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Adele Using Voice-Generating Smartphone App To Talk While On Vocal Rest

Posted 11/30/11 12:40 pm EST by in Adele

By Zachary Swickey

Most music fans are aware that songbird of the year Adele is currently on the mend from vocal surgery after canceling her North American tour for a second time earlier this year. However, the singer is getting by in high-tech fashion, using a smartphone app to communicate.

The Sun reports that the British singer has a fancy new app that essentially reads messages aloud as she types them into her phone, which allows the star to still run errands while she’s on complete vocal rest.

A source revealed to the tabloid, “She’s been using the speaking app to buy coffee at Starbucks and order cabs. … It is far easier to communicate using it rather than writing everything down on paper and showing people.”

Adele is still recovering stateside in Boston, where she underwent vocal surgery earlier this month, and while vocal issues have been a setback, she’s still having an amazing year. Her album 21 continues to sell like crazy, recently topping 12 million units worldwide and easily on track for 13 million by the end of the holiday season. The album has spent an impressive 39 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, where it has basically lived in the top five (it is currently No. 3) and spent more weeks at number one than any album since Santana's Supernatural in 2000. Read More...

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Coldplay And Emma Stone Are No Match For Adele's 'Someone Like You'

Posted 11/14/11 12:24 pm EST by in Adele, Coldplay, Television

Adele's music is widely acclaimed for its emotional resonance and it seems that the diva's voice and powerful lyrics can reduce even the world's biggest band and one of Hollywood's top up-and-comers to tears.

That was the joke during a sketch on "Saturday Night Live" this weekend. In the skit, Emma Stone and Co. played officemates who discover that whenever you need a good cry, Adele's "Someone Like You" is the perfect track to turn to.

So secretly universal is breaking down to Adele's hit that Kristen Wiig's character declares, "Everyone with a heart and an iTunes account does it."

Later, in a bit of behind-the-scenes fun, we see this week's musical guest Coldplay losing it while watching the sketch on a monitor.

This was Stone's second time hosting the show and she proved once again that her natural comic timing and graceful presence make one of the best "SNL" hosts in recent memory (actually, between Stone, Melissa McCarthy and Charlie Day, "SNL" is having a pretty strong season so far).

Check out the full episode after the jump. (The Adele sketch begins at about 52:10.) Read More...

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Keith Urban Joins Adele And John Mayer As Latest Star To Tackle Vocal Chord Issues

Posted 11/4/11 12:10 pm EST by in Adele, Concerts, Music

Keith Urban

By Zachary Swickey

Country star Keith Urban is the latest in a long list of musicians to require throat surgery to remove a polyp from his vocal cords. The singer made the announcement on his website, stating the surgery will be minor, although it is undetermined how much vocal rest he will actually need.

This has forced Urban to postpone his "All for the Hall" benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which was scheduled for Jan. 18 in Nashville. It was to include performances from Rascal Flatts, Vince Gill and Allison Krauss with Urban acting as emcee for the evening. Urban will still honor any one-song performances leading up to his surgery later this month.

There seems to be some sort of throat epidemic going around considering the growing list of musicians facing serious vocal ailments. Adele, the best selling artist in the U.S. this year, has nixed her tour of the states twice (which had been selling tickets like hotcakes) due to her persisting vocal problems that now require the amazing British songbird to undergo surgery. (Word of advice: lay off the cigs my dear). But trust us; she’s just as bummed as we are about it.

Who else is on doctor-ordered vocal rest? Read on for more. Read More...

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Bob Dylan Tribute Album to Feature Adele, My Morning Jacket and ... Kesha

Posted 10/20/11 2:19 pm EST by in Adele, bob-dylan, tribute

Bob Dylan

By Zachary Swickey

Even at 70 years old, Bob Dylan is still a big deal and one of the most revered singer-songwriters ever –and now some big name musicians, including Adele, Ke$ha, My Morning Jacket and Sting, are preparing to pay their respects on a new tribute album for charity.

Titled Chimes of Freedom: Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International, the disc is expected to land on November 21 stateside with proceeds benefiting the human rights group.

Ke$ha will be handling the ’63 tune “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” and you may be surprised to discover her enthusiasm for the project. While the collab is sure to have some detractors, Ke$ha defended her love for the icon to Rolling Stone, saying, “When you think of me, you wouldn’t think of Bob Dylan. My music is more crazy than politics. But he’s a huge influence – he writes his own music and means what he says. I write my own music and I f***cking mean every word I sing.”

