Today's Pick

After being teased through three pictures, British pop singer Cheryl Cole's raunchy and stunning new video for "3 Words" has finally been brought forward, and premiered on her official website and GMT last Friday. Cole looks hotter and sexy than ever as she leaves her X-Factor judging panel behind to adopt a Lady Gaga-inspired style long blonde wig with black bra but looks sad.
The atmospheric love song "3 Words" is the title and as the second single off the 26-year-old X-Factor judge's chart-topping (for two consecutive weeks) debut solo album via Fascination Records. "[It's] my favorite track on the album," said Cole. "It's totally different to anything I've done or liked before, and one of the tracks on the album I am bursting for people to hear." The song features additional vocals from rapper Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas, who wrote the song with Cole. It is the second single Cole and Will.I.Am have duetted on with Heartbreaker going to number four in 2008. The song got its worldwide radio premiere on October 13 on BBC Radio 1's The Chris Moyles Show.
Dark Rapunzel locks are her trademark and thanks to a lucrative L'Oreal deal, her bread and butter too. But Cole has swapped those famous tumbling brunette curls for a bold suicide blonde wig in the new Vincent Haycock-directed video, which features both stars in a pretty creepy scenario, and tells the story of a couple who socialise separately and are both approached by other members of the opposite sex in a nightclub, and features Cole and her collaborator rapper Will.I.Am in split screens which morph together and part continuously throughout the video. The L'Oreal shampoo model appears in a futuristic gold and leather outfit before shocking with lightning white hair, and makes the ghostly transformation and shakes her body around as she moves alongside a troop of half-naked backing dancers.
Although the song "3 Words" has already getting regular airplay and charted at #26 on downloads alone, the style icon Cole is trying her hand at solo singing and hoping her slow tempo track will be the first #1 in the charts of the new decade when it officially release as a single on December 21.

It's an Idol worlds collide! Australia's very first ever Idol winner Guy Sebastian has teamed up with American Idol cutie winner Jordin Sparks for their slushy duet "Art of Love" music video, which is all a bit shouty but power ballad, and two astounding voices are brought together into the song.
Sebastian, the multi-platinum selling singer songwriter is the former Australian Idol winner from the premiere season in 2003, and his winning song "Angels Brought Me Here," which Carrie Underwood sang in the Season 4 Finale. He since has released five albums and recently wrote his hit song "Art of love" and then traveled to New York City to record the smashing hit with Sparks. The song was officially released as the second single from Sebastian's latest fifth highly anticipated album, "Like It Like That," which was released in Australia on October 23 by Sony Music, the first since his critically acclaimed 2007 "The Memphis" album which featured covers of classic 1960s and 1970s Memphis Soul hits, and went on to achieve triple-platinum certification by the ARIA, and it featuring Sparks.
Sebastian and Sparks filmed the music video in Los Angeles. Sparks looks gorgeous in her glammed-up attire. The song's nice too, especially the second chorus, which features Sparks's harmonies prominently. "I'm still overwealmed that she did the song, and now is doing the video," the Australian Idol said of his American Idol counterpart. "She's super humble and very sweet and killed the track. She sings it amazingly well. They were due to perform "Art Of Love" on the Australian Idol grand final last Sunday, but Sparks was unable to travel to Australia due to a sudden illness. Meanwhile, Sebastan will head out on the "Like It Like That" Tour in February 2010.

She's back and turning up the heat! For a while now, fans have been waiting for the sultry diva Toni Braxton to drop a new single "Yesterday" from her upcoming sixth studio album, "Pulse," which will be dropped sometime in February 2010. After much leaked material, Braxton is giving ESSENCE.com readers a first listen, and premiered a music video for the remix version of her new single featuring Trey Songz on BET's popular The Wendy Williams Show on Friday, to help the track become a hit among the R&B fans.
"Yesterday" is the first official single from the album and is produced by DJ Frank-E and released September 29 first time under Atlantic Records after four years in hiatus, following 2005's "Libra". The original song was signature Braxton. Big vocals, slow beats and sexy undertones. But, in a bid to pump up the hype post-Vegas gig and pre-comeback, the record label attempted to gloss it over with a mid-tempo beat.
Filming the music video for the single started on October 8 in Los Angeles with director Bille Woodruff. Braxton taking full advantage of her newly single status had cameos from several hot basketball players, include Shannon Brown and Ron Artest from the LA Lakers, playing her romantic opposite. In video, the sultry singer and former 'Dancing with the Stars' diva is sizzling hot and playing a piano with a small wig and finds the strength to move on after finding her boyfriend Brooke Hogan cozying up to another woman, all the while exchanging vocals with a nearby Songz. The six-time Grammy winner is definitely showing how to be sultry and classy at the same time. She flexed her versatility donning different wigs in each scenario and looked exceptionally beautiful in every take. Her voice is still a powerful sensation which makes us feel like she wasn't gone for "Seven Whole Days." Adding Songz was an interesting cougar-licious mix! Their harmony is definitely apparent and compliments each other.
Braxton has enjoyed a successful musical career and with one of the most distinctive and recognizable voices in contemporary music, She returned to the international marketplace. Both "Yesterday" and "Pulse" have huge significance in the career of this popular singer as she is making a comeback in the music world after a long break of five years. She has tried to put in her best effort to make her new work successful and is also expected to earn her fame. The R&B star present the award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Male Artist at American Music Awards last Sunday, and is set to perform "Yesterday" at the BET/Centric presents Soul Train Awards tomorrow night at 9:00pm on BET.

