SPOTTED: RIHANNA, CHRISTINA MILIAN, LEONA LEWIS, DAWN RICHARDS, MARY J BLIGE & MARIO…

Posted by Toya on November 20, 2008 - 2:47 pm

Check out a couple more pictures of Rihanna at last night’s launch of the GUCCI tattoo heart collection to Benefit UNICEF:

SPOTTED: RIHANNA, CHRISTINA MILIAN, LEONA LEWIS, DAWN RICHARDS, MARY J BLIGE & MARIO...
SPOTTED: RIHANNA, CHRISTINA MILIAN, LEONA LEWIS, DAWN RICHARDS, MARY J BLIGE & MARIO...SPOTTED: RIHANNA, CHRISTINA MILIAN, LEONA LEWIS, DAWN RICHARDS, MARY J BLIGE & MARIO...SPOTTED: RIHANNA, CHRISTINA MILIAN, LEONA LEWIS, DAWN RICHARDS, MARY J BLIGE & MARIO...SPOTTED: RIHANNA, CHRISTINA MILIAN, LEONA LEWIS, DAWN RICHARDS, MARY J BLIGE & MARIO...

These pics show what she was wearing underneath the coat as well as a brand new dress afterwards. The purple dress is absolutely stunning. She also used the event to explain her new tattoo (fella Chris Brown has a matching one as well). She says: “It’s tribal. It represents strength and love”. Aww!

Christina Milian attended a 944 Issue Release Party this week:

SPOTTED: RIHANNA, CHRISTINA MILIAN, LEONA LEWIS, DAWN RICHARDS, MARY J BLIGE & MARIO...SPOTTED: RIHANNA, CHRISTINA MILIAN, LEONA LEWIS, DAWN RICHARDS, MARY J BLIGE & MARIO...SPOTTED: RIHANNA, CHRISTINA MILIAN, LEONA LEWIS, DAWN RICHARDS, MARY J BLIGE & MARIO...SPOTTED: RIHANNA, CHRISTINA MILIAN, LEONA LEWIS, DAWN RICHARDS, MARY J BLIGE & MARIO...
Source.

Gorgeous.

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BRITNEY SPEARS: ‘CIRCUS’ [ALBUM REVIEW]…

Posted by Toya on November 20, 2008 - 9:37 am

BRITNEY SPEARS: CIRCUS [ALBUM REVIEW]...

BRITNEY SPEARS: CIRCUS [ALBUM REVIEW]...With the pop genius that was the VERY underrated ‘Blackout’ last year, Britney Spears is trying her hand at yet another musical comeback hoping for it to be much more successful than the last one. The Princess of Pop is back with her brand new album ‘Circus’, and although the album doesn’t drop until her 27th birthday (Dec 2nd), the project spilled it’s way onto the big bad Net this week. Britney worked with a high profile number of producers for the project which included the likes of Danja, The Outsyders, The Underdogs, Bloodshy & Avant, Jim Beanz, Kelly Claude, Max Martin, Benny Blanco, Dr. Luke, Fernado Garibay, Greg Kurstin, Guy Sigsworth and the list is just endless.

The introductory track as well as the leading single ‘Womanizer’ is without a doubt, one of the worst songs on the album. It doesn’t even come close to some of the flawlessness Britney has put out previously (Gimme More, Slave 4 U, etc). Although the heavily synthesised techno-driven song doesn’t come close to her best work, it’s certainly doing its job on the charts and that’s the main principle. There are in fact songs on the album that clearly gives Womanizer a run for its money, such as ‘Kill The Rights’, ‘Circus’ and ‘Mannequinn’. I’d have chosen Circus because it would have made the perfect statement about the past two years of her chaotic life. The song certainly glistens with its infectious dance-stomping beat, catchily-engaging chorus and attitude-infused energy. Britney has yet to show us she can break out into a mean sweat like the early days. If she were to shut up the naysayers about her latest inability to perform, this would be the perfect song to do it with.

The Danja-produced Kill The Lights uses the producer’s voice-over announcement before declaring Britney as the “Queen of Pop” and roaring into an aggressive thumping sonically-driven beat. Lines such as “Is that money in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?” make the song even more compelling. Mannequin is just as contagious and dance-friendly with Britney using distinct-style vocals. Other upbeat pop stompers reside in the electro-driven ‘Shattered Glass’ and the euro-dance groove ‘Phonography’. The track ‘Blur’ which slightly reminds me of Rihanna’s Rehab is also a shining point. Having expressed my appreciation for Britney’s uptempo and rather addictive dance beats, I will say that I’ve never been a fan of Britney’s ballads. And unlike on the Blackout album, she appears to put extra focus on some of those slower-paced numbers like ‘My Baby’, ‘Out From Under’ and the Bloodshy & Avant-produced ‘Unusual You’, which reminded me very much of 90’s Dido.

