Glee Graduating 6/27/11

Lady Gaga is being sued by 1-800-LAW-FIRM because of her Japanese earthquake relief bracelets saying she took home some of the proceeds. An attorney for the law firm said "I'm suing Lady Gaga simply to hold her accountable for giving the money that she was raising for charity to the cause that she was trying to raise it for." Gaga reportedly exaggerated costs and kept more than her initial investment. The law firm has filed a class action lawsuit and is requesting that anyone who bought a bracelet join. Each bracelet cost about 10$, 60 cents of which were taxes and 3.99$ for shipping and handling fees.

Miley Cyrus was grabbed on stage by a fan at a concert last week. She was unharmed but pretty shaken up. The girl apparently jumped from a balcony over the stage and ran up behind Miley just as she was finishing her song. Security was right behind to drag the girl away, but she clung to Miley's arm. She quickly shook the girl off as security came back to help Miley off stage. She seemed very surprised and muttered "Oh my God!" into the microphone. You can see her performance and the surprise attack here.

Prince is fed up with piracy. He is refusing to record any new music until piracy is better controlled. I wouldn't expect new music anytime soon given the current state of things. (Beyonce did just have her entire album leaked.)

Adele has rescheduled her North American tour. She will hit the road in August then take a month off, probably to rest her voice again, and then continue in October. In the meantime, she has been advised by her doctors to not smoke, sing or speak for a month.

Rihanna is being sued again for her 'S&M' video, this time by photographer Phillip Paulus. He has claimed copyright infringement. A series of his photos called "paperworld" feature a woman stuck on a wall under a sheet of plastic with black x's on it, much like Rihanna in her newspaper dress.

Some shocking news about Glee has been released: the glee club is graduating! Season 4 will have a whole new cast of students. Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison will return however. Also, There may be a spin-off in the works following one or more of the graduates, there hasn't been an official report yet though. Season 3 will return in September with the cast you know and love, but will be saying goodbye in 2012.

Something happening in the music industry you want me to address? Comment or Tweet me @mymusicalnotes

Katy Perry raids 20 years of pop culture for "T.G.I.F." 6/13/11

Katy Perry's music video for "Last Friday Night" was released over the weekend and Katy isn't the only pop icon. It was announced last week that Rebecca Black would star in the video, but she wasn't alone. The vid begins with Katy's alter ego Kathy Beth Terry waking up and having no idea what happened the night before when Glee's Darren Criss comes running in to thank her for the party. As the video goes on we see Kevin McHale, Kenny G, Hanson, Corey Feldman, and Debbie Gibson as Tiffany Terry. It was definitely entertaining and worth all eight minutes.

Beyonce's entire album "4" leaked three weeks ahead of schedule popping up all over the internet. Although her team has been desperately working to take the songs down, B isn't taking the angry approach saying: "My music was leaked and while this is not how I wanted to present my new songs, I appreciate the positive response from my fans. When I record music I always think about my fans singing every note and dancing to every beat. I make music to make people happy and I appreciate that everyone has been so anxious to hear my new songs." B's new album is still scheduled to drop June 28th.

Glee star Chris Colfer has signed a book deal. He's never written a novel before, but has been writing scripts lately. His first book is expected to be released sometime around next summer and to be titled "The Land of Stories". He says the story has been at the core of his imagination for nearly 10 years and he's very excited to share it.

Selena Gomez was taken to the hospital Thursday night after taping an episode of The Tonight show with Jay Leno. She said she had a bad headache and felt nauseous. Naturally, the pregnancy rumors have spread like wildfire, but reps so them coming and are quick to shoot them down. Selena was seen returning to the hospital Saturday afternoon when she reportedly underwent blood pressure tests. She has rescheduled the canceled events to begin today. Let's hope she's feeling better.

