UK acts strut stuff for Mercury Awards
The Mercury Awards are one of those events that brings out the best of young and upcoming British talent and this years edition didn't disappoint. The big winner on the night was Scottish rockers Franz Ferdinand who was surprised but at the same time thrilled to be 'the one to win'
Hosted by Nationwide Bank, The ceremony (the 13th in it's inception) was held at London's Grosvenor House Hotel. The evening's festivities saw several talented acts take to the stage, the likes of Jazz phenomenon Amy Winehouse, Rapper Ty and house music's Bassment Jaxx all turned in fine performances.
The nominees included Indie bands The Zutons, Keane, Snow Patrol, Joss Stone and Belle and Sebastian. Even actress turned singer Minnie Driver who's in the completion stages of her album was in attendance she's currently about to tour with the former members of the band Crowded House. "I'm going on tour with the Finn brothers actually. We just found out today, it's really exciting, in November," she said.Said Jamelia about her nomination "To be quite honest it is one of the most important things to me. You know, it's really showing that I'm being accepted or even what I'm doing on a much wider scale than I originally do. So, I'm really happy to be here,".
The 20,000 pound ($35,530) prize honours the best album of the last year by a UK or Irish act, chosen from a wide range of musical genres. It is voted for by a panel of music industry experts, journalists and music artists.
- - Source: nationwidemercurys.com
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Vanessa Williams inks deal with Lava
For Vanessa this is an important time in her life right now. Being single again after recently filing for divorce from husband and basketball star Rick Fox, the former Miss America finds herself able to kick start her career as a singer again.
She took the first step in that direction this week by inking a deal for 2 albums with Atlantic's Lava Records . The albums will be themed albums one, due in October is a Christmas set called 'Silver & Gold' and the other (to be followed in February) will be an album of classic love songs from the '70s."The themed projects were important parts of the deal," says Lava founder and president Jason Flom, who is also chairman/CEO of Atlantic Records. "We didn't just want to go into this with, 'Let's just try to get a lot of airplay and promote it the traditional way.' Vanessa has another life; she can't be on the road 350 days a year promoting a record in the way that you have to promote your normal pop or hot AC record."
It was that understanding that appealed to Williams. "I had been looking for the right deal for a few years," she tells Billboard. "That meant being allowed to do all the things that I do and being appreciated for it. I don't live and breathe only in the music world, and thankfully [so], because it's gone through some tremendous ups and downs, and I'm 41. You can't have longevity all that time."
Williams will promote the christmas album with a Sept. 14 performance on QVC. She will also have a seven-show Broadway run at the Palace Theater Dec. 1-5.
- Source: billboard.com
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Andre 3000 gets politically minded with documentary
After the president's daughter Jenna Bush mentioned Outkast's name at the Republicans convention the other day, half of the hip-hop duo showed up at the GOP convention in New York to encourage young people to vote.
Andre Benjamin, better known to his fans as Andre 3000, came by Madison Square Garden yesterday (Sept. 1) to do interviews for a documentary he's making for the cable giants HBO on his transformation from an apolitical musician to a voter-registration activist. "This is my first vote," Benjamin, 29, said.
The film complements Benjamin's activities with 'Declare Yourself', a nonpartisan group that's raised millions to try to get young people to the polls. Earlier in the day he interviewed Jenna and Barbara Bush, who he said surprised him by mentioning his group in their convention speech Tuesday.
Jenna offered OutKast as evidence that her parents "are actually kind of cool. When we tell them we're going to see OutKast, they know it's a band and not a bunch of misfits," she said.
Benjamin said it was a "great tack. If you're on the team of the Republicans I think it was smart to do," he offered. "'Cause some people, they don't care. They're just like: Hey, I want to go to where all the cool people are."
Rumors that OutKast would perform at a convention-related event have sent Benjamin into damage-control mode. "What I'm doing is nonpartisan," said Benjamin, who also was at the Democratic National Convention and interviewed John Kerry's daughters. "I just want people to vote."
- Source: billboard.com
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This was quite a surprise when I first heard about it. MSN.com reports that a source close to the newly-launched magazine Suede says that R&B princess Alicia Keys was "an unbelievable diva" at a recent photo shoot.
The source claims Alicia "showed up with her mother, who was also pretty
demanding, and found everything unacceptable." Reps for Keys and for Suede say the story is absolutely not true.
A second source, one who is close to Keys, told MSN.com that "Alicia didn't have a problem with the photographer, but she did have an issue with the hair and makeup people." The source also noted that Keys isusually very reasonable, but also is a professional who knows how these things are done. The source went on to say, "If they think Alicia Keys is difficult, wait until they have to deal with Janet Jackson.
- Source: MSN.com