That didn’t take very long. After detailing her many projects and the demands that come with having two rapidly growing twins to Ellen DeGeneres, Cameron Diaz and NBC’s daytime audience on Tuesday, the possibility that Jennifer Lopez may not return to American Idol was officially, albeit subtly, shot into the universe. One might have taken it as merely a throwaway quote or additional publicity stunt in preparation for her What to Expect When You’re Expecting release this week, yet less than 24 hours later come enough quotes and speculation to make any die-hard J. Lo fan shake in his or her early ’00s-era braids. E!’s Marc Malkin has additional perspective on Lopez’s potential future with the show—because you can’t settle casting on one reality competition show without making another one jealous of the attention. We must always talk about these things!

“She’s just too busy,” explains a Lopez source. Yes, this is true. Lopez’s judging stint on Idol has occurred alongside the release of one solo album (Love?), one major motion picture (Expecting), one divorce (Marc Anthony) and one Spanish-language talent search with her now ex-husband (Q’Viva!). Still, is scheduling really what could keep her from willingly returning to the competition, and not the declining ratings or her zany on-screen costars? Is this all about Britney’s X Factor payday? “Fox does not want to let her go. They love her,” counters a source close to Idol‘s production. You know what that means: show her the money.

Chuck Brown, funk singer and guitarist of the D.C. scene from the ’70s to the present, has died. The Washington City Paper reports that his daughter has confirmed his death, and while the paper does not list a cause, Brown had been hospitalized since April after experiencing a bout of pneumonia. He was 75 years old.

Brown is cited as being the “Godfather of Go-Go,” the funk subgenre that stemmed out of D.C. in the mid-’70s, thanks largely to early Brown singles like “I Need Some Money” and particularly “Bustin’ Loose,” which spent a month on top of the R&B charts in 1979. The hits didn’t last for Brown, but he remained a local hero for the next several decades, and “Loose” has even been used as the home run celebration song of the Washington Nationals. (Brown was also recruited to perform the theme song to The Sinbad Show in the ’90s, a fact that he may or may not still include on his resume.)

Chuck Brown’s music continues to live on, especially in hip-hop, thanks to the highly sampleable nature of two of his songs, “Loose” and “Ashley’s Roachclip,” which he recorded as the guitarist and singer for band The Soul Searchers. “Loose” most famously had its hook interpolated by The Neptunes on Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” with Nelly even taking the time to namecheck his source material, rapping “I feel like bustin’ loose / And I feel like touchin’ you.” Meanwhile, “Roachclip” has one of the most famous drum breaks in funk history, with its breakdown section being sampled on hip-hop classics from Eric B. & Rakim (“Paid in Full”) and Run-DMC (“Run’s House”) as well as pop smashes from PM Dawn (“Set Adrift on Memory Bliss”) and EMF (“Unbelievable”).

Listen to the two Brown classics below, and check a number of the songs indebted to Brown as well:

When the headline of the Billboard article about this week’s Hot 100 is keyed around a Train song climbing from 11-10 on the chart, you can probably make an educated guess that there’s not a whole lot of note going on in the top ten. Indeed, Gotye and Kimbra spend their fifth week at pole position with “Somebody That I Used to Know,” leaving it just one week short of matching Fun. and Janelle Monae’s six-week run on top for the longest-reigning #1 of 2012 (not counting “We Found Love,” which spent eight of its ten weeks on top in 2011). Maroon 5 and Fun. swap places, now at #2 and #3 respectively, while Our Girl Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” and Flo Rida and Sia’s “Wild Ones” stay chilling at #4 and #5.

