Top 10 Selling Albums of 2010

Looking back at 2010, it was a big year in music, even if it felt like I was listening to the same songs over and over and over and over and…well….over.

Check out the Top 10 selling albums of 2010:

1. “The Fame Monster” – Lady GaGa (5.8 million)
2. “Recovery” – Eminem (5.7 million)
3. “My Worlds” (“My World” + “My World 2.0″) – Justin Bieber (5.6 million)
4. “Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum (3.6 million)
5. “Speak Now” – Taylor Swift (3.5 million)
6. “The Gift” – Susan Boyle (3.0 million)
7. “The E.N.D.” – Black Eyed Peas (3.0 million)
8. “Crazy Love” – Michael Buble (3.0 million)
9. “Soldier of Love” – Sade (2.3 million)
10. “The Element of Freedom” – Alicia Keys (2.3 million)

Alicia Keys’s Charity Reached It’s $1M Fundraising Goal

Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, and a handful of other celebrities can sign back online, thanks to donations from their fans and a philanthropist.

Keys announced Monday that her charity, Keep a Child Alive, reached its $1 million fundraising goal in honor of last week’s World AIDS Day.

A slew of celebrities signed off digital platforms like Twitter and Facebook last Wednesday and asked their fans to donate to the charity, which supports families affected by HIV and AIDS in Africa and India.

The celebrities could sign back online when the $1 million fundraising goal was met.

The entertainers and their fans raised $500,000, and philanthropist Stewart Rahr matched it.

Participants in the Digital Death campaign included Ryan Seacrest, Justin Timberlake, Usher and Kim Kardashian.

Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga sign off Twitter for charity

Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga take charity work seriously, and they’re going offline to prove it.

Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Usher and other celebrities have joined a new campaign called Digital Life Sacrifice on behalf of Keys’ charity, Keep a Child Alive. The entertainers plan to sign off of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday, which is World AIDS Day.

The participants will sign back on when the charity raises $1 million.

“It’s really important and super-cool to use mediums that we naturally are on,” Keys said in a phone interview from New York last week.
For the campaign — which also includes Jennifer Hudson, Ryan Seacrest, Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Elijah Wood, Serena Williams, Janelle Monae and Keys’ husband, Swizz Beatz — celebrities have filmed “last tweet and testament” videos and will appear in ads showing them lying in coffins to represent what the campaign calls their digital deaths.

“It’s so important to shock you to the point of waking up,” Keys said. “It’s not that people don’t care or it’s not that people don’t want to do something, it’s that they never thought of it quite like that.”

The campaign, she said, puts the disease in perspective.

“This is such a direct and instantly emotional way and a little sarcastic, you know, of a way to get people to pay attention,” said Keys, who has more than 2.6 million followers on Twitter.

The foundation, which began in 2003, will accept donations through text messages and bar-code technology, which is featured in the charity’s Buy Life campaign. Raised efforts support families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India.

“We’re trying to sort of make the remark: Why do we care so much about the death of one celebrity as opposed to millions and millions of people dying in the place that we’re all from?” said Leigh Blake, the president and co-founder of Keep a Child Alive.

“It’s about love and respect and human dignity,” she added.

Keys said recruiting celebrities was difficult because of scheduling, but “once I got people on the phone and I was able to paint the concept for them, everybody was in.”

Not one person said no, Keys recalled.

“I have a feeling that Gaga is going to raise it all by herself,” Blake said. Lady Gaga has more than 7.2 million followers on Twitter, and nearly 24 million fans on Facebook.

“She’s got a very, very mobilized fan base and that’s beautiful to watch I think (and) she’s able to draw their attention to these issues that are very important, you know, and that people follow it and act.”

Keys is hoping more people — both famous folks and non-celebs — get involved once the new initiative launches: “It just doesn’t have to be just because you’re a celebrity or something like that. It can be anybody.”

Keys, 29, married rapper-producer Swizz Beatz in July. The two had their first son, Egypt, last month. The Grammy winner said that though her life’s getting busier, being a mother and wife makes her want to help others even more.

“As a human being, you deserve to have a chance at life,” she said.

VH1 Reveals ’100 Greatest Music Artists of All Time’ List

VH1 goes back to its music roots and revisits the age-old question: “Who is the greatest music artist for all time?” Determined by a poll of well-known music artists and music experts in the industry, VH1 will reveal this definitive (and sure-to-be highly controversial) list declaring who is the greatest of the great. Hosted by Jim Shearer (VH1′s “Top 20 Video Countdown”), the 4-night special, VH1′s “100 Greatest Artists of All Time,” premieres Monday, September 6 at 10/9c with a 2-hour premiere.

This definitive countdown covers all genres of music – from rock to pop to rap to metal – to answer who is worthy to possess the title as “the greatest music artist of all time.” Over the 200 musicians including Alicia Keys, Ozzy Osbourne, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Iggy Pop, Nas, Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Geddy Lee (Rush), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Michael Diamond (Beastie Boys), Daryl Hall, John Oates, Noel Gallagher (Oasis), Gene Simmons (KISS), Adam Levine (Maroon Five), 50 Cent, Nelly Furtado, Mandy Moore, Carrie Underwood, Adam Clayton (U2) and many more voted on who they believe deserves this highly coveted title.

“VH1′s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time” List:
TOP 5, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
1. The Beatles
2. Bob Dylan
3. Michael Jackson
4. Led Zeppelin
5. Rolling Stones

Other notable names on the list include Madonna at number 16, U2 at 19, Jay Z at 47, Beyoncé at 52, and Justin Timberlake at 66. Read more

Alicia Keys weds producer Swizz Beatz

Call her Mrs. Beatz. Alicia Keys has married producer Swizz Beatz (Swiss Beats), with whom she is expecting her first child.

