Day in Pop 2010 Rewind: Top Stories From July

We continue our look back at the top stories of 2010. Today we flashback to July

Ten Best Pop Songs of 2010

AOL Radio has sent over word about their list of Ten Best Songs of 2010 (To Date).

They tell us: The tracks were chosen based on listener ratings on the Fresh 40 station, so they're exactly what fans love and non-fans love to hate.

Whether lounging out by the pool or road tripping with friends, these are the must-have tracks on everyone's playlist this summer!

AOL Radio's Ten Best Songs of 2010 (To Date)

10 - Katy Perry - "California Gurls"
9 - Black Eyed Peas – "Imma Be"
8 - Usher – "OMG"
7 - Kesha – "Your Love Is My Drug"
6 - B.o.B – "Airplanes"
5 - Lady Antebellum – "Need You Now (2010 Mix)"
4 - Taio Cruz – "Break Your Heart"
3 - B.o.B – "Nothin' on You'
2 - Lady GaGa – "Telephone"
1 - Rihanna – "Rude Boy" -

Sh*t Robot Beats Guns N' Roses

If you thought Guns N' Roses Chinese Democracy took a long time to emerge, wait until you read this: Twenty-one years. It may sound like a long time, or maybe it's just right. For Sh*t Robot, it is the number of years that it took put all of the pieces together and live all of the experiences and hear all of the sounds that would ultimately lead to From The Cradle To The Rave, due out September 21st via DFA Records. It is the first proper album from this Irish born DJ and veteran of the New York club scene, and it is worth the wait.

To understand Sh*t Robot, one must understand the man behind the name: Marcus Lambkin. Growing up in a "dodgy neighborhood" on the outskirts of Dublin, Marcus was a teenage punk looking for a way out a rain-soaked country. It was around that time when friends brought back from London a new sound called Acid House, and it felt like a revolution. Indeed it was. Suddenly things seemed possible. Adventure was on the horizon and in 1992, with Dublin's club scene on its way out, Marcus left Ireland behind for New York.

What's an up-and-coming DJ/cabinet maker to do when in New York? As it turns out, the answer is both. But one came before the other. Marcus secured a gig playing at Brownies in New York - it was these early gigs, playing to mostly empty dancefloors, where Marcus learned how to mix and DJ properly. By 1994, Marcus was making a name for himself, bringing Euro anthems and trip-hop to New York. After playing a gig at Nation, Marcus secured a residency at the iconic club night Save The Robots, and his status was secured as a mainstay on the New York club circuit. But at its peak during the Club Kids era, the club scene became something unrecognizable to Marcus. By 2000, he had had enough and made the decision to quit DJing. But that decision came to be a rebirth of sorts. - more on this story

Jersey Shore Soundtrack

The Jersey Shore Soundtrack is coming, here is the official word: On July 20th when MTV and Universal Republic Records unleash this year's sexiest non-stop mixtape, the Jersey Shore Soundtrack. Designed to help fans "beat up the beat", the entire album blends together to give listeners the feel of their very own in-house DJ.

Featuring a scorching new track from the show's very own DJ Pauly D, Rhode Island's most-slammin' DJ, the Jersey Shore Soundtrack has been customized to continuously pump out party music tailored for the club, the beach and beyond.

The Jersey Shore Soundtrack's first single, "I Like It" by Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull is shooting up the Top 40 charts, with over 100 Top 40 stations spinning the track, including KIIS Los Angeles and New York's Z100. Co-written and produced by the award-winning RedOne [Lady Gaga], "I Like It" is the anthem of the summer, bringing together two of the most important and prominent Latin artists in modern pop culture on one explosive track. - more on this story

Glee Cast Member for MLB All Stars

MLB have announced a special performance by Glee star Amber Riley as part of the pre-game ceremony honoring the 30 PEOPLE "All-Stars Among Us" prior to the 2010 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 13, which will be broadcast on FOX beginning at 5:00 p.m. PT (8:00 p.m. ET).

Amber Riley will then perform the U.S. National Anthem prior to the All-Star Game and the Canadian Anthem will be performed by the Canadian Tenors. MLB Hall of Famer Rod Carew will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Later in the game, multi platinum singer/songwriter sensation Colbie Caillat will perform "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch. The 81st Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and Le Reseau des Sports, and around the world by Major League Baseball International. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage. MLB Network, MLB.com and Sirius XM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Game coverage.

