Remember when you were younger and felt rebellious listening to “The Thong Song” and is still, to this day, a song you can jam to? Well it’s gets even better because UK Pop/R&B band Rixton released a new cover on their YouTube today of the song! I know right, totally unexpected!
For starters, they’re not your average “boy band.” You can see that from the intro of their video poking fun at a staged representation of themselves.
The guys have previously posted covers of Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble,” R Kelly’s “Ignition,” and my personal fave Neyo’s “Let Me Love You.” Also with the looks from this tweet a couple months back, there’s definitely some big things coming.
WATCH THE CLASSIEST COVER OF “THE THONG SONG” HERE:
And yes, in case you’re wondering where the heck Sisqo is, he’s still out there making music and doing his thang.
Miguel and Kendrick Lamar seem to be taking over the hip hop/R&B charts with their old-school sounds.
But when the two artists decide to team up, I swear, magic HAPPENS.
Directed by Constellation Jones (who also directed Miguel’s video for ‘Adorn’), Miguel’s ‘How Many Drinks’ video features no complicated special effects, bad acting or any drama whatsoever. Rather, it’s just a simple video featuring a dimly-lit soundstage with Miguel wearing a stylish shirt with squares and Kendrick Lamar in a delightfully crazy black and white get-up.
The reason I love these two artists is because they keep it simple by letting the music do all the talking.
it’s turning out that 2013 is indeed Beyoncé’s year. A Destiny’s Child reunion, then Super Bowl Half Time show, an HBO documentary, her own meme (courtesy of a bad PR move), a Vogue cover and now a high profile H&M campaign, these are all the reasons why we’re supposed to bow down to Beyoncé, right?
The above photo is just a small peek at the actual ads. The singer looks just as gorgeous as ever sprawled on a beach chair and dressed in very spring and summer appropriate looks which I’m sure the public will eat up once it gets a little warmer (kind of having a little bit of climate envy over here).
According to MTV Style, Beyoncé shot the campaign for the Swedish cheap and chic retailer in the Bahamas earlier this year. H&M will strategically release the full campaign as Queen Bey kicks off her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour on April 15th. The retailer will peg it all as “Beyoncé as Mrs. Carter in H&M.”
Who runs the world? Beyoncé.
Needless to say, Nicki Minaj is known for her over-the-top, loud, sometimes bat-shit crazy looks. Basically, where there’s a wig and some pink lipstick, there’s Nicki Minaj under all of it. So it was a surprise to finally see what the rapper looks like underneath all of those layers.
Minaj took off all (or at the very least, most) of her make-up off for an Elle Magazine-sponsored make under.
“”When I saw myself with barely any makeup at, it was such a… like, I’m so, so attached to my pink lipstick, it’s hard,” she told Elle. “I feel that it’s become a part of me. To go in front of the camera, without pink lips or big ol’ crazy lashes— you know, nothing— I felt naked. It was scary! So this photo shoot was a real accomplishment in my eyes.”
Well, we think so, too! Minaj looks stunning without the crazy so we hope this will be a look she turns to for any future red carpet events. Maybe she’ll finally find her way on a best dressed list!
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF NICKI MINAJ’S MAKE-UNDER?
Singer-songwriter Anjulie is currently touring all across Canada with none other than Shawn Desman!
“I’m actually a big fan of Shawn Desman, a big fan,” said the singer who previously met the R&B singer when they sang together with Elton John at last year’s Fashion Cares gala hosted by the music icon.”But this is my first time kicking it with him and seeing his shows, which I hear is amazing because I heard he can dance his ass off.”
The “You and I” singer will visit seven cities across Canada, including Edmonton, Vancouver and Toronto. Anjulie is currently nominated for Dance Record of the Year for this year’s JUNO Awards.
“We’re just really excited for the tour but we’re not excited to be driving through this torrential in a van all across Canada,” she said. “It’ll be an adventure.”
