Mariah Carey producer promises more new music...

Mariah Carey's long-term musical collaborator Big Jim Wright did a Twitter Q&A session with fans earlier today. 

Although her latest album ‘Me. I Am…Mariah. The Elusive Chanteuse’ terribly underperformed, Wright says the fans can expect more new music from them in the future. As he's her musical director, he will also be tagging along on her upcoming tour 'The Elusive Chanteuse Show.'

Rihanna confirmed for new Kanye West album...

If we don't get Rihanna's eighth studio album later this year (and it's looking unlikely if she doesn't announce a new single soon), fret not. Billboard confirms that Rihanna has collaborated with Kanye West for his mysterious and highly anticipated new album.  

The two have already collaborated on 'All Of The Lights' and 'Run This Town.' I'm not a big Kanye fan to be honest but it can't be denied that the collaborations they have recorded together have been top quality. I love 'All Of The Lights' and she always brings her uniqueness to a track.  

Brandy checks into the studio with Flippa...

During her latest studio session, Brandy collaborates with Ronald 'Flippa' Colson for her upcoming new album. Colson's latest work includes Usher's 'Good Kisser', Elle Varner's 'Cold Case', Rihanna's 'Numb', Nicki Minaj's 'Right By My Side', and much more. 

We're going to get some real cool R&B from the project which is slated to see a release sometime next year.

Ashanti grinds on Beenie Man at Reggae concert in NYC...

Over the weekend, reggae star Beenie Man brought out Ashanti during his set at the On Da Reggae Tip 2014 concert. The gig, which took place at Pier 97 in New York City, saw the 33-year-old showing off an unflattering peroxide blonde wig, while whining and grinding against her 'First Real Love' collaborator. 

She revisited memory lane with the performance, as none of her updated material has made much of an impact outside of the actual hits back in the day.

Alicia Keys talks new album & inspirations...

"Right now, I'm working on a new album and that has captured a lot of my focus. I'm so excited."

In a new interview with British magazine Hello!, Alicia Keys, currently pregnant with her second child, reveals to the mag that she's excited to see what fans make of her new album and hints that many may be shocked by her new sound.

JoJo writes an emotional message about the progress of her new album...

Following her successful fight to be freed from her contractual imprisonment with Blackground Records, JoJo is now recording her new album on Atlantic. Today, she shares this touching message with fans about her progress and emotional journey. 

It's been so long since she released her last album. Ariana Grande had better hold on to her ponytail, because soon enough, it will be all about JoJo. I can't wait to see what she brings with this long awaited third album!

Jessie J is 'Burnin’ Up' on video set + unwraps acoustic snippet...

The new music video for Jessie J's second single 'Burnin’ Up' has now been wrapped, as announced by the singer on social media today. 

She posted this photo on the set with her dancers. Apparently, the video which was directed by Hannah Lux Davis has a lot of choreography so it's expected to be pretty upbeat and sexy! The 2 Chainz-assisted track was co-written and produced by Max Martin.

‘Time’ magazine names Mariah Carey the ‘Ultimate Pop Star’...

Time magazine's ranking system has crowned Mariah Carey as the Ultimate Pop Star of all pop stars that have ever been. 

"Time looked at every song that’s been in the Billboard Top 10 since 1960, the number of hits by each artist present on that list, and how long those musicians’ careers have lasted, and used that information to determine which artists are ultimately the most successful pop-hit generators" (source.)

Brandy IS on Chris Brown's new album...

There was quite a bit of upset when it seemed like Chris Brown's new collaboration with Brandy was skipped off his new album 'X.' 

The tracklist was taken from iTunes and appeared to miss Brandy's feature on 'Do Better', which was produced by Glass John. Her name appears in the official press release which includes the full album credits. The producer tweeted that it's a pretty personal song which is a 'classic.'

Ariana Grande performs on ‘Today’ concert series...

Ariana Grande promoted her new album 'My Everything' with a mini concert at New York’s Rockefeller Plaza this morning. She performed 'Problem,' 'Break Free,' 'Bang Bang,' and 'Break Your Heart Right Back.' 

She remains coy when asked about her new relationship with rapper Big Sean. Without confirming anything, she reveals that she's "happy." Glad to hear it. She went through a hard time with the recent passing of her grandfather. Feel free to disagree but those two make a really cute couple.

Luke James unwraps album cover + tracklist...

Following a lengthy wait, Luke James will drop his self-titled debut album on September 23rd via N.A.R.S. / Island Records. He also unveils the standard and deluxe album covers for the project as well.  

