Sunday October 30th, 2005
New CD's this past week:
- Faith Evans - A faithful Christmas
Music news headlines this week:
Angie Stone Returns With Her Very Best
The incomparable Angie Stone returns to the music forefront with two great
must have releases - Stone Hits: The Very Best of Angie Stone CD and Stone
Hits Live: The Very Best of Angie Stone concert DVD, both set for release
on October 25 on J Records, a division of Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
Stone Hits features the very best of Angie's chart topping hits from her
three critically acclaimed solo albums - Black Diamond, Mahogany Soul and
Stone Love, plus two new cuts including the lead single "I Wasn't
Kidding."
Stone Hits Live DVD features Angie Stone in concert at Atlanta's Civic
Center with special guest Anthony Hamilton as well as behind-the-scene
footage and photos.
There's no question that Angie set the bar as the "First Lady of
Neo-Classic Soul" with her 1999 solo debut Black Diamond, which spawned
the number one hit single "No More Rain." Her 2001 follow-up album,
Mahogany Soul, dispelled the notion of sophomore jinx when it sold over
1.2 million records worldwide. Stone continued her musical magic with the
2004 release of Stone Love and garnered amazing album reviews, including a
4-star Blender review - "Stone's singing is grounded and gorgeous" and the
3 ?-star review in the Los Angeles Times - "Stone can inject a song with
grit, but her vocal style tends to be smooth, delivering the words with an
almost effortless glide. This is a warm, uplifting, revealing album."
Stone Hits is a testament to Angie's vocal greatness.
In addition to her upcoming CD and DVD, Stone can currently be heard on So
Amazing: An All Star Tribute to Luther Vandross, also on J Records.
Stone's version of "Since I Lost My Baby" has quickly becomes the favorite
track on the star-studded disc of critics and fans alike. Boston Globe
cited that Angie "has one of the best voices around - warm, mature, sexy -
matched with enough confidence to let a song unfold organically. She
doesn't stampede the lyrics, or undermine the song with showy tricks, yet
at the same time she makes her mark... it's a lovely, memorable
performance."
Stone has also joined the cast of one of urban theater's top-grossing
musical stages, "Why Good Girls Like Bad Boyz" with an exclusive limited
engagement run. "Why Good Girls Like Bad Boyz" is the explosive tale of
one girl, who quickly becomes a woman the hard way.
Legendary R&B/funk singer Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band, along with
Award-winning actor Clifton Powell of the Academy Award-winning movie, Ray
and the new movie, The Gospel, are also a part of the stellar cast of
performers. "Why Good Girls Like Bad Boyz" kicks off its tour in San
Antonio, TX on October 18th, followed by performances in Dallas, Chicago,
Cleveland, Indianapolis, Louisville and Baltimore.
Janet Jackson Denies She Has A Daughter
Janet Jackson has issued a statement denying that she had a daughter,
conceived during her brief marriage to James DeBarge in 1984. Jackson
issued a statement through Access Hollywood which read, "I do not have a
child and all allegations saying so are false."
For years, there was a rumor circulating that Jackson may have a child,
but recently the rumors were fueled by James DeBarge's younger brother,
Young DeBarge, who broke the news that Jackson allegedly had an 18
year-old daughter named Renee who was living with her older sister, Rebbie
Jackson.
During an interview with a New York radio station last week, DeBarge said,
"James and the Jackson family kept everything real close, real tight. No
one really knew how it was working out until things kind of surfaced."
DeBarge and Jackson eloped in 1984 when Jackson was only 18 years old. The
marriage was annulled in 1985, largely because of DeBarge's battle with
drugs.
Jackson later secretly wed Rene Elizondo in 1991. The two got divorced in
2000. Jackson is currently dating Jermaine Dupri.
Young DeBarge is currently promoting a new album.
Fantasia Takes Issue With The Word “'Illiterate”
Singer Fantasia Barrino is frowning upon the word "illiterate" as a
description of her much publicized inability to read. The American Idol
champ says the 20/20 episode that first broke the news used the word
inappropriately during its segment on her autobiography, Life is Not a
Fairy Tale, which discusses her reading issues at length.
In the ABC interview, Fantasia said of her shortcoming: "You're illiterate
to just about everything. You don't want to misspell. So that for me kept
me in a box, and I wouldn't come out."
However, the 21-year-old North Carolina native told Jet magazine in its
current issue: "I'm not illiterate. I just have some strong struggles and
some situations that I'm not strong in. Every chance I get to speak out
about it, I'm going to clear it up and let them know that I am not a
dummy."
Babyface Looking Forward To American Music Awards
Urban entertainment will be strongly represented at the upcoming American
Music Awards, set for November 22nd at the Shrine Auditorium in Los
Angeles. In addition to host Cedric The Entertainer, the show will feature
a performance by superstar Mariah Carey, as well as presentations by Toni
Braxton, Chingy, Ludacris, Sean Paul, The Simple Life's Nicole Richie,
Gabrielle Union, and many others.
Among the show's 13 musical categories are nominations for such artists as
Will Smith, 50 Cent, the Black Eyed Peas, R. Kelly, John Legend, Destiny's
Child, Missy Elliott, Ciara, Fantasia, and others.
Babyface, who has racked up several American Music Awards in his career,
is not nominated this year, but odds are good that he may be in the
running next year for his current album, Grown & Sexy. Though he's
received plenty of other accolades for his work as an artist, producer,
and songwriter, Babyface says that what makes the American Music Awards
special is that they are voted on by fans.
He said: "This is clearly from the fans, so it's a whole different
meaning. And it's a really special thing to be nominated and even more
special to win if you win. But it's kind of like become tradition, so to
say. The AMAs is one of those shows that you look forward to and look to
see every year.
For a second year in a row, the AMAs will ask fans to vote for the
T-Mobile Text In Award, which celebrates the fans' favorite from a list of
top artists from six major musical genres. Nominees are Mariah Carey, 50
Cent, Kelly Clarkson, Green Day, and Tobey Keith. Results will be revealed
during the live telecast of the 33rd annual awards special, November 22nd
on ABC.