Oasis releases their new album this week. Standing On the Shoulder of Giants is no advance on their previous works, say the critics. Buyers seem to agree - first day sales are sluggish in comparison to the group's previous outings, in spite of a significant price-cut for the disc, and retailers expect it to be a six week wonder. Though the group claims not to give a monkey's about sales figures, insiders know that they will be worried by the downturn.
Teen band 911 splits. The three-piece group, which had ten top 10 hits over the past four years, calls it a day after new research shows that absolutely no-one can recall anything they've ever done. "Faced with this indifference," said member Spike (or was it Dru? We can't tell them apart from this angle) "we had no alternative but to pursue other interests."
The line-up for this year's Reading Festival is the same suspects as recent years: Stereophonics, Oasis, Ian Brown, Paul Weller. No-one who is likely to extend the appeal of the late August festival then, this year also at sites in Leeds and Glasgow. At £90, tickets for the weekend compare poorly with the option of a weekend in Dublin.
No change at the top of the MuchMusic Countdown, as the Backstreet Boys hold off the Matthew Good Band and Our Lady Peace. S Club 7 climbs a spot to 4, and there are top ten debuts for N'Sync's Bye Bye Bye and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Otherside. Madonna's American Pie soars from 29 to 18, eclipsing clims for Dr Dre's Forget About Dre (28-20) Third Eye Blind's Never Let You Go (25-19) and the Smashing Pumpkins' Everlasting Gaze (21-16). New entries for Santana (Maria Maria 24), Macy Gray (I Try 26) and Sonique (It Feels So Good 29)
Over on the MuchMoreMusic Countdown, Santana's Maria Maria holds at the top, ahead of Tina Turner. Faith Hill climbs two spots to 3, ahead of Sting on a three place climb. The Coors climb one to 5. Third Eye Blind's Never Let You Go and Blue Rodeo's Somebody Waits climb into the top 10. Sonique's It Feels So Good shoots up 6 to 20. Moby enters at 28 with Natural Blues, and Bruce Cockburn anchors the list with When You Give It Away.
This week's Top Of The Pops...
#1 : All Saints - Pure Shores (3rd appearance) #2 : Artful Dodger - Moving Too Fast #4 : Kelis - Caught Out There #5 : Jemelia - Money #6 : A1 - Like A Rose #12: Daphne & Celeste - Ooh Stick You! (3rd) #13: Bluetones - Keep the Home Fires Burning pre: Tom Jones & Stereophonics - Mama Told Me not to Come
No appearance for #3: Backstreet Boys - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely.
The Brit awards! Macy Gray was the big winner this year, which surprises absolutely nobody. Macy won Best Female and Newcomer awards on the basis of On How Life Is. Robert Williams won two awards, British Single and British Video for She's The One; Travis also picked up a pair, British Group and British Album. Beck won Best Male, TLC won best group
Beth Orton won British Female, and said "I'm going to get drunk now." Thomas Jones wangled the phallic side from an amazingly weak field. The Chemical Brothers, defeated for Video, Group and Album, were given the sop of British Dance Act, while S Club 7 won for British Newcomer. Notting Hill won the Soundtrack award, Five the Best British Pop Performance for Keep On Movin'. Steps' award was even more contrived than the Chemicals', The Steps Award for Best Selling And Most Popular Live British Five-Piece Called Steps, beating out Belle and Sebastian after a recount. Similar awards were given to U2 in 1993, following their sell-out tour but no eligable album; Meat Loaf in 1994, after Bat II didn't get nominated for anything; and the Spice Girls in 1998, after they picked up the total of one nomination.
Robert Williams continued his immensely tedious spat with half of Oasis, challenging him to a prize fight. Negotiations for pay-to-view rights were scuppered when KYTV realised that neither competitor could snuff it during the battle, and other channels have stage-managed wrestling between buckets of lard already. Club performer Brandon Block rushed Ronald Wood of the Rolling Stones while Wood was presenting an award, causing Wood to throw a drink over the pissed disc-spinner. "It's a complete waste of a good drink," said Wood later.
Geraldine Haliwell's voice-tracked performance was widely interpreted as a snub to the Spice Girls, who won an Outstanding Contribution award. Will Smith, loser in every category, almost flounced out of the event after one of his imported dancers fell off the stage in rehearsals and stubbed her toe. This wouldn't have happened with British dancers.
The final words go to Sir Tim Rice: "There's been no good pop music this year; the Spice Girls are very over-rated," and Johnathan King: "It was hugely unimpressive."
