This season of American Idol has been weak on water cooler moments and breakout performances. The biggest newsmakers are still the people sitting behind the judges’ table: Steven Tyler just announced that a new album and tour from his band Aerosmith, and now Jennifer Lopez has dropped a new single called “Dance Again.” Lopez (who totally didn’t flash any of her naughty bits during the Oscar telecast) got her great career resurrection last summer with the single “On the Floor,” featuring a guest verse from Pitbull and production by RedOne. Clearly operating in the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” idiom, Lopez once again sings over a buttery disco groove with an assist from Miami’s favorite bilingual MC. Get hydrated, then listen below:

Jennifer Lopez visited “On Air with Ryan Seacrest” to talk about her newest single “Dance Again” which was produced by Moroccan-born mega producer RedOne and Cuban rapper Pitbull. J. Lo also shared her thoughts on Nicki Minaj guest judging on American Idol, and how long we can expect her to sit on the judges panel. Listen to “Dance Again” below.

Taio Cruz's international breakthrough with 'Break Your Heart' in 2009 seemed to mark the beginning of the Brit invasion of the US charts, giving the likes of Jessie J and Tinie Tempah a chance for their music to be heard across the globe.

With his follow-up LP Ty.O on the horizon and his new single 'There She Goes' out now, we called up the singer, songwriter and producer to find out whether he still suffers release-week nerves.

Hi Taio, how was your weekend?

"I was at Hackney Weekend, which was fun. I caught the beginning of Rihanna on the main stage, but I had to be sociable with my friends and watch the football!"

How upset were you that England lost?

"I thought we would win because I never wear colour, and I wore a Union Jack t-shirt to support the cause, but apparently it wasn't enough! I'm okay now, I'm back in work mode and back in black."

Ask Billboard is updated every week. As always, submit your questions about Billboard charts, sales and airplay, as well as general music musings, to askbb@billboard.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as your city, state and country, if outside the U.S.

Throw your hands high in the sky, Barbz, because Nicki Minaj‘s ‘Starships’ has set a new record on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The dance-pop song has spent its first 21 weeks in the Billboard Top 10 after it debuted at No. 9 on the chart on March 3.

Peter Rosenberg’s favorite song has been bouncing back and forth between No. 10 and its No. 5 peak during the tune’s run on the chart. Along with this chart achievement, ‘Starships’ has also skyrocketed at No. 2 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart and No. 3 on Pop Songs tally.

Overall, ‘Starship’ has reached 1.3 billion cumulative audience impressions, according to Nielsen BDS and has pushed 3.2 million downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan. So, it’s safe to say that ‘Starships’ was a global hit for the Young Money princess in spite of the criticisms that the song wasn’t real hip-hop.

We're in the middle of a boy band explosion right now, but the group who's burning the brightest is Midnight Red. On their debut single, "Hell Yeah", these five dynamos—Anthony Ladao, Colton Rudloff, Eric Secharia, Joey Diggs, and Thomas Augusto—ignite pop with an infectious and incendiary party anthem. Instantly unforgettable and undeniably uncontainable, it's the kind of track that brings stadiums to their feet. It's also the start of an amazing journey for Midnight Red…

In this exclusive interview with ARTISTdirect.com editor in chief Rick Florino, Colton Rudloff of Midnight Red talks "Hell Yeah", touring with NKOTBSB, and so much more.

What's the story behind "Hell Yeah"?

We were in Paris, France last December, ending the ten-day trip our label had sent us on. RedOne—the executive producer of our album—played us a few songs, demos, and beats he'd done. This track played, and it only had a chorus. We thought it really sounded awesome. While we recorded another song, we watched writers and producers from RedOne's team on the other side of the glass wall demo out "Hell Yeah". We couldn't hear what was going on though [Laughs]. We could see them, but we didn't know what was happening. The next day, we recorded "Hell Yeah" and we knew it had to be our first single. .

Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra is currently in the recording studio with RedOne.

The Indian star is working with the Grammy Award-winning musician on her debut album.

Chopra revealed that she was "making magic" with the producer during a recording schedule at a studio in Spain.

]]> http://www.redoneprod.com/news-reader/items/Bollywood_star_Priyanka_Chopra_in_the_studio_with_RedOne.htm Fri, 24 Aug 2012 01:13:00 -0700 http://www.redoneprod.com/news-reader/items/Bollywood_star_Priyanka_Chopra_in_the_studio_with_RedOne.htm CLICK HERE TO READ AT SOURCE.

2101 recording artists 7Lions have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming weeks. The band is getting kudos for their "LA Kings/Born 2 Run" Stanley Cup theme, a remix of their upcoming single "Born 2 Run" that was created in cooperation with 98.7 FM, sister station AM 570 and the LA Kings. The response to the remix and single has been so great that 7Lions were asked to perform it on the KTLA Morning News in Los Angeles to spur on the LA Kings fans just days before the Kings won the Stanley Cup!

She's got a sexy swagger that simply shimmers on her hit single "We Run The Night". It's an epic pop marvel that's equally ready for dance floors and stadiums alike. Brown brandishes a seductive vocal prowess and inimitable sense of soul, making the song's a hook utterly undeniable. This is one of the best tracks of 2012 and a bona fide classic "night" anthem.

We give it 5-out-of-5-stars!

"We Run The Night" comes off of Brown's forthcoming EP for Universal Republic Records, When The Lights Go Out. The EP drops on Tuesday July 17. During the same day, she'll be doing an awesome Twitter chat with fans.

