BON JOVI

You may not have heard of Elan Lea yet, but chances are, you will soon. This singer/songwriter hails from his native South Africa and has recently made quite a splash in the UK. Elan is getting ready to debut his US project, Conversations Over Time. Elan is a protege of the late Robin Gibb and his highly successful Universal Records album My Only Excuse was released in 2009. So be the first of your friends to check him out and learn all about his new album and his transition to the US music scene below!

For those of you still recovering from this year's Coachella, we only have one thing to say: there's no rest for the weary! That's right, Bamboozle 2012 is happening May 18-20 in the great state of New Jersey! Time to give the east coasters out there a chance to live out their festival dreams.

This year, the lineup for Bamboozle is packed with some of the biggest names in rock and EDM. Acts include Skrillex, Mac Miller, Incubus, Foo Fighters, Blink-182, Bon Jovi, Brand New and more. Here's the full schedule.

While music’s biggest names are known for what they bring to the stage and the stereo, it’s the things they do in between selling out venues and making platinum records that reveal their true character. No, not the mansion parties and golf outings, but rather the endless array of charities that music’s superstars have created and contributed to over the years. No one asked these artists to help anyone, but they’ve decided to put their wealth towards all the right causes.

Culture Club threw its grand reopening party last night, and they certainly did it right! With a Michael Jackson impersonator, non-stop '80s music, and themed drinks like "Vanilla Ice," "Bon Jovi," and "Smurfirita," attendees were cutting a rug like they were the stars of Footloose. The multi-level club featured Saturday Night Fever inspired floors, paintings of yester-year, and plenty of neon colors. With the help of partner Debbie Gibson, VnC Cocktails, and South Beach Smoke, the bash was one of the most colorful (literally and figuratively) so far this year. We even got a surprise live performance from Debbie Gibson of Shake Your Love and Only in my Dreams. Notables in attendance included Kourtney Kardashian, VnC ambassador Scott Disick, Nanette Lepore (who also designed the club's uniforms!), Project Runway’s Joshua McKinley, DJ Kiss, DJ M.O.S, and Mick Boogie.

Say what you want about Justin Bieber, but how many of you have walked away with the “Artist of the Year” award? The teen star took home several awards at the American Music Awards Sunday night, including artist of the year, which he beat out his friend Usher for. Bieber also took home the award for “Favorite Male Artist.”

Don’t feel bad, Usher won the “Best Soul/R&B Male Artist and Album,” while Rihanna won for female in the same category. Brad Paisley and Taylor Swift won for best male and female country artists and favorite band went to the Black Eyed Peas.

The American Music Awards will take place in Los Angeles Nokia Theatre on November 21 at 5.00PM. I'm afraid the price of the tickets looks horribly expensive. Check out the list of the live performers !

Kid Rock, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Carlos Santana, Gavin Rossdale, New Kids on the Block & Backstreet Boys (wait.. what ???), Rihanna, Ne-Yo & Sean "Diddy" Combs, Justin Bieber, Ke$ha, Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera, Bon Jovi, Pink, Usher.

Who said kids rule the world because of their parents visa ? Go tweet little bird ! The voting period is closed now. The show will be on ABC.

The MTV Europe Music Awards stopped in Madrid yesterday. You might not have the time to watch the whole show so I made a list of the winners for your eyes only. If you still want tou watch the show, here is the link you need.

Eva Longoria was the master of ceremony. She had a pimpilicious full of diamonds microphone, and more than ten different outfits during the ceremony.

As you can see this skewer of winners looks pretty deliscious for kids, but could suffer from a lack of taste for the others.

