Celebrity News

The ten best diss tracks of all time

Since hip-hop's genesis, beef has been as integral a driving force to the art as bravado. There's been some titanic tangles over the years, from Canibus facing off with LL Cool J to Jay-Z and Nas locking horns with one other, all of which have resulted in some relentless and incendiary rhymes being ... More >>

KING

Thursday, April 25, Bluebird Theater, 888-929-7849; Sunday, April 28, Fox Theatre, Boulder, 303-443-3399.

Did Daft Punk "Get Lucky" with Pharrell, or vice versa? Examining Pharrell's ten greatest misses

Before it was even released, "Get Lucky," the first single from Daft Punk's forthcoming album "Random Access Memories," set the world on fire. From the fan edits of the track to the sixty second commercial from Saturday Night Live to the album teaser from Coachella, "Get Lucky" generated more than t ... More >>

The five dumbest celebrity products ever pushed on the public

Maria Sharapova, the number two-ranked World Tennis Association player and former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, just launched a line of boutique candies -- including little lemon-lime tennis balls. This seems a little weird, considering Sharapova's athleticism and the nation's current examinati ... More >>

Five things Prince Harry should do in Denver

God save the Queen and her adorable, stilted royal wave; Prince Charles gets a few brownie points for sorta making an honest woman outta Camilla; poor Prince William got his mother's pretty face but his father's rapid receding hairline, and Princess Kate has a baby bump that the Brits are going bats ... More >>

The ten traits of the perfect frontperson

The best frontmen and women all have something in common. Whether it's their ability to connect with a crowd or the swagger with which they carry themselves, their fashion sense, the intrigue that surrounds them or their reckless disregard for their own well being, they all have that ineffable "it" ... More >>

Ten acts that helped make hip-hop more accessible to mainstream audiences

Hip-hop is a world unto itself. Its rich tradition of spoken word poetry, self-referential subject matter and electronic and sample-based production make it, in many ways, a difficult musical form to adapt to, especially if you come from a more traditional background. These ten acts helped make rap ... More >>

Is it time to quit dismissing the taste of teenage girls and start appreciating Justin Bieber?

By Brittany Spanos At what point did teen girls suddenly just become wrong? "Serious" music fans seem to have universally accepted a critique of quality that befalls any artist who willingly sells to the rabid teen girl market and stigmatized the fans who dare to sometimes be male or at least above ... More >>

Why do musicians endorse candidates?

There's probably a certain amount of sincerity involved when a famous musician endorses a political candidate. But even the most un-cynical, democracy-loving patriot will have to admit that there's a hell of a lot more to the rock star/candidate public union than just fiscal policy. Endorsing a poli ... More >>

American Idol is now more focused on judges than contestants

Joe Sampson

Kill Our Friends
Fellow Creature Recordings

Chartbreaker: Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" and Adele's 21 claim the top spots

It was a big week for a certain Canadian this week, as the import's song finally overtook Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know." And no, we're not talking about Justin Bieber, but she is his protege. Carly Rae Jepsen's inescapable viral and radio hit, "Call Me Maybe," conquers the Billboard Ho ... More >>

Catch the Stars

And the season 11 winner of American Idol is...

Five months of auditions, live performances and rounds and rounds of voting led to last night's big moment. Who would be crowned the American Idol champion after so much anticipation? Who deserved to win? Phillip Phillips. Beating Jessica Sanchez, the season's runner-up, in a record-breaking 132 m ... More >>

Twenty fabled moments in Denver music: #19: Michael Jackson hides out here in 1984

Over the course of the next few weeks, Backbeat will be counting down the twenty most fabled moments in Denver music history. Today, a look back at Michael Jackson's week-long stay here in Mile High City in 1984 and the secrecy surrounding it. Long before Michael Jackson's name became shorthand for ... More >>

If Britney Spears accepts X Factor job, she could still learn a sexy thing or two from Christina

This time last year, the most contagious pop trend was working with Pitbull, and what a bandwagon trend that was. As much as we're glad the Pitbull days are over, we're not too hot for this new thing, either. And this new thing, somewhat strangely, is serving as a judge for a televised singing compe ... More >>

Alert: SXSW coverage ahead

"What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area." -- Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive You don't have to spend much time at South By Southwest to know that all of the above building ... More >>

As Black History Month comes to a close, we reflect on the influential Sounds of Blackness

Black History Month 2012 has been a doozy. Beginning with the tragic and shocking death of Don Cornelius to dealing with equally troubling news of Whitney Houston's passing as the month wore on. Most interesting about this time is the ways in which the music healed us. When Whitney died, DJs played ... More >>

Paris Hilton "Drunk Text" with Manufactured Superstars: "It's a hot mess of misspelled obscentities, body parts and run-on questions"

Paris Hilton and Manufactured Superstars, drunk texting.​Manufactured Superstars stock has just risen dramatically -- or at their notoriety has, anyway. In case you missed it, the Denver-bred production duo of Brad Roulier and Sean Sabo, known collectively as Manufactured Superstars, made all ... More >>

Happy birthday, Rihanna. "Turn Up the Music," but no "Birthday Cake" for you, Chris Brown!

