Danity Kane Reunites !

The 2013 Video Music Awards had everyone talking, from the performances, to the N'Sync Reunion to Miley Cyrus and her stage antics, it was a big night for music lovers.

One of the biggest pieces of news, well for me anyway, was the reunion of one of musics greatest girl bands whose sky-rocketing career was cut short way too early by their boss, P Diddy. It was, of course, Danity Kane and their appearance on the red carpet after officially disbanding four years ago.

Shannon, newly enagaged Aundrea, Aubrey and Dawn seem to have settled their differences in order to head back into the studio - without fifth member D Woods - and make some delicious new music which I cannot wait to hear.

But whilst waiting, we may as well reminisce on the ladies and their previous chart topper and debut single which is now seven years old, Showstopper:

2013 Carnival !!!!

For the first time, I will be heading to Notting Hill Carnival tomorrow along with over 1 million other people this bank holiday.
So, to set the mood, The Heatwave have provided another of their annual carnival mixes of the quintessential bashment summer hits from the last year that are more than likely to be heard over the two day celebration...

The VMA's through the years

The MTV Video Music Awards are now in their 29th year having held the first ceremony in 1984 where Michael Jackson and Cyndi Lauper were among the big winners of the night.
The VMA's have since become one of the biggest award nights in music due to the jaw-dropping performances, outrageous outfits and controversial moments which make the show hugely entertaining and attract all the big names in the industry.
This year there are performances from Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Drake and, in a special one off reunion, N'Sync and I am sure there will be many other surprises along the way. But I thought it would only be appropriate that before the big ceremony tonight in Brooklyn, I should run through the eight most scandalous and talked about moments of the VMA's ...

2003

Not only was this the most talked about moment of the 2003 VMA's but it may well be the biggest moment of any award show. VMA veteran, Madonna, and young starlets, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, opened the show with a performance of, Like A Virgin, reminiscent of the performance Madonna gave back at the first ever VMA's.

The scandal came when Madonna kissed both Britney and Christina (as well as the cut away to Justin Timberlake's reaction) mid performance.

2011

Any Beyonce performance is always hugely entertaining with great vocals, perfect choreography and stunning outifts but at the 2011 VMA's Queen Bey gave one of the most important performances of her life because at the end of it she unveiled her pregnant stomach.
The fact that no one expected this AT ALL meant that it was a massive surprise to the whole audience and the media; furthermore, the reaction from Jay Z and Kanye make this VMA moment one of my personal favourites.

2009

A moment that haunts Kanye West even until this day. In 2009 he decided, after a little too much to drink according to Amber Rose, to jump on stage in the middle of Taylor Swifts acceptance speech for Best Female Video and interrupt her to proclaim that the award should have gone to Beyonce.
Although I am sure many people agreed with him, it wasn't the right time or place to make such a bold statement and it caused so much controversy that Beyonce had to later apologise on his behalf.

2001

Britney turns up a lot in this run through as she is, and always will be, a Video Music Award icon for her scandalous performances over the last 14 years. Of all her performances, everyone can remember the sultry rendition of Slave 4 U which included a snake being seductively manoeuvred around the stage.
This was definitely the peak of Britney's career and it's unfortunate that we will probably never get to see her like this again - toned body, amazing choreography and entertaining for all the right reasons.

1984

Madonna was the first musician to ever grace the MTV Video Music Award's back in 1984 and she lived up to her title as a musical legend by rolling around the stage dressed as a slutty bride and singing 'like a virgin, touched for the very first time...'
The audience are so shocked - in the 80's this would have been seen as hugely controversial - that the applause at the end of the performance is very lacklustre but watching it back now, you can definitely understand why Madonna is the Queen of Pop and how she paved the way for so many female artists.

2009
2009 makes its second appearance but this time for a wonderful performance given by Janet Jackson as she pays tribute to her brother, the late and the great Michael Jackson.
The dancers do a terrific job as does Janet and although it would have been great to see some other artists grace the stage - maybe Beyonce, Chris Brown and Justin Timberlake - it's a truly beautiful moment and the perfect way to remember the King of Pop.