The hip-hop record producer and rapper Timbaland is back in stride, and has premiered exclusively a music video on Timbaland's official website in support of his single "Morning After Dark," features an additional rap verse from Portuguese-Canadian singer Nelly Furtado and his newly-signed French rapper SoShy. "Morning After Dark" is the lead single from his upcoming third studio album, "Shock Value 2," a consciously-styled sequel with an equally intriguing castlist (Katy Perry, Daughtry, Miley Cyrus) which is due for December 8 U.S. release.
Once upon a time, Timbaland was quite the trendsetter with his cutting edge beats and crazy samples. Those days seem to be behind him if his latest video "Morning After Dark" is anything to go by and he's jumped on the vampire-bandwagon. The Twilight-inspired cheesy video/short film was an over 7 minutes in length longer than the song itself and directed by Paul "Coy" Allen, the video features a story plot based on a sexy girl who's spending her last week in Italy reluctantly heads off to a party who has several mysterious encounters with vampires similar to the film 'Twilight' were seen following her but whenever they try to hurt her, Timbaland and SoShy come in their way and trying to guard the girl from mysterious men and protect her. The powerhouse producer recently spilled the beans on crafting a sequel to the song saying "It fits everything going on with the vampire theme, and everything with 'Twilight.' I also have part two to the single too, so it's like a whole little story line to it."
Last Sunday night, the 2009 American Music Awards brought a lot of excitement for music lovers and the event was graced by the popular music sensations of the country, and they made the night full of colors and memorable with their performance. Timbaland made the best use of the night by appearing with both SoShy and Furtado to perform the song from an upcoming album is expected to raise the popularity of the album before its launch. It was one of my personal favorite performances of the night. Timbaland flirtatiously harmonizes over a galactic-sounding, double-speed piano and thumping beats. It has not only given wide exposure to his track but also to the new artist Soshy as she was introduced to thousands of people by this track and it would prove a better start for her career. The trio also hit up 'The Tonight Show' on Monday to belt out the tune for Conan O'Brien. Although, "belt" might not exactly be the proper term. It sounded like Timbaland was sing-rapping over a guide track, but you could still hear his live voice despite all the advanced technology.

The feisty Tennessee pop punkers, Paramore returns with a new fall themed video for their latest single "Brick By Boring Brick" this week on the band's website. The track was released in the UK on Monday, as the second single taken from their third chart-topping studio installment "Brand New Eyes." The lead singer Hayley Williams explains to MTV that "The track is about not accepting reality and understanding that you don't have to make everything frilly or pretty-sounding for it to be interesting. Life doesn't have to be some grand production, and some of the boring parts of being alive are actually the greatest. The song is about breaking down those walls and finding out that the centre of it is what really matters."
Paramore take fans to the fantasy world in the "Brick by Boring Brick" music video directed by Meiert Avis and filmed in Los Angeles on October 8. It featuring shades of creepery that run the full childhood-nightmare gauntlet, and tells the story of a little girl who lives in a fantasy world because her own life seems intolerable with stunning visuals and one creepy, dark Alice in Wonderland-like storyline. It's band's first video to have "a whole story behind it" with acting and is special-effects heavy and features absolutely no footage of the band performing the song (a first for them). Instead, we get to see Paramore playing actual roles. Through out the video, frontwoman Williams all dolled up and looking adorable, who dons a frilly white dress and is singing her heart out into the grass sits on a swing, seems to be the narrator of the story while Josh Farro (guitarist) is a gravedigger, Jeremy Davis (bass) is a knight, Zac Farro (drums) is a robber and Taylor York (guitar) is a gnome.
The song received the positive reviews. Digital Spy states "infectious, deliciously dark, and packed with more energy than a Jedward dance routine." BBC said "hair-raisingly BRILLIANT" and listening to the lyrics is like entering a world where sandcastle's aren't built, but buried, a world where the baddie is not the wolf, but reality." What makes Paramore so great is their energy, whether it's live onstage or in their frenetic, performance-based videos ("Ignorance" and "Misery Business" in particular), and that energy is largely absent here. Perhaps we can chalk this up to growing pains, a slight misstep on the road to maturity. Growing up is hard to do, after all. Recently, Paramore have been nominated as one of the contenders for Favorite Rock Band at 2010 People's Choice Awards. They are facing off DAUGHTRY, Green Day, Kings of Leon and Muse.

The alternative pop band Lifehouse's Official music video in companion to their new single "Halfway Gone" has just made its way out on VH-1 Monday. The Frank Borin directed video captures the four members of the band enjoying some relaxing time with friends and fans 'magically' appear for a day in the park during a sunny day.
The single "Halfway Gone" was released to radio and digital retailers on October 27 in the US. It is the first cut to be taken from their upcoming fifth studio album "Smoke and Mirrors," slated for release on February 2, 2010 (aka Groundhog Day). Its deluxe edition will be made available for purchase as a double-disc set. "American Idol" alum Chris Daughtry and the "Let It Rock" hitmaker Kevin Rudolf are two of the fellow musicians who are set to help this band finishing the record.
Lifehouse have a catalogue to equal the radio-friendly rock of those acts. The group includes Jason Wade (lead vocals, guitar), Rick Woolstenhulme Jr. (drums, percussion), Bryce Soderberg (bass guitar) and Ben Carey (guitar). They have sold upwards of fifteen million singles and albums worldwide to date. Wade has a voice that was always destined to front a band and on "Halfway Gone" it is used to great affect on a rousing chorus. Sure, this isn't boundary pushing in any way, but it's unshakably fun rock-pop that would brighten most people's day. I have always had a fond appreciation for Lifehouse and this song rekindles my love for them!

Keri Hilson is undeniably one of the hottest Pop/R&B artists of the music scene. She now goes global, premiered a music video for her latest electro-pop song "I like," which is contribution to the soundtrack for the new German blockbuster Til Schweiger-starring "Zweiohrkuken". The footage from the film is sometimes intercepted with captures of Hilson's performance. New single exclusively for Europe which will be released officially on November 20.
The R&B singer started her career writing hits for stars such as Britney Spears, Ciara and Usher, but after the successful release of her album "In a Perfect World...," Hilson's now keeping some of her best songs for herself. Her newest track, "I Like," is a sexy, catchy synthy, dreamy new jam that could very well become a chart topper. Produced by David Jost and Robin Gruber, it has a dark, electronic beat that matches perfectly with Hilson's sultry voice. The track starts off light, and slowly picks up into the chorus, which Hilson handles perfectly. She doesn’t overuse the hook. "I Like" throughout the track, she just simply sprinkles them in at the perfect times. Clearly Hilson is not only a very talented singer, but an extremely adept songwriter as well. "I Like" is the latest single off of the German re-release of Hilson's debut album.
Hilson won two trophies at 2009 Soul Train Awards earlier this month, leading the winners list along with Beyonce Knowles. She took home Best New Artist and her duet with Kanye West and Ne-Yo on song "Knock You Down" was named Best Collaboration. Hilson is going to perform at the inaugural Nelson Mandela Bay International Music Festival on December 18. She will sing alongside several local acts such as Jozi and Bricks at the three-day event to be held at the World Cup Soccer Stadium.