Out From Under which is preoccupied by some guitar riffs, sees Britney covering the Joanna Pacitti original orchestrating her breathy vocals over the track and very surprisingly, not doing a bad job of it only proving that sometimes less is more. And in the coo-y ‘My Baby’, Britney softly croons sweet innocence in ode of her two children. Filler songs reside in the electronic guitar riffing of ‘Mmm Papi’ which was put together by Nicole Morier of Electrocute. ‘Rock Me In’, another electronic number from Morier, is also deserving of the filler envelope. I think Mmm Papi is a fun song but I just felt that production-wise, it was just irrelevant. As for ‘Lace & Leather’, it is straight 80’s-inspired pop which has some Madonna influences here and there. And ‘If U Seek Amy’ had me liking the cheekiness and wit behind it especially with the ‘F.U.C.K me’ alternative. It’s not really a stand-out song for me either, but then again, I was never a fan of Max Martin.

If I had to pick the standouts mine would be Circus, Kill The Lights, Mannequin, Blur, Shattered Glass and Unusual You. In part, I heard a bit of ‘Blackout’ and a couple of ‘In The Zone’ revisitations which are two of Britney’s best work. Some of the songs on this album were whimsical, modern, catchy and nicely produced but fell a bit short in comparison, whilst others displayed much of Britney’s maturity. Nice effort nonetheless.

Rating: 3/5

‘SEVENTEEN’ MAGAZINE CELEBRATES BEYONCE…

Posted by Toya on November 20, 2008 - 4:46 am

Beyonce attended an event last night which saw Seventeen magazine celebrate her for landing their 2008 Style Star of the Year at the Hearst Tower in New York City:

SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE CELEBRATES BEYONCE...
SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE CELEBRATES BEYONCE...SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE CELEBRATES BEYONCE...SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE CELEBRATES BEYONCE...

I like the dress but I would not have worn those shoes with it. She still looked cute though. Beyonce season has only just begun…

RIHANNA ATTENDS 2008 UNICEF SNOWFLAKE LIGHTING AT GRAND ARMY PLAZA…

Posted by Toya on November 20, 2008 - 4:02 am

Last night in New York City, Rihanna attended a cocktail party in the GUCCI Fifth Avenue flagship store to celebrate the launch of the GUCCI tattoo heart collection to Benefit UNICEF:

RIHANNA ATTENDS 2008 UNICEF SNOWFLAKE LIGHTING AT GRAND ARMY PLAZA...
RIHANNA ATTENDS 2008 UNICEF SNOWFLAKE LIGHTING AT GRAND ARMY PLAZA...RIHANNA ATTENDS 2008 UNICEF SNOWFLAKE LIGHTING AT GRAND ARMY PLAZA...RIHANNA ATTENDS 2008 UNICEF SNOWFLAKE LIGHTING AT GRAND ARMY PLAZA...

The singer and GUCCI Creative Director Frida Giannini lit the UNICEF Snowflake in NYC. Not really feeling the hair but I’m loving the make-up.

Check out the full stunning advertisement for it below:

RIHANNA ATTENDS 2008 UNICEF SNOWFLAKE LIGHTING AT GRAND ARMY PLAZA...

Stunning indeed.

SOLANGE KNOWLES: ‘T.O.N.Y’ [NEW VIDEO PREMIERE]…

Posted by Toya on November 20, 2008 - 2:36 am

Check out the official video premiere for Solange’s latest new single ‘T.O.N.Y’ below. The track is the third single to be lifted from Solange’s latest album ‘SoL-AngeL & The Hadley Street Dreams’:

SOLANGE KNOWLES: T.O.N.Y [NEW VIDEO PREMIERE]...

Brilliant song, and nice video. She looked great, and at least a more clear emphasis was put on what T.O.N.Y really stands for, especially for those that weren’t in the know. Everyone seems to be doing the black and white video these days.

ROBIN THICKE: ‘THE SWEETEST LOVE’ [NEW VIDEO PREMIERE]…

Posted by Toya on November 19, 2008 - 4:39 pm

Earlier today, Robin Thicke premiered his brand new video for ‘The Sweetest Love’, taken from his third studio album ‘Something Else’. Check it out below:

ROBIN THICKE: THE SWEETEST LOVE [NEW VIDEO PREMIERE]...

The video was red hawt, especially the bedroom scenes. In my album review over the weekend, I did say you could make babies to this, lol. I love this song as well. It’s one of my favourites off the album. Props to him for using a dark skinned black girl as his love interest. Jessica White is really pretty.

BRANDY COVERS JET…

Posted by Toya on November 19, 2008 - 4:06 pm

Brandy, who will release her forthcoming album ‘Human’ on Dec 9th, graces the latest cover of ‘Jet’ magazine:

BRANDY COVERS JET...
BRANDY COVERS JET...

