Estelle is back and her collaborators are quite 'international' this time round – she's roped in John Legend, Kanye West, will.i.am and Mark Ronson to work on her Big New American album.
Because of these big important people working on her new material, we are all once again being told that Estelle is going to be a very famous popstar. It is like 2004 all over again.
Leona Lewis faces stiff competition in both the album and singles charts this week.
In the singles chart Bleeding Love is battling both the new Girls Aloud single Call The Shots and surprise hit Heartbroken by T2 and Jodie.
Meanwhile the Lewis album Spirit should hold off big new records by Shayne Ward and Kylie.
Despite many regarding Minogue as some kind of perfect deity her tenth album X is only expected to go to number three in the album chart behind Ward and Leona.
Meanwhile the singles chart shows that music fans are already getting for the festive season. Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Xmas and The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York are expected to enter the top 40 this Sunday.
The rapper is selling his 19 bedroom mansion in Connecticut for around £18m. The house was previously owned by boxer Mike Tyson. The G-Unit boss will be on a special edition of MTV Cribs to show off property to potential buyers.
John Rambo has finally stopped kicking ass and drawing his pension to get the official website for his fourth adventure up and running.
As with the posters and trailer we've been drip-fed over the past few months, there's a few 'coming soon' notices plastered about the place - most notably over the intriguingly titled 'Video Mashup' and 'Jungle Survival' options - which are sure to keep hardcore fans coming back for more.
It's all a bit, well, bitty at the moment but worth a look. Rambo Site
In an exclusive interview Empire sat down on the set of The Dark Knight with Heath Ledger, aka The Joker, as well as the rest of the cast and crew, to talk about bringing the greatest villain in comic book (and now cinema) history to the screen again.
"I definitely feared it," says Ledger of taking a role that every fanboy around the world demands to see done right. "Although anything that makes me afraid I guess excites me at the same time. I don’t know if I was fearless, but I certainly had to put on a brave face and believe that I have something up my sleeve. Something different...”
This is not your Jack Nicholson or Cesar Romero Joker. The new incarnation of the character is cruel and psycho to the core. And getting into that mindset meant Ledger marinading himself in nothing but Joker before shooting.
"It’s a combination of reading all the comic books I could that were relevant to the script and then just closing my eyes and meditating on it," he says. "I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary and experimented with voices — it was important to try to find a somewhat iconic voice and laugh. I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath — someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts. He’s just an absolute sociopath, a cold-blooded, mass-murdering clown, and Chris has given me free rein. Which is fun, because there are no real boundaries to what The Joker would say or do. Nothing intimidates him, and everything is a big joke"
For more from Ledger, Chris Nolan, Christian Bale, Michael Caine and others, pick up the new issue of Empire.
Kylie has announced a new show for 2008 which will call at twenty European cities next June.
It fuels speculation that she’ll also headline Glastonbury next year after cancelling in 2005 because of her Breast Cancer illness.
The UK leg of the tour- dubbed KylieX2008- takes place towards the end of June so she will be in the country at the same as the festival is on.
Kylie, whose new album is out this week, will play two nights in Belfast, Manchester, Glasgow and London.
Minogue promises a special show with a mix of classics and new tracks, she said: “‘X’ will be a look to the future but will definitely include favourites alongside the new. I can’t wait to share it with you next year!”
Thu 26-06 Belfast Odyssey Arena Fri 27-06 Belfast Odyssey Arena Sat 05-07 Glasgow S.E.C.C. Sun 06-07 Glasgow S.E.C.C. Mon 14-07 Manchester M.E.N. Arena Tue 15-07 Manchester M.E.N. Arena Sat 26-07 London 02 Arena Sun 27-07 London 02 Arena
Tickets go on sale for UK shows on Monday December 3, priced £49.
Robyn is an intelligent woman who knows exactly what she wants from her career, where she wants to be and how she wants to get there.
For this reason we are certain that following the Number One 'With Every Heartbeat' with a Number 17 hit in the shape of 'Handle Me' was completely intentional and all part of A Bigger Plan.