Coldplay, who have had many plagiarism accusations in the past, have been accused yet again, for plagiarizing their new single "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall". Similarities between it and Mystic's "Ritmo de la Noche" which is a newer version of Allen and Anderson's "I Go to Rio", popped up within hours of it's release. Apparently the song was inspired while watching the move "Biutiful" which has a nightclub scene with "Ritmo de la Noche" playing in the background. A spokesperson for the band says Allen and Anderson are credited as writers of "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall". Sounds like they may be off the hook this time.

Justin Timberlake leaves fans upset by saying he can't see himself ever recording another album. He has recently been focusing his career on the business side of music as well as acting, which he is fantastic at. And he's not the only one, Nicki Minaj wants to do some acting as well. She actually went to acting school and is planning to focus on acting when Britney's Femme Fatale tour ends. She says she would love to work with Will Smith and have a serious acting career. Good luck to them both.

Also, I hear Lady Gaga has hired a director for "The Edge of Glory" music video. She has chosen Joseph Kahn. We should be hearing more about the new video very soon.

Talented Women Hiding in the Auto-tuned Closet.

A lot of things have been known to annoy me, but one thing I just can't stand is when talented women block their talent. For example, the darling Selena Gomez released her single "Bang Bang Bang" this week and I'm sorry to say it doesn't even sound like her. It's been so auto-tuned and edited that you can barely understand the words, not to mention the music is so electronic it drowns everything else out. Now I love Selena, I really do, and I've never been a big fan of her music, but this is a little too much. It got me thinking about all the truly talented women that don't utilize their full talents.

Ke$ha does it. She was in choir in high school, she was talented, now all her voice tracks are put through a machine. Lady Gaga is truly talented, but she edits her songs in such a way and uses her music videos to draw attention to herself instead of her music. And it's not just auto tune. Fabulous, powerful, talented women like Beyonce take their clothes off and prance around when it's not even necessary.

Shakira is a very talented and well respected singer, but is seen pole dancing in music videos. Fergie is beautiful and talented but her outfits take the attention away from her music.

Possibly the one that makes me saddest is Rihanna. When things like her recent conflict with the Parents Television Council come up, it's hard to take either side. She made an important song "Man Down" and a video to match it, but had it banned, but her videos for things like "S&M", "Rockstar 101" and "Rude Boy" aren't challenged.

These are all gimmicks of pop machines created by record companies for temporary milking, but they are being used by strong, talented young women. What's worse then these women denying themselves of true talent is that they are teaching young girls that no matter how powerful, talented or beautiful you are, distracting gimmicks are the only way to be popular and successful.

I feel like it's almost disrespectful to appreciate the things these women do. It's like saying "You're only good when you're shaking something and singing through a machine." My goal has always been to put a positive spin on things, but sometimes things are important. My positive spin is hoping that this message will reach enough people and teach them to appreciate what's good instead of flashy, and that these women will get the respect they deserve.

Lady Gaga banned from Lebanon 6/7/11

It was a GaGa heavy news week (isn't it always?) and most of it was less than wonderful news. Here's what's going on:

May 23rd Lady Gaga released her second album "Born This Way" and sold over 1 million copies in the first week, which is good; but Amazon has reportedly lost around 3 million U.S dollars. They paying about nine dollars for licensing and selling digital copies for only 99 cents! Lady Gaga however says she applauds them for recognizing the value of a digital copy versus a physical copy. But that's not all; the new album that had already been banned from Malaysia for "promoting homosexuality" has now been banned from Lebanon. The General Secretary Department banned the sale of digital and physical copies saying it's "offensive to Christianity" and officials have impounded thousands of copies.

To top it all off, rap duo Bad Meets Evil (Eminem and Royce Da 5'9) is back and their new song "A Kiss" calls out some popular artists including Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber. Saying "Tell Lady Gaga she can quit her job at the post office/ she's still a mail lady" in typical Eminem fashion. Is this line funny or mean?

Congratulations to Carey Hart and Pink who welcomed baby girl Willow Sage Hart on June 2nd. Pink tweeted that she was "Beautiful, healthy and happy" and "gorgeous just like her daddy".

