It’s a great time to be Bruno Mars.

In addition to seeing his name penciled at the top of the Hot 100 thanks to his latest hit single, ‘That’s What I Like’ (as we reported here), the singer/songwriter – courtesy of ‘Like’s ongoing success – is also seeing his moniker etched in history books (again).  As if selling over 100 million singles in just 7 years wasn’t enough, as of this week Mars:

• …is the first male solo artist this century to nab a Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit from his first three studio albums
• …has more #1 singles than any other male act this decade (7) and trails behind Rihanna‘s (9) and Katy Perry‘s (8) in the overall count.
• …has the second-most #1 singles of any male act this century, trailing Usher‘s (8)

The feats above only scratch the surface of the Hawaiian hitmaker’s Hot 100 success.  But, while we’re sure Team Mars is busy celebrating, he shouldn’t get too comfortable as threats from the position’s two previous tenants – Kendrick Lamar (‘Humble’) and Ed Sheeran (‘Shape of You’) – are still very much real.  Until we find out how ‘Like’ held up against the competition next week, we invite you to see who else joins the trio of male acts on this week’s refreshed TGJ Chart Check:  Hot 100.

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Pill and p***y poppers both helped Future‘s latest, the Metro Boomin-produced ‘Mask Off,’ become a top 5 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 even before the arrival of its official accompanying music video.

Now, as the tune – found aboard the rapper’s February-released self-titled project – continues to blare from speakers across the U.S., the ‘Purple Reign’ performer has taken the lid off of ‘Mask Off’s video by revealing a 20-second preview ahead of its full unveiling.

Taking the cinematic approach (as evidenced by the explosive clip), are you ready to see what Future’s cooked up via his Colin Tilley-directed visual?  Watch below and tell us:

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Queen of NeoSoul Erykah Badu has finally announced plans to bless her royal subjects with a concert tour with the ‘Badu Vs. Everythang World Tour,’ – her first “proper” globe-trotting tour since 2010’s ‘Out My Mind, Just In Time’ worldwide trek.

Hatching rumors the Grammy Award winner may be supporting new music along the way, the outing will kick off May 6th in Birmingham, AL before making pit stops in Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and more.  The aforementioned cities are mixed in between trips to Europe and Asia.

Curious to know if Badu will be making a visit to your town to croon her greatest hits?  Find out if and when inside:

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Christina Aguilera has answered the call of her fans.

Weeks after being lashed for promoting Oreo‘s instead of new music, the vocal wonder has shared a teaser of her studio sessions.

Captioning the clip “grateful for every second of every day,” Xtina showcased her busy month – which included recording with Sia, family time, and mysterious shoots.

Check it out…

Grateful for every second of every day. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/czGHWhO3iC

— Christina Aguilera (@xtina) May 3, 2017

Finally.

Christina is far too talented to waste the latter part of (what could still be) her premium years on a spinning chair. She also needed to strike sooner rather than later as she’s not necessarily coming off hit projects.

In any case, it’s great to see that “something” is happenings. Fingers crossed for an unveiling soon.

Your thoughts?

As at writing, the only hit Katy Perry‘s comeback campaign has experienced is against a brick wall.

However, the Pop star is hoping to put that behind her by buckling up for a guest spot on ‘Carpool Karaoke’ with James Corden.

CBS has reportedly confirmed that Perry will feature on ‘The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special’ on May 22nd.

The slot comes right on time for Katy, who enjoyed only a brief stint in the top 5 of the Hot 100 with ‘Chained To The Rhythm’ while follow-up ‘Bon Appétit’ looks to be bombing altogether.

With an album on the way and no firm launching pad, she’ll need to hit the promotional trail fast and hard.

Your thoughts?

New video alert!

Sailing away from her feud with Nicki Minaj with her eyes on a summer smash is Remy Ma!

Who she’s teamed up with now? A$AP Ferg, who welcomes her to his cut ‘East Coast‘!

And it’s 0-1, now, run it up
Got my face beat, hair done it up
I go bad on ‘em, drop bags on ’em
Got a tab, bitch; tell ’em run it up
I spaz on ’em, I gun ’em up
Said I’m too smart, gotta dumb it up
Dead in the middle of Little Italy
They ain’t know Remy really could just Pun it up
On IG, you thumb it up
But in real life, you bum it up
You don’t own nothin’, you so frontin’
You Joe Budden, you pump it up
See, these hoes be luckin’ up
Try to be down, they suckin’ up
I go nuts, I mean pecan
Turn the beat on and I **** it up
The bar’s low, I brung it up
And y’all hoes just stunk it up
I been one, you been done
You been shoulda just hung it up
You was hatin’ when I was comin’ up
You fake bitch, you need to woman up
You a wack bitch, you a rat bitch
And I’m that bitch, just to sum it up

Your thoughts?

Mariah Carey toasted to her latest endeavour last night – her newly launched label – Butterly MC Records.

The legendary diva donned a figure-hugging ensemble for the shindig which took place at CATCH LA.

She was joined by longtime musical companion LA Reid, whose Epic Records imprint will distribute Mimi’s label.

Also in the house were ex Nick Cannon, Floyd Mayweather, and controversial manager Stella Bulochnikov.

According to Mariah at the time of the label’s announcement, a new album is due later this year. It marks a stark and swift shift from her earlier expressed desire to release singles for the foreseeable.

Peep pics below…

Your thoughts?

[Photo credit: Getty]

Terry Crews has a question.

Why is it considered perfectly fine to be transgender, but deemed totally unacceptable to be TRANSRACIAL?

