Quick Hits: Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Aerosmith, Maroon 5, Usher, The Black Keys, The Wallflowers, Macy Gray
September 19, 2012
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga has revealed complete details for the North American leg of her Born This Way Ball tour, which will hit 25 cities from January 11 in Vancouver, BC to March 16 in Miami. Opening acts will include Madeon, Lady Starlight and Zedd. Tickets for North America go on sale beginning Friday, September 21. "The Haus of Gaga and I have worked for months conceiving a spectacular stage," commented Mother Monster. "The Born This Way Ball is an Electro-Metal Pop-Opera; the tale of the Beginning, the genesis of the Kingdom of Fame. How we were birthed and how we will die celebrating."
After teasing fans on Twitter recently with hints about her next record, Ke$ha announced yesterday that her new album is titled Warrior and will be out December 4. However, lead single "Die Young" will debut next Tuesday, September 25.
Aerosmith will return for the second leg of The Global Warming Tour, launching on November 8 in Oklahoma City. The month-long, 14-city arena tour will take the band to New York City (Madison Square Garden), Los Angeles (Staples Center) and Las Vegas (MGM Grand Garden Arena), among other cities. The tour will include support act Cheap Trick and tickets go on sale Monday, September 24. Aerosmith's new album, Music From Another Dimension, comes out on November 6 via Columbia Records.
Maroon 5 has been announced as the first act to perform at The Grammy Nominations Concert Live, which will air on Wednesday, December 5, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Maroon 5 will join longtime host LL Cool J for the event when it airs on CBS from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Usher confirmed that his Euphoria tour will strike Europe beginning in January of next year. The trek, which begins in Amsterdam on January 18, will visit 21 cities throughout the U.K., France, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland. Tickets go on sale beginning Friday, September 21.
Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney tied the knot with girlfriend Emily Ward on Saturday at the home they share in Nashville. The couple was joined by about 350 family and friends for the wedding, reports Billboard.com, and actor/comedian Will Forte officiated ceremony.
The Wallflowers will kick off a fall tour on October 6 in San Antonio, with dates announced up to November 18 in Austin. The band's new album, Glad All Over, is due out October 2.
Macy Gray will release her reinterpretation of Stevie Wonder's classic album, Talking Book. The October 30 release of Gray's album coincides with the 40th anniversary of the original recording, which includes the hits "Sunshine of My Life" and "Superstition." Gray describes her version of Talking Book as a "love letter" rather than a tribute album. "It's one of my favorite albums," the singer told Billboard.com. "I've never heard a whole album remake before. Thought I'd try one."