Lady Gaga was recently honored with the Big Man of the Year award for her work in music education at the Little Kids Rock benefit, held in New York City. The princess of pop received the award from the wife of Clarence Clemmons, who played the saxophone solo in “The Edge of Glory”, and passed away this past summer. Lady Gaga said in her acceptance speech “My first experience with music was my father playing a vinyl of the E Street Band. I knew every time the song played that my grandpa was looking down and thanking me [for]… the gift I had given to my father by having Clarence on that record.”
Scotty McCreery recently premiered the music video for his song “The Trouble with Girls”. The Mark Bright-produced country song serves as the second single from the American Idol winner’s debut album “Clear as Day”. The song is enjoyable but it’s failing to impress on the charts. Scotty has done a couple of high profile TV performances with it but he’s still very low on the Billboard 100 and nowhere to be seen on iTunes USA’s top 100. Anyway, the video is pretty nice with a sweet story behind it. It was actually shot at Garner Magnet High School in North Carolina where Scotty is currently a senior.
Example has recently premiered the official music video for his song “Midnight Run”. The electronic house track serves as the third single to come off of the British rapper/singer’s debut album “Playing in the Shadows”. “Midnight Run” is one of the clear stand out tracks on that album and I knew that it wasn’t long before it got a video. Speaking of which, it seems Iceland has become the new “it” place to shoot music videos for UK artists. After The Saturdays, it’s now Example who’s filmed his latest visual in the country. Anyways, if you’ve seen the clip, do you think you can explain it to me? Because I honestly did not get the whole concept. The chick was hot though.
JLS recently premiered the music video for their song “Take a Chance on Me”. The mid-tempo pop track serves as the second single from the British boy band’s upcoming album “Jukebox”, which is due out on November 14 but will be available for pre-order on November 6th. In my opinion, the song is really mediocre and really does nothing to further their career. Call it secondary syndrome or whatever but I actually had high hopes for these guys. As for the video, the boys promote the sites of London, including the Thames path walk, Tower Bridge and the illuminated London eye. It makes me wonder if the England Tourist Board financed this video.
Nicole Scherzinger recently premiered the music video for her song “Try with Me”. The dance-ballad, which was written and produced by The Nervo Twins, serves as the official lead single from the pop singer’s upcoming European re-release of her debut album “Killer Love”. Nicole shines on this song and with the proper promo, can be a massive single for her. As for the visual, it was shot earlier this month in a lost rainforest in Mexico, and sees the beautiful singer wandering through the breathtaking sites, playing the piano in a lake, spinning around in ecstasy and executing glamorous poses in the wild.
Prepare your eyes for some ginger overload. It was recently confirmed that for his next music video for the song “Lego House”, Ed Sheeran will be working with “Harry Potter” actor Rupert Grint. Both of the guys are reportedly excited to work together, with Ed teasing that half of the video has already been shot so there won’t be too long of a wait for it. Rupert added in a separate interview “Ed Sheeran supports the gingers! We’ll be doing something in the video. I don’t think I can say too much about it, but it’s going to be very cool.”
Cher Lloyd has recently premiered the music video for her brand new single “With UR Love”. The Mike Posner-assisted track will officially be released in the UK on October 30th. The question now is if the pop singer can get her second UK #1 in a row. The week of her release will be a tough one though as she will be up against Jennifer Lopez, Sean Paul, Avril Lavigne, Beyonce and The Wanted’s new releases. As for the video, I think it’s adorable. Cher looks beautiful and the clip gives the song even more life. But I still think Cher sounds weird on it.
The Rock in Rio festival has returned to Brazil after 10 years and to kick things off in a big way, organizers packed the first day with top international stars. One of the artists who was tasked to set the tone for the rest of the festival for the100,000 people gathered at Rio de Janeiro was Katy Perry. The pop singer performed an energetic set that revised the hit singles from her two studio albums including “California Gurls”, “Firework”, “Thinking of You”, “Hot N Cold” and more. Katy live in concert is always a sight to see and she didn’t disappoint at the music festival.
