Soulful crooner Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmonds is ready for not just a month of tour dates but, an extended road trek leading up to the release of his next studio album.  It has been slated to run through September and the “Every Time I Close My Eyes” singer’s tour includes a host of club and festival dates, including a stop at Orlando, Florida’s House of blues May 7 and BB Kings in New York, August 20 (see dates below).

Edmonds has been working on his as-yet-untitled studio album, due for release later this year. It follows his 2007 effort “Playlist,” a set of cover tunes. That effort reached no.7 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart.

19/03/2010 - Chattanooga, TN - Hamilton Country Trade & Convention Center
20/03/2010 - Alexandria, LA - North Levee Park
24/04/2010 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
01/05/2010 - Saint Petersburg, FL - Vinoy Park
07/05/2010 - Orlando, FL - House of Blues
08/05/2010 - Jacksonville, FL - Metropolitan Park
04/06/2010 - Kansas City, MO - Independence Arena
11/06/2010 - Saint Louis, MO - Chaifetz Arena
16/07/2010 - Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park
20/08/2010 - New York, NY - B.B. King Blues Club
21/08/2010 - Fort Monroe, VA - Walker Air Field
22/08/2010 - Alexandria, VA - Birchmere
03/08/2010 - Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa

TJ Grooves - Rare Soul Music

The wait is just about over for Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s “Telephone” music video.  It was initially slated for premiere in November, but is now scheduled to make its debut on E! Thursday 11th March 2010.

Described as a “true pop event” by Lady Gaga, “Telephone” follows the Grammy Award winner’s massive single  “Bad Romance”.  According to E!, the video will premiere on E! news at 11:30pm on 11th March 2010.

An online premiere will take place shortly after on Vevo.com.

TJ Grooves - Rare Soul Music

Thanks to smooth crooner, Robin Thicke, Melanie Fiona’s over six week run on the R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart has officially come to an end.

Late last week Thicke’s single “Sex Therapy,” from the album of the same name, rocketed to the top of the chart. A follow up to hits including “Magic” and “Can You Believe,” “Sex Therapy” is Thicke’s second single to top the chart. It follows the 2007 breakthrough single “Lost Without You”.

Thicke’s success wraps up what ended up being a several week strong hold for Grammy nominee Melanie Fiona.  Fiona’s Juno Award nominated “It Kills Me” had reigned atop the R&B/Hip Hop Songs tally for a total of seven weeks.

TJ Grooves - Rare Soul Music

We may not be expecting to see another album from R&B crooner D’Angelo, atleast not anytime soon.  The Grammy Award-winning singer was arrested early on Sunday 7th March 2010 for allegedly offering an undercover policewoman $40 for oral sex while visiting New York’s West Village.

According to the New York Post, D’Angelo, whose real name is Michael Archer was driving his luxury Range Rover at about 2:30 a.m. in New York when he spotted a woman he took to be a prostitute.  He was then arrested and charged with solicitation after asking the woman for sex.  The singer also had $12,000 stashed in his SUV.

In 2005, D’Angelo was arrested in his home state of Virginia for driving with a suspended license and driving under the influence.  He was fined and received a suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty.

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Trey Songz is off to Acapulco for MTV’s just announced Spring Break 2010.  He is set to join a host of other acts including Young Money and Pitbull, and is also expected to take the stage for a special performance of “Say Aah”.

According to organizers, this year’s festivities will kick off on the 20th of March 2010 on MTV, MTV2, mtvU, MTV Hits, MTV James, and MTV.com.  Spring Break will continue through to the 26th of March 2010 and will also feature appearances from Funk Flex and “Jersey Shore’ personalities Snooki, Pauly, and Mike “The Situation”.

TJ Grooves - Rare Soul Music

Rihanna is on the move on Billboard’s Hot 100 charts. Not only has the “Rated R” entertainer surpassed Beyonce’s twelve top 10 singles, she’s just one spot shy of tying Jay-Z for the most top 10 singles since 2000. 

According to Billboard, Rihanna’s latest hit “Rude Boy” leaped into the top 10 earlier this week, becoming her fourteenth single to achieve the feat. It follows her last single “Hard” and previous hits “Take A Bow” and “Umbrella”.

Also, Rihanna performed at the 2010 Echo Awards in Berlin Thursday. Joining Sade, Rihanna witnessed Lady Gaga’s triple win, including honors for Best international newcomer and Best international rock/pop female artist.

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Priscilla Renea has picked “Lovesick” as the latest single to come from her debut album “Jukebox”.  Currently impacting radio, “Lovesick” was produced by Power Entertainment’s Blaq Smurph.

A catchy single depicting the challenges of forbidden love, “Lovesick” finds Renea singing “…and it seemed like if I mentioned you when I was home, all my family said is how I should leave you alone.”

A follow-up single to “Dollhouse,”  “Lovesick” has been deemed a stand-out song on Renea’s debut.  “She delivers well-crafted lyrics on top of strong production,” echoed the Associated Press.

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American Idol sent four more contestants packing on Thursday, including guitar toting Haeley Vaughn, Gospel singer Jermaine Sellers, Michelle Delamor and John Park.  Park was the first to get the axe after landing in the bottom two with Todrick Hall. He had performed John Mayer’s “Gravity” Tuesday.

Controversial at times, Jermaine Sellers was the next to be sent home, after both he and Andrew Garcia were brought to the middle of the stage in the bottom two.  When asked whether he thought comments made during Tuesday’s performance round were behind the vote, Sellers told Ryan Seacrest “No”.  Sellers, leaving the show “happy,” went on to say “Where I sing from — you can’t be taught how to riff and run and sing high notes. I’m a church singer. That’s where I come from.”

After a performace from former ‘Idol’ contestant Danny Gokey (”My Best Days Are Ahead of Me”), Michelle Delamor faced elimination.  Based on her performance of Creed’s “With Arms Wide Open” the night before, Delamor was eliminated instead of fellow contestant Didi Benami.  “I think I was so wrapped up in trying to do everything right while being judged that I kind of lost sight of just performing,” said Delamor.

Hailey Vaughn was the final contestant to go Thursday. An early favorite, Vaughn was criticized for her lack of training and as a result ended the night with a performance of “The Climb”.  American Idol returns for its third week on Fox, Tuesday, March 9 at 8pm.

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Ne-Yo a grammy winning singer/songwriter feels blessed to have had the opportunity to work with others but says there’s nothing like working on your own album.  Ne-Yo admits to have “alot to say this time around” but remains mum on his next album’s direction.  He told MTV, “Just know I’m doing something a little different this time around,”…  “Just be expecting that were gonna bring back entertainment — that’s what were gonna do.”

Though untitled at this point, the new album will be Ne-Yo’s fourth studio album. It follows the hit 2008 effort “Year of The Gentleman”.

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“Get To Know Me” singer Mateo has confirmed that he has in fact, split from longtime home Myspace Records;  after weeks of speculation.

Pressing forward with new music after playing to a nearly sold-out audience at the world famous SOB’S in New York City on December 2nd and a sold out intimate show at Los Angeles’s famous Hotel Café on January 26th, Mateo is now coming forward with the mixtape “Underneath The Sky: Chapter 3″.

Released this week, “Underneath The Sky: Chapter 3″ prefaces Mateo’s debut album with the title “No Strings Attached”.  Featured on MTVU, Fuse, and Music Choice as well as Concrete Loop’s “Ones to Watch” and SingersRoom’s “30 Under 30,” the R&B singer/songwriter Mateo continues to receive a lot of buzz.

TJ Grooves - Rare Soul Music