As part of the 2012 hennemusic Rock News Awards – recognizing the biggest rock news stories and artists of the year - hennemusic is counting down the Top 10 Rock News Artists of the year.
Finalists for the 3rd annual hennemusic Rock News Awards are chosen by readers: winners are determined by the combined total page views of the top 50 hennemusic rock news stories of the past twelve months.
The 2012 hennemusic Rock News Awards winners will be announced on Friday, December 21 at hennemusic.com.
Rock News Artist Of The Year - TOP 10
#09 – SLASH
#10 – QUEEN
Rock News Artist of The Year - #8 – AEROSMITH
Aerosmith had a busy 2012 as they built their schedule around the band’s first studio album of original material in more than a decade.
Steven Tyler spent the first half of the year wrapping up his duties on American Idol, where he served as judge and mentor for two seasons.
The band received a great deal of media attention, with Tyler kicking off 2012 as the first guest on a new Oprah Winfrey series, “Oprah’s Next Chapter.” The talk show icon hooked up with the singer at his home in Sunapee, New Hampshire, for a personal tour of the town and an extended sit down session.
In March, an Aerosmith feature aired on 60 minutes with footage captured on the group’s South American tour; bassist Tom Hamilton was not impressed with the presentation, later saying that CBS interviewer Lara Logan distracted the band with her 'low cut top' and their piece was edited to 'nail' Tyler by creating the illusion of internal feuding amongst the group.
The release of “Music From Another Dimension” was originally timed to sync up with the promotion surrounding the first single, “Legendary Child.”
The song was to be included on the soundtrack for the film, “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” and featured in the movie, scheduled for a June 29 release.
Aerosmith announced a summer tour would start June 16, just two weeks ahead of the film, and they debuted the song live on the Idol finale in May to pre-promote the whole package.
Paramount Pictures then announced they were delaying the film's release until March of 2013, which left Aerosmith hanging out on a limb without any support.
The band’s label reacted by moving the album’s release several times until a November street date was locked in, while Aerosmith lost some momentum over the summer as a result of the change in promotional plans, having to rebuild it all again from the ground up.
In July, Tyler officially announced his departure from Idol, saying “After some long......hard......thoughts…I’ve decided it’s time for me to let go of my mistress ‘American Idol’ before she boils my rabbit. I strayed from my first love, Aerosmith, and I’m back - but instead of begging on my hands and knees, I got two fists in the air and I’m kicking the door open with my band. The next few years are going to be dedicated to kicking some serious ass.”
Joe Perry announced in August that he is working on his autobiography, which would follow similar efforts by drummer Joey Kramer and Tyler in recent years.
In September, Brad Whitford revealed that Aerosmith had approached a few other singers about joining the band during the time period where they weren’t sure Tyler was going to be available and/or interested in remaining in the group; the only name he’d offer publicly was Sammy Hagar.
While promoting the new album in the fall, Tyler inadvertently started a feud with KISS after he called them a “comic-book rock band.” The two acts have a shared history from touring together briefly in the 70s and Tyler’s hated the band ever since...despite becoming friendly with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons.
“Music From Another Dimension” finally saw its release in early November, and was launched with a Boston street party and concert in front of the band’s 1970s apartment building.
The album sold 63,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week to land at #5 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Following the devastation of Hurricane/superstorm Sandy, members of Aerosmith participated in a telethon to raise funds to assist relief efforts. Tyler, Perry and Whitford performed the band’s classic, “Dream On,” while Tyler also joined an all-star lineup with Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Jimmy Fallon to play “Under The Boardwalk.”
On the road touring North America in the fall, Hamilton revealed that he was now cancer-free from the recurring illness.
No word yet on Aerosmith’s plans for 2013, as no concert dates or details have been released to date.
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