British Band The Kooks Try to Find American Success

The British band The Kooks are finishing up their U.S. tour this week, hoping to score a major hit in America with new music soon to come.

The indie rock band will play the historic Fillmore in San Francisco on Tuesday in support of their third album “Junk of the Heart,” then head back to Great Britain.

Their latest single, “How’d You Like That,” hit U.S. airwaves last week, and the band has made the rounds of clubs and other venues and last month appeared on popular late-night talk program, “The Late Show with David Letterman.”

Yet, even as they depart from this round of touring, the Kooks want more from the United States.

“I have a fire in my belly to write the best songs, and I still love doing it,” lead singer Luke Pritchard said. “I hope we have a tune that connects really big here in the U.S., and I want to work with some American musicians and have collaborations happening,” he said.

Adele on Top of Rolling Stone’s Album and Single List

Rolling Stone magazine named Adele’s album “21″ and single “Rolling In The Deep” the best of 2011.

Adele recently received six Grammy nominations and was chosen by Rolling Stone editors for her multi-platinum selling sophomore album, which was officially the U.K’s best selling album of the 21st century and 2011′s best-selling album in the United States.

” ’21′ was this year’s most stunning pop success, transmuting the young Brit’s personal sorrow — the collapse of an 18-month relationship — into a 13-million-selling smash that leapt across borders and oceans and united everyone from teeny-boppers to baby boomers to hip-hop-heads,” said Rolling Stone editors.

Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Watch The Throne,” came second on the album list, followed by Paul Simon’s “So Beautiful or So What” at No. 3, Fleet Foxes “Helplessness Blues” at No. 4 and Radiohead’s eighth studio album “The King of Limbs” rounding out the top five.

Adele’s song “Rolling In The Deep,” was named the best single of 2011 by the magazine, as editors described it as the “breakup scorcher to beat all breakup scorchers.”

Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Ni**as in Paris” clocked in at No. 2, while Britney Spears’ “‘Til The World Ends” made No. 3 on the list, Foo Fighters’ “These Days” at No. 4 and Paul Simon’s “Rewrite” at No. 5.

The full list will be available on newsstands and online on December 9.

Adele’s “21″ Named Top UK Album of 21st Century

Well-loved songstress Adele made another record on Monday, when the Official Charts Company (OCC) confirmed that her second album “21″ had become the highest selling album in Britain of this century.

The record passed sales of 3.4 million copies, surpassing the late Amy Winehouse’s 2006 LP “Back To Black” which sold 3.3 million.

According to the OCC, the album has never left the British top 10 since its release in January, and on Sunday it rose from 9th to 5th in it’s 45th week on the charts, a jump mostly likely due to her 6 recent Grammy nominations.

Adele’s great success in her native Britain is met in the US, where 21 passed the four-million copy mark in October.

Amy Winehouse’s Posthumous Album Tops UK Charts

The posthumous album from late singer Amy Winehouse, entitled, “Lioness: Hidden Treasures” was on it’s way to be on top of the British album charts by the end of the week, the Official Charts Company said on Tuesday.

The album is made up of a collection of 12 tracks recorded from as early as 2002 but not used on either of Winehouse’s studio albums and is receiving mixed reviews.

In a brief statement, the OCC said the album had already sold nearly 70,000 copies.

Winehouse’s father Mitch, writing on Twitter, claimed the number was 140,000, although it was not clear whether that was projected sales for the whole week or reflected more accurate, current information.

“Just been told. Amy at number 1. 140,000 sold = £140,000 to foundation in one day. Well done baby,” he tweeted. “My heart is sad but bursting with pride. Mitch”

Winehouse died in July aged 27, ending a promising career that often was riddled with a highly publicized battle with drug addiction.

Her father Mitch has set up a charity in her name set to assist children and young adults suffering ill health and addiction, and for every copy of the album sold, one pound goes to the Amy Winehouse Foundation.

[video] Glee Cast Performs On X Factor

Photo Credit: Joe Viles/FOX

The cast of Fox’s hit show Glee travelled cross the pond to perform on X Factor in the UK. The New Directions Glee Club performed their hit song ‘Don’t Stop Believing.’ Amber Riley’s voice is insane! Simon and the judges gave them a standing ovation.

Check out their performance –

Katy Perry Performs ‘Firework’ on X Factor

Katy Perry was over in the UK, on soon-to-be husband Russell Brand’s home turf, to perform ‘Firework’ off of her new album, Teenage Dream. We love this song!

Check out Katy’s performance –

Robyn Announces Mini UK Tour

To promote the release of Body Talk Pt 2, Robyn announced that she will be going on a mini tour through the UK.

Check out Robyn’s tour dates:
18th Oct 2010 Glasgow ABC
19th Oct 2010 Mancester Academy 2
21st Oct 2010 Brighton Concord
22nd Oct 2010 London Shepherds Bush Empire

Is Ke$ha Going Country?

Could it be that Ke$ha’s heading back to her roots for her next album?

“Coming from Nashville, I love Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard, and want to make those records too. But right now, it’s my ‘f**k off’, fun period and I’m gonna enjoy it,” she told Q magazine.

Check out her performance from The 5:19 Show –

Rage Against The Machine Beats ‘X Factor’ Winner Joe McElderry

Photograph: Owen Humphreys/Rex Features/PA/Rex Features

In a battle for the U.K.’s first-ever download-only Christmas No. 1, Rage Against The Machine beat newly crowned X Factor winner Joe McElderry.

Rage Against The Machine challenged their fans to download the bands 1992 track ‘Killing In The Name’ and, thanks to hundreds of thousands of members of a Facebook group aimed at getting the band’s song to No. 1, the band succeeded and landed on top of the chart above McElderry’s cover of Miley Cyrus’ ‘The Climb’.

The race to number one was a heated one with X Factor creator, Simon Cowell, expressing his distaste for the campaign to keep McElderry from the No. 1 spot.

Behind The Scenes: Leona Lewis ‘I Got You’ Music Video

Photo Credit: infphoto.com

Here’s your first look at Leona Lewis’ new music video for her current single ‘I Got You’. Check out these pics that were taken during her shoot.

Although her album hasn’t sold as well as her label had hoped her in the states, it is worth noting that it has been certified double platinum in the UK.

And Lewis also sings the theme song to the No. 1 movie at the box office, Avatar. The theme song ‘I See You’, not to be confused with her current single ‘I Got You’, is very reminiscent of Celine Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’ from Titanic. It will be interesting to see if ‘I See You’ makes its way onto the charts.

Photo Credit: infphoto.com

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