Music acts looking for a spring break

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Jan 27, 2099 Source: USA TODAY Submitted By: Gianze Perez Music acts looking for a spring break By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY The Backstreet Boys will be back, challenged by 'N Sync and a host of new kids on the block. Nine Inch Nails could pull alternative rock out of its slump. And No Doubt will no doubt revitalize ska-pop. But can they make enough of a splash to regenerate the lucrative tidal wave of 1998? The Backstreet Boys: Will their appeal last in 1999? A year ago, the Titanic soundtrack was steaming into history books, selling upward of a half million copies a week. In its wake came fall's superabundance of superstar releases, which helped push the year's record sales tally to 9% over 1997's take. While the music industry isn't as shipshape in 1999, the comparatively calm seas could bode well for newcomers, fringe acts and old-timers, not to mention returning stars. After dominating charts and radio last year, the Backstreet Boys plan to unleash a new album in April, with 'N Sync following in August. Given that fruit flies outlive the average boy vocal group, they could face serious competition from the upstart Moffatts, a Nashville-based teen quartet whose A New Beginning arrives in May. As shortening attention spans curtail the shelf lives of many rising acts, a question mark hovers over Orange County, Calif.'s No Doubt, which conquered the mainstream with 1996's Tragic Kingdom (global sales: 14 million copies). The band has written more than 30 songs and enlisted producer Glen Ballard (who steered Alanis Morissette's twin hit albums) for a tentative summer release. Last fall's surplus of divas leaves a pop void in 1999 that could reopen doors for rock bands. Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against The Machine and Bush are expected to power spring's uphill chart push, with reinforcements coming later in the year from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Korn, Pantera, AC/DC, Third Eye Blind and Def Leppard. Women, who clobbered men commercially and artistically in 1998, will be less dominant in months to come, though the industry anticipates healthy profits from albums due later in the year by Barbra Streisand, Bjork, Fiona Apple, Joan Osborne, Mary J. Blige and Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott. Hopes are also pinned on ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell's solo debut. What about right now? Anxious retailers are scanning the horizon for the next ship to come in. Pundits are keeping an ear to the ground for this century's Last Big Thing. And radio is cautiously sampling new sounds as fickle fans discard last week's models. Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: peto4ok Submitted by: utilizera Submitted by: lodo4ka Submitted by: ssbornik Submitted by: utilizera Submitted by: lodo4ka Submitted by: barrycmster Submitted by: geroin9l Submitted by: temnotak Submitted by: nikelir Click here to see more comments. Comment on this item. Next Item: Backstreet's Back! in the Winter '99 edition of Disney Adventures Magazine Prev Item: Time Magazine: Big Poppa's Bubble Gum Machine