It appears that even after the massive success of ‘Umbrella’ and a huge promotional campaign, Rihanna’s latest LP ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ won’t be debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200.

According to Hits Daily Double’s analysis of first day sales, Rihanna will vie for the #2 or #3 position with T-Pain – whose ‘Epiphany’ album was also released yesterday. Both artists are expected to sell in the region of 160-170k in their opening week. Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney is tipped to take the top spot with his latest effort.

I’m kinda surprised by this. Def Jam haven’t been behind an artist this much since Mariah’s comeback and to think that after all that she won’t debut in the top spot. Then again, the opening numbers will be Rihanna’s highest yet. Surely that’s an achievement?

This new Kanye West track is taken from his upcoming album ‘Graduation’ (due August 21st). It’s refreshing to see Kanye switch up his approach; the Hip-Hop/Electro fusion samples House group Daft Punk’s ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger’. Though, ‘Stronger’ doesn’t ‘wow’ me, it’s still a solid track – much better than the album’s first/buzz single ‘Can’t Tell me Nothing’.

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.