It’s conceivable that Sheryl Crow was listening to the likes of Lady Antebellum, The Band Perry, and even The Superstar Swift until she said to herself, “I can do that.” Which is to say, “I can make sharp, catchy country music.”

You can buy Janelle Monáe’s “The electric lady” below

She can indeed, judging from the evidence on Feels Like Home, her first album for Warner Bros. — make that Warner Music Nashville — after seven studio efforts for A&M. Her last one for that label, the soul-inspired 100 Miles from Memphis, wasn’t recorded in the titular town. But Crow did make her new album in Nashville, which is actually her current home. She enlisted Justin Niebank as co-producer and got help throughout from various co-writers, led by Brad Paisley collaborator Chris DuBois (with Paisley himself credited on one track).

In her press materials, Crow explains the benefit of both living and working in Nashville: Before she moved there, she hadn’t realized “what an amazing community it is. It’s the thing I’ve been missing my whole career — the feeling of being able to sit around with a guitar and have people know each other’s songs and know songs from people who’ve influenced all of us. When I moved here, pretty early on Vince Gill started calling me to do guitar pulls, and I thought, ‘Gosh, this is just like heaven on earth down here.’ ”

Often, the results are truly divine, as in the crisp electric-guitar riffs on “Shotgun” and the breezy chorus hook of “Easy” — not to mention “Best of Times,” which takes those guitars and that kind of chorus and puts them together in the same song. There’s also plenty of power in the ballad “Give It to Me.” Still, some of the finest moments here aren’t the biggest gestures but the ones that stay within themselves. They include “We Oughta Be Drinkin’,” sly instead of sloshed, and “Stay at Home Mother,” almost a prayer. It’s telling, too, that “Crazy Ain’t Original” dismisses our reality-TV culture not with an over-the-top rocker but with a cozy hand-clapper.

In other words, whereas Taylor-made music these days pushes the pop into the Red, Crow’s idea of Home — whether “Stay at Home Mother,” “Homecoming Queen,” or “Homesick” — still feels like country.

 

New release (Wondaland Arts Society/Bad Boy/Atlantic; tour dates)
Photo by Marc Baptiste

Looking for a musical update of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis? Janelle Monáe has been describing the adventures of her alter ego, the android Cindi Mayweather, since her debut EP, Metropolis, Suite I: The Chase. That was released in 2007, the 80th anniversary of Lang’s epic, and it was followed in 2010 by The ArchAndroid, a full-length album that contained the next two parts of Monáe’s sci-fi saga. Now come Suites IV and V (forming a prequel to the first one) in The Electric Lady.

Given the subject matter, you may be afraid of getting subjected to a techno tizzy. Don’t worry: Monáe is a throwback to the glory days of R&B, and her expansive ease with that sound is obvious all over this album. You can hear it in the riff-driven pulse of “Givin Em What They Love,” the aromatic smoldering of “PrimeTime,” the naturally bopping bass of “We Were Rock n’ Roll,” the tropical torchiness of “Look Into My Eyes,” the billowy groove of “It’s Code,” the light-on-their-feet beats of “Dance Apocalyptic,” and much, much more.

As Monáe referenced Lang in Time magazine: “Looking at something from 1927 but set in the future really connected with me. I wanted to do the same through music.” If it’s sometimes difficult to get the concept from this album (and which concept album doesn’t have that problem?), never mind; focus on that music. I won’t even bother to name the guests here; focus on Monáe’s music. And from track to track, take delight in her sweet voice. Indubitably, she sings the lady electric.

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 David Rousseau,the music-video director working with Lil Wayne on his "I am not a Human Being" appreciated the deal as both good and bad.

It is bad because the Cash Money Records superstar is incarcerated and not readily available to approve changes or edits; and good because Lil Wayne is camera friendly,co-operative and ready to offer concepts and suggestions for his clips.He even came up with the idea to showcase his glow-in-the-dark tattoos.
The song is already out via some sites like this one.
All the footage had been done earlier this year when Wayne and Rousseau worked on 12 videos that Lil Wayne had planned to finish before he went to prison, including parts of the Rebirth album and portions of Drake's "Miss Me" clip.
This worked out because when Lil Wayne turned himself in New York, the director had the homework to do even in his absence.

Nicki minaj on the 2010 VMA promo photo

Lady Gaga and Eminem during last year's (2009) event

The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards are here just on 27th Sunday at 9 p.m. This is good news for all music fans.

The VMAs are actually the event of the year whose results are very unpredictable, despite the fact that it is the fans who vote.We can not predict much but according to MTV, here is the list of nominees for you to ponder over and make your guesses as we approach that day.

