No Doubt Page 2

Usher, No Doubt and Fall Out Boy are among the star names announced to perform at the annual Earth Day Rally in Washington D.C. later this month.

The free concert is held this coming Saturday (April 18th) in the American capital on the National Mall. Hosted by Black Eyed Peas star Will.i.am and Soledad O’Brien, it is also due to feature speeches from the United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.

Usher is one of the star names who will be performing at the Earth Day Rally in Washington this weekend

Continue reading: Performers Unveiled For 2015 Earth Day Rally In Washington D.C.

Good news for American music fans! The organisers of the massive Rock in Rio music festival have announced plans to hold an event in Las Vegas.

Taylor Swift will be headlining the brand new festival

According to Nation, the concert will take place in May next year over two weekends, with Metallica and Taylor Swift the top names on the bill. Also performing will be Linkin Park, No Doubt, and John Legend. There aren't many other festivals where you would catch all those acts on the same bill! Roberta Medino, daughter of the festival's founder Roberto Medino, also announced they will spend $25 million on a publicity campaign to drive ticket sales, but with such a star-studded bill, they might not have to push too hard!

Continue reading: Rock In Rio Festival Expanding To America, Taylor Swift To Headline

Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars and Katy Perry are among the names confirmed for the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas in September. The two-day festival, set to be held on September 20 and 21, will also feature performances from Elton John, Keith Urban and a special pairing of Queen (with Brian May) and the former American Idol star Adam Lambert.

The main festival line-up was announced on Monday morning (July 15, 2013) in a press conference hosted by Ryan Seacrest. A final schedule will be announced closer to the festival, though Timberlake, Perry, Elton and Bruno Mars are likely to be the marquee names. The likes of Muse, Tiesto, Chris Brown, Fun, Phoenix, Maroon 5, Tim Mcgraw, Ke&ha, Thirty Seconds to Mars and Benny Benassi are other high profile names to have been confirmed. 

Last year's festivals played host to No Doubt, Pink, Usher and Swedish House Mafia though it will be remembered for Billie Joe Armstrong's meltdown during Green Day's set. After smashing the band's instruments in protest of his set being cut short, Armstrong left the stage and was admitted to rehab the next day, cancelling his band's tour dates and promotional appearances. 

Continue reading: IHeartRadio Festival To Welcome Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars And Err, Queen

No Doubt's latest single 'Looking Hot' has well and truly bombed, having sold just 680 copies in its first week of release in the UK. The second single to be taken the band's comeback album Push and Shove reached No 397 on the singles chart, some 1,500 copies short of breaking into the Top 200, reports NME.com.

It's an odd result, given the relative popularity of singer Gwen Stefani and the group's recent performance on x factor, which usually lifts an artist's sales by around 300 per cent. The album peaked at No.16 in the chart, selling less than 7,000 copies while first single Settle Down reached No.85. Essentially, it's been a disastrous comeback for the group, who were criticised for their video for Looking Hot, which depicted Gwen Stefani as a Native American squaw dancing in a tepee. The band apologised for any offence and pulled the clip. It could go towards explaining the single's poor performance, and Last.FM say 28,000 people have "scrobbled" the song, which has clocked 117,000 plays. It's likely that fans are playing the songs on streaming services such as Spotify, rather than downloading and listening on iTunes.

Though the band has made its millions over the years, its recent chart performance will disappoint Stefani and company. She's probably rueing the decision to pull the plug on her hugely successful solo career and reunite with her old pals.

Continue reading: Oh Dear: No Doubt Sell Just 680 Copies Of 'Looking Hot'

No Doubt has pulled its video for new single 'Looking Hot' and offered an apology after the clip's content was accused of being racist. The video featured an Old West theme and saw singer Gwen Stefani in Native American-style clothing whilst taking part in native rituals.

