Mark Althavan Andrews, better known as Sisqó, is a well-known music artist known for his 2000s hit, “Thong Song.” The songwriter led R&b group Dru Hill, and he gained popularity as a solo artist after releasing his album Unleash the Dragon in 1999. Unfortunately, Sisqó’s luck ran out after “Thong Song” was released. So, what happened? Here’s what he said.
Sisqó said he and his label ‘started bumping heads’ because he was ‘hard to work with’
Sisqó’s “Thong Song” became one of the catchiest hits of 2000, and fans anticipated hearing many more hits from the R&b artist. Unfortunately, his luck ran out quickly after attaining pop success. He gave an interview with Oprah: Where Are They Now? in 2016 and discussed how his record label considered him “hard to work with.”
“Once you get to that level of success, you have to play the game,” he said.
Sisqó said he and his label ‘started bumping heads’ because he was ‘hard to work with’
Sisqó’s “Thong Song” became one of the catchiest hits of 2000, and fans anticipated hearing many more hits from the R&b artist. Unfortunately, his luck ran out quickly after attaining pop success. He gave an interview with Oprah: Where Are They Now? in 2016 and discussed how his record label considered him “hard to work with.”
“Once you get to that level of success, you have to play the game,” he said.
- 4/3/2024
- by Lauren Weiler
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Classic rock legend Billy Joel remains one of the most popular concert acts. The Piano Man consistently plays sold-out shows for his Madison Square Garden residency and tours worldwide. Joel makes plenty of money for his live performances, but he loses over $20,000 every show for refusing to sell one type of ticket.
Billy Joel regularly performs at Madison Square Garden and tours the world Billy Joel performs at Eden Park on Dec. 3, 2022, in Auckland, New Zealand | Dave Simpson/WireImage
Joel is famous for adoring his hometown, New York City, and that love extends to where he plays concerts. The “Uptown Girl” singer-songwriter is renowned for almost exclusively playing concerts in Manhattan, specifically the 20,000-seat Madison Square Garden. Joel has performed at least one show a month at the venerated arena since 2014.
But when he’s not tickling the ivories at The Garden, Joel plays sold-out stadiums across the nation and the globe.
Billy Joel regularly performs at Madison Square Garden and tours the world Billy Joel performs at Eden Park on Dec. 3, 2022, in Auckland, New Zealand | Dave Simpson/WireImage
Joel is famous for adoring his hometown, New York City, and that love extends to where he plays concerts. The “Uptown Girl” singer-songwriter is renowned for almost exclusively playing concerts in Manhattan, specifically the 20,000-seat Madison Square Garden. Joel has performed at least one show a month at the venerated arena since 2014.
But when he’s not tickling the ivories at The Garden, Joel plays sold-out stadiums across the nation and the globe.
- 3/18/2023
- by India McCarty
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Maddie Ziegler is known for quite a few things. Most recently, she’s been making a name for herself as an actor by starring in films like The Fallout and West Side Story. Of course, long-time fans of the 20-year-old will recall that she got her start on the popular reality TV series, Dance Moms. But the muli-hyphenate creative’s most high-profile gig to date has been her performance in Sia’s music videos. More specifically, her performance of the choreography in the Chandelier music video made Ziegler a household name.
Sia and Maddie Ziegler | Dave Simpson/WireImage How did Maddie Ziegler end up in Sia’s ‘Chandelier’ music video?
Ziegler was only 11 when Sia tapped her to be in the Chandelier music video. The Aussie was a fan of Dance Moms and found herself moved whenever Ziegler would perform her solo choreography on the show. Thus, she reached out...
Sia and Maddie Ziegler | Dave Simpson/WireImage How did Maddie Ziegler end up in Sia’s ‘Chandelier’ music video?
Ziegler was only 11 when Sia tapped her to be in the Chandelier music video. The Aussie was a fan of Dance Moms and found herself moved whenever Ziegler would perform her solo choreography on the show. Thus, she reached out...
