(Photo courtesy:  Essence)

Put simply:  Ciara is winning.

The Grammy winning stageblazer is on the up-and-up after a troublesome spell in both her professional and personal life seemed quickly headed in the opposite direction.  The glow of her winning streak can be seen in her recent spread for Essence magazine’s May 2016 issue, as seen here.

Yet, while Cici left few topics untouched with the spread’s accompanying feature story (see:  ex Future, motherhood, and engagement to Seahawks star Russell Wilson), the most jaw dropping aspect of her time with Essence may come from its stunning accompanying photos.

Colorful, vibrant, and soaked in Spring time, see some highlights of the shoot via a gorgeous behind-the-scenes feature below:

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Chris Brown‘s romance with the U.K’s charts continues to blossom.

Undisturbed by the fact he has been prohibited to enter the country, the entertainer will be elated to learn that his single ‘Ayo’ has sold over 600,000 units there and has now been certified platinum because of it.

Currently on course to drop the following up to his latest album ‘Royalty’ the star’s unstoppable success on the Official Singles Charts is yet to be mirrored on the Official Albums Chart but has also seen him pick a silver certification for his Deorro-backed bop ‘Five More Hours.’

More below…

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Success continues to run through the bloodstream of Janet Jackson‘s career.

How and why?

Good news below…

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Maxwell is wasting no time rolling out his comeback campaign.

Fresh from releasing new single ‘Lake By The Ocean,’ the crooner announced the July 1st release date for its housing album ‘blackSUMMERS’night.’

A staple on the live circuit, the 42 year-old today unwrapped dates for the LP’s supporting US trek – aptly titled the ‘SUMMERS’ Tour.’

Wonder when the the butter-smooth singer will be sailing into a city near you?

The answer awaits after the jump…

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Could the music business be any stranger?

Rihanna rolled out what many have deemed her most unintelligible single yet in the form of ‘Work.’ But in an add turn of events, not only is it besting previous releases – it’s on-course to become one of her most successful releases on the US charts…ever.

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It’s that time of year!

The Billboard Music Awards are back for its 2016 instalment and today the much anticipated nominees were revealed.

Hosts Ciara and Ludacris were on-hand for the partial announcement today on Good Morning America.

In the time since, the full list of finalists for the May 22nd ceremony (which airs live on ABC from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas) has surfaced.

See who’s up for what after the jump. We imagine some choices will have you scratching your head…

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Chris Brown‘s latest hit ‘Back To Sleep’ remains alive and kicking at Urban radio.

Beyond being a bonafide blazer, it’s managed to do so by way of a series of remixes which feature a who’s who of male R&B stars.

The latest, the third thus far, is billed as the “legends” mix and sees C. Breezy invite R. Kelly, Tank, and Anthony Hamilton to bless the track with verses each.

How did theirs fair compared to previous efforts?

Listen below and let us know…

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‘Heartless’ hitmaker Kanye West has seen his latest opus, ‘The Life of Pablo,’ get a new heartbeat last week after gaining its long-awaited wide release.

The Grammy winning rapper may have initially protested against the idea, but after some strong encouragement from talent manager extraordinaire, Scooter Braun, West opened up to a more commercial roll out of his latest project – to much fanfare.

After weeks of availability being limited to Tidal stream and his official web site, granted access to Spotify, Pandora, and other streaming services has seen ‘Pablo’ pop right to the top of the Billboard 200 as the first album in history to reign based on streaming ‘sales’ alone (as reported here).

After weeks of illegal streaming that have reportedly passed the 500,000 mark, see its final official first week numbers below:

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Comprised of two of Urban music’s brighest gems, rapper Big Sean and songstress Jhene Aiko, hip hop group Twenty88 dropped a bombshell on April Fools day when they released their debut project (with very little warning).

Sending fans into swift frenzy, news of the project was greeted with high anticipation.  However, some of that excitement may have cooled once word got out it was only available via Tidal for the first three days of its availability.  Leading into a first week sales projection of 35,000-40,000 units moved, fans of the duo were sure those numbers would rise once it was granted “wide-release status” on April 4th.

Fortunately, rise they did.  Unfortunately, not by much:

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With just a month to go before it hits the streets, it seems our girl Ariana Grande is hot on the promo trail for her third album ‘Dangerous Woman.’

Taking to the Kevin Hart and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson-hosted MTV Movie Awards this weekend, the powerhouse delivered yet another rousing rendition of the set’s title track, currently sitting at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Drawing inspiration from movie icon Marilyn Monroe, her most recent showing be just the bid needed to return it to its former top 10 glory?  Tuck in below and tell us:

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While some may challenge the authenticity of her selectively Southern accent, one thing time has certainly proven is that when it comes to drama, Iggy Azalea does not mind keeping it real.

From her own beefs with fellow entertainers to coming to the aid of her fiance, Lakers’ Nick Young, during the time of his sexual harassment allegations, Azalea does not mince words when it comes to her opinion on these matters.

Likewise, when quizzed on the recent ‘cheating scandal’ Young was embroiled in, the ‘Fancy‘ rapstress didn’t exactly have a fancy response on the topic.  Hear her response to the ‘bro code’ video that landed her boo in hot water:

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Madea wants you to know she’s in formation!

Over the weekend at the Milwaukee Theatre in Milwaukee, WI, Tyler Perry’s iconic character gave a surprising performance on Beyonce’s stealth single “Formation” over the weekend during the Madea On the Run showing.

Curious? Catch Mable getting life below.

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