Dave Letterman Makes His Recovery From The Extortion Scandal

CBS's late-night icon Dave Letterman has been the host of "The Late Show With David Letterman" since 1993, and he has become one of the most famous and funniest comedians in the late-night TV circuit. Now it has been announced that he is starting to branch out to music. No, he's not singing a duet with Barbra Streisand. He's founded his own record label, Clear Entertainment/C.E. Music. The label is a subsidiary of his production company, Worldwide Pants, Inc. and has already announced the label's first signee: from Huntington Beach, California, it's our very own Runner Runner (April 26 - May 3, 2009). The news was announced earlier today that Runner Runner became the first act ever signed to the label, and their first album will be released this summer with a distribution deal in partnership with Capitol and MRV. Dave made a great decision with this one, and I always knew he was better than greedtastic Jay Leno.

Runner Runner consists of frontman Ryan Ogren, guitarists Nick Bailey and Peter Munters, bassist Jon Berry, and drummer James Ulrich. Their first single is "So Obvious", which has racked up over eight million plays on MySpace already. They are currently touring as a supporting act for Amber Pacific and fellow EdgeMusic alum, Cartel. Tour dates and the song "So Obvious" are listed below.

Runner Runner's MySpace page

Runner Runner tour dates:
5/20, Portland, OR (Satyricon)*
5/22, Seattke, WA (El Corazon)*
5/23, Pocatello, ID (Icon)*
5/24, Salt Lake City, UT (Kilby Court)*
5/25, Colorado Springs, CO (Black Sheep)*
5/26, Salina, KS (The Blue Goat)*
5/29,Lake Charles, LA (Luna Bar & Grill)*
5/30, New Orleans, LA (The Parish @ House of Blues)*
5/31, Wichita Falls, TX (The Hangar)**
6/2, St. Louis, MO (Old Rock House)**
6/3, Poplar Grove, IL (Chubby Rain - House of Tunes)**
6/6, Las Vegas, NV (Wasted Space @ Hard Rock Hotel)*
6/8, Anaheim, CA (Chain Reaction)*
6/9, Ramona, CA (Ramona Mainstage)*
6/11, Temecula, CA (The Vault)*

* with Amber Pacific
** with Cartel

Cartel "Let's Go" Music Video Premiere

Cartel's new album "Cycles" comes out on Tuesday. This is the video for their first single "Let's Go".

We The Kings "Heaven Can Wait" Music Video Premiere

We the Kings will release their sophomore album "Smile, Kid" on December 8th. This video is for their first single released last month.

Brian Littrell Diagnosed With Swine Flu

Tomorrow, the Backstreet Boys release their new album "This Is Us", and they are using every opportunity they have to get people to buy the album. So it was appropriate that the worst case scenario was the dreaded swine flu. Today, it was confirmed that Brian Littrell has been diagnosed with the one disease that no musician or EdgeMusic alum wants to have. While it's the biggest epidemic to spread throughout the Earth this entire year, it's not fatal. You just have to take the regular medication. What we learned that swine flu is the same as regular flu. The only difference is that it lasts up to a week rather than a 4 to 5 day basis. This pretty screws up the band's promotional plans this week, which is what they needed to guarantee a great first week debut. The cancelled appearances include a performance on CBS's The Early Show tomorrow morning, an intimate performance at PC Richards in New York City, and a signing for Hard Rock Live's PINKTOBER event in New York City. Now the boys can only hope to figure out how to sort out the rest of their promo schedule and hope that it catches on to music consumers through the songs. The last thing they need in their career is the swine flu.

Backstreet Boys "Straight Through My Heart" Single On iTunes

The Backstreet Boys (May 4 - 11, 2008) have released a new song titled "Straight Through My Heart". It is the first single off their upcoming seventh album, "This Is Us", which hits stores October 6th. The song is produced by RedOne, who produced Lady GaGa's music, as well as the New Kids on the Block (July 20 - 27, 2008) comeback album "The Block". They have been back so many times now since 2005. This is their third comeback, but this time, it's for the radio stations. This song is a dance-pop track that reflects their previous dance hits. The only question is if it will become a hit. You can buy "Straight Through My Heart" on iTunes right now.

