This weekend saw the ‘net debut of a new Beyonce track titled ‘Roc’. Said to be a cut recorded during the recording sessions for current album ‘I Am…Sasha Fierce’, the mid-tempo track was produced by Stargate. About the song itself; I am liking this one a lot. Bouncy embraced a much more mainstream (some would argue generic) sound on the slower-paced ‘I Am…’ side of her current album, so it’s real refreshing to hear her do her thing once again on a slower paced R&B offering.

That said, it’s the lyrics that make this one a winner. Very heartfelt and genuine-seeming. Wonder who she is singing about LOL…

Hit or Miss?

The eigth week of X Factor 2008 live shows aired tonight here in the UK. Check out my 2 Pence on the Britney Spears / America Hits themed week below:

{For those unfamiliar with the show; The X Factor is the UK’s version of American Idol – with a twist in that groups and over 25’s are eligible to enter. The show also birthed the career of a certain Leona Lewis}

This week saw the return of Britney Spears to the performance scene – with all eyes being on her live (LOL) rendition of #1 smash ‘Womanizer’ on tonight’s show. Britney aside, tonight’s show IMO (and that of the judges) was all about That Grape Juice favourite Alexandra Burke, who performed Britney’s ‘Toxic’ as well as a stellar rendition of Beyonce’s ‘Listen’ (Oprah version…for the stans LMAO). Check out the performances below:

Britney – Womanizer

Alexandra – Toxic

Alexandra – Listen

Britney…what can I say? She seemed to have more spunk than that Bambi Awards performance, but she still has a way to go. Baby steps, I guess. It’s great to see her seeming like ‘old Britney’ again.

Speaking of great, Alexandra! She absolutely nailed it – especially on Listen. Amazing. She really established herself as THE front-runner in this year’s show. This girl must win.

Your thoughts?

Pop superstar Britney Spears gave the first live (loose term) performance of ‘Womanizer’ at Germany’s Bambi Awards tonight. I’m gonna need to see more performances, as the theatrics and major spectacle really veiled whether or not Ms. Spears still has it or nor – which after all is what we all want to know.

What do you think of the performance?

The Tyra Banks Show dedicated the entire show to a certain Ms. Beyonce yesterday. As ever, with Tyra’s wacky nature, the interview (above) was great. Kudos to Tyra for getting out an awesome interview from Bouncy; they were starting to get kinda samey. You can catch the ‘Single Ladies’ performance below – see if you can spot anyone familiar (Hint: Get Me Bodied – “Snap for the Kids” LMAO):

Blast from the past, no doubt LOL. Beyonce, Jonte and co nailed it LOL.

The video for Jamie Foxx’s new single, ‘Just Like Me’ – the first to be lifted from forthcoming album ‘Intuition’ – premiered a few hours ago. Directed by Brett Ratner (‘Touch My Body’), the humorous clip did make me warm to the song that much more. I’m still hoping Jamie comes with (comes with it) on the album itself, which drops December 16th via J Records.

What do you think of the song / video?

Diva Mariah Carey appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show this week to plug her latest fragrance – Luscious Pink.

During the course of the interview, Ellen alluded to Mariah being a pregnant, a point she didn’t let go of easily – and one Mariah didn’t outright deny. Hmmm…

Whatever the case, if Mariah does want to pop a few out, here’s hoping she does soon. Her, Janet and a few others keep talking as if they are spring chickens. Erm no…LOL.

Your thoughts?

As ever, awesome, just awesome performances! Ask yourself this, which other female performer delivers the goods like this each and every time? Hell, which male performer (of today) is as good a performer? Forget ‘Hottest Chick In The Game’…she IS ‘The Game’ right now IMO.

What do you think of the performances?

Check out this short preview for Britney Spears’ brand new video for ‘Circus’, the follow-up to ‘Womanizer’.

The full length video will be premiering any day now. I’ll hold my judgement until then…

Your thoughts?

The Beyonce promo train made a stop at The Ellen Degeneres Show today. You can catch the full interview above, in which she talks marriage to Jay-Z, having babies and a whole lot more, as well as her performance of Ellen favourite ‘Flaws & All’ (she performed ‘Single Ladies’ too) below:

Great interview. She nailed the performance too.

Your thoughts?

R&B songstress Brandy features in the December issue of VIBE magazine, scans of which you can check out above and below. I maintain, this go round Ms. Norwood is really quite the stunner.

What do you think of the pics?