The UK’s biggest boy band (sad, but true) JLS have finally addressed the rumours about their sexuality in October’s Gay Times Magazine. UK’ers, unless living under a rock, will have no doubt been aware of the mass suggestion that some, if not all, of the four-piece are interested in guys. Here’s what the guys had to say about it:

Talking to Gay Times magazine about the rumours that one or more members of the band are gay, Aston says, “We always get the same thing from straight guys. Just because we like to take care of ourselves and get a lot of female attention, they’re first response is ‘you’re gay’.”

Marvin: “I met a girl in a club recently who was convinced that we were all gay – just because none of us tried it on with her! We were like ‘yeah whatever baby…’ We don’t care, though. We’ve got loads of gay friends anyway. All of mine fancy JB!”

Aston chips in with “whenever we do meet do meet and greet with gay fans, I’m the one they sling over their shoulders and run off with.”

Kudos to their PR team; it was actually an ingenious idea to combat the rumours – which they didn’t actually deny – by doing a feature with this magazine.

While their sexuality shouldn’t be as big a deal as folk are hyping about, my gripe centres solely on the fact they are crap lol; IMO their brand of crappiness represents all that is wrong with the industry today (shoddy music at the top of the charts). Perhaps contradicting myself, however, is my stance that I can’t hate on the guys for trying to live their dream…even if it has been pre-formatted to last approximately 15 minutes.

Your thoughts?

It appears the ramifications of Kanye West’s actions a few weeks back at the MTV VMA’s spelled the end of his much anticipated co-headlining tour with Lady GaGa, before it even began. It has been confirmed tonight, by the tour’s promoters Live Nation, that the shows have been completely cancelled:

NEW YORK — Kanye West and Lady Gaga’s highly anticipated tour is over before it even began.

Just days after announcing dates for an ambitious joint show that was to kick off next month, the tour was canceled.
Live Nation announced the news in a brief statement Thursday that did not offer any explanation. Refunds are available for those who brought tickets for the tour. It was to kick off Nov. 10 in Phoenix and was scheduled to run through at least January.

The name of the tour was to be “Fame Kills” — a sentiment West may have been feeling in recent weeks. The Grammy-winning rapper has endured a firestorm of negative publicity since he hijacked the award-winning moment of country-pop sweetheart Taylor Swift at last month’s MTV Video Music Awards.

Swift had made history as the first country act to win at the VMAs, and was giving her acceptance speech after nabbing a trophy for best female video. West — who has a long history of awards-show meltdowns — grabbed the microphone and declared that Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” was one of the “best videos of all time.”

A crushed Swift did not finish her speech then but did later when Beyonce brought her back on stage after winning video of the year.

Publicists for both West and Lady Gaga did not immediately return requests for comment. A representative for Live Nation said there was no further information. {Source}

Though no official word has been given as to the cancellation, one would be foolish not to factor in the negative press Kanye has been receiving as of late. Whether this impacted ticket sales, sponsor participation or what, is anyone’s guess. However, the suddenness of the tour’s cancellation and the implication that it won’t be resurrected, clearly highlights that something was very wrong behind the scenes. A shame, really, as both Kanye and GaGa are two of the most original acts out at the moment, with the tour – even on paper – looking like a winner.

Your thoughts?

Although the results of Michael Jackson’s autopsy have yet to be made public, new reports have emerged suggesting the findings of the procedure will show that the superstar was in good health at the time of of his death:

LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson’s arms were covered with punctures, his face and neck were scarred and he had tattooed eyebrows and lips, but he wasn’t the sickly skeleton of a man portrayed by tabloids, according to his autopsy report obtained by The Associated Press.In fact, the Los Angeles County coroner’s report shows Jackson was a fairly healthy 50-year-old before he died of an overdose.

His 136 pounds were in the acceptable range for a 5-foot-9 man. His heart was strong with no sign of plaque buildup. And his kidneys and most other major organs were normal.

Still, Jackson had health issues: arthritis in the lower spine and some fingers, and mild plaque buildup in his leg arteries. Most serious was his lungs, which the autopsy report said were chronically inflamed and had reduced capacity that might have left him short of breath.

However, according to the document, the lung condition was not serious enough to be a direct or contributing cause of death.

“His overall health was fine,” said Dr. Zeev Kain, chairman of the anesthesiology department at the University of California, Irvine, who reviewed a copy of the autopsy report for the AP. “The results are within normal limits.”

Jackson died at his rented Los Angeles mansion June 25 after his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, administered the anesthetic propofol and two other sedatives to get the chronic insomniac to sleep, court documents state. Propofol, normally a surgical anesthetic used in operating rooms, acts as a respiratory depressant and requires constant monitoring.

When Murray realized Jackson was unresponsive, he began frantic efforts to revive him but Jackson never regained consciousness and was declared dead at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center.

Though the full autopsy report has not been publicly released, the coroner’s office announced last month that Jackson’s death was a homicide caused by “acute propofol intoxication,” with the other sedatives listed as a contributing factor. They said the standard of care for administering propofol was not met and the recommended equipment for patient monitoring, precision dosing and resuscitation was missing. {Source}

The fact he is gone is still so hard to rationalise. That aside, if there’s one things I’m most hoping for, it’s that the man is left to rest in peace without all the drama (leaked conversations, certain family members cashing in etc).. SMH…

Your thoughts?

Check out the official album cover for 50 Cent’s serially delayed ‘Before I Self Destruct’ LP (due November 14th).

Is anyone even still checking for ol’ Curtis any more? Just asking…

Your thoughts?

