His second single, was “Enfant Terrible” and third, “Handsfree (If You Hold My Hand)” released on June 9, 2008, with his debut album Disastro to be released the following week on June 16. Sonny J was discovered when an early demo version of “Can’t Stop Moving” was played on BBC Radio 1 and signed to EMI, who own the Stateside record label.

If You Hold My Hand

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If You Hold My Hand – Sonny J Lyrics:

If you hold my hand
Things won’t be the same
If you hold my hand
Things are about to change

Summer’s gone, spring is gone, life goes on and on and I’m just bored to tears
If I could find a little space to paint a smile upon my face and hide the years
If winter comes and I’m around to see the snow upon the ground, what can I do
When I don’t have the will to fight the coldness of the summernights are the darkest blue

“Last Name” is a song composed by fourth-season American Idol winner and country pop singer Carrie Underwood, Hillary Lindsey and Luke Laird. It is the third single from Underwood’s second studio album, Carnival Ride. It was released in the United States on April 7, 2008, by which point the song had already charted.

The song is one of four tracks on the album co-written by Underwood, and the third consecutive one to be released as a single from the album. The song tells about a woman meeting a man at a club and later eloping with him in Las Vegas after having had too much to drink that night.

She wakes up the next morning, “dreaming bout Elvis somewhere in Vegas”, to discover that she doesn’t even know her last name (i.e., she married the man while she was intoxicated), worrying that her “mama would be so ashamed.” The music video portrays the song as a prequel to her “Before He Cheats” song.

Carrie Underwood’s Music video:
The song is described in the video as what happened before the “Before He Cheats” video. The video starts with some segments from “Before He Cheats” and then goes into a scene 3 months earlier with her in the club having a drink with her friends.

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The man from the same video as “Before He Cheats” spots her and asks her for a dance and she accepts with a head nod. During their dance the guy takes glimpse of another girl on the dance floor who is giving him a flirtatious look back at him as well. Then they leave in a pinto with lucky dice in the rear view mirror. The guy flirts with the girl who brings out his car and then she gives him her number. They make it out to Las Vegas where they participate in a couple of gambling activities such as Russian roulette and a pin wheel game, with the man again flirting with the hostess girls (Underwood seeming oblivious to all this). Later they get married in a chapel with an Elvis impersonator. They run off in his new pick up truck (the one used in “Before He Cheats”) and the video ends with a spark from the chapel head lights.

Carrie Underwood’s Last Name Lyrics:

Last night I got served a little too much of that poison baby
Last night I did things I’m not proud of
And I got a little crazy
Last night I met a guy on the dance floor
And I let him call me baby

And I don’t even know his last name
Oh, my mama would be so ashamed
It started off “Hey cutie, where ya from?”
And then it turned into
“Oh no, what have I done?”
And I don’t even know his last name

We left the club right around three o’clock in the morning
His Pinto sitting there in the parking lot Well it should have been a warning
I had no clue what I was getting into
So I blame it on the Cuervo
Oh where did my manners go?

And I don’t even know his last name
Oh, my mama would be so ashamed
It started off “Hey cutie, where ya from?”
And then it turned into
“Oh no, what have I done?”
And I don’t even know his last name
Here we go…

Today I woke up thinkin’ about Elvis somewhere in Vegas
I’m not sure how I got here
Or how this ring on my left hand just appeared out of nowhere
I gotta go
I take the chips and the Pinto and hit the road
They say what happens here stays here
All of this will disappear
There’s just one little problem…

I don’t even know my last name
Oh my mama would be so ashamed
It started off “Hey cutie, where ya from?”
And then it turned into
“Oh no, what have I done?”
And I don’t even know my last name

What have I done
What have I done
What have I done
Oh, what have I done
I don’t even know my last name

It turned into
“Oh no, what have I done?”
And I don’t even know my last name

It started off “Hey cutie, where ya from?”
And then it turned into
“Oh no, what have I done?”
And I don’t even know my last name

The single was generally met with mixed reviews. All Music picked the song as a “track pick”, calling the song “Miranda Lambert filtered through Shania Twain”, and dubbed it a “one night stand anthem.” Rolling Stone picked the track as their favorite, saying “the most fun is “Last Name,” where she gets wasted and runs off to Vegas with a guy she doesn’t know.” Blender awarded the song four out of five stars, describing the song as the “most irresponsible (and fun) moment on the new album involves one wild night, one too many shots of Cuervo and one unexpected ring.”

However, The 9513 gave the song a ‘thumbs down’, describing the song as a “straight-laced performance” that just “places the focus on the vocal”. Slant Magazine labelled the single as a “bald-faced attempt at recreating the ‘Before He Cheats’ phenomenon”.

Links:

• Carrie Underwood’s at WhoABC.com Celebrities Guide: http://www.whoabc.com/women/c/carrie-underwood/
• Carrie Underwood’s Desktop Wallpapers at Snoron.com: http://www.snoron.com/carrie-underwood/

The film also includes footage from the recently concluded A Bigger Bang Tour of 2006. The film takes its title from the song of the same name, featured on The Stones’ 1972 album Exile on Main St.

Scorsese filmed the Rolling Stones for two nights at New York City’s Beacon Theater on October 29 and November 1, 2006. Footage from the shows will be intercut with backstage footage, historical clips and contemporary interviews with the band. The shows were noted for their star-studded crowds, including former President Bill Clinton. The newly released trailer for the film also shows Jack White, Christina Aguilera, and Buddy Guy onstage, performing with the band.

