Toni Braxton - Snowflakes

A few years ago I got the criminally underrated Toni Braxton "Snowflakes" Christmas CD.  In that time, this Christmas CD has rocketed to what I now think is my fav Christmas CD ever.  There's just something about it that is smooth, fun, different, and classic.  Unfortunately, the CD is barely available.  However, if you find it, I recommend buying it, so worth the little money for some smooth R&B tracks.

Merry Christmas!

Mr Hudson Promo Spot, Instant Messenger + FRANKMUSIK revisited

Just found this Mr Hudson promo spot that came out in October. I dig it and like the direction. This is the second UK promo spot for a UK promo act that I have really liked. The other was FRANKMUSIK and I put his below too.

Is it the same promo dude voice in each promo ad?

+

I found this video for "Instant Messenger" released around the same time...




FRANKMUSIK promo spot

Rihanna - Hard Video

The song doesnt intrigue me at all. Where are the hooks and the jams?

Jay Z still on top of HOT 100, barely

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys hold at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a fifth week with "Empire State of Mind," barely holding off a strong surge by Ke$ha's "TiK ToK," which jumps 3-2.

"TiK ToK" holds at No. 2 on Digital Songs, trailing that chart's leader, Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," by under 1,000 downloads. "Bad Romance," meanwhile slips 2-3 on the Hot 100 even though it is the chart's Airplay Gainer (up 13.5 million listener impressions). The unit difference between the top entries on Digital Songs is the chart's smallest since this very week in 2005, when Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" prevailed over Eminem's "When I'm Gone."

Below the top three, Iyaz's "Replay" and "Fireflies" by Owl City stand still at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. "Sexy Chick" by David Guetta featuring Akon (7-6) swaps spots with former No. 1 "Whatcha Say" by Jason Derulo, whose sophomore single, "In My Head," debuts at No. 63.

The last three spots in the top 10 mirror last week's ranking, as the Black Eyed Peas' "Meet Me Halfway" (No. 8), "3" from Britney Spears (No. 9) and Jay Sean's "Down" (No. 10) hold steady. It's the second week in a row that the top 10 of the Hot 100 has failed to welcome a new title into its ranks.

Timbaland cashes in on another collaboration with Justin Timberlake as "Carry Out" climbs 75-31 as the chart's Digital Gainer. The song also soars 47-18 on Digital Songs (up 26,000 downloads).

Ludacris posts the best Hot 100 debut of his career, as "How Low" opens at No. 13 and claims the week's Hot Shot Debut title, thanks to strong first week download sales (93,000). "How Low" is Ludacris' best start since he was a featured vocalist, with Usher, on Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz's "Lovers & Friends" (No. 36 in 2004). The rapper's best debut with one of his own songs was at No. 48, with "Georgia" in 2006.

Mariah Carey "Obsessed" on Lopez Tonight

Jennifer Lopez - Louboutins - So You Think You Can Dance Live

Toni Braxton - Yesterday Video (Minus Trey Songz)

Britney Spears - 3 (Director's Cut) Video

Leona Lewis - I See You Video

New Michael Jackson kids Thanksgiving Video

This is just kind of creepy.  It features Jermaines kids Jermajesty (wtf?) and Jaafar, Randys kids Donte and Randy Jr and apparently Prince and Blanket.  Just weird.  I feel bad for MJ's kids...

Mariah Carey Angels Advocate Tour

The blogs are coming down hards on my fav girl, Mimi.  Go forth mimi, push this album, make it stand out, and hit the road!

Tour dates below!

Mariah Carey, who hasn't toured in over three years, will embark on a national "Angels Advocate" trek beginning Dec. 31 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and wrapping up on Feb. 27 at The Pearl Concert Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada. Presale tickets will be available for Honey B. Fly, the official Mariah Carey Fan Club, members for all show dates. Tickets for the majority of the tour will go on sale on Dec. 19. Visit Carey's official website, MariahCarey.com, for more details.

The eight-week, 19-city tour will feature opening act RydazNrtist, a new R&B group signed to Carey's husband Nick Cannon's label, NCredible Entertainment.

"Angels Advocate" tour is in support of Carey's latest album, "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel," which has sold 344,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Dec. 31: New York, NY (Madison Square Garden)
Jan. 2: Atlantic City, NJ (Borgata)
Jan. 15-16: Mashantucket, CT (MGM Grand Theatre @ Foxwoods)
Jan. 19: Atlanta, GA (Fox Theatre)
Jan. 21: Hollywood, FL (Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino)
Jan. 25: Detroit, MI (Fox Theatre)
Jan. 27: Washington, DC (DAR Constitution Hall)
Jan. 30: Boston, MA (Wang Theatre)
Feb. 1: Philadelphia, PA (Tower Theatre)
Feb. 4: Montreal, Que. (Bell Centre)
Feb. 6: Ottawa, Ont. (Scotiabank Place)
Feb. 9: Toronto, Ont. (Air Canada Centre)
Feb. 10: Columbus, OH (Schottenstein Center)
Feb. 13: Chicago, IL (Chicago Theatre)
Feb. 16: Minneapolis, MN (Northrop Auditorium)
Feb. 18: Dallas, TX (Nokia Theatre)
Feb. 20: Phoenix, AZ (Dodge Theatre)
Feb. 23: Los Angeles, CA (Gibson Theatre)
Feb. 26: Oakland, CA (Oracle Arena)
Feb. 27: Las Vegas, NV (The Pearl Concert Theater)

Miley Cyrus Lost Her GRAMMY Nom! Snap!

