SHOWTIME! We continue our series of ‘In Performance at the White House’ – a series of concerts created to showcase the rich fabric of American culture in the exclusive setting of the nation’s most famous home. To see last weeks post, Country Music, click here.
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Fiesta Latina
“In Performance at the White House: Fiesta Latina” is a concert hosted by the President and Mrs. Obama on the South Lawn of the White House. The concert includes performances from Marc Anthony, Jimmy Smits, Pete Escovedo, Gloria Estefan, José Feliciano, George Lopez, Thalía, Tito “El Bambino”, the Bachata music group Aventura, and the Chicano rock band Los Lobos, with Sheila E. leading the house band.
In his opening address President Obama talked about the music that helped define a nation: “During Hispanic Heritage Month we are honored to be joined by this country’s most successful and innovative performers of Latin music. Like our own latino community, Latin music is not easy to define. Although it takes many forms its spirit of diversity also unifies us. At its heart are the West African rhythms brought by slaves in the Caribbean, the guitars first carried to the new world by the Spanish conquistadors, it incorporates the accordians played by German immigrants, the flutes and drums used by indigenous peoples and the beats born in cities like New York and Miami. And even though it’s constantly evolving and changing, Latin music speaks to us in a language we can all understand – about hope and joy, sorrow and pain, friendship and love. It moves us and tends to make us move a little bit ourselves. In the end, what makes Latin music great is the same thing that makes America great – the unique ability to celebrate our differences while creating something new.”
“In the words of Gloria Estefan “the most beautiful things in this country have the flavour of other places.” So to all of you who are watching please enjoy some truly global music from some of the most talented artists in the world. I can tell you that the West wing, the East wing and whatever other wings we have here at The White House, have been looking forward to this evening for quite sometime. Enjoy! Thank you!”
Download these shows and add them to your music library
This is part of a 10-week series that we will be running on our blog, with the music videos conveniently separated into individual performances so that you can save and download your favourite artists, or the whole show if your prefer. Creation 5’s YouTube feature lets you download videos so you can watch offline when you’re travelling and enjoy great music on-the-go. Don’t forget that you can download Creation 5’s YouTube In-app purchase absolutely FREE, which normally costs €4.49 ($4.99), as we currently have a promotion running in celebration of hitting 450,000 downloads on the App Store!
In Performance at the White House: Fiesta Latina (October 2009)
01. Gloria Estefan – No Llores 02. Marc Anthony – Valio La Pena 03. Thailía – Amor a la Mexicana 04. Los Lobos – Medley 05. Shiela E and Pete Escovedo – Oye Como Va 06. Tito el Bambino – El Amor 07. José Feliciano – En Aranjuez con tu Amor 08. Marc Anthony – I Need to Know 09. Gloria Estefan and All Performers – Mi Tierra
“To me, movies and music go hand in hand. When I’m writing a script, one of the first things I do is find the music I’m going to play for the opening sequence.” – Quentin Tarantino.
Indeed, music and film are very close art forms that naturally fit together to produce great emotional effect in the movie theatre room. Music adds to the overall atmosphere and tone of a sequence, gives it its special touch and renders a scene unforgettable; music can transport a film’s audience to whole other dimensions. That’s something that’s quite amazing. Here we honor these unique moments and have compiled some all-time classic tunes that have and will always be associated to a particular scene in a particular film.
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“Music is a big factor in helping the illusion of the film come to life. The same way music brings back different periods to our lives.” – Francis Ford Coppola.
The “Sound of Silence” is, hands down, “one of folk pop’s most beautiful moments” – nobody in their right mind could contest that. Simon & Garfunkel made “The Graduate” the iconic film that it is today, but in 1967, it was director Mike Nichols that made Simon & Garfunkel the timeless duo that will always be remembered. Nichols brilliantly used several of their songs as the soundtrack to his chronicle of post-collegiate alienation. Mrs Robinson and Sound of Silence are two serious all-time hits placed in unprecedented manner in one serious Hollywood blockbuster – the hits come hand-in-hand. Curiously enough, Nichols originally used their most exceptional songs, including “Sound of Silence”, as placeholders to get the pacing right in certain parts of the film. I think we’re all indebted to Nichols for having finally come to his senses by realising that the songs were perfect where they were. “The Graduate” owns Simon & Garfunkel and Simon & Garfunkel own “The Graduate”.
2. Purple Rain – When Doves Cry & Purple Rain (Prince and the Revolutions)
The film “Purple Rain” is “an epic celebration of everything Rock & Roll.” Picture Prince in a film, surrounded by sex, religion, motorcycles, guitars, Lake Minnetonka and, oh yes, he’s wearing eyeliner. Set when Prince is on his historic creative streak while his heart aches with girl troubles, he’s bound to write a couple of hits like “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry” because, you know, that’s just another day in the life of the Prince of pop. The two silver screen anthems frame the film in all their glory and, today, are recognised as all-time greats. The film’s grand finale blasts “Purple Rain” through the speakers as Prince rides off into the purple sunset – It’s a historic moment accompanied by one of the moodiest and most beautiful songs ever made. “When Doves Cry”, on the other hand, was the album’s first No1 single and is what propelled the album to sell 20 million copies.
Although a huge chunk of the music to the soundtrack to “Saturday Night Fever” came from Frank Stallone, it’s The Bee Gees that killed it! Oh, The Bee Gees – From “Staying Alive” to “Night Fever” to “More Than A Woman”, “Boogie Shoes” and to “How Deep Is Your Love”, the tunes on the “Saturday Night Fever” album can still turn a room upside down with disco fever. “Staying Alive” was a smash hit, mainly due to its “driving beat, funky guitar riff and falsetto” and, of course, its awesomness. When the Bee Gees were engaged to write some songs for the film’s soundtrack, they refused to call their song “Saturday Fever” to match the title of the movie because too many song titles contained the word “Saturday”. Producer Robert Stigwood eventually gave in and decided to rename the film “Saturday Night Fever” – I think the Bee Gee’s stubbornness did Stigwood a huge favour (it rings better!).
