Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Blues singer dies

Marvin Sease  who performed on what was known as the Chitlin’ circuit , has died, reportedly of pneumonia. He was 64. He started out in another form of music.
Here are some of his contemporaries & as the best blues singers.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Lady Gaga to release single early

Lady Gaga to release single early
Lady Gaga is slated to perform at the 2011 Grammy awards.
Pop star Lady Gaga has announced that her new single "Born This Way" will be released earlier than its original drop date.
"Can't wait any longer, single coming Friday," the 24-year-old wrote on her Twitter feed Monday.

Lady Gaga  revealed on Twitter that she plans to release her newest single, "Born This Way," on Friday .  She had originally planned to release it at an awards show on Sunday.

Lady Gaga Romance Rumor

It can't be easy dating Lady Gaga: When you're not picking glitter off everything you own, or trying to get the scent of bodily fluids off your clothes, you're staring at the meat in the fridge, wondering if it's dinner or designer wear. So color us unsurprised that Life & Style claims the popster's back-on romance with longtime love Luc
Carl has hit a speed bump. "Gaga and Luc are fighting a lot," says a snitch. "Their relationship has never been perfect -- it's always been tumultuous -- but now it's hanging by a thread." Click on for a less depressing romance rumor …

Thursday, February 3, 2011

The Day the Music Died


Today Is the 52nd Anniversary of the Plane Crash That Killed Buddy Holly
Today is the 52nd anniversary of "the day the music died": the plane crash that killed legendary musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson. The day was immortalized by Don McLean in his 1971 hit song "American Pie"


which was then covered by Madonna for the Next Best Thing soundtrack:

But the best way to honor the men who died over half a century ago is to listen to the music they themselves created.

Here's Buddy Holly singing "Everyday":

Ritchie Valens doing "La Bamba":

And The Big Bopper performing "Chantilly Lace":

Dapper TV Show Dioramas

The Prime Big Series Commercial is on a Miniature Scale
Plastic figurines and creative dioramas have been popping up all over the place, so it’s no surprise that this Prime Big Series promo has decided to hop on the miniature bandwagon. A Belgium TV chain, it has decided to market their hit shows such as ‘Mad Men,’ ‘Lost,’ and ‘Six Feet Under’ in this quite adorable direction.

Unfortunately, there is no information about who created this Prime Big Series commercial, but you can at least enjoy the full clip via the featured video.

PRIME BIG SERIES - SMALL SCREEN from steven huybrechts on Vimeo.








Monday, January 31, 2011

Hip-hop pioneer hospitalized


Kool Herc , one of hip-hop’s founding fathers, has been hospitalized.  He reportedly doesn’t have medical insurance and cannot afford his medical bills. Fans are being urged to donate to a fund set up to help him

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

15 Films Defined by Songs of a Single Artist

 Christina Aguilera's new movie, 'Burlesque,' continues a long tradition, from 'Jailhouse Rock' to 'Purple Rain' to 'The Bodyguard,' of singers starring in films for which they also dominate the soundtrack. Which got us thinking about singers who have defined the sound and spirit of an entire film without ever appearing onscreen. Here are 15 of our favorite examples of singers whose voices alone are like an uncredited main character.

'Magnolia' (1999)
Aimee Mann
'Magnolia' director Paul Thomas Anderson didn't just want Aimee Mann's music playing in the background; he let her lyrics shape some of the film's characters and even took the unusual step of injecting her songs directly into the narrative. At one point, the entire cast drops everything to sing 'Wise Up' from start to finish.



'Good Will Hunting' (1997)
Elliott Smith
In an apparent bid to make the sad parts of 'Good Will Hunting' 10 times sadder, director Gus Van Sant reached out to fellow Portland, Ore. resident Elliott Smith. Along with three older songs, Smith contributed 'Miss Misery,' which earned him unexpected fame and an Academy Award nomination. Tragically, Smith didn't share Will Hunting's Hollywood ending, but his music earned a much-deserved place in history.


'The Graduate' (1967)
Simon and Garfunkel
Director Mike Nichols was at odds with the studio over the film's music, as well as Nichols' choice for the role of Mrs. Robinson. (He wanted the French actress Jeanne Moreau.) Forced to pick his battles, Nichols stuck with Simon and Garfunkel. Smart move, because their songs, especially 'Mrs. Robinson' and 'The Sound of Silence,' helped the film capture the confusion and alienation of an entire generation.