1998
Mariah and Whitney are two of the biggest divas and biggest voices in music and with such huge status comes a lot of rumours. One of which was that these two women hated each other. So they decided to use the worldwide platform of the VMA stage to show the world and the media that they were, somewhat, friends by poking fun at the alleged feud as they presented an award together.

2007
Although one of the most talked about moments in VMA history, it was also one of the lowest in Britney's career. What was hailed as her big comeback performance became a media joke as she wobbled around the stage looking uncomfortable and, quite frankly, as though she would rather be anywhere else.
In comparison to her performance just six years, Britney fell flat and her big moment to show the world she was back on top, was a massive let down.

New Video Alert !

After having the biggest song of the summer with Blurred Lines, the expectations are high for Robin Thicke. His second release is titled, Give It To U, and features 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar and although this is a far less controversial video and song then Blurred Lines, they do share some similarities.
There's the infamous red writing which flashes on the screen quite a few times, there are two rappers who feature on the track, there are scantily clad women prancing around Robin and the lyrics remain sexual and cheeky.
It's unfortunate that Robin has veered away from his original sound which was an old schoo R'n'B sound - far more sensual and vocal-based - that often saw him compared to Justin Timberlake and R Kelly; however, his music now falls into the catchy and fun yet a little bit cheesy category.
The song is something we have heard many times before from urban male artists and the video is not that original or special either....I doubt Robin will have as much success with this track.

Artist of the Week : Big Sean

This week has been a busy one for Big Sean. Not only did he drop a new music video for his single, Beware, but two tracks from his upcoming album were leaked this week.

One of which features collaboration hoe, Nicki Minaj, and Juicy J and it's strangely entitled, MILF...classy.
The lyrics are unimaginative and the whole concept behind the track isn't as humorous as I think Big Sean was aiming for.
Admittedly, the song is quite catchy and I can imagine hearing this in clubs in freshers week; however, I really hope this is just a bit of light-hearted fun because if this is what we can expect from the rest of the album, it will be a massive let-down.

MILF

Control-versial Kendrick

Kendrick Lamar's controversial verse on the unreleased Big Sean track, Control, has caused so much chaos in the rap industry that everyone has been crawling out of the woodwork to respond with their own verses.
Having listened to most of them, there are quite a few impressive comebacks which should restore a lot of Kendrick's faith in the state of rap and I have decided to pick my top three and share them with you (in no particular order):

Joell Ortiz
The lyricism, the power, the directness and the flow are all a reminder of why Ortiz is one of the best and, often most underrated, rappers.

Lupe Fiasco
As always, Lupe provides us with a thought-provoking response that includes an impressive extended metaphor.

Papoose
An unexpectedly good response record from New York rapper Papoose who had to step in and defend the King of New York title that Kendrick so quickly claimed.

Introducing . . . OMG Girlz

Don't let the awful name put you off because these girls are extremely talented. This three-piece girl group was formed by T.I.'s wife and grammy-award winning songwriter, Tiny, and consists of members Bahja, Breaunna and Zonnique who is Tiny's daughter. These three girls are all teenagers with tons of talent and enough star power behind them to go far.
They are signed to Interscope Records and have received a lot of online buzz for their music videos, Gucci This, and, Where The Boys At ?, which both have over 4 million views so far.
The third single release is called Baddie and it shows a huge maturity in their sound now that they're all in their late teen's. The dancing is on point, the vocals are great and the song itself would definitely hold up in the mainstream charts alongside Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and the other females with a similar hip-hop sound.
Check out the video below:

