Alicia Keys was the headliner on ‘AOL Sessions’ recently. The singer performed ‘Unthinkable (I’m Ready)’ from her new album ‘The Element of Freedom’. The LP debuted on the Billboard 200 at #2 in December with 417k units sold.

That was a solid performance from Keys. Her vocals sounded almost exactly like the track and her band was on point. It’s great to see Keys perform the unreleased material from the record to give people who have not purchased the record an idea of how the rest of the LP sounds. To be honest, her first two singles are actually the weakest songs on the entire album. Naturally, I am sure that everyone is eager to see her perform ‘Put It In A Love Song’ with Beyonce.

Thoughts?

A few days ago, we provided you with images of Kelis in London. Well, it seems that the singer has come under fire from PETA for wearing fur while she braced against the UK cold. Kelis has taken the time to respond to her critics in a very extensive yet hilarious blog post provided by Bossip.com:

Kelis’ Letter to PETA

There is no humane way to kill anything, let me start there. It’s unfortunate but it’s part of life. With that being said, I would eat pterodactyl if you found some and you told me it was meaty and delicious. And after doing a very minimal amount of research……. I found out that the founder Ingrid Newkirk is completely batty. I had a feeling but she far exceeded my expectations. I mean certifiably insane! Lol this chicks will is nuts, google it – it’s a riot! Beyond the fact that I think she’s a diabetic, which means she needs insulin, which is taken from lab pigs (I know this because my sister happens to be in veterinary school), which would be completely hypocritical. It’s like don’t abuse animals unless it can help me.

I feel very strongly about a lot of things such as the sweatshops that spin cotton and the blood on their hands. Btw it’s not just the look of fur. It’s warm as hell and feels glorious, ever rubbed faux fur on your body? Nothing luxurious about that. Then the letter proceeded to name artist and designers who don’t wear real fur. Great! More for me! I don’t judge them, don’t judge me.

If I started wearing endangered animals like polar bear or orangutan then talk to me. (Which btw for the record I would not – I do believe in the preservation of endangered species) But the minks and chinchilla that quite honestly are rodents and if weren’t in the form of a coat I would demand they be put to death anyway are not an issue to me.The death of high fashion. Ugh.

I eat meat, and in fact my mouth salivates as I type the word meat! And the paint throwing that’s just ridiculous! What if I was hurling Loubitons and Pierre Hardy’s at every sad poorly dressed person on the street? As right as I may be it’s just fanatical and crazy. And people have the right to feel as they please. What about art? Survival of the fittest. Natural selection? No let’s just let all the rodents run free and over take our cities. Oh wait they have, NY and LA in particular are infested! Why don’t u save them all from scavenging on the streets and ruining my evening strolls, take them home. Make them pets! Get off my back! Pun intended!

Underpaid minorities picking your vegetables, now that’s fine for you right? Please, fight for their rights. How about the poverty in the communities of brown people around the world. She had the nerve to say (and I quote) “get over it” talking of the issue of black people and slavery in this country verses cows being slaughtered. Is she kidding me? Lol yes she must be. Actually, she’s lucky most black people have real issues to worry about in the U.S and don’t give a crap what her delusional privileged opinions are. But she should try saying that again just for kicks n giggles on the corner of Adam Clayton Powell Blvd in Harlem n see how well people “get over it” lol. If u want to preach do it about something worthwhile don’t waste my time trying to save the dang chipmunk.

Find a worthwhile cause like the women being maimed in these Middle Eastern countries. Or female circumcision. Or women’s rights here in America, we still get paid less for doing the same jobs as men. Quite honestly if you hate the world so much go live in the forest where no one else has to hear you complain about the perfectly good food chain the good Lord created. Everyone has the right to an opinion, and that’s mine on that! xoxo

Thoughts?

UK singer Leona Lewis made a guest appearance on ‘The Today Show’ recently. She performed her Golden Globe-nominated song ‘I See You’ from the ‘Avatar’ soundtrack. ‘Avatar’ is now ranked as the second highest-grossing film of all time, second only to another James Cameron flick, ‘Titanic’.

