LOS ANGELES, California--The Eagles beat Britney Spears for the top spot on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart this week.
The band's new album "Long Road Out of Eden" debuted at No. 1 on the chart by selling 711,000 copies during its first week of release, Billboard.com reported Tuesday.
Spears' album "Blackout" sold 290,000 copies.
The Eagles' first album in 28 years landed on top after Billboard revised a policy which considers albums sales even when they're only sold exclusively by one retailer.
Billboard changed its policy after Wal-Mart, which had exclusive rights to sell the Eagles album in its stores and on its website, agreed to release its sales numbers, Geoff Mayfield, Billboard's director of charts said.
Recently in Britney Spears Category
By Nekesa Mumbi Moody
Associated Press
Britney Spears
"Blackout"
Jive Records
JUST when it seemed safe to write off Britney Spears as a punchline only capable of entertaining people through tabloid escapades, she goes and gets all musically relevant on us.
"Blackout," her first studio album in four years, is not only a very good album, it's her best work ever -- a triumph, with not a bad song to be found on the 12 tracks.
Granted, a Spears rave should be put in its proper context -- it's not like we're talking Bob Dylan here. Spears is a lightweight singer who only flourishes when she has great songs and great producers to supplement her minimal vocal talent.
But when she has that help, she's fierce. And she gets that boost on every single track on "Blackout," a sizzling, well-crafted, electro-pop dancefest that should return her to pop's elite.
This is a shocker, given all the lowlights Spears has given us this year. From her embarrassing MTV Video Music Awards performance to her bizarre public antics to allegations that she's an irresponsible parent, Spears has been a walking disaster. It seems amazing that she even found her way to a recording studio, let alone did anything of value while in it.
But Spears emerges on "Blackout" as the antithesis of her tabloid persona -- confident, sensual, and in control.
"I got my eye on you," she coos on one of the album's best tracks, "Radar," a sexy techno groove that you can't help but bounce to -- a feeling that permeates all of "Blackout's" tracks. You won't find any saccharine ballads or fluffy pop on this disc -- it's all about generating heat on the dance floor (and if Spears has shown us anything in the last year, it's that she knows how to party).
On the aptly titled "Freakshow," produced by Danja (who worked on Justin Timberlake's "FutureSex/LoveSounds"), Spears gets voyeuristic with a tantalizing promise to get wild in the club. The hypnotic "Get Naked (I Got A Plan)," also produced by Danja, features Spears breathlessly asking, "What I gotta do to make you move my body" before demanding, "take it off, take it off, take it off."
It's not all about grinding to the music, though. On rock-tinged "Piece of Me," produced by Bloodshy & Avant, she defiantly address her critics: "I'm Mrs. Bad Media Karma, another day another drama ... I'm Mrs. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, I'm Mrs. 'Oh My God That Britney's Shameless.'" And on the slow-burn, Neptunes-produced "Why Should I Be Sad," the album's last track, she cops to heartbreak but refuses to let it get her down, a rare vulnerable moment.
Listening to "Blackout" is not only an energetic release, it's also a relief: No, Spears hasn't completely lost it, and yes, her career has a flicker of fire left -- actually much, much more. But with all the damage Spears has done and continues to do to her public image, will anyone outside her core fan base (and who knows what that consists of these days) care anymore?
This album is the first, great step in making that happen.
By Agence France-Presse
LOS ANGELES, California--The parent company of Britney Spears' record label filed a lawsuit Thursday against online gossip website PerezHilton.com after the blog leaked recordings from the pop star's new album.
A statement from Zomba Recording, which owns Spears' Jive Records, said the website had illegally obtained and posted material from Spears' new album "Blackout," to be released later this month.
The lawsuit accused the website's owner, Mario Lavandeira, of breach of copyright after 10 completed tracks and unfinished demos from Spears' comeback album appeared on the blog.
"The unauthorized dissemination of recordings is a serious violation of copyright law," said a Zomba spokesperson.
"In addition, posting demos and unfinished songs as if they were final versions is grossly unfair to the artist and misleading to the public."
The lawsuit does not specify an amount of monetary damages being sought but asks that Zomba be awarded real and punitive damages as well as legal costs.
On Wednesday, Jive Records announced it was bringing forward the release date of "Blackout" because of illegal leaks on the Internet.
The album had been due to go on sale in mid-November but will now hit stores on October 30.
"Due to these numerous unauthorized on-line leaks, the label is doing everything possible to prevent and avoid any further illegal distribution of songs including moving up the release date of the album to October 30th," a statement from Jive Records said.
By Joey Alarilla
INQUIRER.net
COMPLETE versions of the "leaked song" of Britney Spears that found its way to the Web over the weekend have been posted on YouTube. And if the lyrics are correct, the Philippines has earned a special mention, heh :)
The new song, which is supposed to be titled "Piece of Me" (some reports say the title is "Pieces of Me" or "Everyone Wants a Piece of Me"), blasts the media. The song supposedly contains the following lyrics, according to this clip posted by etsgetloose.