'Juno' (2007)
Kimya Dawson
When director Ivan Reitman asked Ellen Page what music the film's characters would listen to, she told him to check out the Moldy Peaches. So, Peaches singer Kimya Dawson, whose twee "anti-folk" songs evoke the joy of being young and too smart for your own good, ended up all over the movie, including the closing scene: Page and Michael Cera duetting on the Peaches' 'Anyone Else but You.'


'Harold and Maude' (1971)
Cat Stevens
These days Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens) doesn't seem like the natural choice for a darkly comic cult classic about a 20-something guy falling in love with a 79-year-old woman. But in the early 1970s, cheery, up-with-people folk tunes like 'If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out' and 'On the Road to Find Out' were the perfect accompaniment to the film's "be who you are" message.


'Dan in Real Life' (2007)
Sondre Lerche
This thinking-man's romcom, in which Steve Carell's sad-sack widower raises two daughters and searches for love, walks the fine line between lighthearted and heartbreaking. Which is also a pretty good description of Sondre Lerche's music. The Norwegian singer-songwriter's combination of quirk and sensitivity on songs like 'To Be Surprised' keep 'Dan' from getting too goofy or sinking too low.


'Away We Go' (2009)
Alexi Murdoch
Sensitive singer-songwriters and indie movies about sensitive people-two great tastes that taste great together. British neo-folkie Alexi Murdoch gave heartstrings a good, hard tug with his music for Sam Mendes' 'Away We Go.' Even the film's trailer made a big splash, thanks to Murdoch's 'All My Days' (a song that had already inspired waterworks on episodes of 'The O.C.' and 'Grey's Anatomy').


'Super Fly' (1972)
Curtis Mayfield
To say that no one could imagine Gordon Parks Jr.'s 'Super Fly' without Curtis Mayfield's music would be something of an understatement. The fact is, many (if not most) of the soundtrack's fans have never even seen the movie; album sales far outstripped the film's take at the box office, and classics like 'Freddie's Dead' and the title track helped define not just the movie but the entire blaxploitation genre.



'The Virgin Suicides' (1999)
Air
Sofia Coppola's soft-focus vision of 1970s suburbia includes plenty of period music by Heart, Styx, ELO and others, but it's the dreamy swoon of the French duo Air -- especially 'Playground Love' and the main theme, 'Highschool Lover' -- that really gives the film its, er, air of melancholy nostalgia.


'About a Boy' (2002)
Badly Drawn Boy
The songs in 'About a Boy,' in which an emotionally stunted bachelor befriends an awkward teenager, were the work of Badly Drawn Boy, the stage name of singer-songwriter Damon Gough. Gough must have done something right, because Nick Hornby, who wrote the original novel 'About a Boy,' even included an essay in his book '31 Songs' about how much he was affected by Badly Drawn Boy's song 'A Minor Incident.' Got all that?


'Wonder Boys' (2000)
Bob Dylan
On top of Bob Dylan classics like 'Buckets of Rain,' 'Wonder Boys' included the singer's brand-new track 'Things Have Changed,' featuring a world-weary vibe and a central lyric, "I used to care but/Things have changed,' that perfectly capture Michael Douglas's character, Grady, a once-promising writer who's been stoned and stuck on his second book for years. Unlike Grady, Dylan still had the magic touch; The song won him a Golden Globe and an Oscar.


'Maximum Overdrive' (1986)
AC/DC
When gazillion-selling horror writer Stephen King sat down in the director's chair for the first (and, thankfully, last) time, he asked his favorite band, AC/DC, to bring the noise. A movie about homicidal trucks on the rampage calls for a fairly muscle-bound soundtrack, so the band lent some of its biggest hits and recorded an original song, 'Who Made Who,' that is unquestionably the film's high point.


'She's the One' (1996)
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Edward Burns's winning romcom got a major assist from its Rick Rubin-produced soundtrack of original Tom Petty songs. The collaboration was a success all around: The film's signature tune, 'Walls (Circus)' (featuring Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham on backing vocals) garnered Petty his only charting single of 1996, and the film garnered Burns the last good reviews of his career.


'Into the Wild' (2007)
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder's songs had already been used in two movies featuring Sean Penn ('Dead Man Walking' and 'I Am Sam'), so when Penn decided to direct 'Into the Wild,' he immediately brought in the Pearl Jam singer. Given Vedder's penchant for anti-corporate earnestness, he seems like an obvious choice for a film about someone giving up his possessions and disappearing into the Alaskan wilderness, and these rootsy, meandering songs don't disappoint.


