Emily Osment performs "Let's Be Friends"

Michael Jackson Is Most Downloaded Artist Of All Time

Michael Jackson has become the most downloaded artist in history, according to global sales records from Nokia's Ovi Music Store.

Musicologist Geoff Roberts attributed the upsurge in Jacko downloads to the recent anniversary of his death on 25 June, and his 52nd birthday which would have been today, 29 August. "Michael Jackson has always been a pop music legend. But the anniversary of his death and birthday celebrations seem to have revived Jackson fever as fans rediscover his songs – making him the most popular solo artist of all time."

Surprisingly, it is India where the King of Pop is most popular. There, Michael Jackson tracks make up 26 percent of the country’s total Ovi downloads, followed by the UK, Germany, Netherlands and Finland.

Of Michael’s hits, Beat It is the most downloaded, with Billie Jean and Thriller close behind.

Just behind Michael in the download stakes are Lady Gaga, Elvis Presley, Black Eyed Peas and Rihanna.

The Man In The Mirror hitmaker died of an overdose of sedative Propofol on 25 June 2009.

Fans have paid tribute to the star on his 52nd birthday at an event outside his childhood home in Gary, Indiana. Michael Jackson impersonators entertained the well-wishers and members of his family were on hand including father Joe Jackson, who cut a birthday cake.

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One Minute Preview of Shakira's "Loca"

Taylor Swift's "Mine" Video

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Rihanna is on Twitter for real: “no more corny label tweets”

Rihanna’s presence in social media is nothing short of massive, with nearly eight million Facebook fans and more than a million Twitter followers. But the singer hasn’t really been on Twitter – until now. Earlier today, Rihanna used her Twitter account, which had until now essentially been just a series of promotional posts, to announce that’s she “finally took over my Twitter page” and that we can expect, in her words, “no more corny label tweets.” Her announcement tweet was promptly retweeted by, at last count, more than four hundred followers, with her name currently being mentioned on Twitter more than once per second. The singer is enjoying chart success with her new collaboration “Love The Way You Lie” with Eminem.

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Taylor Swift Opens Up About 'Mine' Wedding Scene

When fans check out the video for Taylor Swift's "Mine," they will be quick to notice how fetching she looks in a wedding dress. And while she only donned the garment for the clip, directed by Roman White, that scene is what had everyone buzzing long before the video even premiered.

"The video is a story of a relationship," Swift told CMT in the half-hour special that airs Friday night (August 27) at 8 p.m. ET, before the video's premiere on MTV, CMT and VH1. "It really tells the story of these two people and the things that they go through and their life together.

"The wedding scene in the video is the thing that's been talked most about because someone got a picture of it when we were shooting it," she continued, "but I think you'll find there's a lot in the video. That may just be one part of it."

Swift also excitedly dished on her co-star, Toby Hemingway from the upcoming "Black Swan."
"I picked him because he's in one of my favorite movies, 'Feast of Love,' " Swift said.
"In another movie that he was in, he walks onscreen for the first time, and he had a '13' on his sweatshirt, and that's my lucky number," she revealed. "So it really wasn't me that cast him. It was my lucky number."

So far, fans have been eating up the single, causing it to spike to the top of the charts since its leak and subsequent release earlier this month.

"I got on a plane, I landed in Japan, and it was #1 on iTunes. And when I got on the plane, I had no intention of having a single out until two weeks from now," she said. "It just ended up so wonderful, and I'm really appreciative of the fans for jumping right on it."
Swift's fans will have more to be excited about come October, when she releases her album Speak Now.

"I put everything I had into this album for the last two years, so for it to have a great little start, it really makes me happy," she said. "Making this album has been such a wonderful experience, and I'm really excited to roll out the first single and the first video."

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Oops!... I Did It Again Voted Best Sophomore Album in Pop History

In a recent poll held by MTV News, Britney's sophomore effort, "Oops!... I Did It Again" was voted by readers as the best second album in pop history! This epic album, spawning three hit singles in "Oops!... I Did It Again," "Lucky," and "Stronger," certified Britney as the fastest selling female artist in the country and has sold over 20 million copies to date.

Find out more about Brit's tremendously successful second album in our Oops! Week: 10 Fun Facts post.

