Labels: Mariah Carey

Following Ciara's performance at the 2007 BET Awards this week, speculation has been mounting as to what the singer was trying to convey with her robe. Similar to James Brown, at the end of her set, a robe was thrown to the 'Promise' singer - baring '#25' across the back. Explanations ranging from her affiliation with 50 Cent (half of 50?) to her alleged romance with NFL star Reggie Bush (The Saints player #25) have been cited. However, she has revealed to MTV that the number was to poke fun at her placing at #25 on BET's Top 25 Dancers list - below Diddy, Beyonce, Prince and Missy Elliott:

Labels: Ciara

Amerie's debuted her newest single 'Gotta Work' yesterday. Scott Franklin - who also directed the vid for her last single 'Take Control' -directed the video. With a simple concept and great choreography, Amerie really delivered with this one. I'm still not entirely sure about the single choice, but it's an excellent video nonetheless.

What do you think of the video?

Labels: Amerie

The 2nd single to be lifted from Kelly Rowland's new album- 'Ms. Kelly'- has been confirmed as 'Comeback'. According to Middlechild Promotions, the song has already been sent out to radio stations and will indeed serve as the album's next offering. The Scott Storch-produced track also won the AOL poll to decide the next single.

Labels: Kelly Rowland

Rapper 50 Cent stopped by BET's 106 & Park to perform his current single 'Amusement Park'. The G-Unit leader also took a moment to address his shambolic performance at the BET Awards earlier in the week. Performance aside, most of 50's new material just isn't cutting it and he'll need to come harder than this if his 'Curtis' album is to be a success.

What did you think of his excuse and performance?

Labels: 50 Cent

Following Beyonce's BET Awards performance earlier this week, the Internet has been rampant with claims that the 'Deja Vu' singer copied her set from another artist. According to many, Beyonce's entrance was a carbon-copy of pop star Kylie Minougue's on a past tour. I don't check for Kylie like that, so I wasn't aware. I hear the concept was taken from a film called 'Metropolis'...whatever the case, you be the judge:

What do you think?

Labels: Beyonce

The video for Bone Thugs latest single 'Lil L.O.V.E.' has finally premiered. I've had the song in heavy rotation for a while now and was anxious to see how the video turned out. Though it's nothing groundbreaking, the Chis Robinson-directed video is pretty good. It's great to see Mariah back on scene after being on a hiatus - she looks stunning in the vid. Bow Wow as well as the song's producer Jermaine Durpri also make appearances. After the success of 'I Tried', Bone Thugs look to be on course for another chart smash with this.

What do you think of the video?

Labels: Bone Thugs N' Harmony, Bow Wow, Mariah Carey

Lil Fizz is the latest ex-boyband member to make a bid for solo stardom. 'Beds' is the lead single from the former B2K star's new album 'Payday'. Both the video and the song are so-so, however all the other members of B2K came out to support Fizz - with all three making cameo appearances in the vid. No words for Ray J..

What do think of the video?

Labels: Lil Fizz, Ray J

Following several months of speculation, Usher and his fiance Tameka Foster have announced that that they are expecting their first child. In a statement released to PEOPLE magazine, the couple had the following to say:

We are extremely excited at this point in our lives planning our wedding and the joy that comes with expecting our first child together. We hope people will be happy for us and respect our privacy during this happy period in our lives.

Labels: Usher

Labels: Ashanti, Nelly

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.

Labels: Kelly Rowland

Labels: 50 Cent, Ciara

Jennifer Hudson & Jennifer Holliday - 'And I Am Telling You'

T.I. - Big Things Poppin'

Diddy (w/ Keyshia Cole & Lil' Kim) - 'Last Night'

Beyonce & Kelly Rowland - 'Get Me Bodied' / 'Like This'

Ciara - Like A Boy / That's Right

Robin Thicke - Lost Without You

50 Cent - Amusement Park

Erika Badu - Diana Ross Tribute

Judging from some of these performances as well as viewer reports, this years show was definitely one of the better instalments of the annual event. Performance of the night, in my opinion, goes to Beyonce and Kelly Rowland's joint showing. Everything about the performance was on-point; Beyonce nailed 'Get Me Bodied' and Kelly had her 'coming out of the shadows' moment by tearing down the stage with 'Like This' alongside Eve. Another notable performance was from Ciara, who did her thing with a medley of 'Like A Boy' and future single 'That's Right'. She has definitely upped her stage presence and live vocals too. I also really liked the Dreamgirls opening- which saw Jennifer Hudson perform 'And I Am Telling You' with the original Effie, Jennifer Holliday. It was a monumental moment seeing Jennifer Holliday finally get her moment to truly shine as Effie. On a side note, her facial expressions are still priceless lol. 50 Cent's performance didn't go...well just watch it lol. Overall it seemed like a great show.

The video for Kanye West's latest single 'Stronger' debuted on TRL today. As with most things Kanye, the video is a kinda left-field and I'm liking it. Directed by Hype Williams, the big-budget video features many special effects - though they are, somewhat, hit and miss. Cassie plays the female interest in the vid too. 'Stronger' is the official first single from Kanye's third album 'Graduation' (due August 21st) and was preceded by buzz single 'Can't Tell Me Nothing'.

What do you think of the video?