In this exclusive video of Anjulie prepping for her cross country tour, the singer shows off some of her sick dance moves and dishes on how her training routine. Make sure to catch Anjulie and Shawn Desman live when they roll into your ‘hood (remaining tour dates below)!
WATCH THIS EXCLUSIVE VIDEO OF ANJULIE IN REHEARSALS:
TOUR DATES
Feb. 20 – The Odeon (Saskatoon, SK)
Feb. 21 – Esplanade Theatre (Medicine Hat, AB)
Feb. 22 – SET Nightclub (Edmonton, AB)
Feb. 23 – The Venue (Vancouver, BC)
Feb 24 – Community Theatre (Kelowna, BC)
Mar. 1 – The Machine Shop- Mill Square (Sault Ste. Marie, ON)
Mar. 20 – Kool Haus (Toronto, ON)
Ever have that really awkward experience when someone opens their mouth and they do not sound at all how you expected them too? Like when a big burly guy is unexpectedly high pitched, or a girl has an uncharacteristically nasally voice? Or how about those people who have accents who you don’t expect them too…or even weirder when someone you expect to have an accent doesnt have one? The cake topper is when someone has an unexpected accent…like when an asian has a Russian accent. True story, it’s happened to me. It’s nothing against the people, it just tends to really get people really surprised.
Here are five covers of people who at first glance seem a certain way, but when they open their mouth to sing you have to take a double take. Prepare to be shocked. I guess I should make some cliche about not judging a book by it’s cover…but lets be real. I will always go for the books with the most interesting covers.
The Soulful Ginger
The Dorky Rappers
The Balladic Punk Read more…
Victoria Abraham defines one up and coming artist each week so you can impress your friends with your musical brilliance. This week, she tackles Blackbear, a crooner from Hollywood, California.
Formerly Blackbear was known as Mat Musto, and had more of an indie pop vibe. Now, he’s gotten a hair cut, changed his name, and evolved as an artist, pairing his catchy pop vocals with R&B swagger. Blackbear has spent a large chunk of his career writing major hits for other artists and collaborating with Pharrell Williams, Machine Gun Kelly, Bei Maejor, and Ne-Yo just to name a few. His newest EP “Sex The Mixtape” just dropped on October 31.
Origins: Palm Coast, Florida, but currently residing in Hollywood.
Full name: Matthew Tyler Musto
Known for: Mat is known for his smooth vocals and his equally smooth mixing of R&B, hip-hop, and folktronica.
Used in a sentence: Great lyrics, great vocals, and tattoos. What more could you ask for?
File next to: Mike Posner, Childish Gambino
Download now: “All My Lovin”
Five fun facts:
1. You can download his entire new mixtape “Sex The Mixtape” for free at http://www.mtv.com/artists/blackbear/, which is just the freakin’ best.
2. He co-wrote Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend.”
Victoria Abraham defines one up and coming artist each week so you can impress your friends with your musical brilliance. This week, she tackles AlunaGeorge, a duo from London, England.
If you’re into musical pairs where each half perfectly complements the other while remaining distinct, then AlunaGeorge are just the two for you. This duo offers an eclectic mix of UK garage, R&B and pop. Basically they are an indie R&B band, which means they are the best kind of oxymoron. Plus they have British accents.
Band members: Aluna Francis and George Reid
Known for: These Brits are known for George’s clear-cut production style and Aluna’s squeaky, contagious voice.
Used in a sentence: AlunaGeorge are a delicious musical hybrid that will make you press the repeat button again and again.
Download now: “You Know You Like It”
File next to: Noosha Fox, Dirty Projectors
Fast facts: Aluna once worked as a tiler for her friend, while George used to be part of the band Colour. The two met on the Internet while working on separate projects and their musical union was forged when George remixed “Sweetheart” featuring Aluna’s vocals. Even though they met on the Internet, they don’t have a Wikipedia page.
Timeline: Read more…
Well this is a pretty unexpected cover. Usher performed Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” on BBC Radio 1 as part of his “Live Lounge Special.”
