It’s been like 15 years since the last boy band phenomena brought us the likes of Backstreet Boys, Nsync and 98 Degrees. However, it looks like boy bands are back with the success of British groups The Wanted and One Direction. The former is in the top five of the singles chart with “Glad You Came” while the latter makes history as the first British band to debut at # 1 on the BillboardAlbum Chart with their first album. With their record, Up All Night, landing in the top spot, the teen titans hold off Adele and her long running smash 21. The group is also set to do a North American tour in the spring and have a hit single flying up the charts with “What Makes You Beautiful”. So, it looks like these boys may be leading the boy-band re-invasion of the charts in 2012. For more on this chart, head to Billboard hereand check out the new top ten below.
Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Up All Night- One Direction (debut)
2. 21- Adele (last week~ 2)
3. Greatest Hits- Guns n’ Roses (lw~ 31) …. * it was specially priced at 25 cents at several digital retailers last week which caused the giant jump
4. Wrecking Ball- Bruce Springsteen (lw~ 1)
5. Passion: White Flag- Various Artists (debut)
6. Whitney: The Greatest Hits- Whitney Houston (lw~ 6)
7. Take Care- Drake (lw~ 7)
8. Now 41 Compilation- Various Artists (lw~ 3)
9. Making Mirrors- Gotye (lw~ 16)
10. Some Nights- fun. (lw~ 13)
Over on the Hot 100 Singles Chart, The Wanted keep climbing (up one more to # 3), but that boy band will have to hold off an alterna-boy band named fun. who make it 3 weeks in a row at the summit with “We Are Young”. More competition coming in the future appears in the form of Flo Rida’s sixth top ten hit “Wild Ones” which bursts into the top ten this week. Take a look at the new top ten below and enjoy Flo Rida’s club banger as well.
Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “We Are Young”- fun. w/Janelle Monae (lw~ 1) *3 weeks on top
2. “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”- Kelly Clarkson (lw~ 2) … formerly spent 3 weeks at # 1
3. “Glad You Came”- The Wanted (lw~ 4)
4. “Set Fire to the Rain”- Adele (lw~ 3) … formerly spent 2 weeks at # 1
5. “Somebody that I Used to Know”- Gotye w/Kimbra (lw~ 5)
6. “Starships”- Nicki Minaj (lw~ 9)
7. “Turn Me On”- David Guetta w/Nicki Minaj (lw~ 6)
8. “Take Care”- Drake w/Rihanna (lw~ 7)
9. “Wild Ones”- Flo Rida w/Sia (lw~ 12)
10. “Part of Me”- Katy Perry (lw~ 10) …. formerly spent 1 week at # 1
Another new Glee video has just hit the web for the upcoming “winter finale” episode set to air Tuesday night on Fox. This one features the Warblers taking on the current top 20 hit “Glad You Came” by British boy band The Wanted. The original version is just beginning its chart run here in the U.S. after scoring big back in the U.K. In fact, The Wanted along with UK X Factorsensation One Direction seem to be starting up a new wave of boy band love here on our shore. If it continues, we could have a new NSYNC v. Backstreet Boys rivalry on our hands any day now. In the meantime, check out Grant Gustin (Sebastian) and the Warblers on “Glad” along with The Wanted’s original below.
Earlier today, I happened upon the fun blog, Oh No They Didn’t,and found an article featuring the most expensive music videos of all time. The list of the 20 biggest bank breakers including clips by the expected video king and queen, Michael Jackson and Madonna. But interestingly, it also featured clips from Celine Dion and some Japanese pop star named Ayumi Hamasaki. Take a look at the list below and see if you’re surprised by some of the clips. And note the most recent American song on the list is Madonna’s “Die Another Day” from 2003. As we all know music videos are primarily showcased on the web these days as the music biz has been hovering in the toilet of late. So, instead of these awesome art pieces, we mainly get cheap CGI clips or performance clips. I sure do miss the days of waiting for important video premieres on MTV’s Making the Video. Alas, at least we can reminisce on youtube….
