Our good friends over at Rap-Up.com recently caught up with hitmaker Sean Garret, who revealed more about Rihanna‘s forthcoming album – which he has been enlisted to work on. As previously reported, the popular model is set to release an entirely new LP this summer – less than a year after the release of the relatively successful ‘Rated R’. Check out what Garrett had to say after the jump…

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Sam

1) Scream – Michael & Janet Jackson

2) She’s A Mess – Sugababes

3) OMG – Sabrina Washington

4) Even Angels – Fantasia

5) Hands Tied – Toni Braxton

Trent

1) How Low Can You Go – Ludacris (ft. Shawna)

2) Rude Boy – Rihanna

3) My Chick’s Bad – Ludacris (ft. Nicki Minaj)

4) It’s A Wrap – Mariah Carey

5) Side Effect – Mariah Carey (ft. Young Jeezy)

What are Your Top 5 Songs of The Moment?

Pussycat Doll front-woman Nicole Scherzinger has been confirmed as one of the contestants in the 10th season of ‘Dancing With The Stars’. The show kicks off on ABC on March 22nd.

While in the past the show has revolved around turning novice dancers into professionals, Scherzinger joins the growing list of more experienced dancers who have taken part in the show (see: Mya, and to a less extent Toni Braxton). {Source}

I must say this has caught me a little off-guard, as usually participants careers usually have waned to the level by which they stand to gain much more than they’d lose. However, irrespective of Nicole’s futile efforts as a solo star, she’s still regarded rather highly in the industry due to her Pussycat Doll fame; something evident in her securing lead parts in ‘We Are The World 25’ and ‘Stand Up (To Cancer)’. Hence, her joining the cast of this particular show is a little surprising.

Still, I’m imagining her team are hoping her stint on the show will warm people towards her ahead of her solo debut. Time will tell…

Your thoughts?

Soulful songstress Sade covers the April issue of Ebony magazine. As ever, she looks stunning…even more so when considering the fact she’s 51! More power to her.

Tidbit: Sade’s ‘Solider of Love’ LP has been certified Gold, with more than 600,000 copies sold – in two weeks. The album also remains #1 on the Billboard 200.

Your thoughts?

R&B star Christina Milian and hit-maker hubby The-Dream are celebrating the birth of their first child. The couple welcomed a daughter, who they named Violet, on Friday (February 26th). According to the delighted pair, the child has “a full head of hair”.

While the child is Milian’s first, she is The-Dream’s fourth – the singer/songwriter has three children with ex-wife, singer Nivea.

Milian and Dream, real name Terius Nash, married in October last year, announcing the pregnancy a few weeks prior to tying the knot in Las Vegas.

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Congratulations to them!

Your thoughts?

As Whitney Houston continues to dazzle audiences in Australia with her ‘Nothing But Love Tour’, a new video of the singer performing  ‘For The Lovers’ – a fan favourite from her Platinum-selling ‘I Look To You’ LP – has surfaced. The clip, which you can view below, is from the 46 year old’s Hunter Valley show over the weekend:

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There appears to be no stopping R&B crooner Trey Songz; the 25 year old premièred the video for ‘Neighbours Know My Name’ – the sixth single to be lifted from his Gold selling ‘Ready’ LP. Check out the Yolande Geralds directed video above…

While I enjoy both the song, as well as Trey’s album (after giving it another chance), I’m gonna need to see a bit more versatility lyrically from the Atlantic Records artist before I hop aboard the Trey-train. For, thus far, next to all of his songs and their accompanying videos revolve around the same three-letter word.

What do you think of the song / video?

Lady GaGa was snapped leaving her London hotel this morning in yet another ‘interesting’ outfit. The 23 year old’s braved the UK cold in the daring ensemble, which was…erm…rather revealing (let’s just say the pink stars above were not part of the outfit!).

The 23 year old GaGa wrapped up a sold out 3-night residency at the capital’s famed O2 Arena last night. European fans who missed her ‘Monsters Ball’ show will be pleased to know that more dates have been added, due to overwhelming demand. Click here for more details.

