Guess what the commander in chief is listening to? What’s On President Obama’s 2012 Playlist? Sorry Hip hop fans. Barack was feeling a little soulful this year. No nods for rap in his category. Artists like Aretha Franklin, Earth Wind and Fire, Raphael Saadiq, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Hudson and Darius Rucker made the 29-song list, which was created using music discovery service Spotify.
This was a great Black History Month gesture from Madame Tussaud’s but something tells us Aretha Franklin is gonna have beef of some sort over her sculpture. The famed wax museum unveiled this exhibit in honor of Black History Month. Check out the tributes to Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, James Brown and Aretha below: WENN More On Bossip! Pure Comedy: Bin Laden’s Potty-Mouth Ex-Boo-Thang Kola Boof Responds Directly To BOSSIP About Her Husband-Fuggin Tweets!! On The Party Scene: Rick Ross Celebrates His B-Day In Atlanta With His Banger Boo “Basketball Wives Beef”: Laura Govan Says She Will Never Speak To Shaunie O’Neal And Explains Why She Loves The Pistol Packing Player Who Is Papa To Her Kids! Hate It Or Love It?!?! The Notable Women Of Color (Mostly) In Ask Men’s Most Desirable Women Of 2012
Music legends and fans are mourning the loss of Soul Train host and creator Don Cornelius. The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin released the following statement: “It’s just so sad, stunning and downright shocking and a huge and momentous loss to the African-American community and the world at large. Don Cornelius single handedly brought about a melding and unity of brother and sisterhood among young adults worldwide and globally with the unforgettable creation of Soul Train.” Aretha Franklin Top 8 Female Performances In “Soul Train” History [VIDEO] Celebrities React To Death Of Don Cornelius
For next month’s BET Honors 2012 , the star-studded event boasts a line-up stacked with legendary veterans, popular entertainers of today and a host of up and coming younger artists from the realms of film, television and music… Continue
Does this make Willie Wilkerson the King of Soul? Call him what you want, he’s engaged to Aretha Franklin! The iconic singer, 69, is planning to marry her “forever friend” Wilkerson, her rep confirms , adding that they are discussing tying the knot on Miami Beach, with an exclusive reception aboard a private yacht. Here’s a photo of the soon-to-be newlyweds: On the celebrity fashion front, Aretha “is considering Donna Karan, Valentino and the queen of wedding dresses, Vera Wang, to design her gown,” says her rep. Franklin, who lost 85 pounds last year after a health scare, said “I feel fabulous.” Adds the singer herself of the upcoming nuptials to Willie Wilkerson: “We’re looking at June or July for our date and no, I’m not pregnant, LOL!” LOL, indeed. And congratulations! [Photo: WENN.com]
When President Barack Obama last headlined a Labor Day event in Detroit (2008), he wowed the crowd by humming a few bars of Aretha Franklin’s hit “Chain of Fools,” while the Queen of Soul looked on. This year, the President will be the one who is serenaded when Aretha Franklin performs at the Labor Day Rally at Hart Plaza in Detroit on Monday, September 5, 2011. She will perform three of her signature songs including her classic hit, “Chain of Fools,” before the tens of thousands expected to attend the festivities. The President is scheduled to address labor union members at the event sponsored by the Metro Detroit Central Labor Council. Aretha has been very busy as of late with early discussions of her biopic, and as a recent honoree: Robinson & Aretha Franklin To Receive 2011 Awards.
First single, ‘Mr. Know It All,’ hits radio at the end of the month. By Gil Kaufman Kelly Clarkson Photo: Mike Moore/ Getty Images After multiple leaks, delays, seeming frustration and endless anticipation, Kelly Clarkson’s fifth album finally has a release date. Stronger is slated to drop October 25, preceded by the single “Mr. Know It All.” Clarkson will host a live webcast with fans August 30 on her website , during which she will debut the song. The single will then hit radio directly after the webcast and be available for sale at all major digital-music stores September 5, according to an announcement from Clarkson’s label. Fans who just can’t wait can pre-order the album from Clarkson’s site and then automatically get the single as soon as it’s available. Clarkson posted a note to her fans Tuesday explaining the decision to combine her two websites into one and expressing excitement about finally unleashing the songs. “Can’t wait for y’all to hear the new single!” she wrote. “The band and I are really excited and currently gearing up for this record! It’s gonna be a fun record to tour!” The original “American Idol” winner has been patiently anticipating a release date for the disc, telling fans last month that the long wait would soon be over. “Just found out my single is hitting radio in August!” she tweeted . “Woohoo! It sounds great as well! Can’t wait for y’all to hear it!” But just an hour later, Clarkson apologized for getting a bit too excited. “Okay please do not get angry but it might be September for my single,” she wrote. “My calendar was messed up! I’m so sorry! BUT it might be late August! It’s a huge bummer waiting but I promise it’ll be worth it! Stupid technology!!” The album, originally teased as a late 2010 release, was pushed back to early 2011, with Clarkson filling the gap in February by talking up her influences, such as Prince, Tina Turner, Radiohead, Sheryl Crow and Aretha Franklin, and hitting the studio with producer Rodney Jerkins. In early February, she announced, with a bit of consternation, that the then-untitled album was finished but had been pushed back until September. Then, last month, three songs that are reportedly slated for the album leaked, just a week after another new tune, the rocking “Let Me Down,” surfaced online. The new songs, which were quickly scrubbed from the Internet, also included the ballad “Forgive You” and the pop-rocker “Dumb + Dumb = You.” What are you expecting from Kelly’s new music? Let us know in the comments below! Related Artists Kelly Clarkson
Adele is finally getting her time in the spotlight over here in the U.S. where she was recently interviewed by both Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly . She tells Rolling Stone of her first time meeting Beyonce : “I was about to meet Beyonce and I had a full-blown anxiety attack. Then she popped in looking gorgeous, and said, ‘You’re amazing! When I listen to you I feel like I’m listening to God.’ Can you believe she said that?” She also gave Entertainment Weekly a list of the top 8 songs on her iPod, naming Rihanna ‘s “What’s My Name” as one of them: “Over New Year’s and Christmas, I had time off and I went to all my friends’ parties singing it. Doing the dance moves, I was convinced I was Rihanna. She was possessing me with that song. I swear.” We love to see females respecting females! Soulful Singer Adele Covers Aretha Franklin’s “A Natural Woman” On VH1 Unplugged Beyonce Turns Superhero For New Video [PHOTOS] Rihanna “Hates” Khloe Kardashian & Lamar Odom [AUDIO]
It wasn’t quite the shinding we expected to hear about , but Aretha Franklin definitely rang in the last year of her 60′s in style in NYC this weekend. First, on Friday she threw the livest party ever thrown for a soon-to-be-septuagenarian at the Hemsley Park Lane. Aretha did it up with Star Jones, Permed Up Al, Smokey Robinson, Tony Bennett, Gayle King, Bette Midler and others. Then, yesterday she had a cozy dinner with her longtime homie Clive Davis at Le Bernardin. The 18-time Grammy winner had to cancel her tour when she was hospitalized in December and underwent surgery, but spies said she was in great form over dinner with Davis Thursday night. Our spy said: “They were toasting her health and her birthday. Word spread, and a crowd gathered outside. When the two emerged, there were flashbulbs and loud cheers.” Good for Auntie! She deserves it! (We do hope one of those gifts was a better bra… or some kind of surgical lift, because Auntie’s looking sloppy.) Check out photos from the party below.