SATURDAY NEWS WRAP #54

• Congratulations are in order for the boys from INXS who last week ascended to No.1 on the Billboard dance charts with their reworked version of 'Original Sin'. Featuring the vocals of Rob Thomas, the track has since dropped to No.8.
• The Veronicas have been teasing fans with the promise of new music over the past couple of weeks. But a new video, released by the girls yesterday our time, has given more of an indication of what to expect and when to expect it. Check HERE to watch it.
• Speaking of teasers, Melanie C has also been giving fans YouTube snippets of songs which are to feature on her forthcoming single release 'Rock Me'. The latest track is called 'Stop This Train', a 39 second slice of which you can listen to HERE.
• US singer songwriter Devendra Banhart will be in Australia in late July as part of the superb Splendour In The Grass line-up. But news through yesterday afternoon is that he'll play headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne while he's here. He'll hit the Metro Theatre in Sydney on July 27 and Melbourne's Prince Bandroom on July 29. Tickets for both are on sale on Tuesday June 14.
• The Mars Volta have also announced Splendour sideshow dates. The Texan outfit will play Sydney's Enmore Theatre on August 03, Adelaide's Thebarton Theatre on August 05 and Melbourne's Palace Theatre on August 07. Tickets for all are on sale this Thursday.
• Speaking of live dates, the Kisschasy boys have announced a couple more shows for later this month. You'll be able to catch them at the Gaelic Club in Surry Hills on Saturday June 25 and at Melbourne's Colonial Hotel on Thursday June 30.
• We've been warned to "get ready for a new benchmark in music festivals" with the announcement that organisers will breathe new life into Launceston's 'Breath Of Life' music festival. Next year's event will be held on the March long weekend (March 10 and 11) at the Launceston Arena. You can sign up for more information HERE.
• British indie-pop outfit The Kooks will release new material shortly. 'Junk Of The Heart' is the name of both the band's new album and single with the former due on September 09 and the latter dropping on July 11.
• One half of The Cat Empire has formed a new band called 'The Genie' and this week they unveiled that they'd be playing a couple of live shows in support of their album 'Here Come The Scissors'. They'll play at the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne on June 30 and at The Basement in Sydney on August 31.
• The Sydney Blues And Roots Festival will take place from October 28 to October 30. Announced earlier this week was the first line-up for this year's event, which included Ash Grunwald, Jeff Lang and Jeff Martin. Another line-up announcement is expected on July 01, but in the meantime you can get more information on this year's event HERE.
• Also in Sydney, Modest Mouse's show late next month has suffered a venue change. Due to unprecedented demand for tickets, the gig (on July 25) has now been moved from the Metro Theatre to the larger Enmore Theatre.
• Mark it in your diary kids, 'cause the Country Music Channel will once again Rock The Hunter in 2012. Organisers have revealed that next year's event will hit the Hope Estate Winery in the Hunter Valley from March 16 to 18. More details about 'CMC Rocks The Hunter 2012', including the line-up, will be release later this year.
• As mentioned on the site yesterday, Joe Jonas this morning premiered his new single to his legions of fans via Facebook. The new tune 'See No More' was launched with the help of a graphic artist in Los Angeles. You can see the results (and hear the song) HERE.
• Aussie singer Lanie Lane, who's about to head out on tour with Clare Bowditch, has signed to Ivy League Records. She joins the other talented artists on the Ivy League roster including Josh Pyke, Cloud Control and Sparkadia. An album is expected later this year.
• Classical songstress Hayley Westenra will visit Australia later this month for a promotional tour. It's been four years since the singer last visited our shores, but she'll be here flogging her new album 'Paradiso', which is due in the shops this Friday.
• The Living End's new album is called 'The Ending Is Just The Beginning Repeating'. Released on July 22, the first single to be lifted from it is the title track, which was serviced to Australian radio early yesterday morning.
• On the Billboard singles chart this week, Adele is still flying the UK flag with her single 'Rolling In The Deep'. It remains in the No.1 spot for another week, while Pitbull (moving up to No.2) laps at her heels. Lady Gaga's 'The Edge Of Glory' splashes into the No.8 spot, while at No.10 DJ Khaled bullets into the top ten with 'I'm On One' - an extraordinary 68 spots higher than last week. American Idol winner Scotty McCreery misses the top ten with his debut single 'I Love You This Big' and has to settle for No.11 - not a good start.
• And as mentioned earlier this week, Lady Gaga has debuted in the No.1 spot on the Billboard album chart with 'Born This Way', selling more than 1.1 million copies of the new LP in just one week. Brad Paisley's new LP 'This Is Country Music' debuts in the No.2 spot, relegating last week's No.1 (Adele) to No.3. The Glee Season Two soundtrack debuted at No.4, the New Kids On The Block/Backstreet Boys collaboration 'NKOTBSB' debuted at No.7 and Foster The People's 'Torches' came in at No.8.