So you can see why we’re going to spend most of this chart update article talking about Train, and how their song “Drive By” has become their relatively improbable third top ten hit. This band seemed for all the word to be a Tal Bachman, Eagle Eye Cherry-like one-hit wonder with “Meet Virginia” 13 years ago—a song that wasn’t even as good as “She’s So High” or “Save Tonight”—but somehow, with each album that’s followed since 1998′s self-titled effort, they manage at least one career-jump-starting single, be it the title track off Drops of Jupiter (#5, 2001), “Calling All Angels” off My Private Nation (#19, 2003) or “Hey, Soul Sister” off Save Me, San Francisco (#3, 2009). We’re not sure exactly what happened with 2005′s For Me, It’s You—must’ve been an off year.

It’s not the most sustainable model for success—they never seem to get more than one off the same album, and so none of their albums ever really sell like blockbusters—but it does mean we’re still talking about them about 15 years into their career, which is certainly more than we can say about Tal or ol’ Eagle-Eye. Though how good was that “Save Tonight” video? Saw it on VH1 the other morning, still a winner.

[Billboard]

Laurieann Gibson, right now, ranks up there with the likes of Scooter Braun and Simon Cowell: a marquee pop-music name who accomplished that without actually making any pop music. She started out as a Fly Girl, a career rung Paula Abdul and Jennifer Lopez have demonstrated really can lead to greater things, but in her case those things have been only tangentially musical: being Lady Gaga’s former creative honcho, quitting and becoming one of Nicki Minaj’s current creative honchos (that Grammy exorcism/disembowelment session? Her work) and juggling about a dozen outside projects.

She’d like that to change. (Understandable.) She’d like that to change so much that she calls her lead dance-pop single “Last Chance,” which is some severe moxie. She probably won’t see that change, though, at least not with this.

If nothing else, “Last Chance” is fascinating because it demonstrates how you can make a song that more or less fulfills every dance-pop criterion but doesn’t actually work. The synth bass starts solid, sometimes even inventive, then wilts during the chorus–a chorus with about half a melody–like a leaf in a downpour. Laurieann’s voice does the same. It’s not autotuned nearly as blatantly as some writers have suggested; rather, it’s dull, something no studio button can fix. She sings “dance for our lives” as if neither dancing nor living never really happened. That’s a representative lyric, too; they’re either forgettable, senseless (“this is the last chance to dance for our lives”–you don’t say) or stressed wrong. (“This is the final one”–not the greatest lyric itself–gets stuttered like any pop hook would, just in the exact wrong places.)

Everything here’s lazy, in other words, which is actually baffling; of all the accusations you could level at Gibson, “not trying” would never be one. And it shouldn’t even need saying how baffling a choice it is for a supposed career-launching track. If nothing else, though, “Last Chance” got a ready refuge in being incidental music for dance TV shows. Those will always have lives.

POPDUST SAYS:

It’s time to put the money you’ve made off all your hard work in school this year to good use, assuming you’ve set up a pricey reward system whenever report cards roll around. If not, get on it! Lemonade stands aren’t making what they used to and your peers are all about entrepreneurship these days. Summer is made for attending live shows and it’s usually smart to get an idea of who you’ll be seeing before Memorial Day. In addition to a bevy of North American tour dates beginning next week, One Direction has been added to London’s iTunes Festival, which boasts 60 acts (including Jack White, Norah Jones and Usher) performing on consecutive nights at the Roundhouse. 1D will take the stage on September 20 and the event is free, so go ahead and feel justified in spending beaucoup bucks on travel arrangements.

If your ears needs a good numbing before then, Mindless Behavior has announced The #1 Girl Tour, which kicks off after Independence Day here in the States. The 25-city spin run through August, stopping in major markets like New York, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. Tickets go on sale later this week; check out the full list of dates (many soon to be updated with location info) below. Remember that Big Time Rush and Cody Simpson are teaming up for the Big Time Summer Tour and Justin Bieber’s Believe will likely be taken on the road following its release. You’ll need to see at least one to save face at school next fall, so chose wisely.

