The video for Simon Cowell‘s charity single for Haiti, a remake of REM’s ‘Everybody Hurts’, premiered a few hours ago. Set to propel the song, which hit iTunes yesterday, into the stop spot, the accompanying video -which visually highlights the magnitude of the disaster- features a number of the track’s featured artists including Alexandra, Burke, Leona Lewis, JLS, Robbie Williams, and Cheryl Cole. Acts such as Mariah Carey and Kylie Minouge laid down vocals, however, were unable to appear in the video due to scheduling conflicts. Still, an admirable effort by all those involved.

Your thoughts?

riri24

In a recent interview with iTunes, Rihanna recounted her first concert experience, which interestingly happened to be a Beyonce show. Peep what the Covergirl model had to say:

“My very first arena concert was Beyoncé/Alicia Keys/Missy Elliott [in 2004]. I think it was the ‘Ladies First’ tour,” she said.

Despite her bad seats, she will always remember that special night. “I was in like a nosebleed seat, but I was in tears. I could not believe that Beyoncé was right there, and Alicia Keys and Missy Elliott.”

Rihanna was in awe of the artists she now considers her peers. “I was a little starstruck. No, I was verystarstruck, but it was so much fun. It was very inspiring and it motivated me so much.” {Source}

Needless to say the jokes kinda write themselves with this one!

Randomness: I hear a lot of ‘blah blah’ about going in on ol’ RiRi, but it’s only ’cause we care :-). For all Ms. Fenty’s fierceness looks-wise, it’s such a shame that her talent can’t match up. A damn shame. There’s no doubt in my mind that if it did, she’d be a the total package. Instead we have this absolute stunner with zero stage presence, sheep-bleating over hot beats, and kinda making a mockery of the industry in the process. It’s important to stress that no one is going at Ms. Fenty personally (hell, we don’t know her); however it’s more about what she represents – image over any substance.

Your thoughts?

mariah2

According to our good friends over at Mariah Daily Journal, Mariah Carey‘s serially delayed remix LP ‘Angel’s Advocate’ has been pushed back yet again. Initially due out in January, then March 9th, the album is set to hit stores on March 23rd. The videos for the singles preceding the record’s release – ‘Angel’s Cry (ft. Ne-Yo)’ and ‘Up Out My face (ft. Nicki Minaj)’ are set to première this Thursday (January 28th).

Oh Mimi! Though pushed back by just a few weeks, news of this nature never tends to bode well for projects, especially projects like this where the original album flopped worse than ‘Glitter’ (fact).

Having actually had the original (‘Memoirs’) keep annoyingly pop up on my iPod when in shuffle mode, it has grown on me significantly (loving ‘More Than Just Friends’). However it seems it’s less the material and more so Mariah that folks just don’t seem to be gravitating to, hence the album’s dismal sales. Whatever the reason (be it the industry’s unfair ageism towards females or the fact many just want Mariah to sing meaningful, yet easy-on-the-ear songs again), one thing is for sure; Mariah would definitely have benefited from pretending ‘Memoirs’ never happened and laying low musically for a while (to recharge her creative batteries and give the public a break).

Instead, we have ol’ MiMi trying to re-flog an album, which no was checking for to begin with. If the foundation wasn’t there at the start, I’m a little baffled as to why she’s trying to build on it. At best, this should have been a ‘for the fans’ type iTunes release; yet giving it the whole album treatment (especially when the label aren’t supporting it) will only cause for more embarrassment IMO. I’d be forced to shut my mouth if the material was actually any good, but the wackness that has been these cheap remixes (no new vocals or lyrics, just phoned-in guest appearances) hasn’t done her any favours. It’s all quite sad really, as she’s kinda ruining the re-establishment of herself as a musical force that she achieved with the ‘Emancipation’ with her album offerings thereafter. SMH…

Tidbit: Trent come and get your girl!

Your thoughts?

