This Week In Music (V.16): New Music + News

Welcome to another edition of THIS WEEK IN MUSIC!                      [As always, click the LINK!]

 

Quick chart news. Congrats to Trey Songz for having the number one album in the country, Trigga. He also ranks #1 on both R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and R&B Albums charts. To see who else ranked within the top 10  of the Billboard 200, click here and for my Trigga album review, click here. Iggy Azalea is still atop the Hot 100 with ‘Fancy’ for the 7th week, putting her in fifth place above Adele (‘Rolling In The Deep’, 2011) for longest reign on the Hot 100 this past decade. Holding the #1 spot is Rihanna’s, ‘We Found Love’, (2011-12). With another month a top the charts and she can set a record. Only time will tell. Iggy also released the cover art to her Rita Ora assisted track, ‘Black Widow’, one of my favorites from her album The New Classic. CLICK HERE for my review.

In other music news, I’ve mentioned in a post before that Drake and Lil Wayne would be heading on tour titled, Drake vs. Lil Wayne. In an interview with MTV, Lil Wayne discussed just how the show would go down:

“Since, thank God we’ve been so successful, we’ll just be going back and forth with our hits and getting the crowd to go crazy, then just finally hittin’ the stage together.”

What better way to feed off the name of the tour than with an actual battle. That should be interesting. The tour will run from August 8th to September 27th.

In other Drake news, his ‘beef’ with Chris Brown must have been ceased because the two have been photo’d in the studio together. I know I’m not the only one who wants to her a Drizzy/Breezy collab. Let’s see how long it takes to surface.

It will have been 20 years since Usher released his debut, ,and it’s been 10 years since the release of his infamous album, Confessions. It has been confirmed that he will be opening this years MTV VMAs airing LIVE August 24th. He hasn’t performed at the VMAs since his 2010 performance of ‘DJ Got Us Falling In Love’ and ‘OMG’. Currently he has, ‘Good Kisser’ out and a new Pharrell Produced and Nicki Minaj featured track titled, ‘She Came To Give It To You’. He already did a medley at the BET Awards so who knows what he’s doing for MTV. Two other performers have been announced for the VMAs, Ariana Grande and 5 Seconds of Summer. Stay tuned to future posts for updates.

Backtracking to the Usher/Nicki collab, I did not like it upon first listen, but it has grown on me. It reminds me so much of Earth, Wind & Fire. I guess I didn’t like it because the sound was not what I was expecting with Nicki Minaj being featured on the track. Being that she’s a rapper I was expecting something more ‘club’ oriented. Nicki did great on this beat and this just adds more to her versatility. I’m interested to seeing how this does on the radio. Take a listen below:

https://soundcloud.com/usher-raymond-music/usher-she-came-to-give-it-to-you-featuring-nicki-minaj

 

If you were questioning if Yaya Decosta was rightly casted to play Whitney Houston in the upcoming Lifetime biopic, this picture should speak for itself. The photo is a recreation of Whitney Houston’s 1987 album, Whitney. The Angela Bassett directed film will be focusing on Houston’s relationship with Bobby Brown and will not address her untimely death. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Angela Bassett stated:

“I want you to fall into the world of Whitney and Bobby. And I don’t want to stop you at the gate with maybe the image of something familiar, someone you’ve seen from something else. Yaya was far and above the only choice.”

Lastly in music news, Beyoncé and Jay Z are heading to HBO.Their ‘On The Run’ tour will be the next installment for the Carters featured on the network. For full details, click here.

Moving on to new music, Omarion and Bow Wow have teamed up for a new track, ‘Need That Love’. I’m sorry, Omarion and Shad Moss. I’m not sure why he dropped Bow Wow, but whatever. The track does sample Michael Jackson’s, ‘Lady In My Life‘ which most people might know as LL Cool J’s, ‘Hey Lover’. As for the track it isn’t horrible. If this is the direction Omarion is going for his upcoming album he’ll be sampling a lot as he sampled DeBarge on his track, ‘You Like It’. I could hear this on the radio. Take a listen below.