World chart
1 [1] Santana - Maria Maria (week 2) 2 [2] Backstreet Boys - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely 3 [4] Christina Aguilera - What a Girl Wants 4 [3] Celine Dion - That's the Way It Is 5 [8] N'Sync - Bye Bye Bye (greatest gainer) 6 [7] Faith Hill - Breathe 7 [16] Madonna - American Pie 8 [5] Blink 182 - All The Small Things 9 [11] Third Eye Blind - Never Let You Go 10 [9] Savage Garden - I Knew I Loved You ...also... 12 [23] Macy Gray - I Try (fastest climber) 14 [6] Sonique - It Feels So Good (top UK) 25 [49] Forget About Dre - Dr Dre 28 [42] Red Hot Chili Peppers - Otherside
UK Impact chart
1 [25] Madonna - American Pie 2 [1] All Saints - Pure Shores 3 [19] N'Sync - Bye Bye Bye 4 [2] Backstreet Boys - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely 5 [4] Artful Dodger - Moving Too Fast 6 [5] Christina Aguilera - What a Girl Wants 7 [3] Gabrielle - Rise 8 [36] Mariah Carey / Joe / 98 Degrees / Nas - Thank Gd I Found You 9[NEW]Lene Marlin - Sitting Down Here 10[7] Britney Spears - Born to Make You Happy ...also... 15 [NEW] Honeys - Won't Take it Lying Down 16 [NEW] Vengaboys - Shalala Lala 18 [32] Macy Gray - I Try 21 [NEW] Puff Daddy & R Kelly - Satisfy you 24 [NEW] Madasun - Don't You Worry 28 [37] Toploader - Dancin' in the Moonlight 29 [NEW] Dumdums - Everything
The new entries... Lene Martin is a young Norwegian singer songwriter, with a guitar and a clear-as-a-bell voice. File with one-hit wonders such as Meja. The Honeys are on the fifth single from Wonder #8, even though half the group has changed since that album first came out. The Vengaboys are lifting from a new album, without changing the one song at all. Puff & R collaberate on a rather decent soft rap track. Madasun is a three-piece rocky girl group, more a female version of Republica than the Spice Girls with guitars. Dumdums are a cute (overcute? Maybe) group of hardish rockers. Hanson with added attitude springs to mind.
Personal airplay chart
1 [NEW] Geri Haliwell - Bag It Up 2 [2] N'Sync - Bye Bye Bye 3 [3] Backstreet Boys - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely 4 [1] Santana - Smooth 5 [NEW] Savage Garden - Crash And Burn 6 [re] Blink 182 - All The Small Things 7 [NEW] DJ Luck & MC Neat - A Little Bit Of Luck 8 [NEW] Dum Dums - Everything 9 [re] Lene Marlin - Sitting Down Here 10 [6] Macy Gray - I Try
All Canada Chart
1 [2] Santana - Maria Maria (1st week) 2 [1] McMaster & James - Love Wins Everytime 3 [5] Third Eye Blind - Never Let you Go 4 [4] Tina Turner - When the Heartache Is Over 5 [14] Madonna - American Pie 6 [9] SoulDecision - Faded 7 [8] Faith Hill - Breathe 8 [12] Sting - Desert Rose 9 [11] Corrs - Radio 10 [10] Bryan Adams - Best Of Me
Oasis' world tour begins in Japan. Twenty minutes into the tour, lead growler Liam Gallagher flounces off stage, claiming to have a bit of an icky throat. Aah. Poor lamb. Brother Noel takes the vocal duties, and offers the crowd their money back, as they haven't suffered anything like as much pain as they paid for.
Three pupils are suspended from school after attending a Backstreet Boys concert. Their school, run by extremist zealots, claims the Boys are "unsuitable for our pupils" and the teens should enjoy concerts by Sir Clifford Richard.
Regular jailbird Chrissie Hynde gets nicked. Again. The collaberator with Phoebe Buffet and sometime singer with a pretend group was in a Gap store in New York when she started ripping up leather jackets. Hynde claims the material is from Indian sources, where cows are protected by law and custom. Gap put out a measly statement of its own.
Santana's Supernatural sold 441,000 units to spend its 10th non-consecutive week at #1 on the US Albums chart. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's BTNHResurrection opens at #2 on 285,000 sales, Smashing Pumpkins' MACHINA / the machines of God debuts at #3, selling 165,000. Beanie Sigel's The Truth debuts at #5, having moved 155,500 copies, while Steely Dan's Two Against Nature, the jazz/pop group's first studio album since 1980, bows at #6. Veteran heavy metal outfit AC/DC's Stiff Upper Lip opens at #7 after selling 130,500 copies.
The only holdovers from last week's top-10 are Dr. Dre's Dr Dre 2001 (2-4), Macy Gray's On How Life Is (6-8), and Kid Rock's Devil Without A Cause (4-10). Sisqo's Unleash The Dragon moves up, 12-9.
Other significant debuts this week include Bloodhound Gang's Hooray For Boobies #19 and leading UK act, and Oasis' Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants #24. Shania Twain's Come On Over, at 27, is the longest runner on the survey, at 122 weeks. The soundtrack to 2Gether climb 71-35, Causin' Drama climbs 59-38, Sting falls 29-42, the Tarzan soundtrack 49-58. The Cure comes down 43-65, Sonique's Hear My Cry storms 103-85.
