Backstage Pass

Bruno Mars stopped about halfway through his Barclays Center show to deliver what he called "R&B 101."

He instructed his impressive eight-piece band, all in matching red suits like his, to deliver a James Brown-like breakdown, before he offered a dramatic pause and screamed, "Damn!" to the delight of the roaring capacity crowd Saturday night.

It was part of a...

Never underestimate the power of catchy pop songs, cute boys and teenage hormones.

That combination was far more responsible for turning One Direction's two-hour show Friday night -- the first of two sold-out ones at Nikon at Jones Beach Theater -- into something extraordinary than the U.K. sensations themselves.

Granted, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson...

It’s been about a month since New Jersey began running their “Stronger than the Storm” campaign, built around the catchy, Bon Jovi-tinged pop anthem designed to remind people that the Jersey Shore has survived superstorm Sandy and is once again open for tourists’ business.

That song, written by the folks at Brushfire Marketing Communications in Cedar Knolls, N.J., has become one of the region’s...

Mariah Carey fans, Mimi has good news and bad news for you.

The good news is that the Greenlawn native will be performing at a free concert in Central Park with the New York Philharmonic on July 13, as part of the city’s celebration of Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game at Citi Field on July 16. Though the show is free, tickets are required and will be available at allstargame.com/concert...

Courtney Love reveals some of the music she has been working on at Warsaw Wednesday and The Paramount Saturday.

Intro brings you the week’s hottest videos and shows every Monday. To catch up on all the Intros and watch classic Long Island music scene videos, check out Newsday Music’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/newsdaymusic.

THE LIST

COURTNEY LOVE, “Mono.”...

Welcome to the Summer of Pharrell!

It’s a rare feat in today’s pop music world to be involved in the Top 2 songs in the country at any given time, the way Pharrell is currently on “Blurred Lines” with Robin Thicke and T.I. and “Get Lucky” with Daft Punk.

What makes it even rarer is that the singer/songwriter/producer has even more songs already set for release. And that doesn’t even...

Madonna is planning to “start a revolution of love.”

Calling her “MDNA Tour” completed after last night’s premiere of the concert film at the Paris Theatre in Manhattan, she revealed that her next project will involve New York photographer/artist Steven Klein.

The Material Girl teased that her next project was “secret,” showing a one-minute video that included images seemingly influenced...

There really won’t be much drama on tonight’s finale of “The Voice.”

Danielle Bradbery, the 16-year-old country singer from Texas who made her first public performance at the show’s blind auditions, will, barring some sort of miracle, win the season. She deserves it – in that way that any artist so obviously instilled with natural talent deserves their successes. The other two finalists –...

LL Cool J headlines the Strong Island-heavy “Kings of the Mic” tour, with Public Enemy and De La Soul, at Roseland Ballroom Thursday.

Intro brings you the week’s hottest videos and shows every Monday. To catch up on all the Intros and watch classic Long Island music scene videos, check out Newsday Music’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/newsdaymusic.

THE LIST

LL...

Surprise! Jay-Z has a new album, “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” ready to roll out on July 4, though you’re going to need a Samsung Galaxy phone to get it that day. It will be on sale around the world on July 7.

Jay made the announcement through a three-minute Samsung commercial during Sunday’s NBA Finals game, where he talked about how “the Internet is like the Wild West.” “We need to write the...