UK media darling Cheryl Cole is looking further extend the success of her solo project ‘3 Words’ with the release of ‘Parachute’. Confirmed today as the latest single to be lifted from the Platinum selling LP, the song was jointly produced by Syience (Beyonce & Jay-Z’s ‘Hollywood’) and will.i.am.

Though Ms. Cole certainly leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to the quality of her voice, music etc, this definitely stands as one of her better solo offerings thus far. Unashamedly Pop, with Urban sprinklings, I can see this one being a mainstay on the radio here.

Tidbit: It will be really interesting to see how Ms. Cole’s solo career holds up once the X-Factor hype dies down. Speaking of the popular show, there are reports that Simon Cowell is lining her up to join the panel of the US show. Hmm.

Hit or Miss?

Mention of the name Shontelle will likely bring about sound bites such as ‘who?’ / ‘what?’ Indeed the Universal Motown artist is known for little more than her moderate hit ‘T-Shirt’ from last summer. After the  inevitable tanking of her debut LP ‘Shontelligence’ (serious side-eye at the label exec who okayed that monstrosity of a title), the 24 year old is back with new single ‘Licky (Under The Covers)’, the video of which premiered a few minutes ago.

Where does one begin?! I mean the Ray Kay directed clip boasts the sheen and polish of the modern era’s better videos, yet pretty much everything else is an unmitigated atrocity. I can honestly say I have not heard a song as terrible as this in, what must be, YEARS! Really, this is borderline criminal. As for the video, I vote ‘no’ on the contrived styling and wannabe bad girl image (a clear swagger-jacking of fellow Bajan, Ms. Fenty). Even more cringe-worthy to watch was Shontelle’s dead-on-arrival sex-appeal; it just looked forced and awkward. No, no, and no.

Upon first watch, I laughed hysterically. Yet, watching again, I felt so embarrassed for her. If she’s to be anything other than a one-hit wonder, she’ll have to come much harder. Awful.

What do you think of the song / video?

The video for JLS’ third single ‘One Shot’ premiered literally a few moment ago. Aside from the song being awful, its accompanying video is a boiling hot mess! A recession special if I’ve ever seen one, the dated choreography and all-round atrocious performances turned in from all involved make this cheese-fest that much worse. Most perplexing, however, is the fact that with these guys being so big (here in the UK), this will likely be a hit. SMH…

Tidbit: Why does JB never sing? (“Merry Christmas” LMAO!!!!!!!)

What do you think of the song / video?

Pop phenomenon Lady GaGa made her highly anticipated appearance on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ moments ago. The singer performed a medley of her songs ‘Monster’, ‘Bad Romance’ and ‘Speechless’ from her ‘The Fame Monster’ LP. Check out all of the interview segments after the jump….

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Rihanna is set to release a remixed version for her platinum ‘Rated R’ LP. As reported by Rihannadaily.com, the record is set to hit stores in February and is being primarily produced by DJ Brooklyn Zoo. The electro-producer took to Twitter to reveal the following details about the project:

Def Jam asked me to pick 10 Rihanna tracks to remix, for a complete remix album release in February. My deadline is January 18.
I’m planning on releasing a Rated R mega-mix with all the snippets in January.
Just finished my fix for “Rihanna/Gangsta 4 life”, now working on Rihanna: “Wait Your Turn”,”Rude Boy”,”Fire Bomb” and “Te Amo”.
Started o/t last 6 tracks for the Rihanna “Rated R” remix album. Russian Roullette, Hard, Stupid in Love, Photographs are approved by Def Jam.
Working on a mix for the refix album I’m doing for Rihanna/Def Jam… grinded on the fix for “RockStar”. Doing 10 tracks in total.

This news does not come as a shock at all. It seems that Def Jam is using the exact same formula for all of their major acts because Mariah Carey’s ‘Angels Advocate’ remix LP is currently on track for March 9th. Either way, unless they have found a way to remix Rihanna’s voice, I doubt that we have much to look forward to except ten more songs of nails running across a chalkboard.

Thoughts?

Your thoughts?

Rapper Eve has left her long-time label Interscope Geffen A&M Records. The ‘Tambourine’ performer also noted that she is currently in the studio working on a new album. Here is what the rapper had to say:

“Let me tell u what happened with music so ya’ll don’t think I quit,” she told her followers [on Twitter]. “Left Interscope, free agent now. Went back in re-doing music. Trust me.”

As for her oft-delayed fourth studio album, the first since 2002’s ‘Eve-Olution‘, she says it’s coming this year. “Not letting this year pass wit out an ALBUM! Can’t take the non-sense MUSIK.” {Source}

Is this label breakup season? First we had Michelle Williams leaving Music World Entertainment and now this. I hope Eve has thought this through fully because with industry in it’s current turbulent form, independent artists, especially female rappers, are going to have a tough time making a splash on the charts.

Thoughts?

