R&B songstress Teedra Moses is readying her sophomore album ‘The Young Lioness’ for an August release. The long-awaited LP sees the critically-acclaimed Moses return to the music scene after what appeared to be a three year hiatus. Speaking to VIBE late last month, Moses said she spent her time out of the limelight writing for other artists including Mary J. Blige and Macy Gray. ‘I’m not the kind of person who’s just gonna put together an album in two months or two weeks. I like to present myself over a period of time’ she added. Though no definite lead single has been chosen, Moses is rooting for a track called ‘Love’s Gonna Be’ – which samples Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrel’s ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’.

I’m really anticipating Teedra’s new CD. Her first, ‘Complex Simplicity’, was superb – with great tracks such as ‘Backstroke’, ‘You Better Tell Her’ and ‘Be Your Girl’. Hopefully, this time around, she’ll get the recognition she deserves.

The above pics are taken from the set of R. Kelly and Usher’s collabo ‘Same Girl’. The track, which is quickly climbing the charts, is the 2nd single from R. Kelly’s latest LP ‘Double Up’ (out now). ‘Same Girl’ is one of the better tracks from the album and is a smart single choice. Expect the Little X directed video to premier in the coming weeks.

You can now preview every track from Kelly Rowland’s upcoming album ‘Ms Kelly’ (due July 3rd). After listening to the lengthy clips, I feel Kelly has a genuine shot at solo success. Highlights from the CD at this point include ‘Love’, ‘The Show (ft. Tank)’, ‘Ghetto’ and current single ‘Like This’.

New music videos by R&B singer John Legend and UGK & Outkast debuted yesterday. Check them out:

It’s been a while since Outkast have been in the limelight, so their appearance on this UGK track is welcomed. I’m really liking the song and video; the vid follows the concept of track closely and the resulting video is hilarious. Definitely one the better videos released this year. Stars including T-Pain, Chamillionaire and Big Gipp make cameo appearances.

What do you think of the videos?

Kelly Rowland is back in Europe for another promotional blitz to support her upcoming ‘Ms Kelly’ album. The singer stopped by morning show GMTV today to make her first televised performance of current single ‘Like This’. The performance was good; the choreography was decent and the vocals were on-point. It’s great to see her finally performing the song on TV now. ‘Ms Kelly’ drops July 3rd.

During Akon’s performance at KFEST 2007 in New York yesterday, an audience member hurled a bottle of water at the ‘Locked Up’ singer. As expected, the Senegalese star wasn’t pleased, yet his actions thereafter shocked many. Check out the video:

Rihanna is currently dominating the charts and breaking records with her hit ‘Umbrella’, however it’s being reported that Mary J. Blige wanted to record the song first. 19 yr old Rihanna managed to secure the track by convincing the songwriters to give it to her instead. Speaking to UK newspaper Daily Telegraph, the Bajan star said:

Can’t hate on the girl for getting hers; she’s reaping the benefits now. Though, it would be interesting to hear Mary’s take on the track. Thinking about it, I can imagine her doing a pretty good job. In other Mary J. Blige news, the Grammy Award-winning singer will be performing her own MTV Unplugged special this summer.

The 2007 MTV Movie Awards took place last night in Los Angeles. Both Rihanna and Amy Winehouse performed at the star-studded event. Check out their performances:

The Beyonce Experience tour made a stop in London last night, for the first of two dates here. Since purchasing my tickets way back in September, my interest in Beyonce had waned slightly after being let-down by her sophomore effort ‘B’Day’. However after yesterday’s show, I’m sold on the woman all over again. Absolutely fantastic.

After arriving at the arena around 7.30pm and purchasing the expected rip-off tour booklet (£12/$23!), we made our way to our seats. Once seated, I was surprised to see Matthew Knowles, as well as production trio The Bamma Boys, appear on stage to hype the crowd and introduce the opening act – Soul singer Katie Shotter. 20 year old Shotter was the winner of Matthew’s UK TV show ‘Chancers’ and is signed to his label Music World. She was generally well-received by the audience and her material was promising. Yet, by the third song it was like ‘hurry up and get off the stage’. Well, at least that’s what I was thinking Lol…

An already-hyped audience erupted at 8.50pm, when Beyonce finally hit the stage. The spectacle of her entrance alone was pretty amazing; raining pyro served as the backdrop to her grand entry. Beyonce then launched into a rousing performance of mega-hit ‘Crazy in Love’, which set the tone for the rest of the evening. I’d seen her live a few times before and she was great, yet it was evident yesterday that she was performing with increased vigour. She commanded that stage; it was if she was possessed. Sasha was officially in the building.

There were many highlights during the show; including the steamy ‘Baby Boy’ (which was remixed with Reggae classic ‘Murder She Wrote’) and her near-flawless rendition of ‘Dangerously in Love’. The Destiny’s Child Medley was also a standout, with Knowles singing a string of the group’s big hits- crowd participation here was off the charts. Knowles’ vocals were on-point throughout and all songs were sung live – aside from the passable ‘Suga Mama’.

Of the newer songs performed, I was most impressed with ‘Upgrade U’ and ‘Get Me Bodied’. Both performances stayed true to their video counterparts-hence the choreography was hot. Unfortunately the version of ‘Get Me Bodied’ she performed wasn’t the Extended Mix – so no ‘Naomi Campbell walk’ lol– but it was still great nonetheless. Even the limp ‘Flaws & All’ was brought to life via Beyonce’s raw stage presence; she shed a genuine tear during this performance.

The WHOLE arena – women, men, boys, girls and even the arena staff- went into a frenzy when the last song ‘Irreplaceable’ was sung. ‘To the left, to the left’, she encouraged us to sing ‘…even you gangstas too’ she added. At that point I let go of any reluctance and flung my hands up lol. Soon after, we we’re thanked for coming and she walked to the back. I knew that could not be the last song though. ‘Bass…High-Hat….808’ rang out and the audience went CRAZY, as Beyonce gave an encore performance of ‘Déjà Vu’.

So the night ended as just as it began – with a bang. The concert definitely lived up to its billing; it was an ‘experience’ and then some. On the night Beyonce showed just why – hate it or love it – she is the ‘Hottest Chick in the Game’.

* Kelly Rowland was heavily promoted throughout the show – her ‘Like This’ video was played, Matthew spoke about her album and numerous promotional posters/handouts were spotted/given out

* Matthew Knowles sat right behind us for the entire concert at the mixing/recording pit

* Crowd was hyped all the way through

* Her band was incredible…very talented.

* She gave both her band and dancers time to shine.

Bad Boy Records artist Cheri Dennis is finally set release her long-delayed debut album, with the Yung Joc collaboration ‘Portrait’ as the CD’s first official single. Label head Diddy confirmed the news at the ‘Bad Boy Upfront’ event in New York this week. For those not familar with Cheri, the talented singer/songwriter has been signed to Diddy’s label for several years and her project has constantly been pushed back in favour of other artists- including Diddy himself. The hold-ups haven’t stopped Cheri from carving out her own way through the industry; she has written tracks for numerous artists including Olivia and Danity Kane. Dennis also sang the theme tune to MTV’s ‘Making The Band’ – ‘Oh La La’. The currently untitled album is slated for a summer release and will feature productions from Ryan Leslie, Byan Michael Cox and Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins.

I’m really hoping her album sees the light of day. If anyone thinks Mya and Kelly Rowland have been pushed back into oblivion, then they don’t know about Cheri. Anyway, the single ‘Portrait’ – which surfaced a few months ago- is a great track and I think it’ll do well. Check it out…

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Some of you – especially our European visitors – may remember Mutya from her time in one of the UK’s biggest girl groups, the Sugababes. Since leaving the group in 2005, Mutya has recently re-emerged with a new album ‘Real Girl’ (due June 4th) and her current single of the same name is enjoying major success on the charts (currently sitting at #11 on downloads alone). This new track, ‘B Boy Baby’, is a collaboration with rapidly rising star Amy Winehouse and is featured on Mutya’s album. I’m liking this laid-back mid-tempo track; it has a cool throwback vibe to it. If you liked Amy’s international hit ‘Rehab’, then you’ll probably enjoy this one too.

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The Runners produced ‘Good Sex’ sees R. Kelly and Twista hook up again for another collaboration. Their last collabo ‘So Sexy’ was a great track, however ‘Good Sex’ kinda falls short of the benchmark set by their last outing. The song, a bonus track on R. Kelly’s latest album ‘Double Up’ (released this week), is just too standard – from the production to the tired subject matter. Thankfully the actual ‘Double Up’ album is solid and I suppose the song serves it’s purpose as a bonus track to bulk up the tracklisting.

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As the release of Kelly Rowland’s 2nd solo album ‘Ms Kelly’ draws nearer (due July 3rd), more songs from the set have started to surface. This lengthy clip of ‘Love’, a track from the CD, further suggests that Kelly really brought ‘it’ on the album. Aside from the great production, the attention grabbing lyrics enhance the song’s appeal. The track, co-written by Beyonce’s sister Solange (a few eyes rolled there, I’m sure..lol) sees Kelly taking a different approach to the overdone subject of love.

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