The film was initially scheduled for release on September 21, 2007, but Paramount Classics postponed its release until April 2008. The world premiere will be at the Berlin International Film Festival 2008. A soundtrack album of the film will be released in March 2008 from UMG.

 Setlists:

The original setlists for each night’s performance.

• shown in Trailer

October 29, 2006:

1. Start Me Up
2. Shattered
3. She Was Hot
4. All Down The Line
5. Loving Cup (featuring Jack White)*
6. As Tears Go By
7. I’m Free
8. Undercover Of The Night
9. (Just My) Imagination
10. Shine A Light
11. Champagne & Reefer (featuring Buddy Guy)*
12. Tumbling Dice
13. You Got The Silver (performed by Keith Richards)*
14. Little T&A (performed by Richards)
15. Sympathy For The Devil*
16. Live With Me (featuring Christina Aguilera)*
17. Paint, It Black
18. Jumpin’ Jack Flash*
19. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (encore)

November 1, 2006:

1. Jumpin’ Jack Flash*
2. Shattered
3. She Was Hot
4. All Down The Line
5. Loving Cup (featuring Jack White)*
6. As Tears Go By
7. I’m Free
8. Some Girls
9. (Just My) Imagination
10. Far Away Eyes
11. Champagne & Reefer (featuring Buddy Guy)*
12. Tumbling Dice
13. You Got The Silver (performed by Richards)*
14. Connection (performed by Richards)
15. Sympathy For The Devil*
16. Live With Me (featuring Christina Aguilera)*
17. Honky Tonk Women
18. Start Me Up
19. Brown Sugar (encore)*
20. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (encore)

Links:

• Shine a Light 2008 documentary film Wallpapers: http://www.snoron.com/movies-wallpapers/shine-a-light/

Isnt she lovely
Isnt she wonderfull
Isnt she precious
Less than one minute old
I never thought through love wed be
Making one as lovely as she
But isnt she lovely made from love

Isnt she pretty
Truly the angels best
Boy, Im so happy
We have been heaven blessed
I cant believe what God has done
Through us hes given life to one
But isnt she lovely made from love

Isnt she lovely
Life and love are the same
Life is aisha
The meaning of her name
Londie, it could have not been done
Without you who conceived the one
Thats so very lovely made from love

Akon released his debut album Trouble in 2004, which included the singles “Locked Up (Remix)” (featuring Styles P), “Lonely”, “Bananza (Belly Dancer)”, “Pot Of Gold” and “Ghetto”. “Locked Up” reached the top 10 in the US and the top 5 in the UK, and was written after Akon was jailed for three years for armed robbery, “Ghetto” became a radio hit when it was remixed to include verses from legendary rappers Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac.

Akon (born Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam on April 30, 1973) is a Senegalese-American hip hop and R&B singer, songwriter, occasional rapper and record producer. Akon rose to fame in 2004 following the release of his single “Locked Up” from his debut album Trouble. His second album, Konvicted, earned him a Grammy Award nomination for the single “Smack That”.

He is the founder of Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution. He is well known for singing hooks and has over 130 guest appearances and 21 Billboard Hot 100 songs to his credit. He is the only artist to ever accomplish the feat of holding both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts twice. In a recent interview Akon revealed that he will be performing the halftime show of Super Bowl 42.

Akon often goes by the shorter, Aliaune Thiam, though other sources have said his name is Alioune Badara Thiam, and About.com says the long form of his name, “Lu Lu Lu,” has not been independently verified. His age has also been under scrutiny recently. Some media institutions reported that he was born in 1981. However the AP has since reported he was born in 1973 and is 35 years old. In a September 2007 interview for an Israeli magazine Akon hinted that he was around 25 or 26.

Background: He is the son of the Senegalese percussionist Mor Thiam. He is a Muslim born in St. Louis, Missouri, but grew up in Senegal until he was 7, split time between Senegal and America until he was 15, and then permanently moved to Jersey City, New Jersey. He recorded his first song, “Operations of Nature,” at the age of fifteen. He was then subsequently jailed for armed robbery and drug distribution charges, and used his time in prison to work on his music.

Upon release, Akon began writing and recording tracks in his home studio. The tapes found their way to SRC/Universal, which released Akon’s debut LP Trouble in June 2004. The album is a hybrid of Akon’s silky, West African-styled vocals mixed with East Coast and Southern beats. Most of Akon’s songs begin with the sound of the clank of a jail cell with him uttering the word “Konvict.”

2004–2005: Akon’s solo debut album, Trouble was released on June 29, 2004. It spawned the hit singles “Locked Up” and “Lonely,” as well as “Belly Dancer (Bananza),” “Pot Of Gold,” and “Ghetto”. Akon served a three-year jail sentence for grand theft auto, an experience that inspired his “Locked Up”. “Locked Up” reached the top 10 in the U.S. and the top five in the UK.

His manager Robert Montanez was shot to death following a dispute in New Jersey in December 2005. “Ghetto” became a radio hit when it was remixed by Green Lantern to include verses from legendary rappers 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. In 2005, he released the single “Lonely” (which samples Bobby Vinton’s “Mr. Lonely”). The song reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the charts in Australia, the UK and Germany. His album also climbed to number one in the UK in April, 2005.

