Real Music People

The rapper has finally did it! For the first time in his career, Jay-Z got a number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with his song “Empire State of Mind”. Congratulations are in order, especially considering this is a man who spends his time occupied with his various businesses and helping other artists launch their careers. Jay-Z proved that all you need is a heap load of money and influence and you can turn the musical sphere all the way around… you couldn’t do that with talent. Jay-Z is probably in for one hell of a party and Beyonce must be so happy for him… even though she herself might have been vying for the achievement.

Beyonce was in London, England recently and she was accompanied by loads of stuff. According to The Mirror, the 28-year old singer stayed in the presidential suite at Lowry Hotel, the first five star hotel in the Manchester area while she booked another room for luggage about 30 miles away at the cheaper yet still chic boutique hotel, Malmaison, Liverpool. A source said “She had seven suitcases, three hand luggage bags and two boxes, all for her mammoth gig. In the cases there were apparently 14 dresses, lots of shoes, make-up and 25 wigs.” If she was staying at the presidential suite, wouldn’t it have had enough room for all of that?

The singer was at the MTV European Music Awards where she really scored big time in prizes. It seems Beyonce got the Best Song Award, the Best Video Award and the Best Female Singer Award. Well, nobody can doubt Beyonce’s artistic value now… it seems Robbie Williams missed out on a prize or two. You have to wonder though if the way Beyonce was dressed had anything to do with her wins. Apparently, she was wearing a red corset and suspenders. It should also be noted that the corset had a very generous cleavage… actually, it looked more like it was cut in two with a very sharp knife. Could that have influenced anything?

Among many other interesting details she shared with the rest of the world about her fabulous life as a star, Lady GaGa also said a few words about working with Beyonce. This is what she said: “When we were doing the video, I said I want to do you. I wanna do my version of Beyonce. I called myself GEYonce.” Well, apart from the fact that “GEYonce” would probably sound so utterly insulting, especially for Beyonce, that “I said I want to do you” really sounds dubious. Does Lady GaGa really want to? Jay-Z probably wouldn’t mind… there’s a good formula for a new “3” video clip right there.

Beyonce and Lady Gaga teamed up to shoot the video for Video phone together! According to an insider who spoke to Life & Style “On Oct. 7, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé were working on the video together at a studio in NYC. Everything on the set was being kept very hush-hush, and security was extremely tight.” I wonder how this managed to stay off the radar. The insider goes on to say that the singers and fashion icons showed off their individual styles for the video, saying “Beyonce wears a feathered dress. And of course Lady Gaga wears something wild. The fashion is sick and insane.”

Taylor Swift and Michael Jackson lead the nominations at this year’s American Music Awards

2009 American Music Awards Nominees Are:

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Kings of Leon
Taylor Swift
Lady Gaga
Eminem
Michael Jackson

POP/ROCK – Favorite Male Artist
Eminem
Michael Jackson
T.I.

POP/ROCK – Favorite Female Artist
Beyonce
Lady Gaga
Taylor Swift

POP/ROCK – Favorite Band, Duo or Group
The Black Eyed Peas
Kings of Leon
Nickelback

POP/ROCK – Favorite Album
Fame – Lady Gaga
Number Ones – Michael Jackson
Fearless – Taylor Swift

COUNTRY – Favorite Male Artist
Jason Aldean
Darius Rucker
Keith Urban

COUNTRY – Favorite Female Artist
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

COUNTRY – Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Rascal Flatts
Sugarland
Zac Brown Band

COUNTRY – Favorite Album
Unstoppable – Rascal Flatts
Fearless – Taylor Swift
Foundation – Zac Brown Band

RAP/HIP-HOP – Favorite Male Artist
Eminem
Jay-Z
T.I.

RAP/HIP-HOP – Favorite Album
Relapse – Eminem
Blueprint 3 – Jay-Z
Paper Trail – T.I.

