Alicia Keys 2nd Single "Try Sleeping With A Broken Hearth" Premieres Online

Although her album isn't scheduled to be released until December 15th, Alicia Keys's second single has hit the internet, titled "Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart".

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As her first single has not been the resounding success her previous lead singles have proven to be, this song has the uniqueness and potential to do very well, a bold statement to reassure the listening audience of her swift return to the music landscape. The smooth bass-driven track, peppered with interchanging whispers and hearty vocals from Ms. Keys is a huge improvement over her first single, "Doesn't Mean Anything", which seemed nothing more than a watered down rehashing of her number one single "No One". The song is pure R&B but has that special touch to it that is easily identifiable and relatable. While the song seems to at first be missing that notable touch of every Alicia Keys track, the piano takes control by the end of the song. Fantastic sound from one of R&B's most successful acts.

Jay-Z, Alicia Keys Rock 2009 World Series

Less than an hour ago, Hip Hop and R&B heavyweights Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed at the 2009 World Series, performing their hit single "Empire State of Mind" in front of a cheering New York crowd.

Overall, a nice performance, even if the feedback from the microphone did get a bit annoying. The duo were scheduled to perform the song yesterday evening before Game 1 of the World Series but poor weather canceled the performance, fearing that the stage would damage the soft field for game play. This song is one of the most anthemic songs to be released in a very long time and seeing the two perform seems never to get tiring. The video is scheduled to premiere soon and you can click here to get a sneak peak of the video.

Britney Spears Premieres Short Clips of "3" Music Video

For the past couple of days, Britney Spears has been using her twitter page for mass promo of the music video for the number one hit song "3".

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I've only included one of the three video clips released today, just because the clips are not very insightful and are frustratingly short. The music video, which will see its worldwide premiere tomorrow, is described to show the pop princess's return to her impeccable dance ability. And, while I am hopeful to see a well choreographed music video, I am not expecting to see a video reminiscent of her prime days of dancing (e.g. "I'm A Slave 4 U", "Toxic", "Oops...I Did It Again"). Regardless, based on the pictures and short clips, the video does look interesting.

2009 BET Hip Hop Awards

The 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards aired yesterday evening with Jay-Z leading the pack of winners with four awards under his belt.

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The award ceremony was nothing spectacular but entertaining nonetheless, with hip hop A-listers Gucci Mane, Snoop Dogg, Mario, Fabolous, Ludacris, and Young Jeezy taking the stage among others. As for the winners, T.I. came in second with the most wins, scoring three awards (two of which he shared with Rihanna for their hit single "Live Your Life"), while Drake and Kanye West came in with two awards. While I do have some disagreements with the nominations of some awards, I think BET did a good job in awarding the winners of each category, since I had virtually no disagreements with the winners. As for awards shows, there is still a ways until the 52nd Grammy Awards, which are slated for January 31, 2010.

Click here for some of the performances of last nights show.

Hits Daily Double "One-Day Sales" Update

HITS Daily Double's weekly One-Day Sales for the album week of October 27 shows that Michael Jackson will debut at the top with the compilation album This Is It to coincide with the worldwide release of the documentary of the same name. With sales expected to exceed 300,000 copies, this will mark the sixth time an album of Michael Jackson's has achieved that feat.

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It has only been four months since the King of Pop's passing and with the critical and commercial acclaim surrounding the film, along with the inclusion of some timeless classics on the album, this comes as no surprise. It's sad a final breathtaking tour never came to fruition.

In other news, Creed's Full Circle is anticipated to take the number two or three spot on next week's Billboard 200 chart, depending on sales from the New Moon soundtrack. Both albums are on track to sell in the low 100,000s. Rounding out the top five are Taylor Swift's Fearless: Platinum Edition, with projected sales between 90,000-95,000 to add to the 4x platinum selling album, and Rod Stewart's Soulbook, with projected sales between 80,000-85,000. Sadly, these album numbers continue to demonstrate the deathly state of the music industry, especially considering the holiday shopping season is beginning to pick up.

