Solange Knowles performed her latest new music from her forthcoming album SoL-AngeL and the Hadley Street Dreams at VH1's Summer Of Soul for the Save The Music foundation in New York on Friday night:
Solange sure is providing the soul this summer and I can't wait to hear the new album in its entirety. Solange has been working her butt off promoting the project. Her parents Tina and Matthew Knowles also arrived to provide their support. I am loving her yellow gladiator-inspired shoes. Nice.
More flicks of the Knowles clan:
I can't get over how much weight Tina has lost. She must be on Beyonce's 14-day water, cayenne pepper and maple syrup diet.
Tamia and hubby Grant Hill were also at the show:
Tamia looked gorgeous.
And Ne-yo also performed some of his new music at the event as well from forthcoming album 'Year of The Gentleman':
.... looking fruitier than a packet of Rowntree's Wine Gums. Come out already. Peep-ho.
Teyana Taylor walked the runway to model swimsuits by Diesel and debuted her official second single 'Move'. She performed the track at Diesel's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim kick-off in Miami this past Thursday:
Pharrell Williams' 17-year-old protégé from Harlem also closed off the show on Thursday night. "I'm speechless that they picked my song" Taylor said, minutes after she'd bopped down the catwalk to her song, "Google Me Baby". Diesel had invited her to model, and Taylor felt it was a great fit. "Me and Diesel, we've got so much in common," she said. "My style is so Diesel!" She's kind of scary but it's good that you don't have to look like Giselle to get your catwalk on these days. Nice.
Rihanna was seen going on her many shopping sprees this week, with her best friend/assistant Melissa and co. She was seen outside of Fred Segal's on Thursday afternoon:
Cute get-up. Speaking of get-up, the ambitious career-minded 20-year-old is on course to set up her own clothing line. She doesn't just want to put her name on the line but she wants a major role with the developing side of it as well: "I am working on that right now. It takes a lot of effort, and I want to be involved with every step of the process". Rihanna also admitted that her own fashion sense is unconventional as she likes to break established style rules. She explained: "The idea of not wearing brown and black together seems so dated. The other day I wore a black T-shirt, black. Nobody jeans, a brown leopard-print belt by Dolce & Gabbana, and brown Giuseppe Zanotti shoes, and it looked awesome". She added: "Also, the rule about not matching your makeup to your outfit. I do that onstage, matching red lipstick to a bright red jacket or neon-pink eye shadow to a pink jumpsuit. And I also love to mix prints". Interesting.
On Friday, Mariah and her hubby Nick Cannon were seen leaving Mr Chows in LA after having a romantic meal:
.... and on Thursday, they were spotted once again at yet another eatery. This time they were seen leaving Nobu restaurant in Malibu. Nick looks more like her assistant than an actual husband. She's got his ass fully VAG-WHIPPED. He might have been a "gigolo" back in the day which saw him have his pick of a bevy of beauties swooning after his cornball ass but who's going to end up being the "heartbreaker" when everything goes down and out? He needs to quit with his STOP HATING T-Shirt because no one is hating on their "love". Just hilariously entertained at the bizarre union they call a marriage, lol.
Ashanti and her momager Tina Douglas were seen at Sephora's 10th anniversary celebration this week. Ashanti also performed a couple of her recent music at the event:
The 27-year-old looked pretty cute in a bright and colourful floral dress. I am liking the hair. She looked great!
The irrelevant but beautiful Adrienne Bailon was spotted with her man Robert at the 2nd Annual Matt Leinart Celebrity Bowling Night Benefi this week:
Good job she's connected to those Kardashians. With 3LW coming to an abrupt end and her Disney ambassadorship with The Cheetah Girls about to expire, she's gotta keep her name out there somehow. I always thought she'd end up being the new J.Lo of our generation. Guess not.
