Depeche Mode Reveal New Album Details

"Delta Machine" was produced by Ben Hillier and was recorded in Santa Barbara, California and New York City. more on this story

Miranda Lambert To Perform At Grammy Awards

(Radio.com) Miranda Lambert revealed on The Talk this week that she will be performing during the upcoming 55th Grammy Awards (Feb. 10 on CBS). She will join fellow country stars Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, whose performances on the show were previously announced.

In addition to performing at the Grammys, Miranda has also been nominated for Best Country Album for her most recently release Four the Record. Which, of course, she sees as a great honor.

"Albums are like my babies," she says on The Talk, "[they're] what I put all my energy into. The Grammys are so exclusive, and it's all genres, it's everybody voting for you, so it just means the world to have a nomination, and to get to perform." Read more and watch a video of The Talk appearance.

Tim McGraw To Receive All Star TV Special

(Radio.com) Last year, Lionel Richie was given the grand treatment during an all-star concert special honoring his legacy, which was taped the day after the ACM Awards and broadcast later on CBS. This year, the honored guest for a similar TV special will be Tim McGraw.

ACM Presents: Tim McGraw's Superstar Summer Night will be taped on Monday, April 8 in Las Vegas, the night after the Academy of Country Music Awards. The show will be produced by Dick Clark Productions and will be broadcast at a later date (still to be announced) on CBS.

As was the case with the Lionel Richie special, Tim's two-hour show will include all sorts of special guests from the world of country as well as other genres. And all proceeds will benefit ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy. more on this story

Dido Mixing It Up On New Album

(Radio.com) With Dido's latest album, her first since 2008, the singer is showing her off her many musical sides.

According to the singer, Girl Who Got Away, out March 26, is a mix of folk, pop, dance and hip-hop. One track, "Let Us Move On," even features rapper Kendrick Lamar.

Though hip-hop seems like a stretch for the singer, we all remember Dido's last foray with the genre, Eminem's "Stan," which sampled her song "Thank You" off of her 1999 debut, No Angel.

"[Girl Who Got Away] was an incredibly fun record to make," Dido said in a statement. "On every other record I've made, there have been really tricky days. But there weren't any like that on this one."


Fans can check out the lyric video for her latest single, "No Freedom," a quiet anthem that has her singing "No love without love, no freedom without love." Watch it here.

Camryn Shares One Direction Secrets

(Radio.com) As the boys of One Direction gear up for their Take Me Home Tour we chatted with opener Camryn to find out what the guys are really like.

Camryn has toured with the boys previously and was asked back out to open their upcoming European tour. "It was so much fun touring with One Direction. They are so nice," she told Radio.com.

We had to ask Camryn what 1D fans would be most surprised to learn about the band. "Actually, they're pretty shy. That's something people would be shocked [to find out]. A lot of the times all you hear is, 'Oh, they're so crazy!' They are crazy but they're sometimes really shy so that shocked me," she said.

Since she got to spend some quality time with the guys she had a hard time picking favorites. But, if she had to pick one it'd be a tie between Harry and Niall.

"They're both really adorable and when I met them they were so sweet. I always see Harry a lot. I always see him roaming around whether it's in the gym or just being crazy," she said. "They're all so sweet in person and I think their personalities are really cool. That's what grabbed me." More including streams.

Singled Out: Wang Chung

Today Wang Chung frontman and founder Jack Hues tells us about their new single "Stargazing" which comes from their new studio album "Tazer Up!" Here is the story:

I wrote the first version of Stargazing after I moved out of London. I had been living in Hampstead which used to be a little village on the way out of London - we're talking 1820 here! It still retains a "villagy" appearance, but it is no more a village than Greenwich in NYC. I moved with my family to an old farmhouse in the the South-East of England, surrounded by an acre of beautiful garden and then fields beyond - no neighbours, no light pollution - well, considerably less light pollution than Hampstead. I bought a reflector telescope in a second-hand shop and on clear evenings I would set it up in the garden and look at the stars and encourage my kids to come out and look. It was particularly good for looking at the moon where you could see, in great detail, the craters and the vast plains and "seas" - never did find Tranqulity Base though.... At that close range you could see the moon's surface drifting past the lens as the Earth turned on its axis - you could really feel the movement.

