VIDEO: Mariah Carey Debuts ‘#Beautiful’ Music Video

Mariah Carey debuts her new music vide ‘#Beautiful’ featuring Miguel on ‘American Idol.’ The video features Miguel riding a motorcycle in the country, and Carey dances around in sexy outfits. At 43 with two kids, Kristina Behr says, the pop star definitely is beautiful, but seems to have a thing for using wind machines.

Read more

VIDEO: Madonna’s ‘MDNA’ Concert to Premiere on TV This Summer

Madonna’s ‘MDNA’ concert, the biggest and most successful tour of 2012, will premier on EPIX this summer. The concert was filmed mostly in Miami, but will contain footage from some of the popstar’s other 88 sold-out worldwide shows. EPIX launched its network with a concert of Madonna’s previous tour ‘Sticky and Sweet.’ Gillian Pensavalle has more.

Read more

VIDEO: Entertainment News – Richie Havens, Robert Pattinson, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Richie Havens, Folk Star Who Opened Woodstock, Dies at 72
Robert Pattinson Hides In His Hoodie While Grabbing Dinner With Friends In Malibu!
FBI: Bombing suspect used cellphone before blast

Read more

VIDEO: Boston News – Neil Diamond, Barack Obama, MIT

Neil Diamond Surprises Boston with Fenway Performance
Religious groups offer healing
Boston bombing suspects killed MIT officer: police commissioner

Read more

VIDEO: Beyonce Teases New Single In Pepsi Ad

A new Pepsi ad features Beyonce in a dance-off with her old music video personalities like ‘Single Ladies,’ ‘Crazy In Love,’ and ‘Bootylicious.’ Her new single ‘Grown Woman,’ produced by Timbaland, plays in the background and is the first official track off her still untitled album. Kristina Behr has the details.

Read more

VIDEO: Miley Cyrus, Snoop Lion Debut Reggae Single

Miley Cyrus and Snoop Lion (formerly Snoop Dogg) are teaming up on the new song ‘Ashtrays and Heartbreaks’ which will be featured on Snoop’s upcoming album ‘Reincarnation.’ The reggae-inspired song is a big departure for Cyrus, who sings about smoking weed on the track. Kristina Behr has the story.

Read more

VIDEO: Miley Cyrus Fuels Secret Wedding Rumors

Miley Cyrus calls fiance Liam Hemsworth her “hubby” in an interview with Cosmopolitan, causing further speculation the couple may have married fiance Liam Hemsworth. Jen Markham explains the slip isn’t the only attention-grabbing thing about the magazine’s cover story.

Read more

Recording artist/performer & Diva Cynthia Manley featured on Kim Yarbrough’s of NBC The Voice “Brand New Day” video

On December 26, 2012 recording artist/performer and Diva Cynthia Manley announced that she is been featured on Kim Yarbrough‘s of NBC The Voice season 2 “Brand New Day” video and song mix to be release soon.

“Brand New Day/Strong Enough,” Rick Gianatos latest production, is a thrill. He created a choir that will bring you chills, and what an honor it is to be included. Video and single coming soon.” said Cynthia Manley.

Kim Yarbrough is the lead and it’s like a choir song. It features amazing vocalists/divas such as Charlo Fortier and Pattie Brooks. “Brand New Day” is a production of Rick Gianatos.

Per Kim’s facebook fan page “Brand New Day” single to be released on March 16, 2013.

(Please click on pictures to view them regular size)

About Cynthia Manley:
In 1982, Cynthia Manley hit the dance music community like a lightning bolt. With the support of Bill Motley’s productions, Moby Dick Record’s ground breaking marketing concepts , and surrounded by the Boys Town Gang, she helped to re-vitalize a whole genre of music. This team warranted Cynthia 4 top 10 BILLBOARD dance hits, including the #1 classic hit “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, between 1981 and 1986, when Bill Motley passed.

Cynthia is a touring artist and keeps a very busy performance schedule, sometimes as many as 300 shows in 365 days, tearing up stages with her unique combination of DIVA style, Rock’n'Roll spirit, and passionate vocals.

