Backstage Pass

Robin Thicke’s new album, “Something Else,” hits stores today. (More on that from the Newsday preview here.) But the ardent Barack Obama supporter also had more to say about race in America and how he picks his collaborators, including Glen Cove’s Ashanti.

I read somewhere that you’ve said, “Everything now comes down to race in America.” Is that true?

I think I was talking about the presidential election. The whispers about it are all around. There are still people asking, “Are we ready for an African-American president?” It’s kind of interesting that we’re still asking that question. But, across the country, people are changing their tunes. There are groups like the Hell’s Angels who said they’re going to vote for Obama because they can’t afford things to keep going the way they are... It’s only 45 years since the “I Have a Dream” speech. I think what Americans don’t realize is how electing Obama would change the perception of America in the rest of the world. To go from Bush to a black president? That would show why we are leaders in the world.

Do you feel that race affects you in your career? That because you’re white you can’t sing soul music?

Normally, only white people say that. (Laughs) It’s like Jimi Hendrix playing rock and roll. I think if the artist lets that get in the way, they’ll never accomplish anything. If you keep making great music, that’s what gets into peoples hearts. If you make great music that I want to listen to, then I’ll let all those other bygones be bygones... Depending on the room I walk into I could catch a lot of hater energy or I could catch a lot of “You’re the real thing and people are finally getting to know it.” It depends which corner I turn.

Well, considering all the collaborations you’ve done recently – Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Jennifer Hudson, Ashanti – you’ve certainly won some respect with artists. How did you come to work with Ashanti?

She came to a listening session that I was having for my album. She came in smiling and looking beautiful and she played me this record that she wanted me to be on and we did it right there. When those things happen organically, it’s great. People always say, “You should do a record with this person because it will help your career.” I never do it for those purposes. I only do it because I’m excited about the artist or I’m inspired.

PHOTO: Robin Thicke from Interscope Records.

The Britney Spears comeback story now has a soundtrack.

Her new single “Womanizer,” which made its debut this morning on Z100 (either three days early or four days late depending on whose timetable you believe), is the first musical sign that she may actually be putting her troubled past behind her.

“Womanizer,” from the Atlanta production team The Outsyders, is an upbeat dance number that crosses her hit “Toxic” with some of the Euro-influenced dance sound from last year’s “Blackout” and adds some pointed lyrics. “You say I’m crazy? I got your ‘crazy,’” sings Spears. “You’re nothing but a womanizer.”

It’s catchy, but more noteworthy is that it involves some tongue-twisting lyrics and doesn’t heavily process Spears’ vocals, meaning that she had to be engaged in the recording process – something that was not evident for “Blackout.”

At this point, can’t we all just admit “Blackout” wasn’t very good? (I know many of you disagreed at the time, but do you still feel that way?) Despite some really catchy songs, it just sounded sad, like Spears vocals were assembled by robots because she couldn’t string two sentences together. “Blackout” hasn’t even broken the 900,000 sales mark yet, despite its massive, car-crash-gawking opening sales week of nearly 300,000 last November.

“Womanizer” is a sign that Spears’ sixth album “Circus,” due out Dec. 2, will fare far better.

New Kids on the Block delivered a big reunion valentine to Long Island last night at Nassau Coliseum, taking time out of introducing their new material to fans from back in the day and introducing themselves to the new fans they have won over in the past 14 years since their last tour.

"You don't know how good it feels to be in this building tonight," said Donnie Wahlberg. "Long Island has always been a special place for us."

As the group rolled through their comeback hit "Summertime," Joey McIntyre yelled, "Jones Beach, 1988!" a nod to a major show in their heyday.

For two hours, the New Kids mixed the old and the new, with songs from "The Block" faring just as well, if not better, than most of their classic material. "Dirty Dancing," delivered from a small stage in the center of the floor, worked well, as did the groovy "2 in the Morning" and the electro-tinged "Twisted."

Adding "We Will Rock You" to "Hangin' Tough" seemed a little unnecessary (though not as clumsy as Celine Dion's version earlier this month) and one of the ballads "If You Go Away" or "Baby I Believe in You" could easily have been cut, but for the most part, the show was tight and as well-choreographed as their new dance steps.