The double LP was the best-selling soundtrack in music history, selling over 15 million copies, before “The Bodyguard” stole the title. These songs defined an era, turned disco fever into an all-night occurrence, and left a legacy in the late 70’s disco ball culture. What’s more, the soundtrack to this film turned our beloved John Travolta into a hearthrobbing mega film star. Who can shake the image of the young and gorgeous Travolta suited-and-booted all in white whilst boogying the legendary dance move with one hand on one hip and the other pointing to the sky.
Did you know that Dolly Parton originally wrote Whitney Houston’s outstanding song “I Will Always Love You”, released in 1992 on the soundtrack of “The Bodyguard”, in 1973? Houston’s smash hit cover reigned on Billboard Hot 100 for fourteen weeks and became her signature song – the vocal queen owned it!
“Who you gonna call?… “GHOSTBUTERS!” – It’s almost impossible to find someone who doesn’t know who they’re gonna call when strange things are happening in their neighbourhood. Although Ray Parker Jr.’s Academy-nominated them songs “Ghostbusters” isn’t the best song out there, it continues to haunt us and will always remain a classic, if not for its cultural relevance with film-nerds than for it’s ceaseless appearance at Halloween parties year after year. Its repetitive and really, really, really hard to forget.
“No one reframes oldies so indelibly” like Quentin Tarantino. Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell” has become a cult-like ritual. Nobody can think of “Pulp Fiction” without Chuck Berry luring in the background.
Eminem’s signature track “8 Mile” is a great song that almost everyone under the age of 25 knows 70% of the lyrics to (or at least they pretend they do). It’s one of those songs we kids used to rap to in the school playground, pretending we were hip (which we were, ehemm). Inspired by true events in Eminem’s (Marshal Mathers) personal life and written on the “8 Mile” movie set about his fictional character B-Rabbit, the song ended up winning the Best Original Song Oscar and two Grammy Awards. Indeed, everyone loved the track – it’s powerful and hard-hitting lyrics, energised and aggressive instrumentation and Eminem’s anger fully encased the emotion of the movie. Perhaps the lyrics “mom’s spaghetti” also had something to do with the song’s great success. “8 Mile” is raw and carries a huge emotional load – it’s refreshing, I think that’s why we love it.
The “Batman Forever” soundtrack is filled with great songs. However, Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose” is on a whole other level. The “haunting ballad” is soft, beautiful and touching – it’s by far Seal’s greatest.
“What A Feeling” by Irene Cara became a classic after it featured in the timeless film “Flashdance”. The title track plays as Alex (Jennifer Beal) auditions for a dance conservatory board and dumbfounds them when the song switches from ballad into speedy pop. The song went on to win an Oscar and a Golden Globe. Even those who haven’t seen the film know the very moment in the film that is bound to Irene Cara’s hit, co-written by Giorgio Moroder.
R Kelly’s hit song “I Believe I Can Fly” is a classic (that is not to be argued). No matter what your opinion is on R Kelly, the Looney Tunes soundtrack belongs to a whole generation of kids-now-turned-adults – that cannot be taken away from them. Warner Brothers + Michael Jordan + green screen + cartoons = genius. The film scored a home run at the box office and the soundtrack came in on par, including beats from Jay-Z, Coolio and Busta Rhymes. R Kelly, however, is our leading man.
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The following artists managed to crack Billboard’s Hot 100 Top 10 list with their very first singles and then never really managed to hit the jackpot again – unfortunately, they never even made it to the top 25 again! Despite their subsequent musical write-offs, the one hit wonders of the likes of Daniel Powter, James Blunt and Gnarls Barkley are still known by all and continue to be loved by all (whether they’ve been overplayed or not). We owe it to these one-hit-makers to honour their scarce yet brilliant work.
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Here is a list of the top 10 one-hit wonders of the past decade, based on Billboard’s calculations of “how high their big songs climbed on the chart compared to how far down the tally their subsequent highest-charting effort peaked.”
Bad Day was used as the roll out song for the 5th season of American Idol and was also used for a Coca-Cola advertising campaign in the U.K. The song became incredibly successful – It went to No.1 in April, remained there for five weeks, and was ranked the most successful single of 2006 by Billboard. Bad Day became the first song to ever sell 2 million digital copies in the U.S. Although the Canadian singer-songwriter’s success didn’t last too long, he did make history!
Terror Squad, the hip-hop collective fronted by Fat Joe, reached the top of the charts with Lean Back in August 2004, gifting the world with one of the most famous dance songs (and catchy choruses) of our time. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and topped the R&B charts for over a month. Terror Squad’s next single Take Me Home, released that same year, got to No.62. The upshot of their four minutes of fame gets almost every party rocking! (That’s if you party right!).
Crazy Town, the L.A. rap-metal-rockers, soared to No1 in March 2001 with their Red Hot Chili Peppers imbued track Butterfly, and hovered there for two weeks. The band never flew sky-high again.
This Is Why I’m Hot got nice and steamy at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, at No.2 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Charts and at No.1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks charts. The song also debuted at No1 on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs Charts, selling 140,874 downloads, and eventually certified Platinum. The song itself is filled with samples of other hip-hop songs, including Kanye West’s Jesus Walks and Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s Nuthin’ But a “G” Thang. Ever heard the saying: “a great chorus lasts forever”? Although the chorus is still out there sizzling somewhere, MIMS never really made a hot track again. His next single Like This, release in 2007, only reached No.32… not so steamy!
