VH1 today announced official details of R&B Fantasia‘s new reality show, which will air on the network next month (January 11th 2010 at 10pm). Titled ‘Fantasia For Real’, the docu-series will comprise 8 episodes. Check out the synopsis below:

Six years ago, Fantasia was a young single mother from High Point, North Carolina singing in her church choir and struggling to raise her daughter, Zion. On a whim, she tried out for the third season of “American Idol,” and seemingly overnight the world discovered Fantasia’s tremendous voice. Five years and 8 Grammy® Award nominations later, life couldn’t look more different for Fantasia. Her first album, Free Yourself, was a platinum-selling, chart-topping success, bringing her wealth, fame, and recognition as an accomplished artist. Fantasia has worked with many music industry legends, including Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, and Missy Elliot. In 2007 Fantasia was chosen to star as “Celie” in the acclaimed Broadway musical “The Color Purple.” Her book “Life is Not a Fairy Tale” made the New York Times bestseller list, and she also starred in a made-for-television movie based on her life.

As Fantasia’s fame has grown, her personal life has increasingly become more complicated. The sole breadwinner for her large family, Fantasia struggles to balance career, family, being  single mother and the demanding life of a highly successful performing artist. Fantasia’s VH1 series delves into how she has dealt with the seismic aftershocks of fame, all while managing the daily demands of life on the road and writing and recording new music that will connect with her fans.

“Fantasia has engaged millions of fans not only through her music and her amazing talent but also by her incredible fairytale life story,” said Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President, Original Programming & Production, VH1. “Our audience helped Fantasia become an American Idol and now, with this series, they get a backstage pass into her real life as she confronts obstacles to realize her true potential as an artist, a mother, a daughter and a sister.”

I love me some Fantasia, so I will most definitely be checking for the show come January! Here’s hoping it ties-in with a new album, as it’s hard to believe it’s been almost 4 years since she dropped her last record, the incredible ‘Fantasia’.

Will you be watching ‘Fantasia For Real’?

Singing sensation Leona Lewis performed current single ‘Happy’ on CNN Heroes, which aired last night. While her album ‘Echo’ has yet to move me (or buyers either, judging by its US sales), I’m really warming to ‘Happy’ – particularly after watching this performance. Emotive and perhaps the best live vocal rendition she’s given of the song yet, she really knocked it out of the park with this one. Great performance!

In other Leona news, ‘Outta My Head’ has been confirmed as her next European single, while ‘I Got You’ will serve as the follow-up to ‘Happy’ in the US.

What do you think of the performance?

‘It Chick’ of the moment Lady GaGa took a tumble while performing ‘Teeth’ at her ‘Monster Ball’ tour stop in Ottawa, Canada last night (at the 0.20 sec mark).

While she recovered well, this was no Beyonce bounce back. Still, ish happens…

Your thoughts?

After a tumultuous year, spurred on by ‘the incident’ which reverberated around the world, R&B star Chris Brown is back and looking to reassert his place at the top with new LP ‘Graffiti’ (due December 7th in the UK // December 8th US). With the world’s glaring eyes fixated on the performance of the project, it’d be hard to deny that this is the most important record the 20 year old will ever release. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the album, Brown’s 3^rd, boasts production from some the industry’s most renowned hit-makers and artists alike.

The question on the lips of many, though, is: Does ‘Graffiti’ do enough to redeem Brown in the court of public opinion? I vote ‘Yes!’, albeit cautiously…

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R&B stars Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Mary J Blige all performed on Oprah’s Holiday Music Extravaganza which aired today. Each performed alongside an artist from a different music genre, the performances of which you can watch above (Jennifer Hudson and Sugarland Hudson – Silent Night) and below. They all did a wonderful job:

Alicia Keys & Tim McGraw – War Is Over

Mary J Blige & Andre Bocelli – What Child Is This

What do you think of the performances?

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Check out episode 8 of the hilarious ‘Cleveland Show’.

Enjoy!

With the release of Timbaland’s highly anticipated ‘Shock Value II’ on the horizon, a new song from the LP has surfaced. The track, entitled ‘Meet In The Middle’, features the multi-talented Brandy who unleashes her rapping alter ego, Bran’ Nu. Brandy guests on two songs on ‘Shock Value II’ which hits stores on December 8th.

The production on this one is c-razy! The piano and the beat mix perfectly or should I say ‘meet in the middle’. Additionally, this track shows how dynamic Brandy can be as an artist. In fact, she spit her verse better than Timbaland did! This only makes me even more excited to hear what she is going to put forward on her next release which will supposedly hit stores sometime in 2010. Great stuff.

Hit or Miss?

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Vocal power-house Rihanna (lol) took to the stage on the X-Factor a few moments ago to perform current single ‘Russian Roulette’. In being the fair site we are, vocally Ms. Fenty live did sound very similar to the track (take from that what you will…) However, I am sorry I just cannot agree with that voice. For much of the performance, I was wondering why she was holding the mic to her mouth when she was clearly singing out her nose.

Tidbit: Was anyone else thinking “when is she gonna get off that damn chair?” Ironically, the chair was more interesting she was on stage!

What do you think of the performance?

R&B star Alicia Keys performed a medley on the X-Factor a few minutes ago (see how quick we got you covered lol). The singer delivered a stellar live offering of ‘Empire State of Mind’, ‘Doesn’t Mean Anything’ and ‘No One’. As host Dermot O’Leary pointed out, Ms. Keys really gave us much bang for her buck…wasn’t expecting a medley at all. Great performance!

What do you think of the performance?

It would appear Mariah Carey isn’t the only established act struggling on the UK album chart; Rihanna‘s much hyped ‘Rated R’ entered the chart at #16, with dismal sales of 32,000. Unlike Carey though, the 21 year old’s project was promoted heavily, with a Nokia sponsored launch event here in London, as well as healthy rotation of songs and videos on UK TV and radio.

Regular visitors will already know my stance on Ms. Fenty, but we want to ask you…

Why do you think folks aren’t checking for Rihanna?

Despite a high-profile appearance on the X-Factor last week, Mariah Carey’s 12th studio album ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’ has flopped in the UK, entering the official album chart at a disappointing #23. Meanwhile,  ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’, the record’s lead single in UK after ‘Obsessed’ release was cancelled, barely scrapped the top 20 on the singles chart – debuting at a lowly #19. Ouch.

All pantomime banter aside, I actually feel a little sorry for ol’ Mimi. While nowhere near her best offering, ‘Memoirs’ – at the very least – deserved to perform better than some of her other poorly charting material (see: ‘Glitter’ and ‘Charmbracelet’). Instead, it stands as the lowest selling album of her career.

As reported, it wouldn’t surprise us in the slightest if Mariah’s next LP – whenever it drops – isn’t released under the Def Jam umbrella. I mean, at this point, it’s even doubtful this ‘Memoirs’ remix album will ever see the light of day either. For,  from a business standpoint, pumping money/promotion into an already dead and buried project makes no sense at all. At best, I envision an iTunes-only/for-the-fans type release for any kind of remix LP. I wouldn’t hold my breath though. Oh Mimi…

Your thoughts?