Chris Brown on Rihanna’s “Birthday Cake” Remix

As a self-proclaimed member of the “Rihanna Navy”, I am definitely not comfortable with this decision. Billboard has reported that Rihanna’s ex - Chris Brown - will feature on her forthcoming “Birthday Cake” remix. After weeks of toying with her fans over choosing a male collaborator to feature on the remix, there was lots of buzz over the chosen artist being Brown, and the speculation has now been more or less confirmed. I respect that they have both moved on and she’s probably seeing this as an opportunity to let everyone know there’s no bad feelings considering all of the hate he still receives over the 2009 beating.

But to be honest, I see it more dangerous than anything because - recalling what Rihanna said in her 20/20 interview in November 2009 about their former relationship - the pair were best friends before being in a relationship. So even if Brown is now in a relationship and they are going to be totally platonic and have a simple friendship, I know she could easily fall for him again if the situation came about.

Although, not considering her feelings or his, I honestly cannot believe that her team are letting this collaboration happen. I just cannot get my head around it - just 3 years after Chris beat Rihanna to a pulp she is featuring him on her remix. And not just any song, she’s chosen the sexiest song she’s ever recorded for him to rap on. This is a decision that Rihanna herself would have been disgusted at even two years ago, when she was determined to be seen as a positive role model for all women and men who go through or have experienced domestic abuse in their lives.

Even at the 2011 Video Music Awards, merely 6 months ago, her mentor Jay-Z refused to stand up for Brown after his performance at the ceremony. Millions of people, especially young women, have looked up to her in recent years and related to her former situation, seeing Rihanna as a role model. And now they’re watching her go back to him for what is coming across as a poor attempt at some shocking controversy.

And I’m also shocked at Chris Brown since for the past 3 years he has struggled to fight off the incident which occurred in February 2009 and has had a hard time making a comeback. Although, in the past year, he has finally been getting somewhere again with his last album “F.A.M.E” - which just won him a Grammy award on Sunday - and now he’s going to have to go through it all again with the backlash of the pair’s remix.

I just think this is the poorest decision Rihanna has made, because it goes further than her music - this is going to affect what she has represented for the past few years and it will surely affect her beloved fans. The worst of it is that no answer will justify this decision as being an intelligent one.

NEW SINGLE: Starships - Nicki Minaj

Following her explosive Grammy performance, Nicki premiered the leading single from her sophomore album on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show yesterday morning. “Starships” is produced by RedOne and is even more mainstream than her David Guetta collaboration “Turn Me On” - it’s sure to be a hit and is undeniably catchy, but this is yet another step further from the artist we first heard on “Playtime Is Over”.

This track is a dramatic constrast with “Roman Holiday” (the song Minaj performed at the Grammys) also, which means we are sure to be hearing a lot of different genres and flavors on “Roman Reloaded”.

MARILYN MONROE (DEMO) - NICKI MINAJ

A new demo from Nicki Minaj has leaked and the track sees Minaj surprisingly singing the full thing - no rapping at all. And her voice is sounding good! A lot of buzz around her at the minute and this song seems to be getting good reactions (despite the irritating guy talking throughout).

MADONNA’S HALFTIME PERFORMANCE @ THE SUPERBOWL XLVI

After a long period of anticipation and excitement, last night was finally Madonna’s time to perform the HalfTime show at the SuperBowl XLVI- and she delivered.

With the most intricate and extravagant stage ever, moving more than she did in the 80s and an army of back-up dancers - Madonna put on the most spectacular show the SuperBowl has ever seen, and put the majority of today’s music industry to shame.

We also seen something from the singer that we haven’t seen from Madonna in a long time - nerves. And despite a few stumbles, she had no reason to be disappointed in herself or the performance at all. Even the fact that she mimed the 13+ minute set was overshadowed by the striking performance and the handful of singers roped in to make brief appearances throughout. LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A and Cee-Lo Green all performed alongside the superstar creating a dynamic atmosphere in the stadium - with Minaj and LMFAO proving very popular with the crowd.

