New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Line-Up Announced

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival which will be held April 29-May 1 and May 5-8 announced the headliners of the show this morning. Even though, “Jazz Fest,” as the locals say, gives the connotation of a festival rich in New Orleans style music only, don’t be fooled. Jazz Fest bring huge stars to the city every year to play for the 2-weekend long “party.” Locals, as well as people from all over the world would not miss the festival if their life depended on it. Well maybe then, but no other time. Tourists of New Orleans love Mardi Gras, and locals love Jazz Fest!

This year’s headliners include: Bon Jovi, Arcade Fire, Kid Rock, The Strokes, island tunes singer Jimmy Buffett, John Mellencamp, Wilco, Mumford & Sons (who’s album Sigh No More has been #1 on Alt charts for weeks), Jason Mraz, and so many, many more!! As well as top notch names, there are always New Orleans musicians, great food, lots of alcohol, arts and crafts, and plenty to dance about.

Jazz Fest is always held at the New Orleans Fair Grounds Race Course the last weekend in April and first weekend in May. Tickets are $40 a day or $120 for a weekend pass. Being a local of New Orleans I can contest to what an awesome festival it is. Make plans to visit New Orleans and “pass a good time, y’all.”

Which headliner are you excited to see perform at New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival?

Hear New Music First – HP

Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift lead Ultimate Top 10′s performers

A great tour proved to be a winning factor in Calendar’s Ultimate Top 10 list of performing artists in 2010 with Bon Jovi, Justin Bieber, and Taylor Swift leading the way.

“The last year reinforced the fact that a good year on the road remains more lucrative to pop music performers than a great year at the cash register, as Bon Jovi claims the top spot in Calendar’s annual Ultimate Top 10, which combines the money pop and rock acts earned on tour with their take from CD and digital music sales in 2010 in North America,” reports The Los Angeles Times.

Bon Jovi raked in a little more than $120 million with the majority of that being from what was the highest-grossing concert tour of the year. This number, however shines a big spotlight on the music industries struggles because this figure is among one of the lowest combined totals since Calendar started pooling pop acts’ revenue streams in 1997. The record still belongs to ‘NSync, which racked up $212.9 million back in the heady days of boy bands and teen pop in 2000. Remember those days?!

The Ultimate Top 10 is not meant to be the conclusion to an artists’ total financial picture. They have so many ways to bring in money, such as endorsements, merchandise, song placement, ringtones, etc. But by combining two of the biggest revenue sources, the Ultimate Top 10 is a great indicator of which artists’ fans are willing to shell out the dough for. Music sales revenue is calculated using an average price of $13 per album and 99 cents per digital track.

So what artist did y’all open your purse/wallet for and go see live in 2010? Tell me in the comments!

Hear New Music First – HP

Susan Boyle rains on Taylor Swift’s parade, taking the No. 1 position on Billboard 200

Susan Boyle is two-for-two when it comes to releasing chart-topping albums, as this week she ousted Taylor Swift for the top spot on the Billboard 200 with the debut of her Christmas album The Gift which sold 318,000 units in its first week. The Britain’s Got Talent Star hit her first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with her 2009 release of I Dreamed a Dream, which spent a total of six weeks at the top of the chart.

Swift’s Speak Now still sold a respectable 212,000 units last week, which puts it squarely in the No. 2 position.

The rest of the Billboard 200 top 10 includes:

• At No. 3, Man on the Moon II, Kid Cudi, 169,000
• At No. 4, Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 36, compilation, 89,000
• At No. 5, Greatest Hits, Bon Jovi, 88,000
• At No. 6, My Kinda Party, Jason Aldean, 81,000
• At No. 7, All the Women I Am, Reba McEntire, 64,000
• At No. 8, The Incredible Machine, Sugarland, 60,000
• At No. 9, The Lady Killer, Cee Lo Green, 41,000
• At No. 10, I Am Not a Human Being, Lil Wayne, 35,000

Did you make any album purchases this week? Or, are you still waiting for one that is going to drop soon? (Look for our new release list update to post tomorrow morning!)