Labels: Kanye West

'Tears Dry On Their Own' is latest single to be lifted from Amy Winehouse's breakthrough album 'Back to Black'. The track is one of my personal favourites from the album and I'm glad it was chosen as a single. Though this David LaChapelle directed video isn't all that great, it's still pretty decent and doesn't take away from what is a great song

What do you think of the video?

Labels: Amy Winehouse

It appears Eve isn't wasting any time releasing singles from her upcoming album 'Here I Am' (due August 7th). As her current single 'Tambourine' climbs the charts, the rapper has already shot the video for the follow-up single 'Give It To You' - which features Sean Paul. Judging from these pics from the set, the video looks like its gonna be a good one. Be on the lookout for the video in the coming weeks.

Labels: Eve, Sean Paul

Labels: Competition

As Ja Rule preps his comeback album 'The Mirror' (due for release later this year), another track from the set has surfaced. 'Uh Oh' sees the INC rapper team up with Lil' Wayne for what is a great collaboration. The production is really on-point, as well as Ja's flow. Lil' Wayne does his thing on the track too. I'm feeling alot of Ja's new material and will definitely be on the lookout for his new CD.

Labels: Ja Rule, Lil' Wayne

With her Stateside promotional campaign in full swing, Kelly Rowland stopped by the Today Show this morning to perform her current single 'Like This'. Judging from this performance, it seems the European performances were simply warm-ups because she delivered majorly. From the live band, to the improved choreography and the overall energy, this performance was on-point. I'm really anxious to see how she does tomorrow a the 2007 BET Awards.

What do you think of Kelly's performance?

Labels: Kelly Rowland

Chris Brown's 'Wall to Wall' video debuted earlier on today. The song is the first single to be taken from Brown's sophomore album 'Exclusive' (due August 28th). I really applaud him for thinking out of the box with this video - which has a Michael Jackson 'Thriller' vibe to it. I was expecting the typical 'club' type of vid. Having said that, the video isn't all that spectacular and the effects at times can become kinda jarring. Still, as usual, Chris came hard with the choreography and shows his competitors why he's at the top of his game.

What do you think of the video?

Labels: Chris Brown

R&B star LeToya Luckett is hard at work on the follow-up to her self-titled debut. According to our friends at Rap-Up.com, a November release date has been pencilled in for the currently-untitled disc, which will drop via Capitol Music Group. Most interesting, however, is the producer line up - which is set to include Dr Dre, Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins and Babyface.

Are you anticipating LeToya's new album?

Labels: LeToya

With the 2007 BET Awards just days away, it has been revealed that Beyonce will be performing 'Get Me Bodied' at the annual show. Hailed by many as one the better tracks from her 'B'Day' album, no doubt she'll give a great performance. According to her longtime dancer, Tyrell Washington, the Grammy-Award winning superstar will be joined onstage by a 'special guest'. I'm kinda thrown off as to who the 'guest' may be...

Labels: Beyonce

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?

Labels: Pharrell

This new Mike Jones track 'Bonnie & Clyde' is slated to appear on his upcoming album 'The American Dream' (due July 10th). The track, which features LeToya Luckett, is decent mid-tempo number. However, I'm not really feeling Mike's talk-singing in parts of the song. LeToya does great on the hook, though. She's really keeping her name out there in the run-up to the release of her as-yet-untitled sophomore CD.

Labels: LeToya, Mike Jones

Some of you may remember Tiffany Evans from her roles in Tyler Perry movies 'Madea’s Family Reunion' and 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman'. The 15 year old is set to release her debut album this year and 'Promise Ring' is the the lead single from the set. Interestingly, R&B star Ciara features on the track, singing backing vocals. I'm really liking the song and video; Tiffany has got a great voice and the choreography is on-point. It's not often artists nowadays can both sing and dance, but Tiffany has both on lock. It's great to see Ciara supporting an up-and-coming artist too.

What do you think of the song/video?

Labels: Ciara, Tiffany Evans

According to People.com, Eddie Murphy has been confirmed as the father of 'Scary Spice' Mel B's 2 month-old daughter Angel Iris. Rep's for Brown announced that she was informed of the DNA test results - which took place on June 11th - this Thursday. The news comes after months of denial by actor Murphy, who doubted paternity of the child. Brown and Murphy briefly dated last summer and split in December, when the 'Nutty Professor' actor revealed his paternity doubts live on a Dutch TV show. Thus far, Brown's reps have yet to comment.

Labels: Eddie Murphy, Mel B

Labels: Common

Contrary to recent rumours, Cassie has not been dropped from Bad Boy. According to Diddy, the 'Me & U' singer is currently recording the follow-up to her 2006 self-titled album. Producers drafted in to contribute to the project include Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. The as-yet untitled CD will be released in September.

Labels: Cassie

During her recent European promo blitz, Kelly Rowland performed current single 'Like This' on Dutch show Jensen. I'm liking this performance; both vocally and in stage presence, Kelly is improving with each performance.

What did you think of the performance?

In other Kelly news, there seems to be alot of confusion as to whether she'll be performing on the Pre-Show or Main Show at the BET Awards. As of today, Kelly has been added to the list of Main Event performers on the BET website and *will* be hitting the main stage on June 26th.

Tidbits:

Kelly's 'Like This' hit #4 on the Official UK singles chart this week.

Don't miss out on your chance to win a copy of 'Ms. Kelly' in our Kelly Rowland album g