I’m so excited. The wait is almost over. The highly anticipated movie Precious which is based on the Best- Selling novel Push by Sapphire opens in theaters Friday, November 6. The premiere of Precious was held in Hollywood, California. Brownsistas such as Monique, Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, Sherri Sheperd, Star Jones, and Mary J. Blige, and Paula Patton( who is preggers and glowing). were in attendance. I can’t wait to see this film.
Actress Adrienne Bailon celebrated her 26th birthday this past weekend at the Pink Elephant in New York City. Julissa Bermudez, Mashonda ( i’m happy she’s out and about now). Angie Martinez, Amina and Jazz of Black buddafly. It looks like it was fun times!
The Soul Train Awards was held last night at the Georgia World Congress Center last night in Atlanta, Georgia. Many celebrities and Brownsistas came out to celebrate. Be sure you watch the ceremony premiere on Sunday, November 29, at 9p.m. on BET. You can check out some of the event pics below.
According to industry reports, Janet Jackson will be getting her own ABC TV Special as well. The network will reportedly scrap the November 18th episode of “Eastwick” in favor of the Jackson special, which will air for an hour and possibly include performances of songs to be featured on the singer’s upcoming “Number Ones” album.
Jennifer Hudson and Beyonce also have upcoming ABC Specials on the horizon. Jennifer’s has no official release date but will air around Christmas time. Beyonce’s special will air on Thanksgiving, November 26th at 9pm.
You would have to be living under a rock not to notice how much slimmer Tyra Banks is looking these days. After having come under fire for her own weight issues, it seems the model took the criticism to heart and decided to do something about it. Tyra says she embarked on a “Get Fit/Healthy” challenge with several of her friends and came out the winner. The models says she has earned her “bragging rights” and is now ready to show off the results… sans any airbrushing or camera tricks.
And if you want to know exactly what Tyra did to lose the reported 30 pounds, tune in to her talk show tomorrow, where she will reportedly reveal all.
Anyone who visits this blog daily knows how much I love me some Janet Jackson and have for over 20 years. However, one thing that has annoyed me about Janet and the way she promotes her albums as of of late, is the way she seems to wait until the last minute to start promoting her new ventures. Janet won’t give one performance or even interview until the very day or week the album comes out. This to me is just one of the reasons why her sales have become so lackluster over the last few years.
All this of course leads to me what this post is really about… Amerie. The singer’s “In Love & War” album dropped today, but I had forgotten. Even though I have written about the singer’s upcoming CD many times, I had totally and completely forgotten. And how could I not have- Amerie hasn’t given one performance, that I know of, to promote it. Instead it appears she and her label are heavily depending on online promotion to move units.
One visit the some of the most popular urban (that means Black y’all) blogs online and you will see what I mean. Most of them look like virtual shrines to the singer. Yes, online is promotion is a great way to help sell your album- but it should not be the only way. Whatever happened to making appearances and performing your music for a live audience?
Today Amerie should have been out performing on The Today Show and chatting it up with Regis Kelly. Instead, I saw her twittering about how iTunes messed up and didn’t add her album for download.
Whatever the case, the singer needs to get on it. “In Love & War” has some hit worthy songs on it, but Amerie will have to work for them. Pop and R n’ B radio today isn’t very friendly to any (female) artist who’s names aren’t Rihanna, Lady Gaga, or Beyonce. More than ever female singers, especially R n’ B singers, have to work their butts off to get even the slightest bit recognition. I suggest Amerie gets work. We all know what Def Jam does to artists who don’t live up the their potential/hype (see Janet Jackson again).
The video for Rihanna’s “Wait Your Turn” single has officially debuted and via the singer’s own official website. You can go to Rihanna Now to check it out… and don’t forget, the single is officially available for download on iTunes now.
Photos of the singer leaving her hotel in New York City can also be seen below.
Beyonce is not yet ready to retire her “I Am… Sasha Fierce” album or the alter-ego that spawned it. The singer is looking to hit fans with a pair of major re-releases and a TV special…. all in time for the holiday season. First up is the November 23 release of I Am … Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas, a two-disc live CD/DVD compilation recorded earlier this year at the hotel/casino. That same day will also see the release of a deluxe edition of the singer’s multiplatinum I Am … Sasha Fierce double album. The reissue will come with two bonus tracks, including “Video Phone (Extended Remix),” which features Lady Gaga. The video for that song is set to premiere online this Thursday.
And if that isn’t enough Sasha Fierce for you, the singer will appear in her first ever one-hour TV special. “Beyonce- I Am Yours,” will air on November 26th on ABC and will reportedly feature never before seen performances by the singer and exclusive behind the scenes concert footage from the DVD.
Presently recording a new album to be released in 2010, Ciara has not been making many public appearances as of late. However the singer did come out of hiding right quick to grab a bit of lunch at the Ivy in Los Angeles, California. According to The Dream and Tricky Stewart, who are working with Ciara on her new album, the singer will be returning to the sound that made her famous, recording tunes reminiscent of Goodies and Promise.
Sounds good…