In January 2006, D4L’s Laffy Taffy hit the bull’s eye when it peaked at No.1. Most of the song’s success was due to its online sales. The song went on to certify three times Platinum. D4L’s next single Betcha Can’t Do It Like Me, however, only made it to No.72.
James Blunt definitely knew how to win a woman’s heart. His stunning ballad You’re Beautiful reached No.1 on Billboard Hot 100 in March 2006. Although the song was ranked No.7 in a poll conducted by Rolling Stone to identify the top 10 most annoying songs, VH1 ranked it No.95 on its list of 100 Greatest Songs of the 2000’s. You’re Beautiful received three Grammy nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and certified two times Platinum in the U.S. James Blunt’s fans weren’t too loyal, though. His next single Goodbye My Lover reached No.66.
It was crazy just how much Gnarls Barkley’s single Crazy stormed the world. The musical collaboration between Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green peaked at No2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in the U.K. (where it remained at No1 for nine weeks), Denmark, Canada, New Zealand and many more countries. The track won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2007 and was also nominated for Record of the Year in the U.K. The song also won Best Song at the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards and was dubbed Best Song of 2006 by Rolling Stone. The track was certified two times Platinum in the U.S. As for Gnarls Barkley’s subsequent singles well, crazily enough, they didn’t quite make it to the top.
Fun fact: Gnarls Barkley’s band performed a live performance of “Crazy” at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards dressed as Star Wars characters!
Bo Bice was American Idol’s runner up, after Carrie Underwood took home the winning prize. They both released their own versions of this song in 2005. Bice peaked at No2 on the Billboard Hot 100 but, after the Idols craze was over, so was Bice. His subsequent highest-charting song The Real Thing reached No56 in May 2006. Sometimes it’s just not meant to be…
Dream, the manufactured American girl band, made it to No2 with He Loves You Not. The song certified Gold – a dream come true. Sadly, though, the dream was over before the girls could say Good Morning. Dream’s next single This Is Me rose to No39 in the summer of 2001.
On the bright side, these artists sure released some unforgettable red-hot tunes!
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“In Performance at the White House: Country Music” is a PBS music special taped in the East Room of the White House. President and Mrs. Obama hosted the event in celebration of Country music, whose roots run deep throughout American history. The concert includes performances by Lauren Alaina, The Band Perry, Dierks Bentley, Alison Krauss, Kris Kristofferson, Lyle Lovett, Mickey, Darius Rucker and James Taylor. The show honors the rich history and resilience of this uniquely American musical form with performances tracing the history of Country music.
Harlan Howard, who wrote many Country music songs that are now classics, said, “Country music is three chords and the truth.”
Download these shows and add them to your music library
This is part of a 10-week series that we will be running on our blog, with the music videos conveniently separated into individual performances so that you can save and download your favourite artists, or the whole show if your prefer. Creation 5’s YouTube feature lets you download videos so you can watch offline when you’re travelling and enjoy great music on-the-go. Don’t forget that you can download Creation 5’s YouTube In-app purchase absolutely FREE, which normally costs €4.49 ($4.99), as we currently have a promotion running in celebration of hitting 450,000 downloads on the App Store!
In Performance at the White House: Country Music 2011
01.Intro [President’s speech] 02. Dierks Bentley – Home 03. Lye Lovett – Cowboy Man 04. Kris Kristofferson & Darius Rucker – Pancho & Lefty 05. The Band Perry – If I Die Young 06. Alison Krauss – When You Say Nothing at All 07. James Taylor – Riding on a Railroad 08. Darius Rucker – I Got Nothin’ 09. Dierks Bentley & Lauren Alaina – Always on My Mind 10. Mickey – Crazy 11. James Taylor – Wichita Lineman 12. Lauren Alaina – Coal Miner’s Daughter 13. Lyle Lovett – Funny How Time Slips Away 14. The Band Perry – I Will Always Love You 15. Full Cast – Me And Bobby McGee
Kartik Pillai is gearing up for a hectic end to 2014. The Delhi-based multi-instrumentalist has just released a fantastic debut album with his experimental dream-pop act Begum, and is all set to release a solo EP next week under his JAMBLU moniker. There’s also another album in the works with gypsy/cabaret punk act Peter Cat Recording Co. Add in his studio work and video production house The Hundredth Initiative and it’s easy to imagine Pillai and his bandmates as the epicentre of a small, self-sufficient scene headquartered in New Delhi’s Hauz Khas Village – a scene that is producing some of the best music to come out of the country. We talk to Pillai about his recently released album, his influences, and his plans for the future.
Begum [Urdu word for a Muslim lady of high rank] is an interesting name for a band with three guys. What’s the story behind it? The name is homage to the honorable Begum, we hope to be in her loving shade for as long as possible and spread word of her benevolence and kindness till when we are called back to our lives.
How did the guys in Begum start playing together? Kshitij [Dhyani, bassist] and I have been collaborating since 2007 when we met each other on a thread on the Rock Street Journal Forums. We’ve been in metal, funk and blues bands together and started composing by ourselves in early 2009. One day (in 2012) we called Karan [Singh, drummer] for an impromptu jam, there were 15 minutes of brilliance in that 2 hour jam and we latched onto it. After writing a dozen songs or more we ended up being a band.
