The sales figures are finally in, and after a nearly 17-year wait, Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy scanned just 261,200 copies, earning the album the #3 position on Billboard's weekly albums sales chart — right behind Taylor Swift's Fearless at #2 (with 267,400 sold) and Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak, which opens at #1 with sales of 450,000 and change.
Two weeks ago, GN'R's latest was considered a strong contender for the chart's peak position, with some predicting the album would outperform West's 808s in a close race for #1. Instead, history may show Chinese Democracy's first-week sales as an epic failure. Read more...
In late October, MTV News brought you details of Dr Pepper's offer to provide every American with a free can of the pop should Guns N' Roses release their eagerly awaited album Chinese Democracy in 2008. Now, here's an update on the soda maker's vow.
Yesterday — the day the GN'R record hit stores — Dr Pepper's site was flooded with visitors looking to cash in on the deal. Due to overwhelming demand and several site issues, Dr Pepper has extended the offer until 6 p.m. today; the deal was originally set to expire last night at midnight. Participants have until February 28 to redeem their coupon for a 20-ounce can of the drink.
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I've got something you don't have, I've got something you don't have — a physical copy of Guns N' Roses' long-awaited LP Chinese Democracy. While you've all been downloading the leaked version of the album, illegally, I've got a copy of the actual record, which I, too, didn't pay a penny for.
People, I wouldn't believe it if I weren't actually thumbing through the liner notes, but Chinese Democracy is real. It arrived via messenger from Geffen's offices about an hour ago, and so far, I'm not even halfway through the music — the music I've already heard over the years, thanks to the myriad of leaks that have occurred. I'm more interested in the artwork and what's inside the CD booklet.
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Back in early October, a bunch of us here at MTV News were sitting around a table in some conference room, discussing rock's upcoming releases. We decided that, because they're beloved by countless millions, we'd do something special around the release of Nickelback's new one, Dark Horse, which hit stores today.
What, oh what, could we do with Nickelback that hadn't been done already? We wanted to stay away from doing a standard interview about the album, what inspired it and what it was like to work on it. So we decided we wanted to do something a little more unique, and a lot more amusing, with our favorite Canadian rockers, who are signed to Roadrunner Records. Read more...
If you've ever had the chance to spend more than five minutes in the company of Jesse "The Devil" Hughes, the gloriously mustached Eagles of Death Metal frontman, then you know he's a ladies man. The mistake I made yesterday — when four of us MTV Newsers met up with Hughes to discuss his thoughts on Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy — was not bringing along a crew full of burly men to shoot the interview.
You see, whenever we do in-person interviews, we send a gang of people to get the footage we need. Usually, this includes a person from production management, a segment producer, a shooter to work the camera and the person who conducts the interview (me). For Hughes' interview, I was accompanied by three of the lovely ladies I work with, and as expected, Hughes couldn't contain himself.
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Oh, Joe Jonas — you've got it so tough.
All week long, that bitter, horrible, blond wench Taylor Swift's been dragging your good name through the press, making you look like a two-timing jerk, and that's just not right. I feel bad for you, man. You met Camilla Belle while shooting the video for "Lovebug," and sparks flew. It's not your fault the heart wants what the heart wants — and that gorgeous girl you were dating should be more understanding of that.
I read your MySpace blog, and I get it, man. You just wanted different things — and a different girlfriend — and Swift should just accept that and move on already. I believe you when you say you didn't cheat on Taylor; I'm sure you waited at least a day after the breakup before making time with Camilla. Swift, quite frankly, should thank you for your loyalty, because lesser men wouldn't have waited like you did.
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Over the years, working for MTV News and even before I landed this gig, I've interviewed a lot of celebrities. It's one of the perks of the job, interviewing people whose work you've always admired (which, for me, would include any of the members of Jane's Addiction, Mike Patton, Carcass and Portishead) — at times, you even get to speak to those whose work you don't admire (like, say, Hinder).
I'd say about 40 percent of the interviews I've done have been in person — an artist is in town and they've got something to promote, so they swing by our Times Square offices for a little face time. The rest of them are what we in the biz call "phoners," and these interviews involve calling the subject at his or her home or hotel room to talk shop. These types of interviews are less controlled, basically because there's no publicist around to interfere. But these types of interviews are also just like any other phone conversation you've ever had — call waiting can disrupt the flow of conversation just as easily as a screaming child or a misbehaving pet. Read more...
How can I tell Taylor Swift is one of music's biggest artists? Not by record sales — although her self-titled debut has sold more than 3.5 million copies — and not by the company she's kept, because dating Joe Jonas isn't a firm indicator that you've achieved fame. It just isn't.
Me? I can tell Swift's a megastar because of who she rolls with.
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Sorry, Janet fans. If you were expecting to catch one of Janet Jackson's seven postponed tour stops, you'll be waiting a long time.
Jackson's tour organizer Live Nation has said she will not be making up the shows in Montreal; Boston; Philadelphia; Greensboro, North Carolina; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Uncasville, Connecticut; and Verona, New York she was forced to cancel last month, because of sudden onset migraine-associated vertigo. She did manage to perform makeup dates in New York City and Atlanta.
There's no word yet on when or how fans will be able to seek a ticket refund for the nixed shows.
Read more on Janet Jackson's tour troubles here.
On Monday, Amazon.com posted a listing on its site for a forthcoming Eminem album, claiming the set would be in stores on December 23. Later that day, a spokesperson for Em's label, Interscope, told us that "there's been no date scheduled" for Relapse yet.
And sure enough, on Tuesday Amazon removed the release-date information for the record, the title of which the site listed as "TBD." The site has a spotty record in terms of the reliability of such information: In recent years, they've listed several different release dates for Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy, all of which were not November 23, 2008, which is now apparently the album's officially official release date.
In short, this all probably means that there won't be a copy of Relapse in your Christmas stocking this year. As soon as we find out an official release date, we'll let you know.
