MUSIC
Crosby, Stills & Nash to cover the Beatles
Crosby, Stills & Nash are about one-third done with their next album, a set of classic rock covers produced by Rick Rubin, but Graham Nash won't hazard a guess on when it will be finished and released. "It's a lot slower than it's ever taken us to do an album," Nash tells Billboard.com, "because we've been on the road since May, and we don't quit until October. "We all want it to be right _ Rick, too _ so we're taking our time to make sure it is." Working with Rubin, Nash adds, has been "very interesting. It's hard to tell CSN what to do in the studio after almost 40, 50 years, but it's an interesting experience. We're certainly opening to listening to him. He has good ideas, of course."
MUSIC
Folds teams with Hornby for new album
Ben Folds says that an "instinct to collaborate and make music with people who aren't necessarily musicians" led to "Lonely Avenue," an teaming with Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and author Nick Hornby that's due out Sept. 28 on Nonesuch. "There's such a wide world of things you can do with music," Folds tells Billboard.com. "I feel like I can get a football player and have him tell his life story and turn it into music and I think it would be unique. With Nick, my biggest fear was he would send me great lyrics and I wouldn't be able to do anything good with them. I had complete confidence in him."
TELEVISION
On the set with 'Glee'
HOLLYWOOD _ It's 10 a.m. on a Wednesday in the middle of a cavernous soundstage at Paramount Studios, and while the world outside is bathed in sun, everything inside is dark _ everything, that is, except for the warren of classrooms and offices that make up the set of Fox's "Glee." A dozen cameramen, grips and assistants are squeezed into Principal Figgins' tiny office as four of the cast's regulars try out their lines. They're rusty at first, as you might imagine given that today is their first day back from summer hiatus. Two of the main characters are having an argument. "Finn was just trying to help out his handicapable friend!" Will (Matthew Morrison) yells. "He was insubordinate _ twice!" a large, intimidating woman played by Dot Marie Jones shoots back. "I am the captain of the USS Kick Ass, not the USS Back Talk!" She stumbles slightly on the line. "Let's try it again," urges Brad Falchuk, one of the show's executive producers, who's also directing. She does _ and again _ and then she nails it, storming out of the room for dramatic effect as a wave of relief suffuses her and everyone else. Welcome to the world of "Glee," Fox's monster hit that returns Sept. 21 for its second season.
FILM
Milla Jovovich: Artist in 'Residents'
HOLLYWOOD _ Milla Jovovich, the sexy international model turned singer and actress, is one of the few women to have anchored a successful action movie franchise. The first three installments of "Resident Evil," based on a popular videogame about a super-powered heroine fighting ravenous zombies, netted more than $380 million in worldwide box office receipts, with each release more successful than the previous one. "I'm 34 years old and every teenager in the country knows who I am because of 'Resident Evil," the actress marvels. "They don't know how to pronounce my name, but they know I'm the girl from 'Resident Evil.'" For those who don't know, it's pronounced "Mee-luh Yo-vo-vitch." Born in Ukraine, she is the daughter of a Serbian doctor and a Russian actress. She is married to Paul W.S. Anderson, who wrote, directed and produced the first "Resident Evil," released in 2002. Anderson also wrote and produced the sequels "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" and "Resident Evil: "Extinction." The couple has a 2-year-old daughter, Ever.
FILM
Welcome to Paradis
HOLLYWOOD _ Before she became Johnny Depp's significant other, Vanessa Paradis was an internationally known model and pop singer. A dozen years after the gorgeous couple became an item, they happily are still together and raising their two children, Lily-Rose, 11, and Jack, 8, and splitting their time between the U.S. and her native France. "We're a moving family," she says with a slight accent. "I can't say that the time over there and over here is equal, but that's what we try to do." As the kids have gotten older, it's become more challenging to travel with them, especially coordinating with school schedules, "but we manage," assures the beautiful actress-singer-model. "We're very privileged with a lot of help." Paradis, 37, is here to promote her newest movie, "Heartbreaker," a French romantic comedy with a classic screwball Hollywood tone.