SOUL/R&B – Favorite Male Artist
Jamie Foxx
Michael Jackson
Maxwell

SOUL/R&B – Favorite Female Artist
Beyonce
Keyshia Cole
Keri Hilson

SOUL/R&B – Favorite Band, Duo or Group
The Black Eyed Peas
Day26
Mary Mary

SOUL/R&B – Favorite Album
I Am…Sasha Fierce – Beyonce
The E.N.D. – The Black Eyed Peas
Number Ones – Michael Jackson

SOUNDTRACKS – Favorite Album
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hannah Montana 3
Twilight Soundtrack

ALTERNATIVE ROCK – Favorite Artist
Green Day
Kings of Leon
Shinedown

ADULT CONTEMPORARY – Favorite Artist
Daughtry
Jason Mraz
Taylor Swift

LATIN – Favorite Artist
Aventura
Luis Fonsi
Wisin Y Yandel

CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL – Favorite Artist
Jeremy Camp
Brandon Heath
Mary Mary

Beyonce picked up two gongs at the recent MOBO awards as British acts scooped most of the prizes.

The bash was held in Glasgow this year and saw a number of British acts scoop the prizes, but US stars Beyonce and Keri Hilson also scooped some awards.

Beyonce, 28, picked up the gong for Best International Artist and Best Video for her track Single Ladies. Knock You Down singer Keri Hilson, who co-presented the show, also won an award for Best R&B.

A tribute to Michael Jackson was also performed by his brother Jermaine and dancers Diversity as well as Britain’s Got Talent star Shaheen Jafargholi.

Singer Beyonce thinks young women are put under too much pressure to lose weight and not all men like skinny girls.

The wife of rapper Jay-Z believes that losing weight is hard.

When asked about how she lost weight for her tour, the Crazy In Love singer said: “Oh, it’s hard! When I was a teenager it was always hard for me to lose weight before the summer so I could look hot in my bathing suit. I’d always tell my mum it was her fault, as she made incredible fried chicken and other fried foods. So I basically worked out and ate lots of salads. It’s a matter of motivation.”

Beyonce, 28, added: “The only thing that really motivates me to lose weight is when I have to get ready for a film or go on tour. But I’m not obsessive about my weight. Young women have too much pressure on them and the main thing is to eat healthy foods and exercise. That’s my message.”

The star, whose new single Broken Hearted Girl is due to be released in November, also said: “Not all men like super skinny girls.”

Source: Splash News

Beyonce serenaded an Australian girl with leukaemia on stage in Sydney.

The bejewelled singer knelt to sing a lush version of Halo for the girl, Chelsea, before embracing her. Chelsea wiped tears from her eyes.

She appeared on morning television after the Acer Arena concert with her mother and broke out a few bars on request. The fair child has been partly balded by her treatment. But her eyes were made up with eyeliner to show a striking freckled face framed by wisps of hair.

A video of the heartfelt tribute that included the chorus “I Pray You Won’t Fade Away” surfaced on YouTube.

Chelsea’s age was not given but she appeared to be about nine. The performance left many in the audience in tears.

Real Music People Friends Blog

Rapper Jay-Z has said he “never wanted to be famous”.

Jay-Z, who who has just gone to number one with his single Run This Town with Rihanna and Kanye West, told British Now magazine: “No, I just wanted to make my first album Reasonable Doubt. Then I thought about getting into the business side of music. I was a reluctant rapper.”

The 39-year-old, who thinks music was a way of escaping things when he was growing up, just wanted a job when he was younger.

He added: “I never wanted to be a superstar – I just wanted a job like most people.”

Source: Splash News

MTV Video Music Awards 2009 winners:

BEST VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Beyonce, Best Video of the Year

BEST NEW ARTIST
Lady Gaga

BEST MALE VIDEO
T.I. featuring Rihanna, “Live Your Life”

BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me”

BEST POP VIDEO
Britney Spears, “Womanizer”

BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO
Eminem, “We Made You”

BEST ROCK VIDEO
Green Day, “21 Guns”

BEST VIDEO (THAT SHOULD HAVE WON A MOONMAN)
Beastie Boys, “Sabotage”

BEST BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO
Matt and Kim, “Lessons Learned”

Beyonce is industry bible Billboard’s woman of the year.

The superstar will be honoured at Billboard’s annual Women In Music event. Billboard on its website states the honour is given to a female recording artist that has inspired the music business with her success, leadership and new ideas.

