British rock group Coldplay enters this week's Billboard 200 chart at
Number One with its latest release, Viva La Vida or Death and All His
Friends. The album sold 721,000 copies in its first week. Billboard
reports that this marks the first time since March 2005 that two albums
have sold more than 700,000 copies in consecutive weeks. Last week,
rapper Lil Wayne became the first artist in more than three years to
sell more than one million copies in the opening week.
On June
19, Britney Spears and her ex-husband Kevin Federline were in court for
another child custody hearing. The judge ruled in Britney's favor to
expand visitation with her two young sons. She's now allowed to have one
monitored overnight each week with her children. Federline was given
full custody of two-year-old Preston and one-year-old Jayden in
January. Following the hearing, Kevin's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan,
said, "Kevin has always been willing to jointly parent these children.
He felt confident that the conditions satisfied his concerns."
Two American Idol finalists are in the news. Season 2 winner Ruben
Studdard applied for a marriage license in Columbiana, Alabama on June
23. His representative confirmed that he plans to wed Surata Zuri
McCants on June 28. And, season 6 "American Idol" runner-up Blake
Lewis has lost his recording deal with Arista Records. His debut
album, "Audio Day Dream," sold 300,000 copies. Lewis claims Arista
didn't promote the album properly. The label said, "We wish him the
best of luck in his future endeavors."
47-year-old British
singer Boy George planned to begin a 24-date North American tour on
July 11. The State Department has turned down his visa request,
however, because he's scheduled to stand trial in London later this
year. The charges stem from his arrest in April 2006. A male escort
from Norway accused him of false imprisonment and assault.
The
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation has announced the 15
nominees being considered for induction later this year. The 10
nominees in the Songwriter category include Matraca Berg, Paul Craft,
Kye Fleming, Larry Henley, John Jarrard, Bob Morrison, Mark D. Sanders,
Tom Shapiro, John Scott Sherrill and Sharon Vaughn. Five additional
nominees appear in the Songwriter/Artist category. They are Paul
Davis, Larry Gatlin, John Hiatt, Johnny Horton and Tony Joe White. The
2008 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take
place in Nashville on October 26.
NEW ALBUM RELEASES
New
albums scheduled for release on July 1 include: "Where The Light Is:
John Mayer Live in Los Angeles" by John Mayer, "Forgiven" by Los Lonely
Boys, "Identified" by Vanessa Hudgens, "Hole In The Sun" by Night
Ranger and "Girlicious" by Girlicious.
MUSICAL EVENTS/FESTIVALS/BENEFITS
The
2008 Essence Music Festival will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana
July 4-6. The 14th annual event will feature performances by Kanye
West, Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown, Jill Scott, Irma Thomas, Angie Stone,
Ledisi, Rihanna, and many others.
AWARDS PRESENTATIONS/WINNERS
Alicia
Keys and Chris Brown won the Best Female R&B Artist and Best Male
R&B Artist honors at the 2008 BET Awards, which were handed out on
June 24 in Los Angeles. Other winners in the music categories included
UGK for Best Group, Marvin Sapp for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, The
Dream for Best New Artist and Kanye West for Best Male Hip-Hop Artist
and Best Collaboration for "Good Life," an award he shared with
T-Pain. During the ceremony, Quincy Jones received this year's BET
Humanitarian Award and soul legend Al Green was given the Lifetime
Achievement Award.
TOUR DATES AND INFORMATION
On July 1,
the "American Idols Live" tour will begin in Glendale, Arizona. The
50-date trek will feature this year's Top 10 finalists Michael Johns,
Kristy Lee Cook, Jason Castro, Syesha Mercado, Brooke White, Carly
Smithson, Chikezie Eze, David Archuleta, Ramiele Malubay and winner
David Cook. Concerts will wrap up in Tulsa, Oklahoma on September 13.
Pop/rock
singer John Mayer finishes his European tour on June 29. Two days
later, he'll begin the North American leg. The first stop is at
Milwaukee, Wisconsin's July 2 "Summerfest." Thirty more concerts are
scheduled through August 31.
After wrapping up European shows
with Avril Lavigne on June 28, the Jonas Brothers will return to the
U.S. to kick off their headlining North American "Burning Up" tour.
Dates begin on July 4 in Toronto. The Jonas Brothers' third album, A
Little Bit Longer, is due out on August 12.
