With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, statistics guru Hans Rosling uses an amazing new presentation tool, Gapminder, to present data that debunks several myths about world development. Rosling is professor of international health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, and founder of Gapminder, a nonprofit that brings vital global data to life. Hans passed away this week, so let’s honour him by taking a look at this brilliant TED Talk.
Drake Named Best-Selling Artist Of 2016
Drake has been named by IFPI as the world’s best-selling recording artist of 2016, highlighting the huge success of his fourth album, Views, which was released last year.
Drake is the fourth recipient of the IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year Award, the unique and authoritative accolade that reflects an artist’s worldwide success across physical and digital formats, including downloads and streams.
Views became the first album to reach one billion streams on Apple Music, while One Dance, the album’s second single, was the first song to be played one billion times on Spotify. The follow-up singles Pop Style, Controlla and Too Good also all found huge success across the globe.
IFPI chief executive Frances Moore said: “I’m delighted to be able to honour Drake as the IFPI Global Recording Artist 2016. Drake’s phenomenal success reflects how deeply his unique sound appeals to an enormous global audience. The Global Top 10 list features a number of amazing artists, and the variety and vibrancy of their art speaks volumes about the exciting state of music today.”
In conjunction with the Global Recording Artist award, IFPI issued its annual Global Top 10 list. David Bowie, who took second place on the global chart, had released his album Blackstar two days before his death in January 2016. The album reached number one in 24 countries.
In third and fourth place on the chart, respectively, were Coldplay and Adele whose 2015 albums A Head Full of Dreams and 25 remained immensely popular throughout 2016.
The IFPI Global Recording Artist award and Top 10 chart is the first and only ranking to accurately capture the global sales of artists’ music across streaming channels, as well as sales of digital and physical albums, and digital and physical singles. The previous recipients of this prestigious award are One Direction (2013), Taylor Swift (2014) and Adele (2015). The full 2016 list includes:
TOP 10 GLOBAL RECORDING ARTISTS 2016
| 1 | Drake |
| 2 | David Bowie |
| 3 | Coldplay |
| 4 | Adele |
| 5 | Justin Bieber |
| 6 | Twenty One Pilots |
| 7 | Beyoncé |
| 8 | Rihanna |
| 9 | Prince |
| 10 | The Weeknd |
(source: IFPI)
Bill Nye Saves The World, Thanks To Netflix
Bill Nye – science guy, educator, mechanical engineer, and curator of curiosity – returns with a new show. Each episode of Bill Nye Saves the World tackles a specific topic or concept through lively panel discussions, wide-ranging correspondent reports from a crackerjack team, and Bill’s very special blend of lab procedure and sly personality. Bill Nye Saves The World arrives April 21 on Netflix.
The Green Ninja Faces His Father In The First Trailer For ‘The LEGO Ninjago Movie’
A new animated adventure in Warner Bros. Pictures’ LEGO franchise, ‘The LEGO Ninjago Movie’ details the battle for NINJAGO City calls to action young Master Builder Lloyd, aka the Green Ninja, along with his friends, who are all secret ninja warriors. Led by Master Wu, as wise-cracking as he is wise, they must defeat evil warlord Garmadon, The Worst Guy Ever, who also happens to be Lloyd’s dad. Pitting mech against mech and father against son, the epic showdown will test this fierce but undisciplined team of modern-day ninjas who must learn to check their egos and pull together to unleash their inner power of Spinjitzu.
Jackie Chan (“Kung Fu Panda,” The Karate Kid”) stars as Master Wu; Justin Theroux (“Magamind 2,” “The Leftovers”) is Garmadon; Dave Franco (“Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising”) plays Lloyd; and Olivia Munn (“X-Men: Apocalypse”) is Lloyd’s mom, Koko. Making up the secret ninja crew, Fred Armisen (“The Jim Gaffigan Show,” “SNL”) voices Cole; Abbi Jacobson (“Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising”) plays Nya; Kumail Nanjiani (“Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates”) is Jay; Michael Peña (“Ant-Man,” “The Martian”) is Kai; and Zach Woods (“Silicon Valley”) voices Zane. “The LEGO NINJAGO Movie” marks the feature film directorial debut of Charlie Bean (“Tron: Uprising”).
Blondie and Garbage set to co-headline Rage and Rapture tour this summer
Blondie & Garbage today announced a co-headline North American tour that will kick off on July 5th in Saratoga, CA and wrap on August 12th in Dallas, TX. John Doe & Exene Cervenka will provide support on the first leg of the tour and Deap Vally for the second leg. Tickets for the Rage and Rapture tour go on sale starting Friday, February 17 at 10:00am local time (please check venue websites for most up-to-date on sale information). Fans can also access a ticket pre-sale now here using the password RAGEANDRAPTURE (pre-sale not available in all markets). A complete list of live dates can be found below. More dates to be added soon.
For the last four decades, Blondie has become and still remains a true national treasure; one whose influence both shaped and continues to inform the worlds of music, fashion and art. From an irreverent Lower East Side punk outfit to bona fide international ambassadors of New York cool, Blondie will forever be synonymous with that punk spirit that lives somewhere in all of us. Comprised of singer-songwriter Debbie Harry, guitarist and co-writer Chris Stein, powerhouse drummer Clem Burke, and long-time band members bassist Leigh Foxx, guitarist Tommy Kessler and keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen, Blondie’s chart-topping success, fearless spirit and rare longevity led to an induction into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, a NME Godlike Genius Award in 2014, a Q Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 2016, and more than 40 million albums sold worldwide to date. Debbie’s persona and the band’s boundary-pushing pop have shaped the look and sound of many chart-topping female artists who followed in the last three decades. And their newest album, Pollinator (out May 5th via BMG), delves even deeper into this idea: inspiration from Blondie’s action-packed, cross-pollinating past shaping the sound of our collective future. Listen to “Fun”, the first song off this release below.
