Usher (Entertainer)

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 >>

Reader: James Holmes theory about music triggering murder foreseen by Tipper Gore

The National Enquirer's story about James Holmes's alleged confession to the theater shooting included the assertion that something in The Dark Knight Rises' soundtrack set off the lethal rampage. One reader believes this tale is possible and connects the concept to Tipper Gore's campaign against mu ... More >>

What's in your bag? Local comic Kristin Rand spills fashion philosophy

With autumn arriving on Saturday, many people are ready to sport new looks, complete with coats. One of them is local comedienne Kristin Rand, who has many humorous observations on Denver street style. Continue reading to learn Rand's personal take on fashion, the best place to people-watch in the ... More >>

Nicki Minaj

Thursday, August 2, Wells Fargo Theatre, 303-830-8497.

Chartbreaker: Justin Bieber's 'Believe' has year's best-selling week for an album debut

Say what you want about Justin Bieber -- "he looks like a girl," "he's annoying," "he's only relevant to thirteen-year-old girls" -- but the pop star sensation is doing something right. His new album, Believe , sold 374,000 copies in its first week. That number may not seem like a lot for a number- ... More >>

Chartbreaker: Usher beats Adele as top album, while "Call Me Maybe" is top single again

Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" remains number one for another week on the Billboard Hot 100. However, on the Billboard 200 albums chart, somewhat unexpectedly, Usher overtakes Adele for the number-one album in the country with Looking 4 Myself -- even without a strong lead single to drive sales. ... More >>

Rick Ross at Summer Jam XV at Comfort Dental Amphitheatre, 6/8/12

RICK ROSS @ SUMMER JAM XV @ COMFORT DENTAL | 6/8/12Rick Ross is young, rich, and famous. He's an international player with so many hits under his belt, they might account for his almost-sluggish performance last night at KS1075's Summer Jam XV. Don't get us wrong, the Boss more than showed up and s ... More >>

Top 7 goes Gaga, and Jessica Sanchez is still around, but probably won't be past tonight

Last night's episode of American Idol saw the Top 7 tackle a new set of songs -- one produced between now and the turn of the century and one school classic. Some performances worked, some didn't, but there was certainly a lot of Lady Gaga and Alicia Keys for one episode.

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 >>

Boy-band resurgence: One Direction and the Wanted try to fill the void Justin Timberlake left

Pop music is cyclical. With the absence of one niche pop artist arises another: Look at what Lady Gaga did when Madonna was absent from the scene for so long. What has pop music been missing recently? Boy bands. 'N Sync, the world's most revered boy band -- bar the Beatles, pop's first boy band, w ... More >>

Joyful Noise is a holy hot mess of the sacred and inane

Nicole Scherzinger's debut album delayed again, plus a breakdown of this week's charts

Despite being a judge on the American version of X Factor, Nicole Scherzinger has had a rough go in the music industry ever since leaving the Pussycat Dolls. This week, word came down that the release date for her debut album Killer Love, originally slated for November 15, has been pushed back to so ... 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 >>

Microsoft rumors update: Janet Jackson and Usher at Red Rocks on Friday? Not so much.

​Update (07/22/11): So here's the very latest word that we've heard. After Arts & Venues Denver spokesperson Kristin Rust debunked the rumors earlier this week that Janet Jackson, Usher and Red Hot Chili Peppers would be performing at Red Rocks tonight, there's word that Christina Aguilera and ... More >>

What's killing the music industry? Auto-Tune? The Internet? American Idol? All of the above?

​The music industry has been marked for death for a long time now, but amazingly, nobody has managed to come up with a concrete reason as to why. Sure, it's easy to assign blame, but the real reason the music is dying is still a mystery to most people in the industry. Thankfully, plenty of sta ... More >>

5 things the Qaddafi family could've spent $1 million dollars on

​Mariah, Usher, Beyonce and 50 Cent? Not the MTV video music awards. Definitely not the Grammy's. No, these are all artists that were paid approximately one million dollars to perform for Muammar Qaddafi family functions. The Libyan ruler has been the leader of Libya since 1969, and judging by ... More >>

Diagnosis: Bieber-phobia. We'll never see Never Say Never. Never ever, if we can help it. Ever.

