Quick Hits: Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, D'Angelo & Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, Dave Grohl, Against Me!, The Wanted, Farm Aid, Destiny's Child, Adam Lambert, Owl City, Paul McCartney
July 9, 2012
Lady Gaga
During a concert stop in Perth, Australia, over the weekend, Lady Gaga spoke a little bit about her next album before launching into a new track called "Princess Die," which may appear on the album. "It's not about you, it's about me. This whole thing is about me," she joked about "Princess Die" in footage that is posted on Press Party. "Oh, the vanity of a singer. So I wrote this song and in a way it has a bit to do with the rest of the album... well, I'm not gonna say anything. Let's just say I feel, I feel that when I wrote Born This Way, I demonstrated a sense of maturity. And I feel that, on the next album, there's a lack of maturity, it's a tremendous lack of maturity or sense of responsibility." Gaga plans to announce the album's title in September.
Katy Perry's 3-D film, Part of Me, opened on July 5 by scoring the #8 slot at the box office with a haul of $7.1 million. In four days, the film earned $10.2 million. Perry faced off against a very competitive release schedule filled with films like Ted, Magic Mike, Madea's Witness Protection and The AmazingSpider-Man.
R&B veterans D'Angelo and Mary J. Blige are teaming up for a co-headlining trek called The Liberation Tour. So far, the only announced dates run from August 18 in Virginia Beach to August 23 Holmdel, NJ, but Blige told Rolling Stone that the run will be 20 dates long.
Brooklyn Nets co-owner Jay-Z will play the first three concerts at the NBA team's new arena - the Barclays Center in Brooklyn - from September 28-30. A general on-sale will take place on Friday, July 13, and 7,000 tickets for each show will reportedly be priced under $30.
Dave Grohl's hometown of Warren, OH recently unveiled gigantic 900-lb. drumsticks to honor their native son, and according to the Hollywood Reporter, the massive sticks have set a new Guinness World Record. The drumsticks will be on display at the Warren Amphitheater through September and will be relocated to the town's David Grohl Alley afterwards. Grohl expressed his thanks on Twitter, where he wrote: "To the wonderful city of Warren, from the bottom of my heart I'd like to thank you all so much... For the childhood memories. For my family. For my very own alley. For the world's largest drumsticks! And for all of your support. But most of all for being such a great community. One that makes me proud to say... I am from Warren, Ohio!"
Against Me! has announced a brief west coast headline tour. Beginning after their appearance at this year's Fuck Yeah Fest in Los Angeles on September 2, the tour will begin in Sacramento on September 3. The tour will take in a week of dates, visiting Portland, OR, for MusicfestNW on September 5, Seattle, WA, on the 6, San Luis Obispo, CA, on the 8 and Santa Cruz, CA, on the 9. Joining Against Me! on the west coast dates will be special guests Andrew Jackson Jihad and Joyce Manor. Against Me! are currently continuing work on the follow-up to their fifth studio album, White Crosses, at frontwoman Laura Jane Grace's Total Treble Studio in Florida.
The Wanted may hit the road with Justin Bieber when he launches his Believe tour in the fall. The Wanted's Jay McGuiness shared in an interview with the Daily Record, "Hopefully with Scooter [Braun] now as our manager, things will really take off. He bends over backwards for us. We are quite messy characters and although we are still messy, he is making us presentable to America. He's hooking us up with Chris Brown and Justin Bieber. We're planning to tour with Justin. We have started writing in the last few months and some stuff there is Justin-worthy."
The Farm Aid annual benefit concert will return to Pennsylvania on Saturday, September 22 at Hersheypark Stadium. Farm Aid 2012 will feature Willie Nelson and fellow board members John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews (with TimReynolds) as well as Jack Johnson, ALO, Pegi Young & The Survivors and Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. Tickets for Farm Aid will go on sale Friday, July 13, at 10 a.m. "We've built a strong family farm movement to grow our economy, ensure our health and protect our environment. Farm Aid brings these Main Street values to transform the Wall Street-controlled farm and food system," said Farm Aid President Willie Nelson. "The Farm Aid concert is our chance to shine a spotlight on the independent family farmers who are essential to the well-being of our country."
There could be some unreleased songs from Destiny's Child hitting the market in the near future. In an interview with the Huffington Post, Beyoncé's father and ex-manager Matthew Knowles stated that, "In November, we're putting out two Destiny's Child catalog records with new material." He also added that he would love to see a reunion tour in the next five years, but considering that B fired her father as her manager last year, his comments could remain nothing more than speculation.
Adam Lambert
With the future of the American Idol judges table up in the air, Adam Lambert's name is being floated around as a possible judge. "They have been talking about Adam for over a month," a source told E! News. "He personifies the show, and will be a popular choice right from the start. He knows what it's like to be on the receiving end of the judges' comments, he has a human touch, and they know they can't go wrong if they bring him on. He would be able to bring a unique perspective to the show. People love him." Jennifer Lopez currently has no plans to return to the show for a third season, and judges Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler are not necessarily locked in either.
Owl City has announced an extensive world tour in support of the upcoming album The Midsummer Station, due out August 21. The North American tour begins September 5 in Nashville, running up to October 7 in Detroit. Owl City will then visit the UK, Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia in October and November.
Paul McCartney is working on new music with the creators of the Halo video game, although it's unclear what exactly the music is intended for. McCartney posted a message on Twitter over the weekend, which read, "I'm really excited to be working on writing music with Bungie, the studio that made Halo." He also tweeted a photo of him working on the project.