With tonight bringing with it the season premiere of American Idol, new judge Jennifer Lopez cranked up her promotional efforts, paying a visit to ‘The Ellen Degeneres Show‘.

Check out the mother of two talk kids, Idol, her musical comeback and more after the jump…

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The fourth season of The Game continued tonight on BET. Check out episode 2 of the smash hit series below. Melanie, Derwin, Tasha, Malik, Jason, and Kelly are back!

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The 3rd episode of ‘What Chilli Wants’ aired this weekend on Vh1. Look below to see Chilli pursue her quest to find the perfect man:

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With the promotional train for Lady GaGa‘s ‘Born This Way’ set to leave the station shortly, details surrounding the video for the project’s self-titled lead single have begun to surface. True to form, the Pop phenom looks set to rustle feathers.

Full story after the jump…

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Jennifer Lopez revealed the official artwork of her new single, ‘On The Floor’ to Ryan Seacrest today. The club-ready song features Pitbull and will appear on her upcoming album, ‘Love?’. Listen to the slightly altered radio version of the record below:

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Here is the 5th installment of Chris Brown’s webisode series. ‘Breezy Art…Style’ features the entertainer and his collaborators, Swizz Beatz, Big Sean, and Tyga, talk about what defines their fashion. Look below for the video:

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This week’s special edition of  Best You Never Heard sees Sam and Trent go head-to-head with  little known gems by divas Beyonce and Mariah Carey. Who’ll get your pick?

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Beyonce – ‘He Still Loves Me (ft. Walter Williams)’

While Beyonce’s starring role in ‘The Fighting Temptations’ did little to silence critique of her acting ability, the project served up an undeniably stellar soundtrack. Boasting many an inspirational number, the 2003 set’s standout is, for yours truly, ‘He Still Loves Me’.

Lead by Beyonce ( and featuring Walter Williams), the moving mid-tempo tells of the daily difficulties we deal with in our life journeys; asserting that, through it all, ‘He’ still loves us.

With its combination of soaring vocals and engaging lyrics (which can’t but move your spirit), the song serves as great crossover Gospel. Yet moreover a refreshing change of pace for Beyonce  – one it’d be great to see her revisit at some point down the line. {SAM}

LISTEN:

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Mariah Carey – ‘Do You Think Of Me’

There is an old adage that states “nothing is better than classic Mariah” and this record affirms it. Released as a B-side to her enormously successful single ‘Dreamlover’, ‘Do You Think Of Me’ displays the diva at her very best.

Boasting haunting horns and a simple guitar-assisted melody, the song demonstrates Carey’s mastery of her uniquely textured voice as she weaves through the octaves, building from a series to breathy coos to awesome belts of unbridled desire. By easily transitioning through the registers of her voice along intricate vocal runs, this record shows why Carey is in a league of her own.

Undoubtedly, Carey’s label decided to keep this track off of her ‘Music Box’ LP in an effort to preserve her then well-constructed innocent image. Indeed, as the songbird’s vocal performance in the song may indicate, there was an artist whose sexuality was waiting to break free long before her eventual metamorphosis on ‘Butterfly’. {TRENT}

LISTEN: 
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Beyonce – ‘If’

Beyonce’s singing is often criticised for being more impressive than expressive. However, the entertainer effortlessly silenced all of those claims with the powerful ‘If’ from the deluxe edition of her ‘B’Day’ LP – arguably her best album to date.

Ironically singing to an emotionally devoid lover who refuses to fight for her affections, Beyonce brings the lyrics of the song to life, aggressively belting with incredible timing and stamina. In fact, her vocal performance is so believable that it is hard not to share her anguish and pain.

Many people focus of Beyonce’s skill has a performer but overlook her incredible skill as a vocalist. She may not have the expansive vocal range of Christina Aguilera but Beyonce can deliver complex vocal runs and acrobatics in a way that her many of her contemporaries dare not attempt. {TRENT}

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Mariah Carey – ‘Mine Again’

Blockbuster.  Indeed, many would agree that this is what Mariah Carey’s 2005 LP ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’ served as. Of course, that and so much more. Beyond facilitating a much-needed commercial comeback for the diva, the opus was a resounding success with critics and also at retail outlets (10x Platinum worldwide). A brand of success artists –both of the new and seasoned variety-can only dream of.

Therefore, in selecting a song to wipe the floor with the competition this week, it was immediately apparent that the ‘Emancipation’ is where I’d be heading. For beyond its smash singles such as ‘We Belong Together’, the LP delivered stellar album cuts such as my eventual pick – ‘Mine Again’.

Produced by Carey and James Poyser, the ballad is simply summed up as ‘stellar’. Encompassing elements of retro Soul and quiet storm, the song sees Carey unleash her trademark power runs – sonically taking the song to levels only she can. Amazing track. {SAM}

LISTEN:

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R&B diva Keyshia Cole has axed her manager following the poor commercial and crtical reception of her fourth studio album, ‘Calling All Hearts’.

Full story below…

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There is just no escaping Rihanna. The official remix to her new single from her yet-to-go-platinum ‘Loud’ album, ‘S&M’, has just been released and it features an act with actual viable talent, J.Cole. Give it a listen below:

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As earlier reported, Pop phenom Alexandra Burke kicked off her ‘All Night Long Tour’ in Rhys, UK over the weekend. Since then, performances from the sell-out show have surfaced.

Check out the performances of ‘Hallelujah’, ‘Nothing But The Girl’, ‘Broken Heels’, and the must-see showing of recent #1 smash ‘Start Without You’ – which saw the 22 year old dance harder than we’ve ever seen her to the song’s completely new routine. Singing live, of course.

{Spotted over at Alex-US}

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Here is the official remix of Nicki Minaj’s ‘Roman’s Revenge’. Renamed ‘Roman’s Revenge 2.0’, the track features Minaj’s mentor Lil Wayne who replaces his fellow Hip-Hop titan Eminem. Listen to the record below:

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Britney Spears has always been a tough act to follow and Beyonce and Lady GaGa are about to find out why. The megastar’s new single, ‘Hold It Against Me’, has roared onto the Billboard Pop chart, debuting at #16 on the tally with a record-breaking 4,071 plays.

Not only has the song entered the tally with the highest 1st-week detections in the 18-year history of the chart but is also tied with Madonna’s ‘Frozen’ for the 2nd highest debut on the Pop format. However, even the Queen and Princess of Pop could not dethrone head diva Mariah Carey’s ‘Dreamlover’ which entered the lineup at #12 in 1993. Girl power.

Thoughts?

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