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.
If you are a fan of R. Kelly, and let’s face it, he does have a wide array of fans located all throughout the world, then you are undoubtedly going to want to take this chance to see R. Kelly perform live as he tours all throughout the United States and beyond.
Highlights of this hip-hop performer’s tour includes stints at such locales as the Columbus Civic Center in Columbus, Georgia on November 14, Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on November 15, The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 21, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on November 23, American Airlines Center in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 30 and Sprint Center in Kansas City, MIssouri on December 7 as well as Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 8 and FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee on December 9. OF course these dates are merely a handful of the slew that R. Kelly is embarking upon for this tour of the United States.
You know you aren’t going to want to miss out on the fun that these concerts will be sure to bring to life
“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.
Meet the new king. Not the same as the old King.Garth Brooks, who edged out Elvis Presley in 1999 for the title of best-selling solo artist of all time, only to lose it five years later, reclaimed the crown from the King Monday, according to the tab keepers at the Recording Industry Association of America. Ok, now I will admit that Garth Brooks has definitely made his mark in country music, and he’s won every kind of award there is…and once upon a time I drooled everytime I saw his face… but dethrone Elvis??? GET SERIOUS, PEOPLE!!! NO ONE, least of ALL Garth Brooks, could ever dethrone Elvis! I don’t care if he sold a million copies of cd’s every day for the rest of his life…he’ll NEVER come CLOSE to Elvis on ANY level. My advice to the writers of these kinds of articles… PLEASE choose your words more carefully!! Stats are for real but yet could be misleading. Garth could be great but certainly not the greatest and still not greater than that man called Elvis.
While Nelly Furtado won her own award and should get an award for being fabulous with her red carpet look, I can’t say the same for Avril Lavigne. Honestly, I would never say it even if she looked like Charlize Theron. She looked like a wannabe prom queen from the 80s.
The 23-year old ‘Girlfriend’ singer picked up the award for Most Addictive Track at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 in Munich, Germany on Thursday. Avril accepted the award and said “This is amazing. I’d like to thank the fans for voting for me.”
It’s not that they wanted to. It just so happens that the song is so annoying and was stuck in their heads during the whole voting process.
Amy Winehouse gave one of her usual bombed-out performances at the MTV Europe Music Awards. She was even booed off the stage when she could barely say the word “Thanks” after receiving her Artists’ Choice award. However, the new drug-free Pete Doherty says that Amy is on “the straight and narrow,” Holy crap…I was going on and on about how freaking ugly she is (all the time when I see her pics on the internet and music news sites)…then I got a look at her husbands teeth! Sweet mother of Jesus! Can you imagine kissing that thing! It looks like he’s never brushed a day in his life. Bet it smell reals nice, jack! He wouldn’t be a bad looking guy though if he wasn’t so messed up on drugs and hadn’t messed up his body. Yipes; these 2 are obviously not good for each other. I bet there’s some serious mental & emotional abuse going on, in addition to the drug abuse. Hope she gets out of that situation alive.
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.
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.
Jay-Z, that one-time retired now very much back-with-a-vengeance rapper who holds as arm candy that divalicious diva herself Beyonce Knowles formerly of Destiny’s Child before she broke free into a solo career, is going on tour and you had better believe that you are not going to want to miss out on seeing him perform live!
Highlights of this mega-brand performer’s touring schedule include gigs at such locales as the House of Blues in both West Hollywood, California on November 6 and in Chicago, Illinois on November 7 and Rams Head Live! in Baltimore, Maryland on November 9 as well as Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, New York on November 11, and the Fillmore - TLA in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 12.
You had better believe that you are not going to want to miss out on this chance to see this rapper-entity do his thing live so get yourself tickets today.
As much as he tries to say that he’s glad he got out of the relationship, it’s still pretty obvious that Kid Rock is still bitter about her break up with Pamela Anderson. Why? No one knows.
The Detroit rapper recently went on ‘Larry King Live’ on Friday night to promote his new album but this is Larry King we’re talking about. His inquiring Jurassic mind made sure that Kid spilled the beans about all the drama.
Kid then proceeded to talk about his fight with Tommy Lee at the VMAs, why his marriage with Pam fell apart and his thoughts about Pam’s new man.