The eye catching deluxe cover is very artistic and the font is nice. I love it! Too bad the same can't be said for his music. His voice is amazing but his material is weak for such a talented young singer.

What defines "True" R&B

As we here at Toya'z World continue on our quest to help the masses debate and understand the much loved Genre, I paused to think. What is R&B? Perhaps this should be our starting point in this journey. We have very many topics and discussions we will bring to you from varied points of view but it is imperative that we define the scope of such debates.

Britney Spears renews contract with RCA Records...

A new interview with Variety magazine confirms that Britney Spears has renewed her recording contract with RCA Records. The article reads: "Earlier this year she re-upped with RCA Records, which had inherited her contract from former affiliate Jive years ago." Britney adds:  

“In my off-time I do record. Once in a while I’ll just go into the studio if there’s a really good song that I have in my head and want to do.”

The power of Blue Ivy: BET producer suspended...

The BET producer responsible for creating a joke about Blue Ivy’s hair (read out by Karrueche Tran on 106 & Park this week) has now been suspended. It's not yet known if the producer has been suspended indefinitely or temporarily. 

Coincidentally, the show has been cancelled for the rest of the week, although word has gotten out that this was a "planned hiatus." I know they don't expect anyone to believe this. The timing is too suspect and it just seems a little too convenient.

Ariana Grande performs ‘Break Free’ on ‘America’s Got Talent’...

Miaow! Ariana Grande performed her Zedd-produced hit single 'Break Free' during the live results show of America’s Got Talent last night.

Please enlighten me as to why she consistently rocks CAT EARS as her hair accessory during performances. I'm clearly missing something here. Actually, I'm not. Although she's officially of adult age now, she still has the face of a 12-year-old. Milking this "oh, 5-year-olds can relate to me too" schtick clearly works for her. At least for now anyway.

Beyoncé covers CR Fashion Book (photoshoot)...

"The empress of pop meets a force of fashion. In her first collaboration with Carine Roitfeld, the ever-changing Beyoncé expresses her many moods, manners, auras, and multifaceted characters. All hail!" 

Beyoncé is the Fall Winter cover star for CR Fashion Book Issue #5 by Pierre Debusschere. She delivers a striking photoshoot, for the magazine which hits newsstands on September 4th, the same day as Beyoncé's birthday! Pre-order it here!

New Music: Mila J ft. Ty Dolla $ign – ‘My Main’ (new single)...

Ungh! Mila J drops her brand new single 'My Main' featuring her touring partner Ty Dolla $ign. 

Mila shows gratitude towards a special BFF on the DJ Mustard-produced cut, which was originally set to feature Iggy Azalea. Were her pockets not steep enough to get Iggy on record? I knew this was too good to be true. I just knew it. Iggy has blown up so much that perhaps Iggy's people advised her not to?

Snapshots: A happy Mariah Carey takes twins out for lunch in NYC + fun times in LA...

The Elusive Chanteuse treated 'Dem Babies' to pizza on Tuesday, during an outing in NYC. Mariah put on her happy face while surrounded by her entourage and showed no strain following reports of her latest marriage woes. 

On that same day, Mariah's estranged husband Nick Cannon was also spotted paying a visit to his wife's Tribeca condo. It's amazing what a rumoured divorce can do for a woman's wardrobe. This is like the THIRD outting this week where she's dressed up all age appropriate.

Album tracklist: Jennifer Hudson – ‘JHUD’...

1. Dangerous
2. It’s Your World (feat. R. Kelly)
3. He Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere (feat. Iggy Azalea)
4. Walk It Out (feat. Timbaland)
5. I Can’t Describe (The Way I Feel) (feat. T.I.)
6. I Still Love You
7. Just That Type of Girl
8. Bring Back the Music
9. Say It
10. Moan

Due September 23rd!

Album tracklist + artwork: Tinashe – ‘Aquarius’...

On October 7th, Tinashe will release her debut album ‘Aquarius’ and has just dropped the official tracklist for it via iTunes. Plus, here's the official artwork.

The 18-track set features production from Boi-1da, Mike WiLL Made-It, Jasper, and Stargate. It will also include the DJ Mustard-produced hit '2 On' featuring ScHoolboy Q and the Detail-produced follow-up 'Pretend' featuring A$AP Rocky.

Snapshots: Rihanna shows off bikini body on a yacht during Italy vacation...

Is Rihanna enjoying a last minute vacation before she embarks on a heavy, well-rounded campaign to promote her upcoming new album? 

