R&B royalty Mary J. Blige gave a rousing rendition of  the US national anthem, ‘The Star Spangled Banner’, at the final of the World Series at the Yankee Stadium in New York last night. Though not the best live showing I’ve seen of the song, Mary held her own with the song, which many a diva has tried their hand at.

Tidbit: The New York Yankees won their 27th World Series title, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies to do so.

What do you think of Mary’s rendition?

Remember Donnie Klang? Making The Band 4? Still don’t? I really can’t blame you. A victim of Diddy’s ‘no-promo-when-show-ain’t- on-air’, we’ve heard pretty much nothing from Donnie since his debut album ‘Just A Rolling Stone’ sold triple copper last year.

In any case, the 24 year old is back with new single ‘Prisoner of Love’, the video for which premiered today. Directed by The Littles, the video and the song aren’t that bad. While I remember scratching my head as to why Diddy signed him (he’s simply not good enough, plus that bootleg Justin Timberlake thing was never going to cut it), this is definitely much more in line with what Donnie should be singing IMO. As  that contrived Electro-Pop he was trying to pass off as believable the last go round was not the business.

No word yet on a title or release date for his sophomore effort…(Sam checks to see if he’s still on Bad Boy>>>he is>>>sounds about right! SMH…)

What do you think of the song / video?

The video for Gucci Mane’s 1st official single ‘Spotlight’, featuring Usher, premiered today. I’m really not understanding the hoo-harr around Gucci, if I’m to be entirely, hence my sole thought watching this was ‘Why is Usher in this?’. Still, not a bad video. Look out for cameos by Nicki Minaj and Eddie Murphy’s eldest daughter Bria Murphy, who plays the lead female.

Gucci’s debut album ‘The State vs. Radric Davis’ hits stores December 8th.

What do you think of the song / video?

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The trailer for Tyler Perry’s ‘Why Did I Get Married Too’ aired on Entertainment Tonight a few moments ago. Once again starring Janet Jackson, the sequel to 2007’s box office smash ‘Why Did I Get Married’ is set to be released April 2010. The trailer looks off the charts!

Interesting to note, Janet was on the set of the movie when she learned of her brother Michael’s passing back in June. She returned to filming a few weeks later, so I’d imagine this one will see an emotionally charged performance from Ms. Jackson (and the rest of the cast). Definitely looking forward to this.

Thoughts?

Diva Mariah Carey stopped by The Ellen Degeneres Show today to promote her latest projects. Another light-hearted chitter-chatter. Mind you, with her new LP ‘Memoirs’ almost a certified flop, I’m baffled beyond belief at why she’s not performing on these shows she’s doing this week or even talking about the album other than in passing. Something in my gut tells me this remix LP isn’t going to see the light of day (nothing superstitious, strictly from a business perspective), so surely it’d be best to ride the wheels off this album until they fall off?

A fun interview nontheless – part 1 one which you can watch above, and part 2 below:

Your thoughts?

Hip-Hop superstar Jay-Z is currently here in London to play a series of show’s across the capital. The rapper performed on the BBC’s Later With Jools Holland tonight. Check out his performance of current single ‘Empire State of Mind’ (above) as well as the now-classic ’99 Problems’ below. Good stuff.

What do you think of the performances?

{Video Removed As Requested}

The video for R&B star Trey Songz’ latest single ‘I Invented Sex’ premièred a few moments ago (if it sounds like we say that alot, it’s because we’re uber on top of things! LOL). Check it out above (warning: it’s rather explicit).

Yawn. Regardless of the song’s title, it’s quite evident the explicit nature of the video is soley what’s supposed to entice folks into watching it over and over; however, I find it hard to ignore how cheap this looks (recession video anyone?). Like, seriously, it’s as if it was shot on a Sony Handycam and edited on Windows Movie Maker. No, no, no.

Trey’s 3rd album ‘Ready’ is in stores now.

What do you think of the video?

Chris Brown’s label Jive today announced that the R&B sensation’s forthcoming effort ‘Graffiti’ will now be released a week earlier. Therefore, instead of arriving in stores December 15th, the set will now be available December 8th.

Instead of competing with the likes of Alicia Keys and Lil’ Wayne, the 20 year old will now apparently go head to head with Usher, whose new LP ‘Raymond vs. Raymond’ is said to be hitting stores…you guessed it…December 8th. Should be real interesting!

Your thoughts?