When music channel The Box had a top ten weekly chart, which was calculated by the amount of video requests, Akon’s “Lonely” became the longest running single on the top of the chart, spanning over fifteen weeks. Akon then released another single featuring with a New Zealand rapper, Savage with the single Moonshine, which had become a success in both New Zealand and Australia, becoming number one in the New Zealand charts. In 2005, Akon gained more popularity after being featured on Young Jeezy’s debut album, Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101, on the song “Soul Survivor” which became a top five hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

2006–2007: In 2006-2007 Akon has had one of the most successful spans any singer has ever enjoyed with eleven songs in the Billboard Hot 100. Akon’s second album, entitled Konvicted, was released on November 14, 2006. Konvicted included collaborations with Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Styles P. Late August 2006, Akon released the single “Smack That” featuring Eminem, from the album. This single peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks.

The music video for “Smack That” was directed by Raymond Garced. “I Wanna Love You”, the second single off Konvicted, was released in September 2006. It is a collaboration between Akon and Snoop Dogg. This single earned Akon his first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, and Snoop’s second. “I Wanna Love You” topped the U.S. charts for two consecutive weeks.

In January 2007, Akon released his third single “Don’t Matter” which earned him his first solo number one and second consecutive Hot 100 chart topper. “Mama Africa” was released as a European single in July 2007, making it the fourth single. It debuted in the UK at number 47. “Sorry, Blame It on Me” is the album’s fifth single which debuted in August 2007, on the Hot 100 at number seven, which also happened to be a career best. The song is not available on the original album, but instead part of the Deluxe Edition of Konvicted, which came out August 28, 2007. The sixth and final single was confirmed in an interview by Akon to be “Never Took the Time”. 

Konvicted debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 286,000 copies in its first week. After only six weeks, Konvicted sold more than one million records in the U.S. and more than 1.3 million worldwide. The album was certified platinum after seven weeks, and after sixteen weeks it was certified double platinum. Konvicted was able to stay in the top twenty of the Billboard 200 for 28 consecutive weeks, where it peaked at number two on four different occasions. On November 19, 2007, the RIAA has certified the Konvicted album triple platinum status with 3 million units sold in th United States. Currently it has sold more than 4 million worldwide.

On October 5, 2006, Akon broke a record on the Hot 100, as he achieved the largest climb in the chart’s 48-year-history with “Smack That” jumping from number 95 to 7. The leap is fueled by its number six debut on Hot Digital Songs with 67,000 downloads. The record was broken on April 7, 2007 by Beyoncé and Shakira’s Beautiful Liar when it jumped from 94 to 3 on the Hot 100, because of their 150,000 digital downloads on the Hot Digital Songs.

In December 2006, Akon’s “Smack That” was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to Justin Timberlake and T.I.’s My Love.

On July 7, 2007 Akon performed at the American leg of Live Earth. From April to July Akon performed in The Sweet Escape Tour with Gwen Stefani. From July to September he will embark on his worldwide Konvicted Tour. In September, Akon will start on the Canadian leg of the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour with Rihanna.

On August 2, 2007, Akon was scheduled to perform at the Rock tha Block Tour in Australia but had trouble obtaining a visa due to his criminal past. The tour was postponed until late August and his visa was eventually processed but Akon was quoted as saying “Australia is the home of the convicts so it’s the last place I would have ever thought it would be a problem”.

Akon will release a Platinum Edition of his album Konvicted in UK on October 1. Billboard gave Akon Top Pop Artist Honors. This was because of Konvicted’s steady sales and several billboard top 100 rankings.

In 2006, Akon started his new record label Kon Live Distribution under Interscope Records. His first signed artist was Earl Ray.

He was featured on Gwen Stefani’s latest album, The Sweet Escape. He made an appearance on the title track and second single, “The Sweet Escape”. Akon produced the song. On December 10, 2006, Akon and Stefani appeared as musical guests on Saturday Night Live, however they did not perform the song as Stefani had not yet learned the lyrics.

He performed the song live, however, on American Idol on March 28, 2007 due to Gwen Stefani’s appearance as a coach the night before. “The Sweet Escape” has reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It reached #1 on United World Chart and is on the top for eight weeks. The song is also Akon’s first #1 on World Chart.

Akon collaborated with Chamillionaire on his mixtape, Mixtape Messiah 2. He is featured on “Ridin’ Overseas”, which he also produced. The mixtape became available for download on Chamillionaire’s website on December 24, 2006.

Akon and Young Jeezy are doing a collaborative album together. In 2006, after their 2005 Akon-produced single, “Soul Survivor”, the duo said that there is a lot more to expect from them in the future.

Akon also appeared on Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s album Strength and Loyalty and Three 6 Mafia’s eighth studio album, Last 2 Walk, We The Best by DJ Khaled, Fabolous’s album, From Nothin’ to Somethin’, with 50 Cent on some tracks for Curtis, T.I.’s 5th album, T.I. vs. T.I.P., Mario’s third solo album Go!, and produced for Daddy Yankee’s El Cartel: The Big Boss which was released on June 5, 2007.

Akon will be the executive producer of Not 4 Sale, Kardinal Offishall’s fourth solo album, which will be released in fall or winter 2007. The first single “Graveyard Shift” features Akon, and Akon also makes his rapping debut in the song.

In November 2007, Akon recorded a remake of Michael Jackson’s 1983 hit “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”. The remake is reportedly going to be part of the re-release of Thriller.

Akon holds the record for most guest performances on popular television show American Idol with two. He once sang “The Sweet Escape” with Gwen Stefani and three weeks later he sang “Don’t Matter” on the show while it was number one on the Billboard charts.

