Melody Plant

The New Kids on the Block recorded a song last week with a fellow 80s boy band, New Edition. The thing is the most infamous member, Bobby Brown, was cut out of the picture. The track called ‘Full Service’ will be on NKOTB’s as yet untitled upcoming album. Producer RedOne says “Donnie Wahlberg had this idea for a few months, since New Kids had the idea of getting back together really. Donnie’s been looking for that one track for all of them and I think we found it.” New Edition’s Ralph Tresvant recently spoke about the bands’ rumored feud saying “The thing people were going back and forth with was we’d been doing what we were doing for the longest [but] we couldn’t get cartoons and things that the white guys were getting. It was like, ‘wow’. But the guys themselves, we have mad love.”

Rihanna has released a new music video for her single ‘Take a Bow’. The song is the lead single from the re-release of her platinum-selling album ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’. What, can’t she think of anything else to sing so she has to redo her old album? I’m not complaining though. She just made the songs hotter and does a collaboration with Maroon 5. Anyway, I think Rihanna has a future at being an actress. There’s a whole lot of emotion in her new video which is really about catching her guy cheating. Chris Brown better not even dare think about doing that to the new Princess of Pop.

The Jonas Brothers were spotted in Los Angeles just as they got finished running a couple of errands on Tuesday. Mark your calendars now as the band of brothers consisting of 20-year old Kevin, 18-year old Joe and 15-year old Nick will be releasing their new album called ‘A Little Bit Longer’ on August 12. They recently talked to Popstar about their upcoming ‘Burnin’ Up’ tour where Nick said “We’re definitely talking about having some fire and maybe some explosions.” He even jokingly added “We’re going to [swallow swords of fire]!” Are we going to see a concert or a circus act?

A new promo picture of ‘High School Musical’ star Vanessa Hudgens has been released from her sophomore album ‘Identified’. Could this possibly be the artwork for her new album cover? Vanessa has also released a new single called ‘Sneakernight’ and it’s gotten nothing but good reviews. Blender magazine reviewed the song saying “Teens will dance (and giggle), parents will overpay for the concert and all will be right with the teen pop universe.” If you go by nothing but that, then I guess it really is a good song. It may be a teeny bopper song but hey, it’s a pretty big market.

Here’s some exciting news for you music lovers. It was just confirmed on Wednesday that Prince will be performing at the Coachella music festival near Palm Springs later this month. Considering the less than stellar line up this year, Prince is a really big step up. If you compare this year’s line up to previous years, a good 5 to 10 artists of Prince’s caliber are on the line up. This year, we just got Prince. It’s a pretty good assurance that ticket sales will be going up too. The purple majesty will take the stage on Saturday, April 26.

I said, in not so many words, that Madonna was going to win over Mariah Carey in their unofficial diva battle. An industry expert explains why that is so. Mariah always gets to go first, with her song being on radio for more than a month while Madonna’s has only been on for a week. Mariah’s album also comes out before Madonna’s. Mariah’s song dropped on iTunes a day before Madonna’s. All that really means is that Mariah will have a strong first week and go down while Madonna’s will gain airplay and get stronger as Mariah drops. In short, Madonna still wins in the end.

REM has been resurrected as the band has a new album coming out. The band members grace the cover of the new issue of Spin magazine wherein front man Michael Stipe talks about his own coming out. He said “It was super complicated for me in the ’80s. I was totally open with the band and my family and my friends and certainly the people I was sleeping with. I thought it was pretty obvious.” He also adds that going public was easier on him when he realized that it might inspire people to change their views about homosexuality and even help out some troubled kid somewhere out there.

Even though she didn’t make it to sing live on stage, Amy rocked the Grammys with her performance via satellite from London. But that wasn’t nearly her biggest accomplishment for the night.

Amy racked up an amazing five Grammy awards before the show was over. Her awards included record of the year, song of the year, and best new artist.

After sending a shout out to her “Blake incarcerated”, she spoke to the group gathered with her in London. “It’s a shame I couldn’t be there to accept the awards, but I’m so proud and happy that I had the opportunity to perform for the Grammsy in my hometown of London with my family and friends around me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Heidi Montag’s video for her single ‘Higher’ has been released. And what can I say? It was everything I expected and much less. The video was shot, produced and directed by Heidi’s ex-fiance and still-boyfriend Spencer Pratt. If you’re a perv, this video is going to be good for you. There are two things worth noticing.

Spencer and Heidi need to stick to whatever it is that they do best. I don’t know what that is exactly. In fact, I’m pretty sure that they don’t either. But whatever it is, it’s not music videos. Why can’t the earth just open up and swallow them whole?

There’s a lot of hate heading towards Avril Lavigne. First, it was Canada’s national paper writing a not-so-complimentary article about her and now, the dancers in the Hollywood community are circulating an email amongst themselves which urges one another to boycott audition’s for the signer and so-called songwriter’s upcoming tour.

The reason for the boycott is because Avril is paying dancers below the industry standards. Avril’s publicist has released a statement saying that they have been told that the rates for the dancers are within the industry standard. However, a dance industry insider is refuting the claims and even put some specifics. Avril’s payments aren’t cutting it.

