The 2011 Soul Train Awards Recap

Melanie Fiona performed "Fool For You", her duet with Cee Lo Green, at the 2011 Soul Train Awards, where Kelly Rowland was a big winner, picking up Song Of The Year for "Motivation"! Nicki Minaj won Best Hip-Hop Song Of The Year for "Moment 4 Life", Beyonce picked up Best Dance Performance for "Run The World (Girls)", & Rihanna won Best Caribbean Performance for "Man Down". See a full list of winners HERE.

*UPDATED* New Dawn Richard Promo Pic + More

Dawn Richard's just chillin' in this new promotional photo. She will be releasing her Christmas single "December Sky" to iTunes on December 1st!

UPDATE: Added another promo pic & the "December Sky" single cover for the heck of it below:

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Pia Toscano Performs "This Time" On So Random!

Pia Toscano randomly (...literally) performed "This Time" on the Disney Channel's So Random! She did an incredible job & it sure is a shame this song didn't take off because I could've really used her album during this complete void music-wise known as December that we have coming up.

Lily Allen Welcomes Daughter

Somewhere along the line, I missed something because I didn't even know Lily Allen was pregnant (her Twitter handle's the only reason I knew she got married...), but I am happy to report that after two miscarriages, Lily has given birth to a girl! The baby, whose name is as yet unknown, was born last Friday.

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David Archuleta Performs With Mannheim Steamroller On Pandora Unforgettable Moments On Ice

Above The Northern Lights



To Be With You



What Child Is This



Pat-A-Pan



Silent Night (w/ Chip David, MS founder)
David Archuleta came out of hiding back to America to perform on the Pandora Unforgettable Moments On Ice special with Mannheim Steamroller... & he's still got it! "Above The Northern Lights" is purdy, "To Be With You" was a nice throwback to his wonderful debut album, & the 'oo' version of "Silent Night" was... interesting! Note: David's only in the "Silent Night" video for a little over two minutes anyway, so by the time it messes up, he's done, no worries.

OneRepublic "Christmas Without You" Song Premiere

OneRepublic has released a holiday tune of their own called "Christmas Without You". They may not be a bunch of Mariahs when it comes to Christmas music, but they're not half bad (certainly better than that absolute sh!t Bieber has out)!

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Birdman ft. Nicki Minaj & Lil' Wayne "Y U Mad" Video Premiere

Nicki Minaj is all about representing the YMCMB in her latest appearance alongside Lil' Wayne in Birdman's new video for "Y U Mad". I think Birdman literally got a whole 15 words in there! Lil' Wayne, maybe 20! Nicki <3

Nicole Scherzinger "Shape" Magazine Cover

Nicole Scherzinger steps away from The X Factor's judging table for a moment to show off her Shape on the magazine's December cover. Yes ma'am! Good timing too, with all the albums you AREN'T putting out to promote! :)

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Beyonce "Dance For You" Video Premiere

"Dance For You" completes Beyonce's anthology for her latest album 4. This one's just in case you were wondering how lil' Sasha got made! Fantastic as usual!

Jordin Sparks Performs "The Cure" On Kaleidoscope

Jordin Sparks sang her appropriate track "The Cure" off her last album Battlefield on Kaleidoscope, which honors cancer survivors. Lookin' good, Jordy!

Melinda Doolittle "God Bless Us Everyone" Video Premiere

Melinda Doolittle has just premiered a video of random photos for her new Christmas song "God Bless Us Everyone". She sounds better than I remember! Anybody know why she (practically) shaved her head though?!

Billboard Update

^#1 Album #1 Single^

While Drake's Take Care tops the Billboard 200 album chart, it's all about Rihanna (well, & a little bit about Drake too) on the Hot 100 singles chart, where her "We Found Love" rules with the Airplay Gainer title for a fourth consecutive week. Rihanna also jumps 73-14 with "You Da One" & earns the chart's highest debut @ #9 alongside Drake with "Take Care".

