Ed Sheeran covered 'Dirrty' because it's 2002 again

Ring the alarm, Ed Sheeran's throwin' elbows.

We've all been waiting for Sheeran to embrace his "grown up" phase, and here it is. The singer covered Christina Aguilera's 2002 hit "Dirrty" for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge and turned it into a soulful, acoustic guitar piece that was oddly pleasing to the ears.

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Christina Aguilera does a spot-on impression of Britney Spears singing

Wait, is it the '90s again?

Christina Aguilera and Jimmy Fallon took turns doing musical impressions of famous singers on Monday's Tonight Show. Christina tried her hand at Cher and Shakira, during which she sounded mostly like herself, but her Britney Spears impression? Spot on.

Guess X-Tina spent a lot of 1998 listening to "Baby One More Time" — much like the rest of the world.

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Avenged Sevenfold Asia Tour 2015 Live in Jakarta

Avenged Sevenfold have announced that they will return to Southeast Asia in January 2015. Visit 3 weeks, A7X visited Southeast Asia since 2012, in this visit including Korea, Hong Kong, Taipei, Jakarta, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore . A7X will then return to America to perform for the first time in Hawaii.Band from Huntington Beach, California has achieved worldwide success with a series of best-selling albums, and toured in support of Hail To The King, who topped the Billboard Top 200 charts after its release, making the band won consecutive No. 1 debut. They have obtained Diamond, Platinum and Gold awards for their album sales in almost a dozen countries, and Hail To The King became No. 1 in Brazil, Canada, Finland, Ireland, and the UK, achieving gold certification in the United States.In August, new entrants A7X record as a headliner for the annual Mayhem Festival to 7. The band has also released a mobile action adventure role-playing game, Hail to the King: Deathbat, in October are already available in the Apple App Store and Google Play. The story of this game is based on the origin of the myth Deathbat, logo and mascot of Avenged Sevenfold.Avenged Sevenfold is famous for his live performances are spectacular, routinely selling almost all over the world, including Wembley Arena in England are legendary, and made headlines several music festivals largest and most prestigious in the world, including Download (UK), Soundwave ( Australia), and Rock On The Range (USA). As evidence of the role they play in the zeitgeist single of rock & roll in the 21st century, in November 2012 A7X make appearance unprecedented as a character in Call of Duty Black Ops 2 selling video game of all time, featuring performances by the band "Carry On ", which was written specifically for this game.

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From Florence & The Machine to Jamey Johnson

Florence & The Machine
"What Kind Of Man"
Republic 
Florence Welch usually fluctuates between indie-pop siren and art-rock weirdo, but on this head-spinning ambient-R&B single, she's both. "With one kiss, you inspired a fire of devotion," she sings, proving few singers do widescreen melodrama better. --Ryan Reed

Florence & The Machine: The Billboard Cover Story

Jamey Johnson
"You Can"
Big Gassed Records 
An upright bass strut morphs into big-band brassiness before nuggets of honky-tonk wisdom give way to a vaudevillian hook on "You Can," which precedes Jamey Johnson's new album. It's an unexpectedly frisky ping-pong of musical styles for a veteran trad-country singer-songwriter, and that's a good thing.--Jason Lipshutz

Jamey Johnson's 'Christmas' Gift to Fans: New Music

Charlie Puth Featuring Meghan Trainor
"Marvin Gaye"
Atlantic 
Charlie Puth plays a game of "spot the Marvin reference" on his debut single, repackaging lines from a number of soul classics in the not-so-subtly titled tune. Trainor lends Puth some of her doo-wop swagger, but the track seems more ­academic ­exercise than an attempt at ­seduction. --Elias Leight

Alabama Shakes Unleash Fresh Songs in New York

Alabama Shakes
"Don't Wanna Fight"
Ato Records 
Alabama Shakes' Brittany Howard makes raw pain feel sensual, and "Don't Wanna Fight" is their ­sauciest ­offering yet. "Why can't I catch my breath? I'm gonna work myself to death," she bellows over reverbed guitar, ­which evokes dusty, Daptone-school retro-funk rather than the band's usual Dixie rock. --Dan Hyman

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Kanye West: 'Dame Dash Presented Me to the World'

In Breakfast Club interview, Ye admits to being disloyal to the Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder.

By Moriba Cummings

Posted: 02/20/2015 01:13 PM EST

Filed Under Dame Dash, Music News, Kanye West, The Breakfast Club, BET Honors

Kanye West's interview on Power 105's The Breakfast Club gave a lot of insight into his approaches to fashion, music, and entrepreneurship. One of the most outstanding segments of the sit-down, however, was his words about former boss Damon Dash, whom he credits for introducing him to the world.

 "He presented me to the world," he told Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee and DJ Envy. "I wouldn't have a record deal if it wasn't for Dame Dash."
Before West made it big, he was refused by several record labels because he did not resemble the quintessential street image that was being portrayed in hip hop at the time. Damon Dash, however, along with fellow label head Jay Z, signed a then green West to Roc-A-Fella Records.
West even humbly admitted to being disloyal to Dash, saying that by him choosing to side with Hov following the label's demise, their relationship was heavily strained. He even went on to wonder how different his career would have been if he had he ventured off with Dash instead:
"It was the moment when Roc-A-Fella split and it made more sense for me career-wise to roll with Jay even though Dame had supported me," he said. "But then I wonder, I say, 'Where would I be if I had rolled with Dame? Would I have been more successful? Would I have been less successful?' I can't say. But at that time, you know I came to Roc-A-Fella because Jay Z was my idol, and it would've been very hard for me at that young state where I was to separate from my idol."
Dash and Yeezy recently reconnected at the 2015 BET Honors, where the former record exec presented him with the Visionary award. West says that this is only the beginning of their reconnection as business partners.
"Is there anything that Dame and I could do together now to make money? I think so," he said. "We're going to work on films. I really like the films that he's doing. Dame is like the original person that understood culture and really was in it in every situation. You gotta definitely say that Dame is a real n***a."
Make sure you tune in on Monday, February 23 at 9P/8C to see Kanye West receive his BET Honors award.
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(Photos from Left: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images, HRC/ WENN.com)

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Oscar Sales Boost for Best Original Song Winners: Here's What It Looks Like

Winning an Academy Award is a good thing for many reasons. It means your peers appreciate and respect you. It means more career opportunities. It means you get a shiny gold statue to put on your mantelpiece.

