Back in October 2008, a then relatively-unknown artist by the name of Lady GaGa called in to “The Ralphie Radio Show” and talked about her trials and tribulations in getting radio stations to accept her first single, “Just Dance.” “Yunno, stations don’t know what to make of (‘Just Dance’),” said GaGa. “They’re like, ‘Is it a dance record? Is it a pop record? Is it a R&B record? But it’s kind of rock-y. Then she says playboy!’ No one knows what to think of it.”
Thankfully for GaGa, radio programmers and their audience eventually thought of it as a number one song.
“A hit record breaks every rule,” the pop star responded to my comment that regardless of genre, a good song deserves radio airplay.
Since that time, Lady GaGa has gone on to break almost every rule, record, and stereotype in becoming one of the world’s most dominant forces in music. Her first single from her second album, Born This Way, received far more support from radio at it’s release – stations were falling over each other to be the first to spin the song.
Keeping with her motto of “a hit record breaks every rule,” GaGa released a country version of her most successful single-to-date.
Any good singer and/or songwriter says that a hit record that resonates with people has real emotion in it. And if there’s one thing pop star Shontelle Layne does not lack, it’s real emotion in her songs. For example, there was an actual guy and a “T-Shirt” which inspired her first hit. The Bajan singer’s biggest single to date, “Impossible” – was also relatable at the time she recorded it. Now, comes “Say Hello to Goodbye,” Shontelle’s next single from her sophomore LP, No Gravity. Apparently when she went in to the booth to cut this one, the emotion was almost too real.
“I was going through something at the time, and it was so real to me,” said Layne of the track during an interview on “The Ralphie Radio Show.” “It took me over two days to record it, because the producer was like, ‘Dude, okay, I get it about being real, but honestly, you’re crying so much we can’t even understand what you’re saying.’”
Layne took the rest of the day off and ordered room service before hopping back in to the studio. Martin Hansen produced the power-ballad, which is a slight departure for Shontelle’s R&B/pop sound in that it does mix in some heavy guitars.
“When I first thought about doing, ‘Say Hello to Goodbye,’ everyone was like, ‘Are you crazy? This sounds like a pop/country/rock ballad. What are you doing? No one is gonna get this from you,’” she recalled. “I just feel it… it just feels right.” Shontelle can only hope that her audience feels the same way about “Say Hello” as they did about her platinum-selling single, “Impossible.” Funny thing is, that song almost wasn’t even Shontelle’s to sing – Leona Lewis turned it down first.
“Maybe (Lewis) just couldn’t relate at the time or what, but it worked out for me,” Layne said. The singer knew of the rumor of that “Impossible” was offered to Lewis first, but didn’t receive confirmation until a recent trip overseas. “Thank you Leona! You’re my home girl.”
Shontelle was overseas touring the UK with Jason Derulo. She believes the two will link up sooner rather than later in Miami to collaborate on a track. Meanwhile, Layne is preparing for her own tour across the U.S. – which she hopes to kick off later this year.
Turns out for Joel and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” aren’t so bad after all.
“We don’t walk around all day and say, ‘We’re rich and famous!’ Joel clarified when the brothers sat down on “The Ralphie Radio Show.” “We’re happy with our lives, good or bad.”
Lately for the twin brothers, and the band, there’s been more of the former: Good Charlotte’s headlining tour is selling well across the country, Cardiology is in stores, and Joel even gets his fantasy football tips now from ESPN’s Senior Fantasy Analyst Matthew Berry.
But more important than all of that for the lead singer is the “balance” he has in his life, between both his rock star job and his family with wife Nicole Richie and children Harlow (3) and Sparrow (2).
“The kids come out here and there and that’s always different, like there are two different kinds of touring,” explained Joel. “There’s the touring without the family, which is kind of like a little Dad vacation. Then they come out for a week here or there and that’s like, full-time family, but it’s a nice mix.”
“Obviously, we’re not like we were when we were 20 years-old,” Benji continued. “Now we all lead grown-up lives and we still love being together and music is the best job you can have.”
Joel noted another perk of the gig: flexibility.
“There’s a lot of freedom in what we do, and we get to make our own rules,” he elaborated. “It’s interesting, because being in a band, a lot of the times the stories you read about people and things that people tear other people down for, we get away with a lot more of it because we’re in a rock band and we’ve been on the road for 12 years.”
The lead singer may have been alluding to the recent trials and tribulations of another famous father: Charlie Sheen. Thankfully for Joel and the band, there have been no public headlines that have interfered with their career.