See full charts HERE

(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

Avril Lavigne Performs "Wish You Were Here" On Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Here is Avril Lavigne's bloody performance of "Wish You Were Here" off her latest album Goodbye Lullaby on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Not that there's anything wrong with the explicit version, but I kinda wanna download the edited version of this song!

Avril Lavigne On VH1 Big Morning Buzz

"Wish You Were Here" & "What The Hell"



Interview
Avril Lavigne continued her promo tour for the new single "Wish You Were Here" off Goodbye Lullaby on VH1 Big Morning Buzz(?). Re: her "What The Hell" performance... don't get too crazy there, Avril! lol

Kelly Clarkson Performs "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)" On The X Factor

The original Idol Kelly Clarkson gave her first high-profile performance of "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)", her new single off Stronger, on The X Factor. Nice!

Nicki Minaj Album Update

Those anxiously awaiting new music from Nicki Minaj or those not completely satisfied with what was offered up with Pink Friday (the album's biggest hit was a bonus track, I mean...) need not fret because of nor get confused by the title of her sophomore album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, which is set to be released on Valentine's Day (a Tuesday...). I'm not entirely sure why she's sticking with the whole Pink Friday thing, but 'Roman Reloaded' has me downright giddy!

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Katharine McPhee "Beautiful" Video Premiere + More

Katharine McPhee has covered Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" as a part of her new show Smash, which premieres the Monday after the Super Bowl. Understandably watered-down, yet much more substance than Glee! See NBC's latest sneak peek at the show below:

Avril Lavigne Performs "Wish You Were Here" On GMA

Avril Lavigne performed (the Kids Bop version of) her new single "Wish You Were Here" off her fourth album Goodbye Lullaby on Good Morning America following a short interview. It's good to see her doing some promo! (Especially for a not-yet-old album that came out on her now-old label...)

Pink Featured On "Happy Feet Two" Soundtrack

In "Happy Feet Two", Pink provides the voice for singing penguin Gloria (voiced by Brittany Murphy in the first film), who has her big solo during the movie with "Bridge Of Light":



Impressive! Pink also lends her vocals to some of the medleys:

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New Music Monday: Mary J. Blige "My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1)"

This week was a lot of things, but Mary J. Blige wanted to be sure you knew that her new album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) came out! It includes the new single "Mr. Wrong" featuring Drake, "25/8", &, if you buy the deluxe edition, "Someone To Love Me (Naked)". MJB performed on Chelsea Lately (>) & Today (<), popped up during the parade on Thanksgiving, & even helped give the most awkward, creepy, cringeworthy early-Christmas performance I've ever seen.



"Mr. Wrong" - Chelsea Lately



"Mr. Wrong" - Today



"25/8" - Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade



"Mistletoe" with Justin Bieber - The View

Janet Jackson "Taking Control"

BBC celebrates Janet Jackson's legacy, which she is currently on tour doing herself, with this special Taking Control.

Pia Toscano Performs National Anthem On NASCAR

Pia Toscano showed off those (should have been) winning vocals while singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the NASCAR season closer. Can't wait for Interscope to get her recording career rolling!

The 2011 American Music Awards Recap

Jennifer Lopez & Pitbull - Medley



Jennifer Lopez, will.i.am, & Mick Jagger "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)"



Nicki Minaj & David Guetta - Medley



Christina Aguilera & Maroon 5 "Moves Like Jagger"



Mary J. Blige "Mr. Wrong"



Kelly Clarkson "Mr. Know It All"



OneRepublic "Good Life"
Jennifer Lopez had a showstopping night (of redemption) at the 2011 American Music Awards with her own performance of "Until It Beats No More" "Papi" & "On The Floor", a performance of her collabo with will.i.am, & a win in the Latin Music Artist category! Nicki Minaj set the bar high at the top of the show, performing her David Guetta collabo "Turn Me On" as well as "Super Bass" before going on to win both the Rap/Hip-Hop Artist & Rap/Hip-Hop Album (Pink Friday) trophies! Christina Aguilera... didn't look completely terrible, but sounded terrific while performing her #1 hit with Maroon 5. Mary J. Blige performed her cool new single for the first time... by herself, which was weird since Drake was there, not that I'm complaining. Kelly Clarkson switched things up for a jazzy performance of her latest single that I dug, while OneRepublic stuck to what works with theirs. Meanwhile, Beyonce & Usher won Soul/R&B Female Artist & Soul/R&B Male Artist, respectively, & Rihanna picked up the award for Soul/R&B Album for Loud. A complete list of winners can be viewed HERE.