Posed on Instagram hours ago, the question sparked a debate on the true meaning of self-identification on social media as society still struggles to understand the world view of Rachel Dolezal, the Caucasian woman who believes that she is Black.

Why is it considered perfectly fine to be transgender, but deemed totally unacceptable to be TRANSRACIAL?

A post shared by Terry Crews (@terrycrews) on Apr 29, 2017 at 2:41pm PDT

Do you have an answer to his question?

Weigh in below…

Jaden Smith is on course to dropping a brand new DC Comics-inspired cut named ‘Batman’.

I’m doing the movie [Life in a Year] with Cara [Delevingne] in Toronto right now and then I also have a single called ‘Batman’ coming out shortly after Met Gala and then another single called ‘Watch Me’ with videos. Then, my album [Syre] will be coming soon after that.

He shared the above during a recent with the fashion-forward influencer Andre Leon Talley at this week’s MET Gala.

Want more from Mr. Smith?

Click here to learn more about his foray into K-Pop!

And Yes I Have 2 Videos Dropping In The Next Month. #Syre #Batman #WatchMe

— Jaden Smith (@officialjaden) April 20, 2017

Your thoughts?

“If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself and try again.”

This has to be Iggy Azalea‘s mantra of late, following several stalled attempts at a comeback.

Still, undeterred the Hip-Pop star has announced another new single named ‘Switch.’

Sharing its official cover on social media, Ms. I-GG-Y revealed that the Anitta assisted track will officially land on May 19th.

No additional details were provided.

‘Switch’ follows ‘Mo Bounce,’ which despite showing promise didn’t quite catch on and  subsequently went un-pushed.

That track arrived after last year’s ‘Team’ which had a similar trajectory.

Notice a pattern?

Iggy seems to have a tendency to premiere songs in a “hope they like it” capacity, waiting to see if it takes off, and only then promoting.

Clearly, that strategy is not working.

She’ll need to pound the promo pavement just as much – if not more than – everyone else.

Your thoughts?

We’ve all seen them.

Sticking out like glittered thumbs on the social media pages of influencers are posts touting ‘Flat Tummy Tea’, a product which promises to offer its patrons a flatter and fitter gut within days.

Alas, it appears that the fun may be over for stars who push the highly recommended product and products like it to their fans in exchange for easy cash.

Don’t let that smile fool you, bloat. Our girl @biabrasileiro1 is about to take you down. #watchout #backtoflat

A post shared by FLAT TUMMY TEA (@flattummytea) on Apr 11, 2017 at 6:00pm PDT

#ad Morning 🙂 My flat tummy secret is my @lyfe_tea teatox! We need all the help we can get to keep off the holiday pounds. So keeping my @lyfe_tea with me keeps my waistline slim!  Get yours here at  http://bit.ly/kylielyfe #lyfetea #thanksgiving

A post shared by Kylie (@kyliejenner) on Nov 24, 2015 at 8:57am PST

Ladies…AND gentleman…week 2…since I started my @flatbellytea_ and lemme tell you… It works!! It taste good and it’s giving me energy while I’m out here working. Getting my stomach nice and flat for summer. ?. Get your pack NOW | use discount code Cardi for 15% off | ? by @ksrgrouppromo

A post shared by Cardi B Official IG (@iamcardib) on Feb 17, 2016 at 12:58pm PST

Why?

The Federal Trade Commission, which seeks to “eliminate and prevent anticompetitive business practices”, feels consumers are being fooled into purchasing products recommended to them by cash-hungry stars with large social media followings.

In response to the supposed bamboozlement, it penned letters to 90 influencers which “advises” them to disclose the compensation they receive in exchange for pushing products.

A portion of the letter reads:

Many consumers will not understand a disclosure like “#sp,” “Thanks [Brand],” or “#partner” in an Instagram post to mean that the post is sponsored.

Consumers should be able to notice the disclosure easily, and not have to look for it. For example, consumers viewing posts in their Instagram streams on mobile devices typically see only the first three lines of a longer post unless they click ‘more,’ and many consumers may not click ‘more.’ Therefore, you should disclose any material connection above the ‘more’ button.

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which fears young children are put at risk by careless and cunning commercials, issued this statement in response to the FTC’s letter.

We’re glad the FTC is encouraging influencer’s on Instagram to be more forthright, but we hope they expand that
initiative to include YouTube and other social media, which reach millions of children and we hope the FTC will take strong action against any influences who refuse to comply with the rules.

Source.

Detoxing with @fittea ❤ @kimkardashian tastes amazing and all natural ingredients! Order today! Link in the bio @fittea #ad

A post shared by FitTea (@fittea) on Apr 27, 2017 at 8:02am PDT

Your thoughts?

Mary J. Blige may be an industry veteran with accolades for days, but it doesn’t mean she’s not willing to work for her wins.

The Queen of Hip-Hop/Soul is treading the promo trail in support of new album ‘Strength Of A Woman’ and stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for a spirited performance.

MJB belted out ‘Love Yourself,’ which was produced by Kanye West (who also features on the studio version).

Given all she’s going through publicly (see: divorce), the selection was especially apt.

The showing comes on the same day the project’s sales forecast was revealed.

Per Hits Daily Double, ‘Strength’ is on course to open strong on the Billboard 200. Its sales-plus-streaming prediction is 67,000-72,000, while the pure sales estimate sits at 63-68k.

Beyond being within the right ballpark for a top 5 placing, it’s on course to best the US opening of her last LP ‘The London Sessions.’ A point notable given that industry sales have dipped even more in the time since that project was released (2015).

Can Mary climb higher? She has more promo on the way – including a VH1 doc that airs tonight – so it’s plausible.

Stay tuned.

Your thoughts?