Television and film: Akon has confirmed that a reality television show is in the works. It will be called “My Brother’s Keeper” and the point is that Akon’s two nearly identical brothers will go around in Atlanta posing as him fooling people into thinking that it is in fact Akon. They will try to get VIP treatment, girls and free things. Akon has claimed that people have mistaken his brothers for him many times in Atlanta which is what the show is based on.

Akon is planning to work on a full-length movie titled Illegal Alien. The film is based on some of the events of his life and actor Mekhi Phifer is set to play him. Besides Akon confirmed in August 2007, in the interview with Polish website INTERIA.PL, that he works on a movie “Cocaine Cowboys”, which tells the story of Jon Roberts, the main pilot of Medellin Cartel (Colombian drug traffickers). He was also featured on a Verizon Wireless commercial and singing Snitch along with Obie Trice on a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode named “Poppin’ Tags.”

On November 30,2007 Akon entered the Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2 as only a guest so the housemates (Mariel, Gladys, Jon, Victor, Donnie, and Ruben) can meet him for only 100 seconds

In February 2007, Akon launched his clothing line, Konvict Clothing. It features urban streetwear including denim jeans, hoodies, t-shirts and hats. Aliaune is the upscale version, or high-end line, for males and females, which includes blazers, denim jeans and other items.

Personal life: Akon was born in St. Louis, Missouri instead of Senegal because his family didn’t want him to go through the immigration process. Part of the reason for Akon moving to America was for Akon to pursue a career in basketball, but he injured his knee and was forced to quit. He still enjoys basketball and soccer. He currently splits time residing between Atlanta, Georgia and Dakar, Senegal.

In late 2005, his long time friend and manager Robert Montanez, who Akon referred to as a brother, was killed in a drive-by shooting; the album Konvicted is dedicated to him. Akon was also in the car and was shot in the shoulder, however he made a full recovery.

Akon is of the Muslim faith, it has been reported that he is both a believer and practitioner of polygamy, though such reports are unconfirmed, as Akon has not given a straight answer to questions about the matter. Polygamy is illegal in the United States of America. He claims to have five children with three different women in an interview with Blender.

He also has his own charity for underprivileged children in Africa called Konfidence Foundation. Akon owns a diamond mine in South Africa and denies the existence of conflict diamonds, saying, “I don’t even believe in conflict diamonds. That’s just a movie. Think about it. Ain’t nobody thought about nothing about no conflict diamonds until the movie came out.” He also had a previous occupation as a drug dealer but has stated in interviews that he’s never used drugs, though some of his lyrics would suggest otherwise. Despite his criminal history, he proclaims that he has turned his life around. In 2006, he ventured to Africa to play a concert in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

Links:

• Akon Website: http://www.westlord.com/akon/

Celebs: John Mayer | Nick Lachey | Madonna | Luke Wilson | Tony Romo | Jessica Simpson | Ashlee Simpson | Pete Wentz | Eva Longoria.

Between them, sisters Jessica and Ashlee Simpson have had one high-profile divorce, an embarrassing lip-synch scandal, plastic surgeries both obvious and subtle, blame for a Dallas Cowboys loss, and an impresario father looming over it all.

Each shot to prominence — and up the pop charts — by taking the primrose path of MTV reality shows.

Each has had shining success at selling records, followed by abject failure.

And that’s just a sampling. If you’re a celeb-watcher (or football bettor), it’s juicy stuff.

If you’re a Simpson sister, it’s beginning to look like a critical mass of negativity.

Of late, Jessica, 27, and sister Ashlee, 23, are regularly slimed in the blogosphere, which becomes more and more vicious as public interest in celebrities reaches an all-time high. Trying to nurture a career — and stay in fans’ good graces — amid gleefully ruthless tabloid scrutiny can’t be an easy feat.

Especially for Jessica. The singer/actress/shoe designer will likely avoid the Dallas Cowboys stadium after fans blamed her weekend trip to Mexico with quarterback Tony Romo for the Cowboys’ defeat by the New York Giants.

Eva Longoria rallied to Simpson’s defense, as did ex-boyfriend John Mayer. In a post on his blog, Mayer wrote: “I have never known anyone to have more pride in their home state and their upbringing in it than Jessica Simpson has in Texas. … It’s one of her most defining traits as a person. So please don’t try and take that away from her.”

For Simpson, who suffered a backlash of sorts after her marriage to Nick Lachey crumbled in 2005, bad press is apparently a side effect of living under the tabloid microscope.

“Jessica’s actually quite realistic about it,” publicist Elizabeth Wolfe told The Associated Press. “It’s part of the price of being in the public eye. She doesn’t like it. And if I were her mother, I would fight tooth and nail to protect her. But you can’t. She’s a grown-up woman, and she’s on her own and she’s doing the best she can.”

Wolfe is the spokeswoman for Millennium Films, which released Simpson’s new comedy, “Blonde Ambition,” co-starring Luke Wilson, to eight Texas theaters in December. It’s now available on DVD. Simpson’s upcoming films include “Major Movie Star,” in which she plays an actress-turned-Marine. These films follow her big-screen debut in “The Dukes of Hazzard.”

Meanwhile, Simpson’s little sister recently unleashed the video for her new single, “Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya),” to mixed reviews online. Ashlee’s third solo album, “Bittersweet World,” is expected to be released in the spring.

Ashlee, a media magnet for her romance with Fall Out Boy rocker Pete Wentz, positioned herself as the anti-Jessica in 2004 when she documented the making of her debut album, “Autobiography,” on an MTV series. That album sold 2.9 million copies and spawned several radio-friendly hits despite the revelation that she lip-synched during a performance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.”