'To Live and Die in L.A.' (1985)
Wang Chung
William Friedkin's sleek, sun-soaked action flick about a reckless Secret Service agent on the mean streets of Los Angeles is so totally '80s it makes 'Miami Vice' look timeless, and Wang Chung's music deserves a lot of the credit/blame. Recorded in a mere two weeks, the songs, especially the mini-hit title track, are just as slick and jaded as the movie ... so roll up the sleeves of your turquoise blazer and enjoy.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Best Songs of 2010

Once upon a time, we might have gauged the best "singles" of the year just ending, but popular music circa 2010 has shifted the conversation back to the fundamental – the song. The rules have changed with the proliferation of a la carte options for curious listeners: Conventional singles are multiplied by remixes, EP samplers, demos and alternate versions, giving MSN's contributors a vastly larger bucket of tunes to contemplate. Our top-ranked songs do include some well-known hits heard on radio or seen in videos, but our contributors' submissions tell a more tangled tale of fave musical moments.
 1. Cee-Lo Green:  "F--- You" (Elektra)
Of course, the unprintable title was the launch pad for Cee-Lo Green's overnight summer hit, its blunt message the righteous punch line to his fuming realization that finance has trumped romance. A nimble, infectious pop-soul arrangement and deft lyrics that are as witty as they are rude give Cee-Lo room to romp in a joyfully unbridled performance of comic exaggeration that inverts R&B machismo outright. The true test of the song may be its family-friendly version: It turns out that even with its expletives deleted and with a new title, "Forget You," it's delightful.
 2. Miranda Lambert: "The House That Built Me" (Sony Nashville)
Few artists have mapped out a modern country style as accessible, yet as authentic and personalized, as Miranda Lambert: The outsized persona she carves with combustible rockers never loses her Texas accent, while the take-no-prisoners ferocity of vengeful anthems such as "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," "Gunpowder & Lead" and last year's "White Liar" are matched evenly by her skill with tender, vulnerable ballads. On her CMA-winning and Grammy-nominated "The House That Built Me," she again touches on how family and community shape identity. It's an affecting meditation on innocence and a moving reassurance that she may have conquered Nashville but she's not about to go Hollywood.

3. Eminem (Featuring Rihanna): "Love the Way You Lie" (Aftermath)
Eminem's personal life and musical identity have long grappled with sexual rage erupting in cruel misogyny, giving this defining hit from his "Recovery" album undeniable power. Confronting the power struggles behind domestic violence, he turns the table on his own worst past rants. Recruiting Rihanna, whose own tabloid nightmare remains forever rooted in the issue, is both brave and brilliant, making this one of the year's most unflinching pop dramas.

4. Die Antwoord: "Enter the Ninja" (Cherrytree/Interscope)
The jury may be out for Die Antwoord's potential to launch an unexpected hip-hop variant straight outta Cape Town, but "Enter the Ninja," the breakout viral hit for this South African trio spearheaded by the self-appointed Ninja (born Watkin Tudor Jones), is a galvanic, splenetic burst of cultural references run through a blender. Together with his cryptic blonde foil Yo-Landi Vi$$er, the gaunt rapper unleashes a funny, furious and casually obscene diatribe rooted in the underdog, self-consciously vulgar Zef subculture. Die Antwoord means "The Answer" in Afrikaans, but for most Western listeners "Enter the Ninja" is more provocative for the questions it raises. As "singles" go, this one never got near Top 40 and never will.

5. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: "I Should Have Known It" (Reprise)
High Orthodox Rock fans looking for proof that the style will endure need look no further than Tom Petty, who began his career being parsed for his stylistic debts to '60s icons, then graduated to play alongside them, whether touring with the Dead or traveling with the Wilburys. After three decades, the Heartbreakers are lethally powerful players, as exploited by the mostly live performances tracked for "Mojo" and exemplified by the tight midtempo strut of this classic rocker.

6. LCD Soundsystem: "Drunk Girls" (Virgin)
LCD Soundsystem mastermind James Murphy has made hipster ridicule a keystone in his crafty spin on rock-edged dance music, a ploy nearly perfected on the first single from this year's "This Is Happening" album. A hell-bent pace and the jubilant title chorus provide the party-hearty momentum even as Murphy captures the contradictions of a revved-up crowd and the woozy chemistry lessons of dance floor hookups.

