Usher, Carly Rae Jepsen and “Rock of Ages” rock the Charts

Usher bags his 4th # 1 album this week as his latest, Looking 4 Myself, debuts atop the Billboard 200 Albums chart. However, with only 128,000 copies sold, that is the lowest start for any of his albums since 1997. Nonetheless, he holds off debuts from classic rockers Rush, country crooner Josh Turner, British newbie Ed Sheeran and rapper Waka Flocka Flame. Also moving into the top ten this week is the super-entertaining Rock of Ages soundtrack which flies up to # 9 after the film hit theaters this weekend. Check out the new top ten below.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Looking 4 Myself- Usher (debut)
2. Clockwork Angels- Rush (debut)
3. 21- Adele (last week~ 1)
4. Punching Bag- Josh Turner (debut)
5. + – Ed Sheeran (debut)
6. Up All Night- One Direction (lw~ 6)
7. Americana- Neil Young and Crazy Horse (lw~ 4)
8. Thirty Miles West- Alan Jackson (lw~ 2)
9. Rock of Ages soundtrack- Various Artists (lw~ 15)
10. Triple F Life- Waka Flocka Flame (debut)

And enjoy the video for Rock of Ages version of Journey‘s “Anyway You Want It” featuring vocals from Mary J. Blige, Julianne Hough and the Tony nominated star of the Broadway version of Ages who cameos in the film, American Idol’s Constantine Maroulis.

Over on the Hot 100 singles chart, Carly Rae Jepsen extends her streak at # 1 to two weeks with “Call Me Maybe”. She may have some competition soon though from Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake” which charges up to # 4. Take a look at the new top ten below and head to Billboard here for more on all the charts.

Top Ten Singles on the Billboard Hot 100:
1. “Call Me Maybe”- Carly Rae Jepsen (last week~ 1) * 2 weeks on top
2. “Somebody that I Used to Know”- Gotye w/Kimra (lw~ 2)
3. “Payphone”- Maroon 5 w/Wiz Khalifa (lw~ 3)
4. “Wide Awake”- Katy Perry (lw~ 9)
5. “We Are Young”- fun. w/Janelle Monae (lw~ 4)
6. “What Makes you Beautiful”- One Direction (lw~ 5)
7. “Starships”- Nicki Minaj (lw~ 6)
8. “Where Have You Been?”- Rihanna (lw~8)
9. “Wild Ones”- Flo Rida w/Sia (lw~ 7)
10. “Boyfriend”- Justin Bieber (lw~ 10)

Rock of Ages Preview~ “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”!

The all-star movie musical Rock of Ages hits theaters this weekend and I’m a little too excited about it. I’m not sure if it’s gonna be a hot mess or a really well crafted movie musical (ala Hairspray which was also directed by Ages helmer Adam Shankman), but I will be there day 1 to find out. Regardless, it looks like a really good time and the curiosity factor of seeing Tom Cruise as the ultimate rock god is pretty much reason enough to see it. I’m also thrilled to see Oscar winner Catharine Zeta-Jones back singing and dancing on the big screen like she did in the brilliant Chicago. In the film, she plays an anti-rock crusader and sings the big Pat Benatar classic “Hit Me with Your Best Shot”. Now, I have your first look at that scene below. Check it out!

Rock of Ages~ “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” by Catharine Zeta-Jones

And check out the full film trailer below. The movie which chronicles the rise of two young Hollywood wannabes played by newcomer Diego Luna and Dancing with the Stars’ Julianne Hough on the rocking Sunset Strip in the 80′s also stars Mary J. Blige, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Malin Ackerman, Bryan Cranston and the aforementioned Cruise and Zeta-Jones. Ages features some of the best rock and metal anthems of the 80′s from the likes of Poison, Bon Jovi, Journey, Foreigner, Guns N’ Roses, Warrant, Quiet Riot, Night Ranger, Extreme, Def Leppard and more! It hits theaters this Friday June 15.

Rock of Ages trailer

First Look~ “Rock of Ages” the movie!

Adam Shankman scored a big hit with his movie version of the Tony winning musical Hairspray. The film was awesome and even garnered some awards love (grabbing Golden Globe and SAG nods). Now, the director/producer/choreographer (and sometime So You Think You Can Dance judge)is at it again with a new cinematic version of the Tony nominated musical Rock of Ages. The show chronicles the rise of two young wannabe rockers and the metal scene of Hollywood in 1987 set to the music of some of the best rock, metal and pop acts of the decade like Foreigner, Def Leppard, Twisted Sister and Pat Benatar. It features an all-star cast including Oscar nominee Tom Cruise, Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones, Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Alec Baldwin, Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Paul Giamatti, Julianna Hough, Malin Ackerman, Grammy winner Mary J. Blige, Russell Brand and newcomer Diego Bonita. The first trailer for the film which hits theatres this summer just popped up on the web and the question is… does it rock? … Well, um, no. But it does look fun and I live for a musical. So, I’ll be there regardless. I have to say Zeta-Jones looks to be a standout (no surprise) and I’m surprisingly impressed with the brief images of Cruise. But what do you think? take a look at the trailer below and tell me if you think this film will be one for the ages or should be stuffed under a rock.