Rihanna Performs "We Found Love" On The X Factor UK

On the eve of her Talk That Talk album release, Rihanna was in the UK performing "We Found Love" ..quite strangely.. on The X Factor. She is certainly a studio artist... but a darn good studio artist!

Kelly Clarkson Performs On VH1 Unplugged

Dark Side



What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)



Since U Been Gone



Mr. Know It All
Here is the rest of Kelly Clarkson's VH1 Unplugged set, primarily featuring material from her new album Stronger. This woman gives me vocal life for days!

Mariah Carey's Global Christmas Extravaganza

On the 17th, Mariah Carey's hologram performed "Oh Santa!", "Hero", "Silent Night", & "All I Want For Christmas Is You" simultaneously all around the world. It was a neat idea, I just wish better footage would have surfaced by now.

Estelle & Gym Class Heroes Perform "Stereo Hearts" On Leno

Estelle filled in for Adam Levine during Gym Class Heroes' performance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, making their hit single "Stereo Hearts" bearable.

Rihanna Performs "We Found Love" On The X Factor

Rihanna gave her debut televised performance of her #1 single "We Found Love" off Talk That Talk (November 21st) on The X Factor last night. She did a good job. Re: The X Factor, I meant to do weekly reviews of it, but I don't have nearly as polarizing feelings towards the contestants as I have the last few years of Idol, so I didn't feel I'd really have much interesting to say. I'm basically just enjoying most of the performances each week, & as long as the right two make the finals & the right one of them wins, I'm good.

Billboard Update

^#1 Album #1 Single^

Mac Miller's Blue Slide Park tops the Billboard 200 chart, where Angels & Airwaves' Love Part One & Part Two album jumps to #43 after a #93 debut last week. This jump is due to the physical album being released & only being available as a single package including both albums. Rihanna's reign over the Hot 100 singles chart just won't let up with "We Found Love", while "You Da One" debuts @ #73. Saddled with the Digital Gainer title, Usher & David Guetta's "Without You" moves up 6-4, giving David his highest charting hit yet.

See full charts HERE

(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

Kelly Rowland Performs "Down For Whatever" On Children In Need Rocks Manchester

Kelly Rowland performed her latest UK single "Down For Whatever" at the Children In Need Rocks Manchester benefit. I'm kind of enjoying these D4W performances from Kelly! She is gearing up for the UK release of her third solo album Here I Am.

Jennifer Hudson "I Got This" Cover

The book cover, that is! On January 10th, Jennifer Hudson will be releasing her weight loss memoir "I Got This: How I Changed My Ways And Lost What Weighed Me Down". No wonder "I Got This" is the third single off her latest album I Remember Me LOL.

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Ruben Studdard Files For Divorce

Irreconcilable differences... what else is there to say? It's too bad.

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The Caffeine Patch: New Brave Trailer

Our first real look at the next Pixar movie "Brave" has arrived! Catch it in theaters starting June 22nd.

Ciara Album Update

Details about Ciara's fifth studio album, likely her Epic Records debut, are slowly starting to trickle in with producer Hit-Boy revealing that he has recorded an uptempo with Ms. Harris called, wouldn't you know it, "Hit Boy" with the help of Soundz. Get 'em, CiCi!

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New Christina Aguilera "The Voice" Promo Pic

Christina Aguilera & co. are back for the second season of The Voice, launching directly after the Super Bowl!

