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☆ Only 24 albums in history have sold 1 million copies in a single week — here they all are
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Callie Ahlgrim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

"The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album" by Whitney Houston and various artists"The Bodyguard" soundtrack was released on November 17, 1992. Arista Records"The Bodyguard" soundtrack — co-executive produced by Clive Davis and Whitney Houston, who starred in the film — became the first album verified by Nielsen to move more than 1 million units in the US in a single week. According to Billboard, the album sold 1,061,000 copies in the week ending January 3, 1993, six weeks after its release. It has since sold more than 12 million copies in the US and remains the best-selling soundtrack of all time.

Persons: Whitney Houston, Clive Davis, —, Nielsen Organizations: Arista Records, Billboard

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Andra Day normally deals with with nervousness before any big show — especially in front of her peers. On Sunday, Day will certainly use the same approach before she graces the Super Bowl stage as a pregame performer. She's set to perform “ Lift Every Voice and Sing ” ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium. Last week, she earned a standing ovation after her performance at the Recording Academy's Black Music Collective event in Los Angeles. The sound is different.”___To see more of AP’s Super Bowl coverage, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/super-bowl

Persons: — Andra, She's, “, I'm, Reba McEntire, Post Malone, Usher, Clive Davis, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, Keyshia Cole, Frederic Yonnet, ”, Billie Holiday, Billie Holiday ”, Cassandra, She'll, Day, I've Organizations: LAS VEGAS, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, Allegiant, Press, Post, American, Globe Locations: America, Los Angeles, United States

☆ Billy Joel Said He’d Retired From Pop. Here’s What Brought Him Back.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Caryn Ganz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Billy Joel’s first new pop song in nearly two decades was sparked by someone miles from the record business: a Long Island doctor. Joel, 74, has long made it known that he isn’t interested in making more albums. (“He is everything,” Olivia Rodrigo, 20, who referenced him in her song “Deja Vu,” said last summer.) Over the years, the list of people who’d tried to cajole him back into writing and recording grew legion: Clive Davis. Yet when Joel’s family doctor urged him to meet “a kid” interested in discussing music near his place out east in Sag Harbor, he agreed to a lunch.

Persons: Billy Joel’s, Joel, —, that’s, ”, ” Olivia Rodrigo, who’d, Clive Davis, Rick Rubin, Elton John Locations: Oyster Bay, N.Y, “, Sag Harbor

Admittance to Davis' event is notoriously challenging to receive. When it came time to introduce Clive Davis to the stage, actor Tom Hanks did the honors. Clive Davis, Clive Davis, Clive Davis,” he told the cheering crowd. "Clive Davis is the chef, in the kitchen, of the food of love of music, music, music. “We concentrate on the pure celebration of music,” Davis said at the start of the night — and by the end, that was evident.

Persons: Serena Williams, “, Clive Davis, Beverly Hilton, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, ” Wonder, ” Knight, Jon Platt, ”, Platt, —, Usher, Jay, Drake, Rihanna, Pharrell Williams, “ Jon, Harvey Mason, “ He's, ” Davis, Davis, Barry Manilow’s, Mandy, Smokey Robinson, Meryl Streep, Babyface, Jon Bon Jovi, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, Gayle King, Ted Danson, Shania Twain, Diane Warren, Cameron Crowe, Sammy Hagar, Cher, Jack Antonoff, Gloria Esteban, Busta, Megan Thee, David Foster, Mark Ronson, Tom Hanks, Isley, ” Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, Ken, Lainey Wilson, Ryan Gosling, Noah Kahan's, Josh Groban, Treaty's Michael Trotter, Jelly Roll Organizations: ANGELES, Beverly, Warwick, “, Sony Music Publishing, ” Recording Academy, Sony, Arista Records, Spice Locations: Beverly Hills , California

☆ Clive Davis reflects on the music he and Whitney Houston were planning before her sudden death
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Elizabeth Wagmeister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Legendary music producer Clive Davis remembers too well when Whitney Houston suddenly died over Grammys weekend 12 years ago. Davis and Houston remained close throughout her life. We agreed to go on and celebrate her life and her unique talent with the music that she loves so much.”Whitney Houston at Clive Davis' annual Grammy party in 2011. Getty ImagesThis weekend, Davis will host his party, once again, which began in 1976 and still reigns supreme as the most exclusive soirée of the biggest weekend in music. When asked what the biggest headline is from the past year in music, Clive smiled and said simply, “Taylor.”“Look, it’s a phenomenon that’s occurred rarely in the history of pop music.

