Despite not knowing "what the Oscars was" in a previously accolade-less life, Jennifer Hudson certainly looks like your glamorous Hollywood Queen for the latest diva issue of 'The Edit'. For the cover, she rocks a gorgeous gown by Oscar de la Renta. Success and respect certainly reflects on how far she's come!
Ditching her job on a cruise ship to audition for American Idol has proven to be the best decision of her life. She reflects back on her career, discusses her new film 'Black Nativity', and weighs in on why most Idol contestants never hit the big time. Click here to read her entire cover story and check out the rest of Jennifer’s photoshoot inside.
The visuals for Leona Lewis's 'One More Sleep' is everything you'd expect from a typical Christmas clip. There's snow outside her cabin. Everyone is jubilantly throwing food at each other and there are big smiles on everyone's faces. She says that this is probably her most favourite music video yet because it has her real life family and friends in it.
I spot her brothers and even her boyfriend Dennis Jauch puts in an appearance. It would have served up a better visual though if it stuck more closely to the romantic concept of the song. However, it was still fun and oozed lots of festive cheer. 'One More Sleep' is literally one more sleep away as it drops tomorrow on December 1st. Her Holiday album 'Christmas With Love' drops the following Monday on December 2nd. Get merry with Leona inside.
Charity begins at home. And the second leg of Beyoncé's North American tour is all about giving back to the community. She leverages her star power by teaming up with Goodwill to help reduce unemployment while creating new jobs through the institution.
The second North American leg of 'The Mrs. Carter Show' kicks off tonight in Vancouver and wraps up in Brooklyn on December 22nd. Concert-goers who donate clothes to Goodwill become eligible at a chance of winning a free ticket upgrade which includes the BeyStage or BeyHive VIP area passes. Check out a promo clip below.
It appears that Lady Gaga thinks the way to appeasing her Japanese audience is to look like some cartoon anime doll.
The performance was pretty reserved. But I liked it. And the camera angles were really flattering. The performance follows Gaga's announcement today that she has enlisted Rick Ross for the remix of her R. Kelly-assisted new single 'Do What U Want'. Interesting, but not really that exciting to be honest. Oh well. Let's wait to hear it.
This Thanksgiving saw Christina Aguilera visit The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. A special, energetic performance was whipped up in honour of US military troops. She was performing in a way that was reminiscent to old times! No complaints on my end!
Aggy not only looked like her ‘Back to Basics’ self, she was giving off those pitch perfect vocals from back in the day too. That long high note (whether pre-recorded or live), was simply breathtaking. While performing her 2007 hit ‘Candyman’, she was assisted by a troop of dancers, and served up the old Aguilera much to the delight of fans. Yay.
Over bacon and eggs, UK viewers were treated to Motown moves and a whole tonne of class when Leona Lewis brought her corkscrew curls to 'Daybreak' early this morning. She was on the show to plug her festive new album 'Christmas With Love' and its accompanying single, 'Winter Wonderland'. She looked really cute.
The only gripe was that the sound engineers didn't do a very good job at all. The music was just too loud and she had to shout over it. However, she pulled those high notes out of the bag towards the end.
I like Ashanti a lot but she should accept that her time in music is well and truly up. She's doing the right thing with the acting so it's good she's taken to promoting her Lifetime holiday movie 'Christmas In The City' on 'Good Day NY' this week. The movie premieres on Dec 7th.
She also promoted her Christmas EP 'A Wonderful Christmas With Ashanti' (out on Dec 3rd) and took to the stage to perform the Christmas classic 'Let It Snow'. She's had one hell of a run for a not so strong singing voice and non-choreography so she should be proud of herself. At this point, her calling seems to be in acting in movies. 'Resident Evil', 'John Tucker Must Die', and 'Coach Carter' all did well at the box office. And there you have it.
A brand new track from Ashanti's serially delayed 'Braveheart' album was released to iTunes earlier today. 'I Got It' is produced by her long term collaborator LT Hutton, features a boastful rap from Rick Ross and wailing ad libs from Future. Is it a hit?
The song will get regular spins at the club, but this won't do anything to take Ashanti's struggling career out of the dumpster. It's not even hot. Over a pulsing, synth-trickling beat, the singer confidently gushes about her physical assets and accolades. So nice to reminisce on those glory days huh? The new album is due next year and she will star in the Lifetime movie 'Christmas in the City', premiering December 7th.