On Monday, July 12, American rock band Train will perform their worldwide smash hit single "Hey Soul Sister" from their latest album SAVE ME, SAN FRANCISCO, as well as their classic hit "Calling All Angels". MLB Network will broadcast "Calling All Angels" at 4:55 p.m. PT (7:55 p.m. ET) and ESPN will broadcast both "Hey Soul Sister" and the Home Run Derby beginning at 5:00 p.m. PT (8:00 p.m. ET). The band features Patrick Monahan (lead vocalist), Jimmy Stafford (lead guitarist) and Scott Underwood (drummer), all of whom are avid baseball fans. Before Train's performance, local Southern Californian Taylor Longbrake will perform the U.S. National Anthem. - more on this story

Lady Gaga Mixed Up

Lady Gaga is the latest artist to take songs from a hit album and have them remixed and released as a new album. Here is the announcement:

Lady Gaga will release Lady Gaga - The Remix on August 3rd, 2010. The Remix has sold over 500,000 albums internationally topping the charts in the UK, Japan and Canada. The U.S. version of The Remix features ten songs from The Fame and The Fame Monster including Gaga hits like "Just Dance", "Poker Face", "LoveGame", "Paparazzi", "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro" all remixed by highly acclaimed DJ's and artists. This is the first time this collection will be available stateside.

Following the announcement of the North American extension of The Monster Ball Tour, international pop superstar LADY GAGA now also has the largest selling digital album ever, scanning 783,056 units of "The Fame Monster" (combined). The Fame Monster and The Fame have sold over 13 million albums worldwide to date. The video for LADY GAGA's latest single, "Alejandro", has been viewed online over 39 million times since its June 8th releas - more on this story

Ed Lover Chuckles at Chris Brown's Tears

Ed Lover has released the latest episode of his web series C'Mon Son. In the latest episode, Episode 15, Ed wastes no time going in on the BET Awards where he ribs on Diddy's smoke-filled performance with Dirty Money, heckles celebrity fashion choices and chuckles at Chris Brown's now infamous tear-filled Michael Jackson tribute.

Not missing a beat when it comes to celebrity shame, Lover also takes a little time to throw a few barbs at Lady Gaga's latest booze-fueled hi-jinks, and Nicki Minaj's obsessive wardrobe changes.

Not even royalty is safe. Did you catch Prince Henry falling off his royal horse and onto his royal... ? Well Ed did, and the laughter only begins there. Ed Lover is no stranger to tickling hip-hop's funny bone, and the hundreds of thousands of views on his popular web series indicate he still has the knack for making us laugh. - watch it here

Katy Perry's California Gurls Sets A New Record

Katy Perry's "California Gurls" has set a new radio record after scoring more than 13,000 spins in one week for the second consecutive week on both the BDS and Mediabase charts.

"California Gurls" has become the all-time Mediabase Top 40 airplay record holder with 13,167 spins in one week — an average of 92 spins per week at a pace exceeding 13 times per day.

"Katy has set records and turned radio upside down," says Greg Thompson, executive vice-president for promotion at Capitol Records. "This track has broken all-time spins records, and achieved massive Hot 100 audience numbers of historic proportion." - more on this story

Classic Duran Duran Revisted

Capitol/EMI will follow the recent release of expanded editions of Duran Duran's first three albums with expanded Limited Special Editions of the band's fourth and fifth albums, Notorious and Big Thing on September 28th.

Both 2CD/DVD packages feature the remastered original albums and extensive bonus materials in lift-top boxes with an eight-page booklet, five postcards, and a folded poster. On the same date, the full audio from each set's two CDs will also be available for download purchase from all major digital service providers.

Duran Duran's platinum-certified Notorious was produced by Nile Rodgers; its release in 1986 followed the Grammy-winning band's third album, Seven and The Ragged Tiger, by three years. The title track reached #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and was revisited by The Notorious B.I.G. in 1999 as the sampled foundation of his eponymous single. - more on this story

American Idol Jordin Sparks Reaching for New Heights

"American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks is going Broadway as the new Nina Rosario when she makes her Broadway debut in In The Heights on Thursday, August 19, 2010.

20 year old Jordin Sparks will play a limited 12 week engagement through Sunday, November 14, 2010.

Jordin Sparks has been performing from a young age and stands alone as the youngest contestant to ever win "American Idol." At the age of 16, she auditioned for the show and within a few months went on to win the hearts of fans and the Idol judges. She has since become a platinum and award winning recording artist. - more on this story

Joss Stone Is The New Bond Girl

Two big questions always revolve around a new James Bond release: Who is providing the music and who will be the new Bond girl? We now know who will fill both roles in the new James Bond game. Here is the announcement:

Joss Stone is set to debut as the newest Bond girl in Activision's James Bond 007: Blood Stone, an original Bond experience from legendary screenwriter Bruce Feirstein.