It was the Facebook page of For Accurate Indigenous Representation Media (F.A.I.R) who first flagged the video and sent a message to the band, "Gwen Stefani - You may think you are 'Looking Hot' - but you are not. You are just looking like yet another insensitive, entitled, Hipster who is letting her white privilege slip show. And it's oh so unfashionable," read the post. The video was directed by Melina Matsoukas - sound familiar? She helmed the video for Rihanna's S&M, which prompted a lawsuit by David LaChapelle, who accused the pair of appropriating his images without consent. In its apology for the video - which was removed from YouTube and Vevo - the band said, "As a multi-racial band our foundation is built upon both diversity and consideration for other cultures," the statement reads. "Our intention with our new video was never to offend, hurt or trivialize Native American people, their culture or their history." Unsurprisingly, the apology was met with a supportive response on the F.A.I.R Facebook page. "Happy to hear that they took the comment seriously and did something about it," wrote Tammy Copegog Cascagnette, "Hopefully, word will spread and we won't have to keep dealing with this."

For anyone who's still bothered about buying 'Looking Hot,' it's out today, November 6, 2012.

Continue reading: Is No Doubt's Looking Hot Video Racist?

Has No Doubt's long hiatus mean they've lost touch with the current and updated version of political correctness? Unfortunately, it appears the answer is yes. Their video for the new single 'Looking Hot' was quickly withdrawn after fans were offended with its content, Fox News reports. 

The video saw the band's lead singer, Gwen Stefani, adorned in Native American attire, or at least their attire according to the movie Pocahontas. Perhaps dressing up as a Native American isn't intrinsically offensive, but perhaps portraying said person as being tied up by an American in a western themed video is. "Our intention with our new video was never to offend, hurt or trivialize Native American people, their culture or their history," said the band. "Although we consulted with Native American friends and Native American studies experts at the University of California, we realize now that we have offended people. This is of great concern to us and we are removing the video immediately."

Fans took to twitter to air their grievances, with the majority of them posting tweets to suggest just how offended they were. Some, however, weren't too bothered, and bemoaned the sensitivity of others. No Doubt appeared on "The X Factor UK" tonight to promote "Push and Shove," released in September. What do you think of the video? Seek it out and let us know below. 

Continue reading: No Doubt Quickly Retract Looking Hot Video Due To Racist Claims

No Doubt have been forced to apologise to the Native American community after offending some of its members with their latest pop video. No Doubt – who are fronted by Gwen Stefani – released the video for ‘Looking Hot’ on Friday (November 5, 2012), which, according to Reuters, featured Gwen dressed in traditional native garments, dressed as a Native Indian Princess. They have been accused of trivializing the culture of Native Americans.

In the video, drummer Adrian Young and guitarist Tom Dumont are dressed as cowboys and capture Stefani, though she is rescued by bass player Tony Kanal, who plays a tribal chief. In a statement, the band have apologised, saying their intention was “never to offend, hurt or trivialize” the Native American culture. They added “As a multi-racial band our foundation is built upon both diversity and consideration for other cultures. Our intention with our new video was never to offend, hurt or trivialize Native American people, their culture or their history… Although we consulted with Native American friends and Native American studies experts at the University of California, we realize now that we have offended people ... We sincerely apologize to the Native American community and anyone else offended by this video.”

‘Looking Hot’ is the second single to be released from No Doubt’s latest album release, Push and Shove. It’s the band’s first album release in a decade.

One Direction have won one of the biggest awards at the 2012 MTV European Music Awards. Don’t panic though, there’s still roughly a month to go until the actual event but MTV have already announced that One Direction have been named Best UK/ Ireland Act of the Year.

Louis Tomlinson spoke on behalf of the band to thank their fans for voting for them, telling MTV News, “We're so happy and incredibly honoured to have won this. Once again our amazing fans have done us proud – thanks so much as always to you all” said Tomlinson.

The awards ceremony itself is scheduled to take place in Frankfurt on November 11, 2012 and will be hosted by the supermodel Heidi Klum. Amongst the musical highlights of the evening are Taylor Swift and No Doubt. Taylor Swift will be making her EMA debut and said “I’ve always wanted to go to the EMA, because you hear about the spectacle of it, and how everyone just goes all out for their performances. To be nominated for five EMAs was the most exciting feeling, and I was absolutely blown away. I can’t wait to be there this year and perform on the show!”

Continue reading: Already In The Bag: One Direction Win At MTV Europe Music Awards 2012

“The Brits are coming,” yelled Paul Revere in the 1800s, though we’re not sure he was talking about Mumford And Sons and One Direction. Nevertheless, it’s the two British groups who have dominated the notoriously difficult to crack US charts this year, proving that success on both sides of the Atlantic can be a realistic prospect for Blighty’s finest pop stars.