Demi Lovato Does Okay In Second Week. Ashley Tisdale Starts Out Rough.

This week's Billboard charts were released yesterday. While we knew Demi Lovato (April 26 - May 3, 2009) wasn't gonna keep the #1 slot again on the Billboard 200, "Here We Go Again" has a decent decline to #8 with 39,000 copies, which is a 64% decline. The album has sold 146,000 copies so far, so it might be here for a while. Fabolous took the top spot, by the way.

However, it wasn't a good start for Ashley Tisdale (June 21 - 28, 2009). Her second album "Guilty Pleasure" debuts at #12 with 25,000 copies. It's bad enough her movie "Aliens in the Attic" did mediocre in its opening weekend, but the album doesn't do better than "Headstrong" in its opening week back in 2007. That album debuted at #4 with 64,000 copies. It wasn't Ashley's fault or anything. The promotion was all good except for the first single. She may need to release "Masquerade" or "Hot Mess" as a single very soon, because "It's Alright, It's OK" is not going to help her out unless the payola kicks in.

Boys Like Girls "Love Drunk" Music Video Premiere

She's Singing In The Rain. Just Singing In The Rain.

What a glorious feeling, her album's #1! Demi Lovato (April 26 - May 3, 2009) has just received the news that her album "Here We Go Again" has debuted at #! on the Billboard 200. In its first week, it sold 107,000 copies. That doesn't say much despite the current state of the music industry, but it performed better than her debut album "Don't Forget" in its first week last year, which debuted at #2 with 89,000 copies. More info on this story as it develops, but in the meantime, EDGEMUSIC VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ashley Tisdale "Guilty Pleasure" CD Review

Ashley Tisdale's first album "Headstrong" started off in a rough spot commercially. Either no one took the time to hear it, or Ashley (June 21 - 28, 2009) didn't take the time to promote it fully with shooting of "High School Musical 2" around that same time. Afterwards, she made up the rest of the promo duties in October of 2007. After earning a Gold certification at 471,000 copies sold, it didn't make a giant impact. But it wasn't a disaster like we quickly assumed considering that it sounded similar to the failed debut album that Diana DeGarmo (May 25 - June 1, 2008) put out.

Now in the year 2009, Ashley might have went to the same hairstylist that DeGarmo had and came out a brunette. But that's not her only change. Her second album "Guilty Pleasure" takes on the pop/rock sound with the electrorock subgenre, which was different from the first album. With the exception of the Timbaland-ish "Crank It Up", the entire album is jammed in the middle between the Hilary Duff/Lindsay Lohan teen rock from Disney's past and the Miley Cyrus/Selena Gomez electronic pop/rock from Disney's present.

The "High School Musical" breakout, whose vocals still aren't as powerful as Demi Lovato's (April 26 - May 3, 2009), sounds scattered on "It's Alright, It's OK". Limping from note to note to high note and sounding like Kidz Bop covering "So What" by Pink (March 1 - 8, 2009), the album's first single doesn't make a giant mistake like it wanted to. As much as she tries to show her growth, the vocals sound constrained, and the amazement is not there. Tisdale hasn't even gotten a handle on the slow ballads yet. On "What If", she struggles to shake off the Broadway pitch for "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi's soft tune. It comes across as an outtake from the "High School Musical 3" soundtrack as well as a sequel to the wobbly ballad "Unlove You" from her debut album.

When listening to the lyrics on "Hair", those who miss the blonde ambition she had with Sharpay Evans and Maddie from "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" will find it hard to endure through the full song. Also sounding like a bad pun, "Hot Mess" is a decent track, but considering what didn't impress already, the album could have been either summed up as a hot mess or made into a more appropriate title for this album until the rest of the album is played.

Listeners are prone to doubt the potential of Disney stars but have never counted out Ashley. As you listen to "Overrated" you can somehow identify it as a top 40 ready smash that would have made a better first single than "It's Alright, It's OK". Ashley could have also substituted in "Masquerade". This radio-friendly jam sounds pitchy when sung live, but it gives Ashley room to grow as a vocalist. She comes out swinging toward the end of the album with knockouts like "Me Without You" and "Switch".

