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.
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?
Kevin McCall and Chris Brown just love working together. The two R&B singers have made some hot records together. They managed to score a top 20 US hit with “Deuces” so it shouldn’t be a surprise to find out that they were putting out a new collaboration to continue with the winning streak. A new track called “Hard to Get” appears on the recently released deluxe edition of Kevin’s latest mix tape “The Eargazm”. In my opinion, this might be the end of their streak. The song just sounds okay to me. I don’t like that it sounds so pop when I was looking forward to a hot R&B track.
Leona Lewis has recently unveiled the official artwork for her upcoming album “Glassheart”. The pop singer’s third studio effort will hit stores in the UK on November 28th. I guess she’s keeping “Glass Heart” written as one word. I’m not sure what to think of that. Anyway, the actual album cover features a pretty photo of Leona. There’s no denying that her face is simply stunning but with all the possibilities with the words, they could have done so much better with the cover. It’s very safe in my opinion. Where’s the creativity and originality? In other news, Leona recently had an interview with UK radio show “IN: DEMAND with Alex and Lucy” earlier this week where she confirmed that she will be performing on the US X Factor.
Natalia Kills celebrated the US release of her debut album “Perfectionist” last week with an intimate acoustic performance atop the roof of the Atlas Hotel in New York City. The British singer/songwriter sang her heart out! Natalia slays everyone with her songs “Free”, her new US singler, “Wonderland”, my favorite in her whole album”, and “Love is a Suicide”. She wore an elegant outfit for the occasion and I think she delivered one of her best live shows to date. I loved the theatrics too! Grab her album now, and catch her on her current US club tour and on select dates of Katy Perry’s current California Dreams tour.
Natalia Kills – Free – Performance Video
Natalia Kills – Wonderland – Performance Video
Natalia Kills – Love is a Suicide – Performance 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
Rihanna kicked off her “Loud” world tour this past Saturday in Baltimore, Maryland. Among her exciting and lengthy set list, the R&B singer performed her brand new and controversial single “Man Down”. After the premiere of the music video for the song, the US Parents Television Council immediately went out to accuse Rihanna that the video was “an apparent enticement to young women to turn to violence”. She has since addressed the issue on BET’s 106 & Park and on Twitter. And to shut it all out, Rihanna did a killer performance of “Man Down” during her concert. Work it!
Rihanna – Man Down – Performance Video
Kelly Clarkson made her triumphant return to American Idol last night when she performed a duet with Jason Aldean. The pop star and the country singer delivered a fantastic rendition of their single “Don’t You Wanna Stay”, the second single from Jason’s fourth album “My Kinda Party”. The song has garnered huge success in the US and I’m sure it will gain even more steam after that performance. It was top notch. Jason did his thing but Kelly definitely stole the show with her beautiful vocals. It just made me want for her next album to come sooner. I hope the Idols took notes from her last night. Kelly is definitely a pro!
Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean – Don’t You Wanna Stay – American Idol Performance Video
Also Some more performances from the American Idol Top 8 Results Show
Rihanna : California King Bed : American Idol Live Performance
Scotty McCreery & Lauren Alaina : American Honey : American Idol Top 8 Results Show
Casey Abrams & Haley Reinhart : Moanin’ : American Idol Top 8 Results Show
Sound Of Silence / Mrs. Robinson : Stefano, Jacob, Paul, James : American Idol Top 8 Results Show
Elimination of Paul McDonald w/ Final Song – American Idol Top 8 Results Show – 04/14/11
The Foo Fighters were the music guests on this past weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live, which saw Oscar award winning actress Helen Mirren as host. The American rock band took the stage to perform some tracks from their album “Wasting Light”, namely the lead single “Rope” and “Walk”. It was a solid effort and it looks like their appearance on SNL has paid off as their album has since gotten back in the top 10 on the US iTunes. I’ve always been a fan of the Foo Fighters so I’m really happy that they’re garnering success for their current record.
Foo Fighters – Rope – SNL Performance Video
Foo Fighters – Walk – SNL Performance Video
Here’s another bonus track from Chris Brown’s latest album “FAME”. The Timbaland-produced “Talk Ya Ear Off” is an exclusive on the Japanese edition of the R&B singer’s fourth studio album, which was released two weeks later than other countries, earlier this week. I have yet to come across a Timbaland production that I didn’t like or grow to like. This is one hot production. Grab your headphones and bop along. However, I do think Chris’ voice sounds a bit funny in this one. In any case, it’s an overall good track. I actually think it should have made the US cut.
