Real Music People

Get a taste of HARD CANDY during Myspace’s online listening party from 4/25-4/29! Head over to Madonna’s MySpace page to check it out and remember to add her as a friend to learn about more HARD CANDY goodies to com
Hard Cand will be available everywhere on 4/29

Sources have revealed that Madonna’s next single off of her upcoming album ‘Hard Candy’ will be ‘Give It to Me’. The song is a banger which was produced by Pharell. It is also being said that the Queen of Pop has already gone to work on the video already. Shooting apparently went down last Thursday in London. I wonder what the song sounds like and what the video will look like. Will she still look as glamorous as she did in the video for ‘4 Minutes (To Save the World) with Justin Timberlake? I wonder if Pharell will make a cameo appearance.

Oprah Winfrey says Leona Lewis is going to take the US by storm. The ‘Bleeding Love’ singer appeared on Oprah’s US talk show yesterday and blew the audience away with her amazing performance.

Afterwards, Oprah announced: “A star is born!”

Before appearing on the show, Leona - whose single ‘Bleeding Love’ is currently number one in the US iTunes singles chart - spoke of her excitement about meeting one of her idols. She said: “I can’t believe it really, I’m like, ‘Oh my God!’ ”

Leona’s debut album ‘Spirit’ is set for release in the US on April 8, complete with two new bonus tracks masterminded by Akon and Madd Scientist. Earlier this year, Leona was left “overwhelmed” when Whitney Houston said she was a “baby version” of herself.

The British star met her “all-time musical hero” at producer Clive Davis’ Annual Grammy Party in Los Angeles, but could barely speak when she was introduced to Whitney.

She said: “It was amazing, I got to meet my all-time musical hero Whitney Houston - who looked so incredible. Clive introduced us. I don’t think I managed to say much though; I was overwhelmed! I was told afterwards that when I performed she had said to a friend at the record label, ‘My God, she’s a baby me!’ Wow - what a huge compliment!”

Carrie Underwood sings the title track ‘How Great Thou Art’ off of the album ‘How Great Thou Art: Gospel Favorites from the Grand Ole Opry’. The American Idol champ joins legions of country music’s finest on the album which also features the likes of Trace Adkins, Dierks Bentley, The Charlie Daniels Band with Mac Powell, Sara Evans, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Patty Loveless, Loretta Lynn, Ronnie Milsap, Brad Paisley and Ricky Skaggs and the Whites. The album is available in stores now so don’t forget to get your hands on it. Carrie has truly made a name for herself in the industry by being asked to work with such fine talent.

Mariah Carey’s new single off of her new album dropped on Tuesday and I am sad to say that it was very disappointing. A lot of people were really looking forward to it but it just didn’t live up to expectations. The song isn’t really bad. It’s actually worse. It’s just average. And we all know that mediocrity kills in the music industry. ‘Touch My Body’ is a very generic mid-tempo song. There was just nothing special about it. Better luck next time Mariah. You’re not going to get the same success for this album like what you got from ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’.

DefJam had a listening session in London on Wednesday wherein most of Mariah Carey’s and Janet Jackson’s new albums were played. Label boss Antonio ‘LA’ Reid was said to be very excited about both of them and even mentioned plans for six singles to come off from Mariah’s ‘That Chick’.

One reviewer gave both albums a 6 out of 10 rating. If you’ve heard Janet’s single ‘Feedback’, the rest of her album is pretty much that but there are also signs of the singer who once sang ‘Let’s Wait a While’ as well as a bit of sleaze. Mariah’s effort was said to be more polished and commercial than Janet’s work and that her lyrics aren’t really up to par.

Robbie Williams recently revealed in his blog that he has lots of new songs in the bag, despite no plans to release them at this time.

I can reveal the best of it is written with Jankel who was behind the 1978 smash hit Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick along with Ian Dury. I’ve heard it’s some of Robbie’s best ever stuff - which makes it even more frustrating for fans he is in no rush to release it.