- 2/13/2023
- by Abeni Tinubu
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
How did we come up with our chart? By tallying the votes of our pop writers – and here's what they plumped for
Tim Jonze
Albums
John Wizards – John Wizards
Disclosure – Settle
Paramore – Paramore
Hebronix – Unreal
Kanye West – Yeezus
Christopher Owens – Lysandre
Julia Holter – Loud City Song
Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
Sky Ferreira – Night Time, My Time
British Sea Power – From The Sea To The Land Beyond
Tracks
Julia Holter – Hello Stranger
Miguel and Mariah Carey – #Beautiful
Drake – Hold On, We're Going Home
Sky Ferreira – You're Not the One
Justin Timberlake – Suit and Tie
Jeffrey Lewis – Wwprd
Paramore – Still Into You
Disclosure feat. AlunaGeorge – White Noise
The 1975 – Chocolate
Stylo G – Soundbwoy
Tom Hughes
Albums
15-60-75 The Numbers Band – Jimmy Bell's Still in Town
Meat Wave – Meat Wave
The Drones – I See Seaweed 4
White Fence – Live in San Francisco
Ooga Boogas – Ooga Boogas
Superchunk – I Hate Music
Bits of...
Tim Jonze
Albums
John Wizards – John Wizards
Disclosure – Settle
Paramore – Paramore
Hebronix – Unreal
Kanye West – Yeezus
Christopher Owens – Lysandre
Julia Holter – Loud City Song
Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
Sky Ferreira – Night Time, My Time
British Sea Power – From The Sea To The Land Beyond
Tracks
Julia Holter – Hello Stranger
Miguel and Mariah Carey – #Beautiful
Drake – Hold On, We're Going Home
Sky Ferreira – You're Not the One
Justin Timberlake – Suit and Tie
Jeffrey Lewis – Wwprd
Paramore – Still Into You
Disclosure feat. AlunaGeorge – White Noise
The 1975 – Chocolate
Stylo G – Soundbwoy
Tom Hughes
Albums
15-60-75 The Numbers Band – Jimmy Bell's Still in Town
Meat Wave – Meat Wave
The Drones – I See Seaweed 4
White Fence – Live in San Francisco
Ooga Boogas – Ooga Boogas
Superchunk – I Hate Music
Bits of...
- 12/23/2013
- by Tom Hughes, Maddy Costa, Tim Jonze, Michael Hann, Malik Meer, Rebecca Nicholson, Nosheen Iqbal, Alexis Petridis, Dom Lawson, Paul Lester, Louis Pattison, Kitty Empire, Kate Hutchinson, Betty Clarke, Paul MacInnes, Kieran Yates, Ian Gittins, Jude Rogers, Dave Simpson, Alex Needham, Dan Hancox, Daniel Martin, Sam Wolfson, Ally Carnwath, Stevie Chick, Dorian Lynskey, Sam Richards, Caroline Sullivan, Chris Salmon, Michael Cragg, Alex Macpherson, Sean Michaels, Tom Lamont, Killian Fox, Adam Boult, Harriet Gibsone
- The Guardian - Film News
The best of your comments on the latest films and music
Twenty years ago, a pair of films – Slacker and Straight Out of Brooklyn – began a brief and bright boom time for microbudget film-making, when several films seemingly costing peanuts and paid for on credit cards became sizable commercial hits. Last week, Ryan Gilbey set about finding what had become of that first wave of microbudget directors.
Since Ryan had answered his own question, the readers embarked on a wider discussion of the microbudget phenomenon. "The new wave are making films on smartphones, particularly the iPhone 4 and Nokia N8," wrote smartmoviemaker. "Park Chan-Wook, director of Oldboy, made Paranmanjang entirely on an iPhone 4 and it was shown in South Korean cinemas … Britain's McHenry Brothers, who made the spoof Jackboots on Whitehall last year, made a short on a Nokia N8 called The Commuter, starring Pamela Anderson."
That the tech boom has...