Main review: New Kids on the Block sound better [Newsday]

SETLIST: Single / My Favorite Girl / (You Got It) The Right Stuff / Didn't I Blow Your Mind/Valentine Girl / Please Don't Go Girl / Grown Man / No More Games / If You Go Away / 2 In The Morning / Dirty Dancing / Tonight / Twisted / Baby I Believe In You / Give It To You (Jordan Knight solo) / Stay The Same (Joey McIntyre solo) / Cover Girl (Donnie Wahlberg solo) / I'll Be Loving You Forever / Click Click Click / Summertime // ENCORES: Step by Step /// Hangin' Tough/We Will Rock You

PHOTO: Danny Wood, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight at Nassau Coliseum by Paul J. Bereswill for Newsday.

The real preview of tonight's New Kids on the Block show at Nassau Coliseum is in the paper today, but the guys had some extra stuff to say about work when we chatted after their recent appearance on "The View."

What's the main thing that's changed with the group since the last tour in 1994?

Donnie Wahlberg: What hasn’t changed? On a personal level, I think we’ve all developed a work ethic while we were away. When we were a group before, there were five of us, so there was always someone to lean on. When you go off on your own, it’s just you. Whether it’s Jon sellling condos or Jordan doing a solo album and performing onstage. When you’re alone, if you fail when it’s just you, you fail. I think our individual work ethics have improved tremendously.

Jordan Knight: A lot of people when they interview us, they think we stopped when the New Kids stopped. Maybe none of us achieved the frenzy that the New Kids created but that doesn’t mean that we weren’t out there learning and growing. I think each of us had our best growth while we were all away. We’re each bringing that growth to the table so the group is that much stronger today than it was back in the day.

What should fans expect at the show?

Jonathan Knight: They should be prepared to get it all – it’s going to be an eargasm, eyegasm, orgasm, you name it. It’s exciting. We’re really pulling out all the stops and we’ve done a good job mixing the old with new, the fast with slow. The decades of influences we have to draw on. We can go all the way back to Frank Sinatra and Al Jolson, the Motown sound and Philly soul and even the sounds. And we can even incorporate today. We can borrow stuff from Chris Brown and incorporate it with stuff we borrowed from The Osmonds. We have years and years of experience that we can draw on. We’ll mix it up. Sometimes we’ll spice them up a little bit, but we don’t want to make it too different. To really change it would be a downer for them.

Joey McIntyre (yelling from across the room): I just read your review. You just tanked your whole career, man. You said our album was good.

[I didn't get the chance to answer, but it's OK, Joey. "The Block" is good. And, obviously, my career has been in the tank for years.]

PHOTO:  New Kids on the Block by Olaf Heine for Interscope Records

Super-serious, big-voiced balladeer Josh Groban raps (sort of) and tackles reggae and country (-ish) TV theme songs in a show-stopping medley at last night's Emmys. Wait! Josh Groban has a sense of humor? That explains so much about his career.

Squeeze’s Glenn Tilbrook is a man of his word.

He told me recently, “I get really irritated when people do horrible arrangements of their own songs. I understand why people do it and I've done it myself and will probably do it again, but sometimes you just want to hear the songs the way you know it.” And last night, at a raucous Radio City Music Hall, that’s exactly what the reunited Squeeze delivered.

It was wonderful to hear “Goodbye Girl” in the original, synth-heavy, reggae-riddim-tinged version that appeared on “Cool for Cats” in 1979, while the bittersweet “Up the Junction,” from the same album, showed why the compositions of Chris Difford and Tilbrook will stand among the best, timeless examples of British new wave.

But even more thrilling was the renewed energy injected into their sharp, quirky slices-of-life pop, revving up “Is That Love” and the closer “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell).” And the images of Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan flashing behind the band nicely tied “Revue” into today’s celebrity culture, even though it was written 30 years ago.

Though the band dispatched its best-known American hits relatively early in the set – with “Black Coffee in Bed” turning into an extended jam and “Tempted” settling into its loping soulful groove – they had plenty of new wave steam to bring it home in impressive style and leave the crowd wanting more, even after 90 minutes of rapid-fire hits.