I'm Miss American Dream (Editor's note: the articles have said it's "Mrs. American Dream") since I was 17 Don't matter if I step on the scene Or sneak away to the Phillipines (sic) They still got pictures of my derriere in the magazine You want a piece of me? You want a piece of me...Anyway, you can listen to it yourself. Thanks to reader nat for the heads up. So Britney, do you really want to sneak away to the Philippines? :)
HOURS after the judge in her custody case ordered Britney Spears to undergo random drug and alcohol testing, what does she decide to do? Why, go club hopping, of course.
Check out this video from CelebTV.com.
And another one from TMZ.com.
POOR Britney. Her return to MTV at the Video Music Awards, which she kicked off with the highly anticipated premiere performance of her new "Gimme More" single, is almost too painful to watch.
I know she's been through a lot, but if you're going to try to make a comeback, do it with a bang instead of what looks like a half-hearted, barely rehearsed performance.
Check out this clip from SPIKE Powered by IFILM (don't you just love saying that, heh. Ah, remember the good old days before MTV bought IFILM in 2005?) -- you be the judge.
BRITNEY'S back, bitch. (And you'll know why I'm saying bitch if you've heard the song, heh). Or is she?
Sure, she finally has a new single, "Gimme More." But is it any good? Will she now be able to revive her career and make the public forget all the craziness that's been going on in her personal life?
Well, listen for yourself if you haven't already. Click here to listen to it on Z100, where the single made its worldwide debut.
Or check out this video clip posted by Hollyscoop TV.
Personally, I don't find the song that great, but it isn't bad, either. Fair warning, though: it's one of those tracks that can make you suffer from Last Song Syndrome if you listen to it long enough.
Escape while you still can :)
By Erin Carlson
Associated Press
NEW YORK--It seems like forever since Britney Spears had six-pack abs and a hit song on the charts. But the fallen pop princess -- tarnished by a tumultuous divorce, late-night partying and erratic behavior -- is trying to get her music career back on track.
For real this time.
Her new single, "Gimme More," debuted Thursday night on the website of New York City pop station Z100, and a new album is due for release Nov. 13 by Jive Records, the label's representative, Wendy Washington, told The Associated Press on Friday.
The song -- a clubby, flirty dance track produced by Danja, a protege of hitmaker Timbaland -- has the 25-year-old singer bringing back the thumping beats and breathy come-ons of her pop star past. The song's opening line has an expletive.
Sharon Dastur, a program director at Z100, says listener response has been positive.
"A lot of people automatically had a negative attitude about it before hearing it," she said. "And then the reaction we've been getting, you know, people are so pleasantly surprised by it. You also have the people who have just been cheering on her comeback anyway."
Spears, whose activities have been tabloid fodder since she split from Kevin Federline last November, hasn't released an album of all-new material since 2003's "In the Zone." She came out with a greatest hits album in 2004, which included a cover of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative."
Spears, the mother of two young sons, has been taking baby steps toward a comeback. She has said she'd hoped to jump back into the music scene this year, and in May, staged several concerts at clubs in California.
While her escapades may have alienated many of her fans, Spears can slip back into their good graces by teaming up with the right people: the music-makers behind some of today's hottest tracks, Dastur said.
"At the end of the day, it is really all about the actual songs," Dastur said. "Her people have to make sure that she's being produced the right way. That the songs are the right songs for her to be coming out with."
Editor's note: File photo courtesy of Associated Press.
NEW YORK--It seems like forever since Britney Spears had six-pack abs and a hit song on the charts. But the fallen pop princess -- tarnished by a tumultuous divorce, late-night partying and erratic behavior -- is trying to get her music career back on track.
For real this time.
Her new single, "Gimme More," debuted Thursday night on the website of New York City pop station Z100, and a new album is due for release Nov. 13 by Jive Records, the label's representative, Wendy Washington, told The Associated Press on Friday.
The song -- a clubby, flirty dance track produced by Danja, a protege of hitmaker Timbaland -- has the 25-year-old singer bringing back the thumping beats and breathy come-ons of her pop star past. The song's opening line has an expletive.
Sharon Dastur, a program director at Z100, says listener response has been positive.
"A lot of people automatically had a negative attitude about it before hearing it," she said. "And then the reaction we've been getting, you know, people are so pleasantly surprised by it. You also have the people who have just been cheering on her comeback anyway."
Spears, whose activities have been tabloid fodder since she split from Kevin Federline last November, hasn't released an album of all-new material since 2003's "In the Zone." She came out with a greatest hits album in 2004, which included a cover of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative."
Spears, the mother of two young sons, has been taking baby steps toward a comeback. She has said she'd hoped to jump back into the music scene this year, and in May, staged several concerts at clubs in California.
While her escapades may have alienated many of her fans, Spears can slip back into their good graces by teaming up with the right people: the music-makers behind some of today's hottest tracks, Dastur said.
"At the end of the day, it is really all about the actual songs," Dastur said. "Her people have to make sure that she's being produced the right way. That the songs are the right songs for her to be coming out with."
Editor's note: File photo courtesy of Associated Press.