The rock band, Thirty Seconds To Mars ('30STM') finally unveil an official epic short film/video in support of the lead single "Kings And Queens," known as "The Ride," off their forthcoming third studio album "This Is War" which they have been going through in getting the album done for two years, and will be released December 8.
The bond '30STM' formed in 1998 by actor Jared Leto as vocalist, rhythm guitarist and songwriter, with his brother, Shannon began as a small family project. Matt Wachter later joined the band as bassist and keyboard player. After working with a number of guitarists, the three auditioned Tomo Milicevic to round out the band's roster. According to an interview from Virgin Records, "[The band's name] actually comes from a thesis title that the band found online that was written by a former Harvard professor. What it means to us is, we thought it best described our music, in short."
'30STM' have already gone to great lengths to make sure that their "Kings and Queens" video is a thoroughly epic production. They've filmed in and around some of Los Angeles' most iconic landmarks, recruited a large cast of extras and all manner of surrealist street performers to make cameos. So naturally, they want to roll the thing out in an equally epic manner. The video had two main themes: One featuring a fire-breathing clown and an army of gas mask-wearing cyclists, and the band among them, riding in downtown Los Angeles. The other part of the video simply features the band playing on a cliff edge of some sort that overlooks the city. These two themes alternate between each other during the course of the video.
The frontman Jared has been quoted saying that the video was "basically make a love letter to Los Angeles and to celebrate that side of the world." He discussed the making of the video in an interview with MTV: "We're doing all-night shoots. That was my big, dumb idea, to shoot at night, but I think this city is a beautiful place at night, and we have these empty streets, and it's kind of a haunting, forgotten landscape," the vocalist continued. "It's been an incredible adventure, but it's also been really difficult, because there are so many people, and we're shutting down streets of Los Angeles."
This single "Kings And Queens" shows a definite evolution of their musical style, but I definitely would not classify it as "pop". Instead, I hear traces of Angels & Airwaves and U2 in "Kings and Queens," mixed with classic 30 Seconds. So, overall, an epic single! check it out courtesy of Rock Sound below!

We've been waiting for Janet Jackson to return to her true roots as an artist for awhile now. In a revealing interview that aired earlier this week, Janet said that the album that reveals the most of her is "The Velvet Rope," and that shows through it's production and lyrical content. Besides, it's one of my personal favorites! The official music video for her new song "Make Me" has just premiered and I have to say i'm lovin' it, and hope that "Make Me" signifies a new change in her music, back to the dance roots but still showing us the anger and emotion that we love from Ms.Jackson.
"Make Me" is a song from her second greatest hits compilation "Number Ones." It was written by Jackson, Rodney Jerkins, Thomas Lumpkins, and Michaela Shiloh. Janet gave the ultimate thank you to her beloved sibling by posting this new single, and initially presented as an audio stream to those who joined her website's official mailing list, on September 14, it was released via digital download a week after. "Make Me" is a fun, breezy tune with an elastic disco beat and a high-energy Euro-dance backdrop." A lot of uptempo stuff makes you feel good. There's so many different colors of Janet.
In her latest effort, Janet, 43, returns to form with a fast-paced dance routine cut with shots of the youngest of the Jackson siblings in a white room, wearing a space-age white suit with metallic shoulder-pads. The video features a vintage Janet vibe, and is shown she doing what she does best: Janet-worthy, sexy come-on, slick choreography, glamorous shots and a remarkably upbeat and countless hat-tips to brother Michael. The best-selling artist, who has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, struts her stuff in trademark modern routines, flanked by her stylish dancers. The video was directed by Robert Hales, and filmed in black and white. The way the three-minute movie for "Make Me" is shot is reminiscent of the Scream video the singer made with her late brother Michael in their 1995 collaboration. There are some pretty risqué moves in the performance, including one where she grabs the crotch of a male dancer and pushes him forward, and it was amazing she could dance so well wearing those boots!"
"Even though Janet was marking most of the dance moves today, the choreography is obviously very complicated, and she knew it all by heart," says the eyewitness. She is expected to perform the melody "Make Me," to kick off tonight's American Music Awards, which will share the stage with stars like Carrie Underwood and Lady Gaga at Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, and it could be the 'Nasty' singer appears poised for a major comeback. Janet is about to release a two-disc set of her second greatest hits album, "Number Ones," which includes the new single "Make Me," and comprising 33 of her global number one singles. The new album is expected in the second quarter of 2010 and will be produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins.

After opening up to Billboard about new music video is revolving around through a behind-the-scene footage, the piano-friendly pop star Alicia Keys finally released a music video for her latest new single "Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart" earlier Tuesday on BET's "106 & Park." The video was directed by Syndrome and inspired by superhero movies "X-Men" series and "Hancock."
The melodic ballad and penultimate song was produced by Jeff Bhasker and was released late October as the second single from her upcoming fourth studio album, "The Element of Freedom," scheduled to be released on December 15. Keys called her "supersupersupersuper joint," a song everyone who has ever been brokenhearted can relate to, a song that is heartbreaking, and yet somehow also empowering.
Keys filmed the video back-to-back with "Empire State of Mind." In this Sydrome-directed video, sees Keys with a superhero ability. It features Keys as a woman with healing powers which brings consequence of not able to touch anyone. Keys takes on humanity and tries flying in a purple catsuit." The clip finds Keys playing an "X-Men"-esque superhero whose powers leave her unable to touch the man she loves. She rolls around in bed, shimmies in a stairwell, then heads off to various parts of the city to do heroic deeds? such as healing a little girl's hurt dog in the street! She eventually ends up shaking her booty on top of a building in said one-sleeved catsuit until she confronts the gentleman who we're to assume is the villain causing this super diva's broken heart. Speaking of the video, recently, Keys said "It basically pictures the movie "Hancock" or the character Rogue from "X-Men" and the way that they have an incredible power that is a blessing but also their curse."
The album will include "Empire State of Mind Part 2" which has her re-uniting with Jay-Z on the hook. Drake is also recruited to lend his vocal on the album and Beyonce Knowles is rumored to make contribution. Keys performed the song at New York University's Skirball Center for Pepsi Music, and also performed it on "Dancing With The Stars." She will performance on Sunday's American Music Awards.

