Eminem Releases Surprise Single and Announces New Album

Yesterday (August 14), Em tweeted to let fans know that they might want to check out a Call of Duty press conference. Turns out he had a big announcement of his own. At the press conference, Eminem revealed his eighth album would be out this fall. This will be his first album since 2010′s Recovery. more on this story

Billy Currington Pleads Not Guilty To Terroristic Threats

(Radio.com) Country singer Billy Currington will plead not guilty yesterday (Aug. 14) on charges of terroristic threats and elder abuse. In a release from the District Attorney's office at the Eastern Judicial Circuit of Georgia, District Attorney Meg Heap announced that Currington's attorney Alex Zipperer has also "waived formalities, as well as Currington's appearance in court to face the charges" today. Currington will have to appear in court on Oct. 4.

In April, Currington was indicted on terroristic threats and abuse of an elder person. An indictment filed in the Superior Court of Chatham County in Savannah, Georgia, reported that on April 15 Currington "did threaten to cause unlawful bodily harm to Charles Harvey Ferrelle, a crime of violence, with the purpose of terrorizing."

Radio.com previously spoke with Daniel Baxter, Public Information Officer at the Office of the District Attorney, about the incidents. "The case will be handled like any other case that comes into the District Attorney's office," he said. "There's nothing special about, nor will there be any favoritism. It will be handled like any other case."

On April 25, Currington turned himself in to the Chatham County Sheriff's Department, where he was booked for the charges. more on this story

Country Singer Chris Young Hospitalized

(Radio.com) Country singer Chris Young is laid up in a Denver area hospital with a leg infection, according to a statement from his label, Sony Music Nashville. Thankfully he is listed in stable condition, but he has had to cancel several shows this week in Montana, Oregon, and British Columbia.

Young is currently expected to resume touring next week, beginning with his Aug. 21 date in Redding, Calif. "I'm so sorry to disappoint the fans but I didn't even know I was sick," Young said in a press statement.

"One minute I was fine then suddenly I'm being rushed to the hospital. I look forward to being up and around and back on the road."

Sony reports that the origin of the infection is not yet known, and that Young will remain hospitalized for at least another day. more on this story

R. Kelly Mixes It Up With Phoenix

(Radio.com) As Radio.com reported last week, Phoenix is most definitely working with R. Kelly. And you can hear the collaboration for yourself right now with a new online stream.

Kelly adds his Chi-town swagger to the remix of the French band's song "Trying To Be Cool" which comes off of their album, Bankrupt. While Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars sings about "mint julep testosterone," Kelly details a regular night out for him.

Kelly adds the lines to the song, "I'm gonna walk up in the club/ I'm gonna holler at the honeys/ Im'a have a few laughs, take a few shots and throw a little money." Check out the song here.

Michael Jackson Was Millions In Debt When He Died

(Radio.com) At the time of his unexpected death in June of 2009, Michael Jackson's personal debt had ballooned to an estimated figure somewhere between $400 and $500 million. By the time of his death, he was reportedly paying $30 million per year alone in debt payments.

According to CBS L.A. and the L.A. Times, the revelation was made during testimony Monday (Aug. 12) from forensic accountant William R. Ackerman, a witness for AEG Live in the wrongful death case filed against the concert promotions giant by Jackson's mother, Katherine.

Ackerman testified that Jackson routinely spent more money than he made on a lavish lifestyle, charity donations and his infamous "mini-theme park" Neverland Ranch, stating that the singer was three to four months behind on payments for the sprawling estate.

"He spent a lot of money on jewelry," Ackerman said. "Consistently, his largest expenditure was interest expense," he added regarding Jackson's enormous financial debts, which included a series of large bank loans. "He spent a ton of money on interest."

The Jackson family quickly countered these allegations of irresponsible debt as smear tactics on AEG's part. The family is suing AEG Live for negligence in hiring and supervising Dr. Conrad Murray, who administered what would amount to a lethal dosage of the anesthetic Propofol to the pop superstar. more on this story

Frank Ocean Calls Out Chris Brown In New Song

(Radio.com) Earl Sweatshirt has already released four tracks off his album, Doris, which will be released August 20. And fans can now get a listen to another leaked track (via Dummy Magazine) called "Sunday" that features Earl's Odd Future companion, Frank Ocean.

