Kanye West and Kim Kardashian to marry next week in Florence

May 16, 2014 18:33

The pair have hired a 16th century Italian villa for their nuptials

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are set to marry next week in Florence.

The pair will get hitched at Belvedere Fort, which is a 16th century villa, on May 24. It was rented for 300,000 euros (£244,000), reports BBC Newsbeat.

James Franco recently claimed that Kanye West invited him and Seth Rogen to perform their parody of his song 'Bound 2' at his upcoming wedding. The actors filmed a spoof version of West's video for the song, which featured the rapper and his fiancée riding a motorbike through the desert while locked in a passionate embrace. The spoof version saw Franco and Rogen kissing and went viral.

Speaking on ABC's The View, Franco revealed that he and Rogen had received the offer from the couple ahead of their wedding, when it was previously thought that the pair would be wed in France: "Kim loved the video, and we didn't hear back from Kanye, so we kind of felt like, 'He's not bashing us, but he probably hates it but he's not going to say anything.' But then two weeks ago, we got a call from Kanye. Seth and I were on the phone," said Franco. "We thought he was just going to let us have it. But he loved it! He wanted us to perform it live the night before his wedding at Versailles."

However, attendees at the wedding are unlikely to see the live action version of the spoof video: "It would have been awesome for about 20 seconds, but then there would be Seth with his shirt off in front all the Kardashians," admitted Franco.

Earlier this year it was reported that West had cancelled an Australian tour in order to finish work on his new album, the follow up to 2013's 'Yeezus'.

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Kanye West and Kim Kardashian's wedding will 'absolutely' take place in Versailles, not Italy

May 18, 2014 10:49

New reports dismiss recent suggestions that the pair will wed in a 16th century villa in Florence

New reports have said that Kanye West and Kim Kardashian's wedding will 'absolutely' take place at the Palace of Versailles in France and not Florence in Italy, as was recently suggested.

It was previously reported that the pair would be getting hitched at 16th century villa Belvedere Fort on May 24 by BBC Newsbeat, however, US gossip site TMZ has nixed those suggestions, stating that the pair will wed in lavish Versailles, following a week of parties around France.

James Franco recently claimed that Kanye West invited him and Seth Rogen to perform their parody of his song 'Bound 2' at his upcoming wedding. The actors filmed a spoof version of West's video for the song, which featured the rapper and his fiancée riding a motorbike through the desert while locked in a passionate embrace. The spoof version saw Franco and Rogen kissing and went viral.

Speaking on ABC's The View, Franco revealed that he and Rogen had received the offer from the couple ahead of their wedding, where he also confirmed that the nuptials would be held in Versailles: "Kim loved the video, and we didn't hear back from Kanye, so we kind of felt like, 'He's not bashing us, but he probably hates it but he's not going to say anything.' But then two weeks ago, we got a call from Kanye. Seth and I were on the phone," said Franco. "We thought he was just going to let us have it. But he loved it! He wanted us to perform it live the night before his wedding at Versailles."

Earlier this year it was reported that West had cancelled an Australian tour in order to finish work on his new album, the follow up to 2013's 'Yeezus'.

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Lily Allen concerned Kanye West will call her out over 'Sheezus'

March 1, 2014 15:01

Singer named album as an homage to rapper but is now worried he'll see it as a diss

Lily Allen is worried Kanye West will call her out on the title of her forthcoming album 'Sheezus'.

The singer, who won Best Solo Artist at last week's NME Awards With Austin, Texas, named her third album as an homage to the rapper, who released his album 'Yeezus' last year.

However, in an interview with Australian radio station Nova, she admitted she's now "terrified" he'll think it's a diss rather than a tribute. "It's totally not a diss," she said. "I love Kanye, I think he's brilliant." She also praised him for speaking his mind all the time, "whether what he's saying is ridiculous or not".

When collecting her award for Best Solo Artist last week, Allen said: "This is kind of dumb because David Bowie is in the same category and Jake Bugg so this goes to you guys, not me." She was later seen leaving the awards' aftershow party at London club Sketch having broken the middle finger off her award.

Allen released two singles last year, a cover of Keane's 'Somewhere Only We Know', which featured on a TV advert, and 'Hard Out Here'. She recently followed it up with 'Air Balloon' but still hasn't announced when her third album, her first since 2009's 'It's Not Me, It's You'.

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Kanye West Wrote 'Perfect B**ch' Song About Kim Kardashian

by Tyler K. McDermott, N.Y.  |   August 07, 2012 4:10 EDT

Kanye West has the perfect chick and he's not afraid to brag about it.

After previewing unreleased music at NYC's PH-D Rooftop Lounge early Saturday morning ("around 1:30 a.m."), West took to Twitter to confirm one song in particular, reportedly named "Perfect Bitch," is about his girlfriend Kim Kardashian.

