Black Keys, Vampire Weekend Duke It Out on Colbert Report

Lead Singer of Vampire Weekend, Ezra Koenig, and the Black Keys stopped by The Colbert Report last night to assist host, Stephen Colbert with filling out his Grammy ballot. Both bands are in the running for Best Alternative Music Album so Colbert challenged them to a “sell-out-off” where both bands showed off the high profile television ads that featured their songs in 2010.

However, after Colbert determined that both bands “equally whored out” their music, some things got ugly!

Which band do you think should win the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album, Vampire Weekend or the Black Keys? Vote for your favorite in the comments!!

Watch it here!

Hear New Music First – HP

Among favorite new finds is Maroon 5’s new single “Misery”

Guest blogger and HitPredictor member Nina C. reports on the new music finds and what she liked and didn’t like in the HitPredictor jukebox last week. Many of these songs are still available so make check them out and let us know whether you agree or disagree! And, make sure you check out Nina’s other blog,TwilightNera’s Entertainment Hotspot for other news in the entertainment world.

Hello to all HitPredictor music lovers!

The last two weeks have produced a lot of diverse and exciting new songs in the HitPredictor jukebox. The most exciting thing for me personally was hearing new Maroon 5! Their new song “Misery” has already hit the radio and I also saw them perform it live on the “Today” show. They sounded great and the song sounds great! I was so glad they didn’t sell out like so many artist we’re seeing right now. They kept their funky/rock sound just like the fans like it, and as usual you heard it first on HitPredictor!

There were many bluesy singers and smooth voices filling the jukebox last week as well. Leela James‘ “Tell me You love Me” had really bluesy vocals and down home music. “Kandi” by One Eskimo also had that coffee house feel. More of these songs should be played on the radio – every day. I mean “California Gurls” is nice right, but you gotta move on.

The only unimpressive genre in the jukebox these last two weeks had to be the pop music. Don’t get me wrong I’m a huge pop fan but in my opinion these artists weren’t the best. “Power” which is supposed to be Kanye West’s return song, really is quite horrible. I would have expected a lot stronger and well … humbler song as his return. With his crazy antics I doubt he’s ever going to be able to make a full recovery.  Kylie Minogue is back to her strictly techno music (which is only good at the club with a couple of drinks).  And David Guetta’s “Memories” has hopeless looping lyrics. Let’s get back to the good stuff though!

There were some Caribbean sounding jams in the jukebox such as, “Wavin’ Flag: by Knaan feat. Will. I.Am and David Guetta. The song has a fun vibe and fun music with great lyrics.  Justin James also brought a Caribbean feel and a smooth voice mix in his new track. Did you notice all the smooth crooners there were these last two weeks? Most of them came from smooth rockers such as the lead singer of Vampire Weekend and Second Hand Serenade. Songs very nice for the ladies I might add.

Lastly, I got some pleasant country music surprises. Train’s “ Hey, Soul Sister” got a country remix that sounds great! “Undo it” by Carrie Underwood is another fierce country song too and I love it!

What were your faves from these awesome two weeks? And don’t forget to play the awesome Twitter trivia game and take part in the mid-week contest, every week with great hidden songs (and points!)

Vampire Weekend plans fall tour!

Vampire Weekend has announced plans to hit the road on a North American tour this fall, and SPIN magazine is reporting that the indie quartet have recruited Beach House and Dum Dum Girls to join them!

The group has planned a 13-date tour that begins Aug. 28 in Vancouver and wraps up in L.A. on Sept. 26.

Vampire Weekend complete itinerary:

8/28 Vancouver, British Columbia (Malkin Bowl) *^
8/29 Redmond, WA (Marymoor Amphitheater) *^
8/31 Troutdale, OR (Edgefield Amphitheater) *^
9/3 Morrison, CO (Red Rocks Amphitheater) *^
9/5 Chicago, IL (Aragon Ballroom) *^
9/7 Toronto, Ontario (Molson Canadian Amphitheater) *^
9/8 Montreal, Quebec (Metropolis Theater) ^
9/11 Columbia, MD (Merriweather Post Pavilion) *^
9/12 Boston, MA (Bank of America Pavilion) *^
9/15 New York, NY (Radio City Music Hall) *^
9/16 New York, NY (Radio City Music Hall) *^
9/17 New York, NY (Radio City Music Hall) *^
9/26 Los Angeles, CA (Hollywood Bowl) *%
* w/ Beach House
^ w/ Dum Dum Girls
% w/ the Very Best

Vampire Weekend has a few live shows scheduled before the tour starts including the Sasquatch Festival in George, Washington May 29, and The Roots Picnic at Festival Pier June 5.

