Music Shuffle: November 7
Def Jam VP suicide, new Zeppelin singer rumor mill and AC/DC holds on.
Despite 11 new albums hitting the top 20, last week, AC/DC's Wal-Mart/Sam's Club exclusive Black Ice stays strong for a second week at #1 on The Billboard 200, moving 271,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Pink landed her best chart placement ever with Funhouse, hitting #2 for the week with 180,000 sold, followed closely by the soundtrack to Disney's High School Musical 3, with 162,000. Entering at No. 4 is John Legend's third effort, Evolver, comes in at #4, while Toby Keith's That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy hits No. 5 with 91,000 albums sold.
The only artist on the Billboard Hot 100 that can beat T.I. right now is... T.I. The rapper again outdoes himself, as "Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna traded places with "Whatever You Like." Back on Oct. 9, the same thing happened with the same songs - but the other way around. "Life" is also back at No. 1 on Hot Digital Songs with 184,000 downloads.
Pink's ex-trasher "So What" rises to #3 this week, while Katy Perry's ridiculous "Hot N Cold" moves from #6 to #4, and Beyonce's "If I Were a Boy" slips to #5.
Deftones bassist Chi Cheng is in a coma after a car accident Monday in Santa Clara, Calif. Frontman Chino Moreno confirmed Cheng's condition. "I don't know everything that's going on -- I just know it's very serious," Moreno said in an interview this week. "Chi is one of the strongest people I know, and I'm praying that his strength will get him through this," he added in a note on the Deftones' blog. "Please say a prayer for him as well."
Cheng is said to be in "serious but stable condition."
Cheng, 38, has been in the studio with Deftones working on the band's next studio album, Eros, which is set for a spring 2009 release.
Def Jam executive VP Shakir Stewart reportedly committed suicide Monday in Atlanta. "L.A. Reid and all of us at Island Def Jam Music Group are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend and colleague Shakir Stewart," read a statement sent from the label Tuesday. "Shakir was an amazing man in every sense of the word. A truly incredible friend and father who was an inspiration to not only our artists and employees, but to his family and the many people that had the privilege of counting him as a friend. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family at this very difficult time."
Stewart replaced Jay-Z on the Def Jam totem pole in June, and also retained his duties as senior VP of A&R at Island Def Jam. He was responsible for signing such artists as Rick Ross, Young Jeezy and newcomer Karina Pasian.
Chris Cornell, former singer for Soundgarden and Audioslave and current trendwhore in every sense of the word, has responded to rumors that he's been asked to fill in for Robert Plant on a potential 2009 Led Zeppelin reunion tour.
"I have not been approached so far to fill in for Robert Plant on the upcoming Zeppelin tour, but that isn't to say I won't be," Cornell told MTV News. "I've heard that from about 200 people now, and it might be one of those situations where it's just an online rumor or it might be true."
Cornell is just one in a long list of names - including Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, former Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar, White Stripes nucleus and chief Raconteur Jack White, Alter Bridge's Myles Kennedy and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler - that's been circulating as a potential Plant replacement.
In case you missed it, I just said that Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy is being considered for the Plant-less Led Zeppelin tour. That's right, the guy who replaced Scott "Jesus Vedder" Stapp is in the running to replace Robert Plant. The sacrilege is doubled when one considers that, by leaving Alter Bridge, Kennedy would leave the door open for Stapp to return to the fold for a full Creed reunion.
No.
Ohmygodohmygodohmygod Justin Timberlake joined Madonna onstage last night in Los Angeles! And his ex, Britney Spears did too! Oh wow! Everybody's talking about it! But guess what? They didn't play appear onstage together, and Madonna looked like she always does: like an anorexic, menopausal dominatrix who thinks entirely too much of herself. So there's no point discussing it any further. Like there was any in the first place.
American pop stars stole the show at the MTV Europe Music Awards last night at Liverpool Echo Arena, but we don't care about that. What matters is that 80's pop sensation Rick Astley was named the Best Act Ever, which had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with a certain viral video.
