R&B star Usher recently spoke on the young talent in the today’s industry – more specifically teen singer Chris Brown:

Usher has hailed fellow singer Chris Brown as a younger version of himself – insisting the star will “follow the same path”. Usher, 29, was just 15 when he released his self-titled debut album in 1994 and has gone on to forge a highly successful music career. And Usher is convinced Brown, 19, is all set to follow in his footsteps and dominate the R&B scene.

He says, “All of this young energy is great for the industry. Chris is the guy who dances and sings, which is a lot like I do and did as a young artist as well. If time serves us correctly, and artists are continuing to better themselves, then hopefully he’ll follow the same path that I did.” {Source}

While it’s good to see Usher giving props to the crop of younger stars on the come-up, I can’t help but feel he’s a tad on the self-indulgent side. I mean after all, he along with the Justin’s and co are evidently still students at the ‘Michael Jackson School of Performing’. To be honest, I can’t pick any one male artist of today that has carved out a lasting trademark in the way the MJ’s and Prince’s did.

Your thoughts?

Good stuff, Kelly did her thing. She’s really becoming a lot more ‘at home’ on stage these days (solo), which is something I’m anticipating seeing more of in future performances too.

What do you think of the performance?

I’ve really taken a liking to the song since the debut of the music video. Great performance.

What do you think of the performance?

With rapper Busta Rhymes readying his latest LP ‘Blessed’ for a June 17th release, two new videos in support of the set have surfaced; official single ‘We Made It’ (ft. Linkin Park)’ (above) and buzz cut ‘Don’t Touch Me (Throw The Water On ‘Em)’ (below). While I’m not really feeling the clip for ‘Don’t Touch Me’, I’m really liking the ‘We Made It’ song and video – very different for Busta.

What do you think of the song(s) / video(s)

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Hmm. Not as bad as I thought, yet still left a lot to be desired. On the one hand, it’s great to see her sing with a clear, polished tone; however ‘The Voice’ was largely absent from this overly safe performance – showing itself sporadically between the ‘talky’ majority. Still, watching this offers hope that Whitney could very well crank out a successful well-sung ‘Studio LP’ (See: Mariah Carey). Whether her unmatched live vocal ability returns to past glories will be interesting to see. Whitney’s much-anticipated new album is tentatively slated for a November release.

What do you think of the performance?

The video for The-Dream’s new single ‘I Luv Your Girl’, which features rapper Young Jeezy, made it’s debut on BET’s 106 & Park yesterday. Both the song and the accompanying clip are kinda ‘blah’ if I must say so myself. I’m still waiting on him to release ‘She Needs My Love’; I’ve had that on constant rotation since his album ‘Love/Hate’ dropped back in December.

What do you think of the video?