Lionel Richie Advises Bruno Mars

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Gossip, Pop, R&B / Soul,

Bruno Mars seeks advice from Lionel Richie.

The "Grenade" hitmaker is a big fan of the 63-year-old singer and after going to see one of his live shows, he asked the "Hello" star for tips on career longevity. "The new generation are discovering that guys like me can do melodies. Bruno Mars is a killer for melodies and lyrics, and he came to my show. He asked me afterwards: 'Can you tell me how you do it?' and I said, 'Don't worry, you're doing just fine.' These new guys are hungry for longevity. Daft Punk's album shares some of that R&B sound, and they know it's all about writing great songs," Richie said.

Lionel admitted he never expected his songs to stay relevant and was worried about becoming a "laughing stock" with some of his material in the 1970s and 80s: "The words of 'Three Times A Lady' apply in 2013 just as they did in 1978, but at the time disco was happening and I was worried about being a laughing stock."

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Madonna Set for Huge Sales Drop

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: The Charts, Pop,

Madonna's latest album is set to have the biggest second week sales drop in chart history.

The 53-year-old singer's new record MDNA debuted at the top of the US album charts last week after achieving sales of 359,000. However, according to Forbes, in its second week of release, sales fell to approximately 46,000, making it a record-breaking 88 per cent fewer copies sold.

Reports say Madonna's first-week sales were inflated by CDs that were bundled with the purchase of concert tickets for her upcoming tour. According to The Hollywood Reporter, 185,000 copies of MDNA were sold as part of the ticket package deal, meaning that only 179,000 were individual album sales. Without these ticket package sales, MDNA would have placed at Number two on the charts behind Lionel Richie's Tuskegee, which achieved 199,000 copies that week.

Forbes' Roger Friedman believes Lionel was robbed of the number one position: "That promotion artificially inflated Madonna's numbers, putting her first before Lionel Richie and his Tuskegee album. I do think that all the people involved in the Madonna ticket-CD deal should apologize to Richie for denying him his rightful place at number one."

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Lionel Richie Wants to Duet With Adele

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Upcoming Releases, Pop, R&B / Soul,

Lionel Richie wants to work with Adele and Sir Paul McCartney.

The "Hello" hitmaker is releasing an album of his hits re-recorded with country artists - including Shania Twain and Willie Nelson - but says there are still some artists on his list he would love to work with.

"If I had my choice right now - Adele, I would go into the studio, say, tomorrow four o'clock. Then you have Coldplay - any day of the week. McCartney, forget about it! That guy, still, has got it all. He was a Beatle, one of the guys, right? But just give me some time and we'll find all these people."

Lionel, 62, also said he picked the title of his country album, Tuskegee, after the town in Alabama where he grew up, which was also home to his earliest musical inspirations:

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We Are the World - Part Two

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Artist News, Gossip, Reunions, Upcoming Releases,

First, they sang for Africa. Now, they’ll be singing for Haiti.

To help celebrate the classic “We Are the World” recording, Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie will be uniting artists once again to sing for a good cause. Artists in the Los Angeles area for the Jan. 31 Grammys will be asked to participate in this musical event taking place on February 1.

When the original song - co-written by Richie and Michael Jackson - was first released, proceeds generated by the single went toward the relief effort in Africa. Although a 25th anniversary-celebration had already been in the works prior to the earthquake in Haiti, the devastation in that country changed the scope of the plans.

It’s not yet known who will be involved in the new session, though artists including Usher, Natalie Cole, and John Legend have already been given invites.

“We Are the World” was recorded on January 28, 1985.

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