Monthly Archives: November 2008

It was months in the making, and now you’ve seen it.
So what did you think of the documentary, which offered an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the singer’s comeback surrounding the upcoming release of her Circus album?
Let us know by uploading video to YouRHere.MTV.Com or posting your comments below!

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Luke Menard has a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving, as he is now cancer-free and feeling better than he has in years.  Just after his stint on American Idol this past season, Luke went and had some tests run due to a persistent cough and a very tight feeling in his chest.  Although he is faithful about working out, Luke said he was suddenly winded while walking from his house to the car.  After years of being told he had allergies, the doctor ran some scans, and it was discovered that Luke had Hodgkin lymphoma.  Having received twelve rounds of chemotherapy, there are no cancerous cells detected in Luke’s body.  Unfortunately, the hard part isn’t necessarily over, as he is now set to receive radiation treatments once a day, five times a week, for the next month as a preventative measure.

While most people in the midst of chemotherapy treatments would probably slow down, this was not the case for Luke.  Wanting to strike while the AI iron was hot, Luke drove to Nashville in between chemo treatments to begin working on a solo album in the Christian Contemporary genre.  While his family thought he was crazy for doing this, Luke’s doctor gave him the “all clear” for the Nashville trips, and so Luke continued to do so until he recorded about half of an album.  Toward the end of the treatments, it simply became too difficult to manage.  However, Luke is not deterred.  In fact, he is hoping to move to Nashville in January or February in order to shop the album around to several labels.  Interestingly enough, he worked with season six’s Chris Sligh, as Chris is enjoying success in the Christian music realm himself.  Luke says the album is very piano-driven and has a kind of a “British pop” feel to it.

As if his solo work wasn’t impressive enough, Luke also managed to help his a capella band, Chapter 6, complete their latest album.  He is doing some touring with them in the next few weeks for their Christmas shows.  His long term future with the band is uncertain, however, as Luke really wants to focus on his solo album.  He is also taking advantage of his free time right now to travel with his wife of four years, Lara, who is doing her tour of Christmas shows as a member of the famous Rockettes.  For six years, with both of them touring, they lived to meet up in the middle in between shows.

Besides the obvious thrill that comes with being told he is cancer-free, Luke is ecstatic to have full use of his lungs.  When he was first diagnosed, the fluid was being compressed in his right lung so much; the doctor said he was basically living off the use of one lung.  He is now able to breathe deeply again, which is great for exercising as well as performing.

It’s safe to say that it has been a bittersweet year for Luke, as he loved being on American Idol.  He said that he was in awe of the professionalism of the musicians and everyone behind the scenes on the show, and that it definitely helped him to grow as a performer.  He still keeps in touch with quite a few people from AI, and even got together with the Top 10 while they toured in Indianapolis near Luke’s home.  While he was at the show, each of the Top 10 Idols signed a guitar, and it was then auctioned off to help Luke pay for his mounting medical bills.

Of course, it was next to impossible to interview Luke Menard without asking him if he had heard the buzz surrounding the many celebs people thought he resembled.  He laughed and said that he not only heard about it, but there was some mention of it in every email that he received while on the show.  Who were some of the Luke doppelgangers?  He heard everything from Luke Perry to Patrick Dempsey to Orlando Bloom, with Ryan Seacrest even calling him “Dawson’s Creek” in reference to his resemblance to James Van Der Beek.  Luke took it all in stride, of course, but what confused him is how he could look like so many different people!  Good looks aside, Luke most certainly has a renewed outlook on life these days.

Luke sent us some great photos of him and some Idol friends!  Check them out now.  Continue reading →

The 2008 Rolling Stone Hot List is here, and it’s chock full of smoking new bands, spicy new actresses and scorching trends. But who is hottest right now? It might be Twilight star Robert Pattinson, whose portrayal of “vegan” vampire Edward in the film version of the hit book series has made him an instant [...] Continue reading →

In Rolling Stone’s new Britney Spears cover story, Spears reveals that she thinks her ex-husband Kevin Federline is letting the kids pick up some bad habits. “Preston says the f-word now sometimes,” she says. “He doesn’t get it from us. He must get it from his daddy.” She talks more about her relationship with K-Fed [...] Continue reading →

Here at Rock Daily, there’s plenty of things we’re thankful for. Chinese Democracy. The Jesus Lizard reunion. Johan Santana’s left arm. To pay homage to those pilgrims who came to America to escape oppression and slaughter turkeys, this long weekend’s Rock List is dedicated to “thankful” songs. Tell us which thankful songs you’re most thankful [...] Continue reading →

With all the love the New York crowd at the Highline Ballroom was giving last night, leave it to Ludacris to start off his show with “Everybody Hates Chris.” He has a big sense of humor, if you haven’t noticed. The Atlanta MC had the release party for Theater of the Mind, which culminated in [...] Continue reading →

While Twilight will still be ruling the cinemas this weekend, there are still a few Oscar-bait films getting releases over the Thanksgiving holiday. Click below for Peter Travers’ thoughts on Gus Van Sant’s Milk and Baz Luhrmann’s epic Australia. And if you’re really into suffering, stick around to watch the Rolling Stone film critic toss [...] Continue reading →

David Cook enters the Billboard charts at #3 with his self-titled debut album (19 Recordings / RCA Records) selling 279,578 units. The Rob Cavallo produced album is also the #1 CD on the digital album chart and is the best debut from an American Idol winner since 2006.

