The Death of a Legend

 Legendary singer Whitney Houston passed away Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, CA.  She was discovered unresponsive in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel and pronounced dead shortly after.  Cause of death has not been established or announced and will be pending a toxicology report which could take weeks.  The Neward, New Jersey native was born August 9, 1963 and began singing early on in childhood with her mother, the famous Gospel singer, Cissy Houston.  She made an impression in her early 20's as a back up singer and her first album Whitney Houston which was released in 1985 was a smash hit, producing several hit singles.  She went on to star in the movie The Bodyguard with Kevin Costner and the soundtrack to that movie was named one of the best selling albums of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.  Houston went on to have many other hit albums. She won six Grammys, 50 Billboard Awards, and numerous others.  She attained the status of international superstar. She met and married ex-husband Bobby Brown of New Edition at the height of her career.  The couple had one daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown and divorced in 2008.  Houston reportedly suffered from drug addiction during her marriage to Brown.  She reportedly suffered relapses, but was thought to be clean during the days leading up to her death.  Her sweaty, disheveled appearance was noted as she left a party a few nights before her death, but many people at that event reported she had been dancing all night in the hot, crowded party.  The body of the singer was flown back to New Jersey yesterday and a private funeral service will take place Saturday.  No public memorial is planned at this time.

Here is Whitney Houston singing "I Have Nothing"

One Direction to Appear on iCarly, Madonna's List of Superbowl Guest Performers, Justin's Fans Give

     Super-hot British band One Direction will make their push for U. S. stardom by appearing on Nickelodeon's hit show iCarly.  They were on set this week and are reported to be performing their British hit "What Makes You Beautiful".  They will play themselves on the show and the plotline involves Harry become ill and Carly (Miranda Cosgrove) taking care of him.   The band came in second on the British version of X-Factor and immediately shot to stardom.  They will debut their first album Up All Nite in the U.S. on March 20.

    Madonna is rumored to be hosting a lot of guest performers during her Superbowl appearance on February 5.  So far, we know the halftime show will feature M.I.A., Nicki Minaj, Cee Lo Green, and Canadian super-troupe Cirque du Soleil.  Now the latest rumored performers are LMFAO.  Madonna will perform a mix of old and new music.  Can't wait!



    Justin Bieber is no stranger to giving.  He's reportedly given away over a million dollars and has made more Make-A-Wishes come true than any other celebrity.  Now in an interesting twist his fans are giving in his name by creating and releasing a video and song tribute with the proceeds from sales  going to Bieber's Believe Foundation to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Pencils of Promise, Musicians on Call, Project Medishare for Haiti, City of Hope, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Grammy Foundation.  The idea was conceived by Justin Crew (mega fans) on Twitter and other large fan groups have joined to make it all happen.  Great work!

Time to enjoy some great choreography....

Madonna VS Gaga?

    A feud may be brewing in pop musicland.  Madonna tells Newsweek magazine she's upset about similarities between her '90's hit "Express Yourself" and Lady Gaga's recent hit "Born This Way".  The pop diva was quoted as saying, "I thought, this is a wonderful way to redo my song ["Express Yourself"]," she said. "I mean, I recognized the chord changes. I thought it was... interesting."   Lady Gaga responded with an angry defense.  She believes the only similarity is the chord progression.  Others in the media have noted the similarities.

    Madonna then went on to tell Cynthia McFadden of ABC she believed Gaga is "reductive" (repetitive in her music-presumably repeating Madonna's work).  This is rather shocking considering just a year or so ago Madonna was escorting her daughter Lourdes to Lady Gaga shows and singing the singer's praises.  Little Monsters have come Gaga's defense (as have Elton John and his husband, who've also had their feuds with Madonna) and Madonna may suffer the backlash from

her remarks.  Madonna seems to have a penchant for starting fights.

Here's MC Watkins doing a "Born This Way"/"Express Yourself" mashup.

    

People's Choice Awards Line-up, Madonna Announces Name of 12th Studio Album, Rihanna Ready to Release Title Track

    

The People's Choice Awards are tonight and the musical line-up will include country superstar Faith Hill and teen favorite Demi Lovato.  Up for People's Choice awards tonight will be Favorite Male artists Justin Bieber, rap megastar Eminem, and relative newcomer Bruno Mars while Adele, Katy Perry, Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga make up the Favorite Female category.  Katy Perry tweeted her rsvp yesterday, announcing she regrets she will not be attending the awards, speculatively because of her recent split with husband of one year, Russell Brand.  Up for Song of the Year will be Maroon 5's " Moves Like Jagger", Adele's " Rolling in the Deep", Katy Perry's "E.T.", LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem", and Lady Gaga's truly anthemic "Edge of Glory".  The People's Choice Awards airs tonight at 9:00EST on CBS.

