Trendy Bands » Contests http://trendybands.com Sun, 10 Feb 2008 14:05:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 en hourly 1 Justin Timberlake to perform with unsigned artist at the Grammys http://trendybands.com/2006/12/19/justin-timberlake-to-perform-with-unsigned-artist-at-the-grammys/ http://trendybands.com/2006/12/19/justin-timberlake-to-perform-with-unsigned-artist-at-the-grammys/#comments Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:18:40 +0000 Jenny May http://trendybands.com/2006/12/19/justin-timberlake-to-perform-with-unsigned-artist-at-the-grammys/ CBS, Yahoo! and the Recording Academy have certainly come up with one of the more creative contests that I’ve seen in awhile. The winner of the “My Grammy Moment” talent search will have the opportunity to sing with Justin Timberlake at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards on CBS February 11th.

Entrants have until January 3rd, 2007 to submit a video of themselves singing a cappella versions of one of the nine Grammy award winning songs picked out by Justin Timberlake. Eventually the top submissions will be judged by a panel and then voted on by the public. The event ends on the night of the Grammy Awards.

It’s interesting because for some well known companies, it seems that unsigned bands and artists are becoming more of a trend in advertising campaigns by way of contests. Of course, the bands and artists who are participating in the contests are welcoming the opportunity for possible discovery. For the unsigned bands any publicity is good, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that the companies will gain more out of it than the thousands of hopefuls. To name just a few recent music contests: Rolling Stone Magazine’s best bands on Myspace contest, Chilis’ Rock Star For a Day contest, of course shows like The X Factor and American Idol with the latest being The Grammys and Yahoo!.

The flip side of the coin is that at least for people who want to enter these contests, the companies who aren’t charging money to enter are leaving the contestants with more of a win win situation.

The “My Grammy Moment” contest is a fun and clever way to bring more attention to the upcoming Grammys and is also inviting regular people to feel more included than ever before. Also, there will be a variety of music education initiatives for three finalists - which is a good thing!

To see the latest video entries and for more information, go to the “My Grammy Moment” contest on Yahoo!.

Watch Justin Timberlake’s video for “My Love”

Justin Timberlake’s Official Website
The Grammy Awards - Grammy.com
CBS.com

By: Jenny May

]]> http://trendybands.com/2006/12/19/justin-timberlake-to-perform-with-unsigned-artist-at-the-grammys/feed/ Album of the Year - NPR Listeners Pick The Crane Wife by The Decemberists http://trendybands.com/2006/12/12/album-of-the-year-npr-listeners-pick-the-crane-wife-by-the-decemberists/ http://trendybands.com/2006/12/12/album-of-the-year-npr-listeners-pick-the-crane-wife-by-the-decemberists/#comments Tue, 12 Dec 2006 14:33:34 +0000 Jenny May http://trendybands.com/2006/12/12/album-of-the-year-npr-listeners-pick-the-crane-wife-by-the-decemberists/ The Decemberists - The Crane WifeNPR listeners have chosen The Decemberists album The Crane Wife as their best album of the year.

If I had to pick the Most Interesting Inspiration for an Album of the Year, I would choose The Crane Wife as well.

From Wikipedia:

The album was inspired by a Japanese folk tale

The Story of the Crane Wife

The Crane Wife is an old Japanese tale. While there are many variations of the tale, a common version is that a poor man finds an injured crane on his doorstep (or outside with an arrow in it), takes it in and nurses it back to health. After releasing the crane, a woman appears at his doorstep with whom he falls in love and marries. Because they need money, his wife offers to weave wondrous clothes out of silk that they can sell at the market, but only if he agrees never to watch her make them. They begin to sell them and live a comfortable life, but he soon makes her weave them more and more. Oblivious to his wife’s diminishing health, his greed increases. He eventually peeks in to see what she is doing to make the silk she weaves so desirable. He is shocked to discover that at the loom is a crane plucking feathers from her body and weaving them into the loom. The crane, seeing him, flies away and never returns.

Band leader Colin Meloy found a version of this story and decided to write music based on it.

That is a good enough reason alone to go out and buy this album if you haven’t already.

mtvU.com and The Decemberists are currently running a contest for fans to create animations for their video “O Valencia!”. The video was filmed with the band members against a green screen so that fans can then create their masterpieces. Each submission will be judged by the band. The deadline for entries is December 15th, 2006.

For more information about the video contest go to: mtvU.com

Watch the green screen version of The Decemberists video for “O Valencia!”

The Decemberists will be on tour for the following dates:

Dec 13 2006
Commodore Ballroom - MAKE UP DATE Vancouver, British Columbia

Dec 14 2006
Commodore Ballroom - MAKE UP DATE Vancouver, British Columbia

Feb 2 2007
Leadmill - Sheffield

Feb 3 2007
Vicar - VENUE CHANGE - Dublin

Feb 4 2007
ABC - Glasgow

Feb 5 2007
Academy 2 - Manchester

Feb 7 2007
Trent University - Nottingham

Feb 8 2007
Shepherds Bush Empire - London

Feb 9 2007
Southampton University - Southampton

Feb 10 2007
Botanique - Brussels

Feb 12 2007
Prime Club - Koln

Feb 13 2007
Knust - Hamburg

Feb 14 2007
Postbahnhof - Berlin

Feb 16 2007
Fri-son - Fribourg

Feb 17 2007
Estragon Club - Bologna

Feb 18 2007
Ampere - Munich

Feb 19 2007
Flex Club - Vienna

Feb 21 2007
Paradiso - Amsterdam

Feb 22 2007
La Maroquinerie - Paris

Dates could change! For the latest tour dates and information go to The Decemberists Official Website

The Decemberists on Myspace

By: Jenny May

]]> http://trendybands.com/2006/12/12/album-of-the-year-npr-listeners-pick-the-crane-wife-by-the-decemberists/feed/ Rolling Stone Now Listening to Myspace Bands http://trendybands.com/2006/12/11/rolling-stone-now-listening-to-myspace-bands/ http://trendybands.com/2006/12/11/rolling-stone-now-listening-to-myspace-bands/#comments Mon, 11 Dec 2006 14:50:58 +0000 Jenny May http://trendybands.com/2006/12/11/rolling-stone-now-listening-to-myspace-bands/ After weeks of ignoring pleas from bands requesting to be listened to by Rolling Stone Magazine - now they’re listening! Rolling Stone has invited bands and solo artists to submit one song to their Rolling Stone Myspace page, and if they like it, their song could be featured on RollingStone.com.

The songs featured will be up for public vote and discussion and then once the votes are all tallied and considered, Rolling Stone will announce their picks for the Top 25 Best Bands on Myspace on December 22nd.

Songs must be submitted by December 18th. There are a few rules, including no covers, one song only, and songs can only be submitted once. For the rest of the rules and more information go to Rolling Stone’s Best Bands On MySpace, 2006.

Rolling Stone Magazine’s Myspace Page

By: Jenny May

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