Queen B is back and she is a “Grown Woman!”

Almost two months after Beyoncé previewed Grown Woman in her Pepsi Mirrors commercial, the song has been released online in its entirety. The track is not available on iTunes yet and there was no big announcement from B herself, so it seems like it could be a leak.

Nonetheless, the track is hot. The Timbaland-produced beat is sure to get you out of your seat and on to the dance floor; and I’m sure it will produce some new, infectious dance moves from Beyoncé.

Grown Woman is the first full-length track to be released from her yet untitled fifth studio album. In March, Beyoncé released Bow Down/I Been On, but that was not a full-length song. She also previewed Standing on the Sun for her H&M campaign commercial.

Beyoncé fans have been eagerly awaiting new music from her. In April, while overseas performing in Paris, Beyoncé performed Grown Woman and the crowd went crazy.

We just want new music B! Is that too much to ask? :(

LISTEN TO “GROWN WOMAN” HERE:

Quick question: Does anyone want to hear more music from Will Smith again? I’m leaning towards a “no,” but Kanye West is ready for The Fresh Prince’s return.

While promoting his new film After Earth, Willow’s pappy says he’s been spent some time in the studio with the sire of Kim Kardashian’s first born. Will revealed to Hip Hollywood:

“I been messing around with Kanye. We went into the studio a couple times, so I might get the bug. I’m not going to do it unless I’m truly inspired, but Kanye’s been pushing me a little bit.”

Of course Kanye is responsible for putting these thoughts into Will’s mind.

I don’t know, y’all. After LL Cool J’s Robert E. Lee ass kissing anthem “Accidental Racist,” I now fear that every aging rapper who’s crossed over to Hollywood might need to stay exactly where they are.

Yes, “Summertime” will always be great. Shoot, I’ll even give you “boom, boom, shake-shake the room.” Still, it’s been a long time since those and “Men In Black” and I’m not sure I want to hear another graying man rapping lazily about rich he is. After all, we’ve still got Uncle Hov.

Check the interview below:

Shady queen and soulful brown liquor loving singer K. Michelle has released “V.S.O.P.” — the first single off her forthcoming debut album Rebellious Soul. The track was produced by Pop & Oak and reportedly samples Debra Laws’ 1981 hit “Very Special.”

Those of you into Teddy Pendergrass and old man drinks ought to know that the track’s name is a nod to Very Special Old Pale cognac. I mean, comparing your love to a good grade of booze sounds beautiful to me.

So clearly I love it, and pray to God that Atlantic Records, who signed K. Michelle, doesn’t end up adding a rapper to the song for the sake of trying to secure more spins on the radio.

Believe it or not, R&B has been doing quite well this year. Mario has a hot new single; The-Dream is coming back strong; Fantasia’s new music is up to par; Chrisette Michele is out here representing for the folks with actually talent; Tamar Braxton is releasing nice songs (albeit songs that song like reworked Keyshia Cole tracks). And hell, even Chris Brown took a break from techno to release the lovely “Fine China.”

Applaud R&B, y’all. The fans needed this. As for Ms. Memphis, you can look forward to K. Michelle’s Rebellious Soul being released on July 20. I plan to buy it and a bottle of her K’s good friend, Mr. Jack Daniels.

LISTEN TO “V.S.O.P.” HERE:

The world is dying to know whether or not Beyoncé is pregnant again. While momma B has remained tight lipped about the possible pregnancy, reportedly, Jay-Z has denied the rumors.

This past weekend, the Hip Hop mogul emailed Ebro Darden, program director the popular New York radio station Hot 97 denying that he and his wife are expecting their second baby.

“Jay-Z emailed Ebro over the weekend and told him the pregnancy rumor is false,” Hot 97 personality Peter Rosenberg said on the station’s morning show Monday (May 20).

“That’s crazy, too,” Darden, also known as ‘Old Man Ebro’ said. “I hit him to say ‘Congratulations man, send my love to the fam … Do I gotta buy a gift, what?’”

Jay-Z apparently hit Old Man Ebro back, saying that the rumors about his wife being pregnant were “not true.” He reportedly wrote: “The news is worse than the blogs.”

News hit a frenzy on Friday when E! News claimed that sources close to Jay-Z had “confirmed” the pregnancy. This came after a report earlier in the week that claimed Beyoncé was forced by her doctors to cancel a show in Belgium because of “dehydration” and “exhaustion,” which led everyone to believe Beyoncé was with child.

The following night, after writing a handwritten apology to her fans detailing her first postponement “in my life,” Beyoncé was back on stage, which was directly against her doctor’s orders.

If the reports that she is not pregnant are true, diehard Beyoncé fans are going to be a bit disappointed. Ever since the arrival of music’s little princess, Blue Ivy Carter, fans have wondered when Beyoncé and Jay-Z would give her a sibling. Would it be sooner, or would it be later?

Apparently, right now, we’re looking at “later,” HOWEVER Beyoncé recently spoke out about wanting another child sooner, rather than later.

“I would like more children,” Beyoncé told ABC News during an interview for Good Morning America in London. “I think my daughter needs some company. I definitely love being big sister.”

Meanwhile, someone should probably tell E! News they can stop pushing their “Beyonce is pregnant” story now…

Legendary singer, songwriter, producer, musician, and cat daddy, Prince, closed out the 2013 Billboard Music Awards performances.

While perusing the Twitter, I noticed some 15-year-old Nicki Minaj stan asked what was the “big deal” about Prince? The stan then proceeded to shade Prince fans for being “old.” If only I could’ve virtually cut a switch. Now I love me some Nicki Minaj, but someone pray for that child and all those similar.

For those of you who want to know what the “big deal” about Prince is, start with the reality that he essentially created a whole genre of music unto himself. Then factor in that he’s a celebrated songwriter and musician. Wait, wait…fixate on that last part for another second: musician. Meaning, he can actually play a damn instrument.

So many people call themselves “producers” but they can’t play an instrument, which means they’re not really that much of a producer so much as they are a beat maker. Yes, I’m sounding very “get off my lawn” right now, but evidently it’s needed.

Okay, with that said, just take in for a minute how this little bitty man could rock a stage with nothing more than a guitar and a harem of racially ambiguous women playing behind him.

I’ve seen Prince in concert twice, so while this isn’t even my favorite performance, this remixed version of his classic “Let’s Go Crazy” bests just about everything else I watched on that wack award show last night. Seriously, the 2013 Billboard Awards was like watching the seven levels of EDM hell. I blame your cousins for that, but that’s the subject for another post.

Thank goodness the show closed out with someone who has never ran to David Guetta on some “please, baby , please” give me a dance song so I can pay my rent. So go on and press play, take it in, and appreciate the man’s artistry. Then go listen to “Lady Cab Driver.” You’re welcome.

Who’s the baddest 43-year-old mother of two in the music game? None other than Jennifer Lopez, baby!

The former American Idol judge killed Elmo, skinned his happy ass and rocked his fur as arm covers during her performance at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards. Or at least that’s what it looked like.

Rocking a cheeky leotard, J.Lo was jiggling and gyrating in all the right places as she performed her new single “Live It Up.” Hot damn, this is the Jenny from the block that we all fell in love with back in the Fly Girl days.

The best part of the performance was perhaps when Jennifer laid down on her back used her spread legs as part of the performance’s choreography. Forget Kelis’ milkshake, J.Lo’s enchilada is bringing more than just the boys to the yard. It’s bringing the boys, the men and the stud dykes to the old country buffet.

CHECK OUT JENNIFER LOPEZ’S BILLBOARDS PERFORMANCE BELOW

[MWP]

If Lil Wayne wanted one last wish before he went off to heaven, it’d probably be to get this lap dance he got from Nicki Minaj at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards.

While the song hasn’t done much for Nicki on the Billboard charts, “High School” — her collaboration with mentor Lil Wayne — turned out to be hot like fire when she performed it.

