Alicia Keys

Ralph McDaniels on 20 Years of Hot 97's Summer Jam and That Whole Nicki Minaj Thing

This Sunday, MetLife stadium will hold the 2013 incarnation of what's become hip-hop's most reliably controversial night, the Hot 97 Summer Jam. The 20th annual Summer Jam, it's seen the genre's biggest stars perform and game-changing moments happen. One man whose seen just about every Summer Jam is ... More >>

The Ultimate List of Free Summer Concerts in NYC, 2013

Get ready to plug this in your bookmarks, iCals, sticky notes, and religious shrines, because the ultimate guide to free summer concerts in New York City is here! Seriously, scroll down and don't be stingy - share with your friends. Concerts aren't fun without friends. Just ask the lucky gal above e ... More >>

Our 20 Most Popular Posts of 2012

We covered a lot of music ground in 2012. You loved all of it. But some stories were more read than others. Here now, our 20 most popular posts of the year. Thanks for reading. The Ten Best Reissues of 2012 The Ten Best Noise Tracks of 2012 The Ten Best Metal Albums of 2012 The Ten Best Country Alb ... More >>

Our 20 Most Popular Stories of 2012, 20 - 11

We've covered a lot of music ground in 2012. And you loved all of it. But you read some stories more than others. Here now, our 20 most popular posts of the year, from 20 - 11. The Ten Best Reissues of 2012 The Ten Best Noise Tracks of 2012 The Ten Best Metal Albums of 2012 The Ten Best Country Al ... More >>

The Antlers, Grizzly Bear, and Sleigh Bells - Terminal 5 - 12/14/12

Better than:Cinderella "It feels amazing to be here tonight," the Antlers' Peter Silberman announced to a packed Terminal 5 on Friday night. "This is such a well-put-together event." It felt pretty amazing for me, too, since up until an hour previously I didn't think I was going to get on the press ... More >>

Is Megaupload's Kim Dotcom Pursuing a Music Career?

Since the Voice has been covering the legal proceedings against Kim Dotcom, there have been very few dull moments. And now, we have learned that the larger-than-life Megaupload founder -- who has a well known penchant for models and fast cars -- might also be working on a dance album! As detailed ... More >>

Radio Hits One: Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, And The Era Of The Hit Bonus Track

Superstar pals and Young Money labelmates Lil Wayne and Drake released two of the biggest albums of 2011—Tha Carter IV and Take Care—and both are still spinning off hits well into 2012. But a look at the singles charts reveals something odd: the biggest current hits off both albums aren' ... More >>

Oddsmaker: Do Beyoncé And André 3000 Have Enough Swagu To Beat Kanye And His Dozens Of Friends At The Grammys?

​The Grammys created the awkwardly named Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category ten years ago, around the time Ja Rule's various "thug love" duets were dominating the airwaves. The award recognized a growing sector of popular music that didn't quite fit into the preexisting rap, R&B or pop song ... More >>

Live: Swizz Beatz Brings Out T.I., DMX's Brother And Some Other Guys At The IAC Building

Swizz Beatz IAC Building Wednesday, November 30 Better than: Ja Rule's acting in The Fast and the Furious. It seems cruel that as the recession continues to hit the "snooze" button, Swizz Beatz has picked up yet another job, another paycheck. He is the luxe James Franco, collecting 1099s like pass ... More >>

"The Voice" Closes Its Eyes And Takes On "American Idol"

​So: The Voice. The big challenge. American Idol has been the dominant ratings force in American TV for a full decade now, but none of the other networks has really managed to do much with that show's format, which seems like a relatively easy thing to steal. (Or they haven't made a big singin ... More >>

Penguin Prison's Sylvan Terrace Home: Like Boardwalk Empire Without the Whores

A $1900/month rowhouse in Washington Heights

Five Takeaways From The 2010 Grammy Nominations

Behold, the future of music.​The Grammy Awards are a bit of a punchline in music nerd circles, a place where, say, MGMT battles Hall & Oates for a trophy that will inevitably be won, and then dropped on the ground, by the more telegenic and industry-saving Taylor Swift. The Grammy voters hate ... More >>

