Billboard Music Awards 2013: Nicki Minaj Rocks Red On The Blue Carpet

May 19th, 2013 // Leave a Comment

Fully rested and fresh off her stint as American Idol judge, Nicki Minaj arrived at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards blue carpet in a flowing red gown and big, curly diva hair. (The blonde hair and dark roots actually remind us of Rihanna‘s locks at the 2012 Grammy Awards — a lot actually.) The rapper looked fantastic in the bust-accentuating, curve-hugging dress, but we found ourselves pondering some difficult questions: Where’s the Nicki Minaj who once wore a pink chicken leg necklace to the iHeartRadio festival? What happened to the Nicki who arrived at the MTV VMAs looking like an anime doctor out to cure a highly contagious super virus? Where’s the Nicki who pretended to be the Bride Of Frankenstein with a leopard print fetish? Is this what doing Idol has done to our darling Nicki or has she simply grown out of her cartoonish phase for good?  More »

Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop” To Drop June 3: Watch Her Billboard Music Awards Blue Carpet Reveal

May 19th, 2013 // Leave a Comment
miley cyrus billboard music awards
She Can't Stop

We knew Miley Cyrus would have news about her next single “We Can’t Stop” at tonight’s Billboard Music Awards. While we’re still holding out hope that we’ll get a taste of the song during the awards show, it’s looking more like she’s just announcing its release date. Except, she already announced it before the show on the red blue carpet.

Watch up top as Cyrus gets fans excited for the June 3 release of “We Can’t Stop.” It’ll get an exclusive premiere on Ryan Seacrest‘s radio show, and one bit of intel she revealed: it’s produced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mike WiLL Made It.

Billboard Music Awards 2013: Miley Cyrus Goes Black And White On The Blue Carpet

May 19th, 2013 // Leave a Comment

Miley Cyrus turned heads as she arrived at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night (May 19), dressed in a jumpsuit that looked like it had been fashioned together from the remains of an old Sexy Jester Halloween Costume and a few of Grandma Cyrus’ doilies. The Balmain-designed one piece was a far different style choice from the sexy white business suit-esque look Disney’s best twerker sported just a year ago (back when her hair was much, much longer than Liam’s). Regardless of whether Miley’s ensemble is your cup of tea, the pop star completed the look with the ultimate accessory: unwavering confidence.  More »

Billboard Music Awards 2013: Selena Gomez On The Blue Carpet

May 19th, 2013 // Leave a Comment

Selena Gomez did not disappoint as she stepped out onto the blue carpet at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday night (May 19). Sel’s white cut-out gown with neon accents was a complete departure from her 2012 BBMA black gown — except in one area: the girl still looked stunning. We imagine it was quite a task for the pop star to find a dress that would manage to make Selenators smile and while still bringing ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber (also in attendance tonight) to tears…again. More »

Kelly Rowland Signing On As ‘The X Factor’ Judge

May 19th, 2013 // Leave a Comment

Kelly Rowland will soon Talk a Good Game as an X Factor judge, if all goes according to plan. Entertainment Weekly reports that Rowland is “firming up a deal” to help replace Britney Spears and LA Reid, to appear with returning judges Simon Cowell and Demi Lovato.

To her advantage, Rowland holds prior experience on The X Factor, albeit the U.K. version. As her fellow Season 8 judges poked fun at her Houston-bred critiques (her retort: “I’m a Southern girl, y’all isn’t going anywhere”), Rowland was warm and enthusiastic. One of her best lines was directed at a contestant who confessed she felt insecure of her weight. More »

Chris Brown’s “They Don’t Know”: Preview The Aaliyah-Sampling Single

May 19th, 2013 // 1 Comment

Chris Brown has released a snippet to “They Don’t Know,” the X single that samples previously unreleased vocals from the late Aaliyah. Based on the preview, Brown doesn’t deviate far from its source material.

“They Don’t Know” borrows from Digital Black‘s “Don’t Think They Know,” from his 2008 album Memoirs of an R&B Thug. Digital Black was one of three members in ’90s R&B group Playa, whose members (Static Major especially) worked with Aaliyah in addition to Ginuwine, Missy Elliott and Jo Jo. Timbaland had also produced Playa’s 1998 debut, Cheers 2 U. Hear Brown’s take after the jump. More »

Jay-Z And Drake Hit The Studio Together

May 19th, 2013 // Leave a Comment

Drake‘s found yet another reason to thank Jay-Z later. As reported last night, he hit the studio with the Roc Nation CEO for their first collaboration since “Light Up,” off his 2010 debut. “Warning: Please be very afraid of the music we’re working on. OVO x ROCNATION,” a Roc Nation photographer posted to Instagram.

In the Thank Me Later track,  Drake rapped of how his friends were partying, but he was making the music they party to — “I got these new rappers nervous / prom night, n—-” — before a pissed-off Jay warned him of how fame can turn ugly: “Not as cool of a n— as I once was, these bright lights turned me to a monster.” Revisit the track after the jump. More »

Kanye West’s ‘Yeezus’ Album Art, Unveiled

May 19th, 2013 // 1 Comment

Kanye West‘s album art for Yeezus has been revealed. Shortly before West took the Saturday Night Live stage, Kim Kardashian and West’s manager posted a photo of the cover, placed by the sneakers that West wore on stage (above).

While West performed new songs “Black Skinhead” and “New Slaves” to a quick-cutting slideshow of sales tags — shout out to Savers — the Yeezus cover art features an indecipherable bronze mass. Maybe it’s a bust being melted apart. (Crane your head to the right.) Maybe it alludes to Watch the Throne. (Likely, no?) Maybe it’s a Season 1 Game of Thrones reference. (Okay, maybe not.)

More »

Janet Jackson Preps First New Music In Five Years

May 19th, 2013 // Leave a Comment

Janet Jackson sees our desire: Days before her fifth album janet. celebrates its 20th anniversary, the enduring pop diva announces that she’s prepping her first new music in five years. “We are creating the concept and initial thoughts on the music,” she says to Billboard. “I am excited about the direction that we’re taking.”

At this point in planning, the possibilities for Jackson’s new music seems endless. Her most recent album, 2008′s Discipline, had debuted at No. 1 only to fall swiftly from the charts, but it’s hard to ignore that she’d replaced long-time producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis with a wide array of still-relevant collaborators, including Darkchild, Stargate, Rodney Jerkins, Tricky Stewart, and The-Dream. More »

Kanye West Performs “Black Skinhead” & “New Slaves” On ‘SNL’ Season Finale: Watch

May 18th, 2013 // 7 Comments
kanye west black skinhead snl
Yeezy's Not For Sale

One night after premiering “New Slaves” on 66 different building facades in 10 cities, and hours after the world learned his new album will be called Yeezus (seriously), Kanye West appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live‘s May 18 season finale. For the first song he debuted “Black Skinhead,” and it was an intense, angry and focused performance. Yeezy ranted with fuzzed out vocals over an industrial racket as menacing black-and-white images and price tags flashed on a screen behind him.

There was word that some stuff on Yeezy’s new album is screamy and sounds like Nine Inch Nails, and this track certainly delivers on both of those fronts. With his unhinged European shows, the recent paparazzi rants and the vitriol of “New Slaves,” West is clearly in a volatile and exciting creative space. He’s a mad scientist, and that’s why we put up with his bullshit.

Watch “Black Skinhead” up top, and check out his performance of “New Slaves” below. More »