Music

POP UNCULTURED: A roundup of weird music news for the week ending May 4

by Anne T. Donahue

May 4, 2012

Since it’s impossible to address the total madness of the music industry in only five days, Pop Uncultured saves some of the week’s strangest stories for Friday afternoon. Enjoy?

Jessica Simpson had her baby!

36 months after announcing she was six months pregnant, Jessica Simpson gave birth to a 14-year-old girl she named Maxwell Drew Johnson, a burgeoning R&B star who’s obviously following in the footsteps of her namesake . . . Drew Lachey. When asked to comment, I responded, “Do I really need to add any more Twitter jokes or can I go back to seriously reporting the news?”

Justin Bieber released his video for “Boyfriend”

And, proving once and for all that he’s just like any other teenage boy, he busts out an acoustic guitar in the middle of a raging parking lot party, likely to end up playing “Hey There Delilah.”

Brian McKnight released a “sexy” new song [FULL STORY]

Brian McKnight has snagged an invite to the Adult Video Awards thanks to his recent release, “If You’re Ready To Learn.” After musically detailing the ins and outs of the female anatomy, Brian McKnight went on to admit, “I don’t know what I will do with this track in the future . . . but I am flattered that people have embraced it and are having as much fun with it as I am.” Well that’s all well and good, Brian, but some of us were planning to release a new, edgier version of a very similar song.

Thanks a lot.

Tom Cruise will sing classic rock songs in Rock Of Ages

According to NME, dreams do come true if your dream is to hear Tom Cruise cover songs by Guns ‘n Roses, Def Leppard and Bon Jovi in the upcoming musical, Rock Of Ages. However, your dreams do not come true if you wanted to see him perform them like this:

Questlove gave Blue Ivy an iPod with 4000 songs on it [FULL STORY]

In an attempt to kickstart Blue Ivy’s musical path, Questlove gave presented Blue Ivy with an iPod filled with 4000 songs – only a quarter of the 12 000 he had in mind originally. Kanye West was later seen snatching the iPod from Blue Ivy’s tiny hands saying, “I’mma let this playlist finish, but I had the greatest 4000-song mix of all time!” He then handed her 3999 mixes of “Monster” and one version of him singing “The Seed 2.0” a capella.

Britney Spears allegedly made The Wanted face the wall when she walked by

Vulture reports that despite having signed a confidentiality agreement, The Wanted have admitted that when on tour with Britney Spears, they were told to face the wall when she walked by. In related news, as if on cue, Madonna learned magically of Brit-Brit’s behaviour and issued the following statement in support:

Beyonce was weirded out by the fake pregnancy rumours

Beyonce has slammed reports of her using a surrogate throughout her pregnancy, claiming the rumours are “crazy.” Having previously stated that such tales were “stupid, ridiculous and false,” Beyonce went on to ask the interviewer, “Where did they come up with this?” Knowing it was the wrong time to tell her I started it, I quickly changed the subject and asked about Blue Ivy’s iPod. [via Billboard]

Kevin Richardson has re-joined the Backstreet Boys

Kevin Richardson is BACK, BSB fans, according to MTV who say that Brian Littrell has announced plans for a reunion tour and subsequent album. Rumour has it that the decision was made when Nick Carter saw the Chicago poster, got jealous, and told everyone they needed to talk about Kevin.