Tagged: inconversation

A few nights back my wife (aka Dragon D) and I took some time from our usually busy schedules to catch David Fincher's adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo . As we both read the source material, the film seemed like the perfect choice to discuss for our latest "In Conversation" piece. Though we both read the first book in Stieg Larsson's trilogy, our overall experience with the trilogy has been vastly different. I have read the first book and watched the first two Swedish films ( Tattoo and The Girl Who Played [...]

Following the release of his third album The Awakening , and ahead of his spring tour here in the States, British singer-songwriter James Morrison is feeling quite feisty. Regarding his collaboration with Jessie J, the emotional, string-laden "Up" , Morrison tells us this: "I asked if she wanted to do it with me. But she said, 'I'll only record a song with you'." The past few years have seen professional and personal highs for the soulful 27-year-old artist, as well as some lows. Around the time he was writing material for his third LP, [...]

Fiery pop tween Willow Smith set the world's ears ablaze last fall with her sassy jam "Whip My Hair" , the first offering from her upcoming debut album Willow . And today the video for her third single, the Nicki Minaj-assisted "Fireball" , is scheduled to premiere during BET's 106 & Park . Ahead of that, we had a chat with the 11-year-old singer about what music and which artists she considers to be her favorites. (You might be surprised at what we found nestled on the energetic pop tart's iPod!) [...]

Earlier this month, Jay Sean wrapped up a US tour with Joe Jonas and JoJo , and we sat down with the "Down" singer just hours before their very last gig together, in New York. "I'm kind of sad about it actually," the hit-making UK singer/songwriter admitted. "It's been a really, really fun time." Last month Jay released his mixtape The Mistress . Up next for the Young Money star is his oft-delayed album Freeze Time , which he says will be out sometime in early 2012. Head below to learn [...]

As any fan of JoJo can attest, the wait for Jumping Trains , the singer-songwriter's third album , has been a long one. In fact, this month marks five years since the release of her last LP, The High Road (which produced the Top 5 smash "Too Little Too Late"). But the past year has been a prolific one for the 20-year-old singer-songwriter. In fall 2010, she dropped her first mixtape, and last month saw the release of new single "Disaster" . JoJo is now winding down her [...]

After four years of paying creative dues and crafting several acclaimed mixtapes, Roc Nation MC J. Cole is about to break out in a big way with next week's release of Cole World: The Sideline Story , his debut album (out September 27). Earlier this month we gave you some insight to the record by highlighting it in our Fall Music Preview , where Cole said to expect "an emotional rollercoaster." Now the rapper elaborates even more on his new material. Read on! IDOLATOR: Last year [...]

The wait is nearly over for the premiere of the music video for Cady Groves' catchy pop jam "This Little Girl" (check back here tomorrow to watch it). And by now fans of the 21-year-old singer know that country crooner Blake Shelton makes a cameo in the clip . We hit up the set of the video shoot, and wrangled a little one-on-one time with the feisty Oklahoman. Head below to watch Cady discuss the dramatic story behind her debut single, and how she got Blake to appear in her video. [...]

You may best remember Hanson as the band that brought the world the non-word "MMMBop" , but the boys who hail from Oklahoma have been going long and hard at music for nearly two decades. (Pretty impressive for a band with two members under the age of thirty.) In 2009, brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac released their eighth studio album Shout It Out, and will soon embark on a Fall tour , with each night's set list chosen by the fans. 28-year-old frontman Taylor Hanson took a break from working on new material in Nashville to speak with us [...]

After skyrocketing onto the scene by contributing the hook to Far East Movement's "Like A G63 , Dev is ready to take the dance world on her own — well, with a bit of help by her producing team The Cataracs. The bass-loving electro-pop singer was in New York promoting her debut album The Night The Sun Came Up when we got on the phone to discuss her recent tour with Usher, recording her album in paradise, and those comparisons to other singular-named rap-singing dancefloor maven Ke$ha. Bounce your booty below [...]

Dust off your hoop earrings and gigantic shoulder pads, because Martika is embarking on a comeback! The singer, who scored hits with 1989 chart-topper "Toy Soldiers" and the Prince composition "Love...Thy Will Be Done," has been inspired by the recent resurgence of fellow one-time teen queens Debbie Gibson and Tiffany . "People are enjoying revisiting that time from when I was out," Martika says. "I know there are lots of tours going on. Absolutely I have been inspired by that." While doing a bit of research, we stumbled across [...]

