Solange Knowles & Cassie front ‘Carol’s Daughter’ ad campaign…

Alongside working on their new albums, Solange Knowles and Cassie have signed up to become the new faces of Carol’s Daughter. Also in partnership with the acclaimed hair and skin care line is model Selita Ebanks, putting forth a new, multiracial ad campaign. Read more over at my girl Necole Bitchie‘s site.

It’s not the first time Solange and Cassie fronted the same campaign. Both of them appeared in the OPen Campus ad campaign previously. Solange appeared in 2009 while Cassie signed on last year. Waiting for new music from Cassie this year will be like waiting for a Chris Brown and Jay-Z collaboration. It will never happen, so Cassie may as well use her looks for as long as she has them.

Brandy & Ray-J Unveil Official “A Family Business” Tracklisting…

Brandy and her brother Ray J have revealed the official tracklisting for their joint album “A Family Business”, a result of their VH1 Reality show of the same name. Currently available for pre-order on www.brandyandrayjmusic.com, the album will ship out on June 21st. The duo have packages that will include t-shirts, a digital album, and physical CD. *yawns*

Brandy, the only talented one of the duo (outside of porn) will soon announce a label that will release the follow-up to her serially underrated album “Human”. It looks like we will have to wet our appetites with just the TWO solo tracks on this tracklisting. Will you be buying “A Family Business”?

Check it out below.

1. Family Business (AKA “Family Business Theme”) – Brandy, Ray J, Willie & Sonja Norwood
2. Turnin’ Me On – Ray J
3. Talk To Me – Brandy, Ray J, Willie Norwood Sr.
4. My Family – Sy’rai & Rain Smith
5. Lifeguard – Brandy
6. Ready to Roll – Ray J Featuring TKO
7. Sonja, Sonia, Sonya – Willie Norwood Sr.
8. Gone – Tosha Scott
9. I Don’t Care – Brandy
10. Home Grown – Willie Norwood Sr.
11. Epilogue – Sonja Norwood

Prince rocks Los Angeles!

Prince delivered the fire at his LA gig last night. The legendary singer kicked off his 21 day trek at the Forum where he tributed the late great Michael Jackson. The superstar’s classic 1979 hit ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’ recieved it’s own unique make-over by the Purple One.

During his astonishing three hour set, he brought out Hollywood actress Eva Longoria who danced beside him. Luckily for her, she didn’t recieve the Kim Kardashian treatment! Peep all of the energetic action below! Good stuff.



Source.

Janet Jackson rocks Los Angeles!

Janet Jackson rocked Los Angeles last night! The singer is pictured at her ‘Number Ones: Up Close and Personal’ tour in LA, where she took to the stage at the Gibson Amphitheatre. The concert was attended by the children of her late King of Pop sibling Michael, as well as her brother Jermaine and mother Kathleen. Reportedly, MJ’s children cried during her routine of ‘Scream’, which was originally performed with the late superstar.

If Janet is coming to your city, make sure you grab some tickets. After all, it could be a good while before she goes on tour again. Plus, I don’t know anyone that has a bad thing to say about the concerts, except that the stage production might be a bit cheap. But hey, Janet ENTERTAINS her crowd. All the tricks, lighting and stage glitz don’t mean a thing if you don’t have the talent to put on a good show.

Check out some highlight footage of last night’s show below.


New Music: Adele vs.Gnarls Barkley – “Crazy In The Deep”…

Swedish producer Divide and Kreate has just done a great mashup of Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” and Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.” Adele’s vocals from “Rolling In The Deep” fit perfectly on the production of “Crazy”. This makes me want to hear Danger Mouse produce a song for her. It’s dope.

Check it out below.


New Video: Jill Scott Ft Eve – “Shame”…

Young Money songstress Shanell has just dropped her new single titled “My Button”, which is lifted from her yet untitled debut album. It was produced by HitBoy. Her voice is so beautiful on this track but the song sounds like a Christmas song to me.