Update: Chris Brown's "Turn Up the Music" remix featuring Rhianna added below. Happy 24th birthday, Robyn Rihanna Fenty. We remember your first record, "Pon De Replay." Nice, disposable dancefloor pop. It was urban enough to get people dancing in high school, but not sexy enough to fertilize anythi ... More >>

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop: Remembering the greatest performer of all time

Lauded as the greatest performer of all time, Michael Jackson was a dancing, singing, performing phenomenon, and we are not likely to see another performer of his caliber ever again. The life of Michael Jackson is well documented, his struggles, imperfections and sometimes bizarre behavior, but one ... More >>

Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry fight for pop's best new song with "Starships" and "Part Of Me"

Whose new single is better -- Nicki Minaj's "Starships" or Katy Perry's "Part Of Me"?​Both Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj used their Grammy performances on Sunday to premiere new singles from their forthcoming albums, Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection and Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, respecti ... More >>

2012 Grammy Awards: Adele sweeps, Bon Iver surprises and Kanye West missing in action

As anyone and their mother could have (and, ahem, did) predicted, it was Adele's show at last night's 54th Grammy Awards. The singer, who absolutely swept the awards, took home six Grammys -- meaning she won in every category in which she was nominated, including the big three: Song of the Year, Rec ... More >>

The 54th Grammys: who will win (Adele) and who won't (Lady Gaga)

From power pop to power ballads, rock anthems to rap staples, the nominees of the 54th Grammy Awards, which airs this Sunday night, sees no dearth of great music. There's little doubt that it will be Adele's night, but others, like Kanye West and Mumford & Sons, could win big too. Continue reading f ... More >>

Jay-Z's come a long way from the Marcy Projects

What do you know about Jay-Z? Born Shawn Corey Carter in December 1969, the Brooklyn corner boy from the Marcy Housing Projects, who used to flip kilos of coke as fast as he flipped rhymes, turned his life of trial and tragedy into one of triumph and success, making a ton of money and marrying the g ... More >>

Madonna upstaged by M.I.A. and Cee Lo Green during the Super Bowl halftime show

Cee Lo Green outsings Madonna during the "Like A Prayer" portion of the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show.​Forget the New York Giants and Eli Manning. The true winner of yesterday's Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis was pop music. Heralded in by Queen Madonna herself, the halftime show was truly an ... More >>

Top 5 greatest Super Bowl halftime shows

See also: Super Bowl commercials: Elton John, Flava Flav, Echo and the Bunnymen and more and Video: M.I.A. flips off Super Bowl audience during halftime show Judging by the voluminous groans echoing across the country, word is spreading that Madonna will be headlining the Super Bowl halftime show, ... More >>

Video: Madonna's"Give Me All Your Luvin'" with Nicki Minaj and M.I.A as cheerleaders

Madonna's "Give Me All Your Luvin'" video, which premiered only hours ago on her YouTube channel, is proof perfect that she is still the Queen of Pop. The song itself isn't particularly innovative. It's instantaneous dance-pop infused with elements of a previous era, the 1980s, while still attemptin ... More >>

Look out, Gaga: Madonna's back to get all the "Luvin'" with a potent new drug called M.D.N.A.

Forget Tim Tebow. From now until at least the day after the Super Bowl, everyone's going to be talking about another figure in pop culture who had the religion thing down long before Tebow did: Madonna. Although Lady Gaga may never admit as much, Madge recently acknowledged the similarities between ... More >>

Scissor Sisters share a "Shady Love" with Azealia Banks, plus a breakdown of the charts

The Scissor Sisters have two incarnations: campy, carefree guitar-driven band, as was the case for early cuts like "Take Your Mama" and "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'," and a new, more hedonistic synth band with one ear to the dance floor and another in the bedroom. The latter vibe dominated the band's ... More >>

Katy Perry's charisma fizzles on Saturday Night Live guest host, plus a breakdown of the charts

Katy Perry hosted Saturday Night Live last weekend.​For a pop star whose boobs were their own punch line on a previous appearance of Saturday Night Live, Katy Perry's hosting duties fell flat on Saturday. Instead of creating any memorable new characters -- á la Justin Timberlake -- the writer ... More >>

2012 Grammy Nominations: Kanye West and Adele clean up, Katy Perry earns pair of nods

Grammy nominations for 2012 were announced last night during the Grammys Nomination Concert -- which was, oddly, just that: a concert, not a nominations show. Nominations in four major categories were announced, plus performances by major players in mainstream music like Lady Gaga, who performed twi ... More >>

2012 Grammy Nominations: Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic up for Producer of the Year

​While Ryan Tedder has garnered his share of acclaim fronting his band, OneRepublic, he's earned just as many accolades as a songwriter, penning tunes for a parade of pop stars including Kelly Clarkson, Beyoncé, Carrie Underwood, Natasha Bedingfield, Jordan Sparks, Leona Lewis, Gym Class Hero ... More >>