And on the business side, it also means more money. But while Oscar-nominated movies typically enjoy a massive box office boost, that's less true for Oscar-nominated songs.

Oscars 2015

In that category, it's closer to a winner-takes-all scenario: A best original song nomination doesn't hurt, but the winning songs really reap the benefits.

We went through the last five years of best original song Oscar winners to see how winning the Academy Award affected that song's digital sales. In the graphic above, we're looking at three weeks of sales for each Oscar winner. We look at a full week of pre-Oscar sales, sales for the week of the ceremony (each period ends on Sunday) and the first full week of post-Oscar sales.

Oscars 2015: Predicting the Song Category

While Frozen's "Let It Go" sold the most digital downloads of any best original song winner in the last five years (no surprise there), it didn't enjoy the best boost percentage-wise. Comparing the sales hike that takes place between Oscar week and the first full week of sales post-Oscars, Adele's "Skyfall" actually enjoyed an 87.5 percent sales increase -- much better than the 42 percent increase "Let It Go" experienced.

The smallest sales increase from Oscar week to post-Oscar week was for The Muppets song "Man or Muppet," which only went up 4 percent. But that tune enjoyed a massive digital sales increase if you compare pre-Oscar sales week to post-Oscar sales week -- then it enjoyed a whopping 387 percent increase.

Neil Patrick Harris Oscars Hosting Do's and Don'ts

Another children's film theme song with a comparatively low total of digital song sales, Toy Story 3's "We Belong Together," enjoyed the best overall Oscar boost for its song. The Randy Newman tune experienced a 784 percent digital sales increase from its pre-Oscar week to its first full post-Oscar week.

In short: An Oscar win is a boon for digital sales any way you cut it, but songs that start out with a low number of weekly sales typically experience the most significant increase. Even if they don't sell the most digital copies overall, an Oscar win can mean more for a comparatively under-the-radar song.

We'll have to wait until next week to see how the 2015 Oscars affect sales for this year's winner.

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Nicki Minaj Crew Member's Death: Arrests Expected

Nicki Minaj attends the Alexander Wang fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2015 at Pier 94 on September 6, 2014 in New York City. 
Craig Barritt/Getty Images  

Police in Philadelphia say arrests are expected in the killing of a member of rapper Nicki Minaj's tour.

Homicide Capt. James Clark tells The Associated Press that detectives have identified three people involved in a fight early Wednesday that ended with the fatal stabbing of 29-year-old Devon Pickett of New York City.

Members of Nicki Minaj's Road Crew Stabbed in Philadelphia, One Killed
He said they were questioning one of the three Friday afternoon.
A second member of Minaj's tour was also stabbed, but his condition is not known.
Police have said a man started arguing with the victims inside a bar and pulled a knife once they got outside.
Minaj said Pickett and a second tour member had been in Philadelphia rehearsing for her tour. According to her website, she is scheduled to go on tour March 16 in Europe.

Two members of Nicki Minaj's touring crew were stabbed outside of a bar in Philadelphia on early Wednesday morning (Feb. 18), and one of the team members was killed in the incident, the rapper confirmed on Twitter.

 

Billboard has confirmed with the Philadelphia Police Department that two people were stabbed during an incident in the city last night, with one dead and one in critical condition. The Philadelphia PD would not reveal the names of the victims or any details of the incident, the men in Minaj's Instagram photo, which she posted on Wednesday afternoon, have been confirmed to be De'Von "Day Day" Pickett, who was killed in the incident, and Eric Parker, who is in critical condition.

"They had only been there for two days rehearsing for the tour," wrote Minaj on Twitter. She added in an Instagram caption, "These guys flew into Philly for my tour rehearsals 2 days ago and were both stabbed last night. #RIPDAYDAY condolences to your family. Unbelievable. Eric (on the right) is recovering. Another senseless act of violence that took the life of a great guy. So sad."
According to an NBC-10 news report, the incident began during an argument inside the Che Bar & Grill in Philadelphia's West Oak Lane neighborhood around 2:30 AM on Wednesday morning. The argument spilled outside, where witnesses say the two victims were stabbed several times. Police are interviewing witnesses to the murder and analyzing surveillance video of the scene.
A rep for Minaj did not immediately respond to request for comment. Pickett's position within Minaj's touring crew has yet to be confirmed, although TMZ refers to the Brooklyn resident as a "stage hand."
Fabolous also posted about the incident on Instagram, writing that he has worked with both Pickett and Parker and that his "heart is heavy" with the news of their stabbings. "My friend @daydaydoesdis (left) died & my friend Eric Parker is in critical condition in the hospital fighting for his life," he wrote. "I am still in shock & don't want to believe this. And it hurts even more knowing how good these two dudes are. How hard these guys work. And how loyal they are to whoever they are down with & each other. Please send Eric Parker your blessings & a prayer for him to pull thru. And RIP to the fallen soldier Day Day."
Minaj's European headlining tour is scheduled to begin in Stockholm on Mar. 16.

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