Skylar Grey wasn't the only pop luminary we sat down with at the the Lollapalooza artist lounge (which we co-sponsored along with Rock The Vote ) last weekend — we also had a chat with one of our favorite UK artists to make a splash on these shores this year, "Lights" singer Ellie Goulding. The 24-year-old has been busy trekking across North America for the second time this year, where she made some stops along the way to perform on various TV shows . "US fans [...]

While at Lollapalooza last weekend , singer-songwriter Skylar Grey performed dark pop songs from her upcoming LP Invinsible (including "Monster," "Beautiful Nightmare" and "Weirdo"), and gave some vocal assistance to Eminem for a rendition of their hit with Dr. Dre, "I Need A Doctor." She also took a break from the stage to sit down with us at the Lollapalooza artist lounge (which we co-sponsored along with Rock The Vote ) and discuss her evolution as an artist and songwriter. "Since I wrote 'Love The Way You Lie,' [...]

Kelly Rowland is here, people. The sultry singer's third solo LP Here I Am made an impressive debut at #3 on the Billboard 200 — her highest debut yet —and her steamy single "Motivation" keeps rising every week, currently sitting at #17 on the Hot 100. (Guess not everyone shared Jeff Bhasker's opinion of the track.) We spoke to Rowland as she was knee-deep in her busy promotional tour, which happily still allowed the former Destiny's Child member to spend some quality time with her "sister" Beyonce at her album release [...]

The man whose current single requests that you "Give Me Everything" now has it: party monster Pitbull's sixth studio album, Planet Pit , debuted in the Top 10 on the charts, and his single finally creeped its way past Adele to claim the top spot on the Hot 100, giving him his very first #1 single. Mr. Worldwide should be spending this time celebrating in a club with his army of collaborators, but he was kind enough to step off the dancefloor long enough to chat [...]

Jill Scott fills her stylish new album, The Light Of The Sun , with smart, confident songs like "Shame" . But it took her roughly a year-and-a-half to write and record, and during that time, she listened to virtually no other music. Now that she's wrapped up in the studio, whose voice is capturing her attention? In an exclusive interview, Jill told us she's awakened to Frank Ocean (the R&B crooner in wildcard rap act Odd Future and no friend of Chris Brown ), and she's all about angelic The Voice [...]

David Cook may have the fame and the fans, but the one thing he doesn't seem to get enough of these days is sleep. "I'm just coming out of zombie land," he tells us with a laugh during our interview with him at the Beverly Hilton. (Check out our photo shoot with Cook at the posh hotel.) "I've got tomorrow off, and I'm sleeping as long as humanly possible." Before the pop-rock singer finally got some well-earned Zs, we had the chance to talk to him about the meaning behind the title of his new [...]

Patrick Stump might be on a solo tour right now, but he assures us that it's been anything but lonely. "I haven't been wanting for company," the Fall Out Boy frontman-turned-one man band told us in a chat before his two sold-out shows at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood . "I'm definitely surrounded by people. It's a solo tour but it's not sitting up there [alone]." During our exclusive sit-down with the velvet-voiced soul punker, Stump discussed what it's like playing with a whole new group of guys, what Fall Out Boy might sound like when [...]

We already knew Eliza Doolittle knew how to get everybody bouncing — she was one of the performers at our Pray For Pop party at SXSW , after all. So it was no surprise to see the British pop gal make the fest-goers (and even the trees !) at Coachella shake it during her early afternoon set on Sunday. To celebrate Ms. Doolittle's debut album finally being released in the U.S. today (stop by iTunes and pick it up, y'all!), we had a chit-chat with the "Rollerblades" singer after an autograph-signing [...]

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Mark Foster was doing his own solo project for a few years before he and two friends, Mark Pontius and Cubbie Fink, joined forces to become Foster The People, one of the most buzzed about bands to take on Coachella 2011 . (Check out pics from their Sunday afternoon set here .) The band, which draws comparisons to other dreamy indie oufits like MGMT and Passion Pitt, formed in October 2009 and has been on a steady path to success ever since, thanks to the growing popularity of their chill-rock lead [...]

Marina And The Diamonds (aka Marina Diamandis) had never performed at Coachella before her set last night in the Gobi tent (check out the photos here !), but the Welsh pop doll seemed to be enjoying her first jaunt at the desert music fest. "The site is a lot more beautiful than any U.K. site," she told us in brief chit-chat a few hours before taking the stage. "You can actually wear heels here!" Not only was the Family Jewels singer wearing some fancy footwear to go with her supercute outfit, she [...]