SUPER-SIZED SATURDAY NEWS WRAP #115

• Plenty of new pop goodies doing the rounds at local media this week, including the title track of the new Madeon EP ‘The City’ (pictured). The French producer (real name Hugo Pierre Leclercq) supported current No.1 superstar DJ triumvirate Swedish House Mafia at a recent gig in the UK and was the house DJ at the MTV EMAs.
• Also doing the rounds this week were the previously mentioned new singles from Leona Lewis and Amelia Lily, ‘Draw A Crowd’ – the new single for Ben Folds Five, Bertie Blackman’s ‘Stella’ and, of course, Girls Aloud’s ‘Something New’. There’s a more comprehensive list of the tracks serviced to media this week over at our FACEBOOK page (published on Thursday).
• The gang from Stereosonic has announced a raft of official sideshows for 2012, with Calvin Harris popping up at Marquee at The Star in Sydney on Friday November 23. Sander van Doorn will also hit The Star – on November 28, while Laidback Luke and Martin Solveig will star at Pacha @ The Ivy on November 24. Stereosonic Sydney and Melbourne are fully sold out, but you can get all your sideshow information HERE.

• Expect plenty of squealing when pop star Nicki Minaj takes to the stage to present an award at this year’s ARIA Awards. She’ll be a special guest at the November 29 ceremony to present the award for Best Urban Artist. Nicki is in Australia for a quintet of live dates, which kick off at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on November 27.
• Aussie fans of Robbie Williams will have the chance to catch his upcoming concert at London’s O2 Arena, when it screens on MAX channel mere hours after it happens in the UK. Fast-tracked from the UK, the ‘Take The Crown’ show will screen down under at 10:30am on Sunday November 25, with an encore screening at 8:30pm. ‘Take The Crown’ debuted at No.1 on the UK albums chart this week and at No.4 on the ARIA albums chart.
• In other Robbie news, he’s giving fans the chance to own the live experience on CD, confirming the release of a ‘Live At The O2’ triple CD set (cover pictured below). Naturally, they’re strictly limited editions, but you can order yours HERE.

• British supergroup One Direction has released a brand new app via Spotify. The app, released earlier this week, allows fans the world over to gain an insight into what the boys are listening to while on the road, along with the chance to share playlists with the lads. Their new album ‘Take Me Home’ will debut on tomorrow’s ARIA charts.
• The Music Network Magazine is reporting that P!nk’s ‘Try’ is currently the No.1 most played song on Australian radio. Calvin Harris and Florence Welch’s ‘Sweet Nothing’ is in at No.2, with the highest new entry on their ‘Hot 100’ coming courtesy of Guy Sebastian’s ‘Get Along’ (No.61).

• Pop superstar Rihanna is currently on the road for a series of concerts, known as the ‘777 tour’, to celebrate the launch of her new album ‘Unapologetic’ – her seventh album in seven years. In keeping with the ‘7’ theme, Rihanna is performing seven shows in seven days in seven different countries. She’s already played to Mexico City, Toronto and Stockholm, tonight she’s in Paris and the remaining shows will take place in Berlin, London and New York. ‘Unapologetic’ is officially released on Monday.
• Launceston’s Breath Of Life Festival has just gotten a little bit hotter, with organisers revealing another raft of top name additions during the week. Joining the March 10 celebrations will be Steve Aoki, Madeon, Rudimental, Seth Sentry, Goodwill, The Only and many more in addition to the swag of acts already announced including 360, Birds Of Tokyo, Owl Eyes, Illy, Bliss N Eso, Dizzee Rascal, Bombs Away and A-Trak.
• If you live in Brisbane, the gang at Channel [V] and Pepsi are giving you the chance to be in the invite-only audience for a fabulous live show by The Presets. The gig, happening at The Tivoli on November 28, is a money can’t buy experience and the only way you can win your way there is by entering via THIS Facebook page. Naturally, it’s not only the good people of Brisbane who can enter and there’s even a grand prize of a pair of tickets and flights to the Queensland capital.

• Melbourne rapper Seth Sentry dropped in on the good people of Newcastle yesterday for the latest in this year’s series of Guerilla Gigs. Presented by Channel [V], Seth took over Queen’s Wharf Brewery for the afternoon surprise (pictured), performing tracks from his recently released album ‘This Was Tomorrow’.
• They’re already spending most of summer on tour as part of the (aptly titled) Red Hot Summer Tour alongside Jimmy Barnes, Baby Animals, Ian Moss etc, but Dragon has revealed they’re not slowing down when said tour wraps. They’ll head onto the road for their own headline dates, kicking off with a duo of shows at the Sydney Opera House on April 13 and 14. Ten shows are set down for the 40th anniversary concert series, with tickets on sale this Wednesday.
• Also venturing out for some live action is Men At Work frontman Colin Hay. His ‘Finding My Dance’ live tour kicks off in Bunbury on February 01, taking in dates in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT.
• If you love your ’80s, you’ll be loving MAX Channel from Monday November 26 as they head back to the ’80s. All week long, they’ll be playing classics from the likes of Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Kim Wilde, Rick Astley, Duran Duran, The Eurythmics, Bon Jovi and Wham! Even Toni Basil, Howard Jones and Nena’s names have been bandied about. It’s all ’80s, all week on MAX from 9am on November 26 to Sunday December 02.

• On the British singles chart, Robbie Williams remains wedged in the top spot with his new single ‘Candy’, even though he’s not been able to find traction down under. Labrinth and Emeli Sandé are still in the No.2 spot, with The Wanted’s new single ‘I Found You’ having to settle for a No.3 debut. Misha B’s new single ‘Do You Think Of Me’ is in at No.9, with the new Rita Ora single ‘Shine Ya Light’ bulleting from No.47 to No.10.
• It’ll be smiles all ’round in Camp Robbie this week, as the cheeky British singer ‘takes the crown’ on the albums chart with his new album ‘Take The Crown’. And yes, while there was a new Andre Rieu album threatening to spoil the party, there was no denying Rob his eighth No.1 studio album and his first in six years. Andre fared relatively well, premiering at No.2, while the new JLS album ‘Evolution’ debuted at No.3. Military Wives’ new collection was in at No.5, with a new Andrea Bocelli album debuting at No.10.

• Maroon 5’s run of success continues in the United States, with the band’s latest single ‘One More Night’ maintaining its mammoth run atop the US singles chart. Rihanna’s ‘Diamonds’ is charging, however, moving up two more spots to No.2, with Ke$ha’s ‘Die Young’ up from No.6 to No.3 and Flo Rida’s ‘I Cry’ up into the top ten.
• Taylor Swift’s still selling big numbers on the albums chart, shifting more than 1.5 million copies of her new album ‘Red’ since its release just a few weeks ago. There’s a new NOW compilation at No.2, with Ne-Yo’s ‘R.E.D.’ in at No.4 and Aerosmith’s ‘Music From Another Dimension’ at No.5. Third Day’s ‘Miracle’ debuted at No.10.
• And don’t forget, you can always get the lowdown on what’s happening in the ARIA top 100s every Sunday morning from 9am AEDT with our weekly Chart Watch segment. You know you want to!

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