Day in Pop for 12/04: Adam Lambert Snubbing Continues- Lily Allen Taking A Break From Music- Empire Keeps Lady Gaga From The Top- Elf Terrorist- Entourage Movie? and more top pop music news stories of the day

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Full Report for 12/04/2009

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Adam Lambert Snubbing Continues- Lily Allen Taking A Break From Music- Empire Keeps Lady Gaga From The Top- Elf Terrorist Threat- Entourage Movie? and more

Not only is ABC distancing themselves from Adam Lambert, Eminem is dissing him! Lambert posted the following update on Twitter about the rug being pulled out from under a couple of his upcoming TV appearances in the aftermath of his over the top performance at the American Music Awards: "Yes, sadly friends, ABC has canceled my appearances on Kimmel and NYE. :( don't blame them. It's the FCC heat," he wrote. more

In other Lambert news, he seems to be living on Twitter. Aceshowbiz reports: Adam Lambert apparently has heard about Eminem rapping about him on a new song called "Elevator". Lambert is not the only singer who appears on "Elevator". His fellow Idol pal Clay Aiken and NSYNC's former member Lance Bass, both of whom are coincidentally gays just like Adam" more

BBC reports: Lily Allen has confirmed she'll take "one or two years off from recording and performing music" from March 2010. The singer said she would use the time off to start her own record label, set up a fashion shop with her sister and "spend some time in the home I've built for myself". more

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind" held at No. 1 for a third week on the Billboard Hot 100, increasing its lead over Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," which remained in the No. 2 spot. more

Terrorist Elf arrested! A man dressed as an elf is jailed after police in Georgia say he told a mall Santa that he was carrying dynamite. Police say Southlake Mall in suburban Atlanta was evacuated but no explosives were found. more

Two more seasons of HBO's "Entourage" and then a movie? That seems to be the plan, according to Mark Wahlberg, an executive producer of the Hollywood-set show. more

Comcast Corp struck a deal to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co, creating a media superpower that would control not just how television shows and movies are made, but how they are delivered to the home. [Maybe NBC will now be able to get some viewers since they will no longer have to work propaganda for GE into their scripts?] more - more on this story

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Matt Hires Hires Full Backing Band For Up Coming Tour With Jason Castro

Matt Hires has announced details of his upcoming headline tour � his first-ever to feature a full backing band. The "State Lines Tour 2010" will kick off on January 20th at Jacksonville, Florida's Jack Rabbits and then traverse the U.S. through late February.

Additional dates will be announced shortly. Joining Hires on the trek will be fellow Atlantic recording artist � and former American Idol sensation � Jason Castro, who will be releasing his own debut album next year.

"Although I love playing acoustic shows, I'm really excited to be taking a band out on tour with me," says Hires. "It will be nice to present the songs in a way that is more fully realized. Fans can expect a little rock-n-roll, a little bit of acoustic balladry, and some stuff in the middle. I'm also really excited to have Jason Castro joining me on the road. He is a great musician. Lots of good times ahead!" - more on this story

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Billy Joe Shaver Ready for a Busy 2010

(conqueroo) Texas music legend Billy Joe Shaver will tour heavily during the final weeks of 2009 and most of the year 2010 as he looks to a new album and a series of live dates with Texas confrere Willie Nelson.

This past spring, no less than Bob Dylan mentioned him in the lyrics of his song "I Feel a Change Comin' On" from his album Together, Through Life: "I'm listening to Billy Joe Shaver and I'm reading James Joyce/Some people they tell me I've got the blood of the land in my voice."

Shaver will appear in a sold-out show with Texas music royalty Willie Nelson, Ray Price, Billy Bob Thornton and Kris Kristofferson on Wednesday, December 16 at Carl's Corner in Hill Country, Texas. He has also launched what he calls the "Bottom Dollar Shows" to keep the music flowing in recession-plagued times. Selected home state live dates will cost $1 to attend. He can afford to do this because he's found that when the cover charge is low, he sells far more merchandise and CDs. "We're going to start this at our Willie's Nightlife Theater date on December 20, and if it catches on, we're going to take it everywhere," he says. - more on this story

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Columbia Records Dominate With 42 Grammy Nominations Headed By Beyonce's Ten Nominations

Artists and recordings from the Columbia Records Group garnered 42 nominations in some 32 Grammy categories for recordings released during the Grammy Eligibility Year October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Nominations for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards were announced in Los Angeles on Wednesday, December 2 by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards will be held on "GRAMMY Sunday," January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and once again will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8�11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

Beyonce leads the Columbia Records pack this year with an astounding ten nominations including the Top 3 Grammy categories (Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Album of the Year). Maxwell followed with six nominations while Columbia artists MGMT and the Ting Tings were both nominated in the Best New Artist category. Last year's new artist winner, Adele, picked up another nomination this year.