Chris Brown – Talk Ya Ear Off – New Song
After the shutdown of the popular P2P music/file sharing program Limewire, the NPD Group is reporting that there’s a drop in overall piracy. Here are some details: “File sharing activity fell from 12% of U.S. Internet users in the third quarter of last year-the last quarter the service was active-to 9% in the fourth quarter after the service was shut down. NPD estimates that’s 12 million more people downloading music illegally then there are today. In that same time, NPD says the average number of music files downloaded from P2P services fell from 35 tracks per user to 18.” Limewire had been around for so long that its shut down has had a huge effect.
Rihanna’s tour may not be doing so well in the US but she’s doing great in the UK. It has just been announced that the R&B singer will play a ninth concert at the O2 Arena in London , scheduled for December 22. The tickets have gone on sale today so make sure you snatch them up. If her ticket sales for the UK are anything to go by, they’re going to get sold out pretty quickly. If you’re one to keep count, Rihanna has now beat out pop star Britney Spears who managed to do eight shows at the O2 on her Circus tour.
Kat Deluna has recently premiered the music video for “Dancing Tonight”. The song is the new single from the singer’s “Inside Out” album and the song she has chosen to try and crack the US market again. As you may know, Kat released her album only in certain European countries last year. “Dancing Tonight” will be released this week on US iTunes. The video is out now and expect the her “Inside Out” CD to hit stores some time this Summer. I like the song but I don’t think it’s strong enough to be given the single treatment. The video was pretty cute though.
Kat Deluna – Dancing Tonight – New Video
My Chemical Romance have chosen the amazing “Planetary (Go!)” as the third official single to come off of their latest album “Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys”. The new single will be released in the UK and US next week. For that reason, the rock band has recently premiered the music video for the song. It’s disappointing though. I love the song like no other but I hate when live performances are turned into music videos. Compared to their previous videos from this era, this new one just leaves much to be desired. But I still hope that the new single would get a high spot on the charts.
My Chemical Romance – Planetary (Go!) – New Video
Jennifer Lopez recently gave Ryan Seacrest the go signal to premiere her new single “On the Floor”. As announced, this is the final version of the RedOne-produced track and I’m glad to say that it’s so much better than the leaked demo. There’s more of JLo in the intro and rapper Pitbull’s minute long verse was divided into two parts, one at the beginning and another to close the song. The beat is also neater along with some improvement on the pop singer’s vocals. Overall, this version sounds and feels hotter. Now that the song is on US radio, I wonder how long it will take for her to perform it on American Idol.
Jennifer Lopez – On the Floor – New Song
Rising star Jessie J has recently premiered the music video for her song “Price Tag”. It’s the singer’s second UK single and first US single to come off of her upcoming debut album “Who You Are”, which is due out on March 28th in the UK and April 12th in the US. The single features Atlanta rapper BoB. I love the lyrics and the vibe of the song and hoping that it would be a hit of Jessie J. As for the video, it’s simple, colorful and manages to grab the song’s essence. In other Jessie J news, she has confirmed a new tour in the UK and Ireland in Spring 2011, where she will play 7 shows beginning in Glasgow on March 31 and ending in Belfast on April 9.
Jessie J featuring BoB – Price Tag – New Video
Alexis Jordan has recently premiered the music video for her song “Good Girl”. The track is the second official single taken from her self-titled debut album, which is set to hit the UK shelves on February 28th and US shelves some time in March. The Roc Nation singer’s latest song is already getting several spins at UK clubs. It was smart of her camp to continue with the light dance/house sound. As for the video, it’s good but I feel like Jay-Z could have spent a little bit more cash on it. Alexis looked amazing though and the choreography was cute.
Alexis Jordan – Good Girl – New Video
Electro hip hop duo 3OH!3 have recently premiered the music video for “Touchin’ on My”. The song is the official third single taken from their latest studio LP “Streets of Gold”. The Matt Squire-produced song was released as a digital download back in May 2010, before the album hit stores, in the US. It peaked at number 49 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart back then. The song is now getting the official single treatment and will go for US radio spins in the coming weeks. I expect to see it go up higher in the charts with the support of this music video. The song is fun and I think it’s the strongest track off of their album. As for the video, it’s pure craziness that everyone’s sure to have fun watching.
3OH!3 – Touchin’ on My – Official Music Video
Jay Sean is back with a new single called “Hit the Lights” which features rapper Lil Wayne. The song is a definite club banger. The J-Remy and Bobbygass-produced track will officially be released in the UK on February 8th. Jay’s new studio album “Freeze Time” will hit stores two weeks later on February 22nd. I think this song is going to kill on the radio. The singer’s latest track needs to get to number one because I think it’s miles better than “2012”. But if he’s planning to release this in the US, he better ask for some help with Lil Wayne if he wants to score another number one on Billboard’s Hot 100.