Though she struggled through this performance a bit, she still displayed the kind of technique that proves why is in a completely different league from most of her contemporaries. ‘I See You’ is an amazing song and certainly deserves any accolade that it is awarded. Hopefully there are more vocal masterpieces like that in Lewis’ future instead of the underwhelming material she provided on ‘Echo’.

Thoughts?

Rap-Up.com has provided a first look at the new Black Eyed Peas video for ‘Imma Be’, the next single from their smash album ‘The E.N.D.’. In this shot, Fergie displays her out of this world body during filming of the futuristic clip. The video was shot in the desert of Lancaster, California on Wednesday.

How does she look?

‘Thriller’, ‘Bad Romance’, ‘Get Your Freak On’ – each song provided one of the biggest hits in the careers of  their associated acts. What were the defining factors that helped to catapult these singles to the top of the charts? The answer is simple: music videos.

Videos grant artists a unique opportunity to project their music into the visual arena, targeting larger audiences in the process. With grand cinematic designs and artwork, such clips have allowed some of music’s heavyweights to engage consumers through an entirely new channel and bring their music to life. In fact, acts including Madonna, Janet Jackson and, of course, Michael Jackson (MTV’s King of the Music Video), were sometimes able to ascend to the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 fueled by the hype generated by their music videos alone.

However, in recent years, the epic design of such productions have begun to wane as a ramification of financial constraints. This has given rise to low budget releases called ‘recession specials’, characterised by poor editing, cheap graphics and cliche concepts. Even some of music’s biggest names have resorted to producing  such clips of the most amateur design. Mariah Carey, for instance, released two of the worst videos of her career last year with ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ and ‘H.A.T.E.U.’.

Interestingly, artists generally fund their own videos with little label assistance, hence it is quite baffling why acts who clearly have the financial resources to afford better productions, put forward a continuous string of recession specials. In contrast, Lady GaGa, who debuted in 2008, has thus far created some of the best productions of the last ten years, spending large amounts of money to ensure that each venture is of the highest quality she can afford.

Coincidentally, big budgets are not needed to create grand productions. Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ was shot in front of a plain screen, focused almost solely on the dance routine without any other elements, yet became one of the “best videos of all time” according to Kanye West. The same can be noted with Ciara whose ‘Love Sex Magic’ video was one of 2009’s best. Conversely, Beyonce’s ability to manipulate a small budget did not channel into her other clips, which were all prime examples of the recession special.

In closing, it is becoming increasingly evident that few artists are willing to go the extra mile to create cinematic productions on the silver screen. As the economy continues to struggle and budgets continue to shrink, the recession special has taken centre stage. It seems that Michael Jackson’s vision of the “short film” is hanging on by a thread.

Is it safe to say that the era of the music video is

coming to an end?

Alicia Keys was spotted in Tokyo today making the rounds during her international promotional tour for her ‘The Element of Freedom’ album. The singer kicks off her ‘Element’ tour in support of the LP in Montreal, Canada on February 28th. Peep more pics below:

What do you think of the pics?

It looks like people took Omarion’s advice and decided not to buy his new album. HitsDailyDouble reports that  his ‘Ollusion’ LP will debut on the charts with a dismal tally of 18-22k next week. This places him over 70k  units behind Susan Boyle’s ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ which on track to sell another 95-100k copies. ‘Ollusion’ was released on January 14th.

Raise your hand if you didn’t see this coming. Backed by generally weak material and awkward live performances, I doubt that anyone was expecting this album to generate higher numbers. Omarion has a lot of potential to be a major player on the charts but lacked direction on this album, capitalising on all of the most overused trends in music, especially auto-tune. On the hand, he continues to show determination and I sense that it is only a matter of time before he finally finds his niche.

Thoughts?

Mariah Carey’s ‘Angels Advocate‘ remix album has been unsurprisingly pushed back. The news comes via MariahDaily.com, who have confirmed that the LP will hit stores on March 9th, 2 weeks later than the originally scheduled February 23rd release date. Carey’s ‘Angels Cry (Remix)’ which features Ne-Yo is also going for adds at Top 40/Mainstream on February 16 (was January 19) and Top 40/Rhythmic (just added) on January 26 instead of January 4th.