The extremely talented Karina Pasian was seen performing at the Coca Cola 'Refresh Your Flow' Tour:
Good things are in line for Ms Pasian. With Rihanna and Mariah Carey serving as top priorities and Janet Jackson being left out in the cold, let's hope the new signee (alongside Amerie) get fairer treatment at Def Jam. You know how they do.
Sunday, 20 July 2008
R&B SINGERS OUT & ABOUT....
Monday, 14 July 2008
MAGAZINES: MARY J BLIGE ON VEGAS; SOLANGE, KERI & TEYANA ON RAP-UP.....
Mary J Blige graces the latest cover of Vegas magazine, whereas R&B chicks Solange Knowles, Keri Hilson and Teyana Taylor grace the August issue of Rap-Up magazine as 2008's "Brave New Girls":
Keri Hilson will premiere her new video 'Energy' tonight on 106 & Park. Teyana will premiere her new single when she opens the Diesel spring/summer 09 beachwear show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim on July 17th in Miami. Her new single is called 'Move' and it was produced by Hit-Boy.
In the issue of Vegas, Mary shows her disdain towards American Idol artists: "Honestly, it’s not giving most of them a real chance to become an artist for the rest of their lives", she explains. "They are on national TV every night. They have automatic fame. All of the greatest artists had to struggle for their success".
I agree with her comment to an extent except for the last line. Just because someone auditioned for American Idol doesn't mean they didn't struggle. Appearing on a popular talent show, singing in front of over 30 million viewers and constantly having your singing abilities judged isn't easy either and takes a lot of guts and courage. As long as that artist is talented and they are marketed correctly, I don't see how they can't have a lasting career to those who got their record deals the good ole fashion way.
Sunday, 13 July 2008
ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL: SOLANGE KNOWLES [PERFORMANCES].....
The performances from last weekend's Essence Music Festival are now available to watch. Here's Solange Knowles performing her second single 'Sandcastle Disco' from her forthcoming album Sol-Angel & The Hadley Street Dreams (out on August 26th):
She sang live and sounded great! She sure is coming into her own as a fluently placid performer. I soooo loved it. That performance really impressed me. And who cares if she's ripping off Amy Winehouse. At least she can perform her ass off and does her best to put on a show. She really does have a strong incentive for her art, which is something that isn't seen in many artists, because all they care about is making money. As well as Sandcastle Disco, Solange also performed 6 o' Clock Blues and current hit single I Decided. Both performances are after the cut. In other Solange news, Kelly Rowland joined 1Xtra for a whole week to present the Breakfast Show with Trevor Nelson. She interviewed Solange and they exclusively played a brand new Solange track called Wanna Go Back. The song features rapper Q-Tip and Marsha from Floetry and will feature on her new album. You can check out the streamed audio over at George's site http://solange-k.net/
I'll post Rihanna and Chris Brown performances in a sec. But I thought Solange was deserving of her own post.
Solange performs 6 o' Clock Blues
Short clip of Solange performing I Decided
Monday, 7 July 2008
R&B CELEB SPOTTINGS: ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL DAY TWO & THREE + JENNIFER LOPEZ IN ITALY.....
Putting an end to the Essence Music Festival trilogy, here's the last reporting of what went down on day two and three. Solange posed it up with money hungry pimp of a daddy, Matthew Knowles:
Oh, and big sis Beyonce slipped in behind the scenes to give Sol some support. She was even seen playing with her little nephew Daniel. Cute.
Other R&B acts that were there that I didn't mention in previous posts include Estelle, Keyshia Cole, Jill Scott and Chrisette Michele:
Estelle Estelle Estelle. She really loves showing off those ashy knees.
Other R&B acts that attended and performed included Danity Kane's D. Woods, Musiq Soulchild, Keyshia Cole and Mary J Blige:
Keyshia showed off her affectionate side. Something we're not use to seeing. I'm also reading that Young Jeezy is foaming at the mouth claiming Keyshia bought him an engagement ring and asked him to marry her but he knocked her back because he wasn't ready to go there. Messy. Why he gotta put her business out there like that?
