It’d be a lie if we said the opening of Willow Smith’s “I Am Me” didn’t sound like Rihanna. Within seconds it’s blatantly obvious it’s not Riri because Willow has her own sound, but the similarity in sound is there, even if only for a moment. New York City is a perfect place for a video titled “I Am Me” because it’s a place where individuality is celebrated. In the middle of Washington Square Park Willow sports blue jeans and an oversized shirt toting her keyboard and skateboard. And the whole point is she just doesn’t care what anyone has to think, whether it’s about her clothes or her shaved head. Read more…
Coldplay and Rihanna Go Bare For Acoustic Version of “Princess of China”
Coldplay and Rihanna have unveiled this acoustic version of their recent collaboration “Princess Of China” that will feature on the single’s digital EP. The fourth single off of Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto, “Princess of China” at first seemed like an unlikely collaboration between rock and pop stars, making sense only as a meeting of the giants (and members of Jay-Z’s inner circle). Bare of the bombast and electronic of the original, this version makes room for the its real Princess and the King, Rihanna and Chris Martin
This acoustic cut strips the song of its arena-ready thump and slows the tempo down, keeping only the guitar line. And it kind of works! Mostly because they finally sound like they are singing in the same room, and like they are heart broken by the fairytale break-up they are singing about. Whereas lines like “You’re holding in your hands to halves of my heart” sound a bit corny when washed in the synths of the original, they seem to bear more emotional gravity here. Rihanna’s “ooh ooh”s become “la la”s, and you can almost hear pain in her voice when she sings “You really hurt me” on the hook.
Have a listen above. What do you think of this new version?
Coldplay & Rihanna ‘Princess Of China’ Acoustic Version Released [Huff Post] Read more…
Jay-Z and Rihanna Team Up Across The Atlantic For BBC 1′s Radio Hackney Weekend
Diamonds were up in London this weekend, where Jay-Z and Rihanna played headlining sets at BBC Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend. On Saturday night, the Roc boss wowed the 50,000-deep festival audience with a set that included a surprise appearance by M.I.A., a Watch The Throne detour with Kanye West (much to the enjoyment of Beyoncé, who was caught moshing along to “Ni**as In Paris”), and a performance of “Run This Town” with his onetime protégée.
On Sunday, Rihanna closed the festival with a spectacular set of her own. On an Egyptian-themed stage and in cut-off fishnets and a leather jacket, RiRi surprised the crowd by bringing back Jay – in a black leather Brooklyn Nets cap — out for three songs at the end of her set. They did a reprise of “Run This Town,” and then gave “Talk That Talk” its live debut, before launching into their now-classic hit “Umbrella.” This run of songs, spanning Jay-Z’s 2009 Blueprint 3 to Rihanna’s current Talk that Talk to 2007′s Good Girl Gone Bad really goes to show just how deep that Barbadian star’s catalog goes at this point. “The Roc is in the building, and we love you so damn much,” she said, thanking the umbrella-baring audience. After delivering his verse, Jay slipped off and Rihanna sent fans home with “We Found Love” and a fireworks show. It’s safe to say, not Roc fan left disappointed.
Drake Brings Out Dipset And (Maybe) Hypothetically Mentions The Chris Brown Fiasco At Jones Beach Performance
Despite Drake’s recent involvement (or not) in a physical altercation with Chris Brown and camp, the show goes on. On Saturday Drake’s Club Paradise tour stopped at Jones Beach in NY where he performed in front of a crowd of 15,000 yelling fans. Earlier this week he promised them a second chance at Summer Jam. Unfortunately redoing Summer Jam didn’t mean YMCMB artists Nicki Minaj or Lil Wayne would come out as special guests. But Drake snagged the hottest upcoming rappers in the game–2 Chainz, Waka Flocka Flame, Meek Mill and A$AP Rocky–to open his show. Cam’ron, Juelz Santana and Jim Jones of Dipset also reunited. “This is something that I gotta do for New York,” he said right before bringing out the “We Fly High” rapper who was later joined by his former Harlem group members. Even on stage Drake remained tight lipped about the now infamous Chris Brown brawl. But per PopDust.com, he was subliminally referencing the incident that we hope doesn’t spiral out of control. Read more…
Chris Brown Has A Nasty Chin Gash After Brawl With Drake’s Entourage
Remember when we said all the boys go crazy over Rihanna? Let’s just say it seems to be more truth than jest. In the latest saga of guys fighting–literally this time–over RiRi, TMZ reports that Chris Brown was injured last night in a brawl with Drake’s entourage at NYC’s WIP nightclub. All the details of exactly what happened are still unfolding, but according to Brown’s tweet, a bottle was thrown by Drake’s crew that hit Brown in the chin. NYDailyNews.com claims it all began when Brown sent over a bottle of champagne to Drake as a sort of peace offering. Drake allegedly returned the bottle of bubbly with a note reading, “I’m still f*cking Rihanna.” Lawdhavemercy. Imagine Drake (or any rapper) taking out an ink pen at the club to write a note. We need to see the receipts on that one.