I was expecting him to change the arrangement a bit — put some sort of soulful spin on it — but he sticks pretty well to the originally vibe. He even pulled out an electric guitar and denim vest to tap into his inner rock child. He’s getting a bit of flack for it but I love when artists cross genres. What do you think of it?
Watch it here:
Chris Brown seems to be getting a lot of help from his friends in the rap and R&B community, shooting out collaborations all over the place. The latest is “Till I Die,” featuring Wiz Khalifa, which is one of the two new singles off his upcoming album Fortune. The song, which is a fast-paced mix of techno and R&B has a drum patterned beat and starts off: “Ratchet, we act hood, but I’m gettin’ money with these white folk.”
Listen to the track below:
Two men have been arrested for an apparent Joss Stone murder plot, reports CTV.
The two were found near the home of R&B singer Joss Stone in Cullompton, southwest England, on suspicion of conspiracy to rob and murder.
Police officials say the men were aged 30 and 33, and were arrested Tuesday after residents reported a suspicious-looking vehicle.
The men “had in their possession information relating to an individual in the Cullompton area and items which lead us to suspect that they may have intended to commit a criminal offense,” says Detective Inspector Steve Parker.
Stone’s publicist says she was apparently aware of the arrests and is being updated by the police. Police did not confirm that Stone was at home when the incident occurred.
The Sun newspaper claims, although not confirmed by officials, that the men had swords, rope, a body bag, and maps and aerial photos of Stone’s property.
The men are currently in custody. This is a scary story, especially if what the men had is true – a body bag? aerial photos? That’s a whole other level of stalking. Glad she’s okay.
Beyonce has addressed her fans in regards to her album leaking in its entirety yesterday, reports Billboard.
The singer’s album, ’4,’ was leaked two weeks before it’s scheduled date of July 28. While Beyonce isn’t happy, she is thanking her fans for the positive feedback she’s been receiving.
Beyoncé took to her official Facebook today to address the leak:
“My music was leaked and while this is not how I wanted to present my new songs, I appreciate the positive response from my fans. When I record music I always think about my fans singing every note and dancing to every beat. I make music to make people happy and I appreciate that everyone has been so anxious to hear my new songs.”
The album comes out July 28 and Target stores will carry an exclusive version of the album with extra tracks.
According to my Twitter feed last night, the feedback wasn’t all positive. Many say the album is a little dull, and nothing compared to her lead single ‘Run The World (Girls).’ I don’t really support leaked albums, so I’ll wait for the official one before judging.
Chris Brown is the top contender at the BET awards this year with six nominations, reports Billboard.
Brown is up for best male R&B artist, viewer’s choice and video of the year for ‘Look at Me Now.’ He’s also nominated twice in the best collaboration category for his No. 1 hits ‘Deuces,’ featuring Tyga and Kevin McCall, and ‘Look at Me Now,’ with Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne.
Brown is also getting recognition for his acting, as he is nominated for best actor for his role in the heist thriller ‘Takers.’
Lil Wayne is nominated five times, three of them coming from his guest appearance on Brown’s ‘Look at Me Now.’
Kanye West, Drake and Rihanna are up for four awards each as well. Alicia Keys will perform and comedian Kevin Hart will host the award show. It airs live on June 26 from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
Wow, can we call this a Chris Brown comeback? I personally still think he’s a douchebag, but Rihanna-related-events aside, I guess his music is pretty good. We’ll have to tune in to see how many awards he actually wins. I know he deserves to deal with the consequences of his actions, but its good to see him on some sort of path to recovery, both career-wise and personal-wise.
Beyoncé has revealed the name of her upcoming album: “4.”
In an exclusive interview with Billboard, the music star says that the album’s title was inspired by her fans.
“Everywhere I look, I see them calling it ’4,’” she explains. “I had a whole other name and concept, but I keep seeing that the fans love the name ’4,’ and I think it would be a really nice thing to let them name the record.”
The number four also holds personal significance for Beyoncé, and not just because her latest studio album will be her fourth as a solo artist. “We all have special numbers in our lives, and 4 is that for me,” she says. “It’s the day I was born. My mother’s birthday, and a lot of my friends’ birthdays, are on the fourth; April 4 is my wedding date.”
