onengine.com

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There’s no finer way in music to pay homage to an inspiration than the time-honored cover song. The Rolling Stones, Beatles, and Led Zeppelin essentially began their careers as glorified cover bands (or rip-off artists, depending on who you ask) before graduating to having their songs remade by everyone from Tiffany to Billy Joel, Bette Midler, Stone Temple Pilots, and Hootie & The Blowfish.

Which brings us to Korn’s Jonathan Davis. See, once upon a time, Korn were the leaders of the so-called “nu metal” brigade, a horde of frustrated boys who loved hip-hop and metal and decided to stick their Black Sabbath-inspired white chocolate into some gangsta peanut butter, essentially ruining two genres at once. All fun and games, until Davis recently dropped his latest homage, a retread of Lil’ Wayne’s still-fresh “Got Money,” a bouncy clubber in which Davis cranks up the robotic AutoTune vocals and paints himself as some kind of flossy, flashy strip-club-alien lothario from the hood (assuming there is a hood in Bakersfield, California).


CELINE DION

I could probably pick just about any of Canadian power elf Celine Dion’s covers and throw it on the fire, but her gender-switching decimation of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” is one of those car-crash horror shows that makes you unsure if you first want to gouge out your eyes or stick needles in your ears, or just do both at the same.



PUSSYCAT DOLLS

“Tainted Love” is a great 1964 song that already survived a 1981 Soft Cell cover, which has actually become more popular than the original, and barely escaped with its life in 2001 when Marilyn Manson put his goth stink on it. And then the Pussycat Dolls dragged it through their cat box of horrible vocals and over-emoting in 2005, turning it into a pole-dancing anthem that went from reeking of heartbreak to just kind of, well, skanky.

PUSSYCAT DOLLS (live) - Tainted Love
by Caro69

LIMP BIZKIT

Speaking of Durst, which is something I try to avoid, his band Limp Bizkit’s grunged-up slog through The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes” tried to get all emo, but I suspect the only reason they wanted to do it was so Fred could sing the line, “No one knows what it’s like to be hated.” Oh, and kiss Halle Berry in the video. Two legitimate reasons, actually. Otherwise, it feels like a home demo from a shut-in teen who just learned how to play his acoustic guitar. Again, if you’re going to cover a song, put your mojo on it, even if your mojo amounts to unnecessary beats, terrible rapping, and gratuitous scratching.


BRITNEY SPEARS

Picking on Britney Spears is kind of like shooting Cheetos-eating fish in a barrel, but her cover of the made-famous-by Joan Jett song “I Love Rock ’N Roll” does exactly what it should: adds gratuitous scratching, unnecessary beats, kewpie-doll vocals, and the least rock arrangement ever. Britney, c’mon, you don’t love rock ’n’ roll — you probably don’t even know how to spell it! Bonus fact: Britney thought it was Pat Benatar who made the song famous. Classic!

P. DIDDY

Back when he was still called Puff Daddy, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs somehow persuaded Jimmy Page to perform on a cover of Led Zeppelin’s classic “Kashmir,” retitled “Come With Me,” which was featured on the 1998 Godzilla soundtrack. OK, technically it’s not a straight cover, but it’s every bit as bad as you imagine.
puff daddy and jimmy page come with me

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There's still plenty of money to be made in the recording industry -- just ask these top 10 earners! Indeed, though there's no denying music's old business model has taken a massive hit in recent years -- blame it on piracy, the Web, or the advent of the recordable CD -- there's still plenty of money to be made in the music industry.
* The Year's Hottest New Music Stars
*

Topping the list: The Police, who banked $115 million over the course of the year, proving the big money is made on the road rather than in the recording studio.

Once famous for not getting along, the timeless rockers reunited in 2007 to perform their early hit "Roxanne" at the Grammy Awards. From there, the band fronted by Sting set out on a sold out and highly lucrative five-continent reunion tour. Some 4 million fans, both young and old, forked over a collective $200 million in tickets to see the trio perform. Not bad for a trio that got their start in the late-1970s.

Singer-turned-brand Beyonce Knowles comes in second, raking in $80 million during the 12-month period.

