Randy Travis Released From The Hospital

"Most patients with cardiomyopathy have heart failure."

One Direction Fans Issue Death Threats Over Magazine Story

(Radio.com) The five young foals of One Direction landed on the cover of the September issue of British GQ and opened up to the magazine, among other topics, tour bus rules, groupies and booze. And then, as logic would dictate, One Direction fans sent death threats to the magazine on Twitter.

You can read an excerpt of the interview below. Did the magazine deserve to receive death threats? Let's break it down: When asked about tour bus rules for groupies and booze Niall admitted that due to being underage in the U.S. they "couldn't really party."

The Internet is full of rumors so GQ asked Harry about his rumored relationship with Nick Grimshaw, specifically if he's bisexual. "Bisexual? Me? I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I'm not," Harry confessed.

Despite their constant time in the limelight and the rumor mill, Harry said he will never complain. "I never like it when a celebrity goes on Twitter and says, 'This isn't true!' It is what it is; I tend not to do that. The only time it gets really annoying is that if you get into a relationship and you get into a place where you really like someone and then things are being written in the papers that affect them and how they see you. Then it can get annoying." More including the cover photos.

Selena Gomez Beats Jay-Z

(Radio.com) Selena Gomez has dethroned Jay-Z from the top of the charts after scored the new No. 1 album in the country, with Stars Dance topping the Billboard 200 chart this week.

The album, Gomez's fourth, sold 97,000 in its first week — her highest sales week, surpassing 2011′s When the Sun Goes Down, which moved 78,000 copies in its opening week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Stars Dance is also Gomez's first chart-topping album, having increased her debut spot slightly with each preceding release. When the Sun Goes Down marked her best debut before in her career before this week, bowing at No. 3.

Gomez's No. 1 debut owes much to "Come and Get It," the album's first single, which has hit a peak of No. 6 on the Hot 100. The song is her first Top 10 single and highest charting since 2011′s "Who Says," which peaked at No. 21.

Her continued relevance also finds support in her starring role in 2013′s Spring Breakers, as well as her on-again, off-again relationship with Justin Bieber. She's also the youngest solo female artist to get a No. 1 album since Taylor Swift did so with Speak Now in November 2010, according to Billboard.

Stars Dance's spot at No. 1 ends the reign of Jay Z's Magna Carta… Holy Grail, which topped the chart for two weeks and continued a string of No. 1 rap releases that included Kanye West, Wale and J. Cole. Magna Carta drops to No. 2 this week, selling 77,000. more on this story

Lady Gaga Reveals ARTPOP Details During Impromptu Twitter Q&A

(Radio.com) Lady Gaga continued to heighten expectations for the Oct. 11 release of her new studio album, ARTPOP, by holding an impromptu Q&A on her Twitter account with her legions of Little Monsters yesterday (July 31).

After revealing the album's cover art and release date (Aug. 19) for lead single "Applause" earlier in the week, Gaga regaled fans on Twitter for about an hour. She unleashed a few details regarding her previously announced ARTPOP album app, which will be available for devices through iTunes and Google Play.

"The ARTPOP app is free, available in App Stores on your device. You can purchase the music through the ARTPOP app once it's downloaded," Gaga tweeted. "Or you can purchase the album at the music store+download the free app separately at the app store," with Gaga confirming that fans can socially interact through the application, which she called "in essence, an interactive jewel case." The app placeholder can be downloaded starting August 19.

Gaga also announced that on August 19, the release of her new single "Applause" will come with the song's official music video. more on this story

Rihanna Wins Unapproved Shirt Battle

(Radio.com) She found money in a hopeless case. Rihanna won her $5 million dollar lawsuit against Arcadia, the parent company of British retailer Topshop, over a sleeveless tee that bared an unapproved image of the singer.

The shirt, which featured an image of the Rihanna taken during a 2011 video shoot for "We Found Love," was originally sold on the company's site as the "Rihanna Tank," but following a complaint from the singer's camp they changed the name to "Headscarf Girl Tank," and then again to "Icon Tank," according to BuzzFeed.