Best Male Video
» B.o.B (featuring Hayley Williams), "Airplanes"
» Drake, "Find Your Love"
» Eminem, "Not Afraid"
» Jason Derülo, "In My Head"
» Usher (featuring Will.I.Am), "OMG"

Best Female Video
» Beyoncé (featuring Lady Gaga), "Video Phone"
» Katy Perry (featuring Snoop Dogg), "California Gurls"
» Ke$ha, "Tik Tok"
» Lady Gaga, "Bad Romance"
» Taylor Swift, "Fifteen"

Best Rock Video
» 30 Seconds to Mars, "Kings and Queens"
» Florence and the Machine, "Dog Days Are Over"
» MGMT, "Flash Delirium"
» Muse, "Uprising"
» Paramore, "Ignorance"

Best Hip-Hop Video
» B.o.B (featuring Hayley Williams), "Airplanes"
» Drake (featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem), "Forever"
» Eminem, "Not Afraid"
» Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz, "On to the Next One"
» Kid Cudi (featuring MGMT and Ratatat), "Pursuit of Happiness"

Best Pop Video
» B.o.B (featuring Bruno Mars), "Nothin' on You"
» Beyoncé (featuring Lady Gaga), "Video Phone"
» Katy Perry (featuring Snoop Dogg), "California Gurls"
» Ke$ha, "Tik Tok"
» Lady Gaga, "Bad Romance"

The Other Video of the Year
» Hanson, "Thinking 'Bout Something"
» Insane Clown Posse, "Miracles"
» Mayday Parade, "Kids in Love"
» M.I.A., "Born Free"
» OK Go, "This Too Shall Pass"
» Vampire Weekend, "Cousins"

Besides the nominations there are alot of preparations going on behind the scenes just look at the photoz, Nicki Minaj looks amazing in some of the behind-the-scene photos.Other artist in the promo shoot also shine in their photos, let them appetise your expectations for the day...enjoy!

Kesha at 2010 VMA promo

Drake at 2010 VMA promo

About three years ago, the world was divided coz 50 cent and Kanye West were releasing their albums on the same date and leaving it to the fans to decide the best between them. Now it's on again but this time on Tweeter, ther seems to be a crash between them as 50 normally tweets funny stuff, some comedy except for Monday when he went much into everything from his quarrels with Diddy and Jay-Z to playing new music for Eminem and having sex with a woman he claimed also had sex with Shaquille O'Neal back  while Kanye tweets about his life experiences.

50 cent argues that twitter is not a place to really be realistic about life, but to be fascinating. However, it was only on 1st September when he said he had taken a break from twitter to work on his coming album but he's back, just as he promised by 6th September. The album will be called The Return of the Heartless Monster, as he announced the title of that album on twitter.

Lady Gaga's producer Red one just uttered that the next thing from Lady Gaga will be shocking. He says it will be unexpected, off the chain and will remain an anthem for the generation over the next 10yrs, a decade or so.

"It's going to be shocking, shocking, shocking!" the Moroccan/Swedish master mixer behind "Just Dance," "LoveGame," "Poker Face," "Bad Romance" and "Alejandro" told Billboard of Gaga's new music. "You never want to go too far from your brand — people love you for a reason. But we still want to give them something with a kick, something that makes them say, 'Oh my God! We didn't expect this!' "

RedOne (real name: Nadir Khayat) said his job and future collaborations with Gaga are all about continuously evolving her and her music into something out of the ordinary. "When you heard 'Bad Romance' after 'Poker Face,' it was like the best thing you've ever heard," he said. "We want that type of reaction. I think that's part of my job and her job — to keep her evolving."

He said he had worked on a couple of Gaga's new songs and she is also se to collaborate with other big names in the industry on that album.
"After 'Just Dance' and 'Poker Face,' 'LoveGame' and 'Boys Boys Boys,' I got a sound out of her, and that made it easier for other producers," he said. "Her sound is so defined that, no matter what, people can follow it. That sound belongs to her."

What are you expecting from Gaga's new music? Let me know in the comments!

For the third time in four years, Jay Z is again basking in the glory of   "Hip-Hop Cash King" as ranked by Forbes. The rapper earned $63 million over the last 12 months, owing to business ventures like the high-grossing tour, real estate investments and the successful Roc-a-fella records.
This more than doubled 2010's runner up Diddy's, who clocked in at  position 2 on the list with $30 million attributed to endorsement deals and roles in films like "Get Him to the Greek."
Akon was at position 3, earning $21 million from endorsement deals and his signing of Lady Gaga to his Interscope-backed label KonLive.
Lil Wayne came in forth with $20 million in earnings, most of which came through his tours last year, I Am Music and America's Most Wanted, were the biggest hip-hop outings of 2009.
Dr. Dre took position five, earning $17 million through a combination of album royalties from his past projects, executive producing a pair of Eminem releases and income from his headphone line Beats by Dre.
Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, Pharrell and Kanye West rounded up the top 10.
Jay Z has always topped the list since 2007 when it was started and only lost to 50 cent in 2008.
The G-Unit boss took the 14th place this year, and he was tied with his mentor Eminem; both multi-platinum superstars that earned $8 million.
Drake was among those making their debut on the list, ranked at position 11.