Rocking her original black wig, Nicki kept it real with the streets and took it back to the hood as she popped, dropped and twerked it all over Weezy F. Baby.

The most eye-popping part of the performance was the lap dance when Nicki bent over with the camera right underneath her and proceeded to rub her hands all over her vagina while she writhed and wined.

Forget poppin’ a molly to break out in a sweat, Nicki Minaj and her million-dollar ass will leave you breathless.

CHECK OUT NICKI MINAJ’s BILLBOARDS PERFORMANCE BELOW:

The hottest name in the R&B game felt like he had a lot to prove. That explains why he decided to try extra, extra hard. Unfortunately, his stage antics ended up injuring an innocent bystander.

When it comes to the vocals on “Adorn,” Miguel‘s buttery smooth interpretation of the lyrics hit the spot.

In the live performance of the song at the Billboard Music Awards, Miguel rocked out with his…well, you know. And it was all good until he decided to get physical with the crowd. In short, he wanted to leap over the audience. Instead, he misjudged his jump by a bit and ended up clobbering a woman with his ass and crotch.

But hey, at least the first 3 minutes went off without a hitch!

WATCH MIGUEL’S BILLBOARDS PERFORMANCE BELOW

[MWP]

Justin Bieber showed off some slick dance moves as he took the Beliebers on a journey aboard Bieber Air during his performance of “Take You” at the 2013 Billboard Awards, as chosen by his fans in an online poll via Twitter.

Soon after, the Biebs was onstage once again to accept the award for Top Male Artist, beating out Drake, Flo Rida and Bruno Mars. Justin also took home the new “Milestone Award,” which was chosen by the fans.

Appearing to speak directly to his ‘haters,’ Justin said while accepting the latter: “I’m 19 years old. I think I’m doing a pretty good job. And basically, from my heart, I just really want to say it should really be about the music. This is not a gimmick. I’m an artist and I should be taken seriously, and all this other bull should not be spoken of.”

As The Hollywood Reporter noted, Bieber’s vitriolic speech was met with both cheers and boos, and it wasn’t clear whether or not his “message” got through. It probably didn’t though, because other than the Beliebers (and Usher) no one takes Justin Bieber that seriously.

Later, when Taylor Swift was asked in the press room about her thoughts on Bieber winning the Milestone Award at such a young age — over her and Bruno Mars — the 23-year-old singer quipped back with: “Can we have another question, please?”

LOLz! Clearly, your homegirl Tay-Tay was not there for that question.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are the “new kids” of the music industry, so it’s no surprise that they weren’t able to partake in the 2013 Billboard Music Awards festivities inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena like everyone else.

Instead, the duo was relegated to the Wynn Las Vegas hotel down the street where they performed their hit single “Thrift Shop,” and also accepted their award right after when they won Best Rap Song, a category in which they beat out Kanye West, PSY and Flo Rida.

“First of all, we gotta thank Goodwill, we gotta thank Value City!” Macklemore said to laughs from the crowd, adding to the group’s fans, the Shark Face Gang, “Without you guys, we would not be on this stage right here … We love you and appreciate you.”

WATCH MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS’ BILLBOARD AWARDS PERFORMANCE HERE:

In addition to winning a whopping six Billboard Music Awards (out of the 11 she was nominated for), America’s country-pop sweetheart Taylor Swift took to the BBMA stage and performed her new single “22″ for the first time on national television.

Tay-Tay kicked off her set backstage, then, with the help of her backup dancers, worked her way through the audience to the main stage where she attempted to get all choreographic and stuff alongside the Jabbawockeez.

You can tell Taylor has been sticking to a certain “formula” for her awards show performances, and it seems to be working for her pretty well.

Watch Taylor Swift perform her latest single “22″ at the 2013 Billboard Awards here:

Bless Christopher Maurice Brown’s heart for attempting to sing “Fine China” live, but he sounds like he’s gargling hot and sour soup throughout half the set. Chris Brown himself admitted that his vocals were off a bit. Afterward, he tweeted:

Lil hoarse for the performance but it happens. Good shit otherwise.

— Chris Brown(@chrisbrown) May 20, 2013

Well, that’s one way of putting it.

Listen, y’all, as far as I’m concerned, in the future Chris Brown just needs to give us a pre-recorded vocal ala Janet Jackson and then proceed to dance his ass off.

Though he may display solid vocal ability on most of his studio recordings, he doesn’t duplicate those vocals very well in a live setting. Don’t stab me Team Breezy, but pretty boy rock’s falsetto isn’t strong enough to carry him to the promised land — especially not when he’s doing that hyperactive choreography.

Then again, maybe part of the hoarseness can be attributed to the other herbal essence. I’ll never understand singers who love to smoke weed (and/or cigarettes too). What part of the game is that?

Whatever the cause of Chris’ hoarseness was, it makes me long for the days when dance artists could freely mime on stage without fear of being called out for lip syncing. Michael Jackson was good for pop locking at an awards show without even pretending to be singing live, and we didn’t give a damn because MJ was shamoaning and shimmying like his life depending on it.

We need to give Chris Brown that same courtesy. Hell, give yourself that same courtesy, Chris, ’cause you shoving the microphone away from your mouth every other minute due to you being out of breath isn’t it.

All that said, at least Chris Brown didn’t nearly injure anyone near the stage like The Superfly Jimmy Snuka of Soul Miguel did.

Maybe you have to be born after 1995 to get into this, but I don’t see it for Selena Gomez‘s performance of “Come Get It” at this year’s Billboard Awards. Don’t get me wrong. Selena seems like a lovely girl. I even like her Rihanna-reject single. What I don’t get, though, is why she’s dancing as if she just learned how to walk five minutes before someone tried to teach her this choreography.

I mean, I understand that this kind of dancing is hard. Many of us could dance Diamond from The Players Club, but can’t give you old school Britney Spears even if we were working with Jesus’ feet. Speaking of, I miss vintage Britney. The one who used to move her legs. After this performance, I miss that Britney now more than ever. Clearly, it may take a while before some other rhythm-enhanced white girl fills the void of the legendary Ms. Britney Spears.

I know Selena is trying. In fact, you ought to know Selena is trying too, considering it’s pretty obvious that she is counting her steps throughout the entire performance. Still, try harder, girl. As I said, I enjoy the song and I think she’s the cutest lil’ thing. However, if you’re going to keep recording songs along the lines of “Come & Get It” and plan to perform them in public, you’ve got to learn how to properly pop that thing.

Better luck next time, Ms. Gomez.

There are a lot of pretenders vying for the late King of Pop’s throne, but Bruno Mars is probably the one who deserves to succeed MJ the most.

While Bruno might not have the moves of Chris Brown, his attention to detail as a musician trumps Chris’ ability to moonwalk and crotch grab easily.

Dressed in a ’70s-style leisure suit, Bruno rocked the stage at the Billboard Music Awards in his juiced-up curly fro and his dangerously unbuttoned collar shirt. He performed “Treasure,” the latest single from his sophomore album Unorthodox Jukebox.

It honestly looked like a 2013 remake of Michael’s debut video “Rock With You.” The disco ball, the swag and the mean ol’ two-step were all intact. Feel that beat and Bruno can rock the boogie!

WATCH BRUNO MARS PERFORM AT THE 2013 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS HERE:

[MWP]

Kanye West might be two steps away from being admitted to the loony bin, but one thing you can’t say is that the man isn’t something like a marketing genius.

West has been debuting his new song called “New Slaves” all over the world in one of the most unique ways we’ve ever heard before … by projecting a visual on the side of random buildings all over the world.

He tweeted last night:

NEW SONG AND VISUAL FROM MY NEW ALBUM BEING PROJECTED TONIGHT ACROSS THE GLOBE ON 66 BUILDINGS, LOCATIONS @ KANYEWEST.COM

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 18, 2013

His official website shows a map of 10 cites. Taking a closer look at each of the cities reveals 66 landmarks and buildings in prominent locations all over North America (New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Miami), Europe (London, Paris and Berlin), and Australia (Sydney).