 

B.o.B released a mixtape, No Genre Pt.2. CLICK HERE to download that. Not sure when or if I’ll be listening to it. Elle Varner has released her official second single for her upcoming album titled, ‘Don’t Wanna Dance’, and features A$AP Ferg. The vibe of the track reminds me of ‘I Don’t Care’ from her debut, Perfectly Imperfect. I like it though and from what she’s put out so far I can’t wait to hear her album. Take a listen below:

https://soundcloud.com/ellevarner/elle-varner-dont-wanna-dance-featuring-aap-ferg

 

Until next week…

Trigga Tops and Robin Thicke Flops

All things are great in the world of Trey Songz. His sixth album, Trigga, has landed atop the Billboard 200 after selling 105,000 copies in its first week. This is a decline in sales from his fifth album, Chapter V, which sold 135,000 copies in its first week. Trigga has become his second highest album in sales, his lowest was 2007s Trey Day which sold 73,000. The lack of sales in that one was due to lack of promotion. in my opinion, along with Trey Songz not being as relevant as he is today. His lead single, ‘Na Na’, has peaked into the top 10 at #7 making it his 19th top 10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Ed Sheeran topped the chart last week with X and has fallen to the #2 spot selling an additional 53,000 copies in its second week. With his drop of a spot, Sam Smith’s In The Lonely Hour drops to #3 which is the same spot he debuted at 3 weeks ago.

The Frozen Soundtrack holds still at #5 for the second week and in the top 5  for the 28th consecutive week. Overall its spent 30 consecutive weeks in the top 10 since it hit the chart on December 28, 2013. I find this to be the most impressive feat of the year thus far.

As for the rest of the top 10 Seether lands at #4 with their album, Isolate and Medicate. Magic! debut, Don’t Kill The Magic, hit #6 on the chart barely selling 36,000 copies. Miranda Lambert’s, Platinum, comes in at #7 and Lana Del Rey’s, Ultraviolence, continues to decline in the top 10 since her debut at #1 to #8.

Then there’s Robin Thicke who managed to go on this huge promo tour in attempt to get his wife back with an album dedicated to her, but if her decision was based on album sales, the answer would be no. Paula landed in the top 10, barely, debuting at #8 with just 24,000 copies sold. That is a roughly 15% of what was sold for his previous album, Blurred Lines ,which sold 177,000 copies in its first week. I personally think he shouldn’t have rushed to put out an album with so much behind it so fast as a result of this. He was riding so high off Blurred Lines that the sales of this album are not just an insult to him, but to Paula as well. I mean the album was named after her.

Moving on from the flop of Paula, rounding off the top 10 is Colt Ford with his album, Thanks for Listening. 

Be sure to click the links to the album titles for direct purchase and be sure to look out for the following album reviews:

• Trey Songz, Trigga
• Sam Smith, In The Lonely Hour
• Sia, 1000 Forms of Fear
• Magic!, Don’t Kill The Magic

Until next week…

 

Iggy Azalea Sets a Record & Ed Sheeran Tops Billboard 200

Iggy Azalea has been holding down the #1 spot on the Hot 100 with ‘Fancy’ and even if her track were to fall off next week it wouldn’t matter because SHE has set a record as the longest reigning female rapper on the Hot 100. With her reign reaching it’s 6th week she has surpassed Lil Kim who was in the top spot for 5 weeks for the ‘Lady Marmalade’ collab.

She’s living sky high right now. ‘Fancy’ and ‘Problem’ are doing well not only on the charts, but on the radio as well. She just performed at the BET Awards, yet social media is EGGING on a feud between her and Nicki Minaj. It was said that in Nicki’s speech for her win of Best Female Hip Hop Artist that she threw shots at Iggy Azalea who had performed previously before her win. In her speech Nicki said that if Nicki Minaj spits it, Nicki Minaj wrote it. As the crowd hyped her comment she went on to say “No, no shade, no shade.”

That sure did get an arousal out the crowd, but Iggy seems to not be bothered by it and Nicki Minaj tweeted there were no shots thrown at anyone.

The media puts words in my mouth all the time and this is no different. I will always take a stance on women b/c I believe in us!

I believe we’re smart enough to write down our own thoughts and perspective, just like the men do. I’ve been saying this for 5 YEARS

She went on to talk about how much she respected and admired Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliot before tweeting about Iggy:

I’ve congratulated Iggy on the success of Fancy, publicly. She should be very proud of that. All the women nominated should be proud.