Adele will include her beautiful rendition of “Make You Feel My Love,” which can already be heard on her smash-hit debut, 19, while My Morning Jacket will supply a superstar jam fest with the help of Sting and Dave Matthews Band for a cover of “You’re a Big Girl Now” off of Dylan’s 1975 album, Blood on the Tracks. Read More...

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Adele's Tour Cancelation Brings Back Bad Memories Of Other Must-See Tours That Fell Apart

Posted 10/5/11 3:03 pm EST by in Adele, Concerts, tour

By Zachary Swickey

Chart-topping songstress of the year Adele is disappointed just as much as us that she’s had to cancel her U.S. tour once again. It’s easy for fans to be upset, considering this is her second scrapped stateside tour, and there’s no immediate mention of rescheduling the dates. Although, it’s understandably imperative that she properly rests her vocal chords because it appears they never fully healed from the first tour cancellation.

Axed tours are always a bummer, especially when it’s from one of the year’s biggest acts, but she’s not the first heavy hitter forced to cancel. From Kanye to the Lollapalooza festival itself, here are five of the biggest tour cancellations that prompted a universal sigh from fans.

Kanye West and Lady Gaga’s “Fame Kills Tour”
Appropriately, Kanye West visited the ladies on talk show "The View" in June 2009 to announce a co-headlining tour with then-rising star Lady Gaga, who was riding high on the success of her debut The Fame. Dubbed “Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga,” the tour would have found West supporting his auto-tune disc 808s & Heartbreak, while Gaga would release The Fame Monster EP during the tour. However, following West’s infamous stage-crashing incident with Taylor Swift at the VMAs, the entire production was canceled (only two weeks after it was even official). Various rumors suggested poor ticket sales, creative differences and feuding between the two icons … but they both seem to be doing all right today.

Read More...

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'Someone Like You' Director Jake Nava's Greatest Hits

Posted 9/30/11 1:33 pm EST by in Adele

On Thursday evening, Adele's somber — and frankly, quite stunning — "Someone Like You" video premiered, and once we had finished wiping the tears from our eyes, we quickly realized that director Jake Nava really deserves a video Oscar or something.

Not only did he deliver a video that perfectly matches the song's heartbroken, haunted feel (not an easy feat), but, whether you know it or not, the British-born Nava has also been responsible for some of the greatest pop clips in recent memory, only adding to a resume that stretches back to the early '90s (and includes work for everyone from System of a Down to the Spice Girls).

And sure, while the eye-catching clips being churned out by Lady Gaga tend to grab the headlines (since, you know, it's Gaga), what makes Nava's work so impressive is that, rarely, if ever, does he make the same video twice. In fact, if you didn't pay attention to the credits, you'd probably have no idea who was responsible ... he's not only one of the most malleable directors in the business, he's also one of the most unassuming, and really, that's what a good director should be. The video is about the artist in front of the camera, after all.

So, in celebration of a man who doesn't get the credit he deserves, we've compiled a list of Nava's most iconic music videos. Because, as you'll soon learn, while you may not know his name, you most certainly know his work. Read More...

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Should Adele Be Talking To The Ex Who Inspired 21? We Check Out Her Lyrics To See If He's No Good

Posted 9/26/11 12:08 pm EST by in Adele

By Dionne Buxton

Everyone’s favorite singer-songwriter Adele has rekindled a friendship with the ex who inspired many songs from her multiplatinum 21 album.

"We're becoming friends again. It's alright, I know what I'm doing. Enough time has gone by," Adele said in a recent interview with the UK's The Independent.

Like the classy woman she is, Adele has never disclosed the name of the scumbag gentleman that walked away from her. Instead, she turned her pain into gut-wrenching lyrics that listeners have latched onto, making 21 by far the year's top-selling record.

She said she has finally reached a place of recovery where she is strong enough to let him back into her life, especially with the success of this album.

"Now with what's going on with the album around the world, it's important to be able to share it with him because it's marvelous what has happened," she said. "He changed my life, I can't deny that. The album helped me get over splitting up with my boyfriend." Adele added, "It helped me forgive and I hope that he has forgiven himself."

Since we don’t know exactly what happened in her past relationship, we studied some lyrics from 21 to try to get the scoop… Read More...

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Saluting Music's Hottest Fashionistas As NYC Fashion Week Kicks Off

Posted 9/8/11 12:11 pm EST by in Adele, Beyonce, Fashion, Fashion Week, Lady Gaga

Fashion Week kicks off today in New York City and we are excited. We're not big fashionistas or anything – we are currently rocking the stylings of the Gap and H&M … jealous? – but we love seeing people decked out in their craziest couture hitting the streets of NYC to check out shows by the biggest names in the fashion game.