Beyoncé, who will also be honored with the Billboard Millennium Award at the Billboard Music Awards on May 22, says that her early inspiration for the album came from Afrobeat music pioneer Fela Kuti.
“I recorded more than 60 songs: everything I ever wanted to try, I just did it. I started off being inspired by Fela Kuti. I actually worked with the band from “Fela!” [the hit Broadway musical based on his life] for a couple of days…what I learned most from Fela was artistic freedom: he just felt the spirit.”
Beyonce’s albums always bring-it to the table, so I’m excited for it. Her songs just have a universal appeal that gets everyone moving, so I have a feeling it will also be a huge success. The album is slated for a June release.
Beyonce has released her newest single, called ‘Run The World (Girls),’ and it’s nothing short of fire.
Much like her single ‘Single Ladies,’ the song is a female anthem with heavy dance beats. I can see this being a smash hit… actually, it’s already on its way!
My only critique is that the song is a little repetitive… we get it Beyonce, you run the world. You don’t have to shout it over and over for four minutes. Whatever, it has a good beat and catchy chorus, so I’ll forgive her this time around. Return of Queen Beyonce!
Take a listen below, and let us know what you think!
So there is no two ways about it – we made a mess out of this interview. And it’s nothing to do with Jazmine – she was pretty awesome. Here’s how we screwed it up:
1. Initially we almost turned down the interview because we weren’t familiar with her music. Than we found out she was huge and amazing.
2. Thanks to Rob Ostfield the audio is really bad and the camera work is so so.
3. Although we filmed this interview a while ago, we forgot to edit it until now.
andPOP fails on this one. However Jazmine did like Jordan’s eyelashes. So we did do something right 
D’Angelo, R&B star, was looking for some mouth love but ended up getting booked by an undercover cop, reports CHARTattack.
D’Angelo, best known for his video “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” where he appears completely naked, allegedly asked a woman for a $40 blow job.
The woman to provide the $40 dollar mouth love was an undercover cop, and arrested D’Angelo on the spot, charging him with solicitation.
It’s been 13 years since All-4-One’s peak popularity in the 1990′s- winning at the 1995 Grammy Awards and having their hit single I Swear certified by the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) as one of the greatest love songs of the 20th century.
But now on the verge of resurfacing to the music industry and releasing their most successfully expected album to-date No Regrets on September 15, the four-man R&B band is ready to bring back a piece of work that caters to all.
“This record is a lot more exciting,” singer Jamie Jones tells andPOP. “We had a ton more leeway in the production and the writing, and just having the opportunity to make the record we wanted to make.”
“When we we’re making it, we agreed that regardless of the reception, we’re proud of it, and we’re happy with this body of work.”
It’s not unusual for an actor to release an album, or a musician to star in movies and television. What’s rare is to do both before the age of 16. (And to be a pretty hot dancer, to boot.)
Mishon just became legal to drive in the United States, but he has already starred in three seasons of ABC’s Lincoln Heights and is releasing his second LP, The Yearbook, this fall.
With a two singles circulating the airwaves, “Excuse Me, Mama” and “Just a Kiss,” attention is flying fast and heavy at the budding triple threat. Mishon was taken under the wing of producer extraordinaire Vincent Herbert, who signed the young R&B singer to his new label Streamline Records, a joint venture with Interscope. Herbert, known for working with major pop stars such as Lady GaGa, Destiny’s Child and Toni Braxton, produced The Yearbook alongside Mishon.
Mary J. Blige may have sung “No More Drama” in her 2002 hit single, but she’s putting her acting skills to the test again in a new Tyler Perry film.
Billboard reports that the R&B singer has landed a starring role in “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” based on Perry’s play of the same title.
Blige will play a nightclub manager opposite the already-cast Taraji P. Henson, who will play her good friend. As in the stage version, Perry will appear as his comedic alter ego, the bad-tempered grandmother Madea.
