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You Sing I Write's Weekly Wrap Up

Boy bands seem to be making a comeback this year. With the hysteria that UK’s One Direction is currently bringing to America, I can’t help but to remember growing up in the era of Backstreet Boys, N’ Sync and 98 Degrees. Two weeks ago One Direction performed at Radio City Music Hall. Since I work across the street, I learned firsthand that this is not just another music fad as girls lined up hours before the show and I heard screams from 44 floors up throughout the day.

On Wednesday I interviewed the boys of One Direction and got a behind-the-scenes look at what life is like for the current music sensation. With back-to-back interviews lined up with little but a second break in between, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the guys. Just a glimpse into their daily life made me thankful I never became a rock star. Stay tuned for my interview with One Direction later this week.

The Wanted are another UK band currently heating up the charts. After the success of “Glad You Came,” the group revealed details behind their next single, “Gold Forever.” Meanwhile, the All-American Rejects released the title track off their upcoming album, Kids In the Street while Lady Gaga’s ex continues to promote his book, The Drunk Diet: How I Lost 40 Pounds…Wasted.

Rihanna finally broke her silence about her recent collaboration with Chris Brown. “I reached out to him about doing ‘Birthday Cake’ because that’s the only person that really made sense to do the record,” Rolling Stone reports. “I thought about rappers, and I’ve done that so many times, and the hottest R&B artist out right now is Chris Brown. So I wanted him on the track.”

While I’ve been covering pop music more closely as of late, I’m always happy to learn more about collaborations in the country world. For details behind Matt Nathanson and Sugarland’s latest hit, “Run” watch my video interview with him here.

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News

You Sing I Write's Weekly Wrap Up

Being a John Mayer fan, you can imagine my excitement in finding out his single, “Shadow Days” was released to radio on Monday. And, after setting tour dates and revealing the track listing to his upcoming release, Born and Raised, he let fans know that his album will drop May 22. Stream his new song here.

Lady Gaga launched her non-profit, Born This Way Foundation, at Harvard University this week. Inspired to raise awareness to stop bullying after a New York teen committed suicide last year, Gaga said, “I believe once you feel safe in your environment and you acquire the skills to be a loving and accepting person, the opportunities for you are endless to become a great functioning human in society.”

In other news, LMFAO announced tour dates and chatted with Rolling Stone about their Super Bowl halftime show with Madonna while John Legend discussed his decision to act in “The Hunger Games.”

Legend isn’t the only musician working in film. Taylor Swift lent her voice to Dr Seuss’ The Lorax where she plays Audrey, a character Swift describes as heavenly. “She’s such a day dreamer, and she cares so much about the past which makes her different from everybody else in the society she lives in,” she said. “To some degree, you have to have a priority based on the past and the future as well as the present.”

Finally, I met with and interviewed Matt Nathanson on Friday where he discussed his songwriting process, working with Sugarland and pranks he has pulled on tour with Maroon 5 and Train. Stay tuned for my complete articles soon!

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53rd Annual Grammy Awards Tonight on CBS

The Grammy Awards air tonight on CBS at 8PM ET/PT and will feature live performances by Christina Aguilera,  Jennifer Hudson,  Bob Dylan, Avett Brothers, Mumford & Sons, Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga,  Miranda Lambert, Katy Perry, Arcade Fire, B.o.B, Bruno Mars, Drake, Rihanna and many more.

For complete coverage, be sure to follow me on Twitter as I’ll be live tweeting the show. Over the past few years, I’ve been lucky enough to interview numerous Grammy winners, so be sure to click on my Q&As with past winners below and stay tuned for new interviews in the upcoming weeks!

Colbie Caillat

Lady Antebellum

Martina McBride

Pat Benatar

Taylor Swift

Train