"I wrote the song Perfect Bitch about Kim," 'Ye tweeted.

According to the New York Daily News, once source said the song, which contained the chorus, "my perfect bitch," was the most talked about track of the evening. A second source revealed to the news organization that many references were made not only to Kim, but also to West's ex-girlfriend, Amber Rose.

A looped sample of German composer Carl Orff's 1937 composition "Carmina Burana," can be heard throughout the chorus as well. The song was previously sampled on Nas' "I Am…" anthem, "Hate Me Now."

While there isn't any word to whether or not "Perfect Bitch" will be released on an upcoming project, songs West premiered during his DJ set in London last December eventually became "Way Too Cold" and compositions slated to be featured on the upcoming G.O.O.D Music compilation album, "Cruel Summer."

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Kanye West's L.A. Home Burglarized

by David Greenwald, L.A.  |   June 13, 2012 8:51 EDT

Burglars have broken into Kanye West's Los Angeles residence, according to TMZ.

The musician, on the "Watch the Throne" tour in the UK, was not present. A member of his camp reportedly called the LAPD to report the burglary on Wednesday morning.

No "obvious" items were reported missing from the scene of the crime, with investigators waiting for West's presence to establish any stolen possessions.

The three-bedroom Hollywood Hills home is currently on the market for nearly $4 million. According to E! Online, West previously tried to sell the house in 2010.

While West has yet to comment on the incident, his rep did weigh in on inaccurate rumors that he'd tweeted a nude photo of girlfriend Kim Kardashian.

"In regards to this 'story' that Kanye posted and then took down intimate pictures on his Twitter account: TOTALLY FALSE. Laughably so," the rep reportedly told E! Online on Wednesday.

In less unfortunate news, West recently celebrated his 35th birthday and released the video for current single "Mercy."

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Kanye West Premieres 'Lost in the World' Film: Watch

by David Greenwald, L.A.  |   May 04, 2012 7:44 EDT

After a rush of new material from Kanye West in April, the MC is turning to the archives for his latest video.

The Bon Iver-aided "Lost in the World," from 2010's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," got the video treatment on Friday. In typical Yeezy fashion, the black-and-white video has been dubbed an "exclusive film" for its release on SHOWstudio.com, a site devoted to fashion film. West worked on the film with director Ruth Hogben, whose resume includes such fashion clients as Rick Owens and the rapper's oft-name-dropped Louis Vuitton.

"Strobe effects are used in this video," it warns, before a flashing song title gives way to more relaxing, cloud-filled images and dancing models.

Watch the "Lost in the World" video below:

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Rolling Stone overhauls album ranking, Kanye stars

Recording artist Kanye West sits courtside as he attends the NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls in Los Angeles December 25, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Danny Moloshok

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON | Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:03pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Three Kanye West albums have made it on to the latest edition of Rolling Stone magazine's authoritative "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list, placing him among the greats of popular music.

The new ranking, which combines a 2003 list (updated in 2005) with a later survey of the 2000s, saw two Radiohead records join the elite club, while long-established names including Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan also had albums added.

Rolling Stone has published the list, along with details of the albums and several new recording histories based on first-hand accounts, in "bookazine" format available for $11.99 on newsstands between Friday and July 25 in the United States.

As with any survey that tries to put arguably the greatest rock and roll recordings into a particular order, there was plenty of heated debate among the journalists and editors who came up with the final list.

Much of the hard work had been done, however, with hundreds of reporters, executives and musicians involved in the earlier surveys.

"We had arguments in the office, and I hope those arguments are replicated elsewhere," said Christian Hoard, a senior editor at Rolling Stone, of the selection process.

"These special issues are great sellers," he told Reuters. "But they also turn people on to music they haven't heard, and hopefully start fun arguments too.

"People like to get angry about these 'best' lists. It was really a great deal of fun to make."

WEST THE BIG WINNER

The big beneficiary was U.S. hip-hop star West, who saw 2005 album Late Registration, The College Dropout (2004) and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) make it to the top 500.

In total, 30 albums were added and 30 taken away, with the casualties including several artists well-represented on the list already and whose "lesser" albums have now been dropped.

The highest entry among recent albums was West's Late Registration at No. 118.

Asked whether the relatively low position of recently released albums reflected a barren period for great rock and pop, Hoard replied:

"My personal opinion is no. Music is as inspirational as it's ever been.

"Things get clearer as the years pass. If you held this poll in 10 years, say, Arcade Fire could be a lot higher and the same could be said of Kanye West. Reputation and time definitely help an album, especially with pollers like ours."

Canadian band Arcade Fire's Funeral is among the 30 additions, as is British act Arctic Monkeys for their 2005 hit Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.