Don't expect to hear Ocean's smooth vocals on this track though. Instead he trades bars with Earl over a spare drum-filled beat. While Earl reflects on his past, Ocean talks about smoking less pot.

The Channel Orange singer also throws a not-so-veiled reference to his parking lot brawl with Chris Brown rapping, "I mean he called me a f****t. I was just calling his bluff."

A police report from the January 27th brawl (which just so happened to be a Sunday), stated that Ocean "believes he might have heard someone yell, 'f****t!' but was unsure who, if anyone, made the statement." more on this story

Prince Officially Joins Twitter and Releases New Song

(Radio.com) The speculation of whether or not Prince has been running the mysterious 3rdeyegirl Twitter account was confirmed on Tuesday (August 13) in a series of tweets from the man himself.

Prince not only let the world know he was on Twitter, but let fans know exactly what he was having for dinner, posted an intriguing selfie, as well as dropped some new music.

His new track "Groovy Potential" is a smooth jam with hand-clapped rhythms, delicate piano and ever-sexy horns. Forty seconds in, Prince sings, "Another long night or another mystery/Tell me babe, what's it gonna be?" The track is available for purchase on the 3rdeyegirl website. Listen to a snippet here.

Lady Gaga Releases Video for New Single Applause

(popmusiclife) Lady Gaga has released a lyric video for "Applause", the lead single from her forthcoming album, "ARTPOP". Footage for the clip was filmed on Monday at the West Hollywood club, Micky's.

"I will definitely NOT be at Micky's tonight, and I will definitely NOT expect you there to be in my lyric video," Gaga tweeted in advance of the filming. "I'M SERIOUS LA MONSTERS, ITS NOT LIKE I WILL BE HOPING YOU ARE THERE WITH YOUR APPLAUSE MAKEUP READY TO DANCE FOR ME AND WATCH DRAG."

Originally scheduled for release on August 19, the pop icon issued the song early due to a number of online leaks. Gaga will deliver the debut performance of the new track at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York on August 25. Check out the video here.

Civil Wars Score No. 1 Album

(Radio.com) Internal discord and an indefinite hiatus couldn't stop fans of the Civil Wars from gobbling up the band's new self-titled album and landing the album at the top of the album chart.

The Civil Wars, the country/folk duo's sophomore release, earns the group its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, selling 116,000 in its debut week, according to Billboard.

It's the best sales week ever for the much-discussed band, too. Previously, Joy Williams and John Paul White managed a 36,000-selling week for the group's debut disc, Barton Hollow — and that wasn't even in the record's first week on sale.

The Civil Wars triumphs not because of a hot radio single or smash hits that preceded the new release. The strife between the bandmates, who went on a hiatus last November and are not on speaking terms, defines the album, making it a record that's painful, yet powerful.

The Civil Wars' top placement spells a No. 2 debut for the newest installment in the NOW compilation series. NOW 47 debuts with 82,000 copies moved, a 9,000-album decrease from 46, which came out in May.

Though Robin Thicke's inescapable "Blurred Lines" continues to top the Hot 100, the album of the same name fell from the top spot to No. 3 this week, selling 65,000 copies its second week out. Another former No. 1, Jay Z's Magna Carta… Holy Grail, drops from 3 to 4, with 48,000 sold. more.

Kelly Clarkson Release Tie It Up Video

(popmusiclife) Kelly Clarkson has released a music video for her new country single, "Tie It Up" and the music star got her fans directly involved in the new video.

The clip for the marriage-themed song features Clarkson playing wedding singer at a lively reception, along with images sent in by fans from their own weddings.

"HUGE thanks to everyone who submitted pics for the video!!!," posted Kelly. "We tried to use as many as possible!"

Clarkson is currently on tour across North America; dates wrap up on the west coast in early October. Check out the video here.

Outlaw Country Legend Tompall Glaser Dead at 79

(Radio.com) One of the more influential country artists of the 1960s and '70s, Tompall Glaser, passed away Tuesday (Aug. 13), after a long illness. He was 79.

