Like myself, I’m sure many of you are tired of Soulja Boy’s ‘Crank That’ song/craze, but this remix caught my attention. Last month I posted a performance of the 17 year old performing a more edgy-rock inspired version of the song on the Jimmy Kimmel show with former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker. Since then, this studio version of the remix has surfaced; I’m liking this one alot and think it’s actually better than the original.

Hit or Miss?

{Link Removed As Requested}

The cast of Tyler Perry’s ‘Why Did I get Married’ glammed it up for the movie’s premiere in Hollywood, California yesterday. The film which opens in theatres across the US on October 12th, stars, among others, Perry, Janet Jackson, Jill Scott and Sharon Leal.
A host of big names from the entertainment industry were also came out to support the film. Inclusive were Janet’s new Island Def Jam label head LA Reid, her brothers Tito and Jermaine, Jimmy Jam, Eva Pigford and Magic Johnson.
Janet and her brothers Tito and Jermaine

Everyone looked great, but the night evidently belonged to ‘Miss Jackson’, who at 41 doesn’t looked to have aged in the last 5 years. Flawless.

Black Eyed Peas frontman, Will.i.Am, appears on the cover of the latest issue of Ave Magazine. Not sure about this, but I’m kinda feeling what they were trying to do.

With Will’s new solo album ‘Songs About Girls’ having hit stores this week, the artist/producer is making the promotional rounds in support of the project. Earlier this week he stopped by The Jimmy Kimmel show to perform the album’s second single ‘One More Chance’; he did pretty good. Check out the performance below:

What do you think of the cover / performance?

Prior to now, producer/songwriter Sean Garrett has been renown for the hits he’s crafted for the likes of Destiny’s Child (‘Lose My Breath’) , Usher (‘Yeah’) and Nelly (‘Grillz’). However now, the Atlanta native is set to launch his own label Bet I Penned It Music via Interscope, with his currently untitled album serving as the label’s first release. Interscope CEO Jimmy Iovine says of Garrett “Sean Garrett is one of the greatest songwriters to come along in the last 10 years, Interscope will always jump to work with someone like him.” {Source}

I’m happy for Sean. His name has been cropping up on the credits of so many hits in recent years and it’s great that he’s finally set for mainstream exposure. Having already delivered this year on Kelly Rowland’s ‘Like This’ and Chris Brown’s ‘Wall to Wall’, Sean is currently busying himself with the new projects from Britney Spears and Michael Jackson. more power to him.

Any thoughts?

According to the Miami Herald, Janet Jackson has enlisted the services of Jazze Pha for her new CD. Having produced hits for the likes of T.I, Lil’ Wayne and Nelly, Jazze is also well-known for producing Ciara’s smash ‘1, 2 Step’ and her recent hit ‘Get Up’. Jackson has been in Miami since mid-June recording at Circle House Studios and will continue recording there for the next few months. Other producers set to feature on the project include Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri.
Can’t really envision Janet on a Jazze production, but who knows -it may turn out hot. The more I hear about the direction of the album, the more I anticipate it. Janet is rumoured to be going for a ‘darker’ sound on this album.

What do you want to hear from Janet on this album?
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.

Following the news, earlier this week, that Janet Jackson is currently recording a new album in Miami, Pharrell Williams has announced his involvement in the project. Williams, who has just finished work on both Britney and J.Lo’s new albums, told radio station Hot 97 that he is scheduled to go into the studio with Janet toward the end of July.

Janet’s new CD is shaping up to be pretty interesting. With likely contributions from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, JD, Ne-Yo, and now Pharrell, the album will hopefully propel Janet to the top of the charts again. The ‘All for You’ singer is reportedly now signed to Island Def Jam.

Does Janet have what it takes to be successful again?

It appears that Kelly Rowland’s team have stepped up their promotional campaign. Many have been wondering why the singer has made so few appearances to support the release of her sophomore album ‘Ms Kelly’; some even speculating that her manager Matthew Knowles was deliberately trying to sabotage the project. Nonetheless, Urban Bridgez have confirmed that Kelly will be making the following appearances:

Upcoming TV Performances:

The Today Show – 6/25
BET Awards – 6/26
Jimmy Kimmel Live – 6/27

Upcoming Album Press:

King (Cover)
Essence
Entertainment Weekly

Online:

AOL Sessions – June

It’s good to see that she is in line for alot of exposure in the upcoming weeks. I’m keen to see her perform live, considering that hasn’t done any televised performances; the King magazine cover should be interesting too. ‘Ms Kelly’ hits stores July 3rd.
Ciara performed her latest single ‘Like A Boy’ on the Jimmy Kimmel Show earlier this week. As usual she was great with the choreography; I’ve noticed that she has improved on her live vocals too. Though I felt there was little artistic ‘evolution’ on her current album ‘Ciara: The Evolution’, she has definitely stepped up her live performing. In earlier performances she would either lip-sync or sound a hot mess; now she has found an equal balance with the dancing and vocals. Anyway, check out the performance…the Matrix part was cool…

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