R&B star Kelly Rowland was invited to perform the US National Anthem (‘The Star Spangled Banner’) at the new Red Bull Arena last night, as the New York Red Bulls took on Brazil’s Santos FC. Check out how the Destiny’s Child alumni fared above…{Many thanks to Steffan for the video!}

While not the uber best rendition of the song we’ve heard, Ms. Kelly certainly held her own, and really nailed it at the end. Great performance!

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Pop superstars Lady GaGa and Beyonce will have much cause for celebration tonight, as their smash ‘Telephone’ has hit the top spot on the Official UK Singles Chart.

No doubt spurred on the the song’s epic viddeo, the feat brings GaGa’s tally of #1’s on the chart to 4 (‘Just Dance’, ‘Poker Face’, ‘Bad Romance’ and ‘Telephone’) and Beyonce’s to 5 (‘Crazy In Love’, ‘Deja Vu’, ‘Beautiful Liar’, ‘If I Were A Boy’, and ‘Telephone’). Impressive!

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Following our exclusive report on the cancellation of Mariah Carey’s ‘Angel’s Advocate’ LP, there has, today, emerged fresh reports indicating the record has officially been shelved. Prior to now an air of silence has plagued suggestion of the album’s axe, with calls to Carey’s rep going unanswered. However, as per CD Now‘s updated listings, ‘Advocate’ page, which previously indicated a  March 30th store date, now reads ‘Released Cancelled’. Ouch.

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It appears ol’ Mimi’s team are set to quietly pretend this remix LP was ever in the pipeline, which – truth be told – shouldn’t prove too difficult; as no one knew/cared for the album in its original form (see: ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’ and its sales).

At this junction, it’s perhaps best Mariah gather herself together, re-assess her musical output, and hit us with something worth buying/playing a few years down the line. A serious image assessment during this period too wouldn’t go amiss either.

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Teen phenomenon Justin Bieber is currently here in the UK doing the promotional rounds for new single ‘Baby’. The 15 year old’s most recent stop was Tim Westwood’s BBC 1xtra radio show, where he gave an impromptu freestyle.

Peep the Canadian-born singer below dropping a few bars on living in Atlanta, Bieber-fever being more infectious than swine-flu (lol), and ‘hot girls’.

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Check out Sabrina Washington in this sizzling new photoshoot for The Mirror. As ever, the former Mis-Teeq singer looks stunning!

Washington’s new single ‘OMG’ is out on April 5th.

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Pop superstar Janet Jackson sent fans into a frenzy Friday, with the radio premiere of new single ‘Nothing’, the lead song from the ‘Why Did I Get Married Too’ soundtrack.

Jackson, 43, looks set to further please her legion of supporters with the video for the ballad, which is reportedly set to be shot next week (March 24th). As at writing, no further information is available about the shoot.

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After a tumultuous 2009, it’s great to see Janet getting back into the swing of things with her career. ‘Nothing’ is an awesome track, and does quite the job of re-affirming her musical relevancy, hence a video (though likely to be used mainly to promote the movie) is definitely welcomed.

That said, I’m really eager to see her make a big splash with her forthcoming new LP (her first as part of her new deal with Interscope Records). A killer (uptempo) first single is a must.

Your thoughts?

According to Rihanna‘s production label, SRP Records, the model’s latest single ‘Rude Boy’ is likely to be the last single to be lifted from her moderately successful ‘Rated R’ LP. The news comes in wake of the confirmation that the 22 year old is set to release a lighter, up-tempo album this summer.

This hardly comes as a surprise considering the fact it’s well known a new RiRi LP is in the works. That said, it’s rather telling that after just 5 months, her label have decided to call time on the project, in preparation for yet another assault on the charts with an entirely different record. I mean, if ever there was a template for ‘fast food music’, this would be it; music only designed to satisfy the ‘here and now’, as opposed to stand the test of time.

While such a strategy may bring in the $$$ (as I’m sure her label are hoping it will), it’s rather interesting to observe that the artists that have enjoyed lengthy careers not only boast songs that have gone down as classics, yet also albums too. At the rate Rihanna and her team are going, ‘Rated R’ – despite being her best effort yet – will likely join the pile of forgettable LP’s she’s released (‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ excluded).

In any case, it’ll be interesting to see if there’s actually any demand for Ms. Fenty’s next record, considering how soon it’s being released after her last…

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Pop sensation Alexandra Burke amps up the sass in this new promotional shot for new single ‘All Night Long (ft. Pitbull)’. The video for the song is set to be shot next Friday (March 26th).

Granted Ms. Burke looks great (she looks much better with this longer ‘do), I’d be lying if I said this didn’t look like a little ‘Sasha Fierce’ here. Just saying…

Your thoughts?

Continuing his re-emergence into the public eye, Chris Brown was spotted at the LA Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves basketball game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles yesterday. The 20 year old R&B star was seen chatting it up with Tom Cruise and wife Katie Holmes at the game too.

More pics below…

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With Kelly Rowland wrapping up the recording  of her hotly anticipated 3rd studio album, a new track titled ‘Smooches’ has surfaced. The buzz track, which is produced by hitmaker Bangladesh (‘Diva’, ‘Bossy’, ‘A Milli’), sees Rowland amp up the swagger over a gritty, club-ready beat. An Urban smash-in-waiting, no doubt! Check out the track below:

Song Removed As Requested

Bajan model Rihanna poses it up in the latest issue of Australia’s ‘Sunday’ magazine. The sizzling shoot was shot by noted photographer Georges Antoni, and accompanied a feature where the 22 year old spoke on her ‘Rated R’ LP, Chris Brown, and more. Click here to read the interview. Meanwhile peep more pics below:

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The UK’s top acts were out in full force last night for BBC’s Sports Relief extravaganza, which raised money for charity. Peep performances from Cheryl Cole (‘Parachute’) above and Lemar and JLS (‘What About Love’) below

On slower cuts especially, it becomes dreadfully obvious how limited Ms. Cole and JLS’ vocals are. I mean, for goodness sake Cheryl’s voice sounded wafer-thin and that’s just a backing track for her to sing lip-sync along to. What’s more, words cannot describe just how much Lemar showed up JLS too; Marvin and JB were especially awful. Still, it appears someone out there disagrees, as their sales and US deal shows. SMH…

Your thoughts?