Thursday, June 11, 2009 |
Mariah Carey announced via her Twitter page (as she’s been doing so often lately) that her first single from her forthcoming album, Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel is titled “Obsessed” and will debut next Tuesday, June 16th.
On her Twitter page, Mariah describes the single as a “fun, uptempo song for the summer.” She neglected to mention any producers, but I’m sure that she’s not steering clear of the formulas that made Emancipation of Mimi a success, or the songs that people enjoyed from her last effort, E=MC².
I’m expecting some production and writing from Tricky Stewart and The Dream, considering the success she garnered from “Touch My Body.”
USHER ALBUM NEWS
Pharrell Williams recently sat down with Billboard.com for an interview, where he released some news about Usher’s new album, which we’ve learned will drop later this year, with the title Monster.
“The Usher album is crazy. His album is the review of the mind of a monster,” Pharrell said.
“He’s somewhere else right now… like a whole different kind of R&B,” he added. “It’s really great, it’s super edgy. He’s taken a lot of time to really sit and study and we really built something that is like… it’s just–it’s mean.”
In addition to working with Pharrell, Usher has also got some tracks from Bangladesh, and is rumored to be going into the studio with Timbaland and Danjahandz. Pharrell is currently working on Rihanna’s hotly anticipated fourth LP, as well as new music for his band, N.E.R.D. and The Clipse.
JORDIN SPARKS ALBUM COVER
Jordin Sparks reveals the album cover for her sophomore set, Battlefield. The Idol winner is gearing up to release her second album on July 21st.
On the album, Jordin has worked with Jesse McCartney, Toby Gad, Max Martin, Ryan Tedder and a rumored duet with British starlet, Leona Lewis.
Thursday, June 4, 2009 |
Amerie has completed her new album, entitled IN LOVE & WAR, scheduled to hit stores in August.
The singer is close to unveiling the lead video, “Why R U,” from the album. The vid has been shot by popular video-director Ray Kay (The-Dream, Lady Gaga, & MORE) with a June 8th release date on BET.
IN LOVE & WAR album producers include The Buchanans (“Why R U”), Teddy Riley, Sean Garrett & Eric Hudson, Rico Love, Brian Cox and others.
WHITNEY HOUSTON PICKS RELEASE DATE
Accroding to an Arista Records press release, Whitney Houston’s new album will be released worldwide September 1st. This is Whitney’s 7th studio album, since her 1985 debut. Check out her new promo photo above.
MARIAH SPEAKS ABOUT NEW ALBUM
Mariah Carey is reportedly working with everyone from Jermaine Dupri to The-Dream on her brand new album.
Titled “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel,” the album is said to be a collection of stories that Mariah says are “for everybody but in a lot of ways are very (related to the) woman empowerment movement”.
Sharing the recording experience with fans, Carey took to twitter over the weekend, stating “Experimenting with my voice in the studio on this new mid temp/ballad..”.
“Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel” is due to be released through Island in September.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009 |
According to Billboard, Sade is recording her first album of new material since 2000’s Lovers Rock.
Known for her long delays between releases, Sade and the group that bears her name are in the studio. Although Sony has not set a release date, the label hopes the record will be out by the end of 2009.
“She is in the studio and the album will come when it is ready,” a source at Sony told Billboard. “You don’t wait for years for one and then rush it.”
R&B crooner Maxwell, who’s releasing a record soon after a long hiatus, is said to have heard snippets of Sade’s new music. He sent a message via Facebook saying, “Trust me, it’s so monolithic it’ll shake you in your shoes!” Can’t wait!
DRAKE SPEAKS ON RIHANNA
Rihanna is busy prepping her upcoming album and has enlisted rising rapper Drake to help. In a recent interview with DJ Semtex, Drake revealed that he’s actually writing for Rihanna right now.
“I’ve never in my mind felt like, “Oh I could probably write something crazy for Rihanna,” that wasn’t my first thought. But being put up to the task, we’re coming up with some special stuff. It’s crazy,” Drake says.
Rumors hit the web that the two were doing more than making music together, but neither has confirmed or denied it. Drake said, “We’re young. We’re just having fun and enjoying life. That’s all.”
Drake is also working on his own debut, Thank Me Later, and said he’s looking forward to working with Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne. According to Billboard, Drake is close to signing a deal with Universal Motown in one of the biggest bidding wars ever.
OMARION SIGNS TO YOUNG MONEY
After being dropped from Columbia last year, Omarion has signed to Lil Wayne’s Young Money imprint.
Posting on his Twitter, he said:
Thanks 4 all tha love yall!! Young money! Omarion!! You will believe and see God’s power!! I’m so humble I kant wait 2 give yall tha new me.
According to SoudScan, Omarion’s last album, 2007’s “Face Off,” the collaborative project with Bow Wow, has sold 365,000 copies in the United States.
