Chris Willman
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Katy Perry Breaks Record Set by Gaga, Timberlake — But Can’t Yet Tell Jacko to Beat It
Country star Eric Church debuted at No. 1 on the album sales chart, while Perry is poised to tie Michael Jackson’s record for most chart-topping singles from a single LP
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Review: Fountains of Wayne Sounds Rueful Note in ‘Sky Full of Holes’
Fountains of Wayne remain rock’s cleverest, hookiest group, so let’s hope the spirit of resignation that permeates “Sky Full of Holes” is unique to the songs’ characters, not the band itself
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Review: Trace Adkins Saves Belligerence for Bonus Cuts on New Album
Country star and “Apprentice” contestant Trace Adkins is all sweetness on his tenth album… unless you buy the deluxe edition
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Review: Ellen’s Bieber-Like Protege, Greyson Chance, Is One Morose 13-Year-Old
Chance’s still-high voice is put to work in the service of world-weary laments in “Hold on ‘Til the Night’
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Music Charts: Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back to Black’ Back in Billboard’s Top 10
The late singer’s 2006 multi-Grammy-winning album returns to the top 10 after just two days of posthumous sales fever
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Amy Winehouse’s Final Days: Ironically, It Seemed Like the Worst Was Behind Her
Even as she was checking herself into and out of rehab and bombing on stage, it seemed like she had kicked the hard stuff
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Review: Eric Church’s ‘Chief’ Aim Is Poetic Rowdiness
On his third album, country star Eric Church puts a welcomely poetic spin on some overly familiar small-town tropes
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Review: Joss Stone Delivers Most Arresting Effort Yet in “LP1”
White British soul singer Joss Stone offers a cure for the Winehouse blues with her harder-rocking fifth album
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Review: Kelly Rowland Determined to Out-Sex Beyonce With ‘Here I Am’
Aided by a slew of raunchy guest rappers, Kelly Rowland finally drops any traces of the demure act and finds her post-Destiny’s Child identity in being oversexed
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Amy Winehouse: ‘I’ll Be Dead in a Ditch, on Fire’
But the singer’s death, like her genius, was no joke — we’ve lost a great artist, not a caricature
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Music Charts: Blake Shelton, Demi Lovato Make Splashy Bows
‘Voice’ judge Shelton found an agreeable jury for his first No. 1 album, while Lovato’s ‘Skyscraper’ is a rehabilitative hit on the singles chart
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Review: Tim Robbins Brings Strong Instincts, Weak Chops to Debut Album
The actor’s heart and influencesare all in the right place — but his strained voice and overreaching lyrics aren’t
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3 Doors Down’s ‘Time Of My Life’ Too Milquetoast for Any Genre
The era when rock as determinedly bland as this could go six-times-platinum, as the band’s decade-old debut album did, is late and largely unlamented
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With ‘Join Us, ‘ They Might Be Giants Might Be Grown-Ups Again
After a successful run of kids’ albums, the band returns to darker alt-rock — but maintains the all-ages catchiness
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Review: R.E.M. Rewinds 25 Years With ‘Lifes Rich Pageant’ Reissue
With a reissue of 1986’s “Lifes Rich Pageant,” the band revisits the end of the Jangle Years, throwing in some less Rickenbacker-heavy demos