“That was always the plan, to do this as long as we could,” Benji said of leading a grown-up life while still recording and touring, and not after the fact. “We love music, we love our band, and that’s why the people who love us, love us… it takes a certain type of person to make music.”
Benji’s comment elicited a reaction from his brother Joel.
“And it also takes a certain kind of a woman to be with a guy that’s always gone here and there, and traveling.”
Most bands grow up attending Vans Warped Tour, continue to grow up while playing Warped Tour, and then hopefully graduate on to bigger and better things.
The Ready Set isn’t most acts. For starters, the band is comprised of one: 21 year-old Jordan Mark Witzigreuter. The last time Jordan attended Warped was seven years ago. This summer, he’ll play the tour for his first time. Coincidentally enough, Simple Plan headlined the summer-long festival when Witzigreuter was 14. The pop-rock band from Canada returns this year, but its The Ready Set that hits the stage backed by radio spins and a platinum-selling single in the J.R. Rotem-produced, “Love Like Woe.”
“I think it’s going to be fun. I know Warped Tour, for a lot of bands, it’s kind of that thing where you go on it and it’s a thing that can like make or break you,” said Jordan in-studio on “The Ralphie Radio Show. “I’m excited to go into it with sort of an established fan base and I’m just really looking forward to seeing the crowds and seeing how it goes.”
Vans Warped Tour isn’t the most easy-going of the summer festivals: “a grind” and “summer band camp” are terms commonly used by acts with Warped experience.
“Everyone I know says it’s the most fun but also the most difficult tour to do,” the Indiana-born musician shared. “We’ve done summer festival tours but I know this is the ultimate one.”
No, Jordan didn’t misspeak there. Although he’s the only official member of The Ready Set, Witzigreuter is supported by a live backing band on tour dates and radio stops.
“I wanted to do the band name thing to kind of give the whole project a theme,” revealed Jordan of why he went with The Ready Set as opposed to just shortening his last name. “It’s kind of the best of both worlds.”
Witzigreuter is no stranger to diversifying – after enlisted Rotem’s help for his first single, he turned to The Cataracs (“Like a G6”) for assistance on his second single, “Young Forever.”
“The thing for me is, I want to make sure that I never put out the same song twice,” said Jordan. “I don’t want to make anyone bored.”
The Plain White T’s attempted to channel the joys and inspirations of the band’s youth for the latest LP, The Wonders of the Younger. But you may be shocked to discover that next year, PWTS celebrates its fifteenth birthday. Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. Lead singer Tom Higgenson can’t believe it either.
“Wow, holy cow,” a shocked Higgenson replied when I informed him of this on “The Ralphie Radio Show.” “It doesn’t (seem like 15 years). But yunno, we started right out of high school, just a local band playing local shows.”
Now they play across the states – far away from the band’s Midwest roots. But Higgenson and company are very much still in touch with Chicago – and perhaps still a little touchy on the subject of Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler. The QB came under criticism last month during the NFC Championship game for sitting out the second half with an injury.
“I think he was really hurt,” the lead singer said in defense of Cutler. “He’s a tough guy. He fought through a lot – a couple concussions through the season.”
Higgenson knows a thing or two about “toughing it out” on the road – he’s no stranger to evening performances, after-show media, and early morning radio visits. According to the front man and Tim Lopez, there’s no alternative to playing hurt while on tour. Lopez has been with PWTS for about half of the almost 15 year-run, and plays the role of lead singer on the band’s latest single, “Rhythm of Love.”
“In the past we just had (Tom) sing,” said Lopez of material he wrote with Higgenson for the T’s prior to “Rhythm.” “This time around, the songs were personal and thankfully I turned in demos that were… they almost sound like the songs sound now on the record.”
Lopez and Higgenson concurred that the quality of the demos is what sold the band. Ultimately – it was Higgenson’s call, and after cutting his own vocals for the song, he even decided Lopez’s voice belonged on the track.
I suppose, like Jay Cutler, it’s all about picking your spots.
Big Time Rush have forged a big time relationship with rapper Snoop Dogg, and the guys from the Nickelodeon hit show insist the D-O-Double G is not the same artist of yester-year.
“He’s very much a family man,” revealed BTR’s Carlos Pena on “The Ralphie Radio Show.” The group sat down for a quick interview and performed an acoustic version of the song “Boyfriend.” The studio track features Snoop. “He was great to work with.”
“I don’t think the kids who would watch the episode now, would know anything about his (past),” insisted actor/singer Kendall Schmidt. “Most of them are pretty young. They know him from Katy Perry (‘California Gurls’).”
