Barra da Tijuca area of Rio. Tickets for the event will go on sale in October. Check out the event's Web site for more information on ticket sales.
Britney Clears Rumors
(10.29) Source - Rolling Stone: U.S. pop star Britney Spears has denied that she has struck up an a e-mail friendship with Britain's Prince William, the News Of The World reported on Sunday.
"I really don't know where these stories come from," the 18-year-old told the tabloid. "There were rumors that I e-mailed him, which isn't true," she said. "I've never met him or contacted him. I wouldn't mind meeting him, but who wouldn't."
Spears, who shot to fame with her singles "Baby One More Time" and "Oops! I did It Again" told the paper her boyfriend Justin Timberlake, 19, of U.S. pop group *NSYNC was "the perfect man for me."
"I love Justin. We've been around each other since we were kids so we know each other very well," she said.
However, the pop world's most famous virgin said she was still some way off being ready to settle down and marry. Spears also revealed that she would like to branch out into acting and longs to play an evil character.
i5 Guest Staring On *NSYNC Tour
(10.29) Source - AllStar: The members of i5 have been busy touring with the likes of Britney Spears, participating in Nickelodeon's "All That" tour, and is now continuing to support its self-titled debut release by opening for *NSYNC. The international group consisting of Andi (England), Christina (US), Gaby (Mexico), Kate (Philippines), & Tal (Israel) shares opening act responsibilities with Soul Decision, but the three-week deal is a promising jump forward for i5.
Remaining *NSYNC, i5, and Soul Decision Dates:
Oct. 27 - Knoxville, TN: Thompson-Boling Arena
Oct. 30 - Fort Lauderdale, FL: National Car Rental Center
Oct. 31 - Fort Lauderdale, FL: National Car Rental Center
Nov. 1 - Orlando, FL: TD Waterhouse Center
Nov. 5 - State College, PA: Bryce Jordan Center
Nov. 6 - East Rutherford, NJ: Continental Airlines Arena
Nov. 7 - East Rutherford, NJ: Continental Airlines Arena
Usher Battles It Out With Timberlake
(10.28) Source - Rolling Stone: Usher is set to release a new album "All About U," featuring a 'battling' duet with *NSYNC's Justin Timberlake. At a press conference hosted by the president of Arista Records Antonio 'LA' Reid, new tracks from the album were played for the first time, although Usher himself was absent still finishing the duet, tentatively titled "If I Want To." Usher issued a press release stating that the two stars are 'battling for this girl', along the lines of Brandi and Monica's hit The Boy Is Mine. Usher adds "She's really the playa, because she's playing both of us!" The album also promises to be a launch pad for a new dance craze that Usher himself has invented. Called the U-turn he's claiming it's set to sweep dancefloors across the globe, with more style than the infamous Macarena.
Hagar Sings Praises Of NSYNC, Britney
(10.28) Source - Jam!: Seems like the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and *NSYNC may have a big, and highly unlikely, fan. "You're going to think I'm crazy for saying this," smiles rocker Sammy Hagar, "but I dig the pop scene. I like the whole glamour and the show. I like the professional sparkle of it all. I like *NSYNC, Ricky Martin, Backstreet Boys, and the list goes on. Those people are real stars, and they are real professional at what they do."
Hagar, who was in Toronto on Thursday to promote his new disc, "Ten13", says many of today's bands are just not doing it for him. "The whole grunge thing a few years back was so anti-star, it just burned me out. I'm a very natural performer, but I like a show. I don't want to get dressed up or do anything choreographed, but I believe if people come to your shows and pay money to see you, don't just go up there an play the record. You have to give them something else."
"With so many great things in the world today to keep you entertained - like video games, big movies and so much entertainment going on around you - you can't just stand there and not talk to the audience. You've got to give them something more. "I don't like that music in general," he adds, qualifying his statement, "and I wouldn't normally play it, but I like what is going on."
*NSYNC, BSB Street Teams Take On Promotions
(10.27) Source - LiveDaily: Inside.com reported on a marketing strategy behind Backstreet Boys' forthcoming "Black and Blue" album. An L.A.-area marketing firm and the group's management company have rounded up a reported 12,000 fans - dubbed the Backstreet Boys Official Online Street Team - to assist them in promoting the album. ("Street teams" - in which fans literally take to the streets of their neighborhoods to promote a band - have been around for some time.)
The fans receive newsletters that importune them to do things like write about the new album on chat rooms, vote for the first single on MTV's "TRL," and pre-order the new album. One goal is to create in the minds of the fans the idea that they are BSB insiders.
One of the marketing jagoffs, referring to a similar effort on behalf of *NSYNC, was quoted as saying, "The kids themselves started to challenge one another within the group, not to just buy one record or two records, but to buy three and four copies because they were so focused on beating the Backstreet Boys' first-week SoundScan record."