Brown rushed to Twitter tweeting a picture of the nasty gash along with a few choice words, “How u party wit rich n**** that hate? Lol… Throwing bottles like girls? #shameonya!” Shortly after the tweet was removed. When the cops arrived to the scene at the wee hours of the morning both crews had already left. Clearly being international superstars means nothing when you have homies that are always down for whatever. Read more…
Rihanna Lands 22nd Top 10 Hit Only Trailing Madonna, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson And Whitney Houston
There’s almost almost no better way to sum up Rihanna’s career than “that Rihanna reign just won’t let up.” What makes the magnitude of her success notable is the short time its taken her to break records in the way new artists can only imagine. “Where Have You Been” from Talk That Talk recently jumped from the No. 11 to No. 9 spot on Billboard Hot 100 charts making this her 22nd top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. That makes 22 top 10s in seven years. No wonder she lives by her own rules with very few f’s to give. She talks the talk and clearly walks the walk. Read more…
Fake Chris Brown Tweet Lands Him In A Minor Feud With Cher
Maybe Twitter isn’t the best outlet for Chris Brown to express himself at this stage in his career. Only days after his Twitter spat with Brian McKnight, Brown was accused of allegedly tweeting that Cher needs a beating, according to Rollingout.com. Like, who has beef with Cher? Allegedly Brown tweeted:
All The Boys Go Crazy Over Rihanna: Chris Brown And Meek Mill Exchange Subliminal Tweets Over The Pop Star
When you’re one of the flyest badgirls on the planet like Rihanna, you don’t sweat the small stuff like having a pop singer and rapper throwing subliminal shots at each other on Twitter over you. For Memorial Day weekend Rihanna hung out (and held hands) with Drake down in Miami, according to NecoleBitchie.com. The two were in Miami to shoot French Montana’s “Pop That” video. Rihanna sure does have a forgiving heart. It was just a couple of weeks ago folks were up in arms over Drake’s alleged diss about Rihanna in his verse on 2 Chainz’s “No Lie.” While she was schmoozing with Drake, who has confessed his love for this woman a million times before, Chris Brown and Meek Mill seemed to be throwing jabs back and forth on Twitter. Yes, you read that right. Rihanna’s in Miami partying it up with Drizzy, meanwhile Chris Brown and Meek Mill are engaging in petty beefs on social media. All over Rihanna. Play on, player! Read more…
Rihanna’s American Idol Performance Fuels Illuminati Rumors…Again
Judging by Rihanna’s performance on last night’s American Idol season finale, she has no intention of killing the Illuminati rumors any time soon. If anything she’s laughing at the ridiculous conspiracy theorists by feeding them exactly what they want. In an Egyptian themed set-up, Rihanna performed her No. 1 single “Where Have You Been” from her sixth album Talk That Talk . Rocking her new dreadlock hairdo, Riri emerges from a brightly lit pyramid. She and the pyramid are guarded by shirtless men while other bare chest men beat on the drums. Dressed in all black Rihanna immerses herself into the choreography similar to that of the dance moves in the video. Vocally Rihanna’s voice sounds strong, and of course we appreciate her singing live while dancing. Read more…
The Top 5 Most Anticipated Billboard Music Awards Performances
The Billboard Music Awards may not be known for scandalous surprise girl-on-girl kisses like the VMAs or interesting collaborations like the Grammys, but the 2012 Billboard Music Awards is offering performances by the hottest artists of today. Carrie Underwood, Linkin Park, Nelly Furtado and Kelly Clarkson are only a few of the A-listers hitting the stage this Sunday at MGM in Las Vegas. We’re curious to find out if BMA can pull off a tribute to the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer, in just three days. Watching how artists bring their songs to life at a major award show is always exhilarating, but here’s the five singers we’re most excited to see and why.
1. John Legend and Jordin Sparks honoring Whitney Houston.
Finally, a full Whitney Houston tribute. Jennifer Hudson did an amazing job at the Grammy Awards, but we were left wanting so much more. Thanks to Billboard, our wish came true in the form of John Legend and Jordin Sparks (who actually co-starred with Houston in the remake of Sparkle). It’s no easy feat to cover The Voice’s songs for even the best vocalists in the business. We’d love to hear the two sing “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” or “How Will I Know” as they are Houston’s earlier songs that are light and fun. It was announced that Bobbi Kristina and Cissy Houston are making special guest appearances to accept awards on Houston’s behalf. Will the gospel legend sing and take everybody to church? A lot is riding on this tribute, we’re hoping they nail it. Read more…
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