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Schmidt added that Snoop commented to the boys on how impressed he was with people’s reaction to the rapper’s cameos and affiliation with the show: for the first time in his career, 5 year-olds approach Snoop in public to comment on his work.
“We went to one of his concerts and he was nice enough to invite us back stage and we had a great time,” said Logan Henderson. “He lives and breathes music.”
“He gets done playing a show and he goes back there and he’s still deejaying music,” James Maslow continued, elaborating on the experience backstage with one of the most influential West Coast emcees of all time. “He’s with a bunch of his friends and family. He’s very close with his family and a lot of them are a part of his hair and makeup. It’s just him hanging out with his closest friends, playing music.”
Schmidt also recalled one point during the party where someone stepped on a cord, cutting the music. Snoop, who will not let anyone else touch the computer, immediately wanted to know who was responsible. BTR insisted it was none of them – but regardless, it certainly sounds like a funny scene for a future episode.
The guys currently have ten more episodes of the show’s second season to film. Afterwards – it’s on the road for what BTR hopes will be an international tour.
You’ve got to hand it to Linkin Park – the rap-rock group has been at it since 1996 and the guys are still finding ways to innovate their craft. The latest example came this past weekend, when LP performed for its second time on “Saturday Night Live” and accomplished a feat so unique – Lorne Michaels himself had to sign off on it.
First, the band performed the hit single, “Waiting for the End” off of A Thousand Suns. The lighting scheme combined lasers with LED panels to mimic some of the effects that can be seen in the music video for the song. For Linkin Park’s second go-around, the group played “When They Come for Me” – another track from ATS. LP decided that it would look best if the camera shot it in black and white as opposed to full color.
“It was kind of a nail biter, at the last minute because Lorne Michaels, who runs the show, had to approve that,” revealed emcee Mike Shinoda, who called in to “The Ralphie Radio Show” while on tour with LP. “(Michaels) looked at the test in color and then looked at it in black and white and he said, ‘Yeah, yeah for these guys we can let them do black and white.’”
As if the approval from SNL’s creator wasn’t enough, Michaels also put a little bow on the present he gifted Linkin Park.
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Shinoda also chatted about the different tech schemes currently implemented on LP’s world tour, and the implementation of new technology to the band’s marketing campaigns.
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“(Michaels) also said, ‘Yunno it’s funny, now other bands are going to ask me to do black and white, and I’m going to have to tell them no because it’s Linkin Park’s thing,’” a happy Shinoda recalled. “I didn’t realize that no musical guests have ever done black and white before.”
Shinoda certainly is aware of the magnitude of the “accomplishment” – calling the decision “amazing” while citing the legendary status of the show. It’s appropriate that a band like Linkin Park be honored with such a distinction – the California-based band challenged itself just as much with the new visuals for the current world tour as with the idea of creating a new sound for the album. Shinoda says LP’s visual team created software and mechanisms that respond to band’s nightly changing set list – so that like the music, no one concert’s visual pattern will be like another’s.
“If the record is a challenging record, then we want the visuals to be challenging,” Shinoda said. “We spent more time than we would have five years ago on something like this.”
Part of the reasoning for the increased attention to the live show could be attributed to music’s changing business model: generating income from live shows, marketing deals, and singles as opposed to selling records. But Shinoda cautions that LP has and always will have its priorities straight.
“Everything is inter-related. You could put all your focus in the world on your touring, but if you good albums or good music to lay the foundation, then that’s not going to fly.”
Take it from the band that’s sold over 50 million albums worldwide – and has gone either gold or platinum in 12 different countries with its latest release.
A week before his junior high school’s festival in Edmond, OK, Greyson Chance answered a small question in a big way, and the decision has yet to cease yielding dividends. Inspired by her 2009 MTV Video Music Awards performance, the 13 year-old chose to play a rendition of Lady GaGa’s “Paparazzi” in front of his school.
“The other song that I was actually thinking about covering was a song called, ‘Fire’, by Augustana, which is actually on my physical single right now,” Chance revealed in a sit-down interview with “The Ralphie Radio Show,” which aired Monday evening.
Obviously he made the right call, and 37 million YouTube views later, Chance finds himself in a position that musicians triple his age would salivate over. The teenager is signed to Ellen DeGeneres’ eleveneleven imprint, and is co-managed by Guy Oseary (Madonna) and Troy Carter (Lady GaGa). Chance currently finds himself touring the country in support of Miranda Cosgrove. But what he doesn’t find himself doing may surprise you even more.
“I’ve actually only seen the video twice,” said Chance of the performance which sparked all of this, taped by his father back in Oklahoma. “I sometimes go back a little, but I always put it on mute. I don’t like hearing myself.” —
— Chance admits that when he listens back, he begins to become too critical of his work, his manerisms… even his wardrobe. The kid is astonishing – he acts, speaks, and sings as if a 30 year-old is stuck in his 13 year-old frame. And with his talent and the all-star support group surrounding him, Greyson Chance surely will be astonishing the masses for many years to come. The singer/songwriter is working on his debut album, which he says is “about 60 percent” finished, and is due out before the end of the year. The first single, “Waiting Outside the Lines,” is available now.
Justin Timberlake says she’s “the best singer out there right now.” Simon Cowell calls her one of the best he’s heard in years. But don’t expect the UK’s Jessie J to fold under the accolades or pressure: all she can think about is starting her own “Party in the U.S.A.” – literally and figuratively.
“I wrote it for me, and (Miley Cyrus) chose to take it and use it,” revealed Jessie of the song, which has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The singer, born Jessica Cornish, phoned across the pond in to “The Ralphie Radio Show” – her first American radio interview. “I think either way it would’ve been a great song, but I’m so thankful she (took it), because she gave my name as a songwriter a platform.”
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The songstress recently filmed the music video for her first U.S. single, “Price Tag” – featuring B.o.B.
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Cornish cited super-producer Dr. Luke as the man who helped get the song to Cyrus – and the songstress still feels weird hearing it on the radio. Jessie and Miley have yet to cross paths, but that may change soon as the UK singer plans her own British Invasion.
“You have no idea how excited I am to come to the U.S. and like, bring the British flag,” she said. “I’m really excited about the journey, and I just hope that America accepts me, accent and all.”
Who doesn’t love a British accent? And who won’t accept an artist when on their first single, they have an artist as prominent as B.o.B. featured on it?
“I’m happy he’s on it, he’s amazing,” gushed Cornish of the Atlanta-emcee, who guests on “Price Tag.” “He’s in the video, and we were in together in the video. There was no green screen, it was pure me and him.”
That video will drop later this month. Cornish is finished with her debut LP, Who You Are, due out April 12 in the U.S.
Look out America: Science & Faith aren’t the only items that Irish pop-rockers The Script plan to bring across the pond. Apparently in addition to the group’s music, Ireland’s famed brown bread is also in high demand.
“Honestly, when I go to my friend over in Boston, I have to bring it over,” admitted drummer Glen Power on “The Ralphie Radio Show” when the three Irishmen sat down to chat. “I have to be praying that they don’t take it off me when we go through (Customs), you know when you go through and they have the dogs, and you have to declare (items).”
Power revealed that he’s successfully smuggled the bread in 100% of the time – although he might have just jinxed himself on that one. Then again, the band seems to be jinx-free amidst a whirlwind ride from three guys living near the Guinness brewery to a successful band touring the globe. But front man Danny O’Donoghue doesn’t find that scary. The Script’s new-found relationship with U2 – different story.
“That’s a frightening thought,” O’Donoghue responded to my observation that the band which The Script grew up listening to knows of the three fellas – even inviting them on tour as a supporting act. “To think that people that have been on your home page or your iTunes or people that you’ve got in your own library – actually know you…”
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Even Bono’s daughter, Eve Hewson, has worked with the band. Hewson plays the lead character in The Script’s “For the First Time” music video – which is the lead single from the band’s sophomore album. Guitarist Mark Sheehan says Science & Faith is based on not using one to explain the other, and vice versa.
“I think most people will think because we’re Irish that we’re writing about religion when we say faith, and we’re not,” Sheehan attempted to clarify. “We’re talking about the politics of the heart… a relationship always comes with its miscommunications.”
Sheehan noted that the theme wasn’t restrained to any particular type of bond or gender – although he admitted the title track originally stemmed from a real-life argument with his wife. O’Donoghue says that the band’s relationships inspiring songs is nothing new.
“If you find a song that you really believe in, lyrically you believe in, you listen to it and go, ‘Wow, they are really through some stuff,’” the front man said. “I’ve definitely heard other people who haven’t lived through heartbreak and wrote a song about it, and it’s just not believable.”
So while some turn their frown upside down, The Script turns its heartbreak in to hit tracks. And judging by the reception, America certainly doesn’t mind any of that coming over the border.