Iggy went on to post her reaction to the whole thing via Instagram:

(via @thenewclassic)

I think the whole thing is being blown out of proportion, BUT all Nicki Mianj did was damage control. Nicki made that comment after Iggy’s performance and whether you congratulated someone publicly or not there was still hella shade in that comment she made and tweeting about it did not make the situation any better. Iggy clearly has no beef and wants no problems and I say hell, throw these two on a track together. Nicki could give Iggy pointers, who knows. The situation is over and done with and yes the media misconstrues all the time, but Nicki meant what she said and it doesn’t matter how much she talks about empowering women, shots were fired. How do you say “no shade, no shade” yet you weren’t throwing shots. No ones dumb here.

MOVING ON —

In other chart news, Ed Sheeran’s latest album, X, has debutd at #1 on the Billboard 200. The album sold 210,000 copies making him the largest debut for a pop album this year and the 4th largest opening in 2014.

Sam Smith’s, In The Lonely Hour, moves from #3 to #2 as Lana Del Rey’s, Ultraviolence drops three spots to #4. In at #3 is G-Eazy’s, These Things Happen. Frozen still remains in the top 10 rounding off the top 5.

Relive ‘Fancy’ and ‘Sing’ below:

 

NEW MUSIC TUESDAY [7.1.14]

 

This Week In Music (V.14): Chart News, New Music, & More

Well, here it is, another edition of This Week in Music (#TWIM). Let’s get right to it. Just like I mention in mosts posts, click the links!

The Billboard 200 numbers came in and Lana Del Rey topped the chart with Ultraviolence selling 188,000 copies making it her first album to top the chart. Sam Smith became the first solo artist since Phillip Phillips released The World From the Side of the Moon (2012), to have the largest debut. In The Lonely Hour sold 166,000 copies, placing Sam Smith in at #2. Lincoln Park’s, Hunting Party, debuted at #3 will 110,000 copies sold. It is their first non #1 album since their 2002 debut. The Frozen soundtrack is STILL in the Top 10 this week. It places at #4 moving down a spot from the previous week. Despite that, 26 consecutive weeks in the top 10, for a soundtrack, isn’t shabby at all. Jennifer Lopez charted her lowest album sales to date with the release of A.K.A. selling 33,000 copies although it was her 8th consecutive Top 10 album.

Moving on to the Hot 100, Iggy Azalea is still atop of the chart with ‘Fancy‘. In at #2 is ‘Problem‘ and rounding off the top 3 is one of my FAVORITE tracks of the year thus far, Magic!’s ‘Rude‘.

There are two new albums that have been confirmed for a later release this year. First up is Ariana Grande. She will be releasing her sophomore album titled, My Everything. It hasn’t been a year since she’s released her debut, Yours Truly, but with the buzz around ‘Problem’ it only makes sense for her to push out a new album while the buzz is there. She announced this during an interview with Ryan Seacrest and discussed the direction of the album:

“I feel like each song is so strongly themed that I just wanted to have a very simple overall cover. It’s inspired by Jane Fonda in Barbarella and Star Wars and space. It’s more throwback, campy.”

She’s readying the video for her second single titled ‘Break Free’ which features Zedd and has a 1960s vibe. I can see where she’s going since the video for ‘Problem’ looked like a snippet from That 70s Show. 

Selena Gomez is readying another album as she exits out of her Disney deal with Hollywood Records. The album will be a greatest hits album featuring ‘Love You Like a Love Song’, ‘Come and Get It’, plus more (of course). She hasn’t been out long enough in my opinion to have a greatest hits album, BUT I guess with this deal closing it makes sense. Even though she hasn’t really put a dent in her musical career she does have quite a bit of hits that I do enjoy.

As for new albums coming Tuesday: Trey Songz, Trigga; Robin Thicke, Paula; and Tessanne Chin, Count On MY Love. I will definitely be doing an album review on Trigga, I have no interest in Robin Thicke’s love letter to Paula and I will give a listen to Tessanne Chin’s debut. Not sure if I’ll be doing an album review.

Last week I wrote about Zenday Coleman being casted as Aaliyah and ALL the controversy surrounding it. Well, Zendaya has dropped out of filming the movie. Her rep released a statement:

“Zendaya is no longer involved in the project. Aaliyah has always been an inspiration to Zendaya,” the source said. “She was honored to portray her and pay tribute to her. If she is going to do it, she wants to do it right.”

