Innholdsfortegnelse for Nov-15-14 i Billboard Magazine

IMAGINE DRAGONS MADE Hot 100 history earlier this year with “Radioactive.” Now, the Las Vegas rockers are eyeing another hit, as “I Bet My Life,” the first single from their as-yetuntitled sophomore album, debuts at No. 53. The track also enters Hot Rock Songs at No. 5, led by 74,000 in first-week sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In the May 10 issue, the band’s No. 3 smash “Radioactive,” from its 2012 album Night Visions, wrapped a record 87-week stay on the Hot 100. Meanwhile, as Taylor Swift blasts onto the Billboard 200 with 1.29 million copies sold of her album 1989 (see page 13), lead single “Shake It Off” returns to No. 1 on the Hot 100 for a third week. 1989’s second radio single, “Blank Space,” bows at No.…

In February, a mysterious Outkast medley surfaced on dance-music blogs, credited to an unknown artist who signed his work simply in white paint strokes. Less than nine months later, that anonymous act had a hit single in 10 territories, a U.S. deal with Columbia Records and a booking at HARD Day of the Dead directly preceding Deadmau5 — feats made even more impressive by his categorical rejection of the music press and most social media. That artist, Steven Zhu, a 25-year-old Brain (who also handles Krewella), not seeing was believing. After connecting through David Dann, Zhu’s creative and business partner at indie label Mind of a Genius, Udell and his team marketed the young artist — anonymously — through the blogosphere. Supported by gritty, self-directed music videos, Zhu subsequently released…

(1941-2014) Home video pioneer Ron Eisenberg, the founder and former president of ETD (East Texas Distributing), died at his Houston home on Oct. 31. He was 73. Ron was a “keep it simple” kind of executive. If it seemed like a good idea, it was probably worth trying. If it didn’t work, he shut it down and moved on. One of Ron’s best ideas led to the formation of the entire video rental business. ETD was servicing newsstands inside grocery stores in the late 1970s when he began testing the sale of $100 movies on videotape. He soon figured out that renting, not selling, those tapes was the way to go. Thanks to Ron, watching movies at home became a reality. By 1994, the year he was named Billboard’s Video…

CHAIRMAN OF SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP TO LOOK AT HIM, publishing veteran David Renzer is just about the last person you’d expect to have co-written a song that reached No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart — let alone one as funky as Con Funk Shun’ “Electric Lady.” And in fact, “I quickly understood that my talents were better-realized on the other side of the desk,” says the now 54-year-old former keyboardist and songwriter. In 1985, the same year as his R&B chart peak, Renzer took a job at Zomba Music, the original home to R. Kelly, Robert John “Mutt” Lange and Def Leppard. He joined MCA Music Publishing, which became Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), as worldwide president in 1996, rising to chairman/CEO within eight years. Renzer took over…

SOUNDS of HOLLYWOOD The Business of Music in TV & Film WILL GLUCK, A DIRECTOR AND screenwriter whose credits include Easy A, Friends With Benefits and several TV series, had never written a musical prior to getting the job of updating the classic Broadway hit Annie. He hired two songwriters who also had no experience in musicals: Sia Furler (of “Chandelier” fame) and Greg Kurstin. “I met with a lot of songwriters and I immediately fell in love with Sia,” says Gluck, 42, who also provided input on casting, music and editing for the Columbia Pictures film that opens Dec. 19. “She introduced me to Greg, who had to learn quickly. I’d say, ‘We need a piece of score here,’ and he’d say, ‘What does that mean?’ ” To ease…

LIL WAYNE FEATURING DRAKE AND FUTURE “LOVE ME” “Drake didn’t know I was a female,” says Davis of the rapper, who did a double take when he walked on-set. “I watched the moment it happened — he was like, ‘Oh.’ It was funny. This video put me in a position where people were like, ‘Who is that?’” JASON DERULO “MARRY ME” Davis enlisted Derulo’s then-girlfriend Jordin Sparks as the love interest in this doe-eyed clip. “He named it ‘Marry Me,’ so we were like, ‘Oh, my God — is he going to propose on-set?’ Obviously, that didn’t happen.” MIKE WILL MADE IT FEATURING MILEY CYRUS, JUICY J AND WIZ KHALIFA, “23” Cyrus may be pop’s resident bad girl, but Davis saw her more professional side. “She was there the whole…

Danish synth-pop singer MØ (real name Karen Marie Ørsted, 26) is bubbling thanks to her feature on Iggy Azalea’s “Beg for It.” There’s just one problem: It seems fellow Danes are the only ones who know how to say her name. See the results of Billboard’s highly unscientific poll of 56 friends and colleagues for proof HOW DO YOU SAY MØ Fifty-six percent chose “moe” — but they’re wrong. The correct answer? None of the above. Ø is a Danish vowel that’s unpronouncable in English; it’s similar to the “eu” in the French word bleu. Luckily, MØ isn’t a stickler. “People can say ‘moe,’ ‘mew’ or ‘moo,’” she says. “It’s all good!”…

BY NOW IT WAS QUITE NORMAL TO have sessions go all night, a habit started by The Rolling Stones in 1966 while we were making Between the Buttons, with almost every session starting at 8 p.m. and going till 7:30 or 8 the following morning. On a Sunday afternoon in studio one at Olympic [in London], we were recording Mick Jagger’ vocal on “Let’s Spend the Night Together.” The track had already been recorded, so there was just Mick; [Stones manager] Andrew [Loog] Oldham; his driver, Eddie; me; and my assistant in the studio. I had set up an open-fronted vocal booth a third of the way down the studio, facing the control room. We had been working for about 20 minutes and Mick was getting close to the take…

THE ROOTS OF MOD MANIA With Woodstock, paisley and the flower power revolution still in the smoke-filled future, The Kinks and The Who ruled London in the early ’60s in short jackets and cropped pants that showed off their Chelsea boots. American musicians followed suit, with songstresses like Nancy Sinatra opting for white leather go-go boots and sporting above-the-knee hemlines. Cher meanwhile eschewed sweet-girl femininity in cigarette pants and paperboy caps.…

From Thomas Edison’s painted brass phonograph to sleek digital-streaming devices, New York’s Museum of Modern Art’s newest exhibit — “Making Music Modern: Design for Ear and Eye” — examines the aesthetic of music’s ever-changing mediums. “The iPod is practically an antique,” says curator Juliet Kinchin, who provides a sneak peek of the items on display. Nov. 15, 2014-Nov. 15, 2015; moma.org 1. Sex Pistols lithograph by James Reid, 1979 “With its mix of sardonic humor and messy imagery, the album art captures the mood of a generation that mocked minimalism.” 2. Braun loudspeaker by Dieter Rams, 1958 “Optimized sound quality and modular cubic design” made these speakers a game changer for at-home entertainment. 3. E.K. Cole radio by Serge Chermayeff, 1933 The introduction of the radio made ragtime accessible to…

There may not be many female rappers topping the charts, but plenty of talented newcomers are threatening to become hitmakers LIZZO Letterman just booked this 26-yearold, who rhymes “nookie” with ”sunset the color of Snooki.” CHECK OUT: “BATCHES & COOKIES” NITTY SCOTT A Brooklyn MC, 24, with Kendrick Lamar’s support. CHECK OUT: DOOBIES X POPSICLE STICKS MIXTAPE LE IKE LI47 This producer-rapper cloaks her identity with gold fronts, ski masks and fierce wordplay. CHECK OUT: “F— THE SUMMER UP” TINK Only 19, this R&B singer (who also raps) has already worked with Timbaland, Sleigh Bells and Jeremih. CHECK OUT: “DON’T TELL NOBODY” DEJ LOAF East Detroit native Dej Loaf, 23, counts Drake and Kevin Durant among her admirers (see page 37). CHECK OUT: “TRY ME” In fact, for such a…

EVEN WHEN SHE ISN’T RECORDING, ARETHA FRANKLIN, 72, looms large in our culture. The recipient of the United States’ highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and an 18-time Grammy Award winner as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement and Grammy Living Legend awardee, Franklin is quite simply the greatest living singer. Even the hat she wore to President Barack Obama’s first presidential inauguration created a stir. (It’s now in the Smithsonian.) The Queen of Soul’s new album, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, is her first studio release in three years, and her first for a major label since 2003’s So Damn Happy. (It entered the Billboard 200 at No. 13, her highest debut ever.) Hearing her talk about the record, it sounds like she’s having the…

PRODUCERS Neil Young, Niko Bolas. LABEL Reprise . RELEASE DATE Nov. 4 FEW SINGERS PLAY VULNERABILITY better than Neil Young. It’s the most affecting trait of this collection of a dozen songs, presented in two separate versions: one set gussied up in formal wear, and the other kicking back in shorts and T-shirts on the back porch. The section recorded with a 92-piece orchestra choir and a bluesy big band has its charms, but the solo recordings have an intimacy and power that play to Young’s well-known strengths as a songwriter, guitarist and world-weary vocalist. Young, 68, recorded the tunes, mostly on piano, for the solo section. These are not demos: The recordings are polished and his vocals are finessed to smartly complement the accompaniment. The songs reveal the undiminished…

BEST PRINCE ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Still breaking the rules, Prince slayed one monster eight-minute medley instead of SNL’s typical two songs. Backed by all-female band 3rdEyeGirl, he shifted from keyboards to guitar, creamy soul to crunchtastic rock. MASTODON ON LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN Metal band Mastodon ripped “The Motherload” with drummer Brann Dailor and bassist Troy Sanders sharing vocals. But the ‘Don to watch was Afro-wigged Brent Hinds, who played a mother of a guitar solo. JESSIE WARE ON LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS British soul-pop singer Jessie Ware — whose second LP, Tough Love, is my latest obsession — did not disappoint with the slow-burning desire of “Say You Love Me,” letting you feel the ache in every nuanced note. WORST SHE & HIM ON THE TONIGHT…

SEPT. 13, 2000 Celia Cruz, wearing a blue wig and blue dress, kicks off the first Latin Grammys beside Ricky Martin and Gloria Estefan at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Broadcast on CBS, the first bilingual TV show in primetime also featured Jimmy Smits, Antonio Banderas and Christina Aguilera. The show lost money “but it’s the best investment the academy ever made,” said Michael Greene, thenpresident/CEO of the Recording Academy. SEPT. 11, 2001 Julio Iglesias is feted as Person of the Year on Sept. 10. After the next day’s terrorist attacks, the Latin Grammys are canceled. Winners are announced a month later and Juanes wins a pivotal best new artist award. SEPT. 18, 2002 Weakened by the previous year’s cancellation, the awards show at the Kodak Theater in Los…

WHERE TO BEGIN WITH TAYLOR SWIFT’S 1989? The album overperformed no matter how you slice it (see story, page 13), selling 1.28 million copies in its first week (ending Nov. 2), according to Nielsen SoundScan. The Big Machine Records release easily arrives at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking her fourth chart-topping album. And for good measure, Swift returns to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Shake It Off ” and also tops the Billboard Artist 100. It’s an all-Swift, all-the-time kind of week on the charts. But those weren’t 1989’s only stunning statistics. The set clocks the single-largest week for an album since 2002 (Eminem’s second chart week with The Eminem Show racked 1.32 million units), the 19th million-selling frame for any album since SoundScan started…

HERE’S A HEAD-SCRATCHER FOR THE DIGITAL ERA: EVEN THOUGH U.S. album sales have plummeted 20 percent since Taylor Swift’s last album, Red, was issued in 2012, the singer scored the best opening week of her career with 1989, moving 1.28 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. With that debut, Swift not only registers the only instant-platinum release of 2014, but bests her last effort by 7.6 percent (the only other album to hit the million mark: Frozen, which has sold 3.5 million units, most of them this year) and beats previous 1989 projections of 750,000 (upped to 900,000 on release day and 1.2 million 48 hours later) by some 500,000 copies. So how did she manage to defy expectations and log the biggest week for an album since 2002, when…

A purportedly “leaked” tracklist for another surprise Beyoncé album was so realistic it even impressed her team, says Lee Anne Callahan-Longo, GM of the singer’s Parkwood Entertainment. She tells Billboard that the Nov. 4 announcement of a four-disc “Platinum Edition” of Beyoncé (due Nov. 24 on two CDs and two DVDs) was never planned as a secret. Yet the fan-fabricated tracklist for a supposed Beyoncé Volume 2, which featured inventive song titles like “KO,” “Good in Good Bye” and “Sensation of Pain” — and guest features including Justin Timberlake on “Renouncement” and Rihanna on “Cherry” — caused a weekend-long Internet firestorm before the official announcement proved it bogus. “After all the hubbub this weekend, we said, ‘Well, let’s just put the [press] release out and say what it is,’ ”…

(1965-2014) A&R veteran Craig Aaronson died Oct. 29 after a long battle with cancer. He was 49. During an extensive career at Warner Bros., Capitol and Grand Royal, Aaronson worked with My Chemical Romance, Avenged Sevenfold, Taking Back Sunday, Mastodon, At the Drive-In and Wiz Khalifa, among others. I met Craig Aaronson when he worked in the mail room at Geffen Records. He was young and passionate, which turned out to be his calling card. He badgered me every single day to work with me in A&R and finally, I relented. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. He told me a few weeks ago that he was so thankful for the chance I had given him and for caring enough to teach him throughout our many…

TOP TOUR (GROSS) The Eagles One Direction Justin Timberlake TOP DRAW (ATTENDANCE) The Eagles One Direction Justin Timberlake BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST Arcade Fire Florida Georgia Line OneRepublic TOP MANAGER Modest! ManagementLondon Put together One Direction’s 71-date world tour, one of the highest-grossing in pop music history. Roc Nation New York Behind the biggest hip-hop tours of the year, including Beyoncé and Jay Z’s 19-show On the Run stadium tour, which sold 832,769 tickets; Kanye West; and Rihanna, solo and with Eminem. Wright Entertainment GroupOrlando, Fla. Orchestrated Timberlake’s hugely successful return to touring, The 20/20 Experience, which will have played 134 dates when it concludes on Jan. 2, 2015. Finalists are chosen based on data reported to Billboard Boxscore from Oct. 1, 2013 to Sept. 30, 2014.…

“THIS SONG GOES OUT TO EVERYONE WHO said I was a vampire — you were f—ing right!” Future Islands frontman Samuel Herring exclaimed with a Dracula-inflected voice at the fourth annual Pitchfork Music Festival in Paris. Held in the cavernous Halle de la Villette (a slaughterhouse-turned-cultural center), concertgoers shuffled between two stages at opposite ends of the venue to catch a diverse lineup that included James Blake, The War on Drugs, Belle & Sebastian, How to Dress Well and Chvrches. St. Vincent impressed with a careerspanning set that included such newer tracks as “Rattlesnake” and classics like “Your Lips Are Red.” Meanwhile, Danish singer MØ, who donned Dia de los Muertos-inspired face paint for Halloween, brushed off her recent Saturday Night Live snafu: “I hadn’t worried about the risk factor…

Chaz Bundick has built his flagship chillwave/soul project Toro y Moi into a five-person touring operation. But to promote Michael — the first LP from his new dance act Les Sins (released Nov. 4 on Carpark/Company) — Bundick, 28, will venture out on his own as a DJ with a 10-city tour beginning Nov. 12. Les Sins’ touring approach may be stripped down, but Bundick says he’ll still need the following to keep him going on the road. SLEEP... A LOT OF IT “On tour, I’m known as the guy who stays at the hotel. I like to catch up on as much sleep as possible.” FISH (OR SUBWAY) “I’ve [become] pescatarian because of touring. I’ve experienced food poisoning so many times. It’s safer to stay away from the meat.…

Fans of Tessa Thompson, the rising actress, might unknowingly also be fans of Tessa Thompson, singer in the under-the-radar electro-soul Los Angeles band Caught a Ghost. The 31-year-old has had a busy 2014 for both of her careers: Her group’s debut, Human Nature, arrived in April on +1 Records, and she stars in the upcoming film Selma (out Dec. 25 through Paramount and produced by Oprah Winfrey). But music and movies came together for Thompson in Dear White People (out now through Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions), a Sundance prize-winning satire about race relations on a college campus, which features her as an outspoken DJ and includes two songs from Caught a Ghost on the soundtrack. How did you become a part of Caught a Ghost? I was singing in a choir and…

“Stand naked in front of the mirror and say, ‘I’m f—ing sexy.’ That’s where it starts.” —RITA ORA The British singer, to Cosmopolitan, on how to “come to terms with loving your body.” “A receipt for a human being. This is painful, now. To see that ... that hurts.” —NAS The rapper, reacting to seeing a bill of sale for his enslaved great-greatgrandmother on PBS’Finding Your Roots. “A man should not spend 20 minutes a day doing his hair.” —JAMES OTTO The country star, speaking to Billboard about finally lopping off his long locks. “I realize you’re too busy being a globalist shill to know the difference, but there are those of us who do as we like.” —BILLY CORGAN The Smashing Pumpkins frontman, on Twitter, responding to Anderson Cooper’s…

JAMIE HINCE OF THE KILLS The lead guitarist (and husband of supermodel Kate Moss) keeps it mod with snug jackets and silk neckerchiefs. LUCIUS “The ‘60s were a time when symmetry was key, and we were drawn to that element,” says Jess Wolfe (right, with Holly Laessig). ALEX TURNER OF ARCTIC MONKEYS The Brit’s graphic stripes and penchant for colorblocking are reminiscent of rock’s early days. ARIANA GRANDE “Mod is a risky look,” says Brigitte Pilla, the stylist behind Grande’s look. “Musicians are able to pull it off.”…

WHAT I’M WEARING a lthough she has modeled for Vera Wang, and Alexander Wang is a close pal, ask Zoe Kravitz, 25, about style and her eyes roll. “I keep it real. I don’t pay attention to labels,” she says. And it’s a sentiment that holds true for her band Lolawolf, which includes keyboardist James Levy and electronics-percussionist Jimmy Giannopoulos, both 34. The group rejected major-label offers and self-released its full-length debut, Calm Down, at the end of October. “Nobody can f— with our aesthetic,” Kravitz says of the band’s DIY approach before dishing on its look. ZOE KRAVITZ “I wore these Reformation pants on our album cover, which we shot on an iPhone. The army jacket is from a thrift store in Berlin and I have on a cut-up…

THIS SEPTEMBER, WHEN RAP SUPERDUO RUN THE Jewels announced preorder sales for their second album, RTJ2, Atlanta rapper Killer Mike and Brooklyn rapper-producer El-P included a few playfully absurd special options on RTJ’s website. In addition to the $1 million “Retirement Plan” package, a completely unserious offer for the partners to quit music, there was the far more affordable Meow the Jewels album bundle, a $40,000 bid to rerecord RTJ2 “using nothing but cat sounds for music.” (“I was completely stoned out of my mind when I wrote that,” El-P later told Indy Week.) Sly Jones, a 30-year-old music blogger and Nike customer service rep from Arizona, took up the dare. On Sept. 17, with El-P’s amused blessing, Jones’ attempt to actualize Meow the Jewels launched on Kickstarter, the South…

1956 Songs of Faith: The Gospel Sound of Aretha Franklin is released on Detroit-based JVB Records. The album was recorded live at the New Bethel Baptist Church — where her father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin, served as pastor — when she was only 14 years old. 1960 With the help of manager Ted White (right), Franklin signs a recording contract with Columbia Records. Her debut album, The Great Aretha Franklin, earns her first Billboard chart appearance with “Today I Sing the Blues” on Oct. 24, debuting on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (then called Hot R&B Sides). The track eventually peaks at No. 10. 1967 Signs with Atlantic Records, and with the help of producer Jerry Wexler (left), arranger Arif Mardin and engineer Tom Dowd, reshapes soul with her first Billboard Hot…

For millions of Latin fans, Thalia is a brand onto herself: Latin pop queen, glam businesswoman, erstwhile soap opera star. But at home in Darien, Conn., she’s simply Mrs. Mottola, wife of veteran music executive Tommy and mother of two. Despite her ever-busy lives, Thalia, 43, is releasing her 17th album, Amore Mio, Nov. 17 on Sony, and in February her latest fashion line will debut at 300 Macy’s stores. Why did you name the album Amore Mio? The title comes from a song written by Jose Luis Roma [onehalf of Mexican pop duo Rio Roma]. It’s a very acoustic album. It’s like a bridge between [2009’s live acoustic album] En Primera Fila and [2012 studio album] Habitame Siempre. It [bridges] the spectrum between live musicians and programming. En Primera…

Back in their 1970s heyday, The Doobie Brothers made yacht rock for the pickup-truck set. Here, they team with contemporary country giants — including Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley and Chris Young — to reboot their greatest hits, Nashville style. That means drum loops, WD-40-slick production and hints of banjo and pedal steel, played by world-class session musicians. But the tweaks don’t much add to or alter jukebox faves like “China Grove” (featuring Young), “Listen to the Music” (Shelton and Hunter Hayes) or “Jesus Is Alright With Me” (a slam-dunk for Casey James). The most noticeable change is in the vocal department — particularly on songs written by onetime frontman Michael McDonald, who rejoins Doobie founders Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons for the first time since 1976. A brave Sara Evans…

The band’s latest two album reissues, for its classic Led Zeppelin IV and its charttopping Houses of the Holy, make an impact on the Billboard 200 dated Nov. 15. The former bounds back into the chart’s top 10 at No. 7, while the latter re-enters at No. 12. 35 K Led Zeppelin IV was rereleased in an array of formats, including a deluxe two-CD edition with eight bonus tracks and a box set with an 80-page book. The album sold 35,000 copies in the week ending Nov. 2, according to Nielsen SoundScan (up 3,042 percent). 28 K IV houses the band’s two most-played songs on the radio in 2014: “Black Dog” and “Rock and Roll.” According to Nielsen BDS, the tracks have garnered 27,677 and 23,227 spins, respectively, across all…

Story To ‘Tell’ Yusuf (last name: Islam) tallies his highest-charting Billboard 200 album in more than 37 years as Tell ‘Em I’m Gone debuts at No. 24. The set marks the folk-rocker’s best rank since Izitso, which rose to No. 7 in July 1977; that LP became the most recent of his seven Billboard 200 top 10s. All of the singer-songwriter’s top 10s are credited to his birth name, Cat Stevens. He changed his name upon his conversion to Islam, also in 1977. His new chart honor adds to an already fruitful 2014: Yusuf, 66, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April. On Dec. 4, he’ll begin his first tour in the United States in 36 years. ‘Monster’ Debut Reinforcing the variety of acts that…

IS BIG MACHINE READYING A BIG SALE? Scott Borchetta’s label has a valuation of $225 to $250 million The timing is exquisite: Now that Taylor Swift and Big Machine Label Group have achieved their biggest-ever sales week with 1989’s 1.28 million copies, the company is said to be on the sales block. Sources say founder/CEO Scott Borchetta is testing the waters to see what kind of offer Big Machine might attract, should he decide to sell — but any deal would likely be contingent on Swift’s continued affiliation with the label. (She has one album and a hits collection left on her current contract. Swift also has an equity stake in the label.) Insiders say Borchetta (who did not respond to requests for comment) is looking for a valuation in…

AFTER NEARLY A DECADE AT UNIVERSAL’S Interscope, hitmaker Timbaland has jumped ship to Sony, entering into a joint venture with Epic Records for his Mosley Music Group. The MMG label, which officially came under the Universal umbrella in 2006, counts among its top sellers the group OneRepublic along with Nelly Furtado and Chris Cornell. It was also the vehicle that Timbaland (born Timothy Mosley) used for his own collaborations, including the 2007 album Timbaland Presents Shock Value, which has sold 1.2 million units, according to Nielsen SoundScan. MMG’s most recent release through Interscope was OneRepublic’s 2013 set, Native, which has sold 881,000. Under the terms of the new partnership, Epic will provide marketing, publicity, distribution and overall label services for the imprint. For now, MMG and Epic will only reveal…

WHEN LYNYRD SKYNYRD helmed its inaugural Simple Man Cruise in 2007, the ship ran out of Jack Daniel’s on the first night. “We drank the boat dry,” band manager Ross Schilling says. “Our fans, they have a good time.” These days, there seems to be a personalized voyage for every hard-partying fan willing to throw big bucks overboard to see their favorite band. Cruise companies are seeing success with nearly every genre, including Motorhead’ Motorboat, EDM bonanza Holy Ship!, Jam Cruise, the Kiss Kruise and Simple Man, which sets sail for the last time in February. But for every music cruise that is scuttled (R.I.P., Weezer Cruise), a new one surfaces. Mad Decent, a Los Angeles-based record label captained by Diplo, is hosting its first Boat Party this month, a…

No stranger to controversy, talk show host Wendy Williams, 50, stepped in as an executive producer of Lifetime’s Aaliyah: The Princess of R&, which premieres Nov. 15. The problem-plagued biopic, starring Alexandra Shipp as the late singer, has been rocked by casting issues and family push-back, but, Williams explains, the show must go on. Why did you become involved? Lifetime needed to tell this story correctly. Fans won’t say, “Oh, my God, how could you disgrace her memory?” And nosy people like me who want to find out things will also be fine. What kinds of things? Her upbringing. How did she meet R. Kelly? What did her parents say when their 15-year-old baby girl brought home a 28-year-old man? Aaliyah was a takecharge young lady with strong opinions about…

IN SEPTEMBER, PARTIERS ON NEW York’s gay club circuit were treated to an unexpected sight: Nick Jonas, performing “Jealous,” the sexy hit single from his selftitled solo debut (due Nov. 10 on Island) and flashing his abs in a mini-strip tease. “I love my gay fans!” exclaims the 22-yearold former Jonas Brothers star, weeks after he pulled the stunt at Manhattan clubs Up & Down and BPM. “All my gay friends were thanking me for having gone out there as a heterosexual male. I don’t see it that much — more people should do it.” Oh, how the littlest JoBro has grown. Jonas and his brothers Joe, 25, and Kevin, 27, came up with a golden generation of Disney Channel babies that includes ex-girlfriend Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Selena…

WITH GLOW STICKS, PACIFIERS, strobe lights and face paint, the monthly parties hosted by CirKiz look a lot like raves, but with a few key differences: They’re totally legal, they’re during the day, and the average attendee is about 8 years old. CirKiz was founded in 2013 by husband and wife Jesse Sprague and Jenny Song, veterans of New York’s nightlife and fashion industries, respectively, who wanted to introduce dance music to their two sons, Alden, 8, and Jalen, 6, in a family-friendly way. Every month, they host dance parties for kids ages 6 to 12 that turn some of Manhattan’s hottest clubs into neon-colored, tot-filled playgrounds. “Nobody uses these massive clubs during the day,” says Song, 48. “Why not bring your kids in and let them run around?” The…

No Points For Smash Mouth @Midnight host Chris Hardwick has a novel way of spurring his studio audience. On Nov. 3, Hardwick, 42, taped the first of four episodes of his Comedy Central game show in Manhattan in conjunction with the New York Comedy Festival; shortly before the cameras rolled, he told the crowd that if its enthusiasm fell short , it would be treated to Smash Mouth’s “All Star” during the segment break. And if that didn’t work, Hardwick said, “We’ll play deep-cut Smash Mouth.” Yikes. Through a spokesman, the band responded: “Oh, Chris, are you still upset that we put Ben Stiller in the ‘All Star’ video instead of you? You know we love you!” Alt-J Roils Giants Fans English indie-rock band Alt-J loves Kansas City, but not…

FROM Detroit AGE 23 BIG BREAK This summer, rapper Dej Loaf (real name Deja Trimble) quit her janitorial job at the Chrysler plant, unsure of the future. But after she uploaded her single “Try Me” to SoundCloud in July, the track went viral, thanks to Drake quoting its lyrics on Instagram. “Stuff travels so fast,” says Dej Loaf. Indeed: She signed with Columbia in October. INSPIRATIONS Dej Loaf uses hardships (her father’s death, severe asthma) as fuel. “I make music about what’s going on,” she says. “If you can relate to it, relate to it.” CO-SIGNS “There’s 500 remixes by 500 rappers,” says Dej Loaf of “Try Me” — including Wiz Khalifa and T.I. She has come to welcome the buzz the new takes give her, but initially she was…

PRET-A-REPORTER What To Buy, Wear And Know Now THE WOMEN WHO WEAR OUR DESIGNS are strong, powerful and fearless,” says Becca McCharen, the 30-yearold creative director of edgy Brooklyn-based fashion label Chromat. And though her sculptural corsets, lingerie and dresses have been worn by artists including Madonna, Beyoncé, Iggy Azalea and Nicki Minaj, McCharen has no formal fashion training: She launched the brand four years ago after earning a degree in architecture from the University of Virginia and working stints in construction and urban planning. Like scaff olding for the human body, Chromat’s signature strappy bras are made with a mix of corset boning and elastic for optimized support and mobility, while more avant garde (and less flexible) runway ensembles incorporate mirrored chrome and 3-D printing technology (prices range from…

NICKI MINAJ APPEARS TO BE IN FULL relaxation mode: The Los Angeles-based rapper, 31, sits cross-legged on a leather sofa inside the closet-sized green room at Hollywood’s Siren Studios, having just wrapped a photo shoot that stretched past 3:30 a.m. She’s wearing lavender sweatpants and a matching hoodie, with her sandals kicked off and an open bag of Cheetos at hand. But while she was feeling laid-back a few moments ago, she certainly doesn’t appear that way now, as an innocent question about Iggy Azalea — Minaj’s foremost rival ever since “Fancy” made Azalea the summer’s most ubiquitous female rapper — hangs in the air. Minaj’s answer? A withering, wordless stare. Just this past August, backstage at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), Azalea complimented Minaj on her performance —…

Anamanaguchi, $277,399 In 2013, this trio asked for $50,000 for its 22-track 8-bit opus, Endless Fantasy. The band got five times that amount. The Coup, $40,281 This hip-hop band’s frontman promised he’d write your name on a bathroom wall if you helped him buy a new tour bus. It worked. Bob Mould, $103,172 Only the Husker Du songwriter would be able to pull off crowdfunding a documentary about his own tribute show. In 2012, he did. Neon Hitch, $29,647+ After four years at Warner Bros. Records, this British gypsy-pop singer is using Indiegogo to release her debut, Eleutheromaniac. Animal Collective, $25,985 In 2009, Josh “Deakin” Dibb crowdfunded a Mali trip, promising artwork inspired by the visit. He went, but never delivered. The Cabin Sisters, $0 David Mamet’s daughters asked for…

SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE, “EDM” became a dirty word. What began as an umbrella term for the new wave of electronic dance music now carries the weight of the genre’s oft-criticized commercialization. If a dance track features a pop vocalist singing a melodic hook, it’s almost automatically labeled as EDM — and then, often, mocked. Calvin Harris is widely, and justifiably, considered the face of this movement. During the past decade, the Scottish DJ-producer, 30, has had nine Billboard Hot 100 hits, more than any other DJ aside from David Guetta, with whom he’s tied. His singles tend to follow a triedand-true pop song structure, and often feature stars like Rihanna and Ellie Goulding. The approach is unabashedly commercial, and it has been a gravy train: Forbes estimates Harris earned…

THE TITLE OF PINK FLOYD’S 15TH — AND, if singer-guitarist David Gilmour is to be believed, final — studio album, The Endless River, is taken from a line in “High Hopes,” the closing song on the band’s last full-length effort, 1994’s The Division Bell. The connection is deliberate, as the basic tracks for this LP were fashioned from more than 20 hours of exploratory jams recorded by Gilmour, drummer Nick Mason and now-deceased keyboardist Richard Wright during the Division Bell sessions. The result is that River is not so much a collection of songs as it is a grouping of ambient, mostly instrumental pieces, outfitted with overdubs and loosely arranged into four movements. The album is characterized by a deliberate pace and a sound that is all soft edges —…

OUTSIDE A MOUNTAINSIDE CAFE just below Barcelona’s centuryold amusement park, a couple approaches Joan Manuel Serrat, the Latin Grammy Awards’ 2014 Person of the Year. From afar it looks like a typical encounter with adoring fans, but it turns out these are two anxious French tourists whose bag was snatched by kids on a moped. Serrat, whose navy linen pants and jacket are brightened by a Mediterraneanblue T-shirt, calls police from his cellphone. When a patrol car arrives 10 minutes later, he gets up from his chair. “I want them to see it’s me,” he says with concern and a grin. A few minutes after he shows his face, the parking lot is filled with cops. Serrat, 70, first gained his reputation as a man of the people in the…

ON THE WAY ‘ U P ’ Nashville indie country/rock group Old Dominion nears Country Airplay with “Shut Me Up” (ReeSmack), produced by singer-songwriter Shane McAnally and veteran session musician Ilya Toshinsky. The quintet consists of Matthew Ramsey, Brad Tursi, Trevor Rosen, Geoff Sprung and Whit Sellers. Early believers in the gritty love song include WUBL Atlanta and Sirius XM’s The Highway. NOT-SO-SHAKEY START Folk-rocker Shakey Graves (real name Alejandro Rose-Garcia) bubbles under Triple A with “Dearly Departed,” featuring Esme Patterson. The Austin native (the city has even dubbed each Feb. 9 “Shakey Graves Day”) self-released his debut LP, Roll the Bones, in 2011 on Bandcamp. Sophomore set And the War Came, his first on Dualtone, debuted at No. 4 on Folk Albums on Oct. 25. LEIHOKU SAYS A LOHA…

27 Years Ago IT REMAINS ONE OF THE SHREWDEST MARKETING CAMPAIGNS in music history: In 1987, 16-year-old Tiff any Renee Darwish, betterknown as Tiff any, performed shows in shopping malls to promote her self-titled debut album. By visiting fellow teens at their second home — where record stores were standard, by the way — she was able to translate her appearances into chart-toppers. On the Nov. 7, 1987 Billboard Hot 100, her pop/dance cover of Tommy James & The Shondells’ 1967 No. 4 hit “I Think We’re Alone Now” hit No. 1 for two weeks. Two months later, Tiff any spent a pair of weeks atop the Billboard 200 and went on to become certified quadruple- platinum by the RIAA. On Feb. 16, 1988, the ballad “Could’ve Been” became the…