"It was more like a lightening bolt," said Bluey, founding member of the internationally
known band Incognito about his solo release "Leap of Faith" on the Shanachie imprint. "I hadn't done a solo
album...I've thought about it. I always have great musicians and singers around me...so it's not something that would easily
come to me." Bluey's pioneering UK blend of Jazz/Soul/Funk created by his band Incognito help
give birth to a new genre of music called Neo-Soul. You get that feel on this album as he also
offers his vocal masteries. I love the selection "Sky" for its Spanish flavor. I also liked the title track "Leap
of Faith," which included a perfect blend of spoken word courtesy The Floacist - with a very inspiring message. Another
favorite is "If You Really Wanna" and then there is "Live like a Millionaire," because I loved the electric
guitar support, Bluey's tenor style and the ending. "I said to myself...no Incognito for a
month. Just turn out some songs," the UK native said about the process of creating his solo project. "The idea was
to write a song a day. I didn't stop and 27 days later I was finished." Bluey enlisted the
help of
BET is about to show ‘Anything Can Happen' with its BET Awards
'13 and BET Experience at L.A. Live June 28 - 30, 2013
BET Network "must have had a good year" the media crowd whispered at the recent BET Awards '13 Nominees
Announcement held at the ICON Ultra Lounge in Los Angeles. The awards show with its theme of "Anything Can Happen,"
will air live from the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. ET/PT Sunday, June 30, 2013 on BET.
I felt like an Egyptian Princess with the setting, the abundance of food and the over-flowing bar of tropical looking fruit
drinks as we waited for the announcements to begin. Stephen G. Hill, President of Music Programming and Specials, was the
host and he introduced Chris Tucker (the BET Award '13 host), Chris Brown (nominee, performer), Charlie Wilson (nominee, Cadillac
Lifetime Achievement Awards recipient), and Kendrick Lamar (nominee) and Tamar Braxton (nominee) who both... Read the full May 17, 2013 column...>
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Natalie Cole added
to performances at 'On The Vine' Music Festival in August, 2013
(New York, NY) - On August 22, 2013, "On The Vine," a four-day music and entertainment
festival starring Ms. Natalie Cole and benefiting kidney disease research will launch. "On The Vine" will take
place on the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard August 22 - 25, 2013 and will feature live stellar performances by: Kenny
"BabyFace" Edmonds, jazz greats Kahil El Zabar, Roy Hargrove and James Carter, music legend and icon Smokey Robinson,
comedian and kidney disease survivor Richard Lewis, Grammy Award winning violinist Miri Ben-Ari, singer-songwriter Angie Stone
and others.
Lana Parilla to
host the Gracie Awards May 21, 2013 in Beverly Hills
(Beverly Hills, CA) - Lana Parilla
(Once Upon A Time) will host the 2013 Gracie Awards to be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Tuesday,
May 21, 2013. Oscar and Grammy Award winning Melissa Etheridge will perform. Cat Deeley ("So You Think You Can Dance") will be
the "Caring is Sexy" Award recipient. Slated to appear are Amy
Poehler & Jim O'Heir (Parks & Recreation), Brain Williams (NBC News Anchor) presents to his daughter, Jane Williams
(Bloomberg), Chandra Wilson (Grey's Anatomy), Brenda Strong (Dallas), Lucy Hale & Ian Harding (Pretty Little Liars), Sarah
Chalke (How to Live With Your Parents), Angie Harmon (Rizzoli & Isles), Catherine Bell (Army Wives), Julie White, Sarah
Baker, Suzy Nakamura & Tonita Castro (Go On), Vanessa Marano (Switched at Birth), Giuliana & Bill Rancic (E!/Style
Networks), Sandra Lee (Food Network), Maria Menounos (Extra), Shaun Robinson (Access Hollywood), Meg Tilly & Bomb Girls
Cast, Sara Sidner (CNN), Sutton Foster (Bunheads), G. Hannelius (Dog With a Blog), Mary Hart (post ET), Hannah Storm (ESPN
Sports Center), Ashlan Gorse (E! News), Erik Logan (Pres. OWN Network), Kate Juergens (EVP ABC Family), Sara Sidner (CNN),
Martha Raddatz (ABC's Foreign Affairs Correspondent), Brooke Anderson (Entertainment Tonight), Maria Elena Salinas (Univision),
Moll Anderson (Moll Anderson Show), Megan Chuchmach (ABC Journalist), Nikki Boyer (No Time), and Rory Kennedy (Moxie Firecracker).
VIDEO CLIP OF THE WEEK
New York native Mariah Carey has
acquired five Grammy Awards, 17 World Music Awards, 11 American Music Awards and an astounding 31 Billboard Music Awards.
She has released to #1 status 18 singles in the U.S. Carey is preparing to release her 14th studio album this month
with the lead single 'Beautiful,' featuring Miquel recently released. Watch the video to the first single featuring Miguel
below!
HOTTEST MUSIC VIDEOS
SPOTLIGHT
of THE WEEK
"USHER"
(New York, NY) - The American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers (ASCAP) will honor eight-time Grammy Award-winner Usher with the prestigious ASCAP Golden Note Award during its
26th annual Rhythm & Soul Music Awards. The invitation-only event will take place on Thursday, June 27th, 2013 at the
Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
ASCAP's Golden Note Award is presented to songwriters, composers and artists who have achieved extraordinary
career milestones. Previous honorees include Sean "Diddy" Combs, Jermaine Dupri, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis,
Jay-Z, Quincy Jones, Alicia Keys, LL Cool J, Lionel Richie, Pharrell Williams and Stevie Wonder,.
ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams commented: "Usher's musical evolution
over the years clearly proves his versatility and longevity as an artist, performer and songwriter. The world has moved to
his music for nearly two decades. Happily for the rest of us, from the sound of his latest work, it's clear that the beat
will go on and on. Usher is the perfect candidate to receive one of our top honors - the ASCAP Golden Note Award."
"We at ASCAP have been a fan and advocate for Usher since day one.
He's a tried and true music trailblazer who's constantly pushing boundaries and redefining genres," commented ASCAP VP
of Rhythm & Soul Membership Nicole George-Middleton.
Usher
(full name Usher Raymond IV) first rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned
his first Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit, "Nice & Slow." The album, which has since been certified 6-times platinum
by the RIAA, displayed Usher's talent for songwriting by co-writing six of the nine songs. His third studio album, 8701 (2001),
quickly reached multi-platinum status and went on to sell over four million copies, bringing Usher his first Grammy win in
2001 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance; a category in which he repeated a win in 2002 for "U Don't Have to Call."
His next album Confessions (2004) took the music world by storm and is Usher's most successful album to date, making him
the first artist to top the charts with four consecutive number one songs ("Yeah," "Confessions, Pt. 2,"
"Burn," and "My Boo"). His most recent albums - Here I Stand, Raymond v. Raymond and Looking 4 Myself
- introduced the world to several massive hits, including "Love In This Club," "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love"
and "Scream." The RIAA ranks Usher as one of the best-selling artists in American music history, having sold over
23 million copies in the United States alone. To date, he has sold over 50 million records worldwide, making him one of the
best selling music artists of all time.
The 26th
annual ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards will also honor the songwriters and publishers of the most performed ASCAP songs
on the 2012 R&B/hip-hop, rap and gospel charts. Top awards will be given to the Songwriter of the Year, Publisher of the
Year, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Song, Top Rap Song and Top Gospel Song. The evening will also feature performances by several award-winning
songwriters/performers.
The American Society of Composers,
Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers of
every kind of music. ASCAP's mission is to license and promote the music of its members and foreign affiliates, obtain fair
compensation for the public performance of their works and to distribute the royalties that it collects based upon those performances.
ASCAP members write the world's best-loved music and ASCAP has pioneered the efficient licensing of that music to hundreds
of thousands of enterprises who use it to add value to their business - from bars, restaurants and retail, to radio, TV and
cable, to Internet, mobile services and more. The ASCAP license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform
ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. With over 460,000 members representing
more than 8.5 million copyrighted works, ASCAP is the worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for
songwriters and composers, and the only American performing rights organization (PRO) owned and governed by its writer and
publisher members. www.ascap.com.