Do you hope to catch any of these shows?

New music first – HP

Vampire Weekend to headline third annual Roots Picnic in Philly

Vampire Weekend’s popularity continues to grow and as a result, they are the official headliners of the third annual Roots Picnic, which Billboard.com is reporting will also feature performances by the Philadephia-based Roots, as well as interesting side projects from drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and rapper Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter.

Billboard is also reporting that Questlove will be playing a set with fellow Philadelphia native DJ Jazzy Jeff, while Black Thought will perform with his side project the Money Making Jam Boys, which also features Dice Raw and Truck North.

The Roots Picnic will also feature a reunion performance by a still unannounced hip-hop act, but in a video posted from his Twitter page, Questlove hints it will be along the lines of the Roots’ and Public Enemy’s complete performance of the latter group’s “It Takes a Nation of Millions” at the 2009 installment of the event.

Other scheduled performers include: Clipse, Mayer Hawthorne, Nneka, the Very Best, Tuneyards, Das Racist, Bajah and the Dry Eye Crew and Pattern Is Movement.

The Roots Picnic is scheduled to be held June 5 at the Festival Pier in Philadelphia, with tickets going on sale this Friday, March 5 from LiveNation.com.

New music first – HP

“Hope For Haiti Now” album tops Billboard 200

The “Hope For Haiti Now” charity album set a record this week, as it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 171,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan, making it the first digital-exclusive set to top the chart in the 50+ years of the chart’s history.

Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that the MTV Networks compilation, which features performances from the Jan. 22 “Hope For Haiti Now” telethon, only reached digital distributors over the weekend, and since the Nielsen SoundScan sales tracking week ends at the close of business on Sunday, the sales numbers encompass no more than two full days of purchases, which makes its sales numbers even more extraordinary!

In other fun facts, as reported by Billboard.com, this week’s “Hope For Haiti Now” debut is the third 100,000+ start at No. 1 for the first three tracking weeks of the year since 2005, following Ke$ha’s “Animal” at 152,000 for the first week of 2010, and Vampire Weekend’s “Contra” at 124,000 last week. Also, “Hope For Haiti Now” is sold through an independent distributor, INgrooves, which makes back-to-back independently distributed No. 1 albums to top the Billboard 200, following last week’s “Contra” from Vampire Weekend.

The rest of the Billboard 200 top 10 shakes out as follows:

• At No. 2, I Dreamed a Dream, Susan Boyle,  86,000
• At No. 3, The Fame, Lady Gaga, 62,000
• At No. 4, Transference, Spoon, 53,000 (debut week)
• At No. 5, 2010 Grammy Nominees Album, 49,000 (debut week)
• At No. 6, Contra, Vampire Weekend 43,000
• At No. 7, The Element of Freedom, Alicia Keys, 40,000
• At No. 8, Animal, Ke$ha, 35,000
• At No. 9, The E.N.D., The Black Eyed Peas, just under 35,000
• At No. 10, Fearless, Taylor Swift, 32,000

You can get a sneak peek into the “Hope For Haiti Now” album on HitPredictor, by listening to and rating “Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)” by Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge, and Rihanna.

New music first — HP

Vampire Weekend’s “Contra” tops Billboard 200

Vampire Weekend’s Contra has ended Ke$ha’s one-week reign at the top of the Billboard 200, after selling 124,000 copies last week according to Nielsen SoundScan.  Billboard.com reports that Contra is only the 12th independently distributed album (it is distributed by Alternative Distribution Alliance) to top the Billboard 200 chart since SoundScan began tracking the list in May 1991.

The only other independently-distributed album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in the past year was Pearl Jam’s self-released Backspacer which debuted at No. 1 on the chart Oct. 10, 2009. Contra is the only new debut to make the top 10 this week, with the second-highest new entrant at No. 19, which is Omarion’s Illusion, which sold 19,000 copies.

The rest of the top 10 includes:

• At No. 2, I Dreamed A Dream, Susan Boyle, 77,000
• At No. 3, Animal, Ke$ha, 67,000
• At No. 4, The Fame, Lady Gaga, 64,000
• At No. 5, The Element of Freedom, Alicia Keys, 48,000
• At No. 6, The Fame Monster, Lady Gaga, 36,000
• At No. 7, Stronger With Each Tear, Mary J. Blige, 35,000
• At No. 8, Fearless, Taylor Swift, 33,000
• At No. 9, Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel (soundtrack), just under 33,000
• At No. 10, The E.N.D., The Black Eyed Peas, 32,000

New music first — HP