Bark + Bite

Top 10 Songs in the US

2012-02-10T07:08:00-05:00

1 KELLY CLARKSON / STRONGER
- The most relevant artist left from American Idol takes the throne. You mad, Justin Guarini?

2 ADELE / SET FIRE TO THE RAIN
- Following Kelly Clarkson, this makes for back-to-back bitter hits in the number 1 and 2 slots. The Billboard Hot 100 is salty and it knows it.

3 FLO RIDA / GOOD FEELING
- The only person not getting a good feeling from this Flo Rida track is his former assistant who's suing him for allegedly paying her Chinese factory worker wages.

4 RIHANNA / WE FOUND LOVE
- What can be done to make Talk That Talk more than just a one-hit single album?

5 DAVID GUETTA FEAT NICKI MINAJ / TURN ME ON
- Isn't shouting "TURN ME ON!" at a lover about as appealing as shouting, "JUST GET IT OVER WITH ALREADY!"?

6 JESSIE J / DOMINO
- And for her next trick, Jessie J will impersonate Lady Gaga on her next single!

7 TYGA / RACK CITY
- Just in time for the recovery, Tyga has gifted America with a perfectly grimey "get money" anthem.

8 SNOOP DOGG AND WIZ KHALIFA FEAT BRUNO MARS / YOUNG, WILD AND FREE
- Smoke weed every day. The 2012 remix.

9 LMFAO / SEXY AND I KNOW IT
- Now certified Super Bowl sexy.

10 BRUNO MARS / IT WILL RAIN
- Bruno was probably one of those kids who took the death of a goldfish to heart.

SOURCE: Billboard Hot 100

Brandy and Monica to reunite on stage at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party

2012-02-10T00:54:34-05:00

Hot off the heels of the release of their new duet, "It All Belongs to Me," Brandy and Monica are set to take the stage at Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy party this Saturday.

HipHollywood.com scored some behind-the-scenes footage of the duo, alongside record industry honcho Clive Davis, as they reminisced on the legacy of their original 1998 duet, "The Boy Is Mine."

Brandy and Monica will perform "The Boy Is Mine" together at Clive's party for the first time since their single performance of the song together at the MTV VMAs in 1998. They'll also perform their new duet "It All Belongs to Me."

One of Clive Davis' most famous and loyal protégés, Whitney Houston, was also on hand to give Monica and Brandy advice. Though she looked a bit like an meddling, cracked out auntie in the footage, it was all love between Whitney and the girls.

"When so many things were happening in my life that weren't in favor of me reaching my full potential, [Whitney] was always there, pushing me. And I think that it made it feel good when she was in the audience just reminding us, helping us with sound, just doing different things," Monica said.

Go behind the scenes with Brandy and Monica as they rehearse for the Clive Davis party below

Kanye and Jay-Z release "N**gas in Paris" video a little late

2012-02-09T23:44:27-05:00

So Kanye and Jay-Z finally got around to putting out a visual for their chart-topping hit, "Ni**gas in Paris." Unfortunately, it's just a concert video spliced together with footage from one of their stops on the Watch the Throne tour.

If only Jay-Z and Kanye had taken the time to conceive and film a hilarious (Will Ferrell could've guest starred!) visual to go along with this larger-than-life baller anthem. They could've, you know, actually gone to Paris to film it even. Instead, this concert video feels like little more than an afterthought. In this case, late really isn't that much better than never.

Katy Perry is re-releasing Teenage Dream, set will include 3 new songs

2012-02-09T23:32:29-05:00

Katy Perry released her record-breaking Teenage Dream back in 2010, but the album is still going strong in 2012. Perry is determined to squeeze as much mileage as she can from the multiplatinum effort and now she's announced that the album will get a re-release, which she is dubbing Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection. Katy kats can find the re-release in stores and online on March 27th.

"Part of Me," one of the three new songs included in the set, will be the album's 7th single. The other two new songs haven't been named yet. Additionally, all of the single remixes of "E.T.," "Last Friday Night," and "The One That Got Away" will be included in the set as well.

Speaking on the album's re-release in an official press release, Katy said, "This is the complete story of Teenage Dream. It was an incredible honor to tie the King of Pop's Billboard Hot 100 record, but I’m moving forward and had a few things left to get off my chest. So this is the complete special edition of my album for my fans."

Why don't Missy and Timbaland do a joint EP before their solo albums?

2012-02-09T10:41:00-05:00

Timbaland and Missy Elliott were the Batman and Robin of hip hop/pop music in the '90s and a good chunk of the '00s. Missy was the songwriting phenom while Timbo was the beatmaster. The pairing was genius and together they helped launched the career of the late Aaliyah while building a deep catalogue of their own hits.

But then they seemed to drift apart. Tim left Missy to collaborate with bigger mainstream artists. He formed a bond with Justin Timberlake, in particular, and produced half of the former NSYNCer's debut and sophomore solo albums. Missy, too, moved on to greener pastures and teamed up with Janet Jackson and Madonna for their own projects, helping to bolster her starpower. She also stepped into the role of producer in her own right, helping relaunch Monica's career with the hit "So Gone."