Rihanna and Maxwell took the stage on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ today. As noted earlier, Rihanna performed Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’ and Maxwell performed his new song ‘Fistful of Tears’ from his ‘BLACKsummers’night’ album. Rihanna’s rendition is available right now on iTunes to help benefit the people of Haiti.

After watching Rihanna try to sing ‘Redemption Song’ for the second time actually took away from my first experience with the performance earlier today. Her voice sounded almost frail over the basic composition of the tune. Still, I must give her credit for improving from the renditions she gave in her earlier career. Maxwell, on the other hand, delivered solid vocals throughout, displaying what a real singer is supposed to sound like (especially when singing a high note). Check out his performance below:

Thoughts?

rihanna-redemption-song

As reported earlier, the Rihanna was set to perform Bob Marley’s classic ‘Redemption Song’ on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ today. Now the Bajan’s live rendition of the track has been made available for download on iTunes for a limited time. All proceeds from the sales will contribute directly to ‘Hope for Haiti Now‘. {Source}

I must admit that I’m pleasantly surprised by her performance. Although I could barely understand a word that she was ‘singing’ during the verses, Rihanna generally held her own. This performance was a definite step up from the last time she performed this song back in 2006. However, I would lying if I said that the high note at end did not give me chills (and I don’t mean the good kind).

Hit or Miss?

Alicia Keys appeared on Saturday Night Live a few hours ago, helping the legendary show launch their latest season. As well as taking part in a hilarious skit, which you can watch above, the Grammy Award winner also performed current single ‘Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart’, as well as fan favourite ‘Empire State of Mind (Part 2)’ – both of which you can watch below:

Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart

Empire State of Mind (Part 2)

She nailed it, as usual!

Alicia’s new LP ‘The Element of Freedom’ is available on iTunes and in stores now!

Your thoughts?

bey gaga

When giving her iTunes Celebrity Playlist Podcast, Lady GaGa included her collaboration with Beyonce ‘Telephone’, providing insight into the song’s hotly anticipated video:

“I’m in the middle of writing the treatment for the video (‘Telephone’) so I have the song on my mind and I have been speaking with everyone that I’m working on the video with and pitching to everybody the treatment that I’ve come up with and it’s very, very exciting. So to all my little monsters who are listening I can’t wait for you to see it.” {Source}

After ever-so-slightly disappointing clip for ‘Video Phone’, here’s hoping the industry’s two biggest stars knock this one out of the park. Can’t wait!

Your thoughts?

sugababes xmas

While Heidi, Amelle, and Jade, otherwise known as the Sugababes, continue to tweak their serially delayed ‘Sweet 7’ LP, their rendition of Christmas hit ‘Santa Baby’ has surfaced in full. The song is set for an iTunes release on December 21st.

Despite my reservations about the group, it’s hard to deny that the nailed it on this one. Great vocals (especially Jade), tight harmonies and an all-round refreshing take on an old classic. Good stuff.

Hit or Miss?

jennifer lopez 2

With Jennifer Lopez‘s comeback single ‘Louboutins’ currently struggling to chart, reliable sources have informed That Grape Juice that 40 year old’s label have scrapped the single in its entirety – no video, no iTunes release, no nothing. Instead, her team are deeming ‘Louboutins’ a ‘buzz single’ (sound familar?) and are gearing up for the release of  an entirely new ‘first official single’ – set to be rolled out early 2010. Lopez’s new LP ‘Love?‘ is still scheduled for a March 2010 release.

While I most definitely had a little chuckle at yet another artist pulling the ‘buzz single’ card, I can’t help but feel a little sorry for Jennifer. Despite giving her all with the live performances of ‘Louboutins’, the song is – blunt as this may sound – a bonafide flop; which, truth be told, may have always been its final destination, as it was always pretty rubbish. That said, it’s not a wrap for Jenny just yet. Provided there aren’t any push-backs and she comes with fire for her next ‘first’ single (lol), I don’t see why she can’t make an impact on the charts once again.