No, Justin. Please stop.​ On this eve of the release of Justin Bieber's movie, Never Say Never, I felt it would be an appropriate time to discuss how I feel about him. Simply put, Justin Bieber makes me uncomfortable. This is not a dislike of him as a person or a hatefulness toward his music, ... More >>

Drake at Wells Fargo Theatre, 11/02/10

Eric Gruneisen​ DRAKE With Tyga 11.02.10 | Wells Fargo Theatre It seems Tyga -- last night's opener -- got the memo: Donning a puffy vest in Colorado makes you automatically likeable. We have braved decades of trends in those things, and nothing makes you look native quite like sleeveless bo ... More >>

Justin Bieber

Thursday, July 8, 1stBank Center, 303-830-8497.

What would the industry do without Glee?

For the second week in a row, album sales reached their lowest point in the history of the SoundScan era. "Indie" bands, meanwhile, continue to chart unexpectedly high: This week, The Black Keys are number three, Band of Horses is number seven and LCD Soundsystem is number ten. But these are fl ... More >>

Album Sales Are In The Crapper, But The National Is Doing Just Fine

This week's signs of the music industry's apocalypse: 1. The National had the highest selling debut album in the country this week, good for number three overall (behind Justin Beiber and Lady Antebellum). 2. This was the worst week for album sales since SoundScan started keeping track in 1991. ... More >>

B.o.B. (sort of) wins the week

As expected, B.o.B.'s Adventures of Bobby Ray is the number one album in the country this week. Of course, it only needed to sell 84,000 copies to do it. As Billboard notes, this is the first three-week run of no albums breaking 100,000 since February of last year. Cue alarm bells, death of The I ... More >>

Who'd have thought Justin Bieber's My World 2.0 would prove an accurate title?

There you have it: Fourteen-year-old Bieber's debut full-length is on top of the Billboard album chart. His debut EP, meanwhile, is at number five. That one's called My World (get it?) -- can't argue with either title. This makes him the youngest chart-topper since Stevie Wonder, yet something te ... More >>

Nicki Minaj's debut single "Massive Attack" is pretty disappointing

Given the quality of her string of featured appearances in the last year, we're pretty pumped for Nicki Minaj's debut album, due in no hurry later this year. Above is probably the album's lead single, and it's just alright. Somewhere between guest verses on Robin Thicke's "Shakin' It For Daddy" ... More >>

You can leave your (cowboy) hat on at Stampede

When it comes to production, the men of MSTRKRFT live up to their name

The Jukebox Effect

Photo: Claudia LopezI deejayed a Valentine's Day party at the Horseshoe Lounge on Saturday. The bar had a great vibe, as always, and the ample crowd was in the mood for a good party. It was the first time I ever had to play music for four and a half straight hours, and I was initially worried that I ... More >>

From Akon to Usher, today's R&B is a shadow of its former self

Usher

Here I Stand
LaFace/Sony BMG

Friday Rap-Up: Frank E, Xzibit, 50 Cent, Slick Rick

Vintage Q&A With Lil Jon

Mini Reviews

Mini Reviews

Various Artists

In the Mix: Music From the Motion Picture (J Records/Lion's Gate Films)

Fall of Usher

In the Mix can't keep up with its likable star.

Sound Bites

Drink of the Week

Ciclón & OJ

Omarion

O (Sony Urban Music/Epic)

The Beatdown

In which yours truly auditions for Gimme the Mike.

Trend-Spotting

In a scandal-ridden election year, the year's top ten music stories were all about winning the popular vote.

On the Down-Low

Shovel away all that Usher, Prince and Lil Jon you've been jamming and dig this year's buried black-music treasures.

Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz

Crunk Juice (TVT Records)

Season's Bleatings

Thanks to these CDs, it's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas.

Rock and Gold

Olympic stars swoop in for the 2004 Rock and Roll Gymnastics Championships Tour.

Crunked Up

Beneath his deranged exterior, Lil Jon is a man with a plan.

The Stations Remain the Same

The hits just keep coming on radio.

Usher

Confessions (Arista Records)

Hip-Hoppin' Holiday

The beats don't stop in Toyz

Playing It Cool

When it comes to hip-hop career longevity, LL Cool J knows that size matters.

Playlist

Puff Daddy, Leo Kottke, Prince, Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines

THRILLS