Apparently Lily Allen has lost quite a lot of weight after undergoing several sessions of hypnosis with Susan Hepburn, who ‘reprogrammed her brain’ to like organic food and trips to the gym. All I can say is that she looks great and maybe celebs like Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse could also do well with some help from Hepburn. But will anyone explain to me that why the hell are we so obsessed with our celebrities being size zero or looking skinny and then only we will like them and follow their acts. Why is that we do not judge them on the basis of their work and performance and just because they look cool, dress up smartly and drive big cars. She is a singer and not a model who will not get a contract from the agents coz she is plum and over sized. Yes it is nice that we have a slim body that the frame our hip bust and other vital stats are good and make us look attractive. But I have my reservations against people who would discriminate against people who are not – ‘perfect’ in size and shape.
Record sales of hip hop artists seem to be on the decline within the last year. Except maybe if the artist’s name happens to be Kanye West. Record sales of country artists is another story though.
Last week, Reba McEntire pushed Kanye off the top spot when her ‘Duets’ album came out at #1. This week, country trio Rascal Flatts is at #1 when their new album ‘Still Feels Good’ sold 547,000 units which easilty put them on top of the Billboard 200 mountain. Their latest release makes it the third straight #1 album for the band.
A couple of paparazzi caught up with a good half of U2 over the weekend and they might have gotten a scoop as to why the band hasn’t released a new album since their 2004 release ‘How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb’.
Bono gave a terse but perfectly rational answer, saying “Edge has got to restring his guitars”. Doi. If the giddy laughter that followed his answer was any indication, you have to know that he’s just joking or speaking some other form of language that only the duo can understand.
As usual, The Edge, whose real name is David Howell Evans, who was with Bono at the Clinton Global Initiative event, had very little to say about it. More like absolutely nothing really.
R&B singer/songwriter Ne-Yo just proved how much of a pimp he is as he walked out of opera a few days ago with several beautiful girls on his arm. And ever the crowd-pleaser, he decided to please them all at once by buying all the roses that the neighborhood flower lady was selling. And you know that made her day too.
While Ne-Yo was buying roses, other vendors bombarded him wanting to sell him CDs or to take his picture. The singer remained quite the gentleman by not only buying what they were selling but doing the impromptu photo op as well.
I guess his model-like ladies got him in a good mood.
Oasis rocker Liam Gallagher hates his band’s early material - comparing his voice to cartoon bird Tweetie Pie. The Live Forever singer, 35, cringes when he hears songs from Oasis’ 1994 debut Definitely Maybe. What’s the story morning glory is a great album. Definitely Maybe is just ok. Retrospection mostly gives the negative jibes to all people because after some 10-12 or even later we all think about the mistakes we made in life and how we could have done it in a different fashion. There are always many ways to do many things but what sense you have at the age of say 25 are certainly going to be different from what sensibilities one has at 35-40. Liam everyone tries to be a perfectionist at their jobs be it a manager at McDonalds trying to deliver a perfect burger or a musician trying to make the perfect composition. Keep trying one we all will be good if not perfect.
It was first reported that he ended up straining his voice due to his performance at the 2007 MTV VMAs which took place in the middle of his massive tour. But this is Justin Timberlake and he was raised to be a good southern boy with all those loveable southern qualities. Honesty, being one of them.
The ‘SexyBack’ singer went back to San Jose, California Sunday night to make up for the concert that he cancelled the day after the Video Music Awards. Justin took time to speak to the audience and revealed the real reason as to why he cancelled. “Certain bloggers said I cancelled because I was hung over and they were right… I was.”
Rapper Keith Murray is offering a $7,000 reward to be reunited with his stolen laptop which contains more than a decade’s worth of his work. Oh man! That is heartbreaking to have his work stolen! And the thief had some nerve to even shout what he did. I hope the thieves get what’s coming to them. Or can it be the other way round, look at my mischievous mind. Was the person who stole the work a spy agent hired by the person from whom Keith stole the work and now it has come a full circle? It could have been the successful plot of a movie, a struggling music artist approaches a then rap mogul to help him find a foot in the music industry, he throw the new kid on the blow out of his home. New kid wants revenge for the insult, he somehow manages to steal the great’s work and now that aging icon hires a spy to recover his work. The moral behind this story is – never insult someone who needs your help and never resort to cheating. Blockbuster movie and Keith Murray is willing to pay $7000 for a laptop.