So here is the next part of the plan: the new Robyn video for 'Be Mine'. Unlike the ludicrous 'Handle Me' clip, 'Be Mine' manages to portray Robyn as a human being capable of emotional response and not merely a fluorescent, robotic blonde messing around in a load of boxes with bits of of alarming facial hair.
Razorlight's Johnny Borrell and Andy Burrows have played a surprise gig for the Mencap Little Noise Sessions at the Union Chapel in London.
The pair, who are about to head out to South Africa, played a brief set including a new tune called 'Hostage Of Love'.
They also played their hits 'America' and 'Before I Fall To Pieces'.
Borrell and Burrows played acoustic guitars and were accompanied by a solo violinist for the set. Also on the bill last night were Billy Bragg, Kate Nash and Robyn.
Last week, Bono and The Edge from U2 shocked the Union Chapel audience by appearing at the Little Noise Sessions for a surprise set before the headliners Biffy Clyro.
Amy Winehouse has cancelled all her commitments for the rest of 2007, either because she misses her jailed husband or on doctors orders.
She’s said: “I can't give it my all on stage without my Blake. I'm so sorry but I don't want to do the shows half-heartedly; I love singing.”
However her tour promoters released a statement saying: “In the interests of her health and wellbeing, Amy has been ordered to take complete rest and deal with her health issues.”
Gigs now off include those in Cardiff, Dublin, Belfast, Manchester, London and Bournemouth.
Reaction to Amy’s recent shows has been mixed. She was booed on the first night of her UK tour in Manchester.
Her hubby Blake Fielder Civil is currently in jail awaiting a court appearance for alleged perjury. If he’s found guilty we could be waiting a while for Winehouse to get back to business!
The rapper's new album was scheduled to drop in December but will now be released in February. That's Black History months in the US. There's been a lot of hype surrounding the CD after Nas revealed he'll be calling it the N word.
More than 20 years after they split The Jackson 5 are getting back together. Jermaine Jackson says that by 2008 the five brothers including Michael will start a world tour. Jermaine also says that the band will record a new album.
Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig are expected in London's Leicester Square to show off their new move, The Golden Compass. The film is an adaptation of the books by Philip Pullman. It will be in cinemas on December 5th.
While Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 has proven a major commercial success, the title was less well received by the media and now its developer has admitted he considered delaying its release.
Speaking to PSM3 magazine, legendary Japanese developer Shingo Takatsuka said: "PES 2008 is far, far from what we wanted.
"In fact, we thought about delaying it but different factors meant we had to release it. As a developer, we've worked the same way since the days of the SNES. We're simply not set up for multi-platform development."
After revealing that his team is now working on Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, Takatsuka has said all the media criticism has been taken on board while developing the next game: "PES 2009 is in development, but after hearing the criticism, we'll be taking it back to the drawing board. It might not be next year, but it will be soon.”
Amy Winehouse has disappointed a number of fans again after she performed a shambolic concert at London's Hammersmith Apollo on Saturday night.
The troubled singer turned up on stage 45 minutes late, causing a number of fans to boo before she showed up. Halfway through the gig Winehouse, who was said to look unstable throughout, then looked bored and walked off the stage and left a backing singer to carry on in her absence.
Winehouse walked off the stage again in the middle of her final song 'Valerie' and never returned to finish it.
Some who had paid to see the singer at the London show left the venue early, while others are now demanding that they get refunds for their tickets.
Lily Allen says she will retire after her second album to “have chickens and pigs.”
The Alright, Still star confirmed: “I’m only going to do one more album. I just want to make some money – maybe I could retire at 25.” Bit too honest there Lily!
She said her popstar lifestyle “doesn’t leave time for what’s important, like having a family.”
The LDN singer is currently dating Chemical Brother Ed Simons and has a TV show and modelling contracts in the pipeline.
"X Factor" winner Leona Lewis completed a remarkable double as she topped both the single and album charts for the second week running, the Official UK Charts Company said on Sunday.
It is the latest success for the 22-year-old singer, from Hackney in east London, who triumphed in last year's "X Factor" television talent show, with her single "Bleeding Love" and album "Spirit" holding off all challengers in both charts.
