Tag Archives: Usher

Shakira Gives Birth to Her First Child…

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The stork has arrived at Shakira’s place…

The 35-year-old Colombian singer and new The Voice coach gave birth to a bouncing baby boy,Milan Piqué Mebarak, at 9:36 p.m. January 22 in Barcelona, Spain, according to an announcement on Shakira’s website.

Shakira & Gerard Pique

It’s the first child for Shakira and her boyfriend Spanish soccer star Gerard Piqué, who recently announced plans to host a virtual baby shower for charity.

“The name Milan means dear, loving and gracious in Slavic; in Ancient Roman, eager and laborious; and in Sanskrit, unification,” the announcement says. “Just like his father, baby Milan became a member of FC Barcelona at birth.”

Shakira and her boyfriend, a central defender for Futbol Club Barcelona, announced in September that she was pregnant and revealed the sex of the baby in October.

Shakira will be one of two new coaches on NBC’s The Voice when the show returns for its fourth season in March. She and Usher are replacing Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green. While pregnant, Shakira filmed some parts of the show, including the blind auditions.

During a press event for The Voice in late 2012, the Colombian singer told reporters that her maternal instincts had already starting kicking into high gear when it came to nurturing her contestants.

“I don’t know if because I’m pregnant or what, but I’ve got maternal instincts, and I feel like, you know, they are somehow my kids,” she told reporters. “I have to look after them and protect them.”

 

Shakira Fostering a Competitive Spirit to NBC’s “The Voice”

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It looks like the addition of Shakira to The Voice’s coaching lineup is bringing out an added competitiveness to NBC’s hit reality singing competition…

During a press conference, the 35-year-old Colombian singing sensation joined fellow newbie Usher and returning coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton to discuss the show’s upcoming fourth season.

Shakira

Shelton noted that with the departure of Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green, the dynamic on the show has “definitely changed” and that throwing Shakira and Usher into the mix has fostered an added competitiveness.

“Cee Lo was always so laid back,” said Shelton. “He’s kind of been the quiet killer in this thing. We replace Cee Lo with somebody that’s just that more aggressive and now you’ve got four that are killers up here.”

Added Levine, “Now you have a pregnant, hormonal Colombian. She’s ready to bust some heads. She ain’t messing around!”

Shakira says recruiting for her Voice team has definitely fueled her competitive fire.

“Once we are in the process of trying to get a contestant recruited for our team, there’s a lot of adrenaline and there’s a lot of tension.” She also mentioned her tendency to micro manage her career, which she says carries over to her mentoring. “When I’m giving directions to my contestants, I’m particularly focused on details.”

Usher described Shakira as a mix of “comic relief, super f—ing serious, and gangster,” explaining that “she’s so nice now but she really pulls out that switchblade in the battle.”

He also revealed that his own coaching style is fairly serious. “My style is more military than anything because I’m all about the preparation. My style is to make them understand the seriousness of the craft and that they have the very best opportunity to be the greatest — or the worst — depending on how you take it.”

Levine explained that Season 4’s new coaches have already figured out how to leverage their strengths. Shakira plays the female card a lot — “That’s one thing we can’t compete with really so she’s smart” – and Usher likes to remind his fellow coaches of his success with Justin Bieber.

“As much as I hate to say this about another coach in the beginning, Usher has done what this show has yet to do – launch a superstar and that’s our goal. That’s something we want to do as an institution.”

As the conference wrapped, Shelton agreed with Levine, and Shakira looked to Usher and playfully said, “We all want to be like you when we grow up.”

Season 4 of The Voice premieres on NBC on March 25.

Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven” Makes Billboard History…

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Bruno Mars has notched another first on the Billboard charts…

The 27-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer’s “Locked Out of Heaven” remains at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a third week, and  crowns the Radio Songs chart for the first time.

Bruno Mars II

Since Mars occupies the top spot on the Digital and On-Demand Songs charts, the song becomes the first to top all four tallies at the same time, dating back to the launch of the On-Demand chart’s launch in late March.

As “Locked Out of Heaven” earns the honor of being the first title to rank No. 1 on the Hot 100, Radio Songs, Digital Songs and On-Demand Songs at the same time, it’s the first track to crown the more established Hot 100, Radio Songs and Digital Songs charts simultaneously since Rihanna‘s “We Found Love,” featuring Calvin Harris, the week of December 3, 2011. Maroon 5‘s “Moves Like Jagger,” featuring Christina Aguilera (two weeks), Adele‘s “Rolling in the Deep” (three) and Katy Perry‘s “E.T.,” featuring Kanye West, also scored such a hat trick last year.

