‘Telephone’, the second of Lady GaGa and Beyonce‘s two collaborations (and GaGa’s follow-up to ‘Bad Romance’), surfaced shortly after the first a few minutes ago (I doubt it was a coincidence). In keeping things short and sweet, this is audio-fire! Everything from the production (courtesy of Darkchild), to each of their swaggers (especially Bey, who enlisted her ‘Diva’ flow). Bouncy and Crazy really are running things right now. The video for this really couldn’t come any sooner!

Hit or Miss?

‘Video Phone (Extended Mix)’, ‘the hotly anticipated duet between the hottest chicks in the game Beyonce and Lady GaGa, premiered literally moments ago.

Initially a little disappointed in that it sounded exactly the same as the original, by the time  GaGa’s verse kicked in I was sold LOL. GaGa channelled the same swagger and rode the beat with ease (although her part did sound kinda ‘phoned-in’ – no pun intended). Hearing this has me salivating for the video even more (it will apparently premiere November 23rd); after all, Bouncy and Crazy really do seem to make a great combo.

Tidbit: You can so tell there will be a serious dance-break!

Hit or Miss?

With his album release date on unsteady terms, another song has surfaced from the studio sessions of R&B singer Usher. The track, entitled ‘She Don’t Know’, which was produced by Hip-Hop hit makers Bangladesh, is reportedly going to be featured on the crooner’s forthcoming LP, tentatively entitled ‘Raymond vs. Raymond’. The first ‘buzz’ single from the album, ‘Papers’, has failed to enter the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100after stalling at #31, despite the controversial nature of the track.

This is a nice song but no where near the level of material that an artist of Usher’s status should be generating. In an era where there is a lot of fresh talent emerging on the charts, more seasoned acts need to improve their craft or be pushed aside. Hopefully this song is not the best that Mr. Raymond has to offer because I doubt he can handle being outsold by his younger peers (Chris Brown especially) two years in a row.

Hit or Miss?

R&B star Chris Brown swung by sneaker store Foot Action in Manhattan last night. While the majority were ecstatic at seeing the 20 year old singer, two young ladies were very vocal about their negative feelings toward him, shouting “f*cking beater” and “I hope someone beats the f*cking crap out of you!!!”

Damn. Though Chris didn’t flinch, there’s no doubt he heard their abuse (which without condoning his actions, I feel only made them look like the aggressive ones). Can’t we all just move on now…?

Your thoughts?

You can now preview all of the tracks from Rihanna‘s forthcoming ‘Rated R’ LP (due November 23rd).

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Judging from the clips…

Hit or Miss?

Undeniably the two biggest females in the industry at present, Lady GaGa and Beyonce are further looking to prolong their new-found partnership. According to the ever-reliable GaGa Daily, the next single to be released from GaGa’s ‘The Fame Monster’ LP will be ‘Telephone’ (with a video set to be shot shortly).

Not to be confused with the pair’s last collabo, the song and video for Beyonce’s ‘Video Phone’ extended version (which is rumoured to be premiering on November 23rd), this will be an entirely new clip.

Having not even heard the song yet, this definitely was a wise move on the part of both of their teams. Besides the excitement generated by the fact they are such great artists by themselves, Bouncy and Crazy command such a wide audience reach that combining the two will no doubt spell “hit, hit, hit”. Can’t wait!

Your thoughts?

The video for Diddy’s Dirty Money new single ‘Love Come Down’ premiered a few moments ago. Lifted from his forthcoming LP ‘Last Train To Paris’, the song borders on the fine-line of ‘good different’ and construction work noise. Yet, it still works kinda-sorta-ish. About the video, I’m actually liking this one. Clearly there was a few more $$$ pumped into this one compared to their last video ‘Angels’, which didn’t really go anywhere.

Speaking of not going anywhere, as much as this release and video are very much serviceable, folk just don’t seem to be ‘locking in’ (as Diddy would say) to this Dirty Money movement. I say, at the risk of sounding rather abstract, that it’s to do with the aftermath of the Danity Kane scenario. Diddy P’ed off a lot of folk with the handling of the Danity Kane scenario, and as did Dawn by joining him (although I’m sure most folk would do the exact same thing she did). Whether Dirty Money will be successful remains to be seen.

