The New Now

  • For the most part, teen singersget a bad rap, especially if they perform pop music. But I have a feeling the new teenItalian classical trio Il Volo won't have this problem.

    Thursday night, the powerfulyoung, opera singers amazed the "American Idol" audience when they performed onthe U.S.singing competition. Though they were there to promote the American release oftheir self-titled debut -- out this week -- they can actually relate to thecontestants.

    Seventeen-year-old Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto,16, and GianlucaGinoble,16, started singing in school and church when they were toddlers. In 2009, theyended up on "Ti Lascio Una Canzone," a televised Italian talent show for kids 7to 15.

    "The producers decided to put our voices together," Gianlucasaid when the group recently visited Yahoo! Music.

    Tony Renis, one of their current producers, actuallydiscovered the group after seeing them on the program. After assembling a team of managers and producers, andmaking contact with the group,

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  • I'm not surprised that New York MC Donny Goines has landed "TheDonny Goines Project" on mtvU. The 2-in-a-half minute webisode follows himthroughout the making of his "Success Served Cold" album due out this summer.

    Watch "The Donny Goines Project"

    You know that Ace Hood song "Hustle hustle hustle hard"?That should actually be Donny's theme song. Since 2006, he has been on fire,recording tracks, and building his rep. Plus, he's a marketing genius.

    While most rappers flood the net with mixtape verses ofthemselves spitting over other artists's dope beats, in February, Donny droppedan instrumental on YouTube. A thumbnail photo of Donny appears at the very endof the stream, but it's preceded by 50 plus Twitter screenshots of props fromsome of the most respected names in the game -- Talib Kweli, Bun B, Billboardmagazine, Allhiphop.com, XXL mag, DJ Vlad, The Source, and Okayplayer.

    Find out more on Donny Goines

    In the first "TheDonny Goines Project" episode that debutedMonday, Donny

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  • UK rapper Tinie Tempah's debut album, "Disc-Overy," wasreleased last October in his home country. In just three months, it foundenough success to become the top-selling album of the year thanks to such explosive,drum and bass tracks "Pass Out" and "Frisky" as well as the reverberating dancerecord "Miami 2 Ibiza."

    Tinie Tempah is striving toachieve similar results with the US version of the album out Tuesday.His touring, marketing, and promotion here are so intense that he has not beento his South Londonapartment in five months.

    But he has no regrets.Instead of giving his USfans the same album he released last fall, he insisted on changing up thetracklisting. He expands his European sound with a few new songs, including hislatest single, "Till I'm Gone," a collab with Wiz Khalifa.

    Tinie says he and the "BlackAnd Yellow" rapper have something cool in common. Both of their careers tookoff in their respective countries at the same time, an achievement that affordsthem opportunities to take

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  • Unlike what their name would suggest, the Band of Heathens isn't out to rabble-rouse--instead they're here to play their distinct style of Americana and sweet, southern comfort.

    Hailing from Austin, Texas, the group came together when members Colin Brooks, Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist shared the same bill at the well-known local club, Momo's. Like the best of club meetings, they don't quite remember how the band came together, but what resulted was a group fronted by not one, but all three musicians. Granted, it must not be an easy thing to share the narrow spotlight between three members, but they seem to handle it pretty well--no black eyes just yet (that we know of). 

    While the Band of Heathens cite influences like Tom Petty, Leon Russell and the Grateful Dead, the really interesting part is how the band combines and balances its own songwriters. Each of the three singers take turns with songs, giving the band the benefit of have a multi-faceted sound the audience can visually

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  • A fine singer-songwriter with a powerful and emotive voice, Milwaukee's Heidi Spencer creates music that is confident, resonant and--on occasion--bordering on the spiritual.

    Her latest album, Under Streetlight Glow, issued by Bella Union Records and credited to Heidi Spencer & the Rare Birds, may well be the perfect starting place to appreciate the delicacy of precisely what she does.

    A colorful figure, with a background in film school and film making, Spencer makes music that draws from many hard-to-pin-down sources: One account on her label's website sites previous comparisons to Dolly Parton, Joanna Newsom and Edie Brickell--and while none of those comparisons are completely off the mark, none really do the uniqueness of her talent justice.

    Y! Music caught up with the singer in Austin recently at the annual South By Southwest conference and very much liked what we saw and heard. An interesting and colorful person, Spencer sang a pair of emotional tunes, offered up a candid

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  • With the Royal Wedding now over and done, and search engines worldwide buzzing with questions about the intricacies of the British Royal Family, this may not exactly be the best time to be a new artist named King Charles.

    But those who want to know more can find out right here.

    And what they'll find, in the case of the young and colorful musician named King Charles--aside from a mountain of hair, a host of clever, character-laden songs, and significant wit--is one of the UK's more interesting new artists.

    The King--doubtlessly referred to as His Majesty by friends--made some news in his homeland by winning the 2009 International Songwriting Competition; he similarly made news in the States via a very fortunate berth on the Mumford & Sons tour--a highly visible trek that took place just as that British outfit was beginning their unexpected climb to the upper reaches of the American pop charts.

