Last night, the legendary Clive Davis hosted a listening session for Whitney Houston’s new album I Look To You, which is in stores September 1st. Held at Jazz @ Lincoln Center in New York City, the event was packed with stars like Martha Stewart, Gayle King, Dionne Warrick, Alicia Keys (in the house with Swizz Beats!) LA Reid, Andre Harrell, Diane Sawyer, BET’s own Debra Lee and Stephen Hill – and the iconic Whitney Houston, who was absolutely stunning. She looked happy, grateful and beautiful. When Whitney hit the stage for a small speech the person next to me said,”That’s m*thaf**kin’ Whitney Houston!“ The diva received a standing ovation from a crowd (and the world!) who has been waiting for the return of the original pop-soul diva.

I was lucky enough to attend and here is a preview of the seven new tracks that were played (two leaked tracks were played, “Like I Never Left” featuring Akon and “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength” written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster). I wasn’t able to catch every producer’s name or the exact lyrics so the credits are subject to change. Note: Clive Davis did stress the songs were still being polished.

1. “Million Dollar Bill” (written and produced by Alicia Keys and Swizz Beats)

An up-tempo, joyful track about love and probably one of the funkiest songs Whitney has ever done. “Million Dollar Bill” has an amazing bass line and almost recalls early Michael Jackson in Off The Wall. The catchy hook, “You make me feel like a million dollar bill.” Her vocal is strong with some power notes toward the end. The song has an Alicia Keys sound but fits for Whit — it’s current without making her seem like she is trying to compete with teenagers. The song received a standing ovation.

2. “Nothin’ But Love” (produced by Danja)

Whitney’s shout out to those who her love her and those who hate on her, she’s got “Nothin’ But Love” for all of them. Completely up-tempo and definitely an R&B club track that has the potential of sounding even hotter with a remix. The vocal stays around her lower register and, again, holds some classic Nippy notes at the end.

3. “Call You Tonight” (produced by Stargate)

Fun, mature and a song everyone can relate to. Heavily produced and while it can be tough to adjust to a pure vocalist like Whitney sing to a production heavy song, the mid-tempo track works for this album. “Call You Tonight” sounds like one of the better tracks from Just Whitney. Some lyrics include, “Destiny, I believe in it” and “I wish I could stay but I got to go, I’ll call you tonight.”

4. “Salute” (written and produced by R. Kelly)

Whitney is saying goodbye to a lover who has done her wrong, but she is letting go with no anger and confidently sings, “I salute you.” Could she be channeling Bobby Brown? The song is strictly R&B and almost sounds similar to “Heartbreak Hotel” from the My Love Is Your Love album. More instruments than production with keys and a strong vocal from Whitney. One line, “You think you know everything, you think your sh*t don’t stink.”

5. “I Look To You” – R. Kelly

Say what you want about R. Kelly but the man can still make a good R&B song. “I Look To You” is the title track and my favorite song so far. Beautiful lyrics like, “As I lay me down, heaven hear me now.” Her voice is deeply powerful, channeling classic Whitney with a pop sense but an R&B vocal. This song proves that she has not lost her voice and it’s definitely a melody I cannot wait to hear live. Whitney clearly feels every line and chord, charging through the ballad, transcending her own experience and reaching others who have been through adversity. Whitney has been criticized for not being emotional enough in her music — this track knocks out that complaint. From where I could see, Bobbi Kristina, Whitney’s daughter, was getting emotional during the song.

6. “Worth It” (R. Kelly)

“This song is for the lovers…” is one of the lines. Youthful and radio friendly, another R&B track. Nothing much to add about this one, enjoyable to listen to and had folks in the audience bobbing their head — I think I even saw a few head nods from Martha Stewart!

7. “A Song For You” (produced by Stargate)

Popularized by Donny Hathaway, “A Song For You” is a new spin on the Leon Russell classic. The beginning starts slow and the crowd gasped when they realized what song she was singing. Whitney sounded incredible, nearly haunting and before you knew it the song turns into a club banger! Mr. Davis explained the song was recorded just the night before. Definitely one for those who loves Whitney’s club tracks.