Last year Robbie returned to the studio with ‘Angels’ co-writer Guy Chambers. But that hasn’t worked out and it’s Jankel’s work that will form the basis of Robbie’s comeback - whenever that may be.

A source revealed: “Robbie and Chaz have been working on some great stuff. “It’s back to Robbie’s funky best. Out of all of his new tunes, the Chaz stuff is the best. Currently his problem is that he has lots of different music that he’s worked with different people on. It all sounds very different so it doesn’t really sit very well as an album. “

When you hear pretty much the same thing from a certain artist over and over again, you get tired of it. But that’s not the case with Missy Elliot.

The female rapper has done a couple of things here and there but she has been gone from the solo scene for a good while now. But not anymore. The rapper/producer has finally come out of hiding and has dropped a new single ‘Ching a Ling’. And it’s hot! It’s the typical Missy sound and it’s what we’ve come to expect from her. If it had been anyone else, I would have listened to something else but with Missy – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Celine Dion was photographer with her 6 ½-year old son Rene as she waved goodbye during the final run of her Las Vegas show ‘A New Day’ at The Colosseum at the Caesars Palace on Saturday night.

Since the show opened in March 2003, nearly 3 million people have watched the 39-year old songstress perform 717 live shows. Gross ticket sales have totaled a cool $400 million. For those that missed the show, you can still catch it on the newly released five-hour double DVD ‘Celine Dion: A New Day – Live in Las Vegas’.

Celine will be kicking off the North American leg of her concert tour next month.

Mary J. Blige performed on Thursday night at “CNN Heroes: All Star Tribute”. She sang “Come To Me (Peace)”, a new song from her upcoming studio album entitled “Growing Pains”

It’s been reported that Madonna’s next studio album, her last with new material under Warner Bros., will be released in April of 2008 and will carry the title ‘Licorice’. The disc reportedly features collaboration with Kanye West and Pharell amongst others. There’s no word whether a tour will follow but it doesn’t hurt to pray for it.

However, not long after news broke out, Madonna’s publicist Liz Rosenberg has denied reports that the Queen of Pop’s new album will be called ‘Licorice’ and that it’s coming out in April. Music industry insiders are not buzzing that the disc will be called ‘Give It To Me’.

The Spice Girls, Seal, Heidi Klum and Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas all had performances at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show last month. But when the special aired on CBS Tuesday night, a performance was clearly missing.

The Spice Girls performed two songs at the show, their hit ‘Stop’ and their new single ‘Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)’. However, only their rendition of ‘Stop’ made it to the broadcast.

I think that’s unfair. Seal had more than one song that made it on the air. Although in comparison to any of the songs Seal performed, ‘Headlines’ was a big bore.

Britney Spears is quickly getting known as someone who likes to bail and she almost bailed on her music video shoot for ‘Piece of Me’. That is, until her record label planned to use the dancers and location for her video for a younger rising star.

Page Six is reporting that the pop wreck was supposed to show up at Social Hollywood to shoot her new video but was hours late. When it looked like she was going to be a no-show, Jive decided to refit the set for another act’s video shoot – Samantha Jade’s ‘Eyes on Me’. When Brit got wind of what was going on, the Post says that she finally showed up – twelve hours past call time.

After a long absence Kylie Minogue is struggling to regain her place on the celebrity podium. Not only is she planning a long and fantastic European tour the next year, but she will also appear on the stage of the honorific Nobel Prize concert to celebrate the winners of 2007. She will be performing for Nobel Prize winners: the climate chance panel of the United Nations and ex-vice president Al. Gore. The prize is offered to the combined parties for their united effort in trying to wake the world up and realize an inconvenient truth: the global warming that is threatening to destroy our planet and our race along with it.

Kylie will join on the stage various celebrity females like Annie Lennox and Alicia Keys. It seems like on December the 11th only women are worthy to honor the giving of a Nobel Prize, as all singers will be members of the beautiful sex.

