Beyonce has unveiled a video to her H&M debut featuring the singer/actress/pop-icon being gone-with-the-wind-fabulous on the beach. She looks beautiful and the “Standing on the Sun” music is one I hope isn’t just background music but rather a certified track because as perfect as she looks on the beach, it’s a perfect track for summer. Check out the video below.
I’m excited to see Selena Gomez perform at the MTV Movie Awards. The SpringBreakers starlet tweeted “MTV Movie Awards tonight I am so excited and nervous for the performance tonight”. I’m even more excited for her video of her latest single “Come and Get It.” The single off her upcoming album seems to draw some inspiration from India, so I’m more interested in the beauty shots to come with. Gomez released a teaser of her video which can be viewed below.
Jay Sean has a very smooth vice, great smile, and amazing music. He also has a “I used to be fat” story which started at a young age. You probably couldn’t tell from his washboard abs that he sports now, but it does come to show you that weight not only affects everyone but it also doesn’t have to dictate or define your destiny. So how did the Cash Money Records’ singer lose his baby-weight? According to him, “Hard regular training and clean healthy eating.”
The crooner (Who should have his own Men’s Health Fitness cover which I know a lot of ladies would cop), released his 4th album Neon, with his first single hitting all the right notes and a video to accompany his latest single, “Where You Are” which you can catch below.
When I listen to a song, especially one with great heavy beats, I always find myself imagining a music video. However, when I first heard Baiyu’s “Take A Number” track, I actually just imagined my girlfriends and I getting ready to go out for a carefree night on the town. This is why I love the music Baiyu puts out. Whether a song showcases her strong abilities as a vocalist, her amazing craft as a song-writer, or her ability to jump on a track with an amazing beat and elevate it to a level where the listener finds themselves just (dare I say) “feelin’ it.”
“Take A Number” is one of those songs that can refer to a number of people including haters, those creepy people who just randomly feel the need to latch onto you and stalk you in the club, and for Baiyu “non-believers.” The music video was directed by Eif Rivera who captured the energetic and beautiful Baiyu in Queens, New York with music produced by KQuick. It’s a deep contrast to Baiyu’s earlier release of “Tommorow’s Another Day” filmed in Hawaii and another example of the depth and layers Baiyu shares as an artist.
If you haven’t picked up your EP of Fan Fair with songs like “Take A Number” and one of my favorites, “Together”, you can do so here. Remember all proceeds are going to the Japanese Red Cross for their tsunami relief efforts.
Beyonce Knowles headlined the Glastonbury Music Festival bringing some of her new songs from her latest album, classic hits, and fireworks as she worked out and rocked the stage. Knowles is the first female headliner in the history of the festival. Beyonce’s husband Jay-Z was the first hip-hop act to perform at the venue in 2008; he along with Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin of Coldplay were stage-side to watch Knowles perform. With a crowd of over 170,000 fans, Beyonce opened the show with her first single off her solo debut album, ‘Crazy In Love’ followed by other hits like ‘Single Ladies’ and ‘Irreplaceable’ to the cheers of the delighted crowd.
Britney Spears’ latest single ‘I Wanna Go’ will be released on airwaves today. The single is off her latest album Femme Fatale. The artwork for the sing features Spears sporting a white t-shirt which pays homage to her Mickey Mouse Days. Spears posted a peek of the cover on her Twitter page following with a caption of the title lyrics ‘I-I-I Wanna Go’. The song can also be heard on Bravo channel’s Summer lineup promo featuring all your favorite Bravoleberties. Spears will be on tour this summer with rapper Nicki Minaj opening her show. Spears, Minaj and Ke$ha were all on the remix of Spears’ last single off the Femme Fatale album, ‘Till the World Ends’.
Baiyu at the Great Women in Music event, cr: 319 Public Relations
Being featured by the likes of Funkmaster Flex, Karen Civil, You Heard That New, R&B Xclusive, as well as landing on the homepage of The Source, are accomplishments that not many can say they have achieved. However, Baiyu has accomplished that and she is determined to do more with the release of her first EP entitled ‘B-Side’. If you don’t know Baiyu, get to know her here.
“B-Side” fuses 90s style R&B and synth pop with the talent of a singer/songwriter. When Baiyu lays the vocals down on each and every track, you can hear her soul through the lyrics. The passion and strength of her voice compliments the lyrics in her songs, partly because Baiyu wrote every song on her album. Baiyu has been in the studio laboring tremendously alongside Mike Thompson, Vice President of A&R at JMD Records/ Universal Music Group, for the past three months. In that time they have been able “to complete a project that both she and the label are extremely proud of and excited for”.
“Mike has been a wonderful resource for us and an amazing mind to work with” comments Val, Baiyu’s manager. “Baiyu and I both feel very confident about the success of this project partly because we are in such capable hands. The type of support that JMD has shown us throughout this entire process has been quite a blessing.”
Baiyu has shared that this first EP “has its roots in not only my musical core, but in my personal experiences. Each song can be tied to such specific moments in my life that I almost feel a kind of nakedness in sharing them with others. Yet, I remind myself that this very fact is what is most exciting about the release, and is what I, and my fans, have been waiting for.”
The tracks on B-Side has quite an eclectic feel, from inspirational lyrics to sensual undertones. Here are my thoughts of Baiyu’s EP track by track. But don’t just take my word for it, go out and get it.
1. ‘B-Side’ is the titletrack for the the EP. It’s lyrics and beat is a good defining tune for Baiyu’s style, a mix of old-school R&B, the sultry and sensual, classic and refreshing.