Persons: Clive Davis, Whitney Houston, ” Davis, Davis, Houston, “, ”, ’, ’ ” Davis, “ We’ve, ” Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow –, Jay, Nancy Pelosi, Tom Hanks, Chris Rock, “ It’s, Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Aerosmith, Santana, Pink Floyd, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Manilow, Clive, “ Taylor, Swift, Kansas City Chiefs ’ Travis Kelce Organizations: CNN, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Getty, Houston, Kansas City Chiefs, ” Locations: New Jersey

[1/5] Honoree Dionne Warwick and her family attend the 46th Kennedy Center Honors gala at the Kennedy Center in Washington, U.S., December 3, 2023. REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Washington celebrated singer Dionne Warwick, comedian Billy Crystal, Bee Gees member Barry Gibb, rapper and actress Queen Latifah, and opera star Renée Fleming on Sunday at the Kennedy Center Honors, the top U.S. honor for achievements in the arts. "There simply is no song that Dionne Warwick cannot sing," said record producer Clive Davis, adding that she had "inspired musicians all over the world." Crystal, 75, known for roles in films such as "When Harry Met Sally," "City Slickers," and "Analyze This," was next up. Opera singer J'Nai Bridges said ahead of the show that Fleming had helped make opera more mainstream.

Persons: Dionne Warwick, Julia Nikhinson, Billy Crystal, Bee, Barry Gibb, Queen Latifah, Renée Fleming, Joe Biden, Gladys Knight, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Clive Davis, Singer Cynthia Erivo, Alfie, Harry Met Sally, Meg Ryan, Robert De Niro, De Niro, Biden, Tony, Whoopi Goldberg, Crystal, Oscar, Kerry Washington, Tituss Burgess, Christine Baranski, Susan Graham, Fleming, Sigourney Weaver, Fleming's, J'Nai Bridges, Gibb, Robin, Maurice, Michael Bublé, Ben Platt, Jeff Mason, Jasper Ward, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Kennedy Center, REUTERS, Rights, Washington, Kennedy, White, Broadway, Bee, Big Town, U.S, CBS, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Warwick

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Taylor Swift’s reimagined “1989” is here, the album that ushered in the first Peak Swift era — revisited at the height of her massive pop culture dominance. Swift had shed the Nashville country roots of her first four studio albums and announced herself a full-fledged pop superstar. In 2014, that was Swift finding her pop sound with “1989.”In 2023, it’s becoming the most successful version of herself, and rereleasing “1989 ” while on the top of her game. She’s moved to NYC; she’s working with new people; she’s making synth pop. In 2023, Swift is more famous now than she was then, and she's still engaging with her celebrity in a very public way.

Persons: — Taylor, Swift, “, Swift —, Jack Antonoff —, —, Scooter Braun’s, it’s, Travis Kelce, Brittany Spanos, who’s, haven’t, Rebecca Jennings, ”, rereleasing, Spanos, New York University’s, Davis, Janet Jackson’s, Christina Aguilera’s “, Swift’s, She’s, Rachel Brodsky, couldn’t, ” Brodsky, Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes, Brodsky, Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, Olivia Rodrigo, She’d, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Taylor, Kanye, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, she's, Jennings, Taylor Swift’s, Blake Lively, Sophie Turner, Selena Gomez, she’s, Harry Styles —, ” Spanos, what’s Organizations: ANGELES, NFL, Kansas City Chiefs, Vox, New York, Davis Institute Locations: Nashville, New York, New, NYC, Buenos Aires, Argentina

☆ Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

US singer Tony Bennett (Anthony Dominick Benedetto) performs on stage during an invitation only concert at the newly opened Encore Boston Harbor Casino in Everett, Massachusetts on August 8, 2019. "No country has given the world such great music," Bennett said in a 2015 interview with Downbeat Magazine. The evening's performance resulted in the album, "Tony Bennett: MTV Unplugged," which won two Grammys, including album of the year. Bennett would win Grammys for his tributes to female vocalists ("Here's to the Ladies"), Billie Holiday ("Tony Bennett on Holiday"), and Duke Ellington ("Bennett Sings Ellington — Hot & Cool"). He also won two Emmy Awards — for "Tony Bennett Live By Request: A Valentine Special" (1996) and "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" (2007).