Billboard in particular was awarding Beyonce’s accomplishments over the past 12 months. The magazine noted Beyonce in the past year kicked off her world tour “I Am…” in support of her third solo album I Am … Sasha Fierce. The album debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200 chart in November. The singles If I Were A Boy, Single Ladies, Halo, Ego and Sweet Dreams have come off the album.

Billboard editorial director Bill Werde said: “Beyonce is a multi-platinum artist and a multi-talented woman who clearly embodies the qualities of excellence and achievement that the Billboard Woman Of The Year Award was created to honour.”

Past Woman Of The Year honorees were Ciara and Reba McEntire.

Beyonce will be on hand to accept her award at an October 2 event in New York City.

Source: Splash News

Beyonce and her mother, Tina Knowles, are launching a new junior label, Sasha Fierce for Dereon, to capitalize on back to school fashion. The collection, which is inspired by the singer’s alter ego, includes sportswear, outerwear, handbags, footwear, eyewear, lingerie and jewellery. Some items include a one shoulder dress, black bodysuit, fake leather jacket with oversized collar, leggings and destructed jeans with mesh and lace details lining the ripped material. Why you would want those things in your closet, I have no idea. Tina commented on the new line saying it is “edgier and trendier and reflects Sasha Fierce’s daring and outgoing attitude.”
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Full winners list of 2009 BET AwardsFull winners list of 2009 BET Awards:

* Video of the Year: Beyonce Knowles – “Single Ladies ”
* Best Male R&B Artist: Ne-Yo
* Best Female R&B Artist: Beyonce Knowles
* Best Male Hip-Hop Artist: Lil Wayne
* Best Female Hip-Hop Artist: M.I.A.
* Best Group: DAY26
* Best New Artist: Keri Hilson
* Viewer’s Choice: T.I. feat. Rihanna – “Live Your Life”
* Best Collaboration: Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain – “Blame It”
* Video Director of the Year: Benny Boom
* Centric Award: Jazmine Sullivan
* Best Gospel Artist: Mary Mary
* Best Actor: Will Smith
* Best Actress: Taraji P. Henson
* Best Male Athlete: LeBron James
* Best Female Athlete: Serena Williams
* Humanitarian Award: Alicia Keys and Wyclef Jean
* Lifetime Achievement Award: The O’Jays

Janet Jackson joined the stars of hip-hop, RnB and soul in paying emotional tributes to the King Of Pop at the BET Awards in Los Angeles last night.

In her first public appearance since her brother’s death, Janet thanked fans around the world for their outpouring of support.

The Black Entertainment Television Awards show held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles was completely overhauled and turned into a tribute to the King Of Pop in just three days.

Janet said: “My entire family wanted to be here tonight but it was just to painful. So they elected me to speak to you.

“To you, Michael is an icon. To us, Michael is family. He will forever live in all of our hearts.”

“On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love, thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much.”

Jamie Foxx kicked off the event with a moonwalking tribute to Michael Jackson.

He said: “No need to be sad tonight. We want to celebrate this black man, he belonged to us and we shared him with everyone else.

“They talk about how he looks in the media but it don’t make a difference what he looked like.

“It was all about what he sounded like. It didn’t make a difference what his nose looked like – I liked the old nose, I liked the new nose. I loved the Afro and I loved the jerry curls.”

Stars including Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Chaka Khan, Sean Diddy Combs, Tyra Banks, Kanye West, Jay-Z and Queen Latifah all offered condolences to the Jackson family as they performed on the show.

Sexy singer Ciara is featured on the cover of Rap-Up magazine’s Summer 2009 issue. The 23-year old R&B star discusses the comparisons with Beyonce, rumors of dating 50 Cent and her tour mate Britney Spears. When it comes to being compared with Beyonce, she said “I know what work I put in to what I do and I know where I get my inspiration from and it’s definitely not the references that they put up on the Internet. People live for it. Negative energy travels faster than positive energy. Whoever it was, for them to dig deep down and find all those references, that’s ridiculous.” When asked about Britney, Ciara said “Everything about Britney makes you like her. I feel like she’s a star. She’s got that energy that’s just magnetic. She just glows. It’s not just one thing about her that makes her cool.”