Other Columbia Records artists nominated for Grammys this year include Bruce Springsteen (4 nominations), Chris Botti (3 nominations), Bob Dylan, AC/DC, MGMT and Israel Houghton (2 nominations each) and John Legend, Tony Bennett, Harry Connick, Jr., Slayer, Miranda Lambert, Decyfer Down, Mary Mary, Johnny Cash, the "Cadillac Records" soundtrack and producer Brendan O'Brien, whose work on Columbia albums for AC/DC ("Black Ice") and Bruce Springsteen ("Working On A Dream") earned him a Producer of the Year, Non-Classical nomination. - more on this story

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Kings of Leon Help RCA Music Group Garner 18 Grammy Nominations

RCA Records recording artist Kings of Leon and their critically acclaimed album Only By The Night lead the way for the RCA Music Group, earning 4 Grammy nominations, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year for their hit single "Use Somebody" for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards announced last night in Los Angeles. Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" also garnered nominations in the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Rock Song categories. "Use Somebody," which has now sold over one million tracks, was #1 at Hot AC for 11 weeks, tying for the longest running #1 song of 2009. The single also claimed the #1 spot at Modern Rock for three weeks straight and is currently one of the biggest rock crossovers of the year at pop radio with a peaked position at #1. Their 4th studio album, Only By The Night, was released on September 23, 2008 and debuted in the top five on the Billboard Top 200 and #1 at iTunes. It has sold 1.5 million albums in the US and nearly 6 million worldwide. The band was nominated for three Grammys and won their first earlier this year for "Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for "Sex On Fire," which was #1 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart for nine weeks in a row.

The Dave Matthews Band received Album of the Year and Best Rock Album nominations for their first studio album in four years, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King (RCA Records). Certified platinum Big Whiskey� pays tribute to the group's saxophonist, LeRoi Moore and debuted at #1 on The Billboard Top 200 in June 2009, marking the band's fifth consecutive studio album to enter the chart in the top position � thus tying Dave Matthews Band with Metallica as the only two groups in chart history to have five consecutive studio albums bow at #1. Produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance), the record has been hailed by Rolling Stone as the group's "most electric album yet." Formed in Virginia in the early 1990's, the group has sold a collective 35 million units (CD and DVD combined) and its four most recent studio albums have each entered The Billboard 200 at #1. With over 15 million tickets sold, Dave Matthews Band was named the top-drawing American band in the world by Billboard magazine.

Jamie Foxx's third studio album, Intuition (J Records), received a Best Contemporary R&B Album nomination along with Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best R&B Song for his hit single "Blame It," featuring T-Pain. Intuition debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 and #2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The single "Blame It" was #1 on the Urban Mainstream radio chart for 12 consecutive weeks and garnered ringtone and digital single sales over one million. During the peak of the album, Foxx appeared on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with 3 singles simultaneously within the Top 10: "Blame It," "She Got Her Own," and "Just Like Me;" at #1, #2 and #8, respectively. Foxx is currently in the studio working on his follow up album due for release in 2010. - more on this story

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Pink Sober Funhouse Recognition

Capping off an incredible year, P!nk has been nominated for two Grammy Awards, including the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category for her hit single "Sober" and in the Best Pop Vocal Album category for her multi-platinum selling album Funhouse.

These two make a total of nine Grammy nominations for P!nk, who has won the coveted music award two times - for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 2001 for "Lady Marmalade," performed with Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, and Mya, and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Trouble" from 2004's Try This.

2009 has proved to be a whirlwind year for the international superstar, who's nominated album Funhouse has now sold more than 5 million copies worldwide and boasts her first #1 Billboard single, "So What!" The album also inspired her wildly successful Funhouse Tour which took the world by storm this year, travelling across the globe and breaking touring records along the way. P!nk is now the most successful solo touring artist of all time in Australia, playing an unprecedented 60 sold out arena shows. Stateside, the US leg of the Funhouse Tour was P!nk's first ever headlining arena tour in her home country. Kicking off in Seattle on September 15th, the tour packed arenas across the country and left fans and critics raving. The New York Times proclaimed, "Even in an era of escalating pop spectacle, Pink's 'Funhouse' tour is going to be hard to top�Onstage she was a down-to-earth superwoman." P!nk even previewed her Funhouse Tour with a fearless acrobatic performance at this year's MTV VMA Awards. - more on this story

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New Zealand's Gin Wigmore Set U.S. Debut Featuring The Cardinals

New Zealand sensation Gin Wigmore is set to make her Stateside debut in March 2010 with her debut album Holy Smoke, to be released on Universal Motown Records , this legendary label being the perfect home for this soulful lady.