So the lyrics obviously derived from that experience and I rewrote the verses in 2010 so they would resonate more clearly with our current concerns. The music is an hommage to Pink Floyd, who do the Interstellar thing better than anyone before or since, and I deliberately sang the chorus in that quiet double-track way that Dave Gilmour uses on Dark Side of the Moon. I wanted to write a song where the instruments would play separate, defined parts that would interlock and leave a lot of space between them - like the night sky. You would hear the parts separately then they would all gradually play together in layers through the outro. So this was always going to be a long song in order to expose everything individually, then play it all together. Plus the scale of the subject, we thought, requires a big canvas.

So... first there is a "twinkly" introduction as we fade up on the night sky. Then there is the drum part - very stark and open, the guitar in drop-D tuning playing the short riff and the bass playing the downbeat every 2 bars - very simple. When the chorus comes in, the chords start to change and the keyboard enters with a sound that weaves everything together, like standing back and looking at the whole sky instead of focusing on individual stars. My original demo used a drum loop from a DJ Shadow remix, but when I worked on the album version with Nick and Adam Wren (who engineered and co-produced Tazer Up!) we decided that drum loops were verboten and we came up with the giant drum box - Adam's sounds are amazing here.

We play with these ingredients in a classic intro/verse/chorus way and then get to the instrumental middle section. This introduces an arpeggio played on an old Rickenbacker 12-string. Half way through the drums go crazy. This was inspired by Tony Willams' "Some Hip Drum Sh*t" from his album "Ego" - we imitated it using drum box sounds and I remember programming it with Nick on the tour bus in 2010. Nick was great at helping to structure the long outro (we love long outros). It begins with just the keyboards, vocals (the opening line with no double track...), drums and the guitar riff from the verse; then Nick's fuzz bass comes in; then the 12-string arpeggio from the middle section; then a new backing vocal; then a new melody on slide guitar - so each repetition of the chorus brings a new interlocking ingredient, everything orbiting around the central D that plays through the entire song.

So there you have it - Stargazing is the first single from Tazer Up!, a completely mad choice as it lasts for over 7 minutes, but there is a radio edit and in this brave new internet world we figured why not have a 7 minute single and join the illustrious ranks with The Beatles' Hey Jude and Radiohead's Paranoid Android?

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself as you check out the video here. If you like what you hear and you want more, you can order the album on iTunes right here!

Colbie Caillat and Gavin DeGraw Release New Video

(Radio.com) Colbie Caillat and Gavin DeGraw just can't seem to get it together in their new video for "We Both Know." The ballad, featured on the soundtrack to the upcoming movie, Safe Haven, focuses on a complicated relationship.

"['We Both Know'] is a song about two people that are confused on where they are at in their relationship but they know each other's limits and how far to push each other and how far, when to step back," Colbie told Radio.com last year. "I think it's a really good relationship song for anyone who's confused at where they're at in life."

In the clip, which also features scenes from the upcoming movie starring Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel, A sullen Colbie paints the floor of her wooden house, while Gavin laments on a dock somewhere. Read more and watch the video here.

George Strait Farewell Tour Opener Set List Revealed

(Radio.com) George Strait's two-year Cowboy Rides Away Tour kicked off Friday night (Jan. 18) in Lubbock, Texas, and by all accounts it was a powerful, satisfying show for Strait fans–and for George himself.

"Strait climbed on stage wearing a button-down shirt, traditional Wranglers and a smile as big as Texas," writes the Lubbock Avalanche Journal's William Kerns, and "from beginning to end, he came across as thrilled and appreciative of the colossal turnout" (over 15,000 people).

As Strait himself had described during a Radio.com interview last fall, his set wasn't just a 'greatest hits' package but, as Kerns, notes, "instead introduc[ed] a number of obvious personal favorites from past albums." These included "Same Kind of Crazy," "All My Exes Live in Texas," "Amarillo by Morning," and "Troubadour."

And, of course, the set finished with "The Cowboy Rides Away."

Martina McBride opened the show (as she will on the entire tour), and as Kerns writes, "she, too, pulled out all the stops" during her "wonderful opening performance." See the full set list here.

Lady Antebellum, Trace Adkins Lead Taste of Country Music Festival

Lady Antebellum, Willie Nelson & Family, Trace Adkins lead the lineup for the inaugural Taste of Country Music Festival.

The 3-day country music festival is set to take place June 13-15, 2013 at Hunter Mountain Resort in the Catskills Mountains.