Her 2005 disc, “I Am Me,” failed to register a hit and only sold 942,000 copies — still, that was better than the end tally (297,000) for her sister’s 2006 clunker, “A Public Affair.”

These days, Jessica’s gone country. She’s been recording a new album in Nashville, Tenn., to be released sometime this year, her publicist, Lauren Auslander, said recently. In a recent interview with Billboard.com, Jessica explained her reason for trying out a new sound: “I am a country girl. … I always wanted to make a country album, but I wanted to wait until the time was right.”

Ian Drew, editor-at-large for Us Weekly magazine, said the siblings, who are managed by their domineering father, Joe Simpson, and reportedly haven’t been shy about having cosmetic procedures, could certainly prove themselves again — all they need is a surefire single or some other success that would eclipse the drama surrounding their personal lives.

“My honest opinion is neither of them really have a great deal of talent,” Drew remarked. “They’re manufactured pop artists. So it comes down to: Could they buy the right song or not?”

Still, unlike an artist like Madonna, who has a weak voice yet a strong point of view, “these girls don’t really have anything to say,” Drew said. “They’re not very intelligent. They’re not very insightful. … And you can only go so far that way in the entertainment world.”

Publicist Howard Bragman said Jessica needs to stop juggling so many projects and “do fewer things better.”

“She’s still a very beautiful girl,” Bragman said. “There’s still a lot of media interest. She still has potential. … Once you’ve been a star, you can be a star again. That’s the beauty of America.”

Links:

• Ashlee Simpson Site: http://www.westlord.com/ashlee-simpson/

• Jessica Simpson Website: http://www.westlord.com/jessica-simpson/

• Ashlee Simpson Desktop Wallpapers: http://www.snoron.com/ashlee-simpson/

• Jessica Desktop Wallpapers: http://www.snoron.com/jessica-simpson/

Amid the gloom and doom that enveloped the music business in 2007, a select number of recording artists managed to find a way to generate mad money.

Forget the year’s hot new acts. veterans like the Police and Celine Dion were among the biggest commercial forces of 2007. Others included younger established stars such as Josh Groban and the Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana.

To compile our list of pop’s biggest cash machines, Forbes looked at how much leading recording artists generated in U.S. music sales and North American concert grosses in 2007. Our estimates, which don’t calculate how much income each artist pocketed, include concert revenue data from Pollstar, music sales tallies from Nielsen SoundScan and pricing information from NPD Group. The numbers are meant to provide a snapshot, not a complete picture — revenue from licensing deals, merchandise sales, and mobile sales aren’t included.

Playing live was a big cash generator for all the artists on our list. By far the biggest tour of the year was the Police reunion, as Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland decided to bury the hatchet and hit the road for the first time since 1986. Financially, it was a no-brainer: The trio generated $133.2 million in concert receipts at an average ticket price of $112 — and that’s face value. In all, the band racked up an impressive $142.4 million in concert tickets and music sales.

The even unlikelier reunion of Van Halen with original frontman David Lee Roth also did well. This slightly revamped version of the band, with Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang replacing longtime bassist Michael Anthony, charged about the same average ticket price as the Police but played fewer and smaller venues. Still, $56.7 million in North American grosses is nothing to sniff at.

Other big live draws were country singer Kenny Chesney, who grossed $71.1 million on the road; Justin Timberlake, who sold $70.6 million in concert tickets; and Celine Dion, who generated $65.3 million during the final year of her “A New Day…” show at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

For these artists, the cash generated from performing in front of their fans far outweighed the revenue they generated from sales of their music. For instance, Chesney’s total album sales, including his new release “Just Who I Am: Poets And Pirates,” reached 1.8 million units. Add to that 2.5 million song downloads and Chesney’s recorded-music sales totaled around $25 million — a strong performance but still far short of what he generated on tour.

But recorded-music sales accounted for a larger portion of the cash generated by other recording artists. Pop-country trio Rascal Flatts proved to be a big hit with both concertgoers and music buyers, grossing $41.5 million on tour and generating roughly that much in sales of albums and song downloads.

For the Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana, or more specifically the show’s star Miley Cyrus, recorded music sales accounted for the lion’s share of the cash she generated, despite the headlines generated by scalpers who charged astronomical prices for tickets to her sold-out shows. Hannah/Miley grossed $36 million on tour but generated more than $50 million in album sales and downloads.

Meanwhile, pop-classical vocalist Josh Groban hit pay dirt with his Christmas album “Noel,” which turned out to be the year’s best-selling album, with 3.7 million units sold. The sales were especially impressive considering that, as a holiday album, it had only gone on sale in October.

His album sales and song downloads generated an estimated $60 million in sales. Groban also did well on tour, grossing $43.1 million in 2007.

The boffo sales of Noel provided a badly needed boost to Warner Music Group, which released the album. It didn’t make up for the fact that Warner’s share price lost three-quarters of its value in 2007. But the success of Groban and other top cash generators proved that even as the recording industry struggles, some consumers are willing to spend serious money on their favorite artists. ~ By Louis Hau

Keys’ album sold 60,519 copies last week, just 455 more copies than the all-time bottom-dweller, the Dreamgirls soundtrack, which sold 60,064 copies in its second week on top one year ago.

Keys’ album has sold 2,786,000 copies in just 10 weeks, a tremendous total by any measure. So it’s a little unfair that her name will be dragged through the mud as this news is disseminated. But that’s show biz.

