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Kanye West — a rapper who has steered away from hard-core topics in favor of lyrics about everyday life — led nominations Tuesday for the 47th annual Grammy Awards, earning 10 nods, including song of the year, album of the year and best new artist.

Several artists — including Alicia Keys, Ray Charles, Green Day and Usher — earned nominations in two of the big three categories: song, album and record of the year.

Usher’s hit single “Yeah!” and album “Confessions” are nominated for record of the year and album of the year, respectively, while Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You” and “The Diary of Alicia Keys” are up for song of the year (a songwriter’s award) and album of the year.

Rounding out the latter category are Charles’ “Genius Loves Company,” Green Day’s “American Idiot” and newcomer West’s “College Dropout.” West’s song of the year nomination is for “Jesus Calls.”

Other record of the year nominees are “Let’s Get It Started” by the Black Eyed Peas; “Here We Go Again” by Charles and Norah Jones; “American Idiot” by Green Day; and “Heaven” by Los Lonely Boys.

Song of the year nods went to “Daughters,” written and performed by John Mayer; “Jesus Walks,” written by West and C. Smith; Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying” written by Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman; Hoobastank’s “The Reason,” by Daniel Estrin and Douglas Robb; and Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You,” which she wrote and performed.

West, Los Lonely Boys, Maroon 5, Joss Stone and Gretchen Wilson are up for best new artist.

The Grammys will be given out February 13 in Los Angeles, California, during a broadcast on CBS.

Source CNN.com.

The full list of nominations is available at grammys.com

Nominees of Interest for the Grammy Awards announced today (12/7) include:

Best Rock Album nominees that include – Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Green Day, Hoobastank, The Killers and Velvet Revolver.

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance that include – Ryan Adam, Steve Earle and Tom Waits.

Best Rock Instrumental Performance includes “Instrumental Illness,” The Allman Brothers Band; “Onda,” Los Lonely Boys; “O Baterista,” Rush; “Whispering a Prayer,” Steve Vai and “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow,” Brian Wilson. B

Best Alternative Music Album nominees include “Medulla,” Bjork; “Franz Ferdinand,” Franz Ferdinand”; Uh Huh Her,” PJ Harvey “Good News For People Who Love Bad News,” Modest Mouse and “A Ghost Is Born,” Wilco.

Best Contemporary Folk Album include “Educated Guess,” Ani DiFranco;
“The Revolution Starts … Now,” Steve Earle; “Impossible Dream,” Patty Griffin

General Listings:

Record of the Year
“Let’s Get It Started,” Black Eyed Peas
“Here We Go Again,” Ray Charles & Norah Jones
“American Idiot,” Green Day
“Heaven,” Los Lonely Boys
“Yeah!,” Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris

Album of the Year
“Genius Loves Company,” Ray Charles & Various Artists
“American Idiot,” Green Day
“The Diary of Alicia Keys,” Alicia Keys
“Confessions,” Usher
“The College Dropout,” Kanye West

Song of the Year
“Daughters,” John Mayer, songwriter (John Mayer)
“If I Ain’t Got You,” Alicia Keys, songwriter (Alicia Keys)
“Jesus Walks,” C. Smith & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West)
“Live Like You Were Dying,” Tim Nichols & Craig Wiseman, songwriters (Tim McGraw)
“The Reason,” Daniel Estrin & Douglas Robb, songwriters (Hoobastank)

Best New Artist
Los Lonely Boys
Maroon 5
Joss Stone
Kanye West
Gretchen Wilson

POP

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
“Oceania,” Bjork
“The First Cut Is the Deepest,” Sheryl Crow
“Sunrise,” Norah Jones
“What You Waiting For?” Gwen Stefani
“You Had Me,” Joss Stone

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
“Let’s Misbehave,” Elvis Costello
“You Raise Me Up,” Josh Groban
“Daughters,” John Mayer
“Cinnamon Girl,” Prince
“Love’s Divine,” Seal

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
“My Immortal,” Evanescence
“The Reason,” Hoobastank
“Heaven,” Los Lonely Boys
“She Will Be Loved,” Maroon 5
“It’s My Life,” No Doubt

Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
“Redemption Song,” Johnny Cash & Joe Strummer
“Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word,” Ray Charles & Elton John
“Here We Go Again,” Ray Charles & Norah Jones
“Something,” Paul McCartney & Eric Clapton
“Moon River,” Stevie Wonder & Take 6

Best Pop Instrumental Performance
“Chasing Shadows,” Herb Alpert, Russ Freeman, James Genus, Gene Lake and Jason Miles
“Take You Out,” George Benson
“11th Commandment,” Ben Harper
“Song F,” Bruce Hornsby
“Rat Pack Boogie,” Brian Setzer

Best Pop Instrumental Album
“Pure,” Boney James
“Saxophonic,” Dave Koz
“Forever, for Always, for Luther,” Various Artists
“Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar,” Various Artists
“EP 2003: Music for the Epicurean Harkener,” Mason Williams

Best Pop Vocal Album
“Genius Loves Company,” Ray Charles & Various Artists
“Feels Like Home,” Norah Jones
“Afterglow,” Sarah McLachlan
“Mind, Body & Soul,” Joss Stone
“Brian Wilson Presents Smile,” Brian Wilson

DANCE

Best Dance Recording
“Good Luck,” Basement Jaxx featuring Lisa Kekaula
“Get Yourself High,” Chemical Brothers
“Slow,” Kylie Minogue
“Comfortably Numb,” Scissor Sisters
“Toxic,” Britney Spears

Best Electronic/Dance Album
“Kish Kash,” Basement Jaxx
“Legion of Boom,” The Crystal Method
“Creamfields,” Paul Oakenfold
“Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned,” The Prodigy
“Reflections,” Paul Van Dyk

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
“Only You,” Harry Connick, Jr.
“Count Your Blessings,” Barbara Cook
“Ultimate Mancini,” Monica Mancini
“Just For a Thrill,” Ronnie Milsap
“Stardust … The Great American Songbook Volume III,” Rod Stewart

ROCK

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
“Wonderwall,” Ryan Adams
“The Revolution Starts Now,” Steve Earle
“Breathe,” Melissa Etheridge
“Code of Silence,” Bruce Springsteen
“Metropolitan Glide,” Tom Waits

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
“Monkey To Man,” Elvis Costello & The Imposters
“Take Me Out,” Franz Ferdinand
“American Idiot,” Green Day
“Somebody Told Me,” The Killers
“Vertigo,” U2

Best Hard Rock Performance
“Megalomaniac,” Incubus
“Some Kind of Monster,” Metallica
“Feelin’ Way Too Damn Good,” Nickelback
“Duality,” Slipknot
“Slither,” Velvet Revolver

Best Metal Performance
“Nymphetamine,” Cradle of Filth
“Live for This,” Hatebreed
“The End of Heartache,” Killswitch Engage
“Whiplash,” Motorhead
“Vermilion,” Slipknot

Best Rock Instrumental Performance
“Instrumental Illness,” The Allman Brothers Band
“Onda,” Los Lonely Boys
“O Baterista,” Rush
“Whispering a Prayer,” Steve Vai
“Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow,” Brian Wilson

Best Rock Song
“American Idiot,” Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt & Tre Cool, songwriters (Green Day)
“Fall to Pieces,” Duff, Dave Kushner, Slash, Matt Sorum & Scott Weiland, songwriters (Velvet Revolver)
“Float On,” Isaac Brock, Dann Gallucci, Eric Judy & Benjamin Weikel, songwriters (Modest Mouse)
“Somebody Told Me,” Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer & Ronnie Vannucci, songwriters (The Killers)
“Vertigo,” Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge & Larry Mullen, songwriters (U2)

Best Rock Album
“The Delivery Man,” Elvis Costello & The Imposters
“American Idiot,” Green Day
“The Reason,” Hoobastank
“Hot Fuss,” The Killers
“Contraband,” Velvet Revolver

Best Alternative Music Album
“Medulla,” Bjork
“Franz Ferdinand,” Franz Ferdinand
“Uh Huh Her,” PJ Harvey
“Good News For People Who Love Bad News,” Modest Mouse
“A Ghost Is Born,” Wilco

