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B-Sides Report for 09/09/2015



Bruno Mars To Headline Super Bowl Halftime Show?

(Radio.com) Bruno Mars will return to the Super Bowl. According to various sources, the singer has been invited back to perform at the halftime show at Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, Calif.

Entertainment Weekly broke the news on Tuesday that the "Treasure" singer would return to the big stage to celebrate the NFL's golden anniversary of the Super Bowl.

And, according to Billboard, the NFL has asked Mars to "curate" the halftime show, which conventional wisdom suggests many special guests can be expected at the event.

Mars was the halftime entertainment for the spectacle two years ago and was joined onstage by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. According to Nielsen, over 115 million viewers watched Mars perform at the Super Bowl. Read more here.

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Sam Smith Releasing New James Bond Movie Theme Song

After a lot of speculation and some false rumors it has been revealed the Sam Smith was selected to record the theme song to the forthcoming James Bond movie "Spectre."

The theme song, entitled "Writing's On The Wall," is scheduled to be released on September 25th, well ahead of the release of the new Bond film, the 24th in the series, which is set to hit theaters in North America on November 6th, following the UK release on October 26th.

Smith had the following to say about the track, "This is one of the highlights of my career. I am honored to finally announce that I will be singing the next Bond theme song.

"I am so excited to be a part of this iconic British legacy and join an incredible line up of some of my biggest musical inspirations. I hope you all enjoy the song as much as I enjoyed making it."

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Ed Sheeran Duet With Chris Brown Goes Online

(Radio.com) Ed Sheeran was just one of long list of artists that joined Chris Brown in Las Vegas. The British singer and songwriter hopped onstage for a rendition of Breezy's "Loyal," as well as a hip-hop version of Sheeran's hit "Thinking Out Loud."

Chris Brown and company threw down at Drai's Beachclub in Vegas on Sunday night (Sept. 6). The singer invited a bunch of artists to join him on the stage including Nelly, Trey Songz, Jeremih and the aforementioned Ed Sheeran.

An animated Sheeran joined Brown on stage with drink in hand for the performance, as the crowd revels in the moment and sings along at top volume. The two may seem like an unlikely pair but have a lot in common. Aside from sleeve tattoos and being singers, they have both released albums titled X.

Watch the NSFW fan-filmed videos for "Loyal" and a fan-filmed compilation of clips from the special night here.

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Thomas Rhett Aims To Set World Record At Stadium Album Event

Country music star Thomas Rhett wants to set a new Guinness World Record at a special event at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX celebrating the release of his sophomore album "Tangled Up".

The album is set to be released on September 25th and Rhett will celebrate with a special concert event "Tangled Up in Texas" on the 23rd that will include a new world record event.

Rhett had this to say, "Going into album release surrounded by some of my biggest fans is exactly how I want to kick off that week. That paired with the fact that we get to play new music at one of the most iconic stadiums in the world is going to be wild."
We were sent these details about the world record attempt:
Doors to AT&T stadium will open at 4:00P before fans will literally get "tangled up" to set a Guinness World Records title for the largest game of Twister.

Hosted by NASH FM's Shawn Parr, NASH Nights will broadcast live from the event all night long including Thomas Rhett's 7:30P concert on the stadium field. All children under the age of 12 will be able to attend for free.

Find more details about the event here.

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DJ Yella Was The Only N.W.A. Member At Eazy-E's Funeral

(Radio.com) DJ Yella opens up about his relationship with Eazy-E in a new interview with VladTV, and he revealed that he was the only member of N.W.A. to attend the rapper's funeral.

At the time of Eazy-E's passing in 1995 from complications with AIDs, DJ Yella was involved in the porn industry. DJ Yella explains how the last time the two spoke, Eazy-E told him, "Watch yourself," warning him about the disease's proliferation without coming out and mentioning it specifically.

DJ Yella discusses how even though Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and MC Ren showed up at Eazy-E's hospital bedside, he was the only one who attended the funeral. "Some people probably just can't take it," he said. "I don't know what the reasons are. We never talked about it, even to this day."

Watch the nearly 10-minute interview here.

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Garth Brooks' No Fences 25th Anniversary Reissue Hits Snag

(Radio.com) Garth Brooks fans may have to wait a little-or perhaps a lot-longer for the 25th anniversary release of No Fences. Featuring remixed and remastered tracks and a new version of the hit "Friends in Low Places" with George Strait, Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line and Keith Urban, the project hit a wall recently due to a disagreement over royalties.

Brooks arranged a deal with an unnamed retailer. In exchange for buying 1 million units, the retailer asked publishers for lowered royalties, which most agreed to. Sony/ATV Music and Universal Music Publishing Group did not, instead requesting a higher royalty rate which would exceed the retailer's budget.

Brooks spoke with Billboard about the stall. After talking with the publishers holding out on making the deal, he learned they wanted to protect the songwriters. "I respect that, he said. "That's been my whole thing since day one; you have to protect the songwriters." Read more here.

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Vanessa Williams Returning To Miss America As Head Judge

(dcp) 1984 Miss America winner Vanessa Williams will be returning to the event for the first time in 32 years. Williams will be making her return as the head judge for the competition. We were sent the following details:

Williams will join host Chris Harrison, co-host Brooke Burke-Charvet, Music Curator Nick Jonas and celebrity judges Brett Eldredge, Taya Kyle, Danica McKellar, Kevin O'Leary, Amy Purdy and Zendaya.

The "2016 Miss America Competition" is scheduled to be broadcast live from Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on Sunday, September 13 (9:00 - 11:00p.m./ET) on ABC.

"Vanessa Williams made history by becoming the first African American to win the competition when she was crowned Miss America 1984, and she went on to conquer the worlds of music, Broadway, television, and film," said Sam Haskell, Executive Chairman & CEO of the Miss America Organization. "It is a great honor to welcome her back to the competition as our Head Judge."

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Justin Bieber Releases Acoustic 'What Do You Mean?' Video

(Radio.com) Justin Bieber has just released a stripped-down acoustic version of his hit single, "What Do You Mean?" along with an accompanying video. The original version of the song, produced by Skrillex, has a very EDM-ready sound. The new version features Bieber, accompanied only by a single acoustic guitar player.

The video shows Bieber on the promotional path for the song, and also sees him skateboarding, hiking and meeting fans, as well as performing the song with his long-time friend and guitar player Dan Kanter.

As Bieber told Radio.com in a recent interview, he wants all of his songs to be able to stand up with sparse arrangements, no matter how highly produced they are. "That's how I want it to be for all my songs. I want to be able to strip it down completely and say, 'What is the raw structure of this song? If we take everything else away, is it still a good song?' I think that's why it worked so well." Watch the video here.

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Lana Del Rey Reveals Two New Songs 'Freak' and 'Music to Watch Boys To'

(Radio.com) With her second album Honeymoon set to drop on September 18th, Lana Del Rey released a video sampler on Tuesday previewing tracks "Freak" and "Music to Watch Boys To."

Rather than a true music video, the piece features ethereal, home-movie style video of Lana Del Rey and friends lounging in the California sun. Del Rey takes credit for directing the video on Vevo.

Towards the end, things take a turn from the first half's sun-drenched 1970s love fest. A helicopter appears and Del Rey walks inside from the balcony with what looks to be a grenade launcher. Ominous imagery, indeed.

The video also includes brief portions of two previously released tracks "High By the Beach" and "Terrence Loves You." Check it out here.

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Steve Forbert Announces New Album 'Compromised'

(Skye Media) Singer-songwriter Steve Forbert has announced that Rock Ridge Music will release his 16th studio album, Compromised, on November 6, 2015. We were sent the following details:

Recorded in Woodstock and Cape Cod and produced by Forbert along with John Simon (who helmed Forbert's breakthrough sophomore album, 1979's Jackrabbit Slim), Compromised is anything but what its title suggests. Its aggressive, roots-rock stylings are reminiscent of Forbert's 1992 album The American in Me.

From the rambling piano and horn-driven swing in "Big Comeuppance" to the seductive twang in "Devil (Here She Comes Now)" to the ironic romanticizing of Altamont in "Welcome the Rolling Stones," Forbert has followed his muse to the hilt. "It's all about the songs," Forbert acknowledges, "and the songs are about the inspiration. For me, if you have the inspiration, then you have to make the commitment to getting the song as good as you know it should be. Then making an album-a finished product-is your next challenge."

Compromised collaborators include bassist Joey Spampinato (NRBQ), drummer Lou Cataldo (The Freeze), pianist/trumpeter Kami Lyle, and keyboardist Robbie Kondor, the latter of whom played on Forbert's classic 1978 debut, Alive on Arrival. "I recorded with the band that did the Arrival and Jackrabbit anniversary tours with me in 2013 and 2014," Forbert says, "where we played those albums in their entireties. It just seemed natural to say, 'Okay, we're going to rehearse for this tour - but let's record an album together, too.' And it was great reconnecting with John Simon again after all this time."

Compromised seems to be a fairly ironic title, given the nature of its contents. "If people ask me why it's called Compromised, well, that's the first song on the record, and it's pretty true to my style," Forbert admits. "But to put it simply, I've been dealing with the changes we've all been going through and what we live with in life today. Clearly, we're going through something new because of the digital revolution. We have so much intensity in the air now - that clich� of too much information."

Forbert plans to tour in UK and Scandinavia in September and October, with some US dates planned in November and December. See the tour dates here.

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Shawn Mullins Announces New Album 'My Stupid Heart'

Shawn Mullins has announced that Rounder Suger Hill will be releasing his new studio album, "My Stupid Heart", on October 23rd and he will be playing several live dates this fall in support of the release.

Mullins recorded the new album The Holler in Nashville. The effort was produced by Lari White (Toby Keith) and features Michael Rhodes (bass), Gerry Hansen (drums, percussion), Jerry McPherson (electric guitar), Guthrie Trapp (mandolin, bazouki) and Dan Dugmore (steel guitar.) Mullins was also joined by Chuck Cannon (acoustic guitar, vocals) and Max Gomez (vocals), who helped to co-write several of the songs this release.

The music star has announced a string of live performances which kick off this Friday, September 11th at The Foundry Athens, GA and conclude on November 28th in Atlanta at the Variety Playhouse. See the dates and the new album's tracklisting here.

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Justin Bieber and Pierce The Veil Get Mashed Up

(Radio.com) A mash-up producer known as Dr. Brixx has taken two dissimilar songs; Justin Bieber's "What Do You Mean" and Pierce the Veil's "Hell Above" and melded the two to make something entirely new-a strangely catchy new hybrid called "What The Hell Do You Mean?"

The question one might pose is, what fan of either band would listen to such a mix? Edgy Beliebers or PTV fans looking for a little pop? Regardless, the novelty mashup is interesting when it's done well, and this one fits the bill. Watch the video above.

Dr. Brixx it seems, specializes in mashing pop artists with rock acts. His offerings include odd pairings such as Demi Lovato vs. Good Charlotte, Fall Out vs. Katy Perry and Taylor Swift vs. As It Is among others. Surprisingly, Swift's camp hasn't ordered the latter song to be taken down yet. So, get a listen in while you can here.

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Chris Brown and The Game Feuding Over Karreuche Tran

(Radio.com) Another day, another instance Chris Brown is in his feelings over his ex-girlfriend Karreuche Tran. This time the man lurking around Tran's Instagram account is Brown's friend and collaborator The Game.

Things got heated when, The Shade Room, posted a screen shot of The Game following C. Breezy's ex and subsequently liking eight of her Instagram photos. Brown didn't appreciate the gesture and let loose in The Shade Room's comment section.

Brown posted, "Someone must have something they need to promote. It's sad people need gimicks to maintain fame. All pub is good pub I guess." Once The Game heard about Brown's comment, he responded in true thug fashion, by threatening to fight Brown. Read his response here.

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Future To Release New Album Before The End Of The Year

(Radio.com) Auto-tuned rapper Future has amassed a sizeable following by dropping various projects in rapid succession. After the releases of two well-received EPs and an album that topped the charts, Future announced he was already cooking up his next album already and it would be available by the end of the year.

The surprise announcement came as Future was closing his set at Budweiser's Made In America festival over the Labor Day weekend. "We appreciate all of the support," he told the legion of adoring fans.

He then broke the news, "Y'all been turning up for us. It's gon' be another album on the way before the year's out with. Just know. Just know we ain't stop for you." Read more here.

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50 Cent Takes A New Shot At Rick Ross

(Radio.com) Rapper/actor 50 Cent must be back in "How to Rob" mode because he's reverted back to beefing with any and everybody. 50 has been engaged in a war of words with Diddy and rapper French Montana over whose vodka tastes better-EFFEN or Ciroc. While the beef remained fairly tame, compared to 50's other beefs, the Queens rhymer got personal when he took another shot at Diddy's friend, Rick Ross.

Ross found himself in 50 Cent's crosshairs once again when 50 posed for a picture with the man, who was allegedly kidnapped and beaten by the MMG head honcho, at a recent EFFEN Vodka. The photo hit Instagram on Sunday (Sept. 6) with the caption:

"This is my friend Jonathan, he was kidnapped and assaulted. He has chipped teeth from being pistol whipped. I can't imagine how bad that hurt. Wait i bet it hurts like being a CO/Rapper in jail. This is not me this is KANAN. Now you pay."

In case you're not familiar, Kanan is the ruthless character 50 plays on the hit Starz Network drama "Power." Read more and see the Instagram post here.

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Owl City Talks Love and Death Themes Of Mobile Orchestra

(Radio.com) This summer saw Owl City - aka singer/multi-instrumentalist Adam Young - release a new album, Mobile Orchestra. Young, who is a heart-on-his-sleeve kind of guy, didn't hesitate in a recent Radio.com interview when asked about the most honest song on the new album.

"The most honest song on Mobile Orchestra is probably a song called 'I Found Love.' It's heavy, it's sort of deceivingly heavy, because the song itself, the melodies and instrumentations sound uplifting and optimistic. But it's pretty much about death and imagining the emotions that you go through knowing that your minutes are numbered.

"Being on your deathbed and having to say goodbye to your friends and your family, your wife and your kids and just trying to imagine what that would be like. I felt like I had to put that down into a song. Part of that is like, 'I'm so sad to say goodbye to everybody and I'm so sad that my life has been a blur and here I am at the end of it. But I'm so excited for what's coming next.' So in that way, it plays into my faith a lot. So it was a fun way to be vulnerable in a way that I don't think I've quite been on earlier records."

Death seems to be on Young's mind, even on another song on the album, "Thunderstruck," which at first appears to be a love song. Read his comments here.

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Kid Cudi Auditioned For Role In Star Wars: The Force Awakens

(Radio.com) Kid Cudi may have a growing film career thanks to his music, but it turns out the rapper has aspirations beyond the mic. In addition to lending his talents to soundtracks and special musical appearances, Kid Cudi aka Scott Mescudi auditioned for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, according to Billboard.com.

Kid Cudi revealed via a post on Twitter that he actually tried out for a part in the franchise's seventh film after one of his fans tweeted that he should be in it.

Including the film audition, Kid Cudi has been growing his acting career with other projects. He's appeared on FOX's hit comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Entourage, and the upcoming film Vincent-N-Roxxy. Read more here.

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