Is Demi Lovato going to get to “annoy” Simon Cowell again on X Factor? What popular sitcom is Taylor Swift going to guest star on this year? All this, plus Macklemore opens up about his addictions, in today’s Last Lap.
SXSW 2013: Macklemore Finally Tells Us About The Origins Of “Grandpa Style”
We’re barely two and a half months into 2013, but the music success story of the year has already been written. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have been working together for the better part of five years now, but the combination of blaring horns, poppin’ tags and “This is f***in’ awesome” chorus have made their single “Thrift Shop” this year’s most unexpected hit record. We sat down with Macklemore —who, we should note, very politely introduced himself to us by his real name, which is Ben— at SXSW last week to talk about grandpa style.
Tegan And Sara, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Dazzle At The mtvU Woodies
We’re finally back from Austin and home in New York City, where we’re taking stock of what happened during the last 8 days of SXSW. We’re going through the early stages of breakfast taco withdrawal, but watching these incredible live performances from Tegan and Sara and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis from this year’s mtvU Woodies Awards is making the comedown go much smoother than anticipated.
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The Scoop: Did Harry Styles Really Get A Giant Butterfly Tattoo?
Who sang their own song at karaoke? How long did it take for Lil’ Kim to get over the The Notorious B.I.G.‘s death? The answers to these questions, plus more in this morning’s The Scoop.
Macklemore And Ryan Lewis Take A Break From “Thrift Shop(ping)” To Support Gay Awareness Campaign
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are coasting on a high with their No. 1 Hot 100 hit leading the charts for the fourth week in a row. When they’re not scouring through the racks of a “Thrift Shop” they lend their services by supporting a gay awareness campaign. Read more…
SoundScanner: Who The Heck Is Chris Tomlin And Why Does He Have The Country’s #1 Album?
Chris Tomlin —who?— debuts at No. 1, trailed by the scary dudes in Hollywood Undead. Here’s a look at this week’s Nielsen SoundScan sales figures:
CHRIS WHO?: Chris Tomlin tops this week’s chart with his seventh album Burning Lights, which sold 73,000 copies this week, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures released Wednesday. OK, so who is Chris Tomlin? He’s a 40-year-old contemporary Christian artist from Texas whose previous chart high came in 2008 when his album Hello Love debuted at No. 9. Tomlin benefited from a weak sales frame —this week marks the lowest sales tally for a No. 1 album since September, when another Christian act, tobyMac, hit No. 1— and his numbers were buoyed by sales at churches and other non-traditional outlets, which accounted for a full 40 percent of the album’s sales, Billboard notes. Guest artists on Burning Lights include Lecrae, Kari Jobe and Phil Wickham; Tomlin must not have 2 Chainz’ most recent phone number.
P!NK GOES PLATINUM: Congratulations are in order for P!nk, whose September release The Truth About Love crosses the platinum marker this week. The album, which debuted at No. 1 last year with 281,000 first week sales, sold 28,000 copies this week, landing at No. 12 and bringing its total sales to 1.014 million copies. P!nk is mounting a U.S. tour in support of the album which kicks off Feb. 13 at Phoenix’s US Airways Center, and we’re guessing there will be aerial stunts involved.
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SoundScanner: Movie Soundtracks Les Miz And Pitch Perfect Make Their Move, While Maroon 5 Goes Platinum
Les Miz can finally lighten up, even as overall sales suffer a chill. Here’s a look at this week’s Nielsen SoundScan sales:
GOOD NEWS, FANTINE!: The Gloomy Gus movie of the year finally has something to cheer about: The Les Miserables soundtrack hits No. 1 on this week’s sales chart, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures released Wednesday. The album sold 92,000 copies this week, narrowly edging out Mumford & Sons‘ Babel for the chart’s top spot (only 1,439 sales separated the two albums). Babel benefited from a big iTunes sales push, but it wasn’t enough to edge out Jean Valjean and company. For Les Mis, bad times never seemed so good.
In addition to being the first soundtrack to hit No. 1 on the chart since The Hunger Games companion album did so in April 2012, the Les Mis soundtrack —last week’s chart runner-up— gives Russell Crowe his first-ever appearance on a No. 1 album. It’s a feat he could never achieve with his outfits 30 Odd Foot of Grunts or Russell Crowe & the Ordinary Fear of God —which despite sounding made-up were both actual Russell Crowe-fronted bands (!)— although the Oscar winner was name-checked on Jay-Z and Kanye West‘s 2011 chart-topper Watch the Throne.
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