Having delayed the premiere of her remixed singles on radio, it is not sshocking that this album is being pushed back. The buzz surrounding this project is decreasing everyday, especially after people realised that most of the songs are almost exactly the same as the originals with cut and paste vocals from new guest stars. Only the Jermaine Dupri remix of ‘H.A.T.E.U.’ bears any dramatic change from the previous version. Carey’s team is going to have to ‘pull a rabbit out of the hat’ for this one because this album is already shaping up for a very slow start.

Sidebar: Maybe Dupri was right when he retweeted fan statements about him being the only one capable of creating hits with Carey…

Thoughts?

In an act of selflessness, Omarion has encouraged his followers on Twitter to ignore his new album and use their funds to help Haiti instead. The singer’s ‘Ollusion’ LP was released on January 12th, the same day that a catastrophic hit the nation. Check out his tweets below (courtesy of Rap-Up.com):

Although I high doubt that many people were planning to spend their money on Omarion’s album in the first place, he deserves some recognition for this move. I am certain that some would argue that he will simply use this plight to warrant his projected poor sales next week, but that does not detract from the fact that his words could help the cause. Omarion joins a long list of celebrities who are using their power to help Haiti through one of the worst disasters it has experienced in recent times.

As Trinidadian who regularly observes the powerful effects of nature on the other developing countries of the West Indies, including hurricanes, earthquakes and tropical storms, I urge you all to please help in any way you can. If you would like to send funds and resources to those afflicted by this disaster, visit CARE to place your donations. Furthermore, don’t let a catastrophe of this magnitude be the only time that you consider the developing states around the globe. With millions living below the poverty line, we need to do our best everyday to help save lives.

Thoughts?

In a recent interview with Vlad-TV, R&B crooner Ray J elaborated on the decline of his sister Brandy’s singing career. Ray noted that his sister is currently waiting on the right deal from a label that will grant her freedom in her career for the right payment. The singer went further to divulge that he is collaborating with Brandy to develop two new shows through their new production company, R&B Productions.

It goes without saying that Brandy is one of the most talent and technically skilled singer sin the game right now. Her rare vocals are easily distinguishable amongst the filth that has been clogging the airwaves in recent years. However, although I understand that she is trying to ‘get hers’ by waiting on the right cheque, the current industry has become increasingly competitive with little room for complacency. Regardless of how big her career used to be, the fact remains that her last album was commercially unsuccessful and many labels will be uncertain about how to handle her.

Hopefully she is able to work something out soon because after listening to her amazing vocals on the ‘Human‘ LP, (especially ‘ A Capella/Something’s Missing’) I felt insulted the next time I heard a certain singer chant “eh eh eh” on the radio.

Thoughts?

Ke$ha hit the stage on ‘Jimmy Fallon Live’ last evening and performed her #1 single ‘Tik Tok’. The singer shocked everyone (including me) by not only snagging the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 from chart mainstay Susan Boyle but also holding strong at #1 on the Hot 100  for a 2nd week with ‘Tik Tok’. Ke$ha also proved that she is not a one hit wonder when her second single ‘Blah Blah Blah’ debuted at #7 on the Hot 100 this week. Her debut album, ‘Animal’, is in stores now.

Whilst the performance was exactly the same as her last few showings (minus the monster wig), I am sure that Ke$ha has found new meaning in that song. I am yet to get the hype surrounding her but there is no denying her tremendous success on the charts. It looks like that Susan Boyle reign finally let up. Congrats to Ke$ha!

Thoughts?

R&B vocalist Brandy was spotted in California recently. The ‘Long Distance’ singer guested at the Microdine product launch & web concert at SIR Studios in Hollywood. Brandy has been working on the followup to her ‘Human’ LP for quite some time but is yet to indicate when the new record will hit stores. Check out a 2nd pic below:

What do you think of the pics?