Following the release of her Spanish album earlier this year, Jennifer Lopez is prepping a new English CD – which is slated to drop in September. ‘Wrong When Your Gone’, which was written by Timbaland protegee and The Clutch member Keri Hilson, is set to feature on the currently-untitled disc. Having really liked Keri’s original version of the track, I feel J.Lo has done the song justice judging by this lengthy clip. The production on this slow jam compliments her, somewhat, limited vocal range and she rides the beat nicely. She may be onto something, if the other material on the album is as good as this.

Hit or Miss?

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Grammy Award winning superstar Mariah Carey performed at the ‘One Mighty Party’ show in Disneyland Paris last night. The event was held in support of Elton John’s fight against AIDS. Despite the bad weather, the singer was said to be in very high spirits; belting out some of her big hits including ‘Dreamlover’ and ‘We Belong Together’ to an equally delighted audience.
In other Mariah Carey news, long-time collaborator Jermaine Dupri has revealed that the singer will release her new album around Thanksgiving this year. Speaking to Rap-Up TV, the producer said they’ve completed 5 or so songs together. According to many involved with the project, Mariah really brought her ‘A Game’ and the material is said to be fantastic. I’m anxious to see if she can deliver the way she did on her awesome last album ‘The Emancipation’.

Are you anticipating Mariah’s new CD?
Following Ciara’s performance at the 2007 BET Awards this week, speculation has been mounting as to what the singer was trying to convey with her robe. Similar to James Brown, at the end of her set, a robe was thrown to the ‘Promise’ singer – baring ‘#25’ across the back. Explanations ranging from her affiliation with 50 Cent (half of 50?) to her alleged romance with NFL star Reggie Bush (The Saints player #25) have been cited. However, she has revealed to MTV that the number was to poke fun at her placing at #25 on BET’s Top 25 Dancers list – below Diddy, Beyonce, Prince and Missy Elliott:

“I don’t know if you’ve seen the Top 25 Dancers countdown on BET; I acknowledged that,” she admitted, quashing the other rumors.

I couldn’t agree with her more. On the one hand, it may seem kinda egotistical on her part, but we all know the deal- she’s one of the best dancers out now in the music business. BET know they were wrong for that.
Do you think Ciara was right in doing what she did?

Amerie’s debuted her newest single ‘Gotta Work’ yesterday. Scott Franklin – who also directed the vid for her last single ‘Take Control’ -directed the video. With a simple concept and great choreography, Amerie really delivered with this one. I’m still not entirely sure about the single choice, but it’s an excellent video nonetheless.

What do you think of the video?

The 2nd single to be lifted from Kelly Rowland’s new album- ‘Ms. Kelly’- has been confirmed as ‘Comeback’. According to Middlechild Promotions, the song has already been sent out to radio stations and will indeed serve as the album’s next offering. The Scott Storch-produced track also won the AOL poll to decide the next single.
Having had the chance to listen to the album, I would have preferred ‘Work’ to be the next single. However, I can see why ‘Come Back’ was chosen; the uptempo club banger is good track with a catchy hook. As long as she brings ‘it’ with the video, then I’m all for it. ‘Ms. Kelly’ is out now in Europe and hits stores in the US on July 3rd.

What do you think of the single choice?

Rapper 50 Cent stopped by BET’s 106 & Park to perform his current single ‘Amusement Park’. The G-Unit leader also took a moment to address his shambolic performance at the BET Awards earlier in the week. Performance aside, most of 50’s new material just isn’t cutting it and he’ll need to come harder than this if his ‘Curtis’ album is to be a success.

What did you think of his excuse and performance?

Following Beyonce’s BET Awards performance earlier this week, the Internet has been rampant with claims that the ‘Deja Vu’ singer copied her set from another artist. According to many, Beyonce’s entrance was a carbon-copy of pop star Kylie Minougue’s on a past tour. I don’t check for Kylie like that, so I wasn’t aware. I hear the concept was taken from a film called ‘Metropolis’…whatever the case, you be the judge:

What do you think?

The video for Bone Thugs latest single ‘Lil L.O.V.E.’ has finally premiered. I’ve had the song in heavy rotation for a while now and was anxious to see how the video turned out. Though it’s nothing groundbreaking, the Chis Robinson-directed video is pretty good. It’s great to see Mariah back on scene after being on a hiatus – she looks stunning in the vid. Bow Wow as well as the song’s producer Jermaine Durpri also make appearances. After the success of ‘I Tried’, Bone Thugs look to be on course for another chart smash with this.

What do you think of the video?

Lil Fizz is the latest ex-boyband member to make a bid for solo stardom. ‘Beds’ is the lead single from the former B2K star’s new album ‘Payday’. Both the video and the song are so-so, however all the other members of B2K came out to support Fizz – with all three making cameo appearances in the vid. No words for Ray J..

What do think of the video?

Following several months of speculation, Usher and his fiance Tameka Foster have announced that that they are expecting their first child. In a statement released to PEOPLE magazine, the couple had the following to say:

We are extremely excited at this point in our lives planning our wedding and the joy that comes with expecting our first child together. We hope people will be happy for us and respect our privacy during this happy period in our lives.

The baby, which is in the Fall, will be the first for Usher, yet the 4th for Foster – who has children from a previous marriage. Thus far the pair’s relationship has been pretty controversial, with the often ridiculed Foster being blamed for Usher firing his mother as his manager earlier this year. The ‘Confessions’ singer is also scheduled to release a new album toward the end of the year.

What do you think of the pregnancy?
As Ashanti preps her new album ‘The Declaration’ (due for an October release), this new song featuring Nelly – apparently the lead single – has surfaced. I’m kinda thrown by this one; she went in a different direction with ‘Switch’ and I give her props for doing so. The song is pretty catchy – I’m liking the swagger in her delivery and Nelly’s feature on the hook. Having said that, I see the single either growing on the listener or tanking – no middle ground. It’s not that the track is poor, it has more to do with the feeling that Ashanti should come with something harder than this as a first single.

Hit or Miss?

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R&B star Kelly Rowland stopped by Jimmy Kimmel with Eve to perform her current single ‘Like This’. She also performed her international smash ‘Dilemma’ which didn’t air in its entirety. Check of the performance:

Kelly must be feeding off her BET Awards energy because this is definitely one of her best performances of ‘Like This’ yet. Her stage presence and vocals have both been upped a notch. Having Eve there was great too – she amped up an already-hyped crowd even more. Great stuff.

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