Jennifer Lopez, Others To Perform At 2011 AMAs

Jennifer Lopez is set to perform with will.i.am, likely their collaboration "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)", at the 2011 American Music Awards. Christina Aguilera will perform, oh, I don't know, with Maroon 5, while Nicki Minaj & David Guetta are set to open the show. Other performers include Kelly Clarkson & Mary J. Blige. The 2011 AMAs air live on ABC this Sunday, November 20th, @ 8/7c.

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Leona Lewis Performs "Run" On 25 Years Of Soft Rock

Leona Lewis performed a lovely rendition of "Run" in Germany on the 25 Years Of Soft Rock special. Welcome back to 2008, folks!

*UPDATED* New Rihanna Promo Pics

Rihanna has unleashed a whole slew of new promotional photos in anticipation of the November 21st release of her freakin' fantastic sixth album Talk That Talk. Say no to cancer, Rih. Other than that, hot!

UPDATE: Please, sir, may I have some more? YES:

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Fergie & Kanye West Perform "All Of The Lights" On SWU Festival

Kanye West brought out Fergie during his performance of "All Of The Lights" at the SWU Music & Arts Festival in Brazil. Am I the only one that forgot this song features everyone in the known universe & not just Rihanna?

New Gwen Stefani "L'Oreal" Commercials

OK, so one of these L'Oreal commercials starring Gwen Stefani is newer than the other, but they're both still airing on TV. Can you really blame me for catching up? It's not like she's doing anything else.

Beyonce Performs "Countdown" On Jimmy Fallon

A pre-taped performance from over the summer of Beyonce performing "Countdown" off her latest album 4 aired last night on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. She killed those vocals!

Kelly Rowland Performs "Down For Whatever" On The Graham Norton Show

Kelly Rowland shut the stage down at The Graham Norton Show with my jam "Down For Whatever" from her new album Here I Am. The dancing & lights showed out more than her vocals, but a good performance all around.

Nicole Scherzinger Performs "Don't Hold Your Breath" On Leno

It baffles my mind why Interscope insists on continuing to push this fossil as a single, but regardless of my opinion, Nicole Scherzinger took the stage at The Tonight Show With Jay Leno to perform "Don't Hold Your Breath" off her upcoming debut album Killer Love (December 6th) & sounded nice. Did it ever occur to them the possibility that she's doing better in the UK because the music isn't stale when she puts it out there?!

Tiffany Evans "Won't Find Me" Video Premiere

"Won't Find Me" is Tiffany Evans' new single off her upcoming On My Way EP. This video is preeetty hot! I even like the song now... except for the chanting children. If she had just recorded some layered vocals..!

Usher & Romeo Santos Perform "Promise" On 2011 Latin Grammys

Usher joined Romeo Santos at the 2011 Latin Grammys to perform their single "Promise". Usher made Romeo Santos sound like crap.

Kelly Clarkson Performs "I Know You Won't" On VH1 Unplugged

Kelly Clarkson singing my favorite Carrie Underwood song. Need I say more? Do yourself a favor & preview Kelly's upcoming VH1 Unplugged special, available online starting Thursday, November 17th @ 7/6c, by watching her incredible performance of Carrie's "I Know You Won't".

Mary J. Blige "My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (Deluxe Edition)" Details

For the deluxe edition (slightly altered artwork to the left) of her forthcoming album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (November 21st), Mary J. Blige has added three tracks--two at the end: "Miss Me With That", which has previously leaked, & "Someone To Love Me (Naked)", & "Irreversible" smack dab in the middle of "Love A Woman" & "Empty Prayers". I know the two we've heard before are good, so the outlook is positive!

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Preview Rihanna's "Talk That Talk (Deluxe Edition)"

I had been dying for them, but now that we have a snippet of every track off Rihanna's upcoming album Talk That Talk (November 21st), I absolutely, positively MUST have this album! LEAK!!!

