Beyoncé performs on her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour 2013 at Staples Center on Monday, July 1, 2013, in Los AngelesFrank Micelotta/The Associated Press
LESS IS MORE
We can all stop holding our breath now: Beyoncé will release a new album later this month, but it won't exactly be a new album.
The New York Times reports that the Beyoncé Platinum Edition Box Set – a two-CD, two-DVD deluxe edition of her 2013 release Beyoncé – will come out on November 24, three days before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
In addition to the original 14 songs and accompanying DVD with music videos of each track, the new compilation will include a six-song CD titled More and a live DVD recorded on her On The Run concert tour earlier this year.
The song list on More includes the new tracks 7/11 and Ring Off in addition to remixes featuring Beyoncé dueting with Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Mr. Vegas and husband Jay Z.
On December 13 last year, Beyoncé stunned the world with the unannounced release of her self-titled "visual" album,Beyoncé.
At Queen Bey's presumed behest, the album arrived without any fanfare or advance notice and was announced only by Beyoncé announcing "Surprise!" on her Instagram account.
Eagerly snapped up by consumers, Beyoncé, the album, went platinum in less than three weeks. By early July, the album had gone double platinum with more than two-million copies sold.
More recently, the revered learning institution of Harvard University released an exhaustive case study attempting to deconstruct the sly "stealth marketing" strategy behind Beyoncé's album.
Of course, the confirmation that the new Beyoncé release will simply be an extended version of her existing album will come as a letdown to some people.
Beyoncé fans have been waiting with bated breath in recent days after an image purporting to be "release confirmation" showed up on Twitter.
And my, how that speculation turned to premature reality once fans around the world began to notice on Amazon sites that a four-disc set was imminent from the Grammy-winning singer.
Now we know the truth: The new Beyoncé album is pretty much the old Beyoncé album, with a few tasty new extras.
And the Beyoncé track record for captivating consumers and maintaining her mystique? Still Flawless.
PURPLE REIGN
It looks like the artist still known as Prince will play a pop-up show in Toronto on Tuesday night. Reports of the show began circulating after his band, 3rdEyeGirl , tweeted this message (and then deleted it): "4th day of November, we need a purple high: OTNOROT CALLING..." BE READY". So far, Massey Hall has not confirmed the show, but a line-up has been steadily growing since Tuesday morning. Last Saturday, Prince and his band 3rdEyeGirl played an extended seven-minute set on Saturday Night Live.
Source: CTV
ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT
It looks like those TV spots for Lincoln automobiles starring Matthew McConaughey were money well spent. Lincoln Motors reports that its overall sales went up 25 per cent last month and credit the increase to a surge in demand for the MKC model driven by McConaughey in a series of commercials. In the moody ads lensed by Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, McConaughey cruises behind the wheel of a MKC while softly murmuring commentary in the style of his True Detective character, Detective Rustin Cohle. In recent months, the MKC spots have been spoofed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Conan and Saturday Night Live.
Source: Washington Post
FELONIOUS HUNK
Make way for the Internet's latest "Hot Mugshot Guy." Sean Kory has supplanted HMG titleholder Jeremy Meeks following his arrest for assault in his hometown of Santa Cruz, Calif., last weekend. According to police reports, Kory, 29, was attending the city's annual Halloween parade when he suddenly attacked a fellow reveller dressed as a Fox News reporter. The ensuing mugshot, which shows Kory staring directly at the camera with his piercing blue eyes, has gone viral on social media in recent days. Last June, Meeks, was dubbed the original Hot Mugshot Guy after his booking photo hit the web following his arrest on gun charges.
Source: New York Magazine
MISSING IN ACTION
Whatever happened to Louis C.K.'s Twitter account? Several Twitter users have recently noticed that the comedian's Twitter account @louisck has mysteriously disappeared. Not surprisingly, some people have already drawn a connection between the disappearance and C.K.'s recent expletive-laden Twitter rant against the terrorist group ISIS. Earlier this year, C.K. also used Twitter to express his frustration with the New York education system with his tweet stating, "My kids used to love math. Now it makes them cry. Thanks standardized testing and common core!"
Source: Washington Post
BRAIN DRAIN
Working the night shift for extended periods can take a heavy toll on the human brain. According to a new study from the Universite de Toulouse and Swansea University, toiling on the midnight shift for at least a decade can result in aging a person's brain by an extra six-and-a-half years on average. Researchers studied the lifestyle patterns of 3,000 people in southwest France who were either working, or had retired, in 1996, 2001 and 2006. Those individuals who had worked abnormal hours, or had done so in the past, scored lower on tests for memory and speed of processing information than those people who had never worked the graveyard shift. "Shift work chronically impairs cognition," said study author Dr. Jean-Claude Marquie, "with potentially important safety consequences not only for the individuals concerned, but also for society."
Source: The Guardian