Opening with her iconic hit “Vogue” which was followed by her 2000 hit “Music”, Madonna got the crowd going with nostalgia before performing her latest effort “Give Me All Your Lovin’” for the very first time. With an elite of American cheerleaders behind the trio, Madonna, Minaj and M.I.A performed the song in a similar fashion the song’s video.

Then Madonna closed the short set with a surprising performance of her career-making hit “Like A Prayer” - accompanied by a gospel choir and guest performer from Cee-Lo Green - and the performance had the stadium in awe.

There will always be divided opinions when it comes to Madonna still doing what she does at 53 years old, but no one can say that she did not put on a good performance last night - and she seemed to genuinely enjoy it.

Her title as the Queen of Pop is firmly entact and she does not seem to be slowing down in any way as this performance is just the beginning of her new era. Now watch her single “Give Me All Your Lovin’” explode on the radio and charts (US especially)…

The new era of Madonna has officially begun! Yesterday, the artwork for Madonna’s new single “Give Me All Your Luvin” has been released! The lead single from her forthcoming album “M.D.N.A” is being premiered this Friday along with the video, featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. This will be 2 days before Madonna’s highly-anticipated Half Time performance at the Superbowl with Nicki Minaj, M.I.A and (rumoured) LMFAO, which will be followed with a global iTunes pre-order for an 18-track edition of “M.D.N.A”.

The new era of Madonna has officially begun!

Yesterday, the artwork for Madonna’s new single “Give Me All Your Luvin” has been released! The lead single from her forthcoming album “M.D.N.A” is being premiered this Friday along with the video, featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.

This will be 2 days before Madonna’s highly-anticipated Half Time performance at the Superbowl with Nicki Minaj, M.I.A and (rumoured) LMFAO, which will be followed with a global iTunes pre-order for an 18-track edition of “M.D.N.A”.

Bad Girls - M.I.A

This is the finished version of M.I.A’s “Bad Girls” from her mixtape “Vicki Leekx” released last year. This will serve as the leading single from her next album, and the video is rumoured to drop this Friday - the same that her collaboration with Madonna and Nicki Minaj is being released!

Leona Lewis delays album until November

Leona Lewis has been wanting an image/sound change for a LONG time, and it seems she’s desperate to make sure that it’s perfect. Her third album “Glassheart” which was originally set for release last summer with the lead single “Collide” has now been delayed from April to November. It’s also been announced that her label have recruited will.i.am and US producer Polow da Don to work on new songs for the record.

ALBUM LEAK: LANA DEL REY - BORN TO DIE Lana Del Rey’s highly anticipated debut album “Born To Die” has just leaked! She has had so much buzz surrounding her for the past month or two, so this album will pretty much determine what happens for her after all the hate on her pitchy SNL performances last week. I personally haven’t understood all of the hype around her, she’s just average for me, but this album could change things! (Click the title for the album link)

ALBUM LEAK: LANA DEL REY - BORN TO DIE

Lana Del Rey’s highly anticipated debut album “Born To Die” has just leaked! She has had so much buzz surrounding her for the past month or two, so this album will pretty much determine what happens for her after all the hate on her pitchy SNL performances last week. I personally haven’t understood all of the hype around her, she’s just average for me, but this album could change things! (Click the title for the album link)

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NEW: X Factor winner Alexandra Burke’s lead single “Elephant” from her forthcoming second album has been premiered on UK radio just a few hours ago! The song is really different from what we’ve heard from her on her first album, she’s went with the rest of the UK scene and moved to a MUCH more dance genre.

It’s a really big departure from the last time we heard Alexandra but I think it could be massive if she does the right promo/video for it. She’s always been a hit or a miss, but this could be the start of something good for her.

“Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” pushed back.

Just after premiering the “Stupid Hoe” video on Friday, Nicki Minaj announced on Twitter that her second album has been pushed back for release on April 3rd! But Minaj promised that it’s for good reason and that we’ll be hearing plenty before then.

I just hope that she has some better material on the album than of what we’ve heard so far, “Stupid Hoe” and “Roman In Moscow” may just be for promo purposes and not lead singles but if it’s any indication to the standard of the album then I’m not looking forward to the album.

But the lead single from “Roman Reloaded” is being sent to radio on February 7th and hopefully “Va Va Voom” will be a big improvement from the two promo singles!