Quick Hits: album sales, The Gaslight Anthem, Jimi Hendrix & Jim Morrison, Lady Gaga, Dirty Heads, Nas, The Strokes, 7Lions, Cody Simpson, Blaqk Audio
June 13, 2012
Adele's 21 returns to #1 on the album sales chart for a 24th week, selling another 75,000 copies, according to NielsenSoundScan. 21 now holds the most frames at #1 since Prince & the Revolution's Purple Rain soundtrack also spent 24 weeks atop the list in 1984 and 1985. 21 has never left the Top 10 in its entire 68-week chart run, dropping only as low as #7 on the December 10, 2011, chart, according to Billboard.com. Meanwhile, Country king Alan Jackson debuts at #2 with his latest effort, Thirty Miles West, and at #3, the Beach Boys bow with That's Why God Made the Radio, selling 61,000 in the first week. It's the group's highest-debut ever, and best rank since 1974's Endless Summer greatest hits set hit #1. Another veteran artist - Neil Young - earns his second-highest charting album ever this week as Americana debuts at #4 with 44,000. His only other bigger set was 1972's Harvest. Rapper Big K.R.I.T. comes in at #5 this week with his debut studio album, Live From the Underground, selling 41,000 units. The other new debuts in the Top 10 this week come from Rapper Curren$y, who starts at #8 with The Stoned Immaculate, shifting 36,000, and singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile at #10 with Bear Creek, selling a little over 27,000.
The Live On Letterman webcast series will showcase The Gaslight Anthem in a live webcast concert from the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, available on CBS.com and VEVO, on Wednesday, June 27 at 9 p.m. EST. The Gaslight Anthem will play songs from their last three albums, as well as from their latest, Handwritten, which will be released Tuesday, July 24 on Mercury Records. The band's webcast will follow the taping of their performance on the Late Show with David Letterman, which will be broadcast the following evening, Thursday, June 28.
The estates of Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison are reportedly considering holographic performances from the late music icons. "We're trying to get to a point where 3-D characters will walk around," Jeff Jampol, who manages the estates of both artists, told Billboard. "Hopefully, 'Jim Morrison' will be able to walk right up to you, look you in the eye, sing right at you and then turn around and walk away." Jampol oversees the estates of many deceased artists and suggested that a holographic performance a la Tupac at Coachella could be one component of a multimedia concert. Janie Hendrix, sister of Jimi and President/CEO of Experience Hendrix, revealed to Billboard that she has been working for a year with Musion Systems to create a virtual Jimi.
Lady Gaga has been reportedly named the cover model for the September issue of fashion magazine Vogue, focusing on the launch of her own perfume. Gaga was on the cover of Vogue in March of 2011 as well. In other Gaga news, she tweeted a thank you to fans, after a piece of her stage setup fell on her head during a concert in New Zealand and she suffered a mild concussion. Gaga wrote, "Emerging from hours of sleep. Still remiss if I should go outside, with this clonker I may be of questionable styling. Thank you so much for all the thoughtful messages. I feel a bit woozy but a little better everyday. Very happy to be in beautiful Australia."
The Dirty Heads are set to celebrate the release of their new album, Cabin By The Sea, with a visit to ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! on July 10. The appearance will feature the first-ever nationally televised performance of their single "Spread Too Thin." The album is set for release on Five Seven Music on June 19, and a full album stream is exclusively premiering on Spotify now.
A new lifestyle site called www.12Society.com launched on Tuesday, co-founded by Nas, Nick Cannon and NBA stars Blake Griffin and Kevin Love. The site is a subscriber-based experience that costs $39 a month, where users will receive a monthly shipment of handpicked apparel, gadgets and other premium products that the stars use in their everyday lives. Each shipment is guaranteed to be worth a minimum of $125. "To me the 12 Society thing is just people like myself and other people that are involved connecting with the people, giving them some insight on our lifestyle and making the people a part of it," Nas told MTV News.
The Strokes have recently logged time at New York's Electric Lady Studios recording the follow-up to 2011's Angles with producer Gus Oberg, according to Billboard.com. The as-yet-untitled album will be the Strokes' fifth studio release, although no other details are available at this time.
Modern Rock KYSR (98.7 FM)/Los Angeles, sister Sports station -AM and 7Lions have teamed up to create a theme song for the 2012 Stanley Cup winning Los Angeles Kings. "LA Kings/Born 2 Run," a remix of 7Lion's "Born 2 Run," was performed on the local morning news in L.A. days before the Kings' Stanley Cup victory. 7Lions will release their Born 2 Run EP next Tuesday, June 19, then perform later in the week at Sunset Sessions Rock! in Palm Springs, CA.
Cody Simpson has announced that his full length debut album, Paradise, will arrive on October 2. The album is preceded by the Preview To Paradise EP, out now, and Cody will perform the track "Got Me Good" on Live with Kelly on July 4. Simpson also will celebrate the impending release of Paradise by teaming up with Big Time Rush for a North American tour. The dates get underway July 5 at Columbus, Ohio’s Nationwide Arena and then continue through mid-September.
Superball Music has inked a deal with electronic super duo Blaqk Audio. Featuring Davey Havok and Jade Puget of AFI, Blaqk Audio will be releasing their sophomore album, Bright Black Heaven, this fall via their new imprint, Big Death (distributed by Superball Music). A free download of "Bliss," one of the new songs that will be featured on BrightBlack Heaven, is currently available at www.superballmusic.com/blaqkaudio.