Rihanna "S&M" Video Premiere

"S&M" is the third single off Rihanna's latest album Loud. The word 'mediocrity' comes to mind, as in "S&M" is neither amongst my favorite, nor my least favorite Loud tracks, & while the Melina-directed video isn't one of Rihanna's worst videos (see: "Only Girl (In The World)"), it certainly isn't among her most innovative. At the end of the day, a lost opportunity, if you ask me. P.S. I'm willing to let the Perez Hilton cameo go... but only because he plays a dog.

Whitney Houston & Kim Burrell Perform "I Look To You" On Celebration Of Gospel

On BET's Celebration Of Gospel yesterday, Whitney Houston joined her favorite singer & good friend Kim Burrell for a performance of Whitney's "I Look To You", the title track off her latest album. Whitney's voice may not be what it used to be, but it was still nice to see the two of them duet, & especially to hear Kim's incredible pipes!

Nicki Minaj On SNL

"Moment 4 Life"



"Right Thru Me"



Digital Short



Skit
Nicki Minaj took OVER Saturday Night Live tonight, not only as musical guest, but also by appearing in both the week's digital short as well as a live skit! The only thing that disappointed me really were the song choices, but she sure looked fly during the performances! She really shined in the digital short, performing "The Creep" alongside The Lonely Island, & as the star of "Bride Of Blackenstein" during the skit..! A great night for Nicki for sure. For good measure, check out her promo for the episode below:

JoJo Guest Stars On Hawaii Five-0

Part 1



Part 2
JoJo was a guest star on this week's episode of Hawaii Five-0. Her parts are featured above; there's some overlap, but between the two videos, it's all there. You get the gist of her role, so don't worry... the show isn't all that great anyway. For what it was though, I thought JoJo did a good job.

Britney Spears Album Update

A press release unveiled today reveals that Britney Spears' seventh studio album will be released on March 15th! The as-yet-untitled project will include production from the newly revealed names Stargate, Fraser T. Smith (Craig David's Trust Me), & Bloodshy & Avant, who produced Brit's "Toxic"! It was also made known that a deluxe edition will be available with 3-4 bonus tracks, but the exact details aren't yet available. I'm cautiously optimistic that the HIAM video will be good, followed by an album that, if what Claude Kelly says about it being "more edgy"/more Blackout than Circus is true, I'm sure will be!

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Rihanna "S&M" Behind-The-Scenes + More

Here's a quick look behind the scenes of Rihanna's latest video for "S&M" off her Loud album. It doesn't look terrible, but the bright, bubbly color palette's throwin' me off... speaking of which, check out this new version of her "Who's That Chick?" video that actually includes David Guetta visually, though badly copy/paste-d in:

Usher Album Update

While on tour in Europe this month, Usher did an interview to discuss the "revolutionary pop" sound that will be present on his next album. He recently worked on a track with David Guetta & Akon, & hit the studio with Swedish House Mafia (who collaborated with Laidback Luke on "Leave The World Behind", which featured Deborah Cox on vocals). I love how he uses the word 'pop' as if it's some middle ground between R&B & dance... we're not fooled, sir, we know you've gone completely dance on us. Anyway, UR said he is looking to release the project "early next year," which, considering the article was posted this month & he didn't go overseas until this year, apparently means he doesn't plan on releasing his new album until 2012... so, not sure what happened to the whole not-waiting-to-release-another-album thing. In related news, Usher might appear on the next album from his European opener Tinie Tempah... O_o . Aaand there you have it!

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Billboard Update

^#1 Album #1 Single^

The Decemberists' The King Is Dead is atop this week's Billboard 200 album chart. Bruno Mars returns to the top of the Hot 100 singles chart this week with "Grenade". Britney Spears may have vacated the pole position for #6 this week, but "Hold It Against Me" still earns the Airplay Gainer title this week, while Pink's "F**kin' Perfect" zooms 30-11, earning the Digital Gainer title again.

See full charts HERE

(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

Nicki Minaj ft. Drake "Moment 4 Life" Video Premiere

"Moment 4 Life", featuring Drake, is the fourth single off Nicki Minaj's debut album Pink Friday. The Chris Robinson-directed video features the debut of Nicki's latest alter-ego Martha, Roman's mom. Let's see: Roman, Martha, Harajuku Barbie, Nicki The Ninja... I don't even know what happened to Rrrrosa! Anyway, I didn't think the video lived up to the hype from the point the song started on, but the beginning was cute.

Kelly Rowland Album Update + Promo Pics

I doubt even God knows when we can expect for Kelly Rowland's as-yet-untitled third solo album to be released, but more details have emerged about the oft-delayed project, one being that she recently hit the studio with songwriter Lonny Bereal, who worked extensively on Ms. Kelly. We can also expect possible collaborations with Lil' Wayne, Rick Ross, & Gucci Mane to potentially make the cut. In the meantime, & with it being a slow news day & all, check out these new promotional photos of Kelly shot by Atlanta-based photographer Rob Ector that hit the net a couple weeks ago ...that I forgot to post (just consider them an 'in case you missed it'). The pics are good, but I'm over the haircut. Monica went through this phase too (see: Still Standing album cover), but wisely changed it up soon after.

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Alexis Jordan "Good Girl" Video Premiere

"Good Girl" is the second single lifted from Alexis Jordan's self-titled debut album, which hits stores on February 28th in the UK. Details are HERE; should anything change, I'll highlight the album when/if it gets scheduled for a US release. I'm not in love with the song, but Miss Thang was gettin' it in the video!

Usher "Billboard" Magazine Cover

Usher is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Billboard. Would it have killed them to find a better picture of the man?! Hiiis Versus EP is out now.

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Keri Hilson On Ellen

"Pretty Girl Rock"



Backstage
Keri Hilson "Pretty Girl Rock"-ed it on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, performing the hit single off her second album No Boys Allowed yet again. Nice, but... ya know, Keri, you're going to have to release another single eventually if you want to (continue to) push records..! (And no, "The Way You Love Me" does NOT count.)

Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull "On The Floor" Behind-The-Scenes

Accompanied by Pitbull (whose talking voice sounds EXACTLY like his rapping voice), Jennifer Lopez recently shot her video for the Redone-produced "On The Floor", her first single off Love? Looks fierce, I can't wait! Has everyone been checking out J.Lo on American Idol? I know I have! The auditions aren't my favorite part though.

Beyonce Album Update + More

Some interesting collaborators have boarded Beyonce's fourth studio album as of late. Among them are producers Diplo (M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes"), Switch (Christina Aguilera's Bionic), & Symbolyc One (Kanye West's "Power"). I'm all for newcomers, but not so much anyone who might influence her to do anything electro.

In related news, it was recently reported that Beyonce is currently in talks to star in a remake of the musical "A Star Is Born" that would be directed by the Academy Award-winning Clint Eastwood. Nothing has been confirmed yet though, which is why I didn't post about it previously/separately.

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