In addition to listening to this album in it’s entirity, I was also fortunate enough to hear Laura Critchley perform some of the songs live at the album launch last Wednesday. I did not envy the poor girl, having to perform to a room full of music industry people, but she pulled it off brilliantly before heading off to another gig in her home town of Liverpool. The album is a good mixture of upbeat songs and ballads with a pinch of rock and jazz/funk thrown in. Laura co-wrote all the songs on the album, and is obviously responsible for the great lyrics throughout. She opened her set with the second song on the album, “What Do We Do?”, which was also released as a single on 5 November. This is a break up ballad, which she does so well, as is “I’ll Be Ok” , which is the fourth track on the album. “Lullaby” was beautiful but happy while the title track is a very commercial love song which is coming out as a single in January. The rest of the album includes jazzier entries like “Shoulder To Lean On” and “Don’t Say” , rocky ones like “That Kind Of Love”, and “Superstar (Song For Karen) dedicated to Karen Carpenter. If you like good songs, well written and passionately sung, this album is a must for your collection. Furthermore, I can confirm that she is just as good live as she is on CD.

Almost five years after releasing a near-classic rap debut, Freeway finally gets his second shot, and there’s some unsurprisingly frank talk about his surroundings not being identical. Since Philadelphia Freeway’s early 2003 release, there was the Damon Dash/Jay-Z Roc-A-Fella rift, so Free addresses that, despite it being old news. Free at Last has all the makings of a disappointment — a release destined to slide off everyone’s radar within a couple weeks of release. “Oh, yeah, Freeway eventually put out that second album… uh, Free Again, or something?”

The album is not the least bit deserving of that fate. Even with the amount of expectation-lowering context heavy on the mind, Free at Last sounds like a very strong follow-up. Apart from the 50 feature “Take It to the Top,” with a light and frilly production that is absolutely the worst fit for Free’s gruff and pop-unfriendly voice, there are no obvious points of weakness — unless, of course, Free’s lack of vocal versatility is something to gripe about. But his intelligible grunts and rasps are just as commanding and riveting as any other MC’s best mode. With a pilgrimage to Mecca also in his recent past, the dichotomy between his threat/boast-based rhymes and more introspective side is greater than it was on Philadelphia Freeway, and it isn’t at the expense of toughness — take, for instance, “I will squeeze and leave your spleen on the outside.” He is a sharper, more vivid lyricist, and it can also be sensed that he has done everything in his power to make up for all that lost time. And it must be said that his as-common-as-ever exultations of “Early!” — Practically a tic at this point — are more perplexing and amusing than ever

Emo dudes vary the heartbreak guitars with string ballads and a faux show tune for years, say anything leader Max Bemis has had to deal with bipolar disorder, but judging by his band’s third album, he’s got something else to gripe about — namely, bad, bad love. Loosely based on one of Bemis’ own relationships, the album mostly sticks to serrated emo but ranges from big, string-laden ballads (”Plea”) to a faux show tune (”That Is Why”). When Bemis is on –shuffling between a touching Latinate melody and an ace, bloodletting chorus on “Hangover Song,” delivering the sugar-rush pop of “Shiksa (Girlfriend)” –his songs are tuneful and invigorating. “Retarded in Love” is sort of like a Springer episode: You don’t want to watch someone fall apart before your eyes, but you don’t want to look away, either. Lyrics about his love interest, a “slender slave with sluttish, sleepy eyes,” should have stayed in Bemis’ journal. Still, it’s hard not root for him — if he could only handle ladies with the same ease with which he turns out good melodies, he’d be all right.

Keith Sweat, the celebrated master of the slow jam, unwraps his first-ever holiday music collection, proving there’s no one better qualified to deliver a Yuletide disc titled A Christmas Of Love. The R&B and soul superstar’s new album of newly recorded contemporary Christmas songs will be available November 20 at all retail outlets and online.