Madonna's new single leaks: Does it deserve any love? Plus a breakdown of this week's charts

Madonna wants all your love, but does she deserve any of it?​It was a big week for female pop music. Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Madonna were all in the spotlight this week. Perry's new video for "The One That Got Away" garnerd hit six million YouTube views over the weekend. The song is her sixt ... More >>

Rihanna finds love in Calvin Harris, plus a breakdown of this week's charts

​In a weird twist of unexpected collaborations, Rihanna just released her newest single, "We Found Love," which features Calvin Harris on production, last week. Somehow it manages to sound both like a Rihanna song and a Calvin Harris song, and both in their own merit. Could Harris be the new D ... More >>

Erasure

Tuesday, September 27, Ogden Theatre, www.axs.com.

Adele's non-single single makes chart history and more: A full breakdown of this week's charts

Duffy who?​Adele makes Billboard chart history this week, as "Someone Like You" flies to the top spot on the Hot 100 -- even though it wasn't officially released as a single, it's still all over Denver radio. Adele deserves this, though. Girl has had a huuuuuge year in music. First "Rolling ... More >>

Ready! Set! Tackle! When fans attack! A look at the ten greatest uninvited stage guests/invaders

You don't want that to happen to you​When a fan rushed the stage at the end of Lil Wayne's set at Comfort Dental and was subsequently tossed/tackled by security, we decided it was time to pay homage to the fans that have the balls to bum rush the stage. We don't exactly know what gets into the ... More >>

The 10 worst smelling rock star-branded perfumes or colognes

Now you can smell like a teen girl in love with Justin Bieber.​Smelling like a rock star wasn't always considered a good thing. But now that The Strokes' Julian Casablancas is the face and inspiration of Azzaro's new perfume, Decibel, and Prince has to pay $4 million to a company over his fail ... More >>

Despite claims to the contrary, Maroon 5's Adam Levine does not have moves like Jagger

Earth to Mick: This guy's trying to steal your moves...and unsuccessfully, no less.​LMFAO leads the Billboard Hot 100 again this week, once again blocking Katy Perry from her fifth number one and tying Michael Jackson's record. But we heard all about that last week. This week, the biggest surp ... More >>

The Help and five other movies starring the Great White Hope

Helping black people.​After all the strife and human sacrifice during the civil rights movement, it was pretty awesome in the end when every black person was triumphant in some way and every villain got her hilariously cathartic comeuppance by eating a pie full of feces -- but let's not forget ... More >>

John Legend on the resurgence of soul, touring with Sade and the foibles and fortunes of fame

Catch John Legend tonight at the Pepsi Center with Sade​John Legend considers everything, especially when he's being interviewed. He pauses long enough for you to imagine him considering several inferior answers and tossing them before choosing one that sounds just right. Back in the fall of 2 ... More >>

MTV's top five greatest on-air rap moments

​Oh, MTV. There has been no greater platform for fuckery's finest and the brilliance of unfiltered musician craziness than Music Television's many segments. Whether drunken freestyles, acceptance speech interruptions, or classic moments in live performance, hip-hop rightfully lived and thrived ... More >>

Rockmount Ranch Wear's brushes with celebrity

​In the over half a decade LoDo's Rockmount Ranch Wear has been in business, the company has had the time to brush elbows with quite a few celebrities. Stars like Elvis, Bob Dylan, and David Bowie have all been seen sporting Rockmount's unique brand of western wear, which will be the subject o ... More >>

Rockmount Dudes Up

Asteroid! A look back at the cinematic space-rock bombardment of the late '90s

Only Bruce Willis can save us now.​At 11:00 this morning, an asteroid 5-20 meters in diameter came within 7,800 miles of Earth. Asteroids and meteorites (ever wonder the difference?) make close calls with Earth all the time, but no time in the history of the world was so harrowing as 1997 and ... More >>

Lindsay Lohan's ad and other attention-grabbing antics from celebs under house arrest

Man, house arrest is rough.​House arrest isn't just for political prisoners, Pol Pot and Ponzi scheme artists anymore. In the last few years, many celebrities have had the pleasure of serving hard time in the comfort of their own cushy homes -- including Lindsay Lohan, who was placed under hou ... More >>

OMG, Guys: Lauren Conrad has a book club

​It is true. Thanks to Lauren Conrad's tweet about her new fave dessert recipe "Blueberry Boy Bait," we were intrigued enough to take a jaunt over to Laurenconrad.com, where we discovered that she's starting a book club. And what's even better about this whole books n' LC thing? She's taking o ... More >>

In honor of Mother's Day this weekend: A list of the music world's top five hottest mamas

​Even though most of our moms aren't rock stars, some of them sure as hell seem like it. With their busy schedules and insane ability to multi-task, they deserve screaming fans and scads of cash. We know it's hard being just a suburban mom trying to juggle work and a family, so we got to think ... More >>

Slim Cessna, A. Tom Collins, Serious Moonlight and DJ MU$A top our weekly playlists

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" Whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of al ... More >>