X Factor Flops and Fortunes Part 2

Series 6

This year saw another X Factor first, a runner up that was far more successful than the winner, proving that the voting public can get it wrong sometimes.
Joe McElderry, was the first X Factor winner to lose out on the Christmas number one but his debut single did eventually reach the top spot. His album, Wide Awake, came in at number 3 on the charts which was a decent start for the young Geordie; however, his luck soon turned when his third single didn't make the top 50 and he was subsequently dropped from Syco.
With his second album, Joe was under new management and this seemed to work from him because it debuted at number 2 and even his fourth album (yes, he has managed to release the many) reached the top 10 of the UK charts. He is currently working on a new album so things look promising.
Ambitions

Runner up Essex lad, Olly Murs, is a rare talent show success story because he may have come second on the show but in the music industry he definitely came out on top over the talent show winner.
Olly was almost immediately signed to Sony music after the X Factor final and released his first single, Please Don't Let Me Go, and with it beat Katy Perry to the number one spot. His self-titled debut album sold over 100,000 copies in the first week and reached number two which marked the start of Olly's ever-growing music career. He has since gone on to have three more number one singles, two more platinum selling albums, tour North America with One Direction and have number ones throughout Europe making him one of the most successful solo male acts to come out of X Factor.
Olly came full circle after just completing a stint as co-host of the Xtra Factor alongside Caroline Flack last year and is releasing his third UK album in the US later this year while working on his fourth studio album for a 2014 release.
Heart Skips A Beat

Series 7

Once again, the runner up outshines the winner but even more so, they were both outshined by two other contestants who managed to break America.
Matt Cardle is probably one of the last contestants that come to mind when you think back to Series 6 even though he actually won the show that year.
His debut single, When We Collide, has sold over a million copies - making him the fourth contestant to do so - and his album reached number two in the charts; as usual a good start in the music industry. But two singles later and Matt announced he was parting with his record label because he 'wasn't a priority' and soon dropped a second top ten album under new management.
He seems to be continuing with the music, hoping to crawl his way back onto everyone's radar with a new single, Loving You, featuring Mel C releasing in a few days and a third album out sometime later this year.
Good luck to him!
When We Collide



Rebecca Ferguson made a lot of impact on the show with her unique vocals and as soon as the X Factor wrapped she got signed to Sony records and dropped her debut top ten single a year later.
Heaven, her debut album, was critically acclaimed and went platinum and resulted in her getting signed to Coumbia records in the US. Although none of her four singles have managed to make a massive impact on the UK charts, she has recieved great reviews world-wide and has the support from her label behind her so it's a shame she is so underrated.
She has spent much of this year touring America and making appearances on many popular US talk shows so things are looking promising. She has almost finished working on her follow up album which will be released some time next year.
Backtrack


Cher Lloyd is an unexpected star to emerge from the show and although she received a lot of media attention and praise from the judges throughout the process, she only finished in fourth place.
She still got signed to Sony and got her first number one with her debut single, Swagger Jagger, in August 2011. For her debut album, Sticks + Stones, Cher worked with Busta Rhymes, RedOne and Mike Posner which paid off because it reached number in the UK.
Her big break in America came when she signed with LA Reid and her debut single in the US, Want U Back, reached number 4 on the US Itunes charts.
She is continuing to have success across the pond having just featured on a track with Demi Lovato and about to embark on a tour with girl group, Fifth Harmony. But when she returns to the UK next month, Cher will bring with her a second album and hopes for the same success that she managed to achieve with her debut.
Want U Back

But the biggest stars of the series, and possibly of the entire show so far, are One Direction who are now a world-wide success story thanks to the X Factor. Niall, Harry, Zayn, Liam and Louis didn't even know each other prior to auditioning for the show; however, at boot camp stages the judges put them into a group and the rest is history.
They came third in the show but have gone on to sell 19 million singles and 10 million albums all over the world. Their first three singles all hit number one in the UK chart which led them to embark on a trip to the US where, What Makes You Beautiful, reached number 28. Similarly, their first studio album was of equal success, becoming the fastest-selling debut album of 2011 and hit number one in 16 countries including America - an achievement that no British group had ever reached before.
They have had sold out arena tours, best-selling books and another number one album, Take Me Home, also selling over 500,000 copies in its first week in the US.
One Direction are only set to get bigger in the coming years, with a movie released next week, a third album to drop later this year and a stadium tour to commence next year.
Best Song Ever