Persons: Tony Bennett, Anthony Dominick Benedetto, Bennett, Antonia Benedetto, Frank Sinatra, Lady Gaga, Sylvia Weiner, Bennett didn't, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Sinatra, Sinatra's, Cheek, Gaga, Carrie Underwood, Amy Winehouse, Winehouse, Oscar, Amy, Porter, George Gershwin, George Cory, Douglass Cross, Ralph Sharon, Ralph, Danny, David Letterman, Fred Astaire, Elvis Costello, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, — Bennett, Louis Armstrong, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Long, Susan Crow Benedetto, Anthony, Anna, James Infirmary, Bel, Miriam Spier, you'll, it's Bing Crosby, Art Tatum, Lester Young, Stan Getz, Joe Bari, Rosemary Clooney, Arthur Godfrey's, Pearl Bailey, Bob Hope, Mitch Miller, Hank Williams, Miller, Chuck Wayne, Chico Hamilton, Art Blakey, Count Basie, Harry Belafonte's, Martin Luther King Jr, Selma, Bennett's, Johnny Mandel's Oscar, Clive Davis, Tony, Bill Evans, Patricia Beech, Sandra Grant, Susan, Johanna, Antonia, Dae, —, Benedetto — Organizations: Associated Press, American, MTV, Ellington, New, Frank Sinatra School of, Arts, Armed Forces Network, Armed Forces Radio, American Theater, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, Greenwich Village, Paramount Theater, Sinatra, Columbia Records, Count Basie Orchestra, Army, Civil Rights Movement, Carnegie Hall, Columbia, IRS, Kennedy, National Endowment, Arts Jazz, Smithsonian Museum of American Locations: Everett , Massachusetts, Francisco, New York, San Francisco, Little Rock , Arkansas, Astoria, New York City, Queens, Italian, Germany, Greenwich, Montgomery, Los Angeles

☆ Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Fred White dies at age 67
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Drummer Fred White, who backed up his brothers Maurice and Verdine White in the Grammy-winning ensemble Earth, Wind & Fire, has died. He didn’t say how or where his brother died. Fred White was already an accomplished drummer, playing for Donny Hathaway, before he joined Earth, Wind & Fire in the mid-1970s. Verdine White said his brother Fred was a gifted child musician, “with gold records at the young age of 16 years old!” Fred White remained with the band until 1983. Maurice White died at the age of 74 in 2016.

“I Wanna Dance with Somebody” suffers from thin dialogue and predictability — dull trappings intrinsic to biopics. Naomi Ackie as Whitney Houston in "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." To wit: Whitney Houston was a Black woman — ate Black, slept Black, lived Black, cried Black, walked Black and died Black. The most peculiar aspect of this criticism is the fact that nearly all American music is Black music. While Houston has mostly elided criticism that she wasn’t Black enough or didn’t make Black music, the spirit of this indictment lives on today.

“Spoiler Alert” opened in U.S. theaters Dec. 2. “Women Talking” opened in select U.S. theaters Dec. 2. “The Whale” opens in U.S. theaters Dec. 9. “Babylon” opens in U.S. theaters Dec. 23. “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” opens in U.S. theaters Dec. 23.

☆ Naomi Ackie transforms into Whitney Houston in 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody' trailer
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Marianne Garvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

(CNN) Naomi Ackie shines as Whitney Houston in the upcoming biopic "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." Houston fans can see Ackie, whose credits include roles in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" and "Doctor Who," starring as the late singer in a trailer for the film, which was released on Thursday. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" is written by Anthony McCarten, who also wrote the hit 2018 Freddie Mercury biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody." It is directed by Kasi Lemmons. The film is produced by Clive Davis, who is played in the movie by Stanley Tucci.

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