7. Robyn: "Dancing on My Own" (Konichiwa/Interscope)
Trading early teen pop stardom for independence, Sweden's Robyn has spent the last decade forging her own kinetic dance sound as a singer, songwriter and producer with growing confidence and a willingness to collaborate. This year a series of EPs sharing the "Body Talk" title wound up yielding a potent full-length already studded with hits. None is more mesmerizing than this propulsive anthem that unfolds "under a black sky" looming over its tableau of partying abandon and abject heartbreak.

8. Broken Bells: "The High Road" (Columbia)
For ambitious contemporary musicians, multitasking and collaboration are strategic givens. In Broken Bells, Shins singer and principal songwriter James Mercer partners with producer Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse, to create indelible pop-rock songs as musically accessible as they are lyrically elusive. Their calling card was this hypnotic, mysterious anthem: Against an implacable midtempo march and seemingly accidental yet melodic electronic bleeps, the duo builds a vignette as puzzling as it is engaging, modulating from the menacing midnight imagery of its verses to a beautiful (but mystifying) coda. We can only guess at its meaning, but we keep hitting "play."

9. Far East Movement: "Like a G6" (Interscope)
East Los Angeles' Far East Movement broke out with this futurist tweak of club music, weaving hip-hop cadences, a shrewd Dev sample and electronic textures into a fizzy pulse that takes its title simile from a Gulfstream corporate jet. With its origins in the Korea Town community, Far East Movement augurs a next wave of pop's multicultural reinvention: "Like a G6" proved a massive hit with formidable chart credentials buoyed by digital sales.
10. Lady Antebellum: "Need You Now" (Capitol Nashville)
Their home base is Nashville, but Lady Antebellum's blueprint sounds closer to L.A. in its canny vocal partnership between Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott and the crisp acoustic decorations of multi-instrumentalist Dave Haywood. The title track of the platinum trio's second album powers its yearning after-hours confessions of unresolved passion with a surging chorus and a keening slide guitar that sounds equidistant from Laurel Canyon and Music Row, which helps explain its multiformat success and a mantel full of CMA, ACMA and CMT Awards. With four of their seven pending Grammy nominations propelled by the song, they may need a bigger mantel.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Meet the Youngest Top 10 Album Artist

 Jackie Evancho, a 10-year old vocal prodigy who was the runner-up in September on America's Got Talent, enters The Billboard 200 at #2 with O Holy Night. Evancho is the youngest artist ever to land a top 10 album. Michael Jackson was 11 in 1970 when the Jackson 5 landed their first top 10 album
. Zac Hanson was 11 in 1997 when Hanson first scored. Stevie Wonder, LeAnn Rimes and Miley Cyrus were each 13 when they first reached the top 10 (counting Hannah Montana for Cyrus).
Evancho is a "classical crossover" artist in the style of Charlotte Church and Hayley Westenra, who were 13 and 17, respectively, when they first cracked The Billboard 200.
 O Holy Night is a four-song EP which consists of two Christmas standards ("O Holy Night" and "Silent Night") and two classical crossover pieces. Evancho sang one of those pieces, "Pie Jesu," on both America's Got Talent and Oprah. The singer, who lives with her family near Pittsburgh, has also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Today Show and The View. (When I was 10, I had a paper route.)
Evancho first charted last summer with an (aptly-titled) album, Prelude To A Dream, which debuted and peaked at #121. The independently-released, digital-only album was thereafter pulled from the market on the theory that it didn't reflect the singer's current sound. Evancho's new release is on Columbia Records.
 (Amazingly, Evancho isn't the only 10-year old who is making noise on this week's charts. Willow, the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pickett Smith, is riding high with her hit "Whip My Hair," which reached #11 on the Hot 100 a few weeks ago. Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Fallon (as Neil Young) sang a deadpan parody of the song last week on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.)