R&B

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
“I Want You,” Janet Jackson
“If I Ain’t Got You,” Alicia Keys
“I’m Still In Love,” Teena Marie
“Whatever,” Jill Scott
“U-Haul,” Angie Stone

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
“Charlene,” Anthony Hamilton
“Happy People,” R. Kelly
“What We Do Here,” Brian McKnight
“Call My Name,” Prince
“Burn,” Usher

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
“Lose Your Breath,” Destiny’s Child
“Show Me the Way,” Earth, Wind & Fire featuring Raphael Saadiq
“Say Yes,” Floetry
“Diary,” Alicia Keys featuring Tony! Toni! Tone!
“My Boo,” Usher & Alicia Keys

Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance
“You’re My Everything,” Anita Baker
“Sinner’s Prayer,” Ray Charles & B.B. King
“I Can’t Stop,” Al Green
“New Day,” Patti LaBelle
“Musicology,” Prince

Best Urban/Alternative Performance
“Sex, Love & Money,” Mos Def
“Are You Experienced?” Musiq
“She Wants to Move, N.E.R.D
“Star,” The Roots
“Cross My Mind,” Jill Scott

Best R&B Song
“Burn,” Bryan Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri & Usher Raymond, songwriters (Usher)
“Call My Name,” Prince, songwriter (Prince)
“My Boo,” Jermaine Dupri, Alicia Keys, Usher Raymond, Manuel Seal & Adonis Shropshire, songwriters (Usher & Alicia Keys)
“Yeah!,” Chris Bridges, Sean Garrett, LaMarquis Jefferson, Robert McDowell, James Phillips, Jonathan Smith & Patrick J. Que Smith, songwriters (Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris)
“You Don’t Know My Name,” Alicia Keys, Harold Lilly & Kanye West, songwriters (Alicia Keys)

Best R&B Album
“My Everything,” Anita Baker
“I Can’t Stop,” Al Green
“The Diary of Alicia Keys,” Alicia Keys
“Musicology,” Prince
“Beautifully Human: Words & Sounds Vol. 2,” Jill Scott

Best Contemporary R&B Album
“Afrodisiac,” Brandy
“Damita Jo,” Janet Jackson
“It’s About Time,” Christina Milian
“Confessions,” Usher
“Hurt No More,” Mario Winans

RAP

Best Rap Solo Performance
“On Fire,” Lloyd Banks
“Just Lose It,” Eminem
“99 Problems,” Jay-Z
“Overnight Celebrity,” Twista
“Through the Wire,” Kanye West

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
“Ch-Check It Out,” Beastie Boys
“Let’s Get It Started,” Black Eyed Peas
“Don’t Say Nuthin’,” The Roots
“Drop It Like It’s Hot,” Snoop Dogg & Pharrell
“Lean Back,” Terror Squad

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
“Why,” Jadakiss featuring Anthony Hamilton
“Dip It Low,” Christina Milian featuring Fabolous
“Slow Jamz,” Twista featuring Kanye West & Jamie Foxx
“Yeah!,” Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris
“All Falls Down,” Kanye West & Syleena Johnson

Best Rap Song
“Drop It Like It’s Hot,” Calvin Broadus, Chad Hugo, S. Thomas & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (Snoop Dogg & Pharrell)
“Hey Mama,” Will Adams & Anthony Henry, songwriters (Black Eyed Peas)
“Jesus Walks,” C. Smith & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West)
“Let’s Get It Started,” Will Adams, Mike Fratantuno, Jaime Gomez, George Pajon, Jr., Allan Pineda & Terence Yoshiaki, songwriters (Black Eyed Peas)
“99 Problems,” Shawn Carter & Rick Rubin, songwriters (Jay-Z)

Best Rap Album
“To the 5 Boroughs,” Beastie Boys
“The Black Album,” Jay-Z
“The Definition,” LL Cool J
“Suit,” Nelly
“The College Dropout,” Kanye West

COUNTRY

Best Female Country Vocal Performance
“You Will Be My Ain True Love,” Alison Krauss
“Miss Being Mrs.,” Loretta Lynn
“In My Daughter’s Eyes,” Martina McBride
“She’s Not Just a Pretty Face,” Shania Twain
“Redneck Woman,” Gretchen Wilson