Twenty years ago, a pair of films – Slacker and Straight Out of Brooklyn – began a brief and bright boom time for microbudget film-making, when several films seemingly costing peanuts and paid for on credit cards became sizable commercial hits. Last week, Ryan Gilbey set about finding what had become of that first wave of microbudget directors.
Since Ryan had answered his own question, the readers embarked on a wider discussion of the microbudget phenomenon. "The new wave are making films on smartphones, particularly the iPhone 4 and Nokia N8," wrote smartmoviemaker. "Park Chan-Wook, director of Oldboy, made Paranmanjang entirely on an iPhone 4 and it was shown in South Korean cinemas … Britain's McHenry Brothers, who made the spoof Jackboots on Whitehall last year, made a short on a Nokia N8 called The Commuter, starring Pamela Anderson."
That the tech boom has...
- 9/29/2011
- by Michael Hann
- The Guardian - Film News
The best of your comments on the latest film and music
Tor some reason, Film&Music got a few of you hot under the collar last week. Dave Simpson's paean to maverick entertainers was generally very well-received, but alanabit thought there was a manners issue. "It was bloody rude of you to tell everyone how much the busker earned! That is no one else's business." 1againstmany was also getting worked up: "Having lived within 15 metres of one of Lewis Floyd Henry's regular spots, I have to say he is capable of being intensely annoying." But most were extremely complimentary, with Lewis himself getting lots of praise – Cicadafamiliar said: "Saw him at Latitude last year, he was wonderful! He made us all laugh, and smile and was a brilliant presence." Dilford was heartened in a more general way: "Just the article I needed to read to firmly assure me that...
Tor some reason, Film&Music got a few of you hot under the collar last week. Dave Simpson's paean to maverick entertainers was generally very well-received, but alanabit thought there was a manners issue. "It was bloody rude of you to tell everyone how much the busker earned! That is no one else's business." 1againstmany was also getting worked up: "Having lived within 15 metres of one of Lewis Floyd Henry's regular spots, I have to say he is capable of being intensely annoying." But most were extremely complimentary, with Lewis himself getting lots of praise – Cicadafamiliar said: "Saw him at Latitude last year, he was wonderful! He made us all laugh, and smile and was a brilliant presence." Dilford was heartened in a more general way: "Just the article I needed to read to firmly assure me that...
- 8/4/2011
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
The best of your comments on the latest films and music
If any proof were needed that Jeff Bridges has ascended to that place in the firmament reserved for the universally beloved, then the reaction to our feature last week is surely enough. Here's just a sample. NattyNooNoo: "I love him." DerekSmalls: "He is the dude." Kaivalagi: "Love his dudeness." Musigny: "Great, great actor." (The tide of adoration was a bit much for goldennuggets: "Isn't there at least one bad story about him – surely, he's beaten up a cat or something?") Much discussion also ensued as to Bridges's best work on screen: lots of votes (and quotes) for The Big Lebowski, naturally, but plenty of people namechecked earlier, less ubiquitous work, notably Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (BifferSpice: "Terrific performance in a terrific film") and Fearless (davewicked: "This was the film that really made me stand up and pay attention to his...
If any proof were needed that Jeff Bridges has ascended to that place in the firmament reserved for the universally beloved, then the reaction to our feature last week is surely enough. Here's just a sample. NattyNooNoo: "I love him." DerekSmalls: "He is the dude." Kaivalagi: "Love his dudeness." Musigny: "Great, great actor." (The tide of adoration was a bit much for goldennuggets: "Isn't there at least one bad story about him – surely, he's beaten up a cat or something?") Much discussion also ensued as to Bridges's best work on screen: lots of votes (and quotes) for The Big Lebowski, naturally, but plenty of people namechecked earlier, less ubiquitous work, notably Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (BifferSpice: "Terrific performance in a terrific film") and Fearless (davewicked: "This was the film that really made me stand up and pay attention to his...
- 6/2/2011
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
The best of your comments on the latest films and music
Oh, West Berlin! City of fascination for suburban Brits in the late 1970s and early 80s! Drugs! Sex! Great albums! Great films! More drugs! More sex!