In an interview, you mentioned that Begum is influenced by Tame Impala. What are your other influences? Various musical acts come to mind, a lot of the influences for me at least have been visual so far. One major influence on my playing ethos has been Kaki King (her more recent material). Also the Kinks, the Beatles, Elliot Smith, Jandek’s tape machine and The Sea… all these acts influenced me to a much greater degree than Tame Impala.
You recorded Begum’s debut album Bagh rather unconventionally, doing the whole record in one live take. What prompted you to take that approach? We recorded the album twice before on a metronome but it didn’t sound right. Finally we had one day before Kshitij left for Bombay for his masters. So we hauled everything into Karan’s room and just hit record. We left a couple of the songs off the album because we got tired and because Kshitij had to pack.
There’s a distinct old Delhi/Mughal flavour to the band’s general aesthetic. Is the capital city a major influence for you guys? Yes the city of Delhi has definitely been a major influence on our aesthetic in terms of artwork and imagery. But musically i think we try to create paradoxes with our current situations, most of the songs stem from our love for dying civilizations, pale winter suns and the sea.
There was a lot of buzz around the music video for lead single Chinbein, which features a surreal and sepia-tinged montage of videos and imagery. Where did the concept for the video come from?
The concept is completely [ video director ] Samridhi Thapliyal’s. We just sent her the song and she took it from there. I think she was trying to portray a sort of cycle, the constant creation existence and eventual destruction of all things.
How was the response to Bagh been so far? Any plans for a tour? The response has been great, a lot of kind words and a lot of interest which we’re very grateful for. We have a tour lined up starting with The New Wave Festival In Goa, we’re gonna drive down from Delhi and plan on hitting all the major cities including some others like Jaipur, Cochin, etc.
Apart from Begum, you also play guitars in Peter Cat Recording Co. and have a solo electronica project called JAMBLU. Is it difficult to juggle three distinct musical identities? I really don’t find it difficult because i think we all have to manage a multitude of personalities in public and in life. I have different approaches to all these projects which are generally just spurts of creation in various directions. For me all these personalities are completely natural so there’s no real effort put into solidifying them, over the years I’ve learnt which reality of mine to take inspiration from and when…. for the mind is a toy.
You call JAMBLU ‘post-dance’ on your bandcamp page. What’s post-dance? A friend of mine once summarized it visually as a group of people standing around like mindful zombies swaying slowly. The idea is that once the physical section of a release (dancing which is intensely spiritual) is over, Depth Training would then be used to sink into oneself and surrender to one’s own ticks and unconscious tremors in utter decadence eventually allowing one to just exist rather than react or act.
The JAMBLU debut ‘Depth Training’ is a very immersive and melancholy album. What’s the inspiration behind that project? The album is my abstract version of the birth of the universe, the earth and evolution on it , starting with a vacuum, the big bang, growth of life on earth, nature and its various tangents such as the industrial revolution, the accidental enlightenment of poultry, and quaint cottages in the forest.
When can we expect the long-awaited Peter Cat Recording Co. album? How has the pcrc sound evolved since the last album? We’re hoping for a november release for Peter Cat, the sound has definitely evolved from the first album. Once we settled into being a band (after I joined pcrc), we started exploring new sounds and methods of playing other than the gypsy/cabaret sound. In terms of grooves, styles and intention we’re definitely going towards a much more ambient sound. The instrumentation is also slowly evolving.
Any other plans for the future? pcrc, Begum, Lifafa and Jamblu tours for India, and quite possibly abroad as well.
The production company (Hundredth Monkey Initiative) that I’m a part of will also start producing short films soon, we’re pretty much just finalizing on scripts at this point and an animated series tentatively called Beevision.
I’ll be releasing the new Jamblu EP come Sept 23rd on the Equinox. There are also music videos to come soon after for Depth Training and the new EP. We have one more music video coming up for Begum which we’re making with my brother Sachin Pillai and we’ve also started work on the next Begum album and the subsequent Opera that we plan to produce. The album should be out middle of next year and the Opera hopefully by the end of next year.
We’ve been counting down the days til’ our favourite TV programmes are back on the air. Let’s not kid ourselves… we’re addicted!
With last week’s new season premieres of Boardwalk Empire, Sons of Anarchy, New Girl and The Good Wife, there’s tonnes more TV to look forward to for the run of autumn. It’s a great week ahead, with so many exciting new season premieres to watch; there’s even enough for two shows a night! So put your jammies on and get cosy!
The Big Bang Theory and The Voice are your main callings tonight (Monday). NCIS airs on Tuesday, Wednesday offers you Law & Order: SVU, Modern Family and Nashville, Thursday premieres Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, and, unless you have a social life on Friday nights, you can have your eye’s glued to the screen with the new season of Hawaii Five-O. Next week also premieres The Simpsons, Family Guy and Revenge, and October has Criminal Minds, The Vampire Diaries, Homeland, The Walking Dead and Two and a Half Men on the cards for us, amongst many, many, many more.
We look at TV’s upcoming fall releases, including new shows and highly anticipated season premieres.
Most Anticipated (click any title to play the video in Creation 5):
Boardwalk Empire is coming to a not so happy conclusion in its last season, seeing as it’s tagline reads “all empires must fall”. The show’s attraction is partly (mostly!) due to its stellar A-list movie-worthy cast of Steve Buscemi, Michael Shannon, Michael K. Williams, Kelly Macdonald, Gretchen Mol, Jeffrey Wright, Stephen Graham, Shea Whigham, and a whole bunch more.
Even the guys who run and write the show are bloody fantastic. They include Terence Winter – the oh-so-brilliant scriptwriter who wrote The Wolf of Wall Street– Denis Lehane (Gone Baby Gone) and Pulitzer Prize nominee Howard Korder. Let’s not forget that the show was co-created by the man himself, Martin Scorsese, who directed the show’s pilot and is still the Executive Producer.