In addition to stepping into a leading role, Grammy and BRIT Award winner Joss Stone will create original music for the game, luring players into an explosive third-person action adventure where they will unravel an international conspiracy across exotic locales. Players will experience full-throttle, behind-the-wheel action on land and sea while using the most high tech gadgetry known to James Bond 007, the world's most skilled secret agent. - more on this story

Leno Snags American Idol Assoc. Musical Director

Associate Music Director for American Idol Dorian Holley, who is also Artist Development Director at Los Angeles Music Academy College of Music, has left his post at American Idol to accept the job as frontman and lead vocalist for Jay Leno's Tonight Show Band.

Holley, who in 2009 joined the school's Vocal Department chaired by multiple Grammy-award-nominee Tierney Sutton, has extensive credits singing alongside the likes of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews Band, Usher, Queen Latifah, Sugarland and Rod Stewart. Holley is reunited with longtime friend and colleague Ricky Minor, whom he worked with on Idol for five seasons and who is now the music director for the Tonight Show Band.

"It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks since Leno has been back on the air, but I'm so excited to start this great new chapter in my music career," says Holley. After a quick chuckle he says, "I've been up night and day learning hundreds of songs." Holley will continue his work at LA Music Academy where his newest courses, Stage Presence, Rehearsal Technique and Showcase, were implemented this semester and are available to all students in the diploma and degree programs. - more on this story

Phil Collins Going Back To The Sixties

Phil Collins is "Going Back" to the sixties with the September 28th release of his new studio album.

"GOING BACK" is a deeply personal labor of love that finds the eight-time Grammy winner faithfully recreating the Motown and soul music that played such an influential role in his creative life (see complete track listing below).

While in the past Collins has paid tribute to his roots by covering some of his favorite songs – including "You Can't Hurry Love," "A Groovy Kind Of Love," "Tomorrow Never Knows," "True Colours," and others – this marks the first time in his 30-year solo career that he has devoted an entire project to the work of other songwriters and performers. - more on this story

American Idol's Blake Lewis Announces Special Release

American Idol's Blake Lewis will release his newest album, Heartbreak on Vinyl, on vinyl of course, with a wealthy of new, never before released content, this August.

Lewis, who recently topped Billboard's Hot Dance Airplay Chart and the Dance Club Play Chart at #1 with the title track "Heartbreak on Vinyl," will sign, hand-number and personalize each of the only 500 available Limited Edition Double LP copies sold. The album, pressed in a unique red vinyl, is currently available for pre-order at www.blakelewisofficial.com and will be delivered to customers beginning August 3rd.

In addition to the personalization of each LP, Lewis is offering a slate of new content with each purchase including free instant access to the digital album, 13 remixes of the chart-topping single "Heartbreak on Vinyl," and free membership to his VIP Opendisc site. The VIP Opendisc site offers exclusive content from Lewis including video messages, promo videos and "making of" clips, interactive Q&A sessions, remixes, bonus audio and track by track commentaries and much more. To top it all off, by the time each LP is delivered, those who purchased it will also receive a free MP3 of an unreleased track "'Till We See The Sun." - more on this story

Michael Jackson Flash Mob

Some folks in Orlando put together an interesting way to pay tribute to Michael Jackson with a flash mob like event. Here is the announcement: On June 25, 2010 premier members of Orlando's fine art community joined together to pay tribute to one of the greatest and most memorable entertainers of our time – Michael Jackson. MJ's Magic: an Orlando Tribute to the King of Pop paid homage to Jackson's choreography and music while honoring his commitment to community through fundraising for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida.

Beginning at 5:26 pm at Church Street Station, two dancers began a choreographed piece to Michael Jackson's "Black or White." As the song played more dancers joined the performance along with break dancers and students from many local dance schools. After "Black or White," "Man in the Mirror," rang out from the DJ's mobile system and the dancers encouraged the audience to join the performance to pay tribute to Michael Jackson. The event finished capturing the essence of the spontaneous "flash mob" events that have captivated people around the world via viral videos online. All participants simply rejoined the crowd and business returned to normal on Church Street.

While the performance took place just once, the fundraising efforts and promotion of Jackson's legacy will stretch for months after MJ's Magic. At the center of the online marketing efforts is www.mjsmagic.com, a site that will forever be dedicated to the event. The site is also a place to recognize and thank all of our friends, sponsors and participants who worked so hard to make this event a success. -