Your thoughts?

leonapromoo

Rising diva Leona Lewis scored the lead single off the soundtrack to James Cameron’s adventure film ‘Avatar’. The track, entitled ‘I See You’, will be available with the rest of the songs on the project on iTunes on December 15th. ‘Avatar’ hits the big screen on December 18th.

For the first time time ever, Leona actually ‘saaang’ on a track! With powerful and unbridled vocals, the UK singer soars over the epic instrumental, seemingly leaving her inhibitions in the wind. Leona is definitely one of the most technically skilled vocalists to emerge in the industry for a very long time. However, a prime complaint from critics is that her voice is devoid of any emotion. Well, it’s safe to say that this time she shut. it. down.

Sidebar: Do you think that ‘I See You’ is Academy Award material or does Mary J Blige’s ‘I Can See In Color’ have it in the bag?

Hit or Miss?

amerie 3

R&B singer Amerie recently spoke to our good friends over at Rap-Up.com about the poor performance of her latest LP ‘In Love & War’. The 31 year old stunner isn’t ‘sweating’ sales, because she apparently sees ‘the bigger picture’. This despite, the album (her Def Jam debut) selling just 12,500 in its first week and only managing a lowly #46 peak on the Billboard 200:

On The Album’s Sales

“It’s a very weird time. I didn’t worry about it ’cause I felt like it’s not about the first week. I knew when the album came out, it wasn’t coming out with a big hit ’cause we just went to radio with the ‘Pretty Brown’ record two weeks before the album came out, so we already knew it was going to be one of those over time things vs. a first week thing, which is cool.”

On not setting expectations of herself due to unpredictability of industry

“There’s no way to tell right now. I was actually curious ’cause I kept saying, ‘This is interesting, going to radio with a song and two weeks later your album is coming out.’ I’ve never really done it like that before.”

On the iTunes error which saw the album not available on the leading music outlet

“That was weird. I don’t know what happened with that. The people at iTunes are really cool. I just thought that was so odd. They tried to fix it as fast as they could.”

Though I feel both the album and Amerie herself are criminally underrated, I’m sure hoping she was putting on her media/political ‘face’ on when giving this answer. For, if not, her ramblings would be denial personified. Having interviewed her for this very project, she came across very intelligent to me, so I’d lean more towards the notion of her knowing internally that her label screwed all the way up and that she’s putting on a brave face.

The whole situation is such a shame, as had Def Jam paid even a fraction of the attention they paid to Rihanna (yes, I went there), I’m sure Amerie would be performing a lot better than she is. Not to be confused as me taking a pop at Ms. Fenty (which I’m legitimately not, it’s in no way her fault), it’s oh-so-annoying seeing a label pump money into a less talented entity, when they have a performer of Amerie’s calibre on their roster. If we’re talking aesthetics too, Amerie is equally if not more stunning – but that’s just my opinion. In any case, it seems like this album is done. SMH…

Your thoughts?

Mariah Carey Flop

Despite a high-profile appearance on the X-Factor last week, Mariah Carey’s 12th studio album ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’ has flopped in the UK, entering the official album chart at a disappointing #23. Meanwhile,  ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’, the record’s lead single in UK after ‘Obsessed’ release was cancelled, barely scrapped the top 20 on the singles chart – debuting at a lowly #19. Ouch.

All pantomime banter aside, I actually feel a little sorry for ol’ Mimi. While nowhere near her best offering, ‘Memoirs’ – at the very least – deserved to perform better than some of her other poorly charting material (see: ‘Glitter’ and ‘Charmbracelet’). Instead, it stands as the lowest selling album of her career.

As reported, it wouldn’t surprise us in the slightest if Mariah’s next LP – whenever it drops – isn’t released under the Def Jam umbrella. I mean, at this point, it’s even doubtful this ‘Memoirs’ remix album will ever see the light of day either. For,  from a business standpoint, pumping money/promotion into an already dead and buried project makes no sense at all. At best, I envision an iTunes-only/for-the-fans type release for any kind of remix LP. I wouldn’t hold my breath though. Oh Mimi…

Your thoughts?

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