Over on The Hot 100, Destiny's Child's Say My Name rockets straight to #1, up from a #14 showing last week, after the single was released to stores. It's the R&B group's second #1 single, following Bills, Bills, Bills last July. It's also the fastest climb to the top since pre-release entries were allowed in November 1998.
Say My Name bumps Lonestar's Amazed to #2, but faces a healthy challenge from Santana's Maria Maria, which sits at #3 and is the fastest grower at airplay. Faith Hill's Breathe falls one to #4, while 'N Sync's Bye Bye Bye moves up one to #5. Whitney Houston's I Learned From The Best is the fastest grower in stores, moving 40-28. Dixie Chicks' Goodbye Earl is the top debut at #40, Toni Braxton's He Wasn't Man Enough - the first single from her third album, The Heat - at #63. There's a second British act on the survey, as Sonique's It Feels So Good (16-14) is joined by Bloodhound Gang's The Bad Touch at #70.
All change on the MuchMusic Countdown; the Matthew Good Band's Load Me Up takes the top, from Our Lady Peace's Is Anybody Home and S Club 7's Bring It All Back. Big climbs for the Smashing Pumpkins Everlasting Gaze 17-13, Santana's Maria Maria 24-20 and Macy Gray's I Try 26-23. Four new entries: Savage Garden Crash and Burn 25; Hanson This Time Around 26; Jet Set Satellite Best Way to Die 29; Edwin Alive 30.
Tina Turner takes over on the MuchMoreMusic Countdown, taking over from Santana. Faith Hill, Sting and the Coors hold in the top 5. Climbs for Third Eye Blind Never Let You Go (9-6), Shania Twain Come On Over (12-8) Enrique Iglesias (13-10) Madonna American Pie (15-12) Macy Gray I Try (16-13). George Michael falls to 20, Savage Garden Crash And Burn in at 25, and Jacksoul's Can't Stop 30.
World chart
1 [1] Santana - Maria Maria (week 3) 2 [2] Backstreet Boys - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely 3 [5] N'Sync - Bye Bye Bye (greatest gainer) 4 [3] Christina Aguilera - What a Girl Wants 5 [7] Madonna - American Pie 6 [4] Celine Dion - That's the Way It Is 7 [6] Faith Hill - Breathe 8 [9] Third Eye Blind - Never Let You Go 9 [8] Blink 182 - All The Small Things 10 [12] Macy Gray - I Try ...also... 11 [14] Sonique - It Feels So Good (top UK) 16 [22] Montell Jordan - Get It On Tonite 17 [25] Forget About Dre - Dr Dre 18 [ 27] Destiny's Child - Say My Name (fastest climber) 34 [45] Amanda Marshall - Dear Life (greatest gainer)
UK Impact chart
1 [1] Madonna - American Pie 2 [2] All Saints - Pure Shores 3[NEW] Chicane & Bryan Adams - Don't Give Up 4 [3] N'Sync - Bye Bye Bye 5 [4] Backstreet Boys - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely 6 [9] Lene Marlin - Sitting Down Here 7 [5] Artful Dodger - Moving Too Fast 8 [6] Christina Aguilera - What a Girl Wants 9 [7] Gabrielle - Rise 10[NEW]Five - Don't Wanna Let You Go ...also... 11 [21] Puff Daddy & R Kelly - Satisfy you 14 [NEW] Tom Jones & Stereophonics - Mama Told Me Not to Come 15 [30] Filter - Take a Picture 18 [NEW] Moby - Natural Blues 39 [NEW] Barbara Tucker - Stop Playing With my Mind
Personal airplay chart
1 [2] N'Sync - Bye Bye Bye 2 [3] Backstreet Boys - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely 3 [10] Macy Gray - I Try 4 [re] All Saints - Pure Shores 5 [NEW] Puff Daddy & R Kelly - Satisfy You 6 [re] Five - Keep On Movin' 7 [re] Britney Spears - Born to Make You Happy 8 [re] Eels - Mr E's Beautiful Blues 9 [NEW] Meja & Ricky Martin - Private Emotion 10[NEW] Moby - Natural Blues
All Canada Chart
1 [1] Santana - Maria Maria (2nd week) 2 [3] Third Eye Blind - Never Let you Go 3 [2] McMaster & James - Love Wins Everytime 4 [5] Madonna - American Pie 5 [6] SoulDecision - Faded 6 [4] Tina Turner - When the Heartache Is Over 7 [NEW] Macy Gray - I Try 8 [7] Faith Hill - Breathe 9 [8] Sting - Desert Rose 10 [9] Corrs - Radio
Best male artist: Bryan Adams
Best female artist: Chantal Kreviazuk
Best group: Matthew Good Band
Best selling album (foreign or domestic): Millennium, Backstreet Boys
Best new group: Sky
Best songwriter: Shania Twain
Best country male artist: Paul Brandt
Best vocal jazz album: When I Look in Your Eyes, Diana Krall
Best album: Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, Alanis Morissette.