Best Male Country Vocal Performance
“Engine One-Forty-Three,” Johnny Cash
“In My Own Mind,” Lyle Lovett
“Live Like You Were Dying,” Tim McGraw
“You Are My Flower,” Willie Nelson
“You’ll Think Of Me,” Keith Urban

Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
“New San Antonio Rose,” Asleep at the Wheel
“Save a Horse (Ride A Cowboy),” Big & Rich
“You Can’t Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl,” Brooks & Dunn
“Top of the World,” Dixie Chicks
“It’s Hard To Kiss the Lips at Night that Chew Your Ass Out All Day Long,” The Notorious Cherry Bombs

Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
“Hey Good Lookin’,” Jimmy Buffett, Clint Black, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith & George Strait
“Creepin’ In,” Norah Jones & Dolly Parton
“Portland Oregon,” Loretta Lynn & Jack White
“Pancho & Lefty,” Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard & Toby Keith
“Coat of Many Colors,” Shania Twain with Alison Krauss & Union Station

Best Country Instrumental Performance
“Billy in the Low Ground,” Asleep at the Wheel
“Puppies ‘N Knapsacks,” Sam Bush
“Luxury Liner,” Albert Lee, Vince Gill & Brad Paisley
“Earl’s Breakdown,” Nitty Gritty Dirt Band featuring Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Vassar Clements & Jerry Douglas
“Bowtie,” Mark O’Connor, Chris Thile, Bryan Sutton & Byron House

Best Country Song
“It’s Hard to Kiss the Lips at Night That Chew Your Ass Out All Day Long,” Rodney Crowell & Vince Gill, songwriters (The Notorious Cherry Bombs)
“Live Like You Were Dying,” Tim Nichols & Craig Wiseman, songwriters (Tim McGraw)
“Miss Being Mrs.,” Loretta Lynn, songwriter (Loretta Lynn)
“Portland Oregon,” Loretta Lynn, songwriter (Loretta Lynn & Jack White)
“Redneck Woman,” John Rich & Gretchen Wilson, songwriters (Gretchen Wilson)

Best Country Album
“Van Lear Rose,” Loretta Lynn
“Live Like You Were Dying,” Tim McGraw
“Tambourine,” Tift Merritt
“Be Here,” Keith Urban
“Here for the Party,” Gretchen Wilson

Best Bluegrass Album
“The Bluegrass Sessions,” Lynn Anderson
“Twenty Year Blues,” Nashville Bluegrass Band
“Brand New Strings,” Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
“Carrying On,” Ralph Stanley II
“A Tribute to Jimmy Martin ‘The King Of Bluegrass,'” Various Artists

NEW AGE

Best New Age Album
“Returning,” Will Ackerman
“Atlantis,” David Arkenstone
“Two Horizons,” Moya Brennan
“American River,” Jonathan Elias
“Piano,” Peter Kater

JAZZ

Best Contemporary Jazz Album
“Journey,” Fourplay
“Unspeakable,” Bill Frisell
“In Praise of Dreams,” Jan Garbarek
“The Hang,” Don Grusin
“Strength,” Roy Hargrove

Best Jazz Vocal Album
“American Song,” Andy Bey
“Twentysomething,” Jamie Cullum
“Accentuate the Positive,” Al Jarreau
“The Dana Owens Album,” Queen Latifah
“R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal),” Nancy Wilson

Best Jazz Instrumental Solo
“What’s New,” Alan Broadbent, soloist
“I Want to Be Happy,” Don Byron, soloist
“Speak Like a Child,” Herbie Hancock, soloist
“Buler

The fourth annual Bonnaroo Music Festival is set for June 10-12. The hugely successful jam band fest will return to the same 700-acre site in rural Manchester, Tenn., about 60 miles South of Nashville.

Jonathan Mayers, president of Superfly Productions, producer of the event with Ashley Capps and A.C. Entertainment, tells Billboard.biz that the lineup is being finalized and an announcement of the bill and on-sale information is tentatively set for January.

“We will continue to have our core [jam band artists], but we’re also into introducing fans to all types of music,” ” Mayers says. “We think these fans are very open to different kinds of music.”

Bonnaroo was the second-highest-grossing concert of 2004, according to Billboard Boxscore, taking in $14.5 million from a lineup that included the Dead, Dave Matthews & Friends, Trey Anastasio, Bob Dylan, and nearly 80 other acts. Mayers says ticket prices, $139 and $164 in 2004, will increase slightly in 2005, but capacity, 90,000 last year, will not.

Source billboard.com.

In a recent rare interview with Rolling Stone

Redsand today announced its exclusive agreement with Propaganda Headquarters, Inc. to present the 2nd annual

If all goes according to plan, fans should get to hear new music from the Panic Channel — which features three quarters of the most recent lineup of Jane’s Addiction (guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins, and bassist Chris Chaney) and former Skycycle vocalist Steve Isaacs — as early as this month.

“We’re gonna go and mix some tracks and potentially put some stuff out, maybe do it online [at thepanicchannel.com],” Navarro said backstage at Los Angeles’ Key Club, where the quartet made its official live debut Thursday night as part of a benefit to feed the homeless sponsored by L.A. radio station Indie 103.1.

The Panic Channel played nine songs, all of which are likely to come from their as-yet-untitled debut album, currently being recorded in L.A. with producer Brian Virtue (who worked on the last Jane’s album, Strays). At present the group is not working with a label, but Navarro says the project is coming along. “We’re almost done recording our record, and we’re very happy with where we’re at,” he says. “We’re kind of doing this homegrown, and it’s a blast. It’s like when we were fifteen years old.”

“It’s power and melody,” says Isaacs, who played Tommy for a year and a half in the stage production of the Who’s rock opera, of the group’s sound. Perkins believes that all four musicians get to express themselves in the Panic Channel. “You can hear Dave and me and Chris and Steve all say something throughout the songs,” he says. “That’s important to me: being surrounded by great musicians and then having something to say.”

Onstage those unique blended together effectively, as the quartet showed off surprisingly heavy chops on the Tool-esque opener “Go On” and paid homage to Chaney’s favorite band, Led Zeppelin, on the “Rain Song”-like ballad, “Outsider.” The band hopes to launch a tour this spring.

The quartet has been working together since May, when Navarro, Chaney and Perkins recruited Isaacs to handle vocals for a song they were asked to record for a film. “I met Steve when he was working at as a VJ at MTV,” says Navarro, who starred in the cable network’s reality show ‘Til Death Do Us Part with actress/model wife Carmen Electra. “I knew he was a great singer, and we did this track and it came out phenomenal. The film passed on it, but we continued working and decided, ‘Why not just make music?'”

The Jane’s members formed the Panic Channel after a less-than-friendly split with their frontman Perry Farrell, who told Rolling Stone at the time, “The band went astray, falling into shallow holes … Jane was getting stripped of her majesty.”

According to Navarro, the new band is still forming its identity. “We’re just getting to know each other musically,” he says. “Us three have played together for a long time, but the four of us is a new unit.”

Source rollingstone.com.

After several delays, Stevie Wonder’s new studio album, “A Time 2 Love,” is expected to be out in April via Motown.

“As an artist, you get anxious and excited — you want to show what you can do,” Wonder tells Billboard in an exclusive interview for the Dec. 11 issue, on newsstands today (Dec. 3). “But for me, I had to make a real decision not to rush. I wasn’t feeling that the timing is right. A lot of what I do when I do an album is based on whether the timing is right.”

“A Time 2 Love” will be Wonder’s first studio set since 1995’s “Conversation Peace,” which debuted at No. 16 on The Billboard 200. “I didn’t mean for that to happen,” he says of the amount of time that elapsed between projects. “On the other hand, it wasn’t a panic-mode situation, either, where we’ve got to do this or we’re going to have a problem up in here.”

The set will be a single-disc affair, although Wonder says, “in these nine years I’ve done more than just the songs that will be on the album. And it’s going good. In these nine years I’ve found the songs that feel most comfortable for me.”

Among the tracks earmarked for the set are “If the Creek Don’t Rise” (“something I wrote a while back that I recently revisited,” Wonder says) and “If Your Love Cannot Be Moved,” the latter of which features live instrumentation by Wonder and several guest spots.

