Sunday July 18th, 2004
New CD's this past week:
- Regina Belle - Lazy afternoon
Music news stories this week:
R. Kelly Granted Permission To Launch Two Month Tour
Grammy Award-winning singer R. Kelly, who is currently facing 14 counts of
child pornography for allegedly videotaping a sexual encounter with an
underage girl, was cleared by a judge to launch a 40-date two month tour
as long as he checks in with his probation officer daily.
MTV.com reports that R. Kelly was given permission by Cook County Circuit
Judge Vincent Gaughan to tour from October 4th to November 28th, but the
singer, who does not fly, must be back in Chicago on November 30th. Full
tour details are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Prosecutors were not pleased with the decision as it probably means that
the trial will not begin until next year. The singer is due back in court
on September 27th.
In related news, R. Kelly will release his new double album, Happy People/
U Saved Me, on August 24th.
Bobby Brown Turns Hmself In To Face Battery Charge
Bobby Brown turned himself in to officials in Atlanta Sunday night and was
released after posting a $2,000 bond on charges he hit his wife, singer
Whitney Houston. In May, a judge had ordered there was enough evidence for
Brown to stand trial on misdemeanor battery charges for allegedly hitting
Houston in the face. The judge had given Brown until midnight yesterday to
turn himself in, and the singer showed up with less than four hours to
spare. "He arrived at the jail, was photographed and fingerprinted and
posted his bond," Lt. Clarence Huber of the Fulton County Sheriff's
Department told the Associated Press.
Brown faces up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted.
Beyonce, Alicia And Missy's Tour Among Year's Top Earners
The Ladies First Tour, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Missy Elliott's powerhouse
diva bill, and Britney Spears' provocative Onyx Hotel Tour each grossed
around $19 million in the first half of 2004 to become two of the 10 most
successful tours so far this year (#8 and #9 respectively), according to
Billboard.
The top earner was David Bowie, whose A Reality Tour grossed $45.4 million
over 82 shows. Since the figures reflect shows between November 19, 2003,
and May 18, 2004, Bowie's numbers were not affected by last month's
cancellation of the last 10 days of his European tour. Tests determined
that Bowie suffered a blocked heart artery, and he underwent surgery last
week.
Bette Midler came in at #2 with her Kiss My Brass Tour, her first in four
years, which brought in $40 million. Simon and Garfunkel's Old Friends
Tour, which returned the '60s duo to the stage to continue their highly
successful 2003 outing, grossed $36 million. Shania Twain came in fourth
with $34 million, followed by Prince, who upped his earnings by raising
his ticket prices (around $75 for decent seats) and including a copy of
his Musicology with ticket purchases.
Metallica, who offered a no-frills bill with Godsmack, landed at #7 with
grosses of $22 million. Metallica might have grossed even more had they
not taken several breaks from the road to spend time with their families.
Destiny's Child Back In The Studio
Kelly Rowland has been hearing it for three years now.
" 'You guys aren't going to go back in the studio,' " Rowland repeated,
imitating a naysayer.
"Well, I just want to say to everybody who comes up to me, OK, now what?"
the singer continued. "We're back in the studio, we're putting out a
record. Shut up!"
It's official — Destiny's Child's fourth studio album is in the works, and
to hear Rowland tell it, the ladies' time apart is having quite an
influence on the new material.
"All of us have been in three different places ... so there's a lot to
talk about, a lot that's gone on, personally," Rowland said. "I think it's
important to talk about that on this new record, to put what we've been
going through separately into the new record."
For the recently engaged Rowland, her lyrical input will have a lot to do
with relationships.
"Beyoncé will tell you the same thing," Rowland said. "With fame [comes]
people trying to split us up, make something out of nothing.
"I know one main ingredient with a Destiny's Child record is to always
make it personal," she added. "That's definitely one thing I admire about
Usher. He's putting all of his heart and soul in his record. [People] feel
like when they're listening to the record, that [Usher's] talking to them.
That's important."
So far, Destiny's Child have logged studio time with Rockwilder and are
talking with Kanye West and Rich Harrison (Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige),
who produced songs for both Rowland and Beyoncé's solo albums, including
the latter's "Crazy in Love."
The group is also excited to discover and expose some lesser-known
producers. "I remember when we worked with She'kspere and he didn't really
work with anybody [before] and we came out with 'Bills, Bills, Bills' and
people were excited about that," Rowland said. " 'Survivor' [produced by
Anthony Dent] was the same thing. We want to deliver the same kind of
ingredients, but just a little bit more mature."
Although Michelle Williams released two solo albums since Destiny's Child
went on hiatus in 2001, and there was talk late last year of Beyoncé
releasing a second LP, the group never thought about disbanding.
"It was a no-brainer that all of us wanted to do another DC record,"
Rowland said. "That's where we started. That's the mold everything grew
from and you can't just stray away from that. I know all of us are so
excited about this next record and we wouldn't have done the solo records
if it wasn't for Destiny's Child records."
Rowland is so amped up to regroup that she's literally already dreaming
about going back on the road with DC.
"We all have on white suits, and everything is just so crisp," she
recalled. "I just see it in my head, I'm so excited. You can see this glow
on my face. I cannot wait until this record is done and we can go out and
we can tour, and it's gonna feel so good again. I can't even describe to
you what it is. It's love, it's hard work, it's hunger."
Destiny's Child's sessions will be a little bit spotty throughout the
summer, as Beyoncé is also shooting "The Pink Panther" with Steve Martin.
Rowland, who had a role in "Freddy Vs. Jason," recently finished a comedy
of her own, "Seat Filler".
"I actually play a pop star and I fall in love with a seat filler,"
Rowland said. "It's really a very, very cute story. This was my first lead
role. I star in it with Duane Martin and we had a great time. It was
definitely a learning process for me as well."
News 2004