It's worth noting that Sky split a month before the awards were given, after just one album.
Winnipeg-born Kreviazuk thrilled fans with an uptempo version of her hit, Before You. "I really can't believe this. I'm totally overwhelmed," she said after accepting her award. "I'd like to thank my beautiful husband," she said, referring to Our Lady Peace singer Raine Maida, "for contributing to my life."
Backstreeters Howie Dorough and AJ McLean's appearance to accept their prize brought some of the loudest shrieks heard all night from the crowd of 15,000. "Canada was the first country to accept us with open arms. We're always very grateful to you guys and you'll always have a special place in our hearts," Dorough said.
Morissette - a 10-time Juno winner who earned her first prize as a teen pop star - has recently been travelling in South America and South Africa, listening to Paul Simon and Leonard Cohen and reading about the life of Allen Ginsburg.
Matthew Good Band's Beautiful Midnight won top rock album, and they crowned that achievement Sunday with the prize for best group - besting a challenge from Moist, Our Lady Peace, and The Tea Party.
Top-selling no-show Shania Twain added a prize for best songwriter to Saturday's trophy for top country female performer. Although breakout hip-hop star Choclair - who won the prize for top rap artist - landed a nomination for overall best male artist, Juno voters opted to honour old-guard favourite Bryan Adams, who was a no-show.
To no-one's surprise, internationally acclaimed Grammy-winning West Coast jazz chanteuse Diana Krall's When I Look In Your Eyes won best vocal jazz album. Krall brought some class to the evening with a swinging performance of Let's Fall in Love, backed by an orchestra, and thanked her grade 11 music teacher for preparing her for her career.
Boy bands Five and Westlife are throwing slightly hostile insults at each other. Five accuse Westlife of being 'boring wimps' while Westlife called their rivals 'rude thugs.' Five's J says: 'Westlife go on stage and do what they're told – not like us. We've got a bit of character and we have a lot more fun. They're wimps and they're dull and they hang around in frilly blouses.'
Five member Richie, who is going out with faded teen poster Billie, adds: 'If people compared us to groups like Westlife or Boyzone we would be gutted. They just stand there and do nothing. All they do is sing ballads while we do all sorts of songs. They are just so boring.'
Westlife aren't taking the insults lying down. Kin Egad (which one he? – Past Caring Ed) slams back saying: 'Five are just hooligans. They're always acting like kids and think they're so cool. J is the most arrogant in the band. He thinks he's God's gift and has never spoken to us. It's so childish. If they spent more time performing and less time messing about they might get as many No 1 records as us. They're rude thugs.’
We tried to ask the group’s fans (Wayne and Kylie Bonkers of Neasden) for their opinion, but all we heard when we called was a soft rasping noise.
No change at the top of the MuchMusic Countdown, as the Matthew Good Band holds off Our Lady Peace and S Club 7. N Sync's Bye Bye Bye climbs from 6 to 4, with Madonna's American Pie storming 15-9. Other big climbs include Dr Dre's Forget About Dre (16-12), Third Eye Blind's Never Let You Go (17-13), Santana's Maria Maria (20-15), Macy Gray's I Try (23-18), Hanson's This Time Around (26-20), Savage Garden's Crash And Burn (25-21) and Edwin's Alive (30-26). The other Brit, Sonique, climbs 27-25 with It Feels So Good. Two new entries: Pink's There You Go at 27, and Destiny's Child Say My Name at 29.
A new leader on the MuchMoreMusic Countdown, with Faith Hill's Breathe climbing two places to the peak. Tina Turner slips to 2, with Sting's Desert Rose climbing one to 3. Shania Twain's Come On Over comes on up from 8 to 5, Enrique Iglesias' Be With You rises 10-7, Madonna's American Pie and Macy Gray's I Try both climb three, to 9 and 10 respectively. Other big climbs: Sonique (17-13), and Chantal Krevizauk's Dear Life (23-18). Two new entries: Ricky Martin and Meja Private Emotion 25 and Toni Braxton He Wasn't Man Enough 29.
Add a country superstar, a hot rap newcomer, and an R&B veteran to the list of artists who can't overthrow Santana as king of the album chart. The Supernatural juggernaut chalked up its 11th week atop the Billboard 200. The album of the year Grammy winner moved enough to thrash the competition and approach 7.5 million sold. Supernatural has a good chance to make it a dozen weeks at the summit, despite new releases this week from Elton John and a U2-laden film soundtrack. But the new 'N Sync record hits stores March 21, and Santana's winning streak should skid to a halt.