SETLIST: Strong in Reason / If I Didn't Love You / Revue / Up the Junction / Take Me, I'm Yours / I Think I'm Go-Go / Separate Beds / Piccadilly / It's So Dirty / Black Coffee in Bed / Annie Get Your Gun / Goodbye Girl / Melody Motel / Tempted / Slaughtered, Gutted, and Heartbroken / Is That Love / Cool for Cats / Another Nail in My Heart / Hourglass // ENCORE: Slap and Tickle / Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)

PHOTO: squeezeofficial.com

"So What," Pink's kiss-off to her ex-husband, becomes her first No. 1 single this week, pushing last week's chart-topper T.I.'s "Whatever You Like" to No. 2.

Of course, T.I. can't be too upset since he also debuts at No. 5, as part of Jay-Z's new single "Swagga Like Us," from the upcoming "Blueprint 3" album. His recent duet partner Rihanna holds at No. 3 with "Disturbia," while M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" climbs another notch.

Over on the albums charts, Metallica needed only three days to sell 490,000 copies of its "Death Magnetic" album, opting to release it on a Friday so it could be released internationally on the same day. "Death Magnetic" becomes the band's fifth No. 1 album in a row and makes it the only group to ever have five No. 1 albums.

Last week's No. 1 Young Jeezy's "The Recession" slips a notch to No. 2, while Kid Rock climbs a notch to No. 3 with "Rock N Roll Jesus." Jessica Simpson's first country album "Do You Know" debuts at No. 4 and Slipknot's "All Hope Is Gone" holds at No. 5.

PHOTO: Pink for LaFace Records

So are Ashanti and Nelly a couple? Well, they -- Ashelly? Nanti? -- went on "Ellen" yesterday to perform "Body on Me," along with Akon, and Ellen DeGeneres tried to get them to talk about it. After some uneasy silence and an attempted change-of-subject, Nelly finally said, "We cool." (That starts around 0:45.)

Even if Nelly isn't quite ready to pack up and move to Glen Cove with Ashanti just yet, the high point of his new "Brass Knuckles" album is easily his collabo with Chuck D., "Self Esteem," so maybe he should think about making more trips from The Lou to Strong Island.

File this under: Things I Can't Wait to Hear.

Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger and David Javerbaum, executive producer of "The Daily Show," have written an hour-long musical called "A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All," which will air Nov. 23 on Comedy Central nd be released on DVD.

The eight new songs include: "There Are Much Worse Things To Believe In," a duet between Stephen Colbert and Elvis Costello, "Nutmeg," which pairs Colbert with John Legend, "Little Dealer Boy," which teams him with Willie Nelson, and "Hanukkah," where he joins Jon Stewart. Toby Keith will handle "Have I Got a Present for You" and Feist will sing "Please Be Patient."

A portion of the proceeds from the DVD sale will go to Feeding America.

PHOTOS: Elvis Costello by Zach Cordner for THE WORD magazine; Stephen Colbert for Comedy Central. 

Did you hear Seaford-based The Sequel's "Memories" on the unusually sappy episode of "One Tree Hill" last night? It was on when English teacher Haley encourages her class to pay tribute to a murdered student by writing on his desk. (Yeah, I didn't get it either.)

Anyway, to celebrate the song's use, The Sequel is making it a free download on its MySpace page today, for those who want to relive that moment or, you know, enjoy a cool song.

The Sequel. Photo by Matthew Bair.

Britney Spears and David Cook staked their claim on increasingly scarce fourth-quarter release dates yesterday, with Spears picking out her birthday, Dec. 2, for her album "Circus." The first single "Womanizer" hits radio Monday.

Cook, the current "American Idol," will release his major-label debut Nov. 18 on 19/RCA, with hit-maker Rob Cavallo as the producer. Cook's single, "Time of My Life," has proven surprisingly durable, climbing to No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart this week, after being linked to the Olympics and showing up on "Oprah" last week.

However, Cook will have to battle Beyonce on Nov. 18, when she releases her still-untitled album, which includes a collaboration with Justin Timberlake and features only songs that she co-wrote and co-produced. The first singles, "Single Ladies" and "If I Were a Boy," hit radio Oct. 7.