Although the show’s been accused of being “slow, repetitive” and drags on to get to its main narrative hook, there’s a reason the show’s been nominated for four Golden Globe since it first aired (winning best series in 2011). It’s also been nominated for 40 Primetime Emmys (40?!) and three WGA awards. With only seven episodes left, you might as well hang in there to find out what happens to Nucky Thompson (Buscemi).
One of cable’s biggest shows, Sons of Anarchy, has reached its final season. We expect a heavy load of bullets and blood in the seventh season of Kurt Sutter’s biker-gang drama, starring Mark Boone Junior, Kim Coates, Tommy Flanagan, as well as recurring appearances from the likes of Jimmy Smits, Peter Weller and CCH Pounder.
It’s hard to compete with SOAs out-and-out quantity of action and crazy plot twists, with overwhelming machismo and its Shakespearian coming-book vibe when it comes to blood, rape, violence and gore. While the show doesn’t tickle everyone’s fancy (at least not mine), millions of loyal fans keep coming back for more.
The Good Wife is smart, funny, sexy, exciting and consistent. Starring Julianna Marguelies, Chris Noth, Mathew Goode and welcoming a new regular, David Hyde Pierce, amongst others, the CBS show has been one of the best dramas on TV. Last season kicked ass and was by far the best run in its history, “gleefully tearing up the status quo, proving increasingly formally experimental (the direction throughout was beautiful), giving its cast members more to do than before and being wildly entertaining at every moment.” There isn’t much out there to compete with this.
The Good Wife is perhaps the most underrated TV show on television. It’s “unapologetically feminist”, has one of the best love triangles on television, has top quality guest stars and gets better with every season. I’d give it five stars, without a shadow of a doubt.
Gotham premieres for the first time today on FOX. The show is set in Gotham City, in the early days of Detective James Gordon (played by Ben Mckenzie of Southland/The O.C) and a pile of familiar heroes and villains. Tonight’s pilot is what one might call “ridiculously opulent – an over-the-top opera of tragedy and revenge”. Directed by Danny Cannon (Judge Dredd), developed by Bruno Heller (creator of Rome) and with wonderful music by Greame Revell, the show also has an insanely good cast, including Jada Pinkett Smith and Donal Logue. The show features various elements of the Batman mythology as well as a young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz).
Anna Gunn from Breaking Bad meets David Tennant from Doctor Who in a murder drama to uncover the murder mystery of a child in a small seaside town. Written/created by Chris Chibnall and directed by James Strong, Gracepoint is based on the British series Broadchurch. The American re-adaptation of the show includes Michael Pena, Nick Nolte, and Jacki Weaver as exceptional characters from the original show and takes on strong creative principles that are to differentiate it from the original series (at least let’s hope they do!).
With last season’s myriad of twists and turns, it’s hard to describe what we’re in for this season. Let’s just say: “we’re in for a hefty load of more crazy stuff”. The political thriller, directed by Howard Gordon (24) and starring Claire Daines (CIA officer Carrie), Damian Lewis (ex-U.S. Marine-Sargeant-turned-terrorist, Sft. Brody) and Mandy Patinkin (Saul Berenson), sure does have us tuning in for more, with it’s action-thriller-packed storyline – you’d be rather silly not to… it’s brilliant!
The Affair is a new series about a married man and woman who begin an affair that ends in tragedy and is told from both perspectives (interesting, right?). Produced by some of the people behind In Treatment and the incredible House of Cards, The Affair takes a novelistic approach to its storytelling, with a flashback/mystery structure side-by-side and with an Eleanor-Rigby-style dual perspective narcissism. What’s more, its cast involves Dominic West and Ruth Wilson as the starring duo, and Maura Tierney and Joshua Jackson as their respective spouses. Although Showtime doesn’t have a 5-star track record (apart from Masters of Sex, Dexter and Homeland), The Affair looks really promising.
The smashing adaptation of Robert Kirkaman’s zombie-themed comic book returns for yet another season. The Walking Dead is the biggest show on TV, has captivated a wider audience season after season, and is rumoured to have an even more action-packed and eventful storyline for our entertainment this season. For you zombie enthusiasts out there, this one’s for you!
Peaky Blinders is set in the aftermath of WW1 and focuses on the Shelby family, who returns to Birmingham to set up their criminal enterprise. While the show is essentially a UK take on Boardwalk Empire, it’s managed to find its own path on television, without hiding behind the US TV hit about the rise of the criminal empire in the aftermath of WW1.
The show continues to stay true to its lavish production values and solid writing (created and written by Steven Knight, screenwriter of Eastern Promises and director of Locke). It also features an A-list movie-level cast, with Cillian Murphy taking the lead role, Paul Anderson, Joe Cole, Helen McCrory, Annabelle Wallis and Sam Neill. Plus a few new actors in season 2, including Noah Taylor, Charlotte Riley and, most impressively, the oh-so-beautiful Tom Hardy!!
Viola Davis plays a law professor at a university in Philadelphia who teaches a class called How To Get Away With Murder. Both she and her class get involved in a murder mystery. Produced by Peter Norwalk with Shona Rhimes as the show’s executive producer, mostly known for her involvement in the brilliant series Scandal and the long-running TV hit Grey’s Anatomy, we’re in for an interesting ride of “thrills, chills and spills”. This one might just be on the cards for our “latest addiction” this autumn…
Calling all TV-watching machines, the TV menu this fall offers an even wider selection of delicious delights, including Bedtime Stories, Twilight Zone, Sleepy Hollow, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Mulaney, Kingdom, The Newsroom, The Casual Vacancy and so many more!
