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 »

Beyonce Denies Pregnancy Rumors, Kinda

May 18th, 2013 // Leave a Comment

On Friday, Beyonce was confirmed by “multiple sources” to be pregnant with her second child. Hours later she apparently took to Instagram to deny the reports, only to delete her sharp statement. “I can’t stop the rumors from starting, and I can’t really change peoples [sic] minds who believe them, all I can do is sit back and laugh at these low life people who have nothing better to do than talk about me,” the post said. More »

will.i.am’s “Bang Bang” Video: Watch The Retro Clip

May 18th, 2013 // Leave a Comment
will.i.am Nails The Charleston In "Bang Bang"

will.i.am has released a video for “Bang Bang,” his contribution to The Great Gatsby soundtrack. While the film boasted a lavish world that could be viewed in 3-D, will.i.am’s black and white clip is stark in its simplicity. A band of horn players follow his lead as he signals for the drop, then nails the Charleston inside an otherwise empty ballroom.

In AllMusic’s review of the soundtrack, David Jeffries said that will.i.am’s song made for an “entirely obvious and irresistibly fun” contribution. The video is precisely that — watch it at E!. More »

Jessie J Teases New Single “Wild”

May 18th, 2013 // Leave a Comment
"Wild" In The Studio

“If I go hard, let me tell you that it’s worth it / Play the right cards, I-I-I ain’t afraid to work it,” Jessie J sings in her new single “Wild.” On Thursday the Voice mentor previewed the song with a clip of her studio session, in which she added final touches to her pop plea.

Heartbeats are still left to ponder over a lyric that Jessie J teased along with “Wild”: “Everything starts with a WISH but everything can be real.” (No, her new album isn’t titled Wish — as if it would be that easy.) In the meantime, Jessie J promises that “Wild” and its video will drop soon, both featuring G.O.O.D. Music’s Big Sean and fellow U.K. resident Dizzie Rascal. Watch the clip up top. More »