Music Awards

Drake Leaks First Song From Take Care 'Dreams Money Can Buy' is reportedly intro track to rapper's forthcoming sophomore album.

2011-05-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

Young Money's Drake set the hip-hop world afire Friday (May 20) morning when he officially leaked "Dreams Money Can Buy" from his forthcoming sophomore album, Take Care. The song was made available via a post on Drizzy's October's Very Own blog and quickly began making the file-sharing rounds.
Besides an MP3 download link, the post contained this message: "A song that I felt the need to share. Not my single. Just a piece of my story. Hear me out though..." Reportedly, "Dreams Money Can Buy" is Take Care's intro track. Drake's blog post was accompanied by an image with text that reads, "This is a story of dreams mixed with reality."
True to its title, the song is filled with quotables clearly taken from the pages of Drake's charmed rap life. In the first verse he muses on juggling different women and on how his success (Thank Me Later has been certified platinum) hasn't necessarily made his life any less stressful. "And comfortable I sit, in manual Ferrari Italian, some fly sh--/ But it's sitting at the house like I bought it in '96, 'cause honestly I'm too busy to drive stick," he raps.
In the second verse Drake addresses rival MCs and past rumors that he was on the outs with Lil Wayne and the YMCMB crew. "Can't tell ya how much I love when n---as think they got it/ And I love the fact that line made them think about it," Drake slickly spits at the beginning of the verse, followed by, "I am CMB, these n---as make it so hard to be friendly when I know part of it's envy."
Rap conspiracy theorists are going to have a field day speculating on whom Drake is possibly referring to with a "top five" line in the same verse. "I feel like lately it went from top five to remaining five, my favorite rappers either lost it or they ain't alive/ And they trying to bring us down, me Weezy and Stunna, we stayed up, Christmas lights in the middle of summer." One rapper Drake himself claims he is not referring to is Jay-Z. "Hov diss? Hov of all people has not lost it ... that's god body flow," Drake tweeted.
Drake's longtime collaborator Noah "40" Shebib produced the song's hauntingly ambient track, which features a prominent sample of British singer/songwriter Jai Paul's "BTSTU." A vocal swipe of "Don't f--- with me, don't f--- with me" from Paul's song is used as the hook for Drake's record.
The "Best I Ever Had" rapper had fallen back on recording after dropping his debut, Thank Me Later. But with talk of collaborating with the Weeknd, guesting on DJ Khaled's "I'm on One" with Lil Wayne and Rick Ross — essentially a Drake record — and now "Dreams Money Can Buy," the Toronto rapper's brief sabbatical is officially over.
What do you think of Drake's newest track? We want to hear from you in the comments!

UPCOMING DATES

2011-05-21T21:10:00.000-07:00

OUT NOW - Awesome As Fuck live album plus bonus DVD. Order: here
Dec. 28 - Jan. 15 -American Idiot at Toronto, ON @ Toronto Centre for the Arts
Jan. 17 - Jan. 22 - American Idiot at Detroit, MI @ Opera House
Jan. 24 - Jan. 29 - American Idiot at Boston, MA @ Opera House
Jan. 31 - Feb. 5 - American Idiot at Raleigh, NC @ Memorial Auditorium
Feb. 21 - Feb. 26 - American Idiot at Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre
Feb. 28 - Feb. 29 - American Idiot at State College, PA @ Eisenhower Auditorium
Mar. 2 - Mar. 4 - American Idiot at St. Louis, MO @ Peabody Opera House
Mar. 13 - Apr. 22 - American Idiot at Los Angeles, CA @ Ahmanson Theatre
Apr. 24 - Apr. 29 - American Idiot at Tempe, AZ @ ASU Gammage
May. 8 - May. 20 - American Idiot at Dallas, TX @ AT&T PAC
May. 29 - Jun. 3 - American Idiot at Costa Mesa, CA @ Segerstrom Center
Jun. 5 - Jun. 10 -American Idiot at Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
June 12- July 8 - American Idiot at San Francisco @ Orpheum Theatre