“Light On,” the first single from the album, has been dominating the AOL Top 40 Songs chart at #1 for the past 6 weeks and is currently #1 on the ClearChannel On Demand Chart. It was also the #1 gainer at adult radio and debuted as the breakout track on this week’s American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest.  In late September, “Light On” premiered on AOL Music’s pop culture news site, PopEater.com, receiving over 1 million plays in less than week.

The ClearChannel premiere of the Wayne Isham directed “Light On” video became their best performing video premiere ahead of Linkin’ Park, The Eagles and Ne-Yo.

The American Idol single “The Time Of My Life” (which is featured as a bonus track on David Cook) has reached platinum status with over 1 million tracks sold.

The still-humble David sat down with us to talk about his surreal existence since his season seven win–watch the video now. Continue reading →

This week’s featured artist on the Breaking blog is the Knux, a pair of whip-smart brothers from New Orleans whose eclectic debut Remind Me In Three Days… bonds Native Tongues wordplay to rootsy funk and far-flung samples. Click below for more on the Knux, including the video for their hot single “Cappuccino.”
• Breaking: The [...] Continue reading →

Guns N’ Roses are threatening Dr. Pepper with legal action over what the band calls “a complete fiasco” of a publicity stunt. Dr. Pepper promised every person in America a free can of soda if Guns N’ Roses released Chinese Democracy this year; on November 23rd, the day Democracy was released, fans were told they [...] Continue reading →

Who: The Knux, a pair of brothers from New Orleans’ Ninth Ward who show their band geek chops on their debut Remind Me in Three Days…. Sounds Like: With influences as far ranging as Led Zeppelin and the Cash Money crew, the Knux mix experimental Native Tongues rap with live instruments and the sample savviness of Portishead to form supercatchy tunes with densely referential lyrics. “I can’t listen to new hip-hop ? it’s too fucking clean,” Alvin “Rah Almillio” Lindsey says. “We want to be extra-grimy, extra-raw. That’s why we compare ourselves to the Strokes.” Vital Stats: Continue reading →

Like pretty much every other industry during a recession (except maybe the alcohol and fast food sectors), terrestrial radio is seeing record declines in 2008, with the entire industry having its worst year financially since 1954. Revenues are off seven percent from last year’s numbers, and 2008 marks the eighth consecutive struggling year for the [...] Continue reading →

All Tomorrow’s Parties continues to make the impossible happen, first getting My Bloody Valentine to come together and now, the Jesus Lizard. The Chicago noise rockers will reunite after a decade-long absence for next year’s ATP: The Fans Strike Back festival in England on May 8-10. The concert, featuring all of the band’s original members, [...] Continue reading →

Photo: Getty
For years, James Taylor has been covering many of his favorite songs from the 1950s and 1960s during soundchecks before his concerts. This past September, he released some of them on Covers, a collection of twelve classic tracks he recorded at his Massachusetts studio. He recently sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss some [...] Continue reading →

Photo: Hogan/Getty
Oasis will be spending the holidays on the road with Ryan Adams, promoting their best album in a decade Dig Out Your Soul. The tour kicks off on December 3rd in Oakland, California, and Rock Daily caught up with Noel Gallagher to talk about the upcoming trek. “Oasis is a band that you either [...] Continue reading →

By Jocelyn Vena
In footage from Britney Spears‘ recent Rolling Stone photo shoot, the singer gets down in a sparkly gold bodysuit and platforms. She dances to songs like the Black Eyed Peas’ “My Humps.” It looks like the pop star is having a grand old time doing what she does best: being a pop star. [...] Continue reading →

Photo: Getty
The Big News: Beyoncé and her alter ego Sasha Fierce were victorious in a competitive, debut-heavy sales week as Mrs. Jay-Z and her double-disc I Am…Sasha Fierce sold 482,000 copies, roughly 160,000 more than the number two album, Nickelback’s Dark Horse. For Beyonce, it was her third consecutive chart-topping album. While American Idol [...] Continue reading →

By Jocelyn Vena
Lately, there’s been a mess of speculation that Mariah Carey and hubby Nick Cannon are expecting a little bundle of joy. And Mariah’s appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” which airs today, is only raising the alert level on the baby-bump watch.
When asked by the talk-show host if she is pregnant, the singer [...] Continue reading →

