In 2004, 13-year-old Joanna Levesque became the youngest solo artist ever to have a number one single on the Billboard charts. Levesque, who recorded as JoJo, had been building to that moment since she was just a little girl, giving electrifying performances on shows like Kids Say the Darndest Things with Bill Cosby at the age of 6. When Levesque was 12, she signed a seven-album deal with Blackground Records, and later her debut album JoJo was certified platinum. Her 2006 follow-up, The High Road, pleased critics and included at least one bona fide hit, the breakup ballad “Too Little Too Late.” She was quickly becoming a rising star in R&B.

And then she went silent.

It’s been almost seven years since JoJo has put out an official release, though that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been trying. “I’ve recorded about three incarnations of this third album,” JoJo tells BuzzFeed. “We’ve chosen the track listing, we’ve done multiple album photo shoots, chosen the cover, chosen the credits, everything.” But every time her team tried to present the album to her label, Blackground Records, they never received a response. CONTINUE READING

Buzz Track: Flowers

Atlanta, Georgia based indie rock band, Cardova, are set to release their first full length album on May 14th via iTunes. It was produced by Jeff Malpass and mixed by Matt Malpass (Cute Is What We Aim For, Rookie Of The Year, Lydia) at Marigolds + Monsters Studio in Atlanta, GA. Their unique sound draws from old and new influences alike, while creating something noticeably different. The band will perform at the The Caledonia Lounge in Athens, GA on May 16th.
Contact: cardovabooking@gmail.com

Buzz Track: 40 Seconds

In early 2012 Drew Murray and Hope Simpson formed Ever So Android in Seattle, Wa. The sound draws comparisons from the Black Keys and Deadmau5. Their live shows have been described as ‘intense’, and refreshing from the Seattle norm” which helps to cultivate their rapidly increasing fan base. Their first EP which was just released was produced by Dave Hillis (Pearl Jam, James Blunt, Afghan whigs). The band will perform Neumos (Seattle) on June 1st and Lo-Fi Performance Gallery (Seattle) on June 29th.
Contact: eversoandroid@gmail.com

Buzz Track: Secret

News Update: Kings favorite singer-songwriter Shannon Labrie who is based in Nashville will perform at The Rockwood Music Hall in NYC on May 14th at 11:00pm. She spent last year building a fan base and was part of The iTunes Nashville Indie Spotlight as well as having several TV placements. For fans of Sheryl Crow, Colbie Caillat,and Adele.
Contact: brett@zodlounge.com

Fox broke its silence on the worrisome performance of former reality titan American Idol and reports that the network is planning to reboot the entire show — including dumping its judges panel. Longtime Idol judge Randy Jackson quit last week after hearing the news, which still leaves Mariah Carey, Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj up for possible elimination.
Speaking on a conference call with reporters before the network’s upfront presentation in New York City on Monday, Fox entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly blamed the show’s ratings decline on the age of the show and some creative changes that were made to season 12?s format.

“More so than any one factor is the age of the show right now, but [also] maybe the format this year,” Reilly said. “We expanded some of the middle rounds we did a boy-girl thing that went over three weeks — that’s really where the ratings took their biggest hit. The only thing I will confirm is next year, without getting into any specifics, our next season begins on the Friday morning after our [Idol] finale — that’s when we’re really going to get to work in earnest.”
Despite partly blaming the show’s ratings decline on format tweaks, Reilly pledged there will be more format tweaks next year for lucky season 13: “The format will have a few fresh twists, that we’ve already identified, that will be a nice little jolt for next season.” Read more