Hot Off The Presses: Ashanti Returns, Danity Kane Vs. Day26 & More
Published: Wednesday - April 2, 2008
Words by BallerStatus News Staff
Ashanti (Photo: The Inc.)
Its been nearly four years since Ashanti dropped Concrete Rose. After the long hiatus, The Inc.'s princess is finally making a return, via a new album titled The Declaration. The new album, which boasts the single "The Way That I Love You," features collaborations with the likes of Robin Thicke, Jermaine Dupri, LT Hutton, Babyface, and Pharrell Williams. It is slated for release June 3. ...
The battle for sales at Bad Boy Records... well the battle against "Making The Band" cohorts, Danity Kane and Day26, ended this week with the girls beating the boys in first week sales totals. Danity Kane topped the Billboard 200 last week for their second time with 236,000 copies sold of Welcome To The Dollhouse. This week, Day26's first week numbers came in for their debut, totaling just 190,000 copies. Although they lost in competition with DK, they still managed to top this week's charts, landing at no. 1. ...
Also on Billboard charts this week is Mariah Carey, but hers is on the singles chart. The singer garnered her 18th no. 1 single with "Touch My Body," moving past Elvis Presley as the most dominant solo performer of all-time. "I really can never put myself in the category of people who have not only revolutionized music, but also changed the world," Carey told the Associated Press from London on Tuesday (April 1). "That's a completely different era and time. I'm just feeling really happy and grateful." Other singers of Carey's generation, including Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, and even Janet Jackson don't come close to Carey's numbers in this category. ...
It's been long rumored that young superstars, Chris Brown and Rihanna, are an item, but they've never come out and actually said those words, despite being pictured together almost everywhere. At the Kids' Choice Awards on Saturday (March 29), the couple once again denied they were in a relationship, brushing off any rumors. "I won't say that we're just friends -- me and Chris are really best, best friends," Rihanna told MTV. "We both started our careers around the same time. He is one of the only people in the industry ... I trust and hang out with all the time. We are best friends, honestly, like brother and sister. If he was a boyfriend, I would say that." Chris also commented, adding "They keep asking me, 'What's the deal?' I'm like, 'There's no deal. No deal.' We're just friends." ...
Khia, the female rapper behind the smash hit "My Neck, My Back," went on a rampage via a blog on her MySpace page recently, calling out Trina and confessing her love for Lil Wayne. After Trina took a shot at Khia in an ad for her new album, calling Khia's album an "April Fool's joke," Khia felt she had to respond. In her post she says that Trina lost Lil Wayne, and now she "has every intention of making him hers." "I wanna be Weezy's lady and have his baby," Khia wrote. Khia also said that Trina shouldn't think about dropping an album and should focus on eating, a shot at her weight loss. Before closing out her rant, she thanked Trina "for all the promotion." ...
Legendary singer, Al Green, is preparing a new studio album, and he's updated his act a little with collabos with John Legend, Anthony Hamilton, Corinne Bailey Rae, ?uestlove, and The Roots. The new album, titled Lay It Down, have been 2 1/2 years in the making and will hit stores May 27 on Blue Note Records. ...
In celebration of their 20th anniversary, Ruthless Records, the label originally founded by Eazy-E, has signed five new acts via a new distribution deal with Sony. The new roster includes R&B singer Na'Shay, singer/actress Agina, rapper/producer Hopsin, trio Street Runnaz Click, and rapper Stevie Stone. There was no immediate information about the acts' releases. ...
Like 50 Cent with his ThisIs50.com website, Kanye West has also ventured into the digital world with the launch of a new travel website called KanyeTravel.com. The new venture will offer "quality low air fares, hotels and rental cars without service or membership fees," reports Advertising Age. "We did a lot of due diligence with online travel partners," said Miki Woodard, President of Kanye's company, West Brands. They are currently partnered with Travelocity, and it has been in the works for nearly a year. Kanye said on his blog that they hope to include travel packages which would include tickets to his shows and concert merch. ...
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