George Strait's Latest Greatest Straitest Hits enters at #2, debuting at #1 on Top Country Albums. Black Rob's Life Story opens at #3; it debuts at #1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Other urban-leaning albums dominate the top 10, sparked by the #8 debut of Gerald Levert's G and a 9-6 jump by Sisqo's Unleash The Dragon, which has the chart's largest sales gain for the second week in a row. Destiny's Child leaps from #16 to #10 this week with its sophomore set, The Writing's On The Wall.
Rounding out the top 10 are Dr. Dre's Dr. Dre 2001 at #4, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's BTNHResurrection at #5, Macy Gray's debut On How Life Is at #7, and Kid Rock's Devil Without A Cause at #9.
It was a tough second showing for some of last week's debuts. Oasis' Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants plummets from #24 to #84, while Smashing Pumpkins' MACHINA / the machines of God crashes from #3 to #20.
Other notes: Vertical Horizon's Everything You Want climbs 54-40, the Tarzan soundtrack moves 58-50. Sting's Brand New Day regains lead Brit status, slipping 42-52, 3 Doors Down storm 90-64 with The Better Life, Sonique's Hear My Cry heads 85-76, the Cure's Bloodflowers slips 65-86, and Step One, the compilation Steps album, rebounds 126-100.
On the Heatseekers chart, Anthony Kearns, Ronan Tynan and Finbar Wright debut at 8 with The Irish Tenors Live in Belfast. It's #9 on Independent Albums, while their The Irish Tenors climbs 31-17 on the indie survey. William Orbit's Pieces In a Modern Style slips 9-18.
Over on The Hot 100, Destiny's Child is #1 for the second consecutive week with Say My Name. Santana is right behind, as Maria Maria moves one notch to #2 and shows the chart's greatest gain in airplay, as it did last week. Maria Maria is also making inroads on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, where it moves 7-4. With a 40-29 move, Dixie Chicks' Goodbye Earl is the chart's fastest growing song at retail, while Nas' You Owe Me featuring Ginuwine is this week's Hot Shot Debut at #74. Sonique's It Feels So Good hits a new peak, moving 14-12, Macy's I Try shoots 30-20, and Creed's Higher re-enters the list at #43.
Other British talent on the lists: AC/DC Stiff Upper Lip (MainR #1) Bush Letting the Cables Sleep (MR 4-5) The Bloodhound Gang The Bad Touch (MR 24-11*) The Cure Maybe Someday (MR 12-13) Sting Brand New Day (AT 15-15)
Top Of The Pops this week:
#1 - Chicane & Bryan Adams - Don't Give Up #4 - Tom Jones & Stereophonics - Mama Told Me Not to Come #5 - Lene Martin - Sittin' Down Here #9 - Five - Don't Wanna Let you Go #11 - Moby - Natural Blues #17 - Barbara Tucker - Stop Playing With my Mind #24 - Lulu - Where the Poor Boys Dance pre - Geri Halliwell - Bag it Up
World chart
1 [1] Santana - Maria Maria (week 4) 2 [2] Backstreet Boys - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely 3 [3] N'Sync - Bye Bye Bye 4 [5] Madonna - American Pie 5 [10] Macy Gray - I Try 6 [8] Third Eye Blind - Never Let You Go 7 [7] Faith Hill - Breathe 8 [9] Blink 182 - All The Small Things 9 [18] Destiny's Child - Say My Name (greatest gainer) 10 [4] Christina Aguilera - What a Girl Wants ...also... 11 [11] Sonique - It Feels So Good (top UK) 21 [43] Pink - There You Go 26 [39] Enrique Iglesias - Be With You 30 [55] Sisqo - Thong Song 33 [45] Vertical Horizon - Everything You Want 35 [59] Whitney Houston - I Learned From the Best 36 [113]Meja & Ricky Martin - Private Emotion (fastest climber) 40 [57] Shania Twain - Come on Over
UK Impact chart
1 [1] Madonna - American Pie (week 3) 2 [29] Blink 182 - All The Small Things 3 [2] All Saints - Pure Shores 4 [3] Chicane & Bryan Adams - Don't Give Up 5 [4] N'Sync - Bye Bye Bye 6[NEW] Geri Haliwell - Bag It Up 7 [5] Backstreet Boys - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely 8 [6] Lene Marlin - Sitting Down Here 9 [7] Artful Dodger - Moving Too Fast 10[12] Vengaboys - Shalala Lala ...also... 13 [NEW] ATB - Killer 16 [69] Macy Gray - Still 17 [NEW] Dr Dre - Still Dre 23 [40] Destiny's Child - Say My Name 38 [NEW] Will Smith - Freakin' It 40 [NEW] Embrace - You're Not Alone
Personal airplay chart
1 [re] Geri Haliwell - Bag It Up 2 [11] Santana - Smooth 3 [2] Backstreet Boys - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely 4 [1] N'Sync - Bye Bye Bye 5 [re] Macy Gray - Still 6 [NEW] Five - Don't Wanna Let You Go 7 [14] Destiny's Child - Say My Name 8 [19] Gabrielle - Rise 9 [7] Britney Spears - Born to Make You Happy 10[NEW] Madasun - Don't You Worry
All Canada Chart
1 [2] Third Eye Blind - Never Let you Go 2 [1] Santana - Maria Maria 3 [4] Madonna - American Pie 4 [7] Macy Gray - I Try 5 [5] SoulDecision - Faded 6 [8] Faith Hill - Breathe 7 [6] Tina Turner - When the Heartache Is Over 8[NEW] Sonique - It Feels So Good 9 [9] Sting - Desert Rose 10 [3] McMaster & James - Love Wins Everytime
Madonna announces she's pregnant with her second child. The sproglet is due in late summer, and is rumoured to be provisionally named Eauval, after London's second major cricket ground.