The black-and-white video being projected against buildings shows an image of Ye’s face as he raps along to the music, with powerful lyrics like:

“You see it’s leaders and it’s followers, but I’d rather be a dick than a swallower”

and:

“My mama was raised in an era when, Clean water was only served to the fairer skin / Doing clothes you would have thought I had help, But they wouldn’t be satisfied unless I picked the cotton myself”

and:

“You see its broke nigga racism/That’s that ‘don’t touch anything in the store’ / And there’s rich nigga racism/That’s that ‘come in and buy more … What you want a Bentley, fur coat and diamond chain? / All you blacks want all the same things … Used to only be niggas, Now everybody play me / Spending everything on that Alexander Wang / New Slaves”

Watch a couple of the projections here:

It’s being said that this is his new single and it will most certainly be featured on the follow-up to Kanye’s 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy — which is due out June 18th.

Meanwhile, Kanye will reportedly perform new material from his upcoming sixth solo album tonight on SNL, and from what he did last night and we can’t to see what this guy’s got up his sleeves.

[H/T: Rap-Up]

The Britney Army may now rejoice following the leak of their favorite’s brand new song titled ‘Oh La La’, lifted from the The Smurfs 2 soundtrack.

Described by Spears as a gift to her boys, ‘Oh La La’ is a cotton-candy flavored pop song with one heck of an infectious chorus. Sure, her voice is processed within a inch of its life and her technique sounds amateur at best, but the song will no doubt become another hit for the pop princess off the strength of her name alone. I love Britney’s voice, her tone and diction are one of a kind. I just really want her to learn how to sing again.

The Smurfs 2 animated movie is set for a July 31 release date, and features the voice acting of Neil Patrick Harris, Katy Perry, Jayma Mays, Anton Yelchin, Christina Ricci, and more.

LISTEN TO “OH LA LA” HERE:

Mariah Carey is without a doubt, one of pop music’s biggest hit makers. In an effort to show off the breadth of her catalogue, the singer made an attempt to pull of a medley of her hits. What we got instead was a lipsynched, scattered bowel movement that Mimi tried to pass off as a tour de force.

Tour de force!!! It’s friggin French for #pow!!!

— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) May 17, 2013

Uh huh. What’s the French translation for, “You tried it.”?

Mariah Carey is supposed to be a judge on this season of “American Idol” but she still took the time out to show some love to her daytime job as a professional recording artist.

Dressed in a pageant gown that looked like it was shipped straight from Mattel, Mariah stiffly stood and delivered her hit songs for her adoring fans. Well, at least her backing track did.

For much of the performance, Mariah laid back in the cut while the recording did most of the work. Yes, Mariah was lip-synching.

But that’s not even the worst part because truth be told, Mariah’s never been an impressive live performer.

The truly horrid part of Mariah’s performance was the awkward and clumsy mixing of her hits. She delivered a line of “Vision of Love” and then leaped into “Make It Happen” and then lurched into “Hero” without rhyme or reason. There were no smooth transitions and the snippets of each song were so short that you couldn’t get much out of them.

Mariah would’ve been much better off picking one or two throwbacks to mix in with the performance of her new single, “Beautiful.” Cause this was nothing but a shitty mess.

WATCH MARIAH’S PERFORMANCE ON IDOL BELOW

[TGJ]

Congratulations are in order for Candice Glover, who took home the Season 12 title of “American Idol” Thursday night, beating out country singer Kree Harrison for a well-deserved victory.

The South Carolina native is the first female “Idol” winner since Jordin Sparks won Season 6 in 2007. For what it’s worth, Glover is also the first African American winner since Sparks.

WATCH CANDICE GLOVER WIN “AMERICAN IDOL” HERE:

Candice, a fan favorite, was undoubtedly the strongest vocalist of the season and consistently wowed fans with her renditions of songs like Ben E. King’s “I (Who Have Nothing),” West Side Story’s “Somewhere,” the Cure’s “Love Song,” and “Chasing Pavements” by Adele.

During Thursday night’s finale show, Glover brought the house down alongside “Idol” album Jennifer Hudson when they performed a duet of Natalie Cole’s “Inseparable.”

Glover reportedly got the boot during the audition phase of two previous “American Idol” seasons, but as they say, third time’s the charm.

WATCH CANDICE GLOVER PERFORM HER NEW SINGLE “I AM BEAUTIFUL” HERE:

Kelly Rowland has a new single out and if you thought that the title “Dirty Laundry” implied she was about to serve up another saucy, sexy track along the lines of her oral sex anthem “Kisses Down Low,” think again.

In a surprise move, Kelly Rowland decided to put her kooty kat (shout out to Joseline Hernandez) away for a second and get down with some real talk.

“Dirty Laundry,” which is written and produced by Beyonce’s go-to producer The-Dream, has Kelly admitting to feeling jealous about Beyonce’s success and confessing to being a battered woman.

“While my sister was on stage, killing it like a motherfucker / I was enraged, feeling it like a motherfucker,” Kelly says of Beyonce’s solo stardom. “Post-Survivor, she on fire, who wanna hear my bullshit? / Meanwhile this nigga putting his hands on me.”

Kelly also confirms that at one point, she and Beyonce were at odds with one another.

“He hitting the window like it was me, until it shattered / He pulled me out, he said don’t nobody love me but me / Not your momma, not your daddy, and especially not Bey / He turned me against my sister, I missed you,” she confesses.

Who’s the abusive man she’s putting on blast? Many are speculating it’s Cudda Love, Nelly’s former manager. Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend/almost husband Roy Williams is basically saying “it wasn’t me!”

While the situation Kelly describes on the track is heartbreaking, it does kind of make me side-eye her whole buddy-buddy relationship with convicted abuser Chris Brown. She was one of the many celebrity supporters going around saying Chris deserved a second chance to redeem himself after assaulting Rihanna.

The only thing Kelly Rowland left out of “Dirty Laundry” is her true feelings about what went down with Beyonce’s father Mathew Knowles and why she fired him as her manager. Maybe that’ll be part 2 and a duet with Beyonce, since Bey has plenty of her own dirty laundry to wash when it comes to her daddy.

LISTEN TO KELLY’S NEW SINGLE “DIRTY LAUNDRY” BELOW:

Beyonce lends her vocals to a new single from her good friend and longtime collaborator The-Dream called “Turnt,” which also features rapper of the moment 2 Chainz.

The track will show up on The-Dream’s forthcoming fifth studio album IV Play, due in stores later this month on May 28th. The-Dream’s new album will also feature guest appearances from Kelly Rowland, Jay-Z, Big Sean, Kelly Rowland and Pusha T.

LISTEN TO A SNIPPET OF “TURNT” HERE:

Ne-Yo never seems to miss an opportunity to share his thoughts on the works of his peers. Not many would be as blunt with their assessments of their contemporaries as he would be, but in this instance of Ray J and that God-awful “I Hit It First“ song (that may or may not be about Kim Kardashian), shade away, queen. Just kidding. Kinda.

In any event, Philly’s HOT 107.9 asked Ne-Yo what he thought of the song and he said:

“I have not [heard it] and I will not. I personally feel like it’s nuts, it’s disrespectful for one. It’s disrespectful for the person that it is allegedly not about. I don’t have a beef with Ray J, don’t even go there, don’t even start that. I just don’t see the purpose or reason for that. You look nuts for that. I would’ve wrote him a song, Ray-J holla at ya boy. I will write you whatever it is that you need. I have no problem saying it. Ray-J you are playing yourself with that. You are bigger than that, cut that out.”

Now that wasn’t so bad. He could’ve said worse. Oh, I don’t know, like something along the lines of, “He needs to crawl out of Kim’s crotch, and get over the fact that she’s gone on to build an empire while he’s still sitting on his ass telling old dick tales.”

Plus, Ray J didn’t hit it first anyway.

[H/T: Necole Bitchie via Hot1079Philly.com]

The women of Danity Kane were one of the few success stories to come out of the train wreck otherwise known as Diddy’s “Making the Band” reality TV series. And now, it appears that the women have reunited for a possible comeback

TMZ caught up with Dawn Richard, Aubrey O’Day, Aundrea Fimbres and Shannon Bex as they gathered for a lunch date. The only one missing was D. Woods, but let’s be honest: She was no one’s powerhouse vocalist any damn way so she won’t be missed.

Of course Diddy was nowhere to be found and the TMZ cameramen made sure to ask the girls about Diddy. Aubrey, who famously clashed with Diddy repeatedly, flipped her hair and said, “Who?” in response.

That Aubrey is an expert at throwing shade. She gave it to Donald Trump and Diddy real good.

According to TMZ’s sources, the girls plan on recording and touring, but the recording part might be difficult since they’re all without a major-label record deal.

Aubrey ALMOST made a comeback with her Oxygen reality TV show “All About Aubrey” and her single “Automatic,” but it looks her solo career is dead in the water at this point.

Personally speaking, I hope Danity Kane can get a second chance at relevance. We could use a good girl group on the scene again. And “Damaged” was the jam.

Pop legend Mariah Carey has been hard at work these past few months to ensure her upcoming era is, as she likes to say, a stone grove smash hit wonder!

Her first step was to team up with R&B’s golden boy Miguel for their co-written and co-produced “#Beautiful” which has unsurprisingly become a knock out hit.

And as far as the video is concerned, Mariah Carey has never looked sexier! Showing some genuine chemistry with her co-star Miguel, Carey managed to come off sexual and in love without going becoming too campy.

Check out the Joseph Kahn directed visual below:

Beyoncé is keeping with what seems to be a pattern for her new, STILL untitled album when it comes to releasing new music. The R&B diva is set to release a new song entitled Rise Up for her new movie Epic.

Global Grind reports that Rise Up was written by Beyoncé and Diamonds songwriter Sia, and produced by Hit-Boy, who also produced Jay-Z/Kanye’s N*ggas in Paris and Beyoncé’s Bow Down.

Beyoncé is currently on tour overseas for her Mrs. Carter Show world tour and so far fans have heard only previews of her new songs through strategic product debuts. Her single Grown Woman was released in her Pepsi Mirrors commercial and Standing on the Sun was featured in her H&M fashion campaign video.

If this is Beyoncé’s strategy for her newest album, it’s a good one. First, it gets fans curious about her new business ventures and music. Second, Beyoncé knows that anything she does gets A LOT of attention. It’s a win-win for Queen Bey!

Epic is set for release on May 24, and Beyoncé voices Queen Tara, a character she knew her daughter Blue Ivy would be proud of.

“I was so honored when they asked me to do the role,” Beyoncé said. “I was pregnant at the time. I thought, you know, by the time this comes out, my daughter will understand it’s my voice and what an incredible cool point.”

“It’s so emotional,” she continued. ”I literally, I was crying when I did the voice-over. And it was the first thing I did after giving birth. And there’s a scene where I pick the pod and literally, there were tears falling down. I imagined seeing her for the first time. A perfect first job for me. It was really emotional.”

Britney Spears is headed to Las Vegas, y’all! Rumors have been swirling for the past year, but Britney has finally confirmed her Las Vegas residency and it’s going to be a huge party. And we all know Britney Spears can party.

Spears said in the latest issue of Shape Magazine (which she’s featured on the cover on):

“I’m doing 90 minutes of yoga twice a week in addition to a lot of cardio — hour-long sessions three times a week with my trainer, Tony Martinez … The [Vegas] performances won’t be simple — they’ll be a massive party from start to finish. And to pull this off, I have to be in top condition and running at full speed.”

Britney is back, bitch!

Pop music isn’t known for being the most grammatically correct field of entertainment, but glaring errors like the ones spotted in the lyric video for Jennifer Lopez’s latest single “Live It Up” are simply too egregious to be ignored.

So here’s a fun fact: The English language can be pretty tricky when it comes to mastering its grammar. Apostrophes usually indicate possession by a subject. For example, Tommy’s room, Katy’s car and Emily’s dinner.

But when it comes to non-specific subjects like “who,” the rules flip a bit. “Who’s” is the contracted form of “who is” or “who has.” For example, “Who’s usually the first person at the bus stop in mornings?”

The correct way to indicate possession for “who” is “whose.” For example, “If this jacket doesn’t belong to you, whose is it?”

Unfortunately, the poor intern tasked with transcribing the lyrics to Pitbull’s verse on J.Lo’s new single didn’t get the memo and ended up using “who’s” when Pitbull really meant “whose.” Again, grammatically incorrect lyrics or slang used intentionally is one thing, but this is on par with using “you’re” when you really meant “your.”

It’s unfortunate too, because the error is repeated back to back as Pitbull runs through his various accomplishments rhetorically asking whose name is behind it all.

These are the kinds of mistakes that spellcheck won’t catch. That’s why education is so important, kids.

For what it’s worth, the song “Live It Up,” which is produced by RedOne, is actually hot. Although it is unnecessarily vulgar for a woman who’s a mother of two and in her forties. When will J.Lo stop making dance music from the perspective of a horny undergrad? When she’s 60?

Check out the new song, along with those annoying grammatical errors, in the lyric video below.

Lil Wayne, like every other major rapper before him, said he is considering one more album before retiring from rap. That, of course, is some bull as no rapper ever really retires. Still, MTV News had to entertain the lie for the sake of an interview, which led to Wayne discussing several projects that might precede Tha Carter V.

They include a sequel to the Weezy and Birdman album, Life Father, Like Son, and perhaps a Big Tymers album. As someone who still sings “Still Fly” like it came out a week ago, I was all for it until I saw that Wayne is considering adding a certain member of YMCMB into the mix. I imagine other vintage Cash Money fans will likely not be for it either.

Wayne explained:

“Possibility of that, possibility of a Big Tymers album, adding Drake. But that kid is so busy, it’s all kind of possibilities.”

As someone who grew up on Cash Money and can remember getting my roll on at many a high school game while the band played the best of the Big Tymers, let me just say, “Hell no! Drake gotta go.”

How does Drake even fit in the sound of Big Tymers? Mannie Fresh never cried over Aaliyah’s ghost not writing him back in a song. Rick Ross makes more sense as a Spice Girl than Drake does as a member of the Big Tymers. No thank you, Weezy.

You can watch Wayne explain such foolishness below:

Kelly Rowland shows off that bangin’ body of hers on the cover of her new album ‘Talk A Good Game.’

In the black-and-white image, Kelly goes braless as she strikes a seductive pose, wearing nothing but a sheer top and black panties, and using her hair to cover her breasticles. They say “sex sells” so whatever she’s selling, I’M BUYING!

Led by the Mike Will Made It-produced single “Kisses Down Low,” and also featuring collaborations with The Dream, Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell and her Destiny’s Child sisters Beyonce and Michelle Williams (for the reunion record “You Changed”), Rowland’s fourth studio album is due in stores on June 18th.

In related news, Kelly will kick off her “Lights Out” tour with The Dream in Minneapolis later this month on May 23rd.

If you’re a Justin Timberlake fan and you enjoyed his latest album ’20/20 Experience,’ then you should probably prepare yourself for this news: JT IS RELEASING A “20/20 EXP. PART 2″ AND IS ALSO GOING ON TOUR THIS FALL!

Since the release of Timberlake’s first album in almost 10 years (since 2006′s ‘FutureSex/LoveSounds’) the singer-songwriter has been promising a second half to his new album, and now it’s official, as JT announced the follow-up to “20/20″ by posting a photo on Instagram. The new album will consist of 10 songs and is set for a September 30th release.