In other music news, Madonna announced today via Twitter that her 12th studio album will be entitled M.D.N.A. and the first single will be "Give Me All Your Luvin'" and feature Nicki Minaj and M.I.A,  Madonna will perform at the upcoming Super Bowl where she is expected to perform the sinle.

Rihanna will release her next single "Talk That Talk" this upcoming week from the album of the same name.

Here's Drew Tabor's cover of "Talk That Talk" by Rihanna.

David Lee Roth Joins Van Halen For New Video

Singer David Lee Roth and supergroup of the '80's Van Halen have apparently put aside their much-publicized feud to work together again.  The band recently performed at the Roxy in New York City and Club Wha? where they did a few new songs from their upcoming LP.  They have released a stripped-down video for their new song "Tattoo" and David Lee Roth sang, making it seem like old times.  Check it out.

Jay-Z and Beyonce Baby, Justin Bieber on V Magazine and New Releases

Singer Beyonce Knowles and hip-hop artist Jay-Z welcomed a baby girl believed to have been born  Sunday night or Monday morning.  The power couple named the baby Blue Ivy-blue for Jay-Z's favorite color and Ivy for the Roman numeral four, a significant number for the couple. 

The birth was not without controversy, however, as other parents in the neonatal unit were apparently blocked by security from seeing their own newborns in the the same unit.  The couple paid for an entire birth suite in the hospital.

Singer/musician Justin Bieber will be featured on the first music issue of V magazine, hitting newstands this week.  The singer told the magazine he knows he's handsome, but hopes he'll be remembered in the long run, for his music.  He turns 18 in March and told the magazine drinking, drugs and sexually-explicit lyrics are not in his future.

Snow Patrol releases their latest album Fallen Empires today.  The band will begin their North American tour in March, in Tampa, FL.

Here's Austin Mahone with a cover of "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol.

X Factor Shocker Could Spell Trouble for Nicole Scherzinger

Last night was a shocker on X Factor as Rachel Crow, a major contender battled against Marcus Canty for a spot in the final four.   The little dynamo sang a show-stopping "I'd Rather Go Blind" to thunderous applause and a standing ovation, proving she has the singing chops of a much more mature diva.  The final vote resulted in a tie as judge Nicole Scherzinger refused to vote against Marcus Canty (who's been in the bottom two three times now) forcing the decision to lie in the hands of the voters the night before.  Shockingly the young prodigy was bottom of the bunch.  Rachel collapsed in tears and loud sobs as her mother came to the stage to comfort her.  Nicole was booed by the audience and refused to comment on stage.  Rumors of her battles with Simon Cowell have started circulating recently and last night she lost a lot of the audience support that may have saved her job.  Only time will tell if she'll be a judge next season.  Meanwhile, an amazing talent leaves the show. 

Taylor Swift's Video For "Ours" Premiers, Lady Gaga's "Marry the Night" Premiers and Madonna to Play Superbowl

Taylor Swift's new video for the bonus track from Speak Now entitled "Ours" came out last week.  The video features Swift in an office scenario and includes some cuddling with "Friday Night Lights" cutie Zac Gilford. 

  

Also premiering last week was Lady Gaga's much-anticipated video for "Marry the Night."  The video has caused a stir with it's depiction of Gaga in a mental institution and having a breakdown which includes several types of junk food.  The singer/artist says the depiction is autobiographical and relates to the loss of her previous recording contract before her massive success.  She says the theme of the video is ultimately about embracing your challenges.  Don't you just love her?

Even though the news was leaked months and months ago, it's now official:  Madonna will perform during the half time show at Super Bowl XLVI on February 5.  She is said to be doing an elaborate number with Cirque du Soleil.  I myself cannot wait.  Madonna's also rumored to be doing a new song for her as-yet-untitled album with Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.  Can't wait for that.  And yes, she's still relevant to music. 

Today we're going to celebrate women by featuring a couple yet-to-become-famous singers.  Enjoy.

