So you’re in your car listening to your favourite station and a cut you’ve never heard before comes on.

You’re not sure how you feel about it at first, but throughout your journey the same cut comes on over and over and over again.

Before you know it you’re singing along to lyrics with the wind in your hair and its infectious melody seared in your brain.

A familiar scene? It is? Ok, now take that scene and multiply by say…a million. A million people listening to the same cut on a few hundred stations over and over and over again. 

The end result? A smash hit single and a barrage of accolades thrown at the artist behind it.

“I had no idea it’d do so well!”

Unfortunately, said accolades soon lose their sheen when the truth behind the song’s success emerges.

Why Iggy Azalea‘s ‘Fancy’ has now been placed under scrutiny?

Find out below…

(more…)

Two years.

Indeed, that’s how long it’s been since soulful crooner Frank Ocean set sail with his game-changing debut ‘Channel Orange’.

Now, after tending to his team (and by “tending” we mean replacing), the New Orleans native is hard at work at his eagerly awaited sophomore album.

And while no release date has been set in stone (or pencil), a new snap of the singer in The Church Studios in London has surfaced.

Posted by Grammy-winning producer Om’Mas Keiththe on Instagram, pic was paired with the caption:

well that was an awesome week in the studio with my brother… the smiles say it all. #frankocean the genius.

Buzzed? We are.

In large part, it’s due to the qualitative slice of quality that was ‘Channel Orange’. It showcased Ocean’s lyrical, vocal, and storytelling skillset in a stellar way. Hence, we’re eager to see what he plans to bring to the table artistically this go round.

From a commercial standpoint, it’ll be uber interesting to see how the media mass handle another Ocean album. After all, it was only following his truth-baring “letter” that countless outlets jumped on his bandwagon. With two years having passed and the titillation of his “reveal” already milked in earnest by the media, will he still be pegged a hot commodity? If the material is as on-point as we believe it will be, then we sure hope so!

Your thoughts?

It’s that time of year again!

The MTV Video Music Awards 2014 are set to celebrate the successes of the music’s biggest movers and shakers over the last 12 months.

Airing live from The Forum in Los Angeles on August 24th, the show will also play host to performances from the likes of Usher, Ariana Grande, and 5 Seconds Of Summer.

Who’s up for coveted Moonmen this year? Wonder no more, because the nominations for the 31st annual MTV Video Music Awards awaits below…

(more…)

Despite burying the beef with former foe Chris Brown, it appears Drake isn’t ditching the digs when it comes to another rival.

During his stint as host during last night’s ESPY Awards, the rapper used his opening segment to take aim at Hip-Hop’s apparent new punching bag Macklemore.

The ‘Same Love’ MC has inadvertently come under intense scrutiny from the Urban community after controversially sweeping the board at the Grammy Awards and taking home the top Rap honors in the process. Heat only intensified when Macklemore (in reference to his ‘Best Rap Album’ win) went on to proclaim that Kenrick Lamar deserved the gong instead – a move Drizzy dragged him for at the time.

Fast forward six months, and it appears Drake isn’t done with the digs.

What did he say during his skit? Find out below…

(more…)

A loaded statement, perhaps, yet it’s fair to say that Shonda Rhimes is the reigning queen of the small screen.

ABC certainly concur; for they have – quite literally – given the TV producer their most coveted primetime block. As such, from the start of this Fall, three Rhimes shows will begin every hour on the hour from 8pm-10pm every Thursday. The titles awarded this sweet spot are ‘Greys Anatomy’, new series ‘How To Get Away With Murder’, and of course ‘Scandal’.

As reported, the Kerry Washington led series returns for a fourth season on September 25th. And, so as to create room for freshman show ‘Murder’ (which’ll air at 10pm) moves up an hour to 9pm.

Sitting down with the folk over at The Hollywood Reporter, Rhimes dished on what fans can expect from the latest series of the political drama – including the fate of Harrison (the character played by axed cast-member Columbus Short).

A number of interesting quotes await below…

(more…)

Drizzy and Breezy may have caused a stir when photos of them working in the studio hit the net days ago, but that stir turned into commotion tonight when Grammy-winning Urban stars Drake and Chris Brown put beef in their rearview and co-starred in a skit featured at the 2014 ESPYs.