Rihanna's lawyers—the singer was not present at the trial—told the London court that the featured image was very similar to ones used in the promotion of her 2011 album Talk That Talk and that they felt the retail company had tricked fans into thinking Rihanna had played a part in the making of the shirt.

In their defense, Topshop said that image they used of Rihanna was taken in a public place where there was no expectation of privacy, stating that according to the current British legal system, an image taken in a public place didn't "constitute trademark, image, license or rights infringement."

According to the BBC, the judge agreed that the image did not breach Rihanna's privacy. But said a "substantial number" of buyers were likely deceived into buying the T-shirt because of a "false belief" that Rihanna herself approved the shirt, ruling that the company was guilty of "passing off" or misrepresenting their goods as being associated with the singer for their own gain. more on this story

Beyonce Dedicates Song To Bankrupt Detroit

(Radio.com) On July 20, Beyonce made a stop in Detroit, Michigan as part of her current world tour, The Mrs. Carter Show. It also just so happened to be two days after the city filed for bankruptcy.

Being the humanitarian she is, Bey attempted to spread some good vibes by dedicating Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" to the city and its inhabitants.

The black and white clip begins by panning over the sea of fans screaming for Bey before she launches into the song, which was released in 1964 and became an anthem for the Civil Rights Movement.

The video also features shots of the city that celebrate its great history from Motown to the auto industry. The clip also honors some of Detroit's famous inhabitants including Aretha Franklin, Aaliyah, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Eminem, Jay Z's new pal and collaborator, Jack White, along with Kid Rock, who made his own comments about the city's troubles recently. Watch the clip of Beyonce singing her heart out

LeBron James Picks Drake and Phil Collins For NBA 2K14 Soundtrack

(Radio.com) LeBron James has a new gig as music supervisor for the video game NBA 2K14 and he's filled the soundtrack with a mix of hip-hop, rock and, of course, Phil Collins.

"2K is letting me take control of some important elements in NBA 2K14, including this year's soundtrack," James said in a statement. "I love that I'm the first NBA 2K cover athlete to choose the soundtrack."

According to Consequence of Sound, there are 20 songs featured in the multi-platform game including Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' "Can't Hold Us," Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" Drake's "Started From The Bottom" and the Collins classic "In The Air Tonight."

Other artists featured on the soundtrack include The Black Keys, Kendrick Lamar, Robin Thicke, Imagine Dragons, John Legend, Nas, Eminem, Coldplay, Gorillaz, Rick Ross, Kanye West and Jay Z, who was NBA 2K13′s music supervisor back when he was still using the hyphen.

NBA 2K14 hits stores October 1. Check out a preview of the game here.

New Album From Late Country Great George Jones Set For Release

(Radio.com) The country world was devastated earlier this April by the passing of George Jones. Countless artists paid their respects to the 81-year-old country legend, with Randy Travis and Joe Nichols even releasing a tribute single. Now, more music from Jones himself will surface.

On September 10, two days before what would have been his 82nd birthday, Bandit Records will release George Jones – Amazing Grace. Jones recorded all the gospel songs on the album in 2002 with producer Billy Sherrill with the exception of "Great Judgment Morning," which was produced by Brian Ahern in 1994. "Great Judgment Morning" includes vocals by Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, Travis Tritt, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart and Connie Smith.

The Sherrill-produced songs were the final sessions between Jones and Sherrill. Jones coaxed Sherrill out of retirement to assist in his Gospel Collection.

Amazing Grace was already planned for release before Jones' death in April. According to a press release, Jones was "reverential in his approach to singing sacred songs and didn't believe vocal theatrics should be involved." more on this story

Jennifer Nettles Solo Songs Won't Sound Like Sugarland

(Radio.com) After spending some ten years on the road with her band Sugarland, Jennifer Nettles recently took a new turn in her musical career, announcing that she will soon release her very first solo artist. The songs were produced by Rick Rubin, though the album's exact release date and title have yet to be revealed.