Jay Sean feat. Lil’ Wayne – Hit the Lights – New Song:
Jennifer Lopez recently gave Ryan Seacrest the go signal to premiere her new single “On the Floor”. As announced, this is the final version of the RedOne-produced track and I’m glad to say that it’s so much better than the leaked demo. There’s more of JLo in the intro and rapper Pitbull’s minute long verse was divided into two parts, one at the beginning and another to close the song. The beat is also neater along with some improvement on the pop singer’s vocals. Overall, this version sounds and feels hotter. Now that the song is on US radio, I wonder how long it will take for her to perform it on American Idol.
Jennifer Lopez – On the Floor – New Song
George Michael has reportedly signed on to be a judge on the upcoming US version of the X Factor. A source said George is going to take the job. It’s an amazing opportunity to get back in the limelight and reverse his recent bad spell. Simon [Cowell] knows that Americans love him. He is as big in the US as he is [in the UK]. He is a true star and has the wit and experience for the job. It’s the perfect platform to resurrect his career. Its an odd choice for me but if the singer can behave himself, I think hed be a great addition to the show. George definitely has the personality that audiences would love to watch.
Cheryl Cole is expected to break into American mainstream now that shes allegedly signed a deal to be on the judges panel of the US version of X Factor but the Girls Aloud singer is reportedly concerned that her thick accent will turn off the audience. A source said Cheryl was thrilled to accept the offer, but she is terrified it could all go horribly wrong, and has said: ‘what if nobody likes me?’ She thinks being hated in a country like the US could kill her career overnight. Having elocution lessons is a real prospect for Cheryl now. She’s proud of her roots and doesn’t want to change how she speaks, but she accepts that if the Americans don’t understand her, they will quickly turn on her. Those are silly worries.
X Factor is about to get fierce as it is being reported that Nicole Scherzinger is about to sign at multimillion dollar contract to be a judge on the US version of the show. Sources say that the Pussycat Dolls lead singer will be joining Cheryl Cole who has been discussing this with Cowell for months and is ready to move to LA. That panel of judges is seemingly coming along well. I wonder who else will be joining them. Its certainly going to be interesting to watch how this show would compare to American Idol. I wonder if theres going to be any drama between the judges like there was on the UK version of the show.
A Miami federal judge has permitted Kanye West the option of not attending a mediation session with Suge Knight to resolve the lawsuit filed against him. If you recall, around 5 years ago, someone shot Sugein the leg at Kanyes house during a party. Since the shooter was never identified, Suge is suing the rapper for some big money. Instead of showing up in person, Kanye can just phone into the session from another location due to some long-standing business commitments outside the US. I say just pay Suge the million bucks hes suing for so Kanye can get on with his life.
Nine Inch Nails lead singer Trent Reznor will be scoring David Finchers new movie about Facebook, The Social Network, with frequent collaborator Atticus Ross. The rock star said I’ve always loved David’s work but quite honestly I wondered what would draw him to tell that story. When I actually read the script and realized what he was up to, I said goodbye to that free time I had planned. The film opens October 1 in the U.S. with the record likely available a couple of weeks ahead of that. Given how surprisingly dark the movie trailer is, Im interested in what Trent will come up with.
Christina Aguilera will be going on tour around the world, starting with the US in July to promoter her newest album ?Bionic?, which will come out in June. While I would love to see her hit the stage again I have a bad feeling about this. I think she?s going to have some difficulties filling large venues. Her new song hasn?t exploded on the radio or the iTunes chart yet. And the tour comes very soon after the album?s release that I doubt how much into it people will be. But if she keeps ticket prices reasonable and delivers her hits along with new stuff, then I think the tour could do well.
Although R&B singer Usher?s latest album ?Raymond v. Raymond? took the top spot on the US album charts this week by selling nearly 330,000 copies, Justin Bieber has achieved the near impossible as his sales for his ?My World 2.0? album have actually gone up from last week when it came in at number 1. The young pop singer?s sales were at almost 219,000 this week for the number 2 spot. I wonder how his mentor Usher feels about that. He?s got to be proud of the fact that Justin is doing so well but his ego must be swelling because he can still beat the young ones.
Mariah Carey?s new music hasn?t been doing much good over in the US but can you believe that the singer is actually an epic star in Brazil? The curvaceous singer?s Foreigner cover ?I Want to Know What Love Is?, a song that barely got any airplay in the US, has been on the Brazilian charts for 20 consecutive weeks at the top spot! The song has even received the honor of being the longest chart topping song in the country?s history. That?s absolutely crazy. Congratulations all the same to Mariah Carey. The Brazilians just saved your music career so you better do something good to thank them.
