Billboard: A source close to R&B singer Alicia Keys and rapper/producer Swizz Beatz confirms that the couple are expecting their first child and planning to wed, reports People.com.
The musicians "are expecting a baby and are engaged to be married in a private ceremony later this year," reps for the couple said. "They're very happy."
The announcement comes after the two, who have been together since fall 2008, attended a Black Ball in London for Keys' "Keep a Child Alive" charity on Thursday, May 27.
Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) has two sons, Prince Nasir, 9, and Kasseem Jr., 3 , both from pervious relationships. This will be Keys' first marriage and the couples' first child together.
Billboard officially confirms that Lee DeWyze, this year's "American Idol," and his runner-up, Crystal Bowersox, have already signed their record deals.
DeWyze is signed to 19 Recordings Limited and RCA Records, while Bowersox is signed to 19 Recordings Limited and Jive Records, a source confirms exclusively to Billboard.com.
DeWyze joins Daughtry and Adam Lambert at RCA, while Bowersox can now count past "Idol" winners Jordin Sparks and Kris Allen, and 2009 finalist Allison Iraheta, as her labelmates.
Popular boyband Backstreet Boys broke the news today via their official website that they're no longer signed to long time record label Jive Records. The amicable split is very exciting for the group. "This is the best thing, at the best time that could have ever happened for us”, says Brian Littrell. “We are confident in the future of our band, and are looking forward to the new things to come. 2011 is going to be a great year for us!”
It's about time, in my honest opinion. No offense to Jive Records but based on what is happening with other artists signed to them, I believe Jive doesn't give full efforts in managing their artists. They're kinda lazy to promote their albums and other activities. Look at Kris Allen, Jordin Sparks, David Archuleta and even Britney Spears. Good thing these artists have the fan base to support them but if not, nothing's going to happen with their careers because their record label doesn't give them the exposure they need.
Now that the Backstreet Boys is out of Jive Records, I really hope Britney Spears would leave them next so she could finally have creative control over her projects!
OK, I guess the album review I did yesterday was the blog's most visited post this month so I decided to make another one. Also because of the fact that I needed to write my additional thoughts on Christina Aguilera's "Bionic".
After listening to it quite a few times on my iPod, I must admit that "Bionic" is growing on me big time! Still not a fan of the ballads (I didn't actually include them on music player) but the upbeat songs are getting better and better by every listen! Let me give you my thoughts on songs that standout:
BIONIC - This is the prefect song to open the album. A "welcome to my world" kind of song.
NOT MYSELF TONIGHT - I already made my review on this one. After listening to the whole album, NMT remained to be one of my favorite songs off "Bionic". I love the "GaGa beats" on it. Too bad it failed big time on Billboard, not even managing to enter the Top 20.
WOOHOO - Right from the time it hit the net, I already loved this song which features rapper Nicki Minaj. Very R&B and Aguilera's vocals is soaring in this track. The beat kind of tells you to get your ass up and jam. And oh, how can we not love Minaj's bad ass rap? The song kinda reminds me of Beyonce's "Single Ladies".
ELASTIC LOVE - One of my favorite tracks off the album! Kinda reminds me of Britney Spears' "Freakshow". The strong synths give you the big O while listening to it. Lyrically, it was kind of genius except for the chorus which is kinda repetitive.
DESNUDATE - The title (which means "Get Naked") says it all. It's a sex song. Again, repetitive lyrics but seek beats. I love the fact that it's latin-flavored. Wish it was shorter though coz it gets kinda boring towards the end which kinda makes you skip to the next song.
GLAM - This song is all about fashion and being glamorous. Every girl could probably relate to this. Must be one of my least favorite off my "favorite list". I just can't relate to the lyrics.
PRIMA DONNA - Her vocals on this one can be compared to her vocals on "Fighter". Bad side about this track is that the verses are kind of "lazy" but picks up when you get to the chorus.
I HATE BOYS - This, in my opinion, is the strongest track off "Bionic" commercial-wise. Once you hear the bass-driven intro, it'll get you energized and will surely have you on your feet dancing. Downside is that it sounds a lot like Britney Spears' "Radar" and it is too short. An added verse would've made it perfect.
MY GIRLS - For me, this track would summarize what "Bionic" is all about - girls getting together, dancing and having fun. Also one of the strongest tracks off the album, this would also fit perfectly on Gwen Stefani's record, "Love. Angel. Music. Baby."
VANITY - This is Christina's most egocentric song on the album, talking about how "pretty" and "sexy" she is and even claiming that she "owns the throne". Let's give her the right to fantasize, it's her song and album after all.
Overall, I would say that Aguilera was wise enough to pick up music styles from past works of Britney Spears, Lady GaGa, Beyonce and Madonna and incorporated them into "Bionic". Not saying that she copied them, but obviously, she got ideas from these artists which is very much evident on songs that make up this album. Vocally, Christina still delivered and didn't sound too different from how she sounded on "Stripped". Lyrically though, this album is inferior to "Stripped" as songs on "Bionic" were more of the party anthem and sex anthem types.
1. Bionic
2. Not Myself Tonight
3. Woohoo feat. Nicki Minaj
4. Elastic Love
5. Desnudate
6. Love & Glamour (intro)
7. Glam
8. Prima Donna
9. Morning Dessert (intro)
10. Sex For Breakfast
11. Lift Me Up
12. My Heart (Intro)
13. All I Need
14. I Am
15. You Lost Me
16. I Hate Boys
17. My Girls feat. Peaches
18. Vanity
Pop Diva Christina Aguilera is all set to release her first album in 4 years on June 8, 2010. 'Bionic' as the album is called, is going to be "very futuristic" according to Aguilera herself. After listening to the album in full, I would say, it didn't turn out that way. 'Bionic' turned out to be somewhat similar to Aguilera's previous effort, "Stripped". From pop to electro to power ballads, Christina did seem to have experimented with the sound of this album and good enough, the album turned out quite solid, in my honest opinion.
