It’s been four months since the tragic passing of singer Amy Winehouse, who was aged just 27 when discovered dead in her Camden flat.
Yet amidst the mourning, fans and critics alike have been awaiting details on the Londoner’s first posthumous release. This, particularly in light of confirmed reports that Winehouse had recorded ample material for what was to be her third traditional studio LP.
And though that album sadly won’t manifest, it has today been announced that several of the songs crafted during those sessions will be heading into the public domain this December.
After spending three weeks atop the UK singles chart, and helping Rihanna score the record for being the first female solo artist to top the chart six times in five consecutive years, ‘We Found Love’ has been knocked off the top spot as of yesterday.
After many a group journey, Dawn Richard is striking out solo.
Currently hard at work on her debut LP ‘GoldenHeart’, the former Danity Kane staple has been drip-feeding fans with a taste of what to expect from the set when it arrives next year. The latest of which being the Druski produced ‘SMFU (Save Me From U)’.
Currently in India to take advantage of the country’s emerging music market is Lady GaGa, still on the promotional train for her latest album ‘Born This Way‘.
So last night, in a bid to build further buzz for her upcoming single ‘Marry The Night‘, the Pop force performed the number at the Formula 1 after party.
Fans of R&B veteran Usher will undoubtedly be saying ‘O.M.G.’ after getting a load of some snapshots he unveiled today. The Grammy winning crooner, whose ‘Promise’ saw his name perched atop Billboard Hot Latin tracks this week, took to Twitter to introduce fans to the new/old him – losing the scruffy look he has rocked for quite some time now.
While Raymond did reveal he is “studying for a major movie role” (although he did not indicate if the look was in conjunction with the film), is the ‘My Way’ singer headed the wrong way with this look?
Seems Jojo isn’t the only young songstress causing a commotion with her covers. Bruno Mars‘ ‘Grenade’ also got the cover treatment from British bred songbird Leona Lewis, who lent her talents to the 2011 Doha Tribeca Film Festival.
Acting as the fest’s closing act, the ‘Better In Time’ belter took a shot at some of recent pop history most celebrated numbers – covering everything from the Mars hit and One Republic‘s ‘Apologize’ to Seal‘s classic hit ‘Kiss From a Rose’. This, of course, was accompanied by the X Factor alum treating fans to her own hits ‘Bleeding Love’ and ‘Collide’.
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The X-Factor 2011 saw its 4th set of eliminations tonight. Find out who’s heading home this week…
{For those unfamiliar with The X Factor, the show is the UK’s version of American Idol – with a twist in that groups and over 25’s are eligible to enter. Now in it’s eighth season, the show is responsible for birthing the careers of Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke, and JLS. Its US incarnation launched last month FOX}.
In support of her new single ‘With Ur Love’, Cher Lloyd took to the X Factor UK stage minutes ago to perform the upbeat release, a year since she served as one of the show’s contestants.
The year was 2001 and a certain Britney Spears had freshly shocked the industry with an altogether raunchier image and attiude courtesy of her ‘Slave for You’ video.
However, as the age old saying goes, never count out the underdog. A statement which rung true and then some when longtime chart-rival Christina Aguilera roared back with ‘Dirrty’ a year later.
The first single to be lifted from her highly-praised and mega-selling sophomore set, ‘Stripped’, 2002’s ‘Dirrty’ served as an introduction to Ms. Aguilera’s explicit and controversial alter-ego Xtina.
Leaving behind the safeness which defined her earlier effort, the one-time girl-next-door, was now leaving her doors open – both lyrically and visually – in a way we’d never seen before. Ditched were the Pop-by-the-numbers tracks, in favor of a filthy urban sound and sexed-up demeanour, ‘Dirrty’ (and the ‘Stripped’ era) marked a turning point in Christina’s career.
Joining forces again with Rockwilder, the very man responsible for her then-latest hit ‘Lady Marmalade’, Aguilera wanted something radically different from than anything she’d done before to usher in her newest project. The result was this bodacious, unapologetic party anthem based on featured rapper Redman‘s hit ‘Let’s Get Dirty’.
And while the 30 year old might be a judge on rival show, The Voice, she definitely served up the X-Factor. Helmed by the great David Lachapelle, the accompanying video depicted an underground party headlined by biker chick Xtina, where dancing suggestively was a requirement and wearing as few clothes as possible a staunch obligation.
From the classic choreography to the now-iconic leather chaps, it’s safe to say that Dirrty sits effortlessly within the upper echelon of the Top 5 female videos of the 00’s.
And with the mother of one now in the studio working on a comeback (after a series of commercial disappointments), we can’t but get excited that she’s already christened the sound as echoing that of ‘Stripped’. Of course, we don’t particularly endorse her re-treading ‘Dirrty’ water (see: ‘Not Myself Tonight’); however we seriously hope Baby Jane can recapture that imperfectly-perfect combination of strengh, hope and vulnerability that made the album it called home so captivating and relatable.
When you hit rock bottom, the only way is up. As such, let’s hope ‘Moves Like Jagger’ global chart success is but a small indication of what’s to come for Christina Aguilera, one of the most gifted artists of this generation.
