Gotye Struggles to Finish New Album

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Upcoming Releases, Alternative,

Gotye is having trouble finishing his new album.

The singer-songwriter has begun work on the follow-up to his successful 2011 album Making Mirrors - which included the worldwide mega hit "Somebody That I Used to Know" - but has hit a "hurdle" and says it could be a while before fans hear the results.

Gotye - real name Wally De Backer - told website FasterLouder.com.au, "I've started a bunch of ideas that I really like, but I just seem to have hit a bit of a hump in terms of how I'm connecting that with moving them forward into finished pieces or into songs. When I think about it, it's quite similar to the experience I had in previous years trying to make records: there are always certain bigger hurdles you hit, and you wonder whether you're actually getting anywhere, but maybe you do actually have a lot of stuff under your belt. Very broadly that's where I'm at, I'm just working away."

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Taylor Swift Wins Eight Billboard Awards

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Awards, Country, Hip-Hop & Rap, Pop, R&B / Soul,

Taylor Swift led the winners at the Billboard Music Awards last night, taking home eight prizes.

The "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" hitmaker - who is known for her turbulent love life and relationships with stars including Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal and John Mayer - paid tribute to her loyal fans as she picked up the evening's top honor, the coveted Artist of the Year prize.

"Thank you for making my music the soundtrack to your crazy emotions. You are the longest and best relationship I've had," she said.

As well as Artist of the Year, Taylor also took home honors including Top Female Artist, Top Country Artist, Billboard 200 Album and Top Country Album for Red, and Top Country Song for "We Are Never Getting Back Together."

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Gotye Has Biggest Selling Song of 2012

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, The Charts, Alternative, Rock,

Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" was the biggest selling song of 2012 in the US. The Belgian-Australian singer's track sold 6.8 million copies, beating Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," which was second, with 6.4 million sales.

"Somebody That I Used to Know (Featuring Kimbra)" became a phenomena in 2012, catapulting the previously unknown artist to the spotlight. The song has sold over 10 million copies worldwide and reached number one in more than 23 national charts, becoming the fourth most downloaded track of all time.

Speaking of the track, Gotye - real name Wouter De Backer - said he doesn't mind if it's his only successful single: "I would take a sort of perverse pleasure if a certain part of the public think of me as a one-hit-wonder. I'd be in some good company."

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Nicki Minaj and Rihanna Lead AMA Nominations

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Awards, Country, Electronic, Hip-Hop & Rap, Pop, R&B / Soul, Rock,

Nicki Minaj and Rihanna lead the nominations for the 2012 American Music Awards (AMAs).

The two singers are each in the running for four awards, with Drake, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, One Direction and Usher following narrowly behind with three nods apiece.

Justin, Rihanna, Maroon 5, Drake and Katy Perry will battle it out for the coveted Artist of the Year prize, while J. Cole, fun., Gotye, Carly Rae Jepsen and One Direction are all up for New Artist of the Year.

Nicki's four nominations are for Favorite Female Artist - Pop/Rock, Favorite Artist - Rap/ Hip Hop, Favorite Album - Pop/Rock and Favorite Album - Rap/ Hip Hop for Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. As well as Artist of the Year, Rihanna is also up for Favorite Female Artist - Pop/Rock, Favorite Female Artist - Soul/R&B and Favorite Album - Soul/R&B for Talk That Talk.

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Chad Kroeger Doesn’t Get Nickelback Remixes

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gossip, Remixes, Rock,

Chad Kroeger doesn't understand Nickelback's dance remixes. The "Too Bad" rockers' songs get changed to fit with many different countries around the world, but the singer and guitarist prefers to their hard rocking originals.

"Yeah, there's been tons or remixes with dance beats and all that kind of stuff. It's always for some territory like Timbuktu, where there's only one radio station and the whole territory and the guy is like, 'It's top 40 and they love it' cos its got a rhythmic beat to it!" he said.

Chad also joked the practice of remixing songs once they become popular must upset some people, such as Gotye, who had a surprise worldwide hit with "Somebody That I Used to Know" earlier this year. "You look at an artist like Gotye, and I'm sure he thinks of himself as a really cool indie guy with street cred and now it's just like, 'boom boom boom, [sings] 'You didn't have to cut me off' boom boom boom.' That must really twist his soul!" he added.

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Gotye OK Being a One Hit Wonder

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gossip, The Charts, Alternative, Rock,

Gotye doesn't mind being seen as a one hit wonder. The singer's track "Somebody That I Used to Know" has been one of the biggest singles of the year worldwide, and he doesn't mind if it's his only successful track.

"I would take a sort of perverse pleasure if a certain part of the public think of me as a one-hit-wonder. I'd be in some good company," he told NME.

The Australian musician added he knows his real fans have been listening to his sound develop over three albums, but accepts most people will only associate him with his mega hit. "If I go on to never make any music that is as commercially successful as this and that means that there's a divide between some people's perception of me in the pop sphere versus the actual music I've made, and people actually taking the time to listen to the rest of it, then I think that's actually kind of interesting."

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Maroon 5 Boosts Worker Productivity, Glee Prompts Anger

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Editorials, Alternative, Covers, Pop, Rock, New Releases,

Maroon 5 makes workers "more productive." A new study carried out by online music concierge service Songza discovered that half of respondents believe the group's hit single "Moves Like Jagger" makes them do better at work, while 42 per cent of those surveyed rely on Gotye's "Somebody I Used to Know" to give them an early morning boost.

By contrast, just over a quarter of people claim the Glee cast's cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin" provokes "deep feelings of resentment and anger."

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