Series 8
The first group to go on to win the X Factor, and once again a group that was created in the boot camp stages of the show, Little Mix are another female success story from the show.
Leigh-anne, Jade, Jesy and Perrie got their Christmas number 1 with debut single, Cannonball, and followed it with a second single, Wing, which also reached number one in the UK.
They soon signed a record deal overseas and released their debut album, DNA, which had already reached number 3 in the UK, and hit the Billboard 100 at number 4 making them a record breaking Britsh girl-group.
They have already started working on their second album which I am sure will propel them on to even more success.
Wings

Misha B, who came fourth, is also worth a mention; following this series she has a record deal with Relentless Records and released a critically acclaimed mixtape. Her debut single, Home Run, reached number 11 in the UK singles chart and she was the opening act for Nicki Minaj's UK leg of her sold-out arena tour.
She has since had a top ten single with her second release and is expected to drop her debut album sometime later this year
Here's To Everything

Series 9

Although it's too early to tell whether there are any success stories to emerge from last years show, winner James Arthur does have a promising career ahead of him. His winning X Factor single and Christmas number 1, Impossible, was the fastest-selling X Factor winning single so far and has sold over 1.5 million copies. With a second single and debut album being released later this year we will have to wait and see what the future holds for James
Impossible

Good Music, Bad Attitude

With more and more musicians unveiling their big egos and bad attitudes to the public, is it time for consumers to boycott the music of those whose actions we disagree with ?
Azealia Banks is starting Twitter fights with everyone in the industry before she has even released a studio album, Rick Ross is writing date rape lyrics and Nicki Minaj is renowned for her over-dramatics and diva tendencies. Maybe it's time these artists faced some consequences for their disrespectful behaviour...

This is a debate that emerged most recently after the horrible violent attack that Chris Brown endured on his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, in February 2008. As a result of this domestic abuse, Chris Brown faced an onslaught of abuse from the media, criminal charges and a lot of making up to do to his fans around the world. Many consumers decided to boycott his music for a while, but most chose to stick by him and over the years he has garnered even more fans, which is made obvious by his continued success in the industry, without even having to clean up his image.
It seems as though there is a new negative story about him in the blogs every week, from fights in nightclubs to hit and runs, and even though it's obvious that there are a few people who are out to get him and paint him as the villain of r'n'b music, he does make it really easy for people to hate on him.

Kanye West is another artist who is constantly exposing his anger issues and oversized ego to the public yet he continues to sell out arenas, top the charts and win awards no matter how often he compares himself to Jesus or attacks paparazzi.
Some may find his behaviour entertaining and harmless but there have been many occasions when this is not the case, like his infamous Taylor Swift VMA award speech interruption where he publicly humiliated the young winner and ruined her moment on stage. It was rude and obnoxious behaviour that clearly upset Taylor but Kanye's abuse from the watching world was brief and there were no real repercussions for his actions as it wasn't long before he was back to making millions and releasing critically acclaimed music. Has his attitude improved over the years ? No, just like Chris, Kanye has remained egotistical, annoying and rude yet shows no signs of slowing down career-wise.

There are endless names that come to mind when I think of bad attitudes in the music scene and some, such as Keri Hilson and Keyshia Cole, who have faced such a huge backlash for their criticism of Beyonce, do end up ruining their music careers.
But most artists are unaffected when they start unnecessary beef or find themselves hitting the headlines for despicable behaviour (like peeing in a mop bucket, Justin), whether it's because they are too talented and their music is so great that we disassociate the person from the product or that they have enough support from the music industry and endorsers that they can overcome any negativity in their personal lives.

Although I can appreciate the moral reasoning some may have for boycotting an artists music; in the 21st Century, we, as consumers, don't have that much of an effect on the profit and success of musicians by refusing to purchase their songs. In fact, record sales are probably the least profitable sector of a performers income since most of their earnings come from sponsorship deals and endorsements so it isn't until big companies and media corporations decide to separate themselves from an artist that we will see any impact on their career.

