Kanye West Takes Early Sales Lead, Brian Wilson Debuts New Work, Ted Nugent Takes to

September 12, 2007, 08:00 PM

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• It looks like Rock Daily’s unscientific poll was on to something: Billboard reports that Kanye West has taken an early lead in this week’s chart battle with projected sales of 575,000-700,000 for Graduation while 50 Cent is expected to sell 500,000-600,000 copies of Curtis. Experts also say Kenny Chesney could give 50 a run for his money by moving 400,000-550,000 copies of Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates. Yesterday, Kanye and 50 went head to head on BET’s 106th and Park, and Jay-Z came out to end West’s set with a few bars of “Encore” from The Black Album.

• Brian Wilson premiered his new work, That Lucky Old Sun, at London’s Royal Albert Hall earlier this week, in a fashion similar to the 2004 debut of Smile. The songs from Sun are based on a 1949 song of the same name, with Wilson’s interpretation serving as an ode to Los Angeles. The first show of Wilson’s multi-night stand also included an encore of the Beatles‘ “She’s Leaving Home.” Wilson, along with Diana Ross, pianist Leon Fleisher, Steve Martin and Martin Scorsese will be honored by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on December 2nd.

• Ted Nugent’s latest rant comes in the form of an Op-Ed in the Waco Tribune in which the guitarist asks, “Did I Offend Someone?” and once again attacks Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, among others, while bragging, “During my gravity-defying musical career, the intensity, ferocity and sexual energy of my shows always have kept the faint of heart at a distance.”

• Usher, Ludacris, Wyclef Jean and Talib Kweli have been added to next Tuesday’s Dream Concert, where Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Carlos Santana will perform to raise money for a Martin Luther King Jr. national memorial.

• A Belgian court has ruled that Michael Jackson’s 1995 hit “You Are Not Alone” was written by two Belgians and not R. Kelly, who is currently credited with penning the track. The ruling now means the Belgian songwriting duo is entitled to the writing royalties Kelly has earned over the past twelve years.

Photo: Barket/Getty


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