R&B star Amerie hit the UK this past week to start promo for her latest European single ‘Gotta Work’. This performance took place during the ‘T4 on the Beach’ festival in Weston-Super Mare yesterday (July 22nd). I liked the performance; her vocals were really good and the crowd were hyped throughout. Having said that, I felt something was kinda lacking. Unlike most her other performances, Amerie didn’t really ‘work’ the stage and was confined to more or less one spot. In other Amerie news, her third album ‘Because I Love It’ – out now in Europe – will see its Stateside release on August 21st.

What do you think of the performance?

Just a quick reminder about That Grape Juice’s ‘EA Games Give-Away’. This week’s edition of the competition ends on Wednesday July 25th. Click here to enter!
As Fantasia’s ‘When I See U’ continues to dominate the Billboard R&B chart, a (proper) remix of the song has surfaced. Featuring producer Polow Da Don and Young Jeezy, this version of the track differs quite a bit to the original. Don’t be fooled by the faux-original start; when the remix beat kicks in it sounds like a totally different song – despite the same vocals being used. After a couple of listens, I’m liking this one.

What do you think of this remix?

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Today’s been somewhat of a slow news day, but I stumbled upon this video and thought to post. It’s usually the Omarion’s, Timberlake’s and Co who solute (arguably copy) Michael Jackson, so it was kinda refreshing to see this group of 1500+ Filipino prisoners pay homage to the King of Pop. The inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in the Philippines were getting down; they nailed the now-classic choreography. LMAO at the ‘female’ love interest.

What do you think of their performance?

Rapper Lil’ Flip (real name Wesley Weston) was arrested and charged with credit card fraud this past Saturday (July 21st). The charges allege that the Houston native used a stolen credit card to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of ‘merchandise’. Sources close to the investigation claim the ‘merchandise’ ranged from items of clothing to internet pornography. Flip, 26, was released on $2000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
I know Flip was dropped by Sony in 2006, but I didn’t think times were that hard.

Any thoughts?
Def Jam’s Rihanna features in the latest issue of Vibe Vixen magazine. As well as the double-cover above, the ‘Umbrella’ singer did a full photoshoot and was interiewed too:

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She looks stunning. If the music thing doesn’t work out, she’d be a great model. On a side-note, check out a quote from the interview:

“I wouldn’t have wanted to date white guys before but they are killing it right now. Justin Timberlake, Orlando Bloom, Paul Weller. Every hot guy I see is white”

Interesting…

What do you think of the shoot/ quote?
Slated to be the 2nd single from Chris Brown’s new album ‘Exclusive’, ‘Take You Down’ sees the teen star take on a more mature approach. Prior to now, Brown had played it relatively safe in terms of song subject-matter; yet having turned 18 this year, it was inevitable that he would switch things up with his latest effort. Produced by the Underdogs ‘Take U Down’ is a slow jam with a kind of throwback vibe to it. This lengthy clip of the track is great and has me questioning why it wasn’t chosen as the first single. After hearing this, I’m kinda hopeful that Chris may deliver with this album – which, so far, has been marred by the terrible performance of the generic lead single ‘Wall to Wall’.

Hit or Miss?

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Further to reports earlier this week that Usher is attempting to shut down his top fansite for its negative stance on his relationship with Tameka Foster, the owner has vowed to fight it out in court. Erika Jackson, the webmaster of UsherForever.com, isn’t backing down to legal threats from Usher and his label LaFace -who want her to hand the site over to them. Jackson claims she wants to ‘make a point’ by going toe-to-toe with her favourite artist. Click here to read the full story via TMZ.

The more I hear about this, the more I lose what little respect I have for Usher. It’s unlikely that he’ll win; I’m sure his team didn’t even think this would get as much press as it has. Either way, Usher’s reputation is in a mess right now.

Any thoughts?

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Rihanna is churning out singles and albums so fast these days; didn’t her 2nd single ‘Shut Up & Drive’ just come out? Nonetheless, the Bajan star premiered her latest single ‘Don’t Stop The Music’ on BET’s 106 & Park yesterday. The track is undeniably a dance song and the video (which Rihanna co-directed) really reflects that. I’m not a fan of the song, but its a grower. Def Jam are really covering all ground with this project – each single has appealed to a different market. ‘Hate That I Love You’ (ft. Neyo) has also been confirmed as the 4th single from her ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ CD.

What do you think of the video?

Whilst Danity Kane languish in the pits, Diddy continues to roll out the videos from his barely Gold album ‘Press Play’. This new video for ‘Through The Pain’ sees the Bad Boy label head team up with Mario Winans once again (their last effort being Winans 2003 hit ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’). I’m liking the song and the video – though not all that great – serves its purpose.

Word has it that Diddy has also shot a video for ‘Diddy Rock’ which features Timbaland, Twista and Shawnna – totalling five singles. I just don’t get how Diddy is supposed to be all about the business, yet he chooses to promote himself over a group that are selling more than he is. Too much ego…

What do you think of the video?

Continuing along the promo trail for her new CD ‘Ms. Kelly’, singer Kelly Rowland performed a set for AOL Sessions recently. Check out the performances:

Dilemma

Comeback

Work/Ghetto

Like This (ft. Eve)

I enjoyed all the performances, although it kinda baffles me as to why she’s still performing ‘Dilemma’. Nonetheless, Kelly was on-point through out, especially with the vocals. The live band did their thing also. It was great to finally see proper performances of some of the album cuts like ‘Comeback’ and ‘Work’. Speaking of those tracks, Kelly has been shooting videos for BOTH songs in LA yesterday and today. Be on the lookout for them in the weeks ahead.

What did you think of Kelly’s performances
This is apparently the cover art for Kanye West’s upcoming album ‘Graduation’. In line with most things ‘Kanye’, the cover is kinda quirky and left-field. Still, I think it looks pretty good. ‘Graduation’ – West’s third LP – was scheduled to hit stores in August, however it has been pushed back to September 11th – the same release date as 50 Cent’s ‘Curtis’ album. With the two Hip Hop heavyweights going head-to-head, it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top. I’m thinking Kanye has this won.

What do you think of the cover / Who will come out on top: Kanye or 50?
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