The #1 Girl Tour

July 5 — Richmond, VA — Carpenter Theatre
July 6 — Philadelphia, PA — Mann Center
July 7 — Washington, DC — Constitution Hal
July 12 — Raleigh, NC — PNC Arena
July 13 — Baltimore, MD — Pier Six Pavilion
July 14 — New York, NY — Beacon Theatre
July 15 — Norfolk, VA — NTELOS Pavilion
July 18 — Louisville, KY — Palace Theatre
July 20 — Nashville, TN — Municipal Auditorium
July 21 — Southaven, MS — Landers Center
July 22 — St. Louis, MO — Fox Theatre
July 26 — Detroit, MI — Fox Theater
July 28 — Chicago, IL — Arie Crown Theater
Aug 1 — Birmingham, AL
Aug 2 — Augusta, GA
Aug 3 — Columbia, SC
Aug 4 — Atlanta, GA
Aug 9 — Baton Rouge, LA
Aug 10 — New Orleans, LA
Aug 11 — Houston, TX
Aug 12 — Dallas, TX
Aug 16 — Las Vegas, NV
Aug 17 — Los Angeles, CA
Aug 18 — Oakland, CA

There is basically nobody in the music industry for whom a Lil B collaboration wouldn’t be at least sorta plausible. Topically, he’s already there; when your tracks reference everyone from Paris Hilton, Justin Bieber, Bill Bellamy, Mel Gibson, wonton soup and HREF=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV4AKEAaeE0″>the ocean, the topical net you’ve cast could fit anything. And if you’re in hip-hop and have already landed a Lil Wayne collaboration, you don’t have to worry as much as others about your fame.

In practice, what this means is that it’s ludicrously easy to start rumors about upcoming B collaborations if that’s your aim–particularly if the subject in question is someone like Drake, who guests on everything anyway. That one, however, isn’t really a rumor anymore. Fuse actually spoke to the guy, and here’s what he had to say:

Drake is the only artist [Lil B] wants to work with. We’ve talked about doing some production. [Drake] wants to do something, and we’re gonna make it happen. Something real big, so just look out for it.

Got that? Every other collaboration is dead to Lil B but Drake. And Lil B does not do anything half-heartedly. If he says his Drake collaboration is big, it’s going to be damn colossal. It’s going to completely fulfill all the YMCMB talking-up he’s done. It will make all other collaborations irrelevant. And it’ll probably be fairly based.

OK, fine, one part of that paragraph was a lie. Drake’s not the only artist Lil B wants to work with. He’s also open to appearances from tabby cats and, according to Fuse, Amber Rose. At least one of those people has a music career; this could happen. As we said, anything’s plausible.

Britney Spears and Demi Lovato are the latest impressionable female pop stars to be cooed into reality television by the gruff accent of Simon Cowell and a fat (or somewhat bulky) paycheck from FOX. Following the official announcement of The X Factor‘s newest judges, Cowell and his abundant chest hair expressed confidence in Britney-bot’s abilities. ”We’re going to get close,” he said of the show’s 20 million viewer goal, adding that he’s “not at all” worried about the 30-year-old who hasn’t spent much time being natural—or coherent—in front of the cameras lately.

At $15 million, his (public) belief in the star power and eloquence of Spears is expected, and his uncomfortably low button-up (even for him) suggests a surprisingly casualness about the whole thing. But we’re almost too distracted by the shrubbery protruding from his midsection to really understand him. Does it get hot? Make him itchy? With so much of the stuff, we’re surprised there’s even room for Britney and Demi at the judging table. But Cowell did manage to leave one element of surprise that stuck with us: “You’ll have to wait and see.” What it looks like when he gets a chest wax on live television? Oh wait, wrong network.

[TMZ]

Shouldn’t it be someone’s job to push the One Direction boys in luggage carts around Heathrow Airport? MADNESS.

Photo: Splash News

Photo: WeirPhotos / Splash News

Photo: WeirPhotos / Splash News

Photo: WeirPhotos / Splash News

Photo: WeirPhotos / Splash News

For all of Season Two of The Voice, Jermaine Paul was looking to escape his back-up singer past, where he was forced to support artists like Alicia Keys in the shadows, rather than be standing up front where he can shimmer in the spolight like the beautiful swan that he is. So what does he do as soon as he actually wins Season Two of The Voice? Record a duet with Alicia Keys, of course! “We’ve been working on a song for a while now,” Paul said. “And, you know, what better time than now?”

Well, a better time than now might be when people actually know one or two things about you musically when not associated with a much more famous person, but whatever. People like Alicia Keys I guess. Just make sure that mic time is portioned out very Even-Steven, Jermaine, and if Keys starts making suggestions like “Hey Jermaine, are you sure you wouldn’t feel more comfortable in the back of the studio…?,” shut it down. You don’t want to start backsliding into old habits.

[PopCrush]

Indonesia has been de-monsterized. One of Lady Gaga’s scheduled Born This Way tour dates, on June 3 in capital Jakarta, might not happen, as she was turned down for a permit thanks in part to religious protests over her skimpy costumes and dance moves.

“She’s a vulgar singer who wears only panties and a bra when she sings and she stated she is the envoy of the devil’s child and that she will spread satanic teaching.” – religious leader Salim Alatas, quoted in Reuters

We’re not out to judge people’s religious beliefs, but something must be said: skimpy costumes and dance moves are two fundamental building blocks of pop! It’d be like stripping someone’s biology of half the amino acids–the person who’d remain would be diminished and sad and also probably dead. Besides, dinging Gaga on her stage show is easy. Lots of people wear only panties and bras when they sing, and some of them do it in contexts other than in front of the bedroom mirror with a hairbrush. If you’re going to take offense to Gaga’s schtick, might as well make yourself deeply familiar with the vulgarity you’re offended by. (That’s how it works, right?) So because we deal in this sort of thing, we’re here to help. If you must ban a Lady Gaga show, do it right and cite some of these 17 offenses more shocking than mere underthings.

1. She murders people! It’s still murder if he had it coming. She also smokes in bed!

Photo: LadyGagaVEVO

2. She engages in public bloodletting! While wearing a bra and panties on stage. It’s vulgarity squared.

Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images

3. She spends lots of time posing for almost X-rated magazine covers! Again: bra and panties = not sufficiently offensive.

Photo: Terry Richardson for RollingStone.com

4. She also spends lots of time thinking up actually X-rated metaphors! Like this quote, on a certain “LoveGame” lyric: “It’s one of my very thoughtful metaphors for a cock.”

5. She uses rosary beads for secular purposes! Also, for sexual purposes.

6. She wastes food! OK, puts it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s vulgar in spirit.

7. She chews with her mouth open! While wasting even more food. It’s an environmental disaster just waiting to happen.

8. She seduces innocent men into doing stripteases! Don’t try to tell us Jo Calderone would’ve done this on his own accord.

9. She does whatever she’s doing here! We’re not quite sure what this is, but it looks pretty vulgar.

10. She reveals people’s intimate personal secrets on stage in front of millions! Indonesia has secrets, right? Is this a risk people really want to take?

11. She wears merkins on the outside! It’s like wearing your shirt inside-out, you know? Faux pas.

Photo: Jag Gundu/Getty Images

12. She recorded the song “Teeth”! In which she’s not only kinky or whatever but actually comes out and says “got no salvation / got no religion.”

13. She buys lousy bras! Support is critical.

Photo: Clasos.com / Splash News

14. She chews her hair! Is this really a habit to encourage in impressionable kids?

15. She randomly shouts about prostitutes! Loudly; frequently.

16. She engages in bestiality! This is pretty close to a universal taboo, right? How much more vulgar can Gaga even get?

Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

17. She shows blatant disregard for the sanctity of life! Also: probably started all those Beyonce fake-pregnancy rumors. And we’re done. Nothing could possibly be more depraved than this.

Photo: Andy Sheppard/Redferns