Chris Brown is literally begging his fans to keep him and his music relevant as the convicted woman beater is using a recorded audio message to spread his desperate plea. The R&B singer?s message is available through SayNow.com, a website in which celebrities can record messages for their fans. In the message, Chris begs his fans to help ?bring me back? saying that ?a lot of radio stations aren’t playing my records. They are not being that supportive and I wouldn’t expect them to.? He goes on to say that he?s ?a better guy now? but says ?[My music] won’t be possible if I’m not relevant on the radio.? Guess what Chris? No one cares.
After speculation that Beyonce was getting songwriting credit where it wasn?t due, producer Rob Fusari is talking about how the R&B singer ripped off his idea for the Destiny?s Child track ?Bootylicious?. Rob talked to Mathew Knowles after he presented his idea about the song. Mathew said ?People don’t want to hear about Rob Fusari, producer from Livingston, N.J. No offense, but that’s not what sells records. What sells records is people believing that the artist is everything.? But that doesn?t mean that Beyonce has to take all of the credit. That?s some pretty shady work. What do you think?
The rapper has recently been contacted by FIFA to be in charge of the music at the opening ceremony at the South African Tournament next month. Akon had this to say abut his new position: “I’ve been hired as musical director for the World Cup. I will be overseeing the World Cup anthem and music at the ceremonies and I’m off to South Africa this week for meetings. I love soccer so it’s a great honor.” He also added the following about involving football players in the music while referring to David Beckham: “I know David, he’s my man. But I’m not asking for his advice. Footballers should stick to football.” Interesting boundaries Akon sets? but I ask myself how a rapper is going to arrange world cup music? but hey, why be skeptical. Why not just wait and see how Akon manages to? handle the situation.
R&B star Lloyd will return to the game with his third effort, Lessons In Love. The July 15th release comes strapped with the hard-driving lead single ?How We Do It? featuring Ludacris. Lloyd will be playing a string of tour dates along with a FREE concert live on DeepRockDrive.com on Sunday May 25th at 4PM PST. The concert will allow fans to interact with Lloyd with digital applause, song requests, and more.
Fans can pick up their FREE tickets here to see Lloyd at the Pepsi Free Concert Series on DeepRockDrive.com. Ticket quantities are limited so get yours now!
A formatted copy of the complete press release is available here:
This was perhaps my favorite moment of the Grammys, although Beyonce and Tina Turner rocked. Rihanna and Jay-Z won for best rap/song collaboration for “Umbrella”.
When the two made it up on stage, Rihanna made it clear that SHE was there to accept the award. As Jay-Z approached her side at the microphone, she held up a hand and kept him at a distance while she made her speech.
Nice way to thank the person who helped you win, huh?
Justin Timberlake was spotted as he went out for dinner at Italian restaurant Madeo on Beverly Hills in Los Angeles on Monday. Noticeably missing was actress girlfriend Jessica Biel who is currenly busy in the UK filming her new movie ?Easy Virtue?.
Be on the look-out for Justin?s new Pepsi commercial which will debut the Sunday after next during Super Bowl XLII. The Grammy Award-winning R&B singer will also promote a yearlong $1 billion giveaway of MP3s, CDs, videos, consumer electronics and other items on Amazon.com. Amazon is sure to give Apple a run for its money with its MP3-format tunes.
If you have Jermaine Dupri saying F you to you, just say F you right back. The music producer wrote a very impassioned and misguided essay about the state of the music business. And coming from one of the producers who can be considered a mogul already, it makes me sick.
Not only did it clearly show his lack of appreciation for the people that buy his music, but he also looks at iTunes as a big evil monster. Janet Jackson?s main squeeze thinks that albums should be sold as a whole and consumers shouldn?t have the option to buy songs individually like we can on iTunes.
Well at least we buy a song instead of downloading them illegally!
Alicia Keys hit the top of the charts this week with her new album ?As I Am?. The gorgeous and talented singer has hit Number one with her album in the Billboard 200 charts, after it sold over 700,000 copies in the US. Blimey girl that?s a lot of albums!
Keys has had 3 previous albums hit number one in the first week of their release; hinting that this little lady is not just a pretty face. She seems to have the ?key? to our hearts, or at least our ears, as fans sweep in to buy her music as fast as it can hit the shelves.
And what a perfect name for the album. We?ll definitely take you as you are Alicia?it seems to be working so far. Keep your ears peeled folks ? if you haven?t heard it yet, get buying it; before it?s sold out!
Regina Daniels has worked as R. Kelly?s publicist for 14 years. She deserves a loyalty award don?t you think? But before we can even go to hand it to her, she?s formally announced her decision to cut all ties with the R&B singer.