O Holy Night debuts just behind Susan Boyle's The Gift, which holds at #1 for the second week. This marks the first time that holiday collections have held down the top two spots on The Billboard 200 since December 1957, when Bing Crosby's Merry Christmas and Elvis Presley's Elvis' Christmas Album were #1 and #2.
 Boyle was the runner-up in 2009 on Britain's Got Talent, so both of this week's top two albums are by artists who rose to fame on reality TV shows. Simon Cowell is credited with discovering both artists.
 But the best news for Rihanna is on the Hot 100. "Only Girl (In The World)" will rise to #1 when that chart is officially released tomorrow. "Only Girl" is Rihanna's fourth #1 hit on the Hot 100 so far this year, following "Rude Boy," Eminem's "Love The Way You Lie" (on which Rihanna is featured) and "What's My Name?" (featuring Drake), which hit the top spot just two weeks ago. Rihanna is the first artist to amass four #1 hits in a calendar year since Usher scored in 2004.
 Only Girl (In The World)" hit #1 in the U.K. last week. It's Rihanna's third song to reach #1 in both the U.S. and the U.K., following "Umbrella" (featuring Jay-Z) and "Take A Bow." Among female artists, only Madonna has had more transatlantic #1 hits (five). Whitney Houston is tied with Rihanna with three.
 Two songs from Glee are listed in the top 10 on Hot Digital Songs for the first time in the show's history. Gwyneth Paltrow's cover of Cee Lo Green's "Forget You" debuts at #1, based on sales of 192K copies. The cast's medley of Gene Kelly's 1952 classic "Singin' In The Rain" and Rihanna/Jay-Z's 2007 smash "Umbrella" debuts at #7, based on sales of 140K copies. This is Glee's first "mash-up" to make the top 10.
 The new album includes such holiday perennials as the Carpenters' "Merry Christmas Darling," Wham!'s "Last Christmas" and Jerry Herman's "We Need A Little Christmas" from Mame.
 Eminem's Recovery this week becomes the first album to sell 3 million copies in 2010. This is the earliest in the year that an album has topped 3 million in year-to-date sales since 2006, when the first High School Musical album hit that plateau in the week ending Sept. 3. Josh Groban's Noel was the only album to top the 3 million mark in 2007. It reached that plateau in the week ending Dec. 23. In 2008, no album reached 3 million. Taylor Swift's Fearless was the first to top the 3 million mark in 2009. It rang the bell in the week ending Dec. 27. This is a little bit of good news for the beleaguered music industry.
Here's the top 10 on Hot Digital Songs. The Glee version of "Forget You" debuts at #1 (192K). Cee Lo Green's original version of "F*** You (Forget You)" vaults from #12 to #2 (191K). Ke$ha's "We R Who We R" dips from #2 to #3 (189K). Katy Perry's "Firework" holds at #4 (175K). P!nk's "Raise Your Glass" holds at #5 (171K). Rihanna featuring Drake's "What's My Name?" holds at #6 (147K). The Glee version of "Singin' In The Rain"/"Umbrella" debuts at #7 (140K). The Black Eyed Peas' "The Time (Dirty Bit)" drops from #3 to #8 (140K). Rihanna's "Only Girl (In The World)" dips from #8 to #9 (131K). Far*East Movement featuring Cataracs & Dev's "Like A G6" drops from #7 to #10 (130K).
 Three of the acts that debut in the top 10 on this week's Billboard 200 have reason to be both pleased and a little concerned. Kid Rock, who debuts at #5, opened at #1 with his last album. Rascal Flatts, which debuts at #6, bowed at #1 with its last four studio albums. Keith Urban, who debuts at #7, started in the top three with his last three studio albums. These lower debuts are largely a function of the logjam in the top 10. With so many superstars releasing albums at the same time, some acts are bound to lose ground in the chart wars.
 Shameless Plug: The Beatles were late to the digital "Revolution," but they're "Here, There and Everywhere" on the digital charts in the week after they finally allowed their music to be sold digitally. Forty seven Beatles songs enter the Hot Digital Songs chart this week, while 17 of the group's albums enter the Top Digital Albums chart. I have all the details in a Chart Watch Extra.
Here's the low-down on this week's top 10 albums.
 1. Susan Boyle, The Gift, 335,000. The album holds at #1 for the second week. It's the first #1 album to post a sales increase in its second week atop the chart since Michael Buble's Crazy Love in October 2009.
 2. Jackie Evancho, O Holy Night, 239,000. This new entry is the first top 10 album for the 10-year old singer. It's also #2 on this week's Christmas Albums chart.
 3. Rihanna, Loud, 207,000. This new entry is Rihanna's fifth studio album in a row to make the top 10; her fourth in a row to make the top five. Five songs from the album are listed in the top 10 on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "What's Your Name?" (featuring Drake), which holds at #6.
 4. Josh Groban, Illuminations, 191,000. This new entry is Groban's sixth top 10 album. Groban's last album, Noel, debuted at #10 in 2007. His last non-holiday studio album, Awake, debuted at #2 in 2006.
