Though the case against Chris Brown for the alleged assault on Rihanna earlier this year continues to play out in Los Angeles courtrooms, a friend of Brown’s says the singer is doing his best to move forward and concentrate on work.
“Chris is focused,” says songwriter Robert Allen, who is working with Brown on his upcoming album, tentatively titled Graffiti. “He knows how to deal with whatever is going on and is willing to do what he has to do to please his fans.”
To do that, Brown plans to bring a different vibe to his music. “It’s not particularly just R&B,” says Allen, who has worked on songs with Brown in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. “Chris is trying different things and experimenting. We’ve been making things really eclectic. The direction of this album is really fun and free spirited. It’s like a collage.”
Brown, who had been keeping a low profile for about three months, recently broke his silence in a YouTube.com video, in which he declared, “I ain’t a monster.”
“You want to go away so your audience can miss you some,” Allen says of why Brown has laid low. “But he’s so happy and ready for this next album to break through and make a big impact. He wants this to be his masterpiece. He’s predicting this will be his biggest album.” {Source}
I must say, I’m real surprised he’s pressing ahead with a new release so soon. Yes, the industry is fickle but not that fickle. The magnitude of what Chris is actually embroiled in doesn’t quite seem like it’s settled in the minds of Chris or whichever label honcho is actually gonna allow a release during or very near to legal proceedings against him.
A weekend baby shower in downtown Chicago confirmed what has long been rumored: Jennifer Hudson is pregnant.
“It was a baby shower, a quiet gathering of friends and mostly family,” singer/actress Felicia Fields, a longtime Hudson friend, said of Saturday’s get-together in a relative’s home. “They’re really trying to keep it kind of quiet.”
South Side native Hudson, the 27-year-old singing star who won the 2006 best supporting actress Oscar for “Dreamgirls,” is engaged to former reality TV star David Otunga, who’s currently pursuing a pro wrestling career. Hudson has said she no longer would live in Chicago after her mother, Darnell Donerson, brother Jason and nephew Julian King were found murdered in October, with William Balfour, the estranged husband of Jennifer’s sister Julia, charged with the crimes.
Hudson recently finished a co-headlining concert tour with singer Robin Thicke, with an April 25 show at the Arie Crown Theatre. Her manager and publicist previously denied that she is pregnant.
“It was a nice time that we had,” Fields said of the shower. She didn’t want to get into when the baby is due, but speculation is that Hudson is many months along—an impression bolstered by her appearance of late.
As for whether Hudson received blue or pink gifts, Fields said, “They don’t know [the gender]. More yellow.” {Source}
It kinda goes without saying, but many congratulations to Jennifer and David – most especially after the difficult year she’s had.
Prosecutors plan to call Rihanna as a witnesses during a hearing in Chris Brown’s assault case, her attorney said Thursday. Donald Etra told reporters that prosecutors have told him the Barbados-born singer will receive a subpoena to testify at a preliminary hearing June 22. The hearing will focus on whether there is enough evidence to continue the case against Brown.Brown was arrested in February on suspicion of hitting and choking Rihanna, then his girlfriend, in a rented car hours before the couple were scheduled to appear at the Grammys. Rihanna has not been formally been named as the victimn in police or prosecutors’ reports.Etra said Thursday Rihanna will comply with the order. If she is called to testify, the 21-year-old singer would be subject to cross-examination by Brown’s attorney, Mark Geragos.A judge on Thursday rejected as premature a motion by Geragos to receive police and investigative records related to the case and the apparent leak of a photo of a beaten and bruised Rihanna.Brown wasn’t in court Thursday, but he’s required to attend the preliminary hearing. {Source}