Snap! 

Miley has lost her Grammy Nom!  Iver never heard this before, and I think its hilar!  And c'mon, Miley and Grammy, but Whitney didn't even get Best Contemporary RnB album nom, please. 

Miley Cyrus has lost her Grammy nod for Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television, Or Other Visual Media. After Walt Disney Records disclosed that Cyrus' ballad "The Climb" was not expressly written for "Hannah Montana: The Movie" soundtrack, the Academy nixed the teen pop star's nod and replaced it with one for Yeah Yeah Yeahs' frontwoman Karen O. Along with co-writer and bandmate Nick Zinner, O is now nominated for the song "All Is Love" from the "Where the Wild Things Are" soundtrack.

[source]

Michael Jackson To Get Lifetime Achievement Grammy

Michael Jackson

The Recording Academy will honor a number of artists with Special Merit Awards as part of the upcoming Grammy celebration. This year's Lifetime Achievement Award honorees will be Michael Jackson, Leonard Cohen, Bobby Darin, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Loretta Lynn, André Previn and Clark Terry. Additionally, this year's Trustees Award honorees are Harold Bradley, Florence Greenberg and Walter C. Miller; and AKG and Thomas Alva Edison are this year's Technical Grammy Award honorees. The Grammys will be handed out on January 31 and will air live on CBS.

"This year's honorees are a prestigious group of diverse and prominent creators who have contributed some of the most distinguished and influential recordings," said Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow. "Their outstanding accomplishments and passion for their craft have created a timeless legacy that has positively affected multiple generations, and will continue to influence generations to come. It is an honor and privilege to recognize such talented individuals who have had and will continue to have such an influence in both our culture and the music industry." 

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors lifelong artistic contributions to the recording medium while the Trustees Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the industry in a non-performing capacity. Technical Grammy awards are presented to individuals and companies who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.

In other Jacko news, he was just named as iTunes' Artist of the Year after his death was followed by a massive spike in catalog sales. The Essential Michael Jackson was the sixth highest selling album on iTunes this year. He also recently won four posthumous American Music Awards, including Favorite Male Artist and Favorite Album for Number Ones in both the Pop and Soul/R&B categories.

[source]

“Lilith Local Talent Search”

This is an amazing opportunity! Please share with your talented friends!

http://www.ourstage.com/go/lilith

Since its inception Lilith Fair has provided a stage solely for female solo-artists and female-fronted bands in order to celebrate music made by women. This year Lilith will give aspiring female artists the opportunity to perform a set at each of the 2010 tour stops in North America.

Upload your best original song into the “Lilith Local Talent Search” Channel for your chance to perform at Lilith and become a part of its music legacy.

I Am - Mary J. Blige Video

Mariah Carey - H.A.T.E.U. Video

Horrible video! I cant believe it, budget is done for this album. What a great song and a completely unrelated video.

Sarah McLachlan, Mary J. Blige To Headline 2010 Lilith Tour

Lilitrh Fair reborn!  look slike a greta line up, Im glad this is back!

Sarah McLachlan will headline the main stage at Lilith 2010, the reborn touring music festival which highlights women in music that she co-founded in the 1997. Among the artists joining Mclachlan on the road will be Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, Erykah Badu, Colbie Caillat, Ke$ha, Tegan and Sara, Miranda Lambert and Metric.

Other musicians confirmed for the 2010 tour include A Fine Frenzy, Indigo Girls, Emmylou Harris, Chairlift, Jill Scott, Sugarland, Brandi Carlile, Sara Bareilles, Zee Avi and The Weepies.

Jay-Z, Alicia Keys Lock Up Fourth Week Atop Hot 100

It's a fairly stationary week in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, with "Empire State of Mind" from Jay-Z and Alicia Keys holding atop the list for a fourth frame and no new titles entering the upper level. In fact, no song in the top 10 moves more than one slot up or down the tally.

Lady Gaga takes Airplay Gainer honors while holding in the runner-up slot with "Bad Romance," while fellow female Ke$ha bides her time at No. 3 for a second straight week with "Tik Tok." Iyaz inches 5-4, returning "Replay" to its prior peak, switching slots with Owl City's "Fireflies" (4-5).

Jason DeRulo remains at No. 6 with "Whatcha Say," staying ahead of "Sexy Chick" by David Guetta Featuring Akon, which jumps 8-7. Slipping 7-8 is the Black Eyed Peas' "Meet Me Halfway." Rounding out the top 10 is Britney Spears' "3' (10-9) and Jay Sean's "Down" (9-10).

[source]

Susan Boyle Set to Top the Billboard 200 for a Third Week

Susan Boyle's "I Dreamed a Dream" is on course to spend a third week atop the Billboard 200, as industry sources suggest the set will sell at least another 500,000 copies and could approach 600,000 by week's end on Dec. 13.