In 1987, Cynthia joined Voss Records and the Flamingo Orkestra band on a Tito Jackson production of STAND. This song, charted on Billboard’s Hot 100 pop chart and the video was played around the world on VH1. By 1990, the digital age was upon us and Cynthia anticipated the trend of “Do It Yourself” CD’s. She has written and co-produced four CD’s, including a Christmas CD. Among these compositions, four songs have been placed in movies.

One of the songs, “Everybody Dance”, caught the attention of Scott Kessler who produced a video to this song, which Cynthia had composed with a talented team, united by Christian deWalden in 2004, in Fiuggi, Italy. They wrote 10 songs and produced 4. The video caught the ear of the M.S. for the movie HEELS. In early 2010, that deal was sealed and Everybody Dance became part of that soundtrack.

She went theatrical when she played Janis Joplan, in a one woman play, filled with songs throughout. This project, written and produced by Will Manus, was a critical and financial success.

As a back ground singer, Cynthia is the “contractor” (she assembles the teams) for the BABES OF BLUES. In this capacity, she has added her voice to innumerable recordings and 15 internationally recognized blues records (details on website).

In April of 2009, Cynthia met Jamie Lewis, while performing in Zurich, Switzerland. They “clicked” and decided to write and produce a record together. She went back to Switzerland in September 2009 , when they recorded the master. Their composition “GIVE” is an uplifting, inspiring dance song, reflecting the knowledge and experience of this gifted team. Cynthia was one of a very few artists invited to perform at the 2010 WINTER MUSIC CONFERENCE, in Miami, Fa., where she and Jamie introduced their baby to the DANCE MUSIC world. GIVE is being released to the public on PURPLE MUSIC.

The success of GIVE lead to SUNSHINE HOTEL, the latest Lewis/Manley creation, released June, 2011, again on Purple Music. This song is already heating up dance floors around the world, and is blasting on radio stations across Europe. Cynthia hired the amazing JESSICA WILLIAMS and ANITA SHERMAN to do the background vocals on this tune and they added a magic to the sound not many can touch.

Cynthia has supported an exciting life as an entertainer since she was 17. She has performed in a variety of venues such as: “5 star” hotels in foreign lands like Muscat, Oman and Beijing, China; military tours in war zones like Baghdad, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq; 2 tours of Japan, innumerable European tours, and 3 tours of Brazil. On her first six city tour in Brazil, Cynthia opened for Gloria Gaynor & loved it!

When she isn’t touring , promoting her dance records, Cynthia performs in bars and festivals in the Greater Los Angeles area where she works with her old school R&B/Blues band. You can count on Cynthia to give 100% and she has always proclaimed that the “live” performances are why she’s in the business !

One thing is sure, Cynthia will NEVER QUIT. She is a tireless force of nature. Her live performances glow with the love she feels for people and her art form. If you want to be entertained, find Cynthia somewhere in the world, spreading her own brand of love, and ENJOY! For more information visit http://www.cynthiamanley.com/


About Kim Yarbrough:
“Born with a Silver Mic in Her Mouth . . .” Her name conjures intrigue and fascination . . . her voice as sultry and haunting as a southern summer . . . Kim Yarbrough . . . One of the world’s most gifted vocalists. Since her Phenomenal Splash on Season 2 of NBC’s “THE VOICE”, the world now knows just how gifted. After her appearance on “The Voice” she was interviewed on the “TODAY” Show with Kathie Lee Gifford, Hoda and Al Roker. While in New York that same evening, she dropped in to sing with “The Roots” on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon”.

Classically trained, she sings in every style, from Broadway to Blues, Rock to R&B, Jazz to Jingles and everything in between. Her vocal prowess has been compared to the likes of Aretha Franklin, & Barbara Streisand. Her latest comparison is “Jennifer Hudson meets Chaka Khan”. She dominates every element— stage, film, recordings. Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph has dubbed her “Little Aretha ”, The late “Teena Marie” labeled her voice as “The Truth”, and legendary singer/actress, Della Reese is quoted as saying, “ You owe it to yourself to see Kim Yarbrough.” Maroon 5 Front Man Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera have consistently pronounced Kim as a versatile powerhouse vocalist & “A Force to be Reckoned With.”

