Chris Brown Leads BET Award Nominations

Chris Brown has had quite the comeback year. He has scored his first number one album this year along with his first top ten since 2008 along with three Grammy nominations. Now he can add another six BET Award nods as the singer is the highest nominated artist at this year's ceremony which airs on June 26th. Among the nominations include "Video of the Year" and "Best Male R&B Artist."

Coming second in nominations is none other than Weezy with five, which include a few overlapping nods with Breezy for his contributions on the hit single "Look At Me Now." Up next with four nominations include Rihanna (who has recently followed her ex on Twitter), Kanye West and Drake. To view the full list of nominees, check below:

VIDEO PREMIERE: "California King Bed" by Rihanna

Rihanna's new music video for her single "California King Bed" has made its way online. An artistic affair indeed, the visual is boasted by full colors, superb set pieces, and the ever physically attractive Rihanna all against a backdrop of a euphoric landscape. Check out the video below:

A Third the Way Through: How's 2011 Been?

At the end of 2010, Katy Perry was atop the singles charts in America and several other national charts, while Susan Boyle capitalized on what worked with her debut album as she secured her reign atop the album charts around the world for a second holiday season. But exactly how the first few months of 2011 would shape out would surely be an interesting ride.

The big story thus far this year has been Adele's enormous success. Having the strongest first week sales of any album this year and being the first album of 2011 to cross the platinum barrier, Adele's 21 has officially confirmed that her transatlantic journey proved to be successful. Add to that the growing momentum of her lead single "Rolling in the Deep," she may be the first British female with a number one album and single since Leona Lewis accomplished that feat in 2008.

Another major story was Britney Spears's return to music. Her lead single "Hold It Against Me" would preform quite well on the charts, debuting at number one on the Hot 100 with over 400,000 copies sold in its first seven days on digital music media. Unfortunately, the song strong entrance on the charts would be short-lived as the song rapidly fell off the charts (largely because of the absence of any promotion). March would prove to be far better as the album debuted at number one, her sixth chart-topper and the youngest artist to do so.

Louis Farrakhan Bashes Rihanna? The Pot Calling the Kettle Insane!

Louis Farrakhan is not one to shy away from controversy. In fact, most of his ramblings are steeped in yards of controversy for the sake of garnering attention. So does it come to anyone's surprise that the leader of the Nation of Islam has emerged to call gays, lesbians, and Rihanna fans swine? I guess not but that's exactly what the Gaddafi supporter told his supporters at a speech recently.

Rihanna & Ciara Twitter Beef? Real or Just A Gimmick...

As you probably know already, Rihanna and Ciara have engaged in quite the twitter beef. Of course it's nowhere near the caliber of Minaj and Kim's twitter/lyrical beef, but it has become quite the popular topic on twitter. Now that it has passed, the question remains, was it real or merely a fabrication intended to attract attention?

Rihanna VS Chris Brown: It's Over Officially

Blogs and even respected music publications have done their part to intensify the well-publicized altercation between Rihanna and Chris Brown. After the domestic violence case, Chris Brown was punished with probation, forced to attend DV courses, community service, and an order of protection that requires the "Deuces" singer from coming within 50 yards of his former girlfriend, with the exception of events that both attend, in which that distance is reduced to 10 yards.

Rihanna's "S&M" Gets Banned In 11 Countries & My 2 Cents On The Matter

Rihanna's newest music video has been rendered too hot for air in eleven countries, where it has faced a variety of bans, while some radio stations around the world are choosing to air the song after a certain time. One of the countries in the United Kingdom, where BBC Radio 1, the most listened to national contemporary hit radio station, has chosen to only play the song after 7pm. Other countries have decided to pull the video all together from television, and YouTube has flagged the video, meaning only signed-in members 18 or older are able to view it from the most popular video-sharing site on the web. Even MTV is considering re-editing it so as not the cause controversy.

Watch the sex-tacular video below:

Rihanna and Drake Performing At Grammys

You can now officially add Rihanna to the list of Grammy Award performers after the singer just announced that she will perform at this year's ceremony. Due to a "twitition" (twitter petition) and overwhelming support for the singer to perform, she has confirmed on twitter that she and Drake will perform her single "What's My Name?"

VIDEO PREMIERE: "S&M" by Rihanna

The music video to Rihanna's new song "S&M" has made its VEVO premiere today and, as expected for a song with sadism and masochism in the title, it has the raunchiness to vaporize the droplets of holy water some may be tempted to splash at the screen. The video consists of a variety of latex costumes and S&M accoutrement, while scrolling headlines from some of her harshest critics scroll behind the singer.

Watch the video for "S&M" below:

REVIEW: "S&M" by Rihanna

Rihanna has emerged as the modern sex symbol of today's pop music and with that distinction comes a responsibility to produce music that projects sexuality in new and innovative ways. Thus, the new single from Rihanna's album Loud aims to do just that, highlighting the naughtiness and effervescent quality of the synth-centric pop track in attention-grabbing style.