Well hellooooo there! Robin Thicke's pants are so damn tight it's hard not to see what he's got wrapped up in his Christmas package. While sitting down in front of his sparkly piano, he performed his newest single 'Feel Good' on NBC's The Voice. Merry Christmas ladies!
The only disappointment was that he didn't start twerking on top of it. Well, if you're going to dance on top of it, at least make it worth our while! 'Feel Good', which has a remix featuring Kendrick Lamar, serves as the third single off his 'Blurred Lines' album and was released to radio on November 12th.
Seeing as though Lil Mama did not rap this time, she can now be spared further scrutiny for failing to nail Left Eye's rap at the AMAs. As a matter of fact, TLC were only on 'Dancing With The Stars' to provide the background music of 'No Scrubs' for the final four contestants' group routine.
I love love LOVED this song when it first came out but it was a hit 15 years ago and I'm getting just a tad bit bored of them and their temporary (or maybe permanent) replacement trying to recapture the magic. It's just not happening without Lisa on that stage. I suppose it wasn't stale enough for the ballroom though as Glee's Amber was really getting it in!
There's just one week to go before 'Britney Jean' drops in stores on December 3rd. The project is preceded by singles ‘Work B*tch’ and 'Perfume'. Now eager eared fans can stream the album in full, courtesy of iTunes.
Press play.
Being a featured artist is really working out for Christina Aguilera. She's gone back to her skinny former self and more importantly, she's enjoying some chart success. What more can a girl ask for huh?
Many of us would love to know her nutritional secrets.
Her appearance from last years AMAs was such a stark contrast to the flawlessness we sighted last night.
She looked amazing as she sang the emotional ballad 'Say Something' with songwriting duo A Great Big World. In fact, she delivered some of her best vocals in a long daggone time. She should really maintain these soft, raw 'Stripped'-style vocals. They have been severely missed around these parts.
The fact that Lil Mama's career has only been revived through impersonating a dead person speaks some pretty sad volumes. Performing with TLC the first time was cool but this Left Eye tribute act should have ceased the moment the movie concluded.
Mama served as a special guest with the iconic group while they all performed to their classic 'Waterfalls'. The 24-year-old rapped and danced along to Left Eye’s verse and an image of the late rapper was project onto the screen behind them. That said, Lil’ Mama was solid in her delivery despite moments where her dance moves were out of sync with the others. She did a nice job in the movie but now it's time to let go. This performance only magnified how much Left Eye is truly and deeply missed.
Never count out a girl from the Bronx! Latina bombshell Jennifer Lopez was on fire last night. She paid tribute to Cuban icon Celia Cruz, incorporating mambo, salsa, rumba and cha-cha routines to her wardrobe changing set. Now that's dancing!
So energetic, colourful and tropical. It was like watching some buoyant Mexican carnival unfolding before us. I love when she had her little moments which were reminiscent to the days where she started out as a fly girl from 'In Living Color'. She still has it, even at 44-years-old. I think she had the best performance of the night. This was one standing ovation well deserved.
Influences from hit drama 'Scandal' and R. Kelly's very own 'Trapped in the Closet' series were played out here. On the plus side, at least Lady Gaga and R. Kelly didn't replicate their distasteful SNL performance by keeping it PG.
During their performance of hit single 'Do What U Want', the pair flirt it up a storm and then the President completely dismisses her when their affair is publicly broadcast on Instagram. Entertaining piece of acting and Gaga delivered a stunning vocal. It's just too bad such an enjoyable performance won't make that much of a difference to her underwhelming album sales.
Never tell someone that their 15 minutes of fame is up, because you never know when it may escalate to 8 successful, eventful years. 180 million singles and 50 million albums ya'll. These are Rihanna's accomplishments. At just 25-years-old. Stay mad.
While rocking her hair in doobie pins, Rihanna performed her #1 smash 'Diamonds' to an orchestra and was presented with the first-ever Icon Award by her mother Monica Fenty. Such a touching moment that mirrored Beyoncé being presented with Billboard's Millennium Award at just 29-years-old by her mother Tina. Riri also won the award for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist although she really can't be considered that type of artist these days. Still, it was a good night for her. Well done, bitch.