All right, yours truly has finally decided to incorporate a little order in these hapless, structure-rebellious posts. Which, in other words, means that I accidentally found a common thread between my three picks this week and am now JUMPING on this similarity, making a theme and presenting it to you as if I had this organization planned all along. Which, I guess, is a complete fail because I basically just told you otherwise. So enough of that noise - this week's post is all about female lead singers. What's that you say? Last week's unthemed post had all male lead singers and I didn't say a damn thing? Mind your own business, okay? This my thing, not yours. The Sounds - Rock 'n Roll Once upon a time, Alyssa was obsessed with the television show Viva La Bam - you know, that obnoxious MTV "reality" show spin-off of Jackass? The one with a handful of late-twenty-early-thirty year olds running around, pulling pranks on each other in addition to unassuming family members? Yes, that one! As a sophomore in high school, that malarkey amused me (and, no way, I don't have the first three season on DVD or anything...nope, not me...uhn-uh). I was particularly amused with Bam Margera, "star" of the show. His endless stream of ideas for even higher-than-high high jinks, charmingly dreamy dark-hair-blue-eyes combo and compulsively skater brand-clad wardrobe of hoodies, tees and kicks all plummeted me into a semi-obsession. And, for anyone of you who read my column regularly, you know that these little obsessions of mine are abundant, yet short-lived. Eventually I threw Bam out, along with Derek Jeter, Colin Ellis and Mr. Berger, but not before, like the rest, he was able to turn me on to some artist I had never heard of or been interested in prior. During my stint with Bam, I purchased the soundtrack to the television series because, you know, I had to be all up in everything Bam-related. Viva La Bands, as it was called, featured mostly European artists that were not familiar to American audiences, including myself. One band in particular - The Sounds - found a spot in my taste and has nestled nicely there ever since. The song of theirs on the soundtrack that hooked me was this hip-hypnotizing, neck-bobbing tune called "Rock 'n Roll." The Sweden-born lead singer, Maja Ivarsson, mesmerized me with her voice - this loud, yet thin and raspy, high-pitched powerhouse of sound. It's the perfect topping to this sundae of a song, layered deliciously with feisty guitar riffs, steady bass strums and infatuation-filled lyrics about a girl who's given up on love, as the only true desire she's ever known is that of the begging beat of rock and roll. Uh Huh Her - Not a Love Song I have been meaning to throw this Uh Huh Her song into the mix for weeks, but I've just never been able to fit it in properly. But then, the other day, I was watching The L Word, like I do, and I was reminded via Alice Pieszecki (a.k.a. Leisha Hailey a.k.a. co-founder of this band) that I need to feature this song because it's just too damn good not to. It's probably the new wave sound of this band that gets me, but on the other hand, the video is such a visual meal of glossy make-up, sequined outfits, cutesy comic drawings, wispy hair, high-heeled shoes and, wait for it, rope-led UNICORNS (just watch) that I'm pretty sure their music could be country and I'd still be into it. PS: UNICORNS. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Do You Wanna Touch I can't take any credit for knowing this song or even this woman on my own accord, as it kind of all happened against my will. You see, growing up with a mother who spent the first decade of her adult life in and out of local clubs, dancing and partying the night away to hair bands and chicks in leather and heavy eyeliner, you're probably bound to hear a few of those throwback songs while you're helplessly strapped in an Evenflo car seat in the back of your mom's blue Neon. And, oh boy, did I ever! My sisters and I were raised on Joan Jett, Def Leppard, Pat Benatar, Bon Jovi and the like. Whether my mom blasted it in her car ("Come on, guys! I clubbed to this music!") or had Vh1 playing nonstop ("A Bon Jovi video marathon, you guys! Look at his hair! Oh, dreaaaamy"), slowly these songs became our songs. We became less interested in the Barney sing-along cassette tapes and more interested in hearing Joan Jett sing about putting another dime in the "juice-box, baby" (as I, at whatever young age, mistakenly thought the lyrics were). Now, I'm old enough to realize how lucky I was to have a mother that would share her music with her young daughters. I wonder if she had not done so, if I would have grown up with any sort of appreciation, curiosity or inclination towards the music of that time. When I think of, now at 21, how much of my favorite music is from the period of time that my mother unveiled to us, I realize how thankful I am to her for forcing the music of her glory days on our young and impressionable minds. Thanks, mom! Xoxo. So how's that for a girl power post? Start with Sweden exports and end with mommy dearest. All in a week's worth, my dears, all in a week's worth. So tell me, what kind of women rule your playlists?

The New Jersey rock band Bon Jovi got a knock at the door late Saturday when they were playing in East Hampton. According to Page 6, Jon Bon Jovi invited over 60 guests to his home for his annual party to close out the summer. The event included fireworks, live music from the band and even Jack Nicholson.

When cops arrived Jon invited them in for just one last song.

My question is: What neighbor if anyone would call the cops for I'm guessing, a loud noise violation? It's Bon Jovi let alone a free concert in the luxury of your own home. Did I mention it's Bon Jovi?

Harper’s Ferry, Allston, MA

harpersferryboston.com

• Wed. July 21st- Sainthood Reps (feat. Derek from Brand New)
• Thur. July 22nd- Nappy Roots
• Fri. July 23rd- Kurt Vile (Full Band) & Real Estate
• Sat. July 24th- Internationals Do It Better, Volume 14
• Sun. July 25th- Papoose & Saigon
• Mon. July 26th- Waves
• Tue. July 27th- Sunspot

House of Blues, Boston, MA