Vote on Who Sang it Best? and New Releases for Today and Michael Jackson's Doctor Sentenced

  

New releases for today include the latest EP from R&B up-and-comer Trey Songz entitled Inevitable.  Rumor has it that the party songs are a bit weak, but the more sophisticated efforts are Trey's strongest yet.  Other new releases include:

Smoov-E Addicted

The Cure Bestival Live 2011
Kylie Minogue Aphrodite Les Folies
Soundtrack In Time
Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream (Deluxe Re-release)

Also in music news, Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray, who was found guilty last month of involuntary manslaughter, was sentenced today to four years in prison.  Because of prison overcrowding, it is unlikely he will serve more than two of those four years.

Now it's your turn to vote on Who Sang It Best with covers of Chris Brown's "With You".  You'll find the voting box to the far upper right of today's post.

First up is 14 year old Austin Mahone.

And the challenger, Hafiz Zainal (keep in mind, English is his second language).

X Factor Elimination and Justin Bieber Accuser Wants Another DNA Test

I don't think anyone was seriously shocked Wednesday night when Lakoda Rayne received the lowest number of votes in the competition, meaning on the double elimination night they would automatically be sent home.  While they performed better than usual the night before, they have struggled since the competition began.  They were Paula's last act for the season.  Groups are tough sells these days.  Surprisingly, Marcus Canty was up against Leroy Bell for elimination in the the second half of the show.   After singing for their lives, the judges deadlocked on who to send home, so the home audience vote dictated Leroy Bell would be eliminated.  The 60 year old had a hard time connecting with the audience at times and lacked the dynamic personality of Marcus Canty.  Competition continues next week with 7 singers left.

After Justin Bieber stood up and attempted to do the right thing last Friday by taking a DNA test voluntarily to prove he's not the father of accuser Mariah Yeater's four month old baby (even though she dropped the case days before) the accuser is now demanding he take ANOTHER test because she wasn't present during the last test.  Is this a sick attempt to get the young superstar's attention or is Yeater seriously considering reopening her case?  At this point, it's unknown whether or not Bieber will retake the test.  Since the case has not been reopened, he's certainly under no obligation to take one.  The drama continues. 

X Factor "Thanksgiving" Night and Justin Bieber Sings With Usher, Mary J. Blige on Daytime TV

Last night on X Factor it was Thanksgiving night and the final nine sang about gratitude before facing tonight's double elimination.  Melanie Amaro was the gave one of the most inspired and memorable performances of the evening singing R. Kelly's "World's Greatest" and Josh Krajcik was also a showstopper singing the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses".   Astro was apologetic (reluctantly) for his attitude breakdown on last week's elimination show before and after a somewhat forgettable performance of his original lyrics to a Jay Z. track.  I give him props for his original lyrics, but the song was forgettable.  Leroy Bell was strong singing Sarah McLachlin's "Angel" and Marcus Canty gave a decent performance doing Boys II Men's "For Mama".  Drew sang Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper" and did an adequate job, but she's yet to give a truly memorable performance.  Lakoda Rayne sang Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" and did a nice job.  Rachel Crow was lovely as usually singing Yolanda Adam's "I Believe" and Chris Rene did a mash up version of the Beatle's "Let It Be" and his own "Young Homie".  He may struggle this week.  We'll see on tonight's elimination show.

Justin Bieber appeared on The View shortly after his appearance on The Today Show and surprised the audience by doing a duet with Mary J. Blige on "Mistletoe".  He also spoke about taking a DNA test to prove he's not the father of Mariah Yeater's baby, as she has claimed up until dropping her case suddenly about a week ago.  He says he wants to set the record straight.  It's currently unknown if the accuser will have her 4 month old son take a DNA test.  Justin will appear on Late Night With David Letterman tonight.

Here's a nice cover of "Mistletoe" by Adam Stanton.  Happy Thanksgiving!

New Releases For Today-Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert and Justin Bieber TV Appearances

  Today's new releases include the much-anticipated new one from Rihanna Talk That Talk as well as Adam Lambert's newest Beg For Mercy and Lady Gaga's Born This Way The Remix.  Rihanna appeared on the Ellen Degeneres Show yesterday talking about the album and her busy life and denying rumors regarding her friendship (romance?) with "We Found Love" video costar and boxer-turned-model Dudley O'Shaugnessey.  Rihanna maintains she's still single.