Overall, the nine tracks that were played received a good response. The album definitely has the potential to be a hit. For Whitney, there is no such thing as a “comeback” — icons “don’t call it a comeback” then just jump back in the game whenever they are ready. One thing I do know is no one should expect 1985 Whitney. Artists evolve and it’s limiting when we trap performers in a particular box or era. The best piece about the tracks is that Whit has some grit to her voice, her vocals are still strong but she doesn’t mind getting a bit nasty with it. While the album isn’t finished, I believe folks will be pleasantly surprised.

PS. Clive Davis is 77 years-old and stood on that stage for nearly an hour, introducing Whitney, telling stories, making jokes and setting up each song! This is a man from the old school and knows how to work a project! Gotta give respect to Professor Davis! {Source}

Filed Under: Chris Brown, Jay Z, The Game

Many of you will not have heard of Se7en, hell I hadn’t until a few moments ago LOL. The 24 year old old Korean star is set to launch an assault on the US charts with the Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins produced ‘Them Girls’, which features Lil’ Kim.

I was pleasantly surprised when hearing this; the beat goes hard and Se7en does his thing on the track that is unashamedly targeted at the US audience. It’ll be interesting to see how this project pans out…

The RAGE directed video for ‘Them Girls’ is set to be shot in Los Angeles on December 8th, and will feature cameos by Darkchild and Lil’ Kim.

Hit or Miss?

Filed Under: The Game

During a recent interview with Billboard, Pop superstar Janet Jackson addressed a number of things including her current status with Def Jam, what to expect from her ‘Rock Witchu Tour’ and more. Check out excerpts from the interview below:

I can’t say if we’ll be working with them in the future,” Jackson said today (Sept. 4) during a conference call with reporters to promote her upcoming Rock Witchu Tour. “I don’t know what the future holds between the two of us.”

On Her Tour:

“It’s two hours of dance” she says. “This show is all for the fans,” Jackson told Billboard.com during the call. “They tell me what they’d like to hear, what they’d like to see, what they want. And this is what I’m trying to give them.”

Future Plans:

“We’ve been talking about something for TV, also a DVD,” she confirmed, the latter of which may include “past stuff I’ve done that wasn’t previously released,” including possibly a Japanese TV performance that was filmed in High Definition during the Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour in 1990. “Just a nice package for the fans,” Jackson explained. “They’ve been asking for it for so long, and they truly deserve it.”

Jackson said that she “definitely” intends to keep the Rock Witchu Tour going beyond its current Oct. 22 wrap in Dallas, with more U.S. dates and legs that are currently being discussed for Europe, Asia, Australia, Russia and “some parts of the Middle East. It hasn’t been etched in stone. It’s still being put together. People will hear about it in a little while.”

Despite the ’situation’ with Def Jam not being an ideal one, it’s good to see Janet being so frank about the matter…not sugar-coating anything. Anyway…roll on next week, I’m really anticipating seeing the unveiling of her much anticipated show.

Your thoughts?

Filed Under: Solange, The Game

Teairra Marí recently spoke to KING magazine about former label-mate Rihanna’s comments about her last year. Check out an excerpt from Marí’s feature below:

Teairra took offense to some comments Rihanna made to Atlanta’s Peach magazine regarding her dismissal from the Roc. Rihanna said, “You have to be good to people. I could very easily say its all karma…”

“They asked her how she felt playing second fiddle to me, which I never felt [she was]. She had the number-one song in the country on Hot 100; I didn’t, so she couldn’t be playing second fiddle to me. When I heard that I was upset, like, ‘Why would she ever go there? Keep my name out your mouth, sweetie.” {Source}

Ouch. I can’t say I disagree with her…

Your thoughts?

Filed Under: The Game

Some 6 months after ‘Damaged’ dropped, Danity Kane finally premiered the video for their second single ‘Bad Girl’ on FN’MTV just a few moments ago. Undeniably, the ladies’ biggest budget effort to date, the video is their best IMO. That said, something still feels kinda lacking with this one…not sure what it is, but it’s something. Anyway, feature artist Missy Elliott as well as Day26’s Qwanell make cameos.