MUSIC
Mavis Staples meets a new generation
Sixty years into her career, Mavis Staples overflows with enthusiasm for music, family and food. At 71, the voice of civil rights gospel group the Staples Singers is converting a new generation of fans, thanks not only to her energy and talent, but to collaborations with artists like Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, who produced her new studio release, "You Are Not Alone," due Sept. 14 on Anti-. Tweedy wrote the contemplative title track, but the set is a diverse collection of traditional spirituals, classic compositions by Staples' late father, Pops, and covers of jazz and pop tunes by artists including Allen Toussaint ("Last Train"), Randy Newman ("Losing You") and Creedence Clearwater Revival ("Wrote a Song for Everyone"). Pitchfork.com debuted the title track in July, and the John Fogerty-penned Creedence anthem is being worked at radio. "I'm back to what I've always been doing _ singing meaningful, positive messages," says Staples, whose previous album, 2007's Ry Cooder-produced "We'll Never Turn Back," focused on civil rights-era freedom songs. Some of the new tracks are also some of the earliest that Staples ever performed, like Pops' "Downward Road." "[Tweedy] said, 'I have all the Staples' Singers music from the '50s and '60s on my iPod,' and I said, 'Oh, you're jiving me.' And he put them on and I said, 'Tweedy, this was the best music of our lives.' "
MUSIC
Jerry Lee Lewis keeps on rocking
Jerry Lee Lewis wants to make one thing clear: The title of his new album, "Mean Old Man," isn't a reference to the Killer himself. "No, it has nothing to do with me whatsoever," the 74-year-old rock'n'roll legend says. "It's named for the Kris Kristofferson song [that opens the set], which I flipped out over when I heard it. I thought it was a hit piece of material, so I cut it." Kristofferson isn't the only celebrity guest who contributed to "Mean Old Man," due Sept. 7 on Verve/Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). It also features appearances by Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Willie Nelson, plus a handful of younger stars including John Mayer and Sheryl Crow. "It's just a collection of people who really love Jerry and wanted to be part of the album," says Lewis' daughter, Phoebe, who manages her father's career and served as the set's executive producer. "The fact that they bring their own notoriety is just a plus. They're like the ultimate sidemen and women." "The record goes by quick, which is a good sign," says Jim Keltner, who produced the album with Steve Bing. "The chops that Jerry Lee had as a young man, he's lost a lot of that. But now there's a depth and richness to the music. When he sits down to play, you just want to listen." "Mean Old Man" follows up 2006's "Last Man Standing," which similarly paired Lewis with an all-star cast and has sold 194,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Yet Verve/UMe president Bruce Resnikoff says the new set _ the artist's first for Verve _ demonstrates Lewis' "strength and power as a performer" more vividly than did its predecessor. And, he adds, it stands a better chance of attracting a multigenerational audience. "Jerry Lee's performance [at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25th Anniversary Concert last October] exposed him to younger fans and created an interest that had been bubbling before." To capture those fans, Verve senior vice president Nate Herr says the label began releasing one album track on iTunes every week beginning Aug. 3. The first was "Rockin' My Life Away" featuring Kid Rock and Slash. Still, he adds, "the sweet spot for this record is an older demographic," one Verve intends to reach through a release-week media blitz that includes appearances on "The View," "Today," "Imus in the Morning," NPR's "Weekend Edition" and Fox News' "Huckabee." Lewis is also scheduled to perform with the cast of Broadway's "Million Dollar Quartet" Sept. 10 and at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York Sept. 13. In addition to the 10-track standard edition, "Mean Old Man" will arrive in an 18-track deluxe package that includes collaborations with Shelby Lynne and Gillian Welch. "My daddy likes singing with girls," Phoebe Lewis says. "We're approaching this record as a project to which we're committed for the next year," Resnikoff says. "It's such a thrill to work with Jerry Lee Lewis, and we're hoping this serves as a steppingstone to more opportunities with him."
MUSIC
Maroon 5: Party of five
Adam Levine doesn't want to sound like he's complaining. He recognizes that Maroon 5, the Los Angeles-based outfit he's led for the better part of a decade, has consistently enjoyed the kind of success most bands only dream of: millions of albums sold, multiple Grammy Award wins. Yet on the eve of the release of Maroon 5's third studio album, "Hands All Over" (due Sept. 21 from A&M/Octone), Levine can't help but gripe a little. "The general perception of our band," he says, "still needs work." The 31-year-old frontman is talking about an image issue that's dogged Maroon 5 since the group's earliest days, when it broke out with the sleek top five single "This Love." "On paper we're really no different than any other rock band," he says. "We're a group of guys who've been friends for years who write songs and release them. But there's definitely this strange disconnect over who we are and what roles we play in making our music." Levine remembers once catching wind of a rumor that Maroon 5 _ which also includes guitarist James Valentine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bassist Mickey Madden and drummer Matt Flynn _ started out as a boy band. "I have to admit that's very frustrating for me," he says. "I do a lot of work and write the lion's share of our music. As much as the band plays a huge role in helping me put it together and writing certain parts, it's all done in-house. No one has ever written a note for this band who wasn't in the inner circle. I'm not sure people know that."
MUSIC
Sara Bareilles puts 'Heart' into new album
Sara Bareilles is a very nice woman who broke through to music's mainstream by writing songs that sweetly and eloquently tell people to buzz right off. Don't be fooled by the video to "King of Anything," the lead single off her sophomore album for Epic, "Kaleidoscope Heart," due Sept. 7. Sure, that's Bareilles, 31, wandering through a park in a gauzy tutu and singing with a generous smile; she's already attracted upwards of 1 million views on Vevo. But much like the monster success of "Love Song," a track off her first Epic album, "Little Voice," "King of Anything" is an anthem to sassy assertiveness dressed in a lilting singer/songwriter sheen. "It was the last song I wrote before we went into the studio, and I was at the point where I started sharing the music with my inner circle and started getting feedback," she says. "I remember having a very vivid realization of, 'Oh, I forgot that this was a part of it. Everybody gets to tell you what they think about what you do.' I could tell I was getting defensive. That song was a little bit of a pep-talk song _ and that's exactly what 'Love Song' was." "Love Song," released in 2007, sold 3.2 million digital downloads, earned two Grammy Award nominations _ one for song of the year and another for best female pop vocal performance _ and bolstered sales of "Little Voice" to 985,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
MUSIC
DeBarge ready for 'Second Chance'
The last time El DeBarge released an album, it was 1994. The Internet was starting to come into its own. Nielsen SoundScan was just 3 years old. YouTube, iTunes, Facebook and Twitter weren't even blips on anyone's radar. Not to mention that R&B and its fan base have changed radically since then. None of that is fazing DeBarge, who's busy reintroducing himself to R&B radio and TV gatekeepers in support of his first album in 16 years, "Second Chance" (Geffen, late November). "You name it, I'm going there," says the singer/songwriter, whose current itinerary includes stops in New York, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. "I've got a lot of catching up to do."