Other new releases for today are as follows:

Charlene Soraia – 'Moonchild'
Chris Cornell – 'Songbook'
Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler – 'This Is Christmas'
Erasure – 'Be With You'
James Durbin – 'Memories Of A Beautiful Disaster'
Kate Bush – '50 Words For Snow'
Mary J.Blige – 'My Life II…The Journey Continues (Act 1)'
Mortal Sin – 'Psychology Of Death'
Nemesea – 'The Quiet Resistance'
Nickelback – 'Here And Now'
Oh Land – 'Oh Land'
One Direction – 'Up All Night'
The Saturdays – 'On Your Radar'
Seal – 'Soul 2'
The Swellers – 'Good For Me'
Westlife – 'Greatest Hits'
Yelawolf – 'Radioactive'

  Justin Bieber will appear on Late Night With David Letterman tonight, and in the early morning tomorrow will be doing a concert on the plaza on the Today show.  He'll then dash over to ABC to appear on The View, all in support of his Christmas album, Under the Mistletoe.  Wow.  Hopefully, his management will insist on some downtime for the holidays before the 17-year-old suffers exhaustion.

Here's a look at simpler times for Kidrauhl.  Love this.

                                                                               

 

                                                                               



Taylor Swift Sweeps AMA's and LMFAO Steal the Show

Taylor Swift took home three awards last night at the American Music Awards, one for Artist of the Year, one for Country Female, and one for Country Album for her latest, Speak Now.  It's amazing  she can still feign surprise when they call her name.  Adele was a big winner also, taking home awards for Pop/Rock Female, Pop/Rock Album and Adult Contemporary.  Rihanna won for Soul/R&B Album for Loud and Nicki Minaj won for Rap/Hip Hop Album for Pink Friday and Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Artist.  Bruno Mars beat out Justin Bieber and Pit Bull for Best Male Performer and Maroon 5 took home an award for Favorite Band.  The Foo Fighters received the award for Favorite Alternative Rock Band.  Hot Chelle Rae won for the Sprint Best New Artist.

     The show was performance-heavy with Nicki Minaj opening the show dressed as a boom box.  Kelly Clarkson sang beautifully and Chris Brown gave an awesome dance performance of "Say It With Me".  Justin Bieber performed "Mistletoe" from his new Christmas album Under the Mistletoe.  Mary J. Blige was great as usual and ended her performance by paying tribute to old friend Heavy D.  But the best performance of the night was the finale with LMFAO singing "Party Rock Anthem" and being joined on stage by Justin Bieber in tiger-sriped tights, and finishing up with "I'm Sexy and I Know It"  complete with breakaway pants and David Hasselhof.  It was epic.

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Heavy D Funeral and American Music Awards 2011

Hip Hop artist Heavy D was laid to rest in Mount Vernon, New York yesterday following a star studded funeral.  President Obama sent a letter of condolence to the family.  The event highlighted the scope of the artist's influence on American pop culture and the hip hop world.  Toxicology reports are pending.

The 2011 American Music Awards will be tomorrow on ABC Network and will air at 8:00 pm EST.  Set to perform will be Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez, and Chris Brown.  Adele is the most nominated artist of the evening.  The winners have been decided by the fans and voting is now closed.  There will be a red carpet preshow at 7:00 pm EST hosted by Lance Bass.  It should be a great show.

I'm loving this remake of Frank Ocean's "Thinking About You" by Jaden Smith and Justin Bieber.  Hope you do, too.

  





X Factor Shocker and a Nice Rihanna Cover

   I'm about to tell you what happened on X Factor's elimination show last night so you may not want to read this if you recorded it.  I think it was a surprise to most people when the two performers with the lowest scores were announced and Lakoda Raynne was not one of them.  It came down to Stacy Francis and (shock) Astro.  While Stacy did not give her best performance on rock night, she was certainly more exciting that Lakoda Raynne (although I admit, they're almost harmonizing now).  Also, crowd and L.A. Reid favorite Astro was in the bottom two.  I thought his performance was weak, especially compared to his awesome rendition of "Lose Yourself" the last week.  He was admonished by L. A. Reid for reluctantly singing for survival and Simon told him he needed to be an adult.  Maybe not so easy-considering he's 14.  This is why we don't have 14 year old superstars.  However, a little grace and humility would serve him well, especially considering he's losing favor with the voters.  In the end, it was Stacy Francis who went home with all judges but Nicole voting against her.  Sad to see her go...she's a great singer.  Hopefully, Astro can get his swag back and conquer again next week. 


     On a happier note, Rihanna performed her hit song "We Found Love" last night on the show.  Here's a great cover of that song by Robbie Jay.

   

X Factor: Josh Krajcik Proves He Can Rock and a Great AC/DC Cover!