It’s also noteworthy that five of this week’s top 10 CDs this week are R&B-oriented. Keys is joined by Mary J. Blige at #3, Raheem DeVaughn at #5, John Legend at #7 and Chris Brown at #9. (How they coordinated it so they’d occupy only the odd positions is beyond me.)

There’s also news on the Hot Digital Tracks chart. “Low” by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain logs its eighth week at #1, which puts it in a three-way tie for the most weeks at #1 on that chart since mid 2004, when the configuration really started to take off. The other tracks with eight weeks at #1 are Green Day’s “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” and Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable.”

“Low” registered 180,000 download purchases last week, which puts it far ahead of the #2 title, Chris Brown’s “With You” (104,000 download purchases). So “Low” is likely to hold at #1 for at least another week or two. This is the fourth week in a row that the #1 digital track has registered more download sales than the #1 CD saw in total sales. (I’ve got a feeling I’m going to be saying that a lot this year.)

Here’s the low-down on this week’s top 10 CDs.

1. Alicia Keys, As I Am, 61,000. Keys is the first woman to log three weeks at #1 since Norah Jones scored a year ago with Not Too Late. Keys is the first African American woman to remain at #1 this long since Ashanti scored with her eponymous debut album in 2002.

2. Juno soundtrack, 58,000. This is the first movie soundtrack to reach #2 since Hairspray last August. If it climbs one more notch, it will be the first movie soundtrack to go all the way since Dreamgirls.

But those were both big, lavish musicals, while Juno is a quirky little movie with an alternative-leaning soundtrack. The movie, which was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture, has grossed $85.4 million in its first seven weeks.

3. Mary J. Blige, Growing Pains, 52,000. This week’s sales pushes Blige’s album over the 1 million mark. Growing Pains has ranked in the top five all five weeks it has appeared on the chart.

4. Radiohead, In Rainbows, 46,000. The band’s album has sold 246,000 copies in four weeks, less than the 300,000 that the band’s previous album, Hail To The Thief, moved in its debut week in 2003. But then, what do you expect when you let fans download it for any price they choose.

5. Raheem DeVaughn, Love Behind The Melody, 45,000. This lofty debut marks a tremendous improvement over DeVaughn’s first album, The Love Experience, which opened (and peaked) at #46 in 2005.

6. Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, 34,000. Swift’s new single, “Umbrella,” debuts at #68 on Hot Digital Tracks. It’s possible that she’ll soon have three tracks in the top 30. “Our Song” is #20 this week; “Teardrops On My Guitar” is #22.

7. John Legend, Live From Philadelphia, 33,000. This 19-track set, available only at Target, is the Grammy-winner’s third album in a row to debut in the top 10. His 2005 debut, Get Lifted, opened at #7 and peaked at #4 the following week. His sophomore album, Once Again, opened (and peaked) at #3 in 2006.

8. Various Artists, Now 26, 30,000. The compilation has been a fixture in the top 10 for 10 straight weeks. It has scanned 1,370,000 copies to date.

9. Chris Brown, Exclusive, 29,000. Brown’s new hit, “With You,” is #2 on Hot Digital Tracks. “Kiss Kiss” topped that chart for four weeks last fall.

10. Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus, 27,000. The TV soundtrack is returns to the top 10, boosted by Cyrus’ hit single, “Start All Over.” It’s the only album in the top 30 (except for the debuting collections by DeVaughn and Legend) to show a sales increase over last week. The two Hannah Montana albums are closing in 6 million in combined sales. (Current total: 5,965,000).

Three albums fall out of the top 10 to make way for the newcomers. Garth Brooks’ The Ultimate Hits drops from #9 to #14, Eagles’ Long Road Out Of Eden falls from #8 to #15, and Fergie’s The Dutchess falls from #10 to #17.

Anne Murray has the week’s third highest new entry with Duets: Friends & Legends, which debuts at #42. Murray first hit the pop album chart in 1970 with Snowbird, which featured her top 10 single of the same name.

She posted her highest-charting album in 1978 with Let’s Keep It That Way, which reached #12 and spawned her #1 smash “You Needed Me.” (When Murray first hit the album chart, Shania Twain was five years old, Faith Hill was three, and Mary J. Blige was still in the womb. Which is not to make Murray feel old, but to show how long she has been in the game.)

The Magnetic Fields’ Distortion opens at #77. This is the veteran alternative band’s highest chart ranking to date. The band’s previous album, i, was its first to hit the pop chart. It peaked at #152.

Spice Girls’ Greatest Hits opens at #93. The group’s debut, Spice, was the #1 album of 1997. The Girls followed it that same year with the soundtrack to Spiceworld with a 2000 studio album, optimistically titled Forever. (In their case, “forever” lasted seven weeks, the amount of time the album spent the top 200.)

Ringo Starr’s Liverpool 8 opens at #94. It’s the pop veteran’s first solo album for Capitol Records since 1975. Ringo wrote and produced the songs on the album with Dave Stewart, co-founder of Eurythmics.

Ringo isn’t the first former member of the Fab Four to tip his hat to the Beatles’ hometown in an album title. Paul McCartney released Liverpool Oratorio in 1991. ~ By Paul Grein

Ashley Michelle Tisdale

Tisdale has also pursued a music career and released her debut album Headstrong on February 6, 2007. She also participated in High School Musical: The Concert and reprised her role as Sharpay Evans in High School Musical 2.