With all the controversy with Aaliyah’s family more so than the mumbling and grumbling from Aaliyah fans, I can’t blame Zendaya for backing out. Interested in seeing if this movie will surface.

Alright let’s wrap this edition up; just a couple more things. Beyonce and Jay Z have officially stated their ‘On The Run’ tour and from pictures and Instagram videos, what a TOUR it is. They released a behind the scenes of the tour so check it out below:

In new music there hasn’t been much that’s caught my eye. Let’s see Jeremih released a remix to ‘Don’t Tell ‘Em’ featuring G-Unit. Not a fan of the G-Unit reunion, but I like the song, more so the beat. Lil Wayne released a track called ‘Krazy’ which is HORRIBLE. I don’t know the direction he’s going with the Carter V, but at this point I’m not interested. Then there’s a new artist I came across, who’s not really new, by the name of G-Eazy. He has a track titled, ‘Lotta That’ featuring A$AP Ferg & Danny Smith. Take a listen below and tune in next week for another edition of This Week in Music DEDICATED to the BET AWARDS!

This Week In Music (V.12): Chart News + Upcoming Albums

Another week has come and gone and it’s time to weekly music recap. Let’s get into CHART NEWS! When it comes to the Billboard 200, Miranda Lambert debuted at #1 with her latest studio album, Platinum. She’s also tops the Top Country Albums chart as well. Coming in at #2 is the Frozen Soundtrack. Last week it was in at #4, but has surged back to #2. Brantley Gilbert, Just as I Am, ranks at #3 and 50 Cent’s, Animal Ambition, debuts at #4. Coldplay’s, Ghost Stories, has fallen 4 spots to #5 after being at #1 for three weeks. Now 50 comes in at #6, Led Zepplin takes the 7, 9, and 10 spots with Led Zepplin, Led Zepplin II, and Led Zepplin III. In the #8 spot after an amazing weekend at the box office is The Fault In Our Stars Soundtrack.

As for the Hot 100, there has been no movement in the top 4 spots. ‘Fancy’ is in at #1, ‘Problem’ #2, ‘All of Me’ at #3, and ‘Turn Down for What’ at #4. Jason Derulo moved up 5 spots this week with his new track ‘Wiggle’ featuring Snoop Doggg. Pharrell drops to #6, but ‘Happy’ still manages to remain in the top 10. Magic! moved up a spot to #7 with their debut ‘Rude’. Nico & Vinz dropped two spots from last week to #8 with their track ‘Am I Wrong?’, Calvin Harris comes in at #9 with ‘Summer’, and Sam Smith rounds off the top 10 with ‘Stay With Me’.

Moving on to upcoming albums there have been 3 that caught my eye and two happen to be R&B. I know it’s nowhere what it used to be, but I love to see artists that stay true to the genre that made them. The Think Like a Man Too Soundtrack will be released Tuesday (6.17) and it has Mary J. Blige all over it, literally. All tracks are by the Queen and have a few features. Be sure to check my last post for the official track listing PLUS be on the lookout for ‘My Top 5’ on the album.

J. Lo will also be competing to see how she ranks on the charts with her new album, A.K.A., also hitting retailers and online Tuesday (6.17). From what I’ve heard so far it’s bleh to me. I’m really not interested. I’ll be posting the track listing to the album tomorrow (6.15) plus video teasers. In the meantime, check out the audio snippets of the album below:

https://soundcloud.com/mymotherfuckingsong/jennifer-lopez-aka-snippets

In addition to the MJB and J. Lo albums being released Tuesday, Sam Smith, Linkin Park and Lana Del Rey will be releasing new albums as well. Sam Smith will be releasing his debut, In the Lonely Hour, Linkin Park will be releasing their 6th studio album, Hunting Party, and Lana Del Rey releases her third, Ultraviolence. Stay tuned tomorrow (6.15) for official track listings. Click here for In The Lonely Hour track listing.

There are more album release dates and titles that have been released as well. Robin Thicke is far from letting his estranged wife, Paula Patton, go and he’s making it known with his upcoming album Paula. His track, ‘Get Her Back‘ , was dedicated to her so with an album titled after her of course it will be professing his love, rights, wrongs, etc. He will be performing new material at the 2014 BET Awards (6.29). 