MUSIC
Twitter the latest trend in album promotion
Ticked off by a rash of fake Twitter accounts created in his name, Kanye West turned to his blog in May 2009 to unleash an expletive-laden rant against the microblogging site. "I DON'T HAVE A (expletive) TWITTER," West wrote. "WHY WOULD I USE TWITTER???" But with a new album scheduled to drop this fall, West has done an abrupt about-face, opening a Twitter account in July and embracing that and other social networking platforms with surprising fervor.
MUSIC
Eminem looking forward to Jay-Z shows
Less than a week before the start of his Home and Home tour series with Jay-Z, Eminem is staying tight-lipped about his plans for the stadium shows, which commence Sept. 2-3 at Detroit's Comerica Park before switching to New York's Yankee Stadium on Sept. 13-14. "I don't want to get into it too much," Eminem tells Billboard.com. "I don't want to give anything away. But...I think it'll be good." He does, however, allow that his song selection "will probably be all over the place" rather than concentrating on "Recovery," his double-platinum latest album that's still sitting atop the Billboard 200. "Hopefully it'll be songs that everyone is familiar with."
MUSIC
Mraz has 'tons of material' for new albums
Jason Mraz says he has "tons and tons of material" for his next album _ and may, in fact, be working on two. "I've got two very different-sounding albums," Mraz, who won two Grammy awards for 2008's platinum "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things," tells Billboard.com. "If I cut all of the material in half, I've got something that's fresh for the summer, ready for people to dance to, and I've got something else that's a little different, a little more lush and tender. "I kinda hope that I do [have two albums] because I've been doing three years between each album now...But I've got so much stuff right now that it hurts my feelings to leave some of it off one album, and I would like to know that I'll have a follow-up album all ready to go."
MUSIC
Ted Nugent talks music, hunting
Ted Nugent has some "stone cold" songs ready to go when he takes his band into the studio later this year to start working on his first new studio album since 2007's "Love Grenade." Nugent tells Billboard.com that he has "well over a dozen" tracks written and "eight or nine that I have to capture on tape as soon as possible," including a couple that were demoed in Waco, Texas, prior to his current concert tour. The tour's title _ "Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead" _ will also be the title track of the album, which Nugent describes as "just a roustabout, a classic Motor City upheaval. You can hear my Mitch Ryder influences in there right away." Other songs Nugent has in place include a "grinder" called "I Love My Barbecue" and "I Still Believe," which he likens to 1975's "Motor City Madhouse." And he compares "Never Stop Dreaming" to the Rascal's "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" and says it was inspired by his hunting trips with terminally ill youth.
MUSIC
Papa Roach makes 'Time for Annihilation'
The desire to draw "a link from the past to the present and to the future of this rock band" is what led to Papa Roach's new album, "Time For Annihilation...On the Record and on the Road," due out Aug. 31. "It connects all the dots," frontman Jacoby Shaddix tells Billboard.com of the set, which mixes five new songs with nine live tracks. "It's essentially an EP plus a live album, so it's like the best of both worlds." Shaddix says the live portion of the project "really came from fans. They kept asking over the years, 'When are you gonna release a live record?' So we threw that up in the air and everybody was like ... It's time for the band to do something like that." But when the group's new label, Eleven Seven Music, suggested including some fresh studio material on the set, Shaddix says the quartet "didn't want to just release some B-sides" and opted instead to go into the studio with producer David Bendeth. "With the new songs, we wanted to go with a little bit more of a modern sound," Shaddix explains.
FILM
Barrymore keeps it real in latest rom-com
HOLLYWOOD _ Drew Barrymore, who played little Gertie in "E.T.: The Extraterrestrial," is all grown up. Having successfully transitioned from child actress to teen star to quirky romantic comedy leading lady, Barrymore is taking her career to another level _ playing a mature character in her newest movie, "Going the Distance." In this R-rated romantic comedy, she plays a free-spirited young woman who sleeps with a guy on the first date, partakes in recreational drugs and, anguished over a long-distance separation, engages in a game of phone sex with her beau. The film is directed by Academy Award-nominated documentarian Nannette Burstein making her feature directorial debut from a script by Geoff LaTulippe. "I just wasn't in that place in my life where I wanted to play a cuckoo, wacky role-reversal sort of scenario," reveals the 35-year-old actress, dressed in a bohemian get-up accented by a bullet-studded belt.