Rock of Ages trailer

Robots take out the Dancers at the Box Office

Remakes of 80′s movies sure aren’t doing the business that Hollywood hoped they would. After the dual bombs of remakes Fright Night and Conan the Barbarian, two more redos entered the fray this weekend with one, The Thing, tanking right away with just $8.7 million (and another dud for Universal) while the other did just ok. The latter was the remake of Footloose starring newcomer Kenny Wormald and Dancing with the Stars’ Julianne Hough which landed $16.1 million, a decent opening but not enough to hit the top. It was beaten by the robots of Real Steel which held at # 1 for a second week with $16.3 million. While the new version of Loose will make a profit due to its lower budget, it’s unlikely to become a smash like the Kevin Bacon starring original. So, why is Hollywood even bothering with these remakes? You got me? … Instead they should continue to make good films like the George Clooney drama The Ides of March, Brad Pitt’s Moneyball, and 50/50 which all dropped less than 30% at the box office. It’s great to see strong films continue to get sampling while the drivel falls by the wayside…. Oh, and one other movie opened to disastrous results, the bird watching comedy (um, who greenlit that?) The Big Year starring Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson which was DOA with just $3.3 million. For more on all these numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here and check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 1 Real Steel BV $16,304,000 -40.3% 3,440 – $4,740 $51,744,000 – 2
2 N Footloose (2011) Par. $16,100,000 – 3,549 – $4,536 $16,100,000 $24 1
3 N The Thing (2011) Uni. $8,700,000 – 2,996 – $2,904 $8,700,000 – 1
4 2 The Ides of March Sony $7,500,000 -28.4% 2,199 – $3,411 $22,154,000 – 2
5 3 Dolphin Tale WB $6,345,000 -30.5% 3,286 -192 $1,931 $58,672,000 $37 4
6 4 Moneyball Sony $5,500,000 -26.2% 2,840 -178 $1,937 $57,712,000 $50 4
7 5 50/50 Sum. $4,315,000 -23.7% 2,391 -88 $1,805 $24,334,000 $8 3
8 6 Courageous TriS $3,400,000 -30.2% 1,214 +53 $2,801 $21,378,000 $2 3
9 N The Big Year Fox $3,325,000 – 2,150 – $1,547 $3,325,000 – 1
10 7 The Lion King (in 3D) BV $2,708,000 -41.1% 1,970 -297 $1,375 $90,452,000 – 5

Bad Hollywood~ They went and remade Footloose!

Oh Hollywood, when oh when will you learn? … You just have to remake old properties over and over and rarely does it work. For every Karate Kid hit, you have a dozen A-Team sized bombs. And now, you’re doing it again remaking the 80′s dance classic Footloose that launched the career of Golden Globe winner Kevin Bacon. The movie about a town that outlaws dancing in the middle of the good ole USA was quite timely back in 1984 and featured an amazing soundtrack with the top ten hit “Almost Paradise” by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson, and the # 1 hits “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” by Deniece Williams and the title cut by Kenny Loggins. It also gave us a riotously evil performance by multiple Emmy winner John Lithgow and featured Fame’s Lori Singer and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Sarah Jessica Parker. The movie was awesome and even spun off a theatrical stage musical. You’d think that would be enough… However, the powers that be at Paramount have decided to bring this tale to a younger audience and instead of taking a new spin with it like filming an actual musical of it (like originally planned), it looks as though they’ve just done a shot for shot remake. Argh. And I’m sorry but judging from the trailer, it does not improve on the original. This one stars newcomer Kenny Wormald alongside Julianne Hough (Dancing with the Stars), Andie MacDowell and Golden Globe nominee Dennis Quaid and hits theatres in October and I have the first trailer for you. Check it out below and let me know if you want to cut loose with Footloose again.

Footloose (2011)

It’s the first musical number from Christina in “Burlesque”!

As I’m sure you’ve all heard me babble a million times, Christina Aguilera is about to make her big screen debut in the movie musical Burlesque, out November 24. The film which costars Kristen Bell (When in Rome), Cam Gigandet (Twilight), Diana Agron (Glee), Eric Dane (Greys Anatomy), Julianne Hough (Dancing with the Stars), Peter Gallagher (The O.C.), Emmy nominee and Tony Award winner Alan Cumming (The Good Wife, Cabaret), Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones) and Oscar-winning icon Cher features new musical numbers by Christina and Cher among others along with some classic tunes. The first of those classic songs has just hit the web in a new scene from the beginning of the film directed by Steve Antin (the actor/writer/director brother of Pussycat Dolls creator Robin Antin). In the Clip, Xtina sings her heart out, but the context seems a bit boring and uninspiring. I’m hoping it’s just a simple taste of the fabulousness that is yet to come in the film which many are comparing to either the much maligned camptastic classic Showgirls or the super successful Flashdance. We’ll see when the film is released this fall, but place your bets now after watching Christina belt out the Etta James song “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” below.

Christina Aguilera “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” from Burlesque