Tisdale was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey on July 2, 1985, to Lisa (née Morris) and Mike Tisdale. She grew up there in Ocean Township. Her elder sister Jennifer Tisdale is also an actress, most notably starring in Bring It On: In It to Win It. Her maternal grandfather is Arnold Morris, the developer of Ginsu Knives; and through her grandfather, she is also related to businessman Ron Popeil. Tisdale is Jewish on her mother’s side and considers herself Jewish. She was discovered by Bill Perlman, her current manager, at South Shores Mall, when she was three.

After booking her first audition, she went on to star in around one hundred national network commercials. At the age of eight, she got a leading role in the Broadway musical, Les Misérables and later toured internationally with the cast of Annie.

She began acting, appearing in stage productions of Gypsy: A Musical Fable and The Sound of Music at the Jewish Community Center of Monmouth County.

Tisdale underwent a rhinoplasty procedure on November 30, 2007. According to Tisdale, this was done for health-related reasons and not out of a belief in plastic surgery; her “septum was 80 percent deviated” and she had “two small fractures on [her] nose”, and this was interfering with her breathing. She spoke to People magazine about the surgery, saying that it was important to her to be honest with her fans.

During the late 1990s, Tisdale had guest appearances in several television series, which included Smart Guy, 7th Heaven, Grounded for Life, Boston Public, Strong Medicine, Charmed, and Beverly Hills, 90210. She had a minor role in the 2001 film, Donnie Darko and a guest appearance on The Amanda Show.

She had recurring roles on the sitcoms The Hughleys, and Still Standing. In 2002, she starred in a notable TV commercial for Fruit Gushers, in which her head transformed into an oversized orange. She also starred in a T-Mobile commercial with Catherine Zeta-Jones and was in a Toys “R” Us commercial with Abigail Breslin.

In 2005, Tisdale was cast in the role of Maddie Fitzpatrick on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody after auditioning for the roles of Maddie Fitzpatrick and London Tipton. As the series became popular, Tisdale became a featured performer on the Disney Channel and performed a voice role in Whisper of the Heart.

She was also cast in Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, which became a major success for the channel after its premiere on January 20, 2006. Tisdale also auditioned for the role of Erin Ulmer in Final Destination 3 but lost out to Canadian actress Alexz Johnson.

Tisdale was cast as Sharpay Evans in Disney Channel Original Movies, High School Musical. Tisdale had originally auditioned for the role of Gabriella Montez, but was eventually cast as Sharpay Evans, because it was felt that her alto voice suited a darker character. She reprised her role as Sharpay Evans in High School Musical 2 which premiered on August 17, 2007.

She appeared in the Disney Channel Games 2006 as captain of the Green Team. Tisdale is also appearing in the second rendition of the Disney Channel Games this year. More recently, Tisdale signed a deal with Staples, Inc. to appear in the promotional campaign for the company’s “Geared 4 School” sweepstakes in the fall.

Tisdale will also have a supporting role in the Disney Channel cartoon Phineas and Ferb and Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation’s Tuttles Family Game.

Tisdale appeared in the second episode of Season 8 of MTV’s Punk’d in which, she visits a children’s hospital and sings “Kiss the Girl” to a little boy in a coma. Midway through the song, the boy wakes up. As she was singing, the lyrics were censored out, as MTV did not own the rights to the song. She also appeared in an episode where she helped Ashton Kutcher to punk her good friend and High School Musical co-star Zac Efron.

Tisdale told JustJared.com during an interview at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards that she will be filming a movie in August. On July 18, 2007, MTV News confirmed in an article interview with Ashley Tisdale, that the movie is titled Picture this. This father-daughter movie features Tisdale as Mandy, an unpopular girl working at Petco.

She’s going to work with Robbie Amell. Ashley states she will probably return to her natural brunette hair color for this movie. On January 10, 2008, The Hollywood Reporter reported that she will star in 20th Century Fox’s new adventure comedy, They Came From Upstairs along with Robert Hoffman and Carter Jenkins.

Tisdale shot a music video for her single, “Be Good To Me”, which was from her album Headstrong . A video for the same single also featured on the High School Musical: The Concert DVD. Ashley also featured in a music video remake of, “Kiss the Girl”, from The Little Mermaid, which is included on The Little Mermaid Special Edition DVD.

She has also featured in the “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” (originally from Disney’s Cinderella) music video made for Disney Channel, along with several other Disney Channel stars. The music videos of “What I’ve Been Looking For” and “We’re All In This Together” from High School Musical are available on iTunes. The US iTunes Store also sells the High School Musical movie and the concert version.

Tisdale filmed three music videos for “He Said She Said”, “Not Like That” and “Suddenly” for her current album Headstrong on June 26, 2007. On September 19, 2007, “He Said She Said” premiered in the US on TRL.

Links:

• Ashley Tisdale new Wallpapers and Photos: http://www.snoron.com/ashley-tisdale/

Furtado is known for experimenting with different instruments, sounds, genres, languages, and vocal styles. This diversity has been influenced by her wide-ranging musical taste and her interest in different cultures.

Furtado’s third album was released in June 2006. She named it Loose after the spontaneous, creative decisions she made while creating the album.

Some have labeled her a “sellout” for seemingly abandoning her folk and rock roots in favour of hip hop and R&B, while others have criticized her for attempting to “sex up” her music and appearance to sell more records. In this album, primarily produced by Timbaland, Furtado experiments with sounds from R&B, hip hop, and 1980s music.