Last week, Jon Savage outlined what made West Berlin so culturally fascinating 30 or so years ago: "An oasis of extremity created by the cold war … peopled with bohemians and outcasts." One thing he didn't explain was why it was peopled by those bohemians and outcasts. Enter Hooper165, who explained that Berliners were exempt from conscription to the West German army, which "triggered in the 70s and early 80s a vast youth migration from all parts of Germany into Berlin". Showmaster expanded the point, explaining that even as the young were desperate to move in to the city, the old were desperate to move out. And why did the young live so much in the moment?...
Oh, West Berlin! City of fascination for suburban Brits in the late 1970s and early 80s! Drugs! Sex! Great albums! Great films! More drugs! More sex!
Last week, Jon Savage outlined what made West Berlin so culturally fascinating 30 or so years ago: "An oasis of extremity created by the cold war … peopled with bohemians and outcasts." One thing he didn't explain was why it was peopled by those bohemians and outcasts. Enter Hooper165, who explained that Berliners were exempt from conscription to the West German army, which "triggered in the 70s and early 80s a vast youth migration from all parts of Germany into Berlin". Showmaster expanded the point, explaining that even as the young were desperate to move in to the city, the old were desperate to move out. And why did the young live so much in the moment?...
- 4/28/2011
- by Michael Hann
- The Guardian - Film News
The best of your comments on the latest films and music
Here at Film & Music we like to think of ourselves as defenders of the faith, standing up for the classical virtues – connoisseurs if you will, of the finer things in life. Hence, it's a pleasure to report the near-universal acclaim that greeted Peter Paphides's record-shop trawl to mark Record Store Day with occasional F&M contributor and full-time vinyl junkie Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne. Lots of commenters posted pleas for their own favourite shops that were missed – but have a heart, the duo couldn't visit every one in the country – but it was the rapport between Paphides and Stanley that really impressed everyone. RalfyJ wrote: "Best thing I've read in ages. Sounds like The Trip, only with worse food and a better soundtrack." This can't be a reference to the chat about the cat-sitting game that Stanley suggests...
Here at Film & Music we like to think of ourselves as defenders of the faith, standing up for the classical virtues – connoisseurs if you will, of the finer things in life. Hence, it's a pleasure to report the near-universal acclaim that greeted Peter Paphides's record-shop trawl to mark Record Store Day with occasional F&M contributor and full-time vinyl junkie Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne. Lots of commenters posted pleas for their own favourite shops that were missed – but have a heart, the duo couldn't visit every one in the country – but it was the rapport between Paphides and Stanley that really impressed everyone. RalfyJ wrote: "Best thing I've read in ages. Sounds like The Trip, only with worse food and a better soundtrack." This can't be a reference to the chat about the cat-sitting game that Stanley suggests...
- 4/21/2011
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
The best of your comments on the latest films and music
"Peter, I am staggered you've given this five stars." This being Archipelago, the second feature from the British director Joanna Hogg, and "I" being gavinscottw. "Archipelago is one of the most emotionally uninvolving and dramatically eviscerated films I have ever seen." It's a point of view, certainly, and one several readers shared. Pollymagoo couldn't quite believe the film's trailer picked out as a highlight one character announcing: "Guinea fowl's actually meant to be served slightly pink." Or, as ladymarmalade put it: "Seems to be a film about posh people talking about cooking lobster and quail."
Then, of course, there was the other point of view, put by FionaSib: "It's set in a different sphere to most British films, revealing the very fraught human relations that can exist in any family. Focusing on the fact that they are 'posh people'...
"Peter, I am staggered you've given this five stars." This being Archipelago, the second feature from the British director Joanna Hogg, and "I" being gavinscottw. "Archipelago is one of the most emotionally uninvolving and dramatically eviscerated films I have ever seen." It's a point of view, certainly, and one several readers shared. Pollymagoo couldn't quite believe the film's trailer picked out as a highlight one character announcing: "Guinea fowl's actually meant to be served slightly pink." Or, as ladymarmalade put it: "Seems to be a film about posh people talking about cooking lobster and quail."
