Chris Brown Is Out Of Jail… Again.

Chris Brown was released from LA County Jail early Monday morning (Photo: courtesy of Time.com)

According to sources within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, singer Chris Brown was released from an LA County jail at 12:01am today (June 2) where he was serving out a sentence after being expelled from a court-ordered drug treatment program in March.

Brown has been plagued with legal issues over the years, from the infamous attack on his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, in 2009 to allegedly assaulting a man outside of a Washington D.C. hotel in October while still on probation.

The R&B artist has been in jail since March of this year and was sentenced in May to serve an additional 131 days. However, taking into consideration time served (a combination of time spent in jail and rehab) and additional credit for good behavior, it appears as if Brown was allowed to serve a considerably smaller sentence. You can read more about it here.

Is this good or bad? Do you think the Grammy-winner has really learned his lesson or did the jail just see the need to make room for Justin Bieber? You know… just in case.

iHeartRadio Music Awards Leave Some Asking “Why?”

Photo: news.iheart.com

On Thursday (May 1st), the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California was home to the first annual iHeartRadio Music Awards… because apparently there weren’t already enough award shows in Hollywood.

By now everyone who cares about such things already knows who won what, with Rihanna killing it by taking home 4 awards, Pharrell being presented with the inaugural “Innovator” award, etc. The real question has nothing to do with winners and losers (or, rather, those who were honored “just to be nominated”). No, the real question is this: With the industry jam-packed full of awards shows (the Grammys, American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, CMT Music Awards, etc.), why add yet another 3-hour-long awards show to a docket that’s already bursting at the seams?

This question was being asked by many before the show even aired and, unfortunately, no answers were presented Thursday night. Though I wouldn’t exactly call the event a failure, there just wasn’t the same pizazz we’ve come to expect from other more vaunted shows, nor was it innovative in any way. It just seemed like more of the same old, same old.

In a music industry that’s rapidly evolving, from the way albums are distributed to the ways in which customers are listening to their favorite songs, “staying the course” just doesn’t get the job done. You would expect iHeartRadio, a company right at the heart of this change, to understand that.

Am I wrong? Perhaps I’m being too hard on an awards show that’s in its infancy, one that simply hasn’t had a chance to hit its stride. What do you think? Do we look forward to the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards, or is it a case of “been there, done that?”

Past, Present, Future: The Women of Hip Hop

Photo courtesy of bet.com

It’s a man’s world. That could easily be the slogan for the male-dominated industry of hip hop. As an aspiring female rapper it takes skill, drive, and a certain ‘it’ factor to break through. Consistency, a solid fan base, and surviving the ups and downs of the business keeps you relevant.

In honor of women’s history month, Billboard featured a female MC each day during March. The end result is a list of the 31 greatest female hip hop artists of all time. From pioneers like MC Lyte and Queen Latifah, to women like Lil Kim and Trina who owned their sexuality, to groundbreaking artists like Missy Elliot, they all had an impact on the genre and culture. Through each generation women rappers have offered the female perspective. None have done it quite like Salt-N-Pepa, Lauryn Hill, and Nicki Minaj.

Photo courtesy of arktimes.com

When you think of female rap in the 80’s Salt-N-Pepa should automatically come to mind. Hits like “Push It,” “Shoop,” and “Let’s Talk About Sex” solidified their position as the best-selling female rap group of all time. Their distinctive style, energetic vibe, and empowering female anthems made members Salt, Pepa, and Spinderella icons. They served as a voice for women of their time. They joined forces with R&B group En Vogue on “Whatta Man” for a smash hit collaboration that was true to their essence. They undoubtedly helped pave the way for future female MC’s.

A Steamy Comeback: Shakira heats things up with Rihanna in provocative new video

Shakira is shaking and gyrating her way back to prominence in the music industry with the help of American Music “Icon” Award winner, Rihanna. The Colombian-born singer and dancer was once on top of the world with what has thus far been the best-selling song of the 21st century, “Hips Don’t Lie,” from her 2005 album “Oral Fixation, Vol. 2.” In 2010 she released the single “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” as the official song of the 2010 World Cup. Selling over 4 million copies world-wide, it is the best-selling and fastest-selling World Cup anthem in history.

Since then, however, the Queen of Hips has been relatively quiet. In 2012 she released the single “Get It Started,” her 3rd collaboration with American hip-hop artist Pitbull. After reaching #64 on the UK charts and only hitting the 89th spot on the Billboard Hot 100 the song quickly fizzled out.

It seems, however, that those quiet days are now in the past. Shakira has teamed up with fellow sexy-siren Rihanna for her newest single, “Can’t Remember To Forget You.” This is the first single off of her forthcoming self-titled album, “Shakira,” due for release later this year.

The steamy video, which features Shakira and Rihanna sharing some tender moments (and cigars) in bed, has already generated more than 71 million views on Youtube only 5 days after its release. The song itself is reminiscent of the new-wave pop style of her previous English-language album, “She Wolf,” which has sold more than 2 million copies world-wide.

Teaming up with Rihanna certainly can’t hurt Shakira’s chances of once more reaching the top. The seven-time Grammy Award winner is one of the best-selling artists of all time with 13 number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2012 she was ranked as the fourth most powerful celebrity of the year by Forbes and named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by TIME. Add all of this to the fact that she is undeniably sexy and it’s a good bet that Shakira couldn’t have made a better choice of partners than Rihanna.

Be sure to check out our free Sing-N-Share app for Apple and Android devices. You can sing along to several songs from both pop-divas and then share your performances with the world through Facebook and Twitter!

Bruno Mars, Pirate King?

Okay… maybe not exactly. Well, at least not in the way you’re probably thinking. Our inside sources have recently confirmed that the Grammy Award winner does not, in fact, wear an eye patch, have a peg-leg, or tote around a beloved parrot. Nor, to our knowledge, does he engage in any pillaging-like activities. According to the data analysis firm Musicmetric, however, Mars was the most pirated artist of 2013 with his songs garnering nearly 5.8 million illegal downloads!

This astonishing number places Bruno at the top of the list, edging out Rihanna, who’s music was hit 5.4 million times in 2013. Rounding out the top five are Daft Punk (4.2 million), Justin Timberlake (3.9 million), and Flo Rida (3.5 million). Honorable mentions, so to speak, are Kanye West, Eminem, Jay Z, Drake and Pitbull, all of whom also earned high illegal download numbers.

On an interesting side-note, Musicmetric also previously reported that Beyoncé’s newest self-titled album was illegally downloaded nearly 240,000 times in it’s first week alone! Almost a quarter of a million pirated hits in a week?! That’s a lot of booty… even for Beyoncé!

A Day At The Karaoke Races with DigiTrax

We love new karaoke, and we love fast cars. So here’s both. DigiTrax’s new April R&B/Hip-Hop release features two (count ’em – two) rip-roaring rides for ya, starting with “Bugatti” in the style of Ace Hood featuring Future & Rick Ross. It’s pretty hardcore, so check your inhibitions before the green flag drops.

Next up is “Hey Porsche” in the style of Nelly, where we haven’t heard anyone stretch the car metaphor as far since Prince’s classic “Little Red Corvette”. Though the band Queen still rules as the only band to rhyme the word “carburetor” in a song.