Earlier today, the singer took to the high seas aboard a multimillion dollar carter yacht, the Galaxy in Sicily, Italy. The yacht reportedly costed at least $336,500 USD a week plus expenses, but that's nothing to Rihanna. According to Forbes, she has a total net worth of $188 million with earnings of $48M this year (as of June 2014)!

Beyoncé’s dad says Solange/Jay Z elevator fight was staged to promote tour...

This is cause for disowning your parents! During an interview with a Houston radio show this morning, Mathew Knowles said some pretty damaging stuff. 

He reveals that the Jay Z/Solange elevator incident was probably staged as publicity for the couple's 'On The Run' tour. Do I believe it was staged? No way! Solange was definitely furious with her brother in law, right up until those lift doors opened and they entered the car. I know damn well Solange's not that good an actress. If so, she deserves an Oscar!

'Beyoncé' is the fifth best-selling US digital album of all time...

99 problems but a flop album aint one. A highly publicised VMAs performance on Sunday night has seen Beyoncé’s self-titled album reap all the benefits.

Not only did the record breaking project sour back into the top 10 of the US iTunes chart this week, it now passes Eminem’s 'Recovery' to become the fifth best-selling digital album of all time (1.34M digital copies).

Sales predictions: Ariana Grande’s new album ‘My Everything’ to push 150-200K units...

Hits Daily Double predicts that Ariana Grande’s new album ‘My Everything’ will secure the #1 spot on next weeks Billboard 200. 

This is with projected sales ranging from 150-200K units in the first week. A nice little increase from the 138,000 units that she managed to sell with debut album ‘Yours Truly.’ Since the release the album has topped the iTunes chart in over 80 countries.

Video Premiere: Usher ft. Nicki Minaj – ‘She Came To Give It To You’...

Usher premieres the Philip Andelman-directed visuals for his Pharrell-produced new single ‘She Came To Give It To You’ featuring Nicki Minaj. 

The video is all dancing and flash lights and not very imaginative. Usher has done plenty of club scene music videos and they were so much better. Nicki’s verse was cute, playful and she looked great. Pharrell also makes a subtle cameo. Usher’s new album 'UR' is due this fall.

BET & Karrueche Tran apologise for Blue Ivy joke...

After making a joke about Blue Ivy's hair on '106 & Park', both BET executive Stephen G. Hill and Karrueche Tran apologised. 

At the time, she read the joke off a teleprompter, which was changed by producers at the last minute without her knowledge. Since it was a live show, she had no choice but to go along with it. After being put in that position, Karrueche and her manager were said to be very upset.

New Music: Jennifer Lopez ft. Iggy Azalea – ‘Booty’ (Remix)...

Ass, ass, ass! Looks like Nicki Minaj's 'Anaconda' is in for some serious competition!

Booty queens Jennifer Lopez and Iggy Azalea come together for the official remix of 'Booty.' Iggy drops a very appropriate guest verse to the bootylicious club banger, which samples Diplo & Swick’s 'Dat A Freak.' The track is lifted off J.Lo's latest album 'A.K.A.' Who do you think had the better verse? Iggy or Pitbull?

R&B: Talent & Image vs Material...

In the R&B genre, it seems that the biggest prerequisite is being able to "SANG" or at the very least be able to put on a good show. Especially in this day and age where the sales of albums are not what they used to be, being able to put on a good show is important as touring is the bread and butter for most artists. It is safe to say that albums and music are the smallest part for most acts and these constitute in literal theory only as promotional tools  that are used to promote the brand of an artist as a whole.

Ariana Grande tops iTunes in 78 countries with new album 'My Everything'...

Got your copy yet? Ariana Grande's new album 'My Everything' is #1 on iTunes in 78 countries!

She released the project worldwide yesterday (August 25th), following her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday. The record instantly climbed to number one on the digital store in numerous territories, including the US, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Mexico and Switzerland.

New Music: Mejia Sisters - 'Stray' (featuring Jereme Jay)...

Remember Girlicious? Natalie Mejia was apart of the group but now she's returned. 

This time, she's formed a new girl group with her sisters Jazzy and Taylor - the Mejia Sisters. Earlier this year, they signed a record deal with Atlantic Records and are preparing to drop their debut album next year. Lead single 'Stray' just debuted and it's a catchy R&B/urban-pop affair produced by Jereme Jay, who also features on it.

New Music: Nicole Scherzinger – ‘On The Rocks’ (second single)...

Nicole Scherzinger's new single ‘On The Rocks’ has just debuted, lifted from her new album produced solely by hitmakers The-Dream and Tricky Stewart. 