"This is a song about alcohol" says Justin Timberlake before performing ‘Drink You Away’. Fortunately, his performance did not give one the urge to drink themselves into blackness despite it being just him and his guitar.
It was the first time on television that he performed this particular song alongside his band, The Tennessee Kids. He also snagged the award for 'Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist' but decided to ditch the soul for a pop/rock number tonight. A second award was won for Favorite Soul/R&B Album ('The 20/20 Experience'), which is debatable given that the album was met with mixed reviews. He also shouted out Rihanna’s mother with a compliment: “Can we talk about how cute Rihanna’s mom is?”. Charming man, but his performances wouldn't have you thinking otherwise. The boy sang his heart out and it was simply music to my ears.
Somewhere in her mansion, Mariah Carey is getting her varicose veins treated, rolling her eyes and cursing at the television while witnessing Ariana Grande stealing her thunder. Oh, the frustration!
Ariana really was serving some early '90s Mariah realness in a Jessica Rabbit style gown. She totally slayed her performance of doowop ballad 'Tattooed Heart' and it really was like glimpsing MC in her heyday. When MC first started out, she was the same age Ariana. Therefore, it's not so farfetched to consider her the Mariah Carey of this generation. With hot vocals like that, she continues to prove why. She also snagged the award for 'New Artist of the Year'. Great job honey!
Departing boyband JLS served up a goodbye performance on the very platform that launched their career five years ago.
Aston, Marvin, JB and Oritse were assisted by the show's latest contestants for a performance of their #1 hit single 'Everybody In Love'. The foursome are going on their farewell tour to promote their greatest hits album and will disband permanently after it comes to an end. It's not all doom and gloom though. Aston exclusively confirmed to Digital Spy that he's currently working on his first solo album, while Marvin will serve as a presenter for X Factor's rival show 'The Voice'. JB has no interest in staying in showbiz because he wants to milk cows while Oritse may very well find himself on next years 'I'm A Celebrity'. Watch this space!
Fun fact: Did you know that JLS have more single and album sales in the UK than One Direction? Well, now you do!
Tonight on UK's ‘The X Factor’ saw R&B veteran Mary J. Blige and Jessie J perform their cover rendition of the Bing Crosby classic ‘Do You Hear What I Hear.’
Jessie J was serving Lisa Stansfield realness but she sounded like a sheep having a seizure. Her vocals would be much more enjoyable to listen to if she wasn't so vibrato. So damn overkill. She really needs to learn to tone it down. It's not always cute. Mary sang within her range but is anyone really checking for her Christmas album ‘A Mary Christmas’?
I never got round to posting Omarion's ‘Leave You Alone’ video this week, so here it is, the first one off his 'Care Package 2' mixtape.
The clip, directed by TopShelf Jr, shows us the state a man is in when he is still hung up over his ex. Classic symptoms include drinking away pain, hesitating with the phone and struggling to go to sleep. The Maybach Music crooner looks a lot buffer than usual. Perhaps life is treating him so much better than what is showcased in these visuals.
Last night, Leona Lewis performed at the 'Energy Stars For Free' concert in Zurich, Switzerland, which serves as one of the largest music festivals in Europe.
Three songs were performed including her global smash 'Bleeding Love', a cover rendition of 'O Holy Night' and her new Christmas single 'One More Sleep'. Despite some technical difficulties, she sailed through it. Speaking of which, Sam Bailey covered 'Bleeding Love' on tonight's X Factor celebrating 10 years. While I think she did a good job, I don't think anyone should be performing signature Leona songs ESPECIALLY this one. Without a doubt, Leona was the best thing to happen to the UK's X Factor. After this year, they should just end it rather than continue to flog a sinking ship (they probably won't because a lot of money rides on the show's continuity).
If the forecast of Hit Daily Double is to be believed, Britney Spears should be crying herself a bloody river. They predict that due to lack of promo, her upcoming new album 'Britney Jean' is on course to sell a very lack luster 150-200K units in its first week.
