New Music : Busta and Eminem

My two favourite rappers, Busta Rhymes and Eminem, have teamed up for this mighty club banger Calm Down which has me wondering why this collab hasn't happened sooner. 
Not only do they both deliver great verses along with the catchy House of Pain inspired beat but this song is bringing me classic, old school Busta and Em, which is always welcome.
This song is just calling out for an epic video - as both rappers are known for their crazy visuals.

Twitter: @PaigeLouiseP

BET Awards Best Bits

Outfits

The red carpet was filled with hits and misses at last nights BET Awards and even the men stepped up their game with Pharrell and Kevin Hart leading the way on the style front.

Stand out red carpet looks from the ladies came courtesy of Amber Rose, who went for a simple and demure white number, and Zendaya who took a fashion risk and made a huge statement with her blue ensemble and braids.

Performances

To open the show, BET knew they had to do it big and it doesn't get any bigger than legends Pharrell and Missy Elliot. They kicked things off with a well-suited remix of Come Get it Bae and Pass That Dutch that had everyone on their feet.

T.I teamed up with Iggy for a performance of their new song No Mediocre followed by a solo set from Iggy who caught the crowd on their feet for Fancy, even Nicki seemed to be enjoying herself.

August Alsina and Trey Songz seemed to squash their beef for an R'n'B chocolate sexy off also featuring Chris Brown.

Nicki Minaj opened with Chiraq then popped out of a mushroom for her latest hit Pills N Potions. Not a big fan of the stage attire as it doesn't really align with the song and the rest of the stage set but Nicki did look beautiful as she always does.

Usher has been at the top of his game for over a decade and to remind us just how many great songs he has released, he decided to perform pretty much all of them last night. His medley included Confessions, Caught Up, Love in this Club, Yeah and many many more.

Chris Brown has been out of jail all of five minutes and he is already on top form and performing at his best. He jumped on stage with Lil Wayne, Tyga and Travis Barker for his biggest hit to date Loyal.

A perfect collaboration took place between John Legend and Jhene Aiko which highlighted just how much these two need to do a song together.

To close out the show, there was a huge surprise performance from superstar couple Beyonce and Jay Z direct from their sellout On The Run tour. Beyonce delivered sexy and sultry in ounces as her husband sat back and let her take centre-stage for Partition. 

Other notable performances include Lil Wayne, Jennifer Hudson and Robin Thicke getting all soppy about Paula yet again.

Winners

Some of the nights winners included Jhene Aiko, Krept n Konan, Beyonce and Drake. But the big winners were Pharrell and August Alsina who walked away with two awards, and Nicki Minaj who gave an emotional speech after winning Best Female Hip Hop Artist for her fifth year in a row.

Twitter: @PaigeLouiseP

New Video : August Alsina

Something that has been missing from a lot of R'n'B male artists these past few years is a song and video with depth and meaning beyond girls, partying and money. August is hoping to break that trend with his new song FML featuring Pusha T. The song explores the issue of depression in a very interesting and personal way as does the very disturbing yet captivating video to accompany it.
August makes his intentions clear at the end of the video by highlighting that this song is in no way endorsing self-harm or suicide in any way.
This is a welcome change in hip-hop and R'n'B and showcases a different and rather appealing side to the often controversial singer.

New Video : Sevyn Streeter

Not exactly a ground-breaking song or video, Sevyn Streeter's new single B.A.N.S has a similar easy listening R'n'B feel that her previous singles had and they were both hits.
It would have been a nice to change to see something uptempo with a little choreography; nonetheless, Sevyn looks and sounds stunning and I'm sure this is only the start of a prospering career.

Twitter: @PaigeLouiseP

New Music: Jhene Aiko

One of my favs, Jhene Aiko, is finally releasing an album and she just dropped the first single from it and it's called To Love And Die. It's the sound we have come to expect from Jhene yet never seem to tire of.
As always she sounds stunning and it seems the album will be just as brilliant and powerful as her mixtapes.

Throwback Thursday : Favourite One Hit Wonders

One hit wonders don't happen so often these days because if you have a hit song then, thanks to social media and the internet, everyone will know what you're doing, what you're wearing and when the album drops for the next year at least.
But back in the day, the charts were saturated with aspiring young artists whose debut hit was followed by years of silence or failed attempts at follow-up success.
Some of my favourites are listed below...

Eamon - F**k It

The 2003 version of Drake went by the name of Eamon and took the No.1 spot in the UK with this break-up anthem.

Las Ketchup - The Ketchup Song

Even though I had, and still have, no idea what they are singing about, this was my jam back in 2002 (when I was 10 I might add). Memories of me and my younger brother copying the dance moves whenever this song came on the TV still makes me smile.

Kandi Burruss

Ok so Kandi is not technically a one hit wonder because she was part of a very successful girl group and has one a Grammy for her song-writing. However, this is the only solo song that did well and people still remember.

Brooke Valentine

Surprisingly, this song is less than 10 years old which means Brooke debuted around the same time as Rihanna and a year later than Ciara and solo Beyonce. She never reached their level of success even though she had the potential, last I heard she was rumoured to be appearing on Love and Hip Hop: LA later this year.

Nina Sky

These identical twins have actually had follow up releases and a few mixtapes and albums but nothing has charted anywhere as well as Move Ya Body did back in 2004.

MIMS

Twitter: @PaigeLouiseP

New Video : Michelle Reunites Destiny's Child

Michelle Williams has always been on the quieter side when it came to life after Destiny's Child, but she has formed a successful career in gospel music. Her latest single Say Yes features her fellow DC girls Beyonce and Kelly Rowland who look and sound stunning in this video.
The song is unlike what you would expect gospel music to sound like and quite catchy so give it a listen below.

#WCW : Cheryl Cole

New Music : T.I and Iggy

T.I has returned with a summer hit and his sidekick Iggy Azalea who seems to make everything she touches turn into a hit this year.
No Mediocre is certainly catchy and the steel drums give it a nice summer vibe but I'm still undecided on how I feel about it.

#MCM : Big Sean

Twitter: @PaigeLouiseP

Essential Summer Playlist

It is officially summer here in England with temperatures over 20 degrees and sunshine promised to last through till next week. With every summer comes BBQ'S, house parties and holidays which all require an extensive soundtrack, so here are some tracks, from the old to the new, that will get you in the mood for summer.

Garage

Summer Jamz

Bashment

R'n'B

2014 Hits

Twitter: @PaigeLouiseP

Introducing : Love Dollhouse

Russell Simmons is repping a new girl group at his label All Def Digital called Love Dollhouse. The beautiful three teens can all sing and dance and their style is individual but girl groups are known to fail so they have to bring it with the music.
Their debut Can I is a catchy and sweet summer jam but it's missing the power and fire which made Destiny's Child, TLC and Spice Girls such huge success stories. Here's hoping that they come with something better next time if they want to stay in the game.

#WCW : Nicole Scherzinger

Twitter: @PaigeLouiseP

New Video : Nicki Minaj

Artsy, captivating, understated yet powerful. These are not words that would usually come together in describing a Nicki Minaj video, which are often flamboyant and colourful. But Pills N Potions truly seems like the start of something new for Nicki, as both the song and video, along with Nicki's recent image change, provide us with a softer side of her...and I love it.
The video is really beautiful and fitting yet so simple, there are a lot of people who could take a leaf out of her book when it comes to making an artistic video relevant to the song. (oh, and The Game looks hot in it too!)

Twitter: @PaigeLouiseP

New Video : Cheryl Cole

Another typical Cheryl Cole video in the form of dancing, hair-shaking and dimly-lit close ups. The video for Crazy, Stupid, Love is nothing we haven't seen before from Cheryl and even her lacklustre attempt at twerking can't save it.

On the plus side, Cheryl looks stunning as always and the song is slightly more bearable while watching the video.

Twitter : @PaigeLouiseP

#MCM : LL Cool J

Twitter : @PaigeLouiseP

New Music : Cover Drive

The underrated Bajan quartet are back from the music wilderness with a new single, Dis Ain't Love. It is not much of a departure from their earlier dance tracks such as Lick Ya Down and Explode and it is definitely a catchy commercial track just in time for summer.
Hopefully this time around the good music will catch on and they will continue to deliver with a quality second album.

Twitter: @PaigeLouiseP

New Music : Cheryl Cole

After a very lengthy disappearance from the music and showbiz scene, Cheryl Cole is not only taking back her judging seat at X Factor but she is having another stab at a solo career.
The first single from the new album is called Crazy, Stupid, Love and in my opinion it misses the mark and the potential Cheryl has with this big comeback. The song doesn't show any growth or change in her music, and by the time she hits the second chorus, I was bored. Although the beat is catchy and I can picture a fun video for it, even Tinie's verse couldn't save this track.

Twitter: @PaigeLouiseP

New Video : Neon Jungle

The British quartet are back with their fourth video and this time they're showing off their softer side. Louder is a great ballad and nice change of pace for the group but the video is lacking slightly. The girls look amazing and I love the dark make-up and atmosphere created for this song but the build-up didn't lead anywhere. I'm still looking forward to the album though, due out next month.

Twitter: @PaigeLouiseP

Throwback Thursday : Before They Went Solo

It is not easy to forget where you came from but sometimes it's easy for us to forget that some solo artists actually started their career in groups/bands. Here is a look at some groups who produced the biggest artists of our time...

Destiny's Child - Beyonce

Of course everyone is well aware of Destiny's Child, one of the biggest girlbands of all time, and the queen that has dominated since the groups break up. Beyonce was always the main focus of the group and was destined for a massive solo career but Kelly and Michelle haven't done too bad out of it either.

N'Sync - Justin Timberlake

No one could have predicted that from the ashes of pop boyband, N'Sync, an R'n'B superstar would arise and become one of the biggest selling male soloist of the noughties. But Justin Timberlake has done just that. Again, he was always the lead vocalist and front-man of the group so if anyone was going to be a success story it would be him.

Black Eyed Peas - Fergie & Will.I.Am

The Black Eyed Peas have produced two superstar soloist who have had hit albums and singles since the band went on a break three years ago. Fergie, the only female voice in the band, had a brilliant debut album in 2006 and has since announced her permanent leave from the group. Will.I.Am, the founder and frontman, is a super producer who has worked with Miley Cyrs, Justin Beiber, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Rihanna and Usher to name a few. His own music hasn't done too bad either with four solo albums and two of them being top 10 hits.

Clipse - Pusha T

Pusha was part of the duo, Clipse, with his brother and backed by hit producer Pharrell Williams. Having been active for over 20 years, they have taken a hiatus where Pusha T has established himself as a successful solo rapper.

Three Six Mafia - Juicy J

The very recent success of Juicy J as a solo rapper, thanks to his collaborations with Katy Perry, Lil Wayne, 2Chainz and The Weeknd, was quite a surprise. He may not be the best lyricist but he does bring something to his features including his status as part of hip-hop group Three Six Mafia.

The Pussycat Dolls - Nicole Scherzinger

It was always apparent that the day would come when Nicole left behind the rest of The Pussycat Dolls, a.k.a the back-up dancers, to pursue her own dreams as a solo artist. Although her music has never had the same success as her group did, she had a great run on X Factor and is given the music scene another go (see my latest post on new music from Nicole Scherzinger).

Twitter: @PaigeLouiseP

New Music : Wiley

Wiley is back with another mainstream song, following the massive success of Heatwave and Can You Hear Me a couple of years ago. This time he has sampled an 80s disco track and titles it You Know The Words and the result, in my opinion, is quite a lacklustre and uninspired attempt.
Wiley has the capacity to make amazing, catchy dance numbers that get heavy rotation at clubs; however, this song needs a remix before it would ever have me on the dance-floor or singing along.

#WCW : Sevyn Streeter

Introducing : Eric Bellinger

I am probably really late in discovering this artist but if you still haven't heard about him, his name is Eric Bellinger and he sounds like Chris Brown, Tyga and Trey Songz all rolled into one.
He has written for Chris Brown, Chipmunk and Selena Gomez to name a few, but he now has his own music career going on. His debut album The Rebirth reached number 25 on the Billboard charts and features collaborations with Sage the Gemini, Too Short and Sevyn Streeter.The single posted below samples 80's classic Jump by Kriss Kross but incorporates a modern twist, it's not one of his better songs so check out the rest at soundcloud.

Twitter: @PaigeLouiseP

#MCM : Mos Def

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New Music : Drake

Drake seems to be trying a new sound more along the lines of Worst Behaviour over the past few months and though it works, it is starting to get a little tired.
Although Drake can do almost no wrong this latest song 0 to 100 / The Catch Up, which starts as a hype club track then three minutes in does a classic Drake move and switches to a mid-tempo beat, sounds so much like a lot of Drake's other music. I like the song but it's missing something and I can't quite put my finger on what it is...

New Music : Nicole Scherzinger

Now that Nicole has given up her popular seat on the hit show X Factor, it looks like she is ready for her musical comeback with this new single Your Love. The jury is still out as to whether or not I am fan but it does have potential to be a summer hit.

New Music : Neon Jungle

After just landing a record deal in the US and scoring two top 10 hits, things are looking up for British girl band Neon Jungle. Now they return with their fourth single just ahead of the release of their debut album, the song is called Louder and it is a very different sound to their three previous club tracks.
Not only does this song showcase their beautiful vocals, it also sets them apart from other bands by proving they are versatile and not just your everyday pop group.