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Posted: 15 May 2013 08:48 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country group Lady Antebellum scored its third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, staving off competition from Jay-Z's soundtrack for The Great Gatsby film.

Golden, the fourth studio album from the Nashville trio, sold more than 167,000 copies in its first week, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan, securing the top position on the weekly Billboard chart, which measures album sales across both digital and physical formats.

The album has Lady Antebellum embracing a stripped-down sound to showcase the group's vocal talents.

Rapper Jay-Z's contemporary soundtrack accompanying director Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby film sold 136,000 copies, landing at No. 2 this week.

The album has gained attention for its star-studded lineup and features original songs by artists including Beyonce, Lana Del Rey and Florence + The Machine.

The film based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic 1925 novel about the hedonistic Jazz Age of 1920s New York, debuted in U.S. theaters last week and made more than $51 million at the domestic box office.

At No. 3 this week was the latest installment of the long-running Now That's What I Call Music! franchise, with the latest Now 46 featuring hits by Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake and Taylor Swift, selling 90,000 copies.

Other new entries in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 include country music group Pistol Annies, comprising Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley, at No. 5 with their latest, Annie Up.

Veteran British rocker Rod Stewart's latest album, Time, his first release of original songs in more than a decade, came in at No. 7.

Last week's No. 1 album, Kenny Chesney's Life On A Rock, dropped to eighth place this week.

Shakira to leave 'The Voice'

Posted: 15 May 2013 08:34 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop singer Shakira will leave NBC's television singing competition program The Voice after only one season as a judge in order to spend more time with her family.

The Colombian singer (pic) told entertainment news outlet Access Hollywood after Tuesday's episode of The Voice that she wanted to spend more time with her infant child and finish up a new album.

"Not for next season," Shakira, 36, said when asked if she was coming back.

"I was really struggling with the fact that I had to leave my nest with my little baby," she added. "So now I need to stay with him for a little bit and also work on my next album. You never know, maybe (I will be back) for the future seasons."

Singer Christina Aguilera is expected to rejoin the show's panel of four judges in the fall after a one-season hiatus.

Shakira and R&B singer Usher were added as judges this season, replacing Aguilera and singer Cee Lo Green, who had been on the panel along with country singer Blake Shelton and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine since The Voice began in 2011.

The Hips Don't Lie singer gave birth to son Milan in January, the first child for her and her partner, Spanish soccer player Gerard Pique.

The Voice, which averages an audience of 14 million viewers for its two weekly episodes, will finish its current season on June 18.

The big picture

Posted: 16 May 2013 01:24 AM PDT

Reshmonu takes his career forward with a recording partnership deal in the United States.

FROM his humble beginnings as a sound engineer Reshmonu has becoming one of the most recognisable faces in the Malaysian music industry.

It has been 10 years since he create a buzz with his independent album release Monumental.

Reshmonu, now 36, has four albums and a management/record label (R Records) to his name. His career has come a long way.

Not only does he sing, write, produce, arrange and engineer his own music, Reshmonu is a perfectionist, overseeing virtually every stage of creating an album. That includes directing and editing his own music videos, directing the artwork of his albums, working on his own unique image styling (which we have come to know and recognise him for) and plugging his music to local radio stations.

And now, Reshmonu is about to push his career further. In the past week, he has been holed up in a studio in Philadelphia, United States, working with American producer Jim Beanz, who will ready up his first album for international release in Britain and North America.

Beanz has worked with top-notch singers like Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Shakira, Missy Elliot, Chris Brown to name a few.

"I'll be there for 20 days and will be working back-to-back on the eight to 10 tracks, which are currently being structured by Beanz and his team there," explained Reshmonu before he left for the United States.

"About a month ago, my team and I were discussing how we had already done the rounds in Asia and that maybe it was time to look further," he added.

"Somehow my gut was telling me to try Timbaland's production (Sunset Entertainment Group) as they might be able to understand where I came from," said Reshmonu, who has been a fan of Timbaland for a very long time.

As planned, the first email went to Timbaland's production house. The next day his manager came and informed him about a strange phone call from Philadelphia.

"Two weeks later we signed the contract," said the affable singer-songwriter.

The email exchanges happened earlier this year.

"I'm excited but also nervous. I think that my 10 years in the challenging music industry have prepared me for this opportunity.

"This is a learning curve for my team and myself. It is a partnership with Sunset Entertainment Group, which represents Beanz, and not a project as such.

"Basically they are preparing me and the album for next year. That's all I can say for the moment.

"What really amazed me was that they did their research in 24 hours and they told me what really caught their eyes about me (the image and the voice)."

Reshmonu also mentioned that this US deal inked was a long term project.

"They are not looking for one-hit wonders. For them, it is just as exciting as they have not signed any artiste from this region. And they like the story I'm telling through my music.

"My biggest challenge would be the thought process in the studio. You know, I've always been my own boss here at home. But now I have to let someone do the steering, which is going to be challenging.

"What they plan to do is to create a new sound for me. If possible I want to introduce Malaysian elements in it," said Reshmonu, adding that the yet to be titled album is scheduled to be released early 2014 followed by a busy year of touring in Europe and North America.

On Twitter this week, Reshmonu reported that the studio sessions have been going well in Philadelphia, with a handful vocal mixes wrapped up for the new songs.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Khamis, 16 Mei 2013

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

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