What do you think of the video?

Filed Under: The Game

Amid all the talk about music no longer selling, rapper Lil’ Wayne’s much anticipated LP ‘Tha Carter III’ looks set to break the first week sales records of this year – as well as that of the last few years also:

“The excessive leaks and bootlegging of Lil Wayne’s new album haven’t prevented it from being a hot seller: The rapper’s “Tha Carter III” sold 423,000 copies in its first day of release, according to Billboard magazine. With such sales, Lil Wayne is on pace to sell about 900,000 copies of the CD in its first week and post the best sales debut of the year”. {Source}

That really is an amazing feat. It goes to show that Wayne’s undeniable presence in the industry, most especially within the last few years, is not going unrewarded.

Any thoughts?

Filed Under: Keyshia Cole, The Game

Mary nailed it! The band definitely add an extra element to the track and it helps that Mary was on her ‘A Game’ vocally too. ‘Stay Down’ is hands-down my favourite Mary track since ‘Be Without You’, so it’s great to see the song get the single/performance treatment.

What do you think of the performance?

Filed Under: Keyshia Cole, The Game

Renown songwriter Sean Garrett (Destiny’s Child, Usher, Ciara etc) is set to release his debut album ‘Turbo 919′ this summer. The video for the LP’s first single ‘Grippin’ On This Bed’, featuring Ludacris, made its debut yesterday. While the song’s infectious hook has made me like it all the more, the video is kinda ‘blah’ IMO. It’ll be interesting to see if Sean’s record garners more attention than the producer/songwriters -turned artists before him.

What do you think of the song / video?

Filed Under: The Game

The finale for the current season of Making The Band 4 took place yesterday in New York. Hosted by veteran MTV VJ Sway, the night saw performances by the show’s stars Danity Kane, Day26 etc, as well as an appearance by Diddy’s twins D’Lila Star and Jessie James. US visitors can catch the finale on MTV tonight at 9:00PM ET/PT.

Filed Under: The Game

The ex-girlfriend of singer/producer Mario Winans is claiming that he hasn’t paid child support for their son:

Janel Bennett, who was in an eight-year relationship with Winans before she had her son, Jordan, claims she was evicted from her home in Miami because Winans won’t pay child support. She states she is “homeless and living with friends on the South Side of Chicago,” where she works as a cocktail waitress. A DNA test shows a ‘99.99 percent probability’ that Winans is the biological parent. Mario Winans is obligated to pay Janel Bennett $4,500 per month due on the first of each month as child support. Bennett says, “He hasn’t paid me. I just wanted support, and I was on disability and Medicaid and welfare just to have the baby. His current girlfriend, Joy — the mother of his toddler daughter, Sklyar — is known publicly as his “wife.” Bennett said, “Joy lives in a 16-bedroom mansion and her daughter wears mink coats and Seven jeans, and my son doesn’t have boots to wear in the winter.”

She claims Winans has only seen Jordan once, and “doesn’t send Christmas cards, doesn’t send him birthday cards, nothing.” Bennett said that for a while, Winans was sending her some money, but “he stopped paying last year . . . by the end of August 2007, I lost the house and moved to Chicago . . . I just want him to do right by Jordan . . . It would be so simple for him to call me so we could work something out.” {Source}

Not a good look, not a good look at all.

Any thoughts?

Filed Under: The Game

She nailed it; her vocals are in the best shape I’ve ever heard them in. This actually has me geared up for her sophomore effort, as her improved vocal ability should obviously reflect on the new CD. Good stuff.

What do you think of the performance?

Filed Under: The Game

Wendy’s interview with the boys from Making The Band 4 was posted earlier, however the famed shock-jock also interviewed the ladies of Danity Kane.

Filed Under: The Game

The new season of MTV’s Making The Band is set to start next week Monday (January 28th). Meanwhile, new music from the still-nameless group that were formed last season has surfaced.

Filed Under: The Game