The South by Southwest festival takes place in Texas. Widely credited as the best in the US, stars to emerge from the industry and fan convention include country-turned-rocker Shelby Lynne and British imports Gomes.
From the New York Daily News: "When Noel Gallagher's not regurgitating someone else, he's plagarising himself."
Former Take That former lead frontman Gary Barlow is now a former signee of RCA records. The company dropped him faster than his album fell from its #41 debut to nowhere.
Santana's Supernatural keeps making the registers ring. The album sold 308,000 copies last week, earning its 12th week atop The Billboard 200. The album nearly doubled the sales total of this week's #2, Sisqo's Unleash The Dragon, up from 6.
The top 10 is full of movement, as George Strait's Latest Greatest Straitest Hits plummets from #2 to #9. Macy Gray's On How Life Is jumps from #7 to #4, while Destiny's Child's The Writing's On The Wall moves from #10 to #7.
This week's highest debut is by rap duo Dead Prez's Let's Get Free at #73. Other notable debuts include 12-year-old vocalist Sammie's debut From The Bottom To The Top at #86; guitarist Joe Satriani's Engines Of Creation at #90; the Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack - featuring songs by Bono and U2 - at #104; and Elton John's The Road To El Dorado soundtrack at #105.
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon spends its 1200th week on Billboard's chart, at #13 on the Pop Catalogue chart. That equates to exactly 23 years on chart in the 27 since its release.
On The Hot 100, Destiny's Child is #1 for the third consecutive week with Say My Name. Santana is right behind once again, as Maria Maria featuring The Product G&B holds at #2 and shows the chart's greatest gain in airplay, as it has for the past two weeks.
The top 10 of the Hot 100 remains relatively unchanged, with Sisqo's Thong Song the only newie, up three rungs to #10. Enrique Iglesias' Be With You is the Hot Shot Debut at #63, followed at #73 by Where You Are, the duet from teen idols (and life item) Jessica Simpson and 98 Degrees' Nick Lachey.
Our Lady Peace take over atop the MuchMusic Countdown with Is Anybody Home? N'Sync's Bye Bye Bye climbs two to 2, with S Club 7 holding at 3. Dr Dre's Forget About Dre climbs from 12 to 9, the only entry into the ten. Macy's I Try moves 18-15, Hanson's This Time Around 20-16, Sonique's It Feels So Good 25-18, Pink's There You Go 27-21, Destiny's Child's Say My Name 29-24. New entries: Smashing Pumpkins' Stand Inside Your Love at 26 and McMaster & James' Thank You at 29.
Sting's Desert Rose is the new topper on the MuchMoreMusic Countdown, swapping with Faith Hill's Breathe. Enrique Iglesias' Be With You shoots from 7 to 3, with Macy's I Try up from 10 to 5. Sonique's It Feels So Good (13-9) and Damhait Doyle's Tattooed (12-10) enter the top ten. Other climbers: Chantal Krevizauk's Dear Life 18-14, Jacksoul's Can't Stop 28-23. Thankyou is the only entry, for McMaster & James, at 28.
Other UK acts:
ALB 16 (22) Bloodhound Gang - Hooray for Boobies
45 (52) Sting - Brand New Day
47 (50) Tarzan OST
76 (76) Sonique - Hear My Cry
HEAT 1 ( 8) Kearns / Tynan / Wright - Irish Tenors Live
(also IND 7 (9))
6 (24) McDremott / Kearns / Wright - Irish Tenors
(also IND 12 (17))
HOT 13 (12) Sonique - It Feels So Good
MR 7 ( 5) Bush - Letting the Cables Sleep
8 (11) Bloodhound Gang - The Bad Touch
18 (13) Cure - Maybe Someday
AT 15 (15) Sting - Brand New Day
TOTP this week...
#1 Geri Haliwell - Bag it Up (is there anyone who hasn't seen this routine yet?) #2 Blink 182 - All the Small Things (they try hard, but don't quite work) #3 Chicane - Don't Give Up (zzzzz) #4 ATB - Killer (cliched performance of a crap song) #6 Dr Dre / Snoop Dogg - Still Dre (the cinemascope video will win few fans) #14 Embrace - You're not Alone (a perfectly fine song, but not something to win anyone over) #15 - Will Smith - Freakin' It (oh, freak off) #18 Macy Gray - Still (jaw-droppingly great live show) #23 No Doubt - Ex-Girlfriend (for the first time this year, what *does* she look like?)
Planet Pop (1030 Sunday, Channel 4)
* Ute Lempter - from Chicago to pop standards
* Lauren's Lingo: hair slides come under scrutiny
* Planet Popcorn: "Next Friday", "The Next Best Thing"
* Meteors: Moloko, Nina Persson and David Arnold, Beck
* Lest We Forget: Nirvana
* Heather Small - a test of the mute button. The public: "bland", "poor", "dull".
* Music To My Ears: Destiny's Child
* Westlife - "I don't think any of our songs have any kind of meaning."
UK Impact chart
1 [18] Santana - Smooth 2[NEW] Mel C - Never Be the Same Again 3 [1] Madonna - American Pie 4 [2] Blink 182 - All The Small Things 5 [6] Geri Haliwell - Bag It Up 6 [3] All Saints - Pure Shores 7[NEW] Moloko - The Time Is Now 8 [4] Chicane & Bryan Adams - Don't Give Up 9 [5] N'Sync - Bye Bye Bye 10[7] Backstreet Boys - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely ...also... 11 [17] Dr Dre - Still Dre 15 [48] Savage Garden - Crash and Burn 17 [73] Jennifer Lopez - Feeling so Good 25 [30] Sonique - It Feels So Good 28 [NEW] Precious - Rewind 33 [NEW] NNG - Right Before My Eyes 34 [NEW] M2M - Don't Say You Love Me 40 [45] Red Hot Chili Peppers - Otherside
Personal airplay chart
1 [5] Macy Gray - Still 2 [2] Santana - Smooth 3 [12] Blink 182 - All the Small Things 4 [6] Five - Don't Wanna Let You Go 5 [NEW] Lulu - Where the Poor Boys Dance 6 [re] Donell Jones - U Know What's Up 7 [re] Savage Garden - Crash and Burn 8 [re] DJ Luck & MC Neat - A Little Bit of Luck 9 [re] Meja & Ricky Martin - Private Emotion 10 [4] N'Sync - Bye Bye Bye
While the pop world was diminished by the death of Ian Dury on Monday, it was by no means surprised.He had been suffering from cancer for more than two years, a burden that he had borne with characteristic good humour.
Always lacking confidence in his singing abilities, Dury became the voice of London, with his gruff, Cockney slang and risqué narratives about Billericay Dickie and Plaistow Patricia. Dury reconvened his group the Blockheads (minus drummer Charley Charles who had died from cancer in 1990) and released a new album, Mr Love Pants, in 1998, which recalled the droll genius of his 1977 masterwork, New Boots And Panties! Despite the advancing cancer in his liver and colon, he even returned to playing live shows, the last of which was an emotional affair at the London Palladium last month.
N'Sync's No Strings Attached debuts at #1 in the US, selling a record 2.4 million records in its first week, according to SoundScan. It finally knocks Santana's smash Supernatural out of the top slot, which it had held down for 12 non-consecutive weeks.
Rapper Ice Cube's War & Peace Vol 2 (The Peace Disc) opens at #3 on the strength of 185,000 copies sold. Veteran metal outfit Pantera's Reinventing The Steel debuts at #4, moving 161,000 units. The compilation WWF: World Wrestling Federation - Aggression bows at #8, followed by the Murderers' Irv Gotti Presents ... The Murderers at #15.
Sisqo's Unleash The Dragon falls from #2 to #5, while Dr Dre's Dr Dre 2001 spirals from #3 to #6. Macy Gray On How Life Is goes from #4 to #7, while Destiny's Child's sophomore set The Writing's On The Wall drops from #7 to #9. Kid Rock's Devil Without A Cause falls two to #10.
With a 38-28 move, Jay-Z's Vol 3 ... Life And Times Of S Carter is the fastest growing album at retail, while Enrique Iglesias' Enrique shows the chart's largest percentage growth in sales, rocketing from #66 to #47.
Despite being knocked out of the top slot on The Billboard 200, Santana continues to top other charts. The group's single Maria Maria featuring The Product G&B jumps into the #1 position on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, from a double #2 last week.
The top 10 of the Hot 100 sports two new entries: Sisqo's Thong Song, 10-6, and Pink's There You Go, 11-7. With a 15-12 move, Macy Gray's I Try shows the greatest gain in airplay, while Savage Garden's Crash And Burn chalks up the top debut at #75. Three Doors Down's Kryptonite manages a #81 debut on the Hot 100, but heads straight to #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
ObUK:
Alb*17(16) Bloodhound Gang - Hooray For Boobies
49(45) Sting - Brand New Day
62(47) Tarzan OST
70(76) Sonique - Hear My Cry
81 NE Led Zeppelin - Latter Days: The Best Of II
*94(105)Elton John - The Road to El Dorado OST
Heat 5(1) Kearns/Tynan/Wright - Irish Tenors Live Belfast
Ind 12(7) Kearns/Tynan/Wright - Irish Tenors Live Belfast
Hot 13(13) Sonique - It Feels So Good
MR * 6(8) Bloodhound Gang - The Bad Touch
8(7) Bush - Letting the Cables Sleep
N'Sync's Bye Bye Bye assumes the head of the MuchMusic Countdown, ahead of S Club 7 and the RHCP. Dr Dre's Forget About Dre accelerates 9-5, while Santana's Maria Maria and Macy's I Try enter the top 10. Big climbs for Hanson This Time Around 16-12, Sonique It Feels So Good 18-13, and Destiny's Child Say My Name 24-18. Kid Rock Only God Knows Why enters at #24, Sisqo's Thong Song #26 and d-cru I Will be Waiting #29.
The MuchMoreMusic Countdown is led by Enrique Iglesias' Be With You, ahead of Macy Gray's I Try and Shania Twain's Come On Over. Sting falls from 1 to 4, and looks set to be taken by Sonique's It Feels So Good, which moves 9-6. Chantal Krevizauk's Dear Life storms 14-9, and is the only top 10 entry. Jann Arden is Sleepless at 12, from 17. New entries from Marc Anthony You Sang To Me #26, Edwin Alive #29, and Great Big Sea Can't Stop Falling #30. The other Newfoundland act, Damhait Doyle, climbs 10-8.
TOTP
#1 - Mel C / Lisa Lopez - Never Be the Same Again (Exclusive live duet? Mel has no new moves. Lisa's late on stage, and totally upstages Dykey Spice.) #2 - Moloko - The Time Is Now (Singer cuts a dash in the black coat and gloves, but the camerawork is poor.) #3 - Santana - Smooth (It's not Rob Thomas on vocals, and appeared on TOTP 2 some weeks ago. Still a great live performance) #11 - Precious - Rewind (What's with the still images at the start? Better than Eurosong, but they're miming here.) #12 - N & G & Kallaghan - Right Before My Eyes (MC Neat, of DJ Luck fame, involves the crowd and some lass who looks like her of Moloko. Doesn't gel.) #14 - Savage Garden - Crash and Burn (Live vocals are welcome, but the return of a beige crew-knit jumper isn't.) #16 - M2M - Don't Say You Love Me (Along with Santana, this group play acoustic and live. They will pick up *many* fans from this.) pre - Beck - Mixed Bizness (Looks a lot like the big band he used for "Sexxlaws".)
Planet Pop: Lauren's in Miami to visit the Winter DJ Conference and top up her tan. Not that she had one to start with.
* Steps interview about Deeper Shade of Blue. They're not splitting with Pete Waterman, but have been working with such pop luminaries as Gary Barlow. The dumper looms ):
* The Miami dance festival. An excuse to discuss electronica, and look at all the silicone.
* Monie Love on her Hot 97 (NY, NY) radio show. Inspired by The Message.
* Lauren's Lingo - The Disc Jockey. From Jimmy Saville through Larry's Loft and how Kraftwerk were inspired to create the 12-incher.
* Craig David on Fill Me In. "Birtney is an R&B artiste who has been embraced by a mainstream audience."
* The Micronauts show Baby Wants to Rock.
UK Impact chart
1 [2] Mel C - Never Be the Same Again 2[NEW] Westlife - Won't Be Fooled Again 3 [1] Santana - Smooth 4 [21] Destiny's Child - Say my Name 5 [4] Blink 182 - All The Small Things 6 [7] Moloko - The Time Is Now 7 [3] Madonna - American Pie 8 [6] All Saints - Pure Shores 9 [8] Chicane & Bryan Adams - Don't Give Up 10[5] Geri Haliwell - Bag It Up ...also... 17 [43] Montell Jordan - Get it on Tonite 21 [NEW] Atomic Kitten - See Ya 24 [28] Precious - Rewind 29 [NEW] Celine Dion - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 32 [NEW] B*Witched - Jump Down 36 [57] Sisqo - Thong Song 39 [47] Pink - There You Go
Personal airplay chart
1 [NEW] Ian Dury & the Blockheads - Hit Me (With Your Rhythm Stick) 2 [re] Whitney Houston - My Love is Your Love 3 [2] Santana - Smooth 4 [1] Macy Gray - Still 5 [re] Macy Gray - I Try 6 [NEW] Precious - Rewind 7 [re] All Saints - Pure Shores 8 [re] Destiny's Child - Say My Name 9 [7] Savage Garden - Crash and Burn 10 [9] Meja & Ricky Martin - Private Emotion
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