The most expensive music videos of all time…
1. “Scream”- Michael Jackson & Janet Jackson (1995) $ 7million
2. “Die Another Day”- Madonna (2002), $6.2 million
3. “Express Yourself”- Madonna (1989) $ 5 million
4. “Bedtime Story”- Madonna (1995) $5 million
5. “Estranged”- Guns n’ Roses (1993) $4 million
6. “Victory”- Puff Daddy w/Notorious B.I.G. & Busta Rhymes (1998), $ 2.7 million
7. “2 Legit 2 Quit”- M.C. Hammer (1992), $2.5 million
8. “Heartbreaker”- Mariah Carey w/ Jay Z (1999), $2.5 million
9. “What’s It Gonna Be?”- Busta Rhymes w/ Janet Jackson (1999), $ 2.4 million
10. “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”- Celine Dion (1996) $2.3 million
11. “Bad”- Michael Jackson (1987), $ 2.2 million
12. “Larger Than Life”- Backstreet Boys (1999), $ 2.1 million
13. “Miami”- Will Smith (1998), $ 2 million
14. “She’s a Bitch”- Missy Elliott (1999), $ 2 million
15. “Freek”- George Michael (2004), $ 2 million
16. “My Name’s Woman”- Ayumi Hamasaki (2005), $ 2 million
17. “Fairyland”- Ayumi Hamasaki (2005), $ 2 million
18. “Green”- Ayumi Hamasaki (2008), $ 1.6 million
19. “Unpretty”- TLC (1999), $ 1.6 million
20. “Black or White”- Michael Jackson (1991), $ 1.5 million
Last year boyband titans New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys united to form one supergroup~ NKOTBSB.Earlier this year, we heard the fruits of their labor with their infectious new song “Don’t Turn out the Lights”. And now, they have just released their first album together entitled NKOTBSB. It features big hits from both groups plus two new songs and what might be the ultimate boy band mashup ever. And I have it for you below. Check it out plus the track listing for their new album, and head to their website for more info on the group and their big summer tour here.
NKOTBSB tracklisting
1. “Step By Step”- New Kids on the Block
2. “I Want it that Way”- Backstreet Boys
3. “You Got It (The Right Stuff)”- New Kids on the Block
4. “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”- Backstreet Boys
5. “Please Don’t Go Girl”- New Kids on the Block
6. “As Long As You Love Me”- Backstreet Boys
7. “Hangin’ Tough”- New Kids on the Block
8. “Larger Than Life”- Backstreet Boys
9. “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)”- New Kids on the Block
10. “Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)”- Backstreet Boys
11. “All in My Head”- NKOTBSB
12. “Don’t Turn Out the Lights”- NKOTBSB
13. “NKOTBSB Mash Up”- NKOTBSB
Wonder twin powers unite, or in this case~ boy band powers unite! Form of a pop super group: NKOTBSB! … That’s what we get today as the first single from the newly united pop groups New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys hits airwaves and iTunes. The song entitled “Don’t Turn Out the Lights” is a fun pop dance ditty right along the lines of Taio Cruz’s # 1 from last year “Break Your Heart”. It features solos from your faves like Joey and Jordan (NKOTB) and Bryan and Nick (BSB) and should satisfy both groups hungry fans. It also marks the first joint music we will be hearing from them as they embark on a big summer tour in a few months. All signs point to a hit song and a hit tour. Take a listen to the new song below (and the lyrics) and for all you Joey McIntyre fans, check out this link to the songs with all Joey pics all the time… And head to the NKOTBSB website for more music info and tour dates here…. Are you excited the boys are back?
Last night in Hollywood, the American Music Awards came down with a seriously dreadful case of Bieber fever as the teen titan Justin Bieber grabbed a leading 4 awards on the fan voted awards show. He also performed on the telecast which was easily the worst AMA show in over a decade. Practically all the performances were bad, boring or ridiculous. You had autotune craziness from the Black Eyed Peas and Usher, lip synching atrocities from Ke$ha and sleep inducing appearances by Kid Rock and Taylor Swift (who at least rocked some nice new straight hair). Poor Katy Perry couldn’t hit a note if you paid her. At least she had some great fireworks to go along with her great song of the same name. You know it was a bad night when Rihanna‘s mediocre vocals were some of the best of the night… The only performers that acquitted themselves nicely were a pregnant Pink in strong voice on her fun number “Raise Your Glass”, Christina Aguilera with the best vocal of the night on her new single “Express” from Burlesque, and the pairing of boy band wonkerkinds New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys which was easily the highlight of the night. Several winners were no shows: Lady Gaga, Eminem and Carrie Underwood and thus, their awards werent’ shown on the telecast. Instead we had to sit thru Bieber and Usher on stage every five minutes. Thank goodness for dvrs and fast forward. That said, here is the full list of winners from the show and check out the only three noteworthy performances below.