German director Werner Herzog doesn't do normal. His lengthy and fearlessly brilliant career has involved everything. He captured a gallery of oddballs both real and fictional, turning his lens on everyone from a doomed "Grizzly Man" to "Aguirre, the Wrath of God." He's finally met his match in manic actor Nicolas Cage, and the product of their unholy union, "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," a crime drama shocks and confuses in the Big Easy, from First Look Pictures opens theaters today. It should give fans of the cultish and weird a reason to cheer, and for those seeking mainstream fare should consider themselves forewarned.
"Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," A powerful spiral into oblivion, works best as a study of a man in the grip of madness, magic and iguanas. The movie is not a remake of Abel Ferrara's 1992 tour of New York law-enforcement hell, nor is it a sequel. According to Mr. Herzog, who has taken "Bad Lieutenant" from New York to post-Katrina New Orleans, a perceptive move that allows him to explore his cardinal themes of man's inhumanity to man and the indifference of nature in a city stripped to its swampy essence. "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" is its own special fever-swamp of a movie, an anarchist film noir that seems, at times, almost as unhinged as its protagonist.
"A New Orleans mystery: A Cop So Bad, He's Good" in this Herzog's trippy new thriller, the Oscar-winning actor reunites with his "Ghost Rider" co-star Eva Mendes, and gives one of his best performances in years. Cage plays an on-the-edge and corrupted cop who's just promoted to lieutenant, and investigating the killing of five Senegalese immigrants. He plunges into drug addiction after a heroic on-the-job accident. He throws himself into this role with the energy of a man accepting a double dog dare, that lets him indulge in his most manic, unhinged mannerisms, taking viewers to the very precipice of nihilistic depravity while preserving just enough self-conscious humor to keep from tumbling in. He does some of his best work in over a decade here. Not all of it works, but it's a joy to see Cage take some risks again.

Madame Butterfly Mariah Carey has unveiled a new music video on her official website to accompany her recent cover of Foreigner's classic 1984 ballad "I Want To Know What Love Is" as the second single lifted from her twelfth studio album "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel," was out November 16. The single has helped Carey reached another milestone, made new album hit her 20th top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart Wednesday, only been beat by Celine Dion (21).
The single, produced by Carey, C. "Tricky" Stewart and James "Big Jim" Wright, was released in the US for digital download September 15. Before it was re-recorded, the song has been covered by other artists, such as Tina Arena, Clay Aiken, David Phelps and Gloria Gaynor among others. Mick Jones said of her version: "I think she's actually retained the integrity of the song. You know, the arrangement is very similar to the original. They haven't tampered with the song too much. She's captured a certain emotional thing, a feeling."
The Hype Williams directed CG-heavy video was shot in New York City and captures Carey making a live performance in an anonymous baseball stadium, whilst shots are intercut with people who have had tough times in their past, who get quite emotional watching her perform, where a particularly lanky-looking Carey sings into an old-school mic atop a giant butterfly emblem in the field as the True Worship Church Choir provides backup vocals. Mimi looks at least ten years younger in the clip, sporting her Unplugged-era perm-tastic hair and a notable lack of Hello Kitty clothing. This incredible Carey inspire-a-thon clip is so corny, almost magical and really breathtaking.
Career-wise, the 39-year-old R&B singer is almost as powerful as she's ever been. The single has garnered very positive reviews, with many critics praising Carey's version of the classic ballad. Australian magazine "Rhyme & Reason" stated that "While Carey stayed true to the original, this piano-led remake is less an overhaul of the classic '80s hit than it is a modest but impressive update." Bill Lamb from About.com said that "Mariah Carey's new version could leave you speechless. The diversity of vocal coloring expressed in this recording is stunning. This single is a reminder of just how formidable Carey's talents are given a strong production and arrangement."

In a massive attempt to bring hype and shock, Beyoncé's highly anticipated music video supporting the remix version of her single "Video Phone" featuring eight new looks and glorified back-up dancer Lady Gaga has its global premiered an hour ahead of schedule across 60 channels on MTV networks.
Apparently it was Beyoincé's idea to team with Gaga for this Hype Williams-directed remix smashing new video, featuring two of the music industries biggest pop divas first ever collaboration in the music scene, is a color fest of fast edits, fashionable costumes and cool dance steps. The clip is catchy, nothing too crazy or over the top but still unbelievably sexy. The two superstars also breakout into a little choreography dressed in all white basque, eye masks and very high heels. The outfits are a mix between the two pop stars, dancing and posing pin-up style with massive toy guns and matching leotards. The best part for me is their sexy chair dance routine towards the end of the video. Overall a must watch video!
Beyoncé and Gaga hooked up a while ago, and they're both incredible performers who can actually dance and sing and write their own music. Gaga's cameo in the video was quite subdued unlike her usual self, a refreshing change. Her own gothic-pop aesthetic has grown more elaborate as her popularity has risen, said she wanted to honor Beyoncé for creating her own style, and praising the R&B performer as "a beautiful person." "I wanted to [work with her] because this was an era for her in her career where she defined herself aesthetically," she said. "And that should be applauded that a woman did that. She's so great at what she does." She added, "I want to do my version of Beyoncé. So the whole time I was learning the choreography they were calling me Gee-yonce."
In addition to making a duet on the hook and video of "Video Phone", Gaga has her new EP album, "The Fame Monster," coming out next week, November 23 with a song called "Telephone," which features Beyoncé, who will be released a live CD/DVD set "I Am Yours."on same day November 23.