What do you think of Shanell’s new single?


New Music: Shanell – “My Button”…

Grammy award winning singer Jill Scott has just premiered her new video for her buzz single titled “Shame” featuring rapper Eve. The cut is taken from her long awaited forthcoming album “The Light of the Sun”, which is scheduled to hit stores on June 28th, via Warner Bros. The video was shot at the Cecil B. Moore Recreation Center in Philadelphia and features cameos from Ms. Jade, Pharoahe, Black Thought from The Roots and Meek Millz.

Watch the video below.



Here’s the official first single from Jill’s forthcoming album titled “So In Love”. It’s a soulful duet with one of my favorite male vocalists Anthony Hamilton. I love the song but it’s not single worthy. The track is like album filler. Jill needs a record that’s so out of the box!

Wynter Gordon shoots ‘Till Death’ music video…

What is it with female songstresses running away from their native US to release dance music overseas? Wynter Gordon joins Kat DeLuna, Mya, Nicole Scherzinger, Kelly Rowland and Amerie to tap into the ever popular dance culture outside of the United States. If they are encountering more success outside of the US, releasing music in other territories makes so much sense these days.

As shown in the photos, the songwriter was spotted on set this week shooting the music video for her new single ‘Till Death’. She is currently pursuing the Australian market because that is the place she is encountering the most success. Hot on the trail of her number one smash ‘Dirty Talk’ on Australia’s ARIA singles chart, ‘Till Death’ has just been released over there too. After releasing her EP, ‘The First Dance’, she is now putting the finishing touches to her debut album, ‘With the Music I Die’. Photos and audio enclosed below.




Janet Jackson shows her fierceness during LA book signing!

How hot does Janet Jackson look promoting her new book ‘True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself’? The pop icon did another book signing at Book Soup in Hollywood, California yesterday (April 15th). I know I keep saying this but it’s true tea; the woman ages backwards. I think I’m going to pick up this book today when I pass through town. Not because I need to love myself. I love myself way too much. *files nails* But because I’ve always been a little partially obsessed about Janet’s life, her music and her entire career.

The singer brought the electricity last night when she took her hugely successful ‘Number Ones: Up Close and Personal’ tour to LA. She’ll also be playing another LA gig later tonight. Go Jan Jan! Photo source.

Keri Hilson shoots ‘Lose Control’ music video…

Keri Hilson pops out more music videos than the amount of wig changes she’s had this era. Didn’t she just drop one with Chris Brown recently? No one can fault a sista for putting herself ‘out there’ especially given that she doesn’t have the type of fanbase secured by the likes of Beyonce and Rihanna.

What is it Charlamagne said to Cassie previously? He said “this is a Beyonce and Rihanna world” and rightly so. Therefore, you have to work twice as hard to make an impact. The singer was doing just that with rapper Nelly while shooting her Colin Tilley directed music video for ‘Lose Control’. The Stargate-produced cut is lifted from her latest ‘No Boys Allowed’ album.

Peep more shots below.


New Song: Jennifer Lopez – ‘Papi’…

Jennifer Lopez continues to hypnotise with yet another scorching RedOne produced club anthem! Promotional single ‘Papi’ was made for anyone to “rock their body” on the dancefloor. The uptempo cut, which has now surfaced in full, features an energetic dance beat. The sizzling production is concocted with pounding drums and pulsating synths mixed in with Latin-flavoured melodies. The track is lifted from upcoming album ‘Love?’, which will drop in stores on May 3rd.

With RedOne hatching up similar production for the likes of Kat DeLuna and his protege Mohimbi, this sound is not really exclusive, but it totally works for J.Lo. He’s certainly doing a MUCH better job with Jen and Nicole Scherzinger than he is with Lady Gaga. ‘Poison’ and ‘On The Floor’ over ‘Judas’ any day of the week!


Lady Gaga Unveils ‘Born This Way’ Album Cover…

Above you can check out the official album cover for Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” album which is set to hit stores on May 23rd.