After previewing some of the songs for the press last week in Nashville, Nettles is now playing select shows around the country. Last night (July 30) she stopped by Bubble Charlotte, a champagne bar in Charlotte, N.C., for an intimate half-hour set, where she performed stripped-down versions of a handful of her new songs, accompanied by a single guitarist, for a small group of fans.

Musically speaking, "the ballads were deep but not overpowering" and "definitely rooted in country," according to Rick McCracken, music director of Charlotte's The New 103.7 (a Radio.com station), which sponsored the show. "The uptempo offerings were downright playful," he continued, and as for Nettles' vocal work, it was "mesmerizing" and "absolutely stellar."

"I love what I do with Sugarland," Nettles told the station during a backstage interview after the performance. "But I've been wanting to do this project for a long time and [I] have been writing for it for three years." Which means, she got started right around the release of Sugarland's 2010 album The Incredible Machine.

"There's the sound we have in Sugarland, but there was something I wanted to do that was a different sound," she continued.

Among the songs she played in Charlotte was "That Girl," a song she co-wrote with Butch Walker that will serve as the album's first single. The set, though, did not any Sugarland songs — nor did it include "Like a Rock," her cover of the Bob Seger classic that Rubin allegedly encouraged her to include on the album. The solo material isn't the only new thing in Nettles' life.

Directions Katy Perry Could Go In With 'Prism'

(Radio.com) Katy Perry has finally revealed some details about her highly anticipated third album; namely, that it will be called Prism and you can get your hands on it Oct. 22. But Perry has been talking about the album since she graced the cover of Vanity Fair in 2011. Among the tidbits about her religious upbringing and her then still-going marriage to Russell Brand, Perry started preparing the audience to see a new side of her.

"My career is like an artichoke," Perry told Vanity Fair. "People might think that the leaves are tasty and buttered up and delicious, and they don't even know that there's something magical hidden at the base of it. There's a whole other side [of me] that people didn't know existed."

She ended the article (not currently archived online) by saying that fans can expect her to get much darker for her next album — which she'd already started plotting over two years ago. This "darker Katy Perry" narrative has been repeated by the singer to Rolling Stone, Vogue and Interview (to whom she said in 2012, "Yeah, well, my music is about to get real f***ing dark, so…").

It's also going to be our first listen to songs written by Perry after her divorce. Even though she has been plotting to show us her dark side for some time now, she may have gotten license to go even darker with that seismic shift in her personal life.

But what does the dark side of the woman whose rise in fame correlates to a bra that sprays whipped cream? Here are a few of the roads she might go down, and none of them are candy-coated.

Go Full Alanis: This would be the most obvious choice for Perry. She's a longtime and documented fan of Alanis Morissette's debut album (and hallmark of '90s female dark anger gone mainstream) Jagged Little Pill, going so far as to track down Morissette's producer, Glen Ballard, to work on music early on her career. Anyone who saw Part Of Me, Perry's 3-D film, saw that early footage of Perry as a scraggly haired, acoustic-strumming waif.

The word prism is a term "used figuratively with reference to the clarification or distortion afforded by a particular viewpoint," per its dictionary definition. If Perry were to go the full Alanis route — waling instead of merely singing about intensely personal things — she would be giving us both a clearer and more distorted view of her life. The old truism that only two people can ever know what happened in a relationship may be accurate, but her finally penning some songs about it ("Wide Awake" doesn't count — anyone worth their salt knows she wrote it circa her Travie McCoy break-up) will certainly provide insight into her true emotional state. It's unlikely she can top the harsh honesty of "You Outta Know," but she could at least attempt an anthem to stand alongside it, "You're So Vain" and countless Taylor Swift hits in the collection of break-up revenge songs.

Go Full Goth: Perry dabbled in goth with her Joan of Arc look designed by Dolce & Gabbana at the 2013 Met Ball (disregard the fact that the event was supposed to be punk themed). She incorporated elements of the trademark goth dark hair/pale face aesthetic in her videos for "E.T." and "Wide Awake." She's always put a certain spin on her fashion nods to goth that make them lighter, more neon or too clean to really be full goth. But it is easy to imagine her going toe-to-toe in costuming with Siouxsie Sioux or Exene Cervenka of X. Let her smear some lipstick around and Katy Perry could probably out-Robert-Smith Robert Smith. And if Teenage Dream was, arguably, her glam-rock period then, Prism would flow nicely into her musical goth period, mirroring the flow of the icons of glam's influencing the style of goth. Three other possible directions.