An unreleased track from the Sugababes’ newest member Jade Ewen has surfaced. Titled ‘I Had Him First’, the up-tempo boasts a pulsating, club-destined beat, with Jade’s impressive vocals never getting swallowed up in the busyness of the production. One, quite major, critique however is the fact the song sounds very R&B-meets-Pop circa 2002. Yet putting that to one side, this is pretty good and kinda has me wishing things worked out for Ms. Ewen as solo act as instead of her having to now so-blatantly outshine Heidi and Amelle in the group. Oh well…

Hit or Miss?

A few days ago, we provided you with images from Rihanna’s recent photoshoot for W magazine. Now details from her interview with the periodical have surfaced which reveal the characteristics of her relationship with former boyfriend Chris Brown. Check out an excerpt from the discussion below:

“There were control issues, insecurity,” she says in the February issue of W magazine. “When people are insecure, they become very controlling and they can get very aggressive and in turn abusive. It doesn’t have to be physical. Like, they would say bad stuff to you to make you feel lesser than them, just so they would have control in the relationship. It takes a big toll on your emotions and on your everyday life. It changes you.”

Rihanna reiterated that she doesn’t speak publicly about the assault to hurt Brown’s reputation but because she wants to help other girls in similar situations. “At first, I completely shut down. But now I feel like this happened to me so I could be a voice for young girls who are going through what I went through and don’t know how to talk about it,” she explained. “It’s not about Chris, about hurting him or sabotaging his career. I don’t care about that part of it.”

Recording her album became part of her healing process, she told the magazine. “I started to go crazy after about a month in the house, so I went back to work, and the mic was my therapist,” she said. “With the mic, there were no negative comments, no negative energy.” {Source}

It’s good to see that Rihanna continues to exhibit strength in dealing with the circumstances of her abuse. Many people (both men and women alike), take years to overcome the trauma of an abusive relationship whereas Rihanna has bounced back rather quickly. If she didn’t perform on stage with leather panties and engage in overt public groping with her ‘friend’, she would indeed be an ideal role model for young girls in similar situations. About her mic being her “therapist”…I’m going to leave that one alone.

Thoughts?

Jay-Z is featured in the February edition of Interview magazine. The Hip-Hop icon was interviewed by noted critic Elvis Mitchell and discussed a range of issues. Perhaps most prominent were his thoughts on Kanye West’s MTV VMA controversy. Check out an excerpt from the conversation below (Courtesy of Rap-Up.com):

On the VMA debacle: “I just think the timing of what [Kanye] did was wrong, and that, of course, overshadowed everything. He believed that ‘Single Ladies’ [by Jay-Z’s wife, Beyoncé] was a better video. I believed that. I think a lot of people believed that. You can’t give someone Video of the Year if they don’t win Best Female Video. I thought Best Female Video was something you won on the way to Video of the Year. But, hey, I guess it wasn’t—and that’s a whole other conversation about awards shows and artists.”

On award shows: “You can’t have the woman who wins Video of the Year not win Best Female Video. I mean, Herbie Hancock is great, but you can’t have him beat the Kanye album that year. I mean, come on, seriously. That can’t happen. That just lets me know that the people who get to pick these ballots just check the only name they know. I think that’s what’s happening with rap music now.”

Jay Z is usually a man of few words but when he speaks his mind, he speaks the truth. Everything that he said about the awards shows makes perfect sense and can be translated especially in the cases of the MTV Awards and the Grammy Awards. I still find it baffling that Talor Swift’s video was selected over Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’.

Thoughts?

Kelly Rowland continues to spread her wings on the international front, this time in China. The singer performed a full concert at ‘Hennessy Artistry’ for her Asian fans and was joined on stage by popular Chinese act Jackie Cheung. Among the songs performed by Rowland were ‘Emotions’, ‘Bootylicious’, ‘Dilema’ and ‘When Love Takes Over’.

Thoughts?

Lady GaGa was forced to cancel a recent performance at Indiana’s Purdue University, West Lafayette in Indiana. The Pop star canceled her show after she collapsed moments before she stepped on stage. Rolling Stone reports:

“Due to exhaustion and dehydration, Lady Gaga collapsed and passed out before her show tonight in West Lafayette, Indiana,” the singer’s publicist tells Rolling Stone. “Her physician has advised her to take a few days off to rest.” Lady Gaga’s rep didn’t specify how long she’ll be out of commission; the Purdue show has been rescheduled for January 26th.

On her Twitter, Lady Gaga informed fans that she was devastated to have missed a performance. “An hour before the show, I was feeling dizzy and having trouble breathing,” she wrote, adding that paramedics diagnosed her with an irregular heartbeat as a result of exhaustion. “Can’t apologize enough for how sorry I am,” she added, explaining that her stage set has moving parts that could have proved dangerous had she passed out onstage. “I could hear my fans cheering from my dressing room, I begged everyone to let me go onstage. … I hope you can forgive me. I love my little monsters more than anything, you are everything to me.”

Certainly GaGa’s intense promotional schedule is placing a lot of stress on her body. Between her ‘Monster Ball’ tour and her extensive list of television appearances, including Oprah, it was only a matter of time before she began to feel the strain. Hopefully GaGa paces herself in the future because the last thing that she needs right now is a Mariah Carey ‘Glitter’ moment.

Thoughts?