The National Football League has announced some of the artists who will take part in its 40th anniversary Super Bowl festivities. The pregame show at Detroit's Ford Field will feature Michigan native Stevie Wonder. More artists will be announced at a later date. And, the Rolling Stones have been tapped to headline the Super Bowl XL halftime show. The championship football game will take place on February 5, 2006.
On December 13, RCA Records will release the debut album by this year's American Idol runner-up Bo Bice. The Real Thing includes songs written by Nickelback's Chad Kroeger and Bon Jovi's Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. Guests include Richie Sambora and Carlos Santana. In other news, Bo Bice appeared on the Holiday Custom Concert Special - featuring Bo Bice and Special Guests, which aired December 11 on the Oxygen Network. And, CMT will broadcast the one-hour special In The Moment With Bo Bice on January 13, 2006.
Garth Brooks chose to sell his new Limited Series box set only at Wal-Mart stores, and because of that exclusivity agreement, the collection will never appear on the Billboard charts and official sales numbers will not be reported to Nielsen SoundScan. Wal-Mart, however, recently announced that the four-CD collection has sold more than one million copies since its release on November 23. In 2000, the Recording Industry Association of America reported that Garth became the highest-certified solo artist in U.S. music history with 100 million albums sold since 1989.
Duran Duran, Gladys Knight, Yo-Yo Ma, Westlife and Latin singer Juanes are among the artists who appeared at the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize Concert this week. The show took place on December 11 in Oslo, Norway.
NEW ALBUM RELEASES:
New albums scheduled for release on December 13 include: Collectables by Ashanti and Exodus by Ja Rule on Def Jam Records; Guerolito by Beck on Interscope Records; Unpredictable by Jamie Foxx on J Records; Ghetto Classics by Jaheim on Warner Brothers Records; The People vs. by Trick Trick on Universal Motown Records; Introducing by Tyra on Universal Records; and Greatest Hits by Cypress Hill on Columbia Records.
MUSICAL EVENTS/FESTIVALS/BENEFITS:
On December 12, Country music stars will open their tour buses to the public to raise money for the Christmas for Kids organization in Nashville. More than 50 buses will be parked at the Wal-Mart store in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where many Country stars will also appear to sign autographs. The following day, 300 underprivileged children will be taken to a local church, where they'll be given a meal provided by Garth Brooks. Then, the kids will head to Wal-Mart to pick out Christmas gifts. Their spending money was raised last month at the ninth annual Christmas for Kids benefit concert at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. The event featured the Charlie Daniels Band, Lonestar, Phil Vassar, Trace Adkins, and others.