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Pop music is a fickle mistress, and even though she can show an artist all sorts of devotion the first time around, she can just as easily shun that same artist the second time around. In the music business, the second album is always the hardest one to pull off, as the expectations tend to be high, the time constraints are usually even tighter and the audience tends to move on pretty quickly. But it seems like these rules do not apply to Katy Perry, who drops her sophomore release Teenage Dream today. In the wake of the success of her smash debut One of the Boys, Perry came back fighting with the chart-topping "California Gurls" and the rapidly-rising "Teenage Dream," and the rest of the album is similarly incredible.

The thing that really puts Teenage Dream over the top is its consistency. There are no real weak tracks to be found (though if you don't think Perry is much of a balladeer, you'll probably take issue with two or three of these), and it's a good mix of over-the-top tracks (like the sex-crazed "Peacock"), party tunes ("Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"), kiss-offs ("Circle the Drain") and sweet old-school pop creations ("E.T."). In fact, it's quite possible that Teenage Dream is the best second effort in pop music history.

It's amazing how many classic pop artists have second albums that are sort of middling. Michael Jackson shouldn't really be held to it, but his sophomore release was Ben, which isn't very good. Same goes for sister Janet, whose second album Dream Street has largely been forgotten. Even Mariah Carey's second album Emotions is in the good-but-not-great category.

There are some heavy hitters, though. Britney Spears' second album Oops! ... I Did It Again is roundly considered her best work, while ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake's second effort (FutureSex/LoveSounds) is considered a modern classic. Perry even has competition from her contemporaries like Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga. But the most intriguing match-up is with Madonna, whose Like a Virgin often shows up on lists of the best pop records ever made. It's an incredible collection of songs that ended up being indescribably influential, and the stakes were awfully high coming off the success of her self-titled debut (which has more hits than you remember, including "Lucky Star," "Holiday" and "Borderline").

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Ciara Pushes Back Album Release…Again

UrbanBridgez.com has exclusively learned Ciara’s new album ‘Basic Instinct‘ has been pushed back yet again! We first broke news in July that the new album had been pushed back from the original August date to October 5th! Now we’ve learned the album will now be released in late October on the 19th! However we’re also told the final date may end up being October 26th! An official announcement on the new date is expected from Jive/LaFace later this week!

Why the push-back? Ciara is gearing up for massive promotion for her highly anticipated new release, including shooting two new videos for the next two singles ‘Gimme Dat’ & Speechless.’ Not to mention various live performances and TV specials scheduled around the release!

So no worries Ciara fans, the album is coming & you can expect to see alot of Ciara once it’s released!

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Kelly Clarkson and Country Singer Jason Aldean Record a Duet

Kelly Clarkson will be featured in a duet called “Don’t You Wanna Stay” on the new album. My Kind of Party by country singer Jason Aldean.

It’s the 4th album from Aldean who recorded hits like “Crazy Big Town”, “Big Green Tractor”, “She’s Country” and “Hicktown”. The album comes out November 2

• UPDATE:  Listen to the demo of “Don’t You Wanna Stay” from co-writer Andy Gibson’s MySpace page HERE.

It’s the second country collaboration for Kelly. She previously recorded a version of her hit “Because of You” with Reba McEntire that was a hit on the country charts in 2005.

Kelly also happens to be managed by McEntire’s husband, Narvel Blackstock. The country duets are not exactly a coincidence!

Read more at USA Today

Kelly is currently working on her next studio album for RCA.

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Kelly Rowland To Release Two Versions of Album

It looks as thought Kelly Rowland is having to work twice as hard to keep up her game in America and 'overseas' in places such as Europe.

The former Destiny's Child member has revealed that she'll be releasing two versions of her upcoming album, as the one intended for the US won't be including the dance-tracks which have made her popular in countries such as the UK, where Rowland had great success with David Guetta club song 'Commander'.

In a recent interview with radio show Mad Hatta, Rowland revealed that her US album will sample bits of the dance music but that they're really intended for other countries where it's been so popular.

Rowland said: "It has pieces of it. Pitbull and I did a song together called 'Take Everything' that I love. Those dance records are actually exclusive for overseas only."