In a typical discussion, Tisdale is often labeled as the fabricated Disney tycoon instantly, but Tisdale's showbiz record has less in common with everyone else than anyone takes the time to notice. While she had her first encounter with Disney at the regular starting age of 13, her first appearance in a Disney product was in the 1998 Pixar film "A Bug's Life". While every other Disney star was still a teenager at their breakthrough, Tisdale turned 21 when "High School Musical" took off. While all of her good Disney friends got record deals from Hollywood Records, Ashley made a bold decision by signing to Warner Bros. Records. It may not get her videos on YouTube due to the label's feud with that website, but they supported every decision Ashley went with. Most of these songs flow better than the first single, and she finishes this round feeling like a champion.

This review can also be read on my Rate Your Music profile (misterturk182)

Do Care Bears On Fire Suck?

Care Bears on Fire were voted as one of seven EdgeMusic Artist of the Week, all of which were featured from April 26th - May 3rd of 2009. What we didn't know that Care Bears on Fire were getting ready to release a new album at the time, and that album is out today according to iTunes. We know their talent is there somewhere, we were disappointed with the album that they put out. A bunch of 16 year olds doing Punk Rock ala Ramones is the equivalent of 7 year olds doing rap music. It doesn't work that well. They have the iTunes feedback to prove it. The album holds a 2 STAR RATING AVERAGE. The reviews on there are extremely negative.

Care Bears on Fire had won their poll for a reason. Their fans believed that they have some kind of talent in their music. In my opinion, it's there somewhere. But they still need to go a long way to make the music they want to make. They should honestly go away for at least five years. Then people will buy their kind of punk music.

Demi Lovato "Here We Go Again" Live From Lafayette (07.01.2009)

Demi Lovato (April 26 - May 3, 2009) performs her new single off her upcoming album "Here We Go Again" on her summer tour in Lafayette, Louisiana. I recorded the entire performance sitting down so I can hide the camera, and it was tough getting shots of her, so I only aimed for the screen.

Demi Lovato "Stop The World" Live From Lafayette (07.01.2009)

Demi Lovato (April 26 - May 3, 2009) performs a new song titled "Stop The World" off her upcoming album "Here We Go Again" on her summer tour in Lafayette, Louisiana. This song feels reminescent of Michelle Branch's "Breathe", and I can imagine this on radio.

Demi Lovato "Solo" Live From Lafayette (07.01.2009)

Demi Lovato (April 26 - May 3, 2009) performs a new song titled "Solo" off her upcoming album "Here We Go Again" on her summer tour in Lafayette, Louisiana. This is a very great jam song. You can sing this in your convertible.

Demi Lovato "Catch Me" Live From Lafayette (07.01.2009)

Demi Lovato performs a new song titled "Catch Me" off of her upcoming album "Here We Go Again" on her summer tour in Lafayette, Louisiana. This song goes into most of the duration in a sweet, soothing acoustic melody, and then it kicks into hard time at the end, just like "Don't Forget". Well done, Demi.

Demi Lovato "You Got Nothing On Me" Live From Lafayette (07.01.2009)

Demi Lovato (April 26 - May 3, 2009) introduces a new song off her upcoming album "Here We Go Again" called "You Got Nothing On Me" on her summer tour in Lafayette, Louisiana. The chorus was very fun to learn, and I'm interested to hear how she does it on the studio cut. Maybe this next album will be great also.

Jonas Brothers Debut At #1

We did it again, people! Thanks to the JoBro fans, it's an EdgeMusic victory, as one of our own alumni top the Billboard 200 since their reign for the second time. The Jonas Brothers (August 31 - September 7, 2008) debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 with their fourth album "Lines, Vines, and Trying Times". The album sold 247,000 copies, which is less than half of their #1 debut last August with "A Little Bit Longer" with 525,000 copies, but what do you expect? The music industry has been suffering worse than the US economy, and it's been suffering longer than that.

Listen To Cassettes Won't Listen's New Album On MySpace

Here's an EdgeMusic alum we hadn't heard from in a while. Cassettes Won't Listen was an Artist of the Week from March 9th to March 16th, 2008. Last year, he was up for a Best Male Video nomination in the 2008 VMAs, but his name was removed when he campaigned for everyone to beat out Kanye West for a nomination.