Prepare to hibernate in front of the telly with a warm cuppa tea!
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All the biggest names in music were at the 4th iHeartRadio Music Festival held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas at the weekend. Meghan Trainor was there, Lorde, Calvin Harris, Iggy Azalea, Nicki Minaj, Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Paramore, One Direction, Coldplay and many more. Ryan Seacrest, the weekend’s host said: “You can’t believe they’re all in one arena, it just doesn’t happen.”
The iHeartRadio Music Festival is a two-day festival held each September (since 2011) by iHeartRadio. According to Billboard magazine, the main festival has “quickly established itself as a home to a who’s who of every major artist across virtually every format on radio.”
We’ve collected together some of our favourite performances – Click on the video titles to open them in Creation 5:
Taylor Swift performed an epic medley of her hit songs. She started her set with We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together before launching into 22, I Knew You Were Trouble, Love Story and finishing with Shake It Off — of course!
We loved her introduction to Shake it Off: “I think that you have things going on in your lives. You’ve got deadlines, you’ve got things stressing you out, you’ve got people saying things about you that aren’t true. You have frenemies, and liars, and dirty, dirty cheats. What do you do about all those things, well, you shake ‘em off, of course.”
Calvin Harris was Saturday night’s headliner and he really got things going with a fantastic set and an amazing light show. Two of the songs he performed were his chart-topper Summer and his new song, Blame, sung by UK sou-singer John Newman. It was the first time they had performed the song live.
Meghan Trainor, introduced by actress Hilary Duff, performed a two-song set, including, of course, her current Nº1 hit All About That Bass. The 2-song set follows.
Iggy Azaleagave a fantastic performance, wearing a pink, black and purple outfit, matching the black and white outfits of the sexy background dancers. DJ Whiz Kid lent a hand with background vocals to the songs – and Iggy rapped her heart out. Fancy that! Watch her entire set below.
Lordewas introduced to the stage by Chicago P.D. actress Sophia Bush and she gave a rocking performance! The night before, she performed at the Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta.
Ed Sheeran’s set was yet another highlight during an entire night of highlights. The best part being special guest Macklemore joining Sheeran onstage during a performance of The Heist. They also sang Same Love together. Sheeran went on to perform a mix of Loyal (Chris Brown) and a couple of songs by Blackstreet, Don’t and No Diggity. Of course, he sang The A Team and Sing. Check out the entire set below!
Nicki Minaj goes well with the bright lights of Vegas and her magnetic stage presence was impossible to ignore. She had quite a challenge following on from Taylor Swift and Coldplay but with an Ariana Grande cameo for Bang Bang, plenty of booty-popping on Super Bass and Anaconda, and an amazing a cappella version of her Flawless (Remix) Minaj got people talking hours after her performance..
A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement
“In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement” is a PBS music special taped in the East Room of the White House. President and Mrs. Obama hosted the concert in honor of Black History Month. Artists include Natalie Cole, Bob Dylan, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Smokey Robinson, Seal, the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Howard University Choir. Morgan Freeman and Queen Latifah were the emcees.
The evening featured songs from the Civil Rights Movement as well as readings from famous Civil Rights speeches and writings. “The songs of the Civil Rights Movement capture the spirit of that critical period so memorably. To honor these songs at the White House and in a broadcast during Black History Month is a testament to that historic period in the American story, one that continues to change our lives,” commented Jacquie Jones, executive director of the National Black Programming Consortium.
Download these shows and add them to your music library
This is part of a 10-week series that we are running on our blog, with the music videos conveniently separated into individual performances so that you can save and download your favourite artists, or the whole show if you prefer. Creation 5’s YouTube feature lets you download videos so you can watch offline when you’re travelling and enjoy great music on-the-go. Don’t forget that you can download Creation 5’s YouTube In-app purchase absolutely FREE, which normally costs €4.49 ($4.99), as we currently have a promotion running in celebration of hitting 500,000 downloads on the App Store!
01 President Obama Introductory Speech 02 Yolanda Adams – Change is Going to Come 03 Yolanda Adams – How Great Thou Art 04 John Mellencamp – Keep Your Eyes on The Prize 05 Joan Baez – We Shall Overcome 06 Natalie Cole – What’s Going On 07 Smokey Robinson & Jennifer Hudson – People Get Ready 08 Jennifer Hudson – Someday We’ll All Be Free 09 The Freedom Singers – Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round 10 Bob Dylan – The Times They Are A-Changin’ 11 Smokey Robinson – Abraham, Martin and John 12 The Blind Boys of Alabama – I’m Free at Last
This summer The Official Charts Company revealed which were the most-streamed tracks of all time in the UK. Pompeii by Bastille won the golden prize after having received a total of 26.6 million streams in two years, jogging past Daft Punk’s Get Lucky (on 24.5 million streams) and flying past Passenger’s Let Her Go in third place, with 21.7 million streams.
To watch a video in Creation 5, just tap the video title.
The fact that Pompeii has had over 26 million streams is amazing,” said Bastille frontman Dan Smith. “We’re really, really happy. When we made Pompeii we never even saw ourselves as a band that would be even remotely mainstream or anything like that. We thought, hopefully, some people will like the song; maybe we’ll sell enough albums to be able to make a second album and not be jobless so soon after we quit our jobs in the first place.”
“Everything that’s happened with Pompeii has completely blown our minds and the fact that we’re still doing this as a job, the fact we get to travel round the world and go to different countries off the back of the album is insane and we just feel really lucky and glad that people stream too because streaming is important.”