Katy Perry – California Gurls – Performance Video
Katy Perry – Firework – Performance Video
Katy Perry – TGIF – Performance Video
Katy Perry – Hot N Cold – Performance Video
Katy Perry – Thinking of You – Performance Video
Katy Perry – Waking Up in Vegas – Performance Video
Katy Perry – Peacock – Performance Video
Katy Perry – ET – Performance Video
Justin Bieber has brought back his rapper alter ego Shawty Mane for this fresh remix of Lil Wayne’s latest smash hit “How to Love”. The teen pop singer kept the entirety of the original lyrics and even added a whole new rap verse. He definitely shows off his talent on the sweet acoustic number from “Tha Carter IV”. A couple of demos of Justin as Shawty Mane have leaked recently and is making me think that a rap album or mix tape might be in the works. I think he’ll do it one day. He obviously likes that type of music.
English indie rock band Florence + The Machine have recently premiered the music video for their latest single “Shake It Out” via VEVO. The beautiful Paul Epworth-produced art-rock track serves as the lead single from the band’s upcoming album “Ceremonials”, which will be released on October 28th. As for the video, it’s stunning. Lead singer Florence Welch is absolutely captivating in it. I actually keep pausing every time that the camera zooms in on just her, never mind the chaos of everything else. It’s a very beautiful video for a very beautiful song. What did you think about the new video?
Aqua is back on the scene but the legendary Danish-Norwegian pop band is toning things down a bit in the new single release from their new album “Megalomania”, which will hit stores in select markets across Europe on October 3rd. They had some fun with the first single “How R U Doing?” but the Lene Nystrom-led band has decided to slow the tempo down a little for the follow up “Playmate to Jesus”. Aqua recently premiered the music video for the song on their YouTube page. Lene looks stunning in the visual but I’m not entirely sure about the goth vibe. And thanks to this video, I just noticed that the band actually sampled some of Kanye West.
Kelly Clarkson gave the first TV performance of her new single “Mr. Know It All” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this past Tuesday. I think the pop singer is back in the US just in time to promote her single because the song is losing places like that on iTunes. While the song is still doing great on radios, I hope that once the music video comes in and she continues her TV run, that “Mr. Know It All” will make its way back up the charts. As for her performance on Leno, Kelly absolutely killed it! Her vocals were hot and she looked stunning in that little number.
Jennifer Lopez recently appeared on Good Morning America to world premiere the music video for her new single “Papi”. JLo didn’t attend the show in person but a video of her was displayed at one of the jumbotrons at New York City’s Times Square, from where the ABC morning show was being broadcasted live. The pop singer introduced the clip and just as I was dreading, the Fiat 500 commercial, plus some extra footage, was indeed what made up the official video. I am so disappointed. The song is killer and the clip just doesn’t embody anything about the song. I was expecting so much more.
Check out the full version of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s cover of “The Lady is a Tramp”, a classic jazz song that dates from 1937. The music icon and the pop singer have revised the popular song by adding a more contemporary sound, well, at least Lady Gaga did. I love their version. Who knew that her voice was actually suited for this genre? The track can be found on Tony’s upcoming album “Duets II”, which is due out on September 20th. Tony also has collaborations with Mariah Carey, Carrie Underwood, Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones and others on the CD.
Released on what would have been her 28th birthday, you can now watch the full music video for Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse’s collaboration “Body & Soul”. The cover of the classic song is included on Tony’s upcoming album “Duets II”, which is out on September 20th. The video sees the music icon and the late singer in the studio performing the song. It’s very touching. This just makes my heart ache even more that a talent like Amy is gone so soon. But this also shows that her music will last forever. My hat’s off to Tony for the nice gesture of releasing this on September 14th, Amy’s birthday. The single is now available on iTunes.
Frankmusik recently premiered the music video for his song “No ID”. The catchy pop track serves as the official single from the British singer’s album “Do It in the AM”, which is set for release on September 26th/27th in the UK and US respectively. I hope this song helps save him from a flop because his first single was just a poor choice. As for the video, Frankmusik takes a lot of inspiration from the classic movie “Grease”. The concept was actually pretty cool and totally fit his looks. I enjoyed every second of the clip. What do you think?