The Latin pop singer Shakira has just officially world premiered her new music video on her official Facebook page for the "Give It Up To Me" song, which is the second US single (third worldwide) from her upcoming third English studio album "She Wolf," expected to hit US stores on November 23.
The latest single "Give It Up To Me" with electro-pop and dance elements as well as a catchy chorus features American rapper Lil Wayne and was produced by hip-hop producer Timbaland, who first premiered the song on Ryan Seacrest's radio show on October 15. The song actually was recorded for Timbaland's upcoming album "Shock Value 2". But, it ends up as one of the materials in Shakira's effort "She Wolf." The track has peaked at #30 on the US Billboard Pop Songs charts, and has peaked at #32 on the US ARC Weekly Top 40 charts. Be sure to listen to the new single on AOL Radio's Fresh 40 station.
People Magazine gave an exclusive first look of the video directed by Sophie Muller on November 13, and Shakira was joined onstage by hip hop dancers, and it became clear that she had indeed found some "new moves," as she has hinted at in interviews about the forthcoming record, as well as body percussion. The Latin songstress trades her signature hip-shaking for a hip-hop vibe. Applying Jamaican dancehall footwork, traditional Thai dancing and a technique called "stepping," which mixes the footsteps and handclasp of African American fraternity and sorority culture, the "She Wolf" singer turns up the heat again.
The hips don't lie! Shakira's gone "Single Ladies" in her brand-new "Give It Up to Me" video, which finds everyone's favorite practitioner of midsection manipulation showing more than a few Beyonceisms, but, given that Shakira's involved, it's anything but straightforward, which, of course, means I love it. Shakira really is a true original? as she says, the hips don't lie.

Superstar songstress Rihanna debuted the powerful music video for "Russian Roulette" on ABC's 20/20 Friday. The song serves as the lead single from her fourth studio album "Rated R" will drops November 23.
The video for the ballad is far from light-hearted, and directed by Anthony Mandler, who has worked with the singer numerous times. "I think that with this song and the meaning of this song and how loaded it all is, no pun intended, how much imagery and perhaps symbolism that is loaded in this song, the only way to do it was to do something that was visually challenging," he tells MTV News.
"Russian Roulette" is dark, creepy and sometimes bloody. Jesse Williams, a familiar face from the new season "Grey's Anatomy," is the lead man in the music video as Jesse revealed in an interview with E! in late November. The video features Rihanna in a series of distressing situation, including what appears to be a gas chamber, a game of 'Russian Roulette,' a vehicular assault, an underwater shooting and a torture chamber. It involves gun play and underwater scenes in which Rihanna is pierced by bullets, her blood clouding as her body contorts. There are her shadowy tormentors, who keep her locked away and subject her to all sorts of torture including gassing her with red smoke and setting a cat on her. There are scenes of her twisting and pawing in a padded cell. At one point, she is mowed down by a speeding car. Through all of this however, she survives and her partner is killed in the 'Russian Roulette' game.
Bajan R&B singer's "Russian Roulette" portrays some seemingly real emotion as the songstress bounces back-and-forth between writhing around a padded cell, and has received positive reviews for her vocal performance and choice of lyrics. MTV News stated "it retains the same sort of attitude and atmosphere that has made Rihanna such a definitive artist." Entertainment Weekly said that Rihanna took some risks with this track and they "absolutely pay off." UK website Digital Spy stating that: "'Russian Roulette' is a haunting, tensely atmospheric pop ballad with lyrics as dark as daytime radio gets. It becomes clear that 'Russian Roulette' is a masterful return effort: brave, brilliantly-realised and bizarre enough to distance Rihanna from the pop-R&B pack. Factor in her most confident vocal yet and only her third songwriting credit on a single and the conclusion is inescapable." The 21-year-old Barbados beauty has confirmed that she will perform the song on 'The X Factor' on November 29, and will also perform the song on the American Music Awards of 2009 on coming Sunday on ABC.

Grammy-nominated, mega-platinum rock powerhouse Nickelback released their new video "Never Gonna Be Alone" on the Road Runner Records Twitter page Wednesday, and world premiered on Youtube. "Never Gonna Be Alone" is the sixth overall single by Canadian rock stars from their sixth multi-platinum studio album, "Dark Horse," produced by the legendary Mutt Lange and released on September 29. The song is a power ballad and featured on the soundtrack of the Brazilian soap opera: "Caminho das Indias." Canadian rockers have changed from a grunge-tinted metal band to a more melodically accessible pop-metal band. The die-hard traditional hard rockers may not be impressed with the band's more commercial direction, but new fans have been buying their latest CD, "Dark Horse," in droves.
The music video was directed by veteran producer and longtime Nickelback friend Nigel Dick and it tells an extremely sad story of a young woman who has lost her father. The video opens with the young woman in a limousine being taken to her wedding. She is holding a fake blue flower with her bouquet. As she walks down the aisle, she looks back at her mother and father, who are smiling proudly. The scene then cuts back to the woman's high school graduation, where her father is again smiling and clapping for her as she receives her diploma. The video flashes back three more times, the first with the girl's father seeing her off to her prom and the second with him teaching her how to ride a bike. The final flashback shows the father's funeral, the young woman being just a little girl. She is holding two fake flowers in her hand, one yellow and one blue. She tosses the yellow one into her father's grave. The events in the flashbacks are shown again from a different perspective, each time the girl looks up at her father and sees him disappear in a shimmer of light. Back at the wedding, the woman is still looking back, seeing her father's ghost surrounded in light. She realizes that he has still been there for her all along, even in death. The woman places the blue flower in her new husband's breast pocket, and the two wed. As they are leaving the church, the video cuts to her father once more, smiling proudly. He disappears for the final time, his daughter now fully grown up. The video is intercut with scenes of the band playing in a room with a large, light-filled backdrop.
Meanwhile Nickelback's new single "Burn It To The Ground" by Papa Roach has been chosen as the new theme song to WWE Monday Night RAW. The favorite band will also be spending November down under as they tour Australia, and will return stateside and pick up their US tour in San Antonio, Texas with holiday shows through Midwest. Breaking Benjamin and Sick Puppies will be their guests.