Marsha Ambrosious will be releasing her sophomore album, Friends & Lovers, soon, like next month soon. The album is set to be released July 15th and will feature 15 tracks with production from Pop & Oak, Da Internz, Eric Hudson, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, and more. Target will carry a deluxe special edition with three additional tracks. Check out the video below to her latest single ‘Run’.

Lastly, Tank will be releasing his 6th studio album, Stronger, August 12th. In an interview with ThisIsRnB, he discussed the direction of the album:

“It’s just an album that speaks to a different place [where] I am in my life and my career. I’m having more fun in life and that deserves tempo. R&B deserves that energy and I think that energy appeals to more people.”

Check out the video to his single,’You’re My Star’, below:

When it comes to summer blockbuster tours, Beyoncé and Jay Z are not the only ones hitting the road. Drake and Lil Wayne have announced that they’ll be hitting the road in the ‘Drake Vs Lil Wayne’ tour. Click here for more info. Keyshia Cole will also be hitting the road for her ‘Point of No Return’ tour. Click here for more info.

Iggy Azalea Covers Billboard

Iggy Azalea can add yet another accomplishment to her portfolio as she hits the cover of the latest Billboard magazine issue. Just last week Iggy joined an elite group with tracks ‘Fancy’ and ‘Problem’ as she became the 15th solo artist to rank in at #1 and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the 4th solo female rapper as well. Well, Billboard has put this beautiful woman on their cover and the cover does NOT disappoint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video Review: Ariana Grande, ‘Problem’

Ariana Grande has released the video for her latest radio smash ‘Problem‘ featuring Iggy Azalea and Big Sean. First off, I didn’t know Big Sean was the one whispering on the track. The video overall is a big fail for me. There was no concept behind it. First off I can see that the vibe/initial concept was to have a 70s type video. It went from having Iggy Azalea in a lava lamp like background (best description) to Big Sean whispering and of course Ariana Grande does the choreo that she’s been doing as she performs this track live. See here:

Overall, I don’t think the song is bad. I think that it’s very catchy on the radio and is a great push/buzz for Ariana as she gears up to release her debut album. The video just could’ve been better. She looks awkward dancing. The concept is just thrown together. The dancers weren’t needed. I would’ve liked to see a love interest and flashback to Iggy Azalea fighting with a love interest as she rapped or something. Big Sean didn’t really need to be in the video. I know he does the hook, but with a fallout storyline his presence wouldn’t really be needed. Videos can make or break a song and for this one, it didn’t help.

In other news, ‘Problem’ sits in at #2 on the Hot 100. Not shabby at all.

Check out the video below:

Then & Now Thursday (V.10): Jennifer Lopez

In celebration of Jennifer Lopez being honored with the Icon Award at the 2014 BBMAs, I’ve decided to honor her in this Then & Now Thursday with her TOP 10 hits on the Billboard charts.

‘I’m Real’ (feat. JaRule)

‘Ain’t It Funny’ (feat. JaRule)

‘If You Had My Love’

‘All I Have’ (feat. LL Cool J)

‘On The Floor’ (feat. Pitbull)

‘Love Don’t Cost a Thing’

‘Jenny From The Block’ (Styles & Jadakiss)

‘I’m Gonna Be Alright’

‘Waiting for Tonight’

‘Get Right’

Ludacris to Host 2014 Billboard Awards

Jennifer Lopez will be receiving the grandest honor of the evening as she’s presented with the Icon Award at the 2014 BBMAs. The show would just not be a show without a host, right? Well, Ludacris will be hosting this years awards show and I’m quite surprised that he was chosen. Then again check out his track record on the charts.

• 18 Hot 100 top 10 singles
• 5 #1 albums on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
• 29 top 10 singles on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Aside from all that chart topping he’s also established himself as a pretty reputable actor playing in a variety of movies from Crash to the franchise Fast & Furious.

He’s been able to juggle both acting and music successfully and his latest album, Ludaversal, is set to be released this fall. Check out the video for his track, ‘Party Girls’, below:

The 2014 BBMA will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on ABC, 8pm EST.

(via Billboard)