“I have myself playing, some symphony musicians from [Los Angeles] and Doug E. Fresh doing a little beat-box thing,” he reveals. “I also have a female talking-drum player from Nigeria. And we’re going to have the West Los Angeles choir sing. I’m going to record the choir at the church.”

After “Time” is released, Wonder says he has “three immediate goals”: a “jazz album with harmonica,” a gospel album and a musical.

Source billboard.com.

Festival season begins early in South Florida, and the Langerado Music Festival is quickly becoming the destination of choice for traveling music lovers ready to start the journey. The festival, now in its third year, is preparing to host a slew offans from colder climates: music lovers, college spring-breakers and sun seekers who are aching for festival season to begin.

Langerado’s current line-up includes headliners The String Cheese Incident (two nights), Medeski Martin & Wood, Toots and the Maytals, Keller Williams, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Michael Franti & Spearhead, De La Soul, MOFRO, Particle, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Soulive, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Robert Walters 20th
Congress, New Monsoon, Benevento Russo Duo, Donavon Frankenreiter, Kaki King, Spam Allstars, Hackensaw Boys, deSol, DJ Williams Projekt and many others still to be announced. Please visit www.langerado.com/artists.htm for a complete list of performers. In addition, through a partnership with Sonic Bids (www.sonicbids.com) one unsigned band will have the opportunity to perform at the festival. Please visit the Langerado website for information on how to submit your band for consideration.

The third annual Langerado Music Festival will be held at Markham Park in Sunrise, Florida; a gorgeous sprawling facility perched at the eastern edge of the Everglades Conservation Area. The festival’s two days will offer up 20 + popular musical acts, performing on 3 stages from 11 am – 9 pm, and details are being worked out for plenty of late-night shows in clubs scattered throughout Ft. Lauderdale’s thriving night-life community.

Canadian rock act Hot Hot Heat has put the finishing touches on its highly anticipated next album. The 13-track “Elevator” is due in early April via Warner Bros., and will be preceded in March by the single “You Owe Me an IOU.” The band is expected to tour heavily in support of the set, beginning in February.

Produced by Dave Sardy (Dandy Warhols, Helmet), “Elevator” is the follow-up to 2002’s “Make Up the Breakdown,” which peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart and No. 5 on the Top Independent Albums tally. It has sold nearly 238,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The band’s return to the live stage will feature new guitarist Luke Paquin, a San Francisco native who recently replaced group member Dante DeCaro. According to Hot Hot Heat’s official Web site, “while Dante made his decision a while ago, he still co-wrote and recorded the new album with us and is as proud of it as we are.”

Here is the track list for “Elevator”:

“Running Out of Time”
“Island of the Honest Man”
“Dirty Mouth”
“You Owe Me an IOU”
“No Jokes – Fact”
“Goodnight, Goodnight”
“Middle of Nowhere”
“Pickin’ It Up”
“Ladies and Gentlemen”
“Elevator”
“Shame on You”
“Soldier in a Box”
“Jingle Jangle”

Source billboard.com.

After taking himself out of the music business “to regenerate, get free of myself and make an album for the right reasons,” Billy Idol has completed his first album featuring new songs in over 10 years, aptly titled DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND. The CD, which may or may not be named after a location deep inside the Idol mind, is scheduled for release on March 22, 2005, and is the English rocker’s first for Sanctuary Records.

The single, “Scream,” is a down and dirty love romp featuring the
sinister signature guitar of Steve Stevens and Idol’s rock and roll
holla in the familiar vain of “Rebel Yell.” It will go to radio on
January 3, with an impact date set for January 24. Widely credited as
one of the critical artists responsible for the golden age of Music
Television and an early disciple of the art of controversy on the small screen, Idol will attempt to reinvent the video art form by making one for “Scream,” which will be completed early next year.

DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND is a journey through the musical mind, influences and taste of Billy Idol. The trip begins with the visceral thrust of the album’s opener “Super Overdrive, followed by the punk anthem “World Coming Down,” which borrows from his own history in the Bromley Contingent-the crew that included Siouxie Sioux, Steve Severin, The Clash’s Mick Jones and others who followed the Sex Pistols-as well as his own early group, Generation X. In total, there are 13 tracks to be experienced on DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND.