Sunday November 7th, 2004
New CD's this past week:
- Gwendolyn Joy – Love is (UK release)
Music news stories this week:
Destiny's Child CD Release Moved Up A Day
Columbia Records has moved up the North
American release of the new
Destiny Child's album one day, just as the R&B trio has confirmed the
first dates for its 2005 world tour. "Destiny Fulfilled" will now be
issued off-cycle from a traditional Tuesday Stateside release on Nov. 15,
the same date as the disc will be available internationally.
The company says the change is due to the "potential for Internet leaks
and 'burned' CD counterfeits" that could "lead consumers to experience
inferior and incomplete versions of the album."
The move by follows yesterday's (Nov. 3) announcement that Interscope
Geffen A&M has moved up the release of new albums by Eminem and Snoop
Dogg, in a similar effort to thwart pirates. Eminem's "Encore" was moved
from Nov. 16 to Nov. 12, and Snoop's "R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The
Masterpiece" shifted from Nov. 23 to Nov. 16.
In other news, Destiny's Child has confirmed the first portion of a tour
that will find the group visiting 16 countries over the course of five
months. The European leg of the McDonald's sponsored Destiny Fulfilled ...
And Lovin' It outing will kick off May 14 in Copenhagen and close June 9
in Dublin.
"We always said we'd come back together... it's more fun performing as a
group," group member Beyoncé Knowles says on the group's official fan club
Web site. "We're planning to make this our biggest and most spectacular
tour to date."
Group members are in the midst of a U.K. media blitz that will find them
appearing tonight (Nov. 5) on "Top of the Pops" and tomorrow on "CD:UK"
and "Ant & Dec."
In the U.S., Destiny's Child will be the focus of a Nov. 15 episode of
syndicated daytime talk show "Oprah." The Houston-based group is also
slated to perform during halftime of the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday
National Football League game between the Chicago Bears and the Dallas
Cowboys. The appearance will be broadcast live on Fox.
Brandy Leaves Atlantic Records
Brandy is saying adios Atlantic Records,
the record label that
released all four albums of her career, including her latest CD,
"Afrodisiac" in July. Reuters reports that the singer has asked to be let
out of her contract.
No other details were given regarding the move, but Brandy is
reportedly taking meetings with a number of record labels for a partnership
under which she would drop future albums. According to Nielsen SoundScan,
her four albums for Atlantic have sold more than 8 million units in the U.S.
Her final CD, "Afrodisiac," debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 and has
sold 361,000 units.
As previously reported, Brandy is also scheduled to star in a fall
2005 comedy series with Touchtone Television for Fox, which she will
co-executive produce with her mother/manager, Sonja Norwood. The actress
is also in talks for what are described as "two other high-profile television
vehicles," according to "Billboard."
In the meantime, Brandy will pitch in on her brother Ray J's upcoming
Sanctuary album "Raydiation," due in March.
R. Kelly Files $75 Million Lawsuit Against Jay-Z
R&B singer R. Kelly has come back swinging
after getting booted off of the
Best Of Both Worlds tour on Saturday (October 30th). On Monday, November
1st, the singer hit Jay-Z and the rapper's Marcy Projects production
company with a $75 million lawsuit alleging that Jay-Z deliberately
sabotaged the tour.
The lawsuit accuses Jay-Z and his company of intentionally causing a
series of production missteps and of physically assaulting R. Kelly and
members of his entourage with pepper spray on Friday night (October 29th)
during a tour date at Madison Square Garden . An associate of Jay-Z' s
named Tyran (Ty Ty) Smith was named in the lawsuit.
Kelly is seeking $15 million in monetary damages because of the
cancellation of the tour, plus $60 million in punitive damages.
On Monday, November 1st, hours before the last Best Of Both Worlds tour
date at Madison Square Garden , Jay-Z issued a statement blaming the
tour's cancellation squarely on R. Kelly. The statement read, "R. Kelly's
lack of professionalism and unpredictable behavior has prevented the Best
Of Both Worlds tour from continuing."
Jay-Z was scheduled to complete the last New York-area date by himself
with the help of some of his friends, after the rapper and tour promoter
banded together and booted R. Kelly from the tour on Saturday. That
decision followed an incident the night before, when Kelly left the stage
suddenly during his performance.
Gerald Levert 'Speaks' On New Album
R&B vocalist Gerald Levert will release
his fourth album in as many years
later this month. Due Nov. 30 via Atlantic, the 16-track "Do I Speak for
the World?" includes the single "One Million Times," which jumps 19-10
this week on Billboard's Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
tally.
BET personality Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornell West appear on one of the
albums three interludes. Other tracks include "What Happened to the Love,"
"Click a Glass," "Duty Calls" and "Lay U Down (Make It Right)."
"Do I Speak for the World?" is the follow-up to last year's "Stroke of
Genius," which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
chart and No. 6 on The Billboard 200. It has sold more than 381,000 copies
in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Levert and his father, O'Jays' great Eddie Levert, will be on the road
this winter as part of the Father and Son tour. The outing begins Nov. 24
in Cincinnati and runs through Jan. 22 in Houston.
Main Ingredient’s Carlton Blount ‘Acting Like He’s
Free’
Main Ingredient front man Carlton Blount
is readying the release of his
debut solo effort ‘(From) A Man’s Point Of View’, slated to bow in January
2005. The disc will be released on Magnatar Records in a pact with 33rd
Street Records/Bayside Entertainment Distribution. Blount’s forthcoming
set has already yielded its first single, “Acting Like You're Free,” which
is becoming an instant hit with Urban AC radio outlets across the country
and at Sirius Satellite Radio.
In addition to replacing Cuba Gooding Sr. as the lead vocalist in The Main
Ingredient, Blount sang background vocals for Patti LaBelle and
collaborated with Roberta Flack, Michael Bolton and the late Grover
Washington Jr.