But that’s not all. Just one month later, Justin Timberlake will head to Montreal, Quebec (in Canada) where he will kick off his “20/20 Experience World Tour” — his first solo tour in six years!

Tickets for the tour will go on sale on Monday, May 13th, with presales beginning Tuesday, May 7th through JT’s new fan club The Tennessee Kids. Additionally, MasterCard is holding its own presale beginning May 8th, and LiveNation is hosting a presale on May 10th.

CHECK OUT THE DATES HERE:

2013:
Oct. 31 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
Nov. 13 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena
Nov. 15 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Nov. 16 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
Nov. 18 – Memphis, TN – FedEx Forum
Nov. 19 – St. Louis, MO – Scottrade Center
Nov. 21 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
Nov. 29 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
Dec. 2 – Phoenix, AZ – US Airways Center
Dec. 4 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Dec. 5 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Dec. 11 – Indianapolis, IN – Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Dec. 12 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
Dec. 14 – Pittsburgh, PA – Consol Energy Center
Dec. 15 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
Dec. 17 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
Dec. 19 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center

2014:
Jan. 13 – Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place
Jan. 17 – Seattle, WA – Key Arena
Jan. 22 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
Feb. 7 – Fargo, ND – Fargodome
Feb. 9 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
Feb. 10 – Omaha, NE – CenturyLink Center

All dates and venues subject to change. Additional dates to be announced.

Beyonce fans are always happy to catch a glimpse of any pictures or video of Blue Ivy Carter, and this weekend at her concert in London, they got a real treat. Or at least they thought they did.

Beyonce was performing her hit song “Irreplaceable” and a little girl who appeared to be Blue Ivy made an appearance towards the end of the song. At one point, Beyonce grabs the girl’s hand as the crowd erupts into applause for the adorable tyke before she is taken back into the crowd.

WATCH HERE:

But while the little girl in the video from afar looks like she could pass for Blue Ivy, she actually looks to be bigger and a bit older than Blue, who is only about 15 months old. Besides, Beyonce’s reps have shut down the rumors that the kid in the video is Blue:

Beyonce’s rep tells E! News that that particular cutie pie is not Blue Ivy, but simply an adorable little concertgoer who happened to be in attendance at the concert and was lucky enough to make her way onstage.

And while fans surely are anxious about any Blue Ivy sightings, Beyonce may be soon giving them more than they can handle. In a recent interview with ABC News, Beyonce talked about motherhood and expanding her family.

“I would like more children,” Beyonce said. “I think my daughter needs some company. I definitely love being big sister,” she said.

“My biggest job in the world is to protect my daughter, and I am very protective. I just want to make sure that she can have a healthy, safe, normal life … I feel really, really just lucky that I can still do what I love, and now have a way bigger meaning. And that’s to be her mother.”

So now, Beyonce fans, you can rejoice! Blue Ivy is certainly an adorable baby, but what could be better than another Carter baby???

WATCH BEYONCE’S FULL ABC INTERVIEW HERE:

“Beautiful,” which features Miguel, is the new track that is set to launch Mariah Carey’s next album. Does it have the potential to be the song of the summer?

Eager to put behind the flop that was “Triumphant” behind her, Mariah has lassoed R&B hitmaker Miguel into sprinkling some of his magic on her material.

The two reportedly co-wrote the slightly rock-tinged record which finds both singers crooning about the irresistible beauty each sees in the other. Miguel even curses (although it’s censored) in the hook to emphasize his bad boyness.

But Mariah doesn’t show such edge as she still giggles like a teenager like she did on her 1997 hit “Honey.”

The only knock on the song really is that it’s a bit too brief at 3:22. As soon as you start to get into it, it’s pretty much over.

LISTEN TO THE NEW MARIAH AND MIGUEL SONG BELOW

A rumor surfaced in Star magazine (via Celebitchy) that Simon Cowell asked X Factor judge Demi Lovato to lose 20 pounds. Would the King of Mean stoop that low?

“Simon doesn’t expect Demi to be supermodel skinny, but he does want her to look like she’s in shape,” stated the insider. “He’s set a weight-loss goal of 20 lbs. for Demi and asked her to work hard on it through the spring and summer.”

Though Cowell is a powerful force in the entertainment industry, the fact that he might have told a 20-year-old girl to drop weight in order to appear on his show makes him a douchebag.

The story, however, appears to be untrue. Cowell’s reps issued a statement in response to the allegations, EntertainmentWise reports.

“This story is complete lies,” they said. “Simon has never and would never, ever say this. It has been completely made up.”

But let’s be real. The comments didn’t sound too far-fetched coming from Simon. Plus, he has a track record in that department.

There were rumors last June that Cowell had judge Britney Spears on a strict diet for the show, though Brit’s rep denied it.

In 2004, Karen L. Smith, a clinical social worker specializing in eating disorders, wrote an essay on the dangers of Cowell’s remarks about the weight of American Idol contestants and his fellow judges.

When Mandisa Hundley auditioned for America Idol in 2006 Cowell quipped, “Do we have a bigger stage this year?”

In a 2008 interview, Girlband, who competed on the UK version of X Factor, told Heat that Cowell wanted members of the group to drop a few pounds.

All the more unsettling is the fact that Lovato is recovering from anorexia and bulimic. The former Disney sensation, who publicly battled anger management issues and has spoken openly about grappling with self-mutilation, has made a tremendous effort to get her life on track.

Lovato rose to fame after appearing on the hit tween series Sonny with a Chance but behind the scenes, the star found the pressures of fame to be suffocating.

In a revealing 2012 interview with Katie Couric, Lovato revealed that she began struggling with body image issues when she was just 3 years old.

“I remember being 3 years old, in a diaper, and rubbing my hand over my stomach,” Lovato said, “And I remember thinking in my head, I wonder if this will ever be flat. I always had self-confidence issues in my body and self image.”

She also spoke about sometimes eating as little as two meals a week and at time purging up to six times a day.

Her issues spiraled out of control when she punched a backup dancer while on tour with the Jonas Brothers.

Rather than let her struggles get the better of her, as many young women in the public eye have, Lovato went through treatment and has become a positive figure that many look up to. She currently encourages her fans to have a healthy self-image.

So when a rumor emerges that her healthy lifestyle means she isn’t thin enough to appear on TV, it sends a disturbing message.

Not only because it reinforces the idea that being very thin equals beauty but because it reminds us that few TV personalities look like everyday people.

X Factor is currently seeking two more judges. Let’s hope they aren’t forced to starve themselves to meet anyone’s standards.

[Celebitchy, ABC News , Gossip Cop, Full Living, HEAT, EntertainmentWise]

I love Ciara‘s “Body Party.” So much so that I made a $1.29 donation to her “Keep Me Relevant” fund on iTunes. I want this girl to win even if she continues to express her own reservations with such an outcome. I don’t love the “Body Party” video, though, or at least, not as much as others seem to.

For one, she’s not dancing enough. Not to mention, I’ve seen this sex kitten bit from her. Don’t get me wrong. God bless the sex kittens, but at what point do you get the ones who offer the same purr the exact same way every single time spayed?

That aside, anyone working to bring back the butterfly has my full support on such endeavor. Beyoncé did her part by including it as an old school dance in the “Get Me Bodied” video, but I’ve got to give it CiCi just doing it because it felt right. You better believe the first thing I did when I was able to crawl out of bed from illness late last week was to do the butterfly.

So yes, gon’ Ciara, and might I add, I also enjoy the reference to Janet’s video for “That’s The Way Love Goes.” At the same time, I think that’s why I don’t completely love this video and why I can’t completely commit myself to the band of misfits known as the C-Squad. Well, I think that’s what they’re called. Whatever, you get it.