FILM
Q&A: Ashley Bell
HOLLYWOOD _ If the name Ashley Bell doesn't ring a bell, don't worry, it soon will. The 24-year-old native Californian stars in the psychological thriller "The Last Exorcism," playing a young woman named Nell who may or may not be possessed by the devil. Inspired by a 1972 documentary, the movie is more a suspense thriller than a horror flick. Bell hails from a show business family. Her father, Michael Bell, is a veteran voiceover actor and her mom, Victoria Carroll, is a founding member of Los Angeles-based comedy troupe the Groundlings. She recently sat down and spoke with Entertainment News Wire about her first leading role, being flexible and working in the Big Easy.
FILM
Trejo looks sharp in first starring role
HOLLYWOOD _ Say "hola" to Hollywood's newest Latin vigilante. "Machete" is the brainchild of idiosyncratic writer-director Robert Rodriguez. What started out as a fake movie trailer in the 2007 exploitation throwback, "Grindhouse," has become a full-blown action film complete with a huge body count, starring veteran character actor Danny Trejo in his first leading role. "This very much was made for the fans," says Rodriguez, who was encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the over-the-top commercial about a Mexican vigilante meting out justice shown between the two "Grindhouse" films that he and Quentin Tarantino made. Trejo, who like Rodriguez is Mexican-American, also was eager to play the "Rambo"-like migrant worker turned justice-seeking vigilante. He regularly called his Austin-based friend to ask when they were going to make the movie. Eventually, Rodriguez acquiesced, and finished co-writing the script with his cousin Alvaro Rodriguez. "It was like stepping into this guy," says the gravelly voiced Trejo, whose pockmarked, weather-beaten face resembles an unpaved Texas road.
MUSIC
Toby Keith firing off singles from 'Bullets'
Country icon Toby Keith was so prolific in writing for his new album, the forthcoming "Bullets in the Gun," he actually took two songs off the album that he felt were potential singles. "When I finished cutting the tracks, I felt like I had six or seven singles," Keith, who drops "Bullets in the Gun" _ his follow-up to 2009's chart-topping "American Ride" _ on Oct. 9, tells Billboard.com. "And I figured they're only gonna release three singles off this album. So I said, 'Man, there's no way I'm gonna let these [other] songs just be lost on the album,' so I ended up actually pulling two tracks off this album and putting them in the can for the next one, just so they wouldn't be lost."
FILM
'Switch' off for Aniston
HOLLYWOOD _ The moviegoing public's on-again, off-again love affair with Jennifer Aniston hit another troubled patch during the weekend as her latest comedy, "The Switch," opened to a dispiriting $8.4 million. From the start, there was concern within the Aniston camp that the offbeat comedy, which also stars Jason Bateman as a surprise sperm donor, was a tricky sell. Artificial insemination, it turns out, is the new box office poison.
TELEVISION
Can anything derail 'Glee' from Emmy glory?
It's a sign of just how much the genre has shifted recently that the front-runner in the best comedy series category _ for the first time in more than a decade _ is an hourlong dramedy. Overlooked are such classic three-camera, laughtrack vehicles as "Two and a Half Men," "How I Met Your Mother" and "The Big Bang Theory," none of which made it into the final six nominees this year, despite the growing popularity of the latter in particular. Instead, Fox's "Glee" will compete with two premium cable shows (HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and Showtime's "Nurse Jackie"), NBC's "The Office" and "30 Rock" as well as ABC's "Modern Family." Can any of them knock "Glee" from its front-runner perch?
TELEVISION
Why it pays to be a young drama
The Emmy for drama series is handed out as the final award of the night for a reason. With all due respect to comedy, it truly is the kingmaker of the television industry _ just ask the folks at AMC, whose network will never be the same thanks to its back-to-back wins for "Mad Men." But the shows that get nominated reveal a different theme each year. This time, it's clear: A show should be young and complicated if it wants a berth in the top six. The eldest in this year's drama series lineup, "Lost," is also the only show that won't be back next year, and it's hardly old at six seasons. Not one of the other nominated drama series ("Men," "Breaking Bad," "Dexter," "True Blood" and "The Good Wife") has more than four seasons under its belt. "After a show gets into its third or fourth year, it runs the risk of being yesterday's news," says Tim Brooks, former network executive and co-author (with Earle Marsh) of "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present." "Even if a show maintains its (quality), the chances of winning become more remote each year. Emmy moves on to the next new thing."
TELEVISION
Q&A: 'SNL's' Lorne Michaels
The Hollywood Reporter: With 126 nominations, "Saturday Night Live" has surpassed "ER" to become the most nominated show in Emmy history. After 35 years, what do awards mean to you? Lorne Michaels: Nothing, until you're sitting there and then they mean everything!
TELEVISION
Will rookies dominate the Emmys?
If the first time is a charm, then 2010 could be shaping up as a downright charming year for a host of rookie Emmy nominees. Buzz is building behind freshmen series "The Good Wife," "Glee" and "Modern Family," any of which could wrest key wins from veteran series like "30 Rock" and "Mad Men," which have become the shows to beat. Don't be too surprised to see fresh actor faces on stage at the Nokia Theatre on Aug. 29. While the Emmys have a reputation for rewarding favorites ("The Amazing Race," anyone?), the reality is that debut performances often catch the eye of voters.
