The 3rd Annual BET Honors were filmed last evening at the Warner Theatre in Washington D.C. The event commemorated the achievements of diva Whitney Houston, Hip-Hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, and rapper/actress Queen Latifah. Guests were treated to performances by Jennifer Hudson, who sang Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ in tribute to the icon, Mary J. Blige, Maxwell and others. Check out more pictures below (courtesy of Rap-Up.com):

(more…)

Keri Hilson is back in the studio, working on her sophomore album, which she hopes to have in stores on May 31st (Memorial Day). The ‘Energy’ singer is currently creating tracks with Timbaland, Polow Da Don, Danjahandz, Kanye West and will.i.am, among others. Head of Urban music at Interscope, DJ Mormile, had his to say about the project:

“We’re just getting into this,” says Mormile, who hopes to have a first single out in March, if not sooner. “But we already have an idea of what we want to do. This album will continue the evolution of Keri, building off the hits ‘Knock You Down’ and ‘Turning Me On’, which helped define her. This new album will be ‘Turning You On’ times 10.”{Source}

It looks like Hilson isn’t playing any games this time around. Teaming up with almost all of the top producers in the game right now is definitely a good way to ensure that she has at least one hit. Nonetheless, as someone who has regarded by many as just a ‘collaboration act’, Hilson needs to make sure that her solo work is on fire this time around.  The music of 2010 is shaping up to be even better than 2009!

Thoughts?

Christina Aguilera has been busy filming her scenes for her new movie, ‘Burlesque’, lately. However, the powerhouse vocalist is said to be keeping her eyes on the prize with her next studio album, ‘Bionic’, which is now slated for an April release. The record, features an extensive list of collaborations from Sia Furler & Sam Dixon, Tricky Stewart, Claude Kelly, Santigold, M.I.A., John Hill & Dave Switch, Ladytron and Le Tigre. ‘Bionic’ showcases Aguilera singing everything from rap to dance to empowering ballads such as the Linda Perry production ‘Lift Me Up’. {Source}

If people weren’t eager to hear this album before, then I am certain that they are now. With such variation in the list of collaborators, it seems that she is heading more in the Urban direction that she did with ‘Stripped’ LP instead of the  one she did with the scream fest that was ‘Back 2 Basics’. Aguilera better come out the gate with a strong first single though, because rap and dance records will put her in direct competition with Pop music’s reigning champion, Lady GaGa.

Thoughts?

Despite being unable to crack the Billboard Hot 100 with her first single, ‘Louboutins’, from her upcoming ‘Love?’ LP, Jennifer Lopez remains on track to release the electro/dance album. Billboard.com indicates that the record features collaborations with Wynter Gordon, D’Mile, Danja and Mike Caren, who produced “drum-driven” ‘Everybody’s Girl’. As reported earlier, ‘Love?’ hits stores in April.

As much as I’m sure her fans want this album, there has been little to no buzz on the radio for the LP. If the performance of ‘Louboutins’ is any indication of what to expect, Lopez may very well be on track for the lowest sales of her career. As artists such as Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson, both of whom Lopez’s musical stylings have been compared, have been struggling maintain their relevancy on the charts, there is a lot of doubt to whether she can have a successful return. Here’s hoping that her next single at least enters the Hot 100.

Sidebar: Remember when I wrote this article and many people disagreed? Exactly.

Thoughts?

One of music’s biggest hit makers, The-Dream, has finally finished his new studio album. The singer/songwriter, who co-wrote Mariah Carey’s ‘Obsessed’ and Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’, had the following to say about the LP, ‘Love King’:

“Love King is the best of the Three albums And Its FINISHED!” he tweeted. “Pre-Order and buy from a brand you can Trust! Radiokilla Records.” {Source}

This is some very exciting news! The-Dream’s last album, ‘Love vs. Money’, was one of the best of 2009 and demonstrated why he is indeed a musical prodigy. Songs like ‘Walking On The Moon (Ft. Kanye West)’ were shamelessly overlooked by the Grammy Awards in favour of much weaker material. Interestingly, although his material for other artists have gone down as some of the biggest hits of the last decade, he is yet to have a #1 song of his own. Hopefully he ‘gets his’ with this new album.

Thoughts?