Fashion Week also reminds us to show a little love to our fave sartorial superstars. Music's biggest and boldest are always setting the trends in the fashion world, so we decided to give our favorite trendsetters a shout out on this holiest of holy weeks.

Lady Gaga – Who needs pants?
Mother Monster has had a massive influence on fashion – so much so that her stylist/fashion director Nicola Formichetti has himself become a huge name in the clothes game. Formichetti is the creative director for French fashion house Mugler and is opening a pop up shop in NYC's Soho neighborhood where he will sell limited-edition pieces from Mugler, Uniqlo and Haus of Gaga. But Gaga's most obvious contribution to the fashion game can be seen in the abundance of leg that has overtaken America. While donning a leotard for work probably violates most people's office dress codes, the pop star's propensity for going pantless made short shorts a must have for ladies (and many urban gentlemen) this summer. With cooler weather approaching, we're thinking the trend will fade out soon … and probably be replaced with the bare-faced thing she's been rocking lately.

Adele – The return of the little black dress
From her soaring voice to her 60s-inspired, ginger biscuit-colored locks, everything about Adele is classic – right down to her preference for rocking simple black dresses like the one she wore to perform her latest No. 1 hit, "Someone Like You," at the VMAs (check it out above). Some may complain that she doesn't change it up enough, but we say phooey to all that. What's the number one rule in fashion? Stick to what works. And when it comes to Adele, the classic black dress works like gangbusters.

Read More...

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Adele Joins Florence Welsh, Christina Aguilera And Pink Among Best Vocalists To Perform At VMAs

Posted 8/26/11 12:30 pm EST by in Adele, VMAs

When Adele takes the stage at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, the focus will be on something that sometimes gets overlooked amid the spectacle of the VMAs – her voice.

When we think back on the best VMA performances in recent memory, acts like Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Usher spring immediately to mind with their extravagant sets, backup dancers and otherworldly energy. Don’t get us wrong, these guys sounded great – Beyonce and Gaga are known for their ability to keep up vocally while hitting all the right moves – but we shouldn’t forget to give a little love to the great, stripped-down sets that showcased the performer’s voice above everything else. From Florence + The Machine last year to Pink’s emotional take on “Just Like a Pill” in 2002, some truly great vocal performances have brought down the house at the awards.

Check out our list of the best of the best after the jump. Read More...

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The Atlantic Paradox: American Artists Who Are Bigger In The UK Than At Home

Posted 8/23/11 9:13 am EST by in Adele, Kelly-Rowland, kings of leon

By Sterling Wong

America and Britain have historically enjoyed a special relationship that was forged by Churchill and Roosevelt during World War II, and this even extends to the realm of music. George Bernard Shaw once famously remarked, “England and America are two countries separated by a common language,” and the language he was referring to could actually be music.

For decades, British acts have found massive success here, including the Beatles, the Spice Girls and Coldplay. In the spring, I wrote about the success of Adele and Mumford and Sons here kicking off a new British invasion. But this special relationship works both ways. Hop across the Atlantic and you’ll notice that there are American artists who’ve managed to find great success that eclipses their achievements here at home. It’s as if the British public was somehow more receptive to their music or has adopted them as de facto countrymen (think Madonna during her Guy Ritchie days). MTV News looks at three American artists who’ve hit in big in the UK.

Kelly Rowland
Ms. Kelly is the best example of a domestic artist who’s struggled a little here, but has found her feet in the UK. Since she’s embarked on her solo career, Kelly has enjoyed some success in the U.S. Her duet with Nelly, “Dilemma,” for example, was a Hot 100 No. 1 hit. However, Kelly’s enjoyed far greater success in the UK, with no less than six top 10 hits there, including Euro-friendly dance tracks like “When Love Takes Over” and “Commander.” Kelly also managed to snag a prestigious spot on the judging panel of this season’s “X Factor” in the UK. With the show averaging 10 million viewers each week, Kelly is sure to see her profile rise further over there.

Meanwhile, her career here is also finally taking off, with “Motivation” becoming a radio hit and the parent album, Here I Am, becoming Kelly’s highest charting album ever. Looks like Kelly’s found a successful bi-continental musical strategy: Go dance-heavy in the UK, and focus on urban, hip-hop grooves over here.

Read More...

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