Tidbit: Diddy knows he’s wrong for them grills. He’s 40 years old for goodness sake. LMAO!

What do you think of the song / video?

As we reported last week (one of the first to do so too), Janet Jackson will be taking to the stage at the American Music Awards on November 22nd. Today, the performance, which will air live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. has been officially confirmed, with it also revealed that Ms. Jackson will be opening the show with a special 8-minute medley!

Speaking on Janet’s performance, American Music Award producer Larry Klein said:

“We’re thrilled about having Janet Jackson open this year’s show. She is an incredibly dynamic performer, and I think the audience will be excited to see what she has in store.” {Source}

With previously announced performers including Whitney Houston, Rihanna, Shakira, Lil’ Wayne, Mary J. Blige, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, the Black Eyed Peas and Kelly Clarkson, this show already seems to be the definitive award show to watch this year. Next Sunday couldn’t come any sooner!

Your thoughts?

According to ever-reliable Teairra Mari fansite – Teairra Fans, the R&B starlet’s sophomore LP ‘At That Point’ has been pushed back yet again; this time to February 2010. To-date the project has spurned 3 poorly (or non)charting singles and videos. Teairra is heading back into the studio to record more songs; this despite the finished album getting rave reviews during listening sessions earlier this year. Confused.com

It’s very tempting to greet this with the proverbial side-eye, after all we’ve seen this happen with many an artist, only for them to come out and still sell triple wood. However, in being fair to Ms. Mari, she has been serving up straight fire with her material this go round. Previous singles ‘Cause A Scene’ and ‘Hunt 4 U’ are great tracks, as well as ‘Sponsor’, which surfaced (and I’m sure some of you have heard already) back when the site was down for maintenance in September. Here’s hoping her new label Warner get their ish together and do right by this immensely talented young lady.

In the meanwhile, for the folk who haven’t heard ‘Sponsor (ft. Gucci Mane & Soulja Boy), you can listen to it below:

Your thoughts?

Continuing along the promotional trail for their latest single ‘About A Girl’, the Sugababes stopped by GMTV this morning to perform the song. Unlike the stripped back version they performed on Radio 1 yesterday, this live showing saw the ladies move a lot more.
As mentioned yesterday, the Keisha scenario was the final ‘no-no’ as to taking the group that seriously, however with each performance of this song, it’s hard to deny they are actually doing a great job. I mean, yes the choreography was minimalist; but with it being the Sugababes that was kinda-sorta expected (though judging by this Jade really is the best dancer). Vocally, they were very solid. Great performance.

Tidbit: Jade was getting that choreography (though it wasn’t demanding). Watch her legs compared to the other two and you’ll see what I mean.

What do you think of the performance?

The full version of Mariah Carey’s ‘100 Percent’ has finally surfaced. The song was produced by Carey, Brian Cox and long-time collaborator Jermaine Dupri. Initially considered to be the theme song for the critically acclaimed film ‘Precious: Based On The Novel ‘Push’ By Sapphire’, the track was replaced by Mary J. Blige’s ‘I Can See In Color’.

If you want to know why she is considered to be one of the best voices in recorded music ,then just listen to the last vocal run on this track. Mariah’s voice has so many different colours that it can adapt to almost any melody that a producer can develop. However, one thing that many critics have noted is her inability to translate her musical prowess and talents into raw emotion. That notion is exemplified perfectly in this song. Although I am certain that she tried her best to captivate the passion of the film with her vocals, I felt a bit bored for the majority until the final  few seconds. Hence, I sense that the producers made the right choice by selecting the Mary’s record as it channels the pain of the characters more effectively.

Hit or Miss?

Check out this extended preview of Rihanna’s video for ‘Russian Roulette’, which is set to premiere this Friday. I’ve seen a similar video floating around a few other sites, however this is a much longer taster of the video. I’ll reserve full judgement until seeing it in its entirety.

Tidbit: Interestingly Chris Brown’s video for his new single ‘Crawl’ also premieres on the 13th.

Your thoughts?