Then, of course, there was the other point of view, put by FionaSib: "It's set in a different sphere to most British films, revealing the very fraught human relations that can exist in any family. Focusing on the fact that they are 'posh people'...
- 3/11/2011
- by Michael Hann
- The Guardian - Film News
The best of your comments on the latest films and music
Spoiler alert! Your enjoyment of the online discussion about Peter Bradshaw's review of Biutiful may be compromised if you read on. And, some readers said, your enjoyment of the film might have been compromised if you read his review: particularly his revelation of "an unexpected moment: a real coup" during the movie (let us not describe the exact nature of the coup). "You have just spoiled a major dramatic moment in the movie," siforcat sighed. "Unexpected? Not for anyone who reads this who hasn't seen the film yet, it isn't," added stevekain. So, Bradshaw, defend yourself. "I don't think it is a spoiler," Peter says. "But there is an ongoing debate about how a critic is expected to engage with narrative and to talk about the things he/she genuinely – and in this case passionately – believes are centrally important to the movie.
Spoiler alert! Your enjoyment of the online discussion about Peter Bradshaw's review of Biutiful may be compromised if you read on. And, some readers said, your enjoyment of the film might have been compromised if you read his review: particularly his revelation of "an unexpected moment: a real coup" during the movie (let us not describe the exact nature of the coup). "You have just spoiled a major dramatic moment in the movie," siforcat sighed. "Unexpected? Not for anyone who reads this who hasn't seen the film yet, it isn't," added stevekain. So, Bradshaw, defend yourself. "I don't think it is a spoiler," Peter says. "But there is an ongoing debate about how a critic is expected to engage with narrative and to talk about the things he/she genuinely – and in this case passionately – believes are centrally important to the movie.
- 2/4/2011
- by Michael Hann
- The Guardian - Film News
There are a number of huge high-profile releases hitting record store shelves this week, including Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Ke$ha's Cannibal, Justin Bieber's My Worlds Acoustic and Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday. But if you're really looking to satisfy your rock jones this week, there is only one place to turn, and that is the elaborate universe created by My Chemical Romance's new album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. The band's long-awaited fourth album (their first since 2006's dark, complicated The Black Parade) casts them as a band of outsiders in an Orwellian future and is full of huge riffs and shout-along choruses. They have already scored a big hit with the first single "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)," and the video for "Sing" is sure to carry them even deeper into...
- 11/22/2010
- by Kyle Anderson
- MTV Newsroom
The reader's editor on… getting mixed up in the business of film and music reviews
The screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel, The Road, has been well received in some quarters and, as is the way of things, star ratings and quotes from reviews have found their way into an advertising campaign aimed at cinemagoers. A handful of readers asked why a full page advertisement for the film, on the back page of Film&Music this month, which attributed four stars and the word "superb" to "the Guardian", didn't match Peter Bradshaw's three-star review inside. "What's the true picture on the picture?" one of them asked.
A search of the archive brings up an earlier, four-star, Guardian review containing the accolade "superb", which was written for the website in September, when the film was screened at the Venice Film Festival. Michael Hann, Film&Music's editor, said this...
The screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel, The Road, has been well received in some quarters and, as is the way of things, star ratings and quotes from reviews have found their way into an advertising campaign aimed at cinemagoers. A handful of readers asked why a full page advertisement for the film, on the back page of Film&Music this month, which attributed four stars and the word "superb" to "the Guardian", didn't match Peter Bradshaw's three-star review inside. "What's the true picture on the picture?" one of them asked.
A search of the archive brings up an earlier, four-star, Guardian review containing the accolade "superb", which was written for the website in September, when the film was screened at the Venice Film Festival. Michael Hann, Film&Music's editor, said this...
- 1/18/2010
- by Siobhain Butterworth
- The Guardian - Film News
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