Eh? This is what happens when your album is only limited to promote a bunch of Vegas
shows. Early Britney would be everywhere on TV promoting her album and working hard for her bread and butter. And with no viable hit single to drive the album, promo is crucial. While the singer and her team will be laughing all the way to the bank with this 2-year residency, it just seems she's only in it to fulfill certain obligations, and not because she's driven by a passion like before. You only have to look at her sluggish performances to see she's not here for this industry anymore. It's pretty sad really. Check out the opening week figures for her previous albums in the States, inside.
Twenty-one years after their first performance on 'The Arsenio Hall Show', Toni Braxton and Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds returned to where it all started.
First of all, I'd like to congratulate these two for making it as far as they have in such a fickle industry. Legends! How many singers today can return to the very platform they launched their career on after 20 years? They may not be making the type of music I grew up on but they're still here. Check out their interview and performance of
new single 'Hurt You' inside.
In a provocative new spread shot by Gomillion & Leupold, super fit Ciara flaunts her smoking-hot body for the pages of GQ magazine.
Out of all the singers that could be runway models, her and Rihanna are certainly IT. She doesn't look very pregnant in the pics so I'm assuming they were taken some time ago. In the interview (which you can read here), she discusses her new single 'Overdose' and offers some dancing and style tips to the fellas.
In early July, Ashanti debuted a duet with Freebandz rapper Future on a cut called 'I Got It'. The song made its appearance on DJ Ty Boogie’s mixtape, 'STR8 RNB, Part 6', which was hosted by Ashanti. This week, she announced the song would be released to iTunes on Tuesday (November 26th). But it goes without notice that rapper Future has now been replaced by Rick Ross. Dumb ass move.
And with dumb ass decisions being made, flop songs deserve to happen...
A seven minute album sampler for Britney's 'Britney Jean' has been making its online rounds, following several more leaks. 30 second snippets of each song are available to preview. Does this album sound like something you would listen to on repeat?
Well, I won't trash it too much but is this supposed to be a will.i.am album, or a Britney one? Some people should not be put in charge to executive-produce a pop icon's album. I know one shouldn't judge snippets but they usually give some sign of positive vibes and sadly, this one doesn't.
A new Beyoncé song is making its rounds across the net called 'God Made You Beautiful'. It's something stans will have to settle for, because that new album won't be dropping any time soon. Not until next year anyway.
[Beyoncé at the OKC-Clippers game last night]
The drum-laced ballad has Bey gushing about her daughter Blue Ivy and the joy the little girl has brought into her life. It's a cute song but not the type of Beyoncé tune that brings out the usual excitement. We really need that feisty contemporary R&B from Beyoncé. On November 25th, she will release her documentary 'Life Is But A Dream' on a two-disc DVD set. It will feature a live concert film, as well as a download of the new song. Listen to it inside.
This week, Jennifer Hudson dropped by 'The Angie Martinez Show' to talk about a number of topics including her upcoming new album.
She name-drops two popular producers that are working on the project and says that it will be “extremely different” from her past music. The album is slated to drop sometime next year but until then, check out what she has to say about it inside!
During a visit to Ryan Seacrest's radio show yesterday, Fergie discusses working on her second solo album, which serves as the follow-up to 2006′s multi-platinum smash ‘The Dutchess’. After giving birth to son Axl in August, can Fergie make a comeback, or should she just bow out gracefully?
It varies, because she left it so long. And at some point the Black Eyed Peas will likely regroup for a fifth studio album but for now Fergie has other plans to put out that solo album. Check out what she has to say below.
Boring is something you wouldn't normally associate with someone like Lady Gaga, but this eccentric weirdo seems to have run out of ideas already. In celebration of her album release this week, Gaga debuted an 'ARTPOP' film full of excessive nudity and blood. Yawn.
Shot by Inez and Vinoodh, some of the images you'd recognise from previously released promo shots, album packaging and single covers. If you want to see it all over again, go right ahead. But be warned. It will be two minutes of your life you won't be able to get back. Sadly, Gaga is starting to grasp at straws and more so now that people have found more constructive ways to spend their hard earned cash.
Don't anger the boss's ex-wife and baby mama or you will very well find yourself out on your ear. Following their feud with Pebbles, girl group TLC looks to have been dropped from Epic, courtesy of a menstruating LA Reid. It has come to light that the group’s name has been removed from Epic’s roster, and the label’s logo no longer exists on TLC’s own website.
