Musical Snippets - New Robbie Williams, Natasha Bedingield, Natalie Imbruglia & More!

Wow. Lots of little updates to go over spanning all genres of music. Let's see...where to start...

Robbie Williams - Back With A New Album: Finally! The hottest hunk from the UK music scene is back with new material. The album, called Reality Killed The Video Star is out November 9th, preceded by the first single, "Bodies" which comes out on October 12th. It sounds like Robbie Williams is ditching the electro-sounds of his commercial & critical mixed bag of an album, Rudebox and going for a more traditional pop sound. Working with producers including Guy Chambers (David Archuleta, Natasha Bedingfield, James Blunt) and Trevor Horn (Cher, Pet Shop Boys, Seal) there's a lot riding on this new album, rumored to be his last with EMI. Williams needs a hit, whether he'd care to admit it or not.

Check out Robbie Williams on the web: Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Bebo//YouTube

Natalie Imbruglia - Back With A New Album: I trust Popjustice when they say the new Natalie Imbruglia single isn't shit. They describe it as a "slightly electronic Kate Bush kind of affair." Sounds good to me! The single is called "Want" and will be released on September 28th. This will be the lead single off of Come To Life, to be released on October 15 on Island Records. According to a press release, "the album was produced by Ben Hillier (Blur, Elbow, Depeche Mode), and features three writing collaborations with Coldplay including the first single ‘Want’, which Natalie co-wrote with Chris Martin." Very promising indeed! The release goes on to say, Come To Life charts an entirely new path for this vastly under-rated artist. The opening salvo of “My God” and two Coldplay collaborations, “Lukas” and “Fun”immediately establish the breadth of this remarkable record which combine dark, driving beats and gorgeously wistful ballads into a totally cohesive whole." Hopefully there's the perfect blend of up-tempo and mid-tempo ballads on this album. I don't want another snoozefest!

Check out Natalie Imbruglia on the web: Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Bebo//YouTube//Twitter//Vimeo

Natasha Bedingfield "Waist Deep" In Writing New Album: This is good news. I'm really thrilled that Natasha Bedingfield has seen so much success in the States. That's quite a difficult thing to accomplish for a European artist. I can proudly say that I loved Natasha BEFORE she was popular here in the U.S. and have both the UK and US versions of her debut album. In her latest blog update on her official site, Bedingfield admits that album writing is her favorite part of the process. "It's nice to put aside the promotion side of my career and really focus on what attracted me to music in the first place," Bedingfield says. She also mentions that she's been collaborating/writing with Danielle Brisebois, John Shanks, Wyclef, Estelle, Sam Sparro and Sia. All good news, indeed. Too bad we have to wait "half a year" to hear it.

Check out Natasha Bedingfield on the web: Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Bebo//YouTube//Twitter

I've Got A Date With Ray: I just got my tickets this morning for the Fall 2009 Ray LaMontagne tour. I'm OBVIOUSLY so excited. This Fall is looking to be a big one for live music. I'm already going to see Kylie Minogue, Girl Talk and now Ray LaMontagne. I still desperately want to see Regina Spektor when she's here, but I don't know if it's in the cards. Anyway, Ray is terrific live so see him if you can. Get your tickets here.

Check Out Ray LaMontagne on the web: Official Site//MySpace//Facebook

New Howie Day Album Due In September: I mentioned back in February that Howie Day had a new record coming out. Well, turns out that in May, he released a digital EP - "Be There." Finally, September 8th sees the release of Day's new album Sound The Alarm. This is exciting news! I am quite fond of his last album, 2003's Stop All The World Now. 6 years later, it's about time for a new Howie Day album! According to Day on his official website, "The new album very obviously echoes my own life, in all of its highs and lows,” Day says. “Some of the songs draw inspiration from people and places I’ve observed, and then bits of my own experiences find their way in. This new album represents the end of one era and the start of another, it’s about tipping your hat to the past, living in the here and now, and looking optimistically toward the future." Whatever this new album is about, I'm ready for a new Day!

Howie Day, that is.

Check out Howie Day on the web: Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//imeem//YouTube//Twitter

Michelle Branch - Sooner Or Later: The first single off of the new Michelle Branch album, "Sooner or Later," isn't half bad. While it's perhaps a little more country than I might usually like, it's enjoyable. I still think I prefer her teaser single, "This Way," but I'll take all the MB I can get. it's been far too long since she put out a solo record. Everything Comes and Goes doesn't yet have an official release date but I'm guessing sometime this fall. Check out an acoustic version of her new single here and buy the album version on iTunes!

