Mariah Carey delivers some new music for the first time since delivering her twins. The diva duets with Tony Bennett on a remake of his jazzy piano number “When Do the Bells Ring for Me,” one of the many collaborations on his 85th birthday album Duets II (Sept. 20). MC has also signed on as a “guest of a judge” on the U.S. edition of Simon Cowell’s “X Factor,” premiering September 21.
Keyshia Cole has been working hard on her fifth album, in which she hopes to release before the end of the year. The “Take Me Away” songstress plans to work with Kanye West, Ester Dean and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League among others. In the new fashion of reaching out to peers, Keyshia sent a tweet out announcing she has a new track she wants Brandy on.
“In the studio listing to songs I’ve recorded and I have one I NEED Brandy on. remindsmeof #TRUST.”
Brandy saw KC’s request and retweeted, with the response “I wanna hear.” Keyshia followed with, “Ok babe, DM me email address to send to and also number to call. YOU WOULD KILL IT SONGBIRD….Muaah.”
Since both singers are working on new material for release this year, the timing would be perfect.
Would you like to hear a Keyshia Cole/Brandy duet?
We brought you the title track from Jay Sean’s forthcoming mixtape “The Mistress” earlier. Now, the British star as unleashed one of his 3 collaborations, the Birdman featured “Love.” A seductive, synth heavy track, finds the Young Money singer telling his lady friend to fall back on that ‘love’ talk.
“The Mistress” will be released online on Tuesday, September 6th. In the mean time, check out the latest joint now.
Kelly Rowland can command an audience on and off the stage. The “Motivation” singer was secretly filmed by her assistant singing in the shower. Kelly, who kicks off her tour with Chris Brown later this month, showed off her vocal chops with a soaring rendition of “Part of Your World” from Disney’s The Little Mermaid. “I’m a black mermaid,” declared Kelly after realizing she was being taped. Those hoping to get a peek of Kelly’s other assets are out of luck.
Mary J. Blige kicked off Labor Day weekend on a high note, performing a mini-concert at Rumsey Playfield in New York’s Central Park. The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul closed out “Good Morning America’s” Summer Concert Series with past and present hits, including The Help theme song “The Living Proof,” “Just Fine,” “Family Affair,” and her latest single “25/8” off her upcoming album My Life II: The Journey Continues, due in November.
She chatted briefly about her new music, film projects, fragrance, and philanthropic efforts.
“The first My Life was a very important record because it came from a very dark place where we all needed a lot of help,” explained Mary. “Right now, we still need help with each other, but our journey continues because we learn how to weather the storm. As long as we’re living, the journey must continue.”
She also gushed about working with Hollywood A-listers like Tom Cruise, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Russell Brand on the ’80s musical Rock of Ages. “I had the time of my life,” she said. “Tom Cruise, he blew me away. He’s a rock ‘n’ roll star. He can sing his face off. He’s killin’ it. You’re gonna be surprised.”
Kevin McCall is stepping out from behind the scenes with his forthcoming debut, due on CBE/Jive Records. The singer-songwriter, who helped pen “Deuces” and Keri Hilson’s “One Night Stand,” caught up with Rap-Up TV to discuss his solo music and what fans can expect from Chris Brown’s upcoming album Fortune.
“Chris Brown is behind me 100 percent,” said Kevin, who formed a writing team with Chris and SeVen (formerly of RichGirl). “I’m working with Chris a lot. I did a lot of stuff with other producers just because I believe you have to venture out to find new sounds.”
He and Breezy collaborated heavily on Fortune, scheduled for an early 2012 release. “The Fortune album is really done. Chris Brown has four albums done if he wants to,” he revealed. “But the album’s done and it’s great. I like it better than F.A.M.E. personally.”
Kevin plans to join Chris on select dates of his “F.A.M.E.” tour, starting later this month.
While Usher makes us wait for his next album, he teams up with Romeo Santos on the Rico Love penned “Promise,” the second single from the Aventura frontman’s debut Formula.
International Pop star Jay Sean is plotting the release of his brand new mixtape “The Mistress” for this coming Tuesday, September 6th. The personal project contains 15 tracks, including features from Lupe Fiasco, Baby and and his Young Money label mate Tyga. Take a listen to the tapes title track “The Mistress” below, and stay tuned for the full release next week.