The album’s nine songs spotlight the Harlem-born singer’s signature mix of smooth vocals coupled with warm, supple groove. Sweat puts his unmistakable mark on the classic “The Christmas Song,” as well as “Under The Tree,” “Once A Year” and “It’s Christmas Again”– a trio of songs Sweat cowrote. With “Point Of Christmas,” the religious artist pays tribute to the “reason for the season.”

He has sold more than 14 million records and garnered five #1 R&B albums, 15 Top 10 R&B singles, six #1 hits, four Top 5 pop singles, three multi-platinum and three platinum albums, two platinum and three gold singles, widespread critical acclaim and a rabid international following. Today, Sweat hosts his own syndicated radio show, The Sweat Hotel, in 19 markets.

“Deja Vu” suffered from being a bit too familiar and a frenetic accompanying video that turned off more than a few fans. “Ring the Alarm,” tricked out with sirens and a video of Beyonce conjuring memories of Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, failed to maintain attention for more than a few listens. However, “Irreplaceable” could change all that.

“Irreplaceable” was co-written by Ne-Yo and produced by StarGate, one of the most potent hitmaking teams of the year. They have collaborated on Ne-Yo’s own “So Sick” and Rihanna’s “Unfaithful,” to name just a pair of successful hits. “Irreplaceable,” with its instantly memorable melody and irresisible “to the left” hook should follow in those songs’ footsteps.

An element that makes “Irreplaceable” resonate deeper after hearing it multiple times is that the subject matter of female strength and independence is at the core of the entire B’Day enterprise. This song will remind many listeners of concepts central to Terry McMillan’s Waiting to Exhale which remains a cultural touchstone 14 years after its release. Look for “Irreplaceable” to help Beyonce regain her pop momentum just in time for her end of the year starring role in the film version of Dreamgirls.

The 17-year-old MC known as Sean Kingston got put on the 21st-century way–through his myspace page. On his impressive self-titled debut full-length, Kingston blends elements of contemporary R&B, dancehall reggae, and radio-friendly pop over 14 tracks, all the while flowing with hungry, upstart energy.

The stand-out track and debut single, “Beautiful Girls,” quickly became the summer jam of 2007, with its infectious beats and clever sampling of Ben E. King’s classic “Stand By Me.” The rest of the album’s thump comes courtesy of West Coast producer J.R., and with a tracklist light on guest stars (Paula DeAnda, Vybz Kartel, and Kardinal Offishal), SEAN KINGSTON heralds the coming of an assured young artist brimming with potential.

It’s big, bold and brassy just like Christina Aguilera herself. “Candyman” takes us back to 40’s USO shows featuring the Andrews Sisters and a crowd ready to jitterbug. Primarily due to possessing some of the strongest vocal chops in the music business, Christina Aguilera pulls it all off with no hint of karaoke or parody.

The entire song amounts to a sexual double entendre. As stated elsewhere on the album Back to Basics, she is “still dirty.” The “Candyman” of the title is identified as “a one stop shop who makes my cherry pop!” Fortunately, the energy in the song is so focused on dancing and hooks that the sexual content comes off sounding more like a wink than a wallow.

We will be watching the pop radio response to “Candyman.” Christina Aguilera’s songs are so big in sound and approach that they sometimes are difficult to slot comfortably in with a contemporary pop playlist. Songs like “Hurt” are produced in showstopper mode leaving them difficult to program as radio music meant to be in the background. However, “Candyman” will impact the charts and Christina Aguilera continues to demonstrate she is one of the top female artists in the business.