The lineup will also feature Billy Currington, Hunter Hayes, Montgomery Gentry, Joe Nichols, Gloriana, Justin Moore, Dustin Lynch, Blackberry Smoke and more. more on this story

Jana Kramer Talks About Engagement Reaction To Brantley Gilbert

(Radio.com) Earlier this week, Brantley Gilbert proposed to his girlfriend of one year, fellow country artist Jana Kramer. And he didn't do it just anywhere: He popped the question at the famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Jana quickly said yes.

As Jana explained to the morning show team at Detroit's WYCD during an interview this week, Jana didn't know what was happening–in fact, she was blindfolded.

"He surprised me so much," Jana said of the engagement. "It was actually his birthday when he proposed. He had blindfolded me — and I thought, 'Why are you blindfolding me?'" Then, she says, "he took me to the Ryman Auditorium. And he was like, 'We always talk about how if it wasn't for country music we never would have met. About 30 steps to our right is where Johnny [Cash] and June met.' And he's always idolized that love story."

"Then he turned me around, he was down on one knee, and he asked me to marry him!"

So did she cry? "Oh my gosh…yeah." And did he also cry? "He did," Jana admitted. more on this story

OMD and UB40 Lead Rewind Scotland The 80s Festival Lineup

The lineup for the third annual Rewind Scotland - The 80s Festival has been announced and will feature headline sets from OMD and UB40.

Rewind Scotland is set to take place from Friday 26th July until Sunday 28th July at Scone Palace, Perthshire, Scotland.

Saturday 27th July will be headlined by Ali Campbell's UB40 with support from Kim Wilde, Mike + The Mechanics, Starship, Rick Astley, Howard Jones, Soul II Soul, Heather Small, A Flock Of Seagulls, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Captain Sensible, and Odyssey.

Sunday 28th July will be headlined by OMD, plus knockout performances from Level 42, Tony Hadley, Belinda Carlisle, Nik Kershaw, The Blow Monkeys, The Blockheads, Jason Donovan, Cutting Crew, The Flying Pickets, Sonia, and Earth Wind & Fire Experience featuring Al McKay. more on this story

Swedish House Mafia Reveal Support Acts For One Last Tour

Swedish House Mafia have revealed their special guest for the upcoming North American leg of their One Last Tour. EMI sent over these details:

Armand Van Helden will play his first NYC gig in five years when he joins the Swedes at Madison Square Garden on March 1st alongside the Legendary Pete Tong.

Pete Tong and Carl Kennedy will play with Swedish House Mafia at their Feb. 28th Black Tie Rave charity event and Tong will also open for the Swedes at Barclay's Center on March 2nd. AN21, Anthony Atalla, Max Vangeli, NO_ID and Otto Knows will all open on select dates throughout the tour.

As previously announced, an all-star lineup will play Swedish House Mafia's 2-day Masquerade Motel in Los Angeles on March 8th and 9th at the Los Angles Historic Park. more on this story

Vince Gill, Kenny Rogers Lead Country Music Cruise Lineup

Vince Gill, Kenny Rogers, Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers lead the lineup for the inaugural Country Music Cruise which will take place early next year.

The cruise will also feature Patty Loveless, Jo Dee Messina, Ronnie Milsap, and Restless Heart with television personality Lorraine Crook hosting the entire journey.

The cruise will feature intimate concerts every day, comedians, world class dining, deluxe accommodations, and much more for seven days aboard Holland America's MS Eurodam.

"Country music fans are in for something really special," says Vince Gill. "Not only will they get to experience a luxurious ocean cruise, but they can enjoy exclusive concerts by country music's iconic superstars. The cruise is destined to become a vacation destination in the years to come." "I couldn't be more excited about performing on the Country Music Cruise and being a part of a vacation that my fans will never forget," adds Kenny Rogers. more on this story

Weeds Star Meital Dohan Releases 'On Ya' EP

Weeds star Meital Dohan has released her "On Ya" EP on iTunes, which features remixes from several renowned DJs, including R3hab, Steven Redant, Guy Scheiman, DJ Reflex, DJ Skee, and So Called Scumbags.

The "On Ya" music video has been featured on MTV, MTV Logo (New Now Next), MTVU, MTV.com, MTV Buzzworthy, and has been featured on the front page of VEVO.com.

The video, which was directed by the acclaimed Ray Kay (Britney Spears "Till The World Ends" / Lady Gaga "Pokerface"), can be seen here.