Live: Kanye West At Bowery Ballroom, Ranting, Seething, And Enthralling

Live: Bob Dylan Rasps Beautifully At Terminal 5

Listen, he's Bob Dylan, and I'm honoring this.​Bob Dylan Terminal 5 Monday, November 22 Better Than: That tour he did awhile back with John Mellencamp, probably. You want to know what he looks like, but you already know: dapper, dignified, craggy, with a hat so wide and round and stiff it co ... More >>

A User's Guide To Tonight's Drake Show at Radio City Music Hall

Is this you, perhaps? Photo by Rebecca Smeyne.​Last night, Drake played the first of two shows at Radio City Music Hall, alighting triumphantly on a New York stage after two horrifically abortive attempts earlier this year. But last night was uniformly dubbed a triumph, a coronation for the yo ... More >>

Live: Jay-Z And Eminem Bring Out Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Swizz Beatz, And Chris Martin (??!!) At Yankee Stadium

This actually happened Jay-Z/Eminem Yankee Stadium Monday, September 13 Better than: The shows in Detroit, I have to think. Sorry, Detroit. So let's start somewhere in the middle: Chris Martin! The dude from Coldplay! Seriously! Out he shuffles roughly halfway through Jay-Z's n ... More >>

Fashion Week Day One: Nicholas K; Michael Kors, Heidi Klum, and Jessica Simpson at the Extra-Long Project Runway Show

​We've been counting down the days until this very moment: the first day of Fashion Week at its new location. And although Bryant Park is a mere two miles away from Lincoln Center, it feels like we're in another world. We take our first glimpse of the new setup and see no sign of white tents or bi ... More >>

Live: Rating Rock the Bells Sets From Slick Rick, Wu-Tang Clan, Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, Snoop Dogg, and More

Oh, hey Q-Tip. All photos by Rebecca Smeyne.​On a sweltering Saturday, the seventh annual hip-hop nerd convention Rock The Bells took over Governor's Island. It's a place where people know to "throw a one in the air" for Guru before DJ Premier even asked, a place where you can overhear a convo ... More >>

Drake Will Never Play Outdoors For Free in This Town Again: Central Park Show Next Week Cancelled

Here we go again. Photo by Rebecca Smeyne.​To say that Drake's June 15th free, outdoor show at the South Street Seaport was cancelled would be an understatement--more like dissolved into a lawless riot. The cops eventually broke that show and the twenty-plus thousand people who came to see it ... More >>

The Street Pianos Are Coming! New York's Latest Public Art Experiment

Photo by Luke Jerram.​In 2004, there were "The Gates". And in 2008, there were "The Waterfalls". And now, in 2010, there will be THE STREET PIANOS!

American Idol Season 9: Top 9 Results--Redux: Andrew Garcia and Katie Stevens Say Goodnight

Bye, KatieMichael Becker / FOX​ "Carmina Burana" is supposed to signal just how intense they wish the show would be tonight. Yes, there are two people getting kicked off, but otherwise there's a performance from Season 7's serial false-starting nanny Brooke White, and Adam Lambert--who was ne ... More >>

Your Big, Honking Guide to Haiti Benefits and Valiantly Intentioned Fundraising Efforts, Non-Wyclef Musical Edition

If this doesn't say it all, don't know what does Wyclef's Yele charity has recently drawn a firestorm of criticism, but he's not the only musical figure trying to mobilize folks and funds on behalf of Haiti. There's also an impressive number of benefit concerts and music events happening in the cit ... More >>

The Top 10

Arguing about mellow indie rock, Lady Gaga, and the real grizzly bears

America Opts For Taylor Swift Over Susan Boyle By a Terrifyingly Thin 113,000 Record Margin

Better luck next year, Michael-Musto-as-Susan-Boyle. Photo by Chad Griffith​It's official--singer-to-the-olds Susan Boyle, despite a fearsome late run, didn't quite overcome Taylor Swift for the 2009 sales crown. The final tally? 3,216,000 for Fearless, 3,103,000 for I Dreamed A Dream. Boyle d ... More >>