Skylar Grey recently premiered the music video for her song “Invisible” via VEVO. The track is the official lead single from the singer/songwriter’s debut album “Invinsible”, set for release in January 2012. In the clip, we see Skylar wandering through a huge city, singing from the heights, walking with random people, risking her life by crossing heavy traffic and catching on fire. I really like the visual. I think it goes well with the song’s story and mood. Sadly, I don’t really think that a clip this great can save a single that’s likely to flop. Her label should have convinced her to release something that was more in line with her collaborative work as her first single.
It looks like things are going good for Joe Jonas. Not only has he set off with a solo music career but he’s also going to get a chance to be a real Hollywood movie star. If anyone knows anything about Hollywood, you can work on a film all you want but if you don’t have financing, you have a problem. That’s apparently been the struggle Joe was facing for a while but good news came recently. The pop singer said “I was in Mexico City last week and my manager called me and said, ‘The movie’s financed!’ I was, like, in tears. [It's about a] young man who is finding himself. The storyline is still bare bones, but I will say he has a specific dream that he wants to accomplish, and it’s the good and the bad he has to go through to get there. It’s going to be an older-feeling kind of movie. It’s a little bit of everything. One of my favorite movies is The Four Feathers, and that has everything. It has funny, romantic, passionate. I want to do something like that.”
Chaz Bono’s decision to join Dancing with the Stars has come under attack. And just like the great mom that she is, Cher protected her son from all the insults. The music icon took to her Twitter saying “Lovelies! Chaz is Being Viciously Attacked on Blogs & Message boards about being on DWTS! This is Still America right? It took guts 2 do it. I support him no matter what he chooses 2do! God! will here always be haters! It took COURAGE 2 do dwts! TG Chaz has Unlimited supply. Can u guys check out sites & give him your support ? BTW …Mothers don’t stop Getting angry with stupid bigots who fk with their children! Bet VAST MAJORITY of People will LOVE CHAZ on DWTS ! & it’s took Fkg Guts 2! Chaz isn’t exactly the “Gotta Dance Gotta Dance” kinda Guy.” Chaz later showed his appreciation by tweeting “Thanks for all your support mom. The haters are just motivating me to work harder and stay on DWTS as long as I possibly can. I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of support I received from everyone. Thanks so much. I don’t listen to the haters, but embrace the love.”
Christina Milian is making a comeback. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be in music but on TV. ABC Family is developing a new show called “Maid in Miami” with the music producer of “Glee” and the “Rita Rocks” producing duo. With Adam Anders, Stan Zimmerman and James Berg, the show could have some talented potential. It would center in on Christina’s character as she dreams of becoming a singer while she dusts for a living. It all sounds so familiar but I just can’t put my finger on it. I’ll reserve further judgment once I see the pilot. But with the names attached to production, I have high hopes.
MTV News caught up with Britney Spears for a little interview where they asked the money question of whether or not the pop singer will be releasing a new single. In typical Britney fashion, she candidly spilled the beans that there is going to be a fourth single from the “Femme Fatale” album and it will be “Criminal”. The mid tempo track will be the follow up to “I Wanna Go”. I like the choice. After 3 up tempo singles, it should be nice to get something to slow things down a bit. Expect the new single to drop on radios soon. Britney also said that she already has an idea in mind for the music video. I can’t wait to see that. z
Lil Wayne teams up with R&B/pop singer Bruno Mars in a track called “Mirror”. The song is a bonus track included on the deluxe version of the rapper’s latest album “Tha Carter IV”. This thing came out of nowhere! If you didn’t have enough reasons to buy this album, now you do. “Mirror” is an absolute smash, in my opinion. And if Lil Wayne is smart, he’ll release this as a single ASAP. Bruno is a pretty hot thing in the music industry and everybody just loves the guy. Featuring him on a track is a guarantee that radios will eat this up.
Lil Wayne featuring Bruno Mars – Mirror – New Song
Leona Lewis has recently premiered the music video for her new single “Collide”. The pop singer is seen belting out her song with soaring diva vocals from the sandy shore of a Malibu beach, moving along with the uplifting beat while seated in a convertible and enjoying a fireworks display at night. I’m not that crazy about this video. Leona looks beautiful in it and it’s obvious that the camera loves her but it’s just too boring. And considering what the song’s lyrics are about, the whole concept is just so wrong. I honestly don’t expect this to help her single any.