Once a Destiny's Child group member, the Houston native went solo in 2003 and has since released two platinum albums. She's also built a successful entertainment empire that includes fashion, film, and publishing deals. She has found still more time to sell $50 million in tickets on a recent tour, take a lead role as Etta James in the upcoming flick "Cadillac Records," and shill for a slew of brands, including L'Oreal, American Express, and an Armani fragrance.

Nabbing the third spot on our list is sometimes controversial -- and always popular -- Toby Keith, who earned $48 million this past year. The country music star, famous for songs like "How Do You Like Me Now?" and "Beer for My Horses," reached the impressive sum with lengthy concert tours, a lucrative endorsement deal with Ford Motor, and a chain of successful restaurants that bares his name. The patriotic rocker writes all of his own songs and owns his recording label as well.

Justin Timberlake comes in fourth with earnings of $44 million.

Like his peers, the boy bander turned tabloid staple has diversified his brand, dabbling in music (2 million fans paid $100 million to see his latest tour), commercials (appeared in a Pepsi Super Bowl commercial), fashion (co-founded fashion label William Rast), and hospitality (co-owns restaurants Destino and Southern Hospitality). The "Sexy Back" star also signed a development deal with MTV and heads his own music label.

Rounding out the top five is Madonna, who took home $40 million during the year.

The onetime material girl has capitalized on her talent and bold-face name by cutting a mega deal with concert promotions giant Live Nation, worth a reported $120 million over 10 years. The deal encompasses Madonna's future music and music-related businesses, including touring, albums, merchandising, DVDs and music-reality film and TV projects.

Reporting by Lacey Rose

For more information go to http://omg.yahoo.com/news/worlds-best-paid-music-stars/13417 Read More......

She's baaaaaaack! That's right, my girl Brandy has resurfaced and I'm super excited. Her new disc doesn't drop until November 11, but thankfully the video for the album's lead single "Right Here (Departed)" is available on Yahoo! Music. Check it out:

Granted, I've been a huge fan ever since Brandy released her debut back in 1994 when she was just 15. Needless to say, it's been a roller coaster ride for her ever since ... with highs such as a Grammy win for her duet with Monica on "The Boy Is Mine" and lows such as the fatal car crash she was involved in at the end of '06. In any case, she's obviously determined to regain her position at the top of the charts. I think she has a great shot with this new song, too. She has her main man Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins at the helm, and when you put those two together it's magic. Case in point: "The Boy Is Mine."

Anyway, I hope you like the new song and video because I'm obsessed. Make sure to vote in the poll, and enjoy one more of my Brandy faves, "Sittin' Up In My Room" from the "Waiting to Exhale" soundtrack!
She's baaaaaaack! That's right, my girl Brandy has resurfaced and I'm super excited. Her new disc doesn't drop until November 11, but thankfully the video for the album's lead single "Right Here (Departed)"


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In early July 2000, Knowles released her debut solo single "I Got That" along with rapper Amil, but it failed to chart or sell noticeably, topping the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles. Two years later, Knowles was a featured vocalist on rapper Jay-Z's hit single, "'03 Bonnie & Clyde". In the spring of 2003, Knowles remade a duet with Luther Vandross, "The Closer I Get to You", originally recorded and made famous by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway in 1977. In this version, the vocal parts are switched, with Vandross taking Flack's part and Knowles taking Hathaway's. The song made both her debut solo album and Vandross' Dance with My Father album, and the two shared the Grammy Award for "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" the following year. She has collaborated with Jay-Z on his eight studio album, Kingdom Come, providing vocals and the hook for the track entitled "Hollywood".

Personal life
Since 2002, Knowles has been in a relationship with rapper Jay-Z, with whom she has also made several collaborations. In spite of persistent rumors, she has not commented on whether or not the couple are engaged. The two have deliberately been private about the nature of their relationship, to avoid excessive media exposure, and for a long time even refused to comment on whether they were dating or not. When asked in September 2007 when the two would marry, Jay-Z replied, "One day soon—let's leave it at that".

Discography

Albums
2003: Dangerously in Love
2006: B'Day
2008: Third studio album
EPs
2004: True Star: A Private Performance
2007: Green Light: Freemasons EP
2007: Irreemplazable
Mixtapes
2005: Speak My Mind

DVDs
2004: Live at Wembley
2006: Beyoncé The Ultimate Performer
2007: B'Day Anthology Video Album
2007: The Beyoncé Experience Live!
Tours
2003–2004: Dangerously in Love World Tour
2004: Verizon Ladies First Tour (with Alicia Keys and Missy Elliott)
2007: The Beyoncé Experience Read More......