An extensive background in theater and dance, she is an extraordinary quadruple threat. (vocalist, actor, dancer and instrumentalist) Kim began as a young actor at the age of 8, and by the age of 14, many of the most respected professional stages in her home of Memphis, Tennessee began to take note of her talent and cast her in featured roles or as the lead. From dramatic works to fully staged musicals and operas, these roles led to phone call after phone call to do studio recordings for legends like Al Green, and perform live with artists like Bobby “Blue” Bland. The applause in Memphis only offered a taste of the future, becoming a springboard for performances at some of the most prestigious theaters in the world: The Guthrie Theater, The Children’s Theater of Minneapolis, the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles and the Le Clef Theater in Paris, France.

Touring the United States in the National Tour of “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” in the role of Nell Carter, this role came on the heels of the First Annual African-Americans and Europe International Conference in Paris, France, where she was a featured actor and vocalist in that history-making event.

Kim has garnered national attention in television, commercials, radio and indie films and Guest Star and Recurring appearances as an actress on the smash hit television series “BONES”, “2 Broke Girls”, “Dexter”, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, “VEGAS”, “Hollywood Heights” & the teen comedy hit “Sonny With a Chance” with Demi Lovato. Kim was a regular Comedy Sketch Character on the Emmy-Nominated “CONAN” Show. She also starred as “Mattie” in the critically acclaimed West Coast Premier of “The Women of Brewster Place, The Musical”, playing to nightly sold out houses, and for which she won a coveted “Ovation” Award an “LA Weekly Theater Award” and an NAACP Nomination for “Best Lead Actress”. Smash hits it seems, are Kim’s domain. Her soulful, searing vocals are regularly featured each season on the FX television series “Sons of Anarchy”.

Rave reviews and throngs of fans crowd her outrageous production shows at the nations’ hottest and most notorious venues: The Hollywood Bowl, The Rainbow, Prince’s fabled First Avenue and Glam Slam, in Minneapolis, The Old Daisy and B.B. Kings on Beale Street and Universal Citywalk, The Mint, The Derby & Stevie’s Creole. Kim has been a regular guest at the infamous and star studded R&B Live Hollywood, Show at Barre, & Upright Cabaret.– Kim rocked The 2011 Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Festival with her cast of 32, where she shared the Main Stage with Taylor Dayne, Thelma Houston, Maxine Nightingale, and Jennifer Holliday.

Kim picked up her first violin at the age of seven, and to her parents’ amazement, immediately began to play recognizable melodies on the instrument, all before her very first violin lesson. Being a violinist at such a young age, she had the opportunity to play professionally early on. As she devoured every sonata and symphony she could get her hands on, her folks could barely keep up with her schedule of rehearsals, auditions and symphonic performances, taxi-ing her from one end of the city (and sometimes the state) to the other. Her college career began with 4 Scholarships in music, supporting her Violin Performance Major & Classical Vocal Minor. The pinnacle of her instrumental career came with a request to play for The Vice-President of the United States & making her Los Angeles debut not as a singer/actress, but as a violinist in the Kenny Loggins TNN television special, “ December” with noted violinist Karen Briggs.

She made LA her home in the year 2000, and has enjoyed a dream career, holding her own alongside international artists & celebrities: Jim Belushi, Katy Segal, Loretta Devine, James Blunt, Mo’Nique, Lalah Hathaway, Macy Gray, Danny deVito, Freda Payne, Allyson Williams, Jackeé, & living legends Stevie Wonder and Della Reese. Reese produced a stage show entitled, “Della Reese Presents Kim Yarbrough”, showcasing this great talent to the Hollywood Entertainment Community in 2008.

Film making and writing her own original R&B, Gospel and Jazz songs are other avenues of success for this gifted artist. Kim has released two CDs, available on iTunes and Amazon: a single, “Nice and Slow” and “Dharma 888”, an EP of inspirational songs, including “Road to Freedom”, inspired by and written for the feature film, “The Great Debaters”. For more information visit http://www.kimyarbrough.com/

Sources: Facebook, Kim Yarbrough and Cynthia Manley

Photos/graphic credit to: Rick Gianatos, Kim Yarbrough and Cynthia Manley

Editor’s Note: As soon the video, mp3 and cd is out, we will update you with more news about this production.

