Michael Jackson had two more albums in pipeline
Jul 3, 2009 Akon, Black Eyed Peas, Jazz, Michael Jackson, Will.I.Am
Michael Jackson had two albums in the works at the time of his death, Billboard magazine has reported.
The singer was collaborating on a pop album with singer-songwriters Claude Kelly and Akon, and another collection of classics.
Kelly said: “He was the King of Pop, the biggest to ever do it, and the one thing you never lose – whether known by the whole world or just 10 people – is your love for music. That never goes away and it never went away for him amidst his troubles.”
Akon (pictured) said: “My fans are still there. They still love me. They’re alive … His kids are like his first priority, and they had never seen him perform live. He was trying to create the most incredible show for his kids.”
Jackson was also working on an instrumental album, collaborating with composer David Michael Frank. “He had two demos of two pieces he’d written, but they weren’t complete,” Frank reportedly told Billboard.
“For one of them, he had a whole section of it done in his head. He had not recorded it. He hummed it to me as I sat at the keyboard in his pool house and we figured out the chords – I guess this recording I made is the only copy that exists of this music.”
Further compositions were also in the pipeline, a jazz track among them. “He mentioned more instrumental music of his he wanted to record, including one jazz piece,” said Frank, who hopes the Jackson family will decide to record the music as a “tribute and show the world the depth of his artistry”.
Meanwhile, Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am earlier this week said Jackson had recordings of new songs the pair had worked on together. “He had all the hard drives because I didn’t want to be responsible for that.”
Source: Splash News
Tags: Akon, Black Eyed Peas, Claude Kelly, died, frontman, healthy, heart attack, Hollywood, Jazz, Michael Jackson, pop king, Rapper, superstar, today show, Will.I.Am
Queen Latifah comes to terms with weight issues
Jun 26, 2009 Jazz, Queen Latifah
The rapper and actress has recently managed to come to terms with her weight issues due to the fact she found out that she is a role model for young girls. Queen Latifah related the following story about a limo driver’s daughter who wants to sing but has image issues: “She saw me perform on TV and I inspired her to sing again. She saw me and my appearance and my success and the great job I did. This was a 12-year-old kid whose dream had been halted by negative comments, but she saw me deliver a knock-out performance and it made her believe she could become successful too.” Well, it seems Queen Latifah is actually doing some good with her celebrity image, unlike many others one could name. Sadly, such occurrences seem to be as seldom as dewdrops in the desert.
Tags: Children, Jazz, Queen Latifah, R&B, Soul
Amy Winehouse’s disastrous performance
May 11, 2009 Amy Winehouse, Jazz, Music Artists, Music Festivals, Performance
The singer managed to utterly mess up her performance at the St. Lucia Jazz Festival on Friday. Amy Winehosue was apparently so drunk that she cut her set list short and didn’t even manage to finish her last song. Her fans of course were very disgruntled by the whole thing and she was booed off stage. One of Amy Winehouse’s fans related: “Amy could barely stand up, she didn’t know the words to her songs. It’s a disgrace. She was so drunk she didn’t know where she was. She’s a lost cause.” Would a record label actually even go for a contract with her anymore after this stunt? But, truth be told… where there is great scandal, there is also great attention and if her fans were… perseverant enough to attend this concert after what Amy Winehouse has done in the past, you can bet that they will be there the next time around also.
Tags: Amy Winehouse, Festival, Jazz, R&B, Rock & Roll, St. Lucia Jazz Festival
Jamie Foxx Mentors American Idols
Apr 29, 2009 American Idol, Jamie Foxx
You know there’s something really wrong with American Idol when the best mentor they could get for jazz week, also known as Rat Pack week, is Jamie Foxx. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the guy, but I think they could have made a better choice in mentors. He’s not even a jazz singer for Pete’s sake! And that truly shows when he gave some pretty lame and off the mark comments. I think he’s the worst mentor they’ve had thus far – even worse than Quentin Tarantino for movie week. He got it right though when he said that if Kris Allen’s performance goes well, Jamie could go and make an album with him after the show is over.
Tags: American Idol, Jamie Foxx, Jazz, Kris Allen, Rat Pack