Lana Del Rey Debuts at No. 2 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart

Newcomer Lana Del Rey makes her debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with “Born To Die,” selling 77,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan. It’s the highest entry for a female artist’s full-length major label debut since Jackie Evancho’s “Dream With Me” bowed at No. 2 on July 2, 2011.

Meanwhile, Adele’s “21″ sits tight at No. 1 for a 19th nonconsecutive week (122,000; up 5%). Next week it could yield the top slot to the new Van Halen album “A Different Kind of Truth,” which was released yesterday (Feb. 7).

At No. 3 this week is Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leonard Cohen with the debut of “Old Ideas” (41,000). It’s the icon’s highest charting album ever and best sales week since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. The beloved artist’s new album is his first studio effort since 2004′s “Dear Heather,” which debuted and peaked at No. 131 (9,000 in its first week).

35% of Cohen’s new album’s sales came from physical albums sold via Internet retailers. To compare, only 1% of Del Rey’s first-week came from Internet sellers. On the other hand, 74% of Del Rey’s sales were downloads, while digital sales represented 30% for Cohen.

Nicki Minaj and Foo Fighters to Perform at Grammys

Rapper Nicki Minaj will make her debut Grammy performance next month, joining Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars and country singer Jason Aldean on the list of artists who will take to the stage on the recording industry’s biggest night.

Grammy organizers said on Thursday that Minaj, who has four Grammy nominations, will perform at the February 12 awards show, as well as country sensation Taylor Swift, and Kelly Clarkson.

Rapper Kanye West, who leads this year’s Grammys with seven nominations, is also yet to be confirmed as a performer at the live awards show in Los Angeles.

Organizers said additional performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

T.I. Claims New Songs Could “Get Me in Trouble”

Immediately after his prison release, rapper T.I. already began work on his new album, claiming that he had 50 new songs recorded for the album in a matter of weeks.

“My life inspires my lyrics at all times, so at that moment in time, when I first came home, I have about 15 songs just totally focusing on that,” T.I. said. “Out of those 15, I probably picked the two or three most significant, most compelling, impactful ones, and after I’ve been out for a minute, then I’ve got records totally focusing on speaking to people who can only focus on that and telling them I’m ready to move on.”

The title of T.I.’s latest project is inspired by a 1972 Marvin Gaye song. “The name of the album is Trouble Man, and every song on here is about things that can get me in trouble,” he explained. “I’m reminiscing on the days when I used to run wild and do my thing the way I used to do it. I’ve got records that are just totally intellectually ignorant.”

During his time behind bars, T.I. dropped his seventh album, No Mercy, and although it debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 chart, the Rubberband Man plans to top that effort without breaking a sweat. “I was able to release a project that did well considering the circumstances, but I wasn’t able to put my all into it, which made it only a fraction of my usual contribution to the game,” he said.

So far, T.I. has released three singles from Trouble Man: “I’m Flexin’ ” featuring Big K.R.I.T. was the first to debut, followed by “Here Ye, Here Ye” featuring Pharrell Williams and his latest, “Pyro.”

Lady Gaga’s New Video “Marry The Night” Leaked

Lady Gaga’s highly anticipated music video for her single “Marry the Night” was leaked Thursday, and has since been causing quite a buzz. The video features Gaga in multiple scenes, wearing latex while performing ballet, naked thrashing while pouring cereal on herself, dancing, exploding cars — all somewhat autobiographical, according to Gaga, who directed the video herself.

Check out the video below and let us know what you think!

Lady Gaga Says “Marry The Night” Breakdown was Real

Lady Gaga’s most recent music video release “Marry the Night” graphically depicts Gaga’s journey from an early career trauma to her eventual international success as a pop star.

What left Gaga so traumatized? She explained it all to E! News before the video’s premiere. Gaga claims that the video is a metaphor for how she felt when she was dropped from her first record label, Island Def Jam, before coming to her current spot at Interscope.