Cranking up the volume, this magical electro tune always gets the party started and never fails to get you in the mood to get up and dance. Co-Written by French house music duo Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams and Nile Rogers, the song won Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 56th Grammy Awards. Since it’s release in 2013 up until June 2014, the song had reached 24.5 million streams in the UK. This “formidable” and “old school disco-jam”, as stated by Will Hermes (Rolling Stone), is a true gem in the electronic music world, and a delightful breath of fresh air.
Let Her Go, released in June 2012 by British singer-songwriter Passenger, is the second single from his third album, All The Little Lights. After a Dutch fan e-mailed Passenger asking him to introduce the song to some Dutch radio stations because he thought it would become a big hit in the Netherlands, the song began trending and found huge commercial success with the Dutch public. After its initial success, the song soon reached Nº1 in the Charts worldwide, including Nº2 in the UK Singles Chart and Nº5 on Billboard Hot 100. Passenger’s first international success racked up a total of 21.7 million streams, sold over 1 million digital copies in the UK and over 4 million in the US as of July 2014. The song was also nominated for British Single of the Year at the 2014 BRIT Awards.
“Suddenly, whether you like it or not, you’ve got this massive song and your whole life changes,” said the British singer-songwriter.
A “fun experiment” is how Swedish DJ Avicii refers to this track. He and soulful American singer-songwriter, Aloe Blacc, wrote the lyrics in a couple of hours and released what was to become 2013’s summer anthem. Released in June 2013, Wake Me Up sold over 1 million copies by October of that year, in the UK alone and, by June 2014, had reached 21.4 million streams.
Happy is the world famous (non-Grammy Award-winning) soundtrack to the sequel of the popular animated movie Despicable Me. [How did Let It Go from the Disney animated film Frozen outshine Pharrell’s top class track Happy? – Who knows!]. The song has sold over 1.3 million copies in the UK and, by June 2014, reached a total of 20.7 million streams.
Not only is Pharrell’s neo-soul, feel-good, cheerful and uplifting song incredibly catchy, he’s the first to have released a 24-hour music video, a concept that became a world event and created a viral-chain of home-made music videos around the globe.
Between May 2013 and June 2014, Blurred Lines had sold 1.54 million copies, reached 20.7 million streams and was nominated for two Grammys at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The single was written and completed by Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams in the space of an hour.
Inspired by Marvin Gaye’s Got To Give It Up, the similarities in “feel” and “sound” between the two songs led to a series of lawsuits and counter-suits between Sony/ATV and Marvin Gaye’s estate, regarding copyright infringement allegations. Finally, the two parties arrived at an undisclosed settlement.
The song’s controversial subject matter and music video nudity content was designed to attract attention and make the video go viral. Thrilled with the success of his song, Mr Thicke said: “I’m so honoured, the success of “Blurred Lines” is a dream come true”. The growing success of Blurred Lines is an amazing achievement for Thicke, who had never had a radio hit before the release.
Rather Be is one of 2014 summer soundtracks, release by the smashing electronic instrumental group Clean Bandit and featuring Jess Glynne. Released in January 2014 as the fourth single on their debut studio album New Eyes, the deep-house/synth-pop track, Rather Be, had reached 19.9 million streams in just six months. The song debuted at Nº1 on the UK Singles Chart and became the fastest-selling single of 2014, selling over 1 million copies since its release.
Radioactive is the opening track on Imagine Dragon’s debut album Night Vision. It received great acclaim from critics who referred to it as the “highlight” of the album. After appearing on various commercials and trailers, the song gradually peaked at Nº3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart and became the American rock band’s first top 10 hit. The song also broke the record for slowest ascension to top 5 in chart history and holds the record for most weeks ruling Billboard Hot 100 – 87 weeks! Radioactive was nominated for Record of The Year at the 2014 Grammy Awards and took home the prize for Best Rock Performance. The song was the third best-selling single of 2013 and reached a total stream of 19.7 million by June 2014.
Counting Stars featured on One Republic’s third studio album Native (2013). It became one of the band’s most successful singles, reaching Nº1 in Canada and the UK, Nº2 in the US and within the top 10 in 20 countries. By June 2014, the track had reached 19.7 million streams in the UK alone.
American hip-hop duo, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, released Can’t Hold Us as the third single on their debut album The Heist (2012). The song got to Nº1 on Billboard Hot 100 and became their second Nº1 hit single in the US. Lewis Corner of Digital Spy praised the song’s “infectious, soul-soaked piano line and beats more vibrant than Rio de Janeiro’s finest carnival floats”, granting it four stars out of five. The single received 17.2 million streams in the UK by June 2014.
The Official Charts Company’s drew their data from the on-demand audio streaming services that include Spotify, Deezer, Napster, O2 Tracks, Sony’s Music Unlimited, Xbox Music and Rara, all of which are members of the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), co-owners of the Official Charts Company along with record labels association the BPI.
The top 10 actresses on Forbes’ 2014 list of Highest Paid TV Actresses made a combined $120 million – a considerable step up since the days of stay at home wives and soccer moms. Despite their efforts, everyone knows that Hollywood is a male dominated industry. The 10 leading TV actors in Hollywood continue to be the highest earning bread-winners, reaching combined earnings of $214 million, a considerable amount more than the ladies.
That’s not to say the ladies did not shine this year. In fact, their earnings have increased by a hell of a lot over the years. ABC’s Modern Family’s starlet, Sofia Vergara, came in at Nº1 with an estimated $37 million (out-earning Forbes’ second highest-earning star by $24 million), while Mariska Hargitay from NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit came in at second place with an estimated $13 million and CBS’s sweetheart from The Big Bang Theory, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, came in third place with an estimated $11 million.