There’s also a Pre-order Pollinator here, which features songwriting from Sia, Blood Orange frontman Dev Hynes, British singer Charli XCX, Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio), Nick Valensi (The Strokes), Johnny Marr (The Smiths) and more.
Garbage is Shirley Manson, Duke Erikson, Steve Marker and Butch Vig. After forming in Madison, WI, Garbage released their self-titled debut album in 1995. The band’s unique sound and provocative visual aesthetic, inspired massive worldwide attention and success. Their follow up album, Version 2.0, released in 1998, topped charts all over the world and garnered multiple Grammy Award nominations including Album Of The Year. Garbage went on to release two more albums: 2001’s Beautiful Garbage and 2005’s Bleed Like Me, the latter of which earned the band its highest chart position with a No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart. After a 7-year hiatus, the band released their fifth studio album Not Your Kind of People in 2012 on their independent record label, STUNVOLUME. The album was named one of Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 50 Albums of 2012 and was hailed as the “alternative to everything,” by Pitchfork. Garbage has sold over 15 million albums worldwide and performed in over thirty-five countries. In 2015, the band celebrated its 20th anniversary with their SOLD OUT ’20 Years Queer’ world tour and the release of a special 20th anniversary edition of their debut album, re-mastered and featuring previously unreleased material. Last year, Garbage released Strange Little Birds, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and Alternative Albums chart, and arrived at No. 14 overall on the Billboard 200 chart. This summer, Garbage will be releasing an autobiographical coffee table book, This Is The Noise That Keeps Me Awake, currently available for preorder here.
July 5 – The Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA*
July 7 – Santa Barbara Bowl, Santa Barbara, CA*
July 8 – The Pearl Concert Theater, Las Vegas NV*
July 12 – Edgefield, Troutdale, OR*
July 14 – Idaho Center Amphitheatre, Nampa, ID*
July 16 – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre, Englewood, CO*
July 18 – Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City, MO*
July 19 – Harrah’s Council Bluffs Hotel & Casino, Council Bluffs, IA*
July 21 – Mystic Lake Casino—Mystic Showroom, Prior Lake, MN*
July 22 – Ravinia Festival, Highland Park, IL*
July 25 – Artpark, Lewiston, NY**
July 26 – Sony Centre For Performing Arts, Toronto, ON**
July 28 – Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ**
July 29 – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY**
July 30 – Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, Boston, MA**
August 1 – Beacon Theatre, New York, NY**
August 2 – Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA**
August 5 – The Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh, NC**
August 8 – Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena, Hollywood, FL**
August 9 – Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL**
August 11 – ACL Live, Austin, TX **
August 12 – Southside Ballroom, Dallas, TX**
MORE DATES TO BE ADDED SOON
* w/ John Doe & Exene Cervenka
** w/ Deap Vally
Call for Submissions Now Open For Mundial Montreal
Mundial Montréal, North America’s World Music Summit, invites artists to submit an application to be considered for a 25-minute showcase spot at their 7th annual conference on November 14 – 17, 2017. The showcase program is extremely limited (approximately 34 spots) which do not compete with other activities/showcases in our program. Their mission is to present the best world music artists from Canada, as well as international artists, to industry professionals and the Montreal public. Showcasing artists are selected from a blend of applications and invitations to create the right mix of emerging market-ready talent that reflects the needs of their talent buyer pool. Go here to apply.
Breakup parties – they’re the new going out!
There was a time when going through a breakup meant lying on your bed surrounded by chocolate and tissues, drinking wine and watching chick-flicks – well, that time has passed. In the 21st century, women are more likely to go out and have fun than wallow in self-pity, and the divorce party is the ultimate expression of that.
The terms divorce party and breakup party first came into circulation about ten years ago, when divorce rates were high and girl power was at its peak.
While some divorce or breakup parties are held jointly by both parties and intended to bring friends and family together to avoid any rifts or damaged relationships, most are held and attended by women.
They often involve elements reminiscent of a hen party and aim to celebrate newfound singledom, rather than mourning the loss of a romantic relationship – booking agencies often field enquiries about hiring upbeat, empowering acts to perform at such events.
It’s not for everyone, sure, but if you’re planning a divorce party we’ve got a suggestion to make sure it goes with a bang – instead of just playing Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive, why not book the woman herself?
If you’re interested in a celebrity appearance from one of pop’s true legends at your divorce party or breakup party, contact Gloria Gaynor’s agency to find out more about booking her.
Orange is the New Black’s Season 5 Trailer Is Here
Netflix today announces the launch date of Season 5 of Orange is the New Black. The series returns June 9, 2017. Things will never be the same.
Marvel’s Iron Fist Official Trailer Is Here
Today Netflix released the official trailer for Marvel’s Iron Fist which will launch globally on Netflix on Friday March 17, 2017 at 12:01am PT. The action-drama will premiere with 13 one-hour episodes.
Fifteen years after being presumed dead in a plane crash, Danny Rand (Finn Jones) mysteriously returns to New York City determined to reclaim his birthright and family company. However, when a long-destined enemy rises in New York, this living weapon is forced to choose between his family’s legacy and his duties as the Iron Fist.