TELEVISION
Five TV critics pick their Emmy favorites
John Griffiths (Us Weekly): " 'The Good Wife' nails today's slithery forces of corruption even more potently than 'Damages,' but 'Lost' should go out the winner here. The final season was rocky, but overall the writers conjured up something bold and meaningful."
MUSIC
Bingham reteams with Burnett
Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett swept the awards season earlier this year, winning an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for their original song "The Weary Kind" from "Crazy Heart." And if there's one superstition even musicians in Hollywood adhere to, it's this: Don't mess with a winning streak. So it's no surprise that Burnett reteamed with Bingham and his band, the Dead Horses, to produce "Junky Star." The Aug. 31 release is Bingham's third album on Lost Highway, following 2009's "Roadhouse Sun" and 2007's "Mescalito." "T-Bone really brings the best out of you," Bingham says. "We recorded in the same studio [as "Weary"], with the same engineers, same vibe. When I first asked him if he would be interested in producing, he said, 'Yeah, man, we're already in here. Let's keep going.' "
MUSIC
Pearl Jam to mark 20th at Neil Young benefit
Pearl Jam fans, save the date: guitarist Stone Gossard says the closest thing to a 20th birthday gig for the band will be a slot on the bill of Neil Young's annual Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, Calif. on Oct. 23 and 24. "The only thing we've got going on in October is Bridge School, which is really special," Gossard told Billboard while in New York to support the new album by his side band, Brad. "So that's our 20th anniversary, which is fitting. It's perfect: not too blown up. It's not about us, it about all those kids that are on stage with you and about Neil Young and his commitment, his influence." It will be Pearl Jam's eighth Bridge appearance. The group first played the benefit, which supports Young's school for children with severe physical disabilities, back in 1992. The Bridge School dates, which will likely be held at the Shoreline Amphitheater, begin the day after Pearl Jam's exact anniversary. Oct. 22 marks the date in 1990 that the band, then called Mookie Blaylock, played its first show in Seattle's tiny Off Ramp club.
MUSIC
Anita Baker talks 'Love' with Snoop Dogg
Anita Baker says the working title for her next album, "21st Century Love," reflects both the music and lyrical tone of her first new release in six years. "The title came out of the recording process," Baker, who worked at studios in Los Angeles and Nashville for the Nov. 9 release, tells Billboard.com. "I couldn't decide whether I was going to do analog to digital, whether I was going to do straight digital...So it occurred to me as a musician, as a singer, just as a person I am straight-up analog, but that I'm in a digital world, and so I decided to do both." As for the lyrics, Baker says that "21st Century Love's" planned 10 tracks follow a loose theme based on her experience as a single woman in the wake of her 2008 divorce from Walter Bridgforth, the father of her two teenage sons, after nearly 20 years of marriage. "I'm out here and it's almost impossible to connect," Baker explains, "and people are saying, 'You need to get online. You need to get a dating service.' I'm like, 'Are you serious?' I mean, I don't even have voice mail, and people get all out of shape about that. But, you know what, I don't want to transcribe your message; I want to talk to you. And that kind of freaks people out a bit. They go, 'Oh, who has time to talk?' and I'm like, 'Well, I'm gonna make time.' "
MUSIC
Natalie Grant ready to start 'Love Revolution'
Natalie Grant is the first to admit she could easily be classified as a "Becky," the name Christian radio programmers coined years ago to describe their target demo: a woman in her 30s or 40s, married with kids, a typical soccer mom. "It helps me to know the audience I'm truly singing to because I am that person," says Grant, who's married to writer/ producer Bernie Herms and has twin 3-year-old daughters, as well as another baby girl due in December. Grant wants to empower her fans with her Aug. 24 Curb Records release, "Love Revolution." "The industry underestimates Becky," the four-time Gospel Music Assn. female vocalist of the year (2006-09) says. "They think that Becky just drives a minivan, takes the kids to school and has this happy, comfortable life. Becky is different today. Becky wants to change the world, and she believes that she can."
MUSIC
Serj Tankian busy with 'Harmonies'
Life after System of a Down has been pretty good for Serj Tankian. Outside of his chart-topping Los Angeles-based hard rock band, which went on indefinite hiatus in 2006, the singer/songwriter/political activist launched a solo musical career with the release of 2007's "Elect the Dead." The primarily rock-driven set debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and has sold 319,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In addition to touring and promoting his solo music, Tankian has spent recent years writing new songs, overseeing his label Serjical Strike, promoting various causes, publishing books, producing albums and scoring music for films, TV and videogames _ a lifestyle he never had time for while fronting SOAD. "I feel like I've established myself as an artist aside from System of a Down, and I'm comfortable with that," Tankian says, noting that the group regularly receives offers to perform but that no such plans are in the works. "It's been very emancipating and confidence-building."