R&B contralto Jazmine Sullivan is preparing to release her sophomore album. The Lauryn Hill-inspired singer has been in the studio with some of music’s biggest hit makers including Ne-Yo, Carlos ‘Los Da Mystro’ McKinney and Ryan Leslie. The untitled LP hits stores in Summer 2010. {Source}

Sullivan has one of those voices reminiscent of those once heard on ‘Showtime at the Apollo’ in the early 1990’s. If her new album is anything close to what she did on her debut, then I am sure that she will have a hit on her hands. I still can’t believe that she did not win the ‘Best New Artist’ at last year’s Grammy Award ceremony, especially after hearing her live vocal performances of ‘Need U Bad’. Shame shame shame.

Sidebar: I know I’m not the only one who got caught in singing ‘Bust Your Windows’ at the top of my lungs in the middle of traffic. Am I?

Thoughts?

Pussycat Dolls lead singer Nicole Scherzinger is pushing ahead with her solo career. The songstress, who recently split from longtime boyfriend Lewis Hamilton, is reportedly focusing all of her energy from their breakup into her new music. Scherzinger is currently in the studio with Ne-Yo who had the following to say about their work together:

Nicole is in a state of liberation right now so the tracks are very free. She is in a place where she is happy to be alive and the tracks are definitely expressing that.

The whole album is going to be a pressure release – a great big exhale – and I’m happy about that. She has a lot of emotions after splitting up with Lewis. But it’s like taking an eagle and giving it back its wings. {Source}

It’s great to see that Nicole has found a way to express herself in her music. However, where does this leave the  rest of the Pussycat Dolls? It seems that everyone else in the group gets put on pause whenever she attempts to develop a solo venture. This really says something about the system that the group has in place where everything revolves around one singer. Furthermore, unlike Destiny’s Child, where Beyonce was undoubtedly the group’s front woman, the rest of the band generally lacks the support to have their own side projects and careers while Nicole is away. I would really like to hear what she has to say about these issues as, thus far, she has remained very quiet about them.

Thoughts?

R&B songstress Alicia Keys appeared on German games show ‘Schlag den Raab’ recently. The singer performed a medley of her hits ‘Empire State of Mind’ and ‘Doesn’t Mean Anything’. Keys’ new album ‘The Element of Freedom’ peaked at #15 in Germany.

With the exception of a few off-key notes, Keys did her thing, as usual. The singles chosen from this album, while good representations of the direction that she took, don’t reflect the true potential of the LP. However, Keys is yet to deliver a poor performance (possibly in her entire career) and continues to demonstrate why she is one of the best.

Thoughts?

UK singer Alexandra Burke took the stage on ‘So You Think You Dance’ today. The ‘X Factor’ winner performed ‘Broken Heels’, the third release from her ‘Overcome’ LP. To date, ‘Broken Heels’ has peaked at #12 in the UK.

Other than the fact that she was singing over a very loud backtrack, Burke delivered a solid performance. She has a lot of stage presence and it was good to see her utilising the entire stage instead of remaining glued to one spot like her other British counterpart, Leona Lewis. Hopefully she uses her voice more in future performances because she seems to have a strong dependence backtracks.

Thoughts?

R&B star Trey Songz stopped by The Wendy Williams Show yesterday to perform new single ‘Say Ahh’ (which you can watch above), as well as sit down for a chat with the former shock-jock.

Despite coming across kinda amateur and karaoke, Trey turned in a pretty decent performance. Not bad. In any case, check out the interview below:

Your thoughts?

Peep the cover for Monica‘s new single ‘Everything To Me’. She looks breathtakingly beautiful. Stunning.

Your thoughts?

UK media darling Cheryl Cole is looking further extend the success of her solo project ‘3 Words’ with the release of ‘Parachute’. Confirmed today as the latest single to be lifted from the Platinum selling LP, the song was jointly produced by Syience (Beyonce & Jay-Z’s ‘Hollywood’) and will.i.am.

Though Ms. Cole certainly leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to the quality of her voice, music etc, this definitely stands as one of her better solo offerings thus far. Unashamedly Pop, with Urban sprinklings, I can see this one being a mainstay on the radio here.

Tidbit: It will be really interesting to see how Ms. Cole’s solo career holds up once the X-Factor hype dies down. Speaking of the popular show, there are reports that Simon Cowell is lining her up to join the panel of the US show. Hmm.

Hit or Miss?