In her statement about it, Daniels says ?I have prided myself on loyalty, respect and professionalism. It saddens me that I was not always shown those same courtesies during my 14-year tenure as Mr. Kelly?s publicist … There are some lines that should never be crossed professionally or personally. Mr. Kelly crossed a line that forever altered the scope of our relationship. For this reason I made the decision to resign.?
Ooh! Ooh! I hope there?s a lawsuit involved.
Singer Sean Kingston almost quit the music industry after his idols Timbaland and Pharrell rejected his early recordings. The 17-year-old – whose debut single Beautiful Girls was certified platinum in July 2007 – was finally given a break when Britney Spears’ reported ex-boyfriend J.R. Rotem agreed to sign him to his label Beluga Heights. He should not be bitter about this all because there is a time in everyone?s career where there is a struggle period and one should be humble enough to forgive and forget those who rejected you or else instant fame would never have made you learn the value of success and adulation. Now that he is successful, he can get a contract anywhere but he might have learnt in this stop span that whom to trust and whom not to even talk to. I wish Sean more success in his future projects and may he be successful at whatever he does.
Rapper Kanye West was scheduled to perform at tonight?s Victoria’s Secret fashion show but had to cancel a number of appearances due to the tragic loss of his mother Dr. Donda West. Black Eyed Peas singer Will.i.am will step up and fill in for Kanye for the big show. Keep the faith Kanye, I lost my mother a couple months ago in a similar situation and its not easy but be strong and I know you can be. Just remember God always and morals and values your mother taught you. And that?s very nice of all those who try and fill up for the professional commitments of people who cannot under such circumstances fulfill theirs. Some people like the organizers are very though on singers or be it any other field that what may come they have to fulfill their commitments, in such case when you do not have the mental strength to stand on stage and deliver it?s better to ask a friend to fill into your shoes.
The chart-topping multi-platinum hip-hop dynamos Bow Wow and Omarion have joined forces to create a new collaborative collection that promises to become one of the major musical events of 2007. Bow Wow-Omarion project, Faceoff, in stores December 11th.
While details of the Bow Wow-Omarion project remain under wraps, the new album marks the culmination of a joint collaborative process dating back to 2005. “Me and O have been trying to put this together for so many years, and now we’ve got the opportunity to do it,” Bow Wow told Billboard.com earlier this month. “We’re in the creative process right now, coming up with ideas daily, so the process is real smooth. We’re anxious to make this whole thing happen. It’s gonna be a special event. It’s gonna be crazy, something the people have been waiting on — the girls have been waiting on — for years.
Omarion shares his best friend’s enthusiasm for the as-yet-unnamed project. “This isn’t about money, this is about music,” says Omarion. “We both started young and have grown up together, working on the same tours, and have developed our identity in the music world. Jay-Z and R Kelly was the first big R&B/Rap combo, and we have great respect for them and have been inspired by them, but we still want to create something we can call our own. We just want to do our own thing. We want to have a great time and make good music for our fans. This is gonna be fun, so ‘World, Watch out! We’re coming!’”
Just when Hurricane Chris had snatched the focus away from Atlanta to his home state of Louisiana with the summer chant “A Bay Bay,” Atlanta teen DeAndre Way (aka Soulja Boy) arrives to consolidate some of the great moves from the likes of Dem Franchize Boyz and Yung Jock into a new dance and its accompaniment. “Crank That,” the result is climbing the chart and, due to the appeal of the dance, is picking up some high profile fans along the way. It’s thoroughly enjoyable while it’s hot and ultimately forgettable a year from now.17-year-old DeAndre Way (aka Soulja Boy) seems to have worked his way through the halls of the recording industry on sheer chutzpah and talent. After taking to the internet and MySpace in particular, Soulja Boy was signed by Mr. Collipark, of Ying Yang Twins fame, and ended up with distribution of his first single by Interscope. It’s no surprise “Crank That” rose to the top when you see Soulja in action on his various videos. The dance accompanying the whisp of a song is fun to watch and do and just complicated enough that learning it is an achievement.
“Crank That” is not only appealing to young fans. It has caught the attention of some top artists as well.
Grammy-winning R&B/pop music superstar Kelly Rowland will launch an eagerly-awaited North American fall concert tour beginning October 28 in Seattle and ending with a three-night run at the Orleans Casino in Las Vegas. I think Kelly is the bom. I trust her a lot and think that this is going to be her most ultimate selling album because she is now on her own. I feel that she was not given much chance in destiny’s child to show case who she really is and what she can really do. So now girl is the chance to go for the big break and make your mark I believe in you and I love you?re new her style and look you are fabulous. Love you very much. Come visit us also please we would love to see you performing your new songs in our country love you a lot. These are certainly exciting times in her blossoming career and if she get it right I think very soon her name will be all over the place and her tunes played at the best events and awards will be following wherever she goes.
