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19th Apr

Winehouse's 'Close' To Marriage Break-Up

According to reports, controversial singer Amy Winehouse has started making plans to end her 11 month marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil:

The singer is waiting for her partner to be released from jail before she breaks the news to him, according to The Sun.
Fielder-Civil is currently awaiting trial at Pentonville Prison on charges of assault and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Winehouse has apparently missed several visits to the North London prison and is behaving like a “single woman” with friends.
“Amy does everything she can not to visit,” said a source. “She forgets she is married half the time. There are a few men she is close to and Blake can’t stand it.”
The Back To Black star’s father commented: “It wouldn’t surprise me if Amy and Blake had broken up.” {Source}

Evidently, they weren’t good for each other; so I guess this is a good thing. Maybe now she’ll be less of a train-wreck and concentrate on the music.

Any thoughts?

19th Apr

Check out these new promotional snaps for Usher’s highly anticipated new album ‘Here I Stand’ – due May 27th.

What do you think of the pics?

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19th Apr

Janet Jackson Readies New Single

After halting promotion for her latest LP ‘Discipline’ due to illness, Janet Jackson is set to release the next single from the set ‘Can’t Be Good’. Unlike previous single LUV which was only released to select formats on radio, ‘Can’t Be Good’ has a tentative radio ad date of June 9th – impacting all formats. {Source}

Whoever made the call for this must be smoking that good stuff, as this is a recipe for disaster IMO. With an album, Janet’s most promising in years, currently in free-fall on the charts, it’s hard to see the logic in releasing the most adult contemporary track on the record and hoping for a hit. Granted I’m not a fan of serving any old rubbish to radio in order to enjoy chart success, ‘Discipline’ genuinely possesses some surefire hits i.e. ‘LUV’, ‘The One’, ‘2 Nite’, as well as the title track.

In any case, with several sources confirming that Def Jam are looking to refocus their efforts on promoting her upcoming tour as a means of selling the album, I’m hopeful that things begin to pick up soon.

Any thoughts?

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18th Apr

New Amerie Photo Shoot

Check out these edgy new promotional pics of Amerie. Shot by noted photographer Derek Blanks (the same man behind the ‘Alter Ego’ shoot from earlier this month), the ‘Take Control’ singer looks great. It’d be even better, though, to have some news on her current label / project status. Here’s hoping things work out for this criminally underrated talent (I still have ‘Because I Love It’ in heavy rotation).

{Click pics to enlarge}

What do you think of the pics?

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18th Apr

Whitney & Ray J Spotted Out Together

Prior to now, many had assumed the stranger than strange ‘relationship’ between singing diva Whitney Houston and Ray J had ended. However the pair were snapped last night in Atlanta entering HOT 107.9’s Hip-Hop fashion show. Word has it that Houston, who at 44 is 17 years older than Ray J, held hands with the ‘Sexy Can I’ singer and that the pair were ‘all over each other’.

Whether this is a publicity stunt (for Ray J, of course) or actually genuine, it’s not a good look for Whitney. I mean, its Ray J…

Your thoughts?

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18th Apr

Raven Covers JET Magazine

Actress/singer Raven-Symone features in the latest issue of JET magazine. As well as talking about her forthcoming album, she spoke about being proud of her ‘voluptuous’ shape:

‘”I have to stay true to who I am’, says Disney star Raven-Symoné, 22, regarding her new self-titled CD, which is slated for release April 29. ‘I am not going to sing about sex, drugs and violence, that’s just not who I am’, she continues. As she prepares for the CD’s release and a 55-city Pajama Party concert tour, the confident and talented entertainer hopes this project will fill a void in today’s music. We need some music that will open people’s minds up and give them other things to think about other than the same things we have been giving them for a while. Maybe my album can do that.’
While the 5-foot-2-inch singer-actress stays true to her music, she’s also staying true to her image by being comfortable with her size. ‘When I look in the mirror and see how voluptuously fabulous I am, I can’t even worry about it. I am just fabulous.’”

It’s always good to see artists going against what has, sadly, become the industry’s norm – looks over talent. Random tidbit: Irrespective of how hard I try, I can’t seem to shake the ‘Disney’ association with Raven; the odd look she has on her face doesn’t really help matters.

Any thoughts?

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18th Apr

Foxy Brown Released From Jail

Rapper Foxy Brown was released from prison today, after serving eight months of her 12 month sentence:

“As soon as she was released from prison, she was greeted by her mother Judith Marchand and lawyer New York City Councilman Charles Barron, as well as hundreds of reporters and fans, some with posters and pink balloons, others with ‘Free Foxy Brown’ T-shirts. Brown wore a leather jacket, jeans, a black shirt, designer pumps and a stylish Fendi designer doo rag over her hair.
Brown’s entourage arrived in a fleet of luxury vehicles that included three Rolls Royce’s, a number of SUV’s and a Maybach, that was filled with clothes. Her family, friends, managers and a hair stylist and makeup artist were all part of the group of people that greeted Brown.” {Source}

Here’s hoping she fixes up now that she’s free. Click here to watch the video of her release

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18th Apr

Ashanti Performs ‘The Way That I Love You’ Live

R&B star Ashanti performed her current single ‘The Way That I Love You’ last night at Hot 107.9’s Hot on The Runway Fashion Show in Atlanta. Check out how she did below:

Despite not doing much stage-wise, I really enjoyed her performance.Yes, she isn’t the best vocalist, but I’ve never understood the claims that she can’t sing. This performance really highlights her improved live vocals. Good stuff.

What do you think of the performance?

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18th Apr

Hudson’s Debut Due In September

According to Billboard, Jennifer Hudson’s long-awaited debut album will be released on September 30th via Arista.

Granted it’s commendable that they didn’t rush the album out to capitalize on her Oscar success, this date really has to stick this time, so as for people not to lose interest. What’s more, the longer it’s held back, the higher the expectations – something that may count against her. Here’s hoping she delivers with this album.

In related news, industry veteran Clive Davis – the man behind Whitney Houston’s success and more recently Jennifer Hudson and Leona – has been replaced as chairman over at Sony BMG (the parent label of J Records etc). Davis has been appointed a creative role in another part of the company (click here to read the full story). I wonder what implications this may have for Jennifer’s project – considering Davis has been overseeing it since signing the ‘Dreamgirls’ star in 2006?

Any thoughts?

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18th Apr

Usher – ‘Here I Stand’ Cover

R&B star Usher is gearing up for the release of his much-anticipated new album ‘Here I Stand’ – the official cover for which surfaced today. Originally scheduled to drop in the June, the album’s release date was pushed up following the chart-topping success of its first single ‘Love In The Club’.