How many Janet Jackson videos is Ciara going to recreate exactly? Okay, so it wasn’t a direct rip like those other two drawn from Damita Jo’s “You Want This” visual, but once I found out Ciara’s album change, I began to frown.

The fact that Ciara has switched her album title from One Woman Army to simply Ciara and the motivation behind it is not lost on me, he who has been a long time attendant of the Church of Janet Jackson and Butterflying Saints. Like the janet. album, Ciara marks Ciara’s fifth studio offering. Coincidentally, it’s the 20th anniversary of the janet. album.

All that plus the single cover for “Body Party” mimicking Janet’s single covers for “You Want This” and “All For You.” I’m not sure Janet Jackson knows what a Ciara is, and even if she did, she’s too busy swimming in her husband’s money fault as armed guards block brother Jermaine access into hers. Still, I’m irked for her.

Meanwhile, earlier someone asked me, “Do we believe this relationship?” referring to her and Future.

My response was, “I believe part of Ciara’s attraction is the idea that it’ll boost her celebrity.” That’s not to say her feelings aren’t more genuine than that horrible valley girl tone she now speaks in, but I do think Ciara and Future want us to know they’re a thing. You can tell because they keep force-feeding it to the press blogs.

I wish someone would tell her that being a Kardashian is not a ticket to the musical promised land.

But because I’m such a good and modest person, I’m hoping Ciara’s fifth album is good and she can at least get her a gold plaque out of the deal. No matter what happens, however, I find Ciara creatively lazy. She is not an artist. She just wants to be famous. That’s fine, but riding Janet Jackson’s jock alone won’t get you there.

The other day another friend was lamenting how Ciara continues to let her potential to evolve as a dancer and performer go by the wayside. I used to share those frustrations, which is why my criticism of her could be a wee bit on the harsh side. Okay, my ass was mean as hell. I’m over it, though.

Just gimme an album I can twirk, too, Ciara. I don’t trust you on much else — including Janet level performances and videos. Hell, not even Mya terms of artistry (refer to the Moodring album). If you want to see an act take choreography seriously, go look up the “Grown Woman” performance. Or hell, the OMG Girlz…and the gays, of course.

You won’t ever be Janet, Ciara, but maybe you can become the music star La Toya never was. But, I do hope some other young woman steps up and gives us the kind of music Janet did years ago. Something socially conscious, self-affirming, and sexual. Ugh, dammit, I miss you so much, Janet. You can’t take off that burka for a few minutes and give me one more album (a good one).

By the way, I want Ciara to stop acting as if she’s consumed with “positivity” when it comes to Rihanna — so much so that she won’t be bothered with their rift. Girl, look above. You started that. Don’t be cunty if you don’t want to deal with the consequences.

The carousel ride that is Chris Brown and Rihanna‘s relationship is a dizzying tornado of passion, temper tantrums and weed smoking. But it looks like the pair might be heading in separate directions now.

According to numerous reports, Rihanna has followed Drake on Instagram and Chris has unfollowed Rihanna on Twitter. Drake and Chris, as you’ll recall, are not the best of friends, so Rihanna resuming her relationship with him is a pretty big sign that she’s no longer on Team Breezy. To make matters even worse, RiRi was pictured on Twitter hugged up with and kissing on some guy (probably a fan).

Shit is overrated now a days.

— Chris Brown(@chrisbrown) April 29, 2013

As for Chris, the unfollow (and cryptic tweet above) wasn’t the only message he sent. He also released a new song, appropriately titled “I Can’t Win,” that seems to address his situation with Rihanna. He said the track won’t be on his next album ‘X’ but he took it to the web so his fans could weigh in.

Peep the lyrics below:

Tell me what did I do
To make you hate me so much
Why you angry all the time?
Why don’t you wanna ride for me?
Girl, we used to make love
When you called, I would follow
Now the only thing you love is a bottle
The only thing you got left is a shadow
Don’t let this sh-t come between us
I’m wrong you’re right, its okay with my heart
But its not how its supposed to be
You always say I’m done and finished
F-ck it, I’m wrong you’re right
Please God help us
I guess I’m gonna leave it up to you tonight

[Hook]
She ain’t bluffin’, she gon’ do it
I think its time for me face to the music
I could really give a damn about my pride
But though with you I think its stupid
You gon’ love with the lies, never compromise
Girl if you love me better prove it
I can’t win, I can’t win for losing

Dont even matter if you screamin’ yeah
Girl you don’t love me, you don’t love yourself
But it dont matter if you raising Hell
I miss you, I wanna kiss you yeah
I can’t remember who you are babe
Remember when your heart used to say
Love me babe, love me babe
I know them b-tches got in your way but,
Don’t let this shit come between us
I’m wrong you’re right, its okay with my heart
But its not how its supposed to be

[Hook]

I’m not trying to waste our love
I’m just trying to save whats left of it
One day, one day my love
You gon’ realized that you f-cked up
And when that day comes my love
I’m gon’ be the same one still lovin’
How are you gonna cancel me out?
Say I won’t listen, but I’m listening now

Yeah, it definitely sounds like Chris has had his fill of RiRi. Who knew HE would be the one to end things though?

[H/T: Necole Bitchie]

Rumors about Mariah Carey being ousted from American Idol have set tongues wagging and former Idol judge Jennifer Lopez is said to be on tap to replace Mariah. But if she’s in negotiations, she’s not telling … yet.

While on the red carpet for an event in Las Vegas, Extra asked Jennifer about the rumors swirling about her replacing Mariah on Idol.

“I don’t have much to say about that right now,” J.Lo said with a laugh.

When pressed on if she would return if given the opportunity next year, she said, “I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s too far off to say right now.”

Welp. Mimi, your seat is in danger, girl.

Truth be told, I don’t think Jennifer should come back to Idol. The show’s on the decline and its ratings are dropping like houseflies. She’d be better off hanging out with the crew over at The Voice.

WATCH J.LO RESPOND TO THE IDOL RUMORS BELOW:

Beyonce, ever the hardworking woman she is, has released a behind the scenes video showing what it took to create her H&M campaign.

In the video, Beyonce and the creative director show fans how they came up with the concept for the campaign, which is based on the elements of fire, water, air and Earth.

The video was shot in the Bahamas in January, when Beyonce was also busy rehearsing for her Mrs. Carter Show world tour.

“[I had to] learn choreography in five minutes,” Beyonce explains, as her choreographer Frank Gatson reiterates that she “has a lot on her plate.”

Just like in the official video, Beyonce’s new song off her still untitled fifth studio album, Standing On The Sun, is playing in the background.

“It’s incredibly unique to have Beyoncé for a campaign,” H&M creative director Donald Schneider said. ”It doesn’t get bigger than that.”

WATCH THE BTS VIDEO HERE:

Ray J may have claimed that his new single “I Hit it First” is not about his famous ex Kim Kardashian, but with the release of the official video for the song, he can no longer deny it.

In the video, which is pretty awful, Ray J uses a Kardashian look-alike and even re-enacts parts of the sex tape. He also makes references to Kardashian’s reality show and her relationships with famous men after him, including Kris Humphries and Kanye West.

But in previous interviews, Ray tried to deflect attention from the Kim Kardashian angle.

“It’s not about that,” Ray J said after the release of the song and immediate controversy that followed. “It’s about the concept, you know what I’m saying…I think people are digging into it way too deep.”

Whatever dude… If you’re gonna pimp the girl’s name out, at least be honest about it.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO FOR RAY J’S NEW SINGLE BELOW:

The struggle, as they say, continues for hip-hop founder and archivist Lil Kim.

The rapper hasn’t yet pulled together a new album out of her magic hat, but Kim is still hard at work on the road delivering them hits to her fans. When she feels like it.

Rap-Up was there at the Gramercy Theater for her stop in NY. The singer wore a cringe-worthy red onesie that looked like a vise was needed to squeeze her into.

The end result has Lil’ Kim looking like an overcooked and overstuffed Vienna sausage. Why won’t Kim realize that smedium is not a good look on her porky petite body frame?

