Quick Hits: Katy Perry, Adele, Nicki Minaj, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Gorillaz / James Murphy / Andre 3000, mtvU Woodie Awards, Re: Generation Project, Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
February 9, 2012
Katy Perry has revealed the details about the special edition of Teenage Dream, which is due on March 27. Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection includes all 12 tracks from the original version of the album, and the first run of the release will feature a limited edition lenticular cover. It also includes three brand new songs as well as versions of "E.T." featuring Kanye West, "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" featuring Missy Elliott, an acoustic version of "The One That Got Away," and a seven-minute Tommie Sunshine megamix of Perry hits. In other news, Perry's divorce from RussellBrand has been finalized. According to court documents dated February 7, Perry and Brand have "entered into a comprehensive written settlement of all issues," including how they'll separate their property and assets. CNN reports that Perry, who signed her court documents with her name, a happy face and a heart, also requested that her maiden name, Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, be legally restored.
Not only is Adele up for six Grammy Awards on Sunday, but she also will be the subject of a 60 Minutes interview that will air on CBS immediately before the awards show. In a teaser for the TV special, the British singer speaks with host Anderson Cooper about her health scare and the vocal cord surgery, saying that it "felt like something popped in my throat." "They put lasers down your throat, cut off the polyp and kind of laser your hemorrhage back together and fix it," Adele told the news anchor. She was ordered not to speak a word throughout November and December, so she used notepads and a text-to-speech cellphone application to communicate. "It was really hard. I love talking," she added. The Grammys will mark Adele's first live performance since the surgery.
When Nicki Minaj performs at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, she will play a brand new song called "Roman Holiday." However, the next morning, she will officially release a different single called "Starships." That song will premiere on Ryan Seacrest's radio show and then make its way to iTunes shortly thereafter. Minaj is nominated at the Grammys for Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Album for Pink Friday. Meanwhile, her new album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, comes out on April 3.
It takes big shoes to replace Clarence Clemons in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Today the Boss announced that two saxophonists will replace the late Clemons when the band hits the road this year. In an announcement on Springsteen's website, he revealed that longtime collaborator Eddie Manion will "share the saxophone role" with Clemons' own nephew, Jake Clemons. The expanded live lineup will also include two backup singers, two trumpeters and a trombone player as well. Springsteen's 2012 tour kicks off in Atlanta on March 18.
MTV, VH1 and CMT will debut Taylor Swift's new video for "Safe & Sound" — her collaboration with The Civil Wars that serves as the first single from The Hunger Games soundtrack — on February 13. The video will fist premiere at 7:54 p.m. EST during an MTV News special, MTV First: Taylor Swift. The special will kick-off with Swift introducing the music video on-air before sitting for an exclusive 30-minute interview with Sway Calloway. Then, CMT will premiere "Safe & Sound" at 8 p.m., the same time the music video will debut exclusively online at MTV.com, CMT.com, VH1.com and MTV’s International sites. The following day, VH1's Big Morning Buzz Live will feature the video at 10 a.m. as it goes into regular rotation across all video channels, including MTV, MTV Hits, mtvU, VH1, CMT and CMT Pure.
Beyoncé is asking fans for some help in remixing the song "End of Time" from her album, 4. Aspiring producers and remixers can submit their versions via BeyonceOnline.com, where they can download stems from the song. The winner of the best remix will win a $4,000 prize and inclusion on a future Beyonce release, though the specifics of that release were not revealed. However, it could be some form of an "End of Time" single.
As part of Converse's continuing "Three Artists. One Song" campaign, Gorillaz, former LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy, and Outkast rapper Andre 3000 have teamed up to record a new track called "DoYaThing." It will be released on February 23 as a free download on Converse's website. That date also will see the release of a new Gorillaz footwear collection that was designed by Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett for Converse.
The mtvU Woodie Awards will take over a whole day at Austin's South by Southwest festival this year. It begins March 15 at 1 p.m. with a host of live performances — open to all SXSW badge holders — and culminates with the 2012 Woodie Awards. The best moments from the awards will air on MTV and mtvU on March 18, and Woodie performers will be announced in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Kanye West and Jay-Z, The Black Keys, Skrillex, Mac Miller, Frank Ocean, J. Cole, Foster The People and others lead the award nominees, vying for big categories like Woodie of the Year and the Performing Woodie.
The Re: Generation Music Project follows five DJs/producers as they re-imagine music collaborating with influential artists from Rock, R&B, Classical, Country and Jazz genres. Mark Ronson, Skrillex and the Crystal Method are among the collaborators with the likes of Nas, Mos Def, members of The Doors and others. The Re: Generation documentary will screen in over 170 theaters next Thursday, February 16, with selected encore screenings on February 23. Meanwhile, songs created in the project are now available as a free digital download. For more information, visit regenerationmusicproject.com.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has decided that the Blue Caps, the Comets, the Crickets, the Famous Flames, the Midnighters and the Miracles will all be inducted at the 2012 ceremony on April 14, along with previously announced inductees Beastie Boys, Donovan, Guns N’ Roses, Laura Nyro, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Small Faces/The Faces, Freddie King, Don Kirshner, Cosimo Matassa, Tom Dowd and Glyn Johns. The induction is the result of a special Rock and Roll Hall of Fame committee review that identified situations in which groups should be recognized along with their original lead singers, who have already been enshrined. This is why the Blue Caps (GeneVincent was inducted in 1998), the Comets (Bill Haley was inducted in 1987), the Crickets (Buddy Holly was inducted in 1986), Famous Flames (James Brown was inducted in 1986), the Midnighters (Hank Ballard was inducted in 1990) and the Miracles (Smokey Robinson was inducted in 1987) all made the cut. The 27th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on April 14 in Cleveland and will premiere on HBO in May.