 5. Kid Rock, Born Free, 189,000. This new entry is Kid's sixth top 10 album. That's his entire output since his 1999 breakthrough except for a 2006 live album
 6. Rascal Flatts, Nothing Like This, 165,000. This new entry is the country trio's seventh straight top 10 album. It's the band's sixth #1 album on the country chart. "Why Wait" drops from #114 to #177 on Hot Digital Songs.
 7. Keith Urban, Get Closer, 162,000. This new entry is Urban's fourth top 10 album. "Put You In A Song" drops from #95 to #107 on Hot Digital Songs.
 8. Various Artists, Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album, 161,000. This new entry is the seventh Glee album or EP to crack the top 10. It's also the week's top soundtrack. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "O Holy Night" debuts at #116. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" bows at #179.
 9. Taylor Swift, Speak Now, 146,000. The former #1 album drops from #2 to #9 in its fourth week. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "Mine" drops from #42 to #56. "Back To December" drops from #51 to #74.
 10. Nelly, 5.0, 63,000. This new entry is the rapper's sixth top 10 album. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "Just A Dream" drops from #9 to #11. "Liv Tonight" (featuring Keri Hilson) debuts at #46.
 A Day To Remember's What Separates Me From You opens at #11. This is the metal band's first top 20 album...P!nk's Greatest Hits...So Far!! bows at #14.  This is P!nk's fifth album to crack the top 20, though it failed to follow the other four into the top 10. Greatest hits albums simply don't mean what they used to.
 Bruce Springsteen's The Promise bows at #16. The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story debuts at #27. The former album includes 21 previously-unreleased songs that were recorded during the sessions that produced Springsteen's 1978 album Darkness At The Edge Of Town. The latter album is a three-CD, three-DVD box set. (If the sales for the two albums had been combined, Springsteen would have debuted at #10 this week, which would have upped his total of top 10 albums to 17.) Darkness, which reached #5 in July 1978, was Springsteen's follow-up to his 1975 breakthrough album Born To Run. (That album also inspired a successful archival project, Born To Run: 30th Anniversary Edition, which hit #18 in November 2005.)
 Lee DeWyze's Live It Up bows at #19. This is the lowest entry for an album by an American Idol winner. Last year, Kris Allen became the first Idol winner to fall short of the top 10 with his debut. (Kris Allen opened and peaked at #11.)  While DeWyze and Allen haven't set off the sparks of such Idol superstars as Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, these diminished chart numbers are largely a reflection of the series being past its peak. It's still a hit show, but it's not the force it was. If Clarkson and Underwood had won the competition in the last two years, instead of in Seasons 1 and 4, would they have been able to overcome this Idol fatigue and still chart powerfully? Discuss amongst yourselves.
 Take That's Progress enters the U.K. chart at #1. The album sold nearly 520,000 copies during the week, according to the Official Charts Company. That's the biggest one-week sales tally in the U.K. since Oasis' Be Here Now, which sold 663,000 in its first week in August 1997. Progress is Take That's sixth #1 album in the U.K.
 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part One was #1 at the box-office over the weekend. All seven movies in the series have opened at #1. The score by Alexandre Desplat enters The Billboard 200 at #74. It's the week's highest-charting soundtrack to a theatrically-released film. All seven Potter soundtracks have made the top half of The Billboard 200. This is the first Potter movie that Desplat has scored. John Williams did the honors on the first three. Patrick Doyle scored the fourth. Nicholas Hooper handled the last two.
 Coming Attractions: Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday are expected to enter The Billboard 200 in the top two slots next week. Also due: My Chemical Romance's Danger Days The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys, Ne-Yo's Libra ScaleKe$ha's Cannibal, Lloyd Banks' H.F.M. 2 (Hunger For More 2), the Burlesque soundtrack, Jay-Z's The Hits Collection-Volume One, Alan Jackson's 34 Number One Hits and Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine: 2010 Remastered.
Be Thankful: What's the best Thanksgiving song of all time? The list would certainly include William DeVaughn's 1974 hit "Be Thankful For What You Got." The Rolling Stones also expressed the day's sentiments perfectly in their 1969 classic "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (the next line: "But if you try sometimes you just might find/You get what you need)." I also like Andrew Gold's 1978 hit "Thank You For Being A Friend," which gained immortality when it was used as the theme song for The Golden Girls. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.