Photo: Getty
MTV will celebrate the Januay 20th inauguration of new President Barack Obama with “Be the Change Inaugural Ball” celebrating young voter turnout and volunteer services. The ball will take place at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center and feature “leading artists, celebrities and government officials” who will be named soon. The ball [...] Continue reading →

Photo: Getty

Lil Wayne has become to Rochester what Axl Rose is to Philadelphia after Tha Carter III rapper canceled another concert. His first show was postponed due to sound problems and the replacement show has been canceled because co-headliner T.I. has an appearance on SNL that night.
Check out the album cover for Franz Ferdinand’s new [...] Continue reading →

For the 2008 version of the Rolling Stone “Hot Issue,” Britney Spears found her way onto the cover of the magazine for the seventh time on the heels of her new album Circus and her seemingly unlikely comeback. Click above to go behind the scenes at Britney’s cover shoot and to hear Rolling Stone’s Jodi [...] Continue reading →

Photo: Durand/Getty
Of the 50 to 60 songs U2 penned for their new album, none of the tracks the band wrote while under the guidance of producer Rick Rubin will make the final track list, according to the Edge. “We actually laid all that stuff to one side. Really out of deference to Rick and that [...] Continue reading →

By Dan “Monty” Montalto
Long before either album leaked in its final retail form, many of us here in the newsroom were asking the same question: Who will win this week’s epic showdown between Kanye West and Guns N’ Roses (a.k.a. Axl Rose and a bunch of new guys)?
In this corner, we have Kanye West with [...] Continue reading →

Britney Spears’ Best MTV News Moments

Check out these clips before watching the Britney documentary “For the Record,” which premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on MTV.

Related Artists

• Britney Spears

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MTV News Gives Thanks For Actors And Musicians Of 2008

We are as grateful for Britney, Lil Wayne, vampires and the Joker as we are for turkey and stuffing this Thanksgiving.

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Season seven’s David Hernandez has taken full advantage of the exposure he received on American Idol in order to catapult his career.  He is not only embarking on a holiday tour with fellow AI alums Diana DeGarmo, Kimberley Locke, and Chikezie, but he has also recently solidified a great contact in the industry to help him on his album.  Actor and singer Eric West, who was named as one of US Weekly’s “One’s To Watch” and IMDB.com’s “Top Fresh Faces,” is expanding his already impressive resume by assisting David with his debut CD.  The as-yet-untitled album is scheduled to drop next year.

Check the schedule below to see if David and the “Idols In Concert Tour” will be coming to a city near you:

November 28, 2008 – Milwaukee Theatre; Milwaukee, WI
November 29, 2008 – Byham Theatre; Pittsburgh, PA
November 30, 2008 – Lycian Centre; Sugar Loaf, NY
December 1, 2008 – Plaza Theatre; El Paso, TX
December 3, 2008 – State Theatre; Easton, PA
December 4, 2008 – Bergen PAC; Englewood, NJ
December 5-6, 2008 – Classic Center; Athens, GA
December 7, 2008 – Eichelberger PAC; Hanover, PA
December 10, 2008 – Salem Civic Center; Salem, VA
December 11, 2008 – Mitchell Center; Mobile, AL
December 12, 2008 – Coral Springs Center for the Arts; Coral Springs, FL
December 16, 2008 – Tennessee Williams Theatre; Key West, FL
December 17, 2008 – Kravis Center; West Palm Beach, FL
December 18, 2008 – Mahaffey Theater; St. Petersburg, FL
December 19, 2008 – University of Akron; Akron, OH
December 20, 2008 – River Center Adler; Davenport, IA
December 21, 2008 – Genesee Theatre; Waukegan, IL Continue reading →

By Elena Torres
Luis Guzmán is weird.
Yeah, I said it. I think he’s a weirdo. I don’t just call anybody weird. That’s not what Luis will tell you, but he is a special breed. Luis will tell you that I call everybody weird, no matter what, all the time. I’m getting ahead of myself, [...] Continue reading →

The new DVD documentary Tantrums and Tiaras (out today) offers an all-access pass behind the scenes of Elton John’s 1995 world tour. Directed by his parter David Furnish, Tantrums and Tiaras follows John around the world during his trek for the multi-platinum Made in England and shows him as both a professional perfectionist and a [...] Continue reading →

Photo: Vasquez/Getty
Nearly a decade after suing Napster for posting their music online, Metallica are contemplating the possibility of an Internet release for their next album. “We’re free of our record contract,” Lars Ulrich tells Rolling Stone. “We have that element of complete freedom with the next record, so we can do whatever we want. [...] Continue reading →

The moment where the MP3 has supplanted the CD as the music industry’s centerpiece may have finally arrived, at least at Atlantic Records, where the company reported that digital sales accounted for 51% of its revenues. Atlantic is the first label to reveal that their digital sector — comprised of song downloads, ringtones and the [...] Continue reading →