Keyshia and Chris Brown also did a signing:
All in all, it was an eventful weekend for the R&B celebs.
Jennifer Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony hung out with fashion designers Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce in Portofino, Italy this past weekend:
Jen looked fab as usual. It's as if she didn't even have twins. Her and Halle sure are killing it in the post-baby stakes.
Sunday, 6 July 2008
R&B CELEBRITY SPOTTINGS: BACKSTAGE @ THE 'ESSENCE FESTIVAL 2008' // D. WOODS B'DAY BASH.....
Backstage at the New Orleans Essence Festival 2008 event, Solange was spotted behind the scenes with her cute son 3-year-old Daniel Julez:
The handsome little fella is growing up nicely in deed and he was showing much affection to his mother. Sol only has his best interest at heart when she says she doesn't want little Daniel to follow in the family footsteps of working in showbiz. Recently, she said: "I'd love for him to be talented in other things. I hope that he wants to be a computer engineer." Solange is also seen hanging out with Bow Wow.
Chilli and J. Holiday was spotted behind the scenes as well:
.... as was Solange, Rihanna and Chris Brown who was spotted putting his skate boarding skills into practice.
Danity Kane singer D Woods celebrated her 25th birthday in Atlanta on July 3rd at Lucky Lounge:
D. Woods had an 80's themed birthday bash but looked pretty undesirable in a blah-looking wedding dress, but if she likes it I love it. Aubrey was looking a hot mess as usual. It's almost become standard procedure. The good news is I'm hearing their video Bad Girl is near completion so fingers crossed that we'll be seeing it soon.
WIREIMAGES // GETTY // ALLTHEPARTIES
Saturday, 5 July 2008
CELEB SPOTTINGS: R&B SINGERS OUT & ABOUT [IN NEW ORLEANS]....
Young superstar couple Chris Brown and Rihanna performed at the Louisiana Superdome during the 2008 Essence Music Festival yesterday (July 4th) in New Orleans:
Check out what Billboard had to say about Rihanna's new single 'Disturbia': Rihanna has scored 10 top 40 hits since her career launched in 2005. More staggering, the 20-year-old has four songs riding the Pop 100: top two ‘Take a Bow,’ Maroon 5 duet ‘If I Never See Your Face Again’ just entering the top 40, ‘Don’t Stop the Music’ inside the top 40 after 30 weeks—and now ‘Disturbia.’ It’s safe to say that Rihanna is the premier artist of the second half of the decade, with no signs of wear and tear. This latest is a sort of ‘Thriller’ for partygoers, with multilayered vocals cascading across Ri’s lower register, alongside fun scatting, a la ‘bum bum bi dum bum’ with co-writing (and background vocals) from the irrepressible Chris Brown. Rereleased albums with added cuts have become a tedious trend, but ‘Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded’ is actually worth its weight in platinum. In short order, Rihanna has become the trustworthy ‘it’ girl of our time.’ That said, I agree with Billboard. Riri has EARNED her right as the premier artist of the last five years. Her singles NEVER fail. Anything she puts out UNQUESTIONABLY becomes a smash. Even Disturbia looks likely to get to no 1. Good for her.
More flicks:
Those two REALLY are the business.
Solange Knowles also attended the ‘2008 Essence Music Festival’ which went down yesterday:
For once she looked cute. I'm still not that pressed about the hair though. Her lead single 'I Decided,' off of her forthcoming CD, SoL-AngeL and the Hadley St. Dreams has enjoyed the #1 spot on both Billboard’s 'Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales' chart and the 'Hot Dance Singles Sales' chart. It also landed at #2 on Billboard’s 'Hot Singles Sales' chart. SoL-AngeL and the Hadley St. Dreams, Solange’s sophomore set, will be released on Music World Entertainment/Geffen Records on August 26th.
Anyway, TLC's Rozanda 'Chilli' Thomas also hit up that same event:
Those baby hairs never fail, lol.
