USHER PUTS MOM BACK ON PAYROLL
Usher has decided to put his mommy back on to her manager game:
“Usher has dissolved his management arrangement with Benny Medina and has re-engaged Jonnetta Patton as his manager,” his rep said in a statement Wednesday. Usher split his mother as his manager in May 2007. He then hired Medina, who was integral in the launch of the artist's recent album, "Here I Stand." In 10 weeks, it has sold 948,000 units in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It's the No. 8 best-selling album of 2008 so far. However, it hasn't come close to matching the gaudy numbers of its predecessor, 2004's "Confessions," which sold 3.77 million copies in its first 10 weeks and is at 9.6 million to date.
MARY J. BLIGE SUED FOR $2 MILLION
The Queen of Hip-Hop/Soul Mary J. Blige has been hit with whopping $2 Million fine over the 'illegal' placement of a track from her most recent LP 'Growing Pains': Mary J. Blige is facing a $2 million federal suit claiming music on her most recent No. 1 album, “Growing Pains,” was stolen. Producer Theron (NEEF-U) Feemster wrote the music for the song “Work That,” but the tune is owned by Dream Family Entertainment Inc., according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan Federal Court. The court filing claims the New York-based firm never gave Blige, Feemster or Geffen Records, the distributor, rights to use the song. “Mr. Feemster created the music while he was under contract with Dream Family. Dream Family then owned the music, yet the music was used without permission in a Mary J. Blige release recording,” said Dream lawyer Brian Caplan. “It was released as an album, a single and in a commercial,” Caplan said. Rights to the lyrics of the song - which was featured with Blige in an iPod commercial - are not in question. Caplan said it was unclear if Blige knew the music belonged to someone other than Feemster, and said the producer “had no rights to the music he used.”
JOE SAYS R. KELLY SABOTAGED HIS CAREER
R&B crooner Joe has taken aim at R. Kelly, claming the singer is the reason why his songs got no play on the radio. out the report via Contact Music below:
R&B singer JOE has accused R. KELLY of pressuring radio DJs not to play his records - in a bid to scupper his growing stardom.The Stutter singer released six albums with Jive Records over an 11 year period, but left the label earlier this year (08) after the company pushed back the release of his 2007 LP, Ain't Nothin Like Me, several times. And the Grammy-winning star believes his rival labelmate Kelly was to blame, insisting he would call Jive bosses and radio stations and urge them not to promote the singer too strongly. Joe says, "R. Kelly was very instrumental in making a lot of decisions when it came to my records being played on the radio. "He would make a call to the radio station or to the label and say, 'Hey, this Joe record is too hot right now. Y'all need to pull that back.' And they would oblige. It's incredible that now I get the opportunity to, I don't know, maybe pay (R. Kelly) back in some sort of side bar kind of thing." And Joe, who left Jive to release his forthcoming LP New Man through Kedar Entertainment Group, insists he is still a prevalent musician despite R. Kelly's alleged intervention. He says, "I'm still very relevant in the game. But yeah, he did try to make some decisions when it came down to my records being on fire, and climbing up the charts and on the radio stations. He felt like they should pull back because he felt he was more important. And with their loyalty to him, they obliged."
Beyoncé has released a new commercial showcasing the House of Dereon's fall 2008 collection, but according to NEWSWEEK women are not impressed with Beyoncé's style and fashion.
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