Radiohead features twice -- for Amnesiac (2001) and In Rainbows (2007), Jay-Z is added for The Black Album (2003), Lil Wayne makes it with Tha Carter III (2008) and the late Amy Winehouse for Back to Black.

Among those dropping out to make way for the additions were The Beach Boys (Sunflower), David Bowie (Changesone), Elton John (Elton John) and Madonna (Music).

The first change to the previous list comes at number 59, leaving the Beatles to dominate the top 10.

The Fab Four feature no less than four times in the first 10; at number one (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band), three (Revolver), five (Rubber Soul) and 10 (The White Album).

Three acts have 10 albums each on the list -- the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan -- and the oldest album on the list is from 1952 (The Anthology of American Folk Music).

Only 40 albums released since 2000 feature, compared with 187 from the 1970s.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Kanye West raps of love for Kim Kardashian

Recording artist Kanye West sits courtside as he attends the NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls in Los Angeles December 25, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Danny Moloshok

LOS ANGELES | Thu Apr 5, 2012 6:02pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Kanye West professed his love for reality TV star Kim Kardashian in a new song leaked online on Thursday, and the pair were spotted out on the town in New York together.

In "Theraflu," named after the over-the-counter cough medicine, West raps about falling in love with the "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" star at the same time she fell in love with Kris Humphries, who she divorced last November after 72 days of marriage.

West also made a reference to not having rapper Jay-Z, who has minority stakes in the New Jersey Nets basketball team for which Humphries plays, remove the basketball player from the team.

"And I'll admit, I fell in love with Kim, 'round the same time she had fell in love with him, well, that's cool, baby girl, do ya thing, lucky I ain't have Jay drop him from the team," rapped West, over hip hop beats by DJ Khaled.

West and Kardashian were photographed on Thursday having lunch together at a New York restaurant, but they declined to speak to media gathered outside. The pair also spent much of Wednesday night together, taking in "The Hunger Games" movie, a live New York show and seeing a band perform at a bar, celebrity magazine Us Weekly reported.

Elsewhere on the "Theraflu" single, West brims with his trademark confidence and ego with lines such as "tell PETA my mink is dragging on the floor," and "don't talk about style, cause I embarrass you," bragging about dinner with Vogue editor Anna Wintour and racing with Polish model Anja Rubik.

The rapper also alludes to ex-girlfriend Amber Rose, whom he dated on and off for two years until 2010 and who is now engaged to rapper Wiz Khalifa. West says he has "respect" for Khalifa.

West, who last made headlines in January after posting a series of more than 80 tweets detailing his diverse "train of thoughts," has stayed under the radar in recent weeks, posting only a couple of tweets and making few public appearances.

"Theraflu" has served to further whet the appetite of fans and critics for the release on Friday of a new single "Mercy", featuring West and other artists signed to his G.O.O.D Music record and management label.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Listen: Kanye West's Five Best GOOD Friday Songs

On Friday (Apr. 6) -- the actual Good Friday holiday -- Kanye West revived his GOOD Friday release series, which features a new single posted online every Friday as a free giveaway to the rapper's rabid fans, with "Mercy," a new track featuring 2 Chainz, Big Sean and Pusha T. The series originally began in 2010 while West was gearing up for his fifth full-length, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy": by releasing a few tracks from the album as freebies and putting out some leftover cuts for the fans, West turned an uncomplicated weekly release program into the coolest new way to issue new music.

Kanye West and DJ Khaled Release 'Theraflu' Song: Listen

Now that "Mercy," which previews West's G.O.O.D. Music compilation, has hit the Web, take a listen to Kanye West's five best GOOD Friday releases so far, from classic "Fantasy" cuts to awesome one-off singles.

5. "Christmas in Harlem"
Featuring: Cam'ron, Jim Jones, Vado, CyHi da Prynce, Pusha T, Musiq Soulchild, Teyana Taylor, Big Sean
Released: Friday, Dec. 17, 2010

For the first GOOD Friday song after the release of "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," Yeezy issued a holiday-themed banger, complete with a lovely choral hook and nearly impossible number of featured performers. Big Sean, who brags that he's "rocking dashiki's with a yamulkah,"is on fire here.  

4. "The Joy"
Featuring: Pete Rock, Jay-Z, Charlie Wilson, Curtis Mayfield, Kid Cudi
Released: Friday, Oct. 29, 2010

This soulful jam eventually made it onto the deluxe edition of "Watch The Throne," and for good reason -- its aching sample matches Yeezy's self-loathing rhymes and Jay's disaffected coolness. 

3. "So Appalled"
Featuring: Jay-Z, Pusha T, RZA, Swizz Beatz, CyHi da Prynce
Released: Sept. 24, 2010

There's nothing too fancy about "So Appalled" -- the track, which made it onto "MBDTF," simply showcases four MCs (Kanye, Jay, Pusha and CyHi) absolutely murdering their verses and moving over the sweeping production as one cohesive unit. Who has the best verse? A case can be made for all four rappers.

