The 14th Annual VH1 Critics' Choice Award was held on Thursday January 8th with Taraji P Henson, Angela Bassett, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Freida Pinto (go rent Slumdog Millionaire), Eva Longoria Parker, Ludacris, and Common in attendance. Taraji was my best dressed pick of the night.



Slumdog Millionaire won Best Picture. Anne Hathaway (Bride Wars) and Sean Penn (Milk)picked up Best Actor/Best Actress awards. Tune into VH1 (or HERE) to check out all the winners.

Labels: Angela Bassett, Award Hoopla, Brad Pitt, Common, Eva Longoria, Ludacris, Taraji P. Henson

Chris Brown became the latest celebrity to endorse the famous "Got Milk" AD campaign with a milk mustache. The AD came with the accompanying headline: “Chris Brown feat. Milk. Another great collaboration? Milk. Some studies suggest that teens who drink milk tend to be leaner and the protein helps build muscle. So eat right, exercise and drink lowfat or fat free milk. Talk about a smooth move.”



2008 has quickly become Britney's comeback. Thanks to fan frenzy and blogs, the first week number sales of Britney's latest album, "Circus" pulled in over 500,000 copies according to early estimates. As confirmed by Billboard, Britney successfully secured her fourth number one album.



Common did a great job performing his current single “Universal Mind Control” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Common's current studio album, "Universal Mind Control" and this interesting vblog came out on December 9th.

Mr. World Premiere!

Labels: Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Common, Music Hoopla, Newsstand Snapshots, TV Hoopla

Common kicked up the promo blitz for his upcoming album, "Universal Mind Control" when he performed the album title track on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." I'm definitely loving this song with or without Pharrell attached to it.



Another leaked track lifted from blogger Common's new album hit the web. The upbeat song is called "Make My Day" featuring Cee-Lo. I wonder who inspired this song. Common nailed this song live when he performed back in September..



The album drops this Tuesday December 9th.

Labels: Common, Music Hoopla, New Music, TV Hoopla

Ashanti alongside her momanger Tina Douglas and younger sister Kenashia got into the Holiday spirit via a new GAP AD campaign that also stars Jennifer Hudson. (Thanks Chanel!) Great to see Ashanti getting her family into her career...



Kanye West paid a visit to "The Late Show With Dave Letterman" where he performed his hit, "Love Lockdown." He looked fly outside the NYC-based studio with his staple Louis Vuitton bag in tow. I see he has on his clothing line design, Pastelle on. Kanye's fourth studio album, "808's & Heartbreak" is out in stores today.


Kanye collaborated with Pharrell on the new Common track called, "Punch Drunk Love." (The song borrows its title apparently from this 2002 film. Regardless of this tidbit it took these three awhile to do a hot track together.) Give it a quick listen...



Common's album, "Universal Mind Control" drops on December 9th. Have you check out Common's blog yet?

Labels: Ashanti, Common, Kanye West, Music Hoopla, New Music, Newsstand Snapshots, Pharrell Williams, TV Hoopla

Chris Brown has already recorded new material for his follow-up to "Exclusive" according to The Associated Press. The recent 3x American Music Awards winner said the music project entitled "Graffiti" may included a duet with Madonna and Coldplay. (If Chris' dream goes through, then that's something to look towards to in 2009!)

The 19-year-old crooner says the Material Girl would be his dream duet for a track on his upcoming CD "Graffiti," which is due out next year. He says he'd also love to work with Coldplay. He's collaborated with Jordin Sparks, David Banner and girlfriend Rihanna in the past.

Brown predicts that "Graffiti" will be a bigger project for him. Speaking from the red carpet at the American Music Awards, the platinum-selling R&B star said: "It's going to be my stepping stone from Chris Brown to superstar." [source: AP]

Kelly Rowland performed the first ever MTV Africa Music Awards in Nigeria over the weekend. Kelly hit the stage with popular Nigerian artist, D'Banj. Later on in the telecast, Kelly accepted the Best R&B Award on behalf of Alicia Keys.



Joss Stone and Common collaborated with various artists on the charity project called, "Hear The World." The aim of "Hear The World" is to raise global and social awareness about hairing and hairing loss. Celebrities for "Hear The World" are Amy Winhouse, Annie Lennox, Bobby McFerrin, Chad Kroeger, Dave Stewart, Diane Kruger, Dionne Warwick, Eric Roberts, Franka Potente, Harry Belafonte, Jerry Hall, Josh Groban, Kelly Osbourne, Lindsay Lohan, Michael Buble, Mick Jagger, Moby, Placido Domingo, Rod Stewart, and Smokey Robinson. It's always great when celebs give back! Learn more by visiting HEAR-THE-WORLD.COM.

Labels: Chris Brown, Common, Joss Stone, Kelly Rowland, Music Hoopla, Platform

Common joined the growing circle of celebrity-run blogs via the launch of his site, THINKCOMMON.COM. He posted up a welcome/overview vblog on his blog and new YouTube page. In his own words, Common said, "I’m in the net now ya’ll. Kickin’ it with everybody. After years of not giving in to the internet world…I finally got sucked in." Common's album, "Universal Mind Control" is due out on December 9th. Check out what other things Common had to say...



Kanye West's fourth studio album "808's & Heartbreak" can be previewed exclusively on MySpace Music before its November 24th album release date. The MySpace preview began on Friday, Nov.21 at 12:01am PT so hurry over to Kanye's Myspace page to give it a quick listen. Standout tracks are "Heartless", "Welcome To Heartbreak", "Amazing", "Street Lights", "Paranoid" and "Love Lockdown."



Mario gave his fans a tease via a new photo posted up on his official site. Shortly after his "Dancing With The Stars" gig ended earlier this year, Mario headed back to the studio to work on his 'conceptual album' with heavy-weight producers Babyface, Darkchild, Polow Da Don, Jazzy Phae and Red One according to SingersRoom.

Labels: Common, Kanye West, Mario, Music Hoopla

Common talked to Hot 97's Angie Martinez about his upcoming album, Universal Mind Control (out Dec. 9th). Last week on "TRL", Common did a freestyle of his new single, "Changes" which was inspired by President-Elect Barack Obama. The Chicago native explained the song's concept: "I wrote this song to inspire the young world to believe that change can happen. To be honest, I also envisioned it as a great inaugural song for Barack Obama." (Click here to hear the full-length song.)



Beyoncé or is that Sasha Fierce opened the 2008 World Music Awards with performances of her current hits, "If I Were A Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)." I like the rundown she did in the beginning. Her all female band Suga Mama are back on the scene. On the fashion tip, Beyoncé has on these American Apparel high-waist lamé leggings.



In related news, MySpace Music will feature Beyonce's new album for one full week starting at 12:01 AM tomorrow before the November 18th album release date.

Labels: Angie Martinez, Beyonce Knowles, Common, Fashion Hoopla, Music Hoopla

Fresh off the heels of 2005's "Unpredictable", Jamie Foxx (re: his J Records reps) confirmed that his new album "Intuition" has guest appearances and contributions from T.I., Sean Garrett, Ne-Yo, The Dream, and Tricky Stewart. "Intuition" is due out on December 16th. Cannot.wait!



Jadakiss teamed up with Ne-Yo for his new single, "By My Side" which is featured on Jada's upcoming third album, "The Last Kiss." The combination is quite addictive. Check out the video below...



Beyonce has a new song floating around the music blog scene called "Radio" which was produced by Jim Jonsin. (Thanks Rae!) Rumor has it that her entire album, "I Am...Sasha Fierce" already made its way online and no I'm going to post that link. In the meantime check out "Radio."




Jay-Z recorded a song with Cee-Lo called "History" in honor of President-Elect Barack Obama. Angie Martinez played it on her Hot 97 radio show. Give it a listen...



Speaking of Cee-Lo, his group Gnarls Barkley just released a video spot for their current single, "Mystery Man." Gnarls Barkley's new album, "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" drops on November 11th.



If you thought the drama Raz-B created between B2K and Chris Stokes went away, think again thanks to Lil' Fizz. The former B2K member offered his insightful opinion on the whole situation. Fizz even took a shot at Omarion. Check it out...





T-Pain hopped right onto the new Ludacris track called, "One More Drink." Luda has his album release date for "Theater of The Mind" set on November 12th. By the way Luda spoke on Barack's historic win which you can check out here.




Speaking of Obama, Common bust out a freestyle on "TRL" in support of the new President-Elect Barack Obama. Check it out...

Labels: Beyonce Knowles, Common, Jamie Foxx, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Music Hoopla, Ne-Yo, Omarion, Political Hoopla, TV Hoopla, Video Hoopla

R&B starlet Ashanti celebrated her 29th birthday at L.A's Area nightclub in this black and pink Marchesa mini-dress. Her actual birthday was yesterday. Ashanti's dress look was worn in different variations by Keyshia Cole and Jurnee Smollett. Ashanti's sense of style has definitely become one to watch lately.



Serena Williams and Common enjoyed some surfing fun while on their Hawaii vacation. The tennis champ was just seen in Miami with her close friend Kelly Rowland. It paids to work hard and party later, doesn' it? Well Common supposedly has it bad for Ms. Williams according to Natasha.

Labels: Ashanti, Common, Hot Night Spot, Music Hoopla, Out and About, Serena Williams

Check out the video premiere for Common's latest single, "Universal Mind Control" featuring Pharrell Williams. The video is quite innovative with design and yes that's Pharrell. It's not your typical hip-hop video so kudos to Common and Pharrell for the switch up. The good folks over at All That's Fab has a must-see performance clip of Common's "UMC" with Pharrell at Roseland Ballroom.



Common also sat down with Sway from MTV News to talk briefly about Kany West's upcoming record, "808's & Heartbreak." The rapper/actor who appears on the new "944" magazine cover praised Kanye's singing on "Love Lockdown."



Common's album "Universal Mind Control" has its release date on November 11th.

Labels: Common, Music Hoopla, New Music, Pharrell Williams

T.I. kept it clean and smooth for his cover appearance on "Giant" magazine. "Paper Trail" according to Billboard's 357K estimate sales will become the number one album.



"Vibe" magazine officially endorse a Presidential candidate via its November 2008 cover pick for the first time. Senator/Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama appears on the historic collector's edition cover with a letter addressed to "VIBE" readers which goes as follows: “Dear VIBE Readers, I am running for President to take this country in a new direction. But I can’t do it alone. I need you.” (Register to vote, folks! Monday October 6th is the deadline for voter registeration as Diddy said best this past Friday.)



Common appeared on the October 2008 cover of "944" magazine with the same black frames as Usher. (A trend is born, I suppose?)

Labels: Common, Diddy, Newsstand Snapshots, Political Hoopla, T.I

Common recently released the video to his lead single, "Announcement" featuring Pharrell off his upcoming album, "Invincible Summer."



I like that old school beat Pharrell threw into the mix. Any guess to which throwback medley the beat sampled? Biggie or is it Brandy talking to Mase on "Sitting On Top Of the World"!?

Labels: Common, New Music, Pharrell Williams

Last night, Cartier Love Bracelet launch included guests like Rosario Dawson, and Nicole Richie. Cartier handpicked Janet Jackson, Fergie, Common, Eve and Ashanti as their brand ambassadors.




Janet just announced that she has a new reality series and SOHH has the details on that new development. Check out this recent YouTube blog JD who highlighted the Cartie LoveDAY event. JD and Janet arrived at the event via a golf cart. Peep 2:06 for footage...



The aforementioned celebrities came on the behalf of their chosen charities...

• Ashanti for Boys & Girls Clubs of America - royal blue bracelet
  
• Eve (in Rachel Pally) for Women In Transition - peach bracelet
  
• Janet Jackson for Ovarian Cancer National Alliance - gunmetal bracelet
  
• Fergie (in Jimmy Choo heels) for The Peapod Foundation - orange bracelet
  
• Common for Common Ground Foundation - khaki bracelet
  
• Nicole Richie (in Dries van Noten) for Richie-Madden Children's Foundation

Labels: Ashanti, Common, Fashion Hoopla, Fergie, Janet Jackson, Nicole Richie, Rosario Dawson

In the July 2008 edition of "Elle" magazine, Lonnie Rashid Lynn (better known as Common) opened up about the lesson learned after his relationship with Erykah Badu ended.

That no matter how much you love somebody, you’ve got to love yourself first. If you’re truly loving yourself, you won’t allow some things to go down, and you’ll have boundaries. I was so in love that I gave up certain things about me, and that showed a lack of love for myself. It turned out to be such a big blessing that we broke up, because I got that lesson. I actually wrote a children’s book about it called I like You But I Love Me.

Common also talked about his mother and grandmother's opinions on the women he dated:

My mother will never say, “I don’t like her.” She’ll tell me later. But my 80‘year‘old grandmother will say it the first moment she meets a woman. ELLE: What’s the harshest thing your grandmother has said about a woman you’ve brought home?
COMMON: She’ll say, “She ain’t cute,” or, “She don’t seem like she going to do no good for you, Rashid.” When people get to a certain age, they can tell the truth more.
ELLE: What’s the worst thing a woman ever said to you?
COMMON: “I don’t want to be with you anymore and I’m really liking this other dude.” [CONTINUE READING...]