I really love that fact that she went out of her shell this time and tried to make a lot of upbeat songs. Though I wish she made a full dance album out of this one and stayed away from the boring ballads for a change. Well obviously, I'm not a fan of the slow songs included in the album (Sex For Breakfast,Lift Me Up, All I Need, You Lost Me). This has got to be Aguilera's weakest line-up of ballads so far. None of the slow songs would actually match the caliber of her previous ballads like "I Turn to You", "Beautiful" and "The Voice Within" nor make a potential radio hit. I was actually expecting a lot from the Linda Perry-penned "Lift Me Up" but she did not deliver this time.
On a positive note, this has got to be Christina's second best album. I love "Stripped" hands down but "Bionic" is on a close second place. It kinda makes you wanna dance once you pop this disc on your player and keeps you wanting for more until somewhere at the middle, you lose the energy and get bored of the shallow ballads. That's only until "You Lost Me" though coz once "I Hate Boys" starts playing, you'll once again get off your feet and dance your butt off until the album's last track. Had it been a few tracks shorter, 'Bionic" would've been one of the greatest dance-pop albums out there along with the likes of Britney Spears' "Blackout", Madonna's "Confessions on a Dance Floor" and Rihanna's "Good Girl Gone Bad".
REPEAT: Not Myself Tonight, WooHoo, Elastic Love, Desnudate, Glam, I Hate Boys, My Girls, Vanity
SKIP: Sex For Breakfast, Lift Me Up, All I Need, You Lost Me
Early this month, blogger Perez Hilton leaked Britney Spears' version of Lady GaGa's hit, "Telephone" on his site. I was actually contemplating whether to post this one or not, so it took some time before I posted it. Just hours after Perez premiered the song on his blog, #BritneySpears actually became a trending topic on Twitter and on Yahoo! For weeks, it's been the topic on the net, with fans arguing about which version is better, Britney or GaGa? It's a known fact that the song was originally written by Lady GaGa for Britney's "Circus" album but did not make the cut.
It should be noted though that this is just a demo version. Song producer, Darkchild confirmed that it's really Britney but this was in the very early stage of recording. This isn't a mixed version. Nonetheless, I actually love BOTH versions. They're both original. I guess we have to stop comparing these artists now and just appreciate their music. Checkout Britney's "Telephone" below:
Adam Lambert's third single off his debut album "For Your Entertainment" is the party anthem "If I Had You". The song, written and produced by the great Max Martin (Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time", "Stronger" and "3"), was actually my favorite track off Lambert's debut album and I believe, Adam also love this track and so he fought for it to be his next single. The video for it has already been shot and Adam says he invited some of his superstar friends for a cameo on the music video, so let's just wait for it to be released. Meantime, as part of promotions, Adam performed the song on Ellen. And below we have the video for his awesome performance of "If I Had You".
Teen sensation Miley Cyrus is about to release her new album "Can't Be Tamed" on June 22. As the title suggests, Cyrus is now going for a sexier image after doing pop songs for quite some time. Same path that Britney Spears took when she was just starting out. And just like what Ms. Spears experienced way back, Miley is now being criticized here and there for the change of image. The first single with the same title (Can't Be Tamed) was already released and below we have its official music video.
For days now, I've been listening on repeat to BoA's song "fallin'". Something about this song makes me really happy everytime I listen to it. I've always loved BoA but I'm not a fan of her recent releases coz they're just not my style. It's been quite some time since I last fell in love with a BoA song, and this track from her new Japanese album, "Identity" really got me hooked. I don't know, but I really love the melody. And the piano intro layered with hypnotic synths made me love this song more. This is J-Pop in perfect form! I really want to hear more of this from BoA. I'm in love with it!
Checkout the song's lyrics below:
fallin'
BoA
Dore kurai naita n darou
Dore kurai kimi no sei ni shita n darou
Demo ima nara I CAN MAKE IT SMILE FOR YOU
Suteki na koi dato
Sunao ni kimi no namae yoberu
Jikan to tomo ni futari no omoi demo
Nagarete yuku darou
fallin' fallin' fallin' in love
Kimi ga kureta omoi deni
fallin' fallin' fallin' in love
Ima no watashi ni arigatou
fallin' fallin' fallin' in love
Kore kara no watashi no mirai
fallin' fallin' fallin' in love
fallin' fallin' in love
fallin' fallin' fallin' in love ...
Kyou wa deka kete miyou kana
Fudan shinai MEIKU moshi you kana
SUKA-TO ni wa HAI HI-RU awase
Kono STYLE de LET'S GO!
Hikari wa KIREI ni machi wo terasu
Itsumo to chigau keshiki ga miete kuru
Hoho emu ureshii
(I Think I'm in love)
fallin' fallin' fallin' in love
Kimi ga kureta omoi deni
fallin' fallin' fallin' in love
Ima no watashi ni arigatou
fallin' fallin' fallin' in love
Kore kara no watashi no mirai
fallin' fallin' fallin' in love
fallin' fallin' in love
fallin' fallin' fallin' in love ...
I see a beautiful rainbow that makes me feel positive