Taylor's Swift Jump to Number 1

Amid little promotion, Taylor Swift's Fearless album was re-released today with six new songs, all of which have exploded into the top 20 on iTunes the day of its release, including the iTunes number 1 "Jump Then Fall."

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It seems that the country music starlet can do absolutely no wrong, proving over and over again to outsell some of the biggest names in music today. The soft, guitar-driven "Jump Then Fall" is a great country-pop track that at first listen may not scream pop radio number one like "Love Story" or "You Belong with Me." However, with repeated listens, you grow to appreciate the musical genius, lyricist, and instrumentalist that this teenager (yes, teenager) has become. The Fearless: Platinum Edition is reloaded with six new tracks that each contribute in their own unique way to the re-release. Based on how well these songs are currently doing on iTunes, Ms. Swift is poised to tie a record she has already achieved with this album: 7 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in the same chart week. Congrats to Taylor.

Chris Brown's "I Can Transform Ya" Video Premiere

Chris Brown premiered the video to his single "I Can Transform Ya" today on MTV.com, featuring Lil Wayne and Swizz Beatz.

The video clearly shows that Chris Brown, although still repairing the damage sustained in the recent past, has no intention of disappointing his fanbase. The bravado of the lyrics are completely outshined by bravado of the choreography and special effects of the music video. It pretty much has everything you could ask for from a Chris Brown music video: a thumping R&B beat, immaculate choreography, a Weezy verse, sophisticated CGI, and convenient shots of a bare-chested Breezy. The video is certainly appropriate for the song and the dancing in the video attempts to remind those who are iffy about supporting Chris of his undeniable talent as one of the best dancers in the industry. And if Chris is able to accomplish that, this is a huge step in the effort to restore his charm in the hearts of defected listeners and customers. Overall, a nice video from C. Breezy.

Lady Gaga Radio Interview About "The Fame Monster"

Lady Gaga was interviewed this morning on the Elvis Duran and the Morning Zoo show to promote her upcoming sophomore album, The Fame Monster, scheduled to be released on November 23rd.

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During the interview, she describes the new album, which is now officially considered a second studio-album instead of the re-release of her platinum selling debut album The Fame. She gets personal about her father's lifesaving heart operation that she recently paid for and the song "Speechless," inspired by these events, along with a promise to promote and tour for this album for an equal amount of time as was done for The Fame.

I was a little surprised by the decision to stop promotion for The Fame, considering several songs on the album that I feel had the potential to do very well on the charts ("Starstruck", "Money Honey", "Paper Gangsta") and boost sales of her debut album. Regardless, her new single "Bad Romance" is already racing up the iTunes chart and currently sits at number two. The Gaga camp can rest assured that it will likely debut within the top ten next week on the Billboard Hot 100 and it will be interesting to see how it will chart in the other international markets that it has been released in.

She also talked a little more about the collaboration her and Beyonce did on the song "Telephone" and the soon-to-be-released video for "Video Phone." Sounds like fun!

Rihanna's "Rated R" Album Cover Unveiled

Earlier today, R&B singer Rihanna's new album cover for her fourth studio-album, entitled Rated R, hit the internet today.

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The evocative cover, shot earlier this month by Ellen von Werth, continues the dark nature of the artwork of her single, "Russian Roulette," and the general direction the album is speculated to follow. Furthermore, it channels the artistic direction of the photo-shoot Rihanna did for Vogue Italia a couple of months back.

Although she does look beautiful on the cover, it doesn't strike me as anything too provocative and pales in comparison to the striking cover of "Russian Roulette." Of course, covers have very little to do with album sales but it is interesting that the two divas - Rihanna and Lady Gaga -expected to duel it out for the top spot on the Billboard 200 on November 23rd are both sporting black and white album covers. It is an interesting cover nonetheless.

Whose album cover is better, Rihanna's or Lady Gaga's?

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This blog is the ultimate music blog, combining music news, reviews, and updates in one central location. This blog particularly deals with Pop, R&B, and Hip-Hop, but is not necessarily limited to these three genres. I hope you all enjoy!