She categorized the album’s sound as punk-hop, described as “modern, poppy, spooky” and as having “a mysterious, after-midnight vibe… extremely visceral”. She attributed the youthful sound of the album to the presence of her two-year-old daughter.

Four lead singles were released in different regions of the world: the Spanish reggaeton-influenced “No Hay Igual” (featuring Calle 13), the hip-hop “Promiscuous” (featuring Timbaland), for which she won a 2006 Billboard Music Award for Pop Single of the Year, the Latin “Te Busqué” (featuring Juanes), and the dark pop single “Maneater”.

Loose has become the most successful album of Furtado’s career so far. It reached number one in several countries including the United States and Canada, and it included the hit singles “Promiscuous”, “Maneater”, “Say It Right”, and “All Good Things (Come to an End)”. The album received generally positive reviews from critics, with some citing the “revitalising” effect of Timbaland on Furtado’s music, and others calling it “slick, smart and surprising”.

In 2007, Furtado and Justin Timberlake were featured on Timbaland’s single “Give It to Me”, which became her third number-one single in the U.S. and second in the UK.

On February 16, 2007, Furtado embarked on the Get Loose Tour. She returned in March 2007 to her hometown of Victoria to perform a concert at the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre. In honour of her visit, local leaders officially proclaimed March 21, 2007, the first day of spring, as Nelly Furtado Day.

On April 1, 2007, Furtado was a performer at and host of the 2007 Juno Awards in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She won all five awards for which she was nominated, including Album of the Year and Single of the Year. Furtado appeared on stage at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium in London on July 1, 2007, where she performed “Say It Right”, “Maneater”, and “I’m like a Bird”.

In 2007, Furtado, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake were featured on Lil Wayne’s upcoming album Tha Carter III. Furtado also appeared in the video for Nickelback’s “Rockstar”.

In September, 2007, MTV: Buzzworthy chose Furtado as the Artist of the Week, and gave an exclusive freestyle performance of “Going Away” with the Somalian-Canadian rapper K’naan.

On September 9, 2007, Furtado performed at the MTV Video Music Awards awards with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, where she sang “Do It” mixed with “The Way I Are”, “LoveStoned” and “Give It to Me”. In October 2007 Furtado was nominated for three MTV Europe Music Awards, and she won the “Album of the Year” award.

After Furtado’s success in her third album, Loose, she released her first live DVD under the name Loose the Concert which included her greatest hits of 2007 and 2006 as a live videos such as “Promiscuous”, “Maneater”, “Say It Right” and “All Good Things (Come to an End)” . Loose has been used to advertise the newly released iPod classic appearing in commercials and even on the box.

Last year, Nelly Furtado leaked plans to Flare magazine regarding a song she was set to duet for Kylie Minogue’s return. However the song was not featured on her album X but Minogue says the aforementioned song “is still outstanding” and has plans to pursue it. She said “I am looking forward to getting in the studio and doing it because I know Nelly and I would have a great time together.”

On September 20, 2003 in Toronto, Furtado gave birth to a daughter, Nevis, whose father is DJ Jasper Gahunia. Furtado and Gahunia, who had been good friends for several years, remained together for four years until their breakup in 2005. Furtado told Blender magazine that they continue to be good friends and jointly share responsibility of raising Nevis.

In June 2006, in an interview with Genre magazine, when asked if she had “ever felt an attraction to women”, Furtado replied “Absolutely. Women are beautiful and sexy.” Some considered this an announcement of bisexuality, but in August 2006, she confirmed that she was “straight, but very open-minded”. In November 2006, Furtado revealed that she once turned down US$500,000 to pose unclothed in Playboy.

In July 2007, it was reported that Furtado is engaged to Cuban sound engineer, Demacio “Demo” Castellon, who worked with her on Loose.

During her teenage years, Furtado embraced many musical genres, listening heavily to mainstream R&B, hip hop, alternative hip hop, drum and bass, trip hop, world music (including Portuguese fado, Brazilian bossa nova, and Indian music), and a variety of others. Her influences have included Jeff Buckley, Janet Jackson, Oasis, Caetano Veloso, Esthero, Amalia Rodrigues, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Cornershop, TLC, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Digable Planets, De La Soul, Radiohead, Madonna, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Verve, U2, Enya, and Beck.

Furtado’s music has also been influenced by her current residence, Toronto, which she calls “the most multicultural city in the entire world” and a place where she “can be any culture”. Regarding Toronto’s cultural diversity, she has said that she did not have to wait for the Internet revolution to learn about world music; she began listening to it at the age of five and continues to discover new genres.

“ I always know there’s a new genre left to discover. For me, it’s like a metaphor for life. I feel like if you can get down with any style of music, you can get down with any style of person. So it’s fun for me—I get to expose my fans to different vibes and they, in turn, open their minds too. I’m always undergoing mind-opening. ”

Furtado began acting in school plays in middle school. She appeared on the episode “Some Buried Bones” of CSI: NY as Ava Brandt, a master-thief and victim of domestic abuse. She also guest starred on an episode of the day time soap opera One Life to Live, on which she performed some of her songs in a local club with Saukrates. Furtado participated in the hit Portuguese soap opera Floribella.

She had stated in an interviews on planete rap, a French radio station, that she has taken up acting classes when she is in Toronto and also had working on a movie which has been prosponed.

• Nelly Furtado Wallpapers and Photos: http://www.snoron.com/nelly-furtado/
• Nelly Furtado Website: http://www.westlord.com/nelly-furtado/