Jay-Z Does Six-Hour Performance of Picasso Baby

(Radio.com) In this week's episode of REWIND, we take a look at Jay Z's six-hour performance of Magna Carta... Holy Grail track "Picasso Baby," which was filmed and made into a HBO mini-doc, Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film.

The marathon session took place earlier this month at New York's Pace Gallery, with an eclectic cast of characters ranging from Judd Apatow to Wale to Alan Cumming stopping by to see Hova in action. The film will premiere Friday (Aug. 2) at 11 p.m. ET on HBO.

Jay isn't the first musician to perform the same song for six hours straight, though. Back in May, The National performed their song "Sorrow" for six hours at MoMA PS1. Throughout the day, the indie rockers played the song 105 times in front of a dry ice display. more on this story

Nick Carter Discusses New Backstreet Boys Album

(Radio.com) This week the Backstreet Boys released their eighth studio album, In a World Like This. The first album on their own record label, K-BAHN, it's also the first to feature Kevin Richardson, who made his departure after 2005′s Never Gone.

Radio.com spoke with Nick Carter this week, and he filled us in on what the songwriting process was like for the band (they wrote eight of the 12 tracks on the new LP), his favorite Backstreet Boys' dance move, and how he deals with overzealous fans.

Q: You all had a hand in the songwriting process this time around. Can you give some insight to what those songwriting sessions were like? A: The songwriting has honestly been one of the most fun processes in this entire project. Now we're able to write things that we care about in the music. We're able to put us in the music. Put our life experiences and everything in there. When we perform them on stage we can sing about them and I think that that's important. Over the years we have been able to work with some really great writers; learning from all these other amazing writers and producers. You name the producer, we worked with them. This time we applied our experiences to the record.

Q: You've said this is a very personal album. Are you ever afraid to reveal too much in a song? A: When you're writing an album or writing a song you need to put your heart on the table. You need to put your heart and your pen to the paper because that's what makes an emotional song. That's something that people relate to. We didn't want to write songs anymore that were just like a boy band recording songs from other producers and writers. We wanted to be able to feel these songs. That's how the best songs come out. Any songs out there in the world, it's all emotional, it's feeling.

More Q&A with Nick here.

T.I. Discusses Reality Show and Other Upcoming Projects

(Radio.com) Power 98 "Morning Maddhouse" DJ No Limit Larry caught up with rapper T.I. backstage at the station's Summerfest 2013 concert, which hosted Lil Wayne's "America's Most Wanted" tour featuring T.I. and 2 Chainz when it touched down in Charlotte, NC.

T.I. discusses the many projects he's got coming throughout the rest of the year, including the current third season of VH1 reality show T.I & Tiny: The Family Hustle, which depicts the rapper and his wife Tiny raising their six children.

"We're celebrating the kids going back to school, because they've been home all summer and it's time to take their asses back to school," he joked. "So they can get out of my house, messing up my hallways, marking up my floors and leaving food on my couches…one day they're going to get older and they're going to be able to do something for themselves and get them some money. As soon as they buy something they really, really like, I'm going to go spill something on it."

The rapper, who is featured on Robin Thicke's smash hit of the summer, "Blurred Lines," was just as eager to talk about a slew of new releases from his Grand Hustle label, including current mixtape Grand Hustle Presents: G.D.O.D. and upcoming records from B.o.B, Young Dro and breakout female rapper Iggy Azalea. more on this story

Robin Thicke Offers Love Advice

(Radio.com) Robin Thicke may write hits for the players, the sort of songs that have been termed "baby-making music" more than once, but he's been with his wife, actress Paula Patton, since they were teenagers. So he had some heartfelt advice for us and the folks who tweeted in looking for answers.

