As earlier reported, diva Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith’s Steve Tyler were announced as two-thirds of the all-new American Idol judging panel. Peep pics of Lopez and Tyler (along with original judge Randy Jackson) at the show’s press conference today below…

Randomness: The judging panel isn’t the only major change in this the show’s tenth season. Now featured as an in-house mentor will be Interscope head Jimmy Iovine. What does this mean, you may ask? Gone, according to reports, are the weekly themes. Instead individual acts will be honed to be great in the genre of music which suits them as an artist. What’s more, Interscope in-house producers  such as Timbaland and Polow Da Don (as well as other label figures) will be working with the contestants each week to ‘up their everything’ (posture, vocals, artistic growth etc). The heavy involvement of Interscope (a subsidary of Universal Music) comes on the heels of the label replacing long-time Idol collaborators Sony Music as the winners’ label.

Sounds like Idol may actually be worth the watch this go round.

Your thoughts?

We must have been really naughty this year because Santa has given us something worse than a lump of coal – a Rihanna Christmas song. The Bajan has recorded a song entitled ‘A Child Is Born’ that will be featured on ‘Now That’s What I Call Christmas! Vol. 4’.

The 36-track record will hit stores on October 12th and will also have contributions from Kelly Rowland and Mariah Carey. Give the snippet a listen below:

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Ne-Yo appeared on MTV’s ‘Extended Play’ recently. The singer/songwriter spoke about his upcoming studio album, ‘Libra Scale’, his contributions to Beyonce’s new project, his interest in working with Lady GaGa and what he intends to do with the material he wrote for Michael Jackson. Check out what he had to say below:

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Keri Hilson’s ‘Breaking Point’ video premiered moments ago. The Bryan Barber-directed clip was shot to support the track which serves as the 1st single from her upcoming studio album, ‘No Boys Allowed’. Check out the video below:

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Jennifer Lopez‘s career has been issued another lifeline. The singer/actress has literally just been confirmed as a judge on American Idol.

Full story below…

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As Nicki Minaj continues to ready her hotly anticipated ‘Pink Friday’ LP for its November 23rd release, a new cut from the set has surfaced in the form of ‘Right Through Me’.

Take a listen to the whimsical mid-tempo after the jump…

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Powerhouse yodeller Rihanna shot the video for new single ‘Only Girl (In The World)’ yesterday. However, some of the model’s fans were left none-too-impressed when they discovered that frequent collaborator Anthony Mandler had been tapped to direct the clip.

The majority cited the mismatch of his trademark ‘dark visuals’ vs the colourful vibrance they expect from the ‘Only Goat’ video. This, despite not even knowing the video’s treatment.

True to their nature, the young and dumb bunch took to Twitter to abuse the accomplished director, prompting him to hit back.

Find out what he had to say below…

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Monica is already working on a followup to her gold-certified ‘Still Standing’ album. The R&B singer revealed the news during a recent interview with Rap-Up TV where she also spoke about the influence that Whitney Houston has had on her career as well as her thoughts about Nicki Minaj. Peep the footage below:

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Shakira’s ‘The Sun Comes Out World Tour’ touched down in New York’s Madison Square Garden last evening. The global superstar, who has influenced several of her peers including Beyonce, is utilising the US leg of the tour to promote her upcoming bilingual album, ‘Sale El Sol’, which hits stores on October 19th. More images are available below courtesy of Neon Limelight:

What do you think of the pics?

Here is Lil Kim’s full spread in the upcoming Confessions issue of Kontrol magazine. The Hip-Hip icon will be releasing her long-awaited new single at the beginning of October. Check out more images below via KidduNot:

What do you think of the pics?

Rap-Up TV caught up with Lloyd on the set of his new video for his current single, ‘Lay It Down’. The singer spoke about the concept behind the production and also revealed that the next single from his upcoming ‘King of Hearts’ LP (which is being executive produced by Polow Da Don), will be ‘Let’s Get It In’. Peep the interview below:

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Fantasia is back! The soulful songstress has rebounded from her recent troubles with a smash album, and now the return of her hit VH1 reality show ‘Fantasia For Real’.

Episode 1 of the new season aired this week. Check it out below…

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