Eeh…your thoughts?


April Fools Day may have passed us recently but that’s not to say we can still hope this is a prank. Sadly, this cover is no joke, even if you want it to be. Although it’s evident that the artwork is an inspiration from your retro ‘rock ‘n’ roll, this cover is shockingly very bad. The cheap font looks like it was lifted from Windows WordArt and the photoshop job on the motorcycle is poor.

This is the worse cover I’ve seen in a long time. In fact, it makes Britney‘s artwork for ‘Blackout’ look like a timeless masterpiece, but at least Britney compensated with the horrible artwork with a fantastic album. Gaga continues to underwhelm this era – Toya.

Toni Braxton looks fabulous in ‘Kontrol’…

R&B veteran Toni Braxton looks absolutely stunning in this month’s second anniversary issue of Kontrol magazine. The mother of two has filed for bankruptcy twice, and despite being the oldest sibling, she stays killing her younger sisters Traci, Trina, Tamar and Towanda with all of her fierceness. I don’t ever want to see a heavily layered horse tail wig on this singer ever again. Short, cropped hair is her niche! Earlier this week, the sisters visited BET’s 106 & Park to promote their new reality show ‘Braxton Family Values’. During that interview Toni said she’s considering leaving music behind to make motherhood her focal priority. Noooo! What would R&B be like without one of our biggest and most talented music veterans? Behind the Scenes footage of Toni Braxton and her sisters cover shoot with Kontrol magazine. Toni and her sisters visit BET’s 106 & Park this week.

Jessie J rocks ‘Ellen Degeneres’ stage…

The girl who sings with a mountain of attitude strikes again. J-J-J-Jessie J is her name. The singer continued on with the promotional trail of new album ‘Who You Are’ by visiting ‘The Ellen Degeneres Show’ yesterday. She overwhelmed the stage once again with latest single ‘Price Tag’, as well as a special performance of ‘Nobody’s Perfect’.

As expected, Jessie J delivered amazing vocals despite the performances coming across as a little too theatrical. J is so weird and crazy, but that’s what keeps people captivated. Check out her latest presentation below.



*UPDATED*: Is Britney’s long time choreographer Brian Friedman, throwing her under the bus?

Photobucket

There are two types of Britney fans in the world: the ones that accept everything she does as an “epic slay-fest” and the ones who call her out for the obvious lack of commitment to her craft. Britney Spears IS a dancer before anything else, so its only natural fans are expecting hardcore choreographed performances, with intricately complex dance moves, especially from songs titled “[Dance] Till The World Ends”. Britney’s dancing now-a-days consists largely of half hearted hair flips, lethargic arm-ography with flapping and a few randomly placed spins here and there. Meanwhile, the dancers around her are going full out. What gives?!

While the finger has been pointed to Britney, blaming her for those less than stellar performances (Spears literally took a seat during the “HIAM” breakdown); Britney fans have also lumped “Slave 4 U” choreographer Brian Friedman into the blame category. Claiming Brian has been giving Spears choreography that even ‘In The Zone Britney’ couldn’t pull off or that his agenda is to put the spotlight on his troupe of dancers; giving Britney the lazy elementary version of the real choreography. Whatever the case, Brian has ALWAYS defended his work and Britney. Up until now…

*UPDATED* BELOW.

No stranger to a subtweet, Brian tweeted: “Haha NO I”m not teaching hair flips or chair-ography! I’m teaching the breakdown that wasn’t seen from the music video. This is 4 dancers!” Mmmm, wonder who he is referring too…

Photobucket
Interesting indeed.

*Update*

Brian took to his twitter tonight to reveal he will NOT be choreographing Britney’s “Femme Fatale Tour” due to being fired scheduling conflicts. Instead Jamie King (Circus Tour Creative Director and Choreographer) will take on that responsibility. This explains Brian’s recent no-so-subtle shade to Britney and her team, he’s a disgruntled ex-employee.