Rapper Chamillionaire has joined the hip-hop heavyweights who have cut the ‘n’ word from their lyrics - because he doesn’t want to put derogatory words into white fans’ mouths. So much for a thinking mind, what else were these rappers doing for so long. These ‘n’ words and the ‘F’ word have been used so extensively that there ain’t a good album out there in the stores that hasn’t used explicit videos and lyrics in the album. I think that’s the best news I heard all day. Except for my Yankees news! But seriously, do children really need to continue making that word something people of all generations still have to hear. Enough already! We have come to a point in our society where words (thru rap) really do carry a lot of power. Why not empower the children of our society with words that can cause an epidemic of conjugation of all generations instead of dissention among them? Someone’s gotta think that how are we going to let the kids get exposed to such horrible things, it’s got to stop now!
Luciano Pavarotti’s adult daughters chastised the media Tuesday night about reports claiming they are squabbling with the late tenor’s second wife, and said they were not aware that their father made any changes to his will as he neared death. Money is money, and look his daughter is already giving an indication that money matters the most when she is speaking about changes to the will by Pavarotti. If the will is in their favor then I am sure that they will have no problems with anything that is said in the media, but if Pavarotti made any changes that give his second wife a few goodies from his wealth which his daughters are not aware then see what kind of drama is created, all the ladies would come out on the streets making all false comments and derogatory remarks against one and another.
I dislike all this feuding when there is so much more to think about. We have a war going on and president who has no clue of what he is doing. With the money you all have should invest in putting music back in schools. You are role models for not just the young but everyone. Step back and stop thinking about self. In the dope game it is said, “There is a lot of money for all of us.” Greed is the problem. Can’t we all get along anymore? The war is not against one another it is those who did the 911 attacks. Get your mind in the swing of things. We all have little people looking at our behavior, what message are you sending them? It is time to grow and take a stand as adults. Ridiculous, but this was going to happen, all long Kanye and Curtis have been saying that who will be outselling whom. And now the game has just begun.
Led Zeppelin’s announcement of a one-off reunion show has caused the concert’s official website to crash - as millions of fans across the world rush to register their names for the ticket ballot. This is an incredible event that I bet no-one even imagined could happen. I thought that Led Zep was History! But these guys have an uncanny knack of dong the unthinkable when you think they are done with for good and the least expected. Anyways, what a nice thing to do for a friend or loved one. That’s absolutely Cool! Well done Guys You show what compassion means by actions. And what a great action. I have some words for these sites owners too, may be they just didn’t expect such a great response from the fans but still they should have had arrangements in place for such an event. I haven’t heard of a site break down in years, means like what could have been so drastic that the site stopped functioning.
Rapper/actress Eve is launching her own film production company later this year - so she can retire from the entertainment industry financially secure Eva and Eve sounds quite similar, well that not the only thing that similar they both want to be rich and successful as quickly as possible, may over night if it could happen. But folks let me tell there’s nothing wrong if she wishes for a secure future, we all want it, a future that’s full of joys and happiness, a future were we do not have to think twice on the kind of vacation expenditure we can afford or what we like to splurge on a Rolex watch, some great golf accessories and hence forth, I am of the view that if at 28 she think a production company would give her the ammunition to forge ahead and zoom her onto a big bank balance the babes go for it, no risk no gain. If the risk pays off then you are one in a million and if not then no need to sulk, not everyone’s a genius born to become some Einstein.
Chris Brown and Rihanna’s collaborative performance can easily be labeled as the best performance of the night from the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.
If Rihanna’s massive hit ‘Umbrella’ wasn’t enough to bring the house down, then maybe you would settle for Chris’ smooth dances moves. From dancing to his songs ‘Wall to Wall’ and ‘Kiss Kiss’ to an inspired homage to Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
When asked about what he thought of the performance, Justin Timberlake said “Nobody likes to be reminded that they’re getting older. And whatever Chris Brown just did reminded me of how I’m getting older – ’cause damn. It’s just exciting to see.”
Jennifer Lopez spices things up in her new video. Famed director and photographer David LaChapelle directed the Latin diva in the video for her new single ‘Do It Well’ and boy did he do it well.
When asked to comment about the video, Jennifer says, “It’s basically me, coming into this situation where people are oppressed in a way, and kind of being a liberator, like setting everybody free but beating everybody up.”
Leather, chains and dancing. Just imagine Jennifer Lopez as the sexy dominatrix and cross it with her ‘Waiting for Tonight’ video and you’ve got a mighty hot combination.