Adele, who recently canceled five dates on her North American tour due to laryngitis, has now announced that a weeks rest did not help and she has canceled the whole thing. The singer says she is "really frustrated" and there is nothing she can do but "take the doctors advice and rest some more". She is however planning to reschedule the entire tour later this year when she is healed. Let's hope she has a speedy recovery.

Glee's Naya Rivera got a record deal with Columbia making her the 3rd Glee star to sign with a record label, but they've signed with different labels. Matthew Morrison signed with Mercury Records and Mark Salling with independent label Pipe Dream Records. This makes me wonder if at some point there will be limits on them performing together. Let's hope not.

At the MTV movie awards host Jason Sudeikis brought attention to Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber's relationship telling Selena to be careful and adding "she already swallowed like 3 of his baby teeth, I don't want you to choke". Selena laughed and blushed and covered her face. The small joke that seemed to pass instantly for Sel triggered an emotional response from twitter fans of Justin. Most of them tweeting with the hashtag #PoorSelena. She didn't seem to poor while she was laughing and enjoying the show.

Speaking of Selena's oh-so-famous boyfriend, Justin Bieber showed up at the MTV movie awards sporting some new jewelry-- Black stud earrings in both ears. Awesome or awkward?

Joe Jonas released his first solo single "See No More" Friday. The responses have been very mixed between fans who love it and shocked fans who aren't so sure yet. It's definitely a big step away from his previous Jonas Brothers music. He collaborated on this song with Chris Brown. He's going for more of a dance beat focusing on the music. You can listen to the song here.

A rough cut of Justin Bieber and Chris Brown's video for "Next 2 U" was leaked today and it seems to be following the trends of all other music videos recently. It's long and it has a post apocalyptic aspect. It's about 8 minutes and keep in mind that it's a rough cut, but you can check out the leak here.

That's what's happening this week.

Hear something you want me to cover? Comment or Tweet me @mymusicalnotes

9-16-92

Today is a very special day. Some of you may not know why. I mean, it's just another day right? Not to me. For seven years, this day has meant more to me than other days. Here's why.

On this day (September 16th) eighteen years ago, a boy was born in Texas. He was just like any other child. His mother and father named him Nicholas. He had two older brothers to look after him, and a family that loved him. His father was a preacher and musician, so Nicholas was raised in good faith and music. By the time he was two, Nicholas was standing on a table outside his apartment and singing his heart out. Maybe he was born to be a performer. Music was just part of him.

In 2000, Nicholas was on Broadway. He was performing in show after show and he loved it. In 2003 he was in "Les Miserables" as Gavroche, and he said he would be back one day to play Marius. He started a singing career and formed a very successful band with his brothers. It seemed that everything was perfect, but it wasn't. Nicholas started to get very sick. He was losing weight, drinking way to much water, and he was really irritable. His parents took him to the doctor to find out what was wrong with him.

Nick Jonas was diagnosed with Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes in November of 2005. He was 13 years old. He was scared; he wondered if he would die. He was kept in the hospital for a few days to make sure he was okay and so he could learn how to manage his blood sugar. The day he got out of the hospital, he played a show. That night he decided he wasn't going to let this disease slow him down.

Since being diagnosed, Nick has had multiple platinum albums and tours with his brothers, a solo project resulting in an album and his own tour, several movies, a T.V. show, and was Marius in the 2010 production of "Les Miserables" in London. He started a charity with his brothers and teamed up with Bayer to help kids. He hasn't let diabetes slow him down, and more importantly, he's encouraged kids all over the world to live their dreams. He has inspired more people than he knows. Earlier this month, Nick met a girl with Cerebral Palsy who underwent physical therapy to learn to walk. Her motivation for walking was simply to hug Nick. She wanted to be able to walk up to her hero.