Personally, I believe that listening to/enjoying Chris Brown's music, for example, does not make you a supporter of domestic abuse neither does it mean you accept his volatile behaviour or forgive him for what he has done in the past. All it shows is that you appreciate good music and talent. There really is no need to delete music off your ipod or sit down in a club when the music of a certain artist comes on in order to make a point. The only person that will lose out is you, not the artist.
Obviously when they start receiving hateful messages on Twitter and can't sell out arenas any more because the public aren't buying the tickets, the artist may begin to feel some type of remorse for their actions as they see it affecting parts of their career. But, when it comes to the enjoyment of their records, we have to be able to separate the artist from the art and appreciate the music for what it is, good music, without attaching it too heavily to the artist behind it with the bad attitude.

Artist of the Week: Ariana Grande

This 20 year old Nickelodeon actress has a voice that is very reminiscent of her idol, Mariah Carey, and her music has that similar early 90s R'n'B sound but with a modern twist.
Ariana already found mainstream approval with her debut single, The Way featuring Mac Miller, and she hopes to repeat this success with her second single, Baby I, which began making its rounds on Youtube last week. It has stellar vocals and reminds me a little of Honey by Mariah Carey with its sweet, 'girl madly in love' lyrics and catchy hook.
Both singles have a strong R'n'B sound to match Ariana's extensive vocal range and if they are just the tip of what we can expect to hear from the album - which also features a track with Big Sean called Right Here and was uploaded to Youtube a couple of days ago - then I anticipate its release next month.
Baby I

X Factor Flops and Fortunes Part 1

With the X Factor set to return to our tv screens next month I decided to take a look back at some of the success stories and one hit wonders (that guaranteed Christmas number one) that have emerged from the franchise. Here is Part 1, series 1 - 5 :

Series 1

Steve Brookstein, who won the first series, probably brings to mind no hit singles or memorable performances and not just because this aired almost ten years ago, but Steve was definitely an X Factor flop. In fact, he has gone down in history as THE biggest X Factor flop.
Although his debut album reached number one and sold over 100,000 copies, he was dropped by his record label Sony just eight months after winning the X Factor. His follow-up album, which he released under his own record label in 2006, failed to even hit the top 100 and since then he has evaporated into the depths of X Factor history and is never really mentioned by Simon Cowell or anyone else associated with the show.
Oh well, let's relive his winning performance just to jog your memory...
Against All Odds



Series 2

In the second series, the expectations were high following the failure of last years winner, so when Shayne Ward bagged the title, he had a lot to prove.
Things looked promising at first, he had a number one single and debut album, won an Ivor Nevello award and even had a solo tour throughout the UK, so it's safe to say he had a lot going for him following his X Factor win. The real test came with his second album which managed to chart at number two and produce two top ten hits; all feats that Steve Brookstein had failed to achieve.
With this much success, things looked very promising for Shayne but even though his third album, Obsession, charted at number 15, he was soon dropped by Syco records and has not released any new music since 2011.
Shayne had the looks and the voice but not enough support from the label to make it in the X Factor history books...
No U Hang Up

Series 3

This series saw one of the first international breakthrough artists to come out of any talent show and it also happened to be the first female winner, Leona Lewis.
It was undoubted that she would be a huge star with a world-class voice and the integral popstar image, Leona just needed Simon's support to make her a success story.
She immediately signed a £5 million record contract with the renowned Clive Davis and this spawned a breakthrough career for Leona whose debut album, Spirit, debuted at number one in over eight countries including America. Leona made the headlines, charts and the record books for her second single, Bleeding Love, and many of her follow up singles from her debut album also reached the top five. She has since released two more hugely successful albums, embarked on a world tour and has become a household name and one of the biggest success stories for X Factor all over the world.
Bleeding Love
Trouble

