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On the Charts: Lil Wayne, Hit Single Machine | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: In a digital-singles world, Lil Wayne has the perfect skill set. He's perhaps the most prolific rapper in history, spewing out quality single after quality single with such speed that he even...
August 24, 2011 2:15 PM ET -
On the Charts: Jay-Z, Kanye Sitting on the 'Throne' | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: No surprise here. The Jay-Z and Kanye West collaboration Watch the Throne hit Number One on the Billboard charts, selling 436,000 copies in its first week, second only to Lady Gaga's 1.1 million-selling...
August 17, 2011 4:15 PM ET -
Indiana Stage Collapse Tragedy Was Preventable, Expert Says | ARTICLE
After an Indiana State Fair stage collapsed on Saturday, killing five people and injuring more than 40 others, police and fair officials blamed unexpected 60 to 70 mile-per-hour winds that prevented them from taking adequate precautions....
August 15, 2011 2:00 PM ET -
On the Charts: Adele Returns to a Familiar Perch | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Consistency, as Adele's 21 returns to Number One on Billboard's albums chart. Even though it sold just 76,000 copies, a drop of eight percent this week, the singer nonetheless has spent 12 weeks...
August 10, 2011 3:50 PM ET -
Video: Flaming Lips' Stage Collapses in Oklahoma | ARTICLE
It had been 100 degrees all day when the Flaming Lips prepared to take the stage Sunday evening at Tulsa's Brady Block Party in their home state. When the sun abruptly gave way to rain torrents,...
August 8, 2011 4:05 PM ET -
On the Charts: Country Music Makes Its Mark | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Country music. Following contemporaries
August 3, 2011 4:55 PM ET -
Kings of Leon's Cancelled Tour Could Be Very Expensive | ARTICLE
The official reason that Kings of Leon abruptly canceled the remaining 29 shows on their U.S. tour is frontman Caleb Followill's "vocal issues and exhaustion." But in the concert business, such benign explanations can hide...
August 2, 2011 6:50 PM ET -
On the Charts: Amy Winehouse's Sad Return | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: This is one week it would be nice to change the paragraph heading. Amy Winehouse, the British soul diva who died Saturday at age 27, made the saddest surge back into the...
July 27, 2011 3:50 PM ET -
On the Charts: Rock Roars Back | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Rock. Good old album-oriented rock took three of the four slots in Billboard's Top 10, including Incubus' If Not Now, When? (Number Two, 80,000 copies), Theory of a Deadman's The Truth Is ......
July 20, 2011 3:05 PM ET -
On the Charts: Will Beyoncé's Reign Be Short-Lived? | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Beyoncé – with some qualifications. Her album 4 sold 310,000 copies the old-fashioned way, topping the Billboard charts this week for the fourth time in her career. But if we were Beyoncé, we'd...
July 6, 2011 1:55 PM ET -
On the Charts: 'The Voice' Judges Make Their Marks | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: We'll get to Jill Scott and Bon Iver in a minute, but first, let's coronate the latest TV hit-making monarch: NBC's The Voice, which drew 12.4 million viewers for last night's show....
June 29, 2011 4:50 PM ET -
On the Charts: Eminem Hits Number One With Royce da 5'9" Side Project | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Thank God for Eminem and Royce da 5'9", otherwise known as Bad Meets Evil, whose Hell: The Sequel sold 171,000 copies and beat irritatingly angelic 11-year-old chanteuse Jackie Evancho's Dream with Me to...
June 22, 2011 2:55 PM ET -
Music Rules Prime-Time TV | ARTICLE
When Aerosmith's Steven Tyler joined the judges' table on American Idol this year, he kicked open the doors of prime-time network TV for music megastars everywhere. Suddenly, the biggest names in music are showing up onscreen...
June 20, 2011 9:00 AM ET -
On the Charts: Amazon Gives 'Book of Mormon' Soundtrack a Huge Boost | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Amazon. Every time the online retailer stamps a ridiculous price on an MP3 album, like Lady Gaga's 99-cent Born This Way a couple weeks ago, or albums by Yeasayer and Vampire Weekend last...
June 15, 2011 3:00 PM ET -
On the Charts: Lady Gaga Shows Signs of Weakness | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: We can't just keep lauding Adele and her weird sales power in this space. So: the much-anticipated Death Cab for Cutie album Codes and Keys sold 103,000 copies – which is quite respectable...
June 8, 2011 2:05 PM ET -
Music Industry Responds to iCloud Announcement With Cautious Optimism | BLOG ENTRY
On its face, Apple's iCloud – which allows users to access music they've bought on iTunes on multiple devices – might not be the immediate game-changer many in the music industry were hoping for. But,...
June 7, 2011 3:55 PM ET -
How Apple's iCloud Could Help Save the Music Industry | ARTICLE
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs' announcement today at the Worldwide Developers Conference that Apple's new iCloud service will allow music fans to reproduce their entire digital collections on locker-style servers accessible via 10 devices – including iPhones,...
June 6, 2011 4:10 PM ET -
How 'The Voice' Became a Smash | ARTICLE
Shortly before his new NBC reality show, The Voice, debuted in April, producer Mark Burnett wanted his four superstar mentor-judges to bond. So he gave Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Maroon 5's Adam Levine and...
May 27, 2011 3:25 PM ET -
On the Charts: A Hard Week for Hard Rock | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: It's a Wednesday, so it's time to celebrate yet another rock band that managed to sell something like 50,000 or so albums and spend a week in the Top 10. Today it's Seether,...
May 25, 2011 2:05 PM ET -
U2 360 Tour Comes Full Circle: Band Returns to U.S. With Denver Blowout | ARTICLE
Fortunately, U2 was prepared for the end of the world. "Sounds like fun to me!" Bono told a crowd of 70,000 at Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High, after breaking out, appropriately, "Until the End...
May 23, 2011 10:05 AM ET
