HAPPY NEW YEAR SAU!!!!

2011 is a couple hours away let's get ready to TOAST IT UP PEOPLE!!! BE SAFE!...Look out for SAU to return mid January...But until then...(This guy Marty James sounds good on this song right?)



SAU BUH BUH BUH!!!!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS SAU!!!!

Merry Christmas to all my SAU family, Its a time for family, friends and joy, so have a good one!...We'll see you guys soon!

30 Second Clip Of Avril Lavigne's "What The Hell"...

As we stated Avril Lavigne is back with her upcoming album "Goodbye Lullaby" Slated for release March 2011. Her first single from the album titled "What The Hell" Avril explains is her least personal song from the album.

“My first single off this record is called: ‘What The Hell’. This song is the least personal song to me off this album. It’s a fun and funny anthem. It has a broad message about personal freedom. It is the most pop track on the record.”

Check out a 30 second clip of "What The Hell" below...

Left Behind: Switchfoot "I Dare You To Move"

"Dare You To Move" is a single by the alternative Rock band Switchfoot, which peaked at #17 on the Hot 100 charts, becoming Switchfoot's second top twenty single, surpassing the success of their breakthrough single, "Meant to Live." Their album "The Beautiful Letdown" eventually went Gold but left behind at # 17 was this awesome soaring single that welcomed us to the planet, and welcomed us to existence. Wonderful single...

New Vid: Steel Magnolia "Last Night Again"

The duo that won season 2 of "Can You Duet" (Meghan Linsey and boyfriend, Joshua Scott Jones) wants to do it again with their new single "Last Night Again". In this Grease inspired video set in a bowling alley, the duo play the cat and mouse game and look great doing it! Check it out above... Very Catchy tune!

New Vid: Chrisette Michele "Goodbye Game"....

Chrisette Michele is back with a new single from her latest effort "Let Freedom Reign" called "Goodbye Game". Check the visual above...

Interview With Prince.....

Singer, Songwriter, actor...and just plain ol' Genius. Prince Rogers Nelson, Aka Prince, stepped on the scene of music in 1978 and took our breath away with his "In your face style". Now known as "One of the most commercially successful artist of the last 20 years, producing ten platinum albums, and thirty Top 40 singles during his career, There seems to be no stopping him now. Releasing album after album, Tour after tour more than 100 million records sold...The living legend, there is only one Prince....



Ms.A: What an honor to have to here today Prince! I want to start off by thanking you for allowing me to press your buttons LOL

Prince: LOL your welcome Ms.A, if I was gonna sit down and have a chat with anybody in this day and age it would be you

Ms.A: Why thank you so much!


Prince: Salutations SAU!

Ms.A: So during this interview I want to get to know a lot of things most people wouldn't actually know about you how's that?

Prince: Sounds great you guys want to take a dive into my purple lair of paradise? Then so be it


Ms.A: So in the beginning 76' to be exact, you created a demo tape in a Minneapolis studio if you can remember back to that point in your beginning, what type of music/sound did that demo hold?

Prince: 76', that was a pretty long time ago I forget I'm that old sometimes Ms.A but the music that holds is more than just a sound, it was my life at the time.I knew I wanted to do nothing other than music, I was so passionate about and that was my love.I remember that demo was very Raw because I was not a polished artist in any since of the word, but I knew that this was my heart and soul in this demo it was all that I could possibly do with my life.If I had to do anything else I would have died on the inside.But to put into words best I can about it I thought was a very 'rock and roll' distinctive sound that I was trying to reach on that demo and I think I reached it in my rawest form.


Ms.A: After the ball began to roll with your career, the one of the first steps an artist usually goes for is creating an image. As hard as it is now a days to stand out amongst the crowd of other artists and find their own "Niche", your image absolutely stood out and made its mark on pop culture as a whole. what do you think it was and still is about your image that made that connection with your audience during the crazy 80's?

Prince: I think my image was definitely helpful in the crazy 80's, but I'm a crazy man so me and the 80's made love and berth a beautiful child as well as in the 90's.You know I was who I was, I'm not a gimmick that someone put together in a label office, this is me and thankfully I came up in a time when artist had more 'say so' in there career than they do now, so I think it was just totally meant to be that the connection between me and the fans were going to be, there (the 80's) it was almost like soul mates you know? When there's true love and passion coming from 2 people, that's how I feel me and the fans in the 80's were.But not to understate the passion and honesty in my music which also allowed a connection to the fans, they could relate back to what I was talking about


Ms.A: in 82' you released the double album1999' which sold well over 3 million albums and peaked at #9 on the charts. Your video for "Little Red Corvette" was one of the first of two videos played on a major music network, the other being Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean". At that point when you and Michael Jackson were basically going head to head was there any actual "Musical Beef" with you two?

Prince: LOL, Now I wont say if we had a musical beef for real or not I think that's one of the musical industry's greatest wise tales, and I hope that its still talked about 40 years from now or 100 years from now. I will say I have so much love for Michael and I really really miss him and he was gone far to soon.He was the King and a musical talent that none of us has ever witnessed before. I will give a little hint our "Beef" till this day is still influencing different situations in the music as we speak... what did you think of our musical beef Ms.A? I would love to hear your thoughts on it

Ms.A: Well of course I was very small around that time but growing up I always had something in me that wanted to know about each and every musical genius that has paved the way for so many to do what they do today...realizing that the media and certain other outlets began this "Beef" was actually brilliant in some aspects because it put music from two wonderful artists to the forefront, each and every person listening to the next single you guys put out to see if there was some form of a hint and also plain and simple the music was actually good.


Prince: Your mom let you listen to me when you were younger? Michael was always more PG than I was...


Ms.A: LOL I love it

Prince: But there couldn't be 2 of him I had to go on and I did not mind playing the freaky bedroom guy it was more fun that way anyway! Great Answer by the way Ms.A

Ms.A: On to one of my favorites The infamous "Purple Rain"

Prince: uh oh now!


Ms.A: 13 million + albums sold, 24 weeks at #1, and a Movie of the same title that made headlines left and right...Now Of course millions of questions pop into my mind but the first has to be What in the hell kind of place were you in during that amazing time in your career?

Prince: Honestly, I spent a lot of that time high Ms.A, I was dealing with a personal struggle of mine.So my life was a struggle at that point I lost a true love in my life, I had family issues and I was losing it and when I made that album it was an out for me, it was a release. It let go of my inner fears and desires and worries I attribute that album to me being alive today, I really do. While I was in it, I did not enjoy my time in that moment, but now I can sit back and say that was a hell of a run that I had, and I'm so fortunate and blessed, and I'm even more thankful for that album because I'm still alive!

Ms.A: So I'll name a song from the album you give us a little insight into what that song actually means, starting with "The Beautiful Ones"

Prince: When I was writing that song I was in love and dating a woman and she was a beautiful woman but ugly soul.Her friends would encourage her to do better than me and they would call themselves "the beautiful ones" with there nose in the air so that's where a lot that song came from because of my inspiration from them.

Ms.A: "I Would Die For You"


Prince: You see its a trend man, this same woman really fucked me up man but I'm thankful for the inspiration!

Ms.A: LMAO!!

Prince: I was so in love that I would die for her, and I was trying to tell her that, and one day I did and sang this song for her before anybody heard it Ms.A she called me crazy and laughed and said I wouldn't die for you so stop singing that rubbish...CRAZY BITCH! oh well


Ms.A: Obviously there's no getting around the big beast in the room, which is the title track "Purple Rain" Now Prince....

Prince: LMFAO I knew Ms.A was bold enough to go here...

Ms.A: Now I'm going here with my eyes closed SAU...Prince what is the meaning of that damn "Purple Rain"?

Prince: What does it mean to you? Purple Rain means whatever you want it to mean.Its interchangeable to every person that ever hears that record.Because my meaning of it is not your meaning of it, and yours is not the same as the next person. So its not fair to put one entire meaning behind a song like that. As long as you know when it comes on its time to put your mother fuckin lighters up!


Prince: I can never disclose what it means to me that's like a person who has a crush on a celebrity and they get the chance to sleep with them.....9 times out of 10 you will be disappointed at the end. So I'm taking that one with me Ms.A but I want it to mean whatever it means to you and that goes for every person that hears it.

Ms.A: That's understandable...SAU we'll take it


Prince: LOL but maybe one day over some hot tea in Minnesota me and you can have a private conversation about it and break down the song but the world is not ready for that.

Ms.A: So who are some of your favorite artists out now?

Prince: My favorite artist now? I don't have many but I love my Queen Beyonce! I serve in her kingdom it is her world! I love that woman she I can go on for 10 more minutes but I love that woman! I'm a fan of B.o.B I like what he is doing and Nicki Minaj intrigues me I have one eye on her...

Prince: I love Kem, and I'm a huge Sara Bareilles fan I love her sound and honesty and raw emotion


Ms.A: Now on to more recent news you recently made headlines by saying "the Internet is over" explaining that certain avenues for music won't pay you in advance for your records but get pretty upset when they can't have it. Can you elaborate a little bit more on your opinion about the Internet being "Over"?

Prince: The Internet is over and is trash other than your site Ms.A, that's the only thing keeping it honest a little.The Internet as far as being over I was using in terms of the music industry.The Internet has been nothing but bad just plain BAD. They rob our music and post it on the Internet for free I compare that to you cant just go to a dealership and take a BMW when you want, but you can just rob our music when that cost us money to put it out? A radio single nowadays can cost almost $1 million dollars after you pay producers writers etc... and all that is asked to pay is .99 cents for you to enjoy it forever, is that to much to ask? Of course its a numbers game for the artist, you want 2 million people to pay .99 cents so you can make some money, I know that, but the Internet allows you to just take it and that is wrong. I know that you don't get enough credit for this, but you don't post alternative links to download peoples music and I love that! Thank you for having a heart. Now on to Steve Jobs (who I think is the devil on earth) he does not want to pay us upfront for our music, but uses our names to promote his program iTunes, where we get smaller cuts of the pie than on any service.A new single is $1.29 the artist and labels are only getting .80 cents that they have to divide with writers and producers.Apple is getting almost .40 cents! How is that fair when most likely the artist who made the song will get less than that when the royalties are cut? On amazon they take a far less price, but Apple is over the market share because they have the money to promote more than amazon and that's not fair to artist! We're playing by this man's RULES and its not right! I refuse to do so.Than you can pay $1.29 for a song called the "Stanky Leg" but there gonna price it same as a Bob Dylan song? not fair at all and Apple is bullshit The Internet is over!

Ms.A: That takes me to the next question No Stress, No Charts, No piracy" is what your quoted as saying about the 2.5 million albums distributed for free among the U.K of "20ten" what was your reasoning for this?

Prince: They were gonna steal it anyway, and I don't like anybody taking anything out of my pocket! I rather give it away.I wont stop doing what I love I wont stop making music so I have to adapt. Soon all artist are going to have to make money on tour, selling records will be extinct really soon, the album will truly be just to promote your tour like a club flyer handout for a party. Its sad to say but that's where were headed

Ms.A: Speaking of Touring what are your expectations going into this "Welcome to America" Tour?

Prince: OH! I have high expectations, very high because I want it to be a different show every night, so if you come to a Boston show it wont be the same in New York. I feel my fans deserve that. I have a lot of old school fans that have written to my label saying there taking off and following the tour to every stop and today's kids are not like that.So I want to give my true fans something to remember that they wont forget and put on a show only Prince can

Ms.A: Prince my leader of the purple underground of which I am a card holder..Thank you so much for having this sit down with me, I have a wonderful time picking at you! LOL thank you for putting up with me!

Prince: Awww Ms.A Your welcome, I had so much fun thank you Thank you SAU!

Interview With Prince Coming Tomorrow....

Coming Tomorrow folks...

New Music: Dirty Money "Ass On The Floor"...

Now with all the promotion "Last Train To Paris" has gotten over the last month, yesterday I took to listening to this album full on, and I have to say...It's not as bad as I was going into it thinking it would be. I actually found myself nodding to at least 5 songs. Their new single "Ass On The Floor" produced by Swizz Beats is actually one of my favorites the beat knocks without a doubt...

Throwback Of The Day...Maxi Priest & Shabba Ranks "House Call"

Many remember Shabba Ranks as the hardcore "Mr. Loverman" but looking deeper into his collection of material, "House Call" Featuring Maxi Priest, released in 91' was one that you couldn't help but feel the colors of Black, yellow,and green flowing through your veins. "House Call" reached number 31 on the UK charts and #37 in the US.

From The Album: " Love Letter" "Music Must Be A Lady"...

Listening to R.Kelly's latest effort "Love Letter" last night, with every effortless track that succumbs you into the mood of the entire record, I realized this is worth every cent of $9.99. Getting to track 12 "Music Must be A lady" took my breath away! With the ever growing control of Kelly's vocals (just as Marvin Gaye's "Its too late") this track is absolutely beautiful. Taking the term music as if it were a woman, R.Kelly proceeds to take our ears on a journey, with just a slight composition in the back, showing off each piece of melody this melodic track possesses. This album does in fact take R&B to another level...Check out the song below



Compare and contrast...

Coldplay Reveals "Next Album Has A Story line"...

As we get closer to the New Year, we all know much much music is on its way. One of the most highly anticipated albums include Coldplay's 4th coming album, which is the follow up to their last album "Viva La Vida". In an interview with BBC we got just a little bit closer to knowing the actual concept behind the band's next album:

"It's from the point of view of two people who are a bit lost," Chris Martin told the BBC. "Two like-minded outsiders who meet in a very difficult environment and therefore have a journey together."

He added: "It's a concept album but it's supposed to be very personal within a big framework. Does that make sense?"

Martin also admitted his bandmates - guitarist Johnny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion - can be tough in their views on his songwriting, although he insists that their methods produce results.

He explained: "Jonny [Buckland] is delightful, he's the easiest to convince. It's when you have to take a verse to Guy [Berryman] or Will [Champion] that things become very tearful. You can forget there are other people in the world.

"I'm so lucky that we have that group, in as much as there are a lot of people who don't like us in the world, but there would be a lot more without this filtering system. Think of the rubbish that doesn't get out, if you don't like the stuff that does."

Coldplay's as-yet-untitled LP is slated for release next year.

(DS)

New Vid: Kings Of Leon "Pyro"...

Going into the New Year with a new single from their highly anticipated album "Come Around Sundown" Kings Of Leon release "Pyro" to the world, as their next official single. Quoted as saying this is their "Most difficult song to play live", As usual this band knocks it out the park with the visual.

New Music: Lil' Wayne Ft Corey Gunz "6'7"

It looks like Lil Wayne isn't just sitting around being that we get to finally hear the first single from his next album titled "The Carter IV". The single which features new Young Money Signee Corey Gunz samples "Day-O" AKA "The Banana Boat Song" sung by Harry Belafonte...SAU Whatcha think?...

R.Kelly Performs "When A Woman Loves" On Jimmy Fallon

Man...R.Kelly has took his vocal ability to the next level with this new song "When A Woman Loves", and to perform it flawlessly each and every time he does it is amazing to me. Check R.Kelly out on the Jimmy Fallon Show...

Interview With Prince Coming Next Week....

From the symbol placed last week, of course all of you guys got it and an interview with the ONE AND ONLY Prince will be here next week. Talking about everything from his beginnings, through "Purple Rain", and what he thinks about many other topics..This is without a doubt my most meaningful interview ever!! Check it out next week guys!

R&B At Its Finest: Mary J. Blige "Never Been"

What better way to start this segment off than with Mary J. Blige's "Never Been"? From her 6,500,000 copies sold worldwide album "No More Drama" track number 13 "Never Been" gives us the true essence of R&B. With producer Missy Elliott Sampling Mcfadden & Whitehead's "Why Oh Why"'s "crying" string section (In my termanology a string section in any form makes the beat have more meaning hence the word "Cry" Aka "making the beat cry" Check the song you'll understand) and a knocking drum pattern which makes you have no choice but to rock with her meaningful yet plain and simple lyrics of "I never been touched like this/I never been/I never been kissed like this/I never been.

In R&B music I love to say "the simpler the better, the meaningful the more" This song gives off just that...A true flight Check it out...and turn it up!!!!

Avril Lavigne "Goodbye Lullaby" Album Art....

It looks like Avril is on her way back to her adoring fans with the release of her new album coming March 2011 titled "Goodbye Lullaby". Avril explains that this album will be more "raw" than her previous efforts, and from what we know about Avril that's what she's good at : Raw emotion and releasing songs that completely connect with her fan base around the world...for example...

Nicki Minaj Performs "Moment 4 Life" On Lopez Tonight...

Staying on her appearence schedule, Nicki Minaj stopped by "Lopez Tonight" for a nice interview, informing the audience on her multipule personalities when it comes to her music, and to perform "Moment 4 Life"....

Miranda Lambert Performs "Only Prettier" On Ellen...

Miranda Lambert took a detour to the "Ellen Show" to perform her single "Only Prettier" produced by Frank Liddell & Mike Wrucke, from her latest album "Revolution" Check out the flawless performance below..

New Vid: Adele "Rolling In The Deep"...

Singer Adele is prepping her latest effort "21" with the first official video for the haunting yet so soulful single "Rolling In The Deep". Adele's new album '21' is scheduled to hit stores February 22nd..

Adele "Rolling In The Deep"

New Vid: Kanye West Rick Ross Jay-Z & Nicki Minaj "Monster"...

The highly anticipated video for Kanye West's "Monster" is on its way but until the official video drops here's a sneak peek via Hiphopconnection, Check it out...

Download B.o.B's "No Genre" Mixtape Free...

As stated recently, our boy B.o.B has just released his new mixtape "No Genre"...SAU support B.o.B and download HERE..GO B.o.B!!!!!!

Our Dearest B.o.B...

5 Nods SAU...you guys did it :) GO B.o.B!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Regardless to if he wins we're in the building SAU)

The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards...Who's Grabbing The Trophy?

The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards are upon us once again SAU, the biggest night in music, the head honcho, the creme de la creme' the..OK you get it..Leaping out the Box is Eminem with 10 nods, nominated in the big categories which are Record of the year ("Love The Way You Lie" Ft Rihanna), Album of the year ("Recovery"), and Song Of The Year (Love the Way You Lie). The newbie that is Bruno Mars came in with the second most with 7 nods, Lady Antebellum, and Lady Gaga each earned six nods,Jeff Beck, B.o.B, David Frost, Philip Lawrence, and John Legend received five each the Black Keys, Drake, Cee Lo Green, Ari Levine, Katy Perry, Rihanna, the Roots, Dirk Sobotka, and Zac Brown each earned four nominations.

A pretty big surprise was Cee-lo turning a song that will take the stress out of any messed up day "Fuck You", into a Grammy nominated smash-ero,claiming 2 Grammy nods for the foul mouthed hook of a song, including record and song of the year. Chris Brown Snuck in the back door with a few nods...Alicia Keys latest effort "Element Of Freedom" was failed to be mentioned at all, while One of The Biggest categories "Album Of The Year" which include Arcade Fire, Eminem, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry, failed to mention Albums like "Buble's "Crazy Love", Sade's "Solider Of Love", and Miranda Lambert's "Revolution" but congrats to the nominees nontheless...So the Question of the day...SAU Who's taking the Trophies Home?

Be sure to check out the official Celebration Live on CBS Feb 13th at 8pm ET/PT

And Then There Was Eminem...

It all started April 13th with a simple tweet "There is no Relapse 2"...Gasping, disbelief and ok, maybe a tear or two, thinking that what we have waited so long for is coming to an end before it began. That is until we found out that Eminem completely changed his album title to "Recovery", And what a "Recovery" this turned out to be. Marshall Mathers bka Eminem, has completely hung naysayers, and critics out to dry with the unveiling of his 7th studio album which sold oh, just a mere 741,000 copies in its first week, and as of Nov 21st, 2010 an astonishing 3 million in the U.S. The inspirational "Not Afraid" being his first single debuted at #1 on the charts along with "Love The Way You Lie" which debuted at #2 and with a nice tap on the ass rose to #1.

But Eminem wasn't completely done wrapping this present that was presented to the world in the name of "Recovery" just yet, as we found out a couple of hours ago, that Eminem stands alone on Mount Grammy with a rousing 10 Grammy nods. A story that one could only dream of when it comes to an fickle industry but maybe..just maybe..Dreams do come true...

The Nominations Are In.....

With all the music industry watching, last night gave us just a taste of the biggest night in music...The Grammys. Below are some of the Grammy nods but to see a full list of the Grammy nominations go HERE


Record Of The Year

Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s), if other than the artist.

Nothin' On You
B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars

Love The Way You Lie
Eminem Featuring Rihanna

F*** You
Cee Lo Green

Empire State Of Mind
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys

Need You Now
Lady Antebellum

Album Of The Year

Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s)/Mixer(s) & Mastering Engineer(s), if other than the artist.

The Suburbs
Arcade Fire

Recovery
Eminem

Need You Now
Lady Antebellum

The Fame Monster
Lady Gaga

Teenage Dream
Katy Perry

Song Of The Year

A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

Beg Steal Or Borrow
Ray LaMontagne

F*** You
Cee Lo Green

The House That Built Me
Miranda Lambert

Love The Way You Lie
Eminem
Featuring Rihanna

Need You Now
Lady
Antebellum

Best New Artist

For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist.

Justin Bieber.

Drake.

Florence & The Machine.

Mumford & Sons.

Esperanza Spalding.

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.

King Of Anything
Sara Bareilles

Halo (Live)
Beyoncé

Chasing Pirates
Norah Jones

Bad Romance
Lady Gaga

Teenage Dream
Katy Perry

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.

Haven't Met You Yet
Michael Bublé

This Is It
Michael Jackson

Whataya Want From Me
Adam Lambert

Just The Way You Are
Bruno Mars

Half Of My Heart
John Mayer

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

For established duos or groups, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.

Don't Stop Believin' (Regionals Version)
Glee Cast

Misery
Maroon 5

The Only Exception
Paramore

Babyfather
Sade

Hey, Soul Sister (Live)
Train

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals

For a collaborative performance, with vocals, by artists who do not normally perform together. Singles or Tracks only.

Airplanes, Part II
B.o.B, Eminem & Hayley Williams

Imagine
Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare

If It Wasn't For Bad
Elton John & Leon Russell

Telephone
Lady Gaga & Beyoncé

California Gurls
Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg

Best Pop Vocal Album

For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.

My World 2.0
Justin Bieber

I Dreamed A Dream
Susan Boyle

The Fame Monster
Lady Gaga

Battle Studies
John Mayer

Teenage Dream
Katy Perry

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

Ready To Start
Arcade Fire

I Put A Spell On You
Jeff Beck & Joss Stone

Tighten Up
The Black Keys

Radioactive
Kings Of Leon

Resistance
Muse

Best Alternative Music Album
Vocal or Instrumental.

The Suburbs
Arcade Fire

Band Of Horses

Brothers
The Black Keys

Broken Bells
Broken Bells

Contra
Vampire Weekend

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance

For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.

Gone Already
Faith Evans

Bittersweet
Fantasia

Everything To Me
Monica

Tired
Kelly Price

Holding You Down (Going In Circles)
Jazmine Sullivan

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance

For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.

Second Chance
El DeBarge

Finding My Way Back
Jaheim

Why Would You Stay
Kem

We're Still Friends
(Kirk Whalum &) Musiq Soulchild

There Goes My Baby
Usher

Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance

For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.

When A Woman Loves
R. Kelly

Hang On In There
John Legend & The Roots

You're So Amazing
Calvin Richardson

In Between
Ryan Shaw

Go [Live]
Betty Wright

Best R&B Album

For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.

The Love & War Masterpeace
Raheem DeVaughn

Back To Me
Fantasia

Another Round
Jaheim

Wake Up!
John Legend & The Roots

Still Standing
Monica

Best Contemporary R&B Album

For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.

Graffiti
Chris Brown

Untitled
R. Kelly

Transition
Ryan Leslie

The ArchAndroid
Janelle Monáe

Raymond V Raymond
Usher

Best Rap Solo Performance

For a solo Rap performance. Singles or Tracks only.

Over
Drake

Not Afraid
Eminem

How Low
Ludacris

I'm Back
T.I.

Power
Kanye West

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

For a Rap/Sung collaborative performance by artists who do not normally perform together. Singles or Tracks only.

Nothin' On You
B.o.B & Bruno Mars

Deuces
Chris Brown, Tyga & Kevin McCall

Love The Way You Lie
Eminem & Rihanna

Empire State Of Mind
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
Track from: The Blueprint 3

Wake Up! Everybody
John Legend, The Roots, Melanie Fiona & Common

Best Rap Song

A Songwriter(s) Award. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

Empire State Of Mind

(Jay-Z & Alicia Keys)

Love The Way You Lie (Eminem &
Rihanna)

Nothin' On You
(B.o.B
& Bruno Mars)

On To The Next One (Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz)

Best Rap Album

For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.

The Adventures Of Bobby Ray
B.o.B

Thank Me Later
Drake

Recovery
Eminem

The Blueprint 3
Jay-Z

How I Got Over
The Roots

Best Female Country Vocal Performance

For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.
Satisfied
Jewel

The House That Built Me
Miranda Lambert

Swingin'
LeAnn Rimes

Temporary Home
Carrie Underwood

I'd Love To Be Your Last
Gretchen Wilson

Best Male Country Vocal Performance

For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.

Macon
Jamey Johnson

Cryin' For Me (Wayman's Song)
Toby Keith

Turning Home
David Nail

'Til Summer Comes Around
Keith Urban

Gettin' You Home
Chris Young

Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

For established duos or groups with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.

Free
Zac Brown Band

Elizabeth
Dailey & Vincent

Need You Now
Lady Antebellum
Track from: Need You Now

Little White Church
Little Big Town

Where Rainbows Never Die
The SteelDrivers

Best Country Collaboration With Vocals

For a collaborative performance, with vocals, by artists who do not normally perform together. Singles or Tracks only.

Bad Angel
Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert & Jamey Johnson

Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Dierks Bentley, Del McCoury & The Punch Brothers

As She's Walking Away
Zac Brown Band & Alan Jackson

Hillbilly Bone
Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins

I Run To You
Marty Stuart & Connie Smith

Best Country Song

A Songwriter(s) Award. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

The Breath You Take
(George Strait)

Free
(Zac Brown Band)

The House That Built Me
(Miranda Lambert)

I'd Love To Be Your Last
(Gretchen Wilson)

If I Die Young
(The Band Perry)

Need You Now
(Lady
Antebellum)

New Vid': Coldplay "Christmas Lights"...

A nice size video treat, in the form of Coldplay's "Christmas Lights" has surfaced today. The song was made available for digital download today...The single's release date was announced through the official Coldplay website on November 24, 2010. A countdown was also added to the homepage of the website, which counted down to December 1, 8pm GMT, in minutes and seconds.

Coldplay also released three short videos through their iTunes Ping page, showing the creation of the music video. A video was also released on their website, giving a preview of the music video and the song itself.

It was originally thought that "Christmas Lights" would be a song from their fifth album, but this was confirmed to not be the case by The Oracle on two separate occasions...

B.o.B To Perform At Grammy Nominations Concert Tonight!

Along with B.o.B being featured in the latest issue of "Respect" Mag, Tonight our boy B.o.B will be performing at the Grammy Nominations Concert on CBS. B.o.B will take to the stage to perform his latest single "Don't Let Me Fall" as well as his number 1 single "Nothing On You" featuring Bruno Mars. Bruno Mars is also scheduled to play "Just The Way You Are"...The Grammy's are upon us guys, Check out some of the Nods along with the performances tonight at 10pm ET/PT....

Josh Groban Performs "Bells Of New York City" At The "Christmas At Rockefeller Center" Concert...

Josh Groban gave an amazing performance of "Bells Of New York City" at the Christmas In Rockefeller Center concert. Backed by a mini orchestra and the infamous bell ringers that this time of year brings out, Josh Groban most definitely propelled his voice through the streets of NYC....Other performers included Susan Boyle,Mariah Carey,Jessica Simpson,Kylie Minogue,and others...



Other performances

Annie Lenox-"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"



Mariah Carey-"Oh Santa"



Susan Boyle-Away In a Manger

From The Album "Let Freedom Reign"..."If Nobody Sang Along"

Totally blown away by the growth of Chrisette Michele from "Epiphany" to "Let Freedom Reign", from front to back regardless to tempo of tune Chrisette lets her voice reign Supreme with this album. Track number 14 "If Nobody Sang Along" which is made up of a number instruments including a forefront piano, gliding in and out with a Viola, & Cello towards the end... the ultimate instrument that stands out has to be the vocals of Chrisette. Please check out this beautiful ballad that Chrisette special delivered in only the way she can....

New Vid: Aaron Lewis "Country Boy"....

For all us Staind fans that were sitting around biting our nails anticipating the comeback of this band, should now have much reason to rejoice. For the lead singer of "It's Been Awhile" Aaron Lewis is here to stand on his own two with the release of his new country twanged EP "Town Line" with expected release Dec.7th. The leading single and video (Below)for "Country Boy" hit the scene, and with a voice like Lewis', it wasn't a far stretch to go from pure Alternative/Rock to Country.

"Country Boy" gives Lewis quite the notion to keep with his relaxed yet powerful vocals,telling the story- "I grew up down an old dirt road, in a town you wouldn't know"..Do tell Aaron, Do tell...Check out his video for "Country Boy" below...



(Video via CMT)

Maranda Lambert Covers Billboard Mag...

The beautiful Miranda Lambert covers the latest issue of Billboard Magazine. The title "From Nashville Star to Just Plain Star" fits this 27 year old just right with, her taking away 3 of the record 9 nods she got at this year's CMA's,including album of the year for "Revolution" and top female vocalist.

Billboard: In the short term, the result of Lambert's big night at the CMAs was an increase in sales: "Revolution" moved from No. 12 to No. 6 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart in the week following the CMAs, moving 29,000 units and up 137% from the week before. Her previous albums also jumped 50% or better in sales, and her digital song sales for the week were 93,000, up 136% from the previous week. Overall, Lambert has sold more than 5 million digital tracks.

Star...yes she is....

Michael Buble' Performs Live At Madison Square Garden...

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, and the sounds of Michael Buble' throughout the Holidays..Can't get any better in my opinion. Michael Buble' who is now becoming more infamous for his rendition of Christmas Carols ( 2003's "Let It Snow" Ep sounds Oh So Sweet during this time of the year.) performed at Madison Square Garden recently. Buble' took the time out to perform some of his songs including his latest single "Hollywood" along with "Crazy Love", made famous by Van Morrison in 1970 also performed by Brian Mcknight and Rod Stewart among others...

Official Sales Are In....

Last Tuesday was a pretty big day for the music industry,with Kanye West's "My Beautiful Dark Fantasy",Nicki Minaj's "Pink Friday", and Ne-yo's Libra Scale being released in stores. Well no need to guess the sales of each of these because according to Hitsdailydouble they are officially in.

Kanye West's latest, sits pretty at the #1 spot selling a nice 519k by weeks end. Say what you want about Mr. West but the quality in his music is very consistant. While Kanye sits at #1, Female rapper Nicki Minaj sells a very respectful 371k for her debut, "Pink Friday", sitting at at #2.

Country royalty Taylor Swift and Ms. Susan Boyle round out #3,& #4 while Ne-yo's "Libra Scale" lands in at #8 selling around 117k....

Kings Of Leon Perform On The Today Show...

Kings Of Leon took on the NYC cold, and played a couple songs from their recent effort "Come Around Sundown" Including "Radioactive",And one of my favorites "The End"...

New Music....Well Atleast To SAU...

Leaking sometime back in October, Lloyd Banks' Song "Start It Up" caught my attention but not enough to place it as good or ok. Marinating on this song for sometime now, and after buying his album "HFM2" (Which is a really good rap album)I've noticed that Lloyd Banks' flow has gotten surprisingly strong and assertive. The song thats a piece of our new music today, features Kanye West,Ryan Leslie,Fabolous,and Swizz Beats...On this one Swizz Beat's Chorus/Vocals are actually an accent to the song, as opposed to being..well sometimes annoying. With Lloyd I've been alert on him since HFM released in 04' which could be considered a grade A album. Now we're starting to see him break away from the G-Unit title which is not a bad thing since every rapper that joins a label wants their own voice...Banks is finally getting it with this one.

Can I Get A Sample?...

Uh...Who is this Ms.A?..I can hear it now ringing through the blog. This man Mike Oldfield, has been heard lately in about 550,000-600,000 of your cars, stereos, and computers over this last week, but many of you may not have known it. First, I'll give brief history...

Via his Wiki, Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. In 1987 he released his album "Crises". From the album, the song "In high Places" was heard but not completely recognized being that it didnt stand out.....

(Check sample at :45)


...Until Kanye's "My Dark Twisted Fantasy" the #1 track titled "Dark Fantasy" samples Oldfield's track like none other, At first listen one might not think this is a sample because of the realness it shows, but check it out for yourself...

(Sample rings in at 1:07)

New Music: Marsha Ambroisus: "Far Away"

Last week a new song from ex Floetry songstress Marsha Ambroisus came about titled "Far Away". Rumored to be produced by hip hop producer Just Blaze, This song starts its journey out wth a soft piano and Marsha playing down her vocals if only for the first verse. As a whole this song is something that reminds me of Marsha's Floetry days but the complete disconnect comes around the 1:49 mark where the vocals start to trek up hill, as we think the song is coming to a nice size early climax (which is a treat for the second verse in any song) but 2:01 she makes the mistake of taking that extra pause which is almost like a punk out in a beautiful ballad and we all know she has it in her...Marsha's vocal ability could be like none other (being that its very different and refreshing) but with her taking that one pause took the song from a 8 1/2 to a 6 1/2 now as there is no release in the song at all. Hopefully this isn't the finished product...Check it out..

BET Soul Train Award Performances....

Last night the BET Centric Soul Train Awards aired and surprisingly made out to be a pretty good watch. With Tributes to the Legendary Anita Baker, Ronald Isley and not to forget a doo-wop toe tapping finger snapping opening with R.Kelly, who tore the roof off the place with his oldies and a Frankie Lyman-esq ending. I was rather surprised the show turned out to be a good one..Check out some performances by R.Kelly, Bruno Mars, Erykah Badu, below...


R.Kelly




Erykah Badu





Ronald Isley Tribute




Anita Baker Tribute




Bruno Mars

Uh Oh.....IT's FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Folks the day that we pray for each and every Monday is BACK!!! Our Favorite Holiday that comes around every week LET's GO SAU IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!!!!

New Vid: Bruno Mars "Grenade"..

Bruno Mars is back with another single from his album "Doo-Wops & Hooligans" titled "Grenade" which has peaked at # 30 on the charts thus far...Check em' out...

Throwback Of The Day....Chad Kroeger & Josey Scott "Hero"..

The throwback song of the day comes from Chad Kroeger (Nickleback) and Josey Scott (Saliva) "Hero" which was recorded in 2002 from the "Spider-Man" Soundtrack. The song peaked at number 1 on many charts including the Canadian singles charts & the Hot mainstream Rock track charts. Josey Scott told LAUNCH:

"He (Chad) had the idea for the song 'Hero' so I came up to Vancouver and met him. He pitched me the idea, and I thought that was pretty dope. So we sort of tweaked it, together, laid down some harmonies on it, and played everything from congas to acoustics on it."

an absolutely meaningful collaboration between two rock artists...

New Music: Sugarland "Little Miss"...

"Little Miss" is set to be the second single from country duo Sugarland, from their "The Incredible Machine" album which topped the Billboard 200 charts as well as the US Billboard Top Country Album Charts. In my opinion Sugarland has found that medium that connects with the new younger Country audience and staying true to their roots. Very beautiful song...

Eminem & Lil' Wayne To Perform On SNL...

According to online reports, Rapper Lil Wayne is scheduled to make his first TV appearance after his release from Prison. He will be performing with Eminem who is the main guest performer for the Dec. 18th SNL show, on their joint venture "No Love". The host for the evening will be actor Jeff Bridges, who joins Robert DeNiro and Paul Rudd as hosts.

B.o.B Is Officially In "Beast Mode".....

See For yourself....



YESSSSSS! Do you see how many times that flow switches?

This Day Last Year....

On this day (which was a Tuesday) last year John Mayer released his album "Battle Studies" which debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200. Receiving mixed reviews the album was able to go Platinum for the Mayer with 880,000 copies sold in the U.S.

Leading the pack of singles gave us "Who Says" debuting at #17 along with "Heartbreak Warfare" peaking at #34 and "Half of My Heart" peaking at #25. But within this album there were many treats including the fan favorite "Assassin" which was never released as an official single, but took the album to more of a soundtrack to Mayer's heart after that...So here's to "Assassin"...

New Music: Carrie Underwood "There's A Place For Us"...

Carrie Underwood flexed the golden pipes for "There Is A Place For Us" The single from the upcoming movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. A beautiful ballad that adds to the lists of big singers who's done soundtrack songs for big movies. Beautiful in every way Carrie does it just right...