Jermaine Dupri once again offered viewers of his Youtube channel an exclusive behind the scenes look at Janet Jackson’s forthcoming ‘Rock Witchu Tour’. The opening act for the North American trek is also revealed in the clip. Check it out:

LOL…both Janet and Jermaine had me rolling. I must say, interesting choice for opening act.

Your thoughts?

Monica's Album Pushed Back...To 2009R&B songstress Monica confirmed that her forthcoming LP ‘Still Standing’ will be hitting stores early 2009, during a recent message to her fans. The 28 year old star cites the fact that she is still in the studio working on the record as the reason for the delay.
Speaking more on the LP, she revealed that Ne-Yo is the latest addition to the album’s songwriter/producer roster, which already includes Bryan Michael Cox, Babyface and Missy Elliott. {Source}
Here’s hoping ‘Still Standing’ is worth the wait.
Any thoughts?
Deborah Cox’s 1998 hit ‘Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here’ serves as this week’s classic From The Vault video. The song, which stands as Cox’s biggest hit to date, spent a record 14 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Chart (record tied with Mariah’s ‘We Belong Together’). A criminally underrated talent if there ever was one, it’s great to see Deborah achieve such a feat with such an amazing track. Awesome vocal performance, with an accompanying video that does the song justice.

Your thoughts?

R&B star Kelly Rowland joined forces with Irish band The Script to perform Stevie Wonder’s ‘Part Time Lover’ on T-Mobile Transmission this week. There is some talk that the cut may appear on Kelly’s 3rd solo LP. Peep the performance below:

Enjoyable performance. Good stuff.

What do you think of the performance?

Diddy: Danity Kane Not Splitting With rumours about Danity Kane becoming almost a weekly occurrence, their label head/mentor Diddy has issued a statement reaffirming that the band are very much still together. Check out the report via Contact Music:

A spokesperson for SEAN COMBS has denied claims his pop girl group DANITY KANE is on the verge of a split to make way for the solo career of one of its members.
Combs has reportedly planned the break-out of 23-year-old Dawn Richard, causing tensions in the five-girl group.

A posting on a popular music website claims the hip-hop mogul “has been flying Dawn out from Baltimore to him for private meetings. And these meetings are preparing her to be the breakout star in a solo career. Apparently, Diddy believes she’s the most talented of the group, and the girls are pissy because they disagree.”

But Combs’ Atlantic Records spokeswoman Cara Donatto has denied the rumours, insisting the girls “absolutely” get along.

She says: “At no point was Dawn flown anywhere to record solo or meet alone with Diddy. The girls are still very much together. They’re going out to the (MTV) Video Music Awards together… and they’re promoting their album Welcome to the Dollhouse and working on their third.”

Great to hear all is supposedly well ‘in-house’, but a third album already? I mean that has to be some kind of joke, right? ‘Making The Band’ aside, the promotion for their current effort ‘Welcome To The Dollhouse’ has been far from satisfactory – lengthy gaps between singles…poor single choice(s) (I vote ‘no’ for ‘Bad Girl’) etc. Whoever is running the show in their camp needs to get it together ASAP, as this is quickly descending into one shambles of a situation. SMH…


Your thoughts?
Pussycat Dolls - 'Whatcha Think About That (ft. Missy Elliott)' A new Pussycat Dolls cut said to be lifted from their forthcoming ‘Doll Domination’ LP, titled ‘Whatcha Think About That’, surfaced today. The Missy Elliott assisted track’s main appeal (IMO) is the fact that for the first time since their debut another voice that isn’t Nicole actually sings something which you can hear lol (Melody’s ad-libs don’t count).
The down-side, however, is that – to put it bluntly – the track is sub-par at best. I’ve yet to hear anything anywhere near as good as ‘When I Grow Up’ from the ladies from this new LP. It’ll be interesting to see if they deliver the goods with the album more roundly.

Hit or Miss?
The undisputed King of Pop Michael Jackson turns 50 today. I know, time really does fly by…
For over 4 decades Michael has thrilled music listeners and audiences alike with his unmatched catalogue of hits and stage show performances. Arguably the greatest performer of all time, Michael’s impact on music resonates till this very day; and no doubt will continue to do so for years to come.

Speaking from his home in California, Michael talked with Good Morning America yesterday about his big day, reminisced on his storied career as well as future plans:

On his plans for his big day:

“Just have a little cake with my children and we’ll probably watch some cartoons — before getting right back to work.

His greatest achievements (Songs) / Future plans:

Oh boy, that’s a hard one,” he said, before singling out “We Are the World,” “Billie Jean” and “Thriller.”

But Jackson was not content to rest on his laurels, saying, “I am still looking forward to doing a lot of great things.”

He hopes to release new music and tour, though he doesn’t have dates set.

“I am writing all the time,” he said. “I love composing and the whole thing. But I am also raising my children and enjoying it and teaching them to ride bicycles and how to read. I love it.”

On his kids:

Asked if he’d like his two sons and daughter to have the same sort of upbringing as him, he said he’d prefer to let them “enjoy their childhood as much as possible.”

“I let them go to the arcade and go to the movies and do things,” he said. “I want them to get to do the kind of things I didn’t get to do. So, I fill them with a lot of enjoyment that way — a lot of amusement. You know?

“I get pretty emotional when I see them having a wonderful time,” he added, “when they are on a ride and they are screaming and they are happy. … It makes me emotional, ’cause I see they are having a real good time.”

Jackson said his kids “love music … they are very much into the arts,” but that, “I don’t push them.”

Happy Birthday, Mike!

Your thoughts?

Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson performed the US National Anthem (The Star Spangled Banner) at the Democratic National Convention in Denver yesterday. Hudson was handpicked by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to sing at the event. Check it out below:

Awesome rendition!

Jen’s self-titled debut hits stores September 30th.

What do you think of the performance?

The Knowles ladies (Beyonce, Tina & Solange) stopped by The Early Show today to promote Solange’s ‘Sol-Angel & The Hadley Street Dreams’ LP. A pretty interesting watch, I must say. Peep the performance of ‘I Decided’ below too:

Your thoughts?

After the mini-storm that brewed following Solange’s appearance on Fox News yesterday, the singer explained the situation in her latest video blog. Peep the clip below:

I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. That said, there is obviously a lesson to be learnt here on her part.

Your thoughts?

R&B star Kelly Rowland really is doing her thing over here in Europe. Peep her new commercial for Nike’s Human Race – the world’s biggest one-day running event – which takes place in many cities across the world simultaneously on August 31st. Rowland will also be performing at the Paris event.

Watches again: She was getting it!

What do you think of the commercial?

R.I.P 'E=MC²': April 2008 - September 2008 Yes, the post’s title may seem somewhat OTT, yet it’s warranted all the same. Despite none of Mariah Carey’s ‘E=MC²’ singles performing well – aside from ‘Touch My Body’ (which I still maintain only charted so high because of the hype from her ‘Mimi’ LP), ‘I’m That Chick’ has been chosen as the album’s 4th single and will be going for radio adds on September 2nd.
I have no idea who has been choosing the singles from this album, I do know, however, that very little thought seems to have been put into such decisions. I mean, despite the LP being mediocre at best, you still have awesome cuts such as ‘Migrate’ and ‘For The Record’ literally just sitting there unreleased. With the syrupy ‘Bye Bye’ failing to make an impact on the chart and the better ‘Loving U Long Time’ surprisingly tanking (peaked at #56 on the Hot 100), I doubt there is any hope for this rubbish, yet catchy (weird combo I know lol) cut. SMH…

Your thoughts?
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