Everyday Music

This week One Direction became the first-ever group from the U.K. to debut atop the Billboard 200 albums chart with its first LP. Up All Night moved 176,000 units, which bested Adele’s 21in the No. 2 slot by about 30,000. Which prompts the question: Who in the hell is One Direction? Formed in 2010 on the British edition of X-Factor, One Direction is a boy band that’s been ripping up the charts overseas and now, it appears, seems poised to do the same in the United States. Along with the big sales for Up All Night, the album’s introductory single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” entered the chart at No. 28, the best first-showing for a single by a British group since the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” in 1997.

So, are we on the verge of a full-scale boy-band renaissance?

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(CNN) — The rumors are now confirmed: Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is indeed pregnant, and she’s also engaged to her boyfriend, Jionni LaValle. Her rep tells CNN, “Nicole is thrilled to finally be able to share her happy news with her fans.”

Snooki, 24, tells Us Weekly that she’s 15 weeks along, having found out about the pregnancy after the New Year’s holiday.

The reality star admits to the magazine that her initial thought when she learned the news was “‘S***, I’ve been drinking!’ I was worried. It was New Year’s Eve and we were in Vegas, so I did go crazy.”

But for those who are concerned about how Snooki will reconcile being pregnant with her partying lifestyle, she says that she’s prepared to make some changes.

“I have different priorities now,” she says. “I don’t care what anybody else thinks. Read more…

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Davy Jones, an actor-turned-singer who helped propel the TV rock band The Monkees to the top of the pop charts and into rock ‘n’ roll history, died Wednesday in Florida. He was 66.

Jones, lead singer of the 1960s group that was assembled as an American version of the Beatles, died of a massive heart attack in Indiantown where he lived, his publicist Helen Kensick confirmed.

A former racehorse jockey, Jones turned to acting and then became lead singer when he joined The Monkees in 1965 and the band embarked on a wildly popular U.S. television show. Jones sang lead vocals on songs such as “I Wanna Be Free” and “Daydream Believer.”

The band was assembled as with its personnel designed to be the instant stars of an American TV series seeking to evoke the Beatles, then already famous for their music and such films as “A Hard Day’s Night and “Help!”

Auditions for The Monkees were held in the fall of 1965, attracting some 500 applicants. Jones

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Corporate entertainment is big business. It’s all about wowing the visitors and treating them to a feast of relaxation and pleasure. Nothing quite delivers like music. If it soothes the savage beast, it also excites the passionate party-goer, taking guests on a journey of musical pleasure that satisfies the soul; but in order to achieve these lofty targets, the acts must be awesome.

The problem with corporate parties is that everyone expects them to be so good; after all it’s the host company’s reputation at stake.  Of course it’s all about the venue and the entertainment, if one or the other doesn’t live up to expectations, that the party will flop, and the party thrower will be embarrassed.

It’s not an easy task to arrange a corporate event that is going to please all of the guests, and that is exactly why an industry has been created to help party planners to achieve their aims and to host successful events. Read more…

The judges revealed 14 of the Top 24 on “American Idol.”

— Ryan Seacrest is revving up.

We’re just one week away from the season 11 live shows, and he was running down a dream, itching to shout out his signature line, “This!” That’s it. “This!” That’s Ryan’s calling card, ever since he stopped saying “Seacrest out.” Weird.

Anyway, here’s Ryan as he tiptoed down the scary “green mile” catwalk of “American Idol’s” final judgement round. “THIS! is the path each contestant will take to meet their fate.” It’s a dramatic walk, but nothing can prepare them for THE DEADLY SMOKE MONSTER.

Or, as it turned out, our three judges. Especially J. Lo with her sparkly green “Stripper mermaid desperate to be cast on ‘Dancing With the Stars’” dress.

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