But “Lock Out of Heaven” is the first song by a male solo artist to lead the Hot 100, Radio Songs and Digital Songs simultaneously since Eminem‘s “Love the Way You Lie,” featuring Rihanna, back during the week of August 28, 2010.

“Heaven” moved up to the top spot on the Radio Songs chart with a 4% increase to 140 million all-format audience impressions (up 4%), according to BDS. The song is Mars’ fourth Radio Songs No. 1, tying him with Sean Paul and T.I. for fifth-place among males in the chart’s 22-year history. Among men, only Usher (seven), Ludacris, West (six each) and 50 Cent (five) boast more. Mariah Carey leads all acts with 11 Radio Songs No. 1s.

Shakira Featured in New “The Voice” Season Four Promo

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Now that the third season of NBC’s The Voice has come to a close, Shakira is ready to take over Christina Aguilera’s red leather chair…

Shakira

The network has already released the first promo for the next cycle, featuring the 35-year-old Colombian singing sensation – recently named to Forbes‘ Top-Earning Women in Music list – and Usher, who will be replacing Cee Lo Green on the hit singing competition’s fourth season.

In the hilarious clip, the new coaches are seen getting a ride from The Voice’s returning coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. The quartet even manage to find some some common musical ground while cruising.

The fourth installment of The Voice that will premiere on Monday, March 25, 2013.

Miguel’s “Adorn” Continues Billboard Chart Dominance

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Miguel is thisclose to making Billboard history…

Miguel

This week the 26-year-old half-Mexican R&B singer/songwriter’s latest single “Adorn” topped the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart for an 11th week.

With his stronghold on the No. 1 spot, Miguel – who will be touring with Alicia Keys next spring – ties Usher‘s single “Climax” for the list’s longest reign this year.

In addition, “Adorn” concurrently becomes Miguel’s first entry on Billboard’s Pop Songs chart, where it arrives at No. 40.

Pitbull Earns Two American Music Award Nods

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It could be called a case of déjà vu for Pitbull…

For the second straight year, the 31-year-old Cuban American rap superstar has earned two American Music Award nominations. And, he’s picked them up in exact same categories as last year.

Pitbull

Pitbull is nominated in the Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock, where he’ll face stiff competition from Usher, Justin Bieber and Flo Rida.

In addition, Pitbull has received a nomination in the Favorite Artist – Latin category.  He’s up against Don Omar and three-time AMA Latin Artist award winner Shakira, who last picked up the award in the category in 2010. Pitbull and Shakira most recently collaborated together on the dancetastic track “Get It Started.”

The 40th American Music Awards nominations were announced on Tuesday morning in Los Angeles by Christina Aguilera. The “Your Body” singer, who will release her seventh studio album next month, is the first performer announced for the telecast.

The American Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre on November 18 at 8:00 pm on ABC.

For the sixth year, winners will be determined by online voting.

Click here for the complete list of American Music Award nominees.

Mars Discusses Sophomore Album in Billboard Cover Story

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Bruno Mars will be locked out of Heaven next week… And, he’ll live to sing about it.

In this week’s Billboard magazine cover story, the 26-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter discusses his highly anticipated sophomore album, which will be titled Unorthodox Jukebox, as well as the album’s energetic first single, “Locked Out of Heaven,” which debuts digitally and on the radio on October 1.

Bruno Mars Billboard Cover

“This is me going into the studio and recording and writing whatever I want,” Mars says confidently. “This album represents my freedom.”

The follow-up to Mars’ Grammy-winning Doo-Wops & Hooligans is an eclectic set that includes production from Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse), Jeff Bhasker (Beyonce), Emile Haynie (Eminem), Diplo (M.I.A., Usher) and Supa Dups (John Legend, Doo-Woops & Hooligans) as well as the Smeezingtons, Mars’ songwriting and production team. The talented trio executive-produced and co-wrote Unorthodox Jukebox, an album Mars says doesn’t “pick a lane.”

“I’ve had big record label presidents look me in the face and say, ‘Your music sucks, you don’t know who you are, your music is all over the place, and we don’t know how to market this stuff. Pick a lane and come back to us,'” he says. “That was disgusting to me, because I’m not trying to be a circus act.”

