The numbers are in from last weeks album releases. “Weird Al” Yankovic and Jason Mraz were the two artists vying for the number one spot and the winner is, “Weird Al”. Mandatory Funbecomes Weird Al’s first number one album of his career. The album sold 104,000 copies surpassing the sales of Jason Mraz’s, YES!, which only sold 80,000 copies. Mandatory Fun is also the first comedy album since 1963 (Allan Sherman – My Son, The Nut) to top the Billboard 200 and the largest sales of a comedy album since 1996’s, The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience, which sold 118,000 copies. Although this album is the highest charting of “Weird Al’s” previous works, it is not his debut to the Top 10. His 2006 album, Straight Outta Lynwood, and 2011s, Alpocalypse, debuted at #9 and #10 respectively.
Jazon Mraz came in at #2 with the 80,000 copies sold for Yes!This becomes his 4th Top 10 album although the sales are down from his previous album, Love Is a Four Letter Word, which sold 102,000 in its first week.
As opposed to the previous weeks of the chart, the landscape has changed quite a bit. In at #3 is Rise Against with their album, The Black Market. Taking the #4 slot is Kidz Bop 26. Frozen remains in the top 5 as it slips down three spots from it’s last weeks position at #2. This makes it its 30th consecutive week in the Top 5.
5 Seconds of Summer just released their self-titled debut and I’m pretty sure they’re vying for the #1 spot. Only time will tell how much the chart changes up again.
August Alsina is no strangers to remix or collaborating with rappers and this time around he enlists the help of Nicki Minaj. This track has been teased for a couple weeks now and the full version has finally been released. I love August Alsina’s voice and this will definitely be making its way to the airwaves. August does his usual singing and Nicki takes a stab at singing before breaking into rapping. She really likes mixing the two. Her verse isn’t extremely long, but it’s definitely what the track needed to make it to the airwaves. Take a listen to the remix below:
Now for this edition. I usually start with new music, but I’m starting with news first this week.
Whitney Houston and Aaliyah biopics are both in the works with Lifetime. It is known that Angela Basset will be executively producing the Whitney Houston film as well as Yaya DeCosta portraying Whitney. Bobby Brown will be played by Arien Escarpeta. Well it has been announced that Whitney Houston’s voice will not be used in the film. Her songs will be sung by Deborah Cox. I love Deborah Cox as an artist, but I do not know if she matches Whitney vocally. I think that her voice is beautiful at what she does, I just don’t know if it will match up to covering Whitney Houston. This is not her first time working with Whitney Houston’s voice as the two collaborated for the track, ‘Same Script Different Past’. I’m interested in hearing it regardless. Great opportunity for her. I Will Always Love You: The Whitney Houston Story will premiere on Lifetime sometime next year.
It’s also know that Zendaya Coleman dropped out of the Aaliyah biopic, but the film production must go on and a new leading lady has been chosen. Alexandra Shipp has been casted. and is best known for her roles on House of Anubis, Switched at Birth, and Awkward. The 23-year-old’s rep released a statement on Shipp being casted:
“Aaliyah has always been an inspiration to Zendaya. She was honored to portray her and pay tribute to her. If she is going to do it, she wants to do it right.”
I knew that it wouldn’t take long for them to cast another girl. What shocked me was that this biopic is going to be executively by Wendy Williams/Wendy Williams Productions (Happy belated 50th Birthday) along with Debra Martin Chase. I’m not sure how this movie is going to pan out, but I will be staying tuned and updating as the film evolves. Aaliyah: Princess of R&B (how original of a title) begins production later this month and will premier in the fall. The storyline is based off the biography by Christopher Farley, Aaliyah: More Than a Woman. For me I hope the film will be on point with how close the premiere date is and how far off it is for the Whitney Houston biopic premiere.
In other news, Beyoncé will have a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She is currently slaying fans across the country alongside her hubby Jay Z with the On The Run Tour. Her success never ends and the accolades keep coming as well. Her outfits are ones that are mimicked and admired and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has noticed and her clothing will be showcased at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame exhibit.
Museum curator, Meredith Rutledge-Borger, stated:
“When we looked at the depth of the amount of stuff that she was willing to send, we just thought, ‘The only way we can really showcase these items is to put them in the Legends of Rock area in the museum,’ which really is the spot that we have to pay tribute to legends of rock, which Beyonce has proven herself to be.”
Outfits will include her Super Bowl performance outfit, her gold glove and black leotard from ‘Single Ladies’, her outfit from ‘Crazy in Love’, plus more. Beyonce will be eligible for induction in 2022 as a member of Destiny’s Child and in 2027 as a solo artist.
It wouldn’t be an edition of ‘This Week In Music’ without featuring new music. Be sure to click the links above! There’s been a lot of music put out this week and while I would love to highlight it all, I’ll just highlight the music that caught my eye.
Jeremih teamed with Shlomo for a collaborative EP titled, No More. It features six tracks and was a gift from Jeremih to fans on his 27th birthday. Aside from this EP, Jeremih is working on his third album, Thumpy Johnson, which features his DJ Mustard/YG assisted track, ‘Don’t Tell Em’. CLICK HERE to download No More.
Tinashe is still riding high off her Schoolboy Q assisted track, ‘2 On’ as she gears up to drop her debut, Aquarius, in September. She’s teamed with David Andrew Sitek for a track called ‘Xylophone’ and it’s not as hard bumping as ‘2 On’, but it shows that she’s more than just urban music. Take a listen below:
I recently blogged about Beyoncé and Jay Z heading to HBO, this time as a duo to showcase their latest feat and biggest collaboration to date, The ‘On The Run’ Tour. The show just finished up in Jersey at MetLife Stadium (7.11/7.12) and is heading West. The show finishes in the states August 6th and the HBO special will be filmed during their two day stint (9.12/9.13) in Paris at State de France. This is their only international stop on the tour.
In the 25 second teaser, it quickly shows the emotion of the tour. Quick clip of the couple holding hands. Flash Beyonce, flash Jay Z, flash On the Run. There you have it. It’s coming in September. No official air date just yet.
We are OFFICIALLY half way through 2014 and it’s crazy how fast the year has gone by thus far. In this edition of monthly favorites I have incorporated some of my other favorites aside from music so let’s get to it. As always be sure to click the links to take you directly to the item, or something similar.
I have fallen in love again with my iPad 3 and since I haven’t used it in so long, I’ve forgotten just how much I love it. I have a 32GB and it holds just about everything from my music to games and lately my summer reading list. The book that I’ve currently downloaded to my iPad was The Fault In Our Stars (John Green). I hope to be finished within the next week or so, so I can go see it at the movies.
Next up are my TWO fragrances of the month. Something else I’ve fallen in love with again, ‘Sensual Amber‘ from Bath & Body Works. A new scent I’ve discovered that has taken the place of my current fav, ‘Beautiful Day‘, is ‘Pure Paradise’. Love these two and I always prefer BBW triple moisture body creams over the body lotions.
I purchased a new pair of sneakers within the last month and I never blogged about them because I wanted to get some wear out of them. I purchased the Nike Free 5.0 on eBay and I could not be happier. My old sneakers were getting a bit too tight and I new that I wanted my new sneaker to be lightweight. I could not have chosen a better shoe and working with kids it’s really easy to move around in these. I can’t wait to snag a neon yellow pair for football season (#STEELERNATION)!
I found this beautiful floral notebook in Barnes & Noble as I was looking in the business/entrepreneurship section. I wanted a new notebook although I’m not sure what I want to write in it, BUT I wanted something new and when I came across this floral journal for $10, I bought it without hesitation. I’ve been using my planner like crazy this past month and with my schedule about to get hectic (stay tuned for details) I’m so glad to have the one I have. Click here for my full planner review. Lastly I have my Clinique bag that holds all my essentials. Check out what’s inside by clicking here. I featured it in my ‘What’s In My Beach Bag’ post.
Moving on, the TV show that I have been obsessed with is Law & Order. I know what you might be thinking, “Why not Orange Is The New Black?” Well that’s a show I plan on binge watching 4th of July weekend with my boyfriend and Law & Order, I’ve just been hooked on. I’ve been a DIE HARD fan of SVU, but now I get to catch up on episodes from the original series, ones I’ve never seen before and I love how the show was put together. Hopefully they’ll add episodes past 1996. I’m so glad I renewed my Netflix membership. Secondly, I’ve been loving WWE Countdown over on the WWE Network and my new favorite on YouTube are ASMR videos. They’ve been the only thing to get me to sleep.
Now it wouldn’t be a monthly favorite without MUSIC! (I mean duh, that’s what the blog is centered around). Enjoy the playlist below of my favorite tracks of the year, thus far (in no particular order):
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 Ultraviolenceselling 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 Hoursold 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!
First, let me just give a round of applause to one of my favorite bands of all time, Maroon 5. I remember the first time I heard Maroon 5. I was listening to it on a CD which for the life of my I can’t remember. I do remember that I kept switching between ‘Harder to Breathe’ and Jet, ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl. Still I wasn’t sure who this band was until I saw ‘This Love’ as one of the morning videos on MTV. Then came the release and video for my favorite Maroon 5 song of ALL TIME, ‘She Will Be Loved’.
Still I didn’t know much about Maroon 5 and then I heard Songs About Jane (2002) which by the time I had heard it, it was two years old. The entire vibe with Adam’s voice was just amazing. I became a fan instantly and couldn’t wait to hear more. To date the album has sold over 5 million copies.
As time went on with Maroon 5, Adam Levine became more AND MORE attractive. I think that his sex appeal really took off by the second album, It Won’t Be Soon Before Long (2007).That album featured ‘Won’t Go Home Without You’ and radio smashes ‘Makes Me Wonder’ and ‘If I Never See Your Face Again’. What really took that album to the next level was the remix/collab with Rihanna of ‘If I Never See Your Face Again’. That video showed off just how HOT both Adam and Rihanna were. I love that version more than the original and after seeing them perform it live on FNMTV (Friday Night MTV) I could only anticipate that they would collab again (still waiting).
Next up came Hands All Over (2010) which had two of my favorites ‘Misery’ and “Never Gonna Leave This Bed’. It wasn’t until its rerelease that the album got real buzz and took Maroon 5 to the next level. They had officially become rock stars. The album was rereleased in June of 2011 and featured the mega smash hit and song of the summer ‘Moves Like Jagger’ featuring Christina Aguilera. The song was all over the radio and it was hard not to sing along. The collab was first performed live on The Voice as Levine and Aguilera were judges on the show. With a platform like that there was no denying that the song would take off. Aside from The Voice it was also performed at the American Music Awards and at the 2011 Victoria Secret Fashion Show as Adam held hands and walked down the catwalk with his girlfriend, now fiancé, Behati Prensloo.
I went to their concert at Jones Beach Theater in July of 2011 where they co-headlined with Train and it was AWESOME! I was close enough to the stage to see Adam’s face and the atmosphere of the crowd when this song came on was amazing. They ended their set and the show with ‘She Will Be Loved’ where the fans sang along as he pointed to the right and the left having each side sing something different. Awesome concert!
As Adam’s popularity skyrocketed due to the success of The Voice his sex appeal sky rocketed as well. He was always a good looking guy, but as time has gone on he’s gotten HOTTER and HOTTER! Hence why he’s became People’s, Sexiest Man Alive.
Their fourth album, Overexposed (2012).Click here for my initial review. I gave the album a 3.5/5 and here it is two years later and I can say that it’s still my least favorite Maroon 5 album and my favorite song off the entire album is ‘Love Somebody’. I don’t know with this album I just wasn’t really into it, but they had smashes on the radio such as ‘Love Somebody’, ‘Payphone’, ‘One More Night’, and ‘Daylight’. I’m so glad they stopped playing the Wiz Khalifa feature on the radio, then again they never really played it to begin with.
Now they’re back with a new track and count down to their fifth album, V, which is to have a feature Gwen Stefani. Their new track ‘Maps’ is a nice segue back to the radio airwaves and as the first single I like it so much better than that of ‘Payphone’ from Overexposed. Take a listen below.
I’m amazed with the success of Maroon 5 and the commercial success is really owed to that of the success of Adam Levine. He’s become like this sex symbol and there’s a whole bunch of ‘Maroon 5’ fans when it reality they’re just there for Adam. That’s fine, whatever takes the group to the next level I suppose. I just know that there are a lot of people claiming to be Maroon 5 fans. It’s ok, they’re really infatuated with Adam.
Collectively, Maroon 5 hasn’t done too shabby during their 12 year span as they’ve won three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards and three Grammy’s. I can’t wait to see how their album pans out. Fingers crossed it’s a smash. It all comes down to, did Maroon 5’s sound REALLY change? I wouldn’t say drastically, but with time a sound would change as artists take chances and experiment more. To me that’s not change, that’s growth. As for my favorite Maroon 5 album, Songs About Jane.
Sevyn Streeter is back with yet another video from her EP, Call Me Crazy, But…This time around she’s enlisted the help of Mack Wilds and Power 105.1’s, Angela Yee. Aside from the video I really really love the song lyrically. She’s an awesome writer and has a great voice which is showcased in this song.
As for the video the concept is the typical argument with boyfriend before heading over to the BFFs house to talk things out. What’s interesting about all of Sevyn’s videos is that she’s really big on silouhette and always making sure that she’s the center of attention. The video that I’ve seen with the most concept, more so a full out storyline was that of ‘nEXt’. This time around the storyline is pretty much left up to the imagination making it self-explanatory. I mean in the first minute you heard that the reason she was done was because her boyfriend got his side chick pregnant so it’s pretty clear as to where the video would be going. Angela Yee seemed so awkward in this video, like the acting was just too forced. I love that in videos with Sevyn she always incorporates herself being in like a mirrored image or spinning around hence staying along the ‘crazy’ vibe of the title of the EP.
Check out the video below and CLICK HERE to purchase the EP:
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