andPOP » R&B

Rihanna Box Set to Hit Shelves

Vanessa Baker — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:31:26 +0000

Singer Rihanna is releasing a box set containing her first three hit albums, Music of the Sun, A Girl Like Me and Good Girl Gone Bad, reports Perez Hilton.

The collection will hit shelves Dec. 15, while her latest album, Rated R, is scheduled for release Nov. 23.

Rihanna’s Risque New Single for ‘Russian Roulette’

Emma Renda — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:00:40 +0000

Rihanna’s triumphant return to the industry just got a little more risque with clips of her new video, “Russian Roulette” surfacing online. The video, directed by Anthony Mandler, depicts Rihanna undergoing a collage of violence, including images of her underwater riddled with bulletholes.

Mandler says it’s all a metaphor, but eyebrows are naturally being raised in the wake of the Chris Brown abuse scandal.

“I think that with this song and the meaning of this song and how loaded it all is, no pun intended, how much imagery and perhaps symbolism that is loaded in this song, the only way to do it was to do something that was visually challenging,” Mandler told MTV News.

The video premiered on 20/20, this following a series of public appearances from Rihanna who avoided the spotlight since the February incident. Rihanna appeared in a candid interview with Diane Sawyer, in which she revealed details of the attack and the affect it had on her life. Earlier this month, she was recognized by Glamour Magazine as the Woman of the Year.

“Domestic violence is a big secret,” she told Glamour. “My story was broadcast all over the world for people to see, and they have followed every step of my recovery. The positive thing that has come out of my situation is that people can learn from that. I want to give as much insight as I can to young women, because I feel like I represent a voice that really isn’t heard.”

Rihanna’s new album, Rated R, will be released on Nov. 23.

Chris Brown is also premiering a video today for “Crawl”, a song he tells MTV is not only about Rihanna.

The chorus talks about “crawling back to love”, but Brown says it’s a universal concept.

“When I heard the whole concept and everything I was like, ‘Yo, this is crazy,’ ” Brown told MTV. “So being able to express the feelings, it was like, probably one of the best [records I've done.] But it was more than me trying to do a record that meant crawl to love, crawl back to love. Meaning whether it’s from your negative situations, whether it’s from any problems you’ve dealt with, like anybody’s situation. Mine being my personal situation with shorty, but for anybody, for being inspired as far it being the war or a death in the family, whether it’s anything, anybody just crawl back to love. ‘Cause love conquers everything. Love, at the end of the day, makes everybody happy.”

Brown has frequently told media he thinks the details of his relationship with Rihanna should be private, but he has not shyed away from offering several public apologies.

Chris Brown Debuts New Video ‘Crawl’

Joelle Tomlinson — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:58:57 +0000

Would you crawl back to Chris Brown?

In the lyrics to the R&B-singer’s song, “Crawl,” Brown seems to be calling for the return of his ex-girlfriend Rihanna, with whom he has apparently finally split in the aftermath on his assault on her in February,

“So we’ll crawl, until we can walk again,” Brown sings on the tune. “Then we’ll run, until we’re strong enough to jump/Then we’ll fly, until there is no wind/So let’s crawl, crawl, back to love.”

But, according to mtvnews.com, Brown told them that the song isn’t just about his own relationship. He said “Crawl” is more of a universal message dedicated to moving on past any type of heartache. The video debuted on “The Wendy Williams Show” on Friday (November 13).

“When I heard the whole concept and everything I was like, ‘Yo, this is crazy,’ ” Brown said about the track. “So being able to express the feelings, it was like, probably one of the best [records I've done.] But it was more than me trying to do a record that meant crawl to love, crawl back to love. Meaning whether it’s from your negative situations, whether it’s from any problems you’ve dealt with, like anybody’s situation. Mine being my personal situation with shorty, but for anybody, for being inspired as far it being the war or a death in the family, whether it’s anything, anybody just crawl back to love. ‘Cause love conquers everything. Love, at the end of the day, makes everybody happy.”

Delerium Preparing Comeback Single

Stephen Baldwin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:30:47 +0000

Delerium is currently in the process of releasing a new track and music video that will include R&B singer Kreesha Turner.

The Canadian electro group is working on the video for “Dust In Gravity” in Hamilton, ON.

The group’s first single in four years will be released on Itunes on November 24th, and will appear, with a remixed version, on their upcoming remix collection this Spring.

In a Kreesha Turner blog posted on Chartattack.com, the singer sounded enthusiastic about the new collaboration, and praised the Delerium’s musical genius.