Folk rockers Mumford and Sons notched up the largest selling debut of the year this week, selling just under 600,000 copies of their second record ‘Babel’ and topping the US Billboard 200. The figures obliterated Justin Bieber’s ‘Believe’ which opened with sales of 274,000 back in June. According to Nielsen/Soundscan, Mumford and Son have sold the most albums in a debut week since Drake’s ‘Take Care’, which moved 630,000 copies in November 2011. The group’s single ‘I Will Wait’ currently sits atop the ‘Rock Airplay Chart’ while their previous effort ‘Sigh No More’ has risen from No.28 to No.12 on the album’s chart too. Mumford’s success this week meant Green Day had to settle for No.2 with a comparatively paltry 138,600 and No Doubt landed a credible No.3 on their return.

Back in March this year, boy-band One Direction became the first ever British group to score a Billboard No.1 with their debut album. ‘Up All Night’ romped to the top of the charts in its opening week and it’s likely their sophomore effort ‘Take Me Home’ will do the same upon its release in November.

Taylor Swift will soon make her debut at MTV’s EMA 2012 awards. She will join the likes of Muse and No Doubt, who will also perform live and she’s near the top of the list of nominees, having been nominated for no fewer than five awards. Taylor Swift is an MTV favourite but 2012 will mark the first time that she has performed live at the European music awards show. The awards ceremony will be aired from Frankfurt, Germany, on November 11, 2012.

Swift told MTV “I've always wanted to go to the EMA, because you hear about the spectacle of it, and how everyone just goes all out for their performances” and she added “To be nominated for five EMAs was the most exciting feeling, and I was absolutely blown away. I can't wait to be there this year and perform on the show!” The supermodel and TV presenter Heidi Klum will be hosting the event, which will also feature a live performance from No Doubt, who have recently released their sixth studio album Push and Shove. Muse are known for their spectacular live shows, so viewers will surely be in for a treat from the UK rock band, who recently penned the song ‘Survival’ for the London 2012 Olympics.

Rihanna leads the list of nominations, with six nods, with Justin Bieber and Katy Perry both on four apiece.

No Doubt getting back together were the words on everyone’s lips, but now that it’s confirmed, and Push and Shove has been released, what do people think of their comeback?

Well – drumroll please – it’s great! Their first album for over a decade has proven to be a success, with the L.A Times saying: “At its best, "Push and Shove" channels some of the infectiously restless energy of "Rock Steady," the band's pre-hiatus farewell. And it further polishes a bold mix-and-match aesthetic that feels familiar today in part because of records such as "Tragic Kingdom." With so many people anticipating the renaissance of their eclectic style, the band were probably under more pressure than ever before, but they seem to have dealt with it well. “No Doubt aren't just 11 years older than they were when they released their last LP. They're determined to be wiser. Push and Shove leans toward synthpop-flavored ballads with grown-up themes: relationship struggles, the rewards of long-term romance,” writes Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone.

So the comeback is going well, where so many have failed, but even Gwen Stefani, the band’s mercurial front, wasn’t certain of success, according to The Daily Herald. “That’s pretty complicated stuff when you start to really look at it,” the 42-year-old lead singer and lyricist said. “You’re playing this role your whole life — the singer of No Doubt — totally committed to this in the greatest kind of way, and then all of a sudden, you’re saying, ‘Actually, you guys cannot be No. 1 anymore or else this is not going to work.’”

No Doubt return with their latest album ‘Push and Shove’; their first studio effort since taking a break following their 2001 Grammy nominated ‘Rock Steady’ album.

‘Push and Shove’ is also the title of their new single which features Busy Signal and Major Lazer. A black and white video for the track has been unveiled showcasing the noisy dance/ rock tune with hints of R&B, reggae and ska. It’s not an overly complicated audio-visual; it simply shows the quartet having lots of youthful fun after a long 7 year hiatus where they each broke off to commit to some of their own projects. It doesn’t look too much like this new album wavers too much from their old sound either; which can be seen as both a bad and a good thing, however it’s difficult to refer to ‘Push and Shove’ as in any way dated. Guitarist Tom Dumont told USA Today that it was their intention to stick to what they knew. ‘Our goal was to be true to our past and our influences but to be contemporary’, he said.