    With an EP now available here in the States entitled Alone On The Throne, King Charles

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  • Two sweetly angst-ridden voices, an acoustic guitar and an Earth Day-friendly backdrop is all you need from folk duo The Civil Wars. Made up of California native Joy Williams and Alabaman John Paul White, The Civil Wars' songs have been heard on Grey's Anatomy and even on Taylor Swift's official iTunes playlist. Their debut full-length album Barton Hallow is a jovial mix of cherubic acoustic melodies and raw, foot-stomping barn raisers folded within largely sparse arrangements. The whole album has the intimacy of a hard-fought confession--anything more is unnecessary.

    The Civil Wars came together almost instantaneously, initially meeting at a writing camp where songwriters came together to write radio singles for a particular country band. They met their future producer a few months later at their first show. Their second show was released as a free digital album. While this might been seen as haughty for a band to do, like releasing a "Best Of" album after just a few years, it's just

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  • Audio-ology, comprising Detroit MC Chaz Logan and Lake Charles,Louisiana native and rocker Zack Goyne, mightgarner comparisons to Linkin Park and Jay-Z's "Encore"collaboration because of their authentic mixture of hip-hop and rock genres.

    Their seamless melding of styles is appreciated on their newsingle, "The Sun Is Over Tokyo," a tribute to the people in Japan affectedby the recent earthquake and tsunami.

    Less than two weeks after the devastation, Chaz and Zackrecorded the song that makes a plea for the survivors to not lose hope.

    On the chorus, Zack sings, "Danger comes. The waves, theycome, and tear down what's around me ... If the sun comes up somewhere over Tokyo, you can alwayslook to the radio and find me."

    When Zack found out about what was happening in Japan, it madehim reflect on the 2006 hurricane that wrecked havoc on his home state. "I'mfrom Louisiana,for me, it just took me right back to the Katrina days, like, 'Wow,'" he saidin a behind-the-scenes video about the song.

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  • One of the brightest new stars to make a Stateside appearance at this year's South By Southwest festival goes by the unlikely name of Washington.

    Megan Washington, to be precise--a sharp, intelligent singer/songwriter who grew up in Papua, New Guinea, moved to Australia, won a few distinguished music awards, and released a captivating and sophisticated album called I Believe You Liar. Her appearance at this year's SXSW coincides with the release of her American debut EP, How To Tame Lions, which serves as a fine sampler of all that makes her appealing.

    Her musical background is as varied as her geographical roots: She studied jazz composition at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, then shifted over to pop, joined a few groups, then put together her own band in 2008. Since then, she won the Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition for her song "How To Tame Lions," scored two 2010 ARIA Music Awards (think the Australian Grammys) in the Best Female Artist and Breakthrough Artist

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  • One of the highlights of Y! Music's 2011 Austin adventure at the recent South By Southwest conference was a dynamic acoustic performance by Britain's enormously impressive group, the Hours.

    Consisting of Antony Genn and Martin Slattery--a pair whose respective resumes are rather outstanding--the band has made significant inroads in England but are only now making their Stateside mark.

    It's Not How You Start, It's How You Finish, the group's American debut on Adeline Records, is about as perfect an introduction to the Hours as anyone could ask for: A sampler including the best tracks from Narcissus Road and See The Light, their two UK albums, the album is packed to the gills with intelligent pop songs, each carrying sophisticated lyrics and even more sophisticated pop hooks.

    And as for those resumes? Genn, for a start, joined Pulp at the young age of 16, then spent time both in Elastica and Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros; among his songwriting credits are collaborations with Brian Eno,

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News for You

  • A controversial victory lap for Lewis at Cannes

    CANNES, France (AP) — Jerry Lewis, so beloved in France, isn't quite overcome with emotion now that he's back at the Cannes Film Festival.

  • Latest 'Bachelorette' won't say if she's engaged

    NEW YORK (AP) — ABC's newest "Bachelorette," Desiree Hartsock, says it's not hard to keep the details of her experience on the show a secret from her friends.

  • Actress Bynes accused of bong toss out NYC window

    NEW YORK (AP) — Actress Amanda Bynes appeared disheveled in a long blond wig and sweats Friday in a criminal court where she was charged with reckless endangerment after police said she heaved a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.

  • Museum starts night tours of signs from Vegas past

    LAS VEGAS (AP) — The junked signs that attracted throngs to old Las Vegas have for years gathered dust in a neon boneyard just a few miles from the sleek mega-casinos on the Strip.

  • Takei says Cho good choice for latest 'Star Trek'

    SINGAPORE (AP) — Portraying USS Enterprise helmsman Hikaru Sulu in the latest "Star Trek" movie comes with big shoes to fill, but the man who played the part in the TV series and six films has given his blessing to the actor currently playing the role.

  • Rare Superman comic found in house insulation

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It's considered the Holy Grail of comic books: Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, featuring the debut of Superman. And David Gonzales found one mixed in with old newspapers insulating a house he was renovating in a small town in Minnesota.

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