The US leg of “The Femme Fatale Tour” commences June 16, 2011 to support Britney’s seventh studio album, “Femme Fatale”.

Photobucket

 

Peep what Brian had to say about Britney before the start of this era…

New Song: Lady Gaga: ‘Judas’ (Radio Rip)…

Lady Gaga‘s new single ‘Judas’ premiered on Radio 1 today. A low quality leaked earlier, but now the song is out in HQ. The RedOne produced cut is clearly an obvious attempt to recreate ‘Bad Romance’ especially the chorus. In a way, don’t you feel bad for Gaga? It’s so obvious she’s trying extra hard to top herself but winds up coming out short instead.

Although the busy instruments override her vocals, at best it’s a standard pop song with metal-techno overtones and dark influences. The song itself is not exceptionally amazing, but who knows? This could very well be the track to catapult Gaga’s career to new heights. Bring on that controversial music video so religious groups can seethe in anger and rip her a new one.

Listen to the track in HQ below.


Justin Bieber performs Chris Brown’s ‘Look At Me Now’…

Teen heart throb Justin Bieber really looks up to his idol Chris Brown and dotes highly on their close-knit ‘brotherhood’. The 16-year-old displayed further admiration for the R&B star on his current ‘My World’ tour last night.

During his Israel stop, Bieber attempted to perform Breezy’s hit single ‘Look At Me Now’ and even vaguely channelled rapper Busta Rhymes. Looks like JB has been watching too much rap videos. One too many in fact. But judging by the reaction of his hormonal teeny bopper girl fans, they certainly lurved it.



The audio quality is really distorted so make sure to turn down those speakers a little!

Christina Aguilera shows colour in new promo video for ‘The Voice’…

NBC have released promo clips for every judge on their new talent show ‘The Voice’. The promo clips characterise each judge and what they intend to bring to the table. Christina Aguilera had quite a blast in hers. She discusses her role as a mentor while laughing at her recent National Anthem gaffe and cheekily requesting a cowboy contestant to drop his pants!

The bubbly singer, who was deemed “the voice of our generation” last year by Justin Timberlake, looks like she is going to bring so much fun factor to the show! As the premiere date of April 26th draws closer, you can check out Aggy’s promotional video below for ‘The Voice’ and what to expect from the exciting new reality show!


Lady Gaga’s ‘Judas’ snippet leaks online…

Photobucket

Earlier this morning a LQ snippet of Lady Gaga’s highly anticipated second single “Judas” premiered online. The song has yet to be released but it’s started a firestorm of controversy and sparked claims of blasphemy due to it’s religious content and overtones.

With that being said the single sounds like a definite smash in the making with all the indicators of a classic Gaga release: provocative lyrics, hard hitting synths with an urgent bass line, and a confidently rebellious vocal. It sounds like the illegitimate love child of Ke$sha’s “Cannibal” and Nicole Scherzinger ft. The Pussycat Dolls’ “Jai-Ho“, but with unmistakable Gaga grime. With Gaga and Beyonce releasing on the heels of each other, this summer is definitely going to be a HOT one!

UPDATED: FULL LQ “Judas” posted.
Listen to the song below.

Pia Toscano dominates ‘Ellen Degeneres’ stage…

Pia Toscano continues to fight hard for her music career. Yesterday, she paid a visit to ‘The Ellen Degeneres Show’ and delivered a knockout performance of the Stevie Wonder classic ‘All In Love Is Fair’. This was a revisitation from her American Idol performance during Motown night. Any record label would be crazy to leave such undeniable talent floating around unsigned. Prior to her early elimination, the aspiring powerhouse has now generated quite a following. Winning American Idol is not a sure-fire guarantee that you’ll make it (seeTaylor Hicks). Toscano could very well become the female answer to Chris Daughtry who also encountered a shock elimination and later went on to enjoy a flourishing solo career. Even better is that he did so without having that nagging A.I. winner label over his head. Check out her rousing performance below.