He?s retired, got out of retirement, retired again and now he?s getting out again. Jay-Z is going to drop a new album in November which is said to be inspired by a movie.
The rap superstar and president of Def Jam Records quietly went back into the studio with songs inspired by the film ?American Gangster?. This is his first concept album and second effort in less than a year. The album came together a few weeks after Jay-Z was shows the film starring Denzel Washington and directed by Ridley Scott.
With the underwhelming reception for his last disc and his troubles with Def Jam, this tie-in with the movie may just be his chance for a strong rebound. Good luck!
The showdown has come to Rolling Stone magazine?s cover. Kanye West and 50 Cent are featured on the latest cover of the magazine highlighting the fact that their albums would be dropping on the same date of September 11th in less than a week.
There?s an accompanying article entitled ?Who Will Be the King of Hip Hop?? where 50 pretty much talks Kanye down. 50 says that he had the highest-selling LB of 2003 and his 2005 released was the second-highest-selling album of that year. He goes on to compare Jay-Z?s recent sales to segue into saying that Kanye is merely a worker bee for Jay-Z and that Kanye can never generate as much interest.
Burn!
Kanye West considers a certain ”SexyBack” singer his biggest rival. ”My biggest inspiration and biggest competition is Justin Timberlake,” the 29-year-old rapper tells. ”He’s the only other person that gets an across-the-board response and respect level – black radio, white radio.” What ever color of Radio he his more interested in this is in quite sometime that I have ever seen him talk something sensible and respectful about his competition. Yes true we all need some one to push us beyond our known limits and that?s when we probably get to see what we actually made of ? mud or steel. Some just can?t stand the pressure and fade off into deep darkness and others rise to the occasion and gradually fulfill unthought-of dreams and ambitions. Well may be its another salvo that West has fired at Justin asking him to up the ante as he is prepared for a long battle for supremacy.
Earlier in the week, 50 cent said that he?s going to stop putting out solo records if his arch rival Kanye West?s new album outsells his when they drop on the same day next month. Get ready with your retirement plans 50.
They might be getting equal promotion at the very top of the iTunes store but Kanye is still outselling 50 when it comes to pre-orders. Kanye is up at #3 on the iTunes Top Albums chart while 50 is only at #9. On the singles chart, Kanye?s kick-off song ?Stronger? is at #2 while 50?s ?Ayo Technology? is at #10.
It seems that not even Justin Timberlake?s collaboration could help 50. Game over.
The best of the best got together on TRL last Tuesday as Timbaland, Kanye West, Robin Thicke, Rihanna and Chris Brown announced the nominees for the MTV Video Music Awards.
Justin Timberlake and Beyonce led the pack of nominees with seven nominations each. Kanye West and Rihanna both earned five nominations and Amy Winehouse came out with three. A list of performers were also announced. Performers will include Kanye West, Fall Out Boy, Amy Winehouse, Chris Brown, The Foo Fighters and Rihanna. The VMAs will air live from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on September 9th.
With that list of nominees and performances, it will look to be a solid show. I?m watching!
Beyonce and Justin Timberlake have each received seven nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards, including best female and male artist of the year. Rapper Kanye West and R&B star Rihanna are shortlisted in five categories. Umbrella, which topped the UK chart for 10 straight weeks, is also up for “monster single of the year”. This could be the one award that Rihanna grabs because I heard to the number it is one of the coolest I heard in recent times. Lilly Allen has time on hand to sort out her visa problems so that she can make it to the ceremony which should be rocking as Justin, Beyonce, and Amy Winehouse are slated to perform as are many other at the show piece event. Now last year Latin singer Shakira too was nominated for seven awards but landed just one, so lets hope this year turns out to be better for the leading nominees.
R&B hitmaker Akon was pleasantly surprised by his three-year stint in a U.S. prison – because the experience wasn’t horrible or terrifying. The Lonely singer, who was jailed after he was found guilty of grand theft auto, spent much of his time behind bars planning for a pop music career and penning songs that have since become massive hits. I thought that only a pretty woman or a fascinating river side location could be motivating and inspirational enough or for the really dumb people the toilet seat is a place for all those crap songs that feature on MTV. He if really coined those hits in the jail then he ought to have made a contract with the county jail in LA, signing up to stay behind the bars for 15 days every year, seven days he can do some community service and the rest 7-8 he could create his songs. He says, “It definitely wasn’t what I expected. It was actually a lot more pleasant.
