Thursday, October 22, 2009

Music News & Notes

R. Kelly's 'Untitled' Album Finally Gets a Release Date

After several delays, the long-anticipated new album from R. Kelly finally has a release date. 'Untitled' will be available December 1 and will include the singles 'Number One' featuring Keri Hilson, released in July, and 'Religious," which dropped about two weeks ago.

Initially, the R&B artist planned to release an album titled '12 Play, 4th Quarter' in 2008, but when the set leaked, he scrapped the project, re-recorded some of the songs and assembled his next release under a new and non-descriptive name.

Breaking away from his traditional routine, Chicago-based Kelly recorded some of the 'Untitled' material in Atlanta. He has traditionally recorded solely in the Windy City. He also joined forces with a group of rising producers that Infinity, Lil Ronnie and Chris Henderson.

'Untitled' will be Kelly's 10th studio album. It follows 2007's 'Double-Up,' which topped The Billboard 200 upon its release to become his fifth No. 1 set on the album chart.

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Susan Boyle beats U2, Coldplay to set Amazon record

There's a new record holder for the largest CD pre-order ever on Amazon.com's Music Store -- and she beat the likes of Norah Jones, U2, Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay.

It's Susan Boyle.

She's the woman who wowed the world on the TV show "Britain's Got Talent."

Her album, "I Dreamed A Dream," doesn't come out until November 23rd, but Amazon says the response for pre-orders is "unprecedented."

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Michael Buble beats out 'New Moon' soundtrack on The Billboard 200

Michael Buble's "Crazy Love" tops The Billboard 200 for a second week in a row, beating out the much-anticipated "Twilight Saga: New Moon" soundtrack, released Friday, 203,000 to 115,000. Granted, this was the jazz singer's first full week of sales, and "New Moon" (at No. 2) was only on shelves for three days -- with pre-sales included -- as it was released early on Friday.

Still, it's a triumph for Buble, as this marks his second-best sales week.

Jay-Z's "Blueprint 3" climbs up 5-3 despite a 15% sales slip to 55,000. Barbra Streisand's "Love Is the Answer" sits at No. 4 (49,000, -34%), Miley Cyrus' "The Time of Our Lives" ascends 8-5 (40,000, -15%) and Black Eyed Peas' "The E.N.D." bounds up 23-6 (40,000, +56%). After an appearance on "Oprah" and the release of a new music video ("Fifteen"), Taylor Swift and her "Fearless" zoom up 17-7 (33,000, +7%).

The Flaming Lips score their best chart position ever, though it's not their best sales week. "Embryonic" debuts at No. 8 with 32,000. Their last album, "At War with the Mystics," began at No. 11 but with 48,000 in 2006.

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Rogers Tires Of His Own Song

How many times can you listen to Kenny Rogers' The Gambler in a row? An even bigger question is, how many times can Kenny Rogers SING The Gambler in a row? The answer to the second question is evidently twelve because that's how many times he sang the song the other night at the request of hedge-fund manager Raj Rajaratnam who paid $4 million for a private performance by the singer. Rajaratnam requested the song over and over until, after an even dozen performances, Rogers refused to do it again. For $4 million he should have sang it until the customer became ill.

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Rihanna's 'Russian Roulette' Arrives, New Album Is Called 'Rated R'


Rihanna's brand new single "Russian Roulette" which is written by Ne-Yo has arrived. The track is confirmed to be the first single from the Barbadian songstress' upcoming studio album "Rated R" which is due for November 23 U.S. release.

A music video in companion to the song has been filmed last week in New York City. It is directed by Anthony Mandler and is expected to be debuted on ABC during the network's primetime hours. Unfortunately, no specified premiere date is mentioned. Here is the R-Rated cover art that is gaining attention in the music circles.

A cover art for the single has also been put forward. The artwork features Rihanna being topless and tied up in barbed wires. Wearing an eye patch, she looks fiercely to the camera with slightly-opened mouth. Her right hand is holding a chain hanging from the ceiling. Cool....

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Eels Unveil New Album Cover Art


Eels have unveiled the cover art for their forthcoming album, ‘End Times‘.

The band also released the tracklisting for the album, due out January 19.

The album art was illustrated by Adrian Tomine.