As if the outfit wasn’t bad enough, Kim’s stagecraft looked to be in equally sad shape as she stumbled through her set, out of breath and with very little stamina. She pretty much looked pregnant with fail and misery throughout her show. Won’t somebody, anybody help Lil’ Kim help herself?

CHECK OUT PHOTOS AND FOOTAGE OF KIM’S GRAMMERCY SHOW BELOW

“How Many Licks”

“Cheatin’ (Man Down Remix)”

“It’s All About the Benjamins”

Well, at least something good has come from Lauryn Hill‘s tax woes. It’s being reported that Hill has signed a new record deal with Sony so that she can launch her own label where she will release new music, which will in turn allow her to pay her overdue taxes and possibly keep her out of prison.

Last year, Hill pleaded guilty to not paying federal taxes on $1.8 million she earned between the years of 2005 and 2007.

While the total amount of taxes she owes is in dispute, it’s believed to be around $1 million — the same amount her reported record deal with Sony is worth.

According to the Newark Star-Ledger, Lauryn’s deal with Sony, which was signed last summer, requires that she record and release at least five songs, and she could get more cash if she completes a full album. To this day, Hill has yet to complete the songs, and her tour late last year didn’t generate as much revenue as anticipated.

The judge presiding over Hill’s case ordered her to pay off her criminal tax debt by her next sentencing date, which is May 6th in New Jersey.

At that time, Hill learn whether or not she will have to spend any time behind bars, though her lawyers are hoping she will be given probation instead. She faces up to 24 to 30 months in prison.

The judge also set May 6th as the date she needs to pay off her criminal tax liability, which is about $500,000.

Using her famous Tumblr blog — the same blog where she explained why she didn’t pay taxes in the first place — Lauryn confirmed the reports that she had signed the record deal, and also confirmed that she did it to pay her taxes.

Hill also confirmed that she will be releasing new music — something that her fans have been waiting on for YEARS, as she hasn’t released hardly anything new since her 1998 solo debut “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” which has sold more than 10 million albums and earned her five Grammy Awards.

She wrote:

It has been reported that I signed a new record deal, and that I did this to pay taxes. Yes, I have recently entered into an agreement with Sony Worldwide Entertainment, to launch a new label, on which my new music will be released. And yes, I am working on new music.

I’ve remained silent, after an extensive healing process. This has been a 10+ year battle, for a long time played out behind closed doors, but now in front of the public eye. This is an old conflict between art and commerce… free minds, and minds that are perhaps overly tethered to structure. This is about inequity, and the resulting disenfranchisement caused by it. I’ve been fighting for existential and economic freedom, which means the freedom to create and live without someone threatening, controlling, and/or manipulating the art and the artist, by tying the purse strings.

It took years for me to get out of the ‘parasitic’ dynamic of my youth, and into a deal that better reflects my true contribution as an artist, and (purportedly) gives me the control necessary to create a paradigm suitable for my needs. I have been working towards this for a long time, not just because of my current legal situation, but because I am an artist, I love to create, and I need the proper platform to do so.

The nature of my new business venture, as well as the dollar amount reported, was inaccurate, only a portion of the overall deal. Keep in mind, my past recordings have sold over 50,000,000 units worldwide, earning the label a tremendous amount of money (a fraction of which actually came to me).

Only a completely complicated set of traps, manipulations, and inequitable business arrangements could put someone who has accomplished the things that I have, financially in need of anything. I am one artist who finds value in openly discussing the dynamics within this industry that force artists to compromise or distort themselves and what they do, rather than allowing them to make the music that people need. There are volumes that could (and will) be said.

PREVIOUSLY: Lauryn Hill Begs Judge for Mercy Ahead of Tax Evasion Sentencing

Everyone knows that Snoop Lion likes to smoke weed, and earlier this week, right in the middle of an interview on HuffPost Live, Snoop lit up right in the studio.

“It’s too late to put it out. It’s too late to put it out, let’s go,” Snoop rapped after lighting up toward the end of the Monday segment with host Mark Lamont Hill. “Call your people from the third floor and let them know; get the fire extinguisher.”

Snoop Lion was on HuffPost Live to promote his new documentary and album, Reincarnated, about his transformation to Rastafarianism.

“I didn’t mean to, but I had to,” Snoop rapped before realizing that the segment was actually live. “My bad.”

No need to apologize Mr. Lion. You’re free to come to GOT HQ ANY time…

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE:

Beyonce is revealing a bit of a pattern when it comes to releasing new music for her upcoming fifth studio album: Tie teaser material in with big-budget, big-brand commercials.

Beyonce unveiled her brand-new H&M commercial showing off her new collection with the store recently, and in the video, Beyonce shows off her amazing bikini body while her new song “Standing on the Sun” plays. It’s like a mini-music video that acts sort of like a 2013 update to her 2003 single “Baby Boy.”

Beyonce sports bikinis, flowy garments, mini-dresses and bathing suit cover-ups for the affordable fashion company and alternates between rocking blonde and black hair.

This isn’t the first time Beyonce has debuted new music for this album in a commercial this era. Fans first heard her song “Grown Woman in her “Mirrors” Pepsi commercial.

So if fans are eager to hear new music from Beyonce, their best bet may be to look at upcoming product launches or campaigns involving the R&B diva. Or maybe buy tickets to her concert.

WATCH THE NEW H&M COMMERCIAL STARRING BEYONCE BELOW:

UPDATED WITH BETTER QUALITY VIDEO/AUDIO!!! SEE BELOW…

Fans at the Paris concert from Beyonce‘s Mrs. Carter Show World Tour got a taste of something new from Queen B when the singer performed “Grown Woman” for the sold-out crowd at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy.

Clad in a colorful costume, Beyonce took the crowd through an energetic set, showing off an entirely new set of infectious dance moves. At one point, her dancers put a blindfold around her head, and she still killed it … even though she couldn’t see a thing!

We first got a listen of “Grown Woman” when Beyoncé debuted her Pepsi Mirrors commercial. Many people wondered if “Grown Woman” would be Beyonce’s first single off her upcoming fifth studio album, but her reps told Billboard it wasn’t.

As far as the album as a whole is concerned, Bey’s BFF Gwyneth Paltrow says its “coming.”

“I’ve heard a lot, lot, lot of many songs,” Paltrow said in an interview with Digital Spy. “I don’t  know which ones have ended up on the album, but I’ve heard a lot as it’s gone  on.”

“Yes, it’s coming,” Paltrow added. “She’s almost done but she’s got a lot on  her plate.”

Well if “Grown Woman” is anything to go by, fans are in for some amazing material from the Queen B. The tribal, pulse-pounding track has all of the swagger we expect from a Beyonce record plus the energy of something straight out of Michael Jackson’s catalogue.

WATCH BEYONCE PERFORM HER NEW SONG HERE:

[H/T: Necole Bitchie]

Beyonce is currently on tour overseas and this week, fans got a glimpse of what they can expect to see for the Mrs. Carter World Tour. Beyonce released a promo video for her tour showing her performing some of her most classic songs.

The minute and half clip features Beyoncé performing Run The World, Love On Top and Halo and showing off her sexy costumes and energetic dance moves.

Beyonce’s tour is currently taking her all over Europe, but she will touch down in the U.S. on June 28 in Los Angeles.

Check out the video below:

If the rumors are true, it would appear that “American Idol” is fed up with their resident head diva Mariah Carey and allegedly planned to dump her in favor of Jennifer Lopez!

Jennifer Lopez was the judge prior to Carey taking the seat and was an early fan-favorite. Mariah, on the other hand, has had a tough time connecting with both audiences and contestants. Many feel like the songbird wants too much to be liked and for that, her critiques come off as passive and uninteresting — as opposed to JLo, who excelled as a judge offering exciting and passionate critiques.

