Ahead of Nicki Minaj received a verify to rep Pepsi and Eminem reinvented Chrysler into a classy, badass vehicle in just 60 seconds, veteran hip-hop and R&ampB artists paved the way for earning further coin by endorsing drinks, fashion and other merchandise. The BoomBox went back in time and discovered 10 commercials exactly where entertainers — ranging from the late Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Notorious B.I.G. to R. Kelly, Paula Abdul, Nas and AZ — applied their highly effective vocals to jingles. Surprisingly, these popular reps did nicely for their associated brand names, with some of these spots leaving us thirsty for a soda or itching to place on a pair of Adidas Superstars even these days.

10. Whitney Houston Channels Large Hair and Power Vocals for Diet plan Coke

Diet Coke was 1st introduced in 1982, and 4 years later, Whitney Houston — fresh off the release of her eponymous 13x platinum 1985 self-titled debut — was plugging the a single calorie soda with her diva hair and slim figure. Houston attached her higher notes to the “Just for the taste of it!” slogan, generating it sound like it also was Grammy worthy. Sadly for the iconic singer, a different sort of “coke” would lead her down a distinct path.

9. Paula Abdul Dances for Diet Coke

Paula Abdul filmed several dance-tastic montages for Coca-Cola Company, but the most well-known of the bunch is this 1991 Diet plan Coke ad that paired her with her childhood dance hero Gene Kelly, amongst other folks. But what’s the connection? It really is all in the 1s. Diet program Coke was even now a “a single calorie” drink, and Abdul’s 1988 debut album, “Forever Your Lady,” had 4 tracks — “Straight Up,” “Forever Your Woman,” “Cold Hearted” and “Opposites Appeal to” — that all reached No. one. Read more…

Madonna’s ‘MDNA’ album preview continues with the release of another Nicki Minaj-assisted track, ‘I Don’t Give A.’ The pop icon first teamed up with her Super Bowl co-star for her ‘MDNA’ lead single ‘Give Me All Your Luvin” along with M.I.A. Now the duo is back, for another girl power Madonna-Minaj collab, AOL Music reports!

The attitude-heavy ‘I Don’t Give A’ is said to be a swipe at Madonna’s ex-husband, filmmaker Guy Ritchie. Madonna sings, “I tried to be a good girl/ I tried to be your wife/ Diminished myself/ And I swallowed my light/ I tried to become all/ That you expect of me/ And if it was a failure/ I don’t give a …”

The couple split in 2008 after eight years of marriage, and both parties have recently spoken out about the cause of the split. While Ritchie likened life with Madge to a “soap opera,” Madonna spoke of reaching her limit when it came to how much she was willing to “sacrifice” for the relationship. The ‘I Don’t Give A’ lyrics certainly give some new insight into the breakdown of the marriage.

As for Minaj’s part, the MC raps over the Martin Solveig beat, name checking her collaborator’s iconic tune ‘Material Girl.’ What do you think of the second Madonna-Minaj collab? Tweet us your thoughts @aolmusic!

Listen to a Clip of Madonna’s ‘I Don’t Give A’ Feat. Nicki Minaj
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Country superstar (and proprietor of maybe the greatest legs in music) Carrie Underwood has just released a music video for new single “Good Girl,” the lead track off her fourth album, Blown Away, which is set to hit shops on May possibly one.

The video does not function a storyline — it’s really just a assortment of Underwood in numerous fashions strutting her stuff and flaunting her beautiful looks. At times, Underwood channels her inner great woman: we see bespectacled hipster Carrie, fringey-sweet Carrie, and sunlit floral Carrie, but in the course of the rest of the video, she reveals an edgier side that matches the grit of the song: we get funeral glam Carrie, shimmery 80s Carrie, and hot pants authoritarian Carrie. Sometimes, her two sides even sing/debate at each other, suggesting that the titular “good girl” obtaining warned about a lying, no-good man might just be Underwood herself.

All the although, we get awesome, arty tiny glimpses of flowers and higher heels. What does it all suggest? Heck, I’m not confident — and the only shoes I truly care about are my Asics cross trainers — but I nevertheless had a excellent time watching it all! Examine out the rocking clip beneath:

What do you feel of the video? Which dress-up Carrie was your preferred? And are you feeling “Good Girl” as a single? Sound off in the comments beneath.

A lot more on EW.com:
Carrie Underwood reveals new album cover (and music’s finest legs?)
Carrie Underwood drops new single ‘Good Girl’, totally embraces her rocker side

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With all due respect to all these involved in the original composition of this year’s Oscar-nominated songs, the Bret McKenzie-penned “Man or Muppet” and the Brazilian-tinged “Real in Rio,” producers have done viewers a favor in trying to keep the songs off the telecast.

