BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 6/22

BuzzSugar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:15:21 -0700

Just days away from the start of shooting, Columbia has pulled the plug on Moneyball, Steven Soderbergh's baseball drama starring Brad Pitt. - The Hollywood Reporter
Here's the track listing for the American Idol season eight album. - Entertainment Weekly
A 10-gallery museum devoted to the life of Walt Disney will open in San Francisco on Oct. 1. - AP
Simon Cowell has addressed the Susan Boyle situation and other controversies from this season of Britain's Got Talent. - Daily Mail
Nip/Tuck has filmed its 100th and final episode - though it may not air till 2011. - LA Times
Playing in Britain and Japan ahead of its worldwide release on Wednesday, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen premiered at No. 1 on the international circuit during the weekend, with a total of almost $20 million. - Reuters
True Blood tops a new index of shows that fans love to talk about online. - The Hollywood Reporter
British singer Estelle will replace Lauryn Hill as the headline act at this year's Stockholm Jazz Festival. - AP

Estelle and Kid Rock Join List of Artists Saying No to iTunes

BuzzSugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:30:48 -0700

There's an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal today about a trend toward record companies pulling their artists' records from the iTunes Music Store - and/or avoiding iTunes altogether - because selling singles at Apple's mp3 store isn't always as profitable (or necessary) as people think. Kid Rock's latest album, Rock 'n Roll Jesus, was never sold on iTunes, for example, and he still managed to sell 1.7 million copies in the US alone. Estelle is on the same label as Rock, and after seeing how well his album has done, the label yanked hers from iTunes as well - even though she currently has one of the hottest singles of the Summer.

I naively thought the ailing music business had finally surrendered to the download. Now I'm not sure where I stand on all this. From an artistic perspective, I think some albums really are a total package, and it's a shame to pick them apart by only buying singles. That's why Jay-Z refused to sell his American Gangster album on iTunes last year, stating, "As movies are not sold scene by scene, this collection will not be sold as individual singles."

On the other hand, not all "collections" are a work of art. Do we really need to listen to Katy Perry's album front to back rather than picking and choosing what songs we like? I bet a lot of people are glad they could buy just "I Kissed a Girl" on iTunes rather than shelling out $10 or more to get that one song.

So what do you think? Is this smart on the part of record labels, and does it preserve the integrity of the album format? Or is this just delaying the inevitable? I have to say, as I scan my iTunes library, I sure have a lot of unrelated singles mashed together, which is really different from my CD book from the old high school and college days.

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What's the Song of Summer 2008?

BuzzSugar — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:00:46 -0700

You know, I'm not gonna lie: kind of a tame Summer for music, don't you think? Not to say that there weren't solid releases from big names, but it's that time of year when everyone seems to be singing the same song ("Umbrella-ella-ella-ella!") and yet I can't seem to find a consensus of what songs are perpetually on the radio, in our heads, or on the dance floor.

But here are the songs that, as far as I can tell, are on heavy rotation right now. You know, the songs that will remind us in the future of that one Summer when every superhero movie ever came out, Mariah Carey got married, and neither Obama nor McCain was president yet.

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Separated at Birth: UK Singing Soundalikes

BuzzSugar — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:30:55 -0700

It seems like you can't turn on the radio or surf the music blogs these days (or walk into a Starbucks, for that matter) without hearing a lady singer who is from the UK and sounds strikingly similar to Amy Winehouse or Lily Allen. It's as if all aspiring British female vocalists born between 1979 and 1991 were only given Dusty Springfield and Etta James records to listen to for inspiration.

Winehouse and Allen reintroduced the "soulful songstress with attitude and distinctive vocals" persona to the mainstream when they took the USA by storm a few years ago. However, they now appear to be imploding personally, leaving a hole in the genre that record labels have rushed to fill. I'm not complaining, as I happen to really enjoy this kind of music, but how to tell all this talent apart? There are a lot of 'em, and in addition to having similar musical styles, their names (er, um, "name," as the case may be for several of them) are hardly distinctive. It's confusing! For your benefit and mine, here's my attempt to break it all down:


Name	Duffy	Adele	Estelle	Kate Nash	Gabriella Cilmi
Recent Album	Rockferry, 2008	19, 2008	Shine, 2008	Made of Bricks, 2008	Lessons to Be Learned, 2008 (not yet for sale in US)
Single to Download	"Mercy" or "Warwick Avenue"	"Chasing Pavements"	"American Boy"	"Foundations" and "Merry Happy"	"Sweet About Me" (not yet available in US)
Identifying Features	"Mercy" featured on Grey's Anatomy; album sold at Starbucks	Voice getting a lot of hype; lacks the bad-girl storytelling of the others	As good at rapping as singing; big names like Kanye West and John Legend behind her	More Lily Allen than Winehouse; a great choice post-breakup	Technically Australian, a budding talent now working it in the UK
iPod Replay Potential*	3	4	8	7	6

*scale of 1-10, 1 = "What's this lady doing on my iPod?" and 10 = "Cannot get enough - it's the soundtrack of my life!"
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Singer to Watch: Estelle

BuzzSugar — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 14:00:00 -0700

As British sensation Leona Lewis hurtles towards the USA, there's another singer from across the pond whom I'm really excited about: Estelle. Although she's definitely reminiscent of other R&B singers like Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill, Estelle's sound stands out as something entirely unique.

Her first album, The 18th Day, was a hit in the UK, and these days, she has all kinds of talent collaborating on her new album, Shine, including Wyclef Jean, will.i.am, Swizz Beats, Mark Ronson, John Legend and Kanye West. That's a pretty good list if you're looking to earn fans in America.

Her new album was supposed to come out in February, but that didn't happen - though hopefully the fact that her singles are being released now means it's coming soon. I love both of the songs - "American Boy" and "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)" - which feature Kanye and John Legend respectively. You can download them at iTunes, and to check out both videos, read more

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What to TiVo: Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:50:18 -0700

ABC is new with Shark Tank, Dancing With the Stars, and The Forgotten
CBS is new with NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, and The Good Wife
FOX has the ALCS Game 4, Yankees vs. Angels
NBC is new with The Biggest Loser
The CW is new with 90210 and Melrose Place
Bravo is new with Flipping Out
Comedy Central is new with The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report
FX is new with Sons of Anarchy
MTV is new with The Hills and The City
Late-night highlights include Kristin Davis on a repeat of The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Jon Hamm, Cobra Starship, and Estelle on a repeat of The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; Edward Norton on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; Ted Danson on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on CBS; and Seth Meyers and Landon Pigg on a repeat of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC