JOSH GROBAN (September 2010) With numerous awards under his belt and a voice known around the world, Josh Groban is preparing fans for a brand new album. What makes this project so important and different from the others he’s done are the production credits. In a move sure to spark controversy, Grammy award winner Rick Rubin will be executive producing Josh’s entire album. Groban appears to be parting ways with David Foster, the former EP for all of his prior releases. Rubin (a past Beastie Boys member) is now co-head of Columbia Records, as well as being co-founder of the Def Jam record label alongside Russell Simmons back in the day. His production is well known and highly regarded within the industry, having worked with such big name acts as U2, Green Day, Johnny Cash, Jay-Z and Shakira. Rick Rubin also won a Grammy for producer of the year for work with The Dixie Chicks. So what does all this mean for fans of Groban? Well for one, expect a slightly different, perhaps modern sound. Yet for those who fear Josh may be traveling too far out of his comfort zone, James Newton Howard, famed orchestrator and music producer is also heavily involved. Howard is an industry veteran and prominent film score composer, having composed for some of Hollywood's biggest hits like Pretty Woman, I am Legend and The Dark Knight. Josh’s new album will also feature plenty of the trademark live orchestration that has filled his projects in the past. With an exciting new sound and inspired collaborators, expect Josh Groban to tweak his pop-opera formula and have another platinum album on his hands. Those not familiar with Groban’s work will have a new reason to become interested as Josh’s acting resume has grown considerably recently. After a successful turn as ‘himself’ this season on the FOX hit ‘Glee’, Josh has just joined Ryan Gosling, Marisa Tomei, and Steve Carell in Warner Brother's new comedy about marital crisis due next year. The next several months should be quite busy for Groban with his label giving his new project a considerable marketing push.
JAZMINE SULLIVAN (August 2010) In 2008, Missy Elliott protégé Jazmine Sullivan took the industry by storm with her honest lyrics and Lauryn Hill/Erykah Badu vibe. Currently, Sullivan has been hard at work at her follow-up, hoping to avoid the sales slump usually associated with sophomore albums. Given the pedigree of this project, success is almost guaranteed. Salaam Remi, who produced Sullivan's mega-hit ‘Bust Your Windows’ is involved, as are Ryan Leslie, StarGate, Carlos “Los Da Mystro” McKinney, Lamb, and Ne-Yo. Several song titles have been made public over the past few months by Jazmine’s label in order to build interest and placate fans who’ve been rabid over information regarding this anticipated release. Scheduled to appear on the album are: ‘You Get on My Nerves’, ‘Vanity Six’, and ‘Blow’. Expect more of the brash R&B sound that made Jazmine Sullivan famous on her debut, to be present on this new album which as of right now does not have an official title. ‘Holding You Down’ will be Jazmine’s first single off the new project. It is produced by Missy Elliott and will be released in late June.
NE-YO (September 2010) Following up on the platinum-plus-selling success that was ‘Year of the Gentleman’, Ne-Yo brings music fans his latest offering ‘Libra Scale’(an ode to the singer/songwriter’s zodiac sign). The new album may be due in the fall, but Ne-Yo and his label are already hard at work on promotion. The first official single, ‘Beautiful Monster’ made its debut last month on Myspace and has since been sent to various outlets like iTunes and Amazon for download. Much of the album itself is shrouded in secrecy with only minute details having emerged from Ne-Yo himself. Here’s what we know so far: Libra will build on the formula that Gentleman introduced. The new first single is already garnering attention for its similarity to number one smash ‘Closer’. Ne-Yo again trades in the trademark urban rhythmic sound for a dance/pop style, which many originally considered risky and what now seems to be the norm with artists like Kelly Rowland and Usher embracing the same styles in a post Lady Gaga world. Also known is that ‘Libra Scale’ will feature production from longtime Ne-Yo collaborators StarGate, who’ve worked their magic on ‘Beautiful Monster’. Discussing the track recently, Ne-Yo revealed he has written a movie script based on the album. He’s quoted as saying: "The song embodies a portion of a story that the music on the album is inspired by. "The beautiful monster is in fact our love interest/arch nemesis - her name is Domini in the film," the songwriter continued. "It may not make a whole lot of sense right this second, but once you see the videos and the forthcoming film it will all meld together." "My new album is a series of songs inspired by the script that I wrote, but it's not a musical." Ne-Yo delves further into the album by giving fans this tease; "The underlying question is about your moral fiber. Is love, money and fame more important to you? The movie [and album] is really me and my friends answering that question." Movies have been at the forefront of Ne-Yo’s career lately as the multiple Grammy winner has several high profile releases coming soon to theaters. Those include the Tuskegee Airmen story ‘Red Tails’ opposite Terrance Howard, the sci-fi action flick, ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ due next year, and the drama ‘4Chosen’ with Laurence Fishburne. Needless to say, Ne-Yo’s been quite the busy man lately and it looks like his hard work will surely pay off.
T.I. (August 2010) ‘King Uncaged’--the title pretty much says it all. For fans worried that jail time would force multi-platinum selling rapper T.I. into seclusion, think again. As his current promo single proclaims, T.I. is BACK! This new album promises to be fierce, to the point, and full of bravado. Production is being handled by an all-star lineup which includes, DJ Toomp, The-Dream, RedOne, TrackSlayerz, Swizz Beatz, Danja, and Jim Jonsin. T.I.’s albums have become known for unique and inspired collaborations and this new project will be no different. T.I.’s last effort yielded collabos from Jay-Z and Kanye, Rihanna, and Justin Timberlake. So far confirmed for ‘King Uncaged’ are The-Dream, B.O.B., Trey Songz, and Lady Gaga. Yes you just read that correctly, T.I. will have Lady Gaga on his album courtesy of a track produced by longtime Gaga collaborator RedOne. Also appearing on the new single, ‘Got Your Back’ is Keri Hilson. A video is expected soon for that track. Another song, ‘Yeah Ya Know’ is being sent to club DJ’s and urban radio in a effort to cover all bases and have songs out that appeal to different fans and markets. ‘Yeah Ya Know’ was originally recorded for T.I.’s upcoming film Takers (due Aug. 20th), and is expected to be on that movie’s soundtrack album as well. With well over 70 songs recorded, narrowing down the final tracklist for ‘King Uncaged’ will prove quite the task for T.I. and his team. Expect an album filled with an aggressive T.I. who goes hard on tracks and tackles topics like love, life, his recent prison sentence, haters who got in the way, and how he’s grown has a person and artist. Expectations are high for this one, but if anyone can deliver a quality product it’s Tip. With ‘I am Back’ garnering such a huge reception from fans and radio, this new album will be a summer blockbuster for sure.
NICKI MINAJ (September 2010) Lil Wayne protégé and the female representation for Young Money Entertainment is FINALLY releasing her studio debut later this year. While details on this album have been slim, the first two singles released give fans a taste of what to expect. Official first single ‘Massive Attack’ featuring Sean Garrett has all but failed at U.S. radio with its intricate and hard to digest beat and over the top video. More recently ‘Your Love’ was chosen as the second single with hopes that it will achieve the radio play that seemed to escape ‘Massive Attack’. The Annie Lennox sample and drum loop beats appear to help make this song a bigger hit. An official remix of the song featuring Flo Rida, is expected to appear next month. With Nicki continuously stating that she will not rush the release of her debut, it would surprise no one if this album didn’t seen the light of day in September as Universal/Motown and Young Money execs hope. Recently, Nicki announced via Twitter that she was going for a clean start on this album after being unhappy with some of the material which has already been recorded. Industry analysis are assuming the slow reception at radio for Massive may have something to do with this decision, especially if the other tracks slated for the album sounded similar to that one. One thing is clear and undeniable and that’s Nicki’s talent. As long as she stays true to herself and lets her personality shine through in her music, she will do quite well in the long run. Fans itching to hear Minaj, need only listen to the half dozen singles she’s currently featured on including: ‘My Chick Bad’ (Ludacris), ‘Lil Freak’ (Usher), ‘Shakin it For Daddy’ (Robin Thicke), ‘Up Out My Face’ (Mariah Carey), and ‘Woohoo’ (Christina Aguilera). Nicki will also appear on label mate Drake’s debut later this month on the song ‘Up All Night’. Currently, the only person aside from Sean Garrett slated to appear on Minaj’s still untitled album is Bad Boy artist Cassie. Here’s hoping Nicki calls in favors from some of her A-list peeps to help her out with collabos. Nicki Minaj’s distinctive musical flare, eye-popping style, and sexy image will no doubt propel her to the top and bring her closer to her influences of Missy Elliott and Lauryn Hill and ultimately help her to achieve their success.
AVENTURA (Fall 2010) After sweeping the recent Billboard Awards with nine wins and coming off their most successful tour (four sold out shows at MSG!) while breaking chart and album sales records, it’s safe to assume Bronx’s natives Aventura are having a great year! The bachata group is at a crossroads in their career coming off their most successful and critically acclaimed album ‘The Last’. The guys have something special planned for fans this year with their first greatest hits compilation due this fall. The set according to the group, will allow fans to familiarize themselves with Aventura’s earlier albums and songs, since the band’s popularity has been on the rise over the last five years, yet they’ve been around for ten. When asked if the album will feature new material, lead singer/songwriter Anthony ‘Romeo’ Santos smiled and said stay tuned. Aventura’s last compilation album 2006’s ‘K.O.B. Live’, featured live recordings of some of the group’s bigger hits, as well as five new tracks--three of which became unexpected massive singles (‘Los Infieles’, ‘Mi Corazoncito’, and ‘El Perdedor’). This new set is sure to please fans both new and old. Those looking for brand new material from the group will have to wait until mid-2011 when the first of their several solo projects will appear. Each member will be releasing his own solo album about which not much is known. Bass player Max is expected to release a hip-hop album, while guitarist Lenny is working on an R&B/hip-hop sound for his project. No information has been released in terms of what Henry and Romeo are both working on. Fearing that solo work will lead the band to splitting up, the group has already signed a contract to their label for one more album after the solo projects appear, so contrary to rumor, ‘The Last’ was not the last album from this extremely popular and immensely talented group. The industry is littered with groups who went solo and then quickly flamed out, yet for every failed attempt there are enormous success stories. Aventura’s talent will keep them in the limelight and their dedication to fans will keep them a success.
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Written by CJA BABYBOI
