Quick Hits: Maroon 5, Mark Tremonti, Norah Jones, TLC, Demi Lovato, The Killers, Passion Pit, Van Halen
April 26, 2012
Maroon 5
Maroon 5's new single "Payphone" set a new digital sales record this week. Nielsen Soundscan and Billboard report that the track, which features Wiz Khalifa, had the best digital sales week ever for a single by a group. The song sold 493,000 copies in its first week, good for a debut at #3, but also topping the Black Eyed Peas' sales record of 465,000 downloads for "Boom Boom Pow" almost exactly three years ago. "Payphone" also had the eight-best sales week ever for a digital single.
Guitarist Mark Tremonti of Alter Bridge and Creed fame will release his first solo album this summer. Billboard reports that All I Want will be released July 10 on Fret 12 Records, a label Tremonti co-founded. Tremonti will handle lead vocals for the first time in his career. Lead single "You Waste Your Time" will impact Active Rock radio in May.
A deluxe edition of Norah Jones' new album Little Broken Hearts will be available as a Target exclusive, reports Billboard. The deluxe version will include three extra tracks: "I Don't Wanna Hear Another Sound," "Killing Time" and "Out On The Road (Mondo Version)." Her 2009 album The Fall was also released as a Target-only deluxe edition.
TMZ reports that the surviving members of TLC are considering going on tour with "video projections" of the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. A spokesperson for Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas said a tour is in the works, with five cities already booked. Left Eye will not appear as a projection a la "Hologram Tupac" at Coachella, but old footage of her would be shown, with her vocals as part of the show. Lopes passed away ten years ago this week in a car crash in Honduras.
Demi Lovato will hit the road this summer, with Hot Chelle Rae and Owl City opening up, for a tour that begins in Del Mar, CA on June 12. Dates have been announced up to September 1 in Salem, OR.
Thomas Marth, touring saxophone player for The Killers, passed away this week in what has been reported as a suicide. Marth also played on the band's 2006 album Sam's Town and 2008's Day & Age and toured with the Vegas group behind Day & Age. The Killers tweeted a statement, saying "Last night we lost our friend Thomas Marth. Our prayers are with his family.There's a light missing in Las Vegas tonight. Travel well, Tommy."
Indie rockers Passion Pit will release Gossamer, their sophomore release, on July 24 via Columbia Records. Lead single "Talk A Walk" will arrive on May 7. The band has a number of tour dates and festival appearances announced throughout the spring and summer, including sets at Lollapalooza and the Outside Lands Music Festival.
Van Halen will release a vinyl 7" single of "She's A Woman" for free with all copies of their new album A Different Kind Of Truth sold on May 4. Reportedly the record will only be available in independent record stores, confusingly happening almost two weeks after Record Store Day.