Sarah Harding is making moves behind the scenes to launch a solo career away from Girls Aloud. The Manc caner has been in touch with a select group of top music managers to sound them out in a bid to secure solo success after her girl band dream ends.

But so far she has been knocked back by operators including the team who put Lily Allen on the map and made Natasha Bedingfield a big name in the US.

An insider said: “Sarah has had an eye on her future for a long time. She knows girl bands only have a short shelf-life and that the dream wouldn’t last for ever”

If you want to a preview of just what to expect on Paula Abdul’s pre-taped Super Bowl performance on Sunday, a couple of fans have decided to provide some spoilers and personal experiences after watching her taping. The reviews are pretty confusing. Some say it was bad while some say that she was just as good as she was at the peak of her singing career.

Fans say that it took a long time for security to let people in. Paula was said to have done 3 takes. The performance included her being lifted into the air by some hot hunks, a drum line and even cheerleaders. Some say she also had some hot moves to show off. However, she was lip synching. What did you expect?

I, for one, think that Janet Jackson’s newest single ‘Feedback’ is a great song but it appears that it has failed to connect with the public. The song has failed to get into the top 30s on the singles’ charts. In addition to that, according to Soundscan, the song has dropped from #44 last week to #66 this week. That’s some sad news.

On a brighter note, Rihanna continues to rule as her new single ‘Don’t Stop the Music’ jumps from #15 to #6. Maybe Janet needs to do more stuff like Rihanna’s. It’s obvious it’s what the music fans want.

Remember the days of couple-led variety shows? Think Donny and Marie. Well, no, they aren’t making a comeback. Get a little more recent and think…..

Sanjaya and Shyamali!

Believe it or not, we are not free from the gripping hair that is Sanjaya. He and his singing sister are currently in talks with MTV to do their own variety show called, surprisingly, The Sanjaya and Shyamali Show. The show will include a mixture of singing, dancing, and comedy. Oh, and don’t forget hairstyling tips!

Besides the television show, those few people who actually liked Sanjaya for his singing will be thrilled to know that he is working on his first cd. He has been working with vocal coach Seth Riggs who has tutored the likes of Kelly Clarkson and Faith Hill.

Madonna’s new album isn’t expected to drop until well into the next year but that isn’t stopping Timbaland from leaking one of the songs that he worked on with the Queen of Pop. The producer played ‘4 Minutes to Save the World’ at the Jingle Ball in Philadelphia on Sunday night. I just hope that he got her permission to do so.

The song also features Justin Timberlake and it’s pretty hot. How could it not be when you’ve got all that great talent working on it? I’m also hoping that the finished version has a lot less of Timbaland though.

I have to say she is a Little Miss Sunshine…

Natasha Bedinfield releases the second single from her new album next month. It’s called Pocketfull of Sunshine, and it’s awesome! Check around online to find an early release of it.

The song is already slated to be a radio hit, and it’s one everyone can appreciate and enjoy - upbeat, sing-songey, fun.

Santa, you can put this one in my stocking!

The Jonas Brothers have really hit the big time. The musical trio of brothers Kevin, Nick and Joe were seen attending the 2007 Jingle Ball pre-event at The Hammerstein Ballroom on Friday in New York City.

Another mark of their success is that they were recently announced to be performers during ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Even 2008’ along with Carrie Underwood and Miley Cyrus. They will have live performances from Times Square with the show airing on Monday, December 31 on ABC. What a hot way to rock in the New Year – an American Idol and two big names from Disney.

Parents everywhere are breathing a collective sigh of relief. Maybe Christmas isn’t ruined after all.

It has been announced that Miley Cyrus, a.k.a. Hannah Montana, is extending her extremely popular tour and adding 14 more shows. The shows begin January 11 in Detroit and go until January 31 in Miami.

Disney says it was an overwhelming response from fans that made them decide to add the additional shows. I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that it’s a huge revenue maker.

One downfall - the Jonas Brothers, who are touring with Miley, will not be on the added shows. Instead, Aly & AJ will join Miley from January 11 to January 24, with another “special guest” appearing for the remainder of the shows.

Tickets go on sale this Saturday!!!

Fall Out Boy got a total of zero Grammy nominations on Thursday mor

ning and come night time, bassist Pete Wentz showed just how much of a sore loser he was when he pitched a fit at the People magazine Grammy kick off party. Pete continues to be a sourpuss when he made a post on the band’s official blog.

In the blog titled “got bitterness? vs. a revelation on true connection (and the award goes to)” Pete reveals just how he felt about the lack of nominations but yet being asked to appear and even perform for a kick off party.

But apart from bitterness, Pete actually has a great point about relevance and acceptance in there. It’s a good read.

If their performance at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show was anything to go by, the Spice Girls concert wouldn’t be any good. But the thing is, that performance isn’t anything compared to the actual show because the show is really good!

Besides making LA fans go crazy by singing all their hits on Wednesday, Baby, Scary, Ginger and Sporty each belted out solo numbers. Mel C did ‘I Turn to You’, Scary made her own rendition of ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way’ and Ginger did ‘It’s Raining Men’. I forget what Baby sang but it brought the house down along with the other 3 nonetheless.

