Check out Beyonce on the cover of the June issue of Forbes magazine. The publication recently published their annual ‘Forbes Celebrity 100’ list, in which Beyonce came in at #4 with estimated earnings in excess of $87 within the last year (Angelina Jolie topped the ). Besides Bouncy’s album sales and tour earnings, a large proportion of this whopping figure comes from her endorsement deals with Nintendo, L’Oreal, Samantha Thavasa, Giorgio Armani fragrances, among others. {Source}

Interestingly, hubby Jay-Z slid down the list this year, sitting at #32. Turns out HOV is making roughly half of his missus. That said, while I’m sure this will get folk talking, it’s hardly unexpected. After all ‘Beyonce’ is more than an artist, she is a brand; a brand which has a major machine behind it. Nonetheless, it’s hardly a bad thing; both Bey and Jay are financially secure for life – individually, so I doubt they are loosing any sleep.

After years of waiting, Whitney Houston’s much anticipated ‘comeback’ album has finally been given a solid release date. The as-yet-untitled set is to hit stores on September 1st via Clive Davis’ J Records / Arista, according to the legend’s newly revamped official website. Word has it the record’s first single ‘I Didn’t Know My Strength’, which was penned by the highly acclaimed Diane Warren, is set to premiere very, very soon (sources say within the next few weeks). Ne-Yo, R. Kelly, and Swizz Beats are among the writers / producers slated to feature on the LP.

Besides being ecstatic at the fact Whitney is set to return, I’m more so anticipating Whitney and Mariah dropping album’s so close to one another. Mimi’s ‘Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel’ hits stores a few weeks after Whitney’s on September 18th. Put simply, two of the biggest voices in recent music history will have compared material, album sales, live performances and all that good stuff. Roll on September!

To say things have not been smooth since the start with Girlcious would be an understatement; no release in their native US, singles which fail to chart etc. Well now the foursome are down to three, after member Tiffanie (the darker skinned member…second from left) was thrown out.

While the details, as at present, are sketchy, all photos of her have been removed from the group’s MySpace page, with Tiffanie’s most recent Twitter status reading:

As blunt as it may sound, this may actually be a blessing for her. The group aren’t really doing much of anything (and haven’t before). What’s more, I maintain will find it harder to be taken seriously in the industry with such a name and sound. It’ll be interesting to see how this one all pans out…

Teen songstress JoJo has publicly aired her frustrations with her record label Blackground on Youtube. The young star, who has expressed her desire to go to college this upcoming September, said such plans are now on hold as she is being given the run-around by her label as to the release of her LP ‘All I Want Is Everything’ – which has been completed and they apparently love it, yet are dilly-dallying with the release of.

Why the delay, then? It’s anyone’s guess. While I’m glad JoJo is keeping it real and not leading folks on about the reality of the situation, I’m wondering what the implications of her actions may be. After all, isn’t it the same label who are supposed to release the record?

Nonetheless, here’s hoping things come together with the record. Aside from the fact (IMO) that both of her previous album are winners (especially ‘The High Road’), the production credits on this new record are real promising – Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins, Toby Gadd, Neptunes, Timbland, and Danja.    

X-Factor runner-ups JLS released the video for their debut single ‘Beat Again’ today. I can’t say the group really showcased much of substance IMO on the show, something this tired song and video serve to reinforce. Cheese-fest much? Yawn.

The video for Kelly Rowland’s collaboration with David Guetta ‘When Love Takes Over’ premiered a few moments ago. As a big fan of the song, I was hopeful the vid would do it justice – which it most definitely did. Fun, light hearted, and uplifting, the clip really manages to capture the essence of the song. I must say too, Kelly looked stunning.

As Amerie readies the release of her Def Jam debut ‘In Love & War’ (due August), it has been revealed in a new Billboard article about the project that the label’s head LA Reid was about to drop her just last month! Check out the report below:

After a two-year hiatus, singer/songwriter Amerie has announced the release of her Def Jam debut, “In Love & War,” which will be available in August. The lead single, “Why R U,” will be serviced June 15th, with an accompanying video directed by Ray Kay (The-Dream, Lady Gaga) premiering June 8th on BET.

Producers on the album include Teddy Riley, Sean Garrett, Eric Hudson, Jim Jonsin, Rico Love and The Buchanans, who helmed the first single — the track that allegedly made Def Jam labelhead Antonio “L.A.” Reid reconsider dropping Amerie from the label just last month. So far, no collaborations have been announced.

“In Love & War” is the Washington DC-natives fourth album, and follows her Columbia records debut, “All I Have” and her Sony releases “Touch” and “Because I Love It,” which was released in Europe. “All I Have” sold 661,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, while “Touch” sold 406,000.

While I’m really salivating for new the new Amerie LP (despite feeling the single is a stinker), it’s a little worrying to know that her place at Def Jam isn’t as set as it was once thought. Sources initially indicated she was the label’s priority and the budget for her release was major, however now there are whispers that Reid nearly dropped Ms. Rogers due to creative differences; put simply he wanted a certain sound for the album and Amerie was doing something otherwise. As I’m sure Janet and co will be glad to tell you, doing what Mr Reid doesn’t approve of usually ends in disaster – and of course a flop album LOL. Here’s hoping all works out for Amerie.

Peep this new promotional shot for LeToya Luckett’s sophomore effort ‘Lady Love’. The snap comes from the shoot noted photographer Mike Ruiz’s recent photo-shoot with the singer.

In other LeToya news, the video for the album’s second single ‘She Ain’t Got…’ is was filmed recently. The clip was directed by Bryan Barber, who in addition to being behind Outkast’s ‘Hey Ya’ video, also directed LeToya’s ‘Not Anymore’ video. Be on the lookout for Major League Baseball players Orlando Hudson and Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers, as well as Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, in the video when it debuts in the weeks ahead.

While on a short trip to the UK last week, R&B star Omarion revealed to BBC’s Ace and Vis  that he has signed a new deal with Lil’ Wayne’s Young Money / Cash Money imprint – the label home of Drake and Nicki Minaj. It had been reported in recent months that the former B2K star had signed with Timbaland’s Mosley Music Group, however this appears to dispel such notions. The 23 year old, who is currently hard at work on his third studio album, continues to be managed by Chris Stokes TUG company (…).

Hmm…while I think there is no better time than the present for Omarion to resurface and capitalize on the space left by Chris Brown, I can’t help but be a little sceptical about all these artist-led recording labels. I mean one need not look any further than 50 Cent and G-Unit where no one but him has achieved anything, not to mention the countless other artist-labels that mirror this. I guess time will tell if Omari can be the exception. Good luck to him.

* On a random, I’m really hoping Omarion nixes the nasal singing this go round…it’s not a good look.

An incomplete and low quality version of the video for the Black Eyed Peas latest single ‘I Gotta Feeling’ hit the net last week; however the final, high quality version of the clip surfaced today. Put simply, neither the song or the video rock my world in any way, shape or form. What’s more, it’s kinda funny how the vid is overtly trying to push Fergie’s sex appeal – because, correct me if wrong, but I’m pretty sure the masses don’t look at the ol’ Duchess like that.

Nonetheless, I’d imagine this will do pretty well off the back of the monster hit that is ‘Boom Boom Pow’. Speaking of which, the song continues to top charts all over the globe, and remains atop of the US Billboard Hot 100 after seven weeks of occupying the spot.