If his name doesn't ring a bell for the average country fan today, that's understandable, as Tompall has been out of the spotlight–and pretty much the entire music world–for many years. But the influence of this soulful, husky-voiced singer, businessman, and musical visionary was significant. Considering how many aspects of the music business he was involved with during his career, it's a wonder he's not better known.

For starters, Tompall was a member of acclaimed vocal group the Glaser Brothers, who had a string of chart hits in the 1960s. He was also a studio owner and independent publisher (his big win here being the John Hartford song "Gentle on My Mind"); a solo artist; and, perhaps most notably of all, a key member of the 1970s "outlaw" country community, which culminated in the 1976 compilation album Wanted! The Outlaws. Featuring Glaser alongside Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Jessi Colter, that album collected a few of each artist's key songs and became country's first-ever million-selling album.

Born and raised in Spalding, Nebraska, Tompall and his brothers Chuck and Jim sang together as kids, and they first earned acclaim backing up cowboy singer Marty Robbins, who encouraged them to move to Nashville. They eventually began recording on their own as the Glaser Brothers, having hits with such folk-flavored country songs as "Gone Girl" (written by "Cowboy" Jack Clement, who also passed away just last week), "Through the Eyes of Love," "California Girl (and the Tennessee Square)," and the impossibly catchy "Rings." The latter was their highest-charting song, peaking at No. 7 in 1971.

Tompall also wrote some well-known songs (such as "The Streets of Baltimore" with Harlan Howard) and, starting in the 1970s, recorded as a solo artist. His 1976 album The Great Tompall And His Outlaw Band may have sported a somewhat inflated-sounding title, but the music inside was groundbreaking, as it mixed R&B, rock, and blues sounds (two of the bandmembers came from Bobby "Blue" Bland's band) alongside country and western swing influences and wound up stretching the genre in new directions. more.

Parachute Go Nashville On New Album

(Radio.com) Parachute frontman Will Anderson wrote the majority of the band's first two albums alone in his Virginia bedroom. But on his band's third LP, Overnight (out this week), Anderson switched gears and brought co-writers into the mix, enlisting the help of producer Oren Yoel and songwriters like OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, Chris DeStefano (Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson) and Ashley Gorley (Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan).

Anderson told Radio.com the move to Nashville three years ago allowed him to embrace working with other songwriters. "Nashville lives and breathes songwriting, for better or worse," Anderson explained. "It's so not a stigma there to write with other people, that's just what you do. Everybody in the country music does it and even the pop music down there, it's a small community, but they embrace co-writing to the max."

While Anderson admits he was hesitant to write with others for fear that they would "taint our sound," it's a decision he doesn't regret. "For this album I came across a bunch of people in Nashville and people like Ryan Tedder and Oren [Yoel], and suddenly was feeling like, 'These people are kindred spirits, they get what we were going for,'" he explained. "Rather than trying to do their own thing and us trying to do that it was the other way around. They saw what we were doing and wanted to be a part of that."

The result is a fleshed out album of radio friendly pop, a slight departure from their stripped down releases, 2009′s Losing Sleep and 2011′s The Way It Was, the latter which featured Anderson's first co-writing project "Kiss Me Slowly" with Lady Antebellum's Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley.

Parachute met the guys of Lady Antebellum through friends in Nashville. Since they were working with many of the same people Anderson was writing with, Haywood and Kelley invited him on tour.

"I went out there to write country music and wound up writing a song that I loved," Anderson said. "I rearranged they lyrics to fit our band a little bit better. That was the first collaboration that took on that, 'Okay, this song is good so I'm going to take it' mindset. It went great, that's our most popular song by far. 'Kiss Me Slowly' was never a big single on the radio but it took on a life of it's own with our fans and now that's pretty much the fan favorite." more on this story

Singled Out: Metropolis America's Bittersweet

Today electro new wave pop group Metropolis America tells us about their new song "Bittersweet". Here is the story:

We volunteer for an organization that helps teenagers. They can write in and ask for advice on anything from health, bullying, drugs, family issues.

The question that seems to recur more than any other is "I've got a crush on my best friend and I don't know if I should let the person know. I want to take it to the next level, but I don't want to jeopardize our friendship."

We thought we'd try to pinpoint all of the emotions that go along with being in that situation and turn them into a different take on the usual love story pop song.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself right here!

Wait there is more!