SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft is first out with its 2013 top search trends list, with pop star Beyoncé bumping Kim Kardashian as the most searched person on Bing this year. Women dominated 2013 in Microsoft search world. The top five most searched people of the year were women (Kardashian was No. 2).
Justin Bieber — No. 6 — and President Barack Obama — 10th — were the only two men who made it into the top 10.
Also making Bing’s Top 10 list: Rihanna (3), Taylor Swift (4), Madonna (5), Nicki Minaj (7), Amanda Bynes (8) and Miley Cyrus (9) Swift jumped from No. 10 last year, while Bynes, Madonna and Obama are all new to the list.
Microsoft’s take on top trends has a decidedly pop culture bent, but Bing also offers a look at top news stories of the year. The birth of the royal baby was the most searched story of the year followed by the Boston Marathon bombing in April. You can read more about Bing’s top trends at www.bingtrends.com.
And now that we’re into December, look for Google, Twitter, Facebook and more to weigh in with the year’s top trends.
article by Nancy Blair via usatoday.com
Posts published in “Pop/R&B/Dance”
Next year’s Essence Festival is getting a dose of music royalty from Prince. The “Purple Rain” singer-songwriter is headlining the 20th annual Essence, a celebration of music and culture being held July 3-6 in New Orleans. Prince, who performed at Essence in 2004, also headlined this year’s South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. His newest single, “Screwdriver,” debuted earlier this year. Still, Prince is best known for chart-topping hits like “1999,” “Kiss” and “Purple Rain.”
Essence has been held every Independence Day weekend since 1995, when it marked the 25th anniversary of Essence magazine. The festival includes nightly concerts at the Louisiana Superdome and empowerment seminars during the day at a nearby convention center. Organizers say the rest of the lineup will be announced later.
article by Associated Press via Variety.com
article by Associated Press via Variety.com
The King of Pop still reigns.
According to Forbes magazine, the late Michael Jackson has earned more money in the past year than any other musician — dead or alive. Between June 2012 and June 2013, Jackson’s estate earned $160 million. This surpassed the second-place earner, MJ’s living rival Madonna, who made $125 million in that time span, by $35 million. “It’s the third time in the past five years that the top-earning celebrity in the world has come from the graveyard,” reports Forbes.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Jackson’s earnings come from ”two Cirque du Soleil shows — one that tours, one housed at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Vegas — and his half of the Sony/ATV song catalog, which includes his own hits as well as tunes like ‘When a Man Loves a Woman.’”
On the list of deceased earners, Elvis Presley comes in a distant second (with $55 million), followed by Peanuts creator Charles Schultz ($37 million), Elizabeth Taylor ($25 million), and Bob Marley ($18 million).
article via thegrio.com
Usher Raymond is on double movie duty with his credit as executive producer of the upcoming education documentary Undroppable, as well as his role in Hands of Stone as legendary boxer Sugar Ray Leonard. The project, written and directed by Jason Pollock, will explore the dropout epidemic in the U.S. educational system with direct feedback from American students. The film will be supported by a social media/video campaign that will allow them to discuss the issues they face in school.
Raymond will executive produce with Scooter Braun (Justin Bieber‘s manager) who introduced him to the project, as well as Adam McKay, Sharon Chang, Alex Soros andJohn Powers Middleton. “I knew Usher was very passionate about the issue of education, so I felt this was a great project to bring him into,” said Braun. “His expertise will be invaluable as we continue this film and movement.”
Undroppable will be completed this year for a 2014 release.
article by via uptownmagazine.com
Although African-Americans weren’t prominent in Forbes’ annual list of the richest Americans, they are definitely well-represented among Hollywood power couples. The finance magazine has released its list of the highest earning celebrity couples and perhaps to the surprise of no one rapper Jay Z and his wife, pop icon Beyoncé, top the list. The chart topping duo earned $95 million last year through their concerts, album sales and endorsements, putting them ahead of couples like Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen, as well as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, who just welcomed their first child, a daughter named North, into the world, came in 5th overall, earning $30 million. Still none of these couples’ earning power combined reaches the height of say Oprah Winfrey, who, bolstered by rising OWN ratings, has made close to $3 billion in the last year.
article via thegrio.com
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdv5FbuK4rY&w=420&h=315]
Even if Pharrell Williams isn’t a household name where you live, the music he’s had a hand in creating most likely is. He’s featured in this this year’s song of summer, “Blurred Lines,” Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” and he’s co-collaborated on songs such as Snoop Dogg’s “Drop it like it’s Hot” and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl.”
Sixteen Grammy nominations (and three wins) later, the music producer-song writer-recording artist sat down with TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie to talk about the path to getting to top of the Top 40.
“I can write pretty much anywhere, but in the shower it’s, like, where it’s, like, really great,” Williams told Guthrie of where he’s come up with some of his best work, including “Hot in Herre” Nelly’s super-successful 1992 hit.
But before he was sharing top billing with the likes of Nelly, Justin Timberlake and Ludacris, he was any other kid growing up in Virginia Beach, playing the drums and going to band camp. “Most of us were kinda nerdy,” Williams said. “Nobody sort of walked in, like, you know, Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl-cool.” It was at that camp where Williams, then 12, met his producing partner Chad Hugo. By the time they were 19, the duo had helped write and produce the 1992 Wreckx-N-Effect hit song, “Rump Shaker.”
Fast forward two decades and many successes, Williams says he can point to the singular best song he’s ever co-written. “My son,” he told Guthrie of Rocket, his little boy with new fiance Helen Lasichanh. “Every night’s like a sleepover,” he said of Lasichanh, who he calls his “bestie.”