Peep more pics , as well as a random 2pence by yours truly below:

Randomness: Say what you want about ol’ GaGa, but I can’t help but applaud what she’s brought to the industry. Besides the music, we’re in an age where the more that is known about a celebrity personally or the more ‘real’ they’re made to seem, the better. The problem is; most concepts of ‘real’ in today’s industry aren’t real at all. They are carefully stage-managed versions of ‘real’ (kinda like reality shows). Put simply ‘celebrity’ is very much a job…not a 9-5…but a job nonetheless.

Wondering where I’m going with this? Well, GaGa – unlike many of her peers – seems to have embraced the ‘fantasy’/unreal nature of the business, and is therefore very much a throwback to the stars of the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. Such stars were just as big, yet the masses never knew who they were beyond the music and films they released…keeping the focus solely on the just that. In a nutshell, GaGa is a welcome modern take on the ultimate showbiz star…which is hard not to love.

Your thoughts?

As the release of Monica‘s new LP ‘Still Standing’ draws ever-nearer its March 23rd release, a short snippet of a new track titled ‘Mirror‘ has surfaced. The Grammy Award winner spoke of the  Jim Jonsin produced track in our interview with her last week:

One of the songs that I just recently recorded, which I really love, was done by Jim Jonsin and it’s titled ‘Mirror.’ It basically says that ‘when I look in the mirror I don’t have to feel ashamed’. It’s saying that I’m happy with who I am and who I have become, and because of that I’m able to do whatever it is that I want to do in life without hesitation. I think that’s something that you should feel on a consistent basis because people are so judgemental and unfair now that it prevents some people from taking chances and doing things that they may enjoy. So ‘Mirror’ is one my favourites.

You can listen to a LQ snippet of the track below, which should give a taster of what to expect from the song in its entirety. I’m loving what I hear thus far!

Hit or Miss?

The Sugababes took their ‘Sweet 7’ campaign over to Poland this week. Heidi, Jade, and Amelle, made several promotional appearances and gave a string of live performances on Polish television; with the most recent being on Dzien Dobry TVN yesterday, where they performed ‘About A Girl’. See how the ladies fared above…

Granted their existence with this line-up still makes for uncomfortable viewing / listening (no original member in sight), it’s hard to deny that this is perhaps their best performance to-date with this line-up. Solid vocals and (largely) in-sync choreography, make this particular showing a winner. Good stuff.

Tidbit: The Babes’ latest single ‘Wear My Kiss’ has seemingly peaked at #7 on the Official UK Singles Chart. Not bad, yet a little worrying in light of the amount of money pumped into the project.

What do you think of the performance?

As Ciara continues to work on her fourth studio album (due May / June), a new cut from the record’s recording sessions has surfaced in the form of ‘I’m Up In The Bank’. Written and produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, the song sees the 24 year old hit back at the critics, who have – in truth – been rather merciless towards her since her last LP ‘Fantasy Ride’ failed to ignite the charts in the way she and her label had hoped.

Is it any good, though?

Well the track does a great job of re-engaging Ms. Harris with her core Urban audience and exudes much in the way of swagger. However, I’m gonna need something with a bit more ‘umph’ to heighten my anticipation levels for her new record – which are already quite high, considering the fact I really enjoyed ‘Fantasy Ride’.

Hit or Miss?

Just when we thought the Pussycat Dolls much publicised fallout couldn’t get any worse, it has. Member Ashley Roberts has announced that she has left the group – effectively leaving lead and only singer Nicole Scherzinger as the only remaining member.

Announcing the news on her official website, the singer appeared upbeat, touting the usual about a new MTV show and acting projects in the pipeline. {Source}

I guess it’s safe to say it’s a wrap for the Pussycat Dolls. While creator Robin Antin was initially telling anyone that’d listen that the ‘new’ Dolls would consist of both new and familiar faces, I doubt she intended for the only recognisable face to be  Nicole alone. This far down the line (what is/was supposed to be album #3), it’s doubtful a new line-up on such a scale would work. Hell, the old line-up were increasingly finding it hard to shift records; hence, how Nicole backed by a fresh batch of dancers-veiled-as-singers would be able to is anyone’s guess. Still, never say never…

Your thoughts?