Now, he has a new album coming out called "Into the Hillside", which is his second album. The album will be released this Tuesday, but you can listen to it in its entirety right now on his MySpace profile.

Jonas Brothers "Lines, Vines, and Trying Times" Review

The Jonas Brothers have had a crazy ride since their tenure as a group began. Nick began as a solo artist. Then, Columbia Records signed the brothers as a group. Then, Columbia Records dropped them after their debut album. Then, Disney gets a hold of their music and they became a hit on Radio Disney, so Hollywood Records (owned by Disney) signed them. Then, their next album took off. Then, the fanbase was up and running like crazy. Then, they hit #1 last year with “A Little Bit Longer”. Then, the brothers were followed by the media when it came to their relationships. Then, they were nominated for a Grammy. Then, Disney released a film of one of their concerts into the theaters in 3D format. The movie grossed nearly $20 million, which is not a bad performance given how concert films typically perform, but it was labeled as a disaster considering the performance of the “Hannah Montana” 3D film and the strength of their fanbase. Then, they have their own sitcom on Disney. The show started off mediocre, but that was probably because Disney shoved it into a bad timeslot.

Many teen pop stars of past memory (excluding Christina Aguilera, who took 3 years to put out a second record) had practiced the strategy of releasing follow-up albums in consecutive years, so it’s understandable that the teen siblings release “Lines, Vines, and Trying Times” 10 months after “A Little Bit Longer”. The latter album actually got released exactly one year after their self-titled second album, which was released exactly one year after their debut. This album actually comes quicker than all the others. The Jonas Brothers are being carefully examined, because everyone else is quickly assuming that their popularity is already waning. It wouldn’t obviously start declining this soon, and it would take a lot more than a concert film and a sitcom to drag them down.

The Jonases are known to take a pop rock approach to their albums with a mix of the bubblegum feeling. While Disney had to make them stay on this path with some of these songs, they were actually supportive of them attempting a more mature alternative theme. The results aren't seen completely in songs like "Fly With Me", but you begin to feel it with songs like the opening track "World War III" and "Hey Baby" with credit to Jonny Lang's guitar solo. Songs stuck in the middle of both brands include their first single "Paranoid".

The strongest song is "Poison Ivy", the closest thing to Weezer that you can get to. The song is about a toxic girl that you can't help yourself but feel attracted to regardless of the cons to her. They even go far to show Exhibit A on "Before the Storm". The duet features Miley Cyrus, who gave the band a boost on "Hannah Montana" and dated Nick Jonas for a brief while. While Miley still expressed feelings for him, Nick moved on to another brief fling with Selena Gomez. However, Nick was nice enough to let her collaborate on this superb song that shows how Miley's vocals improve in the presence of these brothers. The fact that they once dated for a while makes it one of the most interesting breakup songs ever.

The band's toughest task will be to win over critics. While most stubborn critics will be hesitant to accept the album and maybe lose respect for Common for collaborating on "Don't Charge Me For The Crime", most pop artists win them over with later albums when they are older like Hanson and Mandy Moore have done. The Jonas Brothers are incredibly street-smart in the music industry, and with this album, they aren't afraid of the day that their popularity will nearly fade. They may already have a back-up plan for that.

Demi Lovato's "Here We Go Again" Coming July 21st

Demi Lovato (April 26 - May 3, 2009) has just announced the release information on her second album. As stated through her Twitter page, the album is titled "Here We Go Again", and it will be released July 21st. The title track will be her first single, and the video has recently been shot this past week, but so far, there's no date for the release of the single or the video. The second album will stick to the pop rock genre with influences from John Mayer and Jon McLaughlin. Now all we need to do is hear the music. Of course, we certainly will when we catch her and opening act David Archuleta (January 18 - 25, 2009) at the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana on July 1st. Demi's album will go against the new album from Jordin Sparks, Sugar Ray's comeback album, and Lil' Wayne's rap-rock album, "Rebirth". We hope Demi's album becomes a hit, and we're concerned that Lil' Wayne will most likely have the #1 top spot unless it runs into the same bad luck it's already had this year. That's all we can hope for.