The four-piece power pop punk band, Hey Monday have premiered a fun new music video for "How You Love Me Now," the lead single from their debut album "Hold On Tight" on 'Seventeen.'
Originally from West Palm Beach, Florida, Hey Monday features a female lead singer, Cassadee Pope, a nice addition to the band, guitarists Mike Gentile and Alex Lipshaw, and bassist Jersey Moriarty - are signed to Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz's Decaydance Records label. Hey Monday is set to grow as they've been supporting some of the largest names on the alternative rock circuit. The first big hit "How You Loved Me Now" is circulating radio stations nationwide and the debut album "Hold On Tight" peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The video shows the band along with several other people in uniform working as employees at a beachside restaurant. As they walk out onto the terrace, a man is shown sitting with three girls and talking to them. As Cassadee walks past, he stops and gets up to talk to her. As the video proceeds, the man is chatting up several other girls while the employees, including the band, serve customers before walking away in relief. A beach olympics is held for the employees against the customers. The employees win as Cassadee distracts the same man who tried to chat her up from the start. Throughout the video, there are several scenes of the band performing in a room in front of a blue backdrop with white squiggles. The video ends with the band performing in front of a small crowd of people as the man tries to reach the front to Cassadee.
Led by dynamic frontwoman Cassadee Pope, Hey Monday are currently on the road as part of the Glamour Kills Tour along with All Time Low, We the Kings and The Friday Night Boys. The tour starts Firday from Portland' Roseland Theater, will be performing at the sold-out concert inside the Showbox At The Market in Seattle on today, and runs through December 3, and will be followed by a handful of radio shows throughout December.

There is a growing legend out there that the ancient Maya predicted the world would end on Dec. 21, 2012. It doesn't. But, as with other topics based on a whiff of truth and a hint of hysteria, Hollywood is all over it. The disaster-movie veteran Roland Emmerich has given movie watchers several apocalyptic sci-fi thriller films in the past in "Godzilla," "Independence Day," "The Day After Tomorrow" and "10,000 B.C.," and he offers another look at the end of the world in his latest exercise in global cataclysm that tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors "2012," opens theaters today.
People who view screenwriting as an art and don't particularly care about audience reaction to their films. But Mr. Emmerich , the hollywood's most successful one-trick pony, claims to favor "human stories" over spectacle, he has taken that very kind of formula writing and made a veritable empire out of it, returning every few years to destroy some corner of the earth and invent a handful of earnest heroes, wisecracking sidekicks and solemn old men to survive his newest take on the apocalypse. "2012" is crammed with state-of-the-art digital effects. A few teacups get chipped: California slides into the sea; Yellowstone Park blows straight up into the sky; disasters flattening Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue, St.Peter's Basilica and the White House; massive floods and fires; and a giraffe being rescued by helicopter. That's just the opening act.
In "2012," our premier Hollywood disastermeister Mr.Emmerich flips our entire planet on its head. Following an academic researcher who opens a portal into a parallel universe, making contact with his double in an effort to prevent the catastrophic prophecies of the ancient Mayan calendar from coming to pass. When a global cataclysm thrusts the world into chaos, divorced writer and father Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) uses his knowledge of the ancient prophecies to ensure that the human race is not completely wiped out. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, and Oliver Platt round out the cast of this thriller.
Mr. Emmerich claims that "2012" is his final disaster movie, unless "Independence Day 2" ever gets off the ground, and the movie is nothing if not an indulgent curtain call for the man who figured out how much we like watching cinematic portrayals of our own demise. It's all the reasons we've ever loved or hated his movies, but also a reminder of why it's high time to move on. Alternately eye-popping, brain-bruising, and certifiably insipid, "2012" will absolutely appeal to anyone who enjoys watching films ironically.

The Disney star Demi Lovato has a new music video which promotes her latest song "Remember December" and is confirmed to be premiered today on TwitVid and Disney Channel. Lovato has posted the three "Remember December" sneak peaks to her Twitter so far. The snippet mainly takes its focus on the star of "Camp Rock" sequel when she is rocking with her band.
The electro-pop-rocker "Remember December" is the second official single off her hugely successful sophomore studio album "Here We Go Again" and will be released on November 17. The song is sonically a bit different for Lovato. The bigger, bolder sound has the potential to take her from the teeny-bopper playground and into the big leagues.
The 17-year-old pop rock singer shot the video in Los Angeles on Monday night (October 26), a few days before Halloween and recruited "Camp Rock 2" costar pals Meaghan Jette Martin, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle and Chloe Bridges to channel the 80s style for the video. The glam video shows the 17 year old Disney star dressed in a leather number with studded gloves...a true rocker!
The Disney singer/actress isn't afraid to get a little angsty about love on her new single, said the track is meant for all her girls out there who need to remind guys that they messed up. "The music video relates to the song in a way that a girl has so much to say to the guy, and it feels like he's not listening, and she wants him to remember everything that they had," she told MTV News. "And so instead of having a love interest in this video, it's all about being fierce and kind of, like, taking control as a girl. It's like girl empowerment. Yeah, divas!" Lovato said the song is near and dear to her but wouldn't say just who the unlucky guy is at the center of the song. "I love this song for many reasons," she said. "It had a different sound than a lot of my songs. I related to it personally more than other songs, and I have so much fun with it. I thought if it could be a single that it would be incredible to perform it all the time."

It's all the right amounts of crazy you'd expect from pop star Lady Gaga, after one day delayed to give more time to make it perfect, the much-discussed new video for her new single "Bad Romance" finally premiered on LadyGaga.com Tuesday. And needless to say, it was worth the wait.
The RedOne-produced track "Bad Romance" is the lead single from her upcoming highly anticipated "The Fame Monster" album which was meant to be a re-release of her debut album "The Fame" and will hits stores on November 23. The single was a hit even before it debuted, a testament to Gaga's global popularity and the power of her unique brand of art-pop.
The eye-catching and conceptual clip for "Bad Romance" was directed by Francis Lawrence who's also helmed clips for the likes of Britney, Justin, Gwen, Shakira and Janet Jackson, not to mention the post-apocalyptic Will Smith vehicle "I Am Legend." Gaga detailed what it was like to work with Lawrence on the project, "I knew ability as a director is so much higher than what I could. There's this one shot in the video where I get kidnapped by supermodels. I'm washing away my sins and they shove vodka down my throat to drug me up before they sell me off to the Russian mafia." When explaining her concept of the video she said "It was collaborative. He's a really pop video director and a filmmaker. He did 'I Am Legend' and I'm a huge Will Smith fan, so I knew he could execute the video in a way that I could give him all my weirdest, most psychotic ideas, but it would come across to and be relevant to the public."
The international pop diva more than lives up to her reputation for visual innovation in the new clip, which is the kind of video you just don't see very often anymore and that goes double for the anticipation surrounding it. This is officially the best video Gaga has ever done, and once you finish this five-minute extravaganza, you'll think the same. It's a testament to her brilliance as an artist that Gaga is using the "Bad Romance" video as the jump-off point for the next leg of her career. The message is clear: the old Gaga is over, here's the brand-new Gaga, the one who seems to delight in pushing the boundaries and exploring all manner of sexual proclivities. Gaga, the marketing genius of the century starts 'The Monster Ball Tour' on November 27 and it promises to be better than anything before.