As for the lengthy wait for the new album, lead vocalist Gwen Stefani admitted that it was mainly down to her busy schedule.

There hasn't been the huge buzz surrounding No Doubt's return that there might necessarily have been with other acts, which is strange in a way given the profile Gwen Stefani had back in the last decade. On the other hand they've not been away for a hugely long time in comparison to some of their peers. However, unlike many who've simply returned and wheeled out the old hits, No Doubt are actually returning in a creative sense; that is, they've got new music out!

Push And Shove is the band's first album since returning, and it seems to be finding good sway with the critics, with many pointing out that the trio haven't really changed their style since going away - and that that's absolutely fine. "Gwen Stefani pogos as hard as she ever did in her Anaheim-strip-mall ska days" writes Entertainment Weekly, "But she's also just as neurotic, which adds depth to her love songs." Billboard meanwhile comments "Push and Shove is a celebration of No Doubt's love for all things 80s pop and the Southern California ska scene."

Such a continuous character doesn't impress everyone though; The Independent writes "No Doubt makes only the most tentative divergences from previously tried and tested strategies, which gives Push and Shove a character that could be described as either dated or timeless" whilst its sister Sunday paper comments "There's an excess of bog-standard radio-friendly pop-rock, and a couple of wet weepies a la Don't Speak."

Flavor Flav made a bit of a fool of himself at the iHeartRadio Festival over the weekend. The Public Enemy member (he’s the one with the over-sized clocks) was filmed meeting Gwen Stefani backstage at the festival and he was clearly over the moon that he managed to get his picture taken with her. The only problem is that it wasn’t actually the No Doubt singer that he was posing with. It was Miley Cyrus. Yes, that’s right Mr. Flav managed to confuse the 42 year old No Doubt singer with the 19 year-old Hannah Montana star. Ouch.

We’re wondering how Miley’s feeling now that she knows her new cropped blonde hairdo has effectively doubled her apparent age? Perhaps Flavor Flav needs a massive pair of spectacles? It would certainly explain the size of the timepieces he carried around his neck… To be fair to the guy, he did at least confuse Miley with someone that was actually at the festival; Gwen’s band No Doubt were performing there, ahead of the release of their sixth studio album this week.

Their meeting certainly made for awkward viewing (even if it’s pretty entertaining). Huffington Post have hosted a video that shows Flavor walking away from their photo opportunity, telling his entourage how glad he was to have met Gwen Stefani. A lady then whispers to him that it was in fact Miley Cyrus that he just got up close and personal with. “I know that's not Hannah Montana,” he protests, before going back and checking again and explaining that he’s a fan of Miley’s too. We reckon he just about managed to save face, there.

This week, No Doubt release their sixth studio album, Push and Shove. Their lead singer Gwen Stefani may have soldiered on into a new millennium with her solo material but her band seem content to revisit the sights and sounds of the 1990s – the decade when they made their name. In an interview with The Guardian, Stefani insists that her solo records were “never meant to be taken seriously” and the band seem to be re-treading old ground with their new material, even with forward-thinking producer Diplo at the helm in the studio.

In the video for the first new single from No Doubt, ‘Settle Down,’ Stefani wears a black vest with a visible bra, bold shiny trousers and a giant watch: “To original fans it will prompt nostalgia, to new ones…it will probably look like a very on-trend 90s fashion revival.” Gwen insists that it “feels so much more natural being back in this mode” and she has fixed the broken relationship that she had with songwriting partner Tony Kanal (whom she used to date).

That return to the band’s trademark sound will please hardened fans of the band but may prove to be a sticking point for those who have fallen by the wayside. Andy Gill of The Independent states that the band have “only the most tentative divergences from previously tried 
and tested strategies, which gives Push and Shove a character that could
be described as either dated or timeless.” A return to form, though is a good thing for Entertainment Weekly, who write “Gwen Stefani pogos as hard as she ever did in her Anaheim-strip-mall ska days. But she's also just as neurotic, which adds depth to her love songs.”