Iyaz and ‘Replay’ Climbing To The Top

Joelle Tomlinson — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:52:22 +0000

When Iyaz received a message in his MySpace inbox from Sean Kingston, he initially thought it was a joke and ignored him. But when Kingston didn’t stop pursuing the artist, Iyaz reconsidered.

“I ignored him for like a week,” chuckles Iyaz, 22, during an interview with andPOP. “Come on, that’s like Jay-Z messaging you and telling you that he’s interested. I just thought he was a fake or a knock-off, so I even gave him a bogus number at one point. He was in Japan at the time, and eventually I gave him my real number, and he flew me out to see him.”

The rest was history.

The two soul-infused artists clicked immediately, and within two weeks, Iyaz was subsequently signed to Kingston’s freshly-formed company, Time is Money Entertainment.

J.R. Rotem, the talented songwriter and producer behind most of Iyaz’s tracks, subsequently signed Iyaz through Time Is Money/Beluga Heights, which has a new label partnership with Warner Bros. Records.

In fact, Iyaz doesn’t even consider the label in business terms, rather just with affection. “It’s like being a part of a family. I don’t even consider it a label, I consider it my family. We love producing music together, performing together. It’s an amazing atmosphere, we have a lot of fun.” He even laughs that Kingston’s mom is just like his.

Iyaz, whose actual name is Keidran Jones, was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands but raised in the British Virgin Islands in Tortola. He attributes much of his musical passion and talent to the influence his home and family had on him as he grew up. Son of two extremely musical parents, the talent has apparently passed on to their children. He describes his sound as “reggae infused, with pop, and R&B. You never really know what you’re going to get. There’s that island sound as well.”

Iyaz, which essentially means “the man in charge,” has been singing since he can remember.

“My whole family was extremely musical,” Iyaz elaborates. “My mom sang, my dad sang, my sisters sang. I sang in church, and that’s where I grew as a musician and developed such a passion for the art. I was surrounded and influenced by the power of music daily.” While gospel is not Iyaz’s focus, his lyrics are pleasantly clean with a lot of emotional depth. His island-infused single, “Replay”, is one that appeals to all age groups, and its infectious melody is guaranteed to get stuck in your head after one listen.

“Replay” has recently moved to number two on the iTunes playlist, and is currently ranked 12th on the Billboard. While the success excites and pleases Iyaz, he says that performing his music for the fans is his favorite part of being a musical artist. “It’s all about that stage,” he says.

“It’s when you get out on that stage in front of thousands of people, and all I need to do is sing ‘Shawty’s like a melody in my head…’ and then I hear thousands of fans singing the rest of the verse back to me. That really gets to me. It’s so crazy.”

In fact, the prequel music video for the song is available (the real video will be released this month), and Iyaz’s pure voice and enthusiasm to the catchy song are evident in the production. The beach, background graffiti and Iyaz’s joyful presence all mesh together to create an atmosphere that has you dancing along with the video.

Like a lot of artists, Iyaz likes to sing about women. The Rotem-produced “Replay” is about the obsession people get when they like a girl, and a couple of the other tracks in his upcoming album delve into the world of romance as well. Unfortunately for the young artist, touring and recording have not left a lot of time for his own love life. “I’m usually going all day, and at the end of the day I’m always pretty tired. It’s all worth it though, of course.”

Iyaz’s pop-friendly productions are sure to be a big hit, as already proven by his early success with “Replay.”

To follow this up-and-coming artist, check him out at his MySpace or his Twitter account. His twitter account is IyazLive, and his MySpace page can be found at http://www.myspace.com/iyaz.

Beyonce Triumphs At The 2009 EMA

Joelle Tomlinson — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:15:24 +0000

Beyoncé was the big winner at the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs), held at the O2 World in Berlin, Germany. The global music icon walked away with three of the night’s biggest awards– Best Female, Best Song, (“Halo”) and Best Video, (“Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).” She had been nominated for four EMAs, including Best Live Act. The win for Best Video repeats her win at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), held in New York last September 13. Beyoncé used the occasion in Berlin to thank her husband, Jay-Z for “putting a ring on it.”

The audience at Berlin’s O2 World was treated to a spectacular performance of “Sweet Dreams,” by Beyoncé and television viewers across Europe tuned in to the live telecast. MTV US channels, mtvU and MTV2, will air a one-hour version of the Awards on Sunday, November 15; 12:00 AM on MTV2 and 8:00 PM on mtvU. MTV Tr3s will also air a one-hour version on Saturday, November 21 at 2:00 PM and the full show will air on Palladia on Saturday, November 28 at 9:00 PM with a repeat at Midnight. All times are Eastern Standard.