MADONNA LANZARA DISCO VIA MOVIL
Thu Mar 20 14:58:34 -0500 2008

El nuevo àlbum de Madonna, HARD CANDY, estarà disponible en telèfonos mòviles, antes de llegar a las tiendas. Segùn informaciòn publicada por la revista Rolling Stone, Madonna pondrà disponible para descarga su material a los propietarios europeos de los telèfonos Vodafone, una semana antes de que HARD CANDY estè en las estanterìas, el 29 de abril. Al parecer, Madonna finalmente se adhiere a la era digital. Previamente habìa tenido sus canciones en iTunes, pero luego dijo sentirse cansada y frustrada porque no podìa descargar su propia mùsica. La Reina del Pop, que cumple 50 años este 2008, serà la primera artista en lanzar un disco completo por telèfono mòvil, antes de su fecha oficial de lanzamiento en tiendas.

PETE WENTZ INTENTO SUICIDARSE
Thu Mar 20 14:55:03 -0500 2008

Pete Wentz, integrante de la banda Fall Out Boy, recientemente hablò a MTV, sobre la vez que intentò suicidarse. "Me subì a mi carro. Recuerdo que escuchaba a Jeff Buckley interpretando una versiòn de HALLELUJAH de Leonard Cohen. Me sentè sin pensar en nada y me tomè varias pastillas de Ativan, que sirven para calmar la ansiedad. Recuerdo que estaba en un parqueo de una tienda". Wentz continùa contando: "Llamè a mi representante, porque en ese punto, estaba completamente fuera de mi, fuera de control por el Ativan. Le hablaba, pero realmente no recuerdo bien mis palabras, eran incoherentes, asì que èl llamò a mi madre y ella me llamò a mi. Llegò a salvarme, pues en cuanto llegò me llevò al hospital. Creo que, a pesar de toda la ansiedad que tenìa y el efecto de la medicina, inconcientemente querìa vivir pues de lo contrario no habrìa llamado a nadie en ese momento" finalizò el mùsico.

BACK TO BLACK HACE HISTORIA
Tue Mar 18 14:06:39 -0500 2008

El àlbum BACK TO BLACK de Amy Winehouse, ya ha hecho historia al subir al primer lugar de los 10 discos màs vendedores del Reino Unido en el siglo 21. Amy Winehouse logrò botar el COME AWAY WITH ME de Norah Jones, tras llegar al record de 2,467,575 copias vendidas y aùn contando, en el Reino Unido.

Despuès de su triunfo en los Grammy y su presentaciòn en los Brit, Amy ha experimentado el incremento de las ventas de su disco pues en las ùltimas diez semanas se han vendido màs de 318 mil unidades, lo cual tambièn la hizo volver a la cima del chart de àlbumes del Reino Unido.



Otros discos que estàn en la prestigiosa lista son A RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD y X&Y de Coldplay, HOPES AND FEARS de Keane Y LIFE FOR RENT de Dido.


BRITNEY CENA CON MEL GIBSON
Mon Mar 17 20:40:21 -0500 2008


Britney Spears cenò con Mel Gibson el pasado fin de semana. La cantante se reuniò con el actor en el restaurante Romanov de Los Àngeles, en donde comieron un filet mignon y hablaron durante dos horas. Un empleado del restaurante dijo: "Fue muy emocionante tenerlos a ambos juntos". Britney estuvo acompañada de su amiga cercana, Victoria, mientras que Gibson llevò un amigo. Por otra parte, se ha sabido que 13 empleados del Centro Mèdico UCLA de Los Àngeles, fueron despedidos ilegalmente por haber revelado detalles de la estadìa de Britney en la instituciòn. Otras seis personas han sido suspendidas, mientras que seis mèdicos enfrentan acciones disciplinarias. Jeri Simpson, director de Recursos Humanos del Centro Mèdico, dijo: "No solo sorprende sino que frustra y decepciona. Pensè que podìamos hacer todo lo necesario para asegurar la privacidad de nuestros pacientes y ahora se que es terrible que nos haya pasado nuevamente". Read More......