This week, Dwight Yoakam releases Dwight Sings Buck, a tribute to his idol that recalls Buck Owens’ very own excellent songbook albums, 1961’s Buck Owens Sings Harlan Howard and 1963’s Buck Owens Sings Tommy Collins. Sings Harlan Howard arrived early in Buck’s career: it was only his second album, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that his classic sound hasn’t quite gelled yet — he’s relying heavily on steel guitar and fiddle instead of electric guitars, bringing this closer to the vibe of barroom country. Part of the reason this doesn’t quite sound like classic Buck is that he was still getting the Buckaroos off the ground. His right-hand man Don Rich was aboard, yet he’s only on three cuts, playing fiddle (plus a lead acoustic guitar), not his trademark electric guitar, which doesn’t give this album the twangy snap of Buck’s best-known hits, yet it’s possible to hear that sound beginning to take shape here.Dwight’s new offering, do exactly what a songbook album should do: they’re affectionate tributes but they’re thoroughly entertaining in their own right. Plus, they perform a valuable service in turning listeners onto music they may have missed. It’s hard to imagine any Dwight fan that hasn’t listened to a bit of Buck, but after hearing Dwight Sings Buck, they might want to dig deeper into Owens’ catalog and they could bypass those hits comps and start with either of these albums. There might be some hits you’d miss, but you’d get the greatness of the man. Then, after you’re done, you can follow Buck’s lead and dig into Harlan Howard (his lone 1965 LP, All Time Favorite Country Songwriter, a boast that was largely true) and Tommy Collins (start with 2005’s The Capitol Collection), another pursuit that is thoroughly rewarding

When you’ve built up a back catalog of eight studio albums and walk the earth as one of the biggest, most high-profile artists of the ’90s and 2000s, you’re bound to get some mixed signals from those who pay attention to you.

While several tracks connected to specific scenes are also rooted in productions trading in the regal grit that made up so much ’70s soul, the album is not a straight narrative, broken up by tracks like the boom-clap of “Hello Brooklyn” (produced by Bigg D) and the glitzed-out pair of “I Know” (a half-icing Neptunes layer cake) and “Ignorant Shit” (where Just Blaze transforms the Isleys’ quiet storm staple “Between the Sheets” into a high-gloss anthem). And while Jay mentions American Gangster and protagonist Frank Lucas directly, and intersperses some tracks with dialogue, the connection does not overshadow the album. It’s not like he’s yelling “Shaft’s Big Score 2K7!” or “Leonard Part Six, Part Two!” It’s all as natural as Scarface riffing off Scarface.

And that might be the most common complaint about the album — it’s really just another case of Jay-Z being Jay-Z, albeit with different presentation. Unless you know each verse from Reasonable Doubt through Kingdom Come, it might sound like he’s dealing with no variation on well-worn themes, the exact same thoughts and emotions, that make up older tracks about his past as a drug dealer — the rise, the arrogance, the conflictedness, the fall, and all stages in-between. One could say that’s not really saying much, but regardless of context, this is a very good Jay-Z album. He is, for the most part, doing what he has done before: what he does best.

Sharon Jones, who recently released 100 Days, 100 Nights, a definite contender for one of the year’s top albums, has just premiered the video for the title track, a song that shows off the more soulful direction the singer has taken on the record. The video, which was shot for $50, looks like it’s straight from 1960s television, in blurry black-and-white, the band on risers behind her as Jones herself takes center stage.

If you haven’t seen Jones and her band, the Dap-Kings (who’ve also worked with Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson, including in this video), live in action, you’ll soon have your chance. The diminutive 51-year-old singer is just about to start a tour, and if it’s anything like her past ones (besides the excellent, and very funky, musicianship, last year she danced with fans on-stage and played a James Brown medley, among other things), it’s definitely worth checking out.

Billed as the first Santana compilation to span his entire career, it is true that Ultimate Santana does indeed run the gamut from 1969’s “Evil Ways” to 2002’s “Game of Love,” but if you think that means it handles all phases of his career equally, you’d be sadly mistaken. Essentially, this 18-track set plays like a collection of highlights from his Supernatural-era comebacks, spiked with a couple of classic rock oldies — because that’s what it really is.

