Lady Gaga, the self-proclaimed Fame Monster, is gaining more notoriety by the day. On July 2, she reached 10 million fans on Facebook, making her the first living person to achieve this honor, Us Magazine reported.
President Barack Obama, who has 9.5 million fans, had the most followers for a living person on the leading social networking site until Lady Gaga surpassed him.
Gaga ranks sixth overall for most Facebook fans. According to USA Today, Facebook, the Family Guy, Michael Jackson, Texas Hold ‘Em Poke, and Mafia Wars are the only other entities with more Facebook fans than the pop singer.
Despite her popularity and success, Lady Gaga recently told Rolling Stone that she keeps herself grounded. "When I wake up in the morning, I feel just like any other insecure 24-year-old girl," she said. "Then I say, ' ... You're Lady Gaga you get up and walk the walk today."
Lady Gaga is one of five musicians in Famecount.com's Top 10 Living Facebook Stars list. The other figurers in the top 10 are Vin Diesel, Barack Obama, Megan Fox, Dr. House (Hugh Laurie), Linkin Park, Lil Wayne, Cristiano Ronaldo, Justin Bieber, and Taylor Swift.
Famecount.com tracks social networks to show key trends.
The site also reports that Lady Gaga is the "fastest growing star on Facebook, adding 1.9 (million) fans last month alone and finding over 140,000 new fans each day." Even amid all the World Cup coverage, Lady Gaga still managed to beat soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lady Gaga isn't the only musician with good numbers. On Wednesday, Eminem's sixth album, Recovery, debuted at #1, selling more than 740,000 copies. This week was bittersweet for Chris Brown. The embattled 21-year-old singer has been accused of faking his tears during his tribute to Michael Jackson at Sunday's BET Awards.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
'Genius grant' helps Carter fulfill musical dreams
Classically trained jazz violinist Regina Carter wanted to go beyond the boundaries of Western music, but couldn't find a record label willing to partner up on the adventure.
Then came along the MacArthur Foundation, which bestowed on her its prestigious $500,000 fellowship, known as the "genius grant." Carter spent some of the money taking an introductory course on music therapy, and then spent some following her intuition.
The unrestricted grant allowed her to spend three years independently researching and recording African folk songs, combining instruments and melodies she only had a feeling might coalesce into something substantive.I took a chance putting these instruments together for this project, not knowing if it was going to work," says Carter of the resulting 12 tracks on her recently released CD, "Reverse Threads."
Carter talked recently about the album, which features violin, accordion and the traditional West African 21-stringed kora.
The Associated Press: It sounds like there are all kinds of musical influences on this African-influenced CD.
Carter: It's a huge continent first of all, Africa is, and so there's so many different cultures and so many different styles of music. Sometimes I would hear something and say, "Oh wow, that sounds like Irish music" ... I'd started to see within the research how much we influence — you know from traveling — how much the planet and how much we're all influenced through music or art, and how much we're connected all over the planet.
AP: As you were discovering these songs and compositions, which story surprised you the most?
Carter: I think the two tunes I recorded, "Hiwumbe Awumba" and "Mwana Talitambula." Reading that they were from the Ugandan Jews and I had no idea that there were Jewish people in Uganda ... It's pretty amazing what I've started to learn just by researching music, the history that sometimes goes along with some of these pieces.
AP: What was most challenging thing about making this album?
Carter: These melodies when you listen to them, they sound very simple, but when you try to play them, you find that sometimes the simplest sounding things are the most difficult things to play. And having the technique and coming from a jazz world and being so used to improvising and using that language, sometimes it was too much. It was too many decorations, if you will, on the music, so I had to stop myself and really strip it away and let the beauty of these melodies really speak for themselves.
AP: How's working with your husband (percussionist Alvester Garnett)?