Whoa. What?
If any member of *NSYNC's or Backstreet Boys' "street team" is reading this:
It's A Cult.
You Must Bail Immediately.
Marketing People Are Not Your Friends. They Laugh At You During Lunch. That Laughter Masks Their Virulent Self-Loathing.
And What The Hell Do You Need More Than One Copy Of A CD For?
And Why The Hell Do You Care About Someone's SoundScan Record?
Bail.
Spread The Word.
Be Your Own Street Team.
Guns N' Roses Return To The Stage After Seven-Year Hiatus
(10.26) Source - AllStar: Guns N' Roses have signed on to make their first live appearance in seven years at next year's Rock in Rio for a Better World, a 10-day Brazilian music festival in Rio de Janeiro from Jan. 12-21, 2001, according to Brazilian newspaper O Globo.
The band - which now consists of the reclusive singer Axl Rose, guitarists Paul Tobias and the returning Robin Finck (who left Nine Inch Nails once again for GNR), bassist Tommy Stinson, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, and ex-Primus drummer Brain - is scheduled to close the festival on its first weekend, Jan. 12-14. O Globo also reported that the band agreed to the performance because it has finished its five-years-in-the-making Chinese Democracy album and will launch it in January, 2001. Those reports could not be confirmed at press time, however.
Guns N' Roses join previously announced acts *NSYNC, Britney Spears, the Dave Matthews Band, 5ive, Neil Young, Sheryl Crow, Beck, R.E.M., the Deftones, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Silverchair, Iron Maiden, James Taylor, Queens of the Stone Age, and Rob Halford on the international menu for the festival.
Rock in Rio will take place in the Barra da Tijuca area of Rio. Tickets for the event will go on sale in October. Check out the event's Web site for more information on ticket sales.
Guns N' Roses also played the second edition of the Rock in Rio festival in 1991. Axl Rose's last time on the stage - sans GNR, though - was when he showed up at a Gilby Clarke show in L.A. in June.
*NSYNC Still Rule In SoudScan Debut Sales
(10.25) Source - AllStar: Limp Bizkit couldn't touch the opening-week sales record set by *NSYNC in March, but the band's latest effort, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, shifted a healthy 1.05 million copies in its first week to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, The Billboard 200.
Limp's numbers of 1,054,511 make it the sixth-best first-week sales in SoundScan's history, behind Garth Brooks' Double Live (1.08 million); Backstreet Boys' Millennium (1.13 million); Britney Spears' Oops! ... I Did It Again (1.3 million); Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP (1.7 million); and *NSYNC's No Strings Attached (2.4 million).
Limp Bizkit's Latest Album Crests One Million Copies
(10.25) Source - LiveDaily: Sales of 1,054,511 copies give Limp Bizkit's latest release, "Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water" the fourth-place rank for the highest-selling debut of 2000. The group places behind *NSYNC's "No Strings Attached" - 2.4 million copies in its first week, Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers LP" - 1.76 million copies in its first week, and Britney Spears' "Oops! ... I Did It Again" - 1.3 million copies in its first week. All four acts are staples on MTV's "Total Request Live" program.
Meredith Edwards To Open Several Upcoming *NSYNC Dates
(10.24) Source - LiveDaily: Meredith Edwards, a 16-year-old country singer who is co-managed by Lance Bass of *NSYNC, will be among the opening acts for eight upcoming *NSYNC concerts, according to Mercury Nashville. Edwards was the first artist signed by Bass' Freelance Entertainment.
Meredith and Bass are both natives of Clinton, Miss., where the two were in choirs together. While Bass gravitated toward pop music, Edwards went the country route.
"My influences are singers like Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood," Edwards said in a statement. "The women that just wail are the ones that strike me."
Meredith is scheduled to appear at *NSYNC's Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale, Washington, D.C., Toronto, and Los Angeles tour stops.
Dave Matthews Band, 5ive Confirmed To Rock In Rio
(10.24) Source - AllStar: Dave Matthews Band and British boy band 5ive have confirmed appearances at next year's Rock in Rio for a Better World, a 10-day Brazilian music festival in Rio de Janeiro from Jan. 12-21, 2001.
DMB and 5ive join previously announced artists *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Neil Young, Sheryl Crow, Beck, R.E.M., the Deftones, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Silverchair, Iron Maiden, James Taylor, Queens of the Stone Age, and Rob Halford on the international menu for the festival.
Rock in Rio will take place in the Barra da Tijuca area of Rio. Tickets for the event will go on sale in October. Check out the event's Web site for more information on ticket sales.
*NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, More On 'Now That's What I Call Music! 5'
(10.23) Source - Launch: *NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Sisqo, Destiny's Child, Bon Jovi, Mystikal, and more have contributed tracks to the fifth edition of the immensely popular multi-artist album series Now That's What I Call Music!, which is due November 14. The latest collection features 19 current chart hits in all, including three number one hits: *NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me"; Janet Jackson's "Doesn't Really Matter"; and Sisqo's "Incomplete."
Five other top 10 hits featured include: Destiny's Child's "Jumpin Jumpin"; 98 Degrees' "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)"; 3 Doors Down's "Kryptonite"; the Backstreet Boys' "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely"; and Nine Days' "Absolutely (Story Of A Girl)."
The collection also includes five top 20 hits: Mystical's "Shake It Fast"; Mandy Moore's "I Want To Be With You"; and Mya's "Case Of The Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do)"; BBMak's "Back Here"; and Everclear's "Wonderful."
The remaining six top 40 tracks include: Aaron Carter's "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)"; Britney Spears's "Lucky"; Soul Decision's "Faded"; Bon Jovi's "It's My Life"; Kandi's "Don't Think I'm Not''; and Jessica Simpson's "I Think I'm In Love With You."
Fans of the popular series may remember that Now 4 debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's 200 chart, marking the first time a compilation of previously released recordings reached the top spot. Since then, Now 4 has achieved double-platinum status. To date, the Now series has generated sales of more than 70 million albums around the globe. Now That's What I Call Music! 5 is a cooperative project of Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, the EMI Group, and the Zomba Group of labels.
*NSYNC, BSB Included In Top 100 Most Powerful In Hollywood
(10.22) Source - Me: In the latest edition of Entertainment Weekly Magazine, *NSYNC and labelmates Backstreet Boys were named 54th out of 100 most powerful people in Hollywood.
*NSYNC, Britney, R.E.M., Others Slated For Rock In Rio III
(10.20) Source - LiveDaily: Rock in Rio for a Better World, a music festival of gigantic proportions, is set to take place in Brazil in January, according to event organizers. A total of 98 acts--including Britney Spears, *NSYNC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young--are scheduled to perform during the festival. Organizers expect to attract 1.5 million people to the festival-site over the course of the seven-day event, according to details posted on the event's official website.
The festival is scheduled to run from Jan. 12-14, and from Jan. 18-21. Tickets cost R$35 in Brazilian currency per night, which at press time translated to about $18.70 in U.S. currency. Ticket information can be found at the festival's website.
In addition to Spears, *NSYNC, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Young, other internationally known artists scheduled to perform include Beck, Deftones, Foo Fighters, Rob Halford, Queens of the Stone Age, R.E.M., Sheryl Crow and Silverchair, all of whom are slated to grace the event's main stage, dubbed the World Stage. Those artists will share that space with Brazilian acts such as Bar�o Vermelho, Charlie Brown Jr., Funk 'n Lata and Skank. More acts may be added.
Mom Thwarts An *NSYNC Death Threat
(10.20) Source - Entertainment Weekly: Foiled Crime: A worried Tennessee mom has thwarted a plot to murder *NSYNC, according to the Gallatin, Tennessee, News Examiner. Police were called into action when the mother of a 17 year old boy found a folder containing details of a plan to attack the boy band. The unidentified teen wanted to rob a local gun shop (killing its employees if necessary) then travel to Atlanta on the evening of Oct. 21, when *NSYNC is scheduled to play the Philips Arena. He is reported to be undergoing psychiatric evaluation.
*NSYNC's Would-Be Assassin's Plot Foiled
(10.20) Source - Rolling Stone: Authorities in the Sumner County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee have confirmed that a seventeen-year-old boy, who has not been identified because of his age, is currently undergoing psychiatric evaluation after a comprehensive plan detailing a plot to kill the members of *NSYNC was found in his possession.
The plan came to light when his mother noticed some changes in her son's behavior and mood and found a folder in his room labeled "Operation Death Strike." The folder contained a checklist for his plan to harm the group when they performed in Atlanta on Oct. 21. Once the plot was discovered, the mother immediately contacted local authorities, who met with her and her son.
However, according to Deputy Chief Barker, who described the boy as deeply "remorseful," there was never reason to believe that the boy would carry out his plans against the group. "We don't see any criminal intent on his part," Chief Barker said, "because he didn't take any steps to implement the plan, though he had several weeks to do it. He had no access [to weapons], none of his close associates or friends were approached [to aid him in obtaining weapons]."
As for a motive, apparently as the concert approached the teenager became frustrated hearing his female classmates discuss the band, the concert and which members they liked best.
The Sheriff's office contacted *NSYNC's management to let them know of the incident and have spoken with security firms in Atlanta regarding the concert. But the Deputy Sheriff says this was strictly out of courtesy as they believe the incident to be "a frustrated teenage thing and not a plan to be carried out."