The Recording Academy New Changes for the 54th GRAMMY Awards

On Wednesday, April 6, 2011 The Recording Academy announced that it has restructured the GRAMMY Categories across all genres and Fields, bringing the total number of Categories to be recognized at the 54th GRAMMY Awards in 2012, to 78 (from 109). All Fields remain the same.




The announcement was made this morning at The Academy’s headquarters by President/CEO Neil Portnow, Academy Board Chair Emeritus and five-time GRAMMY winner Jimmy Jam, and Vice President of Awards Bill Freimuth. Additionally, a minimum of 40 distinct artist entries will be required in each Category (up from 25). Detailed information on these and other recent changes may be found at www.grammy.com/announcement.
“Every year, we diligently examine our Awards structure to develop an overall guiding vision and ensure that it remains a balanced and viable process,” said Portnow. “After careful and extensive review and analysis of all Categories and Fields, it was objectively determined that our GRAMMY Categories be restructured to the continued competition and prestige of the highest and only peer-recognized award in music. Our Board of Trustees continues to demonstrate its dedication to keeping The Recording Academy a pertinent and responsive organization in our dynamic music community.” For 53 years, The Recording Academy has recognized musical excellence with the GRAMMY Awards — the most prestigious and only peer-recognized award in music — and the awards have grown from 28 Categories in 1959, to awards in 109 Categories for the most recent 53rd GRAMMYs. This growth springs from a tradition of honoring specific genres and/or subgenres within a Field, and it has basically been approached one Category at a time without a current overall guiding vision and without consistency across the various genre Fields. In 2009, The Academy initiated a first-ever comprehensive evaluation of its Awards process, which led to a desire for change. A transformation of the entire Awards structure would ensure that all Fields would be treated with parity. Diligent research, careful analysis, and thoughtful discussion of all Fields resulted in an overarching framework and a restructuring of Categories to 78, and ensures that every submission continues to have a home.


In addition to the restructuring of Categories, two rule changes have been established and four Fields have been renamed. It is now expected that each Category shall have at least 40 distinct artist entries, up from 25. If a Category receives between 25 – 39 entries, only three recordings would receive nominations that year. Should there be fewer than 25 entries in a Category, that Category would immediately go on hiatus for the current year — no award given — and entries would be screened into the next most logical Category. If a Category receives fewer than 25 entries for three consecutive years, the Category would be discontinued, and submissions would be entered in the next most appropriate Category.



The second rule change is regarding voting. Previously, voting members were allowed to vote in up to nine genre Fields plus the General Field on the first ballot and eight genre Fields plus the General Field on the second ballot, including every category within each chosen Field. Now, on each ballot, voters may vote in up to 20 Categories in the genre Fields plus the four Categories of the General Field — which includes Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist. Additionally, there are name changes to four Fields: Musical Show is now Musical Theater; the Film/ Television/Other Visual Media Field is now called Music For Visual Media; the Gospel Field has been renamed the Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Field; and the Dance Field has been renamed the Dance/Electronica Field.

The Awards restructuring proposal was presented by The Recording Academy’s Awards & Nominations (A&N) Committee — comprised of elected Academy leaders from across the country representing various genres of the music community — and was voted on and passed by The Academy’s Board of Trustees — made up of musicians, producers, engineers, songwriters, and other music professionals. The A&N Committee spent more than a year reviewing, analyzing, and evaluating the GRAMMY Awards process and Categories with great objectivity and fair-mindedness, before presenting its recommendations to the Board of Trustees for ratification. While at times incredibly challenging for each member of the committee to restructure Categories in their own respective genres, the greater purpose of promoting unity within the music community and ensuring that all Fields be treated with parity outweighed natural inclinations to resist change.

Please visit www.grammy.com/announcement for the following resources and detailed information:

• A Category Comparison Chart (comparing Categories from the 53rd GRAMMYs to the upcoming 54th GRAMMYs)
• An Explanation of Category Restructuring across all genres
• A Category Mapper (an interactive feature that will show where to enter submissions under the new structure)
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Upcoming dates and deadlines for the 54th GRAMMY Awards online entry period

About The Recording Academy:
Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards — the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music — The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, join the organization’s social networks as a Twitter follower at www.twitter.com/thegrammys, a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/thegrammys, and aYouTube channel subscriber at www.youtube.com/thegrammys.

Video courtesy of  The Recording Academy