“It was one of the worst days of my life and it happened quite quickly. But in my mind, when I think back on that period of my life, it all happened very slow,” she explained. “It is my personal way of seeing things. I am the artist of my own life. I choose to tell you what happened,” she continued. “If you give up after something like that, you were never destined to be an entertainer.”

In the video, after hearing from her ballet director that she should quit, she restructures her goal and plots her rise to pop stardom. “In order to be great writing music or at fishing or at being a mechanic or designing buildings, you have to acknowledge what is wrong with your work, or what is dishonest about it,” she said. “What have I not been really great at?” Those obstacles, she says, are a big part of what makes her who she is now. “I love the obstacles,” she said. “To marry your obstacles means I, the artist, wholeheartedly accept everything you throw at me. I am destined to struggle, I am destined to write music about the struggle and I accept it willingly.”

There are several scenes where Gaga is naked and experiencing a mental breakdown in her apartment. “Well, I was naked in real life when it happened,” she said, referring to the moment she found out she’d been dropped. “That’s probably the most honest moment in that video of everything I’ve ever done.”

“It was intensely important to me that it was not too beautiful,” she added. “It was an incredible experience. It was amazing. It was absolutely amazing. In essence, it’s insight into my entire creative process and the way that I view things.”

Lady Gaga’s “Marry the Night” Music Video Debuts on Thursday

The music video for Lady Gaga’s most recent smash single, “Marry the Night,” will debut this Thursday on E!.

Gaga announced on Twitter the release of her newest video, which was directed by Gaga on her own. In her directorial debut, the Mother of the Monsters laced her video with autobiographical pieces and crafted an intriguing storyline pertaining to a mental hospital.

During a recent trip to India, Gaga spoke about shooting the video and the experience of being a first-time director: “It has been a wonderful experience. I worked alongside director of photography Darius Khondji, who is an absolutely amazing DP, and I worked with Gideon Ponte, who is an incredible art director. So I’m looking forward to sharing this autobiographical video with the world. I’m very excited. It’s my favorite song on the album.”

The newest video release from Lady Gaga will be premiering on E! this Thursday.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO! @SimonCurtis LIVE @TheRoxy

twitter.com/simoncurtis

In just a few short weeks after releasing his debut album, Simon Curtis‘ 8Bit Heart has been downloaded more than 200,000 times. Last night, Simon Curtis took to the stage at the world famous venue, The Roxy, for his debut performance and delivered a show worthy of praise. Several celebrities, including JC Chasez, Adam Lambert, Matt Dallas, and Josh Hutcherson came out to see Simon’s performance.

Ruben Gallardo, aka @benrobot, the winner of the iMusicDaily/HollyWire Simon Curtis Giveaway, said of Simon’s debut performance:

“It was a complete out of body experience. Simon absolutely killed it with his moves. He was on fire! You can tell he loves his audience. I think ‘Diablo’ was the highlight of the night. I was feeling it.”

Check out our EXCLUSIVE footage from Simon Curtis‘ performance at The Roxy –

Read more

New Music: Idol’s Danny Gokey ‘My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me’

Former American Idol finalist, Danny Gokey, has gone country.

Gokey is set to release his debut single ‘My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me’ in March 2010. His single has leaked online and fans are already buzzing about Danny’s rise to country fame with a strong debut.

Check out ‘My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me’ –

Thoughts?

Idol’s Allison Iraheta Has Disappointing Debut

19/Jive/JLG Idol contestant Allison Iraheta’s debut album Just Like You had a disappointing debut by only selling 25-30k units. Ouch.

Adam Lambert ended up pulling more first week sales than both Allison and Kris Allen’s numbers together!

Susan Boyle’s Album On Track To Beat Lambert, Gaga, And Rihanna

Susan Boyle’s new album, I Dreamed a Dream, is making a huge debut.

She has already sold two to three times the estimated pre-release total for retailers and set the highest pre-order record of all-time at Amazon.

She’s expected to move over 500,000 copies of her debut album and outsell Rihanna, Adam Lambert and even Lady GaGa.

Boyle is expected to have one of the biggest debut of any artist in the US this year.

Congratulations!

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