Hear new music first – HP

Who do you think stole the show at the Grammy Awards?

There were a lot of big stars on the stage last night at the Grammy Awards, so which performance do you think stole the show? That is the question for today’s HitPredictor poll, so go to the site now to vote on who you think had the most outstanding performance at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards.

Last night’s performers included:

• Lady Gaga & Elton John
• Pink
• Eminem, Drake, Lil Wayne & Travis Barker
• Bon Jovi
• Green Day
• Dave Matthews Band
• Maxwell & Roberta Flack
• Jamie Foxx, T-Pain, & Slash
• Lady Antebellum
• Beyoncé
• Michael Jackson tribute
• The Black Eyed Peas
• Mary J. Blige & Andrea Bocelli
• Taylor Swift & Stevie Nicks

Let us know who you think deserves the award for best live Grammy performance now at HitPredictor!

New music first – HP

Two for Tuesday again – vote in our new polls at HitPredictor!

We have two new polls up at HitPredictor today — one is our “official” Grammy poll, which we are keeping track of in order to see how accurately HitPredictor members can pick Grammy Award winners, and the other is a user-submitted poll which earned member ‘prettyhay026680′ 25 bonus points!

The Grammy poll today asks you to vote for the song you think will win the Grammy for Song Of The Year. The nominees are:

• Poker Face (Lady Gaga)
• Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) (Beyoncé)
• Pretty Wings (Maxwell)
• Use Somebody (Kings Of Leon)
• You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift)

The user-submitted poll today asks you to tell us which Grammy performance you are most looking forward to on Sunday! The confirmed performers are:

• Lady Gaga
• Taylor Swift
• The Black Eyed Peas
• Beyoncé
• Lady Antebellum
• Bon Jovi
• Green Day
• Zac Brown Band
• Pink
• The Dave Matthews Band
• Maxwell
• Michael Jackson Tribute – Celine Dion, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, and Carrie Underwood

So let us know what you think! It will be fun to report all the results and compare them to the actual winners during the Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 31. And please continue to submit your ideas for polls – remember, it could earn you 25 bonus points if we pick your idea!

New music first — HP

Two for Tuesday polls at HitPredictor

We have two new polls up at HitPredictor this morning! We start with our ramp-up to the 52nd annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 31 by asking, of the five nominees, who do you think will win the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals.

The nominees are:

• I Gotta Feeling – The Black Eyed Peas
• We Weren’t Born To Follow – Bon Jovi
• Never Say Never – The Fray
• Kids – MGMT
• Sara Smile – Daryl Hall & John Oates

Our second poll question of the day was a user-submitted poll question, which means HitPredictor member spaceshiftbar won a bonus 25 points! This is a write-in question that asks: Of all the singers to emerge from American Idol, who do you think most deserves a Grammy nomination?

So let’s hear it at HitPredictor! Remember, every vote you cast in our polls earns you 5 points.  And be sure to submit your poll ideas for the chance to win a bonus 25 points.

New music first — HP

Bon Jovi to perform at Grammy Awards; viewer votes to determine song

The Grammy Awards Web site announced this morning that Bon Jovi is the latest band to be added to the lineup for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards, Jan. 31 at the Staples Center in L.A.

Bon Jovi has a Grammy nomination in the Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for the song “We Weren’t Born to Follow.”  However, for the Grammy performance, fans will be voting on which of the band’s biggest hits they want to hear.  Fans can go to the Grammy Awards Web site to choose from the following six options:

1. “Always”
2. “Bed Of Roses”
3. “Have A Nice Day”
4. “It’s My Life”
5. “Livin’ On A Prayer”
6. “Wanted Dead Or Alive”

This will be the first time Bon Jovi has played at the Grammy Awards and the band will be joining the previously announced following performers nominees: Beyoncé, the Black Eyed Peas, the Dave Matthews Band, Green Day, Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga, Maxwell, Pink, Taylor Swift, and the Zac Brown Band.

New music first — HP