1. Sofia Vergara ($37 million)
For the third year running, Sofia Vergara, the incredibly sexy 41 year-old Columbian native who plays Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in the hit TV show Modern Family, continues to cash in the biggest checks in Hollywood as the top earning TV actress. However, the dollars flowing her way are not only due to her reported $32,000 per episode she stars in on Modern Family. Vergara has secured endorsement deals with Diet Pepsi, Cover Girl, Head & Shoulders and AT&T, amongst others. She’s also landed great movie roles in, for example, John Favreau’s 2014 indie film Chef (an absolute MUST see) and Woody Allen’s most recent comedy, Fading Gigolo, and has a 12-year contract with K-Mart, as well as her very own fragrance. Indeed, her success is due to far more than her Latino sex appeal and brilliant attitude on and off-screen… The woman has brains! – she’s even co-founded Latin World Entertainment, a talent management and entertainment-marketing firm, and is launching a Spanish-language tech news site. Keep looking fab and rocking it mamacita!
2. Mariska Hargitay ($13 million)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit actress, Mariska Hargitay, comes in at second place for highest earning TV actress for the second year in a row. Following her Emmy and Golden Globe winning performance as Detective Olivia Benson, Hargitay received an increase in salary to $450,000 per episode. Mariska’s stardom has since had a positive knock-on effect on the show, which was renewed for a 16th season, receiving a double-digit increase in viewership. What’s more, the actress earns notable profits from considerable syndication of SVU. Off-screen, Hargitay runs a non-profit organisation, The Joyful Heart Organisation, as a means to confront childhood sexual abuse.
3. Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting ($11 million)
Taking home a reported $350,000 per episode for Chuck Lorre’s top rated comedy, The Big Bang Theory, and profits from extensive syndication of the show, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, at just 28 years old, is one of the youngest actresses on Forbes’ list. What’s more, Cuoco and the rest of The Big Bang Theory gang have recently renegotiated their salaries for a noteworthy raise that is reportedly worth $1 million per episode! Cuoco also has an endorsement deal with Priceline and Toyota and has teamed up with the hilarious Kevin Heart in a The Wedding Ringer, due to be released in 2015.
4. Julianna Margulies ($10 million)
The 48 year-old Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actress and producer, Julianna Margulies, best known for her knock-out roles as Nurse Carol Hathaway on ER and currently as Alicia Florrick, the ruthless wife, mother and attorney in The Good Wife, has earned a whopping $10 million this year. Aside from her $6.5 million proceeds solely for her roles as actress and producer of The Good Wife, Margulies yields a considerable sum from a multi-window syndication deal for the show as well as a rewarding L’Oreal contract (yes, she does have remarkable hair!). All of the above has helped Margulies move up 9 spots from last year’s ranking. Yes, Margulies has made a killing this year!
5. Ellen Pompeo ($10 million)
Ellen Pompeo’s role as Merdith Grey on the long-time running hit TV series Grey’s Anatomy still has her cashing in millions. The show is ABC’s third top ranking series amongst the adult demographic, falling shortly behind Castle and Scandal.
6. Cobie Smulders ($10 million)
32 year-old Vancouver-native, Cobie Smulders, who stars in CBS’s sitcom How I Met Your Mother earned a reported $34,000 per episode of the show’s final season. Smulders made additional profits from her roles in Captain America: Winter Soldier, The Lego Movie, and in other smaller movies. On top of that, she earned almost $1.5 million in syndication revenues from HIMYM. Smulders has moved up the ladder on Forbes list this year. Although the end of HIMYM has opened a new chapter in her career, she is to continue to appear on the big screen. Look out for her in the Avengers: Age of Ultron– to be released in 2015.
7. Allison Hannigan ($9.5 million)
Like her co-star Smulders, Allison Hannigan earned a reported $35,000 per episode of the final season of HIMYM. Along with the rise in syndication revenues from the show’s ninth season, Hannigan has moved up Forbes’ list by a few slots. In her next role, Hannigan is to star in Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s sitcom More Time With Family, on CBS.
8. Amy Poehler ($7 million)
For her role as Leslie Knope, in the sixth season of NBC’s sitcom Parks & Recreation, Amy Poehler earned almost $4.5 million. Adding $2 million into the mix for her Old Navy endorsement deal and yields from her role in They Came Together, the star reached the $7 million mark. It looks like Poehler has another successful year ahead; Parks & Rec has been green lighted for a seventh season, and Poehler is working on a new comedy, co-starring Natasha Lyonne from Orange is the New Black.
9. Mindy Kaling ($6.5 million)
After having cashed in a decent sum from The Mindy Project, in which Kaling acts as writer and producer, the comedienne has also earned additional profits from her exclusive syndication deal with Hulu Plus for the popular sitcom, and continues to receive syndication profits and residuals from The Office. Plus her endorsement deal with XFinity, Kaling is up by $2 million since last year. Her new movie, which she co-wrote, and which stars Anne Hathaway, is expected to be released on the Big Screen in 2015.
10. Kerry Washington ($6 million)
Scandal star, Kerry Washington, has doubled her revenue since last year by taking home big chunks of her pay check from endorsement deals with Movado and Neutrogena. It’s been a fantastic year for Miss Washington, A.KA. The Gladiator in a Suit – not only did she earn a killing, she recently married NFL player Nnamadi Asomugha and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She also made it to Time’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.
“Forbes’s list is determined by estimating pre-tax earnings between June 2013 and June 2014 from the actresses’ TV work, endorsements, residuals and advertising work, and by talking to agents, managers and lawyers. The estimate does not include management fees and other expenses.”
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