Leona Lewis – Collide – New Video
Avicii has taken the lead and premiered the music video for “Fade into Darkness” before Leona Lewis releases her “Collide” video. If you don’t know the story, the Swedish DJ produced a club instrumental named “Penguin”, which Leona allegedly used a sample of for her new single without Avicii’s permission. They had a legal dispute but settled in the end. Now, Leona’s single cover for “Collide” features Avicii’s name, so that must have been one of the terms they agreed upon. Anyway, Avicii has now premiered the video for his original version of “Penguin”, now renamed “Fade into Darkness” for the vocal edit, that features Danish singer Andreas Moe. There’s almost no difference between Avicii and Leona’s version other than him adding more club bass beats and of course the lyrics. As for the visual, I don’t quite get the plot. Someone please explain it to me.
Avicii – Fade into Darkness – New Video
If you feel like it’s been years since Taio Cruz released any new music, you’re in luck. After slaying the charts worldwide with the undying “Dynamite”, the British R&B singer is about to kick off a new era. His third studio album called “Troublemaker” will hit stores later this year. The record will be preceded by the first single, also called “Troublemaker”, which should hit radio and iTunes pretty soon. I’m thinking that it may be for early September. The music video for the song was reportedly shot earlier this summer so we may end up seeing a double release. Taio also recently revealed the official artwork for the single. Check it out.
Lady Gaga has recently premiered the official music video for her latest single “You and I”. The Robert “Mutt” Lange-produced ballad becomes the fourth single from the princess of pop’s highly successful album “Born This Way”. The 25-year old singer took to her Twitter just as the video debuted, saying “You will never find what you are looking for in love, if you don’t love yourself.” Check it out! It is a visual extravaganza! While I don’t quite get the concept of it, it’s an enjoyable watch. I loved the presence of Lady Gaga’s male alter ego in the video too.
Lady Gaga – You and I – New Video
J Cole has finally premiered the music video for his single “Work Out”. The track is the official lead single from the Roc Nation rapper’s debut album “Cole World: The Sideline Story”, which is set to hit US stores on September 27. The video was shot in Los Angeles back in June but it seems that the Germany-born artist didn’t like the first edit because he went to re-shoot some scenes in New York City. The video is pretty cool. It sees J Cole on a basketball court playing a game when he spots a fine lady, they flirt and they bond and they have a great night at a club. It’s nothing groundbreaking but it served its purpose well enough.
J Cole – Work Out – New Video
Wiz Khalifa has recently premiered the music video for his song “No Sleep”. The track serves as the official fourth single from the rapper’s major label debut album “Rolling Papers”. Now I just want him to confirm a date for radio release in the US and kick off a TV promo. They should have given this the single treatment months ago when it went to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it was released as a digital-only single. But whatever, we have it now. As for the recently premiered video, it sees Wiz waking up and reminiscing the crazy night he had, which was full of partying with his friend and girlfriend Amber Rose.
Wiz Khalifa – No Sleep – New Video
Cee-Lo Green recently premiered the music video for his latest song “Cry Baby”. If you’ve already seen the video and are wondering where the hip hop singer is, he’s really not there. Cee-Lo even joked about his absence from the video on his Twitter, saying “I had no idea they shot a video for cry baby. I hear it’s cool though.” Jaleel White, who’s best known for his role as Steve Urkel in “Family Matters”, actually takes on the role of Cee-Lo and gets his groove on with a group of ladies in the video. Cee-Lo was right – it is pretty cool.
Cee-Lo Green – Cry Baby – New Video
X Factor-formed boy band One Direction have chosen the track “What Makes You Beautiful” as their official debut single. The song was produced by Savan Kotecha, and written by Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub, who worked with Britney Spears on her hit “Baby One More Time”. I like this song. It’s catchy and has a huge potential to be a hit in the UK. I’m so glad that One Direction decided to go for a pop/rock sound. I think it suits them well and it will be something refreshing in nowadays’ music scene. “What Makes You Beautiful” is set to be released on September 12th.
One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful – New Song