ARTISTdirect.com editor in chief Rick Florino conducted an exclusive video interview with DJ Havana Brown below. In this installment of our "See the Music" series, she tells us the whole story behind "We Run The Night"!

Havana Brown continues her marathon rise up Billboard's Pop Songs chart with "We Run the Night," her debut dance/pop U.S. single.

The Australian singer/DJ's measured ascent on the Nielsen BDS-based mainstream top 40 airplay ranking marks a milestone, as "Night," featuring Pitbull, lifts 21-19 in its 19th week on the list. The song completes the longest climb to the chart's upper half in 14 years and the third-longest overall. Only Edwin McCain's "I'll Be" (22 weeks, 1998) and Melissa Etheridge's "Come to My Window" (20, 1994) logged longer trips to the chart's top 20.

Brown, born Angelique Meunier, signed with Island Records Australia in 2008 and performed on the Australian leg of Rihanna's tour later that year. She subsequently toured with acts including the Pussycat Dolls, Britney Spears and Chris Brown.

A version of "Night" without Pitbull reached No. 6 on the Australian Digital Songs chart last year before the rapper joined for its U.S. release (on Universal Republic). The track topped the Dance/Club Play Songs survey the week of March 10. The following frame, "Night" began its ascent on Pop Songs.

"With new artists, it just takes persistence," Universal Republic executive VP of promotion/artist development Joel Klaiman says. "We knew Havana Brown was special. She's a singer, a DJ, a performer. It took radio a minute to understand that she's so talented."

Klaiman credits Pop Songs reporter WPOI Tampa, Fla., which has played "Night" the most of any station monitored by BDS (2,045 detections through July 11), as key in igniting the song in the U.S. That WHTZ and WKTU New York added the song in January also helped smaller markets believe in its hit potential.

"'We Run the Night' has showed strong in audience research for us since we started playing it," WPOI program director Tim Clarke says. "Electronic/dance music is very strong right now, especially in Tampa." "Night" also adds balance, Clarke says. "It's the perfect dance/pop song to play in between Gotye and Katy Perry."

Klaiman recalls that despite star status in her home country, Brown was determined to work from the ground up to achieve U.S. success. "Very rarely do you see an international artist who's willing to put the time in here that she has. She's committed to promotional tours, radio shows and so much else."

The effort is clearly paying off in the Pop Songs advance of "Night," as well as 644,000 downloads sold for the song to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan. As the cut continues its upward momentum, Brown is prepping a four-song EP for release in the U.S.

Klaiman points to a fellow non-domestic female whom Universal Republic helped steadily succeed on Pop Songs, Jessie J. The British singer's first chart entry, "Price Tag," featuring B.o.B, reached its No. 12 peak in its 15th week last year. Follow-up "Domino" took 23 weeks to its No. 2 peak in March, a rise that tied the track with P!nk's "U + Ur Hand" (2007) for the longest uninterrupted journey to the chart's top two. (Only Cee Lo Green's "F**k You! (Forget You)" took a more scenic route (25 weeks ) to the region, but its climb included a five-week gap; after first peaking at No. 18 in 2010, it returned in January 2011 due to renewed radio interest after the cast of Fox's "Glee," with Gwyneth Paltrow, covered it. The song reached No. 1 that April.)

After slowly but surely making their impacts, "Price Tag" has sold 1.6 million downloads since its release and "Domino" has moved 2 million.

Klaiman says that what ultimately matters is connecting an artist with audiences, no matter how long it takes.

"When your passion and belief in an act is ahead of radio's, sometimes it just takes a little longer to get your mission accomplished."

Well, that one's easy. It's DJ Havana Brown. Her five-song debut EP When the Lights Go Out fuses shimmering dance floor ecstasy with stadium-size pop flare more seamlessly than any of her peers. Brown has effectively bridged the gap between the club world and the mass market because she came up in the dance world. She's gone from spinning the hot spots to straight up running them as a triple threat DJ, singer, and performer. Now, with the release of the record, pop music supremacy is seriously in sight.

The first single "We Run The Night" deserves to end up being the world's biggest banger. Merging a skittering, energetic beat and Brown's pristine and potent delivery, the track breathes fire. Pitbull ups the ante even more, dropping by for a raucous cameo that ends with a fitting line from GoodFellas. Then, there's "You'll Be Mine" which echoes the '80s before spiraling into a 22nd century anthem. "One Way Trip" kicks off with a resounding piano before smoothly slipping into one of Brown's most seductive coos. It's a standout that showcases both her presence and vocal prowess. "Big Banana" boasts a sly sense of humor with its play on words, while "Spread a Little Love" touts an inspirational message.

In the end, this is Havana's time. Watch her rise to the top When the Lights Go Out…

Nicki Minaj scores her second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 as "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded" debuts atop the list with 253,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That's a slightly better-than-expected sales figure, as industry sources had suggested last week that the album was on course for a launch somewhere in the 215,000 to 235,000 range.

It follows her debut studio set, "Pink Friday," which climbed to No. 1 on the Feb. 19, 2011 chart, just as her "Super Bass" single was taking off. "Pink Friday" bowed at No. 2 on the chart dated Dec. 11, 2010 with 375,000 sold according to Nielsen SoundScan. (Its big debut was fueled by Christmas shopping as the album bowed during Thanksgiving week.)