What did Posh do? Instead of belting out her own solo number, she opted to prance down the runway to a mix of Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’ and RuPaul’s ‘Supermodel’.

Britney Spears’ latest album ‘Blackout’ is already on the fourth week of its release and it has literally blacked out. Her album has already dropped to a very disappointing 41st place this week in the US according to the new Soundscan charts.

What’s far more disappointing is that Brit’s album has only sold a total of 466,834 copies. That means that her latest effort will not be selling more than a million copies unless some sort of miracle happens. ‘Blackout’ will be the only Britney CD to date that will not go to platinum.

Well that has to suck for her. But I doubt that she really cares.

Another Spice Girls blog is up with Geri Halliwell penning it. In her blog, she admits that with all the rehearsals going on for the Spice Girls’ world tour, she feels like she’s stuck in some sort of ‘Spice Bubble’.

“I actually feel like I’m in the Spice bubble… we are encapsulated in this world where we are just immersed in each other’s lives constantly. Just before the run through of the show this morning, Mel B, Victoria and I even went to the loo together… in separate cubicles, obviously!”

She also talked about the Spice Kids having play dates and surprising Mel B in the live final of Dancing With the Stars.

Ashley Tisdale is a big music lover. And like any true music lover, she’s not stuck on one type of music but rather a whole range that seemingly doesn’t have any connection at all. She recently made her own top 10 music picks for 2007 and I can say that the girl has some good taste.Taking the top spot is Carrie Underwood with ‘So Small’, followed by Paramore with ‘Misery Business’, Rihanna with ‘Umbrella’, The Used with ‘Pretty Handsome Awkward’, Beyonce with ‘Irreplaceable’, Michael Buble with ‘Everything’, The Academy Is with ‘Everything We Had’, Plain White T’s with ‘Hey There Delilah’, My Chemical Romance with ‘Teenagers’ with Justin Timberlake rounding her list off with ‘Summer Love’.

American Idol’s most recent champion Jordin Sparks’ debut CD is expected to come in at #2 this week, so say some industry projections. She would come in behind Alicia Keys who’s expected to dominate the charts for the entire holiday season.

Jordin’s album is expected to sell between 90,000 to 100,000 on its first week. While the numbers aren’t that bad, those projections would actually make Jordin’s album have the lowest debut for an American Idol winner – ever! Yes, it’s worse than Ruben’s. A lot of runners up sold even more than that in their first week. That has got to hurt.

And it will include Michael. That’s right 70’s hit band – The Jacksons, who last toured in 1984, are planning a reunion for one last tour. And Jermaine Jackson insists that star brother, Michael, will definitely be involved. Apparently he has attended all meetings and discussions and plans are set to reunite sometime in 2008.

The original plan was for the reunion tour to be in 2005, but the controversy behind Michael’s child abuse trial put all plans on hold. Now that he has been cleared of all charges plans can move ahead.

My problem with this is two things. One: if you put Michael in the middle of the other five; Tito, Marlon, Jackie, Jermaine and Randy…is he really going to look like pat of the family? And two: The Jacksons were children in essence back in the 70s and 80s when they had hits with “I want you back” and “ABC”. Surely the adult voices will not do the songs the same justice? Only time will tell I guess…I await with baited breath.

Kylie has released her 10th studio album with more confidence than ever. And she has scooted off to Germany to promote it.

The miniature singer, most recently in the news for being humiliated by a saucy statue created by Madame Tussauds, was cleared last year of the horrible disease; Breast Cancer, which knocked her down in 2005.

And now as she promotes her new album X, she says, “I think it’s not so difficult to write a decent song but to write a great song is a difficult thing. I like the challenge of trying to find that and at the very least, writing something that I enjoy singing and all people love. It took me a number of years to find my confidence to do that but now it’s just part of me.”

What a trooper. I remember listening to Kylie when I was a kid and she is still going strong; with the right attitude and music that pleases the new generations as the times move on. You go girl!

We should already come to expect that after showing up for their first show together and the fact that their reunion tour is just around the corner, another Spice Girls blog would be up. This time around, it’s from Sporty Mel C. She talked about rehearsing, performing and even nerves.

She’s incredibly excited about their upcoming tour and spoke about the rehearsals saying that she thinks after all of it, they may just as well run a marathon. She also talked about the rush of being on stage at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show last week but said that she was incredibly nervous and even shaking the whole time.

I’m sure the nerves will be gone come the start of their tour.

Whoever said that reality TV stars and alums can’t make it big in the real world should really start eating their words now. But in the case of American Idol alums Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry, was there ever really any doubt?

The two singers won big at the 2007 American Music Awards by picking up three awards each. Carrie won for Favorite Female Country Artist, Favorite Country Album for ‘Some Hearts’ and the Audience Text-in Award for Favorite Artist just days after winning big at the Country Music Association Awards. Chris Daughtry and his band took home Breakthrough Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Contemporary Artist.

Congrats to both!