As the US release of Leona Lewis’ hugely successful ‘Spirit’ LP draws nearer (due April 8th), the UK songstress stopped by ‘The Tonight Show With Jay Leno’ last night to perform current single ‘Bleeding Love’. Granted this is probably the 100th time I’ve seen her perform the song, especially being here in the UK, I still enjoyed it. I really have no choice to, considering she nails it each and every time. Great performance. ‘Bleeding Love’ sits atop of the iTunes chart, as at writing.

What do you think of the performance?

Aide: A Talent Booker at the ‘Wendy Williams Experience’ show has filed papers with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that she was hounded to have sex with Wendy Williams’ husband Kevin Hunter – by Hunter himself. What’s more, the worker, Nicole Spence, also claims that Hunter physically abused the radio personality around the studio. See the report via NY Post below:

“Mr. Hunter repeatedly sexually propositioned me at work in the most crude and vulgar ways, telling me over and over that he wanted to ‘f- – -’ me,” Spence charges.

I also feared Mr. Hunter because he repeatedly physically assaulted Ms. Williams at or near the WBLS studio,” Spence says in the complaint.

In one instance, Mr. Hunter stormed into the studio, demanded that other employees leave and openly physically abused Ms. Williams, pinning her against the wall with his hand around her neck, choking her while repeatedly pounding his fist into the wall directly by her head.”

It’s no secret that Williams and the younger Hunter have had a turbulent relationship – one filled with drugs, abuse and infidelity. Though Wendy asserts that things have changed, one has to wonder if there’s truth to these claims.

Any thoughts?

As reported earlier on today, Mariah Carey performed at the season 3 premiere of popular MTV show ‘The Hills’ yesterday night. Check out her renditions of ‘Touch My Body’ and ‘We Belong Together’ below:

I’ve got a love/hate thing going on with Mariah this go-round. ‘Touch My Body’ has grown on me considerably, but these performances are not cutting it. Whether comparing them to ‘Old Mariah’ or the standard of any good performance, her showing last night still falls short. Though ‘We Belong Together’ was better, the years of wear and tear are made overly evident when Mariah tries to reach for them notes she sadly cannot hit (live) anymore.

The following may sound controversial, but IMO 2008 Mariah Carey seems little more than a studio singer (the best of the bunch, of course). Some may be quick to think ‘WTF’ as she obviously is leaps and bounds more talented than artists labelled as such. Yet, the simple fact that she can’t do her own songs justice live any more, IMO makes her a studio singer. Even the oh-so-critiqued performances to support her last LP weren’t as cringe worthy as her most recent. What makes the whole episode worse is that she seems to put more effort into her look/image than how she sounds. I guess much of this won’t be of much relevance, as Mimi is cruising toward her 18th #1 single with ‘Touch my Body.

Your thoughts?

Kelly Rowland Heads Back To The Studio Following the success of Kelly Rowland’s recent releases here in Europe, it is being reported that the ‘Like This’ singer is set to start recording her third solo album next week. No further details are available at time of writing. {Source}


Your thoughts?
Mariah Performs At 'The Hills' Premiere Diva Mariah Carey was snapped leaving Gotham Hall in New York yesterday night in New York City. The singer was there to perform at the season 3 premiere and after party of popular MTV show ‘The Hills’. At 37, Mariah really is giving the young ones a run for their money…she’s looking on-point.
Mariah Performs At 'The Hills' Premiere Mariah Performs At 'The Hills' Premiere Mariah Performs At 'The Hills' Premiere

What do you think of the pics?

Remy Ma's Lawyer: Remy Ma’s attorney admitted in the closing arguments of rapper’s case today that the former Terror Squad star did, in fact, shoot her friend during disagreement in July last year. Check out the report via MTV.com:

Lawyer Ivan Fisher called the shooting, which left Makeda Barnes-Joseph hospitalized, an accident. Fisher claimed Remy Ma (real name: Reminisce Smith) and Barnes-Joseph struggled over the latter’s bag when the two argued over missing money after leaving a birthday celebration for a mutual acquaintance. The former Terror Squad star accused Barnes-Joseph of pocketing upward of $3,000 in cash.

Fisher told the jury the women’s hands hit the rearview mirror of Barnes-Joseph’s car during the tussle and the gun then went off, according to AP.

“There is no other explanation for why Remy Smith would have chosen that unique moment in time to shoot her,” Fisher said.

The surprising admission was a far cry from Fisher’s opening remarks when he attempted to characterize Barnes-Joseph as a celebrity groupie who was misrepresenting the nature of the events in order to win money from the “Lean Back” rapper. In December, Barnes-Joseph filed a multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit against Remy Ma.

In July, Remy vehemently denied shooting Barnes-Joseph. When reporters gathered around the rapper’s New Jersey home, she maintained her innocence.

“I didn’t shoot my friend!” she yelled.

Jury deliberation in the case begins Tuesday. If convicted, Remy Ma could face up to 25 years in prison.

Looks like it’s a done deal for Remy. I really cannot see a jury believing her paper-thin alibi, I mean come on now. Then again, with celebs increasingly getting preferential treatment by what’s supposed to be a justice system, anything could happen.