Pebbles has been baying for blood ever since the record ratings 'CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story' premiered on VH1 last month. Pebbles hated the way her character was portrayed in the film and felt she was being slandered. So angry she was, she even threatened legal action.
Unfortunately for Britney Spears, her new single ‘Perfume’ is flopping. And a music video is needed. Fast! Britney and her director Joseph Kahn shot the desert located visuals yesterday.
Looks like we're going to get some smoochy love scenes in the clip. If the song is about her split with Jason Trawick, she clearly didn't want a man that looked old enough to be her father. Not that anyone blames her for choosing a younger version of Brad Pitt. Anyway, 'Perfume' serves as the second single to be lifted off her upcoming album ‘Britney Jean’, due Dec. 3rd.
Another day. Another video shoot for Beyoncé. Apparently, she was spotted in New York City on the set of her new music video this past Tuesday.
She looks fly in this $3,195 Burberry Metal Plate Vinyl Oxblood trench coat. But I fear another 12 months will go by and she will STILL be shooting music videos. Well, it's not too farfetched considering this years WASTED events.
Even without a music video, Eminem and Rihanna's 'The Monster' is already a mega hit. Just think of the damage it will do now that the pair are shooting the visuals for it this week. Yesterday, it peaks at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The video, which is being directed by Rich Lee, is being shot in his hometown of Detroit. The pair have been in Detroit shooting the clip since Tuesday. Rihanna was wearing her new black bob for the shoot. Not really feeling it this time around, but I'm sure the visuals will deliver!
I often get offended whenever somebody covers a Michael Jackson song. My chest burns and then explodes to pieces. Fortunately, Christina Aguilera and her team did the man proud last night on 'The Voice'. Phew!
Then again, they did not select his best music to sing and they let loose and had fun with the performance. Viewers were treated to an entertaining rendition of Janet Jackson's 'Black Cat', Janet and Michael's 'Scream' and then Michael's 'Bad'. Showbiz's most famous pop siblings receiving some love. Can't fault that at all!
I know Lady Gaga's record label must be hotly pissed about her first week album sales. Not even coming close to scraping the 300K mark. They forked out a fortune on promo and then Katy Perry went and kicked her ass not once but TWICE.
Despite the album debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200, the figure is a massive deflation from her previous album 'Born This Way', which opened with 1.1 million copies in 2011. To be fair, it may be too soon to say that 'ARTPOP' flopped completely. But I expected a lot better. Not because the album was good (it wasn't), but because I thought her fanbase was a lot stronger than that.
Click here to read my album review if you missed it.
In the minimalistic visuals for 'Say Something', pop duo A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera deliver a heartfelt performance for the cut, which debuted at #16 on Billboard's Hot 100.
Aggy is often critiqued for her fluctuating figure and clown make-up but she toned it down a few notches and looked beautiful. The touching clip consists of several emotional scenes involving a child, some young adults and an elderly couple.
In the low budget visuals for new single 'Thunder', a gothic-looking Jessie J is seen at night in the desert dancing around in front of a car.
A different type of visual for her, even if not much was going on with it. Occasional flashes of lightening dazzle the dark skies while Jessie looks unfazed in a scantily clad body suit! Let those illuminati theories commence...
Earlier today, Rebecca Ferguson debuted a live video on VEVO of her new album's title track 'Freedom'. She performed the tune with a live band at London's Air Studios back in September. For the performance, she was backed by a live band while taking a no-frills approach.
Looking elegant and classy in a black pants suit, the Liverpudlian mum of two gave a raw and personal performance. It brimmed with smoldering emotionality and was wrapped in smoky, heartsore vocals. Classy ladies are not desperate for attention, and it's nice to see that Becs isn't that type of artist.
Looks like Jennifer Lopez is aiming to create buzz for some secretive project. “Something big is coming soon, and trust me… you won’t want to miss it!” she wrote in assistance of a mysterious 13-second teaser, which she posted on YouTube.
The teaser is captioned with the hashtag #GetJenniferThere. She is seen crawling through an air vent before falling through a gap while an explosion takes place behind her. Might it coincide with her performance at this Sunday's American Music Awards? Buzz and J.Lo in the same sentence is not synonymous in this day and age. I haven't seen that since her Diddy days to be honest, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious.