And will there be another Kanye West vs. 50 Cent battle? Well, at the moment, 50 Cent's new album "Before I Self Destruct" is due Dec. 9 and West's "808s & Heartbreak" arrives Dec. 16, but you never know.

PHOTO: Victorious Britney Spears at the VMAs. MTV Photo.

 In case all the video screens, the 10-foot high rotating pedestal, the massive, multi-tiered stage with mechanized walkways, and the platforms that move like turrets in some sort of Vegas pop musical castle didn’t make the point, Celine Dion is a bit over-the-top.
    She has 10 musicians, including a percussionist and a drummer, along with eight dancers and she’s primarily known as a balladeer, OK?
    There’s nothing wrong with that except sometimes less really is more. Dion doesn’t get that all the vocal curlicues and extraneous loopiness of her performances – the forearm slapping, the air punching, the quick kicks and, because the show is in the round, her odd 90-degree turns – detract from the music.
    Take the reworking of the already-bombastic “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” unveiled during the 110-minute show at Nassau Coliseum Saturday night. The original highlighted her magnificent voice and her incredible control. The “improved” version makes her backing singers annoyingly “ooh” and “ahhh” as she delivers the verses.
    Dion shines when she keeps things in check, as in the gorgeous duet “The Prayer” with Andrea Bocelli, who performs his half on film, or the relatively understated “Because You Loved Me.” Even “Taking Chances,” the title track from her album and inspiration for the current tour, works by saving her booming voice for the song’s walloping ending.
    Dion knows how to make drama work for her, because she uses it to great effect in the weepy “All By Myself” and in the finale “My Heart Will Go On.” But so often, she oversells – both when she talks and sings – and oversteps, thinking her voice can transform on anything.
    Rock isn’t good for her, especially not Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Soul isn’t her thing either, screeching her way through the last half of James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.”
    Taking chances on material is all well and good, but Dion needs to deliver the payoff. When you’re reaching that far over-the-top, the fall can be really far.

PHOTO: Dion at Nassau Coliseum by Jin Lee for Newsday. [More photos]

SETLIST: I Drove All Night / The Power of Love / Taking Chances / It's All Coming Back to Me Now / Because You Loved Me / To Love You More / All By Myself / I'm Alive / Shades of Love / Fade Away / I'm Your Angel / Alone / My Love / The Prayer / Pour Que Tu M'Aimes Encore / We Will Rock You / The Show Must Go On / BREAK: Soul Man (Medley) / It's a Man's Man's Man's World / Love Can Move Mountains // ENCORES: River Deep Mountain High / My Heart Will Go On

EXTRAS:When Dion slipped slightly on a walkway during "To Love You More," you just knew action would be taken. There were stagehands -- sometimes as many as eight, who Dion at one point referred to as "the cleaning ladies," which I'm sure went over well with the burly guys -- wiping down the stage. She said the moisture may have been caused by the humidity or "because we're all so hot." She then went on to offer up her road crew to any fans who needed their houses cleaned. (It's usually the unscripted moments that say the most.) After she tested out the floor and exaggeratedly slid around she said, "I can play hockey right now."

Celine isn't the only member of the family who knows how to work the crowd. Her husband/manager, Rene Angelil, made quite the scene as he took his seat before the house lights went down, posing for pictures and shaking hands. Charmingly, he even showed the usher his tickets, as if the security escort wasn't hint enough that he was kinda important. Speaking of security, I made it out of Nassau County in record time Saturday night as I tucked behind the police-escorted Dion motorcade as they high-tailed it into the city. Maybe she wanted to see Tina Fey on "SNL.".

By now, you've all seen the video of Kanye West's camera-smashing tantrum at LAX that got him arrested for vandalism yesterday. So what did 'Ye have to say about on his blog, where he takes to explaining everything that happens to him?

He writes: "We back in the lab!!! I'm cool with the paparazzi. This guy wasn't cool. I gotta work now... I'll rant later!"