So what else does the super-successful Williams hope to accomplish? “Honestly? It’s … more music,” he said. That said, music isn’t the only thing on the artist’s plate: Beginning Nov. 5, Williams will appear as a mentor on Rihanna’s new fashion reality competition show “Styled to Rock” on the Style Network.
article by Courtney Hazlett via today.com
Director Ron Howard will debut the “Made in America” documentary about the Jay Z-curated music festival in Philadelphia Oct. 11 on Showtime.
Close to 50,000 fans attended Jay-Z’s “Budweiser Made in America” festival on Labor Day weekend last year. The two-day event included performers such as Pearl Jam, Drake, Run DMC, Skrillex, D’Angelo and Calvin Harris.
The year’s festival kicks of this weekend with performances from Beyonce, Nine Inch Nails, Imagine Dragons, Deadmau5, Kendrick Lamar and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Howard’s documentary serves as a backstage pass to the event, which showcases performers sharing stories of how they are “making it in America.”
It will debut Sept. 7 at the Toronto International Film Festival.
article via eurweb.com
Academy Award-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson was back in her home town of Chicago Wednesday to lend a hand with the back-to-school effort. The Oscar winner and her sister, Julia King, hosted a school supplies giveaway for low-income children at a South Side Salvation Army community center. “They can bring their list, pick and choose what they may need and go from there,” Hudson said.
The third annual Hatch Day celebration was in honor of King’s son, Julian, who was killed in their Englewood home several years ago along with their mother and brother. The event is always held on Julian’s birthday, who would have been 12 years old this year. “He was so into education, which is part of why we chose to give back in this way,” Hudson said.
There were enough supplies on hand for 5,000 kids, including backpacks, notebooks, pens and pencils. “You lead by example, and I feel like we’re leading by example. We’re hatching the dreams of thousands of children,” Julia King said. Hudson told NBC 5 she has an album and three films coming out, including the lead role in next month’s “Winnie Mandela,” the story of Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife.
article via nbcchicago.com
Darius Rucker has hit the top of the charts both the leader of Hootie and the Blowfish and as a solo country artist. And now, a street in his hometown bears his name. The pavement leading to the North Charleston Coliseum in South Carolina where Hootie and the Blowfish played in the 1990s shortly after it opened was renamed Darius Rucker Boulevard on Monday, reports the Associated Press.
Rucker grew up in the Charleston area and was on hand for the ceremony along with North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey. Rucker says he may return to the coliseum this fall to play a country set. But first he plays with Hootie and the Blowfish next week at the Family Circle Stadium on Daniel Island.
article via eurweb.com
Jazz musician George Duke died Monday in Los Angeles at age 67. A pioneer in the funk and R&B genres, he had been battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to his label Concord Music Group, which confirmed his death. “The outpouring of love and support that we have received from my father’s friends, fans and the entire music community has been overwhelming,” said his son, Rashid Duke, in a statement. “Thank you all for your concern, prayers and support.”
Born in San Rafael, Calif., Duke aspired to a music career from an early age, after his mother took him to a Duke Ellington concert. “I remember seeing this guy in a white suit, playing this big thing, which I later found out was a piano,” Duke told USA TODAY in 1997. “He had all these guys around him, and he was waving his hands conducting, and he spoke very intelligently and seemed to be having a good time. And his name was Duke, and my last name was Duke. I told my mom, ‘I want to be him.’ That moment in time set the stage for me.”
Over the course of his four-decade-plus career, the Grammy Award-winning keyboardist put out more than 40 albums and collaborated with artists such as Frank Zappa, Miles Davis, Jill Scott and Michael Jackson. His music was also sampled by Kanye West, Daft Punk and Common. “It’s a wonderful thing that has happened under the banner of jazz,” Duke told USA TODAY of his career longevity. “In R&B and rock, when you are over a certain age, they say goodbye to you. But in jazz, you just kind of level off and continue to gain respect, so long as you keep your integrity.”
Duke’s final album, DreamWeaver, was released July 16 and made its debut at No. 1 on Billboard‘s contemporary jazz chart. It was his first new music since the death of his wife, Corine, last year. To learn more about Duke’s life and music, click here. Also, watch a video of Duke recording his classic “Dukey Stick” below:
Born in San Rafael, Calif., Duke aspired to a music career from an early age, after his mother took him to a Duke Ellington concert. “I remember seeing this guy in a white suit, playing this big thing, which I later found out was a piano,” Duke told USA TODAY in 1997. “He had all these guys around him, and he was waving his hands conducting, and he spoke very intelligently and seemed to be having a good time. And his name was Duke, and my last name was Duke. I told my mom, ‘I want to be him.’ That moment in time set the stage for me.”
Over the course of his four-decade-plus career, the Grammy Award-winning keyboardist put out more than 40 albums and collaborated with artists such as Frank Zappa, Miles Davis, Jill Scott and Michael Jackson. His music was also sampled by Kanye West, Daft Punk and Common. “It’s a wonderful thing that has happened under the banner of jazz,” Duke told USA TODAY of his career longevity. “In R&B and rock, when you are over a certain age, they say goodbye to you. But in jazz, you just kind of level off and continue to gain respect, so long as you keep your integrity.”
Duke’s final album, DreamWeaver, was released July 16 and made its debut at No. 1 on Billboard‘s contemporary jazz chart. It was his first new music since the death of his wife, Corine, last year. To learn more about Duke’s life and music, click here. Also, watch a video of Duke recording his classic “Dukey Stick” below:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT2ZBoWtNes&w=420&h=315]
article by Patrick Ryan via usatoday.com