The song serves as a not so punchy pop ballad that has really basic production and not much smash qualities to it whatsoever. Although the chorus is quite good, everything else falls flat, which does not bode well for this new album of hers.

Karrueche Tran makes fun of Blue Ivy’s hair + addresses remark...

A sensitive subject around these parts is Blue Ivy's hair. It has influenced a petition and several R&B singers have come under fire from Beehive when comments were made about it. 

Apparently, Chris Brown's girlfriend Karrueche Tran put her foot in mouth appearing on yesterday's episode of BET’s 106 & Park. While doing her duties as a co-host, she participated in a segment called “The top 6 things Blue Ivy thought of her mom’s performance.”

Mariah Carey tries to dodge questions about her marriage split...

As far as Mariah Carey is concerned, it's simply "too hot" to confirm or deny her marriage split with Nick Cannon. The legendary diva was spotted walking around NYC on Monday with her nephew when she was hounded down by a photographer to speak about her heartbreaking predicament. There's actually a cure for it being too hot. 

Nick did the ALS ice bucket challenge completely naked the other day. Jokes aside, I really hope this is not the end of their marriage and at some point they can work things out.

Prince to release two new albums in September + listen to new song 'CLOUDS'...

Good news! Prince is releasing two new albums on September 30th! One is for his solo album 'Art Official Age' while 'PLECTRUMELECTRUM' is from his girl group 3rd Eye Girl.  

Both albums will be released by NPG Records/Warner Bros and here's the artwork for it. Pre-order Prince on iTunes and new song 'CLOUDS' is released for free. Peep the tracklist and listen to his funky new tune 'CLOUDS' inside.

Usher drops video teaser for ‘She Came To Give It To You’ + unveils first touring cities...

Are YOU going? Usher has announced the first NINE cities for his upcoming ‘The UR Experience’ world tour. 

He will officially take the tour to Seattle, Los Angeles, Toronto, Chicago, Dallas, New Orleans, New York, Atlantic City and Orlando. On top of this announcement, he also drops a video teaser for his brand new single ‘She Came To Give It To You’ featuring Nicki Minaj. 

Tamia signs with Def Jam...

R&B fans will be glad to know my girl Tamia has returned to a major label and signed with Def Jam. 

She plans to release a new album in the Spring of 2015. Tamia recently announced the news on Instagram. I'm excited about the actual release just not that she's moved to Def Jam. But at the end of the day a deal is a deal and she may be able to turn things around. I hope everything works out for her. She's so underrated!

The best VMAs moments in GIFS!

The best part about these major award shows is not what's happening on stage, but what goes on in the audience and backstage. It is always entertaining to see a celeb's reaction towards another celeb's performance. We see first hand all the side-eyes, stank faces and blank stares, and it really did make for some brilliant GIFs! 

The amount of shade that was captured last night really did serve up a treat and no one got ice water dumped on their heads so that was a start. Here, MTV's 'audience cam' was in full effect and here are the highlights!

VMAs red carpet: Who had the best look?

The 2014 MTV Video Music Awards brought out all the stars and pop royalty who paraded their glamorous looks down the red carpet. Cut-outs, glitter, sequins and more were on full display as they all walked the red carpet before the show. 

Jennifer Lopez (pictured) rocked a Charbel Zoe ensemble which featured cutout detailing, Beyoncé opted for a long black Nicolas Jebran Couture gown with net, sheer, and crystal detailing and Rita Ora looked glamorous in her red silk Donna Karan gown. 

Who had the best look?

Video premiere: Jessie J, Ariana Grande, & Nicki Minaj - 'Bang Bang'...

Fresh off opening the VMAs last night, Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj premiere the colourful visuals for 'Bang Bang.' The Hannah Lux Davis-directed clip, shot on the Paramount lot in Hollywood, sees the vibrant trio coming together for a cool block party. 

The hit song is featured on Ariana’s new album 'My Everything', out today, and Jessie J’s upcoming album 'Sweet Talker', due October 14th.

Beyoncé & Jay Z publicly shut down divorce rumours at VMAs...

The Carters used this VMAs publicity to shut down those pesky divorce rumors that just won't go away. After this display of affection and happiness, I will be shocked to see another divorce story in the coming months. When you want to deaden something this is how you do it. Large scale. I bet it was killing Bey to kiss her man up on stage like that. 

Sure, they've been doing this PDA thing on their 'On The Run' tour each night, but not on a massive global platform like the VMAs.  

New Music: Usher - ‘Believe Me’ + world tour announcement...