Solange also attended 2008 Interscope Geffen A&M Records "Creme of the Crop" BET Awards afterparty during that week:
Almost there but not quite. I am sooo happy that she's finally seeing success with this new project of hers.
Earlier this week, Usher attended Polow Da Don's Bowling event at Tin Pan Alley in Atlantic Station:
He was chilled with rapper Nelly who was also in attendance.
Recently, Usher revisited the Mississippi Gulf Coast to continue the work he began in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina:
‘Usher’s New Look’ along with ’Trustmark National Bank’, ‘Visions of Hope’, and ‘Beau Rivage Resort and Casino’ announced a partnership to offer home replacement and renovation benefits to employees who owned homes that were destroyed significantly by the destructive hurricane. Through this year’s program, 80-100 families are expected to be supported through a housing initiative that provides homebuyer and financial education, training and counseling to displaced employees. The announcement took place during a kick-off rally before 1,500 Beau Rivage employees. Since its inception, ‘New Look’ has provided assistance to over 750 families throughout the New Orleans region with rent and utility assistance. The Rally was held at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi.
Usher ended his vist on the Gulf Coast at the Children’s Hospital of New Orleans, LA to meet with medical professionals including LSU Health Science Center and US Doctors for Africa, to better understand the health care crisis facing youth in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
JUST JARED // USHER WEB // WIREIMAGES // GETTY
Monday, 30 June 2008
♫ SOLANGE: I TOLD YOU SO [NEW SONG]....
Another song from Solange's new album SoL-AngeL and the Hadley St. Dreams has leaked. It's called 'I Told You So'. Check it out.
I am absolutely loving the oldskool vibe to the song. Better yet, I am absolutely loving Solange's new direction as a whole. If her sister were given these type of songs, they'd be huge, but nobody takes the younger sibling seriously especially if the other sibling is a superstar. Still, it's not all bad for Solange. Her first single I Decided debuted at #44 last week on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart making it her most successful single to date. Congrats. Massive thanks to Mike and George from Solange-k.net/ for the audio.
♫ SOLANGE: I TOLD YOU SO
Thursday, 26 June 2008
CELEB SPOTTINGS: R&B SINGERS OUT & ABOUT + CHRIS MOM APPROVES RIHANNA ....
Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday bash concert will take place this week. There was a celebratory dinner for the former South African president and the stars were out for the fundraising dinner which took place at London's Hyde Park on Wednesday afternoon. Leona Lewis was there:
Leona looked amazing. That is a cute dress! She was also rocking a darker hair colour. It makes sense that she attended the dinner because she's scheduled to perform at the bash which will be televised this weekend.
Other celebs that attended the event was Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger and her rumoured fella Lewis Hamilton as did Will and Jada:
That chick will never learn. *sigh*
POST-BET AWARDS....
Interscope Geffen A&M hosted their second annual Creme of The Crop post BET Awards dinner celebration Tuesday night at Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills. Singers Mel B, Melody Thornton, Tyrese, Toni Braxton and Ciara all attended the special dinner:
The exclusive affair was held to pay tribute to IGA artists including Mary J. Blige and Keyshia Cole.
PRE-BET AWARDS....
Rihanna was seen leaving Les Deux in Hollywood - June 21, 2008:
Those sandals can't get any flatter. There are also rumors that Rihanna being cast in 'Mama Black Widow' aren't true despite still being interested in acting.
She was also seen out with Chris Brown in NY last week. Chris was rocking a defiant GET OFF MY DICK tee-shirt:
That first pic looks pretty tense. I wonder who his spectacular choice of words were aimed at. The third pic is when they attended their BET Awards rehearsal. Rihanna also made a trip to GBK Productions' Fire & Ice gifting lounge for the BET Awards over the weekend with Chris and his mom, Joyce Hawkins. According to a source, she was overheard cooing, "Rihanna is the sexiest and sweetest girl Chris has ever dated." Hmmmmm.... Make of that what you will.