The 2010 American Music Award Winners
Favorite Soul/R&B Album: Usher, Raymond v. Raymond
Favorite Pop Rock Band/Duo/Group: The Black Eyed Peas
Favorite Country Female Artist: Taylor Swift
Favorite Latin Music Artist: Shakira
Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist: Rihanna
Favorite Country Male Artist: Brad Paisley
Favorite Breakthrough Artist: Justin Bieber
Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist: Justin Bieber
Favorite Country Band/Duo/Group: Lady Antebellum
Favorite Alternative Rock Music Artist: Muse
Favorite Adult Contemporary Music Artist: Michael Bublé
Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist: Usher
Favorite Artist of the Year: Justin Bieber
Favorite Country Album: Carrie Underwood, Play On
Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Male Artist: Eminem
Favorite Pop/Rock Album: Justin Bieber, My World 2.0
Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist: Lady Gaga
Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist: MercyMe
Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album: Eminem, Recovery
Favorite Soundtrack Album: Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers
Boy band lovers, it’s time to celebrate. Two of the most successful pop boy bands in history are uniting for one giant tour next summer. I’m talking about 80′s stalwarts New Kids on the Block and 90′s titans the Backstreet Boys. After doing a surprise collaboration together at a NKOTB reunion show earlier this year, the two groups have decided to keep the magic going with a big dual tour that should make the girls, now women, (and some of the gay guys too) scream with giddy anticipation. Both groups had tons of hit albums and singles throughout their careers and the Backstreet Boys even grabbed 5 Grammy nominations. The BSB boys will also have a new album out next year. Watch for more info on the tour here as I get it and check out the groups together as they perform on the American Music Awards on Sunday Nov. 21st on ABC . For more on NKOTB, click here, and for more on BSB, click here.
And here’s two of my faves from the groups…
New Kids on the Block “(You Got it) The Right Stuff”
Holy boy band power Batman! Check out multi-platinum 80′s boy band stars New Kids on the Blockteaming up with Grammy nominated multi-platinum 90′s boy band stars the Backstreet Boys on the latter’s smash “I Want it That Way” at Radio City Music Hall. If you can get past all the crazy screaming, it’s pretty amazing!
New Kids on the Block/Backstreet Boys “I Want it That Way”
British boy band JLS is currently hitting the US charts with “Everybody in Love” and are readying their debut album on Jive records. The group who placed second on Britain’s The X Factor show just released their latest video “The Club is Alive” and it looks like the record company is doing a big push in the hopes that this band will be the next Nsync or Backstreet Boys. However, I beg to differ. They kind of seem like a funkier second-rate Boyz II Men with processed vocals. They’re kinda like 4 Jason Derulo’s put together. Take a look at their new video and tell me if you think they’re the beginning of a new boy band revolution or a flash in the pan.
JLS “The Club is Alive”
And compare it to the gold standard of boy bands….
It’s been like 15 years since the last boy band phenomena brought us the likes of Backstreet Boys, Nsync and 98 Degrees. However, it looks like boy bands are back with the success of British groups The Wanted and One Direction. The former is in the top five of the singles chart with “Glad You Came” while the latter makes history as the first British band to debut at # 1 on the Billboard Album Chart with their first album. With their record, Up All Night, landing in the top spot, the teen titans hold off Adele and her long running smash 21. The group is also set to do a North American tour in the spring and have a hit single flying up the charts with “What Makes You Beautiful”. So, it looks like these boys may be leading the boy-band re-invasion of the charts in 2012. For more on this chart, head to Billboard here and check out the new top ten below.