A representative for Keys on Sunday confirmed the wedding.

The Grammy winner and Beatz — whose real name is Kaseem (KAH-seem) Dean — announced in May that they were engaged. They were wed Saturday at a private ceremony. Deepak Chopra conducted the ceremony.

It is the 29-year-old singer’s first marriage. Thirty-one-year-old Beatz has been married before and has two sons.

Their baby is due later this year.

2010 BET Awards Winners

There was not a dry-eye in the house at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 27, 2010 when Chris Brown took to the BET AWARDS ’10 stage to honor the late Michael Jackson. Kanye West opened the show with a monumental performance of “Power” atop a smoky crag of rocks marking his return to the Awards show spotlight and circuit. King of the South T.I., backed by Travis Barker on drums and flaming pyrotechnics, tore the house down with his first national TV performance since being released from prison. Brown, West and T.I.’s show-stopping performances at this year’s tenth anniversary BET AWARDS ’10 provide platform for these three artists to re-emerge from the ashes for the negative publicity they recently faced to reclaim their status as superstars. Read more

BET Awards ’10 Adds Eminem, Alicia Keys, Usher and T Pain To Line Up

Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium is sure to be ablaze on June 27th at the BET AWARDS ’10 due to previously announced performances by Kanye West, Ludacris, TI, Drake, Diddy – Dirty Money, Nicki Minaj, and Rick Ross, to name a few. To further feed this fire, BET AWARDS ’10 is pleased to announce that rapper, producer and actor Eminem will take to the stage on the heels of his June 21 release of “Recovery.” In keeping with the tradition of celebrating the best of the best, platinum-recording artist and BET AWARDS ’10 “Best Female R&B Artist” nominee Alicia Keys as well as R&B superstar Usher, who is nominated for “Best Male R&B Artist,” will also take to the BET AWARDS ’10 stage. Audiences can also expect a sure-fire performance from T-Pain, who rounds out this HOT list of talent with his innovative and creative stage show.

Hosted by Queen Latifah, BET AWARDS ’10 will pay tribute to 2010 Humanitarian Award recipient John Legend as well as honor this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient legendary musician and cultural icon Prince.

Make sure to tune into the BET AWARDS ’10 at 8PM* on June 27th on BET as this is a LIVE fire you won’t want to put out. Log onto http://www.bet.com/betawards for continuous updates and a complete Awards list of nominees The BET Awards ’10 airs live, Sunday, June 27th 8:00 PM*, from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA. Don’t miss it!

Stay tuned for more performances and presenter updates for this year’s BET AWARDS by logging on to www.bet.com/betawards.

Kelis To Perform At ELLE Women In Music Event

ELLE, the No. 1 fashion magazine in the world, is pleased to announce its first-ever Women In Music event, at NYC’s Highline Ballroom on June 9, 2010. ELLE will celebrate the July Women In Music issue with performances by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Kelis, alternative rock band The Like, and iconic New York City DJ Justine D. The event will give attendees an up-close and personal look at the talented female musicians from the issue, bringing the incredible performers from the page to the stage.

Taking headliners from every genre, ELLE has pulled together some of the most accomplished female artists in the industry for its third annual Women In Music portfolio, appearing in the July issue. Photographed everywhere from Nashville to Paris to New York City, the esteemed group includes cover girl Rihanna, VV Brown, La Roux, Ke$ha, Alicia Keys, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Christina Aguilera, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kelis, and The Like.

“ELLE has always been a huge advocate of strong, talented, and powerful women and has consistently covered music throughout all sections of the magazine,” says ELLE Editor-In-Chief Robbie Myers. “I am thrilled to finally bring the Women In Music portfolio to life in what is to become a yearly event.”
In addition to the July issue and one-of-a-kind concert, ELLE.com will give visitors a backstage pass to the Women In Music portfolio with a behind-the-scenes look at the July issue, with outtakes from the photo shoots and exclusive interviews with ELLE editors. ELLE.com is also launching “Shop Their Style” with which users can shop the many looks featured in ELLE’s Women In Music portfolio.

Alicia Keys Is Engaged & Pregnant!

Superstar singer Alicia Keys is engaged to producer Swizz Beatz (real name Kasseem Dean) and the couple is expecting a baby. They have been linked together since 2008, even while Swizz Beatz was still married to Mashonda.

Kasseem Dean already has two children from his previous relationships and now Alicia Key’s representatives announced that the couple is “expecting a baby.”

Friends of the couple say, “They’re very happy.”

Are you guys happy for the couple?!

Selena Gomez And Justin Bieber Nominated for 2010 BET Award

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez are among nominees at upcoming 2010 BET Awards, which will be held on June 27 at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium. Justin was nominated for Best New Artist and Selena Gomez was nominated for the Young Stars Award.

Additionally, BET nominations, which was announced on Tuesday, May 18, were led by rapper Jay-Z, who received five nods, including Best Male Hip-Hop Artist, Best Collaboration for “Empire State of Mind” and Video of the Year for “Empire State of Mind” also and “Run this Town”.

Queen Latifah will be hosting 2010 BET Awards. “We are thrilled that Queen Latifah is going to host the BET AWARDS ’10,” Stephen Hill stated.

“Her versatility as a performer perfectly matches the dynamism of our show. This will be the perfect 10,” Hill further gushed. “Get ready for stirring performances, a surprise that will knock you out and massive quantities of fun; all helmed by ‘The Queen’.”

See the list of nominees below:

Best Female R&B Artist
Beyonce Knowles
Mary J. Blige
Melanie Fiona
Alicia Keys
Rihanna
Read more

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