Billboard Update

^#1 Album #1 Single^

Justin Bieber's Under The Mistletoe tops the Billboard 200 album chart, where Angels & Airwaves' early iTunes release of both the second & first parts of their Love album resulted in debuts @ #30 & #67, respectively. Meanwhile, Rihanna earns the Airplay Gainer title for the second time in a row for "We Found Love" in its second consecutive week atop the Hot 100 singles chart. Usher & David Guetta may be "Without You", but they find themselves with a new peak, moving 7-6, while Mariah Carey's duet of "All I Want For Christmas Is You" with Justin Bieber starts off @ #86.

See full charts HERE

(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

Beyonce "Live At Roseland: Elements Of 4" Trailer

Beyonce has released a trailer for her live DVD Live At Roseland: Elements Of 4 (November 29th), which will include a previously unreleased video for "Dance For You".

Preview Mary J. Blige's "My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1)"

Snippets of Mary J. Blige's upcoming album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (November 21st) have emerged HERE. I'm really gonna need to hear the album in its entirety to get a legit feel for it. Speaking of getting a feel for the album though, catch MJB performing live from LA on Thursday, November 17th, @ 11/10c on VEVO.

Mariah Carey "Jenny Craig" Commercial

And just how did Mariah Carey lose those 30 lbs. she discussed below? Well, because she's rich, AND with the help of Jenny Craig! You know what that means: Jenny has a new spokeswoman! Check out Mariah's hot first ad for the brand above.

Mariah Carey Does Us Weekly

Mariah Carey shows off the post-baby bod she's worked so hard on with the cover story of the latest Us Weekly issue. How great does she look?!

Whitney Houston & Jordin Sparks On The Set Of "Sparkle"

Catch your first glimpse at Jordin Sparks & Whitney Houston's new movie "Sparkle" in this interview the two sat down for with Entertainment Tonight. So excited for this one!

Rihanna "Talk That Talk (Deluxe Edition)" Details

Rihanna's somewhat improved cover art for the deluxe edition of her forthcoming album Talk That Talk (November 21st) appears to the left (smoking kills, kids). This edition will include the bonus tracks "Red Lipstick", "Do Ya Thing", & "Fool In Love", bringing us to a grand total of 14 tracks. Sounds good to me!

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Solange & Chromeo Perform "When The Night Falls" On Jimmy Fallon

Solange sounded nice performing her collaboration with Chromeo called "When The Night Falls" on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon... though the same cannot be said for the band themselves.

2012 People's Choice Award Nominees Announced

Beyonce kicked butt with five nominations for the 2012 People's Choice Awards, beating out Rihanna's pair. Check out all of the nominees HERE & see who wins when the show airs January 11th on CBS.

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Kelly Clarkson Performs "Mr. Know It All" On Daybreak

Kelly Clarkson performed "Mr. Know It All", which many are going to start thinking is the only song on her new album Stronger, once again before a charming interview on Daybreak. I realized the other day that that big note isn't on the studio version of the song... why, Kelly, why?!

Rihanna "Talk That Talk" Tracklisting

Rihanna is set to release her sixth studio album Talk That Talk on November 21st. Check out the tracklisting to her third fall release in three years below:

1. You Da One
2. Where Have You Been
3. We Found Love (ft. Calvin Harris)
4. Talk That Talk (ft. Jay-Z)
5. Cockiness (Love It)
6. Birthday Cake
7. We All Want Love
8. Drunk On Love
9. Roc Me Out
10. Watch & Learn
11. Farewell

As much as I loved "We Found Love" when I didn't even want to & now with all this talk about being all about the music, I can't help but finally just let myself fall for Rihanna.

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Black Girls Rock Performance Highlights

Estelle "Thank You"



Melanie Fiona "This Time"



Mary J. Blige "My Life"
This year's Black Girls Rock special on BET resulted in Estelle's fantastic first performance of her new single, Melanie Fiona debuting a song from her upcoming album that... I'm gonna need to hear the studio version... & Mary J. Blige travelling back in time rather than continuing the journey.

Rihanna Collaborates With Drake

Rihanna wasn't gonna let Nicki Minaj have a feature on Drake's new album Take Care (November 15th) if she didn't get hers! RiRi even got herself on the title track:



Keeping in mind that I hate Drake with a fiery passion, this is pretty good.