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Friday, May 29, 2009 |
Kanye West is a little upset that the unfinished version of his newest video, “Paranoid” (starring Rihanna) was leaked earlier this week. Peep what he wrote on his blog on Wednesday:
It hurts me to see the old and very wrong version of the Paranoid video get leaked all over the net while I was on an 11hr flight and couldn’t do anything about it. It’s just frustrating when this stuff happens because I really care about the product and since videos never get played any way you might as well tweak them and make them as special as possible. The version that got leaked from the camera phone last week is at least a little closer to the final product. Thank you everybody for your support but that video was not up to my standards..
I’m actually glad that wasn’t the finished version, I stopped watching mid-way through because I wasn’t feeling it. No word on when he will release the finished version of the vid.
MARIO SPEAKS ON NEW ALBUM
Mario recently sat down for a brand new interview and spoke about his upcoming album, “And Then There Was Me”. The album, Mario’s fourth effort and first since 2007s “Go,” is already confirmed to feature Sean Garrett and Gucci Mane.
“My last album was very R&B driven. I would say this one is still very musical but it’s not as R&B as my last record. One of the things I feel like has kept me around as an artist in our generation is the fact that I have made transitions on each album and (am still) continuing to do that you know… I want to say everything that I’ve done, even outside of music (you know doing TV shows and doing shows out of the country) all of it influences me as an artist. You’ll hear that on the album, it’s a lot different.”
LLOYD TO RELEASE NEW MIXTAPE; WORKING ON A NEW ALBUM
R&B singer Lloyd has been M.I.A. since the release of his third album, “Lessons In Love” a little over a year ago, but don’t fret he is releasing a mixtape, “Lessons in Love 2.0″ with all new material this weekend. The mixtape will also have some unreleased songs and bonus/remix songs from the last album.
In addition to the mixtape, Lloyd is currently in the studio working on his fourth album with some top notch producers including: Jim Jonsin, The Runners, Cool & Dre, Rodney Jerkins and Adonis. Be sure to keep it locked to CL for the release of “Lessons in Love 2.0″ this weekend.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 |
Beyonce, who is currently on the European leg of her I Am… tour is gearing up to rerelease her album of the same title, I Am… Sasha Fierce in a deluxe Above & Beyonce: Video Collection & Dance Mixes format.
The double-disc set will be Beyonce’s first time embarking on the dance/electronica genre, offering up several remixed hits from I Am… Sasha Fierce. Eight tracks are showcased in the collection with production from Dave Audé, DJ Escape, and Tony Coluccio. The DVD/CD combo will be available exclusively through Wal-Mart and J&R Music World in New York on June 16.
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Wednesday, May 27, 2009 |
Jay-Z has recently revealed his split from long-time label, Def Jam and is close to signing a deal that will bring his future recordings to Sony Columbia.
The deal, which will link Jay-Z’s Roc Nation releases with Sony’s Epic Records for distribution, “is 95% complete” according to people familiar with the ongoing negotiations
His split from the Universal Music Group-owned label reportedly came with a $5 million price tag, but left the rap artist and label executive in control of his future master recordings. A formal announcement about the new deal is expected in the coming weeks. [SOURCE]
CHRIS BROWN BACK AT WORK
Despite his recent legal troubles and backlash, 20-year-old Chris Brown has announced that he is working on a third studio album, which he plans for a late summer release.
The album is tentatively titled Graffiti and will be preceded by a single earlier this summer. He made the announcement in a video blog, which has been his first public comment since his domestic violence dispute, allegedly with former girlfriend Rihanna, back in February.
JORDIN SPARKS ALBUM INFO
Jordin Sparks, who has the #1 song added to radio this week, has revealed that her sophomore album will share the title with it’s lead single, Battlefield.
“To me, the title Battlefield is about strength and perseverance,” Jordin explains about the album and song title.
“Things can go from good to bad in an instant, it could be family, friendship or work; and my favorite line in the song is, ‘you better go and get your armor,’ because it’s telling you to be prepared for that time so that you can overcome it.”
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Thursday, May 21, 2009 |
All these artists are getting back to the drawing board really quickly this time around. Usher, who made us wait years in between releases of his last albums, is already gearing up for release of his follow-up to last year’s Here I Stand.
The new project is set to be titled Monster. Now, with a title like that, I am definitely expecting a beast. Usher better come hard this time around, because the last album left me a little bit cold.
LIL’ WAYNE SUFFERS ANOTHER DELAY
Weezy fans are going to have to wait a little bit longer for Lil’ Wayne’s rock effort, Rebirth, which has been pushed back to July 21th from it’s original June 23rd date.
Lil’ Wayne, who is about to go on tour again, is still in the studio, recording tracks for the album. Rebirth, lead by the single “Prom Queen,” will feature cameos from Young Money artist Shanell, Fall Out Boy, Kevin Rudolf and Avril Lavigne. Should be interesting.
LETOYA LUCKETT’S ALBUM PUSHED BACK
The much-awaited sophomore solo LP from former Destiny’s Child bandmate LeToya Luckett, which was also originally slated for release on June 23rd is also being subject to delays.
Lady Love is now to hit shelves on August 25th. LeToya’s album has seen a few delays over the past couple of months. But fans can expect to see a second video from LeToya with her new single, the Cory Bold-produced “She Ain’t Got Shit On Me,” in the near future.