Jojo also attended Solange's 22nd bash this week:
As did PCD and former PCD chicks Carmitt and Melody Thornton who's been EVERYWHERE as of late.
And here's two more pics of Kelis at a pre-BET Awards event:
She chilled with her best pal Dania and wild haired singer Macy Gray. All these BET posts are wearing me out, LOL! Hopefully, this one is the last. :)
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
SOLANGE KNOWLES CELEBRATES HER 22ND BIRTHDAY....
Today is Solange Knowles' 22nd birthday and last night, the younger Knowles sibling had a star-studded birthday bash which took place at a private residence in California. The singer was joined by sister Beyonce, mother and father Tina and Matthew Knowles as well as her pals video director Melina, Carmitt and Melody Thornton of Pussycat Dolls fame, Mario, Ne-yo, Ludacris, Lindsay Lohan and her lesbian lover Samantha Ronson and a tonne of others:
Looks like a great party. In fact, with all these pre-BET Awards parties that's been going on as of late, Solange's b-day could not have come at a better time. Though, I balked at her dress. But then again, she wouldn't be Solange Knowles would she? Check more of the action after the cut.
Solange posed it up with video director Melina:
Melina directed Solange's latest video 'I Decided' as well as Beyonce's Deja Vu and Ring The Alarm video's.
More R&B singers at the event:
Good to see Beyonce and Ne-yo at the same party after he put her on blast for Irreplaceable-gate. I wonder if she'll have him write for her on the new album. Maybe not, lol. That said, Beyonce has lost loads of weight. I notice how bony she gets whenever she does a movie. You can see how drawn out her face looks. And I'm not buying Lindsay's lezzy relationship. That chick lives for dick that it's only a matter of time before the punani loses the competition. I'm just saying. Chick has had bombed movies after another - she gotta do something to keep folks talking - and interested. Stay tuned for more pre-BET Award events.
Sunday, 15 June 2008
R&B ACTS ON TV THIS WEEK: BLU CANTRELL, SOLANGE KNOWLES, CHRIS BROWN & LEONA LEWIS....
This week, Blu Cantrell performed the 'Spanish Web' routine on NBC's competitive reality show 'Celebrity Circus', but received very poor reviews by the judges:
When will Blu come out with another album? I loooove her music especially her debut. Her voice is absolutely amazing (I actually purchased both her albums). Maybe she's hoping that doing the reality show thing will give her a career boost so she can kick start her music again. The 31-year-old singer is reportedly dating her current Celebrity Circus co-star Antonio Sabato Jr.
Solange Knowles paid a visit to BET's '106 & Park' this week to do further promotion for her new single 'I Decided' and new album 'Sol-Angel & The Hadley Street Dreams':
The interview was very open. She says the album reflects a lot of her maturity and growth because she got married, got divorced and had her son all at the age of 21. On the new album she says she's worked with Bilal, Cee-Lo, Mark Ronson, Pharrell Williams amongst others. She also talks about her latest songwriting credits for her sister Beyonce, Michelle Williams and few others as well as her latest tour 'Art of Love'. Solange turns 22 on June 24th - same day as the BET Awards!
Chris Brown paid a visit to MTV's TRL to do more promotion for his re-release 'Exclusive: The Forever Edition':
They were talking about the subject of 'dance' and Chris says his top 3 dance video's are 1. Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson, 2. Thriller by Michael Jackson and 3. Can't Touch This by MC Hammer.
Leona Lewis performed 'Bleeding Love' on 'Operacion Triunfo', a Spanish talent contest like Fame Academy:
Great performance. Her hair looked lovely.
Saturday, 14 June 2008
R&B SINGERS OUT & ABOUT: THE KNOWLES EDITION....