I love this day because 18 years ago, a hero was born. An extremely talented, sweet boy who has changed millions of lives. I'm proud to call myself a fan of his. I'm proud to say I've been to 3 Jonas Brothers concerts and 1 Nick Jonas and the Administration show. I'm not gonna lie, I probably have 100 posters of him from those teen magazines, and a really old poster from "It's About Time" over my piano along with a very recent poster from Camp Rock 2. When things get frustrating or difficult, I think about everything Nick has overcome, and I push on.

What I really want to say is, Happy birthday Nick. You are truly amazing, and I'm so proud of you. Keep changing lives and making music. I love you.

-MMN

VMA's 2010 a.k.a. The year NOTHING happened.

So, as everyone knows, the MTV Video Music Awards were last night, and they were a little disappointing. There were no scandals, no fights. It was really quite boring. It was like a regular award show.

The show opened with Eminem and Rihanna singing "Love the Way You Lie", and ending their performance by giving each other a big hug. Eminem then had to leave because he has a performance in New York today. He won several awards, but wasn't there to accept them.

Justin Bieber pulled up and was chased to the stage by a pack of teenage girls. (Big Surprise) He performed "Baby" and "Somebody to Love". He attempted to play the drums and dropped his drum stick. A popular youtube web show "What The Buck" had a message for Justin: "Step away from the drums! You sir are no Nick Jonas." A statement I couldn't help but agree with. (You can watch his recap HERE) Justin won the "Best new artist" award and was all ready to accept it, but seemed to have some trouble finding the stage. He walked around for a minute looking all around him for the stairs, but he did finally make it up to accept his moon man.

New developments in the never ending Taylor Swift/Kanye West war have fans of Taylor out raged. Both stars had very different performances last night, starting with Taylor. Her performance went as well as can be expected. It was a slower ballad of a song off her new CD. The song "Still an Innocent" was very possibly directed at Kanye as a "forgiveness song" with lines like "Who you are is not what you did, you're still an innocent". Then Kanye took the stage suggesting we have "Toast to the scumbags". His song that was so NOT was Taylor was singing about started a whole new round of insults to Kanye. Will this constant battle ever end?

The big award of the night "Video of the Year" went to a rather interestingly dressed Lady GaGa. She was wearing a dress that looked to be made of meat, with a matching purse and hat. In the moments before the winner was announced, GaGa was looking ill and I was worried about her heart. When Cher (in a stranger outfit then GaGa's) announced that "Bad Romance" had won, GaGa took the stage with her head held high. She took her moon man and handed Cher her purse, starting her speech with "I never thought I would be asking Cher to hold my meat purse." She was crying and explaining that she was so scared she would let her fans down and she was so proud to have all her little monsters. Through all her tears of joy (and possibly fear) she managed to keep her promise to announce the title of her new album "Born This Way" and sing a very strong a capella performance of the title track. She proudly sang "I'm beautiful in my way, cuz God makes no mistakes. I'm on the right track, baby I was born this way."

On a more interesting note, Lady GaGa's dates (there were 4 of them!) were all lovely people affected by the Don't Ask, Don't Tell ruling in Cali. GaGa walked the carpet with David Hall, (former Air Force Sgt.) Mike Almy, (former Air Force Major) Stacy Vasquez, (former Army Sgt. First Class) and Katie Miller (former West Point cadet) around her.

In these few short paragraphs I have covered everything even close to a scandal. Congratulations Chelsea, you tamed the wild award show. Congratulations to all the winners.
My favorite part of the night was when GaGa sang "Born This Way". What was yours?

I'm out. <3 -MMN

I just love new artists...

So people, you may remember a post I did a while back about undiscovered talent. Well I am very happy to tell you guys that one of the people in that post (Jasontyler!!) has some new songs up on his myspace that are fantastic. Jason is in college for now but hoping to go out on tour to share his music with everyone. So, go listen to it, comment him and tell him what you think, and help promote him by passing it along to your friends.

(You can listen to his songs HERE and tweet him HERE)

I'm out guys. Peace and love. -MMN