MUSIC
Kenny Chesney: The Billboard cover story
Most of Nashville is dragging under the weight of an unrelenting heat wave, but Kenny Chesney, relaxed in an over-stuffed chair at his management company offices, looks rested and laid-back. Laid-back is appropriate, because it's his no worries, life's-a-beach vibe, affixed to Garth Brooks-inspired, stadium-sturdy suburban country, that's Chesney's stock in trade. On this day, Chesney is indeed dressed more for Key West than Music Row: shorts, T-shirt, open-toed shoes, no hat. But it's a bottle of water in his hand, not a Corona, as he talks about putting the finishing touches on a football documentary inspired by his current hit, "The Boys of Fall," the lead single from his new album, "Hemingway's Whiskey." "I was in Brett Favre's kitchen, John Madden's house, Bobby Bowden's house, Nick Saban's house, I interviewed Bill Parcells, I've been in Joe Namath's house," Chesney says with the zeal of an every-weekend tailgater.
MUSIC
Q&A: Alex Da Kid
Alex Da Kid is best-known for a pair of epic hip-hop/rock hybrids, but in real life, the 26-year-old U.K. producer/songwriter is the furthest thing from hyperbolic. "I don't really get excited about things," he says with classic English stoicism, when asked what it felt like to meet Swizz Beatz, one of his idols, for the first time. "I'm always thinking about the next thing, so as soon as I knew that he liked my beats, I was thinking, 'How can I make this into a bigger situation than it is now _ what's the next step?' "
FILM
Thompson back on the 'Nanny' cam
HOLLYWOOD _ Move over Mary Poppins. Nanny McPhee _ the mysterious, snaggletoothed, unibrowed British nursemaid, who shows up when you need her but do not want her _ is back. The brainchild of actress-writer Emma Thompson, "Nanny McPhee" was a modest hit when it was released here in 2005, successful enough to spawn a sequel. McPhee is based on the "Nurse Matilda" character created by children's book author Christianna Brand. In two films, Thompson, an Academy Award-winning writer ("Sense and Sensibility"), has taken the mystical and magical character and made it her own. The 51-year-old thespian and scribe began writing the sequel while the original was still in production. A perfectionist, it took her roughly three years to complete. Originally titled "Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang," it was simplified to "Nanny McPhee Returns." Throughout the writing process, Thompson tried to keep to the spirit of the original, with the mysterious McPhee showing up at a household just when she is most needed but not wanted, and staying until she is wanted but no longer needed.
FILM
Reiner returns to Bonnie Meadow Lane
HOLLYWOOD _ Inspiration can come from the most unlikely places. Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner was helping his school-age son with a classroom reading assignment a few years back when he found himself as immersed in the story as his kid. His son, Nick, was reading a book called "Flipped," which told the story of two youngsters coping with the complications of first love. For Reiner, a veteran Hollywood actor-writer-producer-director, "Flipped" resonated on a personal level. "It made me think about the feelings I had as a kid growing up and what I felt like when I first fell in love," the 63-year-old filmmaker recalls. He admired author Wendelin Van Draanen's writing style and handling of the subject matter. "It was the first time I've encountered such an honest, realistic depiction of first love," he says.
MUSIC
Producer: Gaga's new album will be 'shocking'
On June 24, Lady Gaga leaned into a microphone and said five words that Little Monsters around the world had been dying to hear. "This is a brand-new record." Seated behind a deconstructed piano at Elton John's 12th annual White Tie & Tiara Ball _ wearing nothing but a BeDazzled black bra and panties _ pop's reigning princess unveiled the piano-driven rock 'n' roll tune "You and I" to the exclusive audience at the Windsor, England benefit. As expected in the Internet age, the song did not stay confined within the walls of the English mansion for long _ a video of the performance quickly became a YouTube sensation when it was leaked days later. By the time Gaga reached New York's Madison Square Garden two weeks later, ardent fans were singing along to every word of the tune, which has now became a show-stopping staple on her Monster Ball tour. The new track was also the centerpiece of her record-breaking performance on NBC's "Today" show on July 9. Despite the early hour, 20,000 Gaga-lovers crowded New York's Rockefeller Plaza, making her five-song mini-set the most well-attended gig in "Today's" concert series' history. "You and I" is the only new material Gaga has shared with fans since she announced that her new album was all but done and would be released sometime in 2011. She teased fans with the promise that she would not reveal the title of the new record until midnight on New Year's Eve.
MUSIC
Gaga's 'Ball' to gross nearly $200 million
Lady Gaga quickly became one of the most recognizable artists on the planet in 2009, but by the end of that year, relatively few people had seen her perform live. That changed this summer, as Gaga embarked on her first arena tour. The pop phenomenon hit North American shores on June 28 in Montreal and visited cities such as Boston, New York, Toronto, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vancouver, Edmonton and Philadelphia during the early part of the trek. Gaga will continue to play the nation's largest and most prestigious venues until Sept. 19, when the show heads back to Europe. But America has not seen the last of the Monster Ball. The demand for tickets was so high during the jaunt's first leg that in May, Live Nation announced that Gaga will return to the U.S. next February for another run of U.S. dates. The 2011 North American Monster Ball Tour will kick off Feb. 19 in Atlantic City, with 10 arena dates confirmed through April 18. Additional shows are still expected to be announced, and Semi Precious Weapons, the New York rock band that has opened the tour's 2010 dates, will continue on the road with Gaga until the Monster Ball winds down.
