As Mariah Carey’s latest effort ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’ continues to skydive (without a parachute) down the charts, a new remix lifted from her ‘Memoirs’ features/remix LP has surfaced in the form of the Trey Songz-assisted ‘Inseparable’. A decent enough mid-tempo, yet not one I envision many parting with their cash to buy her remix CD for.

Hit or Miss?

In a recent interview with Billboard, rapper 50 Cent weighed in on the seemingly ever-raging debate about Destiny’s Child alum’s Beyonce and Kelly Rowland. Speaking of his ‘Baby By Me’ co-star, 50 said:

“You can’t forget all the work she did with Destiny’s Child. The difference between Kelly and Beyoncé is the extreme focus they put on Beyoncé to make sure she was completely right. Kelly wasn’t held in the same regard, so, in order for her to mean anything to America, they’d have to match the marketing dollars spent on Beyoncé. She never received the superstar treatment.”

While ol’ Curtis usually spouts the utmost of caca, I do actually agree with him here. Never one to explicitly compare the two myself, it’s quite a valid point that had Kelly, who is as fundamentally talented Beyonce IMO, had the machine that powers Bouncy’s brand given to her, she too would be a world-renown star. It’s important to stress that Beyonce’s current industry position isn’t based on the ‘machine’ alone; clearly the work she puts into her craft and artistry is what has taken her to that ‘future Icon’ status. However, had Kelly had it psychologically programmed into her that she was the business and was a ‘superstar-in-the-making’ in the way Beyonce had (see: pretty much everything Destiny’s Child), I imagine she’d be one of the world’s biggest stars today too. I mean if Rihanna can do it with next-to-no talent and soley the ‘machine’ powering her hype, then Kelly sure as hell could with her undeniable talent.

Some of you may wonder why I rep so hard for Ms. Kelly. Well, when you see talent of her calibre shunned and arguably made (inadvertently) to feel they are lesser (the reason I feel behind some of Kelly’s not-so-great performances), you can’t help but ‘stan’. For you know what they are capable of and able to achieve should all the right pieces of the puzzle be affixed. One need not look further than the undeniable swagger Kelly was exuding during the ‘Destiny Fulfilled project’, where I’d argue she gave Ms. Knowles-Carter a run for her money more times than not – everything from the weave-tossing, Naomi Campbell Walk’s and even, at times, vocals.

I never understood how it made more sense to some (who shall remain nameless) to not maximise the Destiny’s Child brand by ensuring each was as big a solo star as the possibly could be – a super group almost. In simpler terms, imagine a group – for example – with the individual ‘star-power’ of the Beyonce, Ciara and (because I couldn’t think of another name) Rihanna? That would be off-the-charts!

Again, I reiterate that this is in no way any shade on Beyonce, who we love around here. Just telling it like it is…

In any case, in being forward thinking, things are definitely looking up for Kelly, with her new team, soon-to-be-announced new label etc. Let’s just hope she gets the success she deserves this go round. (In true ‘stan’ fashion lol), I shall leave you with some of Kelly’s best showings…

Your thoughts?

Janet Jackson’s new team are seemingly pulling out all the stops to ensure her forthcoming ‘Number Ones’ compilation is a success. It has been announced that an hour-long Janet Jackson primetime special will air on ABC on November 18th – the day after the LP is released in the US.  {Source}

I cannot wait! With Janet now being the last ‘active’ member of the Jackson dynasty, I’m anticipating she gets treated with the respect she so deserves. Her partnership with new label, A&M/Interscope (expect an announcement about their partnership in the coming month or so) seems to be ensuring that she does.

The label (and her management) are going all out with the promotion for the record, as evidenced by the ABC special, a flash mob (click here for details), rumoured performance at the American Music Awards, and on the UK front – headlining the Jingle Ball, X-Factor, and several other scheduled promo spots. It’s a very exciting time to be a Janet Jackson fan.

Tidbit: Janet begins shooting the video for new single ‘Make Me’ today!

Your thoughts?

Originally scheduled to hit stores December 15th,  Mary J Blige’s forthcoming LP ‘Stronger’ will now arrive in stores December 22nd – just in time for the Christmas sales surge.

Her team making such a move screams strategic, as well as a little desperate (yes I said it!). The album, Mary’s 9th, was previously set to battle it out with Alicia Keys’ latest effort as well as Chris Brown’s comeback and Lil’ Wayne too. Yet, with her Drake-assisted single ‘The One’ struggling on the charts and there being an unusually low awareness level of her project in its entirety, the Christmas week move seems like it’ll be her best bet on the sales front.

It’ll be quite interesting to see how things pan out with her project post-Christmas, as – having released her last few LP’s  in that exact release window – someone, be it her label or management etc, seem to drop the ball and her album’s seem to disappear into a black hole (see: ‘Growing Pains’). Here’s hoping this time proves different.

Your thoughts?

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Your thoughts?

The force that is Lady GaGa made an appearance on BET’s 106 & Park yesterday to promote her much anticipated ‘The Fame Monster’ LP. GaGa, real name Stefani Geranotta, chatted it up with Terrance and Rocsi about the re-release, working with Beyonce, finding herself as a person, her struggles and so much more.

A great interview, I must say; one which really drove home the fact that behind the eccentricity and wacky outfits, a very intelligent and sane (lol) woman lays. Check outs parts 1, 2 and 3 below:

Your thoughts?

R&B starlet Keri Hilson stopped by The Mo’Nique Show yesterday to promote her current LP ‘In A Perfect World…’. As well as her performing her new single ‘Slow Dance’, which you catch watch above, she sat down with the comic to discuss the success of her record, her writing career, rumours of beef with Mo’Nique (!) and more. Great performance, good interview (which you can watch below):

Your thoughts?

Peep a glammed up Jordin Sparks on the video set of Australian Idol Guy Sebastian’s ‘The Art of Love’, which was shot earlier this week. Ms. Sparks, who features on the song, looks stunning.

What do you think of the pics?

The video for Rihanna’s ‘Wait Your Turn’ single premiered moments ago. Getting straight to the point, the Anthony Mandler directed video is a recession-budget bore. Seriously though, what is the hype about with this chick?

Disclaimer: For those who stay posing the question ‘why do you post about her then..?’; like her or loathe her, there is obviously mass interest in Ms. Fenty, hence her featuring here. It’s kinda-sorta common logic 😉

That said, I really, really struggle to understand how – when matched up against her industry contemporaries (see: Beyonce, Lady GaGa and co) – Ms. Fenty seems like anything other than severely out of her league. I mean really there is no competition at all…

What do you think of the video?

Continuing along the promotional trail for her debut LP ‘Overcome’, 2009 break out  Alexandra Burke stopped by The Paul O’ Grady Show early this evening to perform album cut ‘The Silence’.

One word. Amazing!

Vocally in another league, Alexandra continues to show why her name will be one that long outlives any talent show. Absolutely fantastic. Here’s hoping this becomes a single ASAP!

What do you think of the performance?

‘It chick’ of the moment, Lady GaGa donned yet another of her trademark wacky outfits while attending the 13th Annual Accessories Council Excellence (ACE) Awards at Cipriani in New York last night. The ‘Just Dance’ singer was presented with the Stylemaker Award by famed designer Marc Jacobs.

Though Halloween passed a few days ago, surely I’m right in saying EVERYDAY is Halloween when GaGa steps out. Gotta love it!

Thoughts?

In a recent interview with  ‘Glamour Magazine’, singer Rihanna discusses several issues in her life including domestic violence, her style and her upcoming album, ‘Rated R’. The starlet will be honored by ‘Glamour’ with the title of ‘Glamour Woman of the Year’ next week at a ceremony in New York City. Peep excerpts from the interview below:

On the leaked photo of her battered face:
It was humiliating; that is not a photo you would show to anybody. I felt completely taken advantage of. I felt like people were making it into a fun topic on the Internet, and it’s my life. I was disappointed, especially when I found out the photo was [supposedly leaked by] two women.

On the aftermath:
It has taught me so much. I felt like I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears. That was the level of media chaos that happened the next day. It was like, What, there are helicopters circling my house? There are 100 people in my cul-de-sac? What do you mean, I can’t go back home?

My friends and family have been extremely supportive, and everyone has been there for me. But at some point you are there alone. It’s a lonely place to be—no one can understand. That’s when you get close to God.

On domestic violence:

Domestic violence is a big secret. No kid goes around and lets people know their parents fight. Teenage girls can’t tell their parents that their boyfriend beat them up. You don’t dare let your neighbor know that you fight. It’s one of the things we [women] will hide, because it’s embarrassing. My story was broadcast all over the world for people to see, and they have followed every step of my recovery. The positive thing that has come out of my situation is that people can learn from that. I want to give as much insight as I can to young women, because I feel like I represent a voice that really isn’t heard. Now I can help speak for those women.

On her image change:

In the first two years of my career, there were a lot of restraints on what I could do. I couldn’t wear certain colors of lipstick, like bright pink, dark pink or red; [my lips] had to be natural. Eventually, I stopped communicating with certain people at the label, and did exactly what I wanted to do. And that was to cut my hair, dye it black, change my clothes, change my sound. Really to just express myself.

On her new album ‘Rated R’:

I was involved in a lot of the writing. I put everything I’ve wanted to say for the past eight months into my music. The songs are really personal. It’s rock ‘n’ roll, but it’s really hip-hop: If Lil’ Wayne and Kings of Leon like my album, then I’ll feel good. I would not change anything about it. Even if people don’t love it, I made exactly the piece of art that I wanted to make. It’s super fearless—which is exactly how I feel right now. I am in a really good place.

I have grown up a lot since my last album. It [represents] exactly where I am at right now.

It’s encouraging to see that she is brave enough to discuss the occurrences of the recent months with such honesty and integrity without sounding bitter.  I am quite thankful that she kept her life on track. I gained more respect for after reading this and understand her a lot more as a person.

Tidbit: Does anyone else think that her comments about becoming Britney Spears could also apply to her music as well? Just a thought…

Sam’s 2 pence: A good read, though I don’t believe that ‘I took control of my image’ malarky for a single second.

Thoughts?