2. "Good Friday"
Featuring: Common, Pusha T, Big Sean, Kid Cudi, Charlie Wilson
Released: Sept. 10, 2010

The spright, carefree vibe of "Good Friday" never fit in thematically with the dark, dramatic cuts of Kanye's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," which is presumably why it didn't make the finished album. Still, it's a shame, because "Good Friday" is positively vibrant. From Pusha' assured boasting to Kid Cudi's selfless hook-assisting to the singsong chorus, "Good Friday" holds up with the best posse cuts of this fresh decade.

1. "Monster"
Featuring: Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver
Released: Aug. 27, 2010

GOOD Fridays may have officially launched with the "Power" remix a week earlier, but the series went from "This is cool" to "Oh wow, I have to hear this new Kanye song every single week" when "Monster" was released. The "MBDTF" highlight possesses a stunning amount of control over its many disparate pieces: Bon Iver's monster-movie intro leads to a quick Rick Ross verse, and later, Nicki Minaj goes H.A.M. in her best bars to date. Here's hoping that, if G.O.O.D. Fridays continue past "Mercy," Yeezy produces another "Monster."

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Music Charts: Jay-Z & Kanye fall short

By Chris Willman

Wed Aug 17, 2011 3:55pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Does nearly a half-million copies sold constitute the glass being half-full or half-empty? That's the question with Jay-Z and Kanye West's enormously ballyhooed joint project, "Watch the Throne," which debuted with first-week sales of 436,000, a strong but less-kingly-than-expected tally.

But the news was much better for Katy Perry: She finally assumed a throne she's had her eye on for a while.

The take for "Watch the Throne" will be spun in different ways, taking into account the peculiarities of its release. For the first four days of the week, the Jay-Z/West album was an iTunes exclusive, so you could argue a mere three days of brick-and-mortar sales isn't enough to tell the tale.

On the other hand, because of the unusual lack of advance leaks, anticipation for the project should have been at enough of a fever pitch to make for a day-one blockbuster.

But even strong reviews and word-of-mouth didn't add up to "Throne" debuting as mightily as either of the rappers' most recent solo efforts.

The New York Post reported that Jay-Z spent $95,000 on a single bottle of champagne at a Miami party celebrating the album's launch last week. Until next week's results offer a better picture of the album's legs, he may want to switch to sparkling cider for a few days.

As for Perry, her "TGIF (Last Friday Night)" song finally hit No. 1 on the Billboard 100, marking the first time a female artist has had five singles from one album reach that mark. Leaving gender out of it, she's now tied with Michael Jackson, whose "Bad" album generated five No. 1 hits back in the day.

It had seemed like Perry had missed her chance at being able to thank God for a fifth chart-topper, since "TGIF" was showing signs of fading last week. But her label, Capitol, had some tricks up its sleeve, goosing the tune by releasing a Missy Elliott-helmed remix, sales of which were counted together with the old version.

iTunes also put the different versions of the song on sale for 69 cents. It also happened that the previous long-time No. 1, LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem," finally shed a little momentum at an opportune moment for Perry.

Decamping far away from any kind of throne room was the soundtrack to "Glee 3D," which entered the album chart at No. 16 with a shockingly modest 20,000 copies. All eight previous full-length "Glee" TV soundtracks had entered in the top 5, and three of them bowed at No. 1 (including last year's "Journey to Finals" disc, which had first-week sales of 152,000, more than seven times as many as this one managed). Maybe Sue Sylvester's warning in the trailer was taken literally by music consumers as well as moviegoers.

Luke Bryan has plenty to be gleeful about, coming in at No. 2 with his sophomore album, "Tailgates & Tanlines."

Bryan's is the second-best country bow of 2011, trailing only Brad Paisley's. He sold 145,295 copies, beating the opening tally for Eric Church three weeks ago by just 300 units.

Country men are well represented on the album chart right now, claiming six of the top 20 spots. Church moved down three positions to No. 5, still ahead of Jason Aldean at No.6, Blake Shelton at No. 14, the Zac Brown Band at No. 19, and Trace Adkins, who took a 17-spot tumble to No. 20 in his second week.

Putting the lie to the idea that 45 million viral-video views are a predictor of album sales, 13-year-old web phenom Greyson Chance fell to No. 65 in his second frame, selling 7,000 of his Ellen DeGeneres-mentored album for a two-week total of 21,000.

Although Perry rules the roost on this week's Billboard 100 song chart, "TGIF" didn't top the digital singles sales chart. That honor belonged to the Maroon 5/Christina Aguilera collaboration "Moves Like Jagger," which picked up plenty of steam from finally having a video released. It sold 219,000 downloads, generating the kind of upward chart movement even Jagger could envy.

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