Any thoughts?
Kelly Rowland Performs At BBC 1Xtra Live R&B star Kelly Rowland really is loving this side of the pond these days. The former Destiny’s Child star was part of BBC 1Xtra’s Live show this past Saturday in Coventry here in England. I’m sure a few of the doubters will be surprised, as Kelly really exuded a stage presence not really seen until now. Perhaps it’s the success she’s been enjoying over here as of late. The full band and back-up singers was a nice touch too. Anyway, check out Kelly’s setlist as well her full set below:

Like This
Dilemma
Can’t Nobody
Destiny’s Child medley
Daylight
Work
Reprise
Fabolous Preps Concept Album According to MTV.com, rapper Fabolous is set to release a ‘concept album’ ala Jay-Z’s ‘American Gangster’ as his next LP. Check out the report below:

“What Jay-Z did [with ‘American Gangster’] … he took that Frank Lucas character and put it in the frame of his Jay character,” Fab opined. “That’s what I wanna do. I don’t wanna say I that I’m actually the character, but take some of his scenarios or some things I went through and tell it in my tone.”

Fab refused to disclose the movie he was patterning his album after, but he said it isn’t too old, though it is classic. He doesn’t anticipate too many cameos, and producers on Loso’s radar include DJ Toomp, Kanye West, Just Blaze and Polow Da Don. With a structure in place, he feels he can complete his opus at a more expedient rate than usual.

I’m anxious to see what Fab comes up with. For some reason, his last LP ‘From Nothing To Something’ didn’t really shift as many units as it should have IMO, so I’m definitely hoping for big things this go-round.

Your thoughts?

Following on from the release of one of the banned episodes of the popular, yet controversial TV show ‘The Boondocks’ earlier this week, yet another of the ”unseen’ episodes has surfaced. Once again taking aim at BET, this time with the black-hating black character Uncle Ruckas getting his own BET reality show. Check out the episode below:

Your thoughts?

The Best You Never Heard: Janet, Diddy, Craig David & Keisha White With the Easter break etc, there has been a succession of ‘slow news days’ as of late. So I thought now would be a good time to introduce a new site feature I’ve had in mind for a while now. Set to be a once weekly feature, ‘The Best You Never Heard’ will showcase great songs that aren’t known (as much as they should be) to the masses. This week’s edition features Diddy, Janet Jackson, Craig David and Keisha White…
———————————————–

 

Diddy – Special Feeling (ft. Mika)

Lifted from Diddy’s 2006 effort ‘Press Play’, this uptempo 80’s throwback cut is perhaps the best track I’ve heard from him as an artist. Not even Diddy’s lacklustre flow can take away from this top notch production.

Listen: Special Feeling

———————————————–

Janet Jackson – R&B Junkie

 

Often overlooked due to the now-infamous ‘wardrobe malfunction’, Janet Jackson’s 2004 LP ‘Damita Jo’ is arguably one of her most solid efforts to date. ‘R&B Junkie’ is undoubtedly one of the set’s standout tracks. A funky R&B/Pop fusion, the track could easily have been a single then or even now. Good stuff.

 

Listen: R&B Junkie

 

 

 

———————————————–

 

 

 

Craig David – Take ‘Em Off

 

 

UK star Craig David is oft criticized by the UK industry for for “selling out” to the US sound, hence his current predicament (struggling on the charts). I actually have no problem with Craig’s embrace of the US sound, considering it yielded the fantastic ‘Take ‘Em Off’. The Underdogs produced song, which was in heavy rotation on UK urban radio in 2005, sounds similar to Marques Houston’s ‘Naked’…just a whole lot better.

Listen: Take ‘Em Off

———————————————–

Keisha White – The Weakness In Me

British R&B songstress Keisha White served up her best effort yet back in 2006 with her cover of Joan Armatrading’s ‘The Weakness In Me’. Sung beautifully, it’s a shame the track didn’t garner the attention it truly deserved.

Listen: The Weakness In Me

———————————————–

Your thoughts: Hit(s) or Miss(es)?

Yesterday night saw the airing of the Making The Band 4 season 2 finale. The two hour telecast boasted performances from the shows star’s Danity Kane, Day 26 and Donnie. As well as performing Diddy made a ‘special announcement’ confirming that a new season of the show will be shot and will follow both the groups and Donnie on their North American tour. Check out the performances below:

Danity Kane – Damaged

Day26 – Got Me Going

Donny (ft. Diddy) – Take You There

I really enjoyed both Day26 and Danity Kane’s performances, although the latter were kinda shaky vocally at times. Donnie, on the other hand, what was that? I’m starting to question Diddy’s mindset when choosing him as a solo act, because the performance was wack – to put it simply. According to our friends over at Think2wice.org, who were in attendance at the taping, Donnie’s performance was done not once, not twice, but three times over. Yet still the televised version was the pits. Anyway, usual…

What do you think of the performances ?

Will you be checking for the Making The Band tour?

Donnie - 'Take You There'As Making The Band 4 wraps up yet another season, many are probably wondering about the status of Donnie’s project. After all, both of the groups – Danity Kane and Day26 – have released their albums this month. Word has it, Donnie’s album will drop in August and will be lead by this new track titled ‘Take You There’.
The song, which features Diddy, has a distinct funk feel to it. I’m really liking the production, the arrangements etc. A solid track, for sure. However, there is a problem; I don’t ‘believe’ Donnie. Something about all of the material I’ve heard thus far sounds kinda forced/contrived. Whilst his Making The Band co-stars seem to have a stamp on their respective sounds, I get a ‘sing whatever is given to me’ vibe from Donnie. Perhaps, its due to the way he’s been portrayed on the show so far, I don’t know. Whatever the case, at this point, I’m thinking Diddy should have given one of the other group rejects a solo deal instead of Donnie. Time will tell if he proves the naysayers wrong…

Hit or Miss?
**