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Jennifer Hudson and her husband David Otunga were spotted in The Bahamas recently. The two enjoyed a day of kayaking at the Atlantis Paradise Island while attending the ‘Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational’ in Nassau. Check out more pics below:

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Since her debut on the Billboard charts in 2004, Ciara has demonstrated tremendous growth as an artist. As one of the leading forces in dance, she has transcended beyond the butt-popping gyrations of her early career to become one of the most technically skilled performers in music today. In fact, Ciara’s precision is so acute that many consider her to be as good as or even better than modern day Janet Jackson.

Nevertheless, despite this improvement in her music and choreography, Ciara has yet to match the success of her first album, ‘Goodies’, which has sold over 3 million copies in the US alone. Indeed, her latest album, ‘Fantasy Ride’, while generating a top 10 hit with ‘Love Sex Magic (Ft. Justin Timberlake)’, has only managed to sell just over 300k units. This begs the question: has the industry been fair to Ciara?

It is no secret that Ciara’s voice is quite limited in many ways. However, she compensates for this lack vocal prowess  by outperforming almost all of her contemporaries on the dance floor. Throughout 2009, she delivered high energy performances and displayed outstanding skill that easily placed her in a completely different league from her peers, including Britney Spears and Usher. Yet Ciara has not received the level of recognition that her talents deserve, regardless of the fact that her routines were definitely more difficult than that of ‘Single Ladies’.

On the musical front, Ciara has been out-paced by artists such as Rihanna, who are known more for their beauty and fashion sense than actual talent. Interestingly, there is no doubt that Ciara is just as appealing as Rihanna in every sense of the word but many argue that because of the latter’s unwavering label support and funding, Ciara has not managed to access as wide a market. It seems that Ciara’s success has been unjustifiably limited.

Thus, it can be said that Ciara has not achieved a level of success that matches her abilities. While artists like Rihanna and Ke$ha continue to dominate the Pop charts, she finds herself struggling to make an impact. Nonetheless, judging by her discipline and drive to succeed, the old saying seems to be true: ‘you just can’t keep a good woman down’.

Do you think that the industry has been fair to

Ciara?

Peep rapper of the moment of Drake on the cover of the latest issue of Complex Magazine. This has to be one of the best covers the magazine has had. Very artistic. I like.

Your thoughts?

Judging by the amount of ‘WTF Sam…’ emails I received following our post on the delay of Toni Braxton‘s new LP ‘Pulse’, it appears my comments about not feeling much of Toni’s new material didn’t go down too well with her fans, prompting an influx of ‘haven’t you heard this, this or this?’ themed messages.

Interestingly, such messages seem to have done the trick; as, after wading through the suggestions, it seems Ms. Braxton is indeed cooking up a storm in the studio. Check out three tracks (all up-mid tempo), all which surfaced within the last month or so, which have kinda renewed my faith in her project (maybe not sales-wise, but quality-wise):

My Ring (Produced by Madd Scientist / Written by Jesse McCartney)

Looking At Me (Produced by Darkchild)

Wardrobe (Produced by D’Mile)

Hit(s) or Miss(es)?

As reported earlier, ‘The X Factor’ judge Simon Cowell has been busy trying to organise a charity single for Haiti. Now, Mariah Carey has reportedly joined his cause by agreeing to add her legendary voice to a cover version of REM’s classic ‘Everybody Hurts’, which will be produced by Steve Robson. Other performers said to be confirmed thus far for the song are Leona Lewis, Susan Boyle, Cheryl Cole, Alexandra Burke, Rod Stewart, James Morrison, Mika, James Blunt, JLS and Miley Cyrus.

Despite the horribly boring song choice, I am very excited to hear this one. So far, Cowell has managed to gather some of the best singers in the game right now, and I’m certain that with his influence and their collective fame, the song will do well. However, there is one name on the list that perplexes me – Miley Cyrus. She has undoubtedly been added to the track because of her star power because her one-dimensional voice certainly pales in comparison to the other singers. I sense (and hope) that she will get a one line appearance on the record like she did on ‘Just Stand Up’.

Sidebar: Why do I have a sinking feeling that Rihanna’s name is going to pop up within the next few days?

Thoughts?

Following the epic flop that has been Leona Lewis’ sophomore LP ‘Echo’ in the US, one of the album’s main collaborators, hitmaker Ryan Tedder, has given his 2 cents on why he feels the record has underperformed Stateside – poor promotion and…Lady GaGa. Speaking in an interview with Digital Spy, the producer (the creative force behind Lewis’ ‘Bleeding Love’ and ‘Happy’) said:

“In the US, unless you’re Justin Timberlake or Beyoncé, you cannot put out a song and not be in the country when it comes out.

Leona was gone for six weeks when ‘Happy’ came out because she was promoting the record in other countries – it wasn’t her fault; she couldn’t be two places in once.