Kelly Clarkson "Toyota" Commercial

Kelly Clarkson promotes the Toyota Camry, a stupendous vehicle if I do say so myself, in this new commercial. Kelly so silly. Her new album Stronger is out now!

Adam Lambert Performs With Queen At The 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards

Adam Lambert participated in a Queen tribute with the band themselves at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards, belting out "The Show Must Go On", "We Will Rock You", & "We Are The Champions". Incredible job, Adam! I'm more than ready for his sophomore album!

Mary J. Blige Performs "Need Someone To Love You" On Later With Jools Holland

Mary J. Blige debuted "Need Someone To Love You", a cut off her upcoming album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Part 1) (November 21st), with a performance on Later With Jools Holland. What a beautiful song. I just got considerably more excited for her new album!

Usher Album Update

Usher has been hard at work in the studio recording his seventh studio album, due next year, with Pharrell & Jim Jonsin (as pictured) as well as Rico Love & Diplo. No will.i.am? Well then, I look forward to it!

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Monica "New Life" Cover

Monica looks gorgeous on the cover of her upcoming album New Life. Deja vu, anyone? I personally like the "Until It's Gone" single cover better, but whatever. The album drops December 13th February 21st, effectively ruining the rest of my year...

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Nicole Scherzinger Performs "Try With Me" On This Morning

Nicole Scherzinger continued promoting the UK re-release of her debut album Killer Love (November 14th) with a performance of her new single "Try With Me" on This Morning. This performance will give you so much vocal life!!

Billboard Update

^#1 Album #1 Single^

Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto tops the Billboard 200 album chart, where Kelly Clarkson debuts @ #2 with Stronger following first-week sales of 163,000 copies. Rihanna earns her 11th #1 on the Hot 100 singles chart with "We Found Love", which also earns the Airplay Gainer title. Kelly Clarkson also makes her mark this week on the Hot 100, earning her ninth top 10 hit with "Mr. Know It All" (19-10).

See full charts HERE

(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

JoJo Performs "Disaster" On IMC

JoJo performed "Disaster", the first single off her third album Jumping Trains, which drops early next year, again on IMC(?). Those vocals are strengthening up, so that's good! I would really like to hear a full-out, non-acoustic performance of this song though.

Brandy Joins "The Marriage Counselor"

I'm excited to report that Brandy has joined the cast of Tyler Perry's upcoming film "The Marriage Counselor". An adaptation of one of his most recent plays, the movie is also set to star Jurnee Smollett, Lance Gross (whose co-worker Brandy will play), Vanessa Williams, Jerry Stiller, & ...Kim Kardashian. *awkward* I love Tyler Perry & this is a great opportunity for Brandy. 2012's gonna be a big year for Ms. Norwood!

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Jessica Mauboy ft. Stan Walker "Galaxy" Video Premiere

"Galaxy", featuring Stan Walker, is the second single off Jessica Mauboy's re-release of Get 'Em Girls. I love this woman.

New Rihanna Promo Pics

A pair of new Rihanna promotional photos for your viewing pleasure. I'm gonna lose it if we don't get some snippets of her forthcoming album Talk That Talk (November 21st) soon though!

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Kelly Clarkson Performs "Mr. Know It All" On The X Factor Germany

Kelly Clarkson kept on truckin' with yet another performance of "Mr. Know It All" on The X Factor in Germany as part of her promotional tour for her new album Stronger. Her effortlessness never ceases to amaze me. She had me rolling at the end though... "you're highly attractive" LOL someone was smitten!

Beyonce "1+1 (Alternate Version)" Video Premiere

An alternate--& better--version of Beyonce's "1+1" video, which I fear will take the seventh & last slot in the 4 anthology instead of my fav "End Of Time", has surfaced.

Janet Jackson Does Harper's Bazaar Arabia

Eternally youthful Janet Jackson currently has a spread in Harper's Bazaar Arabia. Perfection.

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