Yesterday afternoon, Beyonce looked all summery and elegant as she ate at the Bar Pitt eateries in New York City alongside hubby Jay-Z (you can see her tagging behind him in the fourth pic):
I am loving her whole ensemble. Her all white outfit was cute. It's soooo me. Simple, elegant and chic! Even her hair looked casual, which I love. Finally, she's giving her hair a real breather from the hideously stocky Diana Ross wigs (ya'll know what they do to the hairline eventually, just look at Naomi Campbell. When the weaves are too long and heavy, you're putting too much pressure on the scalp causing the hair to eat away, and Beyonce's hair is one of her biggest physical attributes. We can't have her losing all that gorgeous hair, lol). But her multi coloured bag was straight ugly (if not the same bag, it is a similar one Beyonce wore at LAX airport on Thursday as she was seen going on a sprinting escapade. Yeah, I peeped the video, lol). On the same day, Jay-Z was spotted carrying Beyonce's nephew Daniel to the car after a walk in Central Park with Beyonce's family. Jay-Z absolutely loves that little boy. You just know he's going to be the most affectionate dad to his and Beyonce's future kids. It's a shame he's not as affectionate to his already existing child.
Beyonce has also been keeping a low profile lately as she's been working on two new movies as well as a new album (I personally think it's great that she fell back from the spotlight for a minute to let her sister get a little shine). As well as those projects in the works, there's her highly anticipated performance at the BET Awards on June 24th (she'll be performing the Love In This Club remix with Usher and Lil Wayne). It's all about to kick off when Beyoncitis takes over again. Entertainment Tonight is also the first to scoop an interview with the singer on the set of her new movie Obsessed (the interview will be unveiled on June 18th so look out for that), where she plays the wife of a businessman who is being stalked by a female admirer. Her other movie that she worked on (and now completed filming) is Cadillac Records, in which she plays the legendary Etta James.
The 26-year-old shrewd business woman also came in at no. 4 on the Forbes Celebrity 100 List, whilst her husband came in at no. 7, making them one of the most powerful couple in the world. The mag said of Beyonce's achievements: "After ditching Destiny’s Child to go solo in 2003, the Houston native has released two platinum albums and built a wildly successful entertainment empire that includes fashion, film and publishing deals. She sold $50 million in tickets on a recent tour. Her endorsement contracts, with L'Oréal, American Express and others, bring in $10 million annually". Now that's what's up!
On Thursday night, Solange Knowles celebrated her new '60s-inflected album, SoL-AngeL and the Hadley Street Dreams during a dinner party at Hennessy:
Beyonce's little sister strutted around Tribeca eatery in hot sky-high Miu-Miu dragon fly stilettos, despite breaking her toe during a performance recently. A rep carried Solange's protective boot so she could slip back into it after the cameras stopped rolling. Solange worked with some music-world VIPs like Cee-Lo, Pharrell Williams and Mark Ronson on the album, due out on August 26th. Mama and Papa Knowles were also there to toast their daughter at the bash.
PHOTOS: MARION CURTIS/STARPIX // INFDAILY
Thursday, 12 June 2008
CELEB SPOTTINGS: R&B SINGERS OUT & ABOUT....
Solange Knowles continued on with her promotion yesterday by attending MTV's TRL. Check out the pics below:
Once again, Solange was on the show to talk about her single 'I Decided' and forthcoming album 'SoL-AngeL & The Hadley Street Dreams'. She looked good for Solange. I wasn't feeling her hair or the dress.
Mel B attended the "Dancing With The Stars" photocall at the 2008 Monte Carlo Television Festival:
I love that black/grey dress. At least she switched up. We know how she's obsessed with those Sheath dresses.
Also, at the TV Film Festival, the singer taped a segment for Access Hollywood at the house of Cartier:
There goes that pink Sheath dress again.
And the singer was also spotted outside her hotel during the 2008 Monte Carlo Television festivities:
I'm loving her hair. Her hubby stay giving me the creeps. He is greasier than a MacDonald's fryer. Something about him just don't sit right with me.
R&B chicks Keyshia Cole and Mashonda attended the 'If Looks Could Kill' event yesterday:
