While Lady Gaga is an established stage-blazer, it was far from guaranteed that she’d be touring her upcoming fifth album.
For, in the next few months alone she’ll be pounding the pavement in support of the LP’s release, plugging ‘American Horror Story,’ recording with Tony Bennett, and shooting ‘A Star Is Born’ opposite Bradley Cooper.
All of which left some fans wondering when there’d be time to trek the globe to push the follow-up to ‘ARTPOP.’
They need not fret, though.
Because in a new interview with Marvin Humes on the Vodafone Top 40 Show in the UK, Mother Monster confirmed a new tour.
When Azealia Banks dropped the blazing ‘212’ four years ago, she looked poised for superstardom.
From her flow to her unapologetic brand of feisty, she was hailed as a much-needed breath of fresh air on a scene that had become majorly mono.
Yet, as the story goes, the years that followed have seen the New Yorker lock horns with a who’s who of the music industry. She’s also made it routine to rile up various groups on social media.
Recent times have seen her plentiful episodes catch up with her; slots at festivals have been snatched back, sales are drier than the Sahara, and fellow artists seem to be steering clear. A stark difference to a time when the likes of Lady Gaga and Pharrell were dialling her digits.
Feeling the weight of her woes, the femcee took to Facebook (she’s been banned from Twitter) today to express regret.
As a Grammy winning songwriter, Beyonce is routinely hailed for her pen-game. And, despite two decades in the game, the praise continues to pour in.
This time is courtesy of rockstar Jack White.
The pair teamed up for the song ‘Don’t Hurt Yourself’ on Queen Bey’s Platinum selling album ‘Lemonade.’
Now, in an insightful interview with NPR, the former White Stripes star opened up about what it was like working with the 35-year-old superstar. As a writer.
This week’s From The Vault comes courtesy of Michelle Williams and her 2008 debut secular solo single ‘We Break The Dawn.’
After the end of Destiny’s Child, the ladies went on with their respective careers: Beyonce pursued acting and of course music; Kelly Rowland serviced her sophomore effort ‘Ms. Kelly; and, to everyone’s surprise, Michelle released her first non-gospel project, the aptly-titled ‘Unexpected’. The electro-tinged ‘Dawn’ served as its lead single.
Penned by Solange Knowles and produced by Wayne Wilkins and Adam Frampton, Michelle’s first solo foray into the mainstream arena saw her score a US Hot Dance Airplay chart-topper. The song also managed a Top 50 placing on the Official UK Singles Chart. It never charted inside the US Billboard Hot 100 and wasn’t exploited the way it could have been overseas. Occurrences some cite politics and a lack of adequate promotion to explain.
*************
Directed by Phil Griffin, the track’s visual saw Williams and her dancer friends turn up on empty night streets. Sporting a new look and a refreshed image, the songstress looked like a million bucks in the visual which reached #1 on the MTV Base video countdown chart.
After returning to faith based music with her fourth effort ‘Journey To Freedom’, it seems Williams secular days are gone. Arguably prematurely, as ‘Unexpected’ makes for a compelling listen; one that showcases the singer’s versatility and viability as a solo star.
Still, we’d like to know, would YOU be up for an ‘Unexpected’ follow up? Or is Michelle strutting her destined lane already?
Monica has continued reason to smile (all the way to the bank) after the net was swept by the #SoGoneChallenge – a viral challenge ignited by Chance the Rapperthat saw hundreds of social media users spitting their best rhymes over the singer’s 2003 R&B hit ‘So Gone.’
The feat not only reignited interest in the tune, helping its recent sales increase over 400 percent, but also saw some of that interest spill over into increased sales of the tune’s parent album, ‘After the Storm.’ But, as many celebrated renewed interest in the Missy Elliott-produced, one – namely Mo’s longtime reported “frienemy”/‘Boy is Mine’ co-star Brandy – was allegedly not aboard the celebratory train.
Bran did little to cool the rumors when she quickly dismissed a fan’s invitation to record her own freestyle over the ‘So Gone’ beat. When quizzed on her thought’s about Brandy’s seemingly salty response, Monica took to ‘The Real’ to say:
At 74-years-old, music legend Barbra Streisand continues to prove herself a force to be reckoned within the music industry.
Thanks to some high profile promotional spots and ticket/album bundling, as we reported here, the powerhouse diva’s latest album, ‘Encore,’ was set to block Britney Spears’ highly anticipated comeback album, ‘Glory,’ from the top spot. The prediction not only rang true, but also saw Babs collect a few other distinct honors along the way.
Billboard reports, with her latest #1 (the 11th chart-topper of her career), Streisand extends her reign of “most #1 albums of any female in Billboard history” (Madonna trails with 8). In addition, ‘Encore’ cements her previously achieved honor of being the only act – male or female – to nab a #1 album in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, ’00s, and ’10s. As if that’s not enough, the new project – which features appearances from Jamie Foxx, Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, and many more – has notched the highest first week sales tally of any album released this year (not to be mistaken with sales equivalence).
Tuck inside to see why that Barbra reign just won’t let up:
Britney Spears’ 2016 MTV VMA performance may have been billed the night’s “must-see” performance leading up to the ceremony, but after the 1-2 punch of riveting Rihanna and Beyonce performances, the ‘Radar’ singer was hardly on anyone in the audience’s radar.
Yet, despite being greeted with mixed review and seeing the headlines that followed not exactly singing her praises, the refreshed Billboard Hot 100 is revealing her G-Eazy-assisted showing was not a complete miss. Indeed, after introducing the tune – ‘Make Me’ (the lead single from her 9th album, ‘Glory’) – to its largest audience yet, Brit has jumped over 40 spots on this week’s single chart!
In addition to herself and Rih, see who else can thank the VMAs for a boost below:
Celine Dion may be ‘Recovering,’ but her voice is in ever fine form.
The legendary songstress took to the stage on last night’s ‘Stand Up 2 Cancer’ special to perform the Pink penned track.
Dion’s appearance at the event comes on the heels of a testing year – following the back-to-back passings of her husband and brother due to cancer.
Before performing, the songbird told the audience…
“I miss René everyday, and the loss will now be a part of my life. I also lost my father and my brother Daniel to cancer.
A few months ago during my most difficult time of grieving, I received an unexpected gift from an amazing artist that I have always admired, Pink. She offered me a song that expresses power to stand up and stay strong.”
Watch her resonating rendition of the anthem below…