When music gets tangled up in award exhibits, the results aren’t constantly quite. Remember all individuals all-star Grammy mash-ups? But with only two songs nominated for an Oscar this year, the show’s producers have thrown it in viewer’s faces: “This is all voters could come up with?” 

It wasn’t for a lack of alternatives. A complete of 39 tunes have been up for consideration for the greatest authentic song Oscar. Up to 5 songs can get nominated, and academy rules make certain there will either be zero songs or a minimal of two. This year, the field pits “Guy or Muppet,” from Walt Disney Pictures’ “The Muppets,” against “True in Rio,” from the 20^th Century Fox film “Rio.”

Complete COVERAGE: Oscars 2012

What follows is a search at who stands to win, how this occurred, who should have been nominated and what, if anything, should be performed to modify the process so more songs are considered.

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Image Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Photos

Prior to the death of Don Cornelius stirred pangs of Soul Train nostalgia in the American public, a group of black entrepreneurs previously had begun functioning to revive Cornelius’ creation and carry it past the continued popularity of the show’s dances and tv reruns. What, precisely, can be performed with Soul Train, given that it lasted virtually 4 decades and is deemed an American institution, even even though there hasn’t been a new episode in six years? Will the soul of Soul Train carry on, or drift into historical past?

Soul Train Holdings LLC, the entity produced by NBA legend and entrepreneur Earvin “Magic” Johnson when he purchased the Soul Train library and brand final year, has a lot of ideas. Among them are bringing a Soul Train selection display back to tv, CEO Kenard Gibbs informed The Associated Press. There have been discussions with writers about taking Soul Train to Broadway, Gibbs said, and also in the works are film possibilities, potential book specials and, in 2013, the first Soul Train cruise.
“The brand itself, we feel, has far, far other entertainment-based mostly tentacles we can stretch,” Gibbs said.

For the duration of a memorial for Cornelius in Los Angeles last week, Johnson assured Cornelius’ son Tony, “The brand that your father has developed will final a lifetime.”
Black Entertainment Network LLC, BET, and Centric Tv, a BET Network, also has rights to the Soul Train brand and title, and have revamped the Soul Train Awards, which have aired on BET Networks because 2009. The awards show has been the network’s second highest-rated particular, stated Paxton Baker, Centric executive vice president and basic manager.

Baker said the show has held its own and plans are below way for a tribute to Cornelius for this year’s display, planned for broadcast Nov. 25, trying to keep its Sunday-after-Thanksgiving air date tradition, on BET and Centric. “For our element, it was a wonderful brand and created a lot of sense for us to go out and acquire the brand and place our stamp on it,” Baker explained.

There are some 1,one hundred hrs of Soul Train episodes and specials, many of which have only aired as soon as on television. Some are posted on the Soul Train site, reminding viewers of celebrities’ past lives.

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WINNER OF THE WEEK: Adele. Remember final week, when we suggested right after a day’s really worth of information that the only star receiving a post-Grammy product sales bump was Whitney Houston? Turns out our estimates were on the conservative side! Adele significantly eclipsed an common week, selling a ridiculous 730,000 copies of 21, the most since it came out a year ago. It really is also the biggest Grammy bump of the past 21 many years, simply outdoing Norah Jones’ Come Away with Me (621,000 in 2003) and Carlos Santana’s Supernatural (583,000 in 2000). Plus, the album has sold far more than two million downloads on iTunes, creating it the 1st to hit that mark, and more than 7 million general. Which leads us to wonder how massive Adele would be if the record market hadn’t collapsed above the previous decade. Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Tiny Pill sold 16 million following its release in 1995, and we could easily think about an alternate universe in which 21 gets up to Thriller territory. Oh, and Adele’s first album, 19, shot up to Number 4 with 87,000 product sales.

LOSER OF THE WEEK: Chris Brown. For clear causes – “Don’t ABUSE Girls” becoming the significant one particular. First, the man who punched Rihanna in the eye ahead of the 2009 Grammys gets not 1 but two showcase slots on the most prominent awards display in many years, then his (female) fans respond by inexplicably doing this. We’ll refrain from blaming the victim, even though, as the New York Occasions opined, it would seem like marketing forces have been far a lot more at perform in these collaborations than personal ethics and morality. Rihanna collaborated with her scumbag-of-an-ex-boyfriend on two songs, a remix of her very own “Birthday Cake,” from 2011′s Talk That Speak, and a remix of Brown’s new single, “Turn Up the Music.” It is too early to gauge product sales, because they have not landed yet on Billboard or BigChampagne’s Ultimate Chart, but Rihanna’s remix is up to about one.4 million YouTube views. Brown’s remix is tougher to estimate – the YouTube posts are all over the place.

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