Buy 175,000 More Copies of Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream and Win A Free Punch in the Face from Taylor Swift

How convenient that Michael Musto decided to dress up as Susan Boyle this week. Photo by Chad Griffith.​Or something like that. For the fifth, face-obliterating week, the UK siren Susan Boyle is #1 on our charts, selling 510,000 records this week, and 2,982,000 overall--proof if there was ever ... More >>

Michael Jackson Saves Slow News Day with FBI Kid Sex, Death Threat Files

​It's Christmas Eve's Eve's Eve and we got nothing, so thank Santa for the Freedom of Information Act, which got the FBI to release documents showing that the feds were looking into Michael Jackson's life, particularly the parts spent with young boys. Now we can relive the magic all over again ... More >>

The Tentative Return of Whitney Houston

Not a disaster, but not exactly a triumph, either

An Apology, of Sorts, for Antagonizing Questlove With Regards to the Still-Not-Happening School Daze Sequel

​While browsing Twitter yesterday morning, we came across a Questlove dispatch that seemed to suggest he was taking time out of his busy schedule to do some acting and/or composing for the sequel to Spike Lee's 1988 film School Daze. Here is the Tweet in full:

The Long Strange Path to This Surprisingly Good Esmee Denters/Justin Timberlake Single, "Casanova"

Esmee Denters was a goofily pretty Dutch pancake house waitress who, in 2006, began uploading videos of herself singing covers of Beyonce and Alicia Keyes songs to YouTube. In 2007, she posted a clip of herself covering of Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around" in which, at the end of the video, ... More >>

American Idol Top 3 Results: The Live-Blog

CR: Ray Mickshaw / FOXL-R: Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert, Kris Allen. The exhilarating moment of truth (for this week, anyway) has finally come. Will Douchebag Gokey's backroom-of-a-bar performances last night earn him the well-deserved boot? Will Kris Allen's Beautiful Bubble finally burst? Will Adam ... More >>

American Idol Semifinals Round 3: Blind Guy Sucks, Jorge Loses his Rican Charm, and Kara Picks Up a Blaccent

Sharyn Jackson is your American Idol host for season eight. This week: Actual talent in the third round of semi-finals! all photos by Michael Becker / FoxNathaniel Marshall Tonight was a toughie. After two pretty lousy rounds, the last 12 semifinalists actually contained some talent--and another ... More >>

More Apocalyptic Discourse with Appetite for Self-Destruction scribe Steve Knopper

'If they're waiting for the next Thriller to come along and save everything, they're really, really misguided. I hope they've figured it out by now.' This week in the hopelessly antiquated print version of the Voice, I chat with veteran Rolling Stone editor/reporter Steve Knopper, whose new book ... More >>

We Are Together: Wincing Through Tears

A hackneyed doc on a heartbreaking subject

A Night With Alicia Keys, John Mayer, and Diddy!

Gambling on being satisfied by ham on wry; finding sex outside of the city.

Mariah Carey's Failed Adjustment

This Year's Grammy Nominations: Fucking Insane

The American Music Awards: A Running Diary

The CMAs: A Running Diary

Ace Up His Sleeve

Joe Carnahan's overly slick, heavily edited dark comedy works despite itself

Pure Percussive Pleasure

Kenny and Louie's joyous retro reboots dominate clubs and living rooms alike

Explorations in Mixtape Nation

Lil Wayne, Q-Tip, and Remy Ma feed into hip-hop's endless musical reserves.

The Grammy Awards: A Running Diary

Pulling the White Strings

Light-skinned acts ride hip-hop’s changing tide with dark-skinned Svengalis

Power of Love

Memorial service for Luther Vandross brings out the star wattage and Holy Ghost power

Edges of the Groove

Arguments against education, reclaimed punk rants, electropop with staying power

NY Mirror

Black Women!

NY Mirror

NY Mirror

Age-Old

Turns Out That Little Leaguer Danny Almonte Is Really 14. Ever Lied About Your Age?