The MOBO Awards 2009 took place in Scotland last night at the SECC Area. Ever on point with our award show coverage, we have been in search of performance videos, yet little of substance has popped up Youtube (something in itself I’d imagine folk will read into). In any case, our girl Kelly Rowland performed her smash duet with David Guetta ‘When Love Takes Over’ at the event, however sound issues plagued the performance, something Kelly herself took to her Twitter after her performance to vent about. See Kelly’s Twitter message, as well as the actual performance below:

But, what I will say is the MoBo’s owe me an apology!!!! I was LIVID after the show! I wanted you guys to be the 1st to hear it from me! rehearsals. were fine. soundcheck. was fine. performance, wad a struggle at 1st. But, I got through it! {Source}

Ms. Kelly seemed heated (peep her face when she realised the issue). Not a bad performance, considering. I’m looking forward to seeing Kelly perform new material now, though.

Your thoughts?

While Mariah Carey’s ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’ LP struggles to set the charts ablaze, a new cut recorded during sessions for the LP has surfaced in the form of ‘Skydiving’. Produced by none other than Timbaland, this busy mid-tempo packs a serious punch on the production tip; and, though Mariah enlists her irritating whisper/breathy delivery for much of the track (and what she sings is inaudible at times), she rides the beat well, sounding progressively better on the verses. I like. Had this been sung more (as opposed to whispered), it would have been a great addition to the album IMO…

Hit or Miss?

According to Hits Daily Double, Mariah Carey’s ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’ is set to debut with the diva’s lowest ever opening week sales. The reputable industry website has forecast Carey, 40, to sell in the region of 160,000-170,000 first week, which is currently enough to secure a #2 position on the Billboard 200.{Source}

Ouch. In as much as there has been little buzz surrounding the album and a lukewarm reception to the singles, I still expected ol’ Mimi to pull in better numbers than this; it’s actually quite shocking. I would bet good money on the folks at Def Jam crapping their pants at this exact moment. It’s pretty much a given that her team will spin this (#1 R&B album) and her lambs will say ‘it’s where you finish, not where you start’. Yet, I challenge the lambs (who I really do love, by the way lol) to quote me 5 albums, released in recent times, which have sold such numbers first week and gone on to major success. With the album possessing little in the way of ‘quality Top 40 material, it’s not looking good for Mariah – at all.

Perhaps, with ‘E=MC2’ tanking and now this, Mariah is entering the phase many once-popular divas eventually enter – declining relevancy. The worst thing is, I feel Mariah has done this prematurely – as I very much feel she has it in her to deliver a quality album in the vein of ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’  – a near perfect compilation of soaring classic ballads and durable Top 40 smashes. IMO any suggestion that this sleeping pill of a CD (‘Memoirs’) is a patch on ‘Mimi’ or even ‘Butterfly’ (as I keep hearing folk spout) is laughable. The latter boasts a consistent sound, which saw classics such as ‘Honey’ manage to sit feasibly and believably beside songs like ‘My All’. ‘Memoirs’, to put it simply, boasts no such versatility. Rather, save for a few tracks, feels like a contrived effort to re-engage her long-suffering early fan-base, who in recent years have seen Mariah plough to career lows with the likes of ‘Touch My Body’ and ‘Obsessed’.

Your thoughts?

With the release of Alexandra Burke’s much anticipated debut ‘Overcome’ drawing ever-closer (due October 12th), Amazon are giving folks a preview of the entire album:

Click here to preview ‘Overcome’

Hmmm…I can’t say the clips are rocking my world, to be honest. That said, I will reserve full judgement until hearing the album in it’s entirety. In the meanwhile, we want to know what you’re thinking…

Hit or Miss?

British singing sensations The Noisette’s are continuing their assault on the US charts with new single ‘Never Forget You’, which the trio, fronted by eccentric Shingai, stopped by the Late Show With David Letterman recently to perform.

Great song, even better performance! It’s so refreshing to have such a unique act performing on the main-stage in today’s era of standardised, non-qualitative Pop.

What do you think of the performance?

Peep this video of the latest line-up of the Sugababes on the set of the video for their new single ‘About A Girl’, which was shot two weeks ago in Los Angeles.

While, like most, I’m dead-set against the notion of a Keisha-less Sugababes, I’d be fronting if I didn’t say new member Jade Ewen was giving me ‘di-vah!’ in the above clip; she was working it! I actually feel she’s been placed in a group where she’s head and shoulders more talented than the other members; as a powerhouse vocalist and a trained dancer (something neither Heidi or Amelle can boast of; see ‘Get Sexy’ video) Jade, if their management has any sense left (very doubtful), should be pushed to the forefront as the unofficial ‘leader’ of the group. I won’t hold me breath, though. I envision Amelle being pushed to the front, which I’m sure will further infuriate those still p*ssed about Keisha’s departure. After all, how can the newest member of the group, who wasn’t there at their conception or even peak, be sold as the face of the group. Errr…no love.

Your thoughts?

Controversial R&B star Chris Brown is looking to re-claim his place in the industry, making a comeback with ‘I Can Transform Ya’ – the lead single from his 3rd studio album ‘Graffiti’ (due November). The swagger-heavy track, which was produced by Swizz Beats, is a gritty club banger, which sees the singer ride over a busy, rock-tinged beat, along with Lil’ Wayne, who for once doesn’t sound like he was flung on there ‘for the sake of it’. Definitely feeling this one, particularly as Chris and/or his team smartly opted to stay away from any of the drama with the billy goat (and no, I am in no way condoning his actions). I can’t think of anything more contrived than a ‘I’m sorry’/public sympathy-designed track to launch his comeback. Anyway, without going off-topic, it’ll be interesting to see how well this does…

Hit Or Miss?