Entries from March 2009 ↓

One of the more difficult parts of my job is having to have cheerleaders in the studio.  It’s rough I tell you!  :)  I had the pleasure of hanging out with Angel and Deanna from the Gold Rush Cheerleaders today, and they want YOU to be a part of their squad for this upcoming season!  If you’re 18 or over, tryouts are March 29th down at Stanford University, and you can find more info here.

Tony from No Doubt called in today to talk about their show this summer which goes on sale Saturday at noon.  We talked about their new CD coming out, what they were up to during their long break, and what led them to reunite!

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You knew it would come out eventually.  And now, thanks to papers filed by the LAPD, we can finally know what led to the argument which spurred Chris Brown to act like an idiot and beat up Rihanna.  According to Entertainment Tonight, here are the crazy details:

Around 12:25 am, Rihanna answered Chris’ phone and read a three-page text message from one of his previous girlfriends.  They then engaged in a verbal argument that quickly escalated into an alleged violent attack by Brown.  He pulled the rented car over and unsuccessfully attempted to push Rihanna out of the car, causing her injury as she struck the window.  Chris repeatedly punched Rihanna in the face with his right hand while continuing to drive and steer the wheel of the car with his left hand.  As a result of the punches, Rihanna’s mouth began to fill with blood, which spilled over onto her clothing and the interior of the car.  Chris then threatened Rihanna, saying, “I’m going to beat the [expletive] out of you when we get home! You wait and see!”  When Ri then placed a call to her personal assistant and pretended to reveal what happened, Brown said, “You just did the stupidest thing ever! Now I’m really going to kill you!”  Chris continued repeatedly punching Rihanna while he drove, biting into her ear and her fingers, holding her in a head lock and applying pressure to arteries in her neck, making Rihanna ”unable to breathe” and begin to “lose consciousness.”  Rihanna tried to fight back by attempting to gouge Brown’s eyes, and she also tried to stop him from continuing to drive recklessly, even pulling out the car’s key from the ignition and sitting on it.  Rihanna then began screaming for help, and Brown got out of the car and walked away.  A neighbor who heard Rihanna’s screams for help then called 911.

Wow!  This is sad, maddening, unbelievable and difficult to read all at the same time.  In court today, Chris Brown’s attorney asked for a continuance in the trial, so he will now be arraigned on April 6, at which point he will have to plead either guilty or not guilty.  Chris at least looked sharp as he showed up for his hearing today in a gray 3-piece suit, complete with vest and tie, but his case isn’t looking so hot.  I’ll continue to keep you posted as new details emerge.

It’s been rumored and speculated about, pushed back and delayed many times, but finally all of that can come to an end as Eminem announced today that his new CD, Relapse, will be released on May 19th. Relapse will include his current track, “Crack A Bottle” with Dr. Dre and 50 Cent, which was not originally intended to be the first single from the album. Radio stations across the country began playing it when it leaked onto the net earlier this year, despite Em trying to persuade stations against doing so. That leads me to believe that the real first single (coming out accompanied with a video on April 7th) will be a much better song, and more reminiscient of the classic Em style of hits we’re used to.
That wasn’t Em’s only big news today, however. He also let us know that Relapse won’t be his only CD coming out in ‘09. Eminem will also drop Relapse 2 later this year! Whoa, slow down there, Shady! Let’s get Relapse out first, and then worry about the next one! Either way, it’ll be very interesting to see how Em is crafting his unique style of hip-hop here in 2009 (please, no auto-tune Em, I’m begging you!!), and whether his re-emergence can shake up today’s hip-hop world as much as he did upon first arriving on the scene 10 years ago.

This week the All-American Rejects score their first ever #1 hit as “Gives You Hell” reaches the top of the radio airplay chart. The Rejects had hit the top 10 three times previously, but this is their first #1 hit. What makes this even more significant is that this is the first song by a group to hit #1 on the airplay chart in almost 2 years! The last 26 #1 songs have all been by solo artists, which is pretty unusual, and perhaps a sign of how the musical landscape is changing. The last #1 song not by a solo artist was “Cupid’s Chokehold” by the Gym Class Heroes in April of 2007, but you have to go back even further, a full 2 years, to find the previous #1 hit by a traditional rock band… “It’s Not Over” by Daughtry from March of that year. So congratulations to the former End-Fest artist All-American Rejects on your #1 hit!!