American Idol second runner-up Danny Gokey debuted his first song, "It's Only," during a surprise call to his hometown country-music radio station in Milwaukee last Friday. The swooning, countrified ballad track serves as the lead single from his upcoming RCA Nashville country debut album. Giving a clue into the content of the new single and soon-to-be-released album, on his MySpace page Gokey states, "I have two passions, music (entertainment) and helping people. It's not religious. It's not political. It's only love!" The digital single will be released on December 14, followed by a full album in March of 2010.
Many fans have been waiting patiently for, earlier this year, Gokey made waves when he said he was thinking of releasing a country album. Turns out, he wasn't joking, eventually fans finally got to hear his first foray into the genre. "It's Only" was written by Lady Antebellum's Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley and produced by Carrie Underwood collaborator Mark Bright. As you might expect with that crew, the song has a country vibe to it. The song details the trials of the jobless and the homeless and doesn't shy away from the topic of faith either. It's a big, inspirational ditty and emotional ballad that speaks of life, love and definitely the type of tune Gokey fans wanna hear. His breathy voice is remarkable, and nearly drowned out by a super-mournful slide guitar at various moments.
"It has such a touching lyric. It's so beautiful. I love all the songs that appear on my CD, but this one...when I sing this song, a passion comes out of me," Gokey said of the song. "The song went past the mental element and came directly into my heart. I don't know how to explain it. I feel it when I sing it." Gokey has stayed true to what he said he wanted his song's to have a message to be your inspiration, and has set the bar very high with his debut song. "It's Only" is the perfect blend of stunning, distinctive vocals and a beautiful message that comes from the heart. It'll perform well thanks to its holiday-season release timing, heart-filled message and could totally see this song becoming a big country hit (possible for the Christian charts as well) for Gokey.

American Idol's reigning champ Kris Allen is back in front of a camera, but instead of having to win the hearts and minds of "American Idol's" TV audience, his new mission is to win the hearts and wallets of America's music buyers. Allen has unveiled the new music video for his first single, the up-tempo "Live Like We're Dying," off his upcoming self-titled album, due out November 17. The song was written by Andrew Frampton, Steve Kipner, Danny O'Donoghue, and Mark Sheehan. It originally performed by the Irish rock group 'The Script,' as a bonus track for the Japanese release of their self-titled debut album. What would you change about your life if you knew that you were dying? Despite his ultra quick rise to fame the 24-year-old AI rocker managed to stay grounded.
The single has met with mostly positive reviews. About.com praised the song for being an excellent first single, calling it "possibly the best first post-American Idol single yet by an American Idol champion," and Entertainment Weekly called the song "a future smash hit." Yahoo! News' Billboard singles review described it as "impressive" and felt that Allen's version of the song "improves on the unreleased version with a nuanced vocal and a nimble, rhythmic delivery." The Seattle Times described the song as "a marked improvement over what some Idol winners have put out as their first post-show single".
The music video was directed by Marco Puig and was shot all night at a junkyard in the LA desert. Throughout the video, Allen is shown playing both an acoustic guitar and a piano, as well as singing without any instruments. Arkansas native described the video that "The idea behind it is that I plug in the clock and I'm pulling the big cord through the junkyard and through all these other things and then I plug in the clock and it starts counting down to zero and there's performance stuff in there. In the end when it hits zero, it's kind of like the song, it's like we only have so much time so we gotta do what we want to do. It was my first video, so I was really trying to have a great time."

The Girls Aloud singer and 'The X Factor' judge Cheryl Cole has been mocked for miming and savaged for her singing, but Cole has left critics stunned by achieving a prestigious double #1 on both the Irish and UK music charts success with her debut solo studio album "3 Words" which released on October 23, while "Fight For This Love" spends a third week at the singles summit, as the fastest selling single of the year thus far.
The 26-year-old British pop star became the nation's sweetheart after she joined 'The X Factor' last year and took a contingent of wide-eyed young girls under her wing, leading Alexandra Burke all the way to victory in the show's final. Cole is the 12th female artist in UK chart history to record that double achievement, according to the Official UK Charts Company, and the third this year, following Lily Allen and Lady Gaga.
"Fight for This Love" is first solo single, was written and produced by Wayne Wilkins, Steve Kipner and co-written by Andre Merritt, was released as the lead single off her album "3 Words" on October 19. The song received its worldwide radio première on September 7 on BBC Radio, and Cole performed the song for the first time on The X Factor' on October 18. The song is a midtempo pop-R&B track with subdued, synthy production and an infectious hook that gnaws into the consciousness". Popjustice praised the song, describing it as "one of those songs you can have on repeat for an hour and a half without getting bored. Like some of the best pop tunes "Fight For This Love" is a very simple affair without bells, whistles or kitchen sinks, but there's more going on than is initially obvious and the production's certainly a cut above."
The music video was directed by Ray Kay and was filmed in early September, and premièred on September 20. The video stars Cole dancing in front of various moving backgrounds in a number of outfits, most notably a soldier-themed outfit with a red military jacket. There is also a dance sequence in which Cole, wearing leopard-print bottoms and a number of dancers perform a routine. The main colors of the video are red, white and black. Kay commented on the filming that: "The recordings went very well, and Cheryl was fantastic to work with. I drove her very hard at the shoot, and it was very difficult on her part. My job was relaxing in comparison. We made the video in London, with a lot of focus on fashion and dance, with very tough choreography, before putting it all together in Los Angeles afterwords. I have a strong feeling that this will be a #1 for Cheryl in England!"