Top10 Singles 1. Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love 2. T2 Ft Jodie Aysha - Heartbroken 3. Take That - Rule The World 4. Timbaland Pts One Republic - Apologize 5. Mark Ronson Ft Amy Winehouse - Valerie 6. Shayne Ward - Breathless 7. Alicia Keys - No One 8. Kylie Minogue - 2 Hearts 9. Girls Aloud - Call The Shots 10. Sugababes - About You Now
Top10 Albums 1. Leona Lewis - Spirit 2. Westlife - Back Home 3. Katherine Jenkins - Rejoice 4. Girls Aloud - Tangled Up 5. Led Zeppelin - Mothership 6. Eagles - Long Road Out Of Eden 7. Spice Girls - Greatest Hits 8. Andrea Bocelli - Vivere - The Best Of 9. Take That - Beautiful World 10. Celine Dion - Taking Chances
We will soon be seeing a new trailer for The Dark Knight in the form of a prologue to the movie, which tells the story of how The Joker became the comic book world's most feared make-up wearing murderer. Today we get a small sneak peek at that thanks to an Imax featurette here.
Christopher Nolan has shot several sequences from the film in the Imax format, including the Joker prologue. We don't actually get to see any footage of the villain in this clip, but, hey, it's The Dark Knight, so we'll paw over any new information that comes our way. Plus there's almost nothing going on today thanks to America's silly turkey based holidays.
The UK star appeared on stage with the rapper on stage in London on Friday night. They performed London Town with a Brooklyn twist. You can hear highlights of that gig next Friday on 1xtra.
Anthony Hamilton ''Full of Life'' on new album due out Feb 08
R&B singer Anthony Hamilton is preparing to unleash his next album on the world in 2008. The set, tentatively titled "Me," is due Feb. 5 and will "make a statement," according to Hamilton. songs on the album include "Souls on Fire," "Praying For You," "Cool" and "Me." He recently cut a new song, "Love," and is still working in the studio, but expects to be done by the end of November and mixing and mastering in December.
1. Broad Street Bully Intro - Beanie Sigel 2. This Shit Right Here - Jay-Z 3. DP3 - Jay-Z 4. Success - Jay-Z, Nas 5. C’mon Baby - Jay-Z 6. Cant Tell Me Nothing - Kanye, Beanie Sigel, Freeway 7. Live In London Interlude 8. Blue Magic - Jay-Z 9. Step Back - Freeway, Lil Wayne 10. ROC Fam Freestyle - Memphis Bleek 11. Get Ya Money Up - Memphis Bleek 12. Freestyle Session - Freeway, Beanie Sigel, Uncle Murda 13. Rocafella Billionaires - Freeway, Jay-Z 14. The Allure Of Flashy Lights - Jay-Z 15. You Ain’t Ready 4 Me - Beanie Sigel, Styles P 16. Barrel Brothers - Ghostface, Styles P, Beanie Sigel 17. DJ Khaled Interlude 18. Run To The Roc - Young Chris 19. Informer - Uncle Murda, Wyclef 20. Wet Em Up - Tru Life 21. Go Low - Beanie Sigel, R.City 22. Take It To The Top - Freeway, 50 Cent 23. All The Above - Beanie Sigel feat. R Kelly 24. My Hood Is Greasy - Peedi Crakk, Swizz Beats 25. ROC Boys - Jay-Z
Coming to a place near you soon Please Join www.ukdynasty.co.uk\forum For more info
In a documentary the singer opens up about living with his mum and her addiction to her heroin. The 21-year-old's admits to giving his mum the money to get the drugs but gives her one last chance to kick the habit. You can catch, I Won't Love You To Death, on MTV Base on Sunday.
50 Cent has praised Kanye West for his decision to continue his tour following the sudden death of his mother Donda earlier this month.
The rapper held a funeral for his mum on Tuesday after she died from possible complications following cosmetic surgery.
But West has carried on with his scheduled tour dates, which 50 Cent has insisted will help him get over the death.
Fiddy, real name Curtis Jackson, said: "That's really an unfortunate situation and I hope he can work his way through it. It's good to see him actually touring. You can work your way back into a comfortable space where you can deal with those situations."
The first night of Babyshambles' arena tour has been attacked by critics.
The gig at Manchester's MEN Arena was nowhere near sold out and has been described as "lacklustre" by reporters.
Pete Doherty's band played tunes from their albums Down In Albion and Shotter's Nation, choosing not to play covers of Libertines songs, as they have occasionally done in the past.
Doherty walked onstage to the Steptoe and Son TV theme tune and was greeted by an enthusiastic but sparse audience.
Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody is planning to record some solo material, say reports.
The singer has played some of his work to Hot Hot Heat's Steve Bays, who claims the songs he heard were inspiring.
Lightbody recently branched away from the band, helping to record the track 'Just Say Yes' on Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger's debut album Her Name Is Nicole.
Estelle performed 2 new tracks on BBC's Later with Jools Holland. Shine & Just a Touch (Wait a Minute) are taken from her 2nd album Shine, released next year.
Jamie and his band cover the current number 1 by Leona Lewis "Bleeding Love" from their tour bus. They've been supporting Take That in Europe but are back in the UK now!
Lupe Fiasco has announced details of his second album The Cool and a new single for 2008.
The Chicago rapper recorded a great debut LP Food And Liquor which featured Kanye West, Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams.
Now Lupe’s going further with a concept album to be released on January 28. Fiasco will rap from the perspective of different characters ‘Michael Young’, ‘The Game’ and ‘The Streets.’
Featuring on The Cool are Fall Out Boy Patrick Stump- who produces one track- Snoop Dogg and Matthew Santos who sings on new single Superstar.
That track will be released a week before the album on January 21 in the UK.
The rapper's is set to kick start his UK tour at the O2 Arena in London tonight. Rumours are that Jay Z will be a surprise guest, Common and Estelle will be the support acts. The tour was in doubt following the death of Kanye's mother.
R.Kelly has chucked Ne-Yo off their joint headline tour in the States, after just two shows.
Though the I Believe I Can Fly star is denying this. His spokesman told MTV News: “This was a contractual issue between Ne-Yo and the promoter, not Kelly's decision at all.”
However Ne-Yo- who has written hits for Beyonce and Rihanna- released a statement saying: “I don’t understand their actions because I was rehearsing, doing media, promoting the tour, and performing.”
His spokesman cryptically revealed: “He was informed that he was being dropped from the rest of the R Kelly tour after delivering two sensational performances….Ne-Yo’s performances brought the heat; but maybe it brought too much heat.”
Back in 2004 R.Kelly fell out with Jay-Z while on their joint tour ending in the cancellation of gigs.
Britney Spears music video Do Something will not be airing in Europe after Luis Vuitton is claiming it damages their image.
The Clothes brand won an injunction in Paris to stop the video - in which Britney drives a pink car with the ‘cherry blossom LV’ symbol on it – from being shown.
Sony BMG were ordered to pay $117,600 for "damaging" the brand's image, and is expected to pay $1,470 for every day the video remains on the internet.
Stephen Fry led a strong contingent of British winners at the International Emmy awards in New York, where UK television productions picked up seven honours.
Fry’s BBC Two film, The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive, scooped the award for best documentary. The comic actor talks in the film about his own and other people’s experiences of living with bipolar disorder.
The winners Best performance by actor Jim Broadbent and Pierre Bokma (The Chosen One) Best performance by an actress Muriel Robin ( Marie Besnard – The Poisoner) Best comedy Little Britain Abroad Best drama The Street Best documentary Stephen Fry – The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive Best nonscripted (reality) entertainment How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? Best TV movie/ mini-series Death of a President Founders Award Al Gore
The Grammy Award winner gave a surprise performance in Selfridges department store in London. He performed a few classics including Superstition and Isn't She Lovely. He was in the UK to open a £10m room named after him.
The singer performed for around 4,000 demonstrators in Los Angeles. Alicia says she fully supports the scriptwriters who are picketing over better pay. "I am very proud of you. I am a writer, united we stand and divided we fall."