If you go by the rumor rill, Common has been linked to Taraji P. Henson, Kerry Washington, Alicia Keys, and Erykah Badu. Unforunately, Common steered clear of any questions about his current girlfriend, Serena Williams who talked about their relationship to "Ebony" magazine.

Labels: Common, Newsstand Snapshots

'Close friends' Serena Williams and Common were seen out and about in Hollywood yesterday. Serena spoke briefly about Common to "Ebony" magazine... "He's obviously a great artist who is timeless and classic. You can't beat that. But I have to focus on tennis because that's my goal in life." (Do you blame Serena for wanting to keep this relationship private after her open one with Jackie Long?)



Michelle Williams, who recently blogged about a new photo session taken in NYC, attended FUSE's new AD Campaign party for XCHANGE. I'm digging the new streaks Michelle put into her hair...



Eva Longoria Parker and her husband Tony Parker went shopping at Armani Exchange and the Robert Verdi shop in Manhattan. Eva's knit bag seems to be the next trend as Halle Berry has been spotted with one too...



The premiere of new PSA campaign - "I Stand With Magic" brought out Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Cookie Johnson, director Spike Lee and "Why Did I Get Married" star Lamman Rucker. Spike Lee has a on-going feud with Clint Eastwood over the lack of African-American actors used in the latest Clint film.



Eva Marcille and boyfriend Lance Gross struck a pose at The Daytime Emmy Nominee Reception. Eva's working with Phlaunt Hair while Lance can be seen on the Tyler Perry sitcom, "House of Payne".

Labels: Box Office Hoopla, Common, Eva Longoria, Eva Pigford, Michelle Williams, New Couple, Out and About, Serena Williams

Christina Milian and Keisha Whitaker stocked up on some freebies at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards lounge. Christina has reportedly added Keri Hilson as a songwriter for her upcoming solo disc.



Speaking of talented songwriters Sean Garrett's upcoming debut record, "Turbo 919" will be in stores on June 24th! In the meanwhile, check out this promotional picture that Roni Moore just sent over...



Diddy treated his twin girls D'Lila Star and Jesse James to some good afternoon fun at Coldwater Park in Los Angeles. Diddy has recently expressed his wish to include Leona Lewis on his upcoming disc. "I want that girl on my next album. I'm a huge fan. Not only is she so, so beautiful, she has a great voice. She is extremely talented. She has one of the best voices I've heard. I'm thinking about my next album and definitely want to make it work, so she's on it. It's all about Leona Lewis." [source]



Halle Berry was spotted in a floral maxi dress outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. The Oscar winner has admitted that the birth of her daughter Nahla has opened up opportunities for ediger film roles. "I feel having a baby will open up a whole new world for me. I think I'll actually find better roles, because I've gotten past being the ingenue and sex symbol." [source]



Tracee Ellis Ross look fabulous with her black Hermes Birkin and Christian Louboutin pumps at the L.A launch of the new Chanel boutique.



Ashanti, JoJo, and Michelle Williams took in the Step Up Women's Network's 10th Anniversary Inspiration Awards Gala. (There Ashanti goes rocking the same Gucci Sevigny heels again...) Michelle has fired back at the persistent 'too skinny' comments. Ashanti and oddly familar promo picture can be seen on the June 2008 cover issue of "Jet" magazine.



Melanie Brown and Meagan Good put their best fashion forward pieces up front at the Spike TV's 2nd Annual "Guy's Choice" Awards.



Common can be seen on the June/July 2008 cover edition of "Complex" magazine with his "Wanted" co-star James McAvoy. Visit here for the behind-the-scenes video taken from the cover shoot.



Toni Braxton has cancelled the reminder of her Las Vegas show, "Toni Braxton: Revealed", due to health-related complications. In the past, Toni has been treated for pericarditis, a viral inflammation of the heart. This past April, Toni cancelled all shows due to chest pain.

Labels: Ashanti, Christina Milian, Common, Diddy, FFW, Halle Berry, JoJo, Keisha Whitaker, Meagan Good, Melanie Brown, Michelle Williams, Newsstand Snapshots, Out and About, Toni Braxton, Tracee Ellis Ross