But both suffered missteps in recent years. Missy's last album was 2005's The Cookbook, on which Timbaland only produced two tracks. There was the random single "Ching a Ling" in 2008, but it didn't really make an impact on the charts. Timbaland, on the other hand, was on a roll recently, scoring a successful album, Shock Value, in 2007. 2009's sequel,Shock Value II, however, faltered. And his much ballyhooed production on Chris Cornell's solo album Scream was widely panned and a commercial flop.

Putting the challenges of yesterday aside, Tim and Missy are ready for another round in the showbiz ring. Timbaland recently spoke about the pair releasing new solo albums in June, as "a movement," with MTV News.

But if Missy and Timbaland together is what the people want, and clearly what they're angling for by releasing their solo projects in tandem, why not pull a Jay-Z and Kanye and give the world a Missy/Tim version of Watch the Throne to whet our appetites?

As far as albums go, Timbaland gets by solely on his productions and guest artists. As a rapper/talker, he's on or below Diddy's level so he can start drowning in an album easily. Missy can carry her own on an album, as Supa Dupa Fly and Under Construction proved, but she could certainly use a warm-up, since she hasn't released one since 2005.

There seems to be a real desire between Tim and Missy to rekindle the past and join forces for world domination one more time. Wonderful. But the current separate-but-united strategy seems loose and non-committal. If they insist on the solo albums, then why not bundle them together as Outkast did for The Speakerboxx/The Love Below?

Throwing out competing solo albums will only make things ripe for measuring who beat who, which isn't really conducive to building unity and cohesion. Additionally, it puts a lot of pressure on the solo albums to perform exceedingly well to reaffirm the value of Tim and Missy's creativity. But by pursuing separate releases, they don't get the benefits of shared resources.

If there's one thing music fans love, it's a high-profile collaboration. Kanye and Jay-Z proved that two heads can be better than one. Timbaland and Missy really should follow suit and try the collaborative EP as an appetizer, just in case the world isn't ready for their respective entrees.

Lady Gaga launches the Born This Way Ball

2012-02-08T23:48:46-05:00

After spending nearly all of 2011 promoting and releasing her sophomore album Born This Way, Lady Gaga is finally ready to hit the road in support of the multiplatinum set.

Gaga has released the official tour poster and announced the first set of dates for her 110-city tour. She will be hitting up the Asia-Pacific corner of the globe first, with more dates to around the globe to come.

Check out the official tour poster, the first few tour dates and a sketch of the stage below

Official Tour Poster

A Sketch of the Born This Way Ball Stage

First Official Tour Dates

April 27 - Seoul, South Korea @ Olympic Stadium
May 2 - Hong Kong @ Asia World Arena
May 10 - Tokyo, Japan @ Saitama Super Arena
May 28 - Singapore @ Indoor Stadium
Jun 7 - Auckland, New Zealand @ Vector Arena
Jun 13 - Brisbane, Australia @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Jun 20 - Sydney, Australia @ Allphones Arena
Jun 21 - Sydney, Australia @ Allphones Arena
Jun 27 - Melbourne, Australia @ Rod Laver Arena
Jun 28 - Melbourne, Australia @ Rod Laver Arena
Jul 7 - Perth, Australia @ Burswood Dome

Tickets for the tour are set to go on sale Feb. 17th and can be purchased on LiveNation.com.

Starshell is ready to be spoiled on "Birthday Girl"

2012-02-08T00:43:07-05:00

After making a splash in 2010 with her Fernando Garibay-produced single "SuperLuva," Mary J. Blige protege Starshell is back on the scene with a fresh new single for the masses.

Starshell has been hard at work on her debut album, Liberation, for most of 2011. "Birthday Girl," is the latest offering from the set and it's an '80s-inspired, discofied, breezy tune.

"It's my party, I'll get fly if I want to / Cry if I want to, kiss who I want to / I'm the birthday girl," the singer boasts.

Listen to the new single from Starshell below

Monica and Brandy team up on two-timers again on "It All Belongs to Me"

2012-02-07T08:01:00-05:00

No, it's not 1998, but yes, that is Monica and Brandy together again on a duet.

Produced by Rico Love, Brandy and Monica team up to put out a no-good, lowdown two-timin' dog. And they're not letting him walk out of the house with anything. Not his dignity and certainly not his MacBook. Cold-blooded. What would Steve Jobs say?

The song is rooted in R&B with slight pop leanings, but it's hard to imagine this song having the crossover appeal of its predecessor, the Darkchild-produced "The Boy Is Mine." The other unfortunate barrier is the cursing, which is clumsily censored. It's wholly unnecessary and interrupts the flow of the song.

Brandy's vocals and deep tones are lush, warm and rich. Monica retains her assertiveness as well, wailing up and down as she always does on these "you-did-me-wrong-playa" anthems. Miss Thang ain't changed a thang.

It'd be unfair to say this duet is unworthy because it doesn't live up to TBIM, but it also doesn't really sound like a runaway hit song worthy of being a lead single for either girl's project. It seems more like a safe album track.

Nonetheless, it is good to hear Mo and Bran doing their thing together again. Friends forever.

Listen to Monica and Brandy's latest duet below