I’m not feeling the cover that much but at least her ass isn’t face up on the cover with a hideous caption to go with it. Plus, it’s about time she started gracing some magazine covers.

SPOTTED: BEYONCE & RIHANNA…

Posted by Toya on November 19, 2008 - 3:36 pm

Beyonce attended Gotham Magazine’s Annual Gala at Escape last night in New York City. The singer covered the latest issue of the magazine recently:

SPOTTED: BEYONCE & RIHANNA...
SPOTTED: BEYONCE & RIHANNA...SPOTTED: BEYONCE & RIHANNA...SPOTTED: BEYONCE & RIHANNA...

She was even seen wearing a $3,000 pair of Chanel earrings. Beyonce who released her album ‘I Am…Sasha Fierce’ this week, is predicted to sell between 500-550K in first week sales. Not sure if it’s me but I was expecting her to sell more than that especially with appearing on all the MAJOR TV shows, Oprah and SNL being the most important. Alicia sold 743K last year in the first week and Mary did around 640K last year as well. In fact, Alicia beat Mary’s record last year for being the top R&B female first week seller. And I don’t recall Alicia or Mary having Beyonce’s type of promotion or the need to use gimmicks (alter ego’s and cyborg glove). C’mon stans, try harder!

Rihanna was spotted arriving at JFK Airport in NYC last night. She flew in to light the UNICEF Snowflake:

SPOTTED: BEYONCE & RIHANNA...
SPOTTED: BEYONCE & RIHANNA...SPOTTED: BEYONCE & RIHANNA...SPOTTED: BEYONCE & RIHANNA...
Rihanna Daily

The singer will also attend an exclusive cocktail party in the GUCCI Fifth Avenue flagship store to celebrate the launch of the GUCCI tattoo heart collection to Benefit UNICEF.

BEYONCE’S ‘106 & PARK’ PERFORMANCES…

Posted by Toya on November 19, 2008 - 9:30 am

Yesterday, Beyonce released her third studio album ‘I Am…Sasha Fierce’ and to further promote it, she performed on BET’s ‘106 & Park’ that same day. Here’s her ‘Single Ladies’ performance:

BEYONCES 106 & PARK PERFORMANCES...

As usual, great performance. It really is Beyonce season and the eye will certainly be on her first week album sales as the promo has been pretty strenuous.

Anyway, here’s her performance of ‘If I Were A Boy’:

BEYONCES 106 & PARK PERFORMANCES...

Chick is OWNING itunes right now. Not only does she have the no 1 music video with ‘Single Ladies’ but she has the no 1 album AND single with ‘If I Were A Boy’.

She also sang a bit of ‘At Last’ to the fans:

BEYONCES 106 & PARK PERFORMANCES...

Performance starts midway. Good stuff.

SPOTTED: BEYONCE, SOLANGE & SHONTELLE…

Posted by Toya on November 18, 2008 - 4:41 pm

Beyonce visited Power 105 where she spoke with Ed Lover and Free this morning. She spoke on the rumors about one of her dancers in the ‘Single Ladies’ video being a man as well as that infamous Kanye West comment Rihanna being the best thing to happen to her:

SPOTTED: BEYONCE, SOLANGE & SHONTELLE...
SPOTTED: BEYONCE, SOLANGE & SHONTELLE...SPOTTED: BEYONCE, SOLANGE & SHONTELLE...

Of course she didn’t take the bait though: “I love Kanye. It’s all from a good place…and I love Rihanna. I think she’s fantastic and she’s done an incredible job. I love all her records”. That answer was a little too perfect as if she was expecting it. Listen to the full interview here.

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♫ BEYONCE: ‘IF I WERE A BOY’ [SPANISH REMIX]…

Posted by Toya on November 18, 2008 - 12:49 pm

Beyonce gets all sexy senorita on the Spanish rendition of her latest smash ‘If I Were A Boy’. Check out the audio below:

♫ BEYONCE: IF I WERE A BOY [SPANISH REMIX]...

Fantastic job!

SNEAK PEEKS: GUCCI’S 2009 HOLIDAY CAMPAIGN FEAT RIHANNA…

Posted by Toya on November 18, 2008 - 12:18 pm

Rihanna is featured in Gucci’s UNICEF 2009 holiday campaign which sees her working with Gucci’s creative director Frida Giannini. Here is a preview clip of behind-the-scenes footage:

SNEAK PEEKS: GUCCIS 2009 HOLIDAY CAMPAIGN FEAT RIHANNA...

The e-film documentary showcases Rihanna and Frida on the set of the UNICEF 2009 holiday ad campaign as well as Rihanna at the Gucci Winter Ready-to-Wear show in September. It also shows Rihanna and Frida discussing sketches and more. The full-length documentary will be posted on Rihanna’s and Gucci’s websites on December 9th. Get it Riri.

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