Series 4

Could probably be accurately described as the least memorable year for X Factor as its winner quickly disappeared off the radar.
Leon Jackson had that always guaranteed Christmas number one and his debut album did reach the top 5 of the UK charts, yet he was dropped by Syco before he could even release a second album and hasn't even released any more music since 2009. He admitted that he had received no backing from his mentor, Dannii Minogue, or the X Factor boss, Simon Cowell, since winning the show.
To make matters worse he won the title of second biggest reality TV flop just trailing behind Steve Brookstein, who I think shouldn't have won first place because he, at the very least, holds the title of first X Factor winner, and Leon shows no signs of crawling his way back into the music industry any time soon.
Leon's fifteen minutes of fame are well and truly up!
Don't Call This Love

Series 5

This series saw multiple success stories which was a first for X Factor, especially for the groups category which had never had any real achievements.
There was, of course, the winner, Alexandra Burke, who stole the final with her spectacular performance alongside her idol, Beyonce. She went on to have quite a strong music career with three number one singles, a double platinum debut album and worked with the likes of Ne-yo, Flo Rida and toured alongside Beyonce. Ms. Burke also signed a six figure contract with Dolce & Gabbana; its safe to say she seemed to be following in the footsteps of fellow female winner, Leona Lewis.
Her second album, Heartbreak on Hold, was released last year and although the first single from the album reached number three and gained some critical acclaim, the album failed to reach the top ten and seemed to be the first dip in Alexandra's career.
Fortunately, she still has the voice, the look and the right people around her so fingers crossed for her next studio album which is set to be released sometime this year.
Elephant

For the first time in X Factor history, but certainly not the last, someone other than the winner went on to have a successful career in music.
Series 5 runners up, four-piece boyband JLS, signed to Epic Records soon after X Factor and dropped their debut single, Beat Again, which went in straight at number 1. This was followed by a number one album, a number one second single, a headlining UK tour and a Brit Award, which was a first for any X Factor contestant.
Marvin, Aston, Oritse and JB then hoped to break through in the US with the backing of Jay-Z; however, this never really worked out for them.
Regardless of this minor setback, the boys continued to dominate in the UK with their third number one single, The Club Is Alive, and a number two follow up album making them, at the time, the most successful group and male contestants to ever emerge from the X Factor.
Even with a third successful album and sold out UK tours, JLS announced they are to split at the end of the year after embarking on their third and final arena tour and releasing a greatest hits album.
At least they are bowing out on a high, something that a lot of X Factor contestants could take note of...
Hottest Girl In The World

Last but not least, Series 5 produced one more success story for someone who didn't even make it to the finals.
Diana Vickers only came fourth yet she went on to sign to Sony Music and begin work on her debut album in 2009. She had both a number one debut single and album, Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree, once again flying the flag for the female X Factor contestants.
Although she decided to walk away from her contract with Sony in 2011, she has still been working on her music for the last two years and is hoping to release her second album this year having just dropped the title song from the album last week.
Music To Make Boys Cry

Big Sean Brings The Fire

Big Sean dropped a brand new video last week for his amazing track, Fire, and I am in love with it. The sound is a far cry from a lot of Big Sean's previous single releases which usually aim to please mainstream audiences and club-goers. But Fire certainly brings the heat - no pun intended - with an immense production, applauded lyricism and an interesting visual accompaniment.
Although his choice of Miley Cyrus as the video model isn't what I would have expected (his girlfriend Naya Riveria would have been a perfect fit) she does pull of the 'seductress' poses quite well and will certainly attract a lot of viewers.

Artist Of The Week: Kat Dahlia

This 23 year old, Cuban-American singer-songwriter (and sometimes rapper) has a unique tone to her voice and a commanding presence in her music which matches her hard-hitting and often personal lyrics. Her feisty and unapologetic attitude makes her stand out from much of the female artists in the charts today.
I instantly fell in love with her debut single, Gangsta, and its catchy hook which screams female empowerment. If this is just a taste of what to expect from the debut album, released in September, than she is no doubt on the road to success.

Gangsta