Jordin Sparks
Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Jordin Sparks doesn't have a name for her debut album yet, but she's got a release date set in stone: November 20. In anticipation of the 19 Recordings/ Jive disc, the "American Idol" champ drew back the curtains on her first single on Friday (August 24), debuting "Tattoo" on AOL's Pop Eater blog. The track hits radio Monday. Sparks told The Associated Press that the effort was partly modeled after one of her own idols, Kelly Clarkson - but that she's a bit nervous to be following in the wake of Clarkson and Carrie Underwood's success. "They've risen the bar so high and I'm like, 'I hope I can reach it,' " she said. "Hopefully [my LP will] sell well and people will like it."...
The runner-up to Sparks, Blake Lewis, is following suit - he just signed to 19 Recordings/ Arista and is planning to drop his first album late this year as well. Hit-maker du jour J.R. Rotem is already on board for the effort...
It's no McDonald's parking-lot tour, but Missy Elliott will be featured in a new Doritos ad campaign debuting September 17, Billboard.com reports. In the clip, she is seen working on a new song and snacking on Doritos Collision, different-flavored chips that spur her to fuse a little country into her hip-hop track. A contest to be held on SnackStrongProductions.com will allow visitors to create their own mash-ups using Elliott's track, although the prizes have yet to be determined. The site also features a help section in which Elliott will give tips...
Listen up, punk-rockers: Unreleased and rare tracks by Panic! at the Disco, Gym Class Heroes, the Used, Cute Is What We Aim For, Sparta, Head Automatica and more fill up Press Play: Volume 1, a new comp that was put together by Photo Finish and Alternative Press. A portion of the proceeds from the September 25 release will go to the Keep a Breast Foundation, a nonprofit organization that fights breast cancer...
Music, martial arts and chess ... how could members of the Wu-Tang Clan not be involved? RZA and GZA are participating in the Hip-Hop Chess Foundation's first-ever Chess Kings Invitational, set for October 13 at the San Francisco Design Center. The rappers will talk on the tournament's Life Strategies panel about how music, martial arts and chess - activities the organization uses to promote nonviolence — have affected their lives...
A writer/producer who worked on "In Living Color" and created Nickelodeon's "Roundhouse" is suing the Walt Disney Company, claiming it stole his idea for "Hannah Montana," Reuters reports. In the suit, Morris Taylor "Buddy" Sheffield says he pitched Disney Channel executives the idea for a kids' show about a high school student who leads a secret life as a pop star. Sheffield also claims Disney could owe him and his production company millions in lost profits and damages, and he wants compensation for legal fees. A Disney Channel spokesperson told the news service the network had no comment...
Kirsten Dunst's penthouse suite at a hotel in Manhattan, New York, was robbed earlier this month, according to court records obtained by AP. Thieves got away with a $13,000 handbag, cell phone, $2,500 in cash, an iPod, two digital cameras and ID cards belonging to the actress, who had been in the city to shoot scenes for her upcoming flick "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People." One suspect was arraigned Wednesday on burglary and grand-larceny charges, and is being held on $50,000 bond...
Ted Nugent is at it again. The controversial right-wing rocker went on a profanity-spewed tirade at a concert last week, according to video footage posted on LiveLeak.com. With machine guns in his hands, a camouflaged Nugent yelled, "Obama, he's a piece of sh--, and I told him to suck on my machine gun. ... And then I was in New York. I said, 'Hey Hillary, you might want to ride one of these into the sunset.' " He also went off on Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer before saying, "Any questions?" and shouting, "Freedom!"
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