There's one piece of love advice that surprised us, and it's actually the one Thicke lives by: get your heart broken. "You've got to pick one person that you're OK with leaving and breaking your heart," he advised. "That way you'll give them everything you've got. If you protect your heart, then you can't be a great lover or a great husband or wife because you're still holding onto, 'Well, I don't want to give you everything because you might leave or you might hurt me.'"

If you have yet to find that person to break your heart, Thicke has a few suggestions on how you can find that special someone. "There's only one pickup line that never fails and that's, 'Hi, I'm Robin. What's your name?' Always say your name, it's nice to meet you," he said. "Find something on the person that you like that compliments them that's not her boobs or her butt. Normally that's the right place to start." More.

Ciara Opens Up On New Album

(Radio.com) Ciara used to keep her love life private, preferring to keep the intimate details of her relationship not only out of the press, but out of her music as well. But on the singer's latest release, she's finally done hiding.

"I feel like sometimes you can be so private and so guarded, you prevent yourself from really discovering yourself or things period," she told Radio.com. "So I'm in the mental state of not overthinking things, living my life for me, letting go and letting things be what they are. And I'm learning that that's the best thing that I could have possibly done."

On her recently released self-titled album, Ciara worked with her boyfriend, the auto-tuned garbled rapper Future. Though it's not the first time she's worked with someone she was dating, it is the first time that she's willing to talk about it. Once she got in the studio with her beau, she realized how easy it was to balance the personal side and the professional side of their relationship.

"Your love is there. Your love is love," she explained. "It's pure and it's what it is. You just do what organically feels right creatively. And if anything, you have such a special relationship that is love based, it kind of just makes the whole music making process more special in itself."

Ciara says that her first single "Body Party," which was co-produced by Future and Mike Will Made It, the 24-year-old producer who helped Miley Cyrus find her sound on "We Can't Stop," was one of the easiest songs she's ever made. The three organically came up with the old throwback, fun feeling of the sexy slow jam that samples Ghost Town DJ's 1996 hit, "My Boo." Ciara says the track hearkens back to a time when "guys were in the club and weren't too cool to slow dance."

Nearly a decade later, "Body Party" is the grown-up answer to her first single "Goodies" off her 2004 debut album of the same name. "'Goodies' was like me saying, 'You can't get the goodies. They stay in the jar,' Ciara explained. "There's still a little of that energy on 'Body Party." You want to give your goodies to the right person. But now that I'm a woman I'm more in touch with my sexuality than when I was younger. Some of my sexuality that I share through music is probably more clear. I'm a bit more aware of that side of me now."

While some artists find it hard to write a decent song while in love, Ciara says it was the main inspiration for her new record. But fans shouldn't assume every song was written about Future. The singer says the album was actually inspired by the many components of love. There's sexual exploration on "Read My Lips," the you're-better-off-without-him feeling after a much needed breakup on the Nicki Minaj- assisted "I'm Out" and undying love on "Where You Go," which was originally Future's track that he not so willingly gave to his girl. "I ginked it from him," she said with a smile. Future did agree to appear on the song though, using his unique singing voice to complement Ciara's sweet vocals.

To keep things honest, Ciara believes you need to cover both the good and not so good parts about love. "For me as an artist and writer, I love touching on the real things in life," she said. "The things that inspire. The things that I've been through, the things that other people have been through. It's always my goal." more.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Announce Album and Atlas Genius Tour

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. have announced the release of their sophomore album and their North American Fall tour plans where they will be hitting the road with Atlas Genius.

The group revealed earlier this week that they will be releasing their brand new studio album, The Speed Of Things, on October 8th via Warner Bros. Records.

"We really couldn't be more excited to release The Speed Of Things" says the band. "It's a record that means a great deal to us, as it focuses on the size and speed of the world today.

"Everything is moving faster and faster as we are all much more connected by the global central nervous system that is the internet. Often it feels like when one realizes what they wish to do, it's impossible to know where to begin due to the scale of everything. We're a generation full of false starts."

The group has a few festival appearances this month before they head out on the Ones to Watch Tour with Atlas Genius, which kicks off on September 24th in Cincinnati, OH. more on this story

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