Check out Michelle Branch on the web: Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter

X-Factor Winner Alexandra Burke to Release Debut Album in October: I learned a couple of weeks ago via The Prophet, that X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke is close to finishing her debut album. FINALLY! It seems like it's been forever. The still as of yet untitled album is due out October 26th in the UK and features collaborations from the Freemasons, Taio Cruz, RedOne, Pharrell Williams, Stargate, Akon, and more. Wow! Quite an impressive list. Burke, who shot the video for the first single in LA, has also signed a deal to become the face of Dolce & Gabbana's youth collection. Burke will be wearing the designer's clothes in both the album artwork and subsequent music videos as part of a cross promotional campaign. Can't wait to hear what the first single will be!

Check out Alexandra Burke on the web: Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Bebo//YouTube//Twitter

Howie Day, Annie Lennox, Anastacia, Hot Coco & More!

Photo is cropped from an original on Howie's official site

Howie Day: More randomness for you today. Now that I have a BlackBerry, my email is always accessible, assuming I'm above ground. I got an email from Howie Day's official list the other day, informing us that he has a new tour coming up to promote his forthcoming album Counting On Me, due out in the Spring. This new album will be his first of new material in nearly 6 years so it's long over due! I saw him a few years back at a club in Boston. I loved the set, but was annoyed that he came out late. Oh well, he's a young talent that is due for a comeback so hopefully this will be it for him. According to his MySpace blog, the tour will consist of Howie "playing new stuff, old stuff and everything in between." The first set of tour dates is below. He'll be announcing East and West coast dates shortly. Also be on the look out for a free download of a new Howie track via his MySpace blog in the weeks to come!

Tour Dates:
3/6 - Fox Theater - Boulder, CO
3/7 - Bluebird - Denver, CO
3/11 - Waiting Room - Omaha, NE
3/12 - Redstone Room - Davenport, IA
3/13 - Varsity Theater - Minneapolis, MN
3/14 - The Rave - Milwaukee, WI
3/16 - House of Blues - Cleveland, OH
3/18 - The Ark - Ann Arbor, MI
3/19 - The Basement - Columbus, OH
3/21 - Lake Shore Theater - Chicago, IL
3/24 - Blueberry Hill - St Louis, MO
3/25 - The Record Bar - Kansas City, MO
3/27 - House of Blues - Dallas, TX
3/28 - tba - Austin, TX

Annie Lennox: Via ArjanWrites via Spinner.com I stumbled upon Annie's new video for "Shining Light," her Ash cover that's serving as the first single off her forthcoming The Annie Lennox Collection compilation album due out February 10th. It's one of two new tracks on the album, the other of which is a cover of Keane's "Pattern of My Life." The video features Annie (looking amazing) in multiple roles, as various players in a band. It's a fun pop song and Annie sounds great.

Photo via Coverlandia Blog

Anastacia: Nothing new to report on the Anastacia front...in fact I'm still waiting to find out if she plans on releasing her album Heavy Rotation, here in the states. If not, then I have to pick up the import pronto. New European single "Absolutely Positively" is fast growing on me, as is the Moto Blanco remix that's making it's round at the clubs in Europe. Hot!
Modern Music: On TV the other night, a State Farm commercial came on about young drivers. The song playing was a fresh, contemporary electro-rock cover of "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" from The Sound Of Music. At the end of the commercial, they plugged the State Farm website where you can download the song for free. I did and I love it! The song file was pre-tagged with the artists name listed as Modern Music. According to their website, Modern Music "delivers custom scores, original songs, remixes, sound design and complete music supervision services for advertising, film, television, gaming and new media." Interesting. I also learned via the Modern Music website that they are writing an original song for a direct-to-DVD hip hop sequel to the 2000 film Center Stage. Doubly interesting.

Photo Via www.myspace.com/jennifercoolidge

Jennifer Coolidge as Hot Coco: On a recent episode of the cutting edge FX drama Nip/Tuck, actress Jennifer Coolidge reprised her character Candy Richards, coming back this time as a "rapper" called Hot Coco. She comes to the doctors asking to be given "black features" so she can have a successful rap career. It sounds controversial but it was actually rather hilarious. Jennifer Coolidge is a true comic genius. You have to check out the video for yourself. Inappropriate? Yes. Very. But hilarious all the same.

Photo Via Jennifer Hudson's Official Site

Jennifer Hudson: Don't forget to check out Jennifer Hudson singing the National Anthem before this Sunday's big game! It's her first public performance since the tragic deaths of her mother and nephew.