ORONTO STAR

Pint-sized buskers hit the streets with Green Day cover band
The music of rock band Green Day burst through the Sunday afternoon quiet on Queen St. W.
Strollers stopped, listened and then threw cash into the open guitar case on the sidewalk in front of 10-singer Finn Shimizu, 10, and guitarist Eric Placenis, 11.
Finn, Eric and drummer Jonny Alikakos, 10 (who was elsewhere that day), comprise Warning, a Green Day cover band. It was Mother’s Day and the boys brought in $200 — and a talent agent gave her card to one of the boys’arents.
These boys, who live in the High Park area, may be the youngest buskers in Toronto. They are part of a wave of kids using social media and personal appearances to get their music out there. After all, it worked for Justin Bieber, who busked the streets of Stratford before he was discovered on YouTube.
Finn’s father, Doug Shimizu, a photographer and Elvis impersonator, says he was 16 before he got a basement band together. He says his son’s skills far surpass what he could do when he was much older.
For a Grade 4 student, the boy has a confidence at the microphone that is amazing, says his father. “Things are freer now and they’re not afraid of adults.”
The group has several videos on Youtube and you can follow their adventures by following “guitarboys47” on Eric’s Twitter feed.
The band has a repertoire of 20 songs and has had four paying gigs at bars and restaurants — engagements they got while busking. The most they’ve ever made in one day is $300. But there are also the lean times on dead streets when they pack it in after making only $7.
Jonny, who joined the group last September and cites Rush’s Neil Peart and Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham as his drumming idols, got his drum set for Christmas, 2009. He had lost interest in both the piano and guitar, and his parents insisted he take lessons and show a commitment to drumming before he got his own set. Initially self-taught, all of the boys now take lessons.
That same Christmas, Eric got his first guitar and his dad taught him to play Stairway to Heaven. His dad learned it from YouTube and taught it to Eric.
Warning is currently focusing on perfecting the songs of Finn’s favourite band. The only heated discussion among the group has been picking the name, Warning. Many Green Day song titles were considered too risqué for kids of their age and the lyrics have all been modified, said Jonny’s mother Heather Alikakos.
The parents are totally onside.
“It’s an outlet for Jonny. It’s to be fun and it would be a bonus for him to continue in music and flourish,” says Heather Alikakos, a homemaker. “When they busk, the parents are always there.”
When they play in a bar — such as the Black Swan on Danforth Ave. — they are the opening act and go home at 9 p.m., she says.
Busking last year enabled Eric to contribute $900 toward his new $2,000 Gibson Les Paul guitar, his pride and joy.
It was Eric’s mother, lawyer Laura Craig, who came up with the idea of the boys showing off their talents on the street. She thought performing would give them confidence.
“People honk their horns, give them the thumbs up and tell them that they rock. They always get lots of smiles and people pause to listen,” says Craig.
“Once a person jumped off and back onto a streetcar to give them coins. On more than one occasion, people stopped at a red light have gotten out of their cars to give them tips.”
For the members of Warning, busking is a great experience.
“In the beginning, I didn’t want people to see me but after about three times, I didn’t mind. I feel good now,” says Finn. “It makes people happy and I make a bit of money.”
“I want to be a professional drummer,” says Jonny.
“I just like playing guitar,” says Eric.
[Full article at Toronto Star]

Kylie Minogue Is A Greek Goddess At The Hollywood Bowl (PHOTOS)

2011-05-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

Posted on May 21, 11 | Leave a Comment

Kylie Minogue's Aphrodite-Les Folies tour stop at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday night played like an over-the-top Vegas spectacular in all the right ways. Ms. Minogue entered in full goddess garb, following it with a variety of sparkling Dolce & Gabbana-designed costumes so sensational we swear it was the most fashionable concert we've ever seen. The Aussie pop legend also rode a golden Pegasus and a chariot pulled by her Adonis-like male dancers, performed a sultry jazz version of "Slow", and closed her phenomenal Ziegfield Follies-inspired live show with her single "All The Lovers", with glitter flying through the air and onto her cheering audience.

Put your hands up for Kylie in our photo gallery, and check out more photos at Celebuzz. [Photos by Kayla Merrill]

Lady Gaga Opens Up To E! News

2011-05-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight little monsters everywhere will be gathered around their TV sets with paws up for HBO’s Monster Ball Tour concert special, but for those of us getting antsy for some quality face-time with everybody’s favorite lipstick gun-toter, E! News has the remedy. Gaga got confessional with E!’s Giuliana Rancic about her controversial “Judas” video, amongst other things. The Oprah serenader spills: “In a lot of ways, I’m really delusional about my success,” before explaining what her over the top Born This Way cover art means to her metaphorically. Check out what else the bilingual “Americano” had to confess in this enlightening interview below.

Lady Gaga To Mentor On 'American Idol'

2011-05-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

Singer wraps up her record-setting Monster Ball this week and continues Born This Way blitz.

After having Haley Reinhart perform her as-yet-unreleased Born This Way tune "You and I" on "American Idol" this week, Lady Gaga will return the favor next Wednesday, when she drops in to serve as the latest superstar guest mentor on the show.
Like previous star advice givers will.i.am and Sheryl Crow, Gaga happens to be in lead mentor Jimmy Iovine's Interscope Geffen A&M artist stable. The singer, whose album is out on May 23, will be dropping in on the highest-rated program on TV as the buzz is peaking on her just-released video for the song "Judas," which premiered on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Gaga will add yet another accolade to her many high-water marks when she wraps her nearly two-year Monster Ball tour in Mexico City on Friday night (May 6). According to Billboard magazine, once the final monster claw has been tossed in the air in Mexico City, Gaga will have put the lid on the biggest ever tour by a debut headlining artist. Since launching in November 2009, the tour's 200 shows have grossed $227.4 million while playing to 2.5 million people.
Depending on how other major tours do this year, Monster Ball could end up being one of the highest-grossing tours of all time, according to the magazine.
"We're humbled by the tremendous success of the Monster Ball tour," Lady Gaga manager Troy Carter said. "The reasonably priced tickets, coupled with a great live experience, led it to being a must-see event."

Matthew Morrison Lets Sting Be His Co-Pilot On “Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot”

2011-05-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

Mr. Schuester is at it again! In his bid to make pretty much everyone in the world hot for teacher, Glee’s tuneful educator has paired up with yet another rock legend following his collaboration with Elton John — this time, none other than Sting. The track is “Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot,” one of Sting’s own (from his 1996 album Mercury Falling), and now appears on the onetime Boys R Us singer’s sun-drenched self-titled debut LP, due this Tuesday. Give the duet a listen below.

Sting’s vocal assist is entirely welcome, but “Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot” won’t likely get hearts racing any faster than they did for “Summer Rain” or “Still Got Tonight.” This one fits right in with the easy-listening, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” vibe of other tracks we’ve heard, all but confirming that this album is aimed more at the moms who watch Glee than their children.
Remind us again why it wasn’t released in time for Mother’s Day this weekend?