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Justin Bieber not nominated for Polaris Music Prize

Justin Bieber is soaring so quickly we can barely keep track of his successes. His first full-length album, My World 2.0, released in March of this year, not only debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, but made him the first artist since The Beatles to top the charts on a freshman release. He'll play before a sold-out crowd Tuesday night at Scotiabank Place. And yet the Canadian heartthrob is not one of the artists we can expect to see at the Polaris Music Prize gala this September.

What kept him out of contention?

It goes a little something like this. The Polaris Music Prize is unique in being the only national music award whose winner is selected from all genres by a single panel of critics. The critics are culled from an impressive variety of media sources across the country and asked to submit their Top 5 album releases from that year. These votes get tallied up, and the Top 40 picks comprise the so-called "long list" of nominees. This list then gets whittled down by those same jurors to a short list of 10. In the end, one of those 10 is announced as the winner at a gala, where a second panel of critics -- "the Grand Jury" -- awards them a cheque for $20,000.

One striking feature of the Polaris is how forgiving its nomination criteria are. The only significant constraint is that the artist must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada. (In the case of a group, at least 50 per cent of its members must qualify.)

Jurors have no direct instruction on how to assess which albums are deserving of their votes. As Steve Jordan, the founder of the prize, writes on the website FAQ:

"The 40-title Long List and the 10-title Short List are voted on by the jury based on their own tastes and determinations. They pick their ballot selections based on what their individual criteria for best album is (sic). We do not have a scorecard for lyrics, production, height, length, smell or anything of the sort."

Moreover, there are no constraints on the kinds of music eligible for evaluation. The rules state that jurors ought to nominate a disc "solely on artistic merit without regard to genre, sales history or label affiliation."

One boon of the nomination system is that lower-budget independent releases get evaluated on the same grounds as artists with fat production accounts. This levels the playing field. It allows for The Wooden Sky -- four scruffy gentlemen who play Ontarian apartment rock -- to be featured on the long list with pop stars like Justin Bieber, who have way more resources to invest into their craft.

My mistake. Bieber missed the cut. But not only that. He might have failed to get a single vote.
While the official voting data are kept private, we know that he received fewer nominating votes than 40 other Canadian artists and groups. A sorry showing for the teen who sold out 42 shows of his debut tour in minutes.

The easiest explanation for his omission is that the jury did their job of keeping out the dross.

While Bieber met the qualifications, his record was inferior -- in their eyes -- to at least 40 others.

But this explanation stinks. If Polaris jurors were, in fact, arbiters for excellence across all genres, then we ought to be able to look at the long list and draw legitimate inferences about the hierarchy of music in Canada. The long list, however, is so lopsided that no one could really believe it revealed any substantive truths about music in the first place.

We know that the panel of around 200 music critics did not advance a single classical record. And were it not for the exceptionally talented Elizabeth Shepherd, no jazz record would have made it in either. Rock music -- with its crash cymbals and Ampeg bass stacks -- overwhelms the long list. On the assumption that Polaris results were telling of anything, it would be quite legitimate to conclude that rock music was the best kind of music in Canada last year.

This absurdity highlights the incoherence of the prize. Without a shared standard of evaluation, the practice of polling jurors will never illuminate more than polling a subset of the population at large -- say, the payroll at Soundscapes, or a huddle of Bieber fans camping overnight for concert tickets. In this regard, the Polaris Prize is about as illuminating as a homecoming king voted in by the willy-nilly standards of his admirers

The odd bit about the Polaris popularity contest? The most popular kid in town doesn't have a fighting chance. It would be one thing to argue that My World 2.0 is a work of art. Or to argue that Bieber is a talented songwriter. Or to reference the YouTube videos that kindled his fame. But we can leave that to the many legions afflicted by the "Bieber Fever." The better way to protest his absence is to argue that there is something unjust -- even dysfunctional -- about the sloppy practices of an album award that could effectively ignore him.

Justin Bieber is everywhere -- everywhere, that is, except the long list for the Polaris Music Prize. And he could not give a care. As he sings in Never Let You Go:

Bring the doubters on

They don't matter at all.

After all, Justin is booked to sing for a sold-out crowd that day.

While the jury is celebrating their winner in Toronto on Sept. 20, 2010, Bieber will be performing at the Saddledome for nearly 20,000 adoring listeners, a tiny faction of the "Beliebers" happy to extend their adoration to the only artist on their list.

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Shakira - A Hell's Angel (New Song)