FILM
Taking over the 'World'
Attention "30 Rock" producers: Should you need a thoroughly deadpan sidekick for perky page Kenneth, look no further than Aubrey Plaza. Before she nabbed roles on "Parks and Recreation" and in the upcoming film "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World," the emerging comedic talent did time as a real-life NBC page. "I was not good at it," confesses Plaza, who appeared briefly on "30 Rock" as, you guessed it, a page. "To be a good page, you have to have this cheerleader mentality, which really works for some people. Most of the job is giving those studio tours to, like, 30 tourists, and I was always taking those as opportunities to do a weird character." A firm grasp on weird characters paid off much later, when Plaza landed a trio of career-making roles during a single Los Angeles visit. In addition to the "Scott Pilgrim" and "Parks and Recreation" gigs, Plaza also nabbed a prominent role in Judd Apatow's largely improvised dramedy "Funny People." "It was so crazy," she recalls. "I practically had all three of those meetings back to back. I was joking with people that I was going to get all three and that my life was going to be totally different. And then it actually happened."
FILM
Q&A: Dolph Lundgren
After a 15-year hiatus from big Hollywood movies, Dolph Lundgren, the man who played Drago in "Rocky IV" and He-Man in "Masters of the Universe," is back in the spotlight as one of "The Expendables." Lundgren has a master's degree in chemical engineering, received a Fulbright Scholarship from MIT and speaks seven languages. THR checked in with the "smart Expendable" who's in Los Angeles for a photo shoot for a fitness book he's writing and trying to finish up a script about human trafficking.
TELEVISION
JetBlue Guy: Hollywood's most wanted
It was revealed Monday that controversial JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater had _ but of course! _ enlisted a Hollywood publicist. Slater's flak? The high-profile Howard Bragman, who's known for his representation of instant celebrities such as Monica Lewinsky and Oksana Grigorieva and of many gay celebrities, including Meredith Baxter and Martina Navratilova. In an exclusive interview with THR, Bragman was quick to point out that Slater didn't hire him to come out publicly; the flight attendant is openly gay with a boyfriend. "I know that people find the concept of a gay flight attendant shocking, but it's true," Bragman joked. "The fact that I've represented many gay clients merely helped Steven feel comfortable working with me. We actually went together last weekend to Las Vegas to see Barry Manilow."
MUSIC
Blondie to release first album in 7 years
Blondie is planning a staggered worldwide rollout this year and next for "Panic of Girls," the group's first set of new material since "The Curse of Blondie" in 2003. While label and distribution deals are still being formulated, drummer Clem Burke tells Billboard.com that he expects the set to come out in Australia in time for Blondie's November-December tour with the Pretenders. Following that, the band plans to release it in 2011 in other territories, including the U.S. "There's a lot of politics involved," Burke says with a laugh.
MUSIC
Flo Rida to show range on double album
Flo Rida says he's "about 85 percent" done with his third album, "The Only One," a two-disc set that is due out before the end of the year and will, he tells Billboard.com, give fans a broad look at his skills. "The first disc will be called 'The Only One: Flo,' and the second one's 'The Only One: Rida," the Florida MC (real name: Tramar Dillard) reveals. "It plays into the whole name thing, but 'The Only One: Flo' means there's only one Flo as far as my melodic style. 'The Only One: Rida' is the fact that I can ride a beat and definitely be able to slow down and speed up my rhyme pattern and everything like that. So the 'Rida' will be a little more edgy versus the 'Flo.' "
MUSIC
Peach Pickers harvest hit after country hit
Anywhere else, the name "Peach Pickers" might conjure up images of farmers or fruit-laden orchards. But along Nashville's Music Row, it's quickly become known as the name of country music's hottest songwriting team. "We're all from Georgia _ it's known as the Peach State and we all pick guitars, so it kind of fell out one day," Rhett Akins says of the moniker he and co-writers Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip adopted. The three friends scored their first hit as a songwriting trio in 2008 with Brooks & Dunn's "Put a Girl in It," which reached No. 3 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. They also collaborated on Jack Ingram's 2009 top 10 hit, "Barefoot and Crazy," and Joe Nichols' "Gimmie That Girl," which topped the chart in May. And the songwriting trio has three songs on this week's ranking: Blake Shelton's "All About Tonight," which climbs one notch to No. 5; Josh Turner's "All Over Me," which holds steady at No. 12; and Nichols' "The Shape I'm In," up eight places at No. 47. The trio also has seven cuts on forthcoming albums by Tim McGraw, Colt Ford, Craig Morgan, Frankie Ballard and Kevin Fowler.
MUSIC
Ra Ra Riot tries to beat sophomore slump
Just as the members of indie-pop band Ra Ra Riot were getting ready to hit the big time in 2007, tragedy struck when original drummer John Pike drowned. But the band rebounded, releasing "The Rhumb Line" on Barsuk in 2008, selling 66,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, touring extensively and building a nice buzz. Now the members face another challenge _ releasing a follow-up and sustaining their career. The list of indie bands felled by the fabled sophomore slump is long and grows every Tuesday. But Ra Ra Riot, whose album "The Orchard" is out Aug. 24, again on Barsuk, seem well-positioned to beat the odds. "Instead of being just super hyped and buzzed about, the band has developed a dedicated fan base," manager Josh Roth says. "They love touring and they love playing live, and I think they are in a great position to just keep growing."