Recorded in Los Angeles at the legendary Capitol Studios, Holy Smoke features the instrumentational stylings of The Cardinals (as in Ryan Adams and�). Additionally, The Cardinals � Neal Casal, Jon Graboff and Brad Pemberton � are Gin's touring band on her current Australian tour.

On working with the famed band, Gin says, "I have wished on the brightest star every night since leaving L.A. that I would be able to work my magic in getting The Cardinals boys to come to my part of the world to play a few killer shows. And it has actually worked! They are coming! I'm that ridiculously excited I can't even sit still anymore." - more on this story

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Sol Giant Announce EP

Talent continually rises out of the L.A. music scene with the latest offering in the form of Sol Giant, a quartet whose dramatically diverse backgrounds work harmoniously to make their pop-rock sound a complete original.

Now, Sol Giant is ready to digitally release its EP Strangers on December 8, making it available on all major online retail outlets such as Amazon, iTunes and Rhapsody.

Strangers, recorded, mixed, and mastered at Sound Central Recorders and Romulus Studios in Los Angeles, will shake the masses, especially those that have been ready and waiting for something new to come along. - more on this story

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A Weather Going Soph in March

A Weather will release their sophomore album Everyday Balloons March 2, 2010 on Team Love Records. Everyday Balloons both builds upon and maintains the intimate, understated beauty and depth of the band's 2008 debut, Cove.

Opener "Third of Life" immediately introduces A Weather's more electric guitar-driven side and newly broadened dynamics, while the hushed pop of "Giant Stairs" steadily swells to a gently triumphant anthem. Often built around the interplay between Aaron Gerber's and Aaron Krenkel's spare guitar work, each song features Gerber's and Sarah Winchester's serene yet richly emotive, breathy vocals that alternately intertwine and soar alone across aching, lush melodies. Delicately nuanced themes of comfort and fear, routine and deviation, and the tender vulnerability of hope thread through the album, which culminates with the epic exploration of spiritual exhaustion found in final track "Lay Me Down."

Once again recorded by engineer Adam Selzer (M. Ward, The Decemberists, Norfolk & Western) at Portland's Type Foundry Studios, Everyday Balloons is propelled by the restrained yet unmistakable power of A Weather's songs. This singular quality recalls critical recognition of Cove, of which NPR's 'Song of the Day' observed, "In the band's hands, a sigh is far more compelling than a scream", while the album also garnered high praise from Pitchfork ("...A Weather are, quite literally, a quiet storm") as well as Nylon, Spin.com, Popmatters, and The New York Daily News, among others. - more on this story

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Ireland's King of Pop Fran King Releases Second CD

Fran King "could teach doctoral studies in Pop craftsmanship!" raved one US reviewer about King's 2006 solo debut album 'Beautification'. One of Ireland's finest rising stars, Fran has been praised for his song-writing: "Melody driven, thought provoking, and well constructed intelligent triple A Pop/Rock."

On November 10, 2009 top reissue label Renaissance Records in conjunction with ItsAboutMusic.com released Fran King's highly anticipated second CD 'My Sweet Elixir'.

Fran King was a founding member of Beach, an Irish based indie band once hyped by Billboard magazine as Ireland's next big thing in the late '90s. The band had several Top 10 hits in Ireland before disbanding in 1999. A year later, Fran began tentative steps towards recording his aforementioned highly acclaimed debut solo album. He also wrote and recorded two short film soundtracks (one award winning), and has worked in the studio / live with Sir George Martin, Tears For Fears, Sugababes (UK), Nick Seymour (Crowded House) and Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze) to name a few. - more on this story

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David Guetta's Big Night

Superstar DJ/Producer David Guetta had a big night at "The Grammy Nominations Concert Live Countdown to Music's Biggest Night" in Los Angeles Wedneday night, not only did he perform on the live telecast with the Black Eyed Peas but picked up 5 Grammy nominations. This is the first time Guetta has received a nomination.

Guetta is nominated in the Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year categories as producer of the Black Eyed Peas monster smash "I Gotta Feeling."

His own album One Love (EMI's Astralwerks) which features vocals from Akon, apl de ap, Estelle, Kid Cudi, Ne-Yo, Novel, Kelly Rowland, will.i.am and Chris Willis earned 3 nominations including Best Dance Electronic Album Of The Year along with Best Dance Recording and Best Remixed Recording for the album's first single "When Love Takes Over" featuring Kelly Rowland. - more on this story

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