One day you could be a nobody. The next day you could be on American Idol. And then all of a sudden, you find yourself starring in ‘Dreamgirls’. Unfortunately, I’m not talking about Jennifer Hudson. I’m actually talking about Syesha Mercado. Sources are saying that the season seven Idol alum has been cast in the upcoming international tour of ‘Dreamgirls’ the play, landing the role of Deena Jones, which was played by Beyonce in the movie. Could ‘Dreamgirls’ prove to be the big break that another American Idol has been looking for? If it worked for Jennifer, there’s no saying that it wouldn’t work for Syesha.

Beyonce Knowles recently released another black and white music video for her song ‘Broken-Hearted Girl’. The track was originally supposed to be the sixth single from her ‘I Am… Sasha Fierce’ album but it was replaced by ‘Sweet Dreams’ instead. The video will also be released on the DVD ‘Above and Beyonce: Dance Mixes’ which dropped in stores last week and sold exclusively at Wal-Mart. I wonder why they shelved this song instead when they already have a video for it. And how many songs is she planning to release from that album? It’s getting way too old. It’s not like she’s Rihanna who we can’t get tired off.

Lil’ Wayne and Beyonce lead with 5 nominations each. Second are Keri Hilson and T-Pain, each with four nominations, while Rihanna, Jamie Foxx, Kanye West and Jazmine Sullivan all got 3 nominations

THE FULL NOMINEES LIST:

Video of the Year
Beyoncé – “If I Were a Boy”
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”
Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain – “Blame It”
T.I. feat. Rihanna – “Live Your Life”
Kanye West – “Heartless”

Best Male R&B Artist
The-Dream
Jamie Foxx
Ryan Leslie
Ne-Yo
T-Pain

Best Female R&B Artist
Beyoncé
Keyshia Cole
Keri Hilson
Jennifer Hudson
Jazmine Sullivan

Best Male Hip-Hop Artist
Lil Wayne
Rick Ross
T.I.
Kanye West
Young Jeezy

Best Female Hip-Hop Artist
Lil Mama
M.I.A.
Trina

Best Group
Day26
GS Boyz
N.E.R.D.
The Roots
Three 6 Mafia

Best New Artist
Keri Hilson
Kid Cudi
Ryan Leslie
M.I.A.
Jazmine Sullivan

Viewer’s Choice
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”
Keri Hilson feat. Lil Wayne – “Turnin’ Me On”
Lil Wayne – “A Milli”
Soulja Boy Tell’em feat. Sammie – “Kiss Me Thru the Phone”
T.I. feat. Rihanna – “Live Your Life”
T-Pain feat. Lil Wayne – “Can’t Believe It”
Kanye West – “Love Lockdown”

Best Collaboration
Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain – “Blame It”
Keri Hilson feat. Lil Wayne – “Turnin’ Me On”
Jim Jones feat. Ron Browz and Juelz Santana – “Pop Champagne”
T.I. feat. Rihanna – “Live Your Life”
Yung L.A. feat. Young Dro and T.I. – “Ain’t I”

Video Director of the Year
Benny Boom
Rik Cordero
Gil Green
Chris Robinson
Hype Williams

BET J Award
Musiq Soulchild
Raphael Saadiq
Seal
Solange
Jazmine Sullivan

Best Gospel Artist
Regina Belle
Shirley Caesar
Mary Mary
Smokie Norfu
Trin-I-Tee 5:7

Beyonce has revealed she had to laugh through the pain while filming the brutal scenes for new movie Obsessed.

The 27-year-old singer stars in the flick with Heroes star Ali Larter, and the pair are involved in a fight.

She said: “The fight was so much fun, being able to let out all my aggression. But it was difficult, very physical and draining, too. We were bruised and they did close-ups of me punching a wall and banging my head against it. We had to laugh to keep from crying, but it was worth the bruises, blood and exhaustion.”

In the film Beyonce plays a woman whose husband is stalked by a co-worker and the pair end up having a huge fight.

Source: Splash News