2. ‘Sweet Misery’ incorporates the sounds of a drum, mandolin, and studio beats to create a haunting uptempo ballad that lingers in your mind. It’s a great song for any girl (or guy) to incorporate in their break-up playlist. This is the type of track where I feel Baiyu’s personality really shines through. It’s strong, soft, and most of all very genuine, especially with her lyrics. She delivers authenticity with a tone that is true to the emotions involved within the storyline of the song.
3. ‘Don’t Cry’ is a song that I imagine hearing Usher or Ne-Yo singing to add a gentle and acoustic track to their album. The lyrics and mood of the song added by the melody of the guitar create a beautiful composition of music. ‘Don’t Cry’ is has a lullaby-effect that won’t put you to sleep because you want to stay in that blissful and nurtured mood. It takes you to a peaceful state of mind where you feel protected. With having a female taking over the vocals, it adds a bit of depth and expands the message of the song.
4. ‘Foolish’ shares sensual passion with the ‘ooh-wee’ and the pain of regret when asking ‘How was I so foolish’. It’s a song that understands the pain and regret that is endured when it comes to the demise of a heart. It expresses hurt, sorrow and realization. The vocals show off Baiyu’s range and her ability to express the emotions in lyrics.
5. ‘Tomorrow’s Another Day’ reminds me of Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ because while the music is a bit more uptempo in beat the lyrics itself could make for a beautiful ballad. During performance sets I could see Baiyu performing an acoustic version of this song, which would accompany this track very well. It’s a message that acknowledges the pain of today but hope for tomorrow. Overall, this track just brings a smile to my face. It’s the type of song that you could play throughout your apartment on laundry day with your ponytail, no makeup and sweats, with your brush as your microphone and just sing-a-long and get a bit silly. ‘Tomorrow’s Another Day’ is beautiful ‘feel-good’ song.
Overall, ‘Don’t Cry’ and ‘Tomorrow’s Another Day’ are my favorite tracks from the ‘B-Side’ mainly because if you take music personally like I do, you like the music that matches your mood or brings you to the state of mind that you want to be in. I’m just at a happy place right now and I find both of these songs to be beautiful, uplifting, and comforting. However, if you’re going through a breakup, or wish today’s artist would return to old-school R&B then you will probably prefer tracks like ‘Foolish’. To sum up ‘B-Side’ I would have to say it’s a great EP of songs which shares two of Baiyu’s biggest strengths, her personality and her ability to connect. Baiyu has an amazing voice and an array of songs to share with you and I hope all of you enjoy ‘B-Side’ as much as I do.
Kanye West writes a song for Taylor Swift. West took to his twitter to announce “I wrote a song for Taylor Swift that’s so beautiful and I want her to have it. If she won’t take it then I’ll perform it for her.” We all may remember the infamous VMA interruption by West during Swifts acceptance speech, but Kanye also tweeted “She had nothing to do with my issues with award shows. She had no idea what hit her. She’s justa lil girl with dreams like the rest of us”.
West blames other influences for the tension between the two artists. West tweeted “We’re both artist and the media and managers are trying to get between us. Everyone wants to capitalize off this is some way”.
Is the tweets possibly media hype for West’s upcoming album Dark Twisted Fantasyand collaboration with Jay-Z, Watch the Throne? Maybe, but West has been a man of his word by releasing the song ‘Devil in a New Dress‘; so maybe Swift might need to add room to her third studio album Speak Now slated for October 25th release
Pop singer Britney Spears has unveiled her latest fragrance ‘Radiance’ through none other than social media site Twitter ; as she tweeted “Aloha! Here’s my new commercial for Radiance…do you like?” sharing a link to her commercial for the fragrance. While Spears’ personal life has been under scrutiny her ad delivers her newest tagline; “I choose my own destiny” and tells her fragrance wearers to “Choose their own destiny” as well. All of Spears’ fragrances are trademarked and licensed through beauty brand Elizabeth Arden. The combination of both Spears and Arden have led to a successful line of fragrances including her original scent ‘Curious’ to her latest ‘Radiance’. Among all celebrity fragrance endorsers, Spears leads the pack as spears has sold 1 Billion bottles in the past 5 years and grossed over $1.5 billion in sales worldwide.
Spears’ 9th fragrance, ‘Radiance’, has notes of tuberose, jasmine, orange flower, cashmere woods, iris and jasmine. Tops notes include wild berries and dewy petals. Bottles will retail for $18 to $60. If you’ve smelled her other fragrances before ‘Radiance’ shares the same light musky tone as ‘Curious’. See the video below to view the commercial for ‘Radiance’. Photos & Film courtesy of Elizabeth Arden.
Can you sing? If ‘yes’ then Avoncosmetics and Grammy-award winner Fergie are looking for you, well at least at you. To celebrate Avon’s 125th anniversary, the cosmetics giant who has the likes of Reese Witherspoon and Fergie as brand ambassadors, are hosting a singing contest. On December 1, 2010, aspiring artists can upload a video of themselves singing a preselected song to AvonVoices.com. You will be judged by esteemed songwriterDiane Warren and Fergie. The contest is “designed to inspire and empower women to share their voice, their song and their story.”
Fergie is a brand ambassador of Avon who has also designed her first perfume through the company. The perfume is called ‘Outspoken’.
Beyonce has unveiled a video to her H&M debut featuring the singer/actress/pop-icon being gone-with-the-wind-fabulous on the beach. She looks beautiful and the “Standing on the Sun” music is one I hope isn’t just background music but rather a certified track because as perfect as she looks on the beach, it’s a perfect track for summer. Check out the video below.
