Colombian entertainer Shakira gave a performance of her new song ‘Give It Up To Me’ on Fox’s ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ last evening. The Timbaland-produced single has thus far peaked at #58 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #29 on the Pop 100. Shakira’s 3rd English album, ‘She Wolf’, debuted at #12 on the Billboard 200 with 80, 000 copies sold.

It’s really refreshing to see Shakira diversifying her dance skills and experimenting with step dancing. As she said in our interview earlier this week, she really enjoys adapting to new challenges and improving her craft as a performer; a drive that is blatantly absent amongst many of the ‘artists’ on the charts today. However, it was painful to watch her struggle to mime in time with her backtrack. I personally have no problems with singers who lip-sync during their hectic promotional tours (I can think of a few who should never be allowed to ‘sing’ live), especially if there is choreography involved. Nonetheless, it is important that the performances are seamless (see Beyonce’s ‘Singe Ladies’ performance on ‘The Tyra Banks Show’).

Thoughts?

Rising diva Leona Lewis made a guest appearance on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!‘ last evening. The singer took the stage to perform the songs ‘Happy‘ and ‘Outta My Head‘ from her new album, ‘Echo‘. As predicted, Lewis’ album has proven to be a commercial failure, debuting at #13 on the Billboard 200 with barely 67, 000 units shipped.

As usual, her vocals were on point but her stage presence was nonexistent. One would assume that given the nature of her album sales, she would have been motivated to give the crowd a bit more fire. Shy or not, she has to come a lot harder than that if she wants to leave an impression on the mass media audience.

Sidebar: How many times is she going to wear the same outfit?! That’s the exact same dress she wore to the AMA’s only this time she wore leggings. No no no, that won’t work!

Thoughts?

Sassy Shakira stopped by the Lopez Tonight show this week to promote her new LP ‘She Wolf’. The 32 year old was interviewed and gave a solid performed of new single ‘Give It Up To Me’, both of which you can watch above.

Your thoughts?

Fresh reports today are suggesting that the Pussycat Dolls have split, with an official announcement being imminent.

The news comes amid claims that the ladies are no longer on speaking terms with lead and only singer Nicole Scherzinger. According to OK:

“None of the other girls are speaking to Nicole, who they believe took the limelight, then went off to do her own thing.”

I can’t say this comes as much of surprise, as the ladies have been slinging mud at each other for a hot minute now. I must say though; for as “Fast-food Music” as their songs were, it’s quite unfortunate that we never got to see Ms. Melody shine within the group. Here’s wishing her the best of luck. I’d say the same for the others, but I can’t remember their names.

Your thoughts?

Check out episode 4 of Monica‘s BET reality show ‘Still Standing’, which aired last week. Enjoy the episode below and hold tight for episode 5 which will be up later in the week.

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Check out the official album cover for Mary J Blige‘s latest effort ‘Stronger With Each Tear’ (formerly titled ‘Stronger’).

Classic, elegant and above all, a great visual embodiment of the record’s title. I love it!

‘Stronger With Each Tear’ hits stores December 21st. In the meanwhile, be on the lookout for the video for the record’s new single ‘I Am’, which will be debuting any day now.

What do you think of the cover?

According to Billboard, Rihanna’s much hyped ‘comeback’ album ‘Rated R’ is  on course to sell just 162,000 copies in its first week on sale. The news comes in the midst of her label okaying the LP being sold for $3.99, and eventually $0.99 in its opening week.

While I’ve given my own take on this many a time, I will say that it’s hardly surprising that the album is underperforming. After all, the label couldn’t have been acting in such a desperate manner if it was selling to begin with.

I doubt this signals the end of her career, as I’m sure many are hoping (which they shouldn’t…that’s bad karma lol). It just means we’ll probably be subject to 300 singles and 25 re-releases (including the Deluxe, Super Deluxe, Ultra Premium Deluxe, Spanish, Hebrew and Japanese versions…and of course the Super-Super Uber Ultra Premium Deluxe edition which comes with a DVD).

Oh well, in the words of Jay-Z himself:

“Men and women lie, but numbers don’t!”

Your thoughts?

The legendary Whitney Houston performed on the finale of ABC’s Dancing With The Stars a few hours ago, offering a rendition of current single ‘Million Dollar Bill’ (which you can watch above), as well as her classic ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ (below). Scroll down for our take each showing…

Nippy has certainly had better live outings vocally, and really could have done without that performance of ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’. That said, ‘Million Dollar Bill’ wasn’t bad…I rather enjoyed it in fact. I’m assuming she’ll be resting her voice over the Holiday period for her upcoming tour which kicks off early next year.

What do you think of the performances?

Singer/dancer Mya placed second on season 9 of ‘Dancing With The Stars’ last evening. The performer and her partner Dmitry, who had the highest scores from the judges throughout the season, lost the title to Donny Osmond. In addition, Kelly Osbourne placed third at the finale of the event which featured performances from Whitney Houston.

Why am I not surprised? Although Mya practically owned the dance floor every time she stepped out, the voters on this show have always displayed incredibly poor taste with their selection of the seasons’ winners. First Toni Braxton got voted off early, then Lil Kim and now Mya. Anyone else noticing a trend? I am utterly disgusted by this news and unless someone of the caliber of Janet Jackson or Beyonce enters the show next year, I definitely won’t be watching.

Thoughts?

Part-time model Rihanna visited the Ed Sullivan Theater last evening where she performed on the ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’. The fashionista sang her hit song ‘Russian Roulette’ from her new album, ‘Rated R’. Rihanna’s LP is projected to debut with a dismal 162k on next week’s Billboard 200 chart tally.

I rather enjoyed this performance. She handled the song well, by her standards, with the exception of a few shaky notes. Furthermore, as per usual, she looked amazing. Why can’t she sound this good all the time?

Thoughts?

R&B crooner Usher has supposedly been hard at work on his forthcoming album ‘Raymond vs. Raymond’. One of the tracks emerging from his studio sessions is ‘In My Bag‘ which features none other than T.I. Usher’s new album has been postponed indefinitely, with most speculating that it will be released some time in 2010.

This is a nice song but nothing to become overly excited about. Usher serves up his usual swag but I must admit that T.I. really stole the show with his verse on this one; the track might as well have been his with Usher only chiming in on the chorus. Either way, it’s a good album track but I doubt it will prove single worthy.

Hit or Miss?

Well, well, well, if this ain’t some BS!!!

Clearly panicking over the opening sales and charting of Rihanna‘s new LP ‘Rated R’, her label have teamed up with Amazon to sell the album for the grand total of…$0.99 (yes, you read right…NINTY-NINE CENTS). {Source}

This is almost too pathetic for words, however I can’t see how either she or her label will legitimately be pleased with her eventual charting knowing that it’s selling for less than a Big Mac Meal…hell, it’s cheaper than a bottle of Coke!

Those in search of why I go in on Ms. Fenty so much, see here the reason why. I’m sorry but if concentrated promo, a major 20/20 interview and 50 singles can’t send enough folk to the shops to buy her record, then clearly there’s a problem – one which I’m afraid lies with RiRi herself…she’s wack, simple as. In being a ‘singer’ and ‘performer’ she offers nothing of substance on either tip, which I’m guessing is something which has registered with the record-buying public.

Wow…I’m still shocked as hell by this. How embarrassing. SMH…

Tidbit: ‘Rated R’ is currently outside of the top 10 in the UK album charts, according to the midweeks. Meanwhile, Susan Boyle is certain to reach #1 in the US with her debut (with sales in excess of 500k), which makes this RiRi stunt all the more puzzling.

Your thoughts?