Day in Pop for 09/16: Susan Boyle Debut Album Set For Release- The Black Keys collaborate w/Mos Def, Rza, QTip, ODB, Ludacris- Harry Potter The Amusement Park and more top pop music news stories of the day

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Susan Boyle's Debut Album Set For Release

Columbia Records reports: Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle's debut I Dreamed a Dream will be out on Columbia on November 24th. Early predictions say it will be one of the biggest selling albums of the 2009 holiday season. Pre-orders have topped Jay-Z, Whitney Houston, and even The Beatles' remastered CDs, making Boyle #1 on the Amazon.com's best-sellers list.

Boyle was plucked from obscurity when she sang "I Dreamed A Dream" from musical Les Miserables on "Britain's Got Talent" earlier this year. The clip of her performance is one of the most watched ever on YouTube.

Tune in to the season finale of NBC's "America's Got Talent" on Wednesday, September 16th for a special live performance by Boyle. - http://www.susanboylemusic.com/

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The Black Keys collaborate w/Mos Def, Rza, QTip, ODB, Ludacris and others with Blakroc

PR reports: The brainchild of The Black Keys and Damon Dash, BlakRoc Records will release BlakRoc on "Black Friday," November 27, the day after Thanksgiving (to be dubbed "Blak Friday" by the independent record stores that will sell the album).

Produced by and featuring The Black Keys, BlakRoc also hosts a star-studded line up including Mos Def, Q-Tip, RZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Raekwon, Ludacris, Pharoahe Monch, Jim Jones, NOE, Nicole Wray and Billy Danze.

Of the album, The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach said "no samples were used on the record, it's all live instruments and live vocals." For more information, please visit blakroc.com, where new content will be added every Friday until release. - more on this story

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Colbie Caillat Now A Surfrider

Surfrider reports: The Surfrider Foundation announced today that platinum singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat has partnered with the organization as an official supporter. As supporter, Colbie will be working to promote the organization and increase awareness about the importance of marine protected areas. This week when Caillat kicks off her BREAKTHROUGH TOUR in support of her #l album of the same name, the Surfrider Foundation will be represented at concerts in selected cities.

"We are extremely excited to be working with Colbie," says Matt McClain, Surfrider Foundation's Director of Marketing and Communications. "We are looking forward to working with her so that she can share her passion and enthusiasm for marine life and environments with her fans."

Growing up in Malibu overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Colbie's relationship began with the beach the moment she was born. Throughout her childhood, and to this day, Colbie and her family vacation on Kauai; walking the pristine beaches and enjoying the ocean. The beach is a place she retreats to when writing, and the salt water, cool breeze and grainy sand beneath her feet makes her feel at home. That sense of ease and nature underlies the mellow laid-back songs that have made her one of today's most popular recording artists. - more on this story

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Harry Potter The Amusement Park

PR reports: Universal Orlando Resort, together with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, today revealed first-ever details about the incredible scope of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Universal also announced that the highly anticipated land will open in spring 2010.

Inspired by J.K. Rowling's compelling stories and characters � and faithful to the visual landscapes of the films � The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure will provide visitors with a one-of-a-kind experience complete with multiple attractions, shops and a signature eating establishment. This completely immersive environment will transcend generations and bring the wonder and magic of the amazingly detailed Harry Potter books and films to life.

The expectations of Harry Potter fans are high and Universal Orlando Resort is collaborating closely with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and the Warner Bros. Harry Potter brand team to ensure that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will be an experience of a lifetime. The Harry Potter films' production designer, Stuart Craig and art director, Alan Gilmore, in cooperation with a corps of artisans from Universal Creative are working daily to construct the most authentic Harry Potter experience possible. Guests will be able to sip Butterbeer in Three Broomsticks, buy Extendable Ears at Zonko's and experience a state-of-the-art attraction that brings the stories of Harry Potter to life in a way never before imagined. - more on this story

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Road B.o.B With Shwayze

Atlantic reports: B.o.B aka Bobby Ray has announced details of his upcoming US tour. The dates � which see the acclaimed rapper joining Shwayze on their "Get U Home Tour" � begin on September 23rd at Chicago's House of Blues and then continue through mid-October (see attached itinerary).

Hailed as one of hip-hop's most inventive and exciting young artists, Bobby Ray spent much of this past summer touring alongside Asher Roth and Kid Cudi on the smash "Great Hangover Tour." The ATL-based rapper's hugely anticipated debut album, "B.o.B PRESENTS THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY RAY," is due out earlier next year.

Named among XXL's "10 Freshmen of 2009," Bobby Ray has been drawing ecstatic press in recent months. Smooth celebrated the multi-talented MC's "virtuosic talent" and "lyrical directness," while Ozone called him "one of the most anticipated newcomers in the game." Nylon hailed Bobby Ray as a leading figure of "a new generation of hip-hop upstarts" and the Wall Street Journal concurred, praising B.o.B for "testing the genre's conventions." Additional profiles have appeared in such publications as Complex and Paste, which included Bobby Ray in its "The Best of What's Next '09" round-up. - more on this story

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Veronica Ballestrini To Play Wagon Wheel Country Festival

PR reports: Veronica Ballestrini is ready to rock the stage at K-FROG's Wagon Wheel Country Festival on September 19, 2009 at 10:00am in Lake Elsinore, CA.

This three-day festival will be held at The Lake Elsinore Diamond Baseball Stadium. Ballestrini joins the all-star country line-up including Jason Aldean, Phil Vassar, Jamie O'Neal, Mark Wills, Trent Tomlinson, Gloriana and Mark Chesnutt.

With her pop-country crossover appeal, Veronica Ballestrini is well on her way to mastering the art of our new media age. The astounding numbers on her social network sites are proof that she has that unique ability to connect with people and unbelievable fan loyalty. On Myspace alone, that number totals more than 130,000 friends, 7.5 million page views and 12 million plays of her music. With the recent release of her debut album What I'm All About exclusively online, Veronica is ready to show what she is all about. The album features her popular lead-off single, "Amazing" which landed on Music Row's Country Breakout Chart and is still climbing. Down-to-earth and mature-beyond-her years, she wrote 6 of the 11 tracks on her album, including "Amazing" and title track "What I'm All About." Veronica shows her thankfulness to perform and write, as she helps move and touch people's life through music. - more on this story

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Rocktronica For Laserium First

PR reports: High-Energy singer-songwriter Ilona Europa and Producer/DJ Josh Harris blend their hottest Rock/Electronica/Pop/Euro-Dance music with the coolest in lasers, video-multimedia and trippy visuals in the first Original-Music Live Show at Laserium.

Billboard Charting Ilona Europa (Wii Helix, Sony, and Abercrombie & Fitch credits) layers vocals in over three octaves producing mesmerizing hooks that stick with you for days. Ilona's producer Josh Harris (major label remixes for Madonna, Cher, Kelly Clarkson, The Killers, Seal and Ilona Europa) slices and dices, adds live keys and spins the discs in real time. Hip-Hop dancers drive the duo's rockier side.

Add the multi-screen visuals from Sony award winning cinematographer Jerry Jones and the expert arial 3-D laser effects available only at Laserium and you have Rocktronica - cool, hip and full of surprises. Each Rocktronica concert continues with a Classic Laserium show that brings you back to the Rock n' Roll that started it all! - more on this story

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Ana Egge's Road To My Love

PR reports: Grace/Parkinsong Records announces the release of singer-songwriter Ana Egge's Road To My Love, a collection of twelve new original songs reflecting Egge's most personal work to date along with an intimate version of the beloved spiritual "Swing Low Sweet Chariot."

Co-produced with Ana's longtime collaborator, Jason Mercer, the CD also features musicians Steve Moore playing wurlitzer (Sufjan Stevenes, Laura Viers), Michael Jerome on the drums (Richard Thompson, John Cale) Frazey Ford & Trish Cline of the Be Good Tanya's contributing harmony vocals, Adam Levy on electric guitar (Norah Jones) and Tony Scherr playing upright bass (Bill Frisell, Feist).

Living a life that could be described as off the beaten track, Ana's parents were farmers who moved the family from Ambrose, North Dakota after a drought destroyed their crops, to Silver City, New Mexico where they started their own progressive school. Ana would learn to build her own house from the ground up, her own acoustic guitar (which she still plays exclusively) and begin her career as a songwriter at the ripe old age of fifteen. Her first album, River Under The Road, was released just five years later to a review in the Austin Chronicle hailing it "a debut masterpiece worthy of a songwriter decades worldlier than this mere twenty-year old soul" and earn her two Austin Music Awards. - more on this story

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Kirsten DeHaan Goes Digital

PR reports: Indie label SirLady Records announces its partnership with digital music distributor and licensing company Oseao Media Group for an October 6th digital release of alternative rock singer-songwriter Kirsten DeHaan's "Thorns On A Crown." DeHaan's new EP encompasses the sweetness of Liz Phair, a soft, airy quality like that of Sia, and the rich alto of Fiona Apple.

"We're very excited at Oseao to have the privelage of working with Kirsten and Musicdish," said OSEAO General Manager Jon Lemmon. "This is one of the most exciting partnerships and projects we've come across in some time, and we're thrilled to help push and promote the new EP."

Oseao Media Group will be working closely with major digital retailers, including iTunes, Amazon and eMusic to support and promote the EP release. The release will also be supported by a full internet marketing campaign managed by MusicDish Network, including PR/brand development, netradio marketing, viral campaigns, industry outreach, social media networking and fanbuilding. - more on this story

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The Swimmers Say People Are Soft

PR reports: "To start again, we're the lucky ones" opens "Shelter," the first track on The Swimmers' People Are Soft, and with it rings the sound of the band reinventing itself. On November 3, 2009, MAD Dragon Records (ADA) is proud to release the sophomore album from this Philadelphia quartet-a staggering, vulnerable recording that distinguishes itself as a debut in its own right.

Following the success of 2008's Fighting Trees-The Swimmers' first release on MAD Dragon, which garnered rave reviews from The Philadelphia Inquirer, Magnet, The Tripwire and Time Out Chicago-Steve and Krista Yutzy-Burkey, Scott French and Rick Sieber decided to start fresh by building a home studio from the ground up and recording a new album entirely on their own.

The hard-won results feature intensely personal songwriting couched in distorted synthesizer hooks, crushing electric guitars and dark reverb swells. "It was a very focused and isolated time in the studio, and much of the grit was in the mixing process. These songs were darker and more intricate than the last record, and they demanded a very affected, refined sound," says lead singer/songwriter Steve Yutzy-Burkey. - more on this story

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