R&B singer Amerie finally made her first televised performance of new single  ‘Heard Em All’ on The Wendy Williams Show earlier today. Hell, correct me if wrong, it’s her first televised anything for her ‘In Love & War’ LP. SMH…

While the performance wasn’t bad at all, it kinda reminded me what my main gripe was with the video. With the song being such a banger, I was expecting some insane choreography, yet instead got a visually appealing clip, yet nothing in the way of ‘fierce’ moves. Still, pretty decent, I guess. Best of luck to Amerie with the album.

Tidbit: There has apparently been some shipping issues with her LP, so if you’ve yet to see it in stores, hit up Itunes or Amazon to purchase.

What do you think of the performance?

As Mariah Carey’s latest effort ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’ continues to skydive (without a parachute) down the charts, a new remix lifted from her ‘Memoirs’ features/remix LP has surfaced in the form of the Trey Songz-assisted ‘Inseparable’. A decent enough mid-tempo, yet not one I envision many parting with their cash to buy her remix CD for.

Hit or Miss?

In a recent interview with Billboard, rapper 50 Cent weighed in on the seemingly ever-raging debate about Destiny’s Child alum’s Beyonce and Kelly Rowland. Speaking of his ‘Baby By Me’ co-star, 50 said:

“You can’t forget all the work she did with Destiny’s Child. The difference between Kelly and Beyoncé is the extreme focus they put on Beyoncé to make sure she was completely right. Kelly wasn’t held in the same regard, so, in order for her to mean anything to America, they’d have to match the marketing dollars spent on Beyoncé. She never received the superstar treatment.”

While ol’ Curtis usually spouts the utmost of caca, I do actually agree with him here. Never one to explicitly compare the two myself, it’s quite a valid point that had Kelly, who is as fundamentally talented Beyonce IMO, had the machine that powers Bouncy’s brand given to her, she too would be a world-renown star. It’s important to stress that Beyonce’s current industry position isn’t based on the ‘machine’ alone; clearly the work she puts into her craft and artistry is what has taken her to that ‘future Icon’ status. However, had Kelly had it psychologically programmed into her that she was the business and was a ‘superstar-in-the-making’ in the way Beyonce had (see: pretty much everything Destiny’s Child), I imagine she’d be one of the world’s biggest stars today too. I mean if Rihanna can do it with next-to-no talent and soley the ‘machine’ powering her hype, then Kelly sure as hell could with her undeniable talent.

Some of you may wonder why I rep so hard for Ms. Kelly. Well, when you see talent of her calibre shunned and arguably made (inadvertently) to feel they are lesser (the reason I feel behind some of Kelly’s not-so-great performances), you can’t help but ‘stan’. For you know what they are capable of and able to achieve should all the right pieces of the puzzle be affixed. One need not look further than the undeniable swagger Kelly was exuding during the ‘Destiny Fulfilled project’, where I’d argue she gave Ms. Knowles-Carter a run for her money more times than not – everything from the weave-tossing, Naomi Campbell Walk’s and even, at times, vocals.

I never understood how it made more sense to some (who shall remain nameless) to not maximise the Destiny’s Child brand by ensuring each was as big a solo star as the possibly could be – a super group almost. In simpler terms, imagine a group – for example – with the individual ‘star-power’ of the Beyonce, Ciara and (because I couldn’t think of another name) Rihanna? That would be off-the-charts!

Again, I reiterate that this is in no way any shade on Beyonce, who we love around here. Just telling it like it is…

In any case, in being forward thinking, things are definitely looking up for Kelly, with her new team, soon-to-be-announced new label etc. Let’s just hope she gets the success she deserves this go round. (In true ‘stan’ fashion lol), I shall leave you with some of Kelly’s best showings…

Your thoughts?

Janet Jackson’s new team are seemingly pulling out all the stops to ensure her forthcoming ‘Number Ones’ compilation is a success. It has been announced that an hour-long Janet Jackson primetime special will air on ABC on November 18th – the day after the LP is released in the US.  {Source}

I cannot wait! With Janet now being the last ‘active’ member of the Jackson dynasty, I’m anticipating she gets treated with the respect she so deserves. Her partnership with new label, A&M/Interscope (expect an announcement about their partnership in the coming month or so) seems to be ensuring that she does.

The label (and her management) are going all out with the promotion for the record, as evidenced by the ABC special, a flash mob (click here for details), rumoured performance at the American Music Awards, and on the UK front – headlining the Jingle Ball, X-Factor, and several other scheduled promo spots. It’s a very exciting time to be a Janet Jackson fan.

Tidbit: Janet begins shooting the video for new single ‘Make Me’ today!

Your thoughts?