'BAD ROMANCE' - 30 SECONDS TO MARS STYLE

Multi-platinum rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars just finished the European leg of their Into The Wild tour where they headlined arenas including sold-out shows at London’s Wembley Arena and Paris’ Bercy stadium will return stateside to kick off the U.S. leg of the tour beginning April 9th at the Pearl in Las Vegas (full schedule below). Into The Wild is the band’s first tour in 3 years and is in support of their new album This Is War (Virgin Records), which was released in December, 2009. The album has already spawned a #1 single with “Kings & Queens” which spent 3 weeks at the top of the alternative radio airplay chart and the second single “This Is War” which Entertainment Weekly called “unashamedly epic” is following right behind. In just a few weeks of airplay, it is currently at #25 on the chart and climbing steadily. Mute Math and Neon Trees will open the U.S. leg of Into The Wild. Thirty Seconds To Mars will return to Europe in June to play the summer festival circuit.

Before leaving the UK, Thirty Seconds To Mars stopped by BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge on March 29th where the performed “This Is War” and a cover or Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” They were also awarded the the Ultimate Live Lounge cover for their version of Kanye West’s “Stronger” during a previous visit. Their version of “Bad Romance” has been rapidly spreading around the blogosphere since Monday

LIKE A VIRGIN

30 SECONDS TO MARS SIGN NEW WORLDWIDE DEAL WITH EMI MUSIC'S VIRGIN RECORDS

HIGHLY ANTICIPATED THIRD ALBUM, PRODUCED BY FLOOD, DUE THIS FALL

NEW ALBUM IS THE FOLLOW-UP TO MULTI-PLATINUM SMASH A BEAUTIFUL LIE

EMI Music's Virgin Records is pleased to announce that it has signed a new worldwide deal with Los Angeles rock band 30 Seconds to Mars.

30 Seconds to Mars, fronted by vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Jared Leto, is currently in the studio in Los Angeles recording their third album with acclaimed producer Flood, known for his work with U2, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, and Smashing Pumpkins. Due this fall, the as-yet-untitled album is the follow-up to 2005's platinum-selling A Beautiful Life, which sold more than three million albums and singles worldwide and spawned two Top 10 Modern Rock singles, "From Yesterday" and "The Kill." The latter set a radio record for the longest-running hit in the history of Modern Rock radio play when it remained on the national airplay chart for more than 50 weeks following its No. 3 peak in 2006. "From Yesterday" was the band's first No. 1 at the format. Its epic video was the first American music video ever shot in the People's Republic of China.

30 Seconds to Mars' new album is a collection of the thoughts and ideas that the band (which also includes drummer Shannon Leto and guitarist Tomo Mili?evi?) have experienced after spending several years on the road. The songs reflect a willingness to take chances and create a pivotal, game-changing album. As Flood recently told Billboard.com: "These guys wanted to move into a different place and that's always a big challenge. They had established themselves very firmly in one arena when Jared first talked to me. It was about trying to make a 'classic album,' and that's by pushing themselves and me to a place that you may not have expected to go, so it requires truth, honesty, and a lot of hard work. Those sorts of things I find very rewarding."

"It's great to finally move forward and focus on what's most important to us all- the music," says Jared Leto. "We are excited about starting over with the many talented people at Virgin/EMI, and to sharing our new music with the fans in the very near future. We will never forget the unrelenting support from all our friends, family, and fans around the world."

"We are thrilled to have set aside our differences and signed a new agreement with 30 Seconds to Mars," says Nick Gatfield, EMI Music's President of A&R Labels - North America & the UK. "Our relationship has been extremely rewarding and successful, and we're eager to move forward and put our global team to work on the brilliant new album they are recording with Flood."

"I am excited to be a part of 30 Seconds to Mars' next chapter," says Rob Stevenson, President of Virgin A&R Labels. "Not only are they one of the most important bands in rock music today, but I admire their commitment to the online world. It has made them digital pioneers in terms of reaching fans where they live and breathe music."

Formed by Jared and Shannon Leto in 1998, 30 Seconds to Mars have won numerous awards and accolades, including an MTV Video Music Award, three MTV EMA, an MTV Latin and Asia Award, a Fuse Award, and three Kerrang! awards. They have nearly 500 live performances under their belts since the release of A Beautiful Life, which has earned them a growing, loyal, global fan base. The band is also known as one of the world's most progressive online. Their fans - dubbed The Echelon - participate in both band and charity-driven activities. Thirty Seconds to Mars now boast more than 28 million plays on MySpace, more than one million fans on iLike/Facebook and have received more than 100 million views on YouTube.

30 MILLION TO MARS

Virgin/EMI have slapped 30 Seconds to Mars with a $30 million suit for breaching their contract (says Virgin/EMI) or legally terminating their contract (says 30STM’s Jared Leto.) After news of the suit hit, Leto issued a lengthy statement arguing that the band signed its contract with the label nine years ago, but according to California law, “one cannot be bound to a contract for more than seven years.” So the band, looking to take advantage of that loophole despite owing Virgin three more albums, is opting out due to some significant disagreements:

“If you think the fact that we have sold in excess of 2 million records and have never been paid a penny is pretty unbelievable, well, so do we,” Leto writes. “And the fact that EMI informed us that not only aren’t they going to pay us AT ALL but that we are still 1.4 million dollars in debt to them is even crazier.” Plus, there’s more, “like the new regime at EMI firing most of the people we know and love, wanting to place advertisements on our Website, EMI owning 100 percent of the masters of our record… forever, and basically having a revolving door of regimes at the company made it easy to not want to continue as is.”

An EMI spokesperson responded by saying, despite their success with 30STM, “We have been forced to take procedural, legal steps in order to protect EMI’s investment and rights during contract renegotiations initiated by the band and management. We hope to resolve these matters amicably and put them behind us so we can continue working in partnership with the band to take them to even greater levels of success.”