The 20-year-old R&B newcomer Jason DeRulo's momentum continues to grow exponentially, has knocked electronic artist Owl City off and has become the fourth artist this year to claim the top spot on the 'Billboard Hot 100' this week as well as #1 at Rhythmic Radio with his smash debut single "Whatcha Say". His "Watcha Say" becomes one of the year's strongest debuts for an urban pop star, thanks to increased airplay and a video premiere for the single.
"Whatcha Say" is a pretty unlikely chart-topper. The tune is built around a sample of Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek," which is best known as a featured song on a season finale of "The O.C." a few years back. Derulo displays vocal skills that have pegged him as an exciting new artist to watch. The song is the first from his upcoming self-titled debut studio album, which is slated to be released in the first quarter of 2010, will be entirely produced by hit guru J.R. Rotem and will feature a new genre which fuses Pop, Euro Dance, and remarkable songwriting to create a groundbreaking sound.
Derulo, who penned his first track when he was just eight years old, has said in interviews that his galvanizing moment as a songsmith was seeing Michael Jackson perform for the first time. "I knew that's what I wanted to do. From then on, my goal in life was to express myself through song and to showcase it to the world," said he who has already written songs for the likes of Lil Wayne, Keyshia Cole, and Cassie. "I never wanted to be a songwriter -- it just kind of fell on my lap. I love writing, but I always wanted to be the voice, not just the pen," says Derulo. "I always yearned to sing my own song, and now, here I am doing just that."
The music video for the single was release a few weeks back, and has also been picked up as iTunes' Video of the week. The video shows DeRulo with his love interest and cuddling on the couch. Glenn Gamboa of Newsday wrote: "The new Jason DeRulo single liberally samples from the song and even uses Heap's chorus as his own chorus? Maybe hard to swallow. But DeRulo weaves easily in and out of Heap's parts and matches his AutoTuned vocals to hers pretty well to craft a catchy, if derivative, little number." It doesn't slow down for him as he joins Lady Gaga's "Monster Ball" tour, which will be the hottest ticket this winter. The new pop sensation will be opening up for Lady Gaga along with Kid Cudi starting December 27.

The first-time director Grant Heslov has come up with something wackier and more whimsical, a quirky rapid-fire military comedy "The Men Who Stare at Goats" which has hit the nation's movie screens today. The movie offers a fitfully amusing adaptation and "inspired by" British journalist Jon Ronson's book, about the U.S. Army's exploration of New Age concepts and the potential military applications of the paranormal techniques, and purports to be closer to the truth than many people would suspect. A title card claims, "More of this is true that you would believe," indicating that Goats is just the tip of the absurdest iceberg.
You might not know that there's a silly side to the military-industrial complex, but the folks behind fhe film certainly do. In this quirky dark comedy inspired by a real life story, you will hardly believe is actually true, it set in Iraq, and follows a reporter, Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), who stumbles onto the story of a lifetime when he meets a special forces operator, Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). As they embark on a new mind-boggling mission, Lyn reveals his twenty-year involvement in a top-secret wing, psychic military unit and shares details of their activities, each more bizarre than the last.
The film has such a fantastically odd story that Heslov would have been well advised to stay out of the way and let the bizarre details stand on their own. He has tried to crowbar Ronson's anecdotes into a feeble story, and slips too easily into lackluster wrap-up mode down the stretch, but it still has enough serious satire to recommend it. Meanwhile, the screenwriter Peter Straughan hit on more juicy material than he knew what to do with when he adapted Ronson's controversial book and began researching the subject matter himself.
As the result, the film is merely a light-hearted approach, advocating peace and acid not war. It has a glorious good time satirizing the extravagant lengths to which the military and intelligence establishments will go if they think there's a payoff at the other end. However, the film somewhat disappoints because the narrative Straughan has come up with isn't that engaging? the best stuff is in the flashbacks where Clooney, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey do battle for the future of the New Earth Army, which contains the most actual material from the original book.

The R&B songstress Rihanna has finally premiered a dark and gothic themed music video for her latest and promotional song "Wait Your Turn (The Wait Is Ova)," on late Tuesday via the popstar's official site RihannaNow, and also released the tracklisting of 13 songs for her upcoming album "Rated R," which is scheduled for a release date of November 23. The song was written by The-Dream and produced by StarGate and co-produced with Chase & Status. The first play of "Wait Your Turn" was on Radio 1.
The grainy, raw, black and white music video "Wait Your Turn" was shot in Washington Heights, New York City on October 16, and was directed by frequent Rihanna collaborator Anthony Mandler, who also directed for Jay-Z's dark video "Run This Town". There's no plot to speak of, just Rihanna singing to the chorus, the clip features black-and-white scenes, capturing Rihanna wearing an eye patch and a high-necked jacket in one scene sporting her Road Runner hairstyle while traipsing around a desolate park, a rooftop overlooking Manhattan and a bridge. There are also scenes where the Barbadian songstress is sporting a black hoodie and singing the song in a church, and later, hugs a white statue of an angel, all while showing some skin in a black bustier, naturally.
"I was involved in a lot of the writing," Rihanna previously told Glamour magazine about her new album. "I put everything I've wanted to say for the past eight months into my music. The songs are really personal. It's rock and roll, but it's really hip-hop: If Lil Wayne and Kings of Leon like my album, then I'll feel good.""I would not change anything about it. Even if people don't love it, I made exactly the piece of art that I wanted to make. It's super fearless - which is exactly how I feel right now. I am in a really good place," she continued. Young Jeezy, will.i.am and Slash are confirmed as featured guests in the album.
In addition to "Wait Your Turn" video, fans can also expect another video from Rihanna coming out next Friday, November 13 on ABC following her "20/20" interview. Directed also by Anthony, this forthcoming video is aimed to promote her single "Russian Roulette", which is penned by Ne-Yo and picked up as the lead single.