Saturday, November 17, 2012

Artist Spotlight--Elle Varner







Elle Varner is a new artist who has hit the scene hard with two hot singles. The first "Only wanna be with you" ft. J Cole and now the chart gainer "Refill." With both songs getting radio play her upcoming album will have plenty of expectations.
She was born Gabrielle Shellise Varner on Febuary 12, 1989 to already established songwriters. It did not take long for her to get in on the family business as she is trained to play the flute, piano and guitar.

When asked what we should expect on her debut album she said "There's fun songs, deep songs and everything you could think about." She released a mixtape in January 2012 titled "Conversational Lush" which gives fans a glimpse of her musically before her debut  album "Perfectly Imperfect" drops sometime this year.

Keep an eye on this beautiful and talented artist.

http://www.elle-varner.com

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Let her R.I.P.




Let Whitney Houston Rest


It’s been two months since the world learned that singer/actress Whitney Houston passed. Her family, friends and fans are still in mourning but for people to continue to try and make money off of her name is just wrong to me.
Lifetime has decided to cash in and create a 10 episode series chronicling the lives of the family she left behind. It’s supposed to capture how the family is dealing with her passing and how they are bonding together to be stronger.  I think this is complete bull, lifetime saw how Oprah cashed in and helped her struggling channel and they want a piece of the pie.
This just burns me up, I was hoping we wouldn’t have another Michael Jackson where years of this came to play…but sadly I think this might just be the beginning. Let this woman rest in peace and let her family move on with there lives

Was Beyonce's 4 a flop


Was Beyonce's "4" a flop?



There are plenty of words you associate with Beyonce and her albums. Words such as “brilliant”, “critically acclaim”, “Fierce” but “Flop” normally does not belong in the same category.  This time around though the argument is valid.
After the overwhelming success of “I AM Sasha Fierce” the stakes were high for Beyonce to out due herself and compete in the new world of Pop that she had crossed into. Fans and “Stans” were waiting for the next “Single Ladies”, for the next “Sweet Dreams” but instead “4” was chopped full of R&B greatness. Songs in my opinion that were very honest and showing the mindset of a married woman in love. The album did receive critical acclaim and some of the best reviews of her career but the album did not have the fire to compete with Pop’s raining diva Rihanna and UK power house Adele. The album did stay at the top of the charts for a number of weeks but failed to produce a top 10 song on the pop charts.
Beyonce decided that she wanted to do something different, she wanted to make real music and actually sing. She wanted to talk about being in love and show an artistic side of herself. Can’t fault an artist for wanting to take chances but let’s be real…in Beyonce standards this album was a flop. “Love on Top” was the albums only successful single and that has been killing the R&B charts up until a couple weeks ago when Usher’s single “Climax” finally dethroned it. No fault of her own there wasn’t a tour to help promote the album due to her pregnancy…actually there wasn’t much promo at all with this album.
Name recognition alone brought this album platinum status within a month, but has been slow selling since. A talented diva Beyonce is but if she knows what I know album “5” better be fire. I’m not saying she should stray away all together from what she did on “4” because it was a great R&B album that any normal artist would be happy with…but let’s be real...Beyonce is not a normal artist. She is a Legend in the making and all legends have there set back moments. Maybe this was hers…it was time for her to fall just a little bit.

Billboard Awards 2012


Billboard Awards 2012




Tonight’s Billboard Awards 2012 was like the Grammy’s…mediocre. Let me just say LMFAO opening the show was right on point. Let me also say that Katy Perry is on fire. Her album “Teenage Dream” is a great listen and deserved the awards that it received. Brandy looked wonderful on the red carpet and loved her plug for the new single as she introduced Chris Brown. As far as Chris is concerned…well I like his music…love the dancing…but Negro…PERFORM LIVE!!!! You are one of the few artists who can really sing…why do a Brittany Spears and lip sync. This is the second awards show in a row that he did this.
Let me speak briefly about the Whitney Houston tribute. I thought it was cute but I do not feel there will ever be a proper tribute. BET awards are next to do it but my feeling is nobody can perfectly depict a Whitney Houston song like Whitney so it will never live up to everyone’s standards. The woman had a gift from God and it cannot be duplicated so I took the tribute for what it was.
Let me also speak on this Alicia Keys sounded horrible….that is all. Stevie Wonder is a class act and deserved his moment on stage. If you wanted to put John Legend in any tribute, it should have been on the Stevie Wonder one.

Things I could have lived without:
Kelly Clarkson’s new song & performance
Usher’s entire performance.  However, it was better than his SNL stint.
Katy Perry’s live vocals.
John Legend’s screaming.