Allegedly once Mariah got wind of Idol’s shady plans to oust her, she threatened litigation, which then prompted the talent competition show to pump its breaks.

In order to save face, FOX released the following statement to the Hollywod Reporter: “This is just another ridiculous Idol judge rumor, likely started by talks of Jennifer performing on the finale.” Continuing the discussion, ‘Idol’ producer Nigel Lythgoe told THR that “I have not been included in any conversation regarding replacing Mariah with Jen this season.”

Clearly, American Idol is feeling the pressure from getting beat in the ratings by NBC’s The Voice week after week. Still, that’s no excuse for Idol’s [allegedly] planned mistreatment of Mariah. we know this is a business, but at the end of the day, but where’s the tact?

Kudos to Mariah for standing up for herself as it’s no secret that she and Jenny from the block are not the best of friends. Their beef goes way back to the late 90′s/early 2000′s when Tommy Matolla, former head of Columbia Records, pitted the two against each other by trying to brand the soon-to-debut Jennifer Lopez as the “new Mariah”, albeit without the voice.

Is Idol that desperate to inflate their ratings or is Mariah really just that poor of a judge and deserves to be replaced by someone better? Tell us what you think below!

[The Hollywood Reporter]

Fans are desperately wondering when Beyonce will release a new song from her upcoming, fifth studio album. While the singer is staying tight-lipped, her gal pal Gwyneth Paltrow is giving her fans some hints about when the album could be out.

“I’ve heard a lot, lot, lot of many songs,” Paltrow said in an interview with Digital Spy.” I don’t know which ones have ended up on the album, but I’ve heard a lot as it’s gone on.”

“Yes, it’s coming,” Paltrow added. “She’s almost done but she’s got a lot on her plate.”

Oh, OK. That makes us feel better now. Beyonce’s new album will be in stores in Coming 2013. Sweet Jesus, what kind of cruelty is this?

So far, Beyonce fans have only gotten to hear a snippet of her new song “Grown Woman,” which showed up in her new Pepsi commercial, and the track that got EVERYONE talking: “Bow Down/I Been On.” But “Bow Down/I Been On” is either a mix of two separate songs or an intro to the album, not a legit single.

In other words, Beyonce’s album is gonna get here when it gets here. MTV previously reported that it’d be out sometime within the next 8 months. We have no idea how the Beyhive is going to get through this tour and the entire summer with no new material.

Following their video for “Rich as Fuck,” 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne link up once again — this time for “Yuck,” the latest single from 2 Chainz’ Grammy-nominated debut album ‘Based on a T.R.U. Story.’

2 Chainz is said to be finishing up his sophomore album, due out later this year. For now, check out the video for “Yuck” below.

The wait for new music from Queen Beyonce is killing the Beyhive. When the hell are we gonna get some answers and a clear date for the new album?

When Beyonce was first announced as the Super Bowl Halftime performer, many assumed that like Madonna, she would use the platform to launch her next album. But lo and behold, the Super Bowl Halftime show came and went without a note of new material from the “Single Ladies” singer.

Surely she’d follow up with a new single in the weeks after the Super Bowl, right?

Beyonce lined up a flurry of media after the Super Bowl, including magazine interviews, photo shoots and an HBO documentary.

The anticipation reached a fever pitch and we were all desperately awaiting some kind of release from Bey’s team. A trickle of relief came in the form of “Bow Down/I Been On,” but that was clearly an intro of sorts and not a new single.

Womp.

The next great hope was pinned on Beyonce’s Pepsi commercial: “#BeyHereNow 4.4.13!” her social media channels bleated.

And the fans scrambled to watch the new Pepsi commercial which featured a portion of what was supposed to be her new single, “Grown Woman.”

The tribal, aggressive feminist anthem was traditional Beyonce and fans were eager to get the track in full. Surely the song would make its way to iTunes now that the commercial had been released, right?

Naw. Instead, Beyonce’s camp told Billboard that not only would the song not be hitting iTunes but that the song wasn’t even her first single.

WTF?

So now Beyonce has started her world tour, the “Mrs. Carter Show,” overseas in Serbia and Croatia and she’s not playing a single new song. This is not the way it was supposed to go down.

When is the new Beyonce album coming? MTV reported that the album would see daylight sometime within the next eight months.

…Beyoncé will also release a new album at some point in the next eight months, but hasn’t confirmed her release date.

Jesus. All this set up and no payoff is giving us a serious case of musical blue balls.

“Grown Woman” was clearly being positioned as the album’s first single but now it appears she’s having a change of heart. Reports say that she might be having cold feet as she’s searching for a lead single that will be as iconic as “Single Ladies.”

“Beyoncé is a perfectionist and her biggest competition is herself,” a source told The Sun. “She won’t put anything out as her first single until she’s 100% sure it will be a classic.

“She’s putting pressure on herself for it to be a hit of ‘Single Ladies’ caliber, and to make sure she’s on top of the game.”

OK. Good things come to those who wait. Whatever. But all of these delays and push-backs are still a little concerning. Mathew, where are you now?

As Beyonce kicked off her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour Monday night in Belgrade, Serbia YMCMB rapper Drake also released a new song called “Girls Love Beyonce.” Perfect timing, right?

Singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy appears on the track too, singing the hook from Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name.”

Drake has said that this song will not appear on his upcoming third studio album ‘Nothing Was the Same.’

LISTEN HERE:

Beyoncé kicked off her “Mrs. Carter Show” world tour in Belgrade, Serbia Monday night (Apr 15) and from the looks of it, Bey most certainly did not disappoint. Playing to a sold-out crowd of 20,ooo, her first show featured pyrotechnics, costume changes and an energetic 20-song set featuring all of her hits.

Although Beyoncé debuted no new music, one thing that stood out about the show was her costume changes. During the two-hour concert, Beyoncé made eight costume changes and one in particular had everyone talking. The aforementioned costume was a gold, sequined leotard that accentuated a woman’s form fully equipped with nipples. The look was supposed to resemble a woman in the nude, andnaturally, it has sparked some criticism.

In addition to Beyoncé’s nude, embellished leotard, the superstar diva also sported a leather coat and hat with no pants, a sexy, red leotard dress, a white, embellished leotard, and a black sequined cat suit, among other costumes. All the costumes were made by Emilio Pucci’s creative director Peter Dundas and her shoes were made by Stuart Weitzman, her go-to shoe creator for her tours.

The only new music we have heard from Beyoncé has been a sample of “Grown Woman” and “Bow Down/I Been On,” which doesn’t seem to be a full single. Beyoncé performed music from her four previous albums and one Destiny’s Child song.

“Thank ya’ll for being such a beautiful audience,” Beyoncé said as she closed out the show. “I’ll never forget my first show. I’ll never forget all of these beautiful faces. I had such a good time tonight.”

HERE ARE THE PHOTOS:

AND NOW FOR THE VIDEOS:

The Mrs. Carter world tour will travel overseas before it touches down in the U.S. in June.

While Miguel has been hailed as a savior of R&B, he took his music in a decidedly rock direction when he performed on “Saturday Night Live.” this past weekend.

The singer took the stage with a pair of hater-blocking shades, a cheetah print sleeveless shirt and a bad-ass leather jacket. Miguel’s fluid voice soared, bellowed and shined as he reinvented his hit single “Adorn” with an experimental, non-linear arrangement. The song only became recognizable when it hit the chorus.

But he really turned his new single “How Many Drinks?” inside out. The mellow R&B track was converted into a raging punk-rock anthem with Miguel doing his best Mick Jagger impersonation. While loyal fans might raise an eyebrow at the creative arrangements, it speaks to his creativity as an artist. And hey, at least he’s not spoon-feeding you the same ol’ bullshit.

With talent like this, 2013 is Miguel’s for the taking.

WATCH MIGUEL’S SNL PERFORMANCES BELOW:

How Many Drinks?

Adorn