Sunday March 21rst, 2004
New CD's this past week:
None to report
Music news stories this week:
Beyonce Wanted To Make
Sure She Had Enough Hits For A Solo Tour
Beyonce Knowles supported her first solo
album, Dangerously In Love, with
some European concerts last year, but she only played only one show in the
U.S. It came before the album's release, when she performed at the Ford
Motor Company's 100th anniversary celebration last June. Knowles said she
wanted to wait until the audience knew enough of her own material before
bringing her solo show back home: "The crazy thing is this is my first
album, and I didn't want to do a tour until I had at least three singles,
because usually people have numerous albums before they tour. So I'm happy
it's happening now, so at least I have, like I said, a couple singles."
Knowles's portion of the Verizon Ladies First Tour 2004 with Alicia Keys,
Missy Elliott, and Tamia, mixes songs from Dangerously In Love with
Destiny's Child hits and some covers.
Cedric The Entertainer Replaces Timberlake As
'Motown 45’ Co-host
Comedian Cedric the Entertainer has
replaced Justin Timberlake as the
co-host of the upcoming ABC-TV special, Motown 45. The official word is
that Timberlake dropped out due to a scheduling conflict with the shooting
of his role in the movie Edison , but a coalition of African-American
groups, headed by Project Islamic HOPE, had also called for the singer's
removal as co-host. Najee Ali, executive director of Project Islamic HOPE,
said in a statement last month, quote, "The selection of Timberlake as
co-host of the Motown special is a cultural insult to the black community.
This special, celebrating the success of the legendary music label, should
not be compromised in the pursuit of a crossover audience. We are asking
concerned citizens to call, fax, and email ABC-TV in protest." Now, Cedric
and co-host Lionel Richie will preside over the event, which celebrates
the greatest hits of Motown Records.
Among the artists scheduled to perform are the Backstreet Boys, Boyz II
Men, Wayne Brady, The Commodores, The Funk Brothers, The Four Tops, Macy
Gray, Gladys Knight, India.Arie, Nick Lachey, Michael McDonald, Brian
McKnight, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Smokey Robinson, Kelly Rowland,
Joss Stone, Raven-Symone, The Temptations, Vanessa Williams, and original
Supremes Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong. Among the classic songs to be
performed are: "All Night Long," "Dancing In the Streets," "End of the
Road," "Heard It Through the Grapevine," "It Takes Two," "Let's Get It
On," "Nightshift," "Second That Emotion," "Signed, Sealed, Delivered,"
"Sir Duke," "Superstition," "What's Going On," and many more, as well as
medleys by The Supremes, The Four Tops and The Temptations.
The special will tape at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on April 4th
and is tentatively scheduled to air in May.
Beyonce Teams Up With Usher For New Video
R&B singer Beyonce Knowles recently shot a
video for her new single,
"Naughty Girl." MTV.com reports that Usher is the singer's co-star in the
Jake Nava-directed video, which was inspired by the dancing of Fred
Astaire. Beyonce said, "I feel like Usher's the Fred Astaire of our times.
I feel like it was a perfect match, me and him. Not only is he a great
dancer and a great personality, he's a great artist."
When LAUNCH spoke with Usher last month, the singer said that Beyonce was
at the top of the list of people that he would like to work with. Usher
said: ["I'd love to collaborate with Beyonce. She's at the top of my
list."]
"Naughty Girl" will be the last release from Beyonce's triple-platinum
solo debut, Dangerously In Love. After completing her current tour with
Alicia Keys and Missy Elliott, the singer plans to return to the recording
studio to work on a new Destiny's Child set.
Whitney Houston Enters Drug Rehab Facility
Whitney Houston's battle with drug abuse
took another turn Monday night
when the singer entered a facility for drug rehabilitation.
Houston's spokesperson declined to elaborate on the admittance but offered
a statement on the singer's behalf, saying that Houston "thanks everyone
for their support and prayers."
This isn't the first time Houston's name — or that of her husband, singer
Bobby Brown — has been linked with drugs. In 2000, Houston was charged
with a misdemeanor drug offense after authorities at Kona International
Airport in Keahole, Hawaii, seized her handbag and allegedly found
approximately half an ounce of marijuana.
The charges were dropped in March 2001 after Houston cleared a substance
abuse assessment.
In a December 2002 interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC's "Primetime,"
Houston admitted to having abused drugs in the past but claimed to have
overcome her problem through prayer.
News 2004