Um, OK. Of course, that was posted after he also posted Q-Tip's "Getting Up" video and racy pictures of Ciara. Oh, and some other stuff about how Interview mag is enjoyable, Maxelle chairs are cool, the United Bamboo store in the Daikanyama district of Tokyo and a pop-up alphabet book. (No, I'm not kidding.)

West is under pressure to complete his "808s and Heartbreak" album before its Dec. 16 scheduled release. But if he thinks the paparazzi were tough on him before, he has no idea how much they are going to taunt him now.

PHOTO: Nabil for Roc-a-Fella Records.

Oasis has canceled its "secret" show at Terminal 5 tomorrow night due to the injuries Noel Gallagher sustained after being tackled onstage at a concert Sunday night. However, fans can still get a sneak preview of songs from the band's forthcoming "Dig Out Your Soul" album at several subway platforms tomorrow, performed by New York street musicians.

The musicians will get the sheet music and rehearse four new songs from the album -- "The Turning," "Bag it Up," "(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady," and the new single
"The Shock of the Lightning" -- and then go out to more than a dozen subway platforms, including the LIRR corridor at Penn Station from 1-3 p.m. and 6-9 p.m.,  to perform them. [Full list of times and locations]

PHOTO: Oasis by Andrew Macpherson for oasisinet.com

Here's the video of Kanye West's fracas with paparazzi at LAX this morning, resulting in his arrest along with his road manager Don Crowley.

Kanye West arrested in LA

Donnie Klang's debut album "Just a Rolling Stone" will land at No. 19 on the charts, after selling 22,000 copies last week. For most artists, that would be huge, but for the Diddy-backed singer from Levittown, it's a slight disappointment considering the other two acts on his MTV show "Making the Band 4" debuted at No. 1 with their albums.

It would've been hard for Day 26 or even Danity Kane to pass Young Jeezy this week, since he sold nearly 260,000 copies of "The Recession" to take the top spot. However, if Klang's album made a decent showing, he could have easily duked it out with New Kids on the Block for the No. 2 spot. The New Kids sold 95,000 copies of "The Block."

So what happened? Well, Klang didn't have the base at urban radio that his show-mates had and he didn't build a new one at pop radio with his single "Take You There," so there wasn't much of a way for fans to know the album was coming out unless they were watching the show -- where Diddy kept announcing it every week.

Maybe Klang would have had a better chance if "Just a Rolling Stone" came out at the end of this season of "Making the Band 4" instead of the beginning. And maybe he would have benefitted from more screen time in the show's early weeks. Just a thought. Of course, neither of those things would be as entertaining as Diddy yelling, "Hi Hater" at MTV's James Montgomery before Montgomery could dis Klang's video on "FNMTV."

Rounding out this week's Top 5 albums are The Game's "LAX," which slides 63 percent in sales and one notch to No. 3, Kid Rock's "Rock N Roll Jesus" down one to No. 4, and last week's No. 1 album, Slipknot's "All Hope Is Gone," which drops 69 percent in sales.

PHOTO: Donnie Klang for MTV.

Remember when we (along with pretty much everyone else not working at Atlantic Records) said pulling Estelle's album "Shine" off of iTunes was a bad idea? Well, apparently someone at Atlantic realized that this strategy was, um, flawed.

Guess what the ad on top of the iTunes store is right now? Yes, it's Estelle's "American Boy." Imagine that. The song has already rebounded to No. 20 on the iTunes chart today. However, the momentum it had two weeks ago when it was at No. 11 on Billboard's singles charts has been sapped.

And did yanking it from iTunes spur sales of the "Shine" CD as Atlantic execs hoped it would. Um, not exactly. "Shine" sales did jump 16 percent last week, moving about 5,400 copies, but those aren't really Kid Rock numbers.

In exchange for those sales, Atlantic funneled about 100,000 sales to the Studio All-Stars' knockoff version of "American Boy" and another 7,000 sales to the Starlite Singers' knockoff version, according to Soundscan. It also knocked Estelle's "American Boy" from No. 11 to No. 57 in two weeks. Fair trade?

PHOTO: Estelle for Atlantic Records.

Maybe MTV will be able to make next year's Video Music Awards even more disjoint and off-putting because, apparently, that's what America wants. This year's show, much like last year's Britney-fueled debacle, was a ratings winner, according to the network.

