Madonna debuts at Number One on this week's (week ending May 17) Billboard 200 chart with her new album Hard Candy. That marks her seventh chart-topper, which puts her in second place behind Barbra Streisand for the most Number One albums. Streisand has eight. Hard Candy entered charts at Number One in 27 countries. According to Nielsen SoundScan, first week U.S. sales of the album reached 280,000 copies. In other news, Madonna will kick off her "Sticky and Sweet" world tour in support of Hard Candy on August 23 in Cardiff, Wales. She's scheduled to perform between 50 and 60 shows before wrapping up the outing in December. North American dates begin on October 3 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
…And then there were three. 21-year-old Jason Castro was voted off American Idol on May 7. He had two disastrous performances the previous night, when he sang Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff" and Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man." He forgot some of the lyrics to the latter song. Left in the final three are 17-year-old David Archuleta, 25-year-old David Cook and 21-year-old Syesha Mercado.
39-year-old Mariah Carey has confirmed to People magazine that she married 27-year-old actor Nick Cannon on April 30 at her estate in the Bahamas. They met at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, but only began dating this past March. Cannon told People, "It was a love-at-first-sight thing. Since we've been together, we've been inseparable." When asked about having children, Mariah said, "It's part of the whole purpose of getting married. I'd just want our children to have the best childhood and upbringing they possibly could." Mariah and Nick also revealed that they got tattoos a few weeks before the wedding. His says 'Mariah' and her's says 'Mrs. Cannon.'
On May 13, Universal Records will release Bryan Adams' new album, 11. The collection will be sold in the U.S. exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores. 11 was recorded in hotel rooms and backstage at venues during his last concert tour. Bryan told Billboard, "I bring out an engineer, everything fits into a suitcase and we just record." "I Thought I'd Seen Everything" is the first single from the album.The first single in 14 years by the newly reunited New Kids On The Block (NKOTB) will be released on May 13. Summertime will be sold online by all digital music services. The group's new album will be released later this year. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, New Kids On The Block recorded a string of hits that included the Number One songs "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)," "Hangin' Tough" and "Step By Step." On September 20, NKOTB will kick off a North American concert tour in Montreal, Quebec. (Also see Musical Events section.)
On May 13, Atco Records will release R&B singer Keith Sweat's first album in more than five years. Just Me includes a duet with Keyshia Cole, titled "Love You Better." Sweat's biggest hits in the 1980s and 1990s included "I'll Give All My Love To You," "Twisted" and "Nobody."
Melissa Manchester's friend, Nancy Coulter, inspired her to write the new song, "Power of Ribbons." Nancy is a breast cancer survivor, who works tirelessly to raise a family and raise money for breast cancer research. Melissa debuted "Power of Ribbons" on May 10 at the opening of this year's Revlon Run/Walk For Women event in Los Angeles. On May 11, she was scheduled to perform the song again at the city's Dodger Stadium to showcase the team's ongoing fundraising for cancer research.
NEW ALBUM RELEASES
New albums scheduled for release on May 13 include: "Brooklyn's Don Diva" by Foxy Brown, "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things" by Jason Mraz, "The Moon Under Water" by Ryan Cabrera, "Magic" by Pras, "Tooth of Crime" by T-Bone Burnette, "Hymn For My Soul" by Joe Cocker, "WARchild" by Emamanuel JAL and "In the Midst of Beauty" by the Michael Schenker Group.
MUSICAL EVENTS/FESTIVALS/BENEFITS
On May 17, the Academy of Country Music Charitable Fund will hold its 2nd annual "New Artists' Party For A Cause" benefit at the MGM Grand Marquee Ballroom in Las Vegas, Nevada. Performers will include Kellie Pickler, Taylor Swift, Jack Ingram, Carolina Rain, Jake Owen, Sarah Buxton, Luke Bryan and Lady Antebellum. The Academy of Country Music Charitable Fund provides grants to promote music education.
New York radio station Z100 will host its annual "Zootopia" concert on May 17 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The lineup includes Miley Cyrus, Jordin Sparks, the Jonas Brothers, OneRepublic, Simple Plan, Gavin DeGraw and New Kids On The Block. A portion of the proceeds will go to DoSomething.org, which works to encourage young people to contribute to their local communities.
TOUR DATES AND INFORMATION
On May 17, the reunited Stone Temple Pilots will kick off its U.S. summer tour in Columbus, Ohio. They'll wrap up the outing on August 31 with an appearance at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, Washington. Scott Weiland, the band's original lead singer, recently left Velvet Revolver to rejoin Stone Temple Pilots.
Singer Melissa Etheridge has announced she'll celebrate the 20th anniversary of her self-titled debut album with a concert tour. The Revival tour begins on August 15 in Clearwater, Florida and runs through September 9. Melissa's first album included the rock hits ""Bring Me Some Water," "Like the Way I Do," "Chrome-Plated Heart" and "Similar Features."