It contains no less than ten superstar duets, including new numbers with Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger (the streamlined and smoothed “Into the Night,” which has little of Kroeger’s trademark growly histrionics) and Jennifer Lopez and Baby Bash (”This Boy’s Fire,” a dance number where Santana seems incidental), plus a version of “The Game of Love” with Tina Turner (don’t worry, the lighter, brighter, superior Michelle Branch version is here too)

In other words, this is certainly not a hits disc for the fan of his earliest music, or his most adventurous music either; it’s for the pop fans won over by his latter-day comeback, and for those listeners, it’s the hits disc they’d want — but for everybody else, it’s better to seek out other compilations or original albums, because those paint a better picture of what Santana was all about than this crisp, clean collection of lifestyle pop.

50 Cent has picked a new feud with rap rival Lil’ Wayne - just because the Louisiana hitmaker is a terrible songwriter. The tough-talking rapper lost out to Wayne - real name Dwayne Carter - in a recent MTV poll, which credited the Shooter singer as hip-hop’s most important name. When is this guy going to learn to behave at least if not always then at least sometimes, I hope he can manage to behave that much or am I asking for too much. First he lost to Kanye West in the battle of album releases and as a consequence he did not make his tour to Europe. Kanye is not too good either after saying that he is not going to attend MTV bashes after not received any awards at the MTV VMAs. Now 50 Cent is such a waste and a person without work that he can keep finding ways to get into some lame fight so that he is written about in the blogs. Once there should be someone who tells him on his face that he is all things that he tells other are.

Jennifer Lopez is pissing off her record label because she is way too expensive to take care of and doesn’t really make any money for the label. “She costs too much money and doesn’t sell enough,” says a source. “Her last album cover alone cost $60,000 in hair and makeup, lighting, photographers, re-touching, etc. The video budget was in the neighborhood of $300,000.” Since she’s married with Anthony, her carrier is down, she sell all in Spanish, a flop with “como ama una mujer”, flops with Latinos film….. She can really thank P Diddy!!! She is and always has been a mediocre singer. I admire a husband that would encourage his successful wife to step out of her comfort zone and take on new challenges, weather she succeeds or not. She hasn’t changed with the times. The consumer wants an artist to evolve. Her “Brave” album would have done well in the late ’90s, but not anymore. Just doesn’t cut it.

Justin Timberlake’s sixth release from solo bow “FutureSex/LoveSounds” has earned props as the first time that six tracks from one release have hit the top 40 since Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” more than 15 years ago. With Beyoncé now stripped onto “Until the End of Time,” it’s quite likely JT will score the tenacious set’s fourth No. 1—which has already catapulted into the top five at R&B.

The meandering song is clearly a tribute to Prince, with its soul-soaked guitar-driven shuffle and funkified production—think “I Would Die 4 U” on Xanax. While Timberlake’s vocals are smoothed out to near anonymity, as usual, he employs recognizable falsetto amid layers of appreciably creamy harmonies.

It’s Beyoncé, however, that really fuels the passion of the track, with her loosest vocal performance since “Listen” from “Dreamgirls”—and Timberlake is wise enough to sprawl her vocal across the song so that it commands the lead. The mantra here: unstoppable.

Lil Wayne hasn’t released a major-label album in two years, an awful long time in today’s here-today, gone-tomorrow rap market, yet in that time he’s ascended to the top of his field, to the point where his next album, Tha Carter III, is among the industry’s most eagerly awaited. His stock has risen partly because of his innumerable guest features, but more so because of the steady stream of mixtapes he’s released — one after the other, month after month, none of them available at your local big-box retailer. In an age where the Internet is seen by some in the music industry as a threat to be contained with lawsuits and other forms of deterrence, Lil Wayne is one of an increasing number of artists who are using the Internet to their advantage, feeding his fan base all the music it can download and, in the process, inspiring a dedicated following.

Like recent mixtapes by Jay-Z, Kanye West, and 50 Cent, these Lil Wayne mixes circulate freely on the Internet and are promotional in nature, intended to drum up interest for forthcoming commercial releases.

Here’s the new single called “Just Fine”, which is the lead single from the upcoming album of Mary J. Blige entitled “Growing Pains” due out on November 27th.
Check this song out!!!