Since its release on November 18, 2008, Beyoncé’s latest album, “I AM…SASHA FIERCE,” has topped the album charts around the world and spawned five #1 singles, including EMA winners “Halo” and “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).”

The “I AM…” world tour continues it’s successful run with stops in Egypt (11/6), Greece (11/8) and three shows at London’s 02 Arena starting on November 14. Beyoncé will mark the one-year anniversary of the release of “I AM…SASHA FIERCE” onstage at MEN Arena in Manchester, England. On November 2, “I AM…SASHA FIERCE Platinum Edition,” was released in Europe. The CD/DVD collection features exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, four new songs and all eight videos, including “Sweet Dreams.”

Chris Brown Talks About The Assault Aftermath

Joelle Tomlinson — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:26:34 +0000

Chris Brown opened up about his assault on former girlfriend Rihanna during the MTV News special “Chris Brown: The Interview” on Friday (November 6), elaborating on his destructive behavior, explaining his previous apologies and describing his ongoing therapy sessions.

According to mtvnews.com, Brown told MTV News correspondent Sway that he has finally come to terms with the fact that he was capable of such violence.

“I think you’d be in denial and be totally naive not to,” he said. “And not being able to realize and own up to the fact of your own wrongs. I mean, me, I’ve come to terms with it and I’m working on it. … For that moment or whatever had me at that place, I want to erase that from what my character is. I want to be totally different from now on. I don’t want to be that person.”

“I’m confused right now as far as the public perception [of me],” he said. “Like, I think with my fans, they still love me, they support me, definitely. You have those people who will support you. So it’s kinda like 50/50 for me. I got the people that will come out and support and then the people that don’t wanna see me do anything. They basically want me in jail.”

Brown said he hasn’t been able to maintain a thick skin when it comes to receiving negative comments in public. During a trip to an amusement park, Brown described hearing cries of “women beater.”

“I’m human, so when I hear certain things that they say or if I go somewhere and I hear somebody be rude about it, it’s just like, ‘Man, it’s a mistake,’ ” Brown said. “I made a big mistake. I’m learning from it. Like, I’m not saying, ‘Who are they to judge?’ because, I mean, everybody’s entitled to their own opinion on how they feel, but it hurts.”

Lil Jon’s Newest Video

andPOP Staff — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:32:45 +0000

We just love this man so much that we needed to post his latest video. Check out Lil Jon’s newest video “Give It All U Got” from his newest album Crunk Rock.

“Though this track is clearly geared towards the clubs – like much of Jon’s repertoire – the beat veers closer to the current electro-pop trend than the Southern crunk that he brought to the mainstream (Billboard)”

Give It All U Got

LIL JON | MySpace Music Videos

Bad Girls Club Star Natalie Nunn Claims Chris Brown Wanted to Marry Her

Vanessa Baker — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:36:29 +0000

Bad Girls Club contestant Natalie Nunn says Chris Brown wanted to marry her, reports TMZ.

A video reveals her talking about how much she wants the 20-year-old R&B artist. “He might beat Rihanna,” she can be heard saying, “but he doesn’t beat me.”

Timbaland’s ‘Shock Value II’ Promises Big Collaborations

Joelle Tomlinson — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:09:44 +0000

Timbaland has always been known for big-star collaborations, and his upcoming studio album Studio Value II is no exception. The roster features an abundance of guests, with the biggest surprise being Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger.

According to chartattack.com, Kroeger, Drake, Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Chris Daughtry, Brandy, The Fay and Keri Hilson make guest appearances on Timbaland’s radio platform-spanning follow-up to 2007’s Shock Value, which is out Nov. 23 through Universal Music.

Furtado guests on the album’s first single, “Morning After Dark,” which will be available to buy on iTunes beginning this coming Tuesday (Oct. 27). Furtado previously guested on Shock Value, as did Timberlake and Hilson.

“I’m so fortunate and blessed to be able to create a Shock Value II,” Timbaland says. “I’m really proud of the calibre of artists on this album and all the work they put into making it a success. I can promise that no one has ever heard Katy Perry, The Fray or Brandy sound like this before.

“It’s exciting because not only am I giving fans the best of me on each track, I’m giving them a glimpse of their favorite artist in a completely different light. This is an album that can be listened to from start to finish every single time because each song is so unique and the range of artists is so diverse. I can’t wait for my fans to hear the collaborations.”