J lo stopped hearts on the red carpet in her beaded, body-clenching, black-lace gown. Whether she's supporting hip-hop inspired street threads or high fashion haute couture, there's one word that consistently describes Jennifer Lopez's fashion sense: HOT!!
It's a moment of sweet respite for the teen idol, who in two short years went from busker in his native Stratford, Ontario, to one of the top pop artists in the world. The tale of his meteoric rise -- the discovery of his persona and voice on YouTube, the early tutelage by Usher, plus his multi-instrumental talent and self-driven work ethic -- has become its own kind of pop culture fairy tale, a creation myth for the social media generation.
Announced Oct. 27 in a YouTube video message to his fans -- "His version of a press conference," Universal VP of marketing David Grant says -- the Believe Charity Drive enlists Bieber's faithful to help raise millions for a collection of philanthropic organizations-like City of Hope and the Boys & Girls Club -- by the time his next studio album drops in 2012. (The date is still TBD.)
Pitbull has learned valuable lessons from a number of artists.
First there was Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew, who initially pushed Pitbull to flex his gruff-voiced freestyle skills on Miami rap radio.
Then there was Lil Jon, the crunk king who gave Pitbull his first major feature, on the 2002 "Kings of Crunk" album, and produced his debut solo single, 2004's "Culo." And one mustn't forget Italian beatmakers Nicola Fasano and Pat Rich, whose song "75, Brazil Street" served as the basis for Pitbull's 2009 global smash "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)," which in addition to selling 2.6 million copies in the United States (according to Nielsen SoundScan) has racked up nearly 200 million plays on YouTube.
Still, ask this MC -- born 30 years ago as Armando Christian Perez in Florida to Cuban-immigrant parents -- whom he's looking to for inspiration these days, and it's not a chart-topping producer or an arena-packing rapper. It's Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
"You have to be constantly outdoing yourself," Pitbull says via the phone from Paris, where he's knee-deep in a round of promotion for his new album, "Planet Pit," due June 21 from Mr. 305/Polo Grounds/J. Following the City of Light, he was off to Germany and the Netherlands. "That's what [Jobs] knew: He had the Mac, but then he did the iPod, then the iPhone and then the iPad. There's always room for improvement."
A self -described entrepreneur who says he envisions music paving the way toward his own marketing firm, Pitbull measures success the way multinational corporations do -- which comes as no surprise, given the wide-ranging business he does with blue chip brands like Kodak, Bud Light and Dr Pepper. "I make music with no boundaries," he says. "There's no specific class or people or culture I'm trying to target. And every time I reach a new audience, that means I'm doing something right."
Two years after "I Know You Want Me" sparked a pop crossover that ultimately drove the song to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, outdoing himself is precisely what Pitbull hopes to accomplish with "Planet Pit," his sixth studio outing and the follow-up to last year's Spanish-language "Armando." Pitbull's most recent English album, "Rebelution," came out in 2009 and has sold 222,000 copies, according to SoundScan. The fresh 12-track set finds the rapper teaming with an assassins' row of A-list writer/producers, including Dr. Luke and RedOne, as well as guest stars like Enrique Iglesias, Chris Brown and Marc Anthony. Ne-Yo sings the arena-disco hook on the album's current single, "Give Me Everything," which this week stands at No. 2 on the Hot 100; elsewhere, Pitbull recruits Kelly Rowland to endow "Castle Made of Sand" with a glimmer of electro-emo melancholy.
When the Billboard Music Awards are handed out in Las Vegas on May 22, there's one trophy that will stand apart all the others - and that's because the decision of who gets it is entirely up to you.
The first-ever Billboard.com Fan Favorite Award will be presented to the musician who receives the most votes in our exclusive Billboard.com readers poll. There'll be no chart statistics, airplay data or ticket sales influencing this decision. Your vote and your vote alone will decide the winner!
The poll will be open from Monday, May 9 through Friday, May 20. The winner will be announced on May 22, the day of the Billboard Music Awards.
Check out the list of selected nominees below. Don't see your favorite as one of the choices? Submit their name in as a write-in candidate (We'll count every vote equally). Every submission counts, so vote now and vote often. And be sure to tune in to on ABC on May 22 to watch Rihanna, Cee Lo Green, Nicki Minaj, Black Eyed Peas and more of your faves perform at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards, Live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
While Austin locals perfected their bank shots on the ground floor of Buffalo Billiards pool hall last night (Mar. 17), six buzzed-about rock bands packed the venue's upper level and kicked off Billboard's series of SXSW 2011 showcases.
California rock quintet Young the Giant proved themselves a worthy headliner and kept the capacity crowd enthralled with the sharp hooks and power-pop melodies from their eponymous debut album. Fans jammed along to recent singles like "My Body" and "Apartment" and fed off the boundless energy of frontman Sameer Gadhia, whose on-stage ADD found him wailing on drum cymbals with a tambourine when he wasn't teetering between multiple microphones.
There was no Auto-Tuning of the news for Brooklyn band the Gregory Brothers, who brought their YouTube-born smashes to a live stage sans vocal effects. Part comedy troupe, part music ensemble, the six-piece band closed out the night by tackling their biggest viral hits -- "Double Rainbow Song" and "Bed Intruder Song," most famously -- and taking satirical aim at plenty of pop culture targets, from Tiger Blood-boasting Charlie Sheen and Tea Partier Christine O'Donnell to Jimmy "The Rent Is Too Damn High" McMillan.
Earlier in the night, the enthusiastic crowd was treated to the sounds of London-based quartet the Boxer Rebellion, who warmed the room with the soaring songs from their third full-length album "The Cold Still," and Tennessee trio Royal Bangs, who cranked up the volume and banged out hi-decibel hits from their latest album "Flux Outside."
Rounding out the bill were Chicago's Gold Motel, the summery indie-pop project from Hush Sound singer Greta Morgan, and raucous Mississippi rock duo Bass Drum of Death, who graciously jumped on the lineup for a last-minute performance.
Billboard's series of SXSW nighttime showcases at Buffalo Billiards continues tonight (Mar. 17) with performances from MNDR, Oh Land, The KNUX and more.