Carter: Working with my husband is really great. We figured out how it was going to work for us. I'm the boss of course - all the time. And he always tells me, 'Well, she's the boss two times over.' On the road, we don't share rooms, because when we're working together, he's my drummer and I'm the violinist we're ban mates then. And it helps to keep it so there's no favoritism, we're all on equal footing. There's no weird dynamic. And then when we get home, that dynamic, I had to learn. We both did — how to make that shift into being husband and wife.
Then came along the MacArthur Foundation, which bestowed on her its prestigious $500,000 fellowship, known as the "genius grant." Carter spent some of the money taking an introductory course on music therapy, and then spent some following her intuition.
The unrestricted grant allowed her to spend three years independently researching and recording African folk songs, combining instruments and melodies she only had a feeling might coalesce into something substantive.I took a chance putting these instruments together for this project, not knowing if it was going to work," says Carter of the resulting 12 tracks on her recently released CD, "Reverse Threads."
Carter talked recently about the album, which features violin, accordion and the traditional West African 21-stringed kora.
The Associated Press: It sounds like there are all kinds of musical influences on this African-influenced CD.
Carter: It's a huge continent first of all, Africa is, and so there's so many different cultures and so many different styles of music. Sometimes I would hear something and say, "Oh wow, that sounds like Irish music" ... I'd started to see within the research how much we influence — you know from traveling — how much the planet and how much we're all influenced through music or art, and how much we're connected all over the planet.
AP: As you were discovering these songs and compositions, which story surprised you the most?
Carter: I think the two tunes I recorded, "Hiwumbe Awumba" and "Mwana Talitambula." Reading that they were from the Ugandan Jews and I had no idea that there were Jewish people in Uganda ... It's pretty amazing what I've started to learn just by researching music, the history that sometimes goes along with some of these pieces.
AP: What was most challenging thing about making this album?
Carter: These melodies when you listen to them, they sound very simple, but when you try to play them, you find that sometimes the simplest sounding things are the most difficult things to play. And having the technique and coming from a jazz world and being so used to improvising and using that language, sometimes it was too much. It was too many decorations, if you will, on the music, so I had to stop myself and really strip it away and let the beauty of these melodies really speak for themselves.
AP: How's working with your husband (percussionist Alvester Garnett)?
Carter: Working with my husband is really great. We figured out how it was going to work for us. I'm the boss of course - all the time. And he always tells me, 'Well, she's the boss two times over.' On the road, we don't share rooms, because when we're working together, he's my drummer and I'm the violinist we're ban mates then. And it helps to keep it so there's no favoritism, we're all on equal footing. There's no weird dynamic. And then when we get home, that dynamic, I had to learn. We both did — how to make that shift into being husband and wife.
Janet Jackson performs at Essence in New Orleans
It's been two years since singer Janet Jackson performed on a concert stage and her fans say that's been two years too long.
Jackson marks her stage return Friday with an opening night, first-time performance at the Essence Music Festival inside the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
"I'm excited, we're excited," Jackson said in an interview prior to her appearance. "It's been awhile since I've been on stage and we're just excited to get back out there."
Fans got a glimpse of her new, sassy, short-cropped hair and her signature, shapely figure on the finale show of American Idol where she rocked classics like "Again" and "Nasty" and her latest release, "Nothing," from the soundtrack of the movie, "Why Did I Get Married Too?," which she also starred in.
Will Bias, a frequent fest-goer from New Orleans, said he is definitely looking forward the show.
"I've never seen her perform live, only on TV, so I'm just wondering what to expect," he said. "I know it's going to be good, though. She's been away for so long, she's probably got some surprises in store for us. Michelle Ebanks, president of Essence Communications Inc., was as excited as fans to be able to hear Jackson sing some of her hits in person. She said festival organizers had extended invitations to perform numerous times over the course of the last 15 years and this year she finally accepted.
"Prayer works," Ebanks said laughing.
