UK Peoples Choice Awards takes place this week
Having seen the The Mercury Awards strut their stuff last week, the UK's version of the Peoples Choice Music Awards are on tap to take centre stage this week.
Presented by The Club Sidewinder & NuthingSorted.Com, the ceremony will be hosted by Mike Skinner, Dizzee Rascal and 1Xtra's DJ Semtex. The event is to take place at the Oceans Music Arena in Hackney, East London this coming Saturday evening September 18th and will be broadcasted live on Radio 1Xtra.
According to reports, they will surprise guests and PAs on the night but everyones being hush hush about the pleasentries. Categories in this event include Best Newcomer, Best R&B/Hip Hop Entertainer and Best DJ - visit www.ukpcma.com to vote for your favourites.
- - Source: bluesandsoul.com
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Jill Scott's 'Beautifully Human' takes top spot on R&B chart
Jill Scott's life just gets better and better this year. Not only will she have a book of her poetry published and on store shelves by the end of the year but her adoring public are delighted to see her return with her official sophomore set, Beautifully Human: Words & Sounds Volume 2, (which was released a few weeks back). Delighted so much so in fact that her record has landed in the No.1 spot on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in its first initial week on the chart. In addition to that, the Philadelphia singer/songwriter/poetress has also made a strong showing on the Pop chart as well, coming at No 3 on the Billboard Top 200 chart.
Scott's latest masterpiece comes four years after her Grammy-nominated debut set, Who Is Jill Scott?: Words & Sounds Volume 1 sandwiched in between was a live album 'Jill Scott: The Live Experience' as well. The set has garnered rave reviews from various media publications. Last month, Scott completed a nine-city Buzz Tour, which introduced much of her new music to fans ahead of the album's release.
On August 31st, (the official release date of the set) Scott personally delivered her new album to a local Tower Records outlet in Philadelphia, where it broke a record for one-day sales at the store. For those who know her knows that her music reflects what's going on in her life, and she hopes that fans will be able to incorporate her music into their lives in a positive way. "As you all understand, there is career and there is life, and I'm hoping that the music that I offer you is incorporated into your life--that it's your everyday music, that it's your wake up and brush your teeth music, it's your driving the car from one destination to the next...You know, I hope that that's what this is for you." she said recently.
Mrs. Scott will make several television appearances in the coming weeks. She's due to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on tomorrow (September 14th) and Jimmy Kimmel Live, also on the same day; Tavis Smiley Late Night On PBS on September 15th; and The View on October 12th, among others. As mentioned earlier, Scott's first book of poetry called The Minutes, The Moments, The Hours, will be published by St. Martin 's Press to be stores later this fall.
- Source: spotlightonR&B.com
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Reggae stars gather to perform at Hurricane Ivan Relief Benefit
In the wake of Hurricane Ivan and the recent destruction in the islands of the Carribean, reggae superstars Kevin Lyttle and Bounty Killer are showing there support by signing on to perform at the hastily organized Hurricane Ivan Relief Concert.
Promoter G. City has pulled together several talented acts for a benefit to take place on Sunday (Sept. 19) at Newark (N.J.) Symphony Hall.Those who are scheduled to appear will be reggae and dancehall artists Spragga Benz, Bez Kartel, Capleton, Chuck Fender, Richie Spice, Assassin, Macka Diamond and KC Jockey. Ticket proceeds and donated non-perishable items will aid the storm victims in Grenada, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Tickets are available at the Newark Symphony Hall box office (you can call 973-643-4550 or 973-374-5360 for further details).
- Source: billboard.com
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Always one to surprise the public and his fans, here's another surprise from the kinf of Pop Michael Jackson - he's releasing a collection of his hit songs, this time around it's another box set called 'The Ultimate Collection'. In the mist of all the media attention he’s currently entangled with surrounding his legal battles, Michael Jackson is looking to shift the focus back to his music — at least a for a while — when he releases the five-disc set that will span his entire career.
This anthology, will contain four audio CDs with 57 tracks (singles, album tracks, rarities and previously unreleased recordings), as well as a live concert DVD. The DVD disc features Jackson's October 1992 concert at Bucharest's National Stadium during his Dangerous tour. The concert footage includes the tracks 'Thriller', 'Beat It', 'Man in the Mirror', 'Billie Jean', 'Heal the World' and 'Will You Be There' in its 16-song set list.
The set, executive produced by Jackson, also includes a 64-page color booklet with details on each track, rare photographs, personal memorabilia from Jackson's archives, a timeline of his life and an essay by journalist Nelson George. The set is due out November 15th.
- Source: VH1.com