B13 Peer Review

Next week, R&B romeo   Trey Songz   hits 106 & Park and the Today Show. Stream his new album Chapter V on iTunes on your computer or iPad. http://facebook.itunes.com/dCm Next week, R&B romeo  Trey Songz  hits 106 & Park and the Today Show. Stream his new album Chapter V on iTunes on your computer or iPad. http://facebook.itunes.com/dCm UPDATE : 8/22/2012 Trey Songz and DJ Khaled First Week Sales Projections Trey Songz and DJ Khaled are projected to top the charts for album sales for next week. Looks like all the big releases are taking turns at topping the charts this summer.  With  Nas '  Life Is Good ,  Rick Ross '  God Forgives, and I Don't ,  and then 2 Chainz'  Based on a T.R.U.  Story  all  enjoying time  atop the weekly album sales, it's now  Trey Songz  and DJ  Khaled' s turn to make some noise. ...

Did Aretha, En Vogue or one of the 'Sparkle' casts do it best? by Erika Ramirez, N.Y.   |   August 14, 2012 3:25 EDT It takes confidence, poise and vocal prowess to belt out "Something He Can Feel," the slow-burning Curtis-Mayfield-penned ballad that serves as the centerpiece of the film 'Sparkle.' And over the years, several divas have proved themselves up to the challenge Lonette McKee  (who played the role of Sister Willams in the original 1976 film) was the lead vocalist who first to put her stamp on the Motown-inspired tune, along with cast-mates Irene Cara and Dawn Smith. But it was the Queen of Soul herself  Aretha Franklin  who infused her gospel roots into the ballad on the film's soundtrack album and took the song to No. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 28 on the Hot 100 chart in '76 . Hit-making quartet  En Vogue  revisited the song in 1992, injecting it with a bit more sass and t...

by Gregory DelliCarpini Jr.   |   August 14, 2012 6:00 EDT Janelle Monáe  is the latest gorgeous face to grace the glossies of CoverGirl's advertisement campaigns, joining the likes of  P!nk ,  Taylor Swift , Drew Barrymore, Sofia Vergara and Ellen DeGeneres. "I believe it's time that women truly owned their superpowers and used their beauty and strength to change the world around them," said Monáe in a statement. "One of my core values is to help redefine what it means to be a strong and beautiful woman in the music and fashion worlds and to empower the wonderful things that make us unique." She added, "Becoming a CoverGirl is truly an honor and a gift. It opens up a new platform for me to inspire women to feel stronger, braver and more beautiful inside and out." Superpowers aside, Monáe is the perfect star to encourage women to be artistic and embrace their own unique types of beauty. Esi Eggleston Bracey, CoverGirl vp and...

It's been a long, strange summer for rock that's heralded plenty of shocks. The news bulletins for 2012 include the overseas incarceration of Lamb of God's Randy Blythe; the deaths of such talents as Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord and engineer George Marino; Van Halen's tour cancellation; and Against Me! singer Tom Gabel's gender reassignment. Add the departure of vocalist Geoff Tate from  Queensryche  to that list. After weeks of rumors, drummer Scott Rockenfield, guitarist Michael Wilton and bassist Eddie Jackson announced June 20 Tate had left the band due to creative differences. He was replaced by Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre. Two days later, Tate and his wife, former Queensryche manager Susan Tate, filed a lawsuit in Washington state's King County Superior Court claiming the three wrongfully fired the singer and will damage Queensryche's name by continuing without him. The group defeated an injunction on July 13 that would have p...

'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,' from Swift's forthcoming album, 'Red,' appears headed for the upper reaches of next week's Hot 100. by Gary Trust, Keith Caulfield, Wade Jessen and Silvio Pietroluongo  |   August 14, 2012 6:20 EDT T he title of  Taylor Swift's  new single clearly isn't about her relationship with radio or her adoring buying public. "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," the first single from Swift's fourth studio album "Red," due Oct. 22, appears headed for the upper reaches of next week's Billboard Hot 100 chart, thanks to its immediate acceptance across multiple radio formats and a projected record first-week digital sales total. Taylor Swift Announces 'Red' Album, New Single After being serviced to radio late yesterday (Aug. 13) jointly by Big Machine and Universal Republic Records, "Never" has accrued approximately 30 million in all-format radio au...

Hey… I’m in the studio right now working away on my new album and I am SO excited!!! I’m ignited!!! I’m like a match to a flame! I’ve had the title of this album in my mind for a long time….It’s been hard to hold it back and now I’m not holding it back anymore!  It is called Girl on Fire!!!  And that’s exactly how I feel!!! You’ll be learning more about it soon… but let me just say before making this record, in some ways I felt like a lion locked in a cage…I felt like a girl misunderstood that no one really knew, I felt like it was time to stop making excuses for any part of my life that I wanted to change. Once I made that choice I became a Girl on Fire, the lion broke free!! During the recording process, I mostly stayed in NY but on some cool and memorable occasions, I traveled to different places, and worked with many collaborators, (some old friends, some new). I discovered so many beautiful sounds, and meanings and a lot about the power of a song.  I ca...

Another day, another BET shake up… This week we braced our hearts after news hit that Tia Mowry and Pooch Hall  would not be returning to BET’s The Game  and now it looks as though two of their most popular  hosts  are on their way out the door as well.   According to reports, 106 and Park hosts Rocsi and Terrence will be leaving the show after 7 years.  Both joined the show in 2005 after being discovered by BET during a National ‘New Faces’ Talent Search to find new talent.  Although Terrence did not make the cut in the city he auditioned in, he drove to the next city’s  audition , auditoned for a second time and won the gig as  a host  alongside Rocsi, who auditioned in Chicago. [Rocsi was working as a radio DJ at Chicago's Power 92 at the time of her audition]. It’s the beginning of another chapter for both hosts. Terrence will continue his  career  as a  movie and television...