The festival is celebrating the magazine's 40th anniversary this year and Ebanks said they wanted to do so by putting the spotlight on strong, powerful female artists. In addition to Jackson, the lineup includes Gladys Knight, Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott, Alicia Keys, Monica, Keri Hilson, Chrisette Michele, Lalah Hathaway, Melanie Fiona, Estelle, Ledisi, Laura Izibor and New Orleans' own Irma Thomas.It means a great deal for me to be in the company of such wonderful women, women who I have the pleasure of knowing personally," Jackson said. "I'm especially honored to be able to play on a stage that also hosts Gladys Knight. She watched me grow up and I remember her being around the Motown family when I was a kid. It's definitely an honor."
Jackson, 44, said she has wanted to come to the festival previously but a jam-packed schedule didn't allow it.It didn't really permit me this time either, but because I really wanted to do it, we've worked it in," she said.Rehearsals have been squeezed in between her other projects.On my days off from filming, I'm in rehearsals. It's 24 hours, seven days a week, but we're having fun and I'm looking forward to it," she said.
Jackson also is preparing for another movie collaboration with actor-director Tyler Perry, starring in his upcoming film adaptation, "For Colored Girls." She plays the "Red" character in the film, which is based on Ntozake Shange's 1975 Tony Award-nominated play, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf."I'm finally living my dream of acting," said Jackson, who's also starred in Perry's film, "Why Did I Get Married?".
Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful for all that God has bestowed upon me as far as singing is concerned, but I never thought I would be a singer," she said. "My father wanted me to sing. I wanted to act. And, now, I'm finally living that dream."
Still, Jackson said she has no plans to stop performing or making music but does see writing and developing scripts in her future. "I'm really drawn to the action stuff and I love sci-fi. That really drives me crazy," she said.
The role of "author" also soon will be attached to her name. "True You," a book that chronicles Jackson's lifelong struggles with weight and self-esteem, is set for release this fall.It's not an autobiography, but I tell anecdotes about my life from when I was a kid to now," she said. "Things happen that can affect a child for the rest of their life and I didn't want to just speak to adults about these issues, so the book reflects that."
Jackson marks her stage return Friday with an opening night, first-time performance at the Essence Music Festival inside the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
"I'm excited, we're excited," Jackson said in an interview prior to her appearance. "It's been awhile since I've been on stage and we're just excited to get back out there."
Fans got a glimpse of her new, sassy, short-cropped hair and her signature, shapely figure on the finale show of American Idol where she rocked classics like "Again" and "Nasty" and her latest release, "Nothing," from the soundtrack of the movie, "Why Did I Get Married Too?," which she also starred in.
Will Bias, a frequent fest-goer from New Orleans, said he is definitely looking forward the show.
"I've never seen her perform live, only on TV, so I'm just wondering what to expect," he said. "I know it's going to be good, though. She's been away for so long, she's probably got some surprises in store for us. Michelle Ebanks, president of Essence Communications Inc., was as excited as fans to be able to hear Jackson sing some of her hits in person. She said festival organizers had extended invitations to perform numerous times over the course of the last 15 years and this year she finally accepted.
"Prayer works," Ebanks said laughing.
The festival is celebrating the magazine's 40th anniversary this year and Ebanks said they wanted to do so by putting the spotlight on strong, powerful female artists. In addition to Jackson, the lineup includes Gladys Knight, Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott, Alicia Keys, Monica, Keri Hilson, Chrisette Michele, Lalah Hathaway, Melanie Fiona, Estelle, Ledisi, Laura Izibor and New Orleans' own Irma Thomas.It means a great deal for me to be in the company of such wonderful women, women who I have the pleasure of knowing personally," Jackson said. "I'm especially honored to be able to play on a stage that also hosts Gladys Knight. She watched me grow up and I remember her being around the Motown family when I was a kid. It's definitely an honor."
Jackson, 44, said she has wanted to come to the festival previously but a jam-packed schedule didn't allow it.It didn't really permit me this time either, but because I really wanted to do it, we've worked it in," she said.Rehearsals have been squeezed in between her other projects.On my days off from filming, I'm in rehearsals. It's 24 hours, seven days a week, but we're having fun and I'm looking forward to it," she said.
Jackson also is preparing for another movie collaboration with actor-director Tyler Perry, starring in his upcoming film adaptation, "For Colored Girls." She plays the "Red" character in the film, which is based on Ntozake Shange's 1975 Tony Award-nominated play, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf."I'm finally living my dream of acting," said Jackson, who's also starred in Perry's film, "Why Did I Get Married?".
Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful for all that God has bestowed upon me as far as singing is concerned, but I never thought I would be a singer," she said. "My father wanted me to sing. I wanted to act. And, now, I'm finally living that dream."
Still, Jackson said she has no plans to stop performing or making music but does see writing and developing scripts in her future. "I'm really drawn to the action stuff and I love sci-fi. That really drives me crazy," she said.
The role of "author" also soon will be attached to her name. "True You," a book that chronicles Jackson's lifelong struggles with weight and self-esteem, is set for release this fall.It's not an autobiography, but I tell anecdotes about my life from when I was a kid to now," she said. "Things happen that can affect a child for the rest of their life and I didn't want to just speak to adults about these issues, so the book reflects that."
American Idols Become Wedding Crashers
You know, there was a time when one of the biggest insults an "American Idol" contestant could receive was to be compared to a wedding singer. But this week, Season 9 finalists Casey James, Michael Lynche, and Andrew Garcia were proud to moonlight at the Detroit-area wedding of lucky couple Michelle Ricketts and Bobby Belke.
According to an Andrew interview with Fox Detroit, the three Idols were in Michigan this week rehearsing for the Idols Live Tour (which kicked off Thursday, July 1, at Detroit's Palace Of Auburn Hills), and were dining at the Royal Park Hotel when wedding guests approached them and invited them to the Ricketts/Belke reception taking place in the hotel's ballroom. One thing led to another, and before long, the Idols were actually jamming on Motown oldies with the wedding band (luckily, Casey didn't play the buzzkill song "Jealous Guy"). And judging by the delighted expressions on wedding guests' faces in the reception photos, not a single spectator in the crowd seemed to think these surprise performers were "pitchy," dawg.
Michael reportedly seemed especially at home onstage, having sung in wedding bands professionally before his big "American Idol" break. "I just know that scene so well. It was surreal," he told Fox.
"Michelle's a big 'Idol' fan," maid of honor Katie Avesian told Fox. "She and Bobby were up onstage dancing with [the Idols]. I think they might have even hit up the dessert bar. Sweet--literally. No wonder Big Mike told Fox that he loves to crash weddings.
So congratulations to the newlyweds, and here's hoping the audiences on the Idols Live Tour are as appreciative and excitable as those wedding guests. I guess the only question left to ask here is...are the Idols also available for birthday parties, quinceañeras, and bar mitzvahs?
According to an Andrew interview with Fox Detroit, the three Idols were in Michigan this week rehearsing for the Idols Live Tour (which kicked off Thursday, July 1, at Detroit's Palace Of Auburn Hills), and were dining at the Royal Park Hotel when wedding guests approached them and invited them to the Ricketts/Belke reception taking place in the hotel's ballroom. One thing led to another, and before long, the Idols were actually jamming on Motown oldies with the wedding band (luckily, Casey didn't play the buzzkill song "Jealous Guy"). And judging by the delighted expressions on wedding guests' faces in the reception photos, not a single spectator in the crowd seemed to think these surprise performers were "pitchy," dawg.
Michael reportedly seemed especially at home onstage, having sung in wedding bands professionally before his big "American Idol" break. "I just know that scene so well. It was surreal," he told Fox.
"Michelle's a big 'Idol' fan," maid of honor Katie Avesian told Fox. "She and Bobby were up onstage dancing with [the Idols]. I think they might have even hit up the dessert bar. Sweet--literally. No wonder Big Mike told Fox that he loves to crash weddings.
So congratulations to the newlyweds, and here's hoping the audiences on the Idols Live Tour are as appreciative and excitable as those wedding guests. I guess the only question left to ask here is...are the Idols also available for birthday parties, quinceañeras, and bar mitzvahs?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)