I had radio stations telling me that they thought ‘Happy’ was the single biggest ballad they’d come across in ten years, but that if Leona didn’t come over here and promote it, it was going to fall.”

However, Tedder also admitted that the impact of Lady GaGa – who has notched up five US top ten hits in the last 12 months – might have adversely affected the single’s chances.

“On top of that, America’s consumed with Lady GaGa and dance music right now, so it’s not the best time for ballads anyway”, he said. “When everything on the radio is blasting out at 120 bpm, a song like ‘Happy’ almost sounds out-of-place.”

Though I commend Tedder for trying to help Leona save face, let’s be real…’Happy’ and ‘Echo’ were both sleeping pills on a disc. At the end of the day, with the amount of marketing push and budget put up for artists of Leona’s magnitude, if the album ended up tanking it’s usually the material that is at fault. I mean, folks knew it was out, yet didn’t buy it because they didn’t gravitate toward the sub-par single (which is always supposed to act as an advertisement of sorts for the actual album). For all Lady GaGa’s success, her case is still an anomaly, yet is a testament to the fact that ‘good’ music will find a way to get its shine, somehow, some way.

Still, on the one hand, the whole situation is actually quite unfortunate, as Leona has been blessed with a level of talent and skill the music industry has not seen since Whitney and Mariah hit the scene all those decades ago. However, in today’s uber competitive climate, it’s imperative that artists consistently serve up that good-good with the music, as we’re unfortunately at that stage where they are only as hot as their last hit.

Yet on the other hand, it’s slightly annoying; I can actually remember reading and watching interviews about Leona’s sophomore LP (many of which were given by her), talking about how she was experimenting with new sounds and how it’d be markedly different to her debut, only to hear the finished product and -save for a couple of tracks-having to endure ballad after dry ballad.

In any case, I’m sure Leona will be fine in the long run. Her team just need to switch things up. Ballads are understandably her mainstay, with good reason; however delivering half-decent ones would be a good starting point. Sigh…

Your thoughts?

Your thoughts?

After a few weeks rested on the bench, our From The Vault feature is back!

This week’s classic clip is Fantasia‘s soaring rendition of  ‘The Colour Purple’ gem  ‘I’m Here’ on The Oprah Winfrey Show back in 2007. Ms. Barrino performed the song on the show to coincide with the announcement that she’d be taking on the lead role of Celie in ‘The Colour Purple’s Broadway run.

About the actual performance; WOW! Some 3 years later, I still get chills watching this. Raw, emotive, and beautifully sung, Fantasia had me won with this song – which I ironically heard for the first time when watching this performance. Flawless.

Note: Look out for our interview with Fantasia this coming week. A 40 minute (yes, you read right!) in-depth chat, full of honesty and plenty laughs. What’s more, we asked the questions you really want answers to. You won’t want to miss this one!

Your thoughts?

Hip-Hop/R&B icon Lauryn Hill performed her classic song ‘That Thing’ last evening. The lyricist made her appearance at Raggamuffin 2010 Hip-Hop/Reggae festival in New Zealand. Other performers included Sean Kingston and Shaggy.

Although her voice was a bit rough at some points, Hill shut it down! Watching this performance really makes me wonder about the state of women in Hip-Hop or even music in general for that matter. Hill is such a rare talent and it is baffling to believe that a lot of these younger girls even got a record contract in the first place. Rappers like Nicki Minaj and ‘singers’ like Cassie are a complete joke compared to her.

Thoughts?

Beyonce and Jay-Z were spotted in a rare moment of affection while in France last evening. The power couple were moving through the international airport after enjoying Fashion Week. Peeop more shots below (via BeyonceNow):

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R&B star Alicia Keys on currently here in London Town promoting her successful LP ‘The Element of Freedom’ (currently #8 on the UK album chart, and still selling well since its release last month). The critically and commercially acclaimed songstress stopped by The Jonathan Ross Show earlier this week for a sit-down interview, as well as to perform latest single ‘Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart’. As ever, Ms. Keys nailed the performance (which you can watch above) and, actually came across quite personable in the interview too (she’s usually quite…I can’t put my finger on it, but you know what I mean, right? LOL). Good stuff.

Your thoughts?

UK sensation JLS performed on the BBC’s hit show ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ recently. The boy band did a rendition of their latest single ‘One Shot’. To date, the single has peaked at #32 on the UK Singles Chart.

Is Leona Lewis the only ‘The X Factor’ alum who doesn’t need to rely on a backtrack when she hits the stage? JLS lip-synced that entire performance. With the lack of intense choreography, that song could have been easily delivered. I have no problem with singers who use tracks during intense promotional ventures so that they can preserve their voices or if they are ill. However, unless they have all come down with a sudden case of strep throat, they have no excuse. Get it together!

Thoughts?