Mars says he refused to let himself get boxed in to a specific genre during the recoding process.

“I listen to a lot of music,” says Mars, who recently showed his comedic chops in a hilarious FunnyorDie.com video, “and I want to have the freedom and luxury to walk into a studio and say, ‘Today I want to do a hip-hop, R&B, soul or rock record.'”

Mars’ debut album, released in October 2010, debuted and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and spawned four Hot 100 hits: the Grammy-winning “Just the Way You Are” (No. 1), “Grenade” (No. 1), “The Lazy Song” (No. 4) and “Marry You” (No. 85). The album has sold 1.7 million in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

His other top 10s include “It Will Rain” (No. 4) from the Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack, and he was a featured artist on B.o.B‘s “Nothin’ On You” (No. 1), Travie McCoy‘s “Billionaire” (No. 4), Bad Meets Evil‘s “Lighters” (No. 4) and Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa‘s “Young, Wild & Free” (No. 7).

Unorthodox Jukebox is set for a December 11 release on Atlantic Records, according to Billboard.

Here’s a look at the albums track list (in no particular order):

“Locked Out of Heaven”
“Young Girls”
“Gorilla”
“When I Was Your Man”
“Natalie”
“Treasure”
“Moonshine”
“Money Makes Her Smile”
“Show Me”
“If I Knew”

Shakira Expecting Her First Child

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Shakira will be singing lullabies in the near future.

The 35-year-old Colombian singing sensation—who was just named Christina Aguilera’s replace on the spring cycle of NBC’s The Voice—announced on her website that she’s expecting her first child.

Shakira

Shakira is expecting with boyfriend Gerard Pique, the 25-year-old Spanish footballer who confirmed they were dating in March 2011.

“As some of you may know, Gerard and I are very happy awaiting the arrival of our first baby!” reads the message. “At this time we have decided to give priority to this unique moment in our lives and postpone all the promotional activities planned over the next few days.”

On Tuesday, NBC announced that Shakira and R&B singer Usher would replace Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green as coaches on the fourth season of the The Voice.

Shakira Replacing Aguilera on “The Voice” Next Season

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Shakira will be springing into action on the next cycle of The Voice…

The 35-year-old Colombian superstar will be replacing Christina Aguilera on the upcoming spring cycle of NBC’s hit reality singing competition.

Shakira

Aguilera has decided to take some time off of the The Voice because she’s releasing her new album in November, and she’ll follow that up with a tour. Aguilera is expected to return next fall.

“We know we needed to find another of the world’s greatest female vocal talents, and Shakira instantly came to mind”, Voice executive producer Mark Burnett said about the search to find a replacement for Aguilera.

But Aguilera won’t be the only coach sitting out the next cycle…

Cee Lo Green is taking time off as he works on two albums and develops a comedy series for NBC based on his life. Usher has been tapped to fill in for Green next season.

“Usher is not just a singer or an entertainer, he is a global icon,” said Burnett.

Fellow The Voice coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton are staying put for Season 4.

When the network expanded The Voice to two cycles per year, NBC officials said that not all Voice coaches would be able to do both cycles of the show because of the demands of their music careers.

NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt said the network was “happy to accommodate” Green and Aguilera’s commitments.

“The participants on our show benefit from our coaches’ expertise and their continued success in the music business allows for significant new contributions to the contestants when they return,” he said.

Prince Royce Wins Big at Premios Juventud

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He may be known as Prince Royce… But Latin music’s rising star proved to be the king of the 9th Annual Premios Juventud Awards.

The 23-year-old Dominican-American bachata singer took home the night’s biggest haul at Thursday night’s awards show, earning a total of eight awards, including Voz del momento.

Prince Royce

Prince Royce’s song “Las Cosas Pequeñas” took home the awards for La más pegajosa, Canción Corta-venas and Mi Ringtone Favorito.

During the show, which was held at the BankUnited Center in Miami, superstar also premiered his brand new song “Close to You” while floating atop the audience.

Meanwhile, former Aventura front man Romeo Santos picked up two awards: The Perfect Collaboration for his hit single featuring Usher, “Promise,” and Most Played Album for his first solo venture, Fórmula Vol 1

Other winners included Shakira, who won in the Best Moves category; Pitbull,  who won The Best Urban Artist of The Year; and Sofia Vergara for Favorite Actress.

Click here for the complete list of Premios Juventud winners.