     After a decidedly NOT rock and roll evening on X Factor, I can truly say the bright spot was Josh Krajcik doing his version of the Foo Fighters' "The Pretender"  (which, in actuality, was pretty much the same as the Foo Fighters' version).  He proved himself to be a true rock performer, engaging and loud, two places where most of the other artists failed to deliver.  LA Reid and Simon Cowell argued over the rock and roll cred of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" (sung forgetably by Chris Rene, whom I orginally really liked).  Leroy Bell did a very adequate rendition of Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight" which didn't exactly bring everyone to their feet, but sounded good.  Rachel Crow did a predictable cover of The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" with strong vocals.  Astro did his rap thing, but the song choice (P Diddy's "I'll Be Missing You") was ehh.  The other acts were equally forgetable and equally un-rock and roll. Stacy Francis was a bright spot, doing an emotional  Meat Loaf tune, "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" but it still wasn't rock and roll.  Thank God for Josh.  He saved Rock and Roll Night on X Factor.

    Now here's a real rock and roll performance.  It's AC/DC's "Back In Black" by OpenHouse.  Enjoy!



Justin Bieber's Paternity Accuser Drops Case Against Star

20 year old Mariah Yeater's attorneys have quietly dropped their paternity case against Justin Bieber.  After Star Magazine paid the accuser for her story and The Insider more likely than not paid her for her interview, Bieber and his legal team agreed to have the star take a paternity test to prove he's not the father of Yeater's 4 month old son.  They also threatened to sue the woman for defamation and slander.  Apparently, the woman's attorneys have lost faith in their ability to prove paternity and have quit the case.  I guess her 15 minutes of fame are over.

New Releases Today and Heavy D Autopsy Inconclusive

The Glee Christmas Album Volume 2 releases today and features some holiday favorites like All I Want For Christmas Is You and The Little Drummer Boy (both sung by Amber Riley who plays Mercedes and Santa Baby (sung by Naya Rivera who plays Santana).

Also in the news, the autopsy performed last week on Hip Hop star Heavy D has proven inconclusive by the L.A. county coroner.  Toxicology results are not in yet.  No illegal or suspicious drugs were found in the artist's home, other than a prescription for the treatment of pneumonia.  The star had just returned home from shopping when he became ill.  No foul play is suspected.

Rachel Crow and Astro Steal Show at X Factor

Last night on X Factor it was movie night.  With the wealth of songs from movies, it's a mystery to me while the judges made some of the choices they made.  Most notably, Stacy Francis was forced to sing the only-marginally likable "Queen of the Night" from The Bodyguard and the strain could be heard in her voice.  It didn't showcase the richness of her voice at all.  Surprises abounded, however with Astro giving a spellbinding performance of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile complete with original rhymes.  Also, Marcus Carey surprised me, giving a soulful and rich performance of "I'm Goin' Down" from Car Wash.  It's an awesome song and I gained a new appreciation for his vocal skills.  Josh Krajcik was predictably given a Joe Cocker-style Beatle cover "With A Little Help From My Friends" from Across the Universe.  He nailed it, channeling Joe Cocker to perfection.  Reports have indicated he was told by X Factor doctors to lay off the cigarettes.  We'll see if his vocals hold.
The showstopper of the evening for me, however was Rachel Crow singing "I'd Rather Go Blind" from Cadillac Records.  It's awe-inspiring that such mature vocals come from such a young girl.  The other performances did not stand up as well, with Drew doing an adequate, but ultimately dull rendition of "Fix You" and Lakoda Rayne sounding over-polished on "Wanna Love Somebody Like You" from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.  Stereohogzz did a nice job vocally, but the song choice was strange:  they sang Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man" from Me, You and Dupree.  Leroy Bell was strong but forgettable on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" from The Runaway Bride.  And last but not least is Chris Rene.  Chris, whom I admire and WANT to like, did an inexplicable cover of" Pastime Paradise"--that is to say "Gangsta's Paradise" from Dangerous Minds renamed.  It was a so-so cover and very predictable.


Here's an awesome cover of Adele's "Someone Like You" by independent artist Travis Ratledge....love it love it love it.

Hip Hop Artist Heavy D Dies

Hip Hop icon Heavy D died in Los Angeles yesterday after being found unconcious in his Beverly Hills home. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death is unknown. The star was born in Jamaica and raised in the United States and was an icon to the hip hop community. He worked with artists like Janet Jackson and had his own success with Heavy D and the Boyz. He also had an acting career, appearing on many television shows such as Living Single, Roc and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.  Please enjoy this classic "Now That We Found Love".