The show landed an 8.1 rating among the cherished 12-to-34 demographic, up 26 percent from last year and 37 percent higher than the 2006 show, with about 23 million tuning in at some point Sunday night. The VMAs also funneled 18 percent more visitors to MTV.com compared to last year's event.

Perhaps the strategy of telling how many minutes were left to the next performance and Russell Brand's ongoing recap of what had just happened were exactly what intermittent viewers wanted, even though those who stuck with/were forced to watch the show all the way through found that annoying. The bait-and-switch with the Britney Spears opening, however, will probably not work again next year. Or will it?

PHOTO: Russell Brand by MTV.

Oasis' Noel Gallagher was taken to the hospital Sunday night in Toronto after a man jumped onstage and pushed Gallagher from behind, causing him to fall on his monitor speakers. Gallagher was examined for a possible rib fracture and ligament damage.

The band said it is unclear whether tonight's show in London, Ontario, will go on. It is not clear whether the band's "surprise" show set for Terminal 5 in Manhattan on Friday, drumming up publicity for the forthcoming "Dig Out Your Soul" album, will be affected.

No word on the motive for the attack, which came as the band played "Morning Glory." The unidentified man was tackled as he headed for singer Liam Gallagher and the band took a five-minute break to regroup before continuing with the show.

Ever outspoken, Noel Gallagher's most recent beef has been with Jay-Z over whether the rapper should have been the headliner at this year's Glastonbury Festival.

PHOTO: Oasis by Andrew Macpherson for oasisinet.com

What is going on with the VMAs? Aside from Rihanna's crazed attack of mutant dancers for "Disturbia," her duet with T.I. on "Live Your Life," and Christina Aguilera's bizarre new single "Keeps Getting Better," it's kind of been a snooze. That must be why Russell Brand keeps reminding us of the things that just happened because after the commercial break we've pretty much forgotten that they've happened. And the clock that tells how many minutes until some other boring thing only encourages people to go check out "Entourage" and come back. This is only made worse by the fact that they have actual nominees playing the bumper music into commercials, even Katy Perry.

Also, the Kanye West song "Love Lockdown" may be one of those that grow on you, but initially it reminds us that he's a much better rapper than a singer.

Anyway... The winners:

For those waiting for a repeat of last year’s MTV Video Music Awards debacle, Britney Spears offered a different kind of letdown.

    Her much-hyped opening of the show last night, which involved no singing, was limited and straightforward. Then, she won her first VMA after 16 previous nominations, taking home best female video for “Piece of Me.”

    “I’m speechless,” said Spears, wearing a far classier, far more flattering dress than last year’s outfit. “This is an honor. I just want to thank God first and foremost for blessing me like this, my beautiful family, my two beautiful boys for inspiring me everyday and my fans, this is for you.”

     Yes, her comedy bit with Jonah Hill was a bit flat, but that wasn't really her fault. But otherwise, Spears performed quite admirably.

Gnarls Barkley's "Run" won two VMAs -- for best art direction and best choreography.

Also winning pre-show awards:

-- The White Stripes' "Conquest" for best cinematography

-- Erykah Badu's "Honey" for best direction

-- Kanye West's "Good Life" for best special effects, meaning Kanye won't be shut out again this year 

MTV’s Video Music Awards were always less about the awards and more about creating a spectacle, but now the awards part is almost an afterthought.

The evening’s nominations leaders – inexplicably The Pussycat Dolls’ “When I Grow Up” video (below) which landed six nods – aren’t even set to perform. (That may be a contract thing, though, since they will be on “Fashion Rocks” on Tuesday.)

The other big nominees – Chris Brown and Katy “I Kissed a Girl” Perry, who both have 5 nods, – will perform, though, Perry is expected to pay tribute to Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.” This is expected to be horrible. (Side note: Rihanna’s tribute to Madonna’s “Vogue,” which will be part of “Fashion Rocks” on Tuesday, was actually quite good live.)

Denis Leary, who hosted “Fashion Rocks,” offered his own preview, saying his show was “gonna be a lot like the VMAs on