Following his performance at the VMAs, Usher debuted a brand new song called ‘Believe Me’, as part of his new partnership with Pepsi. The R&B jam, produced by Mike WiLL Made It, sees Usher slowing it down with the tempo and battling with his conscience for being a cheat. It's one of his better offerings this era so that's definitely a good thing. 

The track is slated to appear on his upcoming 8th studio album, which is allegedly titled ‘UR’ and due this fall.

Watch: Beyoncé performs album medley at VMAs...

For those that didn't get to see the 'Mrs. Carter' Show this year, Beyoncé brought her world tour to the VMAs in snippet form. A shortened version of her entire visual album was performed as her daughter Blue Ivy looked on from Jay Z’s lap. Then Jay and Blue presented her with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Blue was so happy for mama and even joined the crowd clapping!

The performance started off a little slow but she picked it up eventually and rocked! There was a whole lot of emotion throughout. Check out her much hyped 16 minutes set below!

Watch: Rita Ora & Iggy Azalea perform ‘Black Widow’ at VMAs...

Whoever it was that decided to put Rita Ora and Iggy Azalea in the same Marco Marco catsuit must not have liked Rita very much. Never mind the spiderweb, I would rather have gotten stuck in one at that moment. Iggy's body is slaying and you just can't wear the same thing as her if your body doesn't match up! 

Check out the two blonde bombshells reenacting the Kill Bill-inspired video for their hit single 'Black Widow' at the VMAs below!

Watch: Usher & Nicki Minaj perform 'She Came To Give It To You' at 2014 VMAs...

Bounce... Nicki Minaj just went through Usher's spanking machine tonight. Actually, her butt has been doing a lot of things tonight. It seems to have many talents. Lucky Usher got to spank it, which is more than could be said for poor Drake. Oh, and he almost knocked her over as she did some serious twerking in his face!

Nicki joined Usher for an all white performance of his new single 'She Came To Give It To You.' I do love me some Usher but the magic just wasn't there for me tonight.

Ariana Grande & Big Sean go public with their relationship at VMAs...

Well, well, well. Look at this. After denying that they're dating and claiming to be just 'good friends', Ariana Grande and rapper Big Sean said "fugg it, we're openly flaunting our relationship tonight!" The consistent musical collaborators were spotted backstage at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards HOLDING HANDS! 

It's not like Sean had a reason to be there because neither of them performed the songs that they collaborated on. So now that they are openly flaunting what we already knew, do you think they make a cute couple?

Watch: Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, & Jessie J open 2014 VMAs...

Wardrobe malfunction alert! Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj opened the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at L.A.’s Forum. Ariana kicked things off with her new single 'Break Free,' then Nicki came out with a booty-popping routine to her new single 'Anaconda.' I don't even need to describe it because Rita Ora and J.Lo's faces told the story. Gif-worthy!

Both chicks eventually came together for Jessie's new single 'Bang Bang', which they both feature on. Nicki couldn't perform properly because her dress tried to escape from her!

Snapshots: Chris Brown leaves nightclub in one peace after shooting + addresses incident...

A pre-VMAs party hosted by Chris Brown ended in shots being fired and three people injured. One of them being music producer Suge Knight who was hit six times at 1OAK in West Hollywood at around 1:30AM. Fans were anxious to know whether or not the singer himself was injured.

Fortunately, he wasn't. I know many folks wished he had been as I've seen those messages on Twitter (SMH).

Did Ariana Grande remove herself from Chris Brown's 'Don’t Be Gone Too Long'?

The official deluxe tracklist for Chris Brown's new album 'X' was released today. The set includes quite a lot of collaborations, but one guest feature noticeably missing was Ariana Grande. Originally, she was meant to be featured on 'Don’t Be Gone Too Long' and the two even shot a music video. 

The pair promoted the song on Twitter right before he was sentenced to do some jail time.

Drake mocks Chris Brown on stage...

These friends aint loyal! So much for Chris Brown and Drake ending their feud over Rihanna. The rapper is seen mocking Chris on stage during his joint tour with Lil Wayne.  

While performing a line from the singer's hit song 'Loyal,' Drake mimics Breezy's ACTUAL singing voice (the nasal tone and everything, lol) and after, he's heard telling the crowd, "f*ck outta here with that shit!" Um, the saga continues.

Album tracklist: Chris Brown – ‘X’...

Never mind the guest heavy collaborations, Chris Brown's new album 'X' has TWENTY ONE songs! Now that's what's up!

On September 16th, he will release the record, which features hits such as ‘Loyal’, ‘Love More’ and ‘Fine China’, as well as his latest single ‘New Flame’ featuring Usher and Rick Ross.