Sunday May 15th, 2005
New CD's this past week:
- None to report
Music news headlines this week:
Toni Braxton Says “Please”
R&B singer Toni Braxton is back with a new
single, "Please," from her new
untitled album which will be released on Blackground Records in September.
The song was produced by Scott Storch, who has produced hits for 50 Cent,
Fat Joe, Lil' Kim, and Dr. Dre. The singer has used the downtime in
between albums to pursue an acting career. She has a recurring role on
UPN's Kevin Hill.
Braxton's new album will be her first for Blackground Records after
recording for LaFace/Arista Records for her entire career. The singer's
last album, 2002's More Than A Woman, was a commercial disappointment,
selling less than 400,000 copies, which prompted the label change.
Braxton's self-titled 1993 debut and the 1996 follow-up, Secrets, each
sold more than eight million copies. The singer's 2000 release, The Heat,
was certified double-platinum, while Braxton's 2001 holiday set,
Snowflakes, went gold.
Kem’s “Album II” Hits Stores Coming Week
This Tuesday (May 17th), Kem fans will at long
last be able to hear the
follow up to the singer/songwriter's 2003 hit debut disc, Kemistry. The
Detroit singer produced the new album -- called Album II -- himself, and
will be kicking off a tour in support of it starting June 8th at the Fox
Theater in St. Louis . Dubbed the Find Your Way tour, the shows will also
feature American Idol winner Fantasia and singer Rashaan Patterson as the
opening acts.
The first single from Album II, "I Can't Stop Loving You," has already
been in the Top Ten Urban AC charts for over a month is one of the most
requested songs at many radio
stations.
R. Kelly 'Reloads' With New Album And Video
R&B superstar R. Kelly will bring forth the new
album "TP3: Reloaded" July
5 via Jive. Although the track list is still not finalized, the set will
feature two songs that have already made an impact on R&B radio: "In the
Kitchen" peaked last month at No. 18 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart, while "Trapped in the Closet (Part 1)" is No. 23 this week on the
same tally.
There are actually five "chapters" to the "Trapped in the Closet"
narrative, each of which ends with a cliffhanger foreshadowing the next
song. According to a spokesperson, Kelly is presently in Chicago creating
a short film to illustrate the saga, which will be released on a bonus DVD
with "TP3."
BET will air a "making of" special for "Trapped in the Closet" during the
week of the new album's release. A video for "Part 1" of the song is
expected to hit BET and MTV around May 30.
Beyond the two singles, the only other track confirmed for the album is
"Playa's Only," which features the Game.
The new album will be the follow-up to Kelly's 2003 album "Chocolate
Factory," which debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 2.72
million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Stevie Wonder Album Gets June Release
A new release date of June 14th has been set for
Stevie Wonder's
long-awaited new album, A Time 2 Love. Wonder's record company has
notified retailers of the date, but there's a bit of skepticism since the
album has already been re-scheduled several times. Most recently it was
slated to come out May 3rd, but that date was also pulled.
Wonder recently shot a video for the album's first single, "So What the
Fuss." One version of it features an audio commentary track by rapper
Busta Rhymes that describes the video for Wonder's blind and low-vision
fans.
"So What The Fuss" features Prince on guitar and En Vogue on backing vocals.
Wonder will play at professional golf champion Tiger Woods' Tiger Jam VIII
on May 21st in Las Vegas .