This past week, Boyle's "Dream" held on to the No. 1 slot for a second week with sales of 527,000, after bowing last week with 701,000. Now, with 1.23 million sold in its first two weeks, "Dream" is chasing after Taylor Swift's "Fearless" (2.53 million sold this year) for the title of 2009's best selling album. With four sales weeks left in the SoundScan tracking year, Boyle could overtake Swift's sales figure by year's end.

Meanwhile, the highest debut on the tally will come from either the second installment of the "Glee" television soundtrack, or Chris Brown's new album, "Graffiti." Currently, "Glee" is projected to sell between 110,000 and 120,000 in its first week, while Brown may shift 95,000 to 110,000. After that, it looks like the currently jailed Gucci Mane will be the next biggest bow, as his "The State Vs. Radric Davis" could break out with 90,000. A little over a month ago, the first "Glee" soundtrack entered the chart at No. 4 with 113,000 sold copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. As for the beleaguered Brown, his last album, "Exclusive," debuted at No. 4 in 2007 with 294,000.

[source]

Alicia Keys - The Element of Freedom Deluxe Cover

Sade - Soldier of Love Cover

User - Raymond Vs Raymond Cover

SKINS series 4 trailer!!

and here's the other trailers from previous seasons just for fun!

Series 2

Adam Lambert Axed from ABC Shows...again.

This is unbelievable. I actually feel bad for someone like Jimmy Kimmel who after years of doing that show, has little control over the performers. Ridiculous FCC!

Source

Lambert spread word of the cancellations Wednesday night (Dec. 2) via Twitter. "Yes, sadly friends, ABC has canceled my appearances on Kimmel and NYE. :( don't blame them. It's the FCC heat," he wrote. The "American Idol" alum had been booked to perform on the late-night show "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Dec. 17 and was allegedly set to perform on the network's annual "New Year's Rockin' Eve" special, which, like the AMAs, is helmed by Dick Clark Productions.

Alhough ABC has scrapped every appearance Lambert had booked on the network since the AMAs, other networks -- including CBS and now NBC -- continue to welcome him with open arms.

Grammy nominations 2010 - Beyonce leads with 10

Grammy nominations! I'm a bit underwhelmed, I was hoping for a few surprises, i.e. Janelle monae, solange, Mandy Moore (folk album), but instead big time top 40. On one hand it's nice to see so many young artists recognized, but idk, something was off.

Either way, beyonce and gaga lead the pack!

Check it out at the link below for a full list of of who is nominated for the Grammys in 2010!

http://www.grammy.com/grammy_awards/52nd_show/list.aspx

Lady Gaga and Britney Spears Cover Elle Magazine

Susan Boyle is indeed Number One!

YouTube sensation and former "Britain's Got Talent" contestant Susan Boyle's debut album "I Dreamed a Dream" opens at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with 701,000 copies sold in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan -- the best sales week for an album in the U.S. this year.

The arrival of "I Dreamed a Dream" also marks the best opening week for a female artist's debut album since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. Boyle beats out Ashanti for the title, as her self-titled debut began with 503,000 in 2002.

Boyle wasn't the only artist to drop an album in the very busy Thanksgiving shopping week, as the reality TV star led a packed release schedule.

2009 "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert's debut "For Your Entertainment" starts at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 198,000 copies. Last week, "Idol" champ Kris Allen saw his self-titled debut bow at No. 11 with 80,000.

Rihanna's fourth album "Rated R" climbs in at No. 4 with 181,000 -- the young diva's best sales week yet. Her previous best came when her third album "Good Girl Gone Bad" started with 162,000 at No. 2 in 2007.

Lady Gaga's new eight-song quasi-EP "The Fame Monster" bows at No. 5 with 174,000 while her first album "The Fame" rises from No. 34 to No. 6 (151,000; up 429%). The latter "Fame's" total jumps this week because it combines sales of her debut set in addition to a two-disc deluxe "The Fame" package that contains both "The Fame" and the new "Monster" disc.

As for holdovers in the top 10, Andrea Bocelli's "My Christmas" stands strong at No. 2 for a third week as it shifts 218,000 (up 18%) while Miley Cyrus' Wal-Mart-exclusive EP "The Time Of Our Lives" vaults from No. 29 to No. 7 with 150,000 (up 385%) thanks in part to its $5 sale tag at the retailer last week. Taylor Swift's "Fearless" moves from No. 10 to No. 8 with 125,000 (up 48%), Carrie Underwood's "Play On" holds at No. 9 with 124,000 (up 44%) and Norah Jones' "The Fall" falls from No. 3 to No. 10 with 110,000 (down 39%).

Last week's Billboard 200 No. 1, John Mayer's "Battle Studies," slips to No. 13 in its second week with 92,000 (down 68%).

Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending Nov. 29) totaled 10.73 million units, up 34% compared to the sum last week (7.99 million) and down 12% compared to the Thanksgiving sales week of 2008 (12.21 million). Year to date album sales stand at 320.2 million, down 13% compared to the same total at this point last year (369.9 million).

source