Jay-Z, Beyonce and John Legend were among the friends and family at Kanye West's mum's funeral yesterday. The ceremony was held in Oklahoma. Kanye's show at the O2 Arena in London is still expected to go ahead.
A new channel based on music magazine NME will launch on Sky this Thursday (Nov 23).
'NMETV', which bills itself as "the essential channel for real alternative music enthusiasts", will feature music videos, chart roundups, artist profiles, news updates and interviews.
The channel is a joint venture between IPC Ignite and CSC Media Group, which operates a small portfolio of music and movie stations including The Vault, Bliss and True Movies. IPC previously launched a channel based on Nuts magazine in partnership with TBS. The station will be available on Sky channel 377.
Girls Aloud have upped their security because they’re being stalked by a mad lesbian, according to The Star newspaper.
It claims the “naked lesbian” struck at their recent GAY appearance where they found her clothe-less in their dressing room.
Allegedly the stunners have now hired “five former SAS guards” to protect them. This stalker must be scary if they need the army’s finest to fend her off.
Of course this story is in The Star so could be complete nonsense…
Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe's "American Gangster" has outmuscled historic epic "Beowulf" to take the top spot at the box office.
Director Ridley Scott's real-life crime drama took 2.5 million pounds in Britain and Ireland over three days in its debut weekend, Screen International said on Tuesday.
The film stars Washington as a New York drug baron and Crowe as the detective trying to bring down his criminal empire. It has already topped the North American box office.
Virgin Radio has signed JK and Joel to present a weekend morning show to go up against Radio 1's Vernon Kay and Jonathan Ross on Radio 2.
The former Radio 1 DJs will join Virgin at the beginning of next year, part of a refreshed weekend line-up under new programme director David Lloyd that also sees the arrival of former LBC presenter Iain Lee.
JK and Joel - real names Jason King and Joel Ross - hosted the Sunday afternoon chart show and the early breakfast slot on Radio 1 until September this year.
The rapper told fans at his show in Belgium that he was angry at the press. Kanye says his mother, who passed away a week ago, would have wanted him to continue with the tour. Donda West will be buried today.
2. “Hiatus” - Produced by Mellow Madness 3. “Ventilation” - Produced by Klasix 4. “Talk to Em’” - Produced by Sultan 5. “Warfare” Featuring Joell Ortiz - Produced by the Klasix 6. “Dear Diary” - Produced by Sultan 7. “Get No Younger” Featuring Ezo - Produced by Klasix 8. “Inside of Me” - Produced by Dub B 9. Killa BH skit - Produced by Kill BH 10. “Send Him Our Love” - Produced by the Klasix 11. “Family Reunion” Featuring Ransom, Hitchcock, Fabolous - Produced by Shatek The Producer 12. “5th Gear” - Produced by Sultan 13. “Roll Call” - Produced by Sultan 14. “Secrets” - Produced by Klasix 15. “All of Me” Featuring Imani - Produced by Klasix 16. “Folder’s Brother” - By Killa BH 17. “I’m Serious (Long Way to Go)” Feat Mr. Propz - Produced by Soul Searcher 18. “Thou Shall Not Fall” - Produced by Klasix 19. “Still My Hood” - Produced by Wyks
Today we hit 1000 views. Thanks to everyone who visits the blog on a regular basis. We are still having a few issues with the coding, but we're on it! When thats sorted, oh we are taking the internet by storm! Watch out Perez & Ali!
He took over the charts, now rap superstar 50 Cent will take over MTV CRIBS in an all-new episode devoted to his 17-acre Connecticut estate and provide additional rare access to his home through exclusive MTV.com web content. Premiering in the U.S. November 29th at 10:30p.m., 50 will go from P.I.M.P. to V.I.P., as he gives the ultimate tour to his 19-bedroom mansion, the surrounding grounds and enlists his recording crew G-Unit to help with the hosting duties. Viewers can simultaneously log onto MTV.com for in-depth, one-of-a-kind online footage of 50 as he takes site visitors into unseen rooms and gives info on some of his favorite items in the house.