Setting Twitter alight, the hilarious skit sees the two go from busting bottles to busting stitches (with laughter) from their tongue-in-cheek take on their squashed beef and “celebrity woes”.

Did you miss it?  It awaits below:

(more…)

Los Angeles’ premiere hotel (rooftop), LUXE, held some of the greatest names in sports uniting for a good cause, honoring Football Hall of Famer, Deion Sanders, at the 3rd annual Champions for Choice event for the AFC in conjunction with the 2014 ESPY Awards. The event was hosted by celebrity ambassadors: boxing champion Laila Ali, WNBA and six-time Olympian Lisa Leslie, NBA Veteran Jalen Rose and sports expert for ESPN Stephen A. Smith.

In attendance at last night’s celebration were also: Oscar Award winner Louis Gossett, Jr; Karrueche Tran, VH1 Hollywood Exes stars, Torrei Hart, Nicole Murphy and Shameka Lawerence; former CW Girlfriends star Jill Marie Jones (with her new man); Tiffany Cambridge from Marrying the Game; Basketball Wives stars, Sundy Carter and Laura Govan; TV One R&B Divas Kelly Price and Nicci Gilbert; actresses Elise Neal, Vanessa Williams, Cocoa Brown and Antonique Smith; TV correspondents, Shaun Robinson and Kevin Fraizer. The event also included a host of other tastemakers and influencers.

 See the “who’s who” who graced last night’s event.

(more…)

With its wild theatrics and dynamite drama,‘Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta’ is used to making headlines on a weekly basis.

However, its reunion taping yesterday has sent the media into a frenzy – thanks largely to a brawl between the show’s boisterous cast-mates.

And while debate rages on about just who was on the receiving end of the series of jabs that saw weaves torn and cops called (Joseline? Tammy? Mimi?), our friends over at Hello Beautiful have obtained a video of the fights. Yes, plural.

Clearly, more than one scuffle took place. Peep the ratchetness below…

(more…)

If ‘VH1′ need a reason to renew Reality TV series ‘Love & Hip Hop Atlanta’ for a fourth season, they need look no further than the show’s ratings figures this week.

For, as work begins on its LA follow-up, the series has welcomed yet another ratings win this week, following the brief return of original cast member K.Michelle.

Details below…

(more…)

Lifetime‘s biopic on the late, great Whitney Houston hasn’t even hit screens yet and is already causing quite the scene.

Indeed, debate has greeted almost every morsel of news revealed about the movie; from it being a cable production instead of a big screen offering, to its lead stars, public response has been potently polarized.

The latest facet of the Angela Bassett directed telepic to come into question is the licensing of Houston’s music.

According to E!, with legalities surrounding the use of Whitney’s iconic song catalogue still being hashed out, original versions of the tracks will not feature. Instead, Yaya DaCosta – who has been cast as Houston – will “lip-synch” to re-recorded takes on the songs performed by none other than Deborah Cox.

Details below…

(more…)

Hoping to avoid Iggy Azalea this summer?

You were? Well, consider yourself unlucky today, for the chart-slaying star’s winning streak is showing no signs of slowing down.

Indeed, after wowing the world with a number of ‘VMA’ worthy music videos and flying the flag for Rap and Pop with the smash hit ‘Fancy’, the star has now joined this year’s ‘Made in America‘ lineup!

More on her new booking  below…

(more…)

“Tell me what you see when you look at me.”

The above may have been demanded by her husband’s former flame Christina Milian, but it’s a statement Mariah Carey needn’t ask today, as the world already the knows the answer to it.

You ready for it?

FICTION!

Yes, in giving ‘Murder She Wrote‘s Jessica Fletcher a Usain Bolt-sized run for her money, Mimi continues to serve up fiction in abundance with her recent shoot for ‘Wonderland‘ magazine.

Unfortunately, said fiction hasn’t gone do too well with the folks over at ‘Jezebel’, who have slammed the singer for her shocking use of ‘Photo Shop‘ in the snaps.

What they had to say on the matter?

Read below…

(more…)