Pop Music News: February 7th, 2011

Welcome to a new weekly series dedicated to news items from around the world of pop music. This week's tidbits include two big announcements by Lady GaGa and Adele, respectively, the aftermath of the music at the Super Bowl, the upcoming Grammy Awards and more. Check it out:

Lady GaGa's "Born This Way" set to release two days early

Friday is the day millions of Lady GaGa fans have been waiting for. The newest and biggest pop sensation announced on Monday that she'll be releasing her new song two days earlier than the previously planned date of February 13^th. "Born This Way" will be the debut single on GaGa's upcoming album of the same name and her fans, who've long anticipated new material from the star, are decidedly excited.

The song will be released at precisely 3 a.m. on the morning of Friday, February 11th. The best sources for hearing the song will be streaming online and a Facebook page has been set up in anticipation of the event. That will be the best place to catch up to the minute news on where to find it. You can check it out here.

The singer, who is currently continuing her highly successful "Monster's Ball" tour, will be performing the tune at the Grammy Awards this Sunday, February 13, on CBS, and the single will be available on iTunes the following day.

British singer Adele announces North American tour dates in support of "21"

British chanteuse extraordinaire Adele announced on her website today that she will be touring several North American cities in support of her upcoming highly anticipated sophomore effort, "21." The tour kicks off May 12^th in Washington D.C. and plays 22 cities in all, culminating in Nashville, TN on June 20^th. Check out the singer's official website here for tour dates and more information. To read a preview of "21," please click here.

Super Bowl: A Christina faux pas and an over the top Peas halftime show

For many Americans, the Super Bowl is not just about football. As with other such high profile events, music always plays a big part, and Super Bowl XLV was no exception. Two musical affairs that always seem to get attention at the big game are the singing of the National Anthem and the half time show, and this year's game was no exception.

First up was pop singer Christina Aguilera, who was chosen to sing the Star Spangled Banner. The song has been known to have tough lyrics and Ms. Aguilera surely had her problems with the song. The poor thing flubbed the lyrics on just the fourth line, repeating words from the previous line mixed into the subsequent one. The singer's mistake was the talk of the day and received millions of hits on YouTube. You can check it out here.

For the half time show, the Black Eyed Peas promised and delivered a high energy spectacle, complete with guest stars and literally hundreds of futuristic dancers. The group played some of their biggest hits, including "I Gotta Feeling" and "Pump It", and was joined on stage by the likes of Usher, who performed his hit "OMG" and Guns N Roses guitarist Slash, playing the riff from that group's smash "Sweet Child of Mine" to Fergie's vocals. The performance was or wasn't over the top, according to who you spoke with, but there were clear technical issues that hindered the performance and that's a shame. You can check out some of the Peas' performance right here.

The Grammy Awards

This Sunday, February 13^th, the 53^rd Annual Grammy Awards show will be telecast live on CBS at 8 p.m. Performers scheduled to appear on the show include Arcade Fire, Eminem, Cee Lo Green, Rihanna and Drake, Katy Perry, Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum, Muse, and more. Check out the official 53^rd Annual Grammy Awards website here for a complete list of nominees and more.

Rihanna's "S&M" title changed in the U.K.

The U.K.'s BBC Radio 1 has changed the title to Rihanna's latest single "S&M" and the singer is not happy about it. Billboard online reports that the nationally syndicated radio network has changed the controversial title of the song to "Come On" and that the singer tweeted today that she was "on it."

That's all for this week's news events in the world of pop music. Stay tuned next week for more!

Sources:

http://www.adele.tv/news/222/adele-announces-north-american-tour-in-support-of-upcoming-album-21

http://www.billboard.com/#/events/black-eyed-peas-pump-it-up-with-super-bowl-1005023692.story

http://www.billboard.com/events/christina-aguilera-fumbles-national-anthem-1005023702.story#/events/christina-aguilera-fumbles-national-anthem-1005023702.story

http://www.billboard.com/#/news/billboard-bits-rihanna-outraged-over-s-m-1005024782.story

http://www.grammy.com/news/grammy-performers-announced

http://www.ladygaga.com/default.aspx

http://www.lady-gaga.net/

http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/45

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/black-eyed-peas-perform-futuristic-sci-fi-spectacle-at-super-bowl-halftime-show-20110207