Sunday August 7th, 2005
New CD's this past week:
- Teairra Mari - Roc-A-Fella
Presents Teairra Mari
Music news headlines this week:
Mariah Carey Joins MTV Video Music Award Performance
Line Up
Mariah Carey will perform at this year's
MTV Video Music Awards, set for
August 28th in Miami . She joins previously-announced performers Kelly
Clarkson, Green Day and Kanye West. The P. Diddy-hosted show will
broadcast live from the American Airlines Arena starting at 8:00 P.M. ET.
Carey's hit single, "We Belong Together," has been nominated for Best
Female Video and Best R&B Video. The track appears on her latest album,
The Emancipation Of Mimi, which has gone triple platinum in the U.S.
Destiny’s Child Farewell Shows Aren’t Sad
Destiny's Child has 24 shows left on its
schedule before the trio calls it
quits. But even though the Destiny Fulfilled...And Loving It tour is its
last, the group's Kelly Rowland told LAUNCH that the concerts have still
been upbeat affairs: ["It definitely does not feel like a farewell show.
It just feels good. I don't know how else to say it. It's a feel-good
show. It's not something that nobody should go there saying 'Oh my God,
this is the last show' and harp on it. They should go there and have a
good time because we're gonna have a good time and we want everybody else
to have a good time."]
Destiny's Child plans to release a DVD from the tour, as well as a
greatest hits album, this fall.
The group performs tonight (Wednesday, August 3rd) at the Mohegan Sun
Casino in Uncasville , Connecticut .
Brian McKnight To Read Lady Of Soul Nominations
Singer-songwriter Brian McKnight has been
tapped by veteran TV producer
Don Cornelius to announce the nominations for the 2005 Soul Train Lady Of
Soul Awards. The announcements will be made at a special press conference
and brunch on Tuesday, August 9th, at Spago's in Los Angeles .
The Lady Of Soul Awards, a celebration of the top female performers in
R&B, hip-hop and gospel, will take place September 7th at the Pasadena
Civic Auditorium in Pasadena , California . McKnight is likely to play a
role in the proceedings as a host or performer.
This will be the first Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards presentation in two
years. Winners from 2003 included Erykah Badu, Floetry, Missy Elliott and
Heather Headley. Special awards were presented to actress Vivica A. Fox
for career achievement and Badu was named entertainer of the year.
McKnight is currently promoting his latest album, titled Gemini. The
singer is currently receiving airplay for the singles "Everytime You Go
Away" and "Everything I Do."
George Duke Glad Rachelle Ferrell Involved On
“Duke”'
Producer, composer and keyboardist George
Duke got a little help from
longtime friend and performer Rachelle Ferrell on his latest album, Duke.
The singer collaborated with Duke to compose the album track "No One," on
which she provides background vocals.
Duke explains that he and Ferrell had written three tunes together a few
years back with the intention of giving them to vocalist Anita Baker for a
future recording in the years before her comeback on Blue Note last year.
When she didn't use them, Duke re-arranged and re-recorded one of them,
"No One," with live instruments to update it for Duke.
George explained: "Rachelle Ferrell is on the album. Now she sings
backgrounds. The story behind that song is that it was originally written
for Anita Baker some years ago, and Anita went into a little problem with
her record company and she didn't wind up recording right away. So three
of the songs Rachelle and I wrote, this was one of them. This one, 'No
One,' went on my new album and the other two went on Rachelle's last
album."
The busy producer and arranger continues to perform spot dates in support
of Duke, which stands at Number 15 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz
Albums chart this week. Duke will play Detroit 's Chene Park this Friday,
August 5th.
EWF'S Maurice White To Deliver Star-Studded Solo
Project Next Year
Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White
has signed to Concord Records to
deliver a solo project due early next year. The album will pair a who's
who of vocalists with a variety of bands for new versions of some of
White's best-known compositions, according to Billboard. The album is
tentatively titled Interpretations.
According to White's business partner, Herb Trawick, the album includes
such pairings as hip-hop band the Roots and fellow Philadelphia performer
Bilal on "Can't Hide Love," and vocal powerhouse Chaka Khan with jam band
Soulive on "Shining Star."
In the meantime, White and his Earth, Wind & Fire bandmates are currently
touring with pop supergroup Chicago, and are preparing for the September
20th release of their new album Illumination on Sanctuary Records.
John Legend Looking Forward To Release Of “So High”
Single
Singer and songwriter John Legend says
that his next single from the album
Get Lifted is already being used as a wedding anthem, and it hasn't been
released yet. "A lot of people are using it for their weddings," Legend
told MTV.com about his new track, "So High," adding that it addresses
"love supreme. Love on the spiritual level, love that is beautiful, love
I'm aspiring to."
The singer has shot a video for "So High" with director Diane Martel that
focuses on a fantasy encounter with a flight attendant.
In the meantime, Legend continues on the road with the Get Lifted tour,
also featuring Lyfe Jennings, Common and De La Soul at various stops. He
is also planning a fall tour with his mentor, Kanye West, with dates to be
announced late on.
Also on his upcoming schedule is an appearance at the MTV Video Awards,
August 28th in Miami , where Legend is up for three awards: Best New
Artist, Best Male Video, and Best R&B Video.
Mint Condition Says “Living The Luxury Brown” Is
About Culture
Minnesota funk & soul group Mint Condition
says that the title of their
latest album, Livin' The Luxury Brown, has more to do with the richness of
black culture than referring to any material goods. The group's first
independent release has already yielded one urban adult hit, "I'm Ready,"
and is on its way to another with the new single "Whoa."
Lead singer and drummer Stokeley Williams explained the meaning of the
album title: "Livin' The Luxury Brown. Its basically a metaphor for the
richness that we feel and that we've experienced, the richness of our
culture, our peoplehood, our music that we grew up with. We don't mean
luxury in the sense of physical riches, but inner luxury, inner
richness."
Livin' The Luxury Brown stands at Number 75 on the Billboard Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.