The Bajan beauty struts herself through her vocals, sounding coy and subdued during the first verse before exploding into a thumping, pulsating chorus of "sticks and stones" and the smell of "sex in the air." She's bad and oh so good at it, and entices the listener by telling them to "come on, come on." It is a perfect dance track with just the right amount of sex to have the prudish pulling their hair out, while not going overboard with the sexual overtones to sound desperate.

Behind-The-Scenes Look at Rihanna's "S&M" Video Shoot

Rihanna is looking smoking hot in the new behind-the-scenes look at her new music video "S&M." A video clip posted on celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton's website shows the red-head sporting an assortment of different outfits and costumes, complete with all the necessary accoutrement for a sadomasochistic video vixen. There are whips, latex, midriff-bearing tops with the word "censored" sprawled across Riri's chest, dancing, sweet confections, and swinging candelabras.

Check the video clip behind the scenes of "S&M" below:

VIDEO PREMIERE: "Who's That Chick" By David Guetta & Rihanna

The "official" video premiere of David Guetta & Rihanna's song "Who's That Chick" hit the internet and if you're wondering why the video looks familiar, it's because it is a cut-and-paste project of the song/video that was leaked back in September.

Check out the "Who's That Chick" music video below: 

Rihanna Snubbed By Chase & Status

The production duo who worked on most of Rihanna's Rated R album have admitted that they snubbed the "What's My Name?" singer after suggestions of her interest in working with them for their new album No More Idols. They made it known that they respect the singer and have no personal qualms working with her on future projects, but their goal was to "showcase fresh and cutting edge UK talent."

Lady Gaga & Rihanna 4x Platinum in US & UK

Selling albums in this drying up industry has become a rarity of sorts. However, some artists are able to defy the trends by shifting albums at a remarkably steady and significant rate. Lady Gaga is one of them.

Since the release of The Fame in October 2008, Lady Gaga's debut album has been certified quadruple platinum with sales of 4,000,000 in the United States. While this does not include The Fame Monster - EP, which has sold 1.4 million alone, it does include The Fame Monster - Deluxe Edition which is the release of her debut album with the eight songs included on the EP. While Lady Gaga has become certified 4x Platinum in the U.S., Rihanna is working her magic in the British Isles.

Rihanna Premieres New Photos From "S&M" Video Shoot

I guess Britney is not the only pop starlet releasing videos from an upcoming music video. Ryan Seacrest has unveiled a few new photos from Rihanna's "S&M" video shoot, in which the Bajan beauty sports crimson flowing hair, floppy golden bunny ears, and critical blog-inspired headlines flashing on a white background. It appears that the singer is taking aim at some of the not-so-friendly bloggers that saturate the internet.

Check out another photo below:

Rihanna Bares (Hairs) It All For "S&M" Video Snapshot

Rihanna tweeted a snapshot of the singer's upcoming Melina-directed video for her single "S&M," and let's just say it's not just the color that is red hot. The singer is seen sporting a tightly curled fire-engine red wig and a heart-shaped eyepatch, while holding an ice cream cone. With such an inviting image, how can she play the role of a convincing sadomasochist?

Check out the photo of the singer in Hollywood last night below:

Simon Cowell Eying Rihanna for X-Factor Judging Panel

With Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler accompanying Randy Jackson on the upcoming season of American Idol, Simon Cowell would love to add some serious star power to the American version of his UK-based show, The X-Factor. Who might that star power be?

NEW MUSIC: "S&M" by Rihanna featuring J. Cole

The sadomasochistic next single by Rihanna has undergone the remix treatment by J. Cole, and although the remix is unofficial, it adds an urban element to it that might add some spins on rhythmic stations that would otherwise ignore that eurodance song. In the meantime, Rihanna and Melina Matsoukas are working together on the music video for the song, a collaboration that has led to the "Hard" and "Rude Boy" music videos as of late.

Take a listen to the remixed track below:

Rihanna, Adele and Cee-Lo to Perform at BRIT Awards

The 2011 BRIT Awards will feature a star-studded lineup of performers this year as Rihanna, Adele, and Cee-Lo plan hit the stage. The ceremony, which will take place at London's O2 Arena on February 15th, is the British equivalent to the U.S.'s Grammy Awards, which will air just two days before the the BRITs. Rihanna is nominated for the International Female Solo Artist award, while Cee-Lo Green's The Lady Killer is nominated for the International Album of the Year award. Other performers expected to perform include Grammy nominee Mumford & Sons, along BRIT nominees Tinie Tempah and Plan B, whose albums continue their strong run in the top ten in the UK charts.

Rihanna and Bruno Mars Dominate UK Charts

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Rihanna spends a third week atop the UK album chart with her fifth studio album Loud, while Bruno Mars debuts at the penthouse position on the singles chart this week. Rihanna's album, which debuted at number two behind Take That's Progress in November, has become a steady seller into the new year as the album has held the top spot for all charting weeks of the new year. The triple-platinum album has held off Plan B's The Defamation of Strickland Banks which moves to number two this week.

Check below for the top ten albums and singles in the UK: