Taylor Swift‘s new album is on its way to the world and, thanks to the undying support of her fans, will help her to extend her epic chart reign!
As of this year, the star’s singles have spent a total of 277 weeks in the U.K’s Official Singles Chart seeing her stand just 23 weeks away from seeing that number rise to 300!
Still yet to match Katy Perry‘s run in the market on a singles tip, Swift’s British success was amassed over a period of five albums. Her highest charting jam?
‘Love Story‘, peaking at #2, two positions above ‘Bad Blood’ which reached #4.
Why do you think Swift’s music performs as well as it does?
People weren’t exactly laughing when funnyman Lil Duval took to The Breakfast Club recently to suggest he “would murder” a transwoman if she ever tricked him into having sex.
A quote lifted in a week where tension around the topic was already particularly high considering President Donald Trump’s instatement of a U.S. military ban on transgender people and singer Bobby Valentino being exposed for an alleged sexual affair with a transgender prostitute, needless to say Duval’s comments weren’t taken lightly.
In fact, the ongoing fire got so hot, Twitter users were calling for a boycott of the comedian’s work as well as the platform, Breakfast Club (Power 105.1), where the statement was made. Opening a fiery discussion on the social network, did you miss any of the action? See it inside:
Today’s From The Vault pick comes courtesy of music’s reigning queen – Beyonce. Mrs Carter’s 2003 single ‘Me, Myself and I’ is this week’s selection.
After the detonation of dynamite duo ‘Crazy In Love’ and ‘Baby Boy’, the pressure was on for Bey to blaze with something equally as epic. Bypassing obvious single choice ‘Naughty Girl’, the singer decided to release a cut that showcased a different side of her solo album debut ‘Dangerously In Love.’
The song was produced by Scott Storch and saw Bey re-engage with Destiny’s Child‘s lyrical mainstay: self-empowerment in the face of philandering men.
Though the track did not top the Billboard Hot 100 like its predecessors, the single was the artist’s fourth consecutive Top 5 after it peaked at #4 in the US. It ascended to #2 on the Hip-Hop/R&B tally and #3 on the Dance Club Songs count. Even if it wasn’t as impactful overseas as ‘Crazy’ and ‘Boy’, the single did manage a #11 peak in both the UK and Australia.
*********
Johan Renck directed the video, which tells the tale of the song, in reverse. Starting with Knowles sporting a bob walking barefoot in the street, we go back in time to find out what prompted such reactions from her.
An alternative version was released in 2010 with the story told in chronological order and additional footage of Bey performing the track.
*********
With Mrs Carter, her last two projects have taught us is that she doesn’t make records with radio – or iTunes – on her mind anymore. And, in a way, we appreciate her dedication to being an artist in the truest sense of the term.
Still, we’d be fully on board with an album that had a little bit of everything (see: uptempos with catchy hooks, turn up anthems, and deeper moments ala this) without sacrificing the authenticity established by her most recent projects.
In any case, we’re sure she and her team know exactly how they want to tell the next chapter of her story.
Meet Dua Lipa, the Urban-Pop princess set to ignite the charts with her new single ‘New Rules.’
I want people to see a piece of me. I want people to have an insight into everything that’s happened over the last few years while I was writing the album and actually really get to know me. It’s been good because when I released ‘New Love’ and ‘Be The One’, I had people say, ‘That really relates to me’. I want people to have that feeling and I want people to know that they’re not alone in all this and that we all go through the same things. That’s the main goal.
Said album, named after the singer herself, hit retailers on June 2nd and is now being supported by ‘Rules’ and its viral visual.
Last night, she took to Europa Plus Live in Russia to perform it live!
Lady GaGa has accused Dr. Luke of trying to manipulate the truth after he accused her of trying to sabotage his career.
Fans of the ‘Starstruck’ siren will remember that she stepped forward to support Kesha when the singer accused Luke of drugging, raping and bullying her during their time together as collaborators.
Luke believes GaGa made attempts to force Sony Music to slice their ties with him and launched a legal attack on her by asking a judge to force her to hand him text messages she and Kesha exchanged about the case.
How the Grammy award winning vocalist has responded?
Read the statement she released via her spokespeople below…
As Lady Gaga’s legal team will present to the court, she has provided all of the relevant information in her possession and is at most an ancillary witness in this process. Dr. Luke’s team is attempting to manipulate the truth and draw press attention to their case by exaggerating Lady Gaga’s role and falsely accusing her of dodging reasonable requests.
Mariah Carey stands in the middle of a new legal palava today after her bodyguard was accused of assaulting one of her fans!
James Pablo claims he was backstage at Lionel Ritchie‘s live show on Thursday when he bumped into Carey who is his opening act.
He then claims that he asked to take a photograph with her and was delighted when she agreed to do so but saw his life turned upside down (and all around) when one of Mimi’s guard yanked him by his lanyard and pulled him outside!
Shocked and shaken, he sought help from nearby police officers and told them that he intended to press charges.
As for Mariah … sources close to her tell us James was an obsessed fan who snuck backstage with a fake badge. Her bodyguard pulled James away when he saw him grab her dress and feared he was going to attack her.
James insists he had a valid press credential to be backstage, and denies grabbing Mariah’s dress.
Simone Biles‘ inspirational rise to the top is to be honoured with a Lifetime biopic!
‘Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance’ is the name of the athlete’s biography and will lie at the heart of Lifetime’s movie on her life which is to executive-produce with her sights set on a 2018 due date.
The script is written by Kelly Fullerton and also executive produced by Howard Braunstein, Simone Biles, Janey Miller and Kyell Thomas for Octagon.
Unfamiliar with Simone’s story?
The 20-year-old’s mother was unable to take care of she and her siblings due to a crippling drug addiction forcing Simone to seek refuge in the foster care system. By God’s grace she was adopted by relatives who supported her as she broke the bonds of her past to face the glory of her future.
August Alsina has never shied away from speaking up and out about his troubled past – or present.
One of the most notable aspects of this has included his tumultuous relationship with his family – especially his mother.
During the latest stop of his ‘Don’t Matter Tour’ last night, Alsina shared a touching moment with the capacity crowd. He reunited with his mom on-stage after years of not speaking.
Lady GaGa‘s efforts to support her Pop peer Kesha have rubbed Dr. Luke, the producer Kesha accused of raping her, the wrong way.
Vexed by the ‘Love Game’ player’s backing of her chart sister during her battle against him, Luke has now sent his legal wolves out on a mission to get her and bring her to what he believes is justice.
The hot topic Luke wants her to open about is a text message convo between Kesha and Gaga. According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the texts include Kesha saying she’d been abused by Luke, and imploring Gaga to join a “smear campaign against [Dr. Luke].” Luke says that campaign included Gaga urging Sony Music to cut ties with him, and promoting “Free Kesha” on social media.
The hit-maker’s team subpoenaed GaGa to gain access to the texts but were infuriated when the documents they received were so doctored they were difficult to read.
Now, he wants a judge to force the singer to send him the original version of the text messages she sent to Kesha and hopes doing so will help to clean up his now tarnished reputation.