MUSIC
Sitek takes flight with 'Balloon'
When Dave Sitek is usually described as ambitious, it's in relation to the intricate production and instrumentation he employs with his primary band, indie fave TV on the Radio. But Sitek's true ambition, he reveals, is a little more ... blonde. "I was trying to make Madonna's first record," Sitek says, punctuating the statement with a giggle. "I was trying to make something that was clear and bright and fast-paced." Widely considered a hipster king and a Brooklyn mover and shaker, despite the fact that he currently lives in Los Angeles, Sitek says he brought his '80s influences to bear on his forthcoming solo project, "Maximum Balloon," out Sept. 21 on Interscope. "Nile Rodgers is one of my favorite producers," Sitek says of the man behind such albums as Madonna's "Like a Virgin" and Duran Duran's "Notorious." "I feel like people have a hard time taking the '80s stuff seriously because not enough time has passed, but one day we'll look back and realize how important it was."
MUSIC
Owl City dreams of Taylor Swift
Adam Young says he's "halfway done" with the next Owl City album, and he's hatching plans for at least one eyebrow-raising collaboration. "One of my dreams has been to get Taylor Swift to do a song," Young, who remixed John Mayer's "Half of My Heart" (featuring Swift) tells Billboard.com. "I have kind of a cool idea for this sort of hybrid, countryish direction for a new song that would be perfect for her. We're hoping for the best. I can't even imagine how busy she is, so if it happens, it's cool. Fingers crossed." Young _ who recently had to cancel some of his Maroon 5 opening dates due to a kidney stone _ says that he's corresponded via e-mail with Swift "a few times. She says she's a fan, and vice versa, for sure, so hopefully there'll be collaborating." Young adds that he'd also like to work with Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba, who's "a pal. It would be fun to get his voice on there."
FILM
Q&A: Billy Magnussen
Actor Billy Magnussen has a lot going for him: talent, looks, charm, and a pivotal role in the latest Joel Schumacher flick, "Twelve," in which he shares the screen with Chace Crawford, Curtis Jackson, Emma Roberts, and Rory Culkin. In the film, he plays Claude, an Upper Eastsider whose charmed world crumbles in a world of drugs and violence. Though probably best known for his role as Casey Hughes on the CBS soap "As the World Turns," the actor has also appeared on Broadway opposite Rosie Perez in "The Ritz." Back Stage recently chatted with Magnussen about his role in the film, his love of theater and New York, and what it's like to intimidate 100 innocent background players.
FILM
Worth her Salt
Jennifer Salt has the distinction of breaking into and succeeding in the competitive world of the entertainment industry twice. Her first go-round was as an actor, appearing in such classic films as "Midnight Cowboy" and starring as spoiled Eunice Tate on "Soap." But Salt says she eventually "lost the love" for acting and turned to writing, where she found even greater success. After seven seasons as a writer and producer on Ryan Murphy's "Nip/Tuck," Salt now finds her first produced screenplay hitting theaters Aug. 13. Co-written with Murphy, "Eat Pray Love" is an adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling memoir about leaving her comfortable marriage and journeying to three countries _ Italy, India, and Bali _ to find herself. Salt, her own life marked with opportunities and coincidences, seemed destined to write the film.
FILM
The natural
By his own account, Luke Wilson should never have become an actor. Growing up in Dallas, he wasn't active in drama; he did one play in high school, and the writer-director yelled at him for not taking things seriously. He was "forced" into his breakthrough role in the short film "Bottle Rocket" by its writers: his brother Owen and director Wes Anderson. And he has never, ever had a headshot. Wilson explains in his signature laid-back Southern drawl, "I was told many times, 'You need one, go get one!' And I could never bring myself to do it. I'd go into auditions, and I'd see a stack of a thousand of them, and I would tell myself, 'I may not get this job, but I know I'm not going to be in that stack.' "
FILM
How stars' political causes can go wrong
LONDON _ Are fools rushing in where even Henry Kissinger would fear to tread? As if Fugees' frontman Wyclef Jean's decision to run for the Haitian presidency were not mind-boggling enough, Lindsay Lohan's recent decision to weigh in on the stoning of an Iranian housewife was a staggering departure from her usual form. But if celebrities seem to be stepping up a gear when it comes to picking a political cause, such involvement should come with a warning. As Naomi Campbell's bruising experience at a war crimes trial in the Hague shows only too clearly, when showbiz waltzes into international politics, things can go terribly wrong.
FILM
Q&A: Nick Cannon
Don't call him Mr. Mariah. Nick Cannon is one of the busiest men in Hollywood. He just extended his term as chairman of the teens-only TeenNick network through January 2012. He hosts summer's No. 1 show, NBC's "America's Got Talent," as well as his New York-based CBS Radio show, "Rollin' With Nick Cannon." And in his spare time, he produces and manages the pop group School Gyrls, continues to produce his own music and travels on a U.S. comedy tour.
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