The official Dreaming Mix for Britney's second single 'Perfume' debuted last night. The Sia-penned cut, which was co-produced by Dr. Luke and will.i.am, is taken from the deluxe edition of her upcoming album 'Britney Jean'.
Minimal production involves less bass and additional strings so that it is more of a vulnerable ballad than a midtempo number, in which the vocals take center stage. It's ironic that the remix is called 'dreaming' because the only thing this stripped back make-over did was make me want to curl up under the duvet, drink hot cocoa and doze off to sleep. Boring Spears is just no fun.
Earlier today, Chris Brown released his 'X Files' mixtape for his fans via MechanicalDummy.com. The five tracks, as well as bonus cut 'Main Chick', won't feature on his upcoming album 'X'. Guest appearances on the mixtape come courtesy of Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, and Kid Ink.
The mixtape serves as a prelude to his upcoming album 'X', which is set to drop in stores Dec 3rd. Check it out!
The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul shows off her ripped body for 'Shape' magazine’s December 2013 issue. In the accompanying interview, Mary J. Blige sheds light on how she manages to stay slim and fit. Peep the cover below:
Not feeling it.
Horrible photoshop job on the stomach, which I feel should have been
covered. Her mid section looks suspect, and then the belly
button just gives it all away. Mary confirms good cardio, strength training and a change in her eating/drinking habits largely contributing to her toned physique. For 42, she looks good!
The time gap between LeToya Luckett’s ‘Life, Love & Music’ web series has been a very prolonged, inconsistent process. But at least she proceeds to keep us all up to date on the recording process of her third studio album. Will she finally release it next year?
Probably not. But her 'Single Ladies' debut, where she plays Felicia Price, premieres in January 2014 on VH1! Webisode 6 takes a look into the minds of her managers and friends as she continues on her journey of Life, Love and Music. Check it out!
The all new personalised Britney Spears isn't having a very good week with all these latest album leaks. A brand new song has surfaced called 'Alien' and it will serve as the opening song on her upcoming new album.
The bridge-less William Orbit-produced cut is based on Britney's breakdown and salvation and features simple melodic production, such as pounding drums and synth percussion. According to Orbit, this version is not the version that will appear on the album as it has the wrong chorus notes. While I think it's great she's toning down on the auto-tuned vocals, this song has left me feeling underwhelmed. I literally don't like anything that is coming from this album.
Rapper Eminem has been dethroned by Lady Gaga's 'ARTPOP' in the official UK albums chart. Gaga has snagged her third UK number one album, while her R. Kelly-assisted second single 'Do What U Want' debuts at #9.
Meanwhile, Celine Dion's new single 'Loved Me Back To Life' debuts at #14 in the singles chart and her album of the same name peaks at #3, making it her highest-charting album since 2002's 'A New Day Has Come'. Finally, Little Mix's new album 'Salute' debuts at #4. Good stuff!
This evening, Leona Lewis premiered the snippets of all the songs off her upcoming Holiday album 'Christmas, with Love'.
The singer shows off her Latin Opera vocal skills with a stunning rendition of 'Ave Maria'. All tracks are available to preview inside!
Take a moment to sample 'Freedom', the new album from Rebecca Ferguson.
Preview cuts from the album such as 'All I've Got', 'Bridges' (feat. John Legend), 'My Best' and 'Hanging On' inside!
If Lady Gaga is trying to outdo Miley Cyrus, she may have actually achieved it. Last night on Saturday Night Live, she hosted for the very first time. But it was her sex-fueled performance with R. Kelly that shocked us all and set tongues wagging.
R. Kelly was having sex pushups with her during their performance of 'Do What U Want' and there was a lot of dry humping in between. The only thing missing was the golden shower but I suspect Gaga was a little too old for him to go there. When desperation goes to the extreme huh? Check out Gaga's performances of 'Gypsy' and 'Do What U Want' inside!
Ditching her job on a cruise ship to audition for American